Happy 33rd Birthday (to me)!

What a day!  I got up early in hopes of getting a hair cut before my baby doctor appointment.  Only, as I was getting ready to leave, I found out I had left my wallet in the van last night.  Doug took the van today, so I could take the truck to have the tires rotated.  Thankfully, I had enough time to run up to Doug's work to get my wallet and get to the salon when it opened (one of those walk-in only places).  I ended up getting about 2 inches cut off the overall length, and I had the gal add layers - which has really brought out the waves/curls in my hair!

As far as the baby check-up, yesterday marked week 30 for baby number 4!  Everything continues to be on track, and baby is as active as ever!  I'm sure I am going to be exhausted next week after these sheep shows and garden work I've been up to this week.

After the baby check-up, I headed over to Sears to get the truck tires rotated.  Unfortunately, they were not able to complete the task because the stock racks were in the bed.  I had specifically asked when I made the appointment if it would be a problem.  The gentleman told me as long as they fit through the 10 ft door, they could do it.  Apparently that wasn't true.  The racks did fit through the door, but they did not allow the truck to be lifted high enough.  Oh, well...

After leaving Sears, I made 4 different stops to gather all the back-to-school supplies.  I ended my errands by stopping to get the sheep feed.  Doug then took me out for supper.  All in all, it was another great birthday!

Until next time...

Julianne - 9 months

Enjoy some of the random pictures of Julianne from the past month...

Since Julianne has stopped being swaddled while sleeping, she now loves snuggling with her swaddle blankets

Julianne is actually sitting in the seats of shopping carts more often.  Reba loves when we go to Aldi's because she can ride too!

Thankfully, at Rural King, the carts have extra large seats, and both girls and fit!

Julianne is pulling up to a standing position more and more.  I recently brought out this toy, and she LOVES it!  I love her hair (it had been in a pony the day before)

One morning, the girls and I ventured out to a park to enjoy the sunshine.  They could swing all day long!

Julianne is figuring out how to "undress" herself.  Somehow, she pulled her arm out of the sleeve and up through the neck hole! All while strapped in her carseat...

Every once in a while, Julianne will allow Dallas to still sit and hold her.

Another example of Julianne allowing someone to sit and hold her.  This time I was able to chosen!

Our little girl does not like to be held too often, she would much rather ride in her stroller, sit in the high chair, or be on the floor where she can move freely.  As far as going to sleep, she will wiggle and fight if you try to rock her; she would much rather be put in her bed and given her blanket.

Julianne figured out how to open and close the cabinets while watching Reba and I baked one day.

A few other things Julianne has accomplished this past month:

• Picking up "puffs" to feed herself
• Holding on with one hand while standing
• Stayed with her godmother, Carla, for about 12 hours!
• Says "mamama", "dadada", and occasionally "bababa"
• Starting to cruise down the couch and around chairs
• Eating more and more table food: mashed potatoes, yogurt, bread, pancakes, pasta, etc
• Passes items from one hand to the other
• Sharing baths with Reba and Dallas
• Still squeezes into 6-9 month clothes
• Wears size 3 diapers
• Nurses every 4 hours
• Sleeps from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; naps from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and noon to 2 p.m.
• Drinks water from sippy cup during meals
• Waves back when we wave to her
• Figured out how to grind her teeth, and (occasionally) smack her lips
• Crawls across the floor while holding something in her hand

9 month stats:

Height: 27.5 inches*

Weight: 19 lbs 10 oz

Until next time...

*I don't agree with her height measurement since it is only a quarter inch different from her 6 month check-up

Phone Photo Dump

Just some random photos that I were taken on my phone these past couple months...

Grocery Shopping this summer has been more interesting have 3 children in tow.  Luckily, one of our stores has these "Shopper in Training" carts that keep the older two occupied.

We have been having a blast in the pool!

Julianne getting to pet one of the kittens

Dallas had a fun time taking pics one evening

Then, he wanted a picture of everyone; therefore, here is our family selfie!

Whenever we go to Target, my kiddos LOVE to slap and climb on these red spheres at the entrance...

Until next time...

National Farm Toy Show

Early last Friday morning, Doug, Dallas, Pa and I loaded up the van and headed towards Dyersville, Iowa.  We were on our way to enjoying a weekend at the National Farm Toy Show!  We have been a handful of times before (remember we used to live in Iowa), but we didn't go last year and really missed it.

 

We arrived at the show a little after 11 a.m., one of our first stops was Scale Models - the home of American made toy tractors!

 

The cool thing about Scale Models is that they run their assembly line on Friday.  We were able to see them package pedal tractors.  Look at all those pedal tractor boxes looking for a home...

After spending all afternoon at the outside portion of the show and grabbing some dinner, we headed back to the hotel room to examine the day's purchases.

We headed back at the show Saturday morning to see all the inside vendors (if you have never been to the National Show, they have tents and trailers set up in the parking lots around the toy museum, as well as two other off site buildings that have vendors set up; then the high school gym and class rooms are full of vendors, as well as the gym inside the toy museum!)  Dallas made it through the high school gym and classrooms before crashing for a nap in the backseat of the van.  He slept for almost 2 hours (Pa and Momma took turns sitting in the van with him)

We had such a wonderful time, and Doug and I were able to get a lot of Christmas and birthday shopping done!

Until next time...

10 Months Old

Yesterday, Dallas turned 10 months old. I can't believe in a few (short) months, we will be celebrating his 1st birthday! Here are some recent pictures to commemorate this milestone...

Standing upPlaying with the cruise and crawl jungle that was a Christmas gift
On Saturday, we had the tires rotated on the truck...this is Dallas waiting with Daddy
After getting the tires rotated, we went grocery shopping. Dallas was asleep when we got to the grocery store, so I stayed in the truck with him. Once he woke up, Dallas wanted to drive!
While we were out and about, we bought Dallas a sled. Daddy helped him test it out once we got home.
Dallas loving his new sled

One last thing for Dallas' 10 month birthday... a big boy car seat!Doesn't he just look so excited? This was taken on our way home from church, and the little guy was in no mood for smiles.

Until next time...

We Are Home

We have actually spent an evening at our own home! Doug, Dallas, Charlie, Fred and I made it home Friday evening. We had enough time to unload the truck of all the goodies from Christmas, unpack the suitcases, and then repack the suitcases and reload the truck. We headed out early on Saturday morning to head up to Katie's house. My dad and a couple of his friends were out for the weekend to pheasant hunt...and Doug joined in the fun. Of course, it just so happened that there was a toy show along the way! Doug was able to hunt with the boys on Saturday afternoon and all day on Sunday. Katie, Dallas and I just hung out at Katie's house on Saturday afternoon, and spent all day Sunday shopping! I found some great deals at JCPenney. Doug, Dallas and I left Sunday evening and made it back home around 10 o'clock. Doug went back to work today, and I began the de-spoil-ification process with Dallas. It might be a rough week for us, but we are so glad to be sleeping in our own beds again!

Have a great week...I promise I have not forgot about pictures.

Until next time...