Oklahoma Trip

Last week I finally got back to my home state of Oklahoma. I hadn't been back since January, so my visit was highly over due. This trip was the first time that Zane got to take part in "farm" activities. The things that I did on a daily basis growing up are now things that the grandchildren do occasionally on their trips to the farm. Sadly, some of the biggest farm activities revolved around doing farm work with Grandpa, which Zane will never be able to experience. His presence and memories of him are everywhere there, which at times is comforting, but since I am rarely there it is still very difficult to deal with.

The main reason for this trip was to take part in two different dedication ceremonies for the science complex at Pioneer High School which is now the Danny Blakley Science complex. It was a great honor to represent my father and the legacy he left in the community. Dad taught at Pioneer for 35 years and attended school there before that. As a teacher his main purpose wasn't teaching science, it was teaching high school kids how to be good people, make good decisions, and see a bigger world than the tiny community from which they came. I had dad in class in high school and many days there was no discussion of science, but large discussions on decision making, or using your life as a force for good in the world. Don't worry we learned Chemistry as well, but those are not the lessons that students truly took away from his class. This was proven again as many students spoke of the lessons they had learned from Mr. Blakley.  He would be so happy to know they were listening and they got it.

We were blessed with wonderful weather, though slightly on the cool side, for all kinds of farm fun. Zane had his first experience with chickens. He stayed safely outside the fence, for now, but I'm sure he will be ready to gather eggs just as soon as the chickens are ready  to lay them. The boys, sans Zane, went fishing at two different locations. The bridge, where we could see huge carp and catfish, and the shale pit where they actually caught quite a few fish. This was Brendan's first fishing trip and judging by the amount of time they were gone he seemed to have a great time. I wasn't really part of the fish fun because the girls ( and Zane) went to Amanda's graduation party. Congrats Amanda on graduation high school at the top of your class.

 There were Easter egg hunts, porch time, sand box fun, bad mitten games, camping, and bon fires. I got to visit with two of my best friends, Emily and Anna, both of whom sat with me at graduation, providing great comfort as always. It was fun to watch Zane and Kyser try to figure out how to "play" with each other. So far I don't think they have it figured out, but they were adorable together. Anna and I tried to start plans for her wedding which is always fun. And of course I got to spend so much needed time with my family. I got to be an Aunt while other people who were watching my child, which I always love.

 I also got to take Zane to two of my favorite places growing up, the hay bales and the wheat field. Growing up we spent hours running up and down the long rows of round bales in the summer. It was never ending fun! I was shocked, during this recent visit to the hay bales, to realize that I had forgotten how to get up onto the hay bale. I seemed to think that I should be able to just hop right up there, maybe this was the case when I was younger, but now I have to dig my foot into the end of the bale and climb my way. I vaguely remember this being how my mom got on to the hay bales when I was younger, sigh.

We also spent a lot of time in or around wheat fields. We would run through them, this resulted in very cut up lengths, but it's fun to hide in the wheat. We also had at least one photo session a year in the wheat field. This usually was when the wheat was beautifully gold, almost ready for harvest. The wheat wasn't quite completely turned, but it made for a beautiful pictures anyway, with that huge blue Oklahoma sky and flat sky line that I so dearly miss. I love these pictures!

11 month update

 Here is the last of the month updates, the next one will be the big one year update. Can you believe my baby is almost a year old? Zane continues to change quickly, growing into his own little personality more each day. For the most part Zane is an unbelievably happy kiddo. He deals with new situations, new people, and new things like a champion. He even deals with sleep deprivation amazingly well, getting progressively quieter and moving progressively slower. What a blessing to his parents.

This month we have had a lot of breaks in routine. All the breaks came with good reason and of course were great fun. During this month Zane saw all his Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, cousins, and God parents, some more than one time, how fun! He was also able to see most all of Zach's mom's family at Great Grandma Baker's birthday party. We visited both Grandparent's houses, celebrated my first mother's day, his first Easter,a flew for the third time, and hosted many guests at our house as well. I wish this wasn't such a big milestone and such an unattainable goal, but we had a great time seeing and playing with everyone. And of course everyone was entertained by little Zaney boy.

