Random Rosalee

Rosalee gets bigger and better all the time but it seems like I hardly have time to blog about it. So here are some random things from the past week.

We've been working with Rosalee on how to use a spoon lately. We got some coupons in the mail for microwavable Gerber baby meals so we thought we'd try them out. Here is Rosalee learning to use the spoon... it only lasted a few minutes before she began to use her fingers and then ended up licking the plate.

Rosalee has decided that Trouble is her best friend. They run around the house together and Rosalee will try and play with her all the time. Rosalee was getting ready for bed the other day and when I went to get her toothbrush she climbed under the couch and started singing to Trouble. When we put her in her crib who did she call out for? Yes, Trouble.

Good quality family snuggle time. I took the second picture because it was one of the rare times Trouble looked cute and not like a snaggle toothed beast.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Rosalee LOVES to dance! It doesn't matter what type of music is playing she'll just sway her hips to it. We find it funny that (as you can see in the 2nd video) Rosalee even shakes her hips to classical songs and nursery songs.

We're doomed!

Here are some new things Rosalee can do-

*Climb on the furniture like a junior King Kong* *Run, fall, get bruises* *Protest nap time* *Try to haggle her way out of going to sleep ("more book", "cup" "mommy!!!!!!!", etc)* *Take her socks off* and my personal favorite *Say "no" and mean it*

About time!

For months and months we've thought Rosalee was getting a tooth. We'd see white spots, she'd get sick, etc. and then nothing. Right about the time we decided to give up looking for teeth she wakes up with some! While we were staying with our friends we noticed that she had both of her bottom teeth one morning. She didn't act upset or sick so if it wasn't for her smiling we wouldn't have noticed. Her top two teeth are starting to come in as well. We can see the white spots and the gums are swollen and red around them. Maybe she'll get all her teeth at once.

Our pictures aren't the best but it isn't easy getting a toddler to stay still while you pull on their lip and poke at their teeth.

Now for your viewing pleasure, some photos of Rosalee from her friend's 1st birthday party. These are the same friends who were WONDERFUL and opened their home to us while ours was full of mold.

She plays with other birthday cakes more than her own. Oh well! At least we got some cute photos!

Craziness!

Here's an update on the craziness we call our lives.

Our house is special. They found mold in the wall so they had to punch several holes in it, some how clean it, and then fill it with some stuff that should prevent the mold from coming back. Since the house smelled very strong of cleaner, paint, etc. we had to air it out (in 17 degree weather while it snowed) and we stayed one more night with our friends. We are VERY grateful to our friends for letting us stay with them while our house was being fixed. We were pretty happy to be able to come home but this is us so of course more craziness had to happen!

We came home in time for some of the coldest weather in 15 years. Our house is old and drafty so even with the furnace cranked and two space heaters on our house maxes out at 59 degrees. Last night it was around -20 and tonight it should be -30 so we get to wear a lot of clothes and sleep with every blanket we own.

The cold weather has also taken a toll on our car. The battery is dead and we had to buy a new one because jumping it didn't work.

Needless to say we can't wait for the craziness to be over!

Ugh

I've always thought that when it rains it pours. Again, I've been proven right.

We got home from a wonderful vacation to find a few annoyances. Nothing too awful, but enough to get us ticked off for a short time. Just when we thought everything was going to be getting better it got worse.

Jesse and I were putting away the Christmas tree when we noticed that the carpet was wet. Upon further investigation we found that a larger section was sopping wet. We took Rosalee to a friend's house and started bleaching all the wet/mildew/moldy things we could find. We opened some windows to help with the AWFUL smell and went to have dinner at a friend's house. After dinner we realized that the smell was not going away so we spent the night at our friend's house. So we set up a dehumidifier and two space heaters and got out of there as fast as possible.

Today we went to the house in hopes that the carpet would be dry and the smell would be gone. We got half of our wish. The carpet is dry but the smell remains. While feeling the carpet (to see if it was dry) Jesse noticed that a large section still looked wet. He pulled the corner of the carpet up to find that the padding underneath was covered in mold as well as the bottom of the carpet. He started having an asthma attack and I started gagging from the powerful mold smell.

Needless to say, we're not staying at home again tonight.

So now our fear is that the mold is not just in the carpet but that it is also in the wall. The water heater is on the other side of the wall so the water had to go under it to get into the living room. Our land lord is coming out tomorrow to assess the problem and replace the carpet padding.

