Jason and Kelli Go to Washington Street

Pregnancy Update: 7 Weeks

2011-11-26T10:44:00.001-05:00

How far along: 7 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Still staying off the scale until my doctor's appointment.

Maternity clothes: Got a few more pairs of pants out, and I bought some shirts and sweaters. I decided - who cares? I'm pregnant! Ha!

Stretch marks: No.

Sleep: I'm still very tired. Jason has been so great at encouraging me to lay down when I need it. I've been having a hard time getting to sleep at night sometimes too but overall, not too bad!

Best moment this week: Spending the mornings hanging out with Janie and Jason in bed. Janie loves to cuddle with us and with the baby.

Miss anything: I miss my family, especially because of Thanksgiving.

Movement: Not yet!

Food cravings: I've been eating cinnamon toast every morning and lots of clementines. Yum.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just food in general. Bleh.

Have you started to show yet: Not particularly.

Gender: We're still feeling like it's a girl. Jason thinks we will only ever have girls - we'll see!!!

Labor signs: No!

Belly button in or out: In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody: Still moody but this week has been better, as I am able to sleep when I need it.

Other weird and random pregnancy related things: Still having headaches - yuck. Also, I have been having a hard time catching my breath and having some sharp pains in my side. I was worried but then I found this online and felt relieved.

I sometimes feel short of breath now that I'm pregnant. Is this common?

Yes, many women experience this sensation as their pregnancy advances. You may even notice it early in pregnancy, although at that stage it's more often sensed as a heightened awareness of the need to breathe.

You need more oxygen during pregnancy, and your body adapts to meet this need in several ways. An increase in hormones, particularly progesterone, directly affects your lungs and stimulates the respiratory center in your brain. And while the number of breaths you take per minute actually changes very little during pregnancy, the amount of air you take in with each breath increases significantly.

Looking forward to: Same things! Going to the doctor to hear the heartbeat of this little one, watching my belly grow, and seeing Janie learn to become a big sister.

Milestones: The baby is the size of blueberry! Aw! He/she is generating 100 new brains cells per minute. He/she is growing arms and legs and working on the final set of kidneys this week. It's pretty incredible to read these things each week!

From Janie's perspective: Janie REALLY loves to kiss and hug the baby (well, my belly). She tells everyone where the baby is. Lately, she's been lifting up her shirt and putting her finger in her own belly button - I think she's just trying to figure this whole thing out :)

Choo-Choo!

2011-11-26T10:33:00.001-05:00

Jason got his Christmas present yesterday and couldn't have been more thrilled! He's been looking and looking into buying a train set for under the Christmas tree, and I told him he had to go out yesterday and just BUY ONE! He did, and he has been having so much fun with it since last night. I hear him downstairs now being a conductor again :) The set he bought makes noises and smoke, and it is very realistic. Janie absolutely loves it as well!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T10:06:00.001-05:00

Look at this! Thanksgiving was only 2 days ago, and here I am - posting pictures already! Wow! We spent Thanksgiving Day at Jason's sister's house. We love going to Julie's and spending time with her, and the day went by way too fast!!!! Janie was a little charmer the whole day long - snuggling up to people, being very funny, and eating LOTS. And I made 2 homemade pies and Granny's potatoes.

Hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

The Big News!

2011-11-19T13:31:00.001-05:00

When I was pregnant with Janie two years ago, I ate an enormous amount of Chocolate Cheerios. I ate them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and for snacks. (I also ate Spaghetti-O's but that's another story.) I ate SO MANY Chocolate Cheerios, and then after she was born, I never wanted them again. So fast forward to this past weekend... I was shopping in Big Lots, and I came across a GIANT box of Chocolate Cheerios - I had to have them! I thought nothing of this until the next morning when I poured myself a big bowl of them, and BAM - I knew. I must be pregnant.

Except for the fact that I had already taken two pregnancy tests, and they both said no! But I just knew... the Chocolate Cheerios had decided for me, coupled with the fact that I had taken about 5 naps over the weekend. So Monday morning, we found out that I was right - I am pregnant, and the baby is due on July 16, 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so thrilled! We also were so excited to be able to announce the news with Janie, so we did just that for our families.

Well my childhood friend Lauren is expecting her first baby, and I have been keeping up with her progress through her blog and her baby blog. She does this very fun weekly questionnaire to keep her friends and family updated, and I want to do the same for my friends and family. So I will start on this week, the 6th week of my 2nd pregnancy.

How far along: 6 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I guess I'll find out at my next doctor's appointment but I feel like I've gained 20 pounds in 4 days for some reason!

Maternity clothes: I have to admit that I did get out a pair of maternity jeans already due to the answer above...

Stretch marks: These didn't show up until the last month of being pregnant with Janie... here's hoping for the same this time!

Sleep: I AM SO TIRED. ALL THE TIME. I have a cold and took off one day this week. I took naps with Janie whenever she did. So one time I put her down, then went to my room to lay myself down. Here's what I found... (Guess I'm not the only tired one!)

