A Note to my Best Friend.

Happy Birthday my sweet husband. I am so priviledged to share my life with you. One hundred birthdays side by side would still not be enough time spent together. I admire and respect you more than the depths of the sea. I am proud to call you friend. I learn something new about you and us everyday, and in the process, I evolve a little more. You make me a better person.

I cherish the life we have created together. You are the backbone of this family. Your strength and faith astound me. I could not and would not want to any of this without you at my side, holding my hand. I look forward to growing old with you, and I can't wait until we have matching mops of silver and grey. Just imagine, us at the nursing home, in our matching twin beds, fully equipped with bedrails and nurse call buttons. It'll be bliss as long as we're there together.

Thank you for being a wonderful husband and father. Our children are lucky to have such a man in their lives. I love you.


365 days before. A lot can happen in one year!

Sick Baby

Just a quick update...

Lucy had a runny nose for a few of weeks. I wasn't too concerned, especially because she now attends nursery school (and is thereby exposed to many more germs) and it's about that time of year. Last week it turned into a big cold, complete with fever, congestion, and a hacking cough. The little appetite she normally has dissipated to nothing. After a few rough nights Charles and I took her into the doctor. Turns out our little girl has croup. In her case, a virus caused swelling and inflammation of the larynx and surrounding tissue. This led to her labored breathing and bark-like cough. Dr. Sullivan prescribed her an anti-inflammatory medication and assured us that the virus would pass eventually. She's only successfully taken two doses because her coughing is so extreme and violent that she occasionally vomits. It's been almost a week now since the symptoms first surfaced and fortunately her condition hasn't worsened. She seems to be on the mend.

As for the other little girl, she's doing great. I can't believe how active she is already. The kid never sleeps; she is constantly in motion. And she is so strong. I have crazy dreams at night she's kicked a hole through my uterus! I am really, really showing now and I've even had to purchase some maternity tops (per Charles' request). On Thursday her Aunt Sue said that instead of looking bloated, I now look pregnant. That's always refreshing to hear, so hooray for me!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving Everyone!

Minneapolis or Bust!

Thursday Goose and I spend the entirety of the day preparing for our extended weekend up north. Anyone with little ones knows that a simple weekend bag won't do; in order to ensure a smooth trip one must pack the entire contents of one's home, AND said contents must fit neatly into said vehicle to be utilized on said trip. We managed to clean the house, finish the laundry, plan outfits (and some meals), pack bags, and squeeze in a nap all in the course of the day. Oh yes, by we, I mean me. Here Lucy is laughing and clapping at me as I run through the house checking off my day's "to-do" list.



Road trips go something like this: Charles loads and unloads the car (and on pitstops fills the tank), Lucy sits in the back watching movies (shocking, I know), and I drive the entire way. This I don't mind because I prefer highway driving and road rules state the driver maintains control of vehicle speed and title of "Radio Commando". The way up was uneventful and pleasant. We drove four straight hours to stretch our legs and tank up in Clear Lake, IA. The next hour Charles actually spent in the passenger seat (as opposed to the captain's chair behind me and beside Lucy), and we arrived in Owatanna at the local Applebee's to dine with Grandma J and G-pa Dave. An hour and half after dinner we arrived at Iain and Katie's. The remainder of the evening was spent catching up and relaxing.

Saturday was a nice, lazy day. We got up and enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast cooked by Iain and Katie, then napped in front of the television for a couple of hours. The boys stayed back to play PS3, and the girls took off for the Mall of America. We went because in all my visits up north I had never been. Let's just say, it was fun but now that I know what's there I won't be returning anytime soon. It was so congested. I abhor large, pushy crowds.

We had dinner later that evening at Famous Daves and came home to watch 300. Ooh, that was good, but a bit scarier and bloodier than the movies I normally watch.



Stacy (Charles' cousin) and Peter stopped over on Sunday for a visit and they brought Lucy a couple of presents. As neat as we all thought they were, Lucy was much more fascinated with the wrapping. Go figure.



She's not quite into the Scanimation book yet, but the puzzle has been a hit since we came home. The cut outs are now scattered. It will probably take me months before it's in one complete piece again.




The Vikings weren't doing so well, so Charles, Grandma J, Lucy, and I headed to the neighborhood park. It was a perfect Fall day, and after gorging on the entire contents of the fridge and oven all morning it was nice to get out and move the legs a bit. I might have had more fun than Lucy, but you never know.



I love this picture. Lucy's favorite thing to do at the park is the swing. Can you tell? She and Grandma J had a heck of a time together.



Charles hopped into the swing next to Lucy and she thought it was the funniest thing. Below Grandma J, Lucy, and I in the swings. La tres Amigas! I have to admit, it has been many a year since my toosh has sat in a playground swing. It was F-U-N! A few times, I felt like my lunch was going to meet the woodchips, but it was completely worth it.



Speaking of woodchips, Lucy was a bit wobbly on the woodchips, and she face planted. As you can see, she wasn't phased.


Some one-on-one time with Pops...


Beginning the walk home....


Winding down the evening and enjoying and good book with Uncle Iain.


Iain and Katie, thank you so much for once again welcoming us into your home. We love you both so much and wished we all lived closer. Our visits are too few and far between. Hopefully now that you have the house all to yourselves, you can get some decent sleep!


