Dinner Party

We had an unplanned dinner party tonight.  (That may sound a bit more high society than I mean…  And yes, it was unplanned – look how spontaneous I can be all you doubters named Sandy!)  Anyway.  Madison had a great day – two really good naps.  She was happy all day; what a blessing and a delight.  Tara and Grace were going to come and go walking with us around 4pm, but Grace has had a cough for quite awhile, so they made a late doctor’s appt to check it out.  I told them to just come over for supper.  I had been super productive today – cleaned bathrooms, made the casserole for supper during the afternoon nap, swept the kitchen floor, went to Meijer to get medicine… You get the picture.  When I was younger, I pictured myself just having people over spur of the moment, and it happens so rarely.  Part of the problem is that I get all hung up on making the perfect things and get stressed about actually proposing the invitation to someone (childhood fear of rejection? fitting in? being accepted? being good enough? anyone care to psychoanalyze???).  It was nice to just have something ready and be able to share that with someone and just feel comfortable.  Tara, Todd (her husband), and Grace all came.  Madison was a show-off :)  Grace was adorable and well-behaved.  And we adults had some normal conversations (I think).  Tara brought some delicious homemade applesauce.  I’ll have to do this again sometime….

Exhausted

The little lady was exhausted last night.  After only a half hour morning nap, I wasn’t surprised.  I was surprised she fell asleep while drinking her bottle.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have her ready for bed; so, she had a little wake up time while getting her pjs on.  It’s not often we cuddle like this (I know she isn’t aware of it… I’ll take what I can get!)  Here we are... 

Parties

The end of July and August have MANY family birthdays for my side.  I have 2 nephews, 3 neices, 2 brothers, and my dad with birthdays; we just celebrated August, but it was my chance to say happy birthday to the July kids too.  (Unfortunately, the cards I had so painstakingly picked out for the grand event stayed on our coffee table in Columbus – guess I’ll be getting those in the mail!)  So, my sister-in-law’s parents hosted a fabulous birthday night.  They have a beautiful view out their backyard, a large blow up pool, farm animals, battery operated four wheeler for kids (my parents brought theirs too), amazing grilled ribs, fresh from the garden corn on the cob, and just fun.  It was a beautiful evening and a good time to gather.  Although my little lady was not a fabulous napper, she was a trooper during the evening and had a lot of fun too.  Here are some photos of the night.

  

 

 

Back to the Norm

We are back to business as usual in the Yoh house.  Madison had a little naked time on Monday because she is happy like that.  I wanted to get a picture of her eating her toes, and I did that successfully; it is amazing how they can bend!  I also took the classic playing naked butt crack picture…. cute, I think :)  Madison was exhausted after her big days of new people and went to bed at 7:20 last night – much to the excitement of an exhausted  Jeremy who was taking care of her while I went to book club.

It is now August which means I officially have to start thinking about school – prepare myself mentally, and go in a few days to physically prepare my room.  Ugh.  I am not really looking forward to it.  I never really look forward to it, but once it starts and about 3 weeks have passed, it is business as usual and not so bad.  Have a great week and stay cool; it looks to be a hot and humid one this week. 

Grandparents and Biking

Jeremy started his bike trip on Thursday morning. So, Wednesday night we headed to Wooster. His dad was nice enough to get up before the sun and take Jeremy up to Cleveland to start the ride. (He is the biker on the far right in the yellow and white shirt.) Jeremy made it from Cleveland to Wooster by about 2pm (left at about 7am). While he was biking, I left Madison with Grandparents Yoh and went to see my brothers' families. I watched the kids jump on the trampoline and collected nuts for them to haul in their little trucks. I had lunch with my dad at the house. Grandparents Yoh had a great time with Madison. Gloria had a new toy for Madison to try out. You can see it in the picture below. I returned and welcomed Jeremy back from the biking world and checked in on Madison. I left about 5pm to go hang out with Sandy. We at a yummy vegetarian meal and some ice cream, watched Whip It, and just hung out. It was nice. I felt like a single lady!

Friday, we hung out til about noon at Yohs house before going to have lunch with my brother's family. It was fun to talk with them. I surprised my mom at work with a grandbaby visit. Then, we headed home. We made great time til we were about 20 miles from home. As we were passing a semi, I heard this loud noise and assumed it was the truck. But as we got passed him, the sound became louder, and I realized it must be us. I put on my flashers and headed to the side of the road. My back passenger side tire was unraveling - blown out. (See picture for proof) I called AAA and they arrived in about 30 minutes. The guy put my tire on, and I hopped in the car ready to get back on the road only to discover the battery was now dead. I ran back to catch him, and he jumped my car for me, too. Jeremy actually beat us back - biking - from Wooster to Westerville! (100 mile day... you won't catch me doing that, but I'm proud of him!) We don’t have many pictures of Madison sitting which is one of her newer developments. She mastered that in about a week or week and a half. It was fun to watch. Notice how big her diaper bum is! We have had to move her up to the next size of cloth diapers which will last till potty training time – they are big :)

