The Third Prayer

-1-

Do you ever have one of those weeks that is so busy, so intense yet flies by so fast that you want to curse?  That has been my week. 

-2-

Yesterday my friend Emily called and asked me to be her daughter’s Godmother!  I’m so over the moon and honored to take on this incredible role.  I can’t wait to meet her baby whom is due on Tuesday.  (But hopefully she’ll wait until her due date because Emily & I are getting massages on Monday!)

-3-

Today I am going to our parish to talk to the 8th graders about my trips to Rome, Italy and Dublin, Ireland.  I ran a marathon in Rome in March 2001 and a marathon in Dublin in October 2004.  I used to have many memorbilia from my trips but now I can’t find anything but my photo albums, medals and my rosary from the Vatican.  I’m supposed to talk for 20 minutes to three different classes.  So now I am scrambling to think about what I am going to say…er, uh, yeah, er, uh, hum.

-4-

Here’s a break from all that talk.  I mentioned last week that Mary Rene has become a climber but everyday she is climber on more and more things.  On Wednesday she learned how to climb on top of her toychest and look out the window.

She was so excited about her new accomplishment that she had to do it over and over again.  This happen to take place on Wednesday, the day I didn’t sit all day.  Do you see why now?

Oh and yes, I finally did buy her another pair of legwarmers.

-5-

My mother-in-law told me last week that Mary Rene hasn’t been taking the bottle while I am at work.  I told her to try the sippy cup this week and sure enough, she doesn’t really want that either.  As my friend Joanne said, “she is finally learning that milk doesn’t come from a cup!”  I was planning on next week being my last week of pumping but it looks like yesterday was instead.  (sniff sniff-I’m so upset about not pumping anymore. sniff sniff.)  I’m not worried about her drinking milk because it is only two days a week and she always has yogurt for breakfast, cheese for a snack and mac-n-cheese for lunch those days.  But now I have all this extra milk.  I made Mary Rene a smoothie yesterday with some of the milk but she didn’t care for it.  I figured we could start using it in cereal and other recipes until it is gone.  I would love to donate it but there isn’t a milk bank in Missouri.  Which got me thinking, why isn’t there a milk bank in Missouri?  I did some research and learned that there are only about 10 (registered) milk banks in the United States.  They used to be really popular in the 60s and 70s but formula came along and some of the banks started closing.  Then AIDS started spreading in the 80s and 90s and that pretty much scared the milk banks closed.  But now they are very careful with the milk and they make the mom undergo test before she can donate her milk.  (Hey, they do it before you donate blood as well.)  So after doing my research, I contacted someone from the Human Milk Bank Association of North America and asked them what needed to be done to open one in St. Louis, Missouri.  She sent me the information and to say the least, I am looking into it.  I know this is completely from left field but there is a need for it.  What do new moms do who have adopted a newborn baby?  What about foster parents who take in newborn babies?  What about moms who can’t breastfeed but want their babies to have breast milk?  What about babies who lose their mommies? The need is clearly there and I’m going to continue doing my research to see what can be done about it.  Wish me luck.

-6-

I stayed up Wednesday night and started working on taggie blankets (one for my GODDAUGHTER!) for a few of my friends who are about to pop.  After those, I am going to make a grocery shopping cart cover (for my GODDAUGHTER!) and then I am going to start making Mary Rene’s Christmas dress.  Then I am going to make cushions for our new dining room chairs.  After making her Halloween costume I have really gotten into sewing again and I am ready to try new things.  My mom taught me an easy way to gather material without using the machine and it is so much better looking and quicker.  I’m really excited about starting all these little projects and having some “Trena” time again.

-7-

Speaking of Mary Rene’s Halloween costume, she is going to be a Princess Fairy.

Unforuntaley the blue tulle is pale blue and you can barely tell it is blue.  I am a little disappointed in the tutu but I am so excited about her outfit.  I can proudly say that I sewed the whole darn thing myself!  I didn’t have to have my mom finish it or gather for me.  To top it off, I couldn’t add a zipper to the back because I didn’t make the skirt that the pattern suggested.  The skirt attached to the zipper so my mom said I could hook a ribbon on the back so it would stay shut.  But, being the over achiever that I am…

Just like her momma’s wedding dress, baby girl has a corset back!  I think I really impressed my mom when she saw that.

