Two month Rhiannon

Rhiannon is now two months old! Crazy how time flies! I think we have her figured out! She is 11 lbs 14oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She loves to be held all the time which makes work and life not so easy when Nathan is out of town. I have this cool baby carrier that I can tie around myself and she fits in as snug as a bug. Whenever I put her in it, she stops crying and falls asleep. I can get a lot of stuff done when she's in it! She still likes to be swaddled even on the hottest days. Rhiannon is still eating well which has been great because we haven't had to buy any formula! We have started giving her an occasional bottle of it just because. It's refreshing to be able to breastfeed her and not have to take bottles and formula everywhere! She is starting to smile and "talk" a lot.
And speaking of talking, we have discovered that Remington talks in his sleep! Most of the time it is babble about what he's done the day before or about people. "Grandpa's tractor," or "where did fi go?" are some of the more popular phrases. It's pretty funny.

We spent a week at the farm and Remington LOVED it. He got to go in the tractor with Grandpa everyday. He also rode in the combine with uncle Brian, played with the kitties at aunt Terry's, got up on a firetruck when the field caught on fire after a lightning strike, rode on the Rhino with grandma and swam in Wes and Ginny's pool. It was a great time and relaxing for me while Nathan was gone hunting.



playing with the kitties at Aunt Terry's

Big girl sitting on the couch by herself

Driving the tractor with Grandpa!

Snoozing in camo so no one sees her!

Rhiannon Bloomer Toland

Rhiannon Bloomer Toland was born Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 20:59. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. I chose to be induced on Sunday because it was our 6th wedding anniversary. Thirty-four and a half years ago, I was born on my parents' 6th anniversary.

I also chose not to get an epidural...call me crazy! I wanted to know what labor felt like and to see how much pain I could endure. I also know that with epidurals, the recovery time takes longer and it inhibits breastfeeding in the baby. After strong contractions and pushing her out, the hard part is done...or so we thought. The placenta was still attached so I had to have surgery to remove it. I was wheeled into the operating room and put under for this procedure after the doctor tried to do it manually! Graphic, yes! Painful, YES!!! I was losing a lot of blood and there was possibility of having to have transfusions but my doctor operated quickly and I didn't need blood.

Rhiannon on mom's chest seconds after birth.

Safe in daddy's arms.

Holding hands with daddy.

Being held by big brother.

whereditgo?

This is the question of the day, everyday. Remington will ask "Where did it go?" My response is, "I don't know, let's find it." He runs off searching the house for something. Most of the time it's his "fi" or pacifier or the dog or daddy. It's pretty cute.

Above Average

Remington had his 18 month checkup today! He's above average but we already knew that. He is in the 65 percentile for weight and 72 percentile for height! 26 lbs and 33 inches tall. The doctor said he is extremely healthy and was impresseed with his vocabulary. He also said he seems to be very laid back and attributed that to me and how I deal with him day in and day out! That's reassuring because sometimes this motherhood thing can be difficult! I just hope this little girl will be laid back too! Time will only tell.

Colorful Vocabulary

Our little Remington has quite the vocabulary! He knows and speaks so many words. Maybe he'll start speaking in recognizable sentences! Here is a comprehensive list of things he knows:

doggie, book, head, belly, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, knee, feet, toes, socks, shoes, coat, shirt, hat, ball, football (not to be confused with ball!), cars, bat, upstairs, bath, apple, banana, cheese, cracker, bacon (dog treats!), elk, moose, bear, cow, cat, fish, baby, love you, bye bye, momma, daddy, grandma, grandpa, milk, water, juice, chicken, thank you, please, more, uh-oh

He even knows some proper names: Brent, Allison (my nephew and niece), Daisy & Pickle (our friends' dogs) and of course, Squirt!

I'm sure this list will continue to grow just as his mischieviousness does! I need to go get him out of the pantry before he learns how to open the dog bacon!

blah!

Sorry to those of you who expect too much from me! I have not been in the mood to blog. I haven't had good luck uploading pictures and videos or with Picasa web albums. So here's some pictures and updates.

Remington loves to read!

He loves to get into stuff!

He loves music..especially drums!

Remington at his second NRA banquet sporting his GnR and camo!

And when he's tired, he will fall asleep in any position!

