Ebay...

So, here's the dress I won for Grace - someone said the link in the previous post wasn't working for some reason:






And, I think something happened to the seller! The seller had *fantastic* feedback (like, 99% positive, everyone had terrific things to say about the item, shipping time, etc)- up until last Friday (when, ironically, I bought the dress! ) And over the past week, there's been about 6 or 7 feedbacks given that they haven't received the item, haven't heard from the seller, etc.

So, i'm wondering if the seller was in a car accident or something?

but, still a bummer all around - I'm searching for another Christmas dress that might get here in time - maybe for the Christmas Eve service, and the Sunday after Christmas is still "christmasy" enough for a special dress!

Ebay Bummer

I won this dress for Gracie for Christmas last Friday night (a week ago!) and still have not received it in the mail! It's been a week! If he mailed it Monday (which he should have! ), I sooo should have got it by today! What a bummer! I really wanted her to wear it to church tomorrow morning. I even have a new red hair bow to match the dress, which I was excited about since her hair is finally long enough to have a hair bow!

anyway, not big in the scheme of it all, but still a bummer!

Saturday Evening sickies

Grant has a fever of 99.9 and I could only get the thermometer between his elbow and tummy (he wouldn't let me put it up further), so I'm sure it's higher. he just feels like he's burning up. He woke up crying 30 minutes ago saying"don't feel well, mommy".

grace is kind of wheezing and has a temp of 101.1! she's acting fairly okay, though slightly fussy. (which, for her, is a lot).

matt's in bed, sick. he's been sick all week, and is actually feeling worse tonight. I'm getting a little stressed and worried about everyone sick in this household!

So bummed at Ebay!

I won this dress for Gracie for Christmas last Friday night (a week ago!) and still have not received it in the mail! It's been a week! If he mailed it Monday (which he should have! ), I sooo should have got it by today! What a bummer! I really wanted her to wear it to church tomorrow morning. I even have a new red hair bow to match the dress, which I was excited about since her hair is finally long enough to have a hair bow! (which, her hair bow that I bought from Etsy still isn't here, either, so I guess it's okay!)

anyway, not big in the scheme of it all, but still a bummer!

Saturday Morning

And everyone SLEPT! Grant slept in until 8:45 this morning! Seriously, this is the kid who if he sleeps until 7:15 we're thinking he slept in! And Grace did,too! Matt and I actually woke up BEFORE they did, and I even asked Matt if he thought Grant were okay! 8:45 is probably the latest he's slept since he was a baby!

And it's snowing! I LOVE it! Seriously, I love snow. That's probably one of the few things I enjoyed when we lived in Iowa - all the snow we got there! it just feels so Christmasy.

Matt and I are enjoying our coffee - he's still feeling slightly under-the-weather, so hopefully today he'll feel better.

I think while the kiddos are napping this afternoon I'm running out to get the last of Grant's shopping done. It's just impossible to do it with him with me this year!

Tuesday evening

Whew!

long couple of days...

My grandmother passed away this past weekend, and her funeral was yesterday. The family asked Matt to do the service (she didn't attend church, ever, so as the minister in the family he's the default for funerals et al)...

Well, matt woke up SO SICK Tuesday morning. he barely made it through the funeral and burial service.

We got home about 7:30 last night, grant was in bed by about 7:45, and he slept straight until 8 this morning! he didn't have a nap yesterday. The funeral was in my parent's home town, so my brother and SIL and us traded off kid duty so we could go to the viewing/service (they went to the viewing, I went to the service, they didn't - I was closer to my gma, and I wanted to be there for Matt as he was doing the service).

anyway, Grant and my nephew, who's just 6 weeks older than him (so essentially the exact same age!), played ALL DAY LONG. they got a little restless towards the end of the day, but played well the majority of the day. But they wore each other out!!!