Best moment this week: Telling our families, then friends, then students, then bell choir, then everyone we've ever met. :) We really did have fun telling everyone!!!!

Miss anything: Just feeling well rested would be nice.

Movement: Not yet!

Food cravings: See the picture of the giant box of Cheerios above? Yep, that's pretty much it so far. Oh and the ice cream that Jason went out and got for me one night. Which I never ended up eating because "it's not as good as the Meadows." Oh boy.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs. Just like last time.

Have you started to show yet: Hahaha. Well I like the fact that I can use the excuse, "I'm pregnant!" now when I'm feeling not so thin :) Also, remember the maternity jeans I already got out?

Gender: We will wait until he/she is born to find out again but Jason and I both think it's a girl again.

Labor signs: Not for a long time, I hope!

Belly button in or out: In. It never came out last time.

Wedding rings on or off: On!

Happy or moody: Depends on who you ask I guess, but I'd say MOODY with all capital letters.

Other weird and random pregnancy related things: I have had a killer headache for the past 3 days. When I was pregnant with Janie, I never had a headache, so I was hoping for the same thing this time! Also, my skin has been so itchy and I couldn't figure out why. Just got an email about itchy skin. Guess that's another symptom!

Looking forward to: Going to the doctor to hear the heartbeat of this little one, watching my belly grow, and seeing Janie learn to become a big sister.

Milestones: Baby is developing jaws, cheeks, a chin, ears, kidneys, liver, and lungs this week. Pretty cool!!!

From Janie's perspective: Janie has learned to point to my belly when we ask her, "Where's the baby?" She also likes to kiss the baby goodnight each night. I know she's going to be an amazing big sister!!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-17T18:08:00.001-05:00

We had so much fun with Janie this year on Halloween! Last year, she was very cute in her baby duck costume but this year, she had so much personality and we just were able to enjoy her so much!

First... pictures from last year...

She was sooo small!!!!

But this year was so different... We dressed Janie, Wilson, and Aggie up with a common theme - medieval characters. We just happened to find a knight and a princess costume for the dogs months ago at TJ Maxx, then when we finally went out to get Janie's costume, the first one we saw was a dragon! It was perfect, and she loved it. She spent the whole night growling when we asked her what a dragon said - it cracked everyone up!

All ready to go with a thumbs up and everything!

She did not want me to be taking these pictures, can you tell?

Eating a pumpkin cookie.

Hanging with Grandma and Grandpa.

Visiting with neighbors.

The trio. What a feat to have this picture!

Ready for trick or treaters!

Our house also looked pretty good! Jason puts up weird, torn curtains and plays very loud and creepy organ music, and we always carve a few pumpkins. This year, we carved them with Timon of course, and also with our friend Shannon. They turned out pretty good, I'd say :)

Then came the best part of all! Our friends Justin and Sara came over with their two children, we (very slowly) walked down the street to our friend Jen and Stephen's house to take pictures with their two children, and then we all had a walking trick or treat caravan for a few blocks. It was so cute to see Janie play with her friends, walk in her dragon costume, and figure out what this Halloween thing is all about. Most of the time, she crawled up the steps to each neighbor's front porch, dropped off her bag, and waved bye bye. She didn't really get it. But we had fun anyway!

Asher (and his sister Abby) arrive. Janie's got a tiny little baby crush on Asher :)

The whole crew.

The babies :)

Janie's method of getting up the stairs.

I can't wait for next year - I know it will be even more fun!

My heart explodes.

2011-11-06T00:03:00.001-04:00

This year, my life skills students are participating in a rotation of adapted tech ed, gym, art, music, family consumer science, and computers. It is absolutely incredible to see this team of 10 different teachers work together to provide my students with the opportunity to do some incredible projects and activities. It is especially fun to see them do projects in tech ed. Some of my students whom I would not normally see working with machinery and dangerous equipment are right in there, working hard to make their own woodworking projects. I sometimes walk down there to check on a student or a situation and I find myself stuck, just watching this wonderful process. I brought my camera in a few weeks ago to snap some pictures. I can't post the pictures of their faces for privacy reasons but I had to share these of their hands, working right alongside the teachers and aides.

Lake Erie

2011-11-05T23:55:00.001-04:00

We went to Lake Erie for a weekend... it was a wonderful weekend!!! I have no pictures because THIS is what it looked like all. weekend. long. and I was afraid to take my camera out of the bag!

Church Picnic

2011-11-05T23:50:00.001-04:00

Last month, our church had a big renewal weekend and it finished up with a fun church picnic. Janie had the BEST time - it's so cool to see her interact with other people... she is so outgoing and social!

Searching for treats in the birdseed bath.

Tree climber.

Just dancing. No big deal.

Signing "eat" as she waits for her watermelon.

Watermelon eating contest!!!

Go, Janie, go!!!

Checking out her competition.

Back to work.

Kisses from Mr. Lou!

