I Survived!

We all know I'm a worrier and this situation was no different! Things went smoothly this morning and I've been back home since 11am and doing my best to recover. In fact, I'm in less pain than I thought I would be and just finished a small bowl of mashed potatoes, the first food I've eaten all day. Drinking has been about all I can handle. The bad news, however, is that apparently the pain gets worse as the week goes on. Seems counter intuitive to me, but such is life. The nurse described it as a sort of charlie-horse in the back of your throat because the muscles that held the tonsils (and in my case they had a heavy load) try to hold them up but don't know they aren't there and that's was causes the pain. Just before surgery the doctor stopped by to talk to me and said to expect the worst to come between the 3rd-7th day. Super.


My mom is a rockstar and has had both kiddos there last night, all day today, tonight and tomorrow during the day as well. We are so incredibly thankful for her and everyone else who has been so willing to volunteer their time this week. The kids are going to get lots of family time, just maybe not with me! I miss them, but it's hard to talk and the thought of being climbed on right now doesn't make me feel too swell, and I'm still pretty hopped up on pain meds, so in the end, I think this is more enjoyable for all of us! ;)


I have to take liquid pain medication which is super icky, but at least it works fast. Charlie is being a good little nurse and has been bringing me drinks all day and cuddling me to sleep. I'm concentrating really hard, so hopefully this post shows no evidence of my drug-induced state, but it's about all I can handle, so I'm back off to my cocoon of pillows! Thanks for all the phone calls and positive thoughts! You all know me so well!

Blueberry Time Again!

This year's crowd...

Lisa, Isaac, Isabelle, Sophia, Jodie, Emma, me, Leo
I knew Leo wouldn't stand for these close quarters for long so I had to get to work!

Sophia's first blueberry experience...she was much more content to sit on my hip and pick than her brother was!

He was more into picking leaves off the bushes and trying to eat those. I tried to feed him blueberries and no, not so much into those!

Emma was a diligent picker this year!

Jenn and Trevor showed up to pick along with Cayden and a friend

okay, Mom, I'll pick 1 blueberry but I'm too sweaty to do more.

Lisa was hard at work while Isaac assisted

Sophia found this to be a much better use for her bucket

The girls insisted on cramming all in one car. Sophia was attempting a smile, although it doesn't look like it in this picture, she insisted on riding there!

Isaac was smart enough to wait for the next train and claim a car for himself!

Leo enjoyed playing in the grass and petting the farm dog

Sophia walked the balance beam and climbed the cargo rope before we left

Blueberry picking really wore me out this year! Sophia although excited before we got to the patch, quickly lost her interest in the heat. She basically refused to pick berries and I think maybe picked a few that she immediately ate and that was it. Leo was content, but he was pretty warm and just didn't want to stay on my side. He is FAR, far too busy for such things! He would have been happy crawling through the patches at his leisure, but I feared he would put too many things in his mouth to let him roam free.

Our crowd was a bit smaller this year than last year and mom wasn't able to make it, which makes a difference. I missed her but I also missed how great she is with all the kids! Last year, whenever someone would get tired she selflessly volunteered (okay, maybe she wasn't so into picking the berries either! ;) to play ring around the rosy and other favorite games. In the end, I still did get a good crop of berries to bring home, 3.3 lbs to be exact! Plus, all the kids really loved riding the train which they were too young to do last year and the Berry Patch makes delicious muffins that were also a hot commodity among the little ones. All in all, still a good trip and we'll definitely try again next year!

On a side note, I'm really not sure when I'm going to have time to process all those delicious berries into tasty treats as I'm going under the knife tomorrow! YIKES! I'm cleaning and freezing those berries for a later date! Although, I'm happy to leave out a few so that my darling husband can whip up some blueberry smoothies for my ailing throat! ;) Keep your fingers crossed! I know things will go fine, it's only tonsils for crying out loud, but I'm anxious to say the least! I'll keep everyone posted on my recovery!

9 Months Old!

Big Sister and I love to play and laugh together

I'm not sure how many times I'm going to say 'time flies' before I start believing it! ;) Our little man is 9 months old today. He's come so far and still has so far yet to go. We had his doctor's appointment on Monday and things are looking great. As suspected, Leo was in the 95% for height (30 inches) and 100% for weight (25lbs 4oz)...translation=not on the chart!

Our doctor was impressed however, with how strong he is. Actually, he was just amazed at both our children (Sophia had to accompany Leo to the doctor) and how smart and strong they are! Gotta love that! He hasn't seen Sophia in a number of months as usually she stays with someone else during Leo's appointments and boy, did she have him laughing! He finally looked at me and said, Yeah, she's cute, huh?! Of course I agreed!

Anyway, I digress...he was pleased with Leo's strong legs and determination to walk. He also said to keep giving him as much table/finger foods as he'll eat as he'd like to see more of that to make the transition easier at 1 year. Mostly, Leo still prefers the purees to cut-up food, but that's okay, we'll get there. I've been trying to offer both options at feeding time and that seems to help and he has gotten much better with finger foods in the last weeks, he's even tried hot dogs, breakfast sausage, cheese, Goldfish, and dried fruits. He really loves the dried peaches the most! He is still utterly uninterested in the sippy cup. He will sometimes drink water out of it, but formula, no way man. Grrrr. I'm ready to make that transition for sure!

He said to go ahead and reintroduce some dairy (as I mentioned, cheese) and see what happens. So far so good, but honestly, he hasn't had that much, so I'm still wary. He's eaten maybe the equivalent of an entire cheese stick over the course of a week and ate his first cup of yogurt yesterday and one today. He likes the yogurt a lot and is only mildly interested in the cheese. Our doc said that even if he develops a rash to continue on the dairy for at least 2 weeks. Of course that becomes null and void if the rash is extreme, but I'm really wishing and hoping that we're out of the woods with the dairy stuff. Even if he can eat the dairy, I don't know if I'll switch him off the soy formula, just for consistency, but we'll see. Oh and exciting news...he had his very first tooth pop through yesterday! Hoorah! It's so cute to look in there and see that little chomper poking through...c'mon teeth!