Matt went in for a meeting that he had to be at and then came home early afternoon. I've been doing kid duty for the past couple of days and am TIRED. but, his day off is tomorrow, so we'll get to relax around the house. And, hopefully one more good night's sleep will help him. i don't know how single moms do it!

I've been working on Gracie's tutu and Grant's road on and off all day, in between playing with Grant and feeding Grace. (she's e-a-s-y to entertain and honestly doesn't require that much effort! ) I've been really trying to limit grant's TV time and up our "preschool" type activities - I bought this cool preschool activity book that has given me some great ideas. (putting reindeer tracks out as we hunt for Santa, etc). Anyway, Grant's down to about 45 minutes of tv - (from about an hour and a half! ) 1/2 an hour of George in the mornings and 15 minutes of another George episode in the evenings while I make supper.

Okay, anyway, did y'all see the road I'm making for Grant?

Almost done...

Grace modeling her Christmas gift that's almost done. (shhh! don't tell her it's still a little early!)

oil

Grant just told me that his mower was broken and it "needed oil". this kid is hilarious!

Tuesday Morning

So, Matt had a 6:30 breakfast meeting this morning, and I think somehow, although he's super quiet, his getting in the shower woke Grant up at 6:06. I went into his room and he was saying, "goodmorning, mommy! out please! out!" I was like, "uh-uh, we are NOT getting up this early!" So, I told him I had to go get my socks on and would be right back...he laid back down, and I was hoping to get another 30 minutes out of him. Well, he then slept until 7:45!!!! :woohoo:

I SO needed that!!! Grace's sleeping has gotten better...just waking up 2x/night instead of 5 or 6! Tonight I'm going to try to let her make noise (she's never crying) for awhile at her 3:30 waking. (I don't really think she needs to eat at 12:30 AND 3:30!)

I'm still in jammies this morning...Matt has a lunch meeting about 1/2 way between church and our house, so he's just going to come home and work from home after his lunch meeting! YAY! he's had several LONG days (Sunday he was gone from 7 in the morning to 9:30 that night!), and even though he'll have to work from home, it will be nice to have him home!!

AND, I'm going to go running while he's here during the kiddos' nap!!! :cheer: I'm *dying* to get back into running regularly. After being sick adn then with Gracie's crazy night wakings, I have just been too tired to run. I know it's an oxymoron because I KNOW I'll have more energy after running, but I've honestly just been too tired to go. :? So, today I'm am committed to just GOING.

Okay, I better get cleaning while Sesame Street is on! (I try to limit Grant to just Sesame Street in the morning! I'm trying SO hard to cut down his TV to just about 45 minutes/day).

Beautiful morning!

(december 6)

I'm feeling so great this morning! The G's (as I affectionately refer to them! ) and I are playing hooky from church. It's just been such a long couple of weeks, with me getting over pneumonia, then Grant was sick, then Gracie had some weird high fever thing, then with her not sleeping well and Grant's complete meltdown yesterday morning - it's just a good day for us to stay at home.

And, I feel SO great about it! Is that bad that a minister's wife is this excited to not be at church? Seriously, I love going to church -the people are so great, and the church has really been helping out some felt needs of the congregation, and I love being a part of that. (Several businessman in our church have been able to provide jobs for other men who had recently lost theirs! so awesome!) But, even though I love going, it's nice to have a morning off!

So, I'm making a grocery list and we're going to go to Target when grace wakes up from her morning nap! I'm planning healthy menus for the week (DETERMINED to lose the last 5 pregnancy pounds!), and am going to get my needed strand of white lights to finish the decorating.

So, I'm drinking my coffee, Grant's playing with his flour (seriously - dumping flour with his frontloader and dumptruck! on the kitchen tile, of course, keeping the majority of the mess on a large towel), Gracie's asleep...just a nice morning. I'm going to work on a velcro chart for Grant to try to make our day routines smoother - I think he'll LOVE it.

How good just a little bit of sleep can make you feel!