I also have red wings for the costume but they didn’t really match so she isn’t going to wear them.  Happy Halloween everyone!

-1-

Tuesday was such a beautiful day that Mary Rene played outside when I got home from work.  She was having so much fun walking back in forth from the front yard to the back yard.  She thinks it is so cool that she can open and close the gate.  Adorable.  Mr. Meyer (by the way, it is Meyer not Meyers.  my bad!) saw us out playing and he came over to join in the fun.  Mary Rene grabbed his finger and she walked him to the backyard to show him her playhouse.  Such a show off.  She is so darn proud of her playhouse that she wants to show it to the whole neighborhood.

-2-

Later that night, Frank and I pulled out the china and used it for our stay-in date.  Did you use your china this week? 

Katie H., go get your momma’s china and start using it!

-3-

Speaking of our date, Frank gave me a standing ovation for the dinner I cooked!  Oh my goodness I felt like Martha Stewart and all.  When he heard the ingredients I was going to use he tried getting me to make something else.  But I surprised him-again.  I think this is going to become my “new mom” dish.  So good, so healthy, so yummy.

-4-

I just wanted to say that I love the Fall season and I’m so sad that is is nearly over. 

-5-

The last few weeks everyone kept asking us what Mary Rene was going to be for Halloween.  We thought we had plenty of time to figure it out but…well, holidays and events have a way of sneaking up on you.  So last week, on a whim, I decided to sew Mary Rene’s costume.  My mom and I went to the store and I bought a princess pattern.  I decided to go with a princess because (1) Mary Rene is a princess (2) I have a crown and wand from her birthday cake and (3) I already have half the costume since part of it is a tutu.  I took her pink tutu from her birthday and added blue tulle so now it is a multi-colored tutu.  Then I took all the extra material from the dress Mary Rene wore in my sister’s wedding to make the top of the costume.  I added some white satin that my mom gave me, pink ribbon from Mary Rene’s tutu and some blue ribbon I bought at the store.  All together, her costume only cost $7.  Wanna see it?  You’ll have to wait until Halloween!

-6-

After teasing you about showing the Halloween costume I realized I haven’t added one single photo to this post.  How boring of me.  I haven’t taken any pictures the last few days with my camera so a picture from my cell phone will have to do.  Excuse the quality.

Yesterday I walked in the kitchen for a brief second (okay, maybe seven seconds) and when I walked back in the room Mary Rene was standing up on her chair looking out the window.  She is such a little daredevil and has no sense of fear.  (See how close her little foot is to the edge…ready to fall off.)  When she turned around and saw me she started laughing and did a little dance.  By this point I was freaking out because if she danced a little harder she would have fallen off the chair.  I helped her get down carefully but it only a took a matter of minutes before she climbed up the chair again.

-7-

I got my butt out of bed and ran three mornings in a row this week.  Oh I’m feeling so much better.  I decided that I will start running Monday through Thursday, sleep in with Mary Rene on Fridays, and rest on the weekend.  Sophie B. is really enjoying her runs.  When she hears my alarm go off she gets really excited and whimpers and pants until we get out the door.  She is so loud, with her long toe nails scraping the floor, that I’m always afraid she will wake Frank and Mary Rene.  So I’m a total dork and I started sleeping in my running underwear, pants and socks.  (Yes I wear special underwear and special socks for running.)  When my alarm goes off I stay in bed for a couple minutes to trick Sophie B.  I take off my sleeping bra and t-shirt and once Sophie B thinks I am “hitting snooze” I quietly sneak into the bathroom.  Okay, here is where I get even more ridiculous.  I sneak in the bathroom and put my contacts in and wait.  As soon as the heat starts running (it is loud) I start to pee and at the same time I quickly put on my sports bra, running shirt (wick material!) and my running shoes.  Now all I have to do is flush and wash my hands.  As soon as I flush Sophie B. is up and prancing back and forth.  I quickly leave the bathroom, go to the back door and put on her leash and start the run.  So far she hasn’t woken anybody up.  So far I’m a real dork.

