One Year Well Baby Check Up

Well, as usual just before Tobi's well baby appointment she was not feeling well. She had a fever on again and off again for a few days. I knew I was taking her in on Friday but I ended up calling Tuesday night and the nurse said to give it one more day...so I did and the fever didn't return. But when I took her in for her "well baby" appointment on Friday the nurse practicioner took one look in her ears and discovered a double ear infection! Poor baby!

That (plus the fact she is cutting her molars) might explain why Tobi was like this on Tuesday...
...while everyone else was enjoying this:
But after some antibiotics and lots of rest she's feeling pretty cool again:


The rest of the appointment went just fine. She weighs 23 lbs, which is in the 74th percentile, and she is 31 3/4 inches, which is in the 98th percentile. So I guess she swapped from her last appointment...she was definitely in the 90's for weight last time and in the 70's for height. She is looking pretty tall these days. And she definitely is back to her usual "royal" self making sure we know who's really in charge...

Our trip to the Islands

The Islands of Maine, that is.

We spent one week camping on Mt. Desert Island as is our (almost) yearly tradition. It was Tobi's first trip to the Island, Ben's third and my 25th???...(I lost track over the years). I always imagined someday coming with my own family to camp in Blackwoods campground in Acadia. So in some ways this vacation was a dream come true. In other ways it was a challenge...like keeping a one year old off the ground for a week, especially since she is really into eating rocks (or any other things that will fit in her mouth).Overall Tobi did really well all things considered. The whole gang was there , my mom and dad, Sarah and Ryan and their 4 kids, and of course us.
Three camp sites, 3 tents, 2 pack n' plays, 3 Coleman stoves, our air mattress that needed to be re-filled quite often, 1 battery for Ben's c-pap (the whole campground should thank us for that!), and three cars LOADED with goods for the week...and a good time was had by all!



We went hiking...

And biking...


And beaching...

And we ended our week with tea lunch on the lawn of the Jordan Pond House.

We hit Island #2 on our way home. Ben's Dad just took a new position as the pastor of a church on Islesboro, ME (which if you can't tell by the name is, in fact, an island).

So the family has just taken up residence in the parsonage and we stopped by for a visit and to check it all out! The Island is only accessible by ferry.
It is about 14 miles long and 3 miles wide at its widest point which made for some beautiful ocean views. We took a ride around the island as the sun was setting...and around every bend there was another beautiful cove with just a lovely view.

We stayed the night and were able to attend church on Sunday.

Ben played the piano for the service (without Tobi on his lap...this picture was just rehearsal time).


Then we ate lunch at the Dark Harbor Shop.

There was something just lovely and relaxing about Island life...maybe because it was summer..maybe because we were just visiting...but whatever it was, we left feeling very excited for Ben's family and how God has provided all this for them.



(I have many more pictures of our Island adventures posted on Flickr.
For more Acadia pics you can click here.
And for more Islesboro pics you can click here.)

Guess who's ONE!

Hard to believe that a whole year has gone by already!!! Also hard to believe that we were just taking her home one year ago, yesterday. There were a few trying moments those first few days...mostly due to lack of sleep, pregnancy hormones and oh yeah, this was THE BIGGEST THING that ever happened in our lives up to this point!!!! But even just one year later I'm having trouble remembering just how that all went. When did she start sleeping through the night? When did she first smile? When did she first really notice us? When did she start eating solid food? Then feeding herself? And laughing? And talking? And meowing at Pesto? And crawling? And cruising? Sure I have all these things written down...but it is so amazing to me just how much has changed in one short year. She came to us totally helpless and dependant and now, already she is such a little person! I love to hear her babble and wonder just what is going on in that head of hers. I love to watch her respond to people...everywhere! She is quite the social butterfly these days, waving, staring and smiling at almost everyone...whether or not they even realize it.
We really are so blessed and thankful that God gave us this special little girl. We continue to be amazed at how God has been so gracious to us. Tobi is a constant reminder to us of how amazing our creator is and also how dependant we are on Him for her future. We can make all the decisions we want, but it is only God who really knows what lies ahead, what plans He has for her...and we are the fortunate ones who get to be there and witness it all first hand.

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl! We love you SOOO much!


For the rest of the party pictures you can go here.

Sun, sun and more sun!

It's been a while since my last post...but with the arrival of the sun who has time to sit inside. We have been busy...and loving every minute of it (with the exception of Tobi's ER visit).

