Pictures at the Arboretum

Where Have All the Brain Cells Gone?

Just to prove that pregnancy/mommy brain is a real thing:

One of the websites I use for my weekly menu planning references a certain cookbook fairly often. So, I decided since I tend to like the recipes from this particular cookbook, that it might be worth adding to my "library." I go to amazon to see how much it costs. On the page for the book, I get an alert on the top of the page that says, "Order update : you purchased this book on September 16, 2006" WHAT! I already had it! And, sure enough, when I went to the shelf, there it was! Lanny was so glad to know that I had gotten such great use out of it for the last 2.5 years.

In other news, let me first say that I'm not really all that jazzed about the toy in the McDonald's meals right now. It is basically a cd that has songs that are meant for 16 year olds, sung by 10 year olds and sold to 5 year olds. But, Ben thinks they are so cool, and I haven't been able to manage to "lose" the cd yet. One of the songs on there has the following lyric:

Give me the beat, boys
Free my soul;
I want to get lost in the rock n' roll
And drift away.

So, Ben is listening to this song, and asks, "Mom, how do you get lost in the rock and roll?"

Random Fun

This past Saturday, we found out about a free "Saftey Training" day at our local police station. Ben got to meet several super heros:

(yes, Ben is in the picture with Batman, can you find him?) Whoever this guy is was Ben's favorite (Lanny says it is Flash Gordon)

Ben got to sit up in a real helicopter!

And, Lindley wanted to get in the helicopter too :)

The highlight of it all, though, was watching the helicopter take off and land. Ben thought that was so awesome! He and his friend were literally jumping up and down as it took off.

Lanny and I appreciated the free food :)

What a Happy Mother's Day

Lanny and the kids really did a lot to make me feel special and loved on Mother's Day, and that is exactly what I felt. My cup overflows...

I would like to dedicate this post...

To Brad Jones. For those few who don't actually know who that is, Brad is my brother. Brad, this is for you...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And, I apologize to future Ben for posting this ;)

The Milkshake and the Yogurt

The Milkshake
One night Lanny made milkshakes for an after dinner treat for all of us. Lindley normally doesn't like ice cream, but she was really interested in watching the process of making the milkshakes. So, she stood on a stool and watched Lanny. He gave her a sample taste of his milkshake. After he poured his into a glass, he went to sit down at the table. She proceeded to go to the drawer where we keep her bowls, grabbed a bowl, and took it to Lanny and held it up to him as if to say, "put some of that milkshake in my bowl!" Well, Lanny just ended up sharing his while she sat in his lap. She was somewhat intrigued with the glass, though, and accidentally spilled the milkshake all over the table. Guess it was too good to waste!

The Yogurt

Lanny had to be out of town for a conference for work not too long ago. So, while he was gone, I enlisted some help to feed Lindley some yogurt.

One bite for her...

One bite for him...

Easter Pictures

We had a great Easter! My mom and brother got to come and be with us. Ben had a great time with all the eggs, etc. Lindley had zero interest in hunting eggs or digging through her Easter basket! And, I definitely felt old in hosting Easter dinner for friends and family, especially when the guys all took naps and watched golf after dinner.

A Bright Spot

This week was actually a pretty crummy week, but this afternoon was a bright spot. We had our 20 week ultrasound, and everything looked great! We are still definitely having a BOY, and everything measured as it should. He has done quite a bit of growing (as have I) in the last 4 weeks since my last appointment. Four weeks ago, I measured 12 cm. Today, I measured 25 cm! Usually you expect to measure somewhere close to how many weeks along you are. So, he is now a little ahead! The doc said that either the baby has just gone through a growth spurt or we might have a bigger baby!

How Did He Get to be So "Smart"?

Ben has been saying two words that drive me up a wall a lot lately..."I can't!" So, today, in my fed-up-ness, my response was "Ben, if you are going to keep telling me that 'you can't,' I am going to start making you practice until you can." (I know, don't worry, I have already forfeited the contest for mother of the year.) So, his response? "Well, I can't drive...and I can't eat trees..." It was like he was picking things that he knew I couldn't make him practice. I didn't realize until today what a smart aleck we have on our hands.

Miss Lindley Kate is just growing like a little weed and learning new stuff every day. Our latest dilemma with her is about what we are going to do for her sleeping arrangements when Baby #3 comes. She won't quite be 2 years old, and I don't think she will be ready to give up her crib quite yet. But, I really don't want to have to buy another crib for a short period of time. We have been thinking about either getting a daybed or one of those convertible cribs that eventually converts into a headboard for a full-size bed. If anyone has any thoughts/reviews on how the conversion part of the convertible crib has worked, I would appreciate any info.

