Family weekend pictures part 2

Again, what a wonderful weekend! Another cool thing was that Ristow was a half of an inch taller than the requirement for going on the big waterslides! So he went on every one that he could. I was proud of him. Plus it made it more fun for the us to be able to go on the big waterslides with him.

Also here is the only picture Mom and Dad wanted to make sure they got this weekend .... them with all of their precious grandchildren!

Ristow, Jessica, Dylan and James

Family, Family and More Family!

We spent a most wonderful time last week visiting a plethora of family. Wednesday we headed up to Ohio to see Christopher's parents and introduce Jessica to Nana and her Auntie Ames and Uncle Todd (who are expecting their own little bundle in Sept!). We truly enjoyed our time together. Christopher even took Ristow sled riding on the Camel's Hump, one of his own childhood sledding favorites and everyone had a blast. The kids traveled great and come Friday it was off to Cincinnati and the Great Wolf Lodge ( with the indoor waterpark!) There we met up with my parents, my brother Jim , Suzannah, my niece Dylan and I got to meet my precious new nephew James!

(Yes you read that correctly, we did sled riding in the snow and swimming at the waterpark. We had to pack for EVERYTHING. You should have seen our car! Not to mention all the baby's gear, it looked like we were leaving for a month.)

I absolutely loved seeing my family. We had some much needed time to just hang out and enjoy one another. I miss them already.

So many pictures to share.... Here are some from the first part of the trip, more pics of the Paul family and waterpark pics to come!

Overheard

Yesterday Ristow was in the other room and after finally making a decision about one of his toys I hear " Thanks brain! Brain, you're really smart, I think I'll keep you in my head!"
Glad he is so fond of himself and his smart brain ;)

11 Weeks and 11 Pounds

My little girl is now 11weeks old and has finally started to chunk out. When we last weighed her she was 11lbs 2oz. After being so worried about her being able to gain weight the first month, it is a relief to see her gaining so well. She is eating like a champ and her weekly reflexology appointments have stopped her excessive spitting up. It is amazing.

I have always been a bit suspicious about things like reflexology (pressure point foot massage) being able to alleviate certain problems but since having my feet worked on during my pregnancy and now Jessica getting her feet done and seeing the incredible results, I am a believer. Luckily we have an amazing massage therapist that works in Christopher's fitness studio that we see. We take Jess into the dimly lit room with the soft music playing and she lays there and gets her feet rubbed, quite the life if you ask me ;) The amazing part is that almost immediately she starts digesting better and the reflux spitting up stops. Don't get me wrong, she still spits up right after a bottle, she is still a baby. But the spitting up that comes 2hours after she ate because she can't digest it properly is what has stopped and allowed her to gain weight!

Truly awesome. She goes every Tuesday and usually on Monday she starts to spit up again so we know she is ready for another massage.

God has created our bodies to work in amazing ways and I for one am mystified at how it all works. But I am thankful that my little girl is feeling better and will recommend reflexology any day.

BIg Brother Moments

Ristow has been so involved with Jess lately, wanting to hold her, feed her and just be close to her. He gets so excited and says "Hurry Mom, go grab the camera!"

So here you go.........

A Visit From Grandma

This past week we were lucky enough to have Christopher's mom Beth stay with us for almost a whole week. Her original flight wasn't supposed to come in til wed of last week but she came early to avoid the snow storm in Ohio. She allowed me to have some time for myself while she watched the kids. It was great! I went shopping, got a massage, got some things done around the house and even got a date night. She got to spend some wonderful time reconnecting with Ristow and Jessica and I think both kids truly benefited from having that time with her. Plus Ristow loves the surprises that Grandma brings! (he wanted me to add that part)

Here are a few pictures from her visit.

Celebration of Motherhood

Yesterday I went to a double baby shower, though it wasn't called a baby shower. Instead they called it a celebration of motherhood and that is exactly what it was. The women that hosted had set up beautiful and elegant decorations and at each place setting was a small booklet of papers full of wonderful prayers, reminders and encouragement for us women as mothers. It was great.
After eating we played games, but not the traditional games. We had charades and karaoke. Now there is just something crazy about getting up and jamming to a round of Funkytown on the karaoke machine at a baby shower, but it was tons of fun.
But what I want to mention was the charades game. The topics for the charades were all baby activities. The first one was "burping a baby", then they got more involved as you picked from the cup. One woman got " nursing a baby in a crowded library". Another got "struggling with the baby while trying unsuccessfully to get your husband's attention to come and help you" It was hilarious. After a number of these funny but true multitasking charades, it was my turn again and I got "changing a diaper". Relieved that it was an easy one, I acted it out and said "that was all?" Another women wisely pointed out that it doesn't always have to be difficult... sometimes changing a diaper is just changing a diaper and we don't need to worry about the ten other things that need done or that we are trying to accomplish. Sometimes just being in the moment with that one task is all we need, to remember that we are blessed with this time to be mothers. In the chaos that is my house some days, I need to stop and breathe and take things one task at a time, enjoying the moments of feeding, burping, reading, singing and yes even changing a diaper.