Weekend update

Just an update to let you all know that it snowed here finally..I still don't think snow plows exist because I haven't seen any! I have seen trucks with blades plowing out parking lots and such but none on the roads. I am pretty sure the street in front of my house hasn't been plowed either. Luckily we have only gotten a few inches of snow and some freezing rain.

Tuesday was the first of the snow. Libby went to Aunt Joyce's for a couple of hours so I could get a little shopping done and go to the post office. It worked to my advantage to go on a snowy day because there were no lines.

Thursday night we got a storm of freezing rain and snow. I spent over an hour Friday afternoon scooping/chipping ice on the driveway and didn't even get 1/3 of it done. Now it has been too cold to finish. Maybe tomorrow...

Saturday late morning Mike's parents came into town. They wanted to make it before the wind and snow picked up in Sioux City. Austin and Jacque came over and we all just hung around and played games. It was too cold and windy to go anywhere.

Sunday we had the Andersen family (Mike's mom's side) Christmas. Libby had a great time playing with all her cousins and the "new" toys at Rod and Callie's house. She didn't get her usual nap in so she has been super tired. I am hoping she gets rested up by Wednesday when 3 more days of festivities begin!

As I am typing this it has started to snow...again...I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

A-B-B-B

Here are a couple of cute videos of Libby. One is of her singing her version of the "ABC's" and the other is her looking for the neighbors mailbox. They have a Christmas mailbox that lights up and opens and closes. When it gets windy they have to take it inside. Every morning we have to look out the window and see if it is "hiding".

Oh Christmas Tree.....

Here are a few photos of our trees and house. I know the outside picture is pretty light. I need to sneak out when it is a little darker. I also did not turn the flash off my camera when taking pictures of the trees so the lights did not show up. I apologize I am not an expert like my husband.

In the picture of our house is also the picture of ALL the snow we have gotten this year. It might not ever snow in Omaha but it sure is COLD! Today it was 25 below with wind chill. Libby and I stayed in all day and baked cookies for Mike to take to work. These are the days when I enjoy not having a job.

Does it snow in Omaha??

I know the weather is a little warmer here "down South" but does it snow here?? I have seen about 10 flakes so far this year. I am sure that was only because my dad and Cande were here- (it doesn't matter if they come in October, November, March or April-it will snow while they are visiting). I know it has stormed all around us but nothing here. I haven't even had to get out my broom to sweep off the deck or driveway.

Today it was like 40. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 50. I guess that means we can clean out the garage yet this year, in case it decides to snow sometime maybe we can get both cars inside.

Yes, I am bragging to those of you have had tons of snow and sleet already this year!!

Libby is so smart...

Libby's vocabulary is getting bigger by the day. She is probably up to at least 200 words and about 50 phases/sentences. Libby can count to 5 but rarely does it on demand. I would like to get a video of it-maybe someday. She recognizes a lot of numbers, zero is her favorite. She knows 0-2-5-9 pretty well and she is getting better about 3 and 4. Libby also recognizes a lot of letters, B is her favorite. She also knows A-D-I-P-N-M-O-J-T-L-Y. When we sing the alphabet she says "A,B,B,B".

We went to Hobby Lobby tonight. She looked at the sign and said "Look daddy, B-B-Y". On they way home we drove by Super Savers. She pointed and said "Jacque work". Mike and I looked at each other in awe, we can't believe how smart she is. She recognizes familiar houses also. She knows when we are at Jacque's, TT's (my sister's house) or Mimi's (Mike's parents).

Libby is getting to be a BIG copy cat too. This afternoon, I had some food in my teeth so I put my finger in my mouth to get it out-she did the same thing. Last night, Mike was reading a magazine. He was licking his fingers to turn the page so Libby grabs a magazine and licks her fingers to turn the page! It was so cute. We have to start watching what we are doing around her-she doesn't miss a beat.

newest blog

Check out the new family blog. It is pretty boring right now. We need to add some pictures and a few other posts. The link will on this web page to the left.

http://www.aetribune.blogspot.com/

Bounce U

On Friday morning we took the kids (Libby, Taylor and Caleb) to Bounce U. It is a big room with about 3 giant inflatables for the kids to jump around and a big slide. We got to go to the "Preschool Playdate" room where all the kids were 6 and under. It took Libby a little while to warm up to everything but I think she had a good time. The slide was the biggest hit with Taylor and Caleb. Libby wouldn't go down by herself so Kim or I had to climb up with her every time. It was certainly a work out climbing up a narrow walk way holding onto a rope and a 25 pound girl. I am sure Libby and I will go again this winter.

