stubborn PANZA or is it chocol-anza? or icecream-anza?

translation...

Panza = Ecuadorian slang for "big belly from eating too much bread"

yup, i have a stubborn one that is NOT going away. it may be a chocol-anza or a icecream-anza, but nontheless... it is not going away! =) i am wearing most of my pre-prego clothes, but i am thinking that i need to get going on some exercising or this PANZA may be a permanent part of me. =)

here are some fun pix from the weekend with our friends Alaina and Loren (quito).



there was a veggie tales premiere in the park!







we made CEVICHE!! a shrimp cocktail (of sorts) from Ecuador.



played some games....



"uncle" Loren entertaining Sally Jane ...



the "plug" we have started giving Sally the plug on Sundays to get thru church and for nights when we have company or.....



to go to the movies! Kung Fo Panda was Sally's first movie in the theater-- and she slept thru the ENTIRE thing!



and lastly.... The Cheesecake Factory!



YUM!

Gow had a job interview yesterday in Southern IL.... we will see... keep praying for us to keep on trusting and knowing what God has.

Thanks ya'll!

3 shots in her chubby lil legs...

Sally had her 2 month appointment yesterday.
Since birth, she has grown 2 inches longer and is 4 1/2 pounds bigger.

They gave her round one of her vaccinations... she did SUPER well, only cried for about 30 seconds. I on the other hand shed some tears watching the nurse and Gow hold her still- then seeing her little face cry out in pain. oh my sweet baby girl!

Here are some pix from Father's day (I know it was a few weeks back... but better late than never).



sweet blissful sleep in her strong daddy's arms.



and a prickly kiss from his handsome face!



This is just a clip of a little movement from Sally Jane.

on my end of things- i am sad to discover how far away most of my church friends live from us. While I was working at the church- I saw them all every day at work. now I am realizing that as they all live 10-20 minutes north of the church, I live 10-15 minutes south of the church. This makes for a 1/2 hour drive to hang out -- with needing to feed sally ever 3-4 hours, this makes for a short, and hard to plan visit that is next to impossible to do.
super frustrating.

Sally's friends

it's really fun to see Sally reach out and befriend some of the "little guys" in our home that maybe don't have friends yet or are just lonely... =)

probably her "best friend" so far is Conrad.
Conrad is our lamp in the living room. We named him Conrad for Sally's sake as
every day as I am burping Sally Jane (maybe 4 times a day) she looks up, locks a stare on Conrad and proceeds to talk, interact and stare at him for like 10 minutes. it's hysterical.

Sally's other buddies are her pink giraffe, Holster- the pony, her monkey on her mirror in the car, an orange giraffe - blue elephant- green elephant on her buzzy chair, a bright caterpillar on her playmatt and her two bubblebee buds from her swing.

she is quite the little socializer! =)


well, it's Monday morning... Gow is off to work and Sally is squeakin' next to me in her buzzy chair. On the agenda today.... i will do a load of laundry, do my devos, gow will come home for lunch, either take Sally on a walk or to the pool.... the sky's the limit!

a great weekend

Sweet Sally Jane is getting some tummy time these days to grow her belly muscles and to practice holding up her head.



smiles are more and more common and she has begun to coo in response to us talking with her.



she's ready for some action!

friday night we had a family date to the outlet mail and my fave-50's diner.. Johnny Rockets!

saturday gow and sally hung out with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (discussing the making of the Indiana Jones) while I soaked in some rays at the pool and had lunch with some girlfriends from work. then took dinner to the pool and swam a bit.

sunday, sally made it thru the entire church service! 1st time ever-- thanks to the pacifier! and now we are doing some stuff around the house and will just chill out tonight with some homemade shakes and a movie.

gow has had two phone interviews so far....
we are trusting that God has something GREAT.

seriously?

she is such a lil dolly! this is how she fell asleep on my shoulder...




okay- here are some bits-o-randomness for ya'll today....

I found this on craigslist...
"free horse manure you pick up and load have aged and fresh call nicole at 615-516-9546"

sweet! just what I have always wanted.... the option between FRESH and AGED horsey poop!
yuck.


having Sally has been sort of a green light for strangers to strike up conversations... sometimes it is really fun to "show her off" and have other people smile and adore her.
however, there are sometimes some really funny or strange exchanges.
check these three out....