Saturday, Jeremy took off for Springfield, Ohio, for the third leg of his trip. He made that trek by about 2pm (left around 8am). He got soaked along the way, but pushed through to finish the day. Madison and I hung out. She had a good morning nap, followed by a short afternoon nap. That always means she is more needy – can’t play well by herself. I was in the middle of making peach crisp when she woke up. Thankfully, reinforcements (my parents) arrived shortly after to entertain her while I finished up. My mom and I took Madison to the zoo. It was a beautiful day for it. She enjoyed the aquarium because she could actually see the fish. Most of the other animals don’t even exist to her because she isn’t old enough to pick them out. We enjoyed the animal viewing. We had Chipotle for supper and played a bit before tucking her – and shortly after, us – into bed.

Sunday, we headed to second service at church long after Jeremy left Springfield for the last leg of his journey. He rode to Cinnicinati today. He had to wait around for the bus to bring him back to Columbus, but said that it wasn’t too bad – they had mobile shower units for them, pizza, gaterade, music, etc. We picked up the cross-state biker about 7pm in Dublin. During church, we put Madison in the nursery again. She made it without crying for two hours… only one short spell they tell me; she was fine when I got there. We had spaghetti and lettuce (from Sandy’s garden – yum!) for lunch. My parents stayed until about 5:30pm which was nice. It was a good few days, but a bit hectic. I sure appreciate all the help from the Grandparents. I realize how much I appreciate when Jeremy gets home from work – just to have adult conversation/interaction and a short break from being primary entertainer. These last four days gave me (almost) all day breaks.

What We’ve Been Up To

So here is a quick run down….

We have walked every day, but today – see a stroller CAN be motivation.  On Tuesday, we were able to walk with our walking buddies, Tara and Grace.  It is so nice to get together with them.  Tara and I talk about baby stuff – cloth diapers, napping, eating, etc – as well as some life stuff too.  Next time we might meet up at her little pool in her backyard for a pool party.  Definitely need to take pictures if we do that!  We also exchange cool stuff we find online.  She recommended a site for those interested in trying cloth diapers, but fear them and the initial cost.  It is Jillian’s Drawers.  You can try a variety of diapers for 21 days.  Then, you can return them – used – with no loss except $10.  It is a great idea.  Here’s Madison in the stroller.

           

We made it to small group last night.  It has been awhile for many reasons.  It was good to reconnect with people.  Otherwise, it has been kinda quiet around here.  Jeremy biked to work and back on Tuesday.  His big ride starts on Thursday, so it was one last training session.  My dad is having a test today to see what is up with his back.  It is an ongoing issue with him.  I am not sure what else can be done and what he can expect.  Pray for the doctors as they look at the results and pull resources to figure this one out.  Well, that’s it for now.  Have a great day!

Getting Away

Jeremy and I took this weekend (a month late) to celebrate our anniversary.  We  went Friday night to Dalton and stayed at my parents’ house.  We took Madison to    her Grandma Yoh’s for Saturd  ay morning; we headed north.  Madison had a great time at Grandma Yoh’s – great nap, play time, eating time, etc  She headed to Grandma and Grandpa Ediger’s for the rest of Saturday and Sunday.  Again, she slept well – 3 hours… unheard of! – ate well, played well, etc.  In other words, she didn’t even miss us :(

Jeremy and I went to Cleveland area.  We went to see the movie Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio.  It was awesome, probably one of the best movies either of us have seen in awhile.  I said it was like Oceans 11 meets Matrix meets Avatar.  I don’t know if that makes it appealing to anyone, but we would give it 5 out of 5 stars.  After the movie, we checked into our hotel and headed to Bonefish Grill for dinner.  After dinner, we went to the Indians game vs Rays.  Although it was a bit muggy, the sun was dropping and there was a slight breeze.  On the walk to the game, Jeremy shook his fist at the spot of the Lebron James witness billboard (obviously, removed); adios, Lebron.

                               

The game started well for the Indians, but in the end they were defeated :(  Here are some pictures from the game.

On Sunday, we slept in simply because we could.  Sleeping in with baby does not happen often… ever.  (Although as I type, it is 8:15 and mine is still sleeping!)  We went to breakfast at a local restaurant.  Then, headed to Cuyahoga National Park to hike the Ledges Trail.  It was warm and there was a slight drizzle occasionally, but overall it was not as bad as Saturday weather-wise.  The hike was great.  For those of you thinking heading there is going to the “big city”; it isn’t.  It doesn’t feel like you are anywhere near Akron or Cleveland.  I recommend it.  Here are some pictures of the hike.

                       

We grabbed some delicious burgers and ice cream treats at the Dalton Dari-ette before returning to my parents house to pick up Madison.  It was good to see her again.  It was nice to be away, but it is good to be with her again, too.  Thanks Grandparents for watching our little munchkin.  She had a great time…. and so did we!