Concrete Countertop–Bathroom Project

Jesse took the week off for Christmas, and we fit a mini-project in.  That’s right, we finally got around to making our new concrete countertop for the bathroom.
We wanted to do something cheap.  And unfortunately with the way the existing counter was laid out, we would have to do something custom.  So concrete it was, with the hopes of making it ourselves.
We did a little research (hopefully enough) and went out to buy the supplies. 
$40 – melamine wood
$10 – concrete mix
$5 – concrete coloring
$10 – reinforcement mesh
$50 babysitter – yes we hired a sitter so we could work on it together (plus I had some work to do from home)

Jesse built the formwork and had to create a circular opening for the new sink we would install.
We bought brown coloring, but were a little worried it would be a little orange after we saw it in the water.

Then it was time to place in it the form, level the surface, add the reinforcement, mix the second bag, place it, level it again, and then use a sander to try and consolidate the concrete.

Now we get to let it set up and hope that everything looks good when we take it out of the form.  Not to mention the whole 300 pound counter will stay in one piece as it gets transported to the bathroom (and that the existing vanity can support it).  Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks to see the finished project in place.

Merry Christmas

The presents are finally wrapped (just finished).  I finally got Christmas cookies made on Friday, I’m pretty sure I messed up the recipe I was using.  Funny thing is, they turned out great, I’m just not sure I will ever be able to replicate them.  We finished our advent calendar, the final gift was the “Elf on a Shelf”.  We read the book together before they went to bed.  We gave Bella the Elf to play with and let her name him.  Want to know his name?  It’s Umm.  So Umm will be a new tradition to start next Christmas.

This year we are staying in town for Christmas.  This allowed us to go to Christmas Eve service as a family for the first time.  We will see extended family later on.  It’s kind of fun starting all your own family traditions for Christmas, and even better when the kids realize what Christmas is.

Last night we went around town to look at Christmas lights.  It was mainly for Bella’s sake (and Jesse’s).  We had one neighborhood that was touted to be great, turn out to be a dud.  But we headed to one house that has hundreds of blow up Christmas characters. Then we headed to a neighborhood said to be the equivalent of the Griswalds.  I have to admit this was my favorite.  It wasn’t a very large neighborhood, two cul-de-sacs to be exact.  But every house was completely lit up.  A must see if you are in the O.P. area (131st Place and Antioch).

Well that’s been it for our Christmas experience so far. Hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas!!

Ground Hog Run

I want to thank those that have already donated, and to all the people who are like me and mean to do it, and then forget -  Here is the friendly reminder of where to go.  Donate Here

To celebrate the Groundhog Run's 30th Anniversary, Below is a list of 30 essential items that your $30 can provide a child. You can make a personal donation, or set up a fundraising page to earn great incentives!

1. A unit of a physical therapy	16. Two sets of wooden lacing beads
2. One ½ day of preschool services	17. A set of wooden blocks
3. Thirty specialized spoons	18. Field trip for one class
4. One day of snacks	19. A set of play dishes and food
5. Summer class scholarship for a child	20. A case of diapers
6. First aid kit	21. Four gallons of washable glue
7. Child sized chair	22.  One month’s supply of Clorox wipes
8. Six therapeutic pool toys	23. Ten Nuk brushes used in therapy
9. Two helmets for physical therapy	24. 60 chubby paint brushes
10. Two months of baby wipes	25. Cooking supplies for special activities
11. Five books	26. Vibrating toothbrushes and toothpaste
12. A pressure vest	27. 30 packages of construction paper
13. Six wooden puzzles	28. Three gallons of Tempera paint
14. A pack of watercolors	29. One weighted animal to provide deep pressure
15. A visual/audible classroom timer	30. Cost of childcare during a parent meeting

Also I wanted to thank those that have donated under Jesse's name (apparently he wanted his own donation website).  We appreciate all our family and friends that support us.

