Wireless Again

5 weeks after I spilled water on the laptop and shorted out the internal wireless card, we have finally replaced it and installed it. I no longer have to be in my bedroom to be on the internet. Yeah!!!

Sling Suggestions??

I have a very needy 5 week old and I looking into getting a sling to carry her in around the house instead of snugli (because I'm home alone and it's hard to properly put her in by myself) so that I can get SOMETHING done in the evenings.

There are so many different ones. Does anyone out there have any suggestions??

Time Flies When You're.....

Having fun, overwhelmed, stressed, loving life, holding an infant constantly.....

I can't believe 1 week from Monday is when I went back to work with Bekah. I can't even imagine doing that this time. Maybe it's because I've known for a long time that I wasn't going back till August. ???

Because Sarah came a few weeks early, I will have to take more unpaid days than anticipated to stay off through the end of the end, but it is well worth it. I did some calculations, and if I was still teaching at SACS in Indiana, I would have to take the same number of unpaid days just to be off for 6 weeks, let alone the last 9 weeks of school that I'm going to be off. SACS didn't let you use a sick bank for maternity leave. You could only use your sick days and then take unpaid days.

God has provided for our family in so many ways, and I know that He will keep providing. He is watching over us all the time!!!

Our Daughters

Last night we had our Life Group (small group) meeting. At the end, one of the gentlemen was praying for me, giving me strength to take care of the kids when I'm by myself, etc. It really struck me for the first time that I have KIDS. Not just one, but 2. It is overwhelming at times, but we still feel very blessed.

A Beautiful Weekend

Bobby put a tarp up over the middle beam of Bekah's swing set to create shade, and we had a glorious time outside this weekend. The weather was amazing. Bekah played in her water table, went down her slide, and chased me around the yard trying to get me wet. Sarah didn't have as much fun as everyone else. She really is a fussy baby during the day. She wants to be held ALL THE TIME when she's not in a deep sleep (and this isn't very often during the day). Luckily she is doing a lot better at calming down at night. It's probably because she's COMPLETELY worn out by the time night rolls around.

Big Sister

Bekah loves watching Sarah. When Sarah's not eating or sleeping, Bekah wants to be right there near her. She is such a good big sister. When Sarah isn't laying under her "activity gym," Bekah likes to lay under it. She thinks it's cool!!

Semi-Content

Jumping on the Weitekamp's Trampoline

Or as Bekah calls it, "jumpy, jumpy on the black."

This is one of our new favorite things to do. Bekah LOVES it and it so much fun to watch. We do have to be really careful and watch her because she doesn't know exactly what it means to stay in the middle.

New Pictures/Post Coming Soon.....

Things have been busy/hectic/stressful, so I've not had time to post. I have been taking pictures though, and will post with stories ASAP.
Paula

Big, Beautiful Girl, Growing up Too Fast

Contentment

Today, while Bobby and Rebekah went to Walmart to get him a few things, I fed Sarah, changed her diaper, and put some lavender lotion on Sarah’s dry feet and hands. She got so content after I did this.

First “Real” Bath

Sarah’s stub from her umbilical cord finally fell off yesterday at 3 weeks. (I think Bekah’s fell off after 1 week) We had a wonderful time giving her a bath as a family. I thought Bekah would just lean over the side of the tub and help. She had other plans. She wanted to get in the tub also. At first I didn’t want her to do this. She started crying. I took off her shirt and let her get in the big tub next to Sarah. She had sooooo much fun helping wash Sarah. She is such a good big sister!

Sisterly Love

Before bedtime, Bekah sitting beside Sarah in her bouncy seat, talking to her and showing her toys.

Playing in the Gym

At the seminary, most of the day, the gym is open for people to play. On Thursday, we took Bekah (and Sarah) to play. We shot hoops, kicked Bekah’s little yellow soccer ball around, and climbed the bleachers counting the steps NUMEROUS times. It was a lot of fun. Bekah must have run up and down the court 30-40 times. She was a hoot to watch!! Here is a picture where she fell and got right back up, like usual.

First Washing of the Hair

I remember us washing Bekah’s hair the first week home from the hospital. We have definitely gotten lazy with #2. Sarah had her hair really washed for the first time this past Tuesday. Here is a picture of how beautiful she looked after her hair was washed.

40 weeks and funny story from the hospital

I thought it would be funny to post a picture from today, my original due date. Everything is pretty much back to normal, except for my abs. They weren't in tip top condition to begin with, but they still have a bit to go before they are where they were.

Funny story: At the hospital, about half an hour after I had Sarah, the nurse came in and said that I was officially registered, so I could go ahead and get the epidural now. We all laughed because Sarah had come so quick that I wasn't even officially checked in to get the epidural if there had been time.

More Photos

Reading Books last night

Today, Sarah's cropped out of the picture cause I was feeding her, but this is how Bekah fell asleep after we came home from the library. She just wanted to be near Mom.

We had hopes of going to see Elijah Green Stephens, the son of Paul and Kelly Stephens

who was born FINALLY yesterday after being almost a week over due. She was originally due 9 days before me and I had Sarah 16 before she had Elijah. Hopefully we will get there tomorrow morning to the see the big boy. He weighed in at 9 lbs 6 oz and 22.5 inches. Congrats Paul and Kelly.

