30 weeks pregnant!

I have officially hit the third trimester and start seeing the doctor every two weeks. Today I basically just got the results from drinking the sugary drink and did everything else like we usually do. My results were great and completely normal. My uterus is measuring at 31 weeks which means in two weeks time I only grew one weeks worth...thank the Lord! She didn't think this was anything to be concerned about at all and I am happy I am not still rapidly growing! I will see the doctor in another two weeks and will post belly photos then! I did get a prescription for some tylenol with codeine. She said this was safer then taking IBU so I gave in. I don't like the thought of taking a narcotic while pregnant but she assured me it is completely safe. I think I will still be using it very sparingly. I am sure it will help me sleep better though since my body aches a lot when I am in bed. We shall see!

Great Grandma Troyna!

This afternoon we went to visit Brian's grandma. She is doing great these days aside from being really tired. Kezzie really enjoys seeing her and says 'date mima (great grandma)'. There is a cabinet full of collectibles that Kezzie adores and always wants to touch and play with. They aren't allowed out of the case so Kezzie just gets to look, but she is tempted every time!

Grandma Troyna went in to get some results of a recent CT scan and the doctor said that in comparison to a previous scan it shows that the chemo treatment is working. She had one mass that was 3.8 and it is now 1.9-great news. She got another treatment that day and won't need to be seen back for another month! Praise God for the time we get to spend with her! She is such a blessing in our lives! In the meantime Grandma has been spending her time goose hunting and fishing along with sewing!

Austin Football Game #3

Game #3 was played yesterday-the day we came back from the river. Kezzie only slept for one hour in the car on the way home and was up before 6 that morning so I wasn't sure if she was going to enjoy being at the game or not. We attempted to go anyway. We basically walked in the door, unloaded the van and Austin got his gear on and we were headed back out the door to head to Cresco. We had to get there an hour early so the team could stretch and run through some plays. For some reason that is the only thing I took a picture of! Kezzie was pretty ready to leave by half time but managed to stick it out. There was a lot of field for her and I to run and play in when we weren't watching the game so that helped. We laid in the grass and looked at the clouds, I would run and she would 'tackle' me...she thought that was hilarious. The game was a blast to watch but New Hampton didn't win. When it was all over we grabbed a couple subs and headed home for some much needed rest! The next game will be next saturday at Wartburg College...should be a fun one to see!

Trip to the River!

I am thinking this might have been our last trip this year to the river. It's sad to see the summer go since we enjoy being here so much. It was a fairly decent weekend. It rained before we arrived on friday and didn't rain pretty much the rest of the time we were there. We went on a couple walks, had a trip to Wal-mart (of course), played with play-dough, colored in coloring books, and went on a boat ride. Kezzie loves riding in the boat and insisted on wearing her life jacket as often as possible in hopes that she might get to go out in it. She was born to be on the water! I think at one point Kezzie even snuck in an Elmo movie (and mommy snuck in a nap). We found Austin's old fishing pole from when he was little (don't know why we ever got him a pink and purple one) and it fits Kezzie perfect! She had fun pushing the button but didn't understand that in order to reel it in she had to release the button. Needless to say there was a lot of frustrating moments! Austin did a lot of fishing off the dock but did get to go out with Grandpa a couple times. The fish weren't biting the greatest but Austin doesn't care as long as he has a pole in the water. We stayed up really late on Friday night sitting around the campfire. My aunt and uncle (Perry and Cindy) were there with their four hilarious children (Joshua 13, Alicia almost 12, Jonathan 6, Leora 5-I think I have that right). They are so much fun to be around and I look forward to seeing them again soon! Grandma and Kezzie went on a walk to the boat landing and I caught up with them...when Kezzie realized I was coming she was really excited and came running to me. I had to take a picture of that look on her face! Kezzie didn't sleep the greatest on Friday night and was up both mornings before 6 but I couldn't blame her...there was a lot of fun to be had! We had such a great weekend and can't wait to come back again next summer! Now to figure out how to manage that with another kid! Maybe a camper is in our future!