3am

Do you ever have those days that you wake up at 3am and get up for the day.  Not on a day that you are doing something exciting, like say taking a trip and heading to the airport.  But on a day that both kids are up crying and you have so much to do you figure you might as well get up.  Well that's what happened....to Jesse I mean.
We are trying to get Oliver to sleep through the night, but he has it stuck in his wiring that he needs to be up after 6 hours.  This was fine when he was taking a full feeding and immediately falling back asleep.  But recently he hasn't been taking his whole bottle, and he sometimes still cries himself to sleep after he has eaten.  So we talked it over and decided we would let him cry for 10 minutes and see if in that time he could get himself back to sleep.  Fast forward 6 hours (3am) and who is up crying, why it's Bella.  And who starts crying 10 minutes later, why it's Oliver.
We can't figure out why Bella is crying, she doesn't want water, and nothing seems to be that wrong with her.  Oliver of course is now just awake and fussing off and on.  This goes on for 45 minutes with the both of them crying off and on.  Jesse decides to get up and get ready for work, since sleep doesn't seem to be in the cards. During this time I had checked on both of them, Bella seemed like she might fall back asleep and Oliver was playing with his aquarium.  He would turn it off and on with his hand, he must have played with it for 30 minutes.  After which time he really starts crying (and here is where the 10 minute time frame comes into play).  So he cries for 8 minutes straight and then takes a minute break.  I sneak into his room to see if he is close to going back to sleep.  And the real story is.  Oliver cries for 30 seconds, and immediately when he takes a break, puts his head down and closes his eyes, Bella screams from her room, and he immediately pops his head back up and cries again.  Now Bella isn't screaming in pain, or crying, I literally think she is screaming to get his attention and trying to talk to him.  But all Oliver hears when he is quiet is screaming, so he cries.  This goes on for a few minutes, and I finally figure out this is all pointless.  So I go and make Oliver a bottle.
It's now 4am (Jesse is getting ready for work) and Oliver eats and goes back to sleep.  Bella isn't yelling anymore since Oliver has stopped crying, but she is still talking to herself.
4:15am, Jesse leaves for work and I try to go back to sleep.  Bella is still up and making noise.  5am, I bring Bella into bed with me.  It's near 6am, and Bella finally falls asleep and I think I do too.  Between 6am and 7am, Bella is crying/fussing while she sleeps.  I'm not sure if she is in pain or having bad dreams.  It isn't constant but probably every 10 minutes or so.  6:50am, Oliver is up crying at the top of his lungs.  I grab him and bring him into bed, Bella fully wakes up and is smiling at Oliver (so I'm leaning towards she was having bad dreams lat night).  7am, we all go downstairs and start our day, which if you think about it, I didn't get much more sleep than Jesse, so I probably should have just gotten up and done things around the house.  I easily have plenty to keep me busy.
Now it's a little after 9pm, everyone else has gone to bed, and I'm trying to stay awake long enough to go and give Oliver another feeding before I go to bed and hope and pray we last a little bit longer than 3am this morning!
And if you made it through my complete set of rambling, this might have been the most boring post ever...I give you a delirious Bella and her tickling daddy (in a very darkly lit room, sorry for the bad video quality).

Keeping it Real

So I finally got around to posting some of the recent projects I made.  Now I thought I would post why my husband is always frustrated with me.

Teacher gift aftermath…..

Guest bedroom….What guest bedroom?

Stockings for dinner party utensils – aftermath.

Around our house I barely have time to finish the actual projects, let alone clean anything up.  So the guest bedroom/craft room always looks like a pit. 

The other big problem, this is also now my office.  And I desperately need to organize and get out all my reference books, figure out a filing system, etc.  This is how I work right now……hoping to get some things cleaned up and figured out during our holiday break.

And the other big task, mail.  I believe I have about 2 weeks worth of mail to go through.

And a year’s worth of mail to file.  I also get quite a few magazines, I’m pretty sure there are some Halloween ones I haven’t even gotten through yet.  Only 4 months behind or so.  I can catch up some day.

And if it’s not obvious, we did not have time to do Christmas cards this year.  Hoping to do an electronic one, and hoping to get it done before Christmas, or maybe a Happy New Year (that buys us an extra week).

One Busy week down–One to go

I have a few posts to catch up on.  We have been busy around here as I previously mentioned.

Bella’s last day of school is today, then it’s two weeks off for Christmas break.  I made her teacher gifts this past weekend.  I got the idea from here.  I asked the teachers what their favorite children’s books are and made them scenes from the books out of fabric scraps and then framed them.

The Monster at the end of this Book, staring Grover, was also my favorite as a child.  I’m hoping they can hang them in the class room, or at home.  I’m definitely not the greatest artist when it comes to people’s faces, hopefully they can get past it!

I haven’t started any Christmas baking yet, I hope to get some things made this week.  I also have presents to wrap (thankfully we have most bought).

