...might just be enough

Roseola

2010-10-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

Bah, so much for the 15 month appointment! Myles was sick the Friday before our Monday appointment with a fever that started of at 100.8 and over the next several days stayed high. We even measured it in the 103's at one point which was a little scary. So, instead of doing the 15 month appointment Monday, we just had a sick visit.

He weighed 25 lbs 5 oz and was 32 inches long. Doctor said it was a virus and just wait it out. Poor guy was miserable and we did not sleep. At all. I had a flash back to newborn days! After about the 3rd or 4th day of that fever, misery, non-eating cycle, the fever seemed to break for a half-day and then he developed a rash all over his body like measles. Classic roseola apparently.

It was weird and freaky but thankfully signaled the end of this, his first major sickness. Or so we thought. He continued to have fever the next two days and was still miserable and not eating. We got a prescription for an antibiotic because his doc thought he might have an ear infection (I don't think so), and started giving him half doses. Today, now a week after this all began, he is starting to be more active and talkative and ate teeny bits of food here and there. Boy! What a week!

In other news I, of course, am now sick. I lost my voice which is kind of fun and zany, but my throat hurts, and my body aches. I just want the fun and zany without the body aches please. Still trying to decide whether to run the Bucktown 5k on Sunday. I dunno if my lungs will let me do it. We shall see people. We shall see.

Happy End of Summer

2010-09-23T12:52:00.001-05:00

I can't exactly say "Happy Fall" because the temps out there are deceiving even though it is the end of September!! Enough of these 90 degree days! I wanna go pumpkin and apple picking and walk the corn mazes after my hay ride and I need to be able to do this with hot cocoa in hand and a scarf around my neck!!

Just a little update here on me...I guess I turned out to be a woman of my word - Wade and I completed the Chicago Half Marathon last week! Wooohooo! It was so so so so hard but I'm really proud of what I have been able accomplish over the last few months with a baby and with working such crazy hours!! Up next, Wade has his 4th marathon on 10-10-10, and I'll do a warm-up race with him on Oct 3rd through the Bucktown neighborhood, and another fun Chicago-style race Nov 6th called the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k. Yep, after the race they serve up some Ghirardelli hot cocoa and hopefully some plain old chocolate bars too. I have slacked off majorily though so I may sneak into the 5k on Nov 6th!!

Little buddy began walking at 13 months 2 weeks! We were at the water park one day and he saw all the kids running around and I guess he just decided to jump right in and he took off running. It was such fun!

Little buddy has almost 12 teeth and has been talking more - he's such a little parrot and mocks so much. He says "no", "all done", "da-da", "ma-ma", "hunny", "doggie", "more", "hi", "bye" and "yeah", as his usuals, and also says "night-night", "yuck", "nasty" and "yes" when we want him to copy us. He tries to repeat a ton of other things we say, but it's usually some mosh of "nuhnuh" when he says it back. It's so funny to hear him say words with an "s" on the end! I love little baby lisps!

Buddy has his 15 month appointment next week, so we shall see what happens then!

A few pics from the last few weeks

2010-06-19T09:39:00.001-05:00

11 Months Old!

2010-06-09T09:13:00.003-05:00

(Our computer is on the fritz so all the pics from this past month will have to wait for now...)

Myles weighs about 23 lbs 8 oz and is 30 3/4 inches long per the pediatriction. (We had a recent doctor visit about a week after he turned 11 months old because he had pinkeye for about 2 days poor guy)

This past month he:
...has *really* started cruising now
...started trying to mock/copy words
...has shown much improvement in crawling
...has learned to pull himself up on some object

...has learned to push himself up to sitting position from laying down

...has started sitting up in the crib and looking around as soon as you put him in, then lays down again, lol
...seems to understand "no" but thinks it's funny
...has transitioned 2 or 3 out of his 4 bottles to sippy cups (with no handles)
...seems to be saying mama to me more when he wants something

...has started to reach into and out of his container toy to drop balls in and out

...seems to recognize "names", when we call for Hunny he'll look down at the ground for her for example
...loves to stand at his exersaucer and "work"!
...started growing teeth numbers 7 & 8!

and so many other things happened this past month that I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention. It all flew by. Coming up next....the first birthday on June 26th!!

Here's our birthday postcard we're sending out...so look for it in a mailbox near you! (details are on the back)

10 months old

2010-05-08T14:30:00.001-05:00

Taking even more steps now while holding onto furniture. Stands alone for a quick second or two

Can drink from a handle-less sippy cup, but drops it

High-fives

says "mama" all the time and "dada."

Makes a lot more sounds and hand movements.

Seems like he's speaking gibberish of some sort that only he can understand

Likes to army crawl over to block towers and knock them over

Scooting/army crawl

I have a blog?

2010-03-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

I guess I've been real busy lately because obviously I've been negligent in updating this thing recently.

Life speeds up so you gotta either get outta the way or jump into traffic. Did I just make that one up? I dunno, I just wanted to say something fun.

It has been sooooooo nice out recently here in Chicago. Sunny days, breezy nights, windows open, ahhh. But of course, we woke up today to cold, wet, heavy snow on the ground, and a wind like nobody's business. I knew it was too good to be true. Weird, being that today is the first day of SPRING and all! Anyway, not unusual. So just get over it people and stop getting bent. (heheh) But seriously, I was looking back to an entry from March 30th and we had 3 inches then, so this is actually progress I hope. It should be warmer by Monday and we should get NO MORE snow after that. Mark my words.

When it was nice, I managed to run outside, and take Buddy for a few walks. We had to wear jackets, but hey, it counts! The half-marathon training is coming along, I've been shaving time off my miles, so that's good - I'm getting faster, but it's only getting harder and harder as I add more distance. So pray for me. And these knees.

It's March Madness time and my bracket is going well so far. My Sweet 16 is intact except for one team, grrmmbahh, GEORGETOWN!!! More like Sweet 15. So, anyhow, we shall see....

Myles' 9 monther is Thursday, so more to follow then....

chuggin along

2010-03-04T18:13:00.002-06:00

So we had to take Myles to the doc recently because a recent cold seemed to be taking a toll on him and he turned out to have had RSV/Bronchiolitis (not Bronchitis), but he's improving. Anyway, they took his weight and measurements and I guess I was a bit off a few days ago. They said he weighed 21lbs 1oz and was still 29 inches long....he's kinda settled into the 75th percentile for both....Here's all his weights and measures since birth...kinda neat to see how he's growing!

8 Months Old

2010-02-28T09:07:00.001-06:00

Yep, guess who turned 8 months old a few days ago!

Myles is really growing fast! We did the home scale thing and even with clothes on and after a bottle he only weighed (approximately) 20lbs 8oz, so either I'm a bad weigher and my scale is off, or he's been losing a little weight with his increased activity. His length as told by my trusty measuring tape said he was around 30 inches. Yikes.

He seems like he's trying to communicate with us more - he likes to say, ma-ma-ma a lot now, I want to think it's for me but I don't really know. He says pa-pa too, either that or he's saying ba-ba....Still working on baby sign language and there have been a few times I think he's signed milk, but I'm not sure if it was just something he was doing out of boredom or what, so we're gonna keep at it. Our two other main signs are more and all done. We taught him to give us kisses! When I say give mama a kiss, or "kisses!" he grabs my face and leans toward my mouth with his mouth open. I'm trying to teach hugs now too, it's really cute because he just puts his head on my chest or shoulder.

He's not crawling and still has no interest, thank goodness. When he's on his stomach, he'd rather just flip over. (He's still not a back to front flipper, though, go figure). He wants to get around and explore though when I have him standing up. He tries to stand up all.the.time. in his exersaucer or when you just hold his hands. And when you hold him by the hands he moves his feet and turns all around like he's really trying to get somewhere. Sometimes he'll just stare at his feet like, feet, why arnen't you moving? We need to bring in his walker.

He's mastered a whole list of baby food purees, and I've been making them chunkier to prepare him for more solid foods. It's so funny to see him try to "chew". He gets a little annoyed because it's just easier to swallow when it's a smoother puree, but he does try to chew on his zucchini because of the skins. He has a snack every day call a mum-mum which is a hand-held rice snack and he's perfected holding it and feeding himself, so we're gonna start trying giving him soft-cooked whole veggies now. Wade bought a bunch of asparagus to try first. That should be interesting! His pincer grasp has really improved so he should be able to also start eating cherrios soon (the quintessential baby food, right!?) And he's still on breast milk of course.

He's had a few colds lately, so that's a bummer, but he's always had a good attitude about it, he rarely gets cranky. And when he does he just moans or fusses. I actually don't think I've seen him cry! He's not a crybaby, thank you Lord. He gets the most cranky when his teeth are bothering him. Both of his bottom teeth are now fully in, just curious to see where the others will pop in next.

He is still so very social. He gives everyone a smile and doesn't mind being passed to people. The ladies at his school say that if he's getting fussy they sometimes put another baby next to him to play and he loves to talk to them.

update...

2010-02-17T01:19:00.001-06:00

Gosh, I haven't written on this thing in a little while, I'm in the middle of my first month on nights and my sleep has been thrown off a little. I actually prefer nights in some ways because if Myles needs something with school I'm around, and then Wade is home with him all night - it's nice to have one of us always available. Days are nice too though on the other hand because you go to work only once on the same day and get to come home on the same day too, haha!

Wade and I both signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon in September, and Wade, of course, signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October as well. As soon as I filled out my application I was like, doh! What have I done? But so far the training is not bad (haha, early!) and I have a loooong time to get there. I think I signed up because I wanted to acheive something seemingly impossible for me, and I want Myles to be proud that his mom can do something great, lol! I dunno, maybe I have just caught the Olympic spirit or something!!

I think the days are starting to come earlier now - hey, take it from someone who regularly witnesses each hour of the day with her own eyes, Spring is coming! I have noticed daylight creeping in way earlier than I would like for it to now, and I *think* Daylight Savings is right around the corner in a few weeks. That's so weird because once Spring comes, Summer is not far behind, which is weird because Myles was born just a few days into Summer!! Ack, he's gonna be ONE in just 4 months!

Myles....and His Dancing Skills.....

2010-01-30T16:45:00.002-06:00

7 month pictures

2010-01-29T21:13:00.000-06:00

7 Months Old!

2010-01-26T06:13:00.000-06:00

Happy 7 Month Birthday Dear My-uhlzzzz...........

Time really flies, he's now closer to being 1 year old than he is to being a newborn! eek!

We had an impromptu visit at the pedi yesterday because he had some eye drainage, and he weighs 20 lbs 10 ounces! Yikes - he gained an entire pound in one month!! Didn't measure him though, so when I get a chance I'll have to pull out the tape measure.

I noticed he's started to raise his hands asking to be picked up lately. He had started doing it around Christmas, but I thought he was just balancing himself in his exersaucer, but now he does it all the time. So funny. He's mastered rolling from stomach to back now, but he wouldn't dare roll the other way since he hates being on his stomach. Although at night he sleeps on his side now and comes *very* close to being on his stomach. He's always talking up a storm and he knows he can get really loud with it to get our attention. Also to get our attention, or to just be doing something, if he's sitting on the floor in his bumbo, he grabs my pant leg - that was very strange at first. He does this new thing where he likes to bounce his body all around. If he's sitting in his chair for food he shakes his head from side to side, or arches his body back and head bangs backwards, if he's on his changing table he rolls his whole body like he's doing the worm and if he's being held he shakes all around like he's dancing. He seems to do this just to entertain himself, but sometimes if he meets someone new, it's like his friendly greeting. I have it on video, so I'll have to post it soon, it is sooo funny. He's moved onto thicker foods now, with the occasional choke/gag, but he's learning! He goes to nursery school now so he's drinking out of bottles more and can now hold them which is weird to see. Still working on drinking out of a cup - we went straight to a regular sippy cup (no arms on the sides) and sometimes he'll pick it right up and drink and a lot of times he just throws it down on the table.

