September 2013

            September has been a pretty good month.  As I write this, I can say that both girls have been in bed since 7:45 and that is a glorious event.  This has been going on for about a week and we love the time we get to just talk or do the daily chores.  I always mention how fast things go, and this month is no exception, including our longest road trip we have taken as a family. 

The weekend after Labor Day, we left on a Thursday and traveled to Randy and Anna’s house.  Upon our arrival, we went over to Julie and Kyle’s for dinner and enjoyed some steak and salmon to celebrate Anna’s birthday/retirement.  The next day, we hopped in the car for a trip a little further away to celebrate Uncle Chuck’s 60^th birthday party on Claytor Lake in Virginia.  It was quite the family reunion!  The family had reserved several cabins close together and it worked out really well.  Several family members helped out, but Aunt Wiz did a great job organizing food and lodging.  The girls did real well playing with the other kids and enjoying being around family.  Our cabin was big enough for Deb and Sarah to have their own room and Allison and I had our own room, which worked out well if Sarah cried because I didn’t have to get up!  On Sunday morning, we agreed to leave as soon as we got up, so we were on the road by 8AM and were home by 4 with 2 stops to feed Sarah.  In all honestly, it went way better than we could have imagined, but each of us did spend a significant amount of time in the back of the Traverse trying to keep Sarah happy.  She did well the first 3-4 hours, but after that, I’m sure it is quite boring to look at the ceiling of the car all day long! 

Allison has started to play soccer at her daycare.  They offer a class for one hour a week that allows her to learn the basics.  It sure is frustrating to try to teach your kid something you really don’t understand.  But, every kids plays it and she likes it, so I’ll kick a ball around and ask Pete for tips on what I can do to help her or check on the internet!  Her potty training has been going well.  She does well with 1-2 accidents a day and does much better at school than at our house.  No clue why, but probably has to do with the other kids going to the bathroom and the schedule is pretty consistent. 

Sarah is down to 5 feeds a day and has started eating some solids.  I had forgotten many things, but feeding these mushy foods to a kid that doesn’t like them has to be one of the most frustrating things.  If Allison doesn’t want her hotdog or chicken nuggets, but all means, I’ll just eat them.  But, feeding Sarah mushed peas is just gross…and she knows it and I know it.  As mentioned above, Sarah is sleeping more consistently and heading to bed around 7:45 with Allison. 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah is extremely tired after a day at school.  You can just see it in her eyes how she just wants some peace and quiet.  Well, sorry about that one…cause as long as Allison is around, things won’t be too quiet.  Anyway, she is struggling to stay awake until 7:30 sometimes, so we will probably start feeding her solids when we get home, feed her once in the evening and start putting her down earlier.  She has had bites of mushy banana and some level 1 baby foods and rice cereal.  She seemed to like the mushy banana best so far...

Allison’s Things of the Month

            As we have mentioned, we have worked on potty training.  It can be pretty funny, especially when she is successful.  If you had a hidden camera in our house to see Deb or I do the “Potty Dance” after she goes, you would probably think we were idiots.  A trick we learned was to ask her if we can “hear the tinkles” which get her excited to get on the potty and go.  Hey, whatever works. 

A few more items from this month:

·         Brad was in town and it was great to see him.  I left work early one Friday to play golf with him and Jeremy and went to dinner.  He was doing well and it was fun to have the 3 of us together for a few hours. 

·         We attend Lobster Fest at the Bassett’s.  It was well-attended and we enjoyed some fresh lobster! 

·         I’ve been to the only Colts loss so far this year (vs. the Dolphins) with Ferrand. 

·         We went to Hoosier Park for dinner for Jeremy’s birthday with several other couples. 

·         We had the Wahmans over for a Colts game and Uncle Mark brought over some dinner one night. 

·         We had some screen doors installed this month.  They look great and should allow for some more light.

·         Deb had a continuing education course the last weekend of the month.  Beth, Matt and Mom helped me with the girls.  We fed the ducks with Matt and Beth.  Beth and Mom helped out and played with the girls at the house.