Lastly, here is a picture of the Four Schrib's (I guess technically five), that our precious friend took of us recently.

Your Prayer List...

...I have something to add to it. My boss just told me last week that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He is 38 years old and is a non-smoker. It was very crazy and very sad news. I know that he would appreciate your prayers for him and his family.

Speaking of prayers, I want to share a prayer from Ben the other night. But, first, a little background. Earlier that night, Ben had been showing us his Batman dance. I'll try to post a video of it sometime. So, back to the prayer. Here goes: "Thank you for this day, thank you for this night (both of these are standard in his prayers), thank you for my hats, thank you for my mirror, thank you for the ceiling...thank you for mom's shadow dance..." I'm not sure exactly what he thought my shadow dance was, other than he could see my shadow from his nightlight. But, at this point, I just died laughing...

It's another.....

BOY!!

Ben and Lindley are excited to have a brother. We have our big ultrasound on April 9th, but we got to find this out a little early :)

25 Things

I have been tagged several times to do the '25 Random Things About Me.' I have decided to post it here instead of facebook. I also decided that I'm not interesting enough to have 25 whole things just about me. So, this list is going to include these four Schrib's....starting with me of course.

Missy:

1. I believe that Sonic is one of the greatest places on earth, and that a Dr. Pepper can cure most of the things that go wrong in my life.
2. My closet is ALWAYS super messy. If Lanny and I had to share a closet, our marriage might be in trouble.
3. I love to try new recipes (as long as they are easy). I like try at least one new recipe every week.
4. I had to drop bowling class in college because I was going to fail it, and I didn't miss one class. However, I am totally awesome at the bowling game on the Wii.
5. I refuse to drink milk, and I eat my cereal dry.
6. I will turn the big 3-0 in August.

Lanny:
7. He asked for a door knob for Christmas...and got it.
8. He likes to make up new lyrics for existing songs.
9. He still drives the two-door Honda Accord that he got in 1999.
10. He goes overboard with the use of the...ellipsis (...)
11. One thing I appreciate most about him is that he makes me laugh. I'm not sure what that says about my sense of humor, but, at least I think he's funny!
12. He claims that red starburst make his "eyes sweat."

Ben:
13. Ben is tall, he is a little over 3 1/2 feet in height.
14. He loves to play the Wii, and he has created two of his own characters. One of them has an afro.
15. He loves to pretend that we are all different super heros. He is usually either Spiderman or Captain America. Lanny is either Batman or Superman. Lindley is 'flower girl' (whoever that is). I am, of course, Wonder Woman.
16. He loves most things that are sweet; ice cream and cookies being favorites.
17. He is fascinated by the Schwann man. He gets very excited when the Schwann man comes over and often pretends he is Schwann man.
18. He also loves Power Rangers. He is not allowed to watch Power Rangers because he always ends up waking up scared at night after he has watched it (that and Scooby Doo).

Lindley:

19. She has tiny feet.

20. She loves to dance!

21. She has many words (and adding them daily), but still doesn't call me mama. She can say the ma-ma sound, but doesn't say it in reference to me.

22. She loves guacamole! She will eat all of it off of the chip, and leave the chip for more guac!

23. Our nanny calls her "Cheecha." Apparently this is a term of endearment where she is from.

24. Her favorite word is "cracker."

Our Family:

25. In August, these four Schrib's will become five.

Swallow Study

Wow, it's been a while since my last post, huh?

Lindley had another swallow study on Monday. This is the test where we see if she is still aspirating thin liquids. We found out that she still is struggling with juice and water, so we are still thickening those types. The therapist is not recommending the stimulation therapy (i.e. shock therapy) because her swallowing muscles really aren't the problem, she just gulps down too much at a time. So, we just have to wait for her to figure it out!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Can You Say Cheese?

I never do this, but...

I made my first diaper cake for a friend's baby shower. I am not a very crafty person, but I was pleased with how this turned out. Ben asked if he could eat it. And, so did the guys that came to the shower (it was a work event, so it was mixed company). Remember the girl who I was throwing the surprise baby shower for and I sent her the invitation? This was for her.

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Our Backyard Friends

We got to go see the Backyardigans Tale of the Mighty Knights show today at the Nokia Theater thanks to some tickets that Uncle Brad scored for us. It was a fun, and much needed, family outing. Lindley had fun dancing to the music in the first act, but was ready for a nap in the second act.

Ben is a knight, that's right!

Photo Ben-ism

Ben loves to take pictures with our camera. He got a hold of our camera the other day. Here were the pictures that he took...