We're Getting Better

We are trying to get back to blogging every week. I guess the big news this week is that I have to be in Memphis for a week of training June 28-July 2. Obviously this has caused some excitement since we didn't really have a Memphis trip planned. My lovely wife and children will be joining me mid-week for an extended visit.

Issie had her last day of school this week and was sad that she won't be seeing her teachers for a while. She knows her birthday party is next weekend and is excited about her presents. She claims to be getting a scooter when in reality we got her a big dollhouse.

ZANE is as crazy as ever even though we took him to the doctor again for his cough. If he doesn't get rid of the fluid in his lungs the doctor is worried he may develop pnemonia. Other than that he absolutely loves being outside but is our fair child that turns red when he's hot (we kept thinking he was getting burned). Heather is very anal about getting them in sunscreen so no worries there.

Jaxon is fine. I'm sure we've all heard by now that the level 2 U/S showed nothing of significance and we have the same chances as any young couple for a healthy baby. Heather also got her bloodwork back and there were no markers for any of the genetic chromosonal problems. Other than that he has been more active and when Heather relaxes he gives her some punches and/or kicks to let her know he's in there. Hard to believe she's already 20 weeks.

Speaking of Heather, she is feeling pretty good but the warmer weather is starting to make her feet swell a little. Nothing crazy like when she had Issie yet but we are taking care to try to keep her cool. She is irritated that no maternity clothes fit and her regular clothes are getting to tight so that's a problem. She is gearing up for summer activities and we'll be getting a little 8' round pool soon to keep everyone happy.

I didn't travel quite as much this week with Heather's Dr. appointments so am relatively fresh and ready to go. With the short week next week Mike and I are doing a Regional audit on one of our offices. Nothing else really going on.

The kids had their first pool weekend with the nice weather and we got mixed reviews. Issie loves the water but Zane is still a little unsure.

Has it Really Been That Long

So we apologize for taking so long. And yes can you tell different writer!!So we got Issie big Girl Furniture!!! Full White Sleigh bed with white dresser!!! It makes me sad that her room is so big!!! Can you believe she turns 3 in a month!!! Steve is making fun of me and my painfully slow typing!!

Issie had a teacher's conference this past week got stellar report except for taking turns.They suggested she go into the enrichment program 1 day a week which means she gets extra music,art and more dramatic play. And she goes 9 to 3!! So she will start in Sept with one full day and one half day!! Exciting!! We are currently planning her Bday party a Barbie Park Party for May 3oth.

Moving on to Zane, He has this crazy new bath thing. He is terrified of the bath water, I mean hysterical crying and shaking. So gets like a 45 second scrub down. Just breaks your heart to hear him scream like that. But will play with water in other setting and loves it! He says Baby and it is so cute. He also only has 7 or 8 teeth depending if you count Siamese tooth. I am afraid he will be in Kindergarten and called no teeth Kolodziej.

As for me we find out the sex of the new baby May 15th and dying to know!!Really not sure would like girl but leaning toward boy because my symptoms seem similar to Zane. What else oh we had a broken dishwasher for three weeks, and now we have a new one Thanks to Steve!! Steve and I have a date May 16th so that is exciting. Other than that just trying to get our messy house under control and get ready for Issie's bday party and actual bday.

That was kinda painful, for those of you who don't know my beautiful wife is not the swiftest typer in the world. I am not that fast but I definitely kick her but. I've been all over the central region of the US the past month, for those of you who didn't hear I drove to KC and Wichita and then came back from Wichita in one day (730 miles). I love having a fuel card on days like that. Other than that I've been missing a lot of Cubs games but have watched the last few Bulls contests but looks like I'll miss tonight's game.

We Know We're Slackers

All right we know it's been awhile but we've been busy and then Heather got sick so cut us a little slack.

We went to the midwife last Friday and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time so that was very exciting. Heather is 12 weeks and finally feels pregnant. (EN: She does still say "I look pregnant" whenever trying on clothes) So we find out in about 2 months what the sex is.