-1-

The most interesting thing I probably have ever text to Frank was yesterday: “PAP SMEAR OKAY.”  I’m hoping he wasn’t standing next to one of his co-workers when he read that one.   So the test results are back and all is good.  I guess the abnormal pap was due to having a baby.

-2-

I started to run out of time to sew Mary Rene’s dress for my sister’s wedding so on Wednesday my mom came over and she helped me get a lot of it done.  Well…really she did all the work since Mary Rene was being crabby.  Once Mary Rene took a nap then I helped her, well kind of.  I mostly watched and learned.  Today I am going over there so Mary Rene  can try the dress on so we can hem the dress.  I can’t wait to see her in it.  It is so pretty!

-3-

Mary Rene had her one year doctor’s appointment yesterday.  She is 28 1/2 inches (25 percentile) and 21.8 pounds (52 percentile.)  I told Frank the night before her appointment that I wish I would have delayed vaccination and being the medical expert that he is (or at least he thinks he is) he said we needed to do what the doctor’s suggested.   I should have gone with my gut because she ended up getting FOUR shots and screamed and screamed and screamed.  I couldn’t even comfort nurse her because she was so upset.  I felt completely horrible. 

-4-

Over the weekend, my skanky friend Nicole C and I went to Michael’s and looked at yarn and afghan patterns.  We both decided to start making our first afghan (have you started yet???)  I got home and I didn’t have enough yarn to start an afghan so I am working on a purse for myself until I can get to the store and buy yarn.  So for once, I am doing something for myself.

-5-

The Fashion Police have arrived and I am under arrest.  I call this…being too lazy to put pants on my daughter. 

Oh don’t give me that look.  Mary Rene was having fun modeling her leg warmers for me.

-6-

Having a Girls Night tonight and I’m looking forward to it!  I told Frank what I was going to cook and he rolled his eyes and advised me not to cook that meal.  He said it was too greasy and he didn’t like it.   So girls, I hope you like it!  I sure did last time I cooked.

-7-

Remember the neighbor that never talked to me until he got a dog, Leza?  Frank and I are taking care of his dog while he is in the hospital getting surgery.  Frank said he was really happy that we offered to help while he was in the hospital.  He gave Frank a key to his gate and shook Frank’s hand.  Oh and we found out his name is John.

-1-

These are going to be some really quick takes because I have been really busy this week.  Is there anyone in the area that doesn’t have much to do that can come help me?

-2-

On Monday, Mary Rene’s buddy Elaine came over for a play date.  It was so cute because Mary Rene was quietly playing by herself before Elaine got there.  But once she saw Elaine she became a little chatter box.  I love to see two kids interact and how different their personalities shine when they are together.  I really need to get Mary Rene out on more play dates.  She loves to play with other kids.

-3-

Monday night I left, in the pouring down rain, and drove to Rolla to start my business trip.  I stayed at the closest hotel to the exit, did an hour of work and crashed.  Tuesday was an incredibly long, long day.  I was in the car for way too long and ended up getting car sick.  Three times.  Yuck.  But the night ended well and I met Frank’s friend Tony D for dinner and a drink in Springfield, Missouri.  I’m so glad this week is over.

-4-

Speaking of that drink, besides wine, the last alcoholic drink I had was on Jan. 5, 2008 when we celebrated my friend’s birthday.  The next week I found out I was pregnant so I stopped drinking.  Tuesday night, since I was away from Mary Rene, I had a Mai Tai.  WOW!  It only took about five sips until I felt tipsy.  I drank the whole thing though and felt completely light headed.  Although that could do with the fact that I got sick three times that day.  After dinner and my drink I walked to my hotel room, pumped and then…dumped.  I nearly cried as I watched my liquid gold go down the drain.  That was the first time I did it and probably the last.  The drink wasn’t worth it…at all.