22 months old!

My baby is quickly approaching her two year mark. It's amazing how fast this year has gone. Kezzie is getting more of the attitude that comes along with turning two. It is really frustrating sometimes because you don't know how she is going to react to certain things. For example, sometimes she will be completely happy to get up in the high chair and put on her favorite bib and other times she will scream that she doesn't want to wear a bib at all. Her newest thing is putting her head on the ground and just crying...a couple minutes later she will get up and be just fine. It's funny what she will try to get attention...as if she doesn't get an abundance of that!!

Funny things she says: 'Sorry mommy', or whoever. She is really very polite when she wants to be! She pretty much always says it at the appropriate times and sometimes doesn't say it when she should. As a discipline action she sits on the carpet for 90 seconds and when her time is up she immediately says it and repeats it over and over until you give her a hug and say it's ok. She will say 'tay to (thank-you) mommy' when I get her something she wants or when I help her with something. She says 'pease (please)' as well, although you usually have to prompt her on that one. She is more likely to get frustrated about something and start yelling 'help mommy' repeatedly before she is willing to calmly say please. Her favorite ways to respond are by saying yep, yes, yeah, uh huh and sure. She has also started this really funny thing at the beginning of most of her words. It's something like this 'i-e-i-e-i-ya'. It can mean several things depending on the words that come after it. I want, I got, I have, etc. It's pretty cute. She will often say to me 'i-e-i-e-i-ya idea (I have an idea)'. Whenever she comes to me with an idea I always tell her, "wow Kezzie, that's a great idea". I guess she picked up on it! In the morning lately she will abruptly wake up yelling 'i-e-i-e-i-ya (I got to) PEE'. She is holding her bladder a lot more at night and I guess she really has to go! She will yell it over and over until somebody enters her room and then she calmly states it once more!

Favorite piece of clothing: I found a nightgown at a garage sale that is pretty hideous but comfortable looking so I bought it for Kezzie. It has The Wiggles characters plastered on the front and the sleeves are decorated in some pretty obnoxious pattern. Kezzie saw them in the laundry and thought it was the Imagination Movers and fell in love with them right away. I set her straight on who they were and ever since she calls them her Wiggles jammies. She wants to wear them constantly. If we go out to play or to run errands I make her get dressed but the minute we get home she requests to have her Wiggles put back on. She hadn't ever even seen The Wiggles before until I recently found a video at the store and bought it for her. I wish I never had! I am really hoping this phase passes quickly! I guess one positive is I am not washing as many jammies these days!

Quarks about Kezzie: It's really quite strange but we have noticed it getting worse lately...Kezzie is afraid to walk on shiny floors. Wal-mart and Target are pretty much a guarantee that she is cart-bound. Anytime we go into a bathroom when we are out she has to be carried over to the toilet. If we try to have her walk she will take the tiniest steps yelling 'help' and have a look of horror on her face the whole time she is doing it and you can tell she is so frightened. It has something to do with the reflection of the lights on the ceiling. Maybe to her it looks like the floor is missing in those areas or maybe it looks slippery to her... and recently she has started doing it in our own kitchen. If she is playing hard enough or has something on her mind enough to not be looking down at the floor and notice it then she is fine.

Kezzie continues to learn her numbers and alphabet. She will often spout off three numbers in a row. For example, if I start out counting she will usually chime in with seven, eight, nine. She can't/won't say the number one so she will never start there. She is a pro at her colors. I think this is contributed to all the things we do with colors. When she picks her candy after potty, when she gets dressed, etc. Pretty much everything we do/see is defined by its color.