Since I didn't get out of bed at 5am to go shopping, Friday afternoon Cande and I went to the mall. By the time we got there the sales were ending but we still got a few things (for ourselves). This means I am way behind on my shopping and need to get started! Maybe next year I will make it out at 4am.

Saturday we all headed to Sioux City for the night. My dad, Cande, Libby and I went out for lunch and did a little more shopping. Kim and the kids came over to the hotel, we went swimming and ordered pizza. We must have all been exhausted because we were all asleep by 9:45pm and slept until 8am. The 7 of us went out for breakfast and then my dad, Cande, Libby and I headed back to Omaha.

My dad and Cande left for home about 4am on Monday. It sure was a quiet day around here with just me and my girl. Libby was pretty cuddly and wanted to sit on my lap most of the morning. I am sure she is still pretty tired from the last 9 days of festivities. Last night she asked to go to bed at 7:45pm and slept until 9am this morning.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!

Our Thanksgiving was great!! My Dad and Cande got here on Tuesday about 4pm. I showed them around the new house, we ate dinner and just rested. On Wednesday-we meet up with Mike for lunch and I gave them a little tour of Omaha. We hit a few stores at the mall. We came home around 3pm- had naps and ate again. Wednesday evening Mike, Carolyn, Jacque and Austin came over to hang out. We played Wii and Libby stayed up too late. She was fine since she took a nap until 6:30pm.

Thursday was a big cooking day. We had 19 people over for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything turned out perfect-except the scalloped corn took a lot longer to cook than expected. There was PLENTY of food so I don't think anyone minded. A few people left during the afternoon but there were still 12 people here for leftovers that night. We all just read the Black Friday ads, played Wii and a few of us played Phase 10. It was probably the shortest Phase 10 game I have ever played.

It was fun to have lots of people hang out all day without anything pressing to do.

We're on the map!!

Our address is on the map anyway. If you google our address it shows how to get to our house but no houses show up on the map.

I also tried to MapQuest our address. That doesn't work. It gives directions to somewhere about a mile from here.

Maybe someday everything will get caught up.

Turkey Day is on the way....

Libby and I have just been busy running errands, cleaning and organizing-getting ready for our big day. We are having 19-20 people over for Thanksgiving. My dad and Cande will be here on Tuesday to spend a week. We are getting excited to show them around in Omaha.

Mike has been working long hours everyday. He is looking forward to Thanksgiving so he can have a day off to hang out around the house. He did manage to find the time to hang the Christmas lights on our house. They look pretty nice.

Cheap Entertainment

Who needs expensive toys when you have an empty box and a daddy who will push you around.

Happy Halloween!!

Libby LOVES Trick or Treating! This year Libby was a puppy. I couldn't find a costume I thought she would wear that I liked. Last Saturday I went to Old Navy and happened upon this costume for $5. She LOVES it. Libby wore it without a fuss and kept the hood up all night!! She was so good. Mike and I pulled her around the neighborhood in her wagon. Jacque came to our house to hand out candy-we only had 2 visitors all night. Libby wanted to stay out longer so Jacque and I took her over to Aunt Joyce's and Jacque's friend Cindy's and around to a couple of their neighbors. I am sure she is going to think we need to stop at all the neighbor's houses for candy tomorrow when we go for a walk to check the mail.

getting settled...

The move went pretty well. Mike got the computer area and one wall in the kitchen/family room painted on Friday. It looks so good. When he first started putting it on we didn't know about the color but we like it now. I moved and unpacked the important things so we could spend the night in our new house. Our new fridge, washer, dryer, daybed set, and kitchen table were delivered. The water softener was installed and the cable lady was here. All of our things from storage made it into our garage on Saturday afternoon. We are slowly getting those things disbursed to their correct spot in the house. Nick, JJ, Jordyn, Jacque, Mimi and Papa all spent the night on Saturday night. It is so awesome to have a lot of room for everyone to come visit.

