Wow - Two in a row

I know everyone's excited about getting two posts in a row. This week was rather exciting (well the weekend was at least) so here we go>

Issie got to meet her new pre-school teachers this past Wednesday and was a little upset that she doesn't have her teachers from last year anymore. She was a little shy but we're sure she'll get over that once school actually starts. Heather took the kids to the Children's Museum and met up with one of Issie's friends, Becca along with her sister. Issie had fun getting on the donkey (fake) in the new Egypt exhibit. Other than that Issie has been a little under the weather with allergy/asthma issues.

Mr. Zane was excited to go to the CM with mom and Issie because he has a little crush on Becca. It's really cute because he can say her name and whever a picture of her is on the computer he says her name. He also got a couple molars this week (maybe more on the way but getting in his mouth is next to impossible) which made for a pleasant couple days. He is getting in to the terrible twos a little early since he no longer listens to anyone and has started hitting if he doesn't get his way. We foresee lots of timeouts in his future.

Heather is feeling fine but rather uncomfortable when she sleeps. We think Jaxon has dropped because she looks a little smaller and definitely differently shaped. 5 weeks to go so he needs to cook for at least another 2. Granted with the washing machine on the blitz we are a little worried (the dryer quit a couple days before Zane's arrival).

Heather babysat for Aiden twice this week which gave her and I a crash course on dealing with three children' Aiden came with us when we went to Target for the kids 3 and 18 month pictures (Yeah we're behind and yes Heatehr emailed everyone a link) and it went pretty well. Heather also babysat for Jake and Joey last week so she had four kids (five for about an hour but that's a story for game night).

I'm excited that I get to be home fpr 2 weeks due to an OSHA 30hr training class my boss and I have to put on for some managers. I also managed to kill the bees we had living on the house last night and only one managed to get away from the initial spray and try to attack me (it failed). Hopefully this will put an end to Heather's creepy bee experiences (she's been harrassed by them for several weeks wherever she goes. So now we enter the waiting for Mr. Jaxon time and looking forward to the end of my fiscal year (hoping for a good September)

August Summary

We know it's been about two months since our last update but we've been a little busy and have been having electronics issues. That and the fact that we thought we would be moving in the middle of that stretch didn't help.

Our 6 year old desktop bit the dust completely. Steve pulled the hard drive in an attempt to get someone with more computer savy than us to pull all our family pictures off of it. Kristin was kind enough to give us the use of her old Mac iBook but it isn't working consistantly so Steve is going to take it with him out of town one of these days to work on it.

I'm a little uncomfortable with being 7 weeks away from my due date. Jaxon is beating me up and doesn't let me sleep. Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. I only gained 25lbs so far and am trying to keep in under 30 for the entire pregnancy. We are starting to think about the schedule for when he gets here and the help rotation.

Steve has been traveling his usual and obviously isn't getting the Peoria job due to Regional President interference and low salary offer. Still looking for something with him home every night.

Issie starts pre-school in three weeks and we meet her teachers the week before that. One of the teachers was a sub last year and Issie was specifically requested by her. Issie's now obsessed with the mini princess dolls from Disney that have rubber dresses for some reason (obviously the dresses are difficult to put on and we've torn a couple already) and she "loves" the Spiderman sock n bop. By love I mean literally she tackles it to the ground, lays on top of it and "makes out". No idea where she gets this I'm not in the habit of tackling my wife and pinning her to the ground for kisses.

Zane is our little artist (and as you see by the pic does a mean Jedi impression) He will sit at the Ikea table in the kitchen and color for hours. The only draw back is that about every minute or so he'll come up to you with a crayon and in his cute little voice say "Momma (or daddy), Z" Obviously he already knows what a Z looks like and he actually adds them to his scibbles. We think this is a little ahead since we only recently got Issie to draw the "I".

We'll try to update more often again. Just getting as much summer fun in with the kids while the weather cooperates and we still have just the two of them.

Mid June happenings

Hello to all, I would love for somebody to actually respond so I know I am not doing this for myself!!!! Yes different writer, can you tell who?Well where to start, so far here in Indiana it has been very rainy but it is finally starting to get warm. I mean mid 80's!!

Isabella- She is still in the terrible 3's, still working on this. She had her 3 year checkup and we were surprised to find she is almost 32lbs and 38 1/2 inches tall!! She is 75% for height and weight! We put her in Vacation Bible school last week , but we only lasted 3 nights. It was weird time for little kids 6:30 to 830 pm . She was the youngest did ok had one terrible 3 fit where I am chasing her across gym while 50 people are staring. ( It was lovely) so we left and no more vbs .She does want to read bible stories now so I guess she did get something out of it.Also yesterday she had her 1st princess party! ( for those of you that do not know that means she dresses up like a princess).Just starting playing in her room with Barbies by her self!!! ( It is so nice)

Zane- Hard to believe he just turned 18 months!!! He is talking really well, everyday he surprises me by what he says already. His two newest are where he is? ( talking about Daddy) and what happened?Another funny thing about Zane is his feet they are huge for his age he is already a size 7 in toddlers( Issie is a size 8 in toddlers) .Other then that he is a happy little guy!!!He is still in the Elmo phase, every moring when I get him out of his crib he says Elmo!!!!

Jaxon- I am 24 weeks pregnant , 6 months already. Baby is doing good! He is very active already!

As for me - just trying to get out of house with kiddo's everyday and do fun summer things. We are going to Memphis in about a Week and half for Fourth of July. I am not looking forward to driving 8 plus hours by myself with the kids but pray it will go smooth!!

Steve has rough work schedule coming up he leaves tomorrow for Kansas and will be back sometime Thursday night. And then leaves Sunday morning for Memphis and will be there 8 days. He has training nearby so kids and I will see him late wed night when we get in town.Other then that waiting on Job offer for Steve for Peoria.

Issie turns 3!!

As you all know Issie turned 3 on June 3rd. We had her party last Saturday at Forest park with a bunch of her little friends. For her actual b-day on Wednesday we were going to go to the zoo but the rain pushed us to the Children's Museum. We have definitely already entered the terrible 3's and Steve and I are using our parental tricks to try to solve this problem.

Zane is currently the easy child and as you can see by the picture is starting to love playing in the water. We shaved some hair off his head and while it's a little short he is still a handsome little man. We have decided to keep one of those small helium tanks around because Zane will play with balloons for hours.

Jaxon's cyst was not able to be seen on the u/s Tues so we're excited about that. The only proble we may have is that the u/s tech and the Dr. have already said he is a big boy. Might be trouble trying to deliver naturally. Nothing new since the cards are always stacked against me.

We get to have a date night coming up for our 6 year anniv. Not sure where we are going but we are definitely getting out of the house. We get to get outside more now that the temp. is up. The kids love being outside but I have to watch the fair haired child.

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.