It's so fun to see his little personality coming to life now. The other day I brought him to school and the teacher said hi to him and he started to bounce around and smile, She said that was how he is all day, just happy and bouncing around. At church people always remark how friendly and smiley he is. I really hope this is his true self showing through and that he doesn't turn into a major crier! I keep reading different articles how this age is when babies get stranger anxiety and become clingly. Probably half is their God-given personality, but probably half is how the parents react/present themselves. We try to always have our pleasant faces on around him. I guess we'll see!

Pictures later, I must go for now!

This and That

2010-01-24T08:26:00.002-06:00

Nothing particularly interesting here. A little of this and that.

I know you were waiting on the edge of your chair, so here's another pic of Myles' tooth trying to come in. This was from last week so it's much bigger now, but you get the idea I think...

He is so tired these days because he hasn't adjusted to napping at school for quite as long as he does at home so we let him go to bed earlier now, around 7pm. But only problem is that means he wakes up at 6am or even 5:45am. Ugh. All weekend I've been up by 6am. Yay.

But I guess on the bright side, I get more done. Made more baby food yesterday which is fun for me for some reason. Wade did a bunch of bananas the other day, and I did some pears earlier in the week - everything is starting to run low at once, time to bulk up again! So yesterday, I made sweet potatoes as usual, and butternut squash is next up today, but I also tried out a huge batch of peas. Don't know if you can tell from these pics, but it was a ginormous amount! I made 64 ounces!! Anddddd, he loved them! Future attempts will be carrots and apple.....anything else?

oh, and if you were wondering, most all of his food is steamed first (or baked - potatoes and squash), and then I use the immersion (stick) blender to puree it, or a hand mixer for denser foods like banana. The squash you can just mash. The stick blender actually works amazingly well, much cleaner and simpler than an actual stand up blender and you don't have to add liquid this way. I think you'd have to add tons of liquid with a regular blender which would make for quite the mess when thawing out your cubes....anyway, just a free tip! I get all my other info on baby food making here.

In other news I just found out about a person who has been using other mom's photos of their kids on her blog pretending they're her kids. Sick. The moms are very mad, and I don't blame them! Here's her latest fake blog after she made the other one private: http://www.svancem.blogspot.com/ So just be aware, I guess.

Looooong story

2010-01-22T06:23:00.000-06:00

Myles just started at nursery school this week because Wade will be starting his job at the Sears Tower on Monday, Myles' little tooth is almost all the way in, the one next to it wants to push through too, and I suppose I could post pictures of those things but I'm too tired right now and should get ready to go to work. End.

the quick and dirty

2010-01-16T21:58:00.002-06:00

That little short guy that lives with us is really talking up a storm lately - ba, da, and ma. Mostly likes da. Sometimes I think he says "hi"

I think he's starting to understand what we say and do - he knows to hold onto our hands and washcloth when we sing the clean up song while wiping down his tray after his meals

He has decided he is very happy to roll from stomach to back every chance he gets, prob not bc he likes rolling, prob more bc he hates being on his stomach (this means movie making time is around the bend)

I have driven further south in the city and further north in the city in the past week than I have in almost 10 years of living here. (People drive waaaay too fast on 294, 290 starting after Harlem headed east is pothole central, thank goodness for the shortcut known as 53, thanks to the tolls up north no wonder 90 is so quick. and I could go on)

I haven't even noticed the cold when I'm out and actually find it quite refreshing to be outside; thinking that means I'm a true Chicagoan in whom there is is nothing false

I discovered a new word I like to use. Bent. Like, some people get so bent over such little things

Okay, a picture

2010-01-13T12:28:00.001-06:00

Here's a pic of the infamous bottom biter. It's hard to see as it is still small and still clear, and I couldn't get as good a pic as I wanted. It has yet to push all the way through, but it is definitely there, and is definitely a sharp lil' thang. Better ones to follow as the lil' thang grows more.

And we have....a tooth!

2010-01-12T15:58:00.000-06:00

Finally, little buddy got the (bottom) tooth he was working so hard for! It busted on through on the 9th. Poor guy has been teething since, I dunno, 3 months old?? Sheesh.

I knew something was up because he had been sleeping so peacefully though the night the last 2 weeks up until 2 days before the tooth came. Then, he was up both nights at around 2am crying and couldn't go back down on his own.

So then the next day I checked, and yep, a clear, little, sharp, sliver of a tooth had cut its way through. The other one is still sitting just below the surface like it has been the last few weeks, hoping it'll pop through ASAP so we can all get some rest!!!

Homeade Baby Food...

2010-01-04T09:46:00.011-06:00

Myles started eating solids on December 23 and he has really taken to it like I figured he would. He has had banana, zucchini, sweet potato and avocado. I have some butternut squash and green beans in my kitchen for him to try too, which we'll start this week hopefully.

Being that I have to return to work, we figured it would be easy (and fun!) to make a lot of his food in bulk and then freeze for quick and easy feeds. So I found some neat ice cube trays with lids that make 1 ounce sized cubes and have started freezing food for him. In this picture --------------> is just zucchini (with a little cereal and banana) and sweet potato...next up to be frozen is butternut squash, green beans, and banana. It's so easy - bake or steam, puree, and freeze!

~Food For Thought~, Is it really cheaper to make babyfood myself? Well, according to this study, you can save as much as 20 cents per ounce if you make it yourself. And, assuming an average baby begins by eating 5 ounces a day, that's $1.00 saved per day in the beginning, but, that baby will only continue to eat more and more as it gets used to solids and could eventually save you $4.00 or more a day, which is $1,460 saved a year or more in baby food!! Why not put those dollars into a savings account for baby instead of handing them over to the food makers who don't give the best product for baby anyway?

6 Months Old!

2009-12-31T15:20:00.003-06:00

Myles turnes 6 months the day after Christmas! One half of ONE YEAR old. Crazy.

We had his 6 month appointment today and he was 19lbs 9oz and 27 1/4 inches long. So he has "officially" doubled his birth weight. I guess either my measurements from 5 months was off, or he just lost a little weight being more mobile??

Anyway, he is really maturing - ok, well not maturing really (he's still SUCH a little baby, lol), but he's developing a lot:

One major accomplishment I'm proud of is that we have been breastfeeding for this entire time! Hoping to keep it going for 6 more months to make a full year!
He now grabs onto the toys on the tray of his swing and plays with them - he also tries to grab the mobile above the swing too
He's *even* more ~~alert~~ nosey than usual - whenever he hears a noise he will instantly strain his neck to see where it came from and it takes him awhile to become undistracted from the noise.
He loves to track Hunny around the house. He looks for her wherever he is. He will bend his whole body down to the floor if you're holding him so he can see her, and he likes to grab her nose and ears. She just takes it (for now!)
He reaches for things with both hands - he especially loves to grab faces and give a big kiss
He has started on solids finally! He had his first taste of food on December 23rd! Banana! Since then we have trekked into sweet potato and zuchinni.
He is still breastfeeding - reached the 6 month milestone!
He has seen his first snow and has been out in the cold and snow many times - I think he likes the cold weather - I try to cover his face and he screams.
He is very sturdy with his sitting, although he will topple over eventually. Ouch.
He babbles a lot more
He loves peek-a-boo and cracks up everytime
He has started trying to drink out of a sippy cup. ummm....yeah.
Still teething - no teeth though
Grabs, grabs, grabs..........!
He scoots around still, can't stay up on his knees for long - still very frog-like
Last but not least.....(drumroll please) he is sleeping through the night!! 10 HRS!!! Usually 9pm to 7am. He started this on Christmas Eve and hasn't looked back! Ayyyy-MEN!

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Check THIS Out!!!

2009-12-24T08:17:00.001-06:00

I know I already posted just yesterday, but putting that video up of Myles' first solids got me thinking about how I really need to put all my teensy-weensy-little videos together into sort of like.....movies.

HEY now! If Jenny The PUG can make her own videos, then so can I. Surely so can I.

This is the awesomest thing I've done in a loooong time. This is basically a recap of Myles' first trip to Houston, starting from when we got back home, then kind of reminiscing over the 2 weeks we were there. It has music and captions and fade outs....wow. Just watch it yourself.

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Some Firsts...

2009-12-23T12:54:00.000-06:00

I guess I've been a little too busy, I forgot to post some of this and some of that...

Here's a few pics of us picking out our Christmas tree (Myles' first one!) 2 weeks ago! Yes, we got a baby tree again!

Don't ask why Wade doesn't have on a jacket (it was c-c-cold that day!) and don't ask why I have on that dumb hat (I didn't want to brush my hair!)

And we finally got Myles to try some solid food - banana! He's had a runny nose this week and has been cranky and not feeling well poor guy, so maybe that made him hungry (feed a cold, starve a fever??) I got it on video, here for y'alls viewing pleasure (trying to talk like I'm back in Texas - maybe it will make me feel warmer):

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Death and Dying

2009-12-22T14:34:00.000-06:00

Been writing my thoughts off and on for a week now.

A sister we know from church died last Sunday. Breast cancer. We last saw her sometime 2 years ago at a poker night she and her husband had at their house. We were in a church ministry group with them for several years before Wade and I got married, and then after that we moved out west so we rarely saw them anymore. We weren't best friends, but I would sometimes run into them out and about by where they lived because I used to work close to their house. When the picture of her pops up in my mind, I just see her huge smile and hear her laugh. She was so young - she was around our age.

Last Saturday we went to a memorial service for Wade's great Aunt. She was an older lady and had been in senior care for awhile. She passed several weeks back. We always got such nice letters from her and her husband, and I would save them because they were full of such love and hope.

And recently, some really high profile people in the world met death quickly and strangely. It seems like it's always this way at the end of the year.

Death/dying can be a scary prospect for most people. I think for most it is scary because it's so mysterious. How will it feel? What will I see? What will happen to my family without me?

And then there's always the question of eternity. For a person who is saved, it is reason to celebrate that you've reached the goal of your faith. For others, things like this can make you tremble a bit. Sadness, fear...regret

I have to admit, since Myles has become more of a handful, it has been harder to find quiet time with just me and God. In the beginning it was almost easier because I felt even more of a responsibility to be walking with God so I could be a better mom and wife, not to mention it was easier because the kid slept all day long! Even though I was getting up later than normal, I had started writing my own Bible study about the Holy Spirit and I was learning a lot. Lately if I can say a prayer here and there I'm lucky. I haven't studied the Bible since I was doing my Holy Spirit studies, and by the time church or midweek comes I'm lucky if I'm not too tired to go, or when I'm there, if I'm not too tired to pay attention!

Things like this kind of slap me in the face. Hard. But I think that's the point. Kind of like yanking on the reigns of a horse that was trotting along the fields in the right direction, but that put its head down a little and was drifting off to one side slightly.

Sometimes I wonder if it's the idea of God trading one life for another, or something along those lines. Did you know he says he gives men in exchange for us? And people in exchange for our life? And maybe it's not always so literal like the idea that "Suzie was supposed to be on that doomed flight, but she was late and Samantha got her seat on standby instead," but maybe it's more subtle in that he allows serious stuff to some people in order to wake others up, ya know?