Janie, Mr. Lou, Pastor Rick, and his daughter's "son"

Highlands Festival

2011-11-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

I finally dumped my memory card onto computer to post some pictures I've taken recently... "recently" being a little subjective seeing as these first pictures are from AUGUST!

We spent one day at a Highlands Festival at a local amusement park. The whole park was shut down and filled with bagpipers, Scottish dancing little girls, and dogs. Lots and lots of dogs. It was fun, but I've never been to anything like that before!

Weekly Recap!

2011-10-23T00:05:00.001-04:00

I know I've posted these pictures on Instagram, Facebook, and Instagrid already BUT I love them so much that I thought it'd be fun to make a collage like I've seen other people do each week. These pictures are from the last week, since the day that my little brother Zachary and his girlfriend Ana came to visit!!

Janie's Birthday Cookout

2011-09-20T06:25:00.004-04:00

Jason and I decided that we wanted to have a fun cookout for all of our friends before school started back up again, and we thought that Janie's birthday was the perfect excuse to get together! So we invited a lot of our friends up to the playground at Jason's school (across the street from our house) for hamburgers, hot dogs, and cupcakes. As soon as people started arriving, it started to rain. And rain. And rain. I thought for sure everyone was going to pack up and go home so I told Jason to hurry up and grill the meat so we could at least give people a burger or hot dog to go. I was so surprised when no one left! Not a single person! Everyone pulled their cars right up onto the playground, waited it out for 15 minutes, and then we had the best time for the rest of the evening. We definitely want to make this a tradition and do this every year from now on!

Everyone hiding out in their cars.

Janie is ONE!!!!!

2011-09-19T19:39:00.001-04:00

We returned to Pennsylvania just in time to celebrate the actual day of Janie's birth. I can't believe that she has been with us for a year now. We had a nice little dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and Ty, and we enjoyed chocolate cupcakes and presents...

Meatloaf face.

Excited for a cupcake!

Cousin Fun!

2011-09-18T08:43:00.001-04:00

On our way back to Pennsyvania, we got to stop and spend a few hours with Jason's cousin Cindy, her husband Brad, and their three boys - Bryce, Owen, and Joel. I met Cindy and Brad at our wedding but in the whirlwind - I could barely remember them. I really enjoyed getting to know their whole family a little bit better. Janie and Joel are almost the exact same age - and it was really fun to see them together and to talk about what they're doing now that's similar. AND Cindy and Brad told us while we were there that they are expecting another baby!!!! Congratulations again, you two!!!

This is the moment that these two silly baby decided to try and grab each others' tongues! Haha!

Janie's Florida Birthday Party

2011-09-17T22:54:00.000-04:00

One of the reasons we were glad to go to Florida when we did was that it was around the time of Janie's birthday, and we got to celebrate her big day with my family! It was so nice because we actually had a joint celebration for my mom and Janie. Nana's birthday is the day after Janie's, and I love that they share that :)

The birthday girl.

Made by my sister, Jaime.

That's a lot of balloons!

Jadyn was sleepy :)

Janie's goofy uncles!

The food: hamburgers and hot dogs, French fries and sweet potato fries, macaroni and cheese.

Not pictured: stone fruit salad. Soooo good.

Not a fan!

For Nana.

What? Nothing is wrong with this picture.

Mom and Chloe.

Hanging out with Uncle Andy :)

Tired baby.

Janie and Sami.

Janie and Aunt Rachel.

And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...

2011-09-17T15:54:00.002-04:00

While Ty was visiting, we took a two week trip to Florida to see my family... it was great! We spent of lot of time relaxing and visiting with each other and with our family.

Our first stop was to my hometown to visit my Granny and Papa.

We went to a Florida Marlins game while we were there. Chloe, Alex, and my sister Cassidy are having fun!

Mom and Jadyn

Some of the gang at the game... Cassidy, Alex, Chloe, Mom, Jadyn, Tyrone, Jason, Janie.

Janie's first dip in the Atlantic Ocean!

She could have stayed here all day but....

check out that lovely sky. (Also, check out Ty - changing under a towel right on the beach!)

"No more pictures, Mama!!!!"

Ty's still changing...

Cassidy came with us that day!

What a cool German :)

Five minutes later, we had to leave because a storm was coming FAST!

Stopped for a coconut snack.

This is the real deal.

Janie would not let go of that straw!

There seem to be a few pieces missing, Ty....

Our next stop of the day was to visit with my Grandma and Grandpa.

Next up... our birthday celebration for Janie and Nana!

Fun Days with Ty

2011-09-17T13:33:00.005-04:00

Just a few pics of some fun days while Ty was here...

Ty Is Here!!!!!

2011-09-17T13:18:00.002-04:00

Just a few short days after Jordan left, we had a month long visit from our German son, Tyrone. Ty lived with us two years ago, and we have missed him a lot since he left! He was here with us through my entire pregnancy but had never ever met Janie! We couldn't WAIT to see him! We may have gone a tiny bit overboard in our attire when picking him up but that is a tradition of my family... so we had fun!

