Leah's 2 Month Appt.

Leah had her 2 month doctor appointment yesterday. 4 shots and an oral vaccine. Blah. Why does something that is supposed to be so good have to hurt like that? She did pretty well, though. Screamed when she was being poked, but recovered fairly quickly. Slept in the car on the way home (about 25 minutes with my stop at Chick Fil A). After we got home, she napped for 3 hours, woke to eat and have a diaper change, then back down for 30 minutes.

She is now 13 pounds, 12 ounces....still 95th percentile. They said her height was 23.25 inches, but that is only .25" from last month and I think it's wrong. I tried to measure her the other day and she was 24 or 25 based on what I did. (It's really hard to measure a baby for length when they don't like to be stretched out like that.

Anyway, she's fussing upstairs, so I guess her nap is over....

Time Flies......2 months

Wow - I can't believe that Leah is 2 months old!! She has a doc appt. on Tuesday and gets a few shots (ouch). Here is her 1 month picture and her 2 month picture.

1 Month Old

2 Months Old

Only 2 more weeks before she starts daycare....sniffle sniffle.

Update on The Girls

Lacey has a new obsession with Cinderella. We rented Cinderella 3 a couple of weeks ago and she wanted to watch it constantly. It was insane. Very cute, but insane. So, it was returned (late) a few days ago. Grandma stopped at WalMart and bought the original Cinderella for her. She LOVES it. She says "princess mommy please". And she pronounces it "princense" (notice the extra "n"). While I was at the mall yesterday, I wandered into the Disney Store and they had PJs on sale. So, now Lacey has Cinderella jammies, too. She was so excited about them last night. And, this morning, she refused to get dressed and wore them to daycare. (Keep in mind they are long sleeve and long pants and it's in the upper 80's today.) We sent a dress, too. It is so much fun to watch Lacey watch the movie.....I love hearing her giggle at the mice and hearing her say "it will be okay princense, don't be scared". A-dorable.

Leah is doing great. She is still a great little sleeper - generally from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 or 5:00 a.m., then nurses and back to sleep for 3-4 more hours (until 8:30 usually). Bliss. I'm going to start waking her up around 8:00 early next week....then 7:30....to slowly get her adjusted to her new schedule. I have to wake her at 6:15 for daycare starting on Sept. 17. Ugh. (No, she probably won't stay asleep....she sleeps swaddled and will need to have a diaper change, eat and be put in the carseat.)

Leah is so much more "awake" during the day now. Full of smiles and coo's. Lacey loves to play with her.

We bought a used crib last weekend and I am so happy! We got it for $100 (incl. mattress) and it is in great shape. So, that is set up in Leah's room and she transitioned to it easily. I'm relieved that we can let Lacey stay in her crib now. Most advice that I've read is to leave them in the crib until around age 3, if you can. So, I'm thrilled. She's confined. And, she can let us know when she's ready for her big bed. No pressure from me.

Lacey....potty training (no) and big bed (no)

Well, I think we have decided that we aren't even going to mention the potty or the bed. Apparently, when Lisa brings up the potty, Lacey "frowns". And, we've had no success here either....other than her wanting to sit on it for 5 seconds so she can waste TP and flush. ;-) She is content to sit in a diaper that is so wet it will soak through...she won't tell us and she fights getting changed. When she's pooped, she'll usually tell us, but not always cooperate for a change. When she is naked for a bit after her bath, she'll ask for a diaper when she has to pee. We've suggested the potty and it's "no momma...diaper change!". And, then, the diaper fills up a ton...so she can totally hold it.

About the bed....still no interest. I ask almost every night "crib or bed?" and she always wants the crib. We were going to force it in another month or so, but I'm starting to think that we'll end up with big issues if we do.

I've thought she was adapting so well with Leah....and I think she is....but I'm also seeing some issues there. If she is really tired (5:00 a.m. for example), and Leah wakes, I'll say "I need to feed Leah" and she'll jump into my arms crying.

