Stomach VIRUS

Beware of the stomach virus that is going around. I am pretty sure I got it from Lakeview Elementary where I subbed today because it was the first time I subbed all week. I didn't do much else this week besides go to the mall, have Erica and Claire over, and feed my cousins cats!

I started feeling sick around 5ish and thought it had just been something I ate...I did enjoy a doughnut at school this morning something I haven't indulged in for quite sometime. We headed over to Jamie and Nate's house around 8 and I thought if I just kept drinking water it would eventually go away...BOY WAS I WRONG! I ended up getting sick at their house around 10 and on the way home around 40th & Hwy 2~ NOT COOL. It ended up sticking around until about 3 or 4 am and all Saturday I felt WORTHLESS. Jared was a good sport and entertained Reef for most of the day, letting me sleep and try to eat a little.

Jared ended up enjoying the condensed version of the virus around 4 am Monday morning. I call it the condensed version because it was no where near what I had and he DID NOT enjoy having it come out both ends at the same time! Pretty tricky...I'll leave it at that!

Why I have a blog

I love updating family and friends on our family's life and what's great about a blog is that you can write WHATEVER you please because it's your blog. If you don't like what I write, that's fine, you can harbor an opinion, but something that I learned in elementary school still rings true for today and will continue to stay true for the rest of my life: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

I know I am confusing some people right now, but that's okay. I was recently so hurt by a comment that I broke down. I have NEVER said anything offensive on this blog and will continue to write what I wish because as I said before it is MY blog. If you have a problem with something I write, please take it up with me personally.

Thanks and have a great day.

B A N A N A S

Reef LOVES his food and we haven't found anything he doesn't like, so far. He has had carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans, pears, applesauce, bananas, rice cereal, and baby oatmeal cereal. Yesterday we added some cheerios which he enjoyed very much (Enzo enjoyed the "fallen soldiers" that didn't make it into Reef's mouth.)

Today we tried whole bananas in the fresh food feeder and although it was slightly messy, Reef LOVED feeding himself and sucking the bananas out of it. I can't wait to put other food in the feeder and have him feed himself! What a big boy.

Dirt pie anyone??

I think Reef was trying to "hide" in the rubber plant with his camo on! This was not the first, nor the last, I suspect, that he will enjoy a hand full of dirt. Yum, yum! Being the great mother I am, I raced to get the camera to capture this kodak moment instead of getting him out of the dirt. I do admit the first time this happened I grabbed him out of their and washed him off, but then I was disappointed I didn't get a picture! What a quick, clever little guy!

Reef's favorite chew toy

Reef's favorite chew toy is also one of Enzo's favorite. It's hard to keep them separate, so I do the best I can....disinfect!

Visiting Great grandma/pa Mundt

Reef and I headed down to Crete at about 9 am so we could get a few errands run before visiting grandma Ruth and grandpa Leon. I put my substitute application down there so I can sub on Thursdays and Fridays as needed and mom and dad can watch Reef.

Our daycare provider, who we were so grateful to have, affectionately known as "grammy", resigned recently due to health issues so we had to come up with something quick so we could still make ends meet. Mom and Dad volunteered graciously even though they still have full time jobs (and work out of the home.) I'm sure we won't need them very often, but it's something. My cousin Jen has always helped out when needed, so we will still use her occasionally and my friend Breanna has volunteered to watch Reef a couple times a week and I am going to watch her kids a once or twice a week as she gets jobs. She is also a substitute, or she was, until she had the twins 2 1/2 months ago! This gives her a chance to get out of the house and have free childcare and me to continue to help our finances!

Back to visiting with g'ma and g'pa. I took care of the sub stuff and went over to their apartment. They weren't home so I called dad and he gave me their "usual" schedule. I found them at their favorite coffee shop enjoying a latte. Boy were they shocked to see us waltz in as if we went there all the time! We visited a bit there and then went back to their apartment for lunch. Fried chicken and the fixin's! It was a good trip down.

After we got back into Lincoln we stopped at Everett Elem. to visit some old friends! It's always good to see friendly faces that I miss from last year.

7 months old

So 7 Months came and went SUPERFAST. I cannot believe we are more than 1/2 way through a year. It also seems faster because Reef is just doing new things so quickly. He is crawling everywhere, Pulling himself up on everything...not just "Reef-height" things, the fridge, the dresser, the wall...wherever! He also will "walk" around after he pulls himself up on something, holding onto whatever he pulled himself up on. He has tried to take a step toward me, but it's mainly leaning forward and falling to me. Silly boy forgets to move his feet!