Pacifier update: Kezzie started sucking her finger the end of last month but it didn't get really bad until this month. She was sucking it more then she ever needed her paci and it was starting to interfere with how much she would talk. She was laying around more and not playing purely to get the gratification of sucking. After a lot of prayer and thought we decided to give her the pacifier back (9/15/09). We have been letting her have it whenever she wants, all the time to try to get her re-attached to that so that maybe when we take it away again she will forget about her finger and be done with it all. I think she started sucking her finger because she is getting her two year molars (first noticed it poking through 9/1/09) so I am hoping she won't feel the need to go back to it. This is a process and only today has she started having limited paci time (she can only have it when she is in bed). She hasn't even once asked for it and hasn't put her finger in her mouth at all. She played really well all morning and has been talking up a storm. And she is easier to understand when she isn't trying to talk through her paci! I just pray this works! There was no way we were getting that finger away from her and it only seemed to keep the moisture around her mouth which irritated her rash even more...

Rash update: We took Kezzie to see the dermatologist on September 9. There were only three little specks on her face when we went and that morning I even contemplated going because I didn't think the doctor would know what to do for her. Regardless we went and I'm glad we did. He thought from what he could see it didn't look like yeast and he took her off all previous creams she was on (we were told she never should have been on that yeast cream for so long). He prescribed something called Elidel which is used for Eczema. This didn't seem like it was working so I took her back to see a different dermo (our first one was on vacation) on Sept. 16. This doctor said we just hadn't given it enough time and said to continue using the Elidel but to quit using any shampoos, body wash, bubble bath we were using and only use the CeraVe samples that she gave us. It's a new moisturizer. She was right. In just a couple more days we started to see some results. We put on the Elidel and then over top of that we placed the CeraVe lotion. And when she takes a bath we use the CeraVe body wash. It seems to really be working. Pretty soon we should be able to stop using it and only use it when her skin is irritated. I never would have thought she had something like Eczema! I am so thankful to finally know how to treat it. Hopefully this is something she will eventually grow out of. We won't need to see the dermo again unless we have further concerns!

Like I always say, everyday is an adventure. I must say...I look forward to putting her to bed at night but then after a couple hours I find myself excited to spend the next day with her and see what new things we will both learn! It's so much fun being a mommy!

Down by the Creek!

Crick or Creek...I don't really care! Either way you say it, I finally decided it was time to check out what all the fuss was about. Every day Austin rushes home to get his homework done and head out the door to get some fishing in at this new spot before he has to rush off to football practice. This spot is actually a pond (the other spots he goes to are all creeks) and I am pretty sure it might even be owned by somebody but he has been assured that it is ok that he is there. He never keeps the fish he catches but he is having a blast fishing there and I am so glad he is making some good memories. He isn't allowed to go without a friend so on the days he doesn't have anybody to go with he is really bummed out. That was the case today too except 'mom to the rescue' said she would go check it out with him! We parked and then had to walk a bit but once we got there it was very peaceful and relaxing. Kezzie very much enjoyed watching Austin reel them in big or small and I just enjoyed sitting in the warm sun! I love the picture of Kezzie sitting next to Austin, intently watching his pole. You just can't beat the peace and quiet of the outdoors, especially when your kids are content!

Austin Football Game #2

I don't know if I will blog about every game, but it's hard when they are all so fun! There are only 6 total too so it's not like he has one every day! Practices have settled down a little bit since school has started. Austin practices 1.5 hours 3 days a week now instead of 2 hours 4 days a week and has games on Sundays. He is slowly wearing down with it, not enjoying it as much but talks about playing next year and in high school and even talks about getting a scholarship to play in college! I just tell him, let's get through this season first! Game #2 was a lot of fun too. I only made it to half of it since Kezzie was napping but NH won 12-0. Kezzie really enjoyed watching the cheerleaders (yes there are 5th grade cheerleaders-I couldn't believe it either). They spelled out S-C-O-R-E and she started 'singing' the alphabet. After every cheer she would clap and yell 'yea'. She also tried yelling for daddy and Austin on the field but got their attention with little success! Austin hasn't gotten the ball much but I see him doing a great job at blocking. I think at this weeks practice he said he is working with the ball a lot more so maybe next weeks game he will have a chance at it! I guess that only means he could get tackled more so I don't know if this is necessarily a good thing or not! This weeks game is in Cresco...