Why, you ask, am I up with her at 5:00 a.m.? Because we are having big sleep issues with Lacey now. She wakes almost every night sometime before midnight and then wakes again around 4:00 or 5:00. At that point, I've taken her to our bed a couple of times because she won't go back to sleep. And, I can't stay in her room because I can't hear Leah in there (over Lacey's white noise machine). And, she's normally wanting "momma" and not Butch. I think she has realized she can get my undivided attention at these times. Which makes me feel bad about not giving her enough attention during the day. This weekend, Lacey & I are going to the Amish market by ourselves and leaving Daddy & Leah at home. Next month, I'm going to take a day off to take her (by herself) to the fair. I'm going to try to be better about some of that stuff. It's hard with breastfeeding, but she is obviously missing me.

Anyway......back to the main point of the post. No mention of potty or bed for 2 weeks. I want to give it a complete rest before attempting any discussion again. A friend recently said that there was something to be said about waiting until the toddler is ready for potty training. She waited on her son (who is a few weeks older than Lacey) and had it done in just a few days. I hope it is that easy for us when the time comes.

Sleep, Weekend, Oatmeal Cookies, Etc.

Things are going well here. Leah has been sleeping really well. 8-10 hours each night since Friday. She gets wrapped tight in her Miracle Blanket and can still manage to get an arm out every once in a while! I've explained the MB to a few people, but included the link since I know it sounds crazy!

This morning she took her first 2 hour nap in her bed. (She has really been napping in her swing or bouncy seat or on us until now. Everytime we've tried the bed, she wakes quickly.)

Lacey woke twice last night with nightmares. Butch went in at 2:00 and I went in at 3:30, then brought her to our bed at 4:00 b/c after I put her back in bed at 3:45, she screamed again after 5 minutes. Even in our bed, she was crying our "no" in her sleep. Ugh. I hope she doesn't always have nightmares.

The weekend was good. We went to the Baltimore Aquarium on Sunday and met up with Butch's friend, Barb and her family (hubby Brian and son Joe). Lacey had a ball. She sacked out in the car within 5 minutes after leaving.

Saturday was beautiful here, but Lacey had no interest in playing outdoors. Strange. She LOVES to be outside usually, but never even stepped foot out that day.

Last night we went to Dee's house for dinner and cake for Kristin's birthday. Yum-o.

I've been making oatmeal cookies again today. It's a recipe that uses brewer's yeast and flax seed and I've also been using part whole wheat flour to make it more healthy. They are so freakin' good. Oatmeal is supposed to be good for your milk supply, so I give myself the OK to go a little crazy with them. ;-) I'm planning to start walking this week, though. And, I joined weight watchers online. I'm only about 7 pounds more than my pre-preg weight, but want to start eating better and exercising.

Monday Night at the Hamilton House

8:30 - Lacey in bed
9:00 - Leah in bed
10:00 - Me in bed
12:30 - Lacey screaming...nightmare
1:30 - Leah crying....needs diaper change & fed
2:00 - Me back in bed
3:00 - Butch sneezing and blowing his nose
4:30 - Leah crying....needs diaper change & fed
5:30 - Lacey calling for Butch
6:20 - Leah crying
6:45 - Lacey up, too

Ugh. If only Lacey could sleep through without nightmares we'd be better. I can't complain. Leah is sleeping well, so I'll take it. It's amazing how your body adjusts to no sleep. Oh - and even when I could have been sleeping, I didn't fall back to sleep easily. Thinking about Dad's party, the Harry Potter book, things to do, etc.

The Past Few Days

Well, you already saw that Lacey is refusing to nap. ;-) What else has been happening? Hmmm.

Daycare was closed Mon. - today. We've been trying to keep things fun around here for Lacey. We went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time Tuesday. Lacey seemed a bit nervous and shy to start, but after having lunch, she warmed up and had some fun.

We also had gotten her a golf set, so she & Daddy have been playing golf some in the yard.