We ended our trip with a visit to Auntie and Uncle Ralph's for breakfast before hitting the road. Grandpa Dean met us there and brought Charles many gifts; golf clubs and a manilla folder filled with report cards and school pictures. I was not surprised that this child delinquent could score such high marks. Also, if I knew my life wouldn't be in danger, I would have scanned some of his glorious pictures to share with you all. They were most definitely the highlight of my day. You gotta love hairstyles and glasses from the 70s and 80s. There was definitely a hint at some mullet action in one of the pictures!

I have to disclose though, the only, only reason I feel I can laugh and make fun is because my school pictures are not any better. Seriously, whose parents let their daughter run around with a moustache? I make the solemn vow, here and now, if either of my daughters meet the same follicular fate as I had in my youth, they will know and become allies with wax and bleach.


Auntie and Lucy. Uncle Ralph left to go bowling shortly after our tardy arrival that morning, so sadly we missed visiting with him. They gave Lucy a wooden alligator pull toy. They tried to find the annoying popping push toy (you know the one with the mulit-colored balls) but were unsuccessful. We were promised that once they found one, it would be one its way. Luckily for us, they don't frequent Babies R' Us.


I know it's not Thanksgiving officially, but as it is November, I feel I have to say that I am so very thankful to have such wonderful in-laws. They are fun, spunky, quirky, generous, spiritual, strong, sweet, gentle, extroverted, talkative, and the list goes on. There is something about everyone that I can learn something from. I love the childhood stories that they share (this time it was the smelly sock incident), and the memories of ones that have passed that will live on through our children. I always, always look forward to the time spent up north. I can't wait for Lucy and her sister to grow older and share in the special relationships with Charles' family like I have. They are wonderful.

New Do

When I went to pick Lucy up on Sunday morning I was not surpised when both my Mother and Grandma suggested Lucy needed a haircut. If anyone knows my Mother, they know she usually takes the scissors into her own hands to make the adjustments she sees necessary. Needless to say, I was surprised when my daughter came home with the same shaggy bangs she left the house with on Saturday evening.

They really aren't too much of a nuisance, especially when her hair is pulled back with a tie or barrette. The problem therein lies. She hates anything in her hair. I can fix her up all nice a pretty and not even 29 seconds later she is a disheveled mess. The whole idea was to live with the shaggy do until it got long enough to fall into place on its own. I only decided to cut her bangs when her own Father commented on how he hates the hair falling into her eyes. To no avail I've warned Lucy we'd have to cut her pretty hair unless she kept it tied up. It didn't work. You try reasoning with a 14 month old. So, with the votes in, three and a half to one, I've lost the battle but not the war.

Before...



After...
Oh yes, that thing about Lucy hating anything in her hair, well she also hates it combed, touched, etc. I knew this would be mission impossible if attempted while she was awake. I have to give myself a pat on the back for successfully accomplishing this task while she napped. Not too shabby, eh?

Date Nights and Autumn Afternoons

Saturday was momentous for us here in the Horton household. Mom and Dad had their first date since bringing Miss Lucy home from the hospital AND Lucy had her first overnight with Grandma Penn and Grandma Maly. Charles and I joked that we would be asleep by 9:00 PM (secretly we both hoped we would be). Instead, after an early dinner at Kona we drove around downtown looking at our old hangouts and reminiscing of our younger years. Then, as any couple spending the night away from their child for the first time, we came home, got in bed, and spent the remainder of the night in each other's arms... watching Con Air on cable television (until 12:30). What a night of romance! Joking aside, we had a great night and have already begun to plan our next escape.

Earlier that day Charles was at the office. I knew I would be missing Lucy later so I wanted to spend some quality time with her outside, away from the television. We had so much fun walking around and playing in the leaves. No matter where we were she tried to cross the street. Already trying to run away from home. This is going to be a problem.







I'm feeling good these days. We're just at the halfway point and the Spring will be here before I even have time to adjust to the fact there is a human being growing inside of me. Second and subsequent pregnancies really fly by. Maybe this is a good thing. I can imagine if I sat and thought about how fatigued and broke we're going to be after this baby is born, I might be second guessing this whole "baby-thing".

Speaking of baby, it is already so incredibly active that I can lay on my back and watch my stomach move up and down. As cool as this is, I have to remind myself the reason this is possible is because I have absolutely no muscle tone in my abdomen. Sometimes I'm surprised I can even hold myself up my abs are so weak. One word: JELL-O



And now, we can officially stop referring to the baby as either "It" or "Fetus Horton". We had our ultrasound and shock of all shocks, we are having a GIRL, a healthy little girl! As much as this does not surprise me (seriously can my family produce anything else?), I am excited to finally know. Right now she's about 13 oz. What a chunk!

We were rushed through the appointment, so we don't have the best pictures, but I did post my two favorites. According to her little profile, she already has the Khamphakdy-Horton lips. There won't be enough lip balm in the world for all of our mouths!



Here is the back of her head with a side view of her face. Her hand is in a fist up by her cheek. "Power to the People!"


So, that's all for now. We'll try to stay current on our posts, but hey, no promises!