Our backyard is so beautiful. All we can see are trees and grass from the back of the house (unless you go outside). It is like we don't even have neighbors. We have seen LOTS of deer and a couple of wild turkey already. I can't wait to be able to sit on the couch and watch it snow-not that I want it to snow right now or anything.

On Friday I took Libby to the doctor for a check up on her head. She is doing fine. It doesn't even phase her that she has a gigantic bump on her forehead. She will probably have the bump for 2-3 weeks. Libby has a little bit of swelling in between her nose and she has two black eyes. Too bad it isn't Halloween right now, Libby could go as a boxer. I have been looking for my camera so I can take a picture to post.

moving day is here...again

We are SO excited to move...again! I have been packing all week. There is not a lot of room in our apartment to put a lot of boxes. We are pretty crowded in here right now.

On Monday we went to the house to do our final walk through. Just a few little things needed to be touched up but our house still looks GREAT! The builders went though everything with us, made sure everything worked, and explained the warranty to us. Today we are going to see all of the touch up work and sign off that we think our house is perfect. Tomorrow morning we sign our final loan papers and get the keys!

Mike is going to paint a little bit and I am going to do a little cleaning, it is pretty clean so it won't take me long. I am going to Scotch guard all the carpeting so it stays pretty. We are going to move what we can so we can spend the night in our new house tomorrow night. The bulk of things will be moved on Saturday. Then the fun unpacking will begin.

I will post some pictures when we get some furniture moved in and a few boxes unpacked.

Libby's First Omaha Hospital Visit

Last night we were shopping at Lowe's for painting supplies. Libby was riding in the basket portion of the cart and flips over the side. She hit her head HARD on the floor. She cried for a very short period of time. I was feeling around her body, trying to see what was hurt. Then I noticed the GIANT lump on her forehead. We immediately left the store and went to the ER. She whimpered a little bit on the way to the hospital but seemed OK. We got checked in and sent to a room. Libby just sat on one of our laps and watched cartoons. She was clingy when someone would come in the room, which is normal for her. I think the worst part of the ordeal was when they gave her a CAT scan. She had to lie still which she didn't like. Her CAT scan showed no injuries. Her injuries were so minor we didn't even get to see a doctor. The hospital sent us home and told us to put ice on it (like she would let us), give her Tylenol (you know her history with medication) and follow up with a doctor later this week. So, guess what-we are trying a new Omaha doctor. He was recommended by the PA at the hospital so we will give him a try on Friday-which is also moving day.

When we got home from the hospital we let Libby lay on the floor and watch Blue Clue's (her favorite show) before we put her to bed. I think I checked on her 4 times before I went to sleep. She was up at 3am. I changed her and gave her some milk. She was wide awake and wanted to talk. I think her spill knocked some silly into her because she has been a crack up all day. Libby acts like nothing ever happened. I don't even think she got a headache! We tried to take it easy today but she was climbing around on everything like her normal self. The pictures don't do the bump justice. It looks much worse in person. I think the swelling has gone down a little and the bump is starting to migrate down her face already.

Tonight we went shopping again. Libby wanted to ride in the cart in the worst way but I wouldn't let her. We took the stroller instead.

Libby's First Haircut

Apparently getting your first haircut is very tramatic. On Friday morning Libby and I headed to Sioux City. I had a bunch of errands to run which included getting Libby's first haircut. I tried to put her in the chair to sit by herself (so I could take some photos) and she screamed. Needless to say, I ended up holding her on my lap for the trim. Stephanie gave her a sucker but she just held it, I don't think she put it in her mouth once. After the haircut she was fine. She walked around the Hair Parlor with her kitty (that we bring everywhere) like nothing even happened. Her hair cut is cute. She mostly got her bangs cut so her hair wasn't in her pretty face anymore.

Happy 40th Birthday Mike!!

Yesterday was Mike's 40th birthday! We had a big party for him at the dome in South Sioux City. We had a very good time and I am sure all of our guests did as well. It was great to see people we don't get to see very often, especially since we have moved. Libby had a good time running around with all the kids and playing with the balloons. My sister took Libby home with her to spend the night. She must have had a good time with Caleb and Taylor because she took an almost 4 hour nap this afternoon. Hopefully she will sleep that well tonight.

2 more weeks!