Leah had a rough night on Monday night - up almost every hour. The 1 time she slept 2 hours, Lacey woke up in the middle of it. Ugh. Last night was a huge improvement. Lacey slept from 8:30 to 7:30 this morning and Leah gave me 2 3-hour chunks, plus some smaller ones. I can't wait until things are more consistant! I have been wondering if Leah has a touch of reflux. Lacey never really spit up, but Leah does quite a bit. We inclined her cosleeper last night so that she isn't flat and that seemed to help. Usually she'll spit up in her sleep, but she didn't last night.

My Harry Potter book arrived on Saturday and I was so excited. However, I'm only a few chapters into it. With Lacey back at daycare tomorrow, I might be able to read some while Leah naps. (Doesn't that sound awful? Send Lacey to daycare so I can read??? But...she really does do better with her normal routine.....)

Hopefully the transition back to daycare won't be too hard. It's hard when we get off of her routine. At least Miss Lisa doesn't have any scheduled time off until late August. So, we'll have a few weeks of consistancy.

Oh - here's a picture to show what a loving big sister Lacey is!

Dee, Buck & family; and Rick, Kristina & family are all on vacations. Dee/Buck are in OBX and Rick/Kris are in FL. We have Woody (R/K's dog), who is neurotic. He can't be left alone or he'll pee/poop everywhere. He can't be put in our fenced yard because he'll get out, so he was in the basement while we were at Chuck E. Cheese yesterday.

Dad is watering Dee's plants and feeding Ginger and Tinks (R/K's other pets). Although, he called us on Saturday to ask if we could do all that the next day so he could stay at Frankie's. I wasn't happy. Note to my family: Everyone isn't allowed to go on vacation at the same time again......unless we all go someplace together! Honestly, I don't mind taking care of the pets, etc., since people do it for us. I'm just more grumpy than usual due to sleep deprivation. And, in all honesty, Woody has been really good on this visit.

Lacey is still sleeping on the floor in the family room (for an hour so far). It's after 5:00, so she needs to wake up soon for dinner and so her bedtime routine isn't totally screwed up. Although, she's probably so tired from skipping naps that she'll still go to bed fine!!! (Let's hope so.)

Rufusal to Nap

Lacey has been refusing to nap. Luckily, she's been pretty good, but still. It started on Sunday. She ended up falling asleep on the ottoman, but woke when I took her upstairs.

On Monday, she fell asleep on the stairs!!! Then woke as soon as I tried to pick her up - as if nothing had happened!

On Tuesday, thank God, she took a 2 hour nap.

On Wednesday, she fell asleep on the family room floor, and I decided that was fine! Leah & I are upstairs while she naps on the floor.

Heartburn During Pregnancy & Baby's Hair

Okay....you've probably heard the "tale" that if you have lots of heartburn during pregnancy, then your baby will have a lot of hair. I had heartburn with Lacey's pregnancy & she had lots of hair. I had even more heartburn (and for a longer time.........the entire pregnancy) with Leah's pregnancy and she had more hair. So, I've been saying that whether it's a tale or not, it's a fact for me. ;-)

I was reading Parenting magazine today and found a tidbit. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Univ. set out to disprove this......but they were surprised by evidence supporting it. 82 percent of women with moderate to severe heartburn delivered hairy babies. Most women with little or no heartburn ended up with baldies.

A few new pictures

Leah snoozing....Lacey holding her baby sister:

Lacey's silly hair-do after playing with Grandma:

Leah Slept In Her Room!

Last night we tried Leah in her own room. Lacey is still using the crib (can't remember if I said that yesterday), so we have the Pack n Play set up in Leah's room. It has a bassinet feature on it. We had tried it the night before, but she didn't really settle, so she was back in our room in the cosleeper. I tried again last night - this time putting Lacey's lambskin under the sheet so that it wasn't such a hard surface to sleep on. Leah slept from 8:30 - 11:40, then 12:00 to 3:05, then 3:30 to 6:15 and 6:30 to 8:15. Ahhhh. Butch & I slept SO MUCH BETTER without all the grunting. I hope this continues to work!

An Update

Things are going pretty well. Leah is a better sleeper than Lacey was, but I am still nursing her every 2-3 hours or so at night. Sometimes I get a 3.5 hour stretch of sleep. But, she has slept (for the most part) in her bassinet from the start. Lacey only slept ON ME for the first 6 weeks of her life.

