New (Old) Toys

Katherine was fascinated by the toy

Not for long though!

All smiles

Nap time with Mommy

Katherine slept for 8 hours again last night!  Luke was up at 6:30 even though he went to bed so late last night. Luke and I went to Kroger after breakfast to get some groceries and some glue.  I had a little craft project for him to do this morning and realized we did not have any glue except wood glue and crazy glue, neither of which worked well.  Luke loves going to Kroger - mainly because he gets a free cookie.  I could not believe all the people in line to get Garth Brooks tickets.  It took us forever in there but we had fun. 

Paul enjoyed his time with Katherine.  He got all of Luke's toys brought up from the shop and cleaned them really well.  We tried her in the Bebe pod and she really seemed to like it.  I have several things I need to wash before we can try the exersaucer and some of the other toys.  She really has good balance when she sits up so I think she will be able to use most of the things now. 

We all took naps this afternoon and have enjoyed being somewhat lazy.  We are having steaks on the grill, sweet potatoes and salad for supper.  An evening trip to Sam's might be in the cards if all goes well!  Another fun Saturday!

Gloomy Day

Ready for supper!

Today was so gloomy I had no desire to get out of the house.  It was windy and cold.  Katherine has continued with the sniffles off and on so we just got out long enough to pick Luke up this afternoon.  We call came home and piled on the couch and watched  a Thomas movie while I fed Katherine and we waited for Paul to get home.  I also did not feel like cooking.  We used to go out to eat on Friday nights but that has been few and far between since Katherine's arrival.  I asked Paul to stop and get bbq for supper.  The best supper is one you do not have to cook! 

Around bedtime we noticed that someone close to our house was shooting off fireworks.  What possessed them to do that on a random Friday night we have no idea.  It scared Luke and he would not go to sleep. Paul and I both tried until after 10:30 but he was wired.  I finally told him to get in bed with us.  A practice we usually do not encourage around here. Paul and I were both asleep before he was.  Paul took him to his bed after midnight. 

Silly Faces and Another Tree

Like father....

like son!

Katherine's little tree

Luke took this picture!

We just could not let Luke have his Christmas tree and Katherine not have one!  So, tonight we put up Katherine's tree.  Actually, Luke pretty  much did it all.  Hers is a little sparse compared to his, but he has a few more Christmases behind him!  Katherine and I did some errands today and it was so windy!  I thought we would get blown away.  Paul spent the day at his parents.  They worked on getting the kitchen put back together.  Paula was able to help some, but mainly told Bill and Paul where to put things. 

Cute Little Face

Couldn't you just kiss those cheeks?!?!

A little perturbed with Mom taking so many pics

One of the great things about the weather getting colder is you get to put babies in these cute little hats!  This little hat was actually made for Uncle Jon before someone knew he was a he and not a she!  Paula has let me use a lot of things that the boys had growing up.  Obviously this cute little hat was never worn since it was pink. It also has a matching sweater and booties.  If you look close you will also notice that Katherine is wearing a pink John Deere shirt!  Paul picked this up for her shortly after we found out we were having a little girl. 

Katherine and I had a good day.  She did not sleep as well last night; she woke up twice to eat!  Not sure what that was about and hope it was an isolated incident.  I was in a cleaning and decorating mood today.  I took down all the Halloween decorations and started putting out the pilgrims and turkeys!  We love any sort of holiday around here and I usually have some kind of decorations to enjoy.  I just think it is fun and Luke likes helping me.  I also decided to "set the table" in the dining room.  We do not use our china as much as I would hope so I thought it would be fun if it was out for us to enjoy this month.  It made me start craving turkey, dressing and cranberry salad!  When Luke noticed it he said "Mommy, what did you do in here on the dining room table?"  That boy sure is smart!

I am  having problems getting good pictures with my camera.  If I have the flash on it washes everyone out.  If the flash is off (like in the pics above) they are a little blurry.  Anyone with more experience with cameras have advice on finding a happy medium?

Coming Home

These two little people love hanging out

We are so excited that Paula got to come home today!  Paul went and visited her in the hospital this morning and said she was doing so well they were going to let her go home. When we picked Luke up from school we went to Gallatin to see them and take their supper.  Paula looked great and was excited to see the kids.  Katherine slept the whole time, but we did not stay very long because Paula needed her rest.  We are so thankful that she is home.  She will have to have some treatment in the coming weeks but know she will do great!

Ready or Not...

Luke loved putting the ornaments on

Daddy  helped, too!

Digging in the box for more ornaments

You can see how much help Katherine and I were!

The finished product!

here Christmas comes!  Yep, it is the day after Halloween and we started putting up Christmas decorations.  Well, just Luke's tree.  Believe it or not it was actually my idea to put his tree up tonight.  I knew Paul was chomping at the bit to do it but would not mention it. So, we enjoyed putting the tree up.  Luke was so careful and would ask each time if the ornament was glass or not. He would take each one out of the box, sit on the floor and unwrap it and say "ohhh...what's this one gonna be?"  Precious, precious!