1- (at the pool yesterday) this covno with a dad of two elementary age children
guy- "cute- how old is she?"
me - "8 weeks"
guy "oh- i know where she came from."
me- awkward laugh...

what the heck does that mean?

2- (at home depot this morning) with an grandpa aged employee
guy " oh she's a teeny one"
me- "yup, 8 weeks and a real keeper"
guy- " oh that's good that you decided that, you know the Saudis would buy her"
me- " ha (what!?!?!) no I am definitely keeping her"
guy- " well just remember the Saudi Arabians"

WHAT?! does anyone have a CLUE to what the heck this guy is talking about?
good grief.

3- (at our apartment's mailboxes) with two older ladies
old lady #1 - "oh what a little baby"
me- "yup, 8 weeks old"
old lady #2 - " is it a boy or girl?"
old lady #1 - " it's a girl you idiot, she is wearing ALL pink"
me (thinking) - "I am glad you said it old lady #1. =)

crazy.
and I continue to crave steak and hamburgers.
must not be getting enough protein?

gow and i are both having blah days-- but will go for a family date tonight-- should be fun!
enjoy your friday!

a sweet pix engraved in my mind....

this is typically what I see around 10 or 10:30 each night.
i am usually laying down, worn out from the day, and look up to see Gow taking time out to love on Sally Jane and put her to sleep.

it is super sweet to see her little face peeking over his shoulder as she fights falling asleep.
then in a few moments she gives in and floats off to sleep on his shoulder.

check out her little cheek-- squished on him.
soo presh.

well, i don't have any profound thoughts today. just happy for the sunshine, cool breeze, our sweet SJ and the blessings of great family and friends.

how to bottle her up?

oh man.
Sally is too stinkin adorable.
I was snugglin' her this morning-- thinking about how much she has grown and changed in the past 8 weeks.... I wish I could take a bit of her sweet sweet self and bottle the bit of her up so I will be able to always have a bit of her at this age and stage.

She will be 8 weeks tomorrow... unbelievable. Part of me can't wait until we can play more- and the other part of me doesn't want an ounce of her to change. =)

I was given a book called "Mommy Dreams" by the peeps that started MOPS (Moms of Pre-Schoolers) and read something yesterday that resonated with my ponderings of "self" and purpose....

"So much of our success in life, after all, is measured by how well we are able to get through the times that aren't so good- the times when we're too tiered, when we are frightened, when we fail.

If we are not around to serve as examples for our children, for how to get through those times and emerge victorious, then how will they learn the lesson?

Few of us really are "born" for the job of mothering... It means being willing to confront the worst in ourselves and being brave enough not to run away from it."

interesting eh?
i found that to be true during my years in Quito doing youth ministry......God made opportunity for me to confront the worst in myself and gave me the choice if I would be brave enough not to run away from it.

Maybe Youth Ministry and mothering go hand in hand as a chance for God to grow and truly refine us???

hmmm... still pondering. =)

Here's some fun pix from the pool...



getting ready... wearing a swim diaper that is about 5x too big for her. =)



it is super fun to go to the pool these days as it is WAY humid here.
can't wait for the go ahead to submerge her ears... then will not need to be as careful at the pool and in the tub!



who falls asleep in the pool? =)



her cute lil suit! (thanks pipers!)



as long as she is warm- she is happy!
(like mother like daughter I guess) =)

check out Gow's website and demo reel-

he's got skeels!!!!


happy Tuesday to ya'll!

home, home on the range....

Hmm.. I am currently listening to sweet Sally Jane mingle cries of tiredness and frustration... she is in the middle of a nap, but has woken up with some "toots" and is now trying to put herself back to sleep.

I am waiting 10 minutes- to see if she can do it on her own... but it is torture to hear her crying her little heart out....



Last week and this week is just the three of us here at home... quite a change from all of the company and travels.

It has been great-- Sally and I have found somewhat of a routine with her taking a long nap in the morning (allowing me to look for jobs online for Gow, take care of the house and myself) and then usually a late afternoon walk and either heading to the park or the pool with Gow when he gets home from work.




Here is a pix of the fish tank stand that my dad and Gow built.
It is really nice... and is a great topic of conversation as it stands empty!
Gow's dad is bringing up a filter in July-- so no fishies until then. =)
Gow is PUMPED.

sweet!!! 8 minutes.. it took Sally Jane 8 minutes to cry and she is back sound asleep!
YAHOO!
she is such a dolly!