We are getting SO excited to move! Our house is so close to being finished. As of last night, all the carpet and flooring is done, the door knobs are on all the doors, the blinds are hung and all the closet shelving is complete. The carpet isn't as "shaggy" as I thought it was going to be but it will be fine. There were a few dings and scrapes in the walls that were VERY noticeable that are getting patched up and repainted. The front door still needs to be painted and the house needs a good cleaning before we move in. I will probably post another picture slide show once we get to do our final walk through. I also promise to do a post about Libby sometime soon too.

another house update

On Monday when we got home from Florida we decided to check the progress on our house. So much has been done in a week! The counter tops and kitchen sink are in, all the walls are painted, the light fixtures and electrical are working. While we were there the floor guy arrived to put the linoleum in the laundry room, 1/2 bath, and Libby's bathroom. Yesterday when I drove by the floor people were working to put the tile in the kitchen, entry way and the master bath. I am guessing that carpeting is next. Only 3 weeks, 2 days until we move in!!

Oh so tired....

Mike, Austin and I got back from Orlando yesterday afternoon. The weather was beautiful. The only day it was really hot was Sunday. The other days were warm but bearable. The mornings were humid but cleared off during the days. It rained on us a couple of times but it didn't last very long. We got to Orlando around 8pm on Wednesday. We were to arrive around 6:30 but we had an hour delay in Chicago because our plane didn't have any pilots.

We stayed at a house with 7 bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms. There were 16 people there total (Austin, 5 girls and 10 softball players). Our house had a pool, a game room and was super close to everything. After we got to the house, we went and got a few groceries and some dinner. We hung out the rest of the night waiting for 8 house guests to arrive around midnight. The boys' first game wasn't until 6pm Thursday night so we had plenty of time to hang out, which is what we did.

Since the boys lost their first game they didn't play again until 2pm on Friday. So that morning we got ready, went out to breakfast and headed to the park. Unfortunately, the boys lost that game too so they were out of the tournament. Friday night a few of us went shopping and hung out at "Old Town", which is a carnival type area with tons of shops. This turned into a long night and nobody at the house got much sleep except for Austin.

Saturday 13 (6 from another house) of us went to Disney World. 6 of us only had 2-3 hours of sleep. We still had an AWESOME time and stuck it out for 14 hours!! We went to Hollywood Disney and Magic Kingdom. It wasn't too hot and the lines weren't too long for any of the rides. We were all in bed before midnight Saturday night.

Sunday we went back to the ball park to watch an Omaha girls team that was playing in the championship game. Then we went to eat lunch, did a little more shopping and back to the house to lounge around. At night 11 of us went mini-golfing and out for dessert. We packed up our things when we got back since we had to leave for the airport at 7am Monday morning.

The little amount of sleep we got, the go-go-go, and the excitement of traveling has worn us out. We had a great time. I did miss my girl and I am glad to be home to spend time with her and get some rest (hopefully) before our next big event-Mike's 40th birthday party.

We're leaving on a jet plane....again

Austin, Mike and I are leaving for Florida on Wednesday. We will be gone until next Monday. I am excited for a vacation but I am going to miss my girl. This will be the longest I have EVER been away from Libby. I am sure she will have a good time with Aunt Jacque. It is going to be interesting to see what they have done to our house while we are gone.

We decided to take Libby to do something fun last night. We took her to the "Amazing Pizza Machine". It is like Las Vegas for kids. They have tons of video games, bowling, golf, go-kart racing, a pizza buffet and tons of other stuff. The first 20 minutes Libby just ran around to all of the games, seeing what they do and pushing buttons. We tried to get her to ride a couple of the kiddie rides but she didn't stay in one place long enough. So needless to say, she is a pretty cheap date. I guess we had better enjoy that while it lasts!!

Libby is getting so big! She talked up a storm. She recognizes letters and numbers and knows the difference between them. However, all letters are "Bs" and all numbers are "9s". Libby loves to read. She will go in her room and sit on the floor and look at books for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. Libby is very entertaining and keeps us laughing all the time.

Our new house slideshow part 3

More pictures of the house! Things are coming along great. See the pictures to check the progress. All of the inside doors are hung, the laundry room sink is in, the bathroom cupboards are in just to mention a few things. We didn't think they were ever going to get the deck on since it has been raining here the last 5 days. As soon as it is finished and the mud clears up, I will try to get some pictures of the back of the house.