Katherine chose that particular time to take an evening nap so she and I watched all the excitement unfold.  We know Christmas is just around the corner and we like to enjoy it as long as possible around here.  Speaking of Katherine, she has slept 8 hours the past two nights, yahoo!  Paula is doing much better with hopes to come home tomorrow!

Halloween 2010

Honestly - the best pic I got

Ms. Pat and Luke

Attempting to get Luke to cooperate

He was more interested in heading the other direction

So, Halloween 2010 was pretty uneventful.  We went to church this morning and Katherine went to the nursery for the first time.  Of course, there was not a camera to mark the occasion.  The workers said she did great when we went to pick her up.

Luke was in rare form all afternoon.  I can not tell you how many times Paul and I said "if you don't stop doing that or if you don't do this then you will not go trick-or-treating".  He did take a quick power nap but I have my doubts that it helped any.  First he did not want to put his Thomas costume on, then he did not want to leave, then he wanted to leave right now!  (*Almost - three is such a fun age*)  Mom came over and brought supper.  She and I took the kids over to see Bill and Pat.  Katherine had one of her projectile spit up episodes in the car on the way over there so her ladybug costume did not last long!  Luke asked a hundred questions while we were there -- who lives here? where are the toys? can I have more candy? and so on.  We visited for a short time then it was back to our neighborhood. 

Paul was pried away from the Titans game long enough to go trick-or-treating with us.  We decided Katherine should stay home with Mom which worked out best.  Surprisingly several houses were dark and no one was home.  We found out at a neighbor's house there was a big Halloween event at the park and that is where most people went.  (Note to self for next year.)  We only went to a few houses before we went home and enjoyed the yummy supper Nonna brought.  There were lots of interruptions with trick-or-treaters. I think Luke enjoyed handing out candy more than he did receiving it.  By the time Nonna left Luke was tired and cranky and could barely stand up.  Katherine was fussy, too.  We decided to put both kids to bed.  Both were in bed asleep by 8:15!  Katherine went 8 hours between feedings last night so I am hoping for the same tonight!

Another Halloween in the books.  Not as perfect as I had planned in my mind; but fun, just the same.

Paula is recovering well.  She has requested no visitors at the hospital for a few days so she can focus on getting better and going home!  We have talked to her every day and she seems to be getting stronger and stronger.

Celebrating A Milestone!

So happy it is Saturday!

Paul and Katherine with Memaw

 

 

Luke ready to chow down at the Barrel

So stinkin' cute

Kitty and Kelly

Luke had to help Kitty blow out her candles

Kristen was loving some Katherine time

The waitress tried to get a group shot

Today was busy, to say the least.  We started the day pretty early and were ready and out the door by 9:30.  We stopped to get Kitty a card and some flowers on our way to visit Memaw.  We had a nice visit.  Memaw looked great!  She said she had been feeling well for a couple of weeks now.  While we were at Memaw's we learned that Paula was having to go back to surgery to remove a drain.  This was unexpected and we were concerned, but knew it should be a simple procedure.

From there we headed to Cracker Barrel in Hendersonville to celebrate Kitty's 95th birthday!  When you stop to think about all she has seen in her lifetime it is simply amazing.  We were all sad that Bill and Paula could not be with us on this special occasion but were so thankful to be celebrating Kitty. Feeding 10 + people and watching after two little ones can be a daunting task, but things went considerably well.  Kristen, Paul and I took turns with Katherine when she woke up from her nap prematurely. Luke got frustrated when his "brown milk" was gone which is a treat he does not often get to enjoy.  The service was a little slow so we were there almost 2 hours!  Kitty enjoyed herself and getting to spend time with her boys. 

When we got home around 2:30 we all crashed, except Luke.  He was having nothing to do with a nap today.  Katherine and I took a nap which was so nice!  The rest of the evening was spent watching football and playing with Luke. 

Three Months and a Halloween Party

This baby girl is 3 months old!

Really? This is what Luke had at his Halloween Party.

Luke making sure  his friend did not get anything that he did not have

Today was pretty low-key.  Katherine and I ran out to get some things for Kitty's birthday tomorrow.  Other than that we stayed home and she napped (a lot).  Poor girl seemed to be worn out!  I even laid down for a power nap which I probably have not done in a month or so.  This afternoon we went to Luke's Halloween Party at school.  It always amazes me what parents send in for their kids to eat. I know, I know I am a dietitian but still....At each kids place was a cookie, cupcake, cheese puffs, mini muffin cups filled with sprinkles (???), an ice cream cone, a slushy thing, juice box, punch, oh and some mandarin oranges.  That is crazy!!!  And you know Luke, he made a pretty good dent in all of it!  It was no surprise that we had to make a stop in the bathroom before we left because his "tummy hurt".  I used that opportunity to talk to him about junk food and reminded him of the book we read "Too Much Junk Food" which is a great Bernstein Bears book.  By the time we left he was telling people he had eaten too much junk food.  I did notice there was a veggie tray and fruit tray on the counter in his room but none of those items were on the kid's plates!