I'm thinking of moving her to her own room to see if she'll sleep longer. She is NOISY....grunts and groans quite a bit. So, even when she's sleeping, we aren't necessarily getting that benefit! I tried her in her room last night, but she wouldn't settle, so I brought her back to our room.

She is gaining weight well. She was 10 pounds, 2 ounces yesterday. She is also starting to look a little chunkier.....filling out a bit. Still wearing 0-3 month clothes, though. ;-)

I started pumping today.....in hopes of going to see Harry Potter with Butch soon. (I'm so excited about that movie. And.......quite excited about the book! I preordered it from Amazon, so I'll have it on Saturday. Of course, I won't get to read it right away because Lacey's daycare is closed Monday through Wednesday next week, so we'll be busy around here.)

Lacey was home from daycare last week - because she was closed for vacation. It was tough since she is still adjusting to sharing us (me). Lacey went to visit Aunt Kristina and Jessica on Monday morning to get good one on one attention and give us a break. Grandma & Poppy (Nancy & Chuck) came down on Wednesday and stayed through Tuesday morning. So, she had lots of attention from them, too. Of course, it's not the same as Mommy, though, and there were a few minor meltdowns.

She has been super sweet with Leah. If anything, OVERLY sweet. She wants to help a lot - including trying to change Leah's diaper. And, she is very concerned when Leah cries. But, with the time that breastfeeding is taking, it's hard on her. I've thought a few times about switching to formula just b/c of the time issues, but that wouldn't be fair to Leah. And, I don't *really* want to stop. Hopefully, Leah will move to eating every 3 hours (rather than 2 during the day) soon and it won't seem so crazy.


The other difficult time is in the middle of the night. Lacey is typically waking up 1-2 times (she was before Leah's birth, too) and usually wants me. Unfortunately, her wakings tend to be close to a time when Leah needs to eat, so I don't go to Lacey.


The guilt felt at being a Momma is insane. I am not sure how anyone has lots (and lots) of kids and manages to give them all deserved attention. I think 2 is plenty for us. I want to enjoy them both! Enough about guilt!

It's been really nice having Butch at home! He's off until August 20 and it's amazing how much easier it is to have a newborn with someone else around to help. Of course, it's easier since she is our 2nd child, too.

We are hoping to meet up with some of Butch's friends (married with a kid) in early August in Baltimore - either at the zoo or aquarium, if it's a hot day. I've been wanting to take Lacey badly. Maybe if we go to the aquarium, we'll go to the National Zoo in the fall sometime.

Welcome Leah!

Most of you that read this most likely already know that Leah has made her arrival! At my last doctor's appointment (Friday before), Dr. Aron didn't think it likely I'd go into labor soon. So, we talked about the game plan for being overdue and he also "stripped my membranes" (sorry if TMI for some of you!). I had cramping on Friday, but that can happen and still no labor, so I didn't expect anything. Saturday night, after going to bed around 9:30, I rolled over....in my sleep....around 10:20 and my water broke. Wow.

Labor was faster than it had been with Lacey, but still somewhat long (at least it was long when you compare it to those stories you hear from others and their 3 hour labors!).

She was born on July 1 --- on her due date (just like Lacey!). She weighed in at 9 pounds, 3.9 ounces and was 21 inches long. Yes, a big baby. For those of you that had seen me toward the end of pregnancy, you know that I was worried about her size!

She also has lots of dark hair - very much like Lacey's was at birth. Whether it's an old tale or not, I did have LOTS of heartburn with each of them.

Big sister, Lacey, is adjusting well so far. She adores baby Leah and is obsessed with holding her.

I'll post more at another time! Just wanted to share.

Father's Day Weekend

Friday night I took Lacey to get her hair cut. She hates having it done. I'm sure she's not "the worst", but really doesn't like it. She was saying "I don't want to" the whole time we waited. Has to sit on my lap, etc. Oh well.