Untangling balloons. It's hard.

Janie and Grandpa: "We could untangle those so much faster."

Ty and his parents sent Janie this dress at Christmas. It's a traditional Bavarian dress, and Janie got so many compliments!!!

Picking him up took a tad longer than we were expecting, and Janie was really struggling by this point!

Tired baby.

Happy :)

Janie got her second wind!

First hug.

Janie's trying to figure out who this guy is!

Something funny happened...

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Someone's happy to have finally met her big brother :)

Did you know that Janie loves balloons?

Hahaha!

Won't. Let. Go.

Goodbye, Jordan :(

2011-09-17T12:06:00.004-04:00

Two weeks after Jordan arrived, we had to return him to the church where we met him so that he could get on the bus to go back to New York. It was even harder this year than it was last year. It's difficult to make a child part of your family, and then have to give him back and not see him for so long. We do that a lot here but it doesn't make it any easier. I did get a chance to get some great pictures of Jordan, Janie, and the dogs before he left. They really do love each other a lot.

Game Night!

2011-09-15T06:22:00.003-04:00

On Jordan's last night with us, we had a lot of fun! We started off the afternoon at the bowling alley (Kids Bowl Free is awesome!!!!), went to dinner at a restaurant that has a game room, and ended up at Grandma and Grandpa's for some card games. It was Jordan's idea of a perfect night, and to be honest, maybe mine too :)

At the bowling alley.

Grandpa's got some MOOOOVES!!!!

The moves must have been working - he won!

Probably not appropriate, but Jordan's favorite picture opportunity in the whole town!

Love the faces.

Pittsburgh Zoo

2011-09-12T21:41:00.001-04:00

The next day, we headed to the Pittsburgh Zoo with Julie, Brooke, Chase, and one of Brooke's friend. It is such a nice zoo, and we really love going there.

Ummmm gross.

One of my favorite pictures of the day.

Enjoying the mist.

I also love this picture - Janie's reflection while watching the fish.

Janie loves Chase. A lot.

This little boy came right up to Janie and tried to hold her hand. Too cute!

Poor Brooke got SOAKED by the sting ray.

Small Town Celebration

2011-09-12T21:27:00.002-04:00

While Jordan was here, we spent a few days visiting Jason's sister near Pittsburgh. Her town was having a celebration with fireworks that night, so we joined them in the fun!

Jordan and Chase watching the helicopter with Rick.

Decorating their own Eat n' Park cookies... yum!

1. I love her eyes in this picture.

2. Can you tell she enjoyed some of Jordan's cookie with blue icing?

Janie had the best time in the petting zoo!!!

Just hanging out with the piggies.

Brooke took these firework pictures with my camera, and she did a great job!!!

Miss Laurie's Cooking Camp

2011-09-11T09:04:00.000-04:00

Jason and I have a good friend named Laurie who loves to cook. And she's great at it. She also loves to teach others to cook - children, adults, anyone who's interested! She also runs a peanut brittle company.... you know, in her spare time. (ha!) Jason and I took a private cooking class from Laurie just a few months after I moved here when I surprised him with a lesson for his birthday. Since then, we have been Laurie's biggest fans :) I can give credit to Laurie for probably half of the things that I cook on a regular basis. Spaghetti sauce, meatballs, gnocchi, and salad dressing are our favorite of Laurie's recipe. Anyway, last summer Jordan attended cooking camp for a couple of days and had the best time. This summer, Laurie invited him to come for an entire week and allowed me to come as well! What a wonderful thing that was to be Laurie's helper. She is truly a great teacher and has 10 tons of patience inside of her. I took a LOT of pictures from that week.... here they are!

The group. (And don't think he minded one bit spending the week with all those pretty girls!)

First day was breakfast food.

Jordan and Andrew (Laurie's son) reunited!

Day two was French food.

Day three was picnic food.

I spent most of my time with these three girls.

Jordan and Amelia worked together all week long.

Things started to get a little crazy by day three.

And day four we were super busy with Mediterranean food, so I have no pictures, and on day five, my camera battery died! Thanks, Miss Laurie, for the best week ever of cooking camp! :)

Cuddles with Janie and Jordan

2011-09-11T01:35:00.000-04:00

Okay. Seriously. These are my most favorite pictures I've ever taken. I came into the office after my shower on Jordan's 2nd or 3rd day with us and found these two adorable boogers hanging out on the couch, giggling away. I am so glad they love each other so much.

Fun Times with Jordan

2011-09-11T00:57:00.000-04:00

While Jordan was here, we spent a lot of time in local stores, farmer's markets, and playing outside. It was HOT but it's so nice that we live in a town that offers these opportunities, especially while Jordan is visiting.

Elizabeth Jane and Ella Jane. Neighbors and friends :)

Charis having fun with Jordan.

Janie walking on the playground wearing her new clothes from her friend Lucia.