Tangent real quick - Here's some encouragement from Isaiah along those lines: (TNIV version but whatever)

But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give nations in exchange for you,
and peoples in exchange for your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.

All the nations gather together
and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
so that others may hear and say, "It is true."

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.

I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from me there is no savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.

Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?"

This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,
in the ships in which they took pride.

I am the LORD, your Holy One,
Israel's Creator, your King."

This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.....

Now, I know a lot of things to be true, so I don't beat myself up unnecessarily. I know I can't work my way into God's grace and that there is no ladder I can climb to get into heaven. I'm secure that I'm chosen, but I do feel a heavy heart when I'm not spending time with him. Hmm, how can I put it? Well, being married I guess. You're secure that the other person chose you and loves you and you committed to them too. And so, you want to devote your time and life to them but when that doesn't happen as often or in the ways it should, you feel bad and you want to do what it takes to be on good terms with them. Not a perfect example, but anyway I know what I mean.

I understand why Paul wrote that we should "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." So many things happen in life that throw you off, slow you down. Man, I want to get up there and have God slap me on the back, give me a hug, wipe away all tears and tell me "Well done!"

So, I dunno, this passage from Phillipians where Paul reminds them just how to *BE*, really sums it up for me nicely.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe...

I guess that's it for now.

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Pizza Hangover

2009-12-16T15:39:00.003-06:00

UGH. I can no longer eat pizza, I think. Since I had Myles, I had pretty much given up all dairy. But yesterday for some reason I caved in and became CONVINCED I had to have cheese pizza. Then immediately after, I had a headache and the dizzies that I still have right now. I could have written this article word for word:

PIZZA HANGOVER

I swear there is such a thing as a pizza hangover. You don’t have to consume a single drop of alcohol to experience all of the misery of a hangover, including a thumping head, dizziness and nausea. You just need to eat a large amount of really rich food. Or really greasy food. Or really rich, greasy food.

I Have Two College Degrees

Yes, I have two college degrees and I am still stupid enough to overindulge in pizza, irreguardless of the consequences. What is frustrating is that when I was a kid, I could eat all of the pizza I wanted and nothing bad would happen to me (except a lot of belching). When I was in my twenties and living on my own for the first time, I ate pizza several times a week and hardly anything bad would happen to me. Pizza was a reliable culinary friend.

Now, I’m 37 (I think I’m 37 — I may have to look that up). I can only eat pizza about four times a YEAR without getting really ill. Oh, I thought it would be different this time — I did not eat the pizza with sugary soft drinks, but with watered-down sugary apple juice.

The only difference made was that the hangover started before I went to bed, rather than early the next morning. I still have it even as I type this.

What’s Going On?

It is possible that my body cannot handle MSG or heavy ammounts of cheese anymore. I did have pepperoni on the pizza and (although giving most to the dog), that could also be a headache trigger. Even frozen pizza can contain MSG. Lunchmeat and meats with a lot of preservatives are well known as headache triggers for some people.

The body’s nutritional needs changes while we age. We needed a lot more calories and protien when we were kids, because of the vast ammounts of energy required to grow. However, in my late 30’s, I need less sugar, less protein and definately less fat. My body just doesn’t know what to do with it anymore.

Next Time

And yes, even though I’m just about to pray to the porcelain god Ralph, I know full well that in a few months, when someone in the family says, “Ahh, screw it — let’s go order a pizza,” I’ll happily say “YES!”

Let’s just hope that time I can restrict myself to just two slices.

(Yeah, right! And Justin Timberlake will put out a duet with Peter Gabriel!)

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6 Month Portraits

2009-12-15T10:41:00.001-06:00

Since Myles is 6 months the day after Christmas, I decided I wanted Christmas themed photos. They turned out SO awesome. What do *you* think?

go to http://www.angelmphoto.com/
click on "view photos"
enter password "portrait09"
click "Graunke 6 months"
enjoy the cuteness.

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Home Sweet Home (pic and video heavy)

2009-12-09T14:10:00.003-06:00

Me and CheeChee finally made it back after our long journey through space and time thanks to the awesome Midwest weather!! Myles and me were soooooooo glad to see Daddy after he left us in Houston a week ago, and vice versa. Here's some pics and I also added some videos.

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Myles' First Snow

2009-12-04T14:08:00.000-06:00

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Houston

2009-12-03T12:04:00.001-06:00

Well, we've been in Houston for a little while. The 3 of us and Hunny flew out on Thanksgiving morning, and then Wade went back the following Tuesday with Hunny. Me and Myles are still here until next Tuesday so he can visit a bit longer. I have pictures on my real camera but I'll have to post those later.

What happened to the 70 degree weather, though? It was nice for a few days here, but all of a sudden it has gotten slightly dark, wet, and chilly - JUST like in Chicago when we left!! The sun will peek out every now and then, but they're talking about it snowing here on Friday! Arrghhhh! Here's Myles on an outing yesterday dressed strangely warm for such a tropical climate! (he looks like a doll)

We went to a Houston Texans game though and the weather was perfect. It was so fun and we sat really close to the action.

Myles tolerated the flight really well, and he was sleeping fine here and doing great until about 2 days ago when he turned into a screaming witch. But I noticed the culprit. He's got two bottom teeth coming in at the same time. Poor guy. So we try to entertain him and keep his mind off his gums - in between baby Tylenol and teething tablets, Granny pushes him around the house in his stroller. (Notice the teething baby go right for anything hard to chew on!)

Oh and I got my camcorder! It's a Kodak pocket camcorder and it was the best, cheapest one I could find - yay! Testing.....

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5 Months Old

2009-11-26T08:00:00.012-06:00

Before I get to Myles' 5 month update, just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving from all of us!

Myles is 5 months old TODAY, how appropriate, huh?!

Gonna keep it short and sweet so you can get back to stuffing your faces, (with food that is good for you I hope!)

This past month, Myles has:

learned to sit for several minutes at a time with hands to side
does HIGH FULL push-ups on his tummy! (he likes to push up, let go and rock his body back and forth!)
sometimes he tries to get up on his knees a little while on his tummy, but slips quickly
stands up strong with our support
starting to really love bath time, kicks, and splashes water everywhere
seems to go down for naps based on the clock now, which is good because he no longer gives sleepy cues (i.e., yawns, rubbing eyes) he's been going down on his own for several weeks now - even if he's put into his crib while wide awake (so proud)
loves playing ("working") in his exersaucer - appears to know cause and effect with some of the noisy toys
gets really excited and smiley when he hears music
we can carry him more on the hip now, he's starting to hold onto our arms/shoulders now, head is very stable
reaches forward with both hands coordinated together to grab stuff
scoots backwards or in a semi-circle on his play mat
when he hears us or a noise in another room he looks in that direction anticipating what's coming (i.e. daddy walking in the back door)
he loves it when I whisper to him
his laugh is really coming along now
holds onto his feet and tries to eat them
has outgrown his baby bathtub - we use a bath seat now!

We still haven't gotten to rolling over yet (which I'm actually grateful for to be perfectly honest), but he'll get there in his own time. He's been bothered with his gums/teething a lot and mumbles and groans but is such a good little guy anyway. He seems to know when night time is here and doesn't want to go to bed (ugh), doesn't want to miss a thing! Typical!

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Fakes-giving Dinner and Portrait

2009-11-24T12:07:00.003-06:00

Well, since we'll be elsewhere for Thanksgiving festivities, we had "Fakes-giving" at Wade's folks last night. Good times!! We also did pictures because when's the last time anyone has done one of those? We have a picture of all of us from about 8 years ago, but of course one person is always missing in order to take the picture, so that's not much fun! (Wade's dad....)

Anyway, if you wanna check out the ones from last night go to Angel's website, then click on "View Photos" then enter "portrait09" then click "Graunke Family" -- They came out sooo nice.

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Yay! Pictures!

2009-11-19T18:29:00.004-06:00

Well, looky looky what I got from Snapfish today. Hoards, and hoards of photos. They turned out so nice this time with the white border. (This is from my yucky camera phone so you can't tell how awesome they look) Snapfish was offering such great deals so on Monday night I finally printed out a bunch of photos from the last 2 or 3 months and I got 'em already. So quick like. I didn't realize it was sooooo many that I hadn't printed out for the last little while. Now the fun task of putting them in the scrapbook and albums can continue!! If you're my family don't order any pics, I think I have enough here, huh?

In other news, as I like to say, me and chi-chi went to the gym so I could meet with the trainer for a consult. It was good but I am hurtin! He tested my abilities for every body part, weighed and measured me and put all this info into this computer and now everytime I go, it prints out a workout for me. All I have to do it check off what I was able to do and turn it in before I leave and the computer contines to print out workouts based on my goals and limits. Pretty cool. I'm sure I'll acheive my goals faster with the help of these people. (It took me a year on my own to get in shape before!) And I have a free full session with him next week so we'll see how it goes. It's kinda of expensive to get a trainer for real so I may not buy a package, but hey, I'm all about the freebies in the meantime.

Oh yeah, and chi-chi doesn't seem to mind the kiddie room (Kid's Club), he took a nap there today!

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Babies should just be naked all the time

2009-11-18T09:35:00.000-06:00

Ugh. I hate that baby stuff is so small. Babies should just be naked all the time.

Yesterday, when me and Milos went walking to the gym (yes, I'm back in the saddle for real), I was strapping him in his stroller when I looked down and noticed one of his shoes was missing. A shoe for cryin out loud! It was a cute little blue lace up Wade's cousin gave us. I retraced my steps twice looking for that little 4 inch shoe and couldn't find it. Ah, well.

Between missing shoes, pacifiers, socks being eaten in the wash, and prob a bunch of other vanished stuff I don't even know about yet, I'm considering carrying that boy around in a diaper and blanket. Sheesh.

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And we have, sitting

2009-11-16T12:14:00.001-06:00

Myles can sit. Okay, well, he can sit for a few minutes at a time anyway (better than a few seconds and a face-flop, I'd say!). We really practiced the "tripod" this past week, and he'd perfected that, so I guess he decided to move on to, "arms to the side" and he does that well! In a few weeks yet, I'd say he'll be much more stable.

In other news, once again, thank you Humphrey's Teething Tablets #3. They really calm a restless baby down.

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"Do You Want Me to Give You the Chills?"

2009-11-10T10:16:00.009-06:00

Know that quote? Dwight from "The Office" is so funny!!!

Anyways, or I mean, anyway. (singular) Ha! So we did get a (short short) Indian summer last weekend. It was niiiiiiiiice. I'm talking t-shirt and shorts weather for most of the day, heehee. (We were prob overdressed in these pictures) We went on a walk around Wade's parent's 'hood with them. For two days it made it to the 70's toot toot!

In other news, that little boy, also known as Myles has been having a crybaby week. I suspect his gums are bothering him. I *think* I can see teeth trying to come through? And his gums are definitely swollen. We bought some teething tabets and they seem to work. I started giving them yesterday and he is much calmer. In fact, I laid him in the crib for his nap - he started crying, so I gave him two tablets and I assume he calmed down and drifted off to sleep cos that was about 20 minutes ago and I don't hear a peep coming from back there. Oh, and I really like the box too. When I give these to him it makes me feel like I live in the 1950's for some reason. Just sayin.

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sniff - smells like fun times

2009-11-07T07:45:00.000-06:00

M was napping so I decided to have fun messing with some pics we took at the park yesterday. Speaking of park, it was actually a pretty nice day yesterday so everyone and their dog was out including ours. There was like no place to even walk. We were doing an obstacle course around big dogs, little dogs, old people in walkers, and kids collecting leaves with little baskets. Oh and moms chasing the kids collecting leaves with baskets.