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We are very excited to get out of this apartment living. Our hot water heater has gone out 3 times in the last 3 weeks. Hopefully we won't have that problem since ours will be brand new.

house update

Things are progressing nicely on our house. All the dry wall is sanded, the concrete pad is down for the basement walkout, the posts are in for the deck and the sidewalk is poured. We have been looking at paint colors. Mike wants to paint one or two walls in about 4 or 5 rooms. I think that is pretty ambitious thinking right now, we will see how it actually turns out when the day comes. Yesterday we went to NE Furniture Mart. We bought a new high top table to put in our kitchen and a day bed set to put in one of the bedrooms. Someday Libby will sleep in but for now we are going to have 2 guest bedrooms. We are going to have PLENTY of room for lots of overnight visitors.

Our new house slideshow part 2

We found out last week that we get to move into our new house on October 17th!! This is a week earlier than we originally thought. Since we don't have to be out of our apartment until October 31st this will give us some time to paint some walls and take our time moving in. All of the walls will be painted a "khaki" color before we move in but we might decide we need a few new colors. Hopefully everything will be spic and span so I don't have to clean (except our apartment when we move out).

All of the dry wall is up now. We went in the afternoon so I could snap a few pictures (see slideshow link below). It looks SO much bigger with the walls up! Everytime we go in, it makes me more excited! I am not looking forward to the repacking and the unpacking again but it will all be worth it when I don't have to live in an apartment anymore

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbuWrJw0ZMmTp4&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4

Let me know if you can't open this link and I will email it to you.

home again, home again..

Libby and I are home again. We had a good time in Michigan. We just hung out, ate and Libby played with her cousins. We went swimming at Aunt Judy and Uncle Rob's one day but the rest of the time was too cool to go swimming or to the spray park. Libby had a good time playing with "JoJo" and Ben. Ben and Libby are definitely "kissing cousins". Ben would walk up to Libby, take the pacifier out of her mouth, they would kiss and then he would put the pacifier back in her mouth. They did it a few times and it was too cute. You would never have known that a few days before Ben was pushing her around.

Libby was a pretty good traveler on the way home. This time I had to go though security alone and all was going good until I had to take Libby's DVD player out of my carry on. She saw it and started screaming. I put it in the stroller with her for our 25 minute trek to the gate and everything was fine. She had a couple small fits when we had to board the plane and when I had to shut it off for take off. As soon as the plane started moving she fell asleep and slept until just before landing. I would absolutely do it again since she was such a good girl.

Summer Vacation part 2

Friday August 15th we went "Up North" to my grandma's house on Lake Huron for the weekend. It was the first time I had been there with the whole family for 12 years. Libby was pretty good considering she was in a big house full of strangers (well, strangers to her) and all the other kids there were boys. Libby made a little progress since a few weeks ago when we were there but she still HATED the sand. She literally gagged when I put her on the beach without shoes. She would sit in the sand and play if she had shoes on-for a short period of time. Libby loved the water however I did not. The lake is a lot dirtier, rockier and more shallow than it was when I was a kid. It was also windy so I was afraid that she would get knocked over by the waves and swallow dirty lake water or hit her head on a rock. I think she had a good time playing with her cousin Ben on the beach and chasing "JoJo" around the house. Maybe next summer she will like the beach and sand a little more.

We're leaving on a jet plane....

Thursday August 14th Libby and I left for Michigan (again). I was very nervous about flying alone with Libby. I got a new movie for her DVD player, some new books and brought her new favorite snack-pretzels. I didn't know how I was going to get though security with all of our electronics, a stroller and a little girl. Luckily when we checked in the airport gave Mike a pass so he could help me though. Mike stayed at the airport for a little while then he had to leave for work. Libby and I had about 45 minutes before we boarded the plane. We watched the planes, Libby ate some grapes, and we strolled around. I made sure we boarded the plane last, I wanted the smallest amount of time on the plane as possible. Libby was PERFECT the entire trip. I didn't even have to get her DVD player out. We sang, read books and ate our snack. She liked looking out the window, seeing the clouds and being "high in the sky". We had about a 25 minute trek from our gate to the baggage claim (because I had the stroller we had to wait for about 4 elevators) and she just sat quietly in her stoller. Our luggage had already been put out by the time I got there. I hope I didn't jinx myself and she is that good on the way home.

On the road again...