-5-

Yesterday morning I had a doctor’s appointment.  About six months ago I mentioned that my pap smear had come back abnormal and they wanted to do it again.  Apparently after you have a baby it is pretty common to have an abnormal pap.  So I did it again.  Test results should be back next week. 

-6-

Regarding the item above, I haven’t mentioned this in awhile but….I am still period free.  Weird.  Dr. Gosser asked when I had my last period and I happily said, “December 2007.”  I thought he would have asked if I was pregnant or at least asked if I wanted to take a test.  But he didn’t seem surprised at all.  He said some women just don’t get it back until they start weaning….or stop all together.  So I will enjoy it while I can.

-7-

We are getting Mary Rene’s 1 year pictures taken tomorrow.  We decided to go all out and hire Ben Smith, the photographer that did our wedding.  He is great and I highly recommend him!

-1-

Raise your hand if you are tired of me talking about Mary Rene this week?  Okay, well I’m glad nobody raised their hand because I have one more birthday post to write.  I really didn’t think I would spend everyday this week talking about her first birthday.  But then again, it is her first birthday and she’ll never have that birthday again.  Do you know what you did on your first birthday?  Ask your parents, do they remember?  I know we’ll never forget Mary Rene’s first birthday.

-2-

I mentioned last week that my new project started at work and boy did it start.  I am so incredibly busy that I am having a hard time breathing.  Every night this week, except Monday, I worked during Mary Rene’s naps and after she went to bed and before she woke up.   And this is on top of all the birthday festivities and keeping this blog updated.  Needless to say, we don’t have any groceries in this house and I haven’t had a chance to clean anything.  Oh and I am exhausted.

-3-

Monday night I didn’t work from home (well not at first anyways) because I went to my La Leche League meeting.  Last month I decided to stop taking Mary Rene with me because (a) the meetings are late and it kept her up past her bedtime and (b) I need some “me” time.  Last month I lasted at the meeting for about an hour before Frank called because Mary Rene was hyperventilating.  This month, I lasted two hours before I left because I was getting tired.  Frank has been getting Mary Rene to bed lately so I got a night out.  It was so nice to be out and have some “me” time.  Who would have thought that my “me” time would be spent talking about milk and boobs? 

-4-

Back to comment #2.  I was able to dodge a business trip this week because my awesome co-worker Tabitha did the job for me.  I would have missed some of Mary Rene’s birthday festivities and I was not about to work over that so Tabitha was a real dear and helped me out.  But next week I will have to go on a business trip for two days.  Blah.  I really don’t want to start traveling again.  The bad thing about traveling is that I will be in a car from 6 a.m. until 6 or 8 p.m.  We will stop for a bathroom break, lunch and dinner but that’s about it.  So basically I will have to pump and drive at the same time.  Tricky but I don’t have a choice.

-5-

Today I am going to try really hard and not work at all so I can go to the zoo with my friend Sharlene and her daughter Tess.  I am going to try really hard not to work when I get home.  I am going to try really hard.

-6-

Tomorrow, Mary Rene and I are heading to Columbia for my sister’s bridal shower.  We are staying the night for her bachelorette party too.  The party is at my sister’s future mother-in-law’s house and she has a place for Mary Rene and I to sleep.  This works out great because Frank is out of town.

-7-

Just for grins…

Mary Rene has been doing the ‘more’ sign a lot lately.  And her sign looks exactly like the way Frank and I do.  She is a good little imitator.  She does it a lot at meal time but now she is doing it for other things.  I was tickling her the other day and when I stopped she started doing the sign for more!  Then on her birthday when they were singing Happy Birthday to the lady at the table next to ours, she started doing the sign more when they were done.  This is great stuff!

-1-

Four day weeks were great when I worked full-time but when you work part-time a four day week takes on an entirely different dynamic.  I am grateful for the extra day to spend with Frank but at the same time that steals a day from my work week and my at home week.  I know that sentence made no sense but it makes sense in my head.