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Stand Up!

2009-11-04T11:16:00.008-06:00

Myles decided he wanted to try standing up with our help. I would practice with him before and he could support most of his weight, but he would quickly buckle. Now he's completely lock-kneed and is so proud of himself. Oh, and he grabs his toes too. Sometimes in the middle of the night he wakes up and I look over and there he is with his feet in the air. He does something new everyday, even though it's small. OH and another BAD CELL PHONE VIDEO of M laughing. Wade has promised me a real camcorder soon - scared to use the one on my digital camera....

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Double Post!! Two In ONE Day - Does That Mean I'm Awesome??

2009-11-02T22:38:00.004-06:00

Probably means I'm just a lame-o.

But anyway, we drove to "Tar-jay" today and Myles was looking so cute and sweet asleep in his infant seat that I didn't want to move him into the shopping cart. But alas, we had some pampers to buy. (In case you were all wondering, and I know you were, we have been using the Up & Up brand since oh, about size 2 - I'll save that review for another day). Anyway, the sun was shining in M's little eyes and he tried to squint to stay asleep - buuuuut, by the time we got inside, he was awake, and very shocked (to say the least, heehee) to find himself in our favorite store! BTW, I love how he always manages to find the little "handles" on his seat. It is so dang cute.

(camera phone pics...)

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Fall

2009-11-02T16:37:00.006-06:00

Well, Fall has really settled in here. The temps have been quite cool-ish since the middle of the Summer, really, but now it's really here I guess - no more holding out for an Indian Summer, I suppose we can officially take the air-cons out, which we could have done back in July though, seriously. All the trees have turned such pretty colors and have made their way to the ground. Wade will tell you, if you ask him what my favorite color is, "Fall colors!" I love the browns and reds, and yellows and oranges. This is my favorite time of year, I dunno, can't explain it - ah, well, I guess because it's cool but not freezing, and not hot.

Me and Myles took a walk the other day and I was barely watching where we were going because there were tons and tons of maple leaves on the ground and crawling along everywhere, and it was so pretty to look at. I've never lived in a place that so blantantly changed seasons like this. And after all this time living here, you learn something new everyday - did you know people with grass in their yards will just mow the grass in order to get the leaves up instead of using a rake or a blower?! Stah-range!!

Anyway, it's amazing to think that something so beautiful can come from something dying like that. After our walk, Myles and I went to the park and I took some Fall pics of him. (I guess I should tell all the belly-achers that it was warm out this day, that's why neither of us have on jackets.)

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Hey look what I got

2009-10-31T21:52:00.006-05:00

Hey look what Wade brought home for me yesterday.

That was nice! They look much more red and vibrant in person.

And he wasn't even in trouble, HAHA!

In other news - the time changes tonight, so we get a little extra sleep. Well, you might. In our case, that means Myles will be up at 6am instead of 7am!

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4 Month Doc's Appt

2009-10-29T11:42:00.007-05:00

Myles had his 4 month check up today and he did great! He weighed 18 lbs and 3 oz and was 26 1/4 inches long. My guess was 18 lbs 5 oz. and 26.5 inches long - close huh? He's 95th% for weight, of course, and 90th% for length.

His doctor was surprised at how much he had grown in such a short amount of time - you know, that his height really spiked like it did. (I thought it was weird last time that he was so "average" in height and that his doc said he had short legs, heh!)

He got his shots (2 in the thigh and 1 oral) and took 'em like the champ he is. He kind of started to let out a cry/whimper for the first shot but I gave him his paci and he stopped. He didn't cry at all for the second shot. He even gave me a slight smile after. Oh, and he fell asleep like a rock as soon as we got going in the car!

(Cell phone pics)

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4 Months Old

2009-10-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

The time is flying by waaaay to quickly here. Myles is 4 months old yesterday!!

Wow, where to start?

In the last couple of weeks, he's hit what I would guess is the four month sleep regression. It came out of nowhere really, because he had been doing awesome with his sleep. Last month he was doing on average 6 hour stretches, and then early this month he was doing 7-9 hour stretches! Then, in the last two weeks, bam! It was really strange, (and really bad) - he was waking every 1-2 hours (yep) and I was a true zombie. He's still doing that, so if you sea eny tyiops jus egnore dem. It's WORSE than when he was a little bitty brand newborn baby. Knowing what he's capable of doing drives me a little batty sometimes when I'm on my ~fourth~ trip to the crib. I'm ready to move past this!!

He is SUCH a little talker. Well, it's more like screeching - he sounds like a crazy witch. He was a non-stop babbler last month, and we'd have funny little conversations that neither of us could understand, but NOW he talks even more, all.the.time. And loud too. Before, when he woke up in the morning before us, he would lay there quitely making noises, but now he's almost yelling, haha! It's not even a mad or angry yell, he's just talking loud, like he likes to hear the noises he can make or something. It's really funny, well, once I'm awake it's funny.

Myles has done great with tummy time as I posted a few days back. He's trying his little heart out to turn over onto his back. He's done it a few times on soft surfaces where he's able to cheat a little (bed, couch) but he can't do it on his mat. It's so funny because he arches his back, kicks his feet, and throws his head back so hard - it's UNBELIEVABLE how he does that because he's got the right technique (how did he learn that??!) but he just can't quite get there. He can grab at his toys above him when he's on his back, and mostly likes to kick them and hear the noises they make. He doesn't really grab at stuff when he's on his stomach though - probably because he's so busy trying to get up! He has is toy mirror with lots of fun stuff on it that he does grab at and kiss, and pull and hit. It's amazing to watch because he seems so much older than he is doing all that stuff.

He plays really well by himself too by the way.

He still chews on his fingers and hands, but I always have his paci clipped to him for easy access for those times where he can't be comforted. But he's such a good baby that those times are very few and far between. He really only cries when he's tired or hungry. I have wondered if he's hungry for something other than breastmilk, but all the doctors say babies his age only need breastmilk at this point. When the time comes, we think we'll try baby lead weaning, but for now he gets his hands and breastmilk.

Speaking of hands, he's really good at using them now! He can grab things you put in front of him with both hands, and can pick up something small next to him with one had. He needs practice, but he is getting pretty coordinated.

He tries to sit up on his own alot. I mean, I feel that ever since we brought that boy home form the hospital he's been doing crunches trying to sit up. He can barely hold himself up leaning forward with his hands on the ground for 2 seconds, but he tries and tries and tries. He tries to stand up too. And sometimes he just throws himself backwards - it's like he just wants to see what will happen, the little dareangel. He likes doing stuff like that with his body - pushing the envelope of what he can do. He has no fear because he's never been hurt. Yet.

He's having more fun in the bath tub now. He's always liked the water but now as soon as he gets in and has his pee ritual, he kicks his feet and squeals. It's so funny because he also wriggles his body around like he's trying to get further under the water to stay warm. He's pretty much outgrown his little tub so we're probably gonna pick up a bigger one. I can't wait until he can sit up on his own to watch him play in there. He looks so cute trying to lay his whole body under the water (which is only like 2 inches deep!) and kicking his feet.

His hair is *starting* to grow I think. It had fallen out on top in the last month and a half or so, and is growing in on top a bit. The very back is long as ever - still wanting to cut off his little canary tails!! But he has a bit of a "baby bald spot" in back, hehe. It's so funny looking but I know how he got it - he's such a little watcher - he's always turning his head from side to side like he's at a tennis match. He can track you walking across the room much better now, and if he hears a noise in another room or somewhere, he'll turn his head to that direction. He's sooooo curious, just likes to take things in. It irks me sometimes if someone says he's "serious", because I don't think so - we have a VERY peaceful household and he's just mostly quiet like Wade and me, and he likes to observe and figure out what's going on around him is all! Now he's got a baby bald spot to show for all his observing!

When I was pregnant, I prayed everyday for a healthy and happy baby - we'll find out his latest measurements on Thursday at his 4 month appointment, but so far he is VERY healthy, and he is EXTREMELY happy too. When he wakes up, he's laughing, and smiling, and singing the Good Morning Song with me, when he eats he's so content, when we go out he's so peaceful and curious, and when we hold him he's a talking little giggly machine!!

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Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-24T19:44:00.006-05:00

We finally got a chance to go to the pumpkin patch today. I was a little wary because it has been raining the last two days AND it's a little chilly out. We timed it just right to where the sun was out when we went and thank goodness it didn't rain today. We had a lot of fun, and Myles was a pumpkin today too

We looked at all the different kinds of pumpkins - and there were tons, I mean TONS. We ate Apple Cider Donuts (ummm), drank hot apple cider, and bought homemade fudge (mint, walnut, praline, oreo, snickers, peanut butter, yummmm)

We had a fun time, even though we didn't get to do the corn maze this year or ride the wagon. And by the time we got all situated, the last pig race was over, darn! Heh

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"They have really nice carts that roll!"

2009-10-17T10:15:00.003-05:00

I shared this on one of the forums I'm on, it's so funny so I'm just gonna be lazy and cut and paste this post...

Last night I asked Wade to go to the store to buy 3 things - diapers, tp, and dish detergent. He was gone a looooong time before he called and had this conversation:

Wade: Sorry I've been gone so long, I went crazy buying stuff. This store is great! (Target) They have really nice carts that roll! (I think he meant that roll really good)

Me: Yeah, it's fun, what did you get?

Wade: I got some toothbrushes, mouthwash, little floss things, hand sanitizer, chlorox spray, shampoo, conditioner, 4 bags of trail mix, a big box of granola bars, a little box of chocolate granola bars, fruit bars, fruit leathers, scrubbie things for the dishes, tissues, wine, and a mini beer keg. (Yes, a mini beer keg people.)

Me: (*blink*)

Wade: I know! A person could be in this store forever if they had tennis shoes!! My feet were hurting, so I'm coming home (marathon).

Me: Well did you get what I asked for?

Wade: Yeah, I got that too, oh, and I bought a new mattress next door too. They're gonna deliver it Saturday.

Me: (*blink, blink*)

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Marathon Photos

2009-10-14T17:29:00.004-05:00

Here's some photos the marathon folks took at the marathon - course you'd have to purchase them online to get the good quality photos, but you get the point, right?

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He did it!

2009-10-12T12:51:00.002-05:00

Well, Wade finished the Chicago Marathon yesterday! This was the second marathon he completed. The forecast looked too chilly all week for me and M to go - it would've been fun, but not with a baby for half the day. When Wade left, the temp outside said 23 degrees. By the time the race started it was about 34 degrees and it never really got above low 40's all day. (!) Wade was dressed like you might think a normal person would run in such a race - spandex pants, spandex long sleeved shirt, loose long sleeve, and gloves. But I saw a lot of people wearing tank tops and tiny shorts. Oh - kay. Anyway, he didn't make his personal best - he thinks going out too fast contributed to cramping which slowed him waaaay down, so he was disappointed but said it was very fun, and is glad he finished. He will do it every year as long as his body cooperates. Way to go!!

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Pushing up

2009-10-09T16:34:00.006-05:00

I think I had written in his three month blog that Myles wasn't quite pushing up all the way during tummy time. Well wouldn't you know it, a few days later, he was doing pretty good and today, he was doing full push ups with arms extended and everything! Work it, baby.

For proof, (although I don't have any full arm extensions here) the first set of pictures (him being lazy and telling secrets to the pillow) are from last week and the ones at the end are from today. Oh, and for good measure I threw in some bunny ears. Enjoy.

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Snow already??

2009-10-07T17:27:00.003-05:00

Uh oh, time to bust out the winter clothes already? This is what the Trib says is happening Monday...