He heftily (is that a word?!?) weighs in around 20 lbs and is still stretching upward...I haven't gotten the tape measure out to see just how tall he's getting. Someday soon I will, if I think about it! Overall he's a good boy and just loves to explore. OH how I wish it were nice out so we could explore outside too! I know he's getting cramped up inside so we make many outings to friends houses and the mall to explore different places.

What a joy to have a baby boy!

Playdate at Nicole's

We went over to a new friend through Breanna, Nicole's house this morning for a playdate. Nicole has a daughter, Alex, who just turned 3 so she and Ella, Breanna's 3 (almost 4 year old) get along really well. We enjoyed chatting and playing with the kids before heading to Target to get some diapers! It's nice making new friends that have kids!

It's my birthday...or it was 3 days ago!

We had people over to celebrate my birthday, although it was really just to hang out. We enjoyed food, as always. We watched a movie, although I really didn't pay much attention because I was tending to Reef and playing with Renae and just talking to the ladies. We also played a game of Apples to Apples. We have had the game for a couple years now and had never opened it. It was pretty fun, and would be even more fun with a larger group of people. By the time we started playing half of our guests had already left. Lindsey, Pat and Breanna were the only one's left! It was still fun, especially after all the babies were asleep! What a great night!

Moving all around

Reef has officially explored every square inch of our house whether we liked it or not! He is a quick little guy and if you think he's playing with something appropriate on minute, be prepared for him to get into something NOT SO appropriate. So far he has found my rubber plant (and the dirt!), Enzo's dog food/water dish, the shelves with the alcohol bottles, the recycle bin, etc.

Here's Reef in the kitchen where he likes to take the magnets off the fridge and eat them. Luckily he just chews a little...so far...

Happy Birthday to ME!

27 years old... I really am starting to feel older. Maybe it's the fact that I am now a mother and still get woken up at least 1 time per night. Maybe it's that so many friends have kids or are pregnant, taking the next step in their lives or just growing up!

I had a great day. Reef and I hung out in our jammies for the morning and then we met Lindsey for lunch. The afternoon was spent playing and relaxing and then we headed over to Zach and Karli's for supper. They fixed us salmon and cauliflower puree. We watched American Idol and ate chocolate cake. The babies enjoyed playing with each other too!

Walking the Mall

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Since it's been so cold out I've been going to the mall to walk and of course window browse. Today Reef and I met Erica and Claire for lunch and a little exercise. We had to stop at the play area by Younkers and Dillards to see what the little tykes could do. Since we hadn't seen Erica or Claire for awhile, they were amazed at how much Reef is getting around. Reef really liked to pull himself up on this fish and Claire liked climbing the stairs and sliding down the ramp (which I failed to get a picture of.) I also tried to get Reef to crawl through this tunnel, but I didn't have any luck! It was a fun afternoon and we left the mall just in time to dodge the snow that came quickly this afternoon.

Girls NIGHT OUT

I enjoyed a girls night and Jared was able to hang out with some buddies while Reef was entertaining Grammy and Grampy Rohrs tonight!

I went and picked up Breanna and we met a few other friends downtown around 7:30. For those of you familiar with the downtown scene, it's NOT BUSY at that time, but we had a good time talking. We had some Elk Creek Water at Sandy's and then went to Iguana's and Voda (the martini bar located in the back of Iguana's) I dropped Breanna off back at home around 11:00 and was home "early." Jared picked up Reef and we enjoyed our time out.

Pictured: Breanna, Dez and I

Visiting Grampy after knee surgery

Today Rick gets to go home after being at the surgical center from Tuesday Morning on. His knee replacement went well, and since he's such a strong-willed guy, I'm sure his recovery will be quick. Reef got to visit Grampy Rick several times at the surgical center and of course the nurses ate him up. Although Reef had a slight cold the whole week, we knew it would be alright to visit for short periods of time.

While Rick was in the shower, Reef got command of the remote and the bed! He wasn't too sure of the whole hospital atmosphere and was wondering why Grampy was laying in bed all day! Hopefully when Rick goes in to get his other knee done Reef won't be too much of a handful as I'm guessing we might be dealing with a walker by April 7th!