Design Sunday–A new Coat for Bella

I made Bella this little dress cape to wear for Christmas.  I always wanted a dressy cape when I was little.  I’m pretty sure Bella doesn’t care, but it should be easier for her to wear than her coats which are hard to get her arms in.

Christmas Party

I saw these little stocking utensil holders and knew I wanted to have a Christmas dinner party so I could make them.

Our dinning room is so blah blah blah, right now.  Too bad we have too many other projects on our plate before we can get to this room.  We don’t use the room very often, but when we do, it’s a little embarrassing.

Before the dinner party, I was playing around with the kiddos around the tree.  I was trying to find the right setting on our camera to capture the lights on the tree.  Notice how Oliver is watching me the whole time, and Bella could care less.

This weekend we are going to have a family holiday outing to see the train displays.  Hoping both kids will be interested enough to watch them!

I’m going out on a limb

I’m going to say that Oliver is teething.  The poor kid seems to be miserable, always wants something in his mouth, and can’t seem to fall asleep.  I haven’t technically felt anything coming through, so I hope I’m not wrong.  Otherwise we would have nothing to explain his current mood.

I think I have overextended myself this week, needless to say you might not hear much from me till next week.

Bella went back to school today

We put her hair up in piggy buns!

And she got to wear her new slipper shoes that keep her feet warm when she is wearing her orthotics.  They might be size 11-12 (her shoe size is 5-6), so they look a little big, but they work.

She came home happy, so I’m guessing she was glad to be back in class with all her friends.

Mom got a break

I actually do have something to show you for design Sunday – it’s a little dress coat I made for Bella.  But I am going to have to put that off until tomorrow, because I just didn’t get around to taking pictures today, and don’t feel like it right now.

You see, I got a day of eating out, having a few drinks, doing a lot of talking and a little shopping on the Plaza.  It was great to be out and about (thanks Shannon!).  And thanks to Jesse for watching the kiddos.  He reported that they were fairly good but didn’t nap for him.  I feel bad that they were a little bit of trouble, but at the same time, I feel validated because now he knows what I feel like when he gets home and I say they were good today, but they didn’t nap.  It’s not that they are a lot of work, it’s just if they don’t nap you always have to be ON, and someone is always depending on you.  I think that is the thing I miss most about leaving for work.  You are working, but usually it’s on your timeline and if you want to get up and get a coffee, or go to the bathroom, you can.  You don’t have to feel like you need to quickly work it in and hope all is well in the next room for the minute you are gone.  I’m sure some jobs would be similar to what I feel at home, but I think to myself, well at least you are getting paid.

We did hire a sitter to come over and help out two days a week.  It’s been a great help so far, and I feel my sanity is slowly coming back.  Most of the time when she is here I am working from home, I don’t remember if I told you all, but I took a part time job working from home.  But some times if I don’t have job related work to do, I will run errands or work on a home/sewing project.  I feel a little guilty, but I’m getting over it.  I think we all deserve to have time to ourselves.  And since I am usually “ON”, as I put it, from 7am till 8pm, it’s nice to have a break every once in a while. 

And there is a complete difference in the break I feel when the sitter is here versus when Jesse is watching the kids.  When it’s the sitter, I feel that it’s her job to take care of them, that’s what I’m paying her for.  When Jesse is doing it, I know he feels that he should be doing a million other things, and while he likes hanging out with his kids, in all honesty there is only so long he can handle them.  So I really feel guilty and that I shouldn’t be away too long.  Is this normal, or just normal when one person has no patience and is a perfectionist with ADD, while the other has more patience and most times can ignore the mess around them?  Hmmmm hard to figure out which one is which?  Really makes me wonder which personality type Oliver will be, I can see both in him right now, well at least the laid back happy baby that always is so busy!

Are things looking up?

Hallelujah, Bella finally slept through the night!!!  She coughed a little bit off and on, but not enough to wake herself up.

Oliver had a 4am wake up call this morning, so I didn't get to sleep through the night.  But having Bella on the road to recovery is good enough for me.

Just hanging around

I haven’t taken many pictures lately.  I got the camera out yesterday, you can see Bella is still sick and pouty.  She doesn’t want to do much.

Oliver is hanging out as usual.  He so wants to move and get around, but can’t figure out how to move his heavy body yet.  So he settles with turning in circles and rolling around.  He doesn’t like to sit still, so I have a sneaky feeling he will master crawling before he masters sitting on his own.

