Dreaming of Warmer Weather

So more weekends can be spent at the park!

She did not want me holding on to her to take a picture!

The daredevil loves to go down the slide head first!

The stats are in!

At 15 months:

32.5 Inches tall

27 lbs 4 oz heavy

Since I am missing the percentiles, a useful comparison… we saw a friend of mine and her little boy who is 13 months older than Leah in the waiting room, and Leah was the EXACT same size as him!!

Side Note: With my new job, our insurance changed.   With the new insurance, our Pediatrician became out of network.   As much as we LOVE her, we just cannot pay hundreds of dollars to see her.   I was completely heartbroken to change doctors.   To a point of tears! I used the recommendations of a friend, and my OB, and found a new Dr.   She is nice… but not the same at all!   After Leah's check up yesterday I was again in tears!   The new Dr. did not seem nearly as through-oh (how on earth do you spell that!?) as the old.   The office is not as nice.   She did not give me the percentiles that I LOVE. I am just so upset!   Next year we will be getting the more expensive health insurance just so we can return to our previous Pediatrician!   I miss her!   I want to write her a letter telling her we did not leave her willingly… that she is amazing… and we will return!   Is that weird!?  I am obviously in love with a doctor!

Other exciting traits of my favorite 15 month old include:

·         Loves using a fork.   I love how less messy she is!

·         Willingly gives up her binkie!    We still have it, but only for sleeping and car rides.   New goal is to get rid of it completely by 18 months.  Eeeh. That makes me nervous. She could probably get rid of it now, but I feel comforted by it!

·         Is a great talker…. In her own secret language.   She does say a few words… but they are so sporadic.  

·         Tries to sing.   It's the cutest thing in the whole wide world!   I can only tell she is singing because she mumbles the same sounds over and over while doing hand gestures.   The only "song" we can identify is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.    She does it in the car, at dinner, while laying in bed, and while shopping….

·         Loves to squeal in excitement.   Her new think is just running round yelling.

·         Loves daycare so much that it's now a struggle to get her to leave!  I usually walk in her room, she sees me, runs to give me a hug, and then starts running around the room squealing.  Then proceeds to show me all her favorite toys.

·         Pays a lot more attention to the cats, but will swat at them when they get too close to her toys. She does not like to share.

·         LOVES to be outside!  Will throw the most epic tantrums when it is time to go inside.

·         Throws everything. The other night I got hit in the head with a singing tea pot.    This may be good for her athletic career, but not so good for her ability to fit into society.

·         Does this adorable thing where she puts her hands on her head and then takes them off and give this "Oh No!" look.   I have no idea where it came from.

·         Just plain AMAZING!

I want to be the BEST darn it!

I have a confession.

There is a part of me that seriously drives me crazy, and I wish I could calm it down....

I have this internal drive to be the BEST at EVERYTHING, otherwise I completely  freak out.

Maybe its the Virgo in me.  

According to this website:

The real stand-out feature of the Virgo personality is their commitment to excellence in everything they do. This is a person who once committed to a given task, will complete it to the very best of his ability. If something goes wrong, and the task is incomplete or not perfectly done, it will be on Virgo's mind for some time to come.


Or maybe its the fact that in school I was always one of the top students.  In sports, I was always one of the top players.   At my old job, I knew everything.

I feel like I grew up being good at everything... and now I  just do not how to deal with it if I am not.

A great example is how I freak out around exam time.  The threat of FAILING throws my whole world upside down.   I get sick to my stomach. I cant sleep.  I seriously go crazy cleaning the house. I take my anxiety out on Brian.   Speaking of anxiety, I probably get to a point where most doctors would prescribe me some calming pills... I freak out.

I know I cant be good at everything.... failing is part of life.   But damn it, I can try!!

However, I would like to thank this trait for teaching me determination and how to work hard.  I am very lucky in my life, and am at a great place.   This "bad" trait of mine is probably why I am where I am today....  

But... I just need to learn to accept that doing my best is OK, even if it means not being the best.

  

My Baby is Stressed!

She is up for hours during the night.

 

Tossing and turning.

 

Staring at the walls.  

 

She insists on having someone in the room with her while she lays quietly, wide eyed.

 

If we try to sneak out, she screams hysterically….

 

So instead we lay on her floor, staring at the ceiling in unison.

 

We are at a loss. 

 

Suggestions? Please.

too cute for words

Guess What I found?

I just opened our refridgerator to grab an essential... a diet coke.

Yes, today is grocery shopping day.... but it usually doesnt look too much better than this... All you really need it Milk, Beer, and Diet Coke right!?!?

And what did I unexpectantly find? .... A paint brush.

I have NO IDEA how it got there.... and ya know what, my first thought was "Blog about it!" so I grabbed my camera... snapped pictures, and headed to the computer....

The paint brush is still in there...

Miss Independent

Kim G

Life in Pictures

I was your all american kid.... playing lots of sports, good grades, involved in everything...

Yep, thats MVP in Soccer, Most Imporved in Volleyball, and Academic Award (Best grades) in Basketball.

But I decided to forefit any athletic scholorships to college because I was majorly burnt out, and wanted a normal college experience.... so I headed off to Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO)

I had an awesome 4 years, met people that would change my life, and lead me to my husband!

