My Hiatus is Over...

So sorry for the loooong break I took. Life got a little chaotic and I am rarely by my computer with time to write. But the pictures have been downloaded off the camera and for the few people who read this I thought I would update.

Recent happenings:

Grace turned 3 on November 7th. She had a Dora themed birthday party with friends and family and had a wonderful time. In fact it took a lot of convincing the next morning that her birthday was over. Grace started going to a mom's day out program in Sept and is really enjoying her time. She will gladly talk about her teacher Ms. Elaine. Grace always astounds us at what she says and remembers. She has officially graduated out of Physical Therapy as her gross motor skills are pretty much right on for a 3 year old. We don't ever have to go back unless we start to see problems

Norah is 11 months old and our little destructo baby. She doesn't crawl yet but she can get around scooting on her bottom. You might think it would take her awhile to get from one place to another but it really doesn't. She likes to take things apart and fling the pieces every which way. She is very opinionated (I think she gets that from me). Her vocabulary is coming along, she says hi, bye, come, momma, dadda, gace (grace), nummy, no and other things that sound like certain words but you are never sure.

Scott and I are the same, I went back to work full time in mid september and while we haven't necessarily done a whole lot we are busy all the time. We got a new front door and we re did Grace and Norah's room. We have been blessed to watch Grace participate in her first christmas programs this year. WHile it is sad that she is growing up so fast it is so amazing to watch your child learn and start to understand about Christmas, baby Jesus and all that goes with it.

Funny Grace sayings:

During one of her prayers " God, Father in Heaven we lift up Santa and please help me to get off the naughty list and onto the nice list." (this after a particularly rough day at daycare)

In a discussion with Santa, "Santa why are you dressed up" "I am on the nice list now but swiper (from Dora) is on the naughty list because he steals!" " You're coming to my house to bring me presents."

There are many more but my mind can't think anymore. I will leave you with a few pictures and I will try and be better at updating this blog.

Updates- Pictures to come later

I have come to the conclusion that we really need to get wireless internet so I can get a laptop to have upstairs. I barely ever get downstairs anymore to work on the computer. And if I do get down there to check email etc. I don't have time to update this blog. So here comes 6 weeks of updates in one post.

Norah:

Had her 4 month appt. at the beginning of May her stats were
Weight: 13lb 2 oz (50%)
Height: 24.5 inches (50%)
Head: 16.5 Inches (75%)

We have been to the dr. several times since her 4 month appt. for what everyone thought was a cold that woulnd't go away. Well finally the Friday before Memorial day I brought her in and said this isn't a cold, it doesn't ever get better it is a consistent issue what is going on. The dr. we saw gave me a list of things it could be and decided to start with treating for Reflux. Gave us a prescription for Zantac and sent us on our way. (oh yeah when they weighed her she was 14lb 6oz- this means she gained over 1lb in 2 weeks!) We gave the first dose that evening and saw a remarkable difference. So for right now we are going with the thought that along with the milk allergy she has reflux.

Some milestones for her are:

Some rolling over, while I have never actually seen her do it I have heard from daycare that she did it once and on Sunday Scott put her on her stomach and we were talking and looked back down at her and she was on her back, neither one of us touched her so she did it on her own, that sneaky little girl!

The middle of last week she started to sleep through the night even longer than before, she was doing about 10:30-5:00 and now her last bottle is anywhere between 7:30 and 9:00 and she goes down shortly after her bottle and sleeps until approx. 5:30-7:00. LOVING this part of life now. I actually might be able to start getting stuff done in the evenings.

Lets see what else...she is starting to giggle and when you get her going it is hilarious! She is starting to have some stranger anxiety and depending on her mood may or may not like a person. I always feel bad when she comes back to me and calms right down. Our daycare provider has commented that Norah is not fond of her husband and if she even hears him speak she freaks out. I feel so bad for him because he loves little kids and just wants to hold and play with Norah. Hopefully she will get used to him fast.

I also tried to give her cereal the other night, she's not a huge fan of it but we will keep trying and see what happens.

Grace Updates:

Lets see what can I say about Grace. She is one very vocal child! She now knows her ABC's and will sing them over and over again if you ask her, but beware once she starts she doesn't stop!

