KOCHER CHRISTMAS

SWANSON CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS MORNING

FLORIDA FUN

We enjoyed our trip to Florida. The weather was 80 degrees every day. Paige asked to "Go Swimmin" every morning at 5 am. We were able to hold out until 8am for our first dip in the super cold Gulf waters. If you ask her she will tell you all about "getting wet in water" and her most favorite story is "the birdie ate my chip". Our picnic on the beach turned into an attack of 1 million seagulls. They ate a chip right out of Paige's hand.
Friday we spent the day at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Paige loved all of the animals, especially the monkeys. She would tell us many times a day "I wanna see monkeys"
Saturday we were able to spend some time with some of my relatives that live in Florida.
The wedding for Megan and Ryan was beautiful. It was on the beach at sunset, we are so so thankful that we were able to be there for their big day.
It was hard to come back to Illinois, with freezing rain and snow. We are glad to be home for Christmas. Florida just doesn't feel like Christmas.
It was a wonderful trip - we are already planning our next stay in Florida.

VACATION

We leave for Florida tomorrow morning. One of Jed's best friends since grade school is getting married down there -- So, we get to go on vacation. We will be back on the 23rd, just in time for Santa to visit.
I will post lots of pictures and stories when we return.
Merry Christmas Everyone!!

SANTA BABY

SNOW DAY!!!!!!

POTTY TRAINING UPDATE

Paige has been wearing big girl panties since Monday and is doing great. Tue and Wed she had the flu so she did not wear them much. Thursday she wore them in the car and stayed dry. Friday I had the flu - she did not have any accidents for Jed. Sat. we went to Wal-Mart and got more panties. She chose Elmos this time. She did just fine when we ran errands. She learned quickly at Wal-Mart that the drinking fountain is by the bathroom. She asked to go potty 3 times and always needed a drink afterwards also. Sat. night we went to a basketball game and she did great. We went potty as soon as we got to the school. When we were walking out of the bathroom she told everyone we walked by "I potty, I potty" and everyone just smiled at her and told her "good job." She wakes up 1/2 the time wet and 1/2 the time dry at naptime. She does have a couple of accidents during the day, which make her very sad that she has to take off her panties. She still wears diapers to bed, which she does not want to do at all.
I will keep you posted on how it goes. So far I prefer a little extra laundry over buying more diapers.

WEEK #21 BELLY

OK, I will have to do better at these pictures. I did not realize how much my stomach had grown, until I looked back at week #14. I have to wear all maternity or really big clothes right now. Last I checked I had gained a total of 10 pounds. Paige loves to kiss my belly, tickle my belly, and rub my belly. Then she does it to Jed's belly and her belly. She thinks that we all have babies in our bellies right now. I am feeling great. My only complaint is that my legs bother me a lot when I stand and I am getting some varicose veins. So, I have started to wear support hose - yeah!!

SONOGRAM PHOTOS

These are not the best quality. I tried to take a picture of a picture. But they are so darn cute I wanted you all to see our little person.

CHRISTMAS TREE HUNTING

We had a blast playing in the snow today. Paige and I got up at 5:30am, not knowing that the ground was going to be covered with snow. I woke up Jed. I wanted to go out in it right then. It is amazing how having a child can make you feel like a child again. I did not want Paige to miss the snow. Jed told me that we were not going out in the snow. He said that I could go back to bed and he would stay up with Paige. I dreamt that when I woke up all of the snow was melted and that Jed and I had a fight over whether we should come in through the garage or the front door when we are done playing in the snow. When I awoke there was still lots of snow. We got in a couple of hours before going to church and then went and got our tree. The trees were so covered in snow we do not really know what ours looks like. It is very wet right now so we are going to wait to put it in the house.

WEARING PANTIES!!!

Sorry for the fuzzy picture.

Yes, Paige is wearing panties (kind of). She is so interested in going on the potty and goes many, many times throughout the day. We were at WalMart yesterday and bought some Dora panties. She wore them all afternoon and only had one accident. Today has been a sick day, so we haven't had any on today. Gosh, she looks so darn cute in them though. Will keep you updated on how she does.

LONG TIME - NO POST

Paige and Daddy reading bedtime stories. Paige with her friends at the park.

