yikes

Okay, it's after midnight. I should not be posting a blog, but I was emptying the camera photos onto the hard drive and I came across this pic. We are going to a wedding on Sunday so we were making sure Vince's suit would fit him. It does. He chased me down after I put it on him and while I was squatting to take a photo, he totally knocked me over and this is the shot I got of him. Maybe I'm just so tired that I'm slap-happy, but I cannot stop laughing about it; I had to share. I'll post some nice pictures after the wedding...if we can get some.

Little helper

We have white ceramic tile in our kitchen. It is a total pain to keep clean. I have to spot clean it all day long. Also, Vince has a really hard time while I'm cooking or doing dishes. He always wants to be on the counter or be picked up so that he can see what's going on. One day I had a bright idea of giving him a pot and and a spoon, which was great. It kept him occupied every time we were in the kitchen that day. And that was it. The next day he caught on to my scheme. Anyway, one day I was on the floor spot-cleaning the floor and he was watching me with a lot of interest. So I gave him his first chore as the oldest Ripley kid: cleaning the floors for mommy. He's pretty good at it and sometimes carries the towel around for quite a while looking for places to clean; even furniture and carpet floors. here's a little video of him:

He also likes to look out the window or sit on the front porch and watch the kids play at the park. recently he's started waving and saying hi to them. kinda cute.

29 weeks and other fun photos

Wow. I think the doctor must be wrong. I had it stuck in my head that I wasn't getting that big because of what my dr said (see previous post). Then I took a photo of myself at 29 weeks because that's when we had our preggo pics done with Vince and I wanted to compare. So imagine my surprise when I looked at the photos and saw that I am HUGE! you also might be able to tell that the belly button has started to poke out this time, which it didn't do with Vince. Vince loves my outie! heehee.



Here are some other photos for your viewing pleasure:

Aunt Valerie, Vince and Jacob


Vince finally has shown an interest in television...and he watches just like we do...which is funny, because I don't think he's ever really seen us watch tv like that. Anytime the tv is on when he's in the area, we're up moving around...that's what we look like after he's in bed!!!!

Baby Ripley Update

I had my 28 week appointment last week. It was my first appointment with the new OB, Dr. Schneider. Cathy Kunz made an excellent recommendation. She seemed really nice and very knowledgeable. Of course it's impossible to replace Dr. Dameron, but I feel good about the recomendation that Cathy gave. Their office is a little different from Dr. Dameron and Weaver's. There are several docs and you rotate through until you meet each of them in case your own doc isn't on call when you actually deliver. So next week (I start going every 2 weeks now) I see a different doctor.

Anyway, the 28 week checkup is when you do the glucose test and other lab work. I was so afraid that I would have gestational diabetes again this time, but the results came back fine!!! I was so relieved to hear that. I do have to take an iron supplement because I'm slightly anemic, but I would much rather that than pricking my finger 5 times a day and giving up all those carbs and sugar I love so much. I get to have another sonogram next week because the belly measured slightly small, but I'm not really worried about that: I measured right on target at my last appointment with Dr. Dameron, so I can't be that far off. Plus I read that every doc measures differently so you have to account for that. I have gained less weight at this point than I had with Vince, which I'm sure is because of all the physical activity I have been doing since I got to Murphy.

Dan is off to Louisville, KY for work. I didn't realize he'd be doing so much traveling for this job. He's gone somewhere every month since April. Usually it's a week long training course, but this time it's just a new employee orientation, so he'll be back in no time.

Vince is teething (what else is new?) and this is probably the most pain I've seen him in with teeth. The poor kid walks around holding his jaw all the time. I try to keep him comfortable, but there's so little you can do for them. I've been having an issue with one of my wisdom teeth and I know that hurts like the dickens for me, a grownup; I can only imagine how painful it is for my little man! On a bright note, the weather has been beautiful here, so we've been able to spend some more time outside than the first week we were here. Vince loves his park and he met another little boy named Vincent there today...but they call him Vinnie. It was weird hearing someone say that name since we never call him that.

other updates

Here are some photos. Also, here are a few of Vince's recent developments. He has more words than we can count now, but Dan & I are the only ones who can understand most of it, of course. The most recent words are outside, which sounds like "owa," juice (which means water, milk, or juice), hot, Nana and "night, night" (the last 2 sound very similar of course). He also has several signs too: eat, more, please, thank you, milk, and all done are a few that come to mind. He can point to his head, ears, cheeks, and sometimes his mouth and nose, and he knows the sounds of 3 different animals now. you may be surprised to learn after all these years that a cow actually says Boo, not Moo. He can roar like a lion and quack like a duck, too. We can't believe all the new things he keeps picking up every day! They learn so fast at this age! He's starting to sound very conversational in his babbling too. I'm going to post a video of him doing it, but I'm not sure if it will work. Our internet service is a little questionable. By the way, I wouldn't recommend Verizon highspeed internet to my worst enemy. Hope you enjoy whatever media I am able to post. hugs!

We're Home!

Well, we have officially moved in and gotten settled. The house is fantastic, but we still don't have internet yet so I can't post any photos for you, but stay tuned...they'll be here. We still have a little unpacking to do, and there's not much on the walls yet, but it's already feeling like home.

Vince is adjusting very well to his new surroundings, which makes everyone happy! We love looking out the window at the kids playing at the park. When we go over there, Vince just plays in the mulch for the most part...he's so fascinated by it. We also have a poor-man's sprayground: it's an oscillating sprinkler that I set up in the driveway and Vince loves to play in that. It's not Tipton Park or Miller Park, but it makes the little man happy. He also plays in our little plastic wading pool...you'd think it was the ocean for all the fun he has in there. The other day we got out to go get lunch, stripped vince down to his Nemo swim-diaper, and headed into the house...I turned around to see if he was still in tow, but he had run back to the pool and climbed back in and started splashing around!!! So I let him play for a few more minutes while I got some sun.

Dan had a 4 day feild training exercise in Indiana this past weekend, so it was just me and Vince...again. But we stayed busy and had fun. I got some house supplies from the store and got everything ready for Dan to do the drilling and hanging when he got back. Dan had fun on the range with his soldiers. He took command of a unit in Centralia, IL a few months ago and he's really pleased with his Soldiers' performance. They do really good work and they always seem to make him look good to his own superiors. Next weekend will be the first time in a long time that we have a full couple days to ourselves with out work or Army or moving, so we're looking forward to a good amount of family time.

Bosley is not adjusting quite as well to the new house, so we're trying really hard to be patient with him. He's really antsy about all the park traffic across the street and I think he's just trying to get used to the new layout of the house. In the old house he could look out the windows, but it's not quite as easy for him here, so I think he doesn't like knowing there's something going on outside, but that he can't see what's happening. Poor pup.

It's weird not leaving the house to work every day, but I've been staying so busy that it doesn't feel like I'm not working at all! I have to give major props to full-time moms who've been doing it for years and with multiple children! I am loving it and have started figuring out a new schedule so that everything stays orderly and normal around the house. It's fun "managing" the house in a different capacity...I am doing a lot of the same things I always did, but now I finally have the time I always wished I had to do those little things. As a working mom you don't get to invest much time in many activities. I finally feel like I can fully invest myself in being a wife and mom the way Dan and Vince deserve. The best part is that I don't have to skimp on giving them the attention I should and I don't have to feel like I'm being a sub-par employee by taking time off for family time. (Not that MID-CO ever made me feel that way, but sometimes I felt like I could have been more mentally and physically present as an employee.) Anyway, this is turning into rambling now and I want to get some books before getting back home.

We'll post photos soon. Hope everyone is well.