On Friday August 1st we got home from Kansas City about noon. Mike wanted to be home to be at work much earlier however, he spent most of the night vomiting. I don't know what got into him but it must not have been a bug since Libby and I didn't get it. Needless to say I drove home while Mike slept.

After we dropped Mike off at work (he was feeling a little better), Libby and I came home took naps, took baths, unpacked and repacked. We were on our way to Sioux City for the night. We went out to dinner with Jeni and Sophie then went to Mikey and Melissa's to pick up our mail. Apparently the post office only forwards your mail for 2 1/2 months these days because they had a TON of our mail. It was nice to visit the old house again. I don't know if Libby remembers living there or not but she sure had a good time playing with Jaelyn and all her toys.

After we got back to Jeni's we took the girls on a stroller ride around the neighborhood. Libby played a little bit and then we all went to bed. Libby slept all night at Jeni's house. I am glad too because she needed it.

In the morning Libby and I went to give Taylor her birthday present before her big party. The kids played for a while then it was time to head to Cherokee. My Aunt Beth and Uncle Tom were at my grandparent's house for the weekend. Libby was pretty good during our visit. She was getting tired so it was time to leave. It was sure a lot of driving, but it was good to visit with everyone.

Oceans of Fun

Wednesday July 30th-Mike, Libby and I headed for Kansas City. Mike has some clients to meet up with so Libby and I (and Mike's boss, wife and daughter) decided to tag along. Wednesday night we headed downtown to eat-however, when we got there every where was too long to wait to eat with two little girls. So we ended up eating at the Waffle House across from our hotel. I didn't mind because I LOVE Waffle House. Thursday while the boys were working, the girls headed to Oceans of Fun. The guys meet up with us in time for lunch. Libby was such a trooper. She didn't have much sleep the night before since we were in a strange place. We were there for almost 6 hours. Libby took a short snooze on a lawn chair but otherwise enjoyed playing in the water.

Thursday night we meet up with Josh, Jessica, Avary, Ben, Tina, and Baby Bailey. We went out to dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise at Legends. Avary and Libby had a good time playing together at the fountain when we were done eating. Mike and I got a little shopping done before Libby started to melt down. I am glad it worked out for us to make a visit to KC before the summer was over and Jessica and Tina had to go back to work.

I made a little digital "photo album" that I hope you all enjoy!

Oceans of Fun

Make a Smilebox photobook

Our new house slideshow

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbuWrJw0ZMmTjQ&emid=sharview&linkid=link4

Here is the link to the the slideshow of our new house for those of you that may not have gotten it by email. I am not thrilled with my gmail account. The contact feature is not very useful sometimes. One of these days I am going to switch to Cox but I need to figure out a user name first.

Always on the go...

Since I haven't posted for a while-I am going to try to do what I did last time and update chronologically.

On Tuesday July 22nd Libby and I made a quick trip to Sioux City. My very good friend Pam's mom passed away on the 18th. So, I made a big batch of chocolate chip cookies and took them to her at the visitation. I also got the chance to visit with a bunch of my old friends. While I was at the visitation, Libby stayed with Uncle Nick, Aunt JJ and Baby Jordyn. Nick said she didn't even notice that I was gone. She had a good time playing with Husker (their dog) and Jordyn.

We stopped to visit Taylor and Caleb before we went home. They had gotten a new puppy-Chloe. She is a cute little fur ball. Libby didn't get worn out enough though, she stayed awake until 10:30-the whole ride home.

Then on Thursday we went on our annual cabins camping trip. MIke had his training/convention for work so he didn't get to go along. This year seemed a little different since we only live about 15-20 minutes away now. The weather was OK this year but the bugs were certainly biting more than I remember. Libby had a good time watching DVD's in the cabin, going swimming one day, and playing with all the dogs that were there. She was a pretty good sleeper too. Unfortunately I did not take one picture this year.

busy, busy, busy....

On July 9 and 10 my Aunt Jackie (not to be confused with Libby's Aunt Jacque), my cousin Alisa, and her 4 girls were in Omaha for a visit to the zoo. My Aunt lives near Kansas City and Alisa and girls all live in Washington state. Wednesday was a hot day and with Libby's recent ear infection I didn't think she would want to spend all day outside. When they were all done at the zoo, we meet them at their hotel for dinner and swimming. Our friend Ruth (who lives in Council Bluffs) and her 2 girls came along too. It was fun eating out with all 11 of us girls. Libby ate and ate and had a good time swimming. On Thursday- Alisa, Jackie and all the girls-this time including my cousin Tracy-came to visit my apartment. We hung out for a little while and then went out for lunch. It was awesome to see them all again and will hopefully get to see again soon.

