It Begins Again....

(Katie after the March for Babies once she had warm clothes and a two hour nap behind her!)


Well today was my first real reminder that we are working on baby number #2.......my drugs were ordered. This morning while chasing a screaming toddler the phone rang and the nice lady at the other end informed me that this Wednesday a box, a big one, will be arriving with Lupron, Follistim, Menapur, needles and a laundry list of other fun injection related items. Yippie for me!!

Just a simple reminder, I'm not so good with my injections so be prepared for some bruise pictures.........

March For Babies!

Today was the big March of Dimes, March for Babies and other than an upset Katie and crappy weather all went well!

A special THANK YOU to the following people who helped us reach our goal of raising $500!!! You ROCK!!

Grandma and Grandpa Sylvanus
Grandma and Grandpa Burt
Great-Grandma Lucia
Aunt Christy Burt
Shannon and Rob Rush
The Marquis Family
The Becker Family
The Gerber Family
The Oosterveen Family
Kim, Andy, Sam and TJ
Kristin Lepley
Mr. and Mrs. Lauer


All of the pictures from this post were taken before Katie was confined to her stroller, which I believe now was the downfall of the morning, that and the cold. The temperature on my car when we left the park was 48 degrees and of course it poured last night so everything was wet, which in turn made it more attractive to Katie.(She's a splasher!) She did enjoy meeting the Penn State Nittany Lion and playing with the Gymboree ladies, one was blowing bubbles for Katie and the little boy below and then they brought out the big guns , the parachute and BALLS!! Of course Katie had to sit in the middle of the parachute the whole time so she had an audience all around her.(Oh and she soaked in all of the water from the ground too, she was wet from the butt down to her ankles!) At one point there were maracas too, and she loved them but didn't want to shake them herself, I think she thought we were shaking them for her to dance!

Once my Mom and I noticed that Katie was getting a bit fussy we decided to head out on the walk early, a couple other smart Mom's had made that decision too so we jumped on the bandwagon. Of course five minutes into the race the goldfish and juice weren't cutting it and she started an all out screamfest, if you have ever heard her scream you know how lovely it sounds! Mom and I tried picking up the pace and singing to her but she wasn't buying it so about half way through the walk we bailed. As soon as we got to the car I took off her wet clothing and placed a nice warm adult-size sweatshirt over her cold legs and she stoped crying and put her thumb right in her mouth! We have now been home for about 30 minutes and she is fast asleep in her crib; I guess she was cold, wet and tired!

What really matters is that we raised $500!!! for the March of Dimes and in the end that was what this day was all about. We did see Claudia, Katie's favorite NICU nurse, and a bunch of other NICU graduates and looking at that group of crazy kids it's hard to believe that they too were once hooked up to machines and had to fight just to breathe. It seems like so long ago that we were worried about our little baby that was born too soon but today we walked so that someday it might be a distant memory for all of us, for every parent and for every family that has had to endure the ups and downs of having a preemie.

Thank you again from our family, we couldn't have done it with out you!!!

Playing at the Park....

Today my neighbor Sheri, her mom and I took the kids to the park for some outside fun. It was about 75 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky, the kind of day that if you don't take your kids to the park you feel like a bad parent! We had a great time, Maddux loved the swinging and Katie loved the slide....Cooper the dog just loved being outside. Basically it was a win, win day for everyone. Oh and the playground that we went to had a toddler play area so Katie could climb up the ladder and go down the slide on her own, which I thought was awesome!

Ok so she liked the swings too!

Sheri is holding on to Maddux by his feet but the little guy would just not let go of the side of the dang thing.

Climbing through the tunnel.

Playing at the top of the slide.

Katie going down the slide all by herself!!

Back in the tunnel...

And down again..

You have to appreciate that form!

Ten minutes after leaving the park.......LOVE IT!!!

Little Men Fighting

These are my two of my smallest neighbors Chase on the left and Maddux on the right. Yesterday the boys, and their mothers, came over to the house for some play time and with the millions of toys floating around the place they of course had to have the same one. The ensuing stuggle for the same toy was hilarious....Look how badly they each want that toy!!! (Oh and the boys are two weeks apart in age and are 7 months old!)

Final Appeal!!!