Bella has been out of school for 2 weeks now.  Her coughing spells are finally getting shorter and she seems to want to catch up on sleep.  Too bad Jesse and I don’t have the luxury of sleeping all day long when she does.

Tis the Season to be Jolly

Orrrr maybe not because Bella always gets sick this time of year and mom and dad have to deal with a sick kid.

So I guess its that time for Mr Negative to post a long, drawn out, pessimistic view on life with a special needs child.  I like to tell others that I'm a realist, not a pessimist, but they just laugh at me and I don't know why.  But let's dive in to my ramblings...

I'm beginning to wonder if Bella will ever sleep through the night on a consistent basis... 4 years and running is starting to wear on us. Usually it's about 3 weeks of interrupted sleep (a couple times over an 8 hour period), followed by 1 week of sleeping through the night.... so we can pretty much assume that we will have interrupted sleep for 3/4 of the year... simply AWESOME!

I'm not saying that we have it harder than others, but I do think it's funny when people try to relate to having a sick child, and sympathize with you.  Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the sympathy, but having a sick Bella is totally different that having a sick child.  It's somewhat similar to a sick infant, in that she cant communicate in any way what is bothering her so as parents you have to guess... but with an infant it seems to be more obvious and easy to diagnose... I could be wrong, but atleast you know that this short duration of not being able to communicate will pass.

With Bella it is ALWAYS a guessing game! Most recently we have added two more variables into the equation, that being scoliosis and hip socket issues (read previous blog posts).  Fortunately the specialists we saw recently are not too concerned with her hips.  Unfortunately, her back is currently curved at 30 degrees and will probably get worse unless we can develop her core trunk muscles... the past 4 years tell us thats not going to happen, but we wont give up.  We are desperately trying to get her into hippotherapy again... which is actually nothing to do with hippos, rather riding horses.  Supposedly the Germans were the first to attempt this sort of therapy and discovered it helped... whether or not that was with special needs kids I have no idea... but I know that's what it is used for currently in the US.

It's so easy to get mad at the situation (and God, yes I will admit I get mad at Him) because it just seems to be one thing after another for Bella... and us.  I do consider us blessed that we have two beautiful children and good jobs and such a good support group around here, so for that I am very thankful.  But Bella does not deserve the life she has had thus far... nobody does... and that is what I struggle with most... trying to understand why.

I always wonder what Bella thinks of her life and if she is happy or sad with it.  I know she doesnt know anything different, but I definitely know she thinks about things due to her facial expressions , so I wonder what she thinks about.  One of the things that pops into my head on a daily basis is what she thinks of how Kristen and I interact with Oliver.  I see her watching us all the time... which leads me into my next topic.

I was always scared to have another child, for a couple reasons.  One of course being the obvious reason that we could end up with another special needs child and I wouldnt be able to handle it... and two that I would prefer to be around the healthy "normal" child over Bella.  So far it has been relatively fair time spent between Oliver and Bella, but I have a slight inkling as Bella gets older and harder to interact with, and Oliver becomes more active, that I am going to choose to be with Oliver over Bella.  Is this fair to Bella?  Most certainly not, but I can honestly say that I will be shooting hoops with my son outside, and if Bella wants to join us she can, but she will more than likely be sitting on the sidelines watching... I hope to always  include Bella and maybe someday she will prove me wrong and join in the activites.... I can only hope!

Kristen asked me the other day what things I enjoy doing with Bella and what things I consider work... I've given it some thought before but never written it down or really dug in.  Here's my negative take...