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Bad Cell Phone Videos

2009-10-05T17:16:00.003-05:00

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Congrats Rio 2016

2009-10-03T12:45:00.003-05:00

Well, now that we've had a good night's sleep, and all has sunk in, I can stop blaming Micheal Jordan and finally say Congratulations Rio!

They looked so happy to have won the bid! It will be a beautiful place to have the Games. Who knows? Maybe we'll make the trip down there?

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Speechless.

2009-10-02T10:27:00.004-05:00

That was all of our reaction when we heard seconds ago that Chi-town is out of the Olympics.

What.In.The.World.

We were eliminated in the first round of Olympic voting.

I DEMAND A RECOUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to see if there are any dangling chads!!

All my dreams shattered. Will I EVER make it to the Olympics???

Ooogly BOooogly! sfhdofure9ur0932r^&*%^&$)&_28i0ur93257r3258y35y76!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Fingers Crossed!!!

2009-10-02T09:35:00.002-05:00

Do you think this speech by the First Lady helped?? Check it out!!
(She's great) We'll find out soon!

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Hello Fall

2009-10-01T09:29:00.003-05:00

Holy cowzers. Why did the temp say 47 degrees (outside) when I woke up this morning?

I know I know it's Fall now, blah blah, but what happened to the end of Summer even? Sheesh.

I hope it's not this cool out when Wade runs the marathon - which is now 10 days and counting. This year it starts at 7:30 a.m. Yipee.

I'm *thinking* of going with Myles but if we have to trek around town in this...

And it's not even that it's slightly cool out, it's that it has been so windy too. The trees are quiet right now, but all week it's felt like a tornado was coming! Alright. I exaggerate. But still. It has been windy and even little Hunny has been scared to go outside at night with all the rustling of the trees and leaves...but she's a spook so I guess that's not saying much.

Oh, and it also doesn't help that none of my windows get a lot of sun (thanks ginormous trees!)

Okay - weather related rant, over.

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Baby in a diaper...

2009-09-30T09:11:00.007-05:00

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New Feature

2009-09-28T20:40:00.005-05:00

Okay. So I was trying to pretend to be a computer geek and hacked this blog so that you can now print out a hard copy of it!!

At the bottom of each post from now on you should see a print prompt - careful though, it prints out this entire page of blogs, so you could end up with 14 pages, or more, of Wade and Ericka and Myles goodness.

But at least now you can take this goodness with you to read when you can't stare at the computer screen.

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3 Months Old!

2009-09-26T08:42:00.002-05:00

Myles turned 3 months old today!! (Pictures at the end of course!)

We weighed him on our home scale and measured him on the dining room table and he weighed 17 lbs 4 oz and was 25 inches long! (Mind you, this is not perfect science here, we'll find out for sure next month...)

We call him all sorts of nicknames now...ChiChi, KeeKee, Lil' Buddy, Lil' Bunny, Mister Myles

He's using his hands more and more. While he would only lean toward things last month, he's actually starting to swat at things and has managed to grab some things. Anything that comes in front of his face he can grab - he's a real venus fly trap! If your arm, or a blanket or his bib passes in front of him, it's in his hands and straight in his mouth.

He's got such strong legs (always did!) He loves to kick his legs non-stop. He kicks his mobile in his crib, he kicks like a dolphin in the bath and when you hold him up to stand up, he can hold most of his weight and kicks his feet out like he's trying to walk. He's actually been doing the walk in place for quite awhile - maybe he'll be an early walker!

He's been drooling and blowing bubbles like a dog too. We were pretty convinced it was early teething because when the drooling started, he was also really fussy a lot, didn't want to eat as much and his sleeping was off, but we really don't know. It could just be typical baby stuff (all babies drool, right?)because he hasn't had a fever, his gums aren't red, and there's no teeth peeking through on his gums. So, we'll see.

He's gotten really good at finding his fingers. His fingers of choice are his thumb or his pointer and middle fingers together. He's learning to self-soothe this way and so we really don't need the pacifier all that much. When I put him in the crib to sleep, or if he wakes up before us, or if we're out and he wants to keep himself occupied, he just starts sucking away!

He still doesn't like tummy time so I don't do it as often as I should. He still is lifting his head up for moments at a time, but doesn't know how to use his hands to hold himself up (like a push-up) He flails around like he's swimming instead - we've got to work on that!

He *does* like to get his diaper changed - when we put him on the changing table, he's all smiles, and lifts his legs right up in the air like he knows what to do! He got his first diaper rash a couple days ago though.

Seems like everyone always wants to ask how he's sleeping. Such a weird question to get across the board, but no fail, that's the standard question, "What's his name? Does he sleep through the night yet?" Well, he's a great sleeper - still doing Baby Wise, not keeping a journal anymore because we're all on the same page now. He's a fantastic napper, very easy to put down. He takes 4 - 5 naps (still) a day about 45 min - 2 hours long depending on what we're up to. He goes down pretty good at night, though he occasionally fights it. At night he's sleeping about 6 to 6.5 hours up front, and then another 3 to 4 hours after a quick feed. We usually try to start getting him ready for bed between 7pm and 8pm, and he's pretty used to the routine now. He's doing great.

His head control is really good, most people can't believe he's only 3 months old when they see him because he's always holding up his head and turning it around and looking at everything. He sits in his Bumbo which he likes because he would prefer to sit up than be reclined, but after awhile he has to get out because his (big) head bobs around too much.

He can track us walking across the room though if he's sitting in his swing or Bumbo or on the couch. If we start talking he'll look in that direction.

He has such a sweet and quiet and content and calm demeanor. Everyone who meets him remarks how "content" and "alert" he is. We feel great about taking him everywhere we need to go (as long as we get home before evening). At church we can usually always sit up front because he doesn't cry. He just sits on my lap and listens and looks at all the people. When we go out to the stores he likes to look around and will cry to be picked up, but then is content to just take in his surroundings. He's such a good, good little boy.

In the last couple of weeks he's started laughing a little bit more. He's always had a little giggle/grunt but he's had a few times of just this funny loud laugh - we're looking forward to when he starts cracking up on a regular basis.

We get the most laughs out of him when we do his picture flash cards (the animals are his favorite) and when we sing, and read to him. He loves the little Dr. Seuss ABC book. He.cracks.up.hard.for.this.book. Hard. He's got such a deep, hearty little giggle it's so cute. He loves looking at all the pictures and we always make it to the end.

He's starting to "play" a little more with toys - he's got a little teddy bear with a rattle in it that he likes to chew on it's ears, and we have this little radio that plays baby-ized classical music with lights and all that (love it!)

All in all, we've just been enjoying the last month watching him grow and change. We can't take enough pictures, though here's some below, or mental notes fast enough.

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3 month portraits

2009-09-24T11:23:00.004-05:00

Been busy lately but had a chance to get Myles' 3 month portraits done! He'll be 3 months this Saturday...

Check them out if you like here. Click on "view photos" and then enter password "portrait09" and of course "graunke-3months"

Oh, and just ignore the pic of me - the *one* pic I'm in I don't look like myself, look more like a whale. And my hair was crazy. Humidity. Wade was like "OMG, that does NOT look like you at all!" Thanks husband.

Wade/Myles

2009-09-15T20:27:00.013-05:00

Here's a picture of Myles and of Wade when they were newborns...

I can see some similarities,

although Myles is chunkier of course,

and Wade is his slender self!

heb 10:26

2009-09-14T16:29:00.003-05:00

just because you apologize afterwards doesn't mean you can keep going around wrecking everything in your path...

2009-09-11T15:09:00.001-05:00

Great Gpa and Gma Graunke

2009-09-09T18:30:00.004-05:00

Saturday last, we took Myles over to see Wade's grandparents. With everyone trying to love up on him when we take him to larger family gatherings, they hadn't had that great of face time with Myles yet, but now they did!

Gr. Gma Graunke was cooking, but kept coming over to see Myles and talk to him and he would stare at her and smile! Gr. Gma Graunke cuts out coupons for diapers and wipes for us whenever she sees them so Myles can have a clean rear, and she sends over parenting magazines too so Myles can have good parents.

Gr. Gpa Graunke told Myles he had a "fatso stomach" and we laughed our heine's off. He loved talking to Myles! They were so happy to have him.

We won!

2009-09-04T10:05:00.011-05:00

It's official, Chicago is, once again the "America's Most Stressful City!"

"Few enjoy their commute. Just ask Stephen Dinwiddie, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of Chicago.

'I think anybody who, like I do, commutes on the Kennedy on a daily basis knows exactly what stress is,' he says, of his daily home-to-work commute on Chicago's expressway that extends from the Chicago Loop to O'Hare International Airport. 'It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to several centuries—at least subjectively.'

But more pressing factors make Chicago for the second year in a row the country's most stressful city. Crowding, poor air quality, a high 11 percent unemployment rate and free-falling home values have created a cocktail of constant worry affecting many in the Windy City."

Top Ten Most Stressful Cities in America

chilly

2009-09-01T22:01:00.004-05:00

Holy cannoli. I just realized that it's been 2 or 3 weeks since we last turned on the air con. It has been pretty chilly but beautiful in Chi-town lately. I'd say lows of 50's and highs of 70's...

This afternoon me and Hunny and Myles got all wrapped up in blankets we were so cold. I went for a walk in short shorts and a t-shirt, and had to come in and change into jog pants and a long sleeved shirt this evening.

I wonder if it will be an Indian Summer this year...

Saving my pennies to move to Hawaii.

2 Months Old

2009-08-29T17:52:00.010-05:00

Yes it's true, by the grace of God (def not by *our* parenting skills) Myles turned 2 months old this week!!

He got his 2 months shots (3 of them!) and took them like a champ - yeah he cried during the shots, but he was completely fine afterward, and was fine at home that night. He now weighs 15 lbs and 5 oz (wow!!!) Check it out:

"Why is Daddy taking pictures of me and Mama at the doctor's office?? What's going on here?!"

"What is that sharp nee-"
"Yowzahs! That hurts!! Waaahhhh!"

"Oh.....is that it? That wasn't so bad. I'm a BIG boy!"

He's such a good little boy and he's growing up! Here's some other progress he has made, and of course more pics:

He found his hands in the last two weeks and likes to suck on them. Loud.

He has noticed his feet too and loves to stare and stare at them!

He's been babbling and cooing and all that cute baby talk. We have long conversations together and pretend that we understand the other person.
He is getting used to his sleep schedule - (if only his dad would follow it) he's more or less only waking once a night and has become a great little napper during the day.

He's becoming more independent - he likes to sit in his swing and look around, and he'll stay laying on his changing table kicking his feet and looking out the window.
His neck is getting stronger and he can hold it up for longer periods of time during tummy time, and has no problem keeping it under control while he's sitting up, although he still is a little bobble head-ish!

Here's Myles hanging with his buddy Hunny....
Just looking cute taking a bath....

Just looking cute AFTER taking a bath!

Sucking on those fingers!

Staring HARD at those feet!

Just hanging out in his swing wishing I would stop flashing the camera at him

Sitting in a big chair trying to be a big boy

(Baby) Things that Make Me Go Hmmm....

2009-08-27T11:20:00.009-05:00

First off, Myles turned 2 months old yesterday!! More on that tomorrow...

Meanwhile, these last two months I have noticed several things that make me go hmmm....