-2-

For my facebook friends you have already heard this.  Yesterday I was at my parent’s house and my sister-in-law shared some very horrible news with me.  Her friend, Rebecca’s one year old son, Mason, passed away.  Fifteen minutes after she dropped him off at the babysitters on Tuesday, he fell down a flight of stairs.  He was on life support but declared brain dead.  They made the painful decision to pull the plug and now he is in heaven with Our Lord.  Please pray for Rebecca’s family during this difficult time.  The father was in a rage, of understandable angry, and had to be restrained by the police in fear of what he was going to do to the babysitter.  The babysitter happened to be someone they knew personally.  Please pray for her as well. 

-3-

Mary Rene drinks a lot of water.  I mean a lot.  The girl loves her some water.  So do I, so I know where she gets it from.  You wouldn’t think it would be a problem but this mean she pees nonstop.  So do I, but I know how to go on the toilet.  I’m seriously not kidding when I say this but I am changing her diaper nearly every hour to hour and a half.  If I don’t, she will pee right through the diaper and onto her clothes.  For some reason she gets wet quicker in the cloth diapers then she does in the disposables.  If I started using disposable diapers then I wouldn’t have to change her as much.  But…that just creeps me out a bit.  I mean, what is in those diapers to make them so absorbent?

-4-

My new project at work started and I got busy quick.  I will have to travel for this project which I knew would eventually come up again.  Right now it looks like I will only be gone for two or three days in a row.  I would be gone longer but I have a zoning hearing to attend in Chesterfield and I cannot miss it so someone will have to finish my field work for me.  I am starting to hate the principal behind my job again.  I really don’t want to travel again.  I just can’t do that right now in my life. 

-5-

Before Mary Rene was mobile, after her bath I was able to lay her on a mat and rub lotion on her legs and arms and put on her pjs.  Now the girl doesn’t stay still.  As soon as I carry her in the front room to get her dressed she walks right over to daddy and tries to take the Bible from him.  Then she walks over to Sophie’s couch to play with her.  Then she walks back to daddy and plays with the Bible.  Then back to Sophie.  So on and so on.  I took a lot of great pictures of her going back and forth between daddy, Sophie and me.  But most of the pictures she was naked and we have a no naked rule on this website.  So this is the only picture I can show.

Here’s how it goes.  Naked for awhile.  Then I finally can get a shirt on her.  After a couple minutes I can wrestle a diaper on her.  After a few more minutes I can finally put pants on her legs.  It is becoming a real chore to get this mobile girl to bed.

-6-

We are celebrating Mary Rene’s first birthday with family and friends on Saturday!  Please pray for nice weather because we are having the party in our backyard.  I will share photos as soon as I can.

-7-

No video this week.  Instead I will leave you with this.  For months I held Mary Rene in my arms every time I let Sophie out to go potty.  Now, she is doing the job for me.

Unforunately Sophie doesn’t know how to get back in the house because Mary Rene blocks the entire entrance.  Being the good girl she is, Sophie doesn’t plow her down.  Instead she walks away and Mary Rene will just stand there and stare at her.

-1-

The bachelorette party last weekend went really well and I didn’t cry once.  I actually had an amazingly fun time and enjoyed every moment of it (except for the pumping.)  On Saturday we hung out at Clearwater Lake all day and I drove the boat.

That’s my sister’s veil flapping in the wind on the right side of the photo.

I ended up coming home late Saturday night so I could get a good night’s sleep before our busy day Sunday but I easily could have stayed the second night.  Being away wasn’t as bad as I thought…but don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to make a habit out of it. 

-2-

On Tuesday I took Mary Rene to her very first eye doctor appointment.  As part of the Infant See program, babies between the age of 6 month and 1 year can get a free eye exam at certain locations.  The doctor’s office 1.5 miles up the road was on the list so I got her an appointment, just in the knick of time.  Mary Rene did very well and followed the light from top to bottom and left to right.  The doctor said her eyes look great and we shouldn’t have any concerns at this time.