Over the past month Zane has become decidedly more independent. He talks all the time, often having adamant conversation with me, of course I have no idea what he is saying, but boy is he serious about it. He does have a few "words," da da ( for when he is happy or excited), ma ma ( when he is sad, generally crying), up, and occasionally no. He has become much more determined, he knows what he wants, or where he want to be, and he will go to any lengths to get it or get there. I applaud his dedication and patience in the quests, but boy does this try my patience at times. A prime example is that anytime the computer is out, or visible, he will climb over, around, or through any barrier that is put before him to get to the computer so he can grab at the keys with his little hands. Hence why this blog is being written at 10pm.  On that same note, he is into everything, can reach the tops of almost all surfaces in our house, which is dangerous, and I am forever amazed at what he can find that we thought was so well hidden. Sounds just like an 11 month old huh.

The eating situation is still frustrating, but I think may be getting better. His favorite food right now are quite hysterical to me. He loves: pickles, yogurt, cheese, ritz crackers, broccoli ( yes I'm serious, he loves the tops, raw or cooked), rice crispy treats ( he only had them once, but they were a huge hit), cottage cheese, and pulled pork ( specifically Grammi's Italian beef). His appetite still waxes and wanes, but all and all I think he might be improving. He has also out grown his reflux this month, which we found out when we forgot to give him his medicine a few times and he did great. So he is officially off all of his meds! I'm trying to stay positive about the eating situation as we face the prospect of no more formula. He has mastered the sippy cup and thoroughly enjoys it. I need to buy some more that don't spill during this upcoming month. Zane doesn't like cold milk though, he is going to have to get over that ASAP. 

Zane is doing much better sleeping as well. Most of the time he sleeps through the night, though since our room is so close to his we are often woken up by his tossing and turning. It usually is an easy fix with a binki or blanket, but with all the traveling this month there has been a few times where he has needed a bottle. All and all I can't complain about his sleeping on our travels. We just have to figure out how he is going to be able to sleep at his Grandparents going forward because the pack and play is quickly becoming too small for our big boy.

Over all Zane is one of the happiest kids I know, which continues to amaze me given all the struggles he has faced. He is always ecstatic to see me, jumping up and down, squealing with delight. He is easily entertained, content with anyone holding him, and with whatever random thing you give him to play with. He is working hard at learning how to walk. He can walk with just us holding his hand and cruises easily between pieces of furniture. I maintain he is one of the funniest people I know as well. I am constantly laughing out loud at things he does or says. He plays a game I have named " binki kisses" with his daddy, which he finds unbelievably entertaining. Zach puts the back of the binki in his mouth and Zane goes to get it, followed by belly laughs and Zane handing his binki back to Zach. I need to take pictures of this while it lasts. I love watching him learn and figure out his environment. He changes so quickly I can't wait to see what comes next.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We are back from our Oklahoma vacation. I plan to do a post about the whole adventure, but I will suffice it to say it was great to be home, but also extremely difficult at the same time.

2. Zane has progressed very quickly towards walking over the past week. He really prefers to be "walked" around while someone holds his hand. He took a couple steps on his own at the farm, so I am sure walking is just around the corner. However, walking has proven to be much more difficult on the hard wood floors at our house. He has had two pretty bad head bonks today, poor kid, learning how to walk is dangerous business.

3. Zane did great with flying, again. He slept through both flights and only had minor break downs during the waiting process at the airport. I do think we will need to take a stroller on the next trip. It would be well worth the hassle to be able to contain Zane for at least a little bit.

4. Today I had education day at work, which meant I was in lectures from  9am until 2pm. I then had to go on a major grocery shopping trip before I was finally Able to pick up Zane at 3pm. He took a long nap when we got home and due to multiple frustrations/irritations that happened this afternoon I wasted most of my time with my little man. Needless to say I don't feel like today was one of my best mommy days and I have to work the next two days, sad face.

5. This week is my birthday week! It started off with a bang, with my very own "donut cake." This is a cake design that Brendan and Abbey came up with. It is a bundt cake that is frosted so you can't see the ridges, hence Brendan thought it looked like a donut. It was delicious and gorgeous ( thanks to Brendan's decorating abilities). It was a great birthday celebration, complete with Zane projectiley vomiting when he tasted the cake, possibly due to the sand he ate during his first sand box experience. Here is a picture of my bday cake and some of Zane playing in the sand, just for fun.