As you see by the first pic. we went to the Children's Museum this morning and it was crowded as hell. The new welcome center is coming along and will be huge when it opens. The kids new favorite area is the dinosaurs, especially Zane. Zane learned how to bump fists today while taking a bath and Issie is loving school and has to play every week with her BFF Sophie.

This weather sucks and we really want to use our zoo membership before it expires. Heather is completely surprised that she likes the minivan. On a more selfish note, I am very excited about having found a pair of Lucky brand jeans for half off. (EN: It happened to be at a department store that cannot be named for fear of motherly and sisterly shunning)

That's all for now, it's off to St Louis and Springfield for me next week.

You're All Slackers

All right ya bunch of slackers. Here Heather and I are taking time that we could be spending sleeping to update our blog and we get virtually nothing back in comments. (EN: Mom and Kristin have responded in the past so kudos to them)

ISSIE: I had a fun week because the weather was nice. I got to go outside and my BFF Sophie came over and we played. Saturday mommy curled my hair and we got to go take pictures. (EN: Trying to curl the hair of an almost 3 year old without burning is impossible. Issie also finds hairspray "Yucky its wet") Oh I have picked up this really obnoxious fake forced laugh that drives mommy and daddy crazy. Sophie even thought it was annoying and kept telling me to stop.

ZANE: I finally got HOPS!!! Yup I can get a good 1/2 inch off the ground when I really try. (EN: This means he can officially out jump Tom) I also got pictures done and I was annoyed because I was stripped down to my diaper and these stupid angel wings kept tickling my back. Mommy and daddy thought it was adorable though. I tried and like mushrooms since daddy made some for dinner tonight. I also like to play out in the front yard because I keep mommy on her toes by sprinting to the street at random times.

HEATHER: I was stuck in the house the beginning of the week because Issie was still sick. Not a whole lot happened this week, my morning sickness doesn't come on as often (Thank God). Steve and I watched Nikki's girls on Saturday since they watch our kids last week. Yeah, 4 kids all under 2.5 for four hours......lots of fun but we were exhausted. I have a full week coming up; consignment sale drop off tomorrow and the sale starts Thurs.. I'm hoping to find a good double stroller (if such a thing exists). We also have two play dates scheduled and date night on Sat. for Steve's B-day.

STEVE: Not much of anything happened this week. I was irritated because the first hotel I was in (Charleston) had a crappy treadmill so I quit after 1/2 mile, then the Cleveland hotel's fitness room was Out of Order. Can someone please explain how an entire room is out of order? I still managed 11.5 miles for the week which isn't too bad. I did finally manage to get around to making Heather some desserts for her B-day (Yeah I know I'm late). I made a peach and cream coffee cake this morning and a carrot cake that managed to be tasty in spite of the fact that I left out the veggie oil.

Well my contacts are dry and I have a 3 1/2 hour drive in the morning so good night and God Bless.

No Longer Slacking

OK so we took a week off...get over it. Nothing really happened two weeks ago anyway.

Now this week we had a few things happen. Heather and I got to go on two dates. Movie on Thursday and Bonefish on Friday for her birthday. Now to most people this isn't a big deal but considreing our last date before these was June 2008 we had fun.

ISSIE: My week started off good with School on Wednesday and a play date with my BFF Sophia on Thursday. Then daddy took me to school Friday and that was fun, I even got to play with Miss Heather from next door while mommy and daddy went out to eat. Unfortunately Saturday I got sick and was throwing up so I didn't get to enjoy the Nana and Pop Pop visit as much as normal. I still had fun and kept asking about them after they left but I wasn't my usual self.

ZANE: I am getting a lot more chatty even if I only use words when I want to. It drives mommy and daddy crazy that I say up, down, oops, thanks and more only when I want to and not when they ask (that is part of the master plan after all). As you can see from my pic with Nana, I started giving kisses when asked and I feel like it. Nana brought daddy's cars down when they came and my sister and I fight over them now with me winning most of them.

HEATHER: I turned 28 Friday so there is that. Steve and I went to see Taken Thursday night and while it was good it was also a little disturbing. Issie is NEVER allowed to travel without me. We had fun at Bonefish but Steve never got me a cake. Oh he tried to get one at Marsh but the stupid guy gave us chocolate when we specifically asked several times for yellow. Of course I'm having morning sickness in waves all day pretty bad.