Saturday was spent around the house....packing for the hospital, etc. Lacey slept for 3 hours that day. Nice. Love it when that happens. I honestly can't remember what all we did, though.

Saturday night, the stinker woke up at about 3:15 a.m......wide awake. Butch tried for 20 minutes, but then she was crying "mommy", so in I went. I laid down with her for 30 minutes, but she just fiddled with her binks, still wide awake. I said "do you need some medicine" and of course, she said "yes, I need medicine". Little turd. But, she obviously needed SOMEthing. So, I went to give her about 1/4 dose of Benadryl, but only about 1/2 went in. Oh well. She still wasn't settling and at 4:45, I brought her to our bed. I know, I know.....several of you are going to want to lecture me on this, but I was TIRED. And, it worked. We all slept until 7:15. Maybe she had slept so long for her nap that she just wasn't sleepy for bed. Who knows?

Sunday was a good day - other than being exhausted. I gave Butch a book he'd had on his wish list at Amazon and also a Tommy Bahama shirt. I know he would never buy that for himself and Lord knows he deserves something nice. He has been so great with doing so much more around the house during my pregnancy (back pain).

Dad is a member of the Optimist Club and they have an annual picnic/cookout on Father's Day. So, we went to that. Lacey played on the playground quite a bit. And, they had 2 horses with a carriage, so we went on rides. Lacey went 3 times. She couldn't get enough. That kid has no fear. It's scary as a parent.

Unfortunately, the event was a 1:00. Lacey's nap time. So, she only slept for 20 min. on the drive down and that was it for the day. Ugh. We paid for it dearly that evening. Oh well.

This week her sleep has still been off. I think her last 2 molars are coming in. We've started giving her about 1/2 dose of Motrin and now she's sleeping well until 4:00 or 5:00. Tonight I'm doing a full dose in hopes that it will get her through the night again. Her naps at daycare have also been shorter - an hour to 90 minutes. They are normally 2-2.5 hours. I'm going to talk to Lisa about that today. I think that Lacey is now sharing a room with Mary Kate and that might be what's causing the shorter naps. In addition to that, school is out, so there is lots more activity with the older kids there all day. She's been a real crank in the evening.

Time is running low!

Okay, so there is now less than 2 weeks before my due date. You haven't heard much from me recently because of that.....and the fact that I was starting to feel overwhelmed.

The past week or so has been almost completely focused on work - trying to get things done, or far enough ahead, so that I didn't feel horrible for leaving it for someone else to do. Luckily (?), everyone in our office feels overwhelmed these days, so I don't think I'll be judged for some things not getting done. ;-) Anyway, I have been exhausted at the end of the last 2 days and decided last night that I'm done pushing myself so hard at work. I still have several things to get done at home, too, and also REST. (Note that I don't say "sleep" since that's a joke when you are 38 weeks pregnant.)

Last weekend, I got bags packed for the hospital and got a bag packed for Lacey. She's staying with Rick & Kristina while I'm in labor. Well, if I go to the hospital in the middle of the night, Kristina will come to our house, but otherwise, she'll be at their house. Hopefully if Aunt Kristina has to pick her up at daycare, Lacey won't fight that too much. She is sometimes weird with Aunt K for some reason. Just depends on her mood. She'll just have to deal, huh? If Aunt K bring Jessica with her, there will be no problem. Lacey LOVES Jess. I said that the other day and Lacey said "uh-huh", very enthusiastically.

I'm seeing the doc every week at this point - next appointment is on Friday. I'll be thrilled if I go a bit early.

Last Weekend and the Week So Far

Last Thursday night, Lacey's nose started running a little. She has officially picked up Butch's cold. Blah. Thursday night & Friday night were rough. By Saturday evening, I realized that her throat might hurt, so we added Motrin to the mix of meds and she slept great. Of course, meds are more difficult lately b/c she likes to say "I don't like it mommy".

Poor thing has been taking 3 tsp of medicine each night for a few nights now. She's still on Milk of Mag for constipation. Speaking of, I need to call Dr. Jill today since it's been about 7 weeks to discuss weaning her off of that.