-3-

Yesterday our Parents as Teacher educator paid us a visit.  Due to the summer break, we haven’t seen her since May.  Can you imagine how much a baby has changed in that amount of time?  Mary Rene wasn’t crawling, was seldom babbling and was showing huge separation anxieity signs.  When our educator walked in the door, Mary Rene started waving and saying hi.  Mary Rene crawled over to her and sat in her lap!  She was really surprised at how much Mary Rene has changed these last few months.  She played the games with Mary Rene and watched for Mary Rene’s reactions.  Of course she said that Mary Rene was a very smart girl…but I think they say that to all the parents.

-4-

About a month ago, my friend was having a garage sale and I purchased Mary Rene’s first purse.  It plays music and makes noises when she opens and closes the purse.  She didn’t seem to care about it so I sat it to the side.  This week I finished crocheting my third project which was a purse for Mary Rene.  I didn’t intent to make her a purse but I crocheting so tight that the purse came out too small for it to serve a real purpose.  When I gave her my purse she decided to start playing with her other purse.  I tried forcing her to like my purse but she was more interested in the talking purse all of a sudden.

The girl loves afghans so I thought the yarn on the purse would attract her but I guess until I add music to the purse it is worthless to her.

But I was outdone and Frank’s cousin bought Mary Rene her first real purse: a knock-off Louis Vuitton.  (She made it sound like it was the real thing but I looked up the design and it isn’t the same.  As if Mary Rene will know the difference!)

I tried again to force Mary Rene to like my purse but she again rejected me.

She actually started to get a little angry and wanted to throw my purse out the door.

The knock-off doesn’t play music so she is back to playing with her play purse.

 -5-

 Our new kitchen table came in yesterday and we get to pick it up today. 

-6-

I mentioned last week that I wanted Mary Rene to wear a special outfit for her birthday party.  I finished making the tutu ($11 by the time I bought additional hot pink ribbon) last week and yesterday, my amazing friend Nicole’s mom finished Mary Rene’s shirt.  Mary Rene was a good little girl and played in the kitchen while Linda worked hard on her shirt.

And the finished product…

I am so pleased with the shirt and it is more then I imagined.  Thank you so much Linda for your kindness and giving me your time and talent today.  We love you! 

-7-

Just for grins…

one of these days somebody is going to call social services on me because of this sound.  Mary Rene loves to hear her voice echo so when I change her diaper in public restrooms she likes to exercise her vocals.

I purposely am not showing her on the videotape at first because once she sees the camera she gets quiet.  But you’ll see her at the end.

-1-

I think I gave people the wrong impression in my post on Wednesday.  I don’t spend my entire time at home with Mary Rene playing with her.  I know I have responsibilities and I don’t mind doing chores.  We have hardwood floors and I sweep them everyday.  Mary Rene likes to crawl after the broom as I sweep!  I do wash nearly every other day and help Frank with dishes every day.  When I do dishes I move Mary Rene in there with me and I let her watch me.  She actually has a toy that she washes while I do the dishes.  When I do the wash, I take her downstairs with me and she watches me from her playpen. My problem is I don’t know how to shut off my mind from all these distractions.  When I am playing with Mary Rene, most of the time I am busy thinking about that piece of dust on the ground.  My mind is constantly racing with the next task and I want to find a way to relax and be at peace with it.  When I play with her, I want to give her my undivided attention instead of pretending to be fully there. 

-2-

Tonight I leave for my sister’s bachelorette party which will be in Piedmont, MO.  We are planning on staying the night Friday and Saturday.  This will be my first overnight trip away from Mary Rene and I am not looking forward to it.  Please say a special prayer that I don’t cry too much!

-3-

Since I am so busy that I can’t breath, my mom finished sewing Mary Rene’s diaper bag for me.  My mom is so good to me.  Love you mom!

Besides the fact that it is completely girly, it holds the world and is spacious at the same time.

