First Sickness

Well, it was bound to happen and I guess we're blessed that we made it almost 11 months before it happened. She's had 2 ear infections since she was born, but neither of these slowed her down. Last night, our little bug started running 103.6 temperature. We got very little sleep last night and other than the fever there don't seem to be any other outward symptoms. Her fever went down last night before going to bed. When she woke up this morning her fever was 99.6. However, throughout the day it has risen to now 102.5. I called the doctor and we have an appointment at 4:10. She looks pitiful. Usually I have to listen to her cry to put her down for a nap. A few mintues ago I placed her in the pack and play and she went right to sleep. She's been whining for the past 24 hours. We're praying that it's nothing serious, but I will update after the doctor.

**Update: After swabbing for the flu test (which is HORRIBLE btw), it's been determined that she does not have the flu. The doctor pricked her finger and did a blood count check to determine if she has a bacterial infection or a viral infection...the test gave no definative answers so we are going in for a follow-up tomorrow. Hopefully we'll all get some rest tonight and she'll be back to her normal self tomorrow. Bless her heart she is just pitiful.

I double dog dare you not to smile

If You're Happy & You Know It

10 months

Well, I realized the other day that it's been a while since I've updated our blog. Shame on me. Then, I kept putting it off again because I just felt overwhelmed with what to write. I decided that I could go back and update everything we've been doing for the past 2+ months, or I could just start with now. So...in the interest of time and space (not to mention your interest) I'll just start with now.

Kayden is now 10 months old. I cannot believe that a little more than 10 months ago she was still growing in my tummy. It's amazing to think about. In many, many ways I feel like she's always been here with us.

This is my 3rd week of staying home with Kayden. I LOVE it. I'm still trying to find a routine that fits us. Some days, we are still in our pj's at 10, but we're coming around. My neighbor and I have been walking almost every morning so that helps to motivate me out of the bed, at least. :)

Kayden is growing by leaps and bounds. She is experimenting with walking. She will walk around holding the furniture (or as the "experts" call it, "cruise.") She also loves to push her walking toy or anything else that will move when she stands and pushes it. She also enjoys holding our hands to walk. Her form is getting better every day. She is also experimenting with standing on her own. She will push up or pull up on the furniture and then let go. She will stand there for a few seconds and then sit down. I really think that she has the ability to walk on her own, she just doesn't know that she has that ability. I'm not sure that I'm quite ready for that skill yet. :)

This past weekend we took her to Vollemer Farms. This is the place where we pick strawberries in the spring. They have a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkins. They also have a play area called "The Back Forty" where they have a pumpkin bounce, a cow train, a corn crib and other activities for kids of all ages. We had a good time. I think we wore Kayden out. But she enjoyed watching the other kids play. Here are some pictures for you:

Some of the skills Kayden now has:

1. She is standing some on her own

2. She is starting to walk while holding on to something

3. She loves "hugging" her baby

4. She likes giving kisses (sometimes :) )

5. She can say "hey"

6. She can wave hello

7. She is learning sign language and can tell you when she wants "more" of something

8. She can hold her hands up when you ask her to say "yeah!"

9. She has learned how to crawl under furniture when she wants to get out of her "cage"

10. She can turn the tv off by using the remote :)

Most importantly she has captured her mommy and daddy's hearts. We are absolutely smitten with this little girl. I love her so much and am constantly in awe that God chose me to take care of her.