What else? The weekend seems like it was so long ago. On Saturday, I think we let her play in the little pool on our deck a bit. Sunday it rained ALL DAY. We really did need it. And, it was a slow, steady rain so it soaked in good. But, a certain 2 year old wasn't happy to be in the house all day. I brought out the finger paints and we had a little fun with that in the afternoon.

Sunday night, Lisa called to say that she was sick and that her sub would be taking care of the kids on Monday. Then, on Monday morning, her hubby called to say that Carmen (the sub) couldn't make it and Lisa was still really sick. Blah. Butch stayed home. Last night, Lisa called to say she's still very sick, perhaps it's even strep, closed again on Tuesday. I'm "working" from home today with Lacey. (Right now my connection to my work stuff is down, so I can't even really try to work.)

I really hope Lisa doesn't have strep and that she's open again tomorrow. Butch's year is winding down (next Friday is his last day) and my time before leave is winding down and I really need to work! (It would help if we didn't have so many stupid issues with our work system, though!)

Lacey seems to be feeling a little better. Still giving her the meds for nighttime, but she is happy during the day.

Oh - my office had a surprise shower for me yesterday! I thought I had a client lunch at 1:00, but it turns out that was their way to make sure I was in the office that day. ;-) Butch was supposed to come, too. But, with Lacey sick and the shower being during nap time.....and the fact that I work 45 miles from home....he skipped it. We were given a nice gift certificate to Babies R Us and Seneca (good friend at work) gave Leah a very soft blanket and a cute little robe. So sweet. Butch wanted me to bring ALL the cake home. There is a TON left. I'm planning to send some to daycare whenever Lisa is open again.

Sleep

Late pregnancy is an awful time to try to get any sleep. I always love how people will say "get sleep now, while you can". Speak for yourself. YOU try sleeping with that big belly and heartburn and the back pain and the need to go to the bathroom every 2-3 hours. It's an awesome night for me when I only get up once (this does not mean I only wake once....I still wake several times). It rarely happens. And, while Tylenol PM is approved to take when needed, I'm afraid I'll sleep too soundly!

I do have to say, though, that thankfully Lacey has been sleeping so well for weeks now. It's been a huge blessing. We'd planned to push her to her big bed before Leah was born, but with a toddler that finally sleeps consistantly through the night, we aren't messing with it! Not a chance! Not when in a few weeks (less than 5 until my due date by the way), we'll have a newborn waking us up throughout the night. I don't need a toddler climbing out of bed or adapting to a new environment.

What's funny is that I'm normally wound very tight and I stress over things like this. But, amazingly, I've been pretty laid back about it. (Potty training, too, by the way. I thought I'd be so insane if she wasn't showing more interest in it. Maybe I'm learning to let go of small things or something.)

She is taking a nap in her bed today - 2nd time she's done it. The other time she napped there, it was much shorter than normal (90 minutes instead of 2-3 hours). But, she's easing into it at her own pace. I think eventually, it will just happen if we let it go that way.

TV

I have to say that I'm glad the season finales are all done. I have TOO MANY shows that I love and they take up so much time. By far, the Lost finale was the very best. Now we have 8 months to wait for the next season. Ugh. I've been reading posts on lostcasts.com and checking out everyone's theories.

The good news is that I now have more time to read and do projects around the house!

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, our weekend has turned out different than we had originally planned. Agnes & Trampas were supposed to come for a visit. But, Trampas ended up having to work. He's an FBI agent and these things come up sometimes. I was looking forward to seeing them, but told Butch we would just have to look on the bright side and take advantage of the sudden "free" time.



So, what have we done?



Friday night I was going to head to a scrapbooking thing, but didn't have the motivation to get my butt in gear, so we just stayed in. Saturday morning, we headed to Shlagel Farms since we didn't make it there Mother's Day weekend. We picked lots and lots of strawberries. Our camera batteries had died, but thankfully we had our cell phones.

Lacey had fun for a short while and then didn't want to stick with us anymore. Butch kept picking and I walked around with her.

