Day 57

8 weeks. I cannot believe Jessie is already 8 weeks old. Okay, 8 weeks and 1 day. She's getting to be quite the chunky monkey. Last week, Jessie & I were invited to be part of a patient education video for new moms. We will be in a segment on postpartum depression and what to expect in your first pediatrician appointment. Jessie did so good during both segments. And of course, screamed on the way there and home. Jessie hates hates hates her car seat, though she doesn't seem to mind riding in the mini-van.

That's right, we've got a mini-van. The 4 of us were a bit snug in Pearl and Rocky found a Dodge Caravan Sport that we were able to pay for with cash. Maggie loves having the third seat all to herself and Rocky (and I) enjoy the extra room. Poh-Poh (the name Maggie gave to the mini-van) is about a foot longer than Bullet and I must admit that extra room will definitely be nice when going on trips. I was the one who didn't want a mini-van when we bought Bullet, but now that we have one (and still don't have a car payment) I have to admit I like it.

Jessie is growing well. We weighed her during the video shoot and she is now (or was last week) 10 lbs 10 oz. I think Maggie was closer to 3 months when she hit the double digits. Jessie has that elusive newborn smile -- smiles for us a lot until the camera comes out. She's discovered her thumb and likes to suck on her fingers. We are still somewhat encouraging the pacifier which she will sometimes take. She's got nursing down and gave up the nursing shield several weeks ago. Though, sometimes, she will gorge herself and then it all comes back up. Which means I'm doing lots more laundry. Or maybe it just seems that way because it feels like I'm always doing laundry and just can't keep up. I do know I've washed the bedding more frequently and the boppy has seen the inside of the washer much more than it did with Maggie. I don't remember Maggie throwing up at all (other than true illness) so this spitting up is weird. It's only a couple of times a week and obviously isn't hurting her growth! She loves to talk to us: I'm trying to get video of it, but most of those end in tears and I haven't been able to edit any yet. She is still sleeping well at night and does really really well if we get 2 good naps in during the day.

We will most likely be putting the girls in a different day care, Little Seeds, which is in the lower level of our church. Right now, we are just waiting on a date to get Jessie in. I'm hoping we'll move Maggie in early September to provide a smooth transition. Maggie's friend Caleb (see VBS video) is in the same class and they both are very excited about being in class together. We took a tour the other day so Maggie could check it out and so we could really see which age group is in which room.

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures from Jessie’s video shoot for the patient education video at Billings Clinic.

**Jessie is now 8 weeks old.  She was 7 weeks in these photos.

More Garden Photos

I am so happy we did a garden this year.  We didn’t really put a lot of planning into it.  When we went to the greenhouse to pick out plants, we picked a little of this and a little of that.  And it was early in the season (Mother’s Day weekend) so we ended up getting a lot of seeds.  Now I’m marveling at how wonderful everything looks.  So far, we’ve had a couple of salads, 2 tomatoes and some sugar snap peas.  Maggie is looking forward to making tomato soup.

A Verse for Jessie

When I was pregnant with Maggie, I took great joy in Psalm 139:13-16.  I marveled at the thought that while we couldn’t see our child, she was not and is not hidden from Him.  God has had a plan for Maggie since long before we even thought of her.  That God knit her together and she is fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Throughout my pregnancy with Jessie, I kept looking for a verse for the new baby.  I knew that once I heard or saw it, I would know that THIS was the verse for him or her.  Nothing stood out to me.  Then I got her a baby book with lots of Bible verse in it and one FINALLY stood out to me: 1 Thessalonians 3:9

How we thank God for you!  Because of you we have great joy in the presence of God.

As Rocky and I talked about last night, I have been thinking about Jessie since Maggie was about a year old. And after the miscarriage, the thankfulness for a full term pregnancy and healthy baby are beyond anything I could have thought of.  So oh, how I thank God for Jessie.

And because of the great joy her big sister takes in her:

Another family visit

Grandpa Rich, Aunt Holly, and cousins Jada and Jeffery came to visit this week!  They drove all night from the Cities and got here around 6:30 Wednesday morning.  We took advantage of the nice weather on Wednesday and went to the zoo.  The rest of the week got really hot, so we didn’t venture too far from the house, though Maggie, Jada and Jeff had fun in the pool and we did some shopping.  They drove back to the Cities Saturday morning – Grandpa decided one all night 13 hour drive was enough!  Some photos from their visit:

At the Zoo:

In the pool:

