more pictures from a fun family visit

Grandma, Grandpa & Anthony headed back to TN today. We had a great time. Anthony loved his cousin Skylar.....most of the time! When she cried he told us he wanted to go home because she was giving him a headache! On Saturday we went to the Crowne Center to visit a Chocolate Factory & the Wizard of Oz display. Before we got out of the car I wanted to feed Skylar...Anthony asked how long I was going to be & said it wasn't really worth it since we brought the baby with us! He's honest. A few minutes later he told me how much he loved his new cousin. Enjoy the pics!

visit with Anthony & Grandma & Grandpa

Skylar finally smiled for the camera

Daddy & Me

Our weekend

Larry had to interview the Dean of the Benedictine (Catholic) College for a paper he has to write for Kansas State. His Masters Degree will be in Adult Education. The Catholic College Campus is beautiful & it is right up the street. Here is a picture of the Catholic Church which is the oldest in Kansas. We also went exploring again in Kansas City today. We shopped a little & then went to the World War I Museum. The Museum was closing in an hour so we decided to see the inside stuff on another day. The outside as you can see is up high & has a great view of the city. The huge tower actually has an elevator in it so you can go to the top...we will also do that next time. On our way home we stopped in Independence MO which is the only place we have found so far that has a mall (1 1/2 hours from home!!!) Larry has been shopping for tread mills & we bought a great one at Sears today. It has a fan & a tv in it!!! Then we finally found the bed we have been looking for at a furniture store we passed on the way home. It is a wooden bed frame for our queen sized bed that has 10 drawers in it & a bookshelf headboard. It will be delivered in 3 weeks!

Our evening walk

Since it was such a beautiful day today, Larry took a break from his homework so we could take a walk after dinner. We walked for 2 miles along the Missouri River which is across the street from our house. There were 4 dogs off leash along the way but Taz was good. Skylar loved the walk & smiled the entire time.

A typical day in Kansas

Baby Gift

Today Skylar got a beautiful basket loaded with tons of Johnson & Johnson products from Larry's cousins Lisa, Megan, Melissa & Chris. Isn't it great! Thanks guys...she will be smelling fresh & clean for a very long time!

New pictures

As I said yesterday Skylar is smiling like crazy but we can't seem to capture it on film!! Anyway we still have some cute pictures of her on her boppy pillow. The other picture is of her & I getting ready to sit on the front porch. I got that wrap from my boss last Christmas & I always wrap us up together. Larry thought she looked so cute he had to grab the camera. He also got a cute picture of Taz in our bed surrounded by Larry's school books. If anyone is looking for a good stock tip...try battery companies! Between the baby swing, video camera, camera, & crib aquarium we are spending a ton of $$$$$ on batteries.

Smiles

Lately Skylar is smiling so much. She looks like she wants to laugh & I know it won't be long! We have had some very cold days lately but when we do get a warm day I like to take her for a walk at the International Friendship Forest by Warnock Lake. It is about 2 miles from our house & beautiful. The Friendship Forest is has a waterful & trees from all 50 states & around the world & is dedicated to Amelia Earhart (who was born here in Atchison, KS) Larry is staying very busy with school but always makes time for us. Every night he watches me read Skylar a book, then he swaddles her & puts her in her swing. Her room has a chair & a couch so we hang out & talk until she falls asleep & then we put her in her crib for the night. It is great family quality time that we are able to enjoy this year since Larry won't be out to sea.

Our Family day

Yesterday the 3 of us went for a drive to Kansas City. I had a gift certificate for a massage that someone had given me after I had Skylar. Although my massage was extremely relaxing I spent most of my hour wondering if Skylar was being good for Larry. After I was done I called Larry to pick me up & it was just as I thought...he said she spent almost the entire time crying. Larry picked me up, we parked & I moved to the backseat to feed her. I looked at the back of the car to find the diaper bag open, wipes everywhere & a dirty diaper laying on the floor. I laughed a little & we loaded up Skylar in her stroller with all of her supplies & decided to take a walk & find a place to eat lunch. As soon as we found a kid friendly, non-smokey place to eat...Skylar started to scream her head off. I told Larry we needed to leave & drive around a bit before we could eat. He said ok but wanted to let me know that he was starving. After we calmed her down we decided we were in the mood for pizza. We found a little place & waited for our pizza & bit into it when I saw Larry's face. Being the New Jersey pizza snob that he is he let out a big "yuck!" He asked our very nice waitress if they made their pizza with velveeta. She said it is their own house blend of swiss, provalone & white cheddar & that we could buy some if we wanted to. Larry asked her to please box up the rest of the pizza for us to take home so he didn't hurt her feelings. I reminded him that Kansas City is known for their ribs & BBQ & not pizza & to stop complaining. After the pizza fiasco we decided to shop for furniture since we need a desk. Every time we tried to look at desks Skylar would scream. I decided to pick her up & hold her & I thought...wow my baby smells...I thought babies were supposed to smell good. I asked Larry to hold her so I could use the rest room. When I came out I noticed a brown strip around her waist. Oh yes...her diaper was leaking & it was bad! We took her screaming smelly little body to the car & after about 50 wipes & a new outfit she was still crying. Larry had a trash bag for the wipes & dirty diaper & he asked me to put the outfit in the bag. I explained to him that the outfit could be washed & we don't need to throw it out. We decided to leave & spent an hours drive home to a screaming baby. Larry asked me why she was crying & when was it going to stop. He also asked me if she does this every day & I said yes & that was why I don't get a lot done sometimes. We went home & took another hour trying to get her to sleep. We decided to have some alone time & watch a movie. I was asleep after about 2 minutes, so we went upstairs to bed. Boy does a baby change your life.

Coping with the stress of a dirty diaper

Balancing baby & homework

After my bath

I know Skylar will be mad at me later when I show these pictures to her friends, but I wanted everyone to see her cute chubby rolls.

Bedtime routine

Even though Larry is super busy with his homework & stays up until at least midnight every night, he always helps me put Skylar to bed. He is so good at it & I am not. We start by giving her a bath & she hates this so she screams her head off! Then Larry blow drys her hair, & she loves this. We take her in her room & I feed her & read her a book. After that Larry swaddles her & puts her in her swing & then into her crib for the night. This almost always works. Last night she was extra fussy so Larry asked me to leave the room & go take a bubble bath. When I got out of the tub I could hear him reading to her...but he was reading her his homework in a very expressive voice. She was out like a light. He put her to bed. We decided not to put a tv in our bedroom so we could spend more time hanging out , talking, reading, etc. Every night it's the same thing...we both fall asleep with a book in our hand. Having an infant is very exhausting but worth it. She's a lot of fun. We are really enjoying seeing her smile (her latest thing) Taz our German Shepherd sleeps part of the night in our room & part of the night in Skylar's room & he always gets up with me when I feed her. During the day he lays by her swing when she is in it. They are so cute together.

Cute as a button