Like, why do so many baby boy clothes have pockets on them? Does Myles need a place to put his spare change? Store his gum? Even more curious - why are so many of these "pockets" FAKE pockets? Is there someone out there he needs to impress with the fact that he looks like he can store various random items in his clothing? Hmmm....
How come baby fingernails and toenails get so dirty? What is Myles doing when we're not looking? Does he jump outta the crib and go digging in the garden? Does he have a dirt box hidden in the back of his bassinet we don't know about? Hmmm....
Why do "they" make shoes for newborns? I'm pretty sure babies don't walk until they're close to 1 years old - certainly not at 1 month old! Hmmm...
Why do they make newborn sized clothes, and then 0-3 month clothes? Isn't newborn considered "0"? Hmmmmm......

"Like my pocket?"

Summertime

2009-08-19T12:40:00.005-05:00

It's been so breezy and cool lately here in Chi-town, in fact, this summer hasn't been terrible at all. The only way someone would really know it's summer these days is all those kids outside at the park. They're usually in the street out front screaming during the school year, or sneaking around in our alley area, but not this summer, they've all been gathering at the park....hmmm

So yesterday evening, the we went to the park like normal to hang out and toss the frisbee to Hunny. Holy cow, there must have been almost 80 or more kids there just hanging out by the library, riding bikes, skateboarding, playing frisbee, football - it was crazy! We sat down and Hunny tried to play frisbee but there were so many kids running around, she was scared of them. So we had an impromptu photo shoot at the park instead....

2009-08-17T20:48:00.001-05:00

Date Night

2009-08-15T09:43:00.008-05:00

Well it's turning out to be a gorgeous day in the City of Wind - so Wade and I will go out this evening while Aunt Mimi watches Myles.

There's a place in our little neighborhood called the Buzz Cafe that we're gonna check out. It's kind of a hip hop happening place. There's tons of art all over the walls from local artists....(it's located in the arts district), it's ~cheap~, there's live music from time to time (tonight there's an "acoustic folk pop" band), it's not a tiny cafe like you would think, and they serve organic and vegetarian food which is good. I'm kind of back to being a vegetarian sort of kind of not really....mostly focusing on whole grain goodness, which by default cuts a lot of meat and dairy badness. (I have lost 44lbs out of the 56 I gained with Myles so far)

In other news, Myles was 49 days old yesterday (7 weeks)!! We're still working on the sleep schedule and he's doing great. He's still doing pretty good at going down for naps and at night on his own -It's us that have to keep learning!

In his awake time we're finding more and more things to do (not that he has to always be doing something - we just like it!) Here's a pic of Myles and Wade doing some of the newer flash cards we printed....I know you can't see Myles' face, but his head is tilted because he's so intently looking! (Oh and before you baby lovers go crazy, by "doing" flash cards, we just show them to Myles and let him stare at them for a few seconds, he loves looking at all the designs)

Brilliant Baby

2009-08-13T09:28:00.009-05:00

Is it possible?

Our little man-boy slept through the night - well, I actually had to ~wake~ him for a feeding about 6 hours after he first went down since he's a big boy. I believe he would've kept on sleeping because after that feeding he was out again, without assistance! Maybe this Baby Wise thing will work, here's our day yesterday....

640AM Feeding ----> awake ----> 840AM Nap

920AM Feeding ----> awake ----> 1010AM Nap

1200PM Feeding ----> awake ----> 100PM Xtra Feed/Nap

315PM Feeding -----> awake ----> 440PM Xtra Feed/Nap

520PM Feeding ----> awake ----> 700PM Nap

730PM Feeding ---->awake ---->930PM Sleep

1030PM Dream Feed ----> sleep

430AM (I woke him)Feeding ----> sleep ----> Woke 815AM

The thing that got me was that when I put him down at 930P and again after the DF and night feed, *he* went to sleep on his own - no paci, no rocking, no crying, nothing from me. I just set him down and he was out! We still gotta work on daytime naps - he puts up a fight in the earlier naps...

BTW, in our awake times I have discovered that he REALLY likes to do these picture flash cards! It's supposed to be for infant stimulation. "They" say that "Infant stimulation can improve your baby’s curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system development. In addition, babies who are stimulated reach developmental milestones faster, have better muscle coordination, and a more secure self image." So why not? He stares at them *so* intently, it's like you can see the gears in his head turning! They have other free cards for different ages and they're free.

Breaking the Horse

2009-08-12T11:17:00.004-05:00

I used to babysit a little girl for a family back in the day and I was always amazed at how easily the mom could put the baby to sleep at night. I'd say the baby was about 8 or 9 months old at the time, and the mom would just get her dressed for bed, put her down, turn out the lights and close the door and that was that - the baby would fall asleep. For the *entire* night.

When Myles was born I thought, okay, I want to get him to the point where he'll sleep through the night without fanfare so I thought to myself, "self, as soon as we can, we gotta get on a tight schedule." But babies have their own schedule of course, so that took awhile...

WEEK ONE:
At first, Myles alternated between feeding and sleeping almost exclusively. He was barely awake. It was nice and we thought, yippee, we got a perfect one. At night I slept on the couch (easier after the delivery) while he slept in the bassinet and when he woke I fed him, held him and put him back down.

WEEK TWO:
Myles still mostly alternated between just feeding and sleeping. For our sanity, Wade and I took "shifts" at night though, him first from about 9 or 10pm to 4am, then me from 4am til morning time. We weren't necessarily awake during those entire times, the shift taker would sleep on the couch while Myles slept in the bassinet and the other person slept in the bed, and then when he woke, (every 2 hours or so) we'd feed him, and put him back down.

WEEKS THREE to SIX:
Myles started becoming more alert, so instead of just feeding and sleeping, there was an "awake" period in the mix now. Soooo, our days became a pattern of feeding, awake, feeding, napping and repeat. And our nights were now stretches of between 3 and 5 hour sleep periods followed by a feeding and back down. All three of us made the shift to sleeping in our regular beds - Myles in his crib, and us in our bed. I finally felt like that was possible since we were getting on a normal routine.

NOW (Week 7):
That 3-6 week routine was fine, but not predictable because he would cluster feed, and he would take 10 minute naps during the day, or 30 minutes or an hour or 4 hours, who could know! Then at night he could sleep 5 hours before waking or 2 and a half hours, but on average about 3 hours, but again, who could know?!....the unpredictableness was getting old and I started wondering if he was ever gonna sleep through the night, or if he would ever be that baby I could just put down in the crib and a turn off the lights and bam! Wade said we gotta break him like a wild horse.

So I started (finally) reading this book my boss had given me, which backed up what I was already doing but suggested a few tweaks in my schedule to help with consistency:

The book advocates feeding, awake, nap and repeat, which is what I was doing minus the feeding before the nap - BUT no cluster feeding in order to stay predictable. (They take away the feeding before the nap to reduce reliance on mom/feeding for falling asleep) *and* they suggest putting baby down for nap/sleep while he's drowsy but still awake to also reduce reliance on mom/rocking/feeding to get to sleep. The idea is the baby will comfort himself to sleep and learn to fall asleep on his own when you put him in the crib, even if he's awake, a la the baby girl I used to baby sit...

I don't agree with everything the book says, some people criticze it for not letting the baby direct you when he's hungry, so I still feed Myles "out of order" if he appears hungry so he won't get dehydrated and all that, but I still follow the schedule (which I was doing anyway) and ~most of all~ have started trying to put him down while he's awake which is hard. He cries. Loud. I let him cry for a little while then try to calm him without picking him up, and if that doesn't work I'll pick him up til he falls drowsy and before he can fall asleep I'll put him down in the crib to fall asleep on his own. If he wakes up, we do it all over again. So far (day 2) it's working, sloooowly but surely he's getting to sleep without me rocking him to death.

Wade and I just got tired of doing the shhh-quiet-tip-toe-lay-him-down-then-back-away-from-the-crib-dance....soon, hopefully we'll just be able to tuck him in, turn out the lights and walk away to a sleeping baby!

Caption This

2009-08-07T12:26:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday.

2009-08-05T19:43:00.003-05:00

Birth Day.

I remember 1983. I remember the first day of kindergarten at Francone Elementary School. I remember walking in with my lunch box, and I was at the end of our line with two friends. While the rest of my class at the front of the line walked through the cafeteria and continued to walk toward class with the teacher, we sat down at a table and opened our lunch boxes like we were gonna eat already.

I remember when I was at camp one summer in 1987. I remember making up this dumb song about the year 1988. It was really dumb, we'd just sing, "ah nineteen, uh-eighty, eight!" over and over. We were singing the song because we thought it sounded so strange to say "1988" and wondered how it would sound come January.

I remember my birthday when I was 12. That was in 1990. I was really into making crafts. I remember making a puff paint/crayon t-shirt. I made a shirt of some kind of beach paradise scene. I liked it.

I remember turning 13 the next year and that meant I was a teenager - yay!

I remember turning 15 in 1993 and getting my learner's permit and driving my mom's Toyota Tercel around the neighborhood on my friend's streets so they could see me.

I remember turning the all important 16 and having a birthday party at my house, with my two best friends Cynthia and Gabby, so raucous that the police broke it up, it seemed like only 5 minutes after it started.

I remember turning 18 and being away at college in 1996, and the other milestone 21 and buying a beer just cuz I could.

And I remember lots of in betweens.

Back then, I couldn't wait to grow up and couldn't wait for the next milestone but they all came soooooo slowly. Then...

....I got married, bought a house, and NOW have a baby, boom, all within 6 years!

And now, here I sit, aged 31 years, holy cow. Happy Birthday me. Where *has* the time gone?

1 month old (pic heavy )

2009-07-29T16:02:00.015-05:00

Well Myles turned one month old on Sunday! It's funny how time flies - he's really growing and turning into a true little BOY...here's the month in review:

At his doctor's appointment a week and a half ago, he was 10 lbs and 13 oz!! That was up from 9 lbs and 5 oz at his 6 day old appointment. He's not looking forward to his 8 week appointment though. That's when he gets his shots - look at his reaction when I told him! The birthmark on his forehead turned REALLY red, I think he was more scared and nervous about the shots than angry though. (I'm scared too!)

Just kidding - I had set him up in the corner of the couch and he was getting mad trying to lean forward. He likes to sit up because he thinks he's so strong already, like he's 3 months old or something...

He's doing okay with sleeping. He goes to bed btwn 10 and 11 pm, wakes up for a feeding btwn 2 and 3 am, back down usually until 5 or 6 am when he wakes up again for a feeding, and then we're up for good btwn 8 and 9 am. After that, he'll cat nap during the day for 1 to 2 hour stretches if we're lucky. Thank GOODNESS we're finally settling into a little routine.

Myles has gotten very good at leaving little exploding gifts for us in his diaper. Well, leaving little gifts for Wade...at least it's not as bad as what Candi's little one left her one day!

He likes to go out for walks during the day, which is what we try to do midday on a regular basis...He's usually sleeping though. We usually do a big loop around the house and stop to get a cold drink and sit and people watch...usually some old lady will come and admire him. We met a lady the other day who's going to Austrailia in a few weeks because her son is having his first child. Guess what this lady's son's name was? MILES! Weird and freaky.

He met his GREAT granny on Saturday. She loved him and BOY did he love her. He couldn't stop staring at her and smiling. He was the calmest he had been all day when she held him. They were buds and he wished she could stay and spoil him.

He had already met his grandma D and auntie D and now wonders where they went...

He's also found an unlikely friend in his sister/dog Hunny. She has SLOWLY become in love/like with him. She had started by licking his toes, then leg, and hands and arms, now she just full on licks his face and head and hair, and she's totally fine with cozying up to him these days...

He has a go at tummy time a couple times a day - he hates it and most of the time won't cooperate. Here's a pic at a recent tummy time before the cries started.