On Friday- Libby and I visited a sprayground in Omaha. It wasn't as good as the one in Michigan. She was more interested in the slides and the play area than the water but it was entertaining for a brief period of time. Saturday-Mike played in a tournament so we spent a few hours at the ballpark. Libby, Jacque and I also made a visit to Uncle Rod and Aunt Callie's for a swim. It was a little chilly that day so the swim didn't last very long.

Today-Libby, Austin and I went to a really neat pool. It has a shallow end with a couple of spray areas and a little kiddy slide. Libby could walk around and play on the slide by herself (with supervision). The pool gradually got deeper and also had a deep end with a diving board and a slide for "big kids". Libby is going to be disappointed when we go to the pool at the cabins and she can't play in the water on her own like this pool and the sprayground.

Libby is 18 months old!!

On July 8th Libby had an appointment for her 18 month check up. We are still going to Dr. Amir in Sioux City for check ups. I guess I should try to find a doctor in Omaha in case of emergency but I would love to keep going to Dr. Amir whenever possible.

When I started typing this I looked back in my blog to see what Libby's stats were at her 15 month check up. Well, the girl hasn't grown at all! She is the same size as she was 3 months ago. Actually this time she measured 2 inches shorter at 30 1/2" which puts her in the 35th percentile. Last time they measured her laying on the scale, this time they did it standing. Libby weighs 1 oz. less this appointment at 22 lbs. 12 oz which is the 25th percentile. I swore she weighed more than that and she was more on the average size. Her head was in the 40th percentile but I have always know that she has a peanut head.

While at this check up it was discovered that Libby had a double ear infection. She didn't act cranky but had been pulling on her ears occasionally but Dr. Amir said the infection was only a couple of days old. When we got back from MI she had a fever for a day, she had been drooling a lot and had a runny nose so I just thought all of those things were because she is getting her molars in. I asked Dr. Amir to give Libby a shot of antibiotics to clear up her ear infection because two out of three times I tried to give her Tylenol/Advil for her fever, she threw it up. I knew the shot was going to be painful for her but not as painful as trying to shove medication in her mouth for 10 days and worrying about how much she actually swallowed. Since Libby has gotten the shot she has been eating and eating and her runny nose has cleared up.

Dr. Amir was impressed by Libby's verbal skills. She didn't actually say very much at her appointment but I told him how she can speak a few sentences and has started putting words together. I am sure she gets her verbal skills from her dad and Aunt Jacque.

4th of July weekend

On the 4th of July we packed up and went to Sioux City for the weekend. On Friday night we went to the Explorer's game. Libby liked clapping and cheering when everyone else did. She was in love with the mascot "Slider". She kept crying and saying "Puppy, Puppy, Puppy". Libby did great staying up for the fireworks. She LOVED them too. The loud noise didn't scare her at all. She just watched and said "WOW". We have since seen fireworks on TV and she will stare and say "WOW".

On Saturday we went out to Brad and Teri's for their annual pool party. Libby LOVES swimming. She has no fear of the water. She would jump in by herself if we let her. We didn't make it until the fireworks that night because Libby was tired and kept wanting to get in the pool with her clothes on. Austin gave us a little fireworks show at Mimi and Papa's after it got dark. He only tried to light the neighborhood on fire once, which was pretty funny and scary at the same time.

On Sunday Mike and I made a visit to our old house. It was cool to see the family but sort of sad to see it again. After everyone went back to Omaha on Sunday (Libby and I stayed until Tuesday), we went over to my sister's to visit with Taylor and Caleb. Libby played with the kids, had a couple of snacks and went swimming. We left when it started raining and the tornadoes came. My visit would not have been complete without the tornado sirens going off.

random stuff

I have been working with Libby on potty training. I know she is a little young but I would LOVE to have her potty trained before we move to our new house. I won't be disappointed too much if it doesn't happen but I have to give it a try-at least at home. The past couple of days I have been taking her clothes off and letting her sit on her potty chair in the living room while we read or watch TV. Yesterday said "potty" and pointed to her chair. I sat her on the potty and she pooped!!! I got really excited, showed it to her and let her flush it down the toilet. While I was calling daddy to tell him the news and getting a diaper to put on, she peed on the floor. I guess we have a ways to go. I can't except too much because she is still pretty young.