1. Eating - on average we spend up to 45 minutes feeding Bella 3 times a day.  This also includes giving her drinks when we think she wants one.  She doesnt tell us she wants a drink, we have to read into her actions.  Eating involves us preparing her food, and if its not yogurt, then its usually something in the food processor to blend it up enough for her to handle.  When Bella is not feeling well (atleast half the time) she does not hold her head up and it takes even longer.  I consider this WORK.  We did take Bella into a feeding clinic and they told us she needed a G-tube... which is a tube that would be surgically inserted in her stomach and food would just be pumped in.  We knew how much Bella loved to eat, so we refused the procedure.  So for our credit, we did not take the easy way out on this one.
2. Bathing - Bella requires to be bathed in a bath chair.  We do not fill the tub up with water, because Bella can easily fall over into the water, so we have a shower wand that we use.  We have to get cotton swabs and put vaseline on them, then put them in her ear for every bath.  If we dont, or dont do a good job of getting them in there, then she is susceptible to ear infections... something we have battled for 4 years.  One has to kneel on the floor in front of the tub, bend over the tub and bath Bella in her chair.  This usually lasts about 10 minutes, but your body just hurts afterwards.  I consider this WORK.
3. Playing - Bella prefers to be laying on the floor and playing with toys.  Her toys are limited to lightweight objects that she can grab with one hand and wave above her head.  If I lay down next to her to play, she usually doesnt acknowledge me unless I start tickling her or take her toys away.  Bella is very ticklish and her laugh is amusing... I ENJOY this.  Any other part of playtime that forces Bella to do something other than wave a toy with her hand would be considered WORK.
4. Outside Activities - when it was nicer out, I would go for runs and take Bella with me in the jogging stroller.  When she held her head up (half the time) I ENJOYED it.  The other half when she had her head down to the side and was spitting and not looking up, I considered it WORK... because I was constantly stopping to correct her posture so she could ENJOY the outdoors and colors.
5. Running Errands - Without a doubt this is WORK... usually Kristen or I go out on our own to avoid having to take Bella with us.  It is too much of a pain to take Bella with us unless the errand will be quick.  Taking her kid cart into stores with a shopping cart is too much.
6. Watching TV / Movies - Bella doesnt really do this well because she has to keep her head up.  I ENJOY this when she is paying attention.
7. Dancing - Bella loves to dance with people.  It mainly consists of you holding her in your arms and bouncing her around to the beat.  I ENJOY this.
8. Sleeping - Putting Bella to bed is hit or miss.  When she is feeling well, then its pretty easy.  When she is sick, all bets are off and you can assume that you will be up with her atleast a couple times during the night.  We still have to give her some melatonin to help her relax to fall asleep.  Regardless of the way Bella is feeling, we still say our prayers and hope we have a good night sleep... for some reason this works only 25% of the time... Maybe we need to start yelling our prayers!
9. Therapy - I do not do a good job of giving Bella the therapy she needs.  However, her school does everything we could ask for and more... which is awesome!  I consider this WORK for the limited times I do this.
10. Communication - Communication has developed over the years into subtle noises and facial expressions.  Bella was improving with vocal sounds but had so many ear infections that she just stopped communicating with consonants .  Bella does not have the capabilities to do sign language at this time.  She does use facial expressions as communication, and thats what we have to go by.  Communicating with Bella is WORK.
11. Dr Appts. - WORK.  No need for further explanation.  Usually they are during naptime as well.

I will stop at these 11 items.  As I discussed each above, I began to think about if its really my opinion that I should be focusing on or Bella's... for that reason I will go through these 11 things and list what I think Bella's take on them is.

1. Eating - ENJOY with out a doubt.  Just sucks when she feels bad because her feeding is usually hampered and becomes WORK.  No matter how much work it is, I will continue to resist the G-tube procedure.
2. Bathing - ENJOY.  Bella always enjoys a bath, especially if two people are present, one to keep warm water on her while the other bathes her.  She usually tries to get a couple licks of water in during the process.
3. Playing - ENJOY.  Bella loves interaction with others, being tickled, and laughing.
4. Outside Activities - ENJOY.  Bella likes to be outdoors, especially in a nice head wind so she can stick her tongue out to "taste" the wind.  She especially loved the ocean breeze in Hawaii.  She does not like the bright sun, so we try to keep her in the shade as much as possible.
5. Running Errands - ENJOY.  Unless she is hungry or tired, I think she enjoys being out and about.
6. Watching TV / Movies - ENJOY.  When she is paying attention... really likes NASCAR and other colorful sporting events.  Cartoons not so much.
7. Dancing - ENJOY.  She loves to dance and bounce around.
8. Sleeping - ENJOY.  Who doesnt?
9. Therapy - WORK.  Unless her teachers think otherwise... and Bella will let you know when she doesnt want to do something.
10. Communication - ENJOY/WORK.  I think Bella has no problem letting others know what her opinion is on something but I do think that she is starting to get frustrated that she is not always being understood and cant communicate her needs to others.  I really wish she would be able to interact with the kids at school more so they dont give up on communicating with her.  I applaud her teachers for keeping that hope alive.  I hope and pray that someday she will be able to talk to her mom, dad, and brother.  I dont care if its through a robotic voice at this point. 
11. Dr Appts - WORK. 