His sleep routine continues to be a loose schedule with anywhere from 1-3 naps per day, but he does sleep through the night, technically. He wakes up early, but will usually go back to bed after a bottle. The past week he's been sleeping until between 6-7:30 and I'm loving that! Of course, that was until last night when he woke me up at 4:30! Uh, that's going to have to stop. I'm hoping it was just a fluke, but I may have to get tough if that continues!

He is a true source of joy in all our lives. I so enjoy seeing him interact with Sophia and her with him, it's truly precious. I feel so complete with my little girl and my little boy and I love being a little nuclear family. While at the doctor I had to make his next appointment...for when he turns 1 year old! ACK!!! I'm excited and sad, but mostly excited. The really good part of having him so close to Sophia's birthday is that I can take them to the doctor together for their yearly check-ups! Yay! I must say, that is a nice perk!

Road Trippin'

Hey! There's a man talking in here!

You expect me to sleep?!

cuddle time

congrats to Mary and Dustin

the girls really had fun with the wedding bubbles!

Aunt Annie was a dancing queen!

This is the circle of women that literally surrounded Leo all weekend

Cathy and Charlie

Leo and his cousin Isaac

Grandma Hirner got to meet Little Leo!

pictured with Pat, Mary, and Anne

We took a road trip this weekend to good old Palmyra, Missouri, a small town where Charlie's Dad is from. Charlie's cousin, Mary, got married and it was a really great way to reconnect with the family we don't see as often. The car ride was difficult at times and it didn't really excite me to get geared up for our big, long road trip next month, but alas, its time will come as well. Sophia did better in the car than I expected and actually better than Leo did. Although, on the ride home, he did sleep almost the entire way, so that rocked! Leo was surrounded by doting women the entire weekend! He did not have to crawl or want for anything! He met his little cousin Isaac who is 6 months and they enjoyed staring each other down. Leo kept grabbing his head and kissing him...it was way cute, and quite reminiscent of what Sophia does to him! We don't make it there too often, so it was nice to go for a happy occasion such as this!

To Our Fathers

Wake up, Daddy!
Daddy and Sophia reading the book she picked out

Charlie and his dad...as if you couldn't tell!!

Dad and me on my wedding day!

Papa Leo and Sophia (with cousin Drake)

Leo squared

Sophia and her Godfather, Stacy

Leo and his Godfather, Jonathan

To all our fathers, we love you and cherish the moments we all have together.

I have been reflecting on fathers lately and I have also noticed that daddies play with babies much differently than mommies play. They are much more loud and rough and they tease so mercilessly! I love to watch Charlie with both Sophia and Leo. They both adore him and look forward to his time off. He is a good dad who is not afraid to get down and dirty with the kids. He will take them swimming and push them for hours on the swing but he will also rub lotion on their skin and snuggle them while they sleep. I know he looks forward to teaching both kids how to play sports and support them through all their endeavors. Some of the fondest memories I have of my dad are of the same things...we used to play catch together and he would come to every softball game. Even as an adult, he wanted to come out to my games for old times sake. He would take me to parades and on vacation and I enjoy thinking of those happy times on days like Father's Day. I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband who is so willing to make those memories with his kids too. Fathers play an important role in our lives so we thank and love all our dearest...Charlie, Leo, Stephen, Stacy and Jonathan!

On Stage

Since I already posted a video about Sophia being our performer, I figured I'd keep the theme going with this next post. We went to dinner with Mom and Stac the other night to TGI Fridays. It's been years since I've been to Friday's and truth be told, I wasn't too excited about going...BUT, my mind may have changed...

Those of you with young children know that there is a window in which restaurant eating is fine, and then the window closes and it quickly becomes more of a challenge than a pleasure...some day I'm sure that window will open again, but right now Sophia is so busy it is hard for her to wait. Well, at Friday's we were seated right next to the stairs that led up to the bar. Sophia took this opportunity to use it as her stage and entertained not only us, but all the bar patrons as well. I had a moment when I thought, hmmm, I should put a stop to this...but no. I didn't and I think it's fine. She wasn't being obnoxious or overly loud, she was just being 2 and having fun, so I let her. I kept her confined to the stairs of the bar and she was happy to put on show after show and dance number after crazy dance number. When it was time to eat, she did, and then promptly went back to her place of fame. Friday's may now be added to our list of acceptable places to dine in the near future! ;)

Star Search Here We Come!

Sophia is our little performer. She often puts on shows for her brother in the morning when he wakes up. They both love it! Luckily I caught the latest rehearsals on tape!

S&Ls

Mommy loves matching shirts!!! Cute as candy!

Making Progress

Okay, I posted this picture just so you could see exactly how humid it was in my driveway last evening. Ugh. The camera was fogging up so much it took a while for it to be normal! Rain, rain GO AWAY!!!!

Last night we had corn on the cob and Leo got his very first piece. He was pretty stoked to chew it and gnaw on it all night. I think he even managed to eat a few kernels! ;) After dinner we headed outside to play and Charlie got out Sophia's bike. Now that she can (fairly) successfully ride her tricycle, we thought we'd start on the bike. It's really hard for her to understand that she can't pedal backwards. Her trike lets her go either way without issue, but not the bike. She got frustrated fairly quickly, but luckily there were no meltdowns! She also sat down to help Leo play ball and it was very sweet. What a nice way to end an evening. OH! And also Leo pulls up now. It's very cute and he's oh so proud!