Then we headed to the mall to look at patio furniture and bought something at Sears. They were out of stock, so we won't have it until next weekend. Lacey found the toy section while we were there & ended up getting her first Barbie, which she adores.

I thought for sure she'd crash for a long nap once we were home, but HA! She kept going. I could have forced it, but she was being good, so I let her stay up. She ended up crashing around 4:30 and I let her sleep until 6:00......which screwed up her bedtime, so she was up late. Oh well.

Sunday, I made a Pampered Chef breakfast I'd wanted to try - Brunch Pizza (or something like that). The crust is hashbrowns and the topping is eggs (of course), peppers, onions, bacon, etc. Pretty good. We all went to Wawa around lunch so I could get my fix of a fountain diet coke (yes, I have my quirks). No matter what anyone says, there is a big difference in taste of a soda in a can or bottle versus one from the fountain. Lacey didn't even eat lunch...she fell sleep right after we came home and slept for over 3 hours!

Then, we headed to Dad's house for a cookout with everyone. It was still early when we got there, so Butch got in the pool. He was the only adult that was brave enough to get in the cold (76*) water. The rest of us were content to put in our feet. Lacey soon decided the pool wasn't so scary & got in with her daddy. She LOVED it and put up quite the fuss when it was time to get out.

Dinner was delish. Burgers, mac salad, potato salad & strawberry spinach salad. Dee & Buck also brought a Carvel Ice Cream cake to celebrate Mom's birthday. She would have been 65 on Saturday. (Appropriate, by the way, that we went strawberry pickin' on her birthday. She loved to do that before she had her own patch.)

Rick & Kristina (really Jessica) were dog sitting for a cousin and had a little chihuahua named Tink at Dad's house. I have *never* seen a nice chihuahua like that. Lacey & Tink had a ball running in the back yard chasing each other. It was awesome. We have video, but I don't know if there is a way to post video here.

After getting home late, another late bath for Lacey and another late bedtime. Oh well. Summer is here.

Today we are just hanging out. She woke up at 6:15 -- despite the late bedtime -- and is already napping (fell asleep on the floor at 9:45). Butch is doing some work. I'm updating you. Not sure what else we will do.

Butch has a cold. I've threatened him about not getting Lacey or me sick. Even with being sick, he's gotten a lot done around the house/yard. Cut out some more brush out back, trimmed the hedges in the front, etc.

Oh - the a/c upstairs isn't working. I posted about that a while ago - that it wasn't working properly last year and we knew it would need fixed. Well, we turned it on for the first time on Friday night and it wasn't really doing a thing. It's about 85* in our rooms when we go to bed. Blah. So, I'll be calling around tomorrow to get someone out to fix it. We've just turned all of it off (even downstairs). Even though it's supposed to be pretty warm today (upper 80's again), there is a nice breeze and I love to hear the birds.

St. Michael's

Butch & I went to St. Michael's last weekend. It was really nice to get away for a couple of days. We waited until traffic died down on Friday to go, so we didn't get there until about 9:00. But, we had all day Saturday to play. We had a nice breakfast at our inn before heading out to explore. The morning was filled with a lot of walking....about 3 hours worth. We just walked around the town and checked out all of the shops. By lunch, my back/butt was killing me. We had a good lunch at Key Lime Cafe, then headed back to our room to relax before getting massages at 3:00. Ahhhhh. We had dinner at Town Dock and enjoyed the view.

Neither of us slept very well while we were there....I think it was the bed. So, we ended up waking up before 7:00 on Sunday morning even though we could have slept in. Since we were up, and nothing in town was open, we headed out.

That afternoon, we went to DC for the Closing Ceremonies of the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. Kristin & her friend Jill walked it --- they made it 32 of the 39 miles (in 2 days).

Lacey stayed at Dee & Buck's house while we were out of town and did really well. Apparently, when she saw our van leaving Dee's, she said "uh-oh....what happened?". We laughed at that most of the weekend. Crazy girl. And, when we returned, she was running in circles, screaming "mommy, mommy, mommy". Dee picked her up b/c she was afraid Lacey would fall & get hurt.