Photos

Our 2 1/2 year old

I cannot believe how big she is getting! I cannot believe that it was 2.5 years ago today that she came into this world. I remember holding her in my arms and thinking about how little she was at 5 lbs, 14 oz. and 19.25 inches. She was tiny!! She was also 3.5 weeks early, but she was perfect. Absolutely no problems. We were/are so lucky. She is such a joy! She always wants to hold Sarah, sits next to Sarah's bouncy seat and shows her toys, etc, and is just a real joy to have around the house. She is so talkative. She speaks so well in so many sentences. She counts in Spanish, knows many Spanish phrases, and uses them correctly in her speech.
I cannot imagine our lives without her. She is such an amazing gift. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her. She is going to be an amazing woman when she grows up.

Easter Weekend

Wow, what a cold Easter weekend! Because of the chilly temperatures, we had to compromise and have our Easter egg hunt inside instead of out. I bought 3 different kinds of plastic eggs to put Bekah's treats in: Elmo, Princess (Ariel, Cinderella, etc.) and Dora. Bekah would only let the Princess eggs in her basket. She kept taking out the Elmo and Dora ones and putting them on the floor, bed, etc. It was so weird!!





I purchased a glittery egg kit decorating eggs. While I fed Sarah Saturday evening, Bobby and Bekah decorating eggs together. The kit had many more steps than I thought. Bobby was a bit frustrated by the task, but he and Bekah enjoyed spending time together. We also enjoyed watching Veggies Tales: An Easter Carol together.

Sunday, we got all dressed up (bundled up) for church. Both girls looked beautiful in their pink dresses, covered by little jackets, of course. We came home from church and had a nice meal of ham, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. This is the first time in a while that we've been home by ourselves for Easter. We are usually traveling. It was nice to be home, but I missed being cooked for. :~)

All in all, it was a nice Easter weekend.

Random Pictures

Naps for all the Girls

Tonight is the second night that I have been completely by myself with the girls. Before Bobby left for work around 4:20, he was able to get Sarah to go down for a nap. Bekah was settled on the couch under a blanket watching Dora. For the last 3 days she hasn’t had a nap and has gone to bed around 8 PM. Well, today, about 10 minutes after Daddy left for work, she fell asleep watching Dora. I called Bobby to tell him that she had fallen asleep and instead of running around wearing myself out I was gone to lie down on the couch and relax. I laid down on the couch and started to watch last night’s episode of According to Jim that I had DVRed. I soon started to dose and missed about 12 minutes of the show. I woke up, turned it off, and went to sleep. I woke up almost an hour later. Both girls were still sleeping. I was able to get dinner, finish According to Jim, and watch part of America’s Next Top Model. (I know, but I really like it!! I have given up American Idol this year!!) Sarah woke up around 6:30. Bekah woke up around 7 as I was finishing feeding Sarah. I know that this will rarely happen, but it was so nice to get some sleep while the girls napped also. It was very good for my soul :~)

More Family

My sister and her family were here from Friday night until Tuesday noon. It was really nice to spend time with them and get some help around the house. My nephews were really cute with Sarah. My nephew Ethan (who is almost 3) wanted to hold her and called her his Sarah. He also calls Bekah his Bekah. My nephew Dylan (who is 6 ½) at first did not want anything to do with Sarah, but later told me that Sarah is so cute. We are so lucky to have these boys as our nephews. I am glad that Bobby has a chance to spend time with his nephews since he doesn’t have boys.

Even though the weather called for rain, we ended up having a beautiful weekend of weather. I am so glad. I cannot imagine if it had been cold and we couldn’t have been outside. It would have been very loud all the time. When Bekah gets together with her cousins, they have a lot of fun, but they are very loud!!

My brother-in-law Rich spoiled us rotten with all the food he cooked. My sister definitely got lucky when she found this one. He can cook!! The weekend consisted of a Rachel Ray recipe of Moo Shoo Pork Pockets that we ate in lettuce cups, cooking out, and an amazing chicken with mushroom/zucchini risotto. Mmmmm!! Bobby and Rich, along with Dylan, also cooked part of breakfast on Monday over an open fire in the backyard. That’s my adventurous husband that loves the outdoors!!

My sister Melissa used her gifts while she was here to reorganize the toys, help me put up the maternity clothes and get out my spring clothes, wash dishes, and also hold the fussy baby so I could get a few things done.

Thank you Gary Family!! We love you very much and can’t wait to see you in May for Ethan’s birthday!! Sarah and Bekah will have grown so much by then.

10 Days Later...

I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. The same thing happened with Bekah. 10 days. Now I just have to get the small amount of ab muscles I have back doing what they're supposed to do so more of my pants fit. :~)
Things are good. Sarah definitely has a fussy time in the evenings. She ate every 2.5 hours up until she went to bed, and from 3-11 pm, except when I was feeding her, she fussed, but then she went down at 11:30 and didn't get up until 7:30 am. I will post updated pictures when I've downloaded from the camera.