Garage Sale

This past weekend we had our first garage sale!  This might not seem that exciting to some people, but for me it was.  As far back as I can remember garage sales have always been a part of my life.  My mom would always have them, often with some of our neighbors, and my grandma had them.  Every summer my sister and I would help my mom prepare for the garage sales by cleaning out our closets and by helping the day of.  I started preparing for this garage sale back when I was home on maternity leave.  I cleaned out my closets and all my jewelry while I was home with Kenley.  It was amazing how much stuff Ray and I actually had to sell, considering we have only lived in the house for a year. We also had some stuff to sell from friends and family. I was so excited on Thursday night that I couldn't sleep!  My mom and sister came to help all day Friday since Ray was at work.  Friday was our best day.  We were  constantly busy from 8:00am-3:00.  We sold a lot of big stuff including a laptop from Alison and a fur coat from Joan.  It was great getting rid of a bunch of stuff and making money!  We made a decent amount considering this stuff was just taking up space in our house, closets, and garage.  My mom is still going to have her garage sale after the 4th, so she is going to take a few of the bigger things that didn't sell.                                                           Today we took Kenley to get her 6 month pictures taken.  We also got some family pictures done.  They came out really nice.  It really is amazing how much she has changed since her 3 month pics.  In a few of the pics you could see her teeth.  (Yes, teeth plural!  She got her second one about a week and a half ago.)  I have gotten so many compliments about how good Kenley is when I have had her out.  I am so lucky that she is such a good baby and I am able to take her everywhere.  From the minute I found out I was pregnant, I always said I wasn't going to be stuck in the house because I have a baby.  I have really stuck to that taking her out all bundeled up when she was only  a few days old till now.  She loves being out and being in her stroller.  I truly think she loves the mall because even today she was a little fussy toward the end of her pictures, but the minute we got back out into the mall area and went to a few stores, she was as happy as could be.  I realize this could become a problem in the future, but I know I'll always have a shopping partner! 

Looking forward to the weekend and 4th of July!

Father's Day Weekend

It was another busy, but fun weekend for us.  Happy 1st Father's Day to Ray, Happy Father's Day to my Dad and Grandpa.  Also, Happy Father's Day to Ray's dad.  I know many people were thinking about him on this day.  We had the family over at the house for a little barbeque on Sunday.  Of course, Kenley got all the attention showing off her new 2nd tooth that popped up this week.  She also enjoyed eating some special treats including a taste of guacamole, chocolate sauce, and bannana pudding.  She was actually upset when Aunt Alison wouldn't give her anymore!  I think she would have kept on eating it until it was gone!  I was glad that Kenley was happy most of the day because it seems that she has developed a bit of mommy attachment.  The last week or so she will sometimes cry when other people try to hold her, or come by her.  I know that it is just a stage, but I want her to be social with other people. 

Also, this weekend, I went to the NKOTBSB concert!  (New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys)  It was a great concert and I went with my best friend since age 3, Joan.  We sang along to almost every song and it reminded me of many days spent together listening to the tapes in our bedrooms, wearing NKOTB shirts, and talking about who was the cutest in the band.  We finally fulfilled one of our childhood dreams!

                                     

Put-In-Bay, OH

This weekend was  my sister's bachelorette party in Put-In-Bay, OH.  None of us had ever been there before, but my sister heard about it and we did a little research and decided to go!  The weekend started out on Thursday night at my house.  All the girls came, and my mom and Greg's Aunt Jan. We played a few games, gave Katie her gifts, and had lots of food and drinks.  Katie's friend, Heather, surprised Katie by coming in from Colorado.  Only my mom and I knew about this surprise, and Katie was shocked when Heather rang the doorbell and Katie opened the door.  We tried to go to sleep early because we wanted to get on the road by 7:00.  The drive up went by fast, and even with a few stops we were there within 5 hours.  We took a 20 minute ferry ride across to the island.  We ended up bringing our cars over since we had so much luggage.  Friday during the day, the weather wasn't great, but we found a pool with a huge hot tub and had a great time hanging out there with a pool dj, and tiki bar.  That night we went  out to dinner at an Irish pub, and then out to the bars around our hotel.  The next day, the weather was beautiful, 80 and sunny, so we went to a different pool that had a swim up bar and a dj. Let's just say that Katie thought it was a good idea to by this HUGE mixed drink for us to share.  Later that night, we went to dinner on the Boardwalk and then went to a bar with a sand bottom and swings and live music. 

We had a great time, and I was happy to spend some time with my sister's friends that I don't get to see very often.  I'm glad Katie had a blast during one of her last single weekends!  I missed Ray and Kenley and was glad to get home to them Sunday night.  Ray had a fun daddy-daughter day with Kenley and took her to Toys-R-US.  She is doing much better and went back to the doctor yesterday for her 6 month check up.  She is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight.  She didn't get her shots yet since she is still on medications, but I will take her back next week.  We are just so happy she is doing better!