On another note, today was Katherine's 3-month birthday!  I tried numerous times today to capture one of her giggly smiles she is so good at these days. I swear that girl freezes as soon as the camera comes out.  Oh well, I will get it one day.  At 3 months Katherine is still a joy.  She has developed that "when the sun goes down fussiness".  She usually is uneasy or fussy right at supper time for us until I feed her to go to bed.  I have also noticed that she generally does not take a nap after she eats around 5:00.  Every other feeding cycle she has at least an hour nap.  She discovered her hands a few weeks ago and loves to chew on them, lace them together and tuck her thumb under her first finger.  She loves to lay on her changing table and play.  For some reason she is so happy laying there over anywhere else.  She is also being more interactive with some of her toys.  She hits the little animals on the bouncy seat now to make the music start and the monkey go up and down.  She loves laying on her activity mat and watching the smiley face with all the colors.  She also seems to enjoy music and likes to kick her legs and move her arms up and down! 

It appears that we are easing into a good nighttime sleep habit.  I feed her between 8:00 and 8:30.  Generally she wakes between 2:00 and 2:30 to eat and then wakes for the day around 6:30.  We still have some difficulty getting her to take a bottle.  This is something I have to start focusing on Monday since she will start school in 3 weeks! Arrggghhh....

Thankful Thursday!

I have not blogged this week for many reasons.  I actually  have not taken any pictures!  The other reason is I have not felt like it.  Tuesday is probably a day none of us will ever forget.  Paul, Katherine and I enjoyed just a normal day at home.  We had church pictures scheduled for that evening.  I had talked with Paula that morning and said she was going to the doctor later that day because she was not feeling right.  After our pictures were through Paul tried to call and check on his mom.  He and his dad played phone tag for awhile and it was actually after we got home that they finally talked.

Paula had been admitted to the hospital with what they were fairly certain was ovarian cancer.  We were in complete shock, to say the least.  I immediately started praying.  Things moved rather quickly and she was scheduled for surgery this afternoon.  The past couple of days have been an emotional roller coaster.  We knew that God was in control of the situation but it is still very hard to understand why this was happening.  Bill was told the surgery would last between 1 1/2 hours and 4 hours.  That is a big difference.  She was in surgery exactly 1 hour and 40 minutes.  I had not made it to the hospital by the time the surgeon came to share her findings.  The tumor was removed and there was no evidence of cancer anywhere else!  We were all so relieved!  That had been our prayer that the surgeon could remove all the cancer.  The official pathology results will be back early next week which will determine what the next course of action is.  There is a chance she will not have to undergo any treatment at all which would be wonderful.

We were able to see her briefly when she returned from surgery but she was in pain and not ready for many visitors.  Paul and I left and actually went and ate supper together, alone, without kids.  That is the first meal we have had without one or more kids since Katherine was born. It was so good for he and I to just reflect on the past few days and to talk things through.  Many thanks to my Mom and Ms. Wanda for keeping Luke and Katherine so I could be at the hospital.  I think the kids kept them on their toes but they seemed to really enjoy it!

Katherine's Special Day

Katherine being entertained by Daddy

How Katherine spent some of our time waiting

Sweet family photo

 

Sweet girl

Luke striking a funny pose

 Today was Katherine's dedication at church.  We had to get there early and then wait what seemed like forever.  Katherine did not really sleep at all this morning so she was getting cranky.  Luke did not understand why there were not any toys in the preacher's office and why he could not turn the lights off and on.  He was very anxious to go to his normal classroom.  Once we actually got in the service the kids were great.  Luke got a little shy when the preacher asked him a question and only answered "ummmmm..."!  Katherine cried a little right  before we left the sanctuary.  So, all in all it went well!  We were so glad to have some of our family with us.  Nene, Pop, Kitty, Nonna, Jon and Kristen all came to be a part of Katherine' special day.  We came back to our house and at bbq and visited for a little while.

Once everyone left and the kitchen was straightened up we all piled on the couch to watch the Titans and the kids and I fell asleep.  It was so nice to take a long nap on a dreary Sunday afternoon.  Paul and Luke went to the grocery store for us which was so nice.  I will not have to worry with going this week. 

Loving the Weekend

Working puzzles with Mommy

We sure love the weekends around here.  Katherine actually slept until almost 8 this morning so I did, too! Never mind that she was up at 1 and 4....Virginia came over and brought us coffee and hung out for a while.  Paul was kind enough to keep both kids entertained so Virginia and I could actually talk instead of chase kids around.  I always love my time with Virginia!

