The Wheels On The Bus

Last time we were in Russell, Shayna, Hannah and Macie sang Thad his favorite song.

Confessions Of A Mini Van Mom

If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I would ever drive a mini van, the answer would have been HECK NO! Well, we have traded in our 2007 Mazda 6 for a 2005 Kia Sedona! We have been searching the lots for a few weeks and found a good deal on a van this weekend. I know its just the three of us (for now) but Thad has alot of stuff! His carseat barely fit in the back seat of our Mazda, then with the stroller, diaper bag, toys, etc... we needed more space! Now we have plenty of space for all his many accessories. I can easily jump in the back seat if he is fussy and the coolest part is that it has a DVD player in it! I won't say that was my only selling point but it came high on the list! It won't only be great for Thad when he gets older to keep him occupied while we drive to Kansas but it will keep me occupied while we drive to Kansas! I'm looking forward to trying it out next weekend when we make our trip to Tribune, KS.

I will miss our little Mazda and the great gas mileage it got but the Kia isn't too too bad on gas mileage and it will help us pay off the vehicle sooner than we would have on the Mazda. (Remember my post a few weeks back about getting out of debt with Dave Ramsey's help, this will speed up the process!)

6 Month Check-up

Thad had his 6 month check up with Dr. Hoover our pediatrician today. He is a whopping 19 lbs 8 oz and 27 inches long. He is in the 80th percentile for his weight. His check up went well besides the shots he had to get! He got four shots and one orally. He is such a little trooper and cried during the shots but once I picked him up he was much better. The next time we go for his 9 month check up he'll only have one shot so it should be much better.


So I talked with Dr. Hoover about our little man and his sleeping patterns. Last night he was up 6 times from 10 pm until 7 am this morning. I don't think he's even hungry when he wakes up he just wants a little comfort with nursing. Dr. Hoover's suggestions were to start having him sleep in his own bed at night, try and fall asleep for naps on his own rather than me nurse him to fall asleep. He said to let him fuss as long as I can stand to hear it and then go pat him or pick him up for a minute. He also said for Adam to go in at night time to pat him or change his diaper so he doesn't see me and think he is going to nurse. These are all great suggestions, but can I really move him to his own bed after 6 months of sleeping right next to me? Right now I feel it's fine getting up with him but when I do go back to work it will make it hard getting up 6 times a night with him and then functioning during the day. So we'll see how it goes, maybe I'll start working on his naps first, get him to fall asleep on his own and then work on the nights!! I'm his security blanket!
How can I resist this precious face?!?!?!?!?!?

Half A Year Old

Thad is 6 months old today. Our little boy is growing up! He seems like such a big boy today now that he is half a year old. He is trying out a sippy cup and does pretty good at holding it. He just got a high chair that attaches to our chair which he likes to bang on the tray.

He is such a little sweetie pie! He's growing up to fast and needs to slow down. He likes to cuddle and even patted his daddy's back in church yesterday. He is a little talker especially when he is talking to Chauchi. They are going to be great friends once Thad is on the move, watch out Chauchi!!!!! I think back to when he had his heart surgery and how fragile his life was. You would never be able to tell what he has been through if you didn't see his scar on his chest. Now we are 6 months into his life and look forward to the next 6 months and of course the next 100 years! He changes everyday whether its the smile he gives us, the noise that he makes or the new thing he has discovered to grab and put in his mouth. We are very lucky to have him in our lives. Looking at him is a reminder of how precious life is.

I love this picture, it shows off his chubby little cheeks!

Thad's new friend

While we were in Wichita last weekend we met up with some friends Cory, Abby and Cooper. We met them almost 2 years ago at Children's Hospital while Emma and Cooper were both patients. Cooper was born almost a week after Emma. We have stayed in touch with each other and finally got together after almost 2 years! Cooper is a little cutie (and doing great heart wise!) and I imagine Thad will be going strong like him when he gets to be 2 years old!

Mindy, Abby, Thad and Cooper

You have a great looking family Cory and Abby, next time we get together the boys will be running and playing all over the place!

Swimming with Grandpa

Papa Steve took Thad swimming while we were in Wichita!

First Time For Everything......

We had a big weekend! Last Wednesday night we ventured to Kansas for Thad's second trip. We were going to Wichita for my cousin's wedding. Thad had a few firsts along the way.......

First hotel stay..........


First time swimming.........


First time drinking water out of a cup..........
(Now everytime he sees a cup he gets excited!)

First wedding.................

First time meeting the Knopp Family.........
(there was alot of us but almost 30 people were missing!)


First time sucking on his toes...........

We had a busy weekend but it was definately all worth it! We drove to Russell on Wednesday night, then drove with my parents on Thursday to Wichita. We were in Wichita from Thursday through Sunday. We made many stops along the way so Thad could get breaks from being in his carseat. We stopped in Salina to see Adam's dad and grandparents then it was off to Goodland to see cousins Zekke, Titus and Maddix. We finally got home on Monday afternoon.
It will be nice to sleep in our own bed tonight!!!!!