6. This weekend I was also able to finally get a four generations picture taken with Zane, myself, my Mom, and my Grandpa. Zane is very interested in his Great Grandfather, finding him rather amusing, and I think his Great Grandfather could say the same for him as well. Here is the end result of our four generations photo shoot.

7. Here is your weekly basement update, as I am sure you are very concerned about my torn up basement ( I know I am). Zach bought the stuff to try to seal the outside walls of the basement from leaking. After much research we found some products that should work and learned that the people at Home Depot are much more knowledgeable than the people at Lowe's. Now we ( I should say Zach ) has to find the time to fix it before Zane's big birthday party.

8. On that note I have a lot to do before the big birthday celebrations. I have to finish Zane's birthday banner, which is very crafty, but I am beginning to regret because I don't have the time to do it. I need to print off a picture from each month to display, fix our broken basement, come up with a menu, get off of work on Monday the 20th, and figure out where all these people are going to sleep. Oh and pray it doesn't rain that day so we can have the party outside instead of in my little house. I'm tired just typing it.

9. Zach won Cardinals Tickets in the Fabick box for Memorial Day. I am very excited since we have yet to go to a game this year and because there is free food in the Fabick box. Now we just have to find a baby sitter.

10. After my frustrating afternoon  I decided to watch Glee live, instead of waiting to watch it on my DVR, in hopes of cheering myself up. This backed fired, and I should have realized that it would when the name of the episode was 'Funeral.' What a downer. Who makes an episode of Glee about a funeral. Also, I want Finn and Rachel to get back together, but I digress. I guess I will go read some of my book before bed, that should cheer me up.

Happy Tuesday!

My First Mother's Day

I had to wait almost a year to celebrate my first mother's day, but it was well worth the wait. Zach, Zane, and I headed down to flooded south east Missouri to celebrate with Zach's family. We got in very late on Friday, since we couldn't leave until I got home from work. This actually worked out rather well, since Zane slept the whole way there. Zach and I didn't get to bed until about midnight and of course Zane was up bright and early on Saturday so we were slightly exhausted.

Zach's sister, Trina, had her wisdom teeth taken out Friday, but was willing to forge ahead with our mother's day celebrations, though slightly drugged. Saturday afternoon Amy, Trina, Adeline, and I headed to Sikeston, via a slight detour due to the flooding, to get lunch and pedicures. I love getting any type of spa treatment, pedicure, manicure, facial, massage, you name it. I am all about a little relaxation and fun girls time. I had a wonderful time, getting my toes painted a very loud pink complete with a flower. It was also tons of fun to watch Adeline getting her first spa treatment as well. She got to put her little feet in the bubbly water and everything. She choose glitter nail polish, which turns out you can't put flowers on, which was disappointing, but still adorable. I am not sure Amy loves pedicures as much as Trina and I do, but she was a great sport and we even convinced her to go slightly out of the box with her nail color, not as loud as mine but still lovely. I didn't take pictures of us while we were getting them done because I was enjoying the freedom of not having a diaper bag, but here are the results on our toes!

Saturday evening we had dinner with everyone, played outside with the kids, and made preparations for Clay's Golden Birthday cake. Sunday we all went to church, which was an unnecessarily long mass, and then headed home for birthday/mother's day fun. It was a gorgeous day so there was lots of playing outside, looking at snakes and frogs, eating snow cones from my new snow cone maker ( yes that was my mother's day gift, and I love it!), playing games, and enjoying each other company.

 We assembled the catepillar cake Sunday afternoon, with help from the birthday boy himself, and I think it turned out amazing. Mike brought in a board from his shop so we could use all the cupcakes, leading to a super long caterpillar. Amy happened to have green frosting which was perfect, we used soar gummy words for legs, M&Ms for eyes, twizzlers for antennas, and the best part, Clay loved it! It was the center piece for the entire dinner Sunday, so fun!