Paige and Adam dancing. Paige loves to put her swimmin'suits on around her waist. Then she begs and begs to go swimmin'

Cute outfit, picked out by Paige herself.

Paige's Pumkin.

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile - 1 month just flew by again.

Promise this week that I will have a new belly picture- it will be 21 weeks!

Lots of fun Paige pictures from the last month.

OUR DAYS

Yesterday after all of the children that I babysit (5 of them) left I just took a deep breath and thought WOW, we have some crazy days. It is a great crazy and I am glad that it is my life right now.
5:30-6:00 am - Paige wakes up and she is ready to "eat, eat" and "go outside" It is still very dark at this time, but that doesn't seem to stop her from wanting to go outside.
6:00-7:30 am - Paige eats her cereal and asks "where Ana (Adam) go? and where Aubry go?" Mon-Fri I can tell her that they will be here soon. On weekends we answer this question thousands of times, along with every other friend she has, "where _____ go?"
7:15-7:30 am - Aubry and Adam arrive. Aubry has to eat a quick breakfast and be ready for the school bus to pick her up at 7:35. At the beginning of the school year I would put her, Adam and Paige in the car, drive to school, get all 3 out of the car walk into school, put Paige and Adam back in the car and drive home.
7:35-10:45 am - Free time with Paige and Adam. Playing, reading, painting, coloring, running errands, snack -- very fun time.
10:45-11:30 am- lunch, potty, and down for naps
1:15 pm - Paige wakes up from nap
1:45 pm - I wake up Aubry and Adam from nap
1:55 pm - Get in the car or walk to school to get after school kids
2:15-5:00 pm- Back home with Zach, Sarah and Cassie and Aubry, Adam and Paige. Eat snack, do homework and play. Between 4:30 and 5:00 all kids get picked up.
5:00-8:00 pm - make supper and eat. Play with Paige. She loves to play babies and fill purses with things to carry around right now. Read with Paige. On every page she points to everything and says "What's that?" Her most favorite book of the moment is Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom. Color with Paige, she loves to trace our hands and have us trace hers. Usually she just scribbles in between our fingers, but gets so excited when she does it. Paige is also using the potty quite a bit. She tells us between 1-5 times a day that she needs to potty and if you take off her diaper she goes and sits on the potty. She has been doing this for about 1 month. I am just going to see what happens with it. She is still pretty young to be completely potty trained.
8:00 pm - Paige to bed, Jed usually has homework or work to do. I clean up and go to bed as soon as I can.

OUR LITTLE LADYBUG

FUN ON THE FARM

Last weekend we visited Mimi and Poppa's farm. Paige loved the cows! All she wanted to do was "go outside, see Cow, Mooo!" She just stood and watched while the guys worked the calves. She even took Poppa's hand and walked him outside to "see Cows"

We are still talking about cows daily at our house.

DOCTOR APPOINTMENT

Today I had a checkup with my midwife.
I've gained 5 pounds.
Everything else looks good.
Next month I will have a sono. They will be able to tell the sex of the baby,however we are choosing to not find out again. The surprise was too much fun with Paige.
Jed had to travel to Chicago today. It was me, Paige and Adam at the dr. office. I kept getting looks of pity. Everyone who sees me thinks I am pregnant and have 1 1/2 year old twins! People do treat you very kindly though:)

ALUMNI BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Jed along with some high school buddies played in the Alumni Basketball Tournament in Morrison last weekend. They got 2nd place!!
When Paige would see Jed out there playing she would say "Hi Daddy, Shoot Ball"

WEEK #14 BELLY

I have been feeling great, I have my energy back. Size wise I am in at an awkward point where my regular clothes are too small and maternity clothes are too big. Before I know it I will be saying that maternity clothes are too small. Paige will point to my belly and her belly now and say baby, baby. She loves to blow raspberries on my belly.

From babycenter.com here are the developments for week #14. It is amazing what somebody so teeny tiny can already do.

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID IT!!

Monday night I cut off 10 inches of my hair. My stomach was in knots until she cut the 2nd ponytail and then I decided - well it is what it is. I actually love my new haircut. It takes 1/4 of the time to wash and blowdrying took a couple of minutes instead of 15.
Paige was there with me and kept saying "Mommy hair, Mommy hair" afterwards she just stared at me.

Whenever I manage to track my super busy husband down I will have him take a picture of me, so keep checking.