                            

Fevers and needles

Well, this week has not gone as planned.  Not that it would ever be a good time for Kenley to be sick, but this week has been especially tough.  On Monday Kenley was with her Grandma Pam and started a fever.  I knew she was in good hands since her Grandma is a nurse, but made a doctor's appt and came home from work as soon as my students left.  Luckily, it wasn't too big of a deal for me to leave early since we had a shorter day because it was finals.  Ray met me at the doctor, and by that time Kenley's temp was 102.  They wanted us to go to the Christ E.R. and get chest x-rays.  By the time we reached Christ around 3:00pm Kenley's temp got up to 104!  Poor thing!  She was so good, even the doctors and nurses kept saying she was way too happy for a baby with that high of a temp.  Everyone loved her, and the nurses nicknamed her "the Gerber baby."  Of course, she wasn't so happy when they decided to take blood.  We had to go through 2 seperate rounds of them poking her for over 30minutes trying to find a vein.  It was horrible watching her cry and look up at us with sad eyes.  I cried just watching her, but I knew we had to do it.  It was 2:00am by the time they finally got her fever down and sent us home.  So, Ray and I stayed home from work on Tuesday because we had to take her back to the doc for follow  up.  She still had a pretty high fever but by that time she was taking fluids.  We had to go for another tortorous blood sample, but then spend the rest of the day at home.  Today, I had to go into work for about 2 hours to finalize my grades.  It was supposed to be a really great day, and I was planning on bringing Kenley to our end of the year celebration, but obviously didn't.  I was sad that I missed my favorite day of work (the last day with no students!) but just wanted to come home and make sure she was okay.  I took her back to the doc and her temp was down, but it seems to be creeping up and down since then. Today is also her 6 month birthday!    As I am writing this she is next to me in her bouncy chair smiling and playing.  At least if I have to have a sick baby, I can say I have a happy, sick baby. Hopefully this fever will go away and stay away!

A very momentous occasion

That's right, Kenley got her first tooth!  You would have thought she said, "mama," by the way I reacted when I first saw it.  I was so excited about this little white tooth sticking out of her lower gums.  At the same time, even Ray agreed, we were a little sad at this "big girl" step.  Kenley is also able to sit up on her own for a few seconds at a time supporting herself using her arms.  She will be turning 6 months this week!  Wow!
Yesterday we set up Kenley's baby pool, but by the time we finished the yard work and got everything set up it started to pour!  I'm sure she will be in it a lot over the next few weeks. (By her, I really mean  me since I fully intend to go in it and get my bronze on!)
We also took Kenley to the flea market today. We didn't really buy much, but it was fun to walk around.  I have been busy getting ready for the end of school and preparing for my sister's bachelorette party!  I am having all the girls over at my house on Thursday night and we are leaving early Friday morning for Put-in-Bay Ohio!  None of us have ever been there before, but it sounds really fun.  It's a little island in the middle of Ohio that has bars, shops, and resturaunts. We are going to be gone Friday to Sunday.  This will be my longest time away from Kenley since she was born.  I know it will be a little hard to leave her, but it makes it easier knowing I don't have to go back to work when I get home.  When Ray went to Vegas the other week, I told him I wanted him to call me twice a day; he told me that I get a two call a day limit while I am gone!  Ha, Ha.  But, I also think it will be a good bonding experience for him and Kenley.  I'll update when I get back!

Memorial Weekend

Yay for a 3 day weekend!  We had a really good weekend.  Saturday Ray and I headed out to the quad cities for John and Kristen Rose's wedding.  It was really nice and great to see some people that we don't see very often.  I know Ray was happy to catch up with some of his college friends.  Unfortunately, I got sick before the night was over, so I ended up back in our room kind of early.  I don't know what came over me.  I went from doing the electric slide to being sick in a matter of 10 minutes.   (and NO, for once it wasn't alcohol!)  I did at least have a good time for the few hours before that.  I just wished I would have been able to stay out a little later and really enjoy a night out.  Kenley stayed with grandma and grandpa, and they enjoyed every minute of having her.

It was great having a day off today, and we really took advantage of the beautiful weather.  I got up early and took Kenley for a run in the jogging stroller while Ray was out golfing.  Then, we met him at Greg's parent's house to go swimming in their pool.  It was Kenley's first time swimming, and she loved it!  This was one of the things that I have most looked forward to doing with her.  Since my idea of a perfect day involves hot weather, sun, and water, I could not wait to see how Kenley liked the pool.  We had a baby floating raft with a sun shade and she sat in that for quite a while as content as could be.  I took many pictures and even captured a few seconds on the video recorder.  I can not wait to have many more days like this one in the next few months!