So by performing this analysis, I think I have convinced myself that I shouldn't be concerned with how I view interaction with Bella, but rather how Bella views things.  And I feel bad for it taking me this long to realize it.

Jumping back over to present day... Bella has now been sick for 12 days.  That means 12 horrible nights of sleep for everyone.  During these 12 days Bella has had a runny nose, cough, fever, ear infection... and those are just the external things.  Lets hope that these 12 days of Christmas are behind us and Bella can start feeling better for the Holidays and ENJOY life and family time a little more than she has been able to the past couple of weeks.

Bella, if you ever are able to read this, just please remember that mom and dad, for whatever reason, have decided to share their daily challenges with everyone in the world and in no way was this intended to humiliate or offend you.  We love you with all our hearts and hope that someday, wherever that may be, we can all sit down together and talk to each other about our silly blog and how insignificant these daily challenges were.  Thanks for bringing love and laughter into my life!

Love - Dad

PS - What absolutely amazes me is that when I started this blog posting I was completely pissed off at the situation God has bestowed upon Bella (and us) and wanted to vent about it.  As I reached the end of the post, I find myself crying [I can get emotional sometimes :)] realizing how much Bella has touched my life and how much suffering she has endured over the past 4 years, but still finds a way to laugh for me even when I'm treating her ear infection.  What I go through on a daily basis shouldn't even matter anymore.  I'm a new man now... I think Mr. Positive has a good ring to it :)

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Oliver at 5 months

No doctor’s appointment this month, so I don’t have any new stats.  But I thought I could at least post a couple cute pictures.

I think Bella and Oliver are starting to looks more alike in their baby pictures.

Not getting better

Bella is not getting better, in fact the past couple of nights you would say she is getting worse.  She went all of Saturday without eating or drinking.  Today she actually ate and drank about half of what would be normal for her.  She spends most of the night coughing and either Jesse or I am sleeping with her, so that when she does cough we can be there to prop her up and console her.  So we take turns through half the night, and the other half of the night we are in the guest bedroom.  Where we get to attend to Oliver if he wakes up, which for some reason has been a couple times a night these past nights (when normally it's zero).  You know, when it rains it pours.  So we are going off 4-5 hours of sleep, which we get in 1 hour increments.  And slowly everything else we want to get done, seems to be falling behind.
And I lay in bed praying to God to just let Bella get some sleep and stop coughing.  I'm not saying she can't occasionally get a cold, but does it have to involve her coughing all night long and going on 10 days straight.  Give the poor girl a break.  Not to mention when I am praying for some relief, the minute Bella stops coughing and I assume she falls asleep, Oliver starts screaming (this was at 2am last night).  And I think really.  I guess you helped Bella, but apparently I don't get a break.
I told Jesse is would be nice if we could get a respite nurse to come and stay over 1 night a week.  So at least we would know that one night we could get a good night's sleep.  But I don't see that happening.

Jesse is currently writing a post to be featured sometime soon, you know life is getting rough for us when Jesse speaks up on here!

We have been able to turn on the fireplace just a couple of times, someone seems to enjoy it.

Coughing

I need to get Oliver’s 5 month posting done, but he has been a little bit of a mess today.  His nose is running more, so I’m wondering if he is feeling worse. 

Bella is still coughing all through the night.  Last night she had an episode where she coughed for 15 minutes straight.  And I literally mean 15 minutes straight, with not so much as a break in between.  I feel so bad for her, and at the same point it is so maddening to have a child cough that long and you can’t get them to stop.  We tried holding her, we tried drinks, we tried honey, we tried Benadryl.  There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to do anything.  I really need this coughing to be done soon, I really can’t take anymore.

I’ve been slacking

Monday and Tuesday we didn’t have internet.  Bella started getting sick last Wednesday before Thanksgiving and still is sick.  Oliver has a stuffy nose, but generally has still been in a good mood.  But I am exhausted.  And I’m pretty sure Jesse is too.  I think they say in order to get a good night’s sleep you need at least one chunk of 5 hour time of uninterrupted sleep.  I think this past week I have been lucky to get a 2 hour chunk of time.  So I’m really hoping Bella gets over her cold soon.

In the meantime, Oliver has started to prop himself up and attempt sitting on his own.

And yes, Bella’s dolly always looses her skirt and underpants.  Apparently that’s the way she likes it.