New Videos!

There are now new videos posted at the very bottom of this page! And more new posts to come!

28 weeks!

Yesterday I was 28 weeks pregnant. I can never believe it when I actually sit down to figure out the weeks. It's so easy to lose track when you stay home and are constantly busy with a toddler not to mention an eleven year old! Today I had my check-up. I had to drink the sugary drink-UGH! It's initial taste isn't bad but once it settled in my body I was a mess. I was so thankful to have Brian with me because he helped a lot with Kezzie and I never would have been able to drive home on my own! I don't remember the drink having that much of an effect on me when I was pregnant with Kezzie. I was so shaky and dizzy. I literally felt like I was instantly infected with a horrible flu. It thankfully wore off in a couple hours and I regained strength after eating a snack! Aside from all that, my appointment went really well. The baby's heart rate was a steady 154. And when the nurse got done listening Kezzie quickly stated 'Kezzie's turn?'. The doc measured my uterus at 30cm (you usually measure the amount of weeks you are)...I just about lost it when she told me that. I just keep getting bigger faster and faster! She said that is completely normal since this is my third baby! So now not only do I just feel huge, I actually am! I shouldn't complain though, pregnancy is one of the most amazing things God ever thought up and I am enjoying (almost) every minute of it! The baby is very active and I love laying in bed or sitting in the chair and just feeling her move my entire mid-section! Kezzie has also taken a huge interest in feeling her move. She will sit very patiently with her hand on my belly waiting for a wiggle. I have to tell her the baby is 'wiggling' in there because if I tell her she is 'kicking', Kezzie will try to kick her back! The sibling rivalry is already beginning!

My lil' shopper!

Kezzie is my little shopper. She loves to take her cart and go 'doshy' (grocery) shopping. I always request things that I want her to pick up for me at the store and then we go into the kitchen and I help her shop for the items. She is even really good at putting her groceries away when she is done with them. I always hate that part when I get home from getting groceries...they usually sit on the kitchen floor for a bit (except the cold food)! I had to snap this picture of her (pantless) with her basket full of groceries. And notice her purse over the shoulder. She ALWAYS makes sure to have this with her when she goes...smart girl! And let's not forget the baby-she can't stay home by herself!! I love that Kezzie is getting into pretending more. It's so sweet and a lot easier to keep busy when you can use your imagination!

Brian's Birthday!

Happy 31st Birthday, Brian! Brian's birthday was actually September 6th but we were in Omaha so we didn't get to officially celebrate with cake, etc. So after Austin's football game we got papa murphy's pizzas and went back to mom and dad's to celebrate with all of my (Erin's) family. Brian got money, a gift card, a ton of baseball/football cards, a new binder for his cards along with pages, and from me and the kids he got a set of tickets to the Iowa/AZ game on the 19th. Brian also got money from his mom and dad and a gift card from his sister. My mom ordered his cake and it looked awesome. It also tasted awesome!

UPDATE: 9/20 Brian enjoyed using his tickets to the game. He rode down to Iowa City with friends on Saturday morning and tailgated until the game started at 2:30. Iowa won! It was a close game for most of it so I think it was a lot of fun for him to be there! Brian got home around 10:30 Saturday night. It was a long but fun day!

Austin's first football game!!

Austin played his first football game of the season today! It was played at the UNI Dome and it was so much fun to watch! My whole family was there to see it along with Austin's dad's whole family. I think it really meant a lot to Austin to have everybody there! Ethan and Kezzie really enjoyed watching it together. I don't think Ethan ever took his eyes off all the players! Even though they lost their game they played very well. They were playing against one of the Waverly teams. All of the Waverly teams have several extra players they can rotate in...being as small as we are we only have a couple extra guys on our team. It was a tough competition but in the end we lost. After a long talk with Austin, with many encouraging words, he was feeling much better about the loss (and the fact that he got tackled-who would have thought you get tackled in tackle football?). I wish losing wasn't so hard on kids. It's just a game, right?!!