My favorite part of my mother's day was getting to take a nap/read a book in the recliner with my sleeping baby boy. It was a rather loud day, with all the kids coming in and out of the house, so I knew that he would wake up in his pack and play, so I just held my baby and soaked in the blessing of getting to be his mommy. It was wonderful. Of course I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my nephew's and niece, who are growing up to be such amazing little people. We had to take a photo with each of them before we left. We really were just going to take one with Clay, since it was his birthday, but then they all wanted their own picture with Aunt Audra and Uncle Zach. I just adore them. So needless to say, it was wonderful mother's day!

Hope all of you had a great time with your families as well. Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mother's who have welcomed me into motherhood over this past year with open arms. Thanks for all your kind words or support, encouragement, and prayers that you have sent my way during this difficult year. They have meant the world to me!

Ten on Tuesday

1. We had a great time at Zach's parent's house over the weekend. I plan on doing a full mother's day/Clay's birthday post tomorrow but I might share just a few adorable photos today.

2. Zane had his first rice crispy treat this weekend and he loved it. He could hold it, feed it to himself, it was super messy, and it was sweat, what more could a little boy want. Here are some of the adorable photos that came from his enjoyment of his first rice crispy treat.

3. Here is another one of my favorite moments from the weekend. Zane and Levi on the floor, conversing about their favorite blankets and their favorite sippy cups, how cute! Hopefully they are good buddies at some point, currently they don't get a long very well. Levi is pretty scared of Zane, given he did pull his hair a few times, but Zane tried to hug him when he got out of his bath, but Levi was having none of it.

4. I am looking forward to our upcoming Oklahoma trip with mixed emotions. On one hand I am very excited about seeing everyone who I haven't seen in months. However, I also know it is going to be a horribly emotionally draining trip. Dad's head stone was put up Friday, so I will be seeing that for the first time, and there are a couple different dedication ceremonies for the naming of the science building after my father at school. It is always harder to deal with Dad being gone when I'm home, but I know this trip will be especially hard.

5. A quick basement update; the basement is completely dried out and back to smelling normal. I put two air fresheners down there last week, which were completely over powering, but now it is back to normal. Well not normal, the flooring is still pulled up, and we still have yet to figure out how to fix the issue.

6. This week is nurses week so today we got free Ted Drew's custard. That is exactly how I like to be shown appreciation. So happy  nurses week to all my nursing buddies. Too bad I will be missing it all. But don't worry I got my beach towel and ice scrapper from work for my nursing week gift :)

7. Tomorrow I have to figure out how I am going to entertain Zane on the plane and also figure out the packing situation. It use to take me about 15 minutes to pack for any trip. I can't believe how much more time it takes after adding such a little person. Glad I got off tomorrow though so I can get my house pulled together, do all our laundry, and get packed.

8. We replanted our tomato plant and for now the garden is looking good. Our lettuce is ready for the picking, I am hoping for a fresh salad tomorrow for lunch. How fun!! Overall the gardens look like they are doing much better than last year, here's hoping for tons of fresh tomotoes!

9. I am joining a book club with some of my work friends. I hope I can keep up with reading our books, what with having a kid and not being a super fast reader. But it should be fun and I could use a girls night out here and there. Our first book is Water for Elephants, which so far has been good. We shall see how it goes.

10. In other exciting news I used the amazon gift card, that mom got me for mother's day, to buy a new diaper bag. After months of fighting with my current diaper bag I am super excited about it. The mechanics of the one I have no just don't work for me, I am constantly spilling things. Hopefully it will get here before our trip.

What to feed a ten month old

 This isn't going to be a tutorial about what I feed my ten month old. Actually, it is quite the opposite, it is literally a question I have. What do you feed a 10 month old? Everyone said once they eat table food they "just eat what you eat." This is a misnomer on several fronts. First of all, he doesn't "just eat" anything. Secondly, a lot of the time what I eat isn't close to something he would ever think about eating. For example, I eat a salad for lunch about 75% of the time. The other 25% of the time I am usually eating a turkey sandwich. Neither of these things will  Zane eat. So this leads to me walking aimlessly around the kitchen, searching for something to feed him, usually ending with very random lunch/dinner ideas.