She has become very bossy and demanding, in fact last night on the way to Home Depot she did not want Scott and I talking in the car so she told us to be quiet. Scott told her he would be quiet if she said, "silence is golden", she repeated that phrase and then said, "now be quiet." Oh, I was laughing so hard. She is speaking in full sentences now and she makes us laugh quite often. I really need to get better at writing down what she says and keeping them in her baby book or something.

She loves anything princess and even has certain outfits (mostly dresses) that are her princess outfits. She loves to wear jewelry.

I think one of the greatest joys we have with Grace is at night time when we are putting her to bed, she wants to pray so we have started saying 3 prayers with her and she can recite 2 of those prayers. How sweet it is when your toddler is praying to God.

Nothing new with Scott and I. Just the same old stuff. We are heading to Pekin, IL this weekend to visit friends. I am going to get some great mommy/friend time, grace is going to get a good playdate in and Scott will get some golf, and video game time in I am sure!

I will post pictures as soon as we download them. (hopefully tonight)

Updates!

Well as you will see with the 3 posts below I have uploaded some recent pictures of the girls and some of what we have been up to. There are several things not captured on photo that we have been up to as well.

About 2 weeks ago I went back to work, but because of the wonderful economy we have right now I am only back to work 2 days a week. I think right now I have the best of both worlds and am enjoying being out of the house a few days a week but also liking being home with my girls more. Grace loves going to her new providers and in fact most days is asking me to go to work so she can go to Jenny's.

We have switched Norah to Soy Formula because we found out that she coulnd't digest the protein in milk. We have gained a whole new baby with this switch and it makes my days at home much more pleasant. I was for awhile thinking we had a colicky kid, but the formula change really helped with that. Now I also feel like she is thriving a lot more.

Norahs 2 month stats were:
Weight: 10lbs 1oz (25%)
Height: 22 inches (50%)
Head: 15 1/2 inches (75%)

I am excited to see what she is at 4 months as with the new formula I feel like she has put on more weight and is even getting those cute little baby rolls.

Grace is talking a mile a minute. On Maundy Thursday she was the only kid in the nursery and when Scott went to pick her up the lady in the nursery asked if Grace EVER stopped talking. He said no, she pretty much talks all the time. My mom says something about paybacks being hell! (I guess I was a talker) Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am talking to a toddler and not an adult with the things she says. We have hit that point in a toddlers life where they ahve a book memorized and at any point will start reciting it!

On other funny Grace story happened on Palm Sunday, she was allowed to carry a palm branch to the front of the church with the other kids and she loved it, until she had to leave the palm branch at the front of the church. That didn't go over well and I had to go and take a not so happy toddler out of the church. At least we gave everyone something to talk about!

Not much else going on, just living life and getting used to all the changes we have had. Looking forward to the nice weather arriving so we can spend more time outside!

Don't forget to look at the 3 posts below for pictures.

Picture Overload Part 3- HAPPY EASTER!

This is our Easter Duck! She decided that laying her eggs right by our front door was a great idea! I didn't agree, so we had Wildlife Management come and take her and the eggs away!

Don't worry we didn't color the duck eggs, these are chicken eggs that I bought at the store!

This is what Norah did while we were decorating eggs! She found her feet and couldn't figure out how to get them to her mouth.

Grace loved decorating eggs and did a really good job, she was pretty gentle with them we only had a few catastrophes.

Whats Easter without an egg hunt in your front yard?

" I gotta go find more eggs!"

"Look at all my goodies!"

"Hey what is this on me"

"Maybe if I smile mom will take me out of this thing!"

Picture Overload Part 2

Now she gets the exersaucer! When she was supposed to be in it she just sat there and stared at the toys!

She loved playing with the Hula Hoops at the MN Children's Museum

Look what Daddy can do with a washer box!

After a rough day of eating, sleeping and filling my diaper I just need to put my feet up!

"Where are the eggs?" We participated in an Easter Egg hunt at Festival Foods in Onalaska, WI.

This is Norah at 3 months! (can someone please tell me how to turn pictures?)

Picture Overload

Just wanted to show you the fun we've been having the last few months!