STEVE: As usual nothing much happened on my end of things. I was able to drive back and forth to Louisville Mon-Tues and then had an overnight in Toledo which is such an exciting town (Sarcasm for those of you who have never been there). I am trying to run a little more and finally got outside and off the treadmill Saturday. That sucked since it was cold and windy which is not a good running combo.

Preggers

As most of you already know we are expecting our third bundle of joy in October. Heather goes tomorrow to the midwife for her first exam and we'll know more. Additionally, Heather got her hair cut last week and highlighted today.

ISSIE: I had my first Valentine's Day party at pre-School this week and got a lot of cards. Then Mommy took me to play with my friend Sophie and we had lot's of fun even though I was being a stinker. It was so nice outside that I even got a chance to play on my swingset. It makes me very happy to get to go outside.

ZANE: I now have a new shoe thing that drives daddy crazy. I love shoes but apparently I only like to wear one at a time. My new words for the week are "boo" and "Yeah". I like outside also and even got to go to Issie's V-day party and wrestled some 2yr old for a ball. I would have won if mommy hadn't stopped us.

HEATHER: Pregnancy feeling update: Surprisingly pretty good so far. Just a little nauseous but hungry at the same time. I'm trying to get on thetreadmill as often as possible to keep the bad weight off and only gain good weight.

Other than that I love the new haircut but am a little worried with it being so short that I have to maintain the back. I'm irritated that we just bought new clothes with our income tax money and now I don't get to wear them very long. Heck, my pants are already getting tight. Oh well I do enjoy being pregnant and know the weight will come back off eventually. On the whole a good week since I got t get out a bunch: visited my friend Niki during the week, went to a Mary Kay party Thurs. then got the highlights on Sunday. For me that's a lot and to make it even better Steve is taking a week off of traveling.

STEVE: As you read above, I'm taking a week to recharge. I've been traveling every week since the first of the year and need a break. Other than that my big news for the week was that I bit the bullet and joined Facebook. Granted I have lots of time to kill in hotels during most weeks so it only made sense for me to join eventually. I now see where it could be very addicting but who cares. I also got a new pair of running shoes when I was out of town this week. I'm telling you, I'll never buy another pair of running shoes at a chain store again. The people who worked at this one made me walk and jog around the store both barfoot and in the shoes they got me and the shoes I bought feel great.

That's all for this week. Like Heather said I'm in town all week and she has some medical appointments so I'm sure there will be more news next week.

Next Generation Cubs Fans

As you can all see there are a few little things this week that I'm sure we are all happy about. The kids and Heather all got hair cuts and the kids received new Cubs hats. Issie's actually has scratch and sniff strawberries on it. EN: Issie's hair is no where near as short as it appears in the picture, it is still relatively long.

ISSIE: I finally got to go back to school and we actually had to wearour pajama's on Friday since it was Polar Express day. I got to go shopping with mommy and daddy and they bought me new running shoes which I love. I went to a birthday party on Saturday and got my first kite which daddy says we can fly once the weather cooperates and the ground isn't mush.

ZANE: I have a falling issue. Apparently I fall and pretty much always hit my head or face. I have a scratch on my cheek, a bruise under my eye and I hit the back of my head at least twice. Yes I am taking after my daddy who always leads with his hard head. I got another Cubs hat and like Issie got new shoes and clothes.

HEATHER: As you see I got my hair chopped off but I like it. We also got our income tax money so I was able to get out of the house (alone for once) and do a little shopping. I got my around the house "sweatsuit" which is closer to workout gear than a sweatsuit. Other than that not much going on.

STEVE: Other than missing the Superbowl so I could fly to stupid Kansas City and then drive 3 hours to Wichita my week was rather boring. I got back in town Wednesday and hung out at the Indy office doing an audit there for a couple days. This weekend I cleaned and put together our new treadmill in like an hour even though all the review whined about how hard it was. EN: It became very obvious to me that most of those people were rather stupid.

Well that's the week in a nutshell needless to say it has been interesting. I do plan on ironing clothes and watching the Grammy's here in about a half hour so I got that going for me.