Let's take today for an example. For lunch today I ate a salad, cottage cheese, and pickled okra. Zane "ate" a piece of colby jack cheese, chewed on a pickle ( not sure that he actually ate any of this, but he enjoyed chewing on it), put some pieces of bagel in and out of his mouth, and maybe choked down two spoon fulls of apple sauce. I thought he had eaten quite a bit of cheese until I took off his bib to find large pieces of cheese stored away. This is where most of his food ends up.

Not all meals go this way, sometimes he eats a whole thing of yogurt, apples sauce, or enjoys a bowl of whatever pasta dish we are having. However, there is no pattern to his likes and dislikes. This past week when my mom and Zach's family where here, everyone kept asking what he likes to eat. If I only knew the answer to that question. One day he will eat a complete bowl of mashed potatoes without complaint. The next day he will spit out the exact same potatoes, wanting nothing to do with them. Also, to the untrained eye, Zane appears to be eating tons of food. He puts stuff in his mouth, then very sneakily covers his entire mouth with his hand, so you won't notice that he is spitting out all the food in his mouth. He finds this very entertaining, I do not.

My main problem is coming up with new ideas of what to feed him when he won't eat what we are having for dinner. I am trying Abbey's stand by pizza recipe this evening, that I know her kids love, and I remember seeing Maggie chow down on this when she was about Zane's age. Maybe that will be a hit.  Ideas anyone??

Ten on Tuesday

1. The basement saga continues and has become a much bigger deal than originally thought. We have had to take up all the laminate hard wood floor that was in the bedroom (we should be able to reuse most of the boards).  Not all o f the floor was wet, but a lot of it was. After three days of fans blowing, sucking up the water, and leaving the windows open everything seems to have dried out. We shampooed the small area of carpet that was wet, so that doesn't smell bad anymore. Now we just have to figure out how to fix the "leaking" issue before putting any of the flooring back down. Sigh....

2. Due to this debacle I haven't been able to exercise in a while. The basement is a wreck, with all the bedroom furniture in my workout space. Not to mention the wet dog smell ( which is better today). I went down earlier today in hopes of exercising tonight. I am frustrated with the weight loss journey, not mention the basement craziness.

3. This past weekend, in the mist of the basement leaking situation, we went to Zach's Grandma's 80th birthday party, followed by grilling hamburgers for Zach's family at our house. It was tons of fun and I think Georgia had a great time. Here are some of the party pics. Zane loved crawling all over the gym where we were, with help from his cousins and first cousin's once removed :)

4. We are planning on going down to Zach's parent's this weekend for Mother's Day. Hopefully we can get to their house through all the flooding that is going on down there. I wonder what my boys will get me for Mother's Day ( hint hint Zach)!

5. On a garden update: we have a new varmint of some kind. There are little holes in our yard and two big burrowed holes in our gardens. One of our tomato plants was dug up/killed. The holes in the yard are small and Zach thinks it is either a chipmunk ( do they tunnel?) or a vole, which I had never even heard of. After googling it, I learned it is basically a mouse like rodent that has a stouter body than a mouse. They have small burrows with many exit holes, which basically describes our yard right now. Anyone know how to get rid of voles??

6. I haven't been able to plant any fun flowers yet, what with all the non stop rain. It has stopped raining but it is still very muddy. Today, on Zane and I's and walk, we saw some beautiful yards, I need to get on the ball.

7. I am getting excited about our upcoming Oklahoma trip. I can't believe I haven't been home since January. Hopefully Zach doesn't get sick this time. I am, of course, nervous about the plane ride, especially since Zane hates being held now. That should be fun!

8. Here is Zane's cheezy picture of the day. He is the funniest kid I have ever met. His little personality keeps me entertained all day. Here he is in his Butterfly House t-shirt, courtesy of Grandma B, cheesing it up in the office.

9. Zane is working hard on walking. He is cruising quickly around the coffee table ( my coffee table has never been so clean). He is also "talking" a lot more now, including saying ma ma more than just when he is crying. Too much fun!

10. In other great Zane news, he is taking longer naps and sleeping threw the night on a regular basis. He is getting so big, I can't believe it.