He's starting to be okay with sitting in his swing for awhile - before he wouldn't sit in it for 2 minutes, now he'll sit in it for 15-20 minutes and even fell asleep in it for an hour once...

He's got these little canary tails on the back of his head that I just want to chop off, but I've been restraining myself!

Most of all, even though he's getting bigger, he just likes to sit and show us all the different expressions he's learned to make this past ONE MONTH! They are so cute.

Almost Smyles...and Myles of Smyles

2009-07-25T09:13:00.007-05:00

So as promised, smiling pics.

Here was the END of a smile, I gotta get quicker with that camera!
And here Myles is CRACKING UP in hilarity!! I told the one about a baby who walks into a bar... Just kidding, he was sneezing.

But here is a true smile.
Oh - and here is another.

And another!

Getting Older, Cuter

2009-07-22T21:31:00.004-05:00

Well, Myles will be 4 weeks on Friday and he is truly changing before our eyes! (Don't worry, we stare at him daily so as to burn the images in our minds!)

This last week he has started smiling, it *seems* with a purpose. Those cute, curled lip, squinty eyed smiles too. I tried to capture it on camera but I'm always a second behind! I'll have to post one of my "almost" smile pics.

He has eyes open a TON now, he's alert all the time! He's suddenly become a little bit more than a pooping eating machine. He's alive! Wade usually says it's like he's not all the way here yet, but that half of him is still stuck in Heaven! Well, he's definitely more present now and always has those big brown eyes open!

So, today Alert Baby and I decided to go around town for errands and to enjoy the weather...we went to the post office first which was...interesting. We couldn't find any ramps for the stroller in the front of the building, so we went around the side and still nothing. So I asked this lady if she knew and she laughed and said, "It's not like this is California!" I chuckled too, but our neighborhood is very vintage and a lot of these old buildings aren't up to speed with accessibility....So the lady bent over and picked up the front of Myles' stroller while I carried the back part up the stairs! I thought that was so nice of her!! Turns out the ramp was in a side alley....weird. Then the lady, who was there checking her p.o. box, gave me a bunch of Babies R Us coupons she got in the mail...that will come in handy for new diapers and wipes!!

Then we walked to the bank and it was much colder in there than outside. I wonder if that really bothered him because he started crying until I was done and went back outside. THANKFULLY it only took me a few minutes...

Then we went to the park and sat and enjoyed the sun for awhile and read our mail. It was a really nice July day - why can't winter be this nice?!

I love Oak Park, there is so much to do in our 'hood all in walking distance.

Bath time!

2009-07-19T20:28:00.008-05:00

Somebody's umbilical cord stump finally came off so it was time for a bath! (Yeah it came off a week or so ago - hey, we're slow and we would wipe him down daily anyway, so what?!) He didn't seem thrilled....
...and Daddy put him in the bath carefully.....

....and he didn't shed a single tear the whole time! "I think I like this"

Then Daddy took him out...

and it was all over!

Be Positive

2009-07-16T09:09:00.002-05:00

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour. Matthew 8:13

Christ Holds It All Together

2009-07-14T16:30:00.001-05:00

15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

Colossians 1:15-19 (The Message)

Myles' Newborn Photos

2009-07-09T17:36:00.002-05:00

We had some newborn photos of Myles taken today - check them out and order some if you want!

Go to http://www.angelmphoto.com/
Click on "View Photos"
Enter Password: Portrait09
Click on "Graunke Newborn"

Going Home....

2009-07-02T15:08:00.005-05:00

Here's yet more pics of Myles. These are of us getting ready to go home from the hospital. I guess we were only there 2 1/2 days but it seemed like forever...

By the time it was time for us to go, we were ready. For starters, the hospital food was, well, hospital food...the first meal I got was actually good, I guess they wanted to trick me into not breaking out of there too early! After that, it was all so *healthy* tasting! Where was my chocolate and ice cream people?!

Also, I was ready to cut off all those bracelets. I mean sheesh Lousie, how many bracelets to keep up with one baby? But seriously, I was grateful they were hardcore about security there. They really took good care of all three of us.

It was finally time to go. Wade went and packed the car up with all our stuff - even with having an SUV, we probably packed way more than necessary - then he came back with the car seat to pack the most important thing...

And after he got all packed up, Myles seemed comfortable.........

.......AT FIRST!

But we made it out the doors,

And into the car and went on our way home!!

More Myles

2009-07-01T04:47:00.008-05:00

What do you mean "why am I posting pics on this blog at 4am???"

What, with an angel who looks like this....c'mon. How cute is this face!

Here he is on day 4 trying to sleep, but Mama and Daddy keep flashing that camera...

Okay, okay, we'll stop now...

Just kidding, we can't help it - check out that little smirk
So peaceful sleeping in his bassinet from Aunt Mimi
He is such a pretty boy
Wow, look at that smunchy little face! (His not mine)Two sleepy headsCheck out Mama sleeping on the couch and Myles in his bassinet, haha!This kind of cuteness should be illegal

Myles' Zero-th Birthday!

2009-06-28T12:58:00.014-05:00

We had a birthday party for Myles Friday night.

I busted open a new bottle of Cristal (yeah-right).

Uncle Gus...

...and Aunt Mimi came for the celebration.

...and MX tried to put his 2 cents in.

...and then took a nap.

-Wade

Introducing Myles Xavier Graunke!

2009-06-26T16:51:00.004-05:00

I was sleeping last night and around 12:20am my water started gushing outta me - I got to the hospital about an hour later and told them I wanted all natural. They made me change, and checked me and I was at 4 cm and about 60% effaced at -2 station.

About 4 hours later I was about 6 cm, 80% effaced and -1 station and feeling pretty okay.

Two hours later I was at 8 cm and oh so close to being 100% effaced and MISERABLE...so I got some pain meds in my IV and found out I wasn't making anymore progress believe it or not! Ugh. My body just *stopped*

The doc said she wanted me on pitocin cuz it had been about 9 hours and once your water breaks they only want you to go to 18 hours. I thought - oh my- pitocin?! So I put an epidural on hold just in case.

I took a nap and woke up a couple hours later and the epiduaral was there...I'm so mad about this little miscommunication that happened next, but the nurse said I was still the same so I GOT THE EPIDURAL only I was ready to push per my doc (and boy was I ready)!!

As soon as I got the epi my doc came in and Myles Xavier was born about 25 minutes later after only about 4 or 5 pushes!! Praise the Lord to say, I had a VERY easy labor.

Ugh, all that hard work to end up with the dang 25 minute epi, but here is our cutie!! He's big, 9lbs 2.2oz and 21.5 in long!!

2009-06-26T13:48:00.000-05:00

Myles was born today at 12:29pm after 12hrs of labor! He weighs 9lbs 2oz and is 21.5 in long.

2009-06-26T03:43:00.001-05:00

In my delivery room now - def in active labor trying to go natural. Was four cm when i walked in so things are going quick!

2009-06-26T00:27:00.001-05:00

My water broke! Headed to hospital!

40w1d appt

2009-06-25T13:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I saw the OB today and am now 2 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. He stripped my membranes which should help things along I hope - he said he wouldn't be surpised if I go in the next 48 hours!

If not, I have an appointment on Tuesday morning at 7am for induction (ugh).

Please baby, pick your own birthday!

Off to the swimming pool now!

It's Official

2009-06-24T09:34:00.003-05:00

Today is my doctor's official due date and we, me and "Bob" are both still here. I heard some stat that only 5 to 10% of women have their kids on the actual due date so I guess we'll see what happens.

I feel like it's my birthday - not the party and presents and cake part of it - but all the people asking "do you feel different today?" etc. just because today is supposed to be *the day*. No I don't feel different really and while I'm on it, let me answer all the other moronic interesting questions/comments I've gotten:

No, I'm not 11 months pregnant
No, there really is just one in there
I'm not sure, but I would think the baby *does not* know today is his due date
Wow, oh-kay, *I* don't think I look big
Oh, thanks, that's sweet of you to say I look small
Yes I'm still here which should be obvious by the fact that we're talking face to face
No, I haven't had the baby yet (both looking down at my stomach)
Yes I'm walking - no I don't want to try spicy foods or your other concoctions
Actually the due date is the same as when you asked me yesterday
Well I'm pretty sure it's none of your business, but no, I still have my mucus plug
Whose baby is this?! My husband's....

Don't mean to sound overly bitter today, just at my wits end with these numptys, ya know?

I will definitely post anything as soon as I know it - I figured out how to post from my cell phone in case I do ever go to the hospital!! Whoohoo!

To be continued...

Oh, and I do have a doctor's appointment tomorrow should nothing happen on it's own tonight.

Jon and Kate...

2009-06-22T10:17:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah. I told myself, "Self, don't go there." But I can't help it kinda.

I was watching that show last night on TLC about ladies that didn't know they were expecting twins (hello, *THAT* is a whole other post in and of itself!) and saw a promo for Jon and Kate + 8 for tonight.

It was all gloomy and foreboding - "we have an announcement..." "we have changed..."

I hope they announce that they're going to counseling and then quit this show! Of course I don't know the real goings on at that house, but it's obvious that things are not good - and kids are not dumb, they are being affected whether those parents believe it or not.

Many people think they're gonna announce a divorce - the so-called-news reported that Jon is apartment hunting in NYC?! I really hope they don't separate - the way they portrayed themselves in the first few seasons (i.e. always going to church together, wearing the Christian t-shirts, scriptures taped to the cabinets etc.) I would think this is not an option for them.

I feel like a dummy for being sucked in, but I was already sucked in by those cute little kids seasons ago. (Aaden, you're such a cutie).

Hmmm...embarrassed to say, I most likely will watch this train wreck until it screeches to a halt and burns out. You?

ILCW

2009-06-20T21:28:00.003-05:00

Well, I decided to try ICLW again. I have been soooo bored lately since I can't be as active as I usually am - always on the computer now - so it'll be something to do that will make me feel productive!

ILCW starts tomorrow, but since it's Father's Day, I'm not sure I'll be around much to post...so I thought I would just write a little something about me for now...

Our first baby is due on Wednesday - yes, this Wednesday after a year of ups and downs! We definitely stayed faithful about it believing God's plan is best, but it was hard!

We already have a 3 year old baby girl - well okay, she's a furbaby, but we treat her like a human! We're not sure how she'll react to this little guy coming so we've been playing sounds of baby's crying and making noises that I downloaded from itunes. It is hilarious - her ears perk up and she stares at us like, "hell-o, what are you gonna do about that noise?!"

My house is a mess so if that nesting thing is true then this kid ain't coming on Wednesday!

My last day at work is this coming Friday - I know - after my due date but hey, I'm a first timer so I'm not holding my breath. I'm looking forward to the time off and hope to be able to update with some good news soon!!

Lamaze and wishing I was Bakerella!! (update 3)

2009-06-20T03:48:00.004-05:00

I guess there hasn't really been *too* much going on here lately...I wake up, get dressed, make a smoothie, go to work, be bored, come home, do yard work or walk, watch some TV, go to bed, wake up for bathroom, go back to bed, wake up. Repeat.

Of note, in the past couple of days my feet have started to swell which is kind of unsightly and uncomfortable. I guess I shouldn't say swell, it's more like two feet stapled together on one foot...or it's like I have two huge flesh-covered casts on both feet. Okay, gross, you get the point. At least I get free foot massages courtesy of Wade, and that helps for a short time anyway, but really, what's next? :-)

Anyway, we had been going to Lamaze class the last 3 weeks. That was interesting. After getting over the shock of watching "those videos," the classes were kinda fun. We went through the stages of labor of course, and all the labor positions (who knew?), had a tour of the birthing ward, and of course we did the whole breathing thing which I have found is useful for every day life. Wade was the star pupil of the class - he was always taking notes and raising his hand for questions. Hehehe.