This is my final request and plea for donations for The March of Dimes walk which is this Sunday at John Rudy Park here in York. If you would like to donate please do so by Saturday night so we can have an acurate figure to turn in Sunday morning. You can donate by clicking on the link to the right of this post or if you would rather not do anything online feel free to call me and I can help you with offline donating. Thanks again for your help and consideration and like I have said in the past please pray for warm weather because it is a rain or shine event and right now they are calling for rain, of course!

Flashback...

My Mother found this picture while cleaning this weekend, just thought I would share. This was senior week 1994 and I'm happy to report that my best friends are still found within this picture. If anyone is curious I'm in the front row second one in from the left, next to Heather!!

Having fun on Saturday

Sorry I am about to post a ton of pictures, but I took a lot of cute ones today and I just can't help myself! Today was a gorgeous day here in York, about 84 degrees and sunny, sunny, sunny! We were outside quite a bit, first in bathing suits washing the car and then running around in the cute little number above that inspired me to go crazy with the pictures....again, I apologize!

Yes she was actually sashaying while chasing the cat!

Story time with Daddy.

Bouncing off of my legs.

Saturday......

This is how Daddy's put on sunblock!!!

This is how it looks after Mommy get's done fixing Daddy's work.

Katie in the corner. No, she wasn't bad she was just hanging out there!

One of Katie's new words this week was Cracker, or more like Kacker, she loves them (salt maybe?).

Having some thumb time with Mom.

BABY TIME!!!!

Introducing my first niece or nephew, isn't she/he adorable!!!!

My sister Liz and her husband Doug are expecting their first baby November 1st and I couldn't be more excited, Katie's first cousin!! Liz is doing well, although she did throw up a bit, she never had to visit the hospital and is now she is starting to get a little less nauseous day by day. It looks as though November is going to be a banner month for the Sylvanus girls!!!

Swimming Class....

We were back in the pool today for swimming class and this time we brought along the neighborhood!!

Heather and Chase and Scott and Maddux joined Katie and I in the pool for some swimming fun. Katie had so much fun splashing around and chasing after the toy balls in the pool, she was definitely a lot more clingy than she was last year but we still had tons of fun!

Katie splashing.

Katie swimming on her back, well she was trying...

She splashes so much I can barely keep my eyes open!!

We have a Patio!

This is the up close picture, we picked the cobblestone stamp.

The is the "naked" backyard picture, can you tell we need some landscaping!!

Katie running away from me while holding on to a pack of tissues?? I don't know why but she attaches herself to some weird stuff!!

Katie and her tissues.

New Patio

Nat and I are putting in a stamped concrete patio and on day 1, as of 12:30pm EST, this is what it looks like, nifty huh?!

Katie has enjoyed watching the guys out there pouring the rocks and diging up our lawn, I, on the other hand, cringed a bit watching the bobcat make little tracks around our yard. The patio is going to be 20x15, enough room for the table, grill and Katie's outdoor toys, and with any luck it should be done in time for dogs on the grill tomorrow night! Well while Katie naps I'm going to go talk to Scott about the color selection I have made; cross your fingers!!!!

(You know me I always have to put a picture of Katie on here, even if the story isn't about her!!)

Kate v. Yogurt

I just had to share this Yogurt experience; Katie is not what you call a delicate eater.

(We are trying to teach her to use a spoon so this wasn't just a random free-for-all, although they do tend to happen!!)

Almost Better...

This is what happens when Daddy is in charge, no pants and the remote control firmly affixed and at the ready!!

When I wrote my last blog update Katie was sick and I had just gotten back from taking her to the doctor for a check-up. Well 24 hours later I was the one in the doctors office and just like last year at this time I have pneumonia! (Stupid lungs!) Fortunately I don't feel as badly as I remember feeling last year; I still have the wheeze and the fever, but I don't have that disgusting cough, that was gross.

Nat stayed home yesterday and today to take care of Katie who is also still on the mend from her month long cold, it seems like it's been that long! Today Katie is really seeming like she is back to her normal self, she's not as whiny and she just a much more pleasant child to be around. I am still in bed, trying to let Nat tend to Katie "his way" and I'll admit its driving me batty. All in all they seem to be doing fine without me, although every time I leave the room Katie starts whimpering a bit so she must miss me!

Well I am supposed to be resting so I had better get back to it! Have a good weekend!!