Jordan's Arrival

2011-09-11T00:26:00.000-04:00

After the July 4th holiday was a visit from our friend Jordan. Jordan is 9 years old and is from New York City, and he participates in a program called the Fresh Air Fund, and this was his second year visiting us. This program sponsors children in inner city New York to come to small towns for two weeks (or more sometimes) and get a taste of a different kind of life. It's wonderful, and we have had such a great time getting to know Jordan. We're hoping he can come for much longer next summer!

Here are the pictures of his arrival... we were pretty excited for him to meet Janie (last year I was very pregnant while he was here). He loved his baby sister, and I think the feeling was mutual.

Waiting for Jordan.

Together at last!

Being interviewed for the local paper.

Jordan LOVES watermelon!

Kisses already!

Holding hands, all the way home.

Teaching him to water the plants in the garden.

Cucumber!

Janie loves to play in the pea gravel.

This tiny baby rabbit hopped over and got stuck in the midst of our extra tomato plants. He was soooo cute!

Totally puzzled by this corner.

Janie has no idea a baby bunny is within her reach.

Working hard to get out.

Walked down the street to bring some tomato plants to our neighbors.

New friends.

This quickly became their favorite game.

We went to dinner and played golf with Grandma and Grandpa.

Back to their game.

Goodnight kisses for Jordan.

Fourth of July

2011-09-10T07:56:00.000-04:00

Wow!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't blogged in two months and I have a LOT of catching up to do. I was going to just put one or two pictures up of each event in the past two months but these are all so important that I really want to get them documented and share the pictures with everyone.

First up, July 4th - Janie's first. We went to our town fireworks, had a little picnic, and enjoyed each other's company.

Funnel cake!!!!

Cracking. Up.

Still laughing!

Eating peanut butter and jelly with no hands!

Petting Zoo

2011-07-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Jason, Janie, and I joined Jason's parents and their neighbors at a festival in a neighboring town. It was really great! They had so many craft booths and different food products to buy, as well as food to eat there. There were a few bands performing, and it was all around a beautiful lake. I didn't take too many pictures because we were having to much fun! But I did make sure to get pictures of Janie at the petting zoo which she LOVED!!!!

These baby goats were seriously the cutest things I've ever seen!

Surrounded!!!

Going in for a kissy :)

Just hanging....

Ah pigs!!! So cute!

Clapping for the babies!

These goats were viciously nursing..... that poor mama goat... they were seriously rough on her!

Kinnnnda weird.

The beautiful lake.

Berry Pickin... repeat!

2011-07-11T17:07:00.001-04:00

The very next day, we headed out to pick strawberries at our friends' strawberry fields. This was the very last day to pick so we found mostly very small and very ripe berries but man!!!!! Were they good!!!! When we came home, I made a few strawberry desserts, plus strawberry and strawberry-peach freezer jam.

Blueberry Pickin'

2011-07-11T08:07:00.000-04:00

After our guests left us, we realized that it was prime berry picking season in our area - blueberries and strawberries. So we grabbed Grandma, Grandpa, and our friend Jen and her babies, and off we went to get some blueberries! It cracked me up because the last time we went berry picking was last summer, I was so pregnant that I just found a bush, plopped down in front of it, and barely moved! This time around I was a little more mobile...

I love that the babies are holding hands. So sweet.

Charis was cracking us up after we were done - going over and standing in this big field all by herself. Just standing.

Fun with Friends (again!)

2011-07-09T18:17:00.000-04:00

We were so excited to be able to spend some more time with our friends Justin and Sara. This time we had dinner at our house and then moved over to their house for dessert and a game.

Justin with both of the babies.

Janie is a little bit in love with Asher.

Poor Asher - haha!

Of all the places in our house, the landing was their play spot of choice. So weird!

Regular Ol' Life

2011-07-09T17:54:00.000-04:00

I take so many pictures of "special" days we have around here - outings, visitors, and holidays - but I don't ever want to forget how good regular life is... Life in our house with our baby and our dogs. I want to make sure I capture that regularly ala Keli and Kelle. (Also - such great names those ladies have!)

So... here is life, and life is good :)

Aggie, or as we like to call her - "Miss Agatha Poopington"

Just hanging out while Mom does laundry.

Cute face.

She's got the giggles :)

Ahhhh clean diapers!!!!

Reading some books (her toys of choice).

Giving Mommy and Daddy kisses.

Story time with Daddy.

Our garden... we love it!

Living room with a cute little baby surprise hiding in the picture!

Hi cute little baby!!!!

Sweet and fun dogs :)

Buddies

2011-07-09T09:20:00.000-04:00

Just a few more...

pictures...

of Janie...

and Ruby...

Down by the Creek...

2011-07-09T09:06:00.000-04:00

Our last stop in Erie was Elk Creek, the place where Jason and Jeff and their dad all played as boys. By the way, the word creek is pronounced CRICK around here (instead of CREEK like I've always heard it said). I thought that was so weird when I first met Jason, and now I find myself saying that too!

Grandpa taking a stroll by the creek.

Morgan is having fun!

Janie's first dip.

Eating more rocks, of course.

