Sorry

Sorry it has been so long, and sorry that this post won't have any pictures. Our computer is not working the best right now.

Anyway, since my last post (over 2 weeks ago), we celebrated Anna's 4th birthday and Simon's dedication. We had a nice little ceremony at church and a party at our house (with a strawberry shortcake theme), lots of fun swimming, eating, playing and presents! One of Anna's favorites is her new Leapster. It just amazes me how quickly kids pick up on all the computer stuff and don't even need instructions (ok, now I sound old).

We also went in for check-ups for both kids. Anna is 3ft 5 1/2 in (41.5in) which is the 85% and her weight was 37lbs. Her vision was great, she got her blood pressure checked, and she was happy- no shots.

Now that Anna is 4, she is doing lots of big girl things. She wears underwear to bed (she probably could have done this a while ago since she almost always kept her pullup dry anyway and she has been potty trained during the day since she was 2 1/2). She can chew gum. She has gotten really good at getting herself dressed. She helps with things like feeding Shelby, emptying the dishwasher, and cleaning/dusting. Her favorite thing to watch is Strawberry Shortcake (which is where the birthday party idea came from). She is a very sweet, loving, special girl and a great big sister.

This was Simon's 6 month check-up. He was 28in which is the 93%, but I don't really think they always get the babies measurements totally accurate. He weighed 17lb 8 oz which is about 43%. Everything also looked good for him, but he had to get 3 vaccines :(

Simon has been rolling for a few weeks now from his back to his front. He loves to play with his feet (something I think is so cute). When he is on his tummy he can turn in circles. Simon is very talkative. He is such a happy, smiley baby.

This is a typical schedule for him:

7:00/7:30- wake-up talking and cooing
7:30/8:00- breakfast- 8 oz with some rice and maybe fruit
play, talk, giggle
9:00-10:30/11:00- nap
play, talk, giggle
12:00- lunch- 8 oz and some yogurt or cottage cheese (can't believe he likes it- Anna didn't and I don't either)
1:00-3:00 nap
afternoon snack- cracker
4:30 supper- 6 oz, vegetable (we have tried peas, broccoli, squash, carrots)
maybe a short short nap if we are in the car or something
7:00- bedtime snack- 4-6 oz and rice
7:30/8:00 bed

Simon started rice cereal at 5 months. We waited until 6 months to start other food, and now he just gobbles it up. I'm glad he is such a good eater! I've had fun making some of our own baby food too.

Last weekend Todd's sister Sara got married. We went to Illinois last Tuesday and had a great time seeing family, helping with some of the last minute plans, and getting pampered a little with the bride. Then we had the rehearsal dinner and practice Friday night up near Milwaukee and the wedding Saturday. Anna was the flower girl, and she did great. She was very meticulous and dropped each petal one at a time. She ran out about 3/4 of the way down, so she started to walk a little quicker to the front. Right before she got there, she found one more, so she grabbed it, turned around, and tried to throw it up by the other ones. It was pretty cute!

Everything was so nice- the music, the ceremony, the decorations, etc. Sara was a beautiful bride. My sister was a bridesmaid and was very pretty. Anna looked like a princess with her hair all done and her fancy dress, Simon was handsome in his mini tux, and Todd looked pretty spiffy too. Here are some pictures.

Guilty

Well, my time has come. I've been summoned. I got the letter in the mail the other day. Come July 11th I will be fulfilling my civic responsibility and serving on jury duty. I use to think it would be kind of cool or fun. I've heard of people getting interesting cases and thought I might enjoy that. That was until I got that letter and really thought it through. I just knew what it was when I read the return address and it said Dakota county juror something or other.

Not only is it going to be tricky lining up childcare for the 2 weeks I would potentially have to serve for but if I am on a case, I would have to decide someones guilt and punishment. I don't know that I want that responsibility. I am fine doing it more my own children, but for someone else? What if the other jurors and I don't agree or have different morals and beliefs? Ugh. And then like i said the issue of the kids. I know I may get dismissed or only have a short trial, but I have to be prepared for 2 weeks. My dad works in the summer, so he can't really watch them more than the 2 or 3 days a week that he already does. What do full time stay at home moms that don't have daycare do? Maybe I'll get dismissed if I say that. Oh, and let's not forget my job at the hospital. They just did our schedule and we are already super short staffed and really busy. I know your employer has to give you time off, but I feel bad.

Anyone have any experience with this? Am I overreacting? Anyone willing to watch the kids a day or even a few hours?

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I think it is mostly because I haven't had time, but also because I haven't had too much to say. I sometimes feel bad or guilty for not doing it, but really, who do I have to impress? What says I have to blog daily or even weekly?

Anyway, I do have a little time now, so I thought I would take a moment and "brag" a little. I feel like I have accomplished so much today. Do you ever have one of those- "wow, look at what I did" days? I wish i had them more often, but at least today was one of them.

First of all, I cleaned (well, more like picked up and straightened up) the house a little. Then, I had a friend come over to help plan a little for MOPS next year. I think I have mentioned this, but I am the coordinator. Yikes! I am really excited, but also a little nervous. Krissa (my friend and the assistant) is great though, and she it going to make is so much easier. We were able to discuss a lot of things while the two girls played (she has a 3 year old daughter that Anna gets along with great) and the boys hung out (she also has a newborn like me). After she left, I was able to send several e-mails regarding our planning. So nice to get done right away.

I also made this
Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie
Pretty impressive huh?

I even did the dishes after!

The key to getting all this done? Naps. Simon is normally a pretty good sleeper, but Anna doesn't usually take one anymore (or else she is up sooooooo late at night). From time to time she will fall asleep on her own like she did today during her "rest time" in bed. I don't think she even looked at her books. This really helped me get stuff done. And, it is good because we have a couples baby shower tonight for a friend, so she will be up later than usual anyway.

The only downfall to doing all this- we didn't get to be outside at all. I think we will tonight though because we are grilling.