Look at me rock!
Oops! Must have rocked too hard!

Wish I had a video camera so I could have taped the serenade we were getting in the van while we were in AZ.

OOOH! If I press the button the frog squirts water!

Maybe I will be a musician!

We thought it was funny that Norah was just as big as the dolls were in the Dr. play area of the Tucson, Children's museum.

She fit perfectly in the suitcase. No worries we didn't bring her home this way!

Sledding with Grandma and Grandpa Vrieze is so fun!

Gotta love chair lifts!

What a Bunch of Sicko's!

So we spent 3 hours today at urgent care for my two little girls. For the past two weeks Norah has had a cough and its a pretty nasty cough. I brought her into the Dr. a week ago for it and they listened to her and did a chest X-Ray and all was clear so we were told it was just a cold. Well now this week the cough was still here and it was getting a little worse. Then Wednesday night Grace started coughing and her cough was quite barky and thick. This continued for a few days and then a fever started so we thought we should bring her in since she does have a history of pneumonia.

Well after 3 hours in the Urgent care we were sent home with both girls on nebulizer treatments and Grace also on a anti-biotic. They also did a nasal swab on Norah to check for RSV and that came back positive so we are just going to watch her. Grace has bronchitis and maybe pneumonia but the dr. wasn't going to put her through a chest x-ray since the treatment course would be the same anyways.

So my girls are sick and I think its going to be a long week. Hopefully the meds kick in quickly for Grace and she is back to her bubbly self soon.

Finally More Pictures are Downloaded

So we are now at week #5 of being the parents of 2 children. I would have to say that for the most part things are going really well. I am thankfully nearing the end of my 6 weeks of restrictions and will be happy to be able to resume all normal activities next week. I do have to say that I have already started cheating a little these past few days in lifting Grace but nothing major just little lifts here and there.




Norah is doing great. We finally got her on a formula that seems to really help with her gasiness and so she doesn't fuss as much as she used to. She does still have a little bit of a fussy time in the evenings but nothing that is too bad. She is a momma's girl though so I always feel bad when Scott has her and is trying to get her to calm down and she just won't and then she comes to me and within a few minutes i have her sleeping. I do gently remind him that it was the exact opposite with Grace, she was crabby for me but would just drift to sleep in Scott's arms. Norah has given me a few nights of 4+ hours of sleep at a time which have been wonderful. But normally we are up every 3-4 hours for a bottle. I look forward to the weekends when Scott gets up with her and I get 8+ hours of sleep.




We are getting ready for our trip to Arizona next week. I thought traveling with one child was hard but trying to pack for 2 and figure out the logistics of getting to the airport etc. has been tiring. It will all work out though and life will be good.




Nothing else new to report. Here are some new pictures of Norah and Grace!

Grace may be our budding plumber!

My Toddler Clogged the Toilet!

No she didn't throw a watch or a toy in the toilet and try to flush it down, she actually had a BM large enough to clog the toilet. Grace has always had issues with BM's, she is quite often constipated and has a rough time going. (it's never been a secret when she's going) Last night was another of those moments, we knew it was going to be a rough one as she was working quite hard at it. Scott finally convinced her to go and sit on her potty chair! Then about 2 minutes later a lot of hooting and hollering came from the bathroom! She had gone! But I must say that I am not sure how something that massive could have come out of my toddler! IT WAS HUGE! (You know if Grace ever reads this, she is going to hate me! But I guess thats what parents are for, right?)

So Scott finished cleaning up Grace and then dumped the potty chair into the big toilet and all of a sudden I hear him say something like " You have got to be kidding me!" and then he went to the garage and got the plunger. Yes, the BM that Grace had clogged the toilet and Scott had to use the plunger. Thats my girl and I am so proud of her.

Introducing Norah Margaret Vrieze

The Vrieze Family would like to introduce:

Norah Margaret Vrieze

Born January 5, 2009 12:45pm

7lb 90z, 20 inches

(Sorry some of these pictures are sideways I can't get them to rotate)

We also had to add one shot of Grace in her Christmas dress. There was no nursery during the service we went to and I have to say Grace quickly learned to whisper. However, when something really caught her attention everyone around us was able to hear her!