As for baby girl, she's growing just fine. I've been feeling good just tired from playing with Remington all day! We got her crib and dresser a few weeks ago on Craigslist! We've switched Remington to the other bedroom that he will share with her eventually. I've bought her some non pink clothes for the winter because they were on clearance! I would much rather pay clearance prices now and store them than pay full price when we need them!

Photo Tag

I got tagged by Jodee.



Here's what to do:

go to your 6th photo file

select your 6th photo

blog about it

tag 6 friends

This picture was taken in July 2008 at Chatfield Reservoir (about 5 miles from our house). It was Remington's first outing on the boat which was his late great grandpa's. He obviously has mad boat driving skills! I'm sure he will get more practice in this summer if his baby sibling will allow it!

I tag Anisa, Rachel, Shannon, Laura, Deborah and Kara.

Cabin Fever

Remington, Squirt and I went to the farm for the weekend that Nathan was out of town for work. I have been fighting a cold or some junk all week so I thought the comforts of home and being with my parents would help. I took Remington to get his haircut and that proved to be the beginning of the nightmare. He screamed and cried the whole time. I'm glad I didn't take him to some random salon in Highlands Ranch. Della did a great job trimming him up and was so patient with his tantrums. Later that night, we went to a high school basketball game. He enjoyed it as long as he was sitting on my lap. With a packed gym and being 4 months pregnant, I didn't need the extra body heat to keep me warm. Oh well, what's a mother to do. The next day, Remington slept for 5 hours...should have been another clue as to what was ahead. By that night at yet another hs bball game, he had a fever and just wanted to be held. He was a trooper. He woke up in the middle of the night crying so I took him out and set in the recliner with him. We both slept ok but by 5 am, his fever was so high that it burned me when he touched me. I gave him some Tylenol and changed him into a t-shirt and placed a cold washcloth on his head as long as he would let me. For the rest of the day, I had to hold him. He didn't eat anything and only drank 7up or orange juice. On Monday, mom and I decided to take him to the doctor since he wouldn't eat or walk anywhere. He was so pathetic. We got him to the doctor and they took blood. The doctor checked all the signs for a cold or flu but lungs/ears/nose and throat were all clear. She suggested he had a stomach bug of some kind which just takes time to get rid of. YUCK! So we took him back home and continued the fluid diet and holding therapy. I had called my doctor to get antibiotics for my cold. What a miserable weekend. Again, he didn't sleep well so again, I held him and slept in the recliner. By Tuesday, I was completely exhausted and supposed to drive back home. I decided to stay another day to rest and hopefully both of us would be better. Wednesday, we came home to a sick Nathan!

So here we are, all three of us sick and no one feeling good to take care of the others....Squirt isn't much of a nurse. So we suffered through a couple more days. By Friday, I felt pretty good...good enough to go grocery shopping. But once back home, it was nap time and baby holding.

Valentine's Day was spent napping and watching tv. How romantic!

Sunday we all had cabin fever so we went to Jason and Kim's for brunch. Nathan and Remington stayed there to watch the Daytona 500 while Kim and I went shopping....AHH! Life is back to normal!

Why I love Colorado!

Last Friday, I packed up Remington and Squirt for a long afternoon walk. It was a beautiful 63 degree WINTER day! We have had several warm days this winter and I hope it continues. After our walk, we stopped in the park because no one was there. The dog could roam freely (off her leash which is against the rules) and Remington could play on whatever. So far, he only enjoys the swings since he doesn't have to do the work to make them go. Here's a short video I took with my phone. Who knew that being pushed in a swing was so funny?!?

Another great thing about Colorado on days like this, being able to wear flipflops in winter!

A boy and his dog.

Remington loves his dog.

Squirt tolerates her boy.

Yes, he sits on the dog.

Guitar Hero

I apologize for not posting for a while. Between NFL playoffs and new store orders for my part time job and the lingering morning sickness, I have been busy. Plus the fact the Remington is as busy as ever and IS my fulltime job.

Here is one of our family's new favorite pasttimes.

Remington's Resolution

Remington's New Year resolution is to be a big brother. Due Date 7/20/09

Christmas #2

This year was Remington's 2nd Christmas. On December 20th we left Denver and went to my parents' for a few days. We had a Christmas party at my brother's house with my mom's side of the family. Remington got lots of hugs and kisses from my aunts and cousins. He also gave out lots of kisses and high fives. On the 22nd we had Christmas dinner with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. We also opened presents. Remington doesn't understand the presents or Santa thing yet but he liked sitting on the boxes and ripping the paper. He would rip a piece of paper off and then go give it to my dad and say, "thank you." He's pretty proud of saying thank you when he gives you something.