A recap on this weekend's activities..

Friday evening - we went on a walk in the warm rain to buy a treat from the grocery store... Gow and I both picked out a tub of Haggendaus!! YUMMERS! and Sally's sweet face looked up at us from the carrier with glistening rain drops on her cheeks and her eyes wide with wonder.

Saturday we hung out at home and had some friends over for dinner, the guys played tennis, cookies and a lil jam session on the guitar and harmonica!
(Sally had a rough time that night... must have been gas-y and cried for about an hour.)

Sunday we went to early church cuz Sally was awake, came home and took a nap, watched 007 Casino Royal, then went to Outback for Daddy's day, went to walk at the park and listen to some 80's band at the park and then Gow watched some of the Celtic/Laker game.

fun stuff!
just thought I'd share it with ya'll. =)

uh oh- sally's whimpering a bit....

I am doing some soul searching these days as I am transitioning to being a stay at home momma.
wondering what I am good at - thinking of the things I have been "successful" at in the past that I am no longer doing..... it's interesting. I haven't reached any sort of conclusion... am just beginning to process it all.

k- this is getting huge long.

TTFN!

last leg of the chi-town trippy

To you O Lord, I lift up my soul- in you I trust, O my God.

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Ps.25: 1, 4-5.

Amen and thank the Lord for His PROMISES. These were my devos today... just wanted to share as it resonates in my heart so much today.




here are all of the cousins together! super fun and I can only imagine what it will be like as Sally grows to be big enough to actually play with this gang!



fun pix with Emma!



these are the all three the "1st borns "



Auntie Cyndie passing on some wisdom to Sally J



pool side at the Casparis'



while the aunties "watch" Sally Jane



uncle gow reading a book to the boys



and in the midst of the fun, games, food and rush... there is the sweet calm of feeding Sally... ahh.. yes, God knew what He was doing when He designed teeny ones to eat so often. =)



Sally slept great on the whole trip! For the past 3 weeks (minus one night) she has slept from between 10/11pm- 6/8 am. that's my girl!



so that concludes sweet Sally's first vacation and road trip.
we all had a super great time and bless her little heart for being soo cooperative!

today Gow is working on paying all of our lovely hospital bills from Sally's birth, finishing his website for his demo reel and hoping to purchase our tickets to go to Alaska in August.

oh yeah, and he is going to work!
he is great- there is no other way to put it. on top of all of that, he comes home and takes time with Sally and I.

yes folks, we are having a full and wonderful time.
we thank the Lord and trust Him for the future...

happy Friday to ya'll.

meeting the other cousins

Timmy and Emma fell in love with Sallly too... okay, Emma did and Timmy sort of did. =)



He was very gentle and quite curious of Sally.



Emma sang her songs, rocked her, picked out Sally's outifts each day and even let Sally suck on her finger.



Emma graduated from kindergarten cumma sum laude!



we were all so proud! sitting in the front row!



off to the 1st grade at last!



our friends the Holtes came and hung out for an evening of Hannah Montana, ping pong, sweet tea and some crazy interpretive dances by Emma and Anna.



ta da!



look out Hannah Montana!



a fun family pix for ya'll with a sweet bow in Sally's hair- I mean on her head. teehee.



Sally Jane got to meet Auntie Karen-- and look, she has a smile on her little face.



this was all Timmy's idea......



honestly- Gow had nothing to do with it.
(my whole fam likes the vikings)



Sally is catching to time chilling in the very first outfit ever given to her.... by Auntie Bek (Kotter) when I was about 8 weeks pregnant!



playing Blues Clues with big ol cheesey smiles! =)



Sally really likes chilling in the vibrating bouncy seat... looks pretty peaceful eh?



Emma had a birthday party at the beach on Lake Geneva.



wow- hubba hubba what a hotty!
i love this pix-- doesn't it look like it should be the cover of "Dad Magazine"!?
i married a stud!
and check out Sally Jane's lil sun bonnet!



grandma d-- this one's for you!



a tiring but super fun trip!

k- tomorrow will be the last of the Chi-town pix.. all the cousins together.

sally has discovered a shrill shriek, looks like maybe her eyes are turning brown or green-- can't really say yet and has resumed sleeping for nice lovely long chunks of time.
we thank the Lord.

k- over n out.