I hope we can remember to use all the tools we learned when things actually start to get going here!

P.S. I wish I was Bakerella - she is so amazing. Check out her Father's Day creation!

And her food actually works - I made her Valentine's Day devils food cake cookie sandwiches...yum.

Baby Showers Galore -- Update Part 2

2009-06-19T10:54:00.028-05:00

To date I have had FOUR baby showers!! The neighbors threw me a surprise one on May 2nd and had a heck of a time getting me there. I was sooo tired that day and Wade was trying to get me outta the house and I kept saying no. Then I decided to go outside and do some planting which happened to be right around the time all the neighbors were leaving - balloons and all - to go set up. I still had no clue, and Wade finally had to be like, you're coming with me, it's a party. I don't have pics from that, but it was very sweet of them, and very fun!

Then on May 17th I had a family and friends baby shower. It was so awesome, it was at a restaurant that they shut down for us and we got a ton of gifts. Everyone was so generous and it was nice to be around that many friends and family. Wade's mom and sisters set it all up and hosted it. The games were a ton of fun and the food was *delicious*. Make sure to check out the cupcake cake that we FINALLY decided on, hehehe. Here are just a "few" pics...

Wade's mom and little sis watch as I check out
and outfit....

My aunts and cousin who came in from Flint....My aunts DARED to give me a U of M onesie - I went to Northwestern!

Wade's cousins from Sterling, and Wade's dad's cousin who lives in the city...

The Graunke family girls - Wade's aunt Diana, cousin Danielle, Grandma, sister's and mom and ME!

The gift table - everyone was sooo generous and this WAS NOT all of it!!!!!

Cute little gift bags...

This food was SO delicious - the mostaccioli was to DIE for and the Chicken Limon was yum-o!

This was a little bamboo tree that was inside of the gift bag - went with the jungle theme!

Wade's Grandma Graunke made all of these little cookie favors by hand!

THE cake! It was beautiful and sooooo tasty!!

I look halfway decent in this pic! (besides the fact that I doused myself in glitter)

Then on June 14th some of the ladies from church threw me a surprise party at Applebee's - and again, had a heck of a time getting me there...I already had plans that day and once again it was Wade's job to get me to the surprise. BUT being that he's a guy and doesn't know any better, he told me about a "lunch" I was supposed to have with a couple from church at 3am THAT morning. Needless to say, I declined and went to bed but then at church later that morning he brought it up again. I was feeling bad that I couldn't go to "lunch" when Wade finally told me, listen, it's a "party", so I went and was totally surprised again, and encouraged!!

THEN the next day at work, there was another party! My co-workers and bosses had cake and milk and gave a very generous gift. I have never felt so loved by so many different people!!!

I'm baaaack. Update 1 (dinner club)

2009-06-13T15:30:00.008-05:00

I've been a bad blogger for the last while. Between my computer at home being broken and being busy at work I haven't had time.

So, I'm gonna try to do some updates here working from past to present...

We went to the dinner club a few weeks ago for the first time and it was soooo fun. There were little food prep stations and we put together a bunch of meals and it actually lasted us a long time - about 3 weeks!! They treated us so nice, gave us scones and refreshments and helped us with whatever we needed.

Here's a pic of one of the meals we put together. This was the Vodka Marinara Pasta. (I substituted my own whole wheat pasta) but everything else was what we assembled at the club and all we had to do was thaw and throw it together! What a YUMMY help!!

We made another order for this month and Wade picked it up today. This time we ordered 12 meals split in two, plus sides, which is a lot of food because each is 6 servings! We got:

Wine Country Chicken Salad
Teriyaki Salmon
Pork Medallions with Spicy Apricot Glaze
Grilled Pizza Bianca
Fish en Pappillote
Fettuccine Florentine
Club Lasagna
Chicken Ranch Quesadilla
and more I can't remember!

Dear President Obama

2009-04-29T11:28:00.004-05:00

Dear President Obama,

Since you're working on the credit card crisis now, I thought I should let you know of my own crisis.

I've had this MasterCard credit card since 2004. The other day I took a look at my "rewards points" to see how many I had and what I might possibly be able to trade them in for. I had about 14,300 points or so.

I started looking and saw that I could buy all kinds of stuff that I thought looked fun at the time: a printer/copier/fax machine, an I-pod shuffle, and some kitchen gadgets....then I started thinking...How much is this stuff worth retail? The all in one printer was only worth $70 bucks at Best Buy, the I-pod shuffle was worth less than that, and then I gave up.

You mean to tell me that after paying MasterCard (on-time) over $14,000 bucks all I get was this lousy stuff worth $70 bucks??!!

I ended up trading in about 12,000 points for a $100 Visa gift card.

What a rip. Where's my stimulus?

A Concerned Citizen,
Me.

Maternity Photos!

2009-04-24T20:59:00.007-05:00

Below are two pics from our maternity photo shoot - we bought about 10 or so different poses. If you want to see all the ones she took go to www.angelmphoto.com and click on "view photos" and then enter password, "portrait09". (I like the ones where I'm not squinting in the sun - my face looks so chubby!)

She did such an excellent job - we're gonna do the newborn, 3 month, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year portraits too!

Freezer Meal Queen

2009-04-18T21:32:00.003-05:00

Whooohoo!

I'm so proud of myself. I FINALLY got started on a little project I've been wanting to do for so long. FREEZER MEALS!! I'm just getting tired of cooking every night when I come home, so I decided to buy tons of supplies this morning and put together 8 meals of 8-10 servings each.

Today I have completed four of them, and tomorrow I will do four or five more. On the menu?

Italian Potato Wedges (my VERY secret and special yummy, succulent potatoes!)
Red Bean and Corn Chowder (it has a lime kick! umm)
Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
Broccoli Cheddar Rice Bake
Tator Tot Cassarole (good ole go-to-recipe!)
Tomato Macaroni Cassarole
Peanut Coconut Curry Thai Beans and Rice (my own AWESOME creation)
Mexican Tamale Bean Pie
Shepherd's Pie

So, we'll see how long it lasts - I'm guessing 2 weeks, and tomorrow when I'm all done, I'll take a picture of my freezer!!

I also just signed up for a session at The Dinner Club. It's a place where you go and do what I did all day today, but don't have to worry about dirtying up your OWN dishes! They have all the freezer bags and supplies, you just assemble at each station, and go home and freeze! I signed up for these entrees and sides for when I go in about 3 weeks....(They even have desserts!!!)

Spinach Lasagna
Monterey Quesadillas
Crispy Chicken with Chutney Dip
Basil Shrimp
Pasta with Asiago Vodka Sauce
Mahi-Mahi with Pineapple Salsa
Tuscan Chicken Bruschetta
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Sunflower Harvest Bread
Club Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans Almondine
Club Pilaf
Sesame Roasted Asparagus

This should last us a good while - like with what I made, each entree is about 8 servings and the sides are 3-4 servings!! One awesome thing is that all the ingredients are fresh - no preservatives, and they offer whole grain options! I'm hoping this will last us for 3 weeks at least...we'll see I guess!

holy goodness

2009-04-17T16:43:00.002-05:00

wow, i just took a look at that ticker and it says 66 days.

that is 9 weeks.

were has all the time gone.

Random

2009-04-06T12:46:00.002-05:00

Yuk - yet another Sunday/Monday of snow and slush everywhere. I actually had to scrape snow and ice of my windshield and windows this morning. I'm wearing a scarf. Right now. And I wore my wool coat outside...I think we're moving to California next year.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and I missed church because I had a headache and some congestion and Wade went to visit his dad in the hospital (he had a heart attack on Saturday - please pray if you get a chance). Here's a cute Palm Sunday joke I thought was appropriate:

It was Palm Sunday and, because of a sore throat, five-year-old Johnny
stayed home from church with a sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm branches.

The boy asked what they were for. "People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by," his older brother explained.

"Wouldn't you know it," the boy fumed. "The one Sunday I don't go, He
showed up!"

Passed! And Found A Cake Idea!

2009-04-02T15:56:00.006-05:00

Welp, I guess I passed the GD test...they said they'd call me if I didn't pass and it's been a week and they haven't called. That's good because I wasn't looking forward to changing all my eating habits, and pricking myself, and possibly taking insulin.

In other more exciting news, I think we decided on a cake design for the shower. I think we're gonna go for a cupcake sheet cake with baby blocks on top with jungle animals. The cake lady said that it would be A LOT of work for her to do 50 individual block cakes. So here's a little example of a cupcake sheet cake in case you couldn't imagine it like I couldn't at first.

So think that basic set up (not style or colors), with a combo of this (the baby block idea):

And this theme...sort of, I guess:

You got it? Great.

Gross, Gross, Gross

2009-03-30T13:53:00.005-05:00

Enough already. How come when I woke up yesterday it was to this sight outside of my window, blowing, wet heavy snow when I went outside and THREE inches of snow on the ground after it was all over? Gross, Gross, Gross...it's April almost!!

Yeah, it's only pretty when you don't have to go out in it, and when you HAVEN'T had to live in it for the last 6 months...

Wow. God is big.

2009-03-26T14:16:00.007-05:00

This might take a couple of minutes to load, but wait - it's worth it.
These were taken by Astronaut Sunita Williams from the space shuttle.
(If it takes too long to load, just hit the refresh button and it may help).

Amazing pictures of Earth

View more presentations from Suresh krishna Madhuvarsu.

...might just be enough

Roseola

Happy End of Summer

A few pics from the last few weeks

11 Months Old!

10 months old

I have a blog?

chuggin along

8 Months Old

update...

Myles....and His Dancing Skills.....

7 month pictures

7 Months Old!

This and That

Looooong story

the quick and dirty

Okay, a picture

And we have....a tooth!

Homeade Baby Food...

6 Months Old!

Check THIS Out!!!

Some Firsts...

Death and Dying

Pizza Hangover

6 Month Portraits

Home Sweet Home (**pic and video heavy**)

Myles' First Snow

Houston

5 Months Old

Fakes-giving Dinner and Portrait

Yay! Pictures!

Babies should just be naked all the time

And we have, sitting

"Do You Want Me to Give You the Chills?"

*sniff* - smells like fun times

Stand Up!

Double Post!! Two In ONE Day - Does That Mean I'm Awesome??

Fall

Hey look what I got

4 Month Doc's Appt

4 Months Old

Pumpkin Patch

MORE bad cell phone video

"They have really nice carts that roll!"

Marathon Photos

He did it!

Pushing up

Snow already??

Bad Cell Phone Videos

Congrats Rio 2016

Speechless.

Fingers Crossed!!!

Hello Fall

Baby in a diaper...

New Feature

3 Months Old!

3 month portraits

Wade/Myles

heb 10:26

Great Gpa and Gma Graunke

We won!

chilly

2 Months Old

(Baby) Things that Make Me Go Hmmm....

Summertime

Date Night

Brilliant Baby

Breaking the Horse

Caption This

Today is my birthday.

1 month old (pic heavy )

Almost Smyles...and Myles of Smyles

Getting Older, Cuter

Bath time!

Be Positive

Christ Holds It All Together

Myles' Newborn Photos

Going Home....

More Myles

Myles' Zero-th Birthday!

Home Sweet Home (pic and video heavy)

sniff - smells like fun times