-4-

In preparation for Mary Rene’s birthday, I’ve been looking for a special outfit for her to wear.  We are planning on doing a princess theme so I wanted her to wear a really pretty dress and a birthday tiara.  I figured she could wear the pink dress I made her for my brother’s wedding again but I decided she needed a special outfit.  We found a cute pink t-shirt with an embroidered “1″ on it and a pink tutu attached.  They were asking $75 for it.  So I decided to make my own.  I bought a white t-shirt for $3, the materials to make a tutu for $7 and my friend’s mom is going to embroidered the “1″ for me.  Talk about saving money!  I already finished the tutu and I must say that it looks pretty darn sharp.

-5-

I decided that the only way I will start getting up to run in the morning is if I start drinking coffee again.  So on Monday, I went to the grocery store and I bought caffeinated coffee, which I haven’t drank since before I was pregnant.  Monday evening after Mary Rene went to bed, I got my filter out and put my grains in it, I pre-filled the water and I set the timer to go off at 7 a.m. the next morning.  My plan was to go for my run and when I got home my coffee would be ready.  Well…Tuesday morning Mary Rene woke up at 5 a.m. and I didn’t get her back to sleep until 5:35 a.m.  Sure I could have stayed up but I really wanted that extra 30 minutes to sleep.  I still drank my coffee though.  Wednesday morning, Mary Rene woke up again at 5 a.m. and this time I couldn’t get her back to bed until 6:20 a.m.  By this time it was too late for my run so I just drank my coffee.  Thursday morning…I ran!  It helped that Mary Rene slept the entire night in her crib.  And then I drank my coffee.  Are you starting to notice a theme?  My coffee is tasting really good.

-6-

My mom convinced me that if I bought soft soled shoes for Mary Rene that she would start walking.  Even though the pediatrician told me otherwise, I bought the shoes.  Wednesday we were at the Mills Mall in the playground area and sure enough, on four separate occasions, Mary Rene let go of the bar and started taking steps.  The first time she took four steps and then decided to crawl.  The 2nd and 3rd time she took two steps and decided to crawl.  The 4th time she took six steps and landed in my arms.  She was laughing so hard when she got to me and I just picked her up and kissed her all over.  She is so darn cute.

-7-

Just for grins….

I used to put a video in for Mary Rene while I was taking a shower but now that I shower before she wakes up she seldom watches videos anymore.  We popped in her Holy Baby DVD the other night and she was instantly captiviated.  I love how she hits her hands to the beat of the music.

I need to take Frank’s advice and put this video in more often so I can get some ‘me’ time during the day.

-1-

For our anniversary we went to Incredible Pizza during the day for lunch.  We paid $11 for 90 minutes of unlimited games.  You can only imagine where we spent most of our time: Tot Land.

We did play a little glow-in-the-dark miniature golf.  Well, we tried at least.

Later that night, Frank’s mom came over and watched Mary Rene while Frank and I went out to dinner.  There was a two person band playing outside the restaurant and we  sat and enjoyed the music.  It was a great day overall, I just can’t believe it has been three years already.

-2-

The next day, Thursday, we left for our five-day vacation.  If you are looking for an affordable family vacation you should consider going to Eagle Hurst Ranch.  For a little over $800, the three of us stayed five nights in a nice cabin, had three meals a day served to us and had access to a pool, the Huzzah River, a tennis court, a badminton court, softball field, shuffleboard, ping pong and a pool table.  Sure there was a lot to do but I mostly sat in my chair and did nothing.  There were a lot of other families there with kids and they adored Mary Rene.  Everyday they would come play with her so Frank and I got to relax.  Talk about a family vacation!

We went last year for our second year anniversary and just to show you how much has changed since then…

-3-

While I was there, I started and finished crocheting a dish cloth.  I need to do a better job of making my lines even but I guess that will cure itself over time.

-4-

Like I said in my post Wednesday I have a lot of photos to share from our trip.  If you are wondering, yes, I have a baby scrapbook and yes I print out a lot of these photos for my scrapbook.  If you are wondering, no, I haven’t worked on the scrapbook in a couple months.  Would anyone be interested in doing this for me?  I can give you a backrub in exchange?