5 times...

in 6 hours. That's how much Gracie was up last night. 12:30, 1:30, 3, 4:30, 6. I've been up since 6, have cleaned the kicthen, done laundry, and am working on getting the laundry put away and the master bedroom cleaned. I also cleaned the house while Matt was at breakfast with his dad this morning...I'm so mad at him, and I'm trying hard to remain calm and have a good attitude. He just doesn't get how tiring it is to be up all freaking night.

Well, I just got Grant down so I'm going to wipe the table off then try to nap myself. Yesterday I laid down for 4 minutes before Gracie woke up...let's see how long I get today. *sigh*

-anna

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-anna

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

I think I need to change her diaper...

Grant just came up to me in the kitchen and said, "mommy, Gracie smells bad!"



I think I better change her diaper!

And, I'm just amazed at his language development!! It seems like every day he learns more words and is putting together bigger sentences.

Tuesday Morning

Whew. I'm tired, Grant's tired and Grant has been melting down ALL MORNING. so unlike him! I can't figure out what's wrong, besides being tired. maybe that's all there is! He's currently naked because he had an accident so I stripped his pants off of him (only his 2nd accident since being potty trained - so something's definitely wrong this morning!) - but he won't let me get him dressed - runs literally screaming if I mention clothes.

Gracie's in her crib, napping I hope! she's quite at least.

and Matt's in fishers doing a fire investigation - hopefully one that doesn't take all day.

and, somehow, we have GOT to get Grace sleeping longer at night! Last night it was 1:30, 3:30, and 5:30. Not enough sleep for any of us! And at 5:30 she was still clearly tired, but didn't go back to sleep. She fell asleep nursing, but wouldn't transfer.

Went to Dr. Wu for a follow-up yesterday, and she wasn't thrilled with how I was feeling (still pretty crummy) so she added in another antibiotic - to cover all ranges of pneumonia, I guess. She said after 4 days of the previous antibiotic I should've been feeling *much* better, not just *half-way* better, so hopefully the new antibiotic will help. honestly, I think SLEEP would just help at this point!

I'm still recovering, but we just may have to go to Target when Gracie wakes up. We ALL *need* to get out of the house!!!

Tuesday Morning

Whew. I'm tired, Grant's tired and Grant has been melting down ALL MORNING. so unlike him! I can't figure out what's wrong, besides being tired. maybe that's all there is! He's currently naked because he had an accident so I stripped his pants off of him (only his 2nd accident since being potty trained - so something's definitely wrong this morning!) - but he won't let me get him dressed. :roll:

Gracie's in her crib, napping I hope! she's quite at least.

and Matt's in fishers doing a fire investigation - hopefully one that doesn't take all day.

and, somehow, we have GOT to get Grace sleeping longer at night! Last night it was 1:30, 3:30, and 5:30. Not enough sleep for any of us! And at 5:30 she was still clearly tired, but didn't go back to sleep. :? She fell asleep nursing, but wouldn't transfer.

Went to Dr. Wu for a follow-up yesterday, and she wasn't thrilled with how I was feeling (still pretty crummy) so she added in another antibiotic - to cover all ranges of pneumonia, I guess. She said after 4 days of the previous antibiotic I should've been feeling *much* better, not just *half-way* better, so hopefully the new antibiotic will help. honestly, I think SLEEP would just help at this point!

I'm still recovering, but we just may have to go to Target when Gracie wakes up. We ALL *need* to get out of the house!!!

To My Husband

the note I wrote to Matt on Valentine's Day, when I was in the hospital with P.e. #2...

My wonderful Love,

18 weeks ago, I had no idea how much 2 pink lines would change our lives. Over the past 5 months you have shown your relentless commitment to me and our marriage. (You have proven that you were serious about that “in sickness and health” part of our vows! ;-)) You have been endlessly compassionate and understanding. For months you have taken care of me, of Grant, and our house, showing that quiet strength that I love so much about you. This is not the path I would have chosen for this pregnancy to take, but I trust that the Lord will use it for His purposes and to display His Glory.