No donkeys sleeping in your bathtub

So, I was driving home from work tonight and this commercial came on. Honestly, I don't even remember what they were advertisting, but the opening tagline was "Something stupid...a random Minnesota law prohibits you to drive across state lines with a duck on your head." I don't remember what the commercial was for, because I got caught up thinking, "why in the world would you drive anywhere--must less across a state line--with a duck on your head?"
Then the next thing it said was, "Something stupid...a really dumb Arizona law prohibits you from allowing a donkey to sleep in your bathtub." Again...why would I let a donkey sleep in my bathtud? More importantly, what happened to cause them to need these laws in the first place? I'm imagining some farmer's wife getting kicked in the head because she didn't know that her husband had let their donkey sleep in the bathtub for the night and went in half asleep to take a bath. Or some poor guy with his pet duck leaving Minnesota and getting pulled over because his duck's favorite place to sit is on his head.
I decided to do a little google research and see if there were any other laws that were rediculous...here's what I found...
Thanks to http://www.idiotlaws.com/ I found a stupid law for every state...
Alabama: It is illegal to eat icecream on Sundays.
Alaska: It's illegal to view a moose from an airplane.
Arizona: It is illegal for 6 girls to live in a house.
Arkansas: It is illegal for you to beat your wife more than once a month.
California: You must obtain a permit from a sherriff to crossdress.
Colorado: It's illegal to let your neighbor borrow your vaccum.
Connecticut: It's illegal to cross the street while walking on your hands.
Delaware: It's illegal to pass out on the boardwalk.
Florida: It's illegal to be electricuted in the bathtub.
Georgia: You must own a rake or you will go to jail.
Hawaii: It's illegal to put any coins in your ears.
Idaho: It's illegal to not have a smile on your face in public.
Illinois: It's illegal to give a dog a lighted cigar.
Indiana: It's illegal for a barber to threaten to cut a kid's ear off.
Iowa: You must have written consent to throw things in the sidewalk or street.
Kansas: Damaging a vending machine that took your dollar is against the law.
Kentucky: A woman must get her husband's permission before she can buy a hat.
Louisiana: You can go to jail for up to a year if you make a promise you don't intend to keep.
Maine: You can be fined for leaving your Christmas decor up after January 14.
Maryland: It's illegal to take your camel to the movies.
Massachusetts: It's illegal to not believe in God. You can go to jail for up to a year and or be fined $300.
Michigan: It's illegal to let your pig run free without a nose ring.
Minnesota: You can go to jail for sleeping naked.
Mississippi: It's illegal to shave in the middle of main street.
Missouri: It's illegal to get an elephant drunk or high.
Montana: It's illegal to point sprinklers so they annoy passerbys.
Nebraska: Donut shops are prohibited from selling donut holes.
Nevada: (why couldn't I have lived here hee hee) It's illegal for a mother to give her daughter a perm without a permit.
New Hampshire: It's illegal to pick up trash or repair park benches in the White Mountain National Forest Park without a permit.
New Jersey: Without a note from your doctor, you won’t be able to buy an ice cream cone after 6pm. This is considered illegal and you can be fined or jailed.
New Mexico: Women are prohibited from being unshaven in public.
New York: A couple cannot get a divorce for irreconcilable differences unless they both agree.
North Carolina: Fornicators that register as a married couple to get a discount might find themselves legally married. According to state law, the couple are legally married.
Ohio: Catching a mouse in your house is illegal without a permit.
Oklahoma: It's prohibited to do your own hair without a license.
Oregon: It's against the law for a wedding to be performed at a skating rink.
Pennslyvania: It's illegal for housewives to sweet dirt under a rug.
Rhode Island: It's illegal to sell both toothbrush and toothpaste to the same person...on Sunday.
South Carolina: All males must bring their firearms to church because the indians might attack. (I have to do 2 since this is my state)...Men can beat their wives only on SUNDAY and only on the steps of the courthouse.
South Dakota: Horses are prohibited from entering the Foutain Inn unless they are wearing pants.
Tennessee: It's illegal for a woman to ask a man on a date.
Texas: You must get permission to eat your neighbor's garbage. Failure to do so will land you in jail.
Utah: It's against the law to not drink milk.
Vermont: In Barre, Vermont they made it a law that everyone should bathe on Saturday night.
Virginia: It's illegal to tickle a woman.
Washington: It is grounds for arrest if you are caught wearing a life jacket.
West Virginia: Children are not allowed to go to school with breath smelling like wild onions.
Wisconsin: You can't play checkers in public.
Wyoming: It's illegal to leave the fence open.

OK...so what are your favorite stupid state laws?

Oh the beach is calling my name!!!

This has been a rather stressful summer. Kevin's been gone for 4 1/2 weeks now and I've been working and taking care of Kayden and our home all by myself. I hesitate saying that I've been taking care of our home...becuase I have literally done the bare minimum. :)

Well, this time next week we'll be on our way...as a family...to Myrtle Beach! I'm so excited. This will be Kayden's first trip to the beach. It will our first trip to the beach as a married couple. It will be our first family vacation. And it will be our first vacation with friends and not family (although our dear friends Alli and Erik are very much family to us).

I'm looking forward to the time to spend with our dear friends. I'm looking forward to reuniting our family before we have to hit the ground running back to work and school. I'm looking forward to relaxing in the lazy river and on the beach. And YES...the seafood!!!! :)

Kevin and I will also being setting some goals for our family as well as our future. I'm most looking forward to this. I am trying to set some big goals for my Mary Kay business and need to sit down with Kevin to talk about them. I'm really excited about this!!!

Oh where oh where have I been?

OK, so it's been a really long time since I've last posted anything. It's been a crazy few months. I could make excuses, but I'll just say that life has been happening. :)


One of my new favorite songs is Darryl Worley's "Sounds like life to me." The first time I heard it I turned the radio down because I wasn't in the mood to hear "truth" spoken to me at the time. :) I was dealing with craziness at work, still adjusting to being a working mom (well, I'm STILL adjusting to that) and feeling generally overwhelmed. Then I heard this song where a guy is talking to his best friend who has "fallen off the wagon." He finds him in a bar and asks him what's going on. His friend starts telling all his "woes." After listening to him for a few minutes he did what any good friend should do. He said, "This isn't what you want to hear, but it's what I'm going to say...Sounds like life to me, ain't no fantasy. It's a common case of every day reality." So, that's what's been going on in my world...LIFE.





Here's what life is holding right now:





1. Kevin's in Columbia, SC in Chaplain School. He is doing well even though we miss each other terribly.

2. I am still working full time, building my Mary Kay business and taking care of little Bug and our apartment all alone. I miss Kevin terribly...did I mention that already?

3. Little Bug is growing by leaps and bounds. She is 7 months and 10 days old now. She is amazing. She gets really excited when she sees me. She's always smiled, but now, she flaps her arms and kicks her legs. It's AWESOME! She also gets excited when she hears her "da-da's" voice.

4. She LOVES to take a bath. The very mention of taking a bath she gets all excited and starts to giggle.

5. She has just recently become fascinated with her hands. Yesterday I was trying to feed her and she kept looking at her hand and would open it and close it and she studied it intensely.

6. She has learned how to use her toys the way they are supposed to. She loves buttons. Telephone buttons, remote buttons and buttons on her toys. Last night I put her in her crib and a few minutes later I heard music coming from her room. She had pressed the button on the music thing on her crib.

There are many more things that are going on here, but I think that about covers the big things. I just got a new computer today. When I get everything set up, I'll post some new pictures of Little Bug. I think I might even have a video or 2 for your viewing pleasure. I know you're sitting on pins and needles waiting for it. (Mom, you'll have to be patient and wait...sorry. :) )