Go Chiefs!!!!

I guess Thad became a Kansas City Chiefs fan since Adam and I are fans and because my friend Christina who is also a fan. She is known for getting Thad (and Emma) Chief accessories. She got Thad this Larry Johnson jersey which is so adorable on him! We had a movie night last night which Christina came dressed in her KC gear so of course Thad had to get in his KC gear. They looked pretty cute together!
Go Chiefs!!!!!!!!!

Strange Pug

Ever since we got chauchi 2 1/2 years ago he sucks on stuffed animals noses. It is wierd but he does it all day long. When we buy him new "babies" as we call them we have to make sure we get one with a good nose he can suck on. He must have left his mother too early and this is his way of comforting himself! He brings this thing everywhere he goes. When we kennel him we have to make sure he has a baby in his kennel. At night he sucks on his baby to fall asleep! These babies don't smell the best either! I can't believe we allow this stuffed animal anywhere near our bed but we do! When Adam gets home from work Chauchi is so excited to see him, he runs to find one of his babies and carries it in his mouth to show Adam. I think we have a strange pug on our hands!!! I have asked other pug owners if their pug does this and they have said yes, so maybe it's just a pug thing?





I told Adam the first time Thad gets ahold of one of Chauchi's babies they are all going bye bye!!!

Rocky Mountain Adventures

Thad took his first trip to the Mountains! My Aunt and Uncle own a condo in Fraser, CO so we met them and my parents and grandmother there for the weekend. It was so peaceful there and a nice weekend getaway. Thad did pretty good but I think he was affected by the higher altitude. We did check with our cardiologist before we went to make sure he would be okay going to about 8500 ft. elevation.

We went for a nice 2 mile walk, made smores by the fire, watched movies, went fishing and watched fireworks! Thad liked it all but the fishing! I'm not sure what I was thinking taking a 5 month old to go fishing! Here I thought it was going to be this nice area with shade and only take 30 minutes, boy was I wrong! We were in the open sun on a dirt road watching everyone fish. Good thing it wasn't hot and we had a nice breeze. Thad hung out mostly in his shaded stroller or under the umbrella with me and my Grandmother. I wasn't too smart and didn't put sunscreen on myself and now I am beat red.









Thad sat up on his own for the first time too! He can go about 10-20 seconds and then he falls over but its a good start.

Web Camera

If you don't have a webcam you need to get one! We have one and almost everyday I get online with my mom so she can see Thad. He will probably think that Grandma Luci is the computer because he hears her voice but doesn't see her directly. I'm not sure if he can actually see her on the screen but sometimes it seems like he can.

My mom babysits my three nieces so they like to get on the computer and see their cousin. I started having them "babysit" him over the computer and they love it! I'll say "okay girls you are babysitting now, let me know if he starts to cry." No, I don't actually leave the house and have them watch him but I'll be in the kitchen or somewhere else in the house and hear them yell "Didi (this is what they call me!) Thad's crying" or "Didi, I think Thad needs you!" Then I come running and thank them for being such good babysitters!!!! They like to sing to him too, and his favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus" so they are all three trying to sing to him at one time.

We also get online with Grandma Kathy and cousins Zekke and Titus. It's fun to see and talk to them through the computer. I think the kiddos like it to and are amazed that they are seeing Thad through a computer screen. Technology is amazing, what will they think of next?

Bye Bye Debt!!

We have let Dave Ramsey into our house! Adam's sister Jena and husband Matt have been talking to us about Dave Ramsey and his steps to becoming debt free and saving money. They have been using his "baby steps" for a few years and paid off alot of their debt. Adam and I meet with several couples from our church on Sunday nights and right now we are doing several weeks of DVD's with Dave Ramsey. "The Baby Steps" include seven steps to help you get out of debt and save money for the future. The seven steps are:

Step 1: $1000 to start an "Emergency Fund"

Step 2: Pay off all debt using the "Debt Snowball"

Step 3: 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

Step 4: Invest 15% of income into Roth IRA's and pre-tax retirement

Step 5: College Funding

Step 6: Pay-off home early

Step 7: Build Wealth and Give! (Mutual funds/Real Estate)

We are reading his book "The Total Money Makeover" and have watched two of Dave's DVD's which got Adam and I excited to start the steps! We are on step 2 working to pay off our car and student loans. We are lucky not to have credit card debt so we are working on the car first and then our student loans. It may take 1 1/2 to 2 years for us to pay off our car but it is better than the 7 year loan we have. I always thought it would take us 15 years to pay off our student loans but knowing we could have them paid off within 5 years is awesome!

If you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey you can go to his website at http://www.daveramsey.com/. He is a great speaker and is an advocate of no credit cards. If you can't afford to pay cash for it then you don't need it!!!!! I haven't cut up our credit cards just yet but looking forward to the day that I do.

Hopefully once we get all our debt paid (except our house) I will be able to be a stay at home mom. We can make the sacrifices now so later we can enjoy financial peace!