So, Happy Valentine’s Day, My Sweet! I wasn’t planning on shopping for you in the hospital gift shop, but I saw this figurine and thought it was just perfect for us right now. I feel like if our marriage can survive these past months, we can do anything together! I thought this looking at this figurine could always remind us of God’s grace on our marriage during this pregnancy – as He’s protected me and Baby Girl, and has given you the grace, love,and kindness to care for me so tiredless for so long.

I love you so much, Matt! I love the way your eyes crinkle up when you laugh. I love the way you rub my back before I go to sleep. I love the way your quiet strength shines through even the most difficult situations. I love the way you handle whatever God gives us with a quiet, steadfast faith. I love you, I love you, I love you – I don’t think I could say it enough.

I’m hoping that the next 14 weeks of pregnancy are much, much smoother, but even if they’re not, I know that we can get through it, together.

You hold my heart, always.

Love,

Anna

Nice Morning

(late July 2009)

What a nice morning! I’m sitting here, drinking my coffee (breakfast blend from Target! :D) as Matt’s headed to Chicago to investigate a Walmart fire.

Grace went to sleep so easily and so early last night – it was weird! and nice, though, to go to bed at like, 9:30.

My legs were really hurting me last night after running. I was thinking about running again today, but we’ll see how my legs feel. I’d be on the treadmill, which would be a slower, easier run than outside, so maybe. I just love the calories burnt from running! I should run, like, 5 miles/day to burn an extra 500 calories daily!

Thursday

Up waaaayy to early this morning!
Grant just said ‘excuse me’ after he burped! I usually prompt him to do it, but he said it on his own. Maybe some things do stick!

one of my favorite things!

The pottery barn Thanksgiving and Christmas catalog's are out! I loooove how Pottery Barn sets a table for Thanksgiving, and love their Christmas decor, so 2 very fun catalogs for me!

on the mend!

whew! After almost a week of being sick, I'm on the mend!

Gracie!

when grace went with me to a doctor's appt. at the hospital, they made her wear a mask.

-anna

getting close to going all the way over!
-anna

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Playing Together

What sweet laughter! Grant's playing with Gracie - he put her paci stap on his pacifier, and would dangle it over her until she pulled it out of his mouth, and then he'd just crack up laughing! If she missed the strap and hit his arm or something he'd laugh and say "Gracie tickle me!"

A picture comparison...

I think when you can see Grant's forehead, he looks a little like my toddler pictures. Matt and I think it's weird because to us Grant looks so much like Matt as an *adult*, but resembles my *baby* pictures. What do you think?






But, here's a picture of Grant and Matt together, and to me Grant looks so much like his daddy! It just must be the way you pick up on different characteristics in each picture.

Monday Morning

1. Grant is doing SO GREAT going to the potty! He hasn't had any accidents, as long as he's been bare-bottomed, since Day 1! (and, on Day 1, he only had one accident!) This morning we were playing with his stuffed Elmo and Cookie Monster that had his underwear on, and we were showing Elmo and Cookie how to go potty by pulling the underwear down. So, Grant wanted to wear it, so we'll see how he does!

2. Big To-Do list today! Laundry has GOT to get done, as my previous post about having to buy more underwear just might have to happen! I'd also like to get the house cleaned up more, and get the kiddos' clothes organized some! Whew. off to do some dishes before Grace wakes up! (She's actually asleep - in her crib!)

He's Ready!

Grant's ready for Thanksgiving!

Yay for Grant!

We have had zero accidents this morning! The kid can for sure hold it, though! He went 3 1/2 hours this morning with zero pees, anywhere! He happily sat on the potty several times this morning, and even sat on the potty to eat his lunch! lol! He didn't do anything on the potty and was just playing in the living room, and then he all of a sudden ran over to the potty and went! A LOT! yay!!! exciting stuff in the world of a 2-year-old!

thursday afternoon

Me: Look Grant, I drew a brown rectangle.
Grant: good job.