"Thumbs up, Daddy!"

She wanted to get all the way in SO BADLY!

She could have sat here all day if we had let her!

These sweet photos were taken by Daddy.

I. love. this. one.

Around the town...

2011-07-08T23:38:00.000-04:00

The next few stops on our trip to Erie were to Annie's house and to dinner in Ohio... so much fun!

Cuddling with Annie.

Too sweet!

Sharing some giggles.

Janie never sits still anymore!!!

Kisses for Annie :)

The boys.

Lori and Morgan.

Kisses for Austin :)

We LOVE the White Turkey Drive-In!

Chowing down on her first onion ring.

Jason's old church.

Jason's old house.

Lake Erie

2011-07-08T16:19:00.000-04:00

Another day trip we took while our visitors were here was to Erie and Girard where all of Jason's family is from originally. First stop was the beaches on Lake Erie. We all enjoyed the view and the sand, and Janie enjoyed the freezing cold water (the rest of us... not so much!)

First steps in...

She loved it so much that she was growling!

Jason's mom, Norma, enjoyed the view.

We could hardly keep her still!

Love this.

Jeff and his family taking a walk.

Love this one.

Morgan is such a great model :)

Eating rocks, of course.

The lighthouse.

Playing with the dandelion.

Thanks again, Jeff, for helping me play around with my camera while we were there!

Before.

After.

I love those little rolls! (her's, not mine!)

Seriously - happy girl!

Art by Morgan.

Happy Father's Day

2011-07-08T12:16:00.000-04:00

Just a few cute pictures from Father's Day.

Pittsburgh Adventures!

2011-07-08T11:59:00.000-04:00

Our next big adventure was to Pittsburgh for the day and then to Jason's sister Julie's house. First we went on an incline ride and walked a mile to the next incline before heading back to our cars. It was fun and exhausting!

Waiting in line.

Morgan and Lori.

Brooke is nervous!

My view looking down.

Pittsburgh.

What a view.

Jeff, Julie, Jason. (siblings)

Haha.

Brooke, Julie, Chase.

Heinz Field.

Lori and Jeff on the way back down the incline.

Best picture of the day.

Back at Julie's house, we helped set up their new trampoline and had dinner together.

Even the dogs helped!

Testing out the trampoline.

She spotted the dogs down there.

Waiting very patiently for the fun to begin!

Finally ready to play!

Janie offered the clean up the mess.

Diaper is too big for her britches!

That's a lotta drool!

Did I mention that Janie adores Chase?

Having fun with Grandpa

Visit to see Phil

2011-07-08T00:37:00.000-04:00

One of the day trips we took recently was to see Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog that predicts the weather each year. I never heard too much about it living in Florida, but up in Pennsylvania, it's a much bigger deal! Once again, much fun was had by all!

We thought it'd be fun to take a picture of the family under the "Family Section." Ha we're clever.

Crazy people. :)

Our little family.

Look! We found Phil!

I had no idea Phil was so cute!

Hehe.

The postal workers pose together.

Happy to be with Daddy.

All of Grandma's and Grandpa's grandchildren!

How sweet :)

Janie meets little boys everywhere.

Making her move...

"Hey... do you like my hat?"

More Backyard Fun!

2011-07-07T08:37:00.000-04:00

We had another fun evening in Jason's parents' backyard, and this time... Jason's sister, Julie, and her two children, Brooke and Chase, joined us. We had a blast making campfire pies, s'mores, and playing more croquet.

Julie and Aggie.

Handsome Chase.

Brooke and Janie.

I may be biased, but she's pretty cute.

Hugs for Wilson.

More hugs. I think she's loves him :)

Having fun with croquet!

Janie and Grandpa.

Austin.

Chase loooves croquet.

Chase and Uncle Jeff.

Brooke photoshoot.

Yummmmmm!

Janie is a big fan of Chase!

Foolproof method for avoiding smoke... "Do you know you can see through your shirt?"

The end.

A Walk with Ruby

2011-07-05T13:10:00.000-04:00

My friend Jen has an adorable baby girl named Ruby who is a few months older than Janie. Jen and I teach together and we've been talking for a long time about walking together in the mornings with the girls. We finally have done it, a few times so far, this summer. It's so nice to get out of the house with a friend and have a few minutes to chat and watch the girls play. We haven't gone as much as I wish, mostly because of our crazy schedules or sleeping-in babes, but I've had fun on the walks we have had! These girls are the perfect match for each other. Janie seems to scare most other little girls because she's very aggressive with her hugs and kisses but Ruby doesn't mind at all!!

Loving on Mr. Bear.

Hanging out in the stroller.

Sharing snacks.

Silly silly girls.

In for a hug!

And she's off!!

A Busy Sunday!

2011-07-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

On the first Sunday that we had Jeff and his family here, we had a really fun day! We all went to church together and then we walked downtown for a small little festival that was going on to enjoy some music and show them around our town. That evening we walked down to the park near our house for a concert (they have these every Sunday evening during the summer) and then back to Jason's parents' house for dinner. I love days like that - busy and fun but also relaxing!