While we were there, Nathan, my brother, my dad and my nephew did a lot of hunting. Geese and elk in which they were successful at both. Remington and I just hung out at the house while I did some work. Nothing too exciting and definitely nothing eventful.

We came home on Christmas Eve and went to our friends' Kim and Jason's for dinner. We shared gifts and ate a wonderful meal. I felt crappy so I fell asleep on the couch with Remington. Again, pretty uneventful.

On Christmas morning, we went to Nathan's parents. We opened gifts first. Remington again was happy to sit on the boxes. He got really excited when our 5 yr old nephew opened his gifts. Brendan was so excited about Bat Mobile and whatever other toys he was opening. Remington clapped and squealed because Brendan was so excited by his gifts. We had a wonderful lunch and then all headed over to Mammom's house with the extended family. Everyone was there. Small house with 20 adults and 4 or 5 kids becomes mayhem very quickly. We stayed there a few hours and then came home. Again, pretty uneventful.

Nothing like last year when our dog locked us out of the car while it was running!

Baking

I started doing some last minute baking when this is what happened.

Where in the world have we been?!?

The answer: NOWHERE!. We didn't drop off the face of the earth. We are still here south of Denver. Nothing really exciting has happened in the month since I've blogged. So here's the lowdown:


Nathan has been working hard. Traveling to West Virginia, Boston, Anchorage and San Antonio.
Tawnya has been working two jobs. Reebok AND motherhood.
Remington has been working two jobs. Walking and talking. That's right. walking...everywhere...fast! He jabbers all day long which leaves Nathan and I wondering what he's saying and telling us.
Squirt has been working two jobs...sleeping and staying away from Remington!

Tawnya, Remington and Squirt went to the farm while Nathan was in Boston. We had lunch with old friends and got to see some family.

We spent Thanksgiving with Nathan's family which is always a hoot.

The three of us spent a weekend in Craig for elk hunting. Nathan, his dad and uncle stayed at a motel while Remington and I stayed at my aunt and uncle's house. We all had a good time and I was glad to have a whole house in which to entertain Remington instead of a motel room. He helped Aunt Myrna undecorate her tree as fast as she could decorate it. He loved sitting on her kitchen counter and "helping." We had a great laugh at their dog JJ who barks and jumps at the smoke when they burn their trash. I have a video that is just hysterical. Squirt stayed in the city with her friends Daisy (English Bulldog) and Pickle (Bassett Hound). She had her own suite in the upstairs portion of their house. Thanks to our friends Jason and Kim, our dog was well loved.

And now, it's a week before Christmas and all the presents are bought. Some are en route and hopefully they get here in time. None of them are wrapped but that's what midnight is for! The decorations are up. The tree is up with only lights on it. I think it will be that way for a few years. It does look better than the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I was able to get cookies made for the neighbors and am going to attempt to make Divinity. Wish me luck.

Remington's got a secret!

He can WALK!!!

Trick or Treat

Since Remington was so little last Halloween, we didn't dress him up as anything. He just chilled in his little orange outfits. But this year, he was Pooh...thanks to cousin Brendan and Grandma Bonnie. He went trick or treating at a few of the neighbors' houses with Brendan.

And to appease his father and impress whoever...he was Baby Rambo!

Boo at the Zoo

Remington went to the zoo for the first time over the weekend. There were lots of people there as it was their annual "Boo at the Zoo" where (mostly) kids dressed up in Halloween costumes and went trick-or-treating. We met some friends there with their 7 month old boy. Here are some pictures and a video of Remington watching the orangutans.

Before all the animals and people...



After the animals and people....

Silly Remington

As the days go by, our little Remington gets to be more and more fun. Here are some silly pictures of him.

Squirt looks terrified.

A new place to play?

A cleaner place to play!

Before

After

Pumpkin Festival

We went to the Pumpkin Festival at the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. We met the Schells there and slopped through the mud together. It was cold but we still got some good pics and a few small pumpkins.

I'm sure it will be more fun next year when Remington is self mobile and it's not muddy. We'll see.