Maggie is sometimes too smart

Maggie has a new pool. She loves to play in it. For about 5 minutes. Then she gets cold and needs a "warm bath." Grandpa Rich, Aunt Holly and cousins Jada & Jeff are here, and Maggie was thrilled to have more people to play with in her pool. Yesterday, she got Grandpa to go out with her and then Jada went out with her later. She got a bath after the first go around, but after playing with Jada, I decided she'd spent enough time in water (her warm baths can last up to an hour) and told her no, that I could wrap her in a warm towel to help her warm up. She pouted and asked why several times. Of course, once the whining starts, I know I can't change my mind. Then Maggie says "Mom, I will just ask Grandpa." Grandpa was sitting right there, so he also said "no." Then Maggie goes upstairs. A few minutes later she comes back with this cheap McDonald's Happy Meal toy: a "magic meatball" which is kind of like the old Magic 8 balls. She gets half way down the stairs and says "But Mom, the meatball says Yes!"

I wish I could say it's the first time she's tried this. She tried it several times while Grandma & Grandpa Dailey were here (especially the "well, I'll just ask Grandpa or Grandma")

Bible School

Maggie spent the mornings last week at Vacation Bible School. She had a great time and is still singing and dancing. They learned about Joseph and the church set up an Egyptian Market Place for the kids to learn more about life in Egypt and do some crafts.

The garden survives!

It’s been 2 weeks since the “Father’s Day Tornado” and my garden is thriving. I seriously thought it was a goner when the hail started. I watched helplessly from the house, knowing the fragile plants probably wouldn’t survive the onslaught of hail raining down from the sky. A few days after the storm, while Grandma Bonnie watched Jessie, I headed out to do some clean up. To my surprise, most everything survived. Yesterday, Maggie, Jessie and I spent some time in the backyard. Jessie peacefully slept in her chair while Maggie helped me water the garden. I brought the camera out to document the new growth. The only ones I’m worried about now are the cucumbers as I don’t really see much new growth, but I haven’t given up just yet. If everything else can survive, they may surprise me yet. I’m also looking forward to my dad coming next week so he can make sure that some of what is growing isn’t just weeds that I let get a bit out of control.

Tomatoes & Pumpkins

Carrots

Lettuce

Squash

Peas, growing up the fence

More Wine!

Now that I am no longer pregnant, I can drink wine again! The first bottle I opened was my new favorite wine, Grooner. Then, last week, I went to the Wild Wine Walk at the zoo with Alyssa and Chris. Of course, I forgot to keep the flier of what wines we tasted, but we all enjoyed the first one best. The walk is sponsored by Simply Wine and there will be another one at the end of July.

Earlier this week, I opened a bottle that had been in my wine "cellar" since before I got pregnant: Crios de Susana Balbo Rose of Malbec. It was a nice rose with a fruity smell and a tart taste. I think it was best after a day in the fridge. I'm pretty sure I got it at City Vineyard, but don't remember the cost.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a nice weekend celebrating the 4th of July.  It was a fairly mild weather weekend, so we were able to spend time outside enjoying a Montana Summer weekend.  On Saturday, we went to the Summers’ home to grill out and celebrate Ricci’s birthday.  The kids had lots of fun driving their John Deere toy and splashing in the pool.  Maggie is still not a big fan of splashing.

Sunday, we hung out at home after church and enjoyed steaks on the grill and our “new” pool.  Maggie spent a little time in the water and more time sunning herself to get warm.  That night, we  went to the Jenkins’ for a cookout.  We were hoping to be able to stay in Laurel for the fireworks, but Maggie was getting very tired towards the end of the evening and we watched fireworks from the car on the drive home. Maggie tried to stay awake, but not far from Billings told us “But guys, I’m just really tired.” And we told her it was okay to go to sleep because Daddy would carry her in.

Monday, Rocky had the day off, so we took Jessie to the zoo for the first time.  Next time, I’m going to bring along the baby carrier to see how Jessie likes that as she does not really care for her car seat.  We had lunch and then Maggie and I went to see Toy Story 3, in 3D.  Maggie thought the glasses were cool, but I don’t think the 3D added anything to the story.  It was a great story, though intense.  Several times throughout the movie, Maggie climbed into my lap and stated “Mom, I just don’t want to see anymore.”  I kept telling her it was going to be okay and I know she’s glad we stayed for the whole show.  She was upset when we left because it wasn’t until then that she realized she forgot to ask for popcorn.  Which, after paying $19.50 for the 2 tickets, I was happy I didn’t have to pay another $6-7 for a bag of popcorn and a pop.

Tonight, we are taking Jessie to her first baseball game.