Nick and JJ finally got their blog up and running. The link to view some photos of Jordyn Jae is listed at the very bottom of my blog. It is the top link.

Our house is coming along great. We can see some of the piping that will be under the house and the sump pump. They have also poured the concrete for our garage floor. It has been about a week since I have gotten up close to see the changes. This weekend I plan on taking a few pictures and will post a report.

Summer Vacation

I apologize for not posting for so long. It has been pretty busy around here. On June 20th, my sister and I loaded up the 3 kids in her van and drove 13 hours to my dad and Cande's. We drove overnight thinking the kids would sleep. Not the case, Libby and Caleb barely slept. Needless to say the drive was an adventure. We got to there around 7am. Libby and I went to bed and slept until around 10:30am. We got ready and out the door to get a few family pictures taken. Unfortunately, my kid was the least cooperative. Some of the pictures turned out good even though Libby had a pacifier in her mouth and we were still tired from the trip. We went up North on Monday night. Libby did not want anything to do with the beach. She hated the sand and the lake water. She liked it when I walked in the water but refused to get down. The picture above is taken in a quick second that she let me put her down with shoes on. I hope she likes it when she gets older. Libby loved running around the big house and acted like she owned the place most of the time. On Thursday we took the kids to a sprayground. Libby LOVED it!! I thought I was going to have to hold her the whole time. She got down right away and ran around with all the other kids. She let the buckets dump on her and let the sprinklers spray her in the face, she didn't care. We went swimming at Aunt Judy and Uncle Rob's a few times too, which Libby also enjoyed. Otherwise, we just ate, shopped and hung out at the house. The drive home wasn't quite as adventurous because the kids slept most of the way. Libby and I had such a good time we are planning on flying back for another visit in August.

We have a basement!

Here are a few more recent pictures of our house. These pictures were taken a week ago right before the tornadoes came to town AGAIN. Libby and Mike are standing where our basement sliding glass door will be. Not much as been done to the house since. Libby and I are leaving for Michigan on Friday for a little over a week. I hope some progress will be made by the time I get back.

We have been busy around here lately. Libby and I took a quick trip to Cherokee/Storm Lake/Sioux City last Tuesday. We got back just in time for it to storm again on Wednesday. We became storm chasers and eventually ended up at Aunt Joyce's since we still haven't found the storm shelter here. Over the weekend we went to Austin's baseball game and then had our first overnight guests. Jeni, BA and Sophie came to visit for Father's Day. We went shopping, out to eat and played Wii. Monday we went to the College World Series, which was a good time as always. Now I am busy doing laundry, packing and cleaning before we leave on Friday. Our air conditioner has been broken since Tuesday so I am trying to not do too much during the hot days. Maybe it will be fixed tomorrow.

Official Omaha Residents

Here are a few pictures of our new house. The two of the grass are obviously before anything was started. The other two are the basement area. The unexcavated part is the garage. Every night after we eat dinner the three of us go out to the lot to see what has been done that day. I will post more pictures after a few days of progress.

Libby and I have been living in Omaha for 7 days now. In the last 7 days there have been 3 nights with tornado warnings and the sirens have gone off twice. What kind of place are we living in?? I only remember hearing tornado sirens about 4 or 5 times the entire 15 years I lived in Sioux City. Last night Libby spent the night at Aunt Jacque's so Mike and I could go out and celebrate our 10 year anniversary (can you believe it has been 10 years??). The tornado sirens went off at around 2:30am. Jacque had to wake Libby up and take cover. The Millard area was hit pretty good. There are trees and fences down everywhere. A few houses are without roofs and siding today. We drove by our new house and everything is fine there. A couple of houses in the development right next to us didn't fare so well.

Wednesday night, Libby and I were home alone in our 2nd floor apartment when the sirens went off. The funnel clouds luckily died down right before they made it to where we live. The wind was really scary especially since we do not have a basement in our complex. I guess I should be reading up on what to do in case of the next tornado!