July 4th weekend started off with a bang...literally. Tobi slipped trying to pull herself up on the kitchen chair and split her lip open. She was bleeding... a lot...and I was useless. Fortunately Ben was there to take over and tell me that my "oh no"- ing was not helping. A trip to the ER and 4 stitches later and she was good as new.I thought my Dad was joking when he called the next morning to say that Nate was in the ER. Of course they had to one up us...Nate went in the ambulance, neck brace and all. He did a headstand on the couch, heard something pop and then couldn't really move after that. He spent a few hours in the ER getting x-rays and all kinds of other tests...but they couldn't pinpoint the problem, they could just rule out the big stuff. He eventually made it to the cookout and he arrived in style...
But a few hours later he was able to get up and even run around (tentatively) with the other kids.

We had the 3rd annual "Parade around the Parade". It was short lived due to impending rain and storms, but still it was fun! Tobi got to ride with Shanayah, pulled by her Daddy...she seemed to enjoy it:
And of course Morning Glories...what would a family gathering be without them?

For more 4th of July pics you can go here.

On July 1st Sadie Mae turned 1 and Makayla Ruth turned 3 on July 17th...so of course there was a party...a Princess Party!
One year old meets cake...and enjoys!
There were some princes at the party too.

Some other outings included a hike in the very wet woods of Patuckaway...
Trips to the ocean...
Trips to the pool...
and to the park...
We are not sitting still...and we like it that way!

Not Me Monday...isn't it always?

(Ok I am done posting after this...this is my 4th post today so I've been busy catching up on my blog today.)

I was so excited to see the sun on Friday morning I threwgently placed Tobi in her carseat and dashed over to Concord to hit the pool before the rain set in. I volunteered to walk Kayla and Andy to pool with Tobi while Sadie finished sleeping and Nate...well did whatever Nate was doing. As we rounded the corner I most definitely did not see Zebby the dog running in front of us right to the park. Because I didn't see him I certainly didn't call after him and pretend to walk back home with the kids to which his response would have been to run faster and further away. Then when we got within earshot of people I definitely did not tell the kids not to call his name and just keep walking to the pool and pretend we had never seen that crazy dog before in our lives. I knew he would probably go back home but I knew I couldn't force him...so I just let him run free (he's friendly enough) until Sarah joined us at the pool...er, I mean I would have done that if that had happened.

Once I got to the pool I did not walk in the public bathroom at the pool in bare feet. (When I said running barefoot..this is not at all what I meant.) I had no time (or at least that is what I was led to believe) to run all the way back to where my shoes were before an accident occured. I did not contemplate letting that accident occur and let the chlorine wash it away. I did not plop gently place an almost 3 year old on the toilet while tiptoeing in as few steps as possible and then run back to peek on Andy (and get off that nasty floor) then pull Kayla with pants down outside to pull up her suit to avoid having to stand on that floor for one second more... and all with Tobi in my arms. I totally thought that through so I could avoid a situation like that...yeppers.

I'm sure there are a ton more things to confess but this post is long enough already...I'll just have to claim the rest under absolution and start this week out with a clean slate. I did not just say that, did I?

You can read more things people didn't do here if you'd like!

ELEVEN!

Oh my! We are just one month away from a year! On one hand, it is hard to believe that at this time last year, Tobi was still a mysterious kicking, hiccuping, swimming, rolling, bundle of joy inside of me. On the other hand, could it be true that all these months have flown by already? Just for fun, here's a little comparison, one month to eleven months.

Then...
Now...
Then...

Now...
It has been a joy this month watching her become even more her own little person. Her favorite things by far are the soccer ball (pictured above) and Pesto kitty, who she meows at every time he comes in the room. She is crawling like there is no tomorrow...especially after the kitty or the ball. She LOVES playing peek-a-boo - BOOO! is her new favorite word, right up there with "ball" and "meow". As a matter of fact I think she is yelling "boo" at me from her crib right now.

Here's a little clip of a sample of it all ...Boo, Ball, (which are different, but the difference is VERY subtle) and another new word "NO" (which is just cute now and doesn't really have a lot of meaning yet)..all with some hiccups thrown in there. :)

Pool time

I have been excited about the pool all winter and spring... unfortunately the pools opened AFTER all the warm sunny days. Last Friday, the morning was sunny and warm...so a quick trip to the pool was a MUST! We had a good morning there, picnic lunch in the park...and back to swim for a few minutes before the clouds rolled in and the thunder, lightening and rain sent us running outta there!!!!

Tobi did make it to the pool last summer but she was only a couple weeks old. In just 11 months we went from this:
to this:And from this:
To this:
More pool pics here.