We were young and in love.... and knew right away that we would be togehter forever!

I married my friend, my lover, my soul mate June 21, 2008

We created the perfect little family!

We have two kitties who are about 6 months older than Leah.... and finally out growing their kitten stage!

This is Cora

This is Jax.  

They are siblings, adopted thru an animal shelter when they were about 9 weeks old. Jax is the big boy of the littler, and Cora is the runt.

I am also the middle child of 3. I have amazing siblings!  My brother is an engineer with an amazing wife who live too far away.... and my baby sister is just finding her way, a freshman in college.

A few weeks ago we took photos for my parents... our family has grown with the addtion of 3 amazing people.

Sorry! Its a photo of a photo!

I work in down town St. Louis as an Actuarial Analyst.

I work in the big building on the left, with all the windows.... but sometimes I just work from home instead....

Part of becoming an Actuary means passing LOTS of exams.... I study ALOT.... But luckily I get paid study time! Its amazing!

Sometimes I have to study around baby scribbles... I wont complain.

Our newest excitement is the fact that we are trying to sell our house.... We hope to move back to my home town and build our dream home!

so that we can continue this happy little life !

Project Move: The Waiting Game

I have ZERO patience.

Our house has only been on the market for a week but I am ready for something to happen!!

We have been doing AWESOME at keeping the house clean! It really is pretty easy if you do it each night... I feel so much better coming home to a clean house, going to bed with a clean house, waking up to a clean house... I really hope this becomes a habit!

We have had 2 individual showings, and an open house.... pretty good for the first week I guess.... but somebody buy it please!! 

We keep getting the same feed back... the house looks great, but the carpet either needs to be cleaned or replace, and we need to replace our pink counter tops. 

I understand the comments but:

 1. Leah has ruined our carpet... there is no point for us to put in new carpet because we will just be right back to square one in a few months.

 2. our counter tops are not that bad! Yes, they are pink, but they could be ALOT worse!! What if they were blue or green or something!? The pink atleast matches somewhat... do we spend a grand and put in something brown and tan? I am sure it would look better, but is it worth it? It obviously did not bother Brian when he bought the house.

See! Not ridiculously pink!

This whole house-selling process is an emotional rollercoaster.   We have everything picked out in our next house, the plans are almost finalized, we are dreaming about it in our sleep, but we just have to get over this very difficult hurdle!! The thought of waiting months and months to get moving on our plans is agonizing...

Yesterday Brian and I had Chinese.   His fortune cookie said something big would happen 3 months from the day... we get an offer? We close? We move? I hope its right!

May 13th? What do you hold for us?

Big girl

Kim G

So What!?

Yes, I have a degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

Yes, I willingly take 2 math exams a year, study hundreds of hours, doing math problem after math problem....

But does that mean I am good at simple math!??  

NOOOOO.

Give me algebra and calculus any day.

But ask me to add big numbers together in my head.... I will most likely get it wrong, unless you give me like 2 minutes to do it!

Here is proof: <---- a typical math activity.

Leah's daycare just increased its monthly price.   It used to be 1127.00 a month.  (I am telling you the ridiculous number that we pay in childcare, for ONE child, because I hope some day I will look  back and think, "WOW! That was cheap!")

This month it increased.

My husband and I had a little conversation last night....

Brian - I thought you said daycare went up 15 dollars?

Me - It did.

Brian - Then why did you write a check for 1132.00?

Me - Because it went up fift.... OHHHHHHH. 

And therefore... I am not good at simple math.




This post is not only true, but also part of the Working Mommy Wednesday's writing prompt for this week.

That's Not Trash!!

I love that Leah is learning new things everyday!

When she started  helping to throw things away I thought, "AWESOME!"

But now I realize that it might not be so awesome....

We need to keep an eye on her.

Today she was doing great at throwing a few items away for me so I thought I would try "Leah, will you take your cup to the Kitchen?"

She got up, holding her cup, and waddled off to the kitchen... except the cup never made it to the counter (Yes, my child is a giant and can put things on the counter at 14 months) instead, it ended up in the trash can.

Then later today we were at the relator's office to discuss a few things.  We were in a small office room and ended up just leting Leah do whatever to entertain herself.   She did great! Did not fuss at all and tried to join in on the conversation a few times.  

When we headed out the door Brian realized he could not find this phone.    We went back to the room and dialed his number....

It was in the trash can.  

She's a stinker!  

But I wouldnt have it any other way!

Sleet Day 2011

It went much better than Snow Day 2011.

I dont know if it was the fact that Brian was home too.... working, but home....

Or the fact that my office closed down for the day so I did not have to attempt to work...

Or the fact that Leah is a few weeks older, more mature, and I felt more prepared to entertain her...

But Sleet Day 2011 wasnt so bad!

We had breakfast,

We played in her tent (which I had forgotten about)

We had lunch.

We took a good nap.

We read books.

We did laundry.

We went outside for a bit.

I thought ahead and made pot roast in the slow cooker for dinner.

We had a CLEAN bath.

The day was long, but Mommy is not nearly as tired as she was last time.

Now there is a slight chance that Leah will be home tomorrow as well.... I am not sure if day 2 will go as well as day 1.... lets keep our fingers crossed!!