-5-

During the trip, Mary Rene had to sleep in her playpen since the adult bed wasn’t big enough to fit the three of us.  Plus the adult bed was in the middle of the room and I was afraid she would fall off.  So once she fell asleep I would put her in the playpen.  One night I was struggling to put her to sleep and was rocking her for the longest time.  Then she looked over at her playpen and I had this feeling that she wanted me to put her down.  So I laid her in the playpen and she went right to sleep.  That was my indication that she was ready for her crib.  Since we have been home (Tuesday) we have put her to bed in her crib every night.  Of course, first I have to nurse her to sleep in my bed and then carry her to the crib.  But hey, it is a start.  Every night she wakes up crying around 2 a.m. and Frank changes her diaper and brings her to me.  I nurse her back to sleep and then she sleeps the rest of the night with us.  Its progress people.

-6-

We came home from our trip on Tuesday and that evening after Mary Rene went to bed I had to drive around St. Louis looking at locations for cell phone towers.  I haven’t had to drive sites in about a year so it was nice to do it again, even though it was late at night.  I left the house a little after 8 p.m. and got home around 10:30 p.m.  I stayed up and worked on my laptop for about another 30 minutes and then called it a night.  I was beat but it was good to get some hours in since I was gone for a week.

-7-

Yesterday when Mary Rene was sitting on the ground eating a goldfish she started going in circles.  She was doing it again today.  I was able to catch it on camera along with a few other funny things she does.

 

-7-

Last night Frank and I stayed up and got all the invitations together for Mary Rene’s

-1-

I have been busy all week getting ready for my sister’s bridal shower which is tomorrow.  All of her other bridesmaids live out of town, except for my sister-in-law, so my mom and I have been doing all the work for the shower.  I usually don’t wait until the last minute to do things but well, I have a baby now and that just really throws a wrench into the mix.  So today, I have to run to the grocery store and buy all the last minute ingredients.  Once I get the ingredients, Mary Rene and I will be spending the day at my parents’ house helping get all the last minute items together.  I just hope we can pull off a nice shower for her.

-2-

Yesterday we went to a consignment sale and I was able to get Mary Rene: three pairs of pjs, three toys, a winter coat and mittens and a hat for $26.  The winter coat was only $3 so I had to get it.  It is not pratical at all because it is pure white, furry and soft but absolutely gorgeous.  She will look like a little snow princess in her coat.  Oh, can you believe I am talking about coats already when it was nearly 95 degrees yesterday?

-3-

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!  I planned on attending a few of the events but I got too busy with preparing for my sister’s bridal shower.  But we did participate in the kickoff run at Creve Coeur Park.  I ran the entire inter loop which is 3.7 miles.  Okay, not the entire loop because for five minutes I had to carry Mary Rene because she was upset.  But the rest of the time I ran.  Go me. 

-4-

So I’m starting to get my mojo back and ran two other times this week.  The hard part is getting out of bed when the alarm clock goes off.  I’ve been setting it for the past two weeks to get up and go for a run but I’ve been hitting snooze.  My luck would have it that this week Mary Rene has decided to get up at 5:50 a.m.  three days in a row.  So I nurse her back to sleep and instead of going back to bed I go for a run.  It really worked out great for me, but honestly, I would rather her stay asleep. 

-5-

This is a premature thought, but I need to say my thought now because I won’t be able to tell you my thought next week.  Frank and I are going out of town next Thursday and will be gone until the following Tuesday.  We are heading down to Steelville, Missouri for a little R&R at Eagle Hurst Ranch.  We went here last year for our anniversary and decided to do it again this year.  It is a nice relaxing weekend because everything you need is on the ranch.  But the bonus, they cook three home cooked meals for you each day.  And these aren’t skimpy meals.  I might come back with those extra 20 pounds I lost!

-6-

Why are we going out of town?  Wednesday is our three year anniversary so this will be our anniversary trip.  We still haven’t decided how to spend our anniversary though.  Any suggestions?

-7-

Just for grins.