GO GATORS!

Jared enjoyed the first half of the game at Lincoln Surgical Center with his dad, but was getting too anxious and had to come home for the second half. Cyndi, Reef, Enzo and I enjoyed the game from our house and had pizza, pie and ice cream as a special treat. Ok, well, maybe Cyndi and I enjoyed those treats along with some adult barley pops as well. Enzo always enjoys his dog food and Reef had some yummy sweet potatoes and rice cereal.

This was definitely a game that you couldn't just sit back and relax to, and if you were, you don't have a pulse! We were getting into it and I was pretty tired! It was fun and exhilerating all at the same time, but I have a happy household for at least another year with the gators coming out on top!

I was taking pictures of Reef in his new gator warm ups and as I was looking through the pictures this one stuck out and it almost looks like he's striking the Heisman pose! I thought it was cute, and of course Jared liked it!

Here's to another year of Tim Tebow!

Busy Guy

Reef has been sooo busy lately crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on anything he can reach. It has been a learning experience on what he can get to and what he SHOULDN'T be getting into. I definitely DO NOT fall into the overprotective parent roll because I think they need to learn, to an extent, the consequences to their actions. Sometimes, though, I am a bit too lenient and forget just how strong my little man is. Take, for example, the other day he was crawling and playing in his room, exploring and I forgot that the small metal shelf that has a few toys on it WOULD NOT be strong enough to support a little monkey pulling himself up on it and what do you know, it toppled over and a wooden toy bonked Reef's little head. Cue crying and terrified little boy! Needless to say, that shelf is no longer taking residence in Reef's room. I went around and tested a few other appliences in his room to make sure this wouldn't happen again!

It has been fun to see Reef developing into a little boy, although it's happening MUCH faster than I thought it would. I knew he was a strong little man, and he's hit his other milestones early, so it's to be expected, but I don't think you ever are ready for your baby to grow up!

First Veggie

Today Reef got his first taste of "real" food: Pureed sweet potatoes! He enjoyed them VERY much, even with having a slight cold that we caught from a friend! Luckily it isn't too bad and we won't be needing to go to the doctor. I checked with the friend and they had been to the doctor and said it will just have to run it's course and it'll take about 10 days to fully go away! FUN, fun. I calculate that we've "had" the cold for about 3 days, so the worse is yet to come.

This morning Reef didn't want to eat much cereal, and I am guessing it's because his nose is quite stuffy and he has a slight cough. He's getting enough milk from me, I'm not going to push it. It should be quite interesting to see how the cold is progressing and how he enjoys the food! I can't wait to start something else....in 3-5 days as is recommended! I'm sure he won't have allergies since neither Jared or I have them, but it's better to be safe than sorry!

Snot bubble

As with most illnesses babies get, you can't avoid snot. Look on the bright side. There are always snot bubbles!

Baby food with Grammy Cyndi

Today Reef and I headed over to Rick and Cyndi's to make some babyfood! I had made sweet potatoes, carrots and squash with my mom back in November and we were getting ready to start fruits and veggies, so I decided it was time to start stocking up our supply. We ended up making green beans, peas, pears and applesauce. It was a good day to be inside as it was QUITE cold outdoors.

We were able to use mini muffin pans and ice cube trays to freeze the batch and tomorrow we will vacuum seal them with my new vacuum sealer I received for Christmas! That tool is going to come in VERY handy, especially when buying in bulk. Sam's Club, here I come! :)

Go Huskers!!!

We headed back over to Joe and Ivy's for the football game and I had quite the ordeal getting my husband out of bed! Reef woke up at 8 and wanted to nurse, but then he let me go back to sleep for another 2 hours and then we were up for the day. Jared on the other hand slept until about 11:30 when I woke him and said that I'd like to get going to watch the game.

We were on the road at 10 after 12. Pretty good for him, considering he took a shnap (shower-nap.) We got there in time to wonder if we'd make it through the game not looking like amateurs! I headed out to get us some grub...$5.55 Hot and Ready pizza! Pizza Pizza! And we watched the game...using the term WE loosely of course as Jared and most of the other guests at Joe and Ivy's took a nap during the game at one point or another! Reef was even able to take a 30 minute snooze during the 3rd quarter.

It was a good day, but long, after a long night before and we headed home before supper to relax. So far, so good 2009!