Seriously, he said, "good job!" like it was just the most matter-of-fact thing ever. Good job, Mommy!

Potty Training Boot Camp, Day 1

It's Potty Training Boot Camp, Day 1, here in the Walker household, and...

...the beds are not made.
...dishes are all over the kitchen.
...my breakfast was a cup of coffee, a diet coke, and some M & M's.
...I've done more potty cheers and songs than you'd think possible.
...I haven't showered.
...I'm still in my pajamas.
...if I don't do some laundry soon, I just might have to buy more underwear.

BUT,

we've had two successful pees on the potty! and only one mishap on the carpet.

More of Grace...

Almost Sitting!

Happy Sunday Morning from Grace!

Few more things...

1. grace is now napping in her crib! She just all-of-a-sudden started NOT LIKING her swing (how she had been napping the previous 5 months!). I can remember with Grant when he would change his napping routine it'd take us about 2-3 weeks to smooth through it and get the new routine figured out. The same has been with Grace - about 2 weeks ago I started noticing that she was just not napping as well has she had been, and it was harder and harder for me to get her to nap. And then this past Monday she seriously slept for TWENTY MINUTES from 11:30 in the morning until 6:30 that night. Definitely not enough for a 5 1/2 month old! So, I had to figure her out again! So, yesterdya morning she took her first nap in her crib, the sweet girl. I think she's still doing 3 naps/day (which Grant didn't have a schedule like that until he was 8 months old!), in her crib now, though, instead of her swing. They grow up fast!! However, we are definitely ready to get rid of the swings! they take up a lot of room! And, since Grace is in her room now, her doorknob now has a childproof cover on it so Grant does go in there to "roar" and wake her up! (he will literally run in there and yell "Roar!" and make "dinosaur hands" and wake her up! and then say "awake! gracie's awake!").

2. Do you like the new background? I think I might have *finally* found a background I like.

3. I ran last night in the cool weather, and it was just SO FANTASTIC. Only did 30 minutes because it was dark out and I knew Grace wouldn't be able to go much longer (she was happily playing with her daddy!), but it felt SO GOOD to run with it cooler out. Though, I think I will need to look for a pair of running tights for under my shorts and running skirt for when it gets even chillier! Got to be able to stay outside as long as possible, although I'm sure the treadmill will get its fair share of use this winter.

Grace

asleep in her carseat!

-anna

Nice Morning

My mom brought my nephew over for a playdate with Grant this morning. They had a fun time, but wore each other out, i think! Grant readily went down for a nap, which I'm SO thankful he still takes!! And, Grace was happy for the hour or so that she was up and was *really* checking her brother and cousin out and watching them play. She's *this* close to rolling over. She has about 1 more week to do it if she's going to beat Grant's schedule.

So, i'm off to make some hot chocolate and read some, before one of the kiddos wakes up!

He knows the drill!

Grant was just running around the house (saying he was "running like daddy!" and when he ran into the living room he said "no bump the wall!" I said, "nope, be careful!" and then Grant said, "go around and around and around and bump my head!" I realized that he was talking about when he did run into the wall so I replied, "yes, you bumped your head, but you're okay now!" Then Grant said, "right here! (holding head "get band-aid and bumper and popsicle!" He knows the drill for what happens after he gets hurt, the poor kid. He's just too cute!

Lesson Learned

Dawn is not an acceptable substitute for dishwasher detergent! The next time I run out of Cascade, I'll wait to run the dishwasher.

Whew!

hope you enjoyed all of the pictures from Matt's computer! :)

And, here's a current one - of Grace's piggies.