Janie's ready to go!

Ran into Janie's friend Charlie... so cute!

I love Charlie's little grin :)

Two high school boys from our church were the entertainment downtown - it was so cool to hear them sing!

Brock.

Andrew.

Morgan and Janie.

Janie's ready to enjoy the concert in the park!

Love this shot of Wilson.

This is how baby dances!

Go Janie, go Janie!

It only gets better when she stands up and wiggles her booty.

She looooves to be outside in the grass now!

My favorite picture from the whole day. These two are BEST friends.

Janie met up with her friend Laura.

Big girls!

These dogs love each other!

Family Time

2011-06-25T09:05:00.000-04:00

We've spent the past two weeks enjoying Jason's family visiting from Florida. It was so wonderful to have such a long time to be with Jeff (Jason's brother), Lori (Jeff's wife), and their children, Morgan and Austin. I have tons of pictures to share from their visit. This first post is from their first day here. We spent some time eating, talking, and playing croquet... (not crochet!).

Janie eating strawberries (and watermelon and anything else she can get her mouth on!) with her Aunt Lori.

Austin.

Tasty sangria.

Kisses for Aunt Lori.

In love already :)

Janie and Wilson.

Janie and her doggies.

Snuggles with Morgan.

Working on the kisses...

Love this one!

Now THAT'S a kiss!!!

Jason is ready for a game of croquet!

Uncle Jason and Morgan

Handsome Wilson.

Jason's brother, Jeff.

Morgan is sooo willing to smile for the camera. I love it!

A Summer Day

2011-06-21T13:06:00.000-04:00

Janie loves her Wilson...

Janie loves her Daddy...

Janie loves her Aggie...

Janie loves her Grandpa...

Time with Friends

2011-06-19T19:20:00.000-04:00

On the last day of school, Jason and I took Janie over to our friends' house for dinner and some playtime. Janie and Abby are almost a year apart but Janie looks like a giant next to cute and tiny Abby. It was fun to see them together a little bit older and able to interact with each other!

Open mouth by Abby...

...and open mouth by Janie.

Demonstrating her method of avoiding the grass!

Poor Abby.

Sara got some great shots too!

Ooookay! Playtime is over!

And now the real fun begins!

Not so sure what to think...

Okay! It's awesome!

Abby's turn!

Kisses from my baby!

Love those teeth!

Memorial Day, part 2

2011-06-19T06:31:00.000-04:00

After celebrating Memorial Day, we headed to a local park to let Janie swing and slide. She had such a blast! She loved the swings as usual, had a few trips down the slide, and tried out the crawling tubes for the first time. I thought she'd be scared but she loved them!!

Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-19T06:22:00.000-04:00

I love taking pictures of my beautiful baby girl, and the first time that was available lately was on Memorial Day! We spent the day at Jason's parents' house (Janie "swam" for the first time!), relaxed and ate delicious food, and then we took Janie to a park to enjoy her two new favorite things - slides and swings!

Ready for a day of fun!

Time to eat!!

First taste of corn!

Wilson escaped the heat by hiding under the house.

Janie kept asking to go in her pack and play while we were there!

She uses her face as leverage to stand up while she's in there.... so very funny!

Oh man. This face.

This is her crawling face. Haha!

I can't believe how big she looks standing up like that!

Funny faces with Grandpa!

She wanted Grandpa's coffee SO BADLY!

With Jessie girl.

With Daddy.

To be continued...

Square Foot Gardening

2011-06-11T07:36:00.000-04:00

One thing that has kept Jason and me very busy this month is our garden! We have been wanting to start a garden since last year and we never did it! This year was the year. We are doing a Square Foot Garden, and it is so much fun!

The pictures...

More to come later...

Back-tracking... (Chase's Communion)

2011-06-10T14:25:00.000-04:00

I got an email from my Granny the other that asked about why I hadn't blogged in awhile, and that was the kickstart I needed to get back on here! We have been so incredibly busy and school is finally over! I'm thrilled to have a few months to relax and enjoy my family. I'm going to back-track and blog about the last month and what's been happening...

First off, Chase's First Holy Communion. Jason, Janie, and I went to Jason's sister house last month to attend our nephew's first Holy Communion, and then to their house to spend some time with the family. It was neat to be a part of this special occasion for Chase, and wow, is he growing up!

Here are some pictures:

Beautiful stained glass windows.

Cute baby.

Chase.

Being silly.

All of the children.

The priest speaking to them.

Chase's first Communion.

Janie wants to walk so badly!

Rick, Julie, Brooke, and Chase.

Janie hanging out with Peggy.

Janie and Daddy.

Janie making friends with Allie.