Mom stopped by after that and we went to get Subway.  We can not let a weekend go by without our traditional Subway sandwich.  The rest of the day was spent watching football!  Auburn beat LSU and is now 8-0!  I am pretty excited.  UT lost again though. Luke and I ran to the mall during halftime to exchange some things.  Somehow he spotted the merry-go-round from inside JCPenney's.  I was able to convince him to only look at it today and that we would ride on it another day.  That actually seemed to satisfy him so off we went! 

Pizza and Good Friends

Angela couldn't wait to hold Katherine!

Luke and Jake played well together

Katherine and I were supposed to go shopping with Paula today but that did not work out.  That probably was for the best.  Katherine still has the sniffles and enjoyed being held the majority of the day!  I did not mind at all since she is normally is a very good napper and does not require much coaxing to rest. I learned some disappointing news when I picked Luke up from school today.  They are not going to have a spot for Katherine when I go back to work in a few weeks. We have been on the waiting list since I was in my first trimester! Needless to say I was pretty upset.  I got on the phone as soon as we got home calling lots of child care centers in the area.  Of course, no one has an opening.  The other dilemma is Luke...I really do not want to move him to another center since he does so well where he is and is thriving and learning so much.  But, we also do not want the kids at two different places.  That would just be too hectic.  We have some leads on possible people that would come to the house and keep Katherine.  This would be a solution until there is an opening at Luke's school.  I hope and pray something works out soon.

Tonight we enjoyed dinner with the Fitzpatricks.  They were not able to make it to the hayride last week because Jake had a double ear infection.  We decided to get together tonight instead.  We are all on a budget so we got pizza and Angela brought cookies for dessert!  It was so neat to see Luke and Jake playing.  Luke played the role of "big brother" well.  Luke is almost one year older than Jake. It is amazing to see how much kids change in a year.  Jake is saying a few words and that is exactly how Luke was right before he turned two. 

We are gearing up for the weekend around here.  Lots of good college football and Katherine's dedication on Sunday!

A Very Busy Day!

Angie came to meet Miss Katherine

Luke super excited to see Katherine when he got home

I knew today was going to be busy for over a week now.  I had signed up for my first consignment sale and the drop off was this morning.  The church is in Pleasant View which is about 40 minutes from our house.  Paul kept Katherine so I could more easily get my things unloaded.  I must admit I enjoyed the ride to and from the sale.  The scenery was beautiful.  The leaves are beginning to peak and are so pretty.  It is very seldom that I am in the car by myself so I took advantage of it by listening to my music rather loudly and singing and dancing!  I am sure the others on the interstate got a kick out of it.

After I got back from drop-off I quickly ate lunch before my friend Angie came to visit. Katherine had been great for Paul.  She took her bottle well and had a little nap.  Angie could not believe how big Katherine had gotten compared to the pictures I had sent. We had a great time catching up with each other.  She also brought us some yummy vegetable stew to have for supper.

Shortly after Angie left, my friend Sara came by to borrow some tablecloths for a booth she was setting up to sell Tastefully Simple.  We visited for awhile, too.  When we were getting ready for bed Cynthia Brewer stopped by to borrow some fall decorations for a party she is having.  I was worn out by the time I hit the bed!  Today was a much busier day than I am used to!

Growth Spurt

Cheese!

Katherine has recently discovered how good her hands taste!

Luke showing off his new shirt

When the weather started turning cooler we got out Luke's pants and long sleeve shirts from last Winter.  Much to our dismay we realized that hardly anything fit him anymore!  Since we see him everyday we had not realized how much taller he has gotten.  The daycare asked us to bring in a new change of seasonal clothes. I sent him some pants that I thought would fit fine.  Wouldn't you know it...he had his first "accident" ever at school that very day and got sent home in those pants.  Oh my, they looked ridiculous!  He definitely looked like he was waiting for a flood!  So, we had to get him some new clothes. 

Before Katherine and I picked Luke up from school today we ran in Kohl's.  They generally have cute kids clothes for reasonable prices. I got Luke the green shirt with a choo-choo on it.  He loved it!  He is in between sizes.  The 3T pants are way too long but the 2T pants are not hardly long enough.  So, we are just rolling them down in the waist so he does not trip on them! 

Busy Week

We have a very busy week around the Troutt house.  Today Paul, Katherine and I did several errands.  It is amazing how much faster things get done when there is a two parent to 1 child ratio. We got done in less than 2 hours what would have taken me all day!  Katherine is going to sleep in a sleep sack tonight.  Paul got her ready for bed and decided we should try it.  After he had her in it and they were playing upstairs he thought she was too hot so he unzipped it a little bit.  She looked like she was trying to be too cool or something.