During my second ICU stay my best friend took her day off work to come hang out with me. She brought me some good books, candy, some Qdoba for lunch, and some pink nail polish! i told her that i was so embarrassed about my toes (although I'm sure my specialists were more concerned with the health of a 24-week pregnant woman with blood clots in her lungs than her naked toe nails, but, anyway), so she brought me this fabulous shade of pink toe nail polish. (I even blogged about it). So, when I wanted to paint Gracie's toes a couple of weeks ago, i thought there would be no more appropriate shade than the pink I painted my own toes in February, while sitting in the ICU, eagerly awaiting and hoping and praying for this sweet baby girl.

Blueberry Stomp!

My mom, my brother-in-law, Matt, and I ran a 5K over Labor Day weekend! It was so much fun! They have this festival-type deal afterwards, so we all walked around. I loved this shot, because almost everyone's holding a different type of fair food! (What do we all do? Run 3.1 miles, then eat funnel cakes! )

We should have turned Grant around! He IS in the stroller!

State Fair

We had a ton of fun at the fair in August. Matt's mom came with us and it was just such a fun day!! Grant looooved looking at all the tractors, but was actually pretty scared of all the animals. He liked them as long as they were far away:





But as soon as Matt would take Grant anywhere near the animals, Grant would try to climb his way up Matt - he was so terrified!






and a family picture:

Dress

I just loved this dress on Grace - it was a true halter style - isn't it just adorable?

And another proud grandfather...

Proud Grandfather...

Uncle Mike's

From a pond at my uncle's house:

Monkey Joe's!

Matt and I took Grant to Monkey Joe's Tuesday Morning - he had so much fun! It was fun for Matt to see Grant play, and Matt and I had a nice morning together while Grant ran his 2-year-old energy off!

Some pictures:















This is at the start of an obstacle-like-course - we were trying to get a picture of Grant standing there with me, but he was way too eager to go into the course - you can see him running in!




And, BTW, I LOVE seeing him climb at Monkey Joe's - you'd never guess that he only started walking about a year ago! :) Nothing like an indoor climb zone to prove the gross motor delay is no more!

2nd Birthday

I came home from the hospital from my first pulmonary embolism on the day of Grant's second birthday. (January 10th) My best friend, Leann, had been SO awesome - she brought me a sweet care package at the hospital (with fun girly stuff to make me feel better!) and asked me what she could do. I said that she could make cupcakes for Grant's birthday! I hated not being able to do it for my sweet boy, but I was glad his Aunt Leann could make them for him. (banana cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting, btw ;-))

Here's one of my favorite pictures of him eating the cupcake - he's like "mmm - cupcake! aaaaccch!"

Be Prepared!

I just spent some time on Matt's computer going through pictures that he took with his camera (that's not compatible, for whatever reason, for me to download the pics to my computer). So, he has a lot of pictures on his computer that I don't have on mine - so, I'll share some of my favorites with you. :) Be prepared for lots of pics!

Tuesday Morning

...and we're up! Grant woke up at 6:30, but I got him to stay in bed until a little after 7 by giving him some books and toys. Some of my friends have this time-activated light in their kids' rooms that come on at say, 7, and then they tell their child they can't get up (or get out of their room) before that! I like that idea!

This morning Matt and I (and Grace!) are taking Grant to Monkey joe's. Matt's never seen Grant play there, so I'm excited for Matt to see how much fun Grant has. I think it will be a nice family morning together after our crazy week last week!

And, we're eagerly awaiting our niece's arrival this week! Grant keeps saying "Baby Sophie coming!"

Yesterday I took Grace to the dr. for her next round of shots. (We're fulling vax'ing, just on an alternative schedule - I just didn't feel comfortable with her getting all the shots at once, so we broke them up into individual appointments). Anyway, yesterday was 2 shots in her chunky little thighs, and she was pretty unhappy yesterday afternoon. Seriously, I think she cried more yesterday afternoon more than she ever, ever has! We gave her some tylenol and that seemed to help - she finally went to sleep and woke up her happy usual self. :)

Matt and Grant went to "see tractors" yesterday morning while Grace and I were at the ped's, so Grant was a happy boy.

I think I hear Grace waking up!