My Favorite Reads

2011-05-15T07:58:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the best things I've found to read on the Internet this week:

Maple Almond Scone Bites with Vanilla Bean Glaze from $5 Dinners' Dessert of the Month series
Hello, Dreamy from Bake at 350 - I always love trying new chocolate chip cookie recipes!
Mini S'mores Pies from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen -Yummy.
Blueberry Lemon Sauce Recipe from Good Life Eats - Yay blueberries.
Web Deliciousness: Strawberries! from The Pioneer Woman Cooks - So much goodness in this post.
Chocolate Chip Waffles from the Tasty Kitchen Blog - Makes me hungry.
Risotto Primavera from The Pioneer Woman Cooks - I love risotto a lot. Yum...
Create a Letter Writing Kit for Your Kids from Simple Kids - Can't wait to do this for Janie!
5 Reasons Why I Use Cash Envelopes from $5 Dinners - and five more reasons for me not to put of doing this anymore...
Easy Ways to Go Green in Your Kitchen from Plan to Eat
How to Freeze Food in Glass Jars from Green Your Way - Something I've been reading more and more about lately.

Hope you enjoy! Tell me what your favorite link is in the comment section below!

Life.

2011-05-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

Clockwise from top left: Bathtime!, funny sleeping position, playing with Raggedy Andy, and another funny sleeper.

All dressed up for a wedding, congratulations to Chris and Carolyn (Jason's fellow 1st grade teacher), fancy-schmancy, and lots of lady teachers + Jason.

Mother's Day gifts from my students to their mothers, a sweet sidewalk chalk note from a neighbor to Jason, Mother's Day breakfast for me, and my beautiful Mother's Day necklace from Janie and Jason.

Sliding time, swing away, a baby maple tree, and our repointed chimney.

One Awesome Little Girl.

2011-05-10T21:11:00.000-04:00

Okay. I need to warn you all that I am about to brag about Janie. Seriously. If you don't want to hear someone brag, you should stop reading because I can't help it!

Really... let me just show you a picture of what I look like right this moment.

My brag list. I told you I wasn't kidding.

Here goes... (you were warned!)

Janie has been growing and changing up a storm the past week and a half - it's truly astounding. Here's how:

1. Last Saturday morning, Janie woke up and nursed, and then I brought her into our room. When she saw Jason, she started saying, "Dada, dada, dada." Ooooh so precious.

2. The very next morning, same scenario - I walked into our room with Janie. First she said (as clear as could be), "Hi, Dad!" Then she turned to me and said, "Mom, mom." Ah. I can hardly stand that. May 1 - mama.

3. A couple days later, Janie really started babbling and saying more sounds. She also started making those sounds a lot more clearly. On Tuesday, she said to Aggie, "Dog. Gie." Over and over again.

4. The next day, I was at the grocery store, and each time I turned to get something off the shelf, Janie said, "Mama!" When I came back to her, she would say, "Dada?" and look all over the place for Jason. So sweet!

5. On Friday, Janie woke up with one of her top teeth! Woohoo!

6. Saturday morning, Janie and I were hanging out in the office, and we were playing around. She was laughing this cute little laugh with a snort, so I decided to videotape it with the webcam. I was thrilled when this snort/laugh morphed into the cutest high-pitched giggle that I have ever heard!!! It was so fun to catch it on tape, and I've been watching it over and over again. Hope you enjoy! (Turn your volume up because the webcam sound isn't that great.)

7. Mother's Day was on Sunday, and Jason and Janie spoiled me in the morning with breakfast and a beautiful necklace (more about that later!). After I ate, we were talking while Janie was rolling around on the floor. Suddenly, she pushed up on all fours and started (very slowly) crawling! Yay! She's still not too sure about it but she is definitely moving in a forward direction on all fours. I'm so proud of my baby!

8. On Monday afternoon, Janie came home from Grandma and Grandpa's with her 2nd top tooth! Since then, she has been making the most hilarious faces with her lips and tongue because she is still getting used to the feeling of having four teeth. So funny.

9. (This is the last one!) Janie went to the playground yesterday and played on the swings and the slide for the first time. I can't even describe how cute this was - I'll just let you check out the pictures and video!

The very silly tongue thing.

Well! This is why I think my little girl is awesome - I hope you enjoyed these little stories as much as I did!

My Favorite Reads

2011-05-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

Some of my favorite finds from the past week... hope you enjoy as much as I did!

When to Add Rice to the Slow Cooker from One Dish Dinners - Really helpful tips about using slow cookers!!!

How to Truly Hug Your Children from Raising Homemakers - I thought this was a great post about physical affection and how important it is for children. Makes me wanna hug and kiss Janie even more than I do now!!!

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Just in time for some yummy summer time blueberries :)

Strawberry Lemonade from Good Life Eats - Makes me thirsty just reading it.

Healthier Cheese Dip - a Velveeta and Rotel Recipe Knock Off! from Heavenly Homemakers - I love Velveeta and Rotel but I really want to give this a try!

Organization? Not my strong suit... from Bring the Rain - This post has a really cool idea for organizing weekly meals. I love it and think I might use it in my own kitchen.

Knock You Naked Brownies from The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Haha this name makes me laugh and the pictures of them make me drool.