Shower

Today was Katie and Greg's shower!  It went really well and I think they had a great time.  They got so many gifts! It was a really big shower with almost 100 people, so it took several filled vehicles to get all their stuff back to their house.  It was nice to see a lot of people that we don't get to see very often, but it was hard to really get to talk to everyone with so much going on. I was happy that some of our family friends finally got to meet Kenley. She was a hit at the shower dressed in an adorable dress from her Grandma Kruse.  I think she was pretty good, but I was so busy that I'm not really sure!  (Thanks to her grandma and Aunt Alison for taking care of her during the shower.)  I am so happy for my sister and Greg and I hope they enjoy every moment of these next two months.  It goes by fast and it doesn't feel like that long ago that I had my own bridal shower!  It's hard to believe my little sister is getting married. 
On that note, this week I was thinking about how for once in my life I am wishing time to slow down.  I have always been the type of person to look forward to the future and anticipate what would happen next.  I always thought, "I can't wait till I'm 21, can't wait to graduate college, can't wait to get a job, to move into my own place, to get engaged, to get married,to buy a house, to have a baby...." I feel so lucky that I have been able to accomplish all of these goals in my life, and  I guess now that I have done all of those things I am trying more to live in the moment.  Ever since my pregnancy, it has been one of my goals to enjoy what is happening now.  I'm trying not to stress over little things even though it's not always easy.  Of course, I always look forward to the future, but I am just starting to realize that time goes by too fast the older you get.  So, tonight, I am enjoying the rest of today.  I am going to snuggle up with my husband and watch the rest of the Bulls game.  Go Bulls!

Husbandless

I have a few minutes since Kenley just went to bed and Ray isn't home yet.  He on the plane right now heading back from his second bachelor party in 2 weeks.  It seems like they had a great time in Vegas.  All I know is that Ray was up for 2 days straight with no sleep from Friday morning to Sunday night. He is nuts! I had a relaxing weekend and got a lot of snuggle time with Kenley.  She was great all weekend long, and it is really amazing to watch how she is starting to get so into her toys.  She is grabbing everything she can get her hands on (including several clumps of my hair; she really gets a grip on it!)  Kenley has also figured out how to roll from her stomach to her back now, so she can roll both ways.
This weekend I cleaned the house, ran a bunch of errands/went shopping, and did a few things to help prepare for my sister's wedding shower next weekend.  Nothing too exciting, but it was nice going to work this morning knowing that I got all my errands done and wouldn't be so crazy during the week. It was very wierd not having Ray here. This is the longest we have been apart since we have been married!  I'm ready for him to get home because I miss him!

Heat Wave!

Finally, some warm weather!  And I mean warm!  I really think it went from 60 degrees to 90 in 2 days!  Don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE this heat.  I am one of the few that pray for this hotness.  Even though my students have been complaining non-stop the past few days, and I will admit I was even pretty hot by the end of the day, I would rather have this weather than the cold, drearyness that we have had the past few months.  The only thing that would make it better was if I was out of school so I could enjoy it!
It was nice to finally put Kenley in some of her spring/summer clothes.  She looked so cute with her little chunky legs showing in her little sundress today.  It's been a pretty busy week already.  Ray and I went out to run errards and just got home at 8:00-late for us for a weekday! (yes, we are old!) Ray is getting ready to go to another bachelor party this weekend. This time Vegas for Greg! We will miss him, but I am actually excited to just have some alone time with Kenley.  The weekdays go by so fast and I feel like sometimes I barely get to see her!  I reverted back a little this week and cried when I dropped her off at the babysitter's:(  I hope the next two days go by fast so I can get home and spend some time with my little girl!

Mother's Day

This Sunday is Mother's Day, my first one to celebrate as a mom!  It's still kinda wierd to me that I'm a mom.  A long time ago my sister and I promised each other that we would always be honest with one another and call each other out if we EVER wore mom jeans or got a mom hair cut.  Thankfully, I don't think I do either :) Ray has a bachelor party this weekend and will be home later on Sunday, but he already surprised me with flowers and a gift.  He is always very good at spoiling me on special occasions.
Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!  Happy Mother's day to my Mom who has always been there for me for all the big and little things in my life.  I am so lucky and don't know many people who are as close to their moms as I am to mine. My mom has always put me and my sister first and I hope she knows how much we appreciate it. I could go on and on about all the things she has done for me, but this blog would go on forever!
Happy Mother's Day to my Mother-In-law, Pam.  Not only did she bring my husband into this world, but she has welcomed me into the family like I have always been part of it.  She does so much for our family and is an amazing Grandma to Kenley.

I am just happy to spend the weekend with Kenley.  The weeks go by so fast, and by the time I get home she's not up very long before she has to go to bed.  I just want to cherish these moments with her while she is still so little.  It's crazy that she will be 5 months next week! Here's to another week!