Our land lord isn't acting like the mold is a big problem and he isn't the most reliable person so we aren't confident in what will happen tomorrow. I think he'll come in, try to cover up with the minimal repairs, and tell us that it is safe to return home. Jesse wants to be there to make sure everything gets taken care of and the house is made safe again.

So who knows if we'll be able to return home tomorrow or not. I hope we will but I'm afraid we'll have to move. I just wish our last 6 months here will be easy but it seems that they'll be ones to remember!!

Mississippi

I am NOT a cold weather person. Never have been and never will be. This year my wonderful mother bought us train tickets to see my aunt and uncle in Mississippi before Jesse had to start back at school. Not only was I excited to see my family but I was excited to get away from the cold for a week. We drove to Urbana, Illinois and took a 15 hour train ride to Hammond, Louisiana.

I was trying to take a picture of them sleeping but I guess I woke Rosalee up.

Rosalee had a lot of fun looking out the window and pointing at the cars driving past.
From there my uncle drove us to their house in Pass Christian, Mississippi. The first day it was rainy so we were afraid we brought the nasty weather with us. Thankfully it only lasted one day and the rest of the time was sunny and fabulous!

On our first morning my uncle cooked us breakfast. I think my aunt and uncle were shocked to see how much food Rosalee can put away. She ate 3 scrambled eggs, a large handful of bacon, and some buttered toast.

After breakfast we went to the Gulf Shores National Wildlife Refuge for a walk. It was nice to be able to be outside, wearing t-shirts, in January! We saw a lot of birds in the marshes and even one alligator by the side of the road.

Rosalee wasn't too sure about my uncle at first. We think it's his mustache that she was afraid of because, once she got familiar with him, she kept poking it. But his plan to win her over was to share his Popsicles after dinner. It didn't take long for the plan to work!

I can't get over the fact that she was in only a diaper, getting Popsicles, with the windows open, and it was the beginning of January!

After a busy day Rosalee just passed out on the bed.
One of Rosalee's favorite things about this vacation was getting to play in the sand at the beach! My aunt and uncle live about a 5 minute drive away from the Gulf so we were able to go a few times. At first Rosalee just ran her fingers through the sand but by the end she was piling it on top of herself!


She kept showing the sand to us and saying "ooooh!!"

I had to hold her hands because she kept wanting to fold in half and play in the sand!

Jesse wanted me to post this for my aunt. The entire parking lot was empty and she parked us right next to the dead seagull. Nice.

Sandy baby toes after a fun afternoon at the beach!
Most nights my uncle cooked us dinner but one night we decided to eat out. We were planning on going to this AMAZING crawfish place but we found out that crawfish aren't in season. At that point I wanted to cry because I had been looking forward to eating them, but my aunt promised me we'd find something equally as good. We decided to go to a Chinese food restaurant in Bay St. Louis and it was GREAT! They gave us soup, eggrolls, fried rice, and then four family style plates of entrees.

Here's Rosalee with her 1st plate of Chinese food. She enjoyed fried rice and chicken lo mein. I'm not sure if the staff enjoyed the HUGE mess she left on the floor though...
Near the Louisiana border is the Stennis Space Center. It is the country's largest rocket engine test site and it's right off the interstate! In fact to get to the space center you have to park at the rest stop and take a shuttle on the campus. We drove around the campus and saw the test sites and then went to the museum.

I'm sorry the picture is bad but it was very sunny that day. I guess it helps blurr out the sign under Rosalee that says something like "please no sitting or climbing on the rocket".

A family of astronauts!

My aunt Billie and Rosalee walking around Mars

While we were waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the car we went to the shuttle playground. My aunt and I had fun taking goofy tourist pictures as you can tell. :)
Since Rosalee had so much fun at the beach the first time we decided to take her again. This time we were able to stay longer and she was willing to go into the water. The water was fairly warm so it was nice to walk barefoot in.




On our last day we went to a fish market and bought some food to take home with us. I thought we were just going to buy some salt water fish but Jesse had other food in mind. We came home with 'gator steaks, frog legs, crawfish tail meat, and some red snapper. So if anyone has some good 'gator or frog leg recipes PLEASE let me know! After that we went to the plant nursery where my aunt works. My desire to live in the south grew when I saw the large variety of fruit trees that can grow down there. After that we went to the train station and headed north. We barely got off in time because the train employee was asleep and we couldn't open the door without him. But we made it and got home in a timely manner. We left 72 degree weather and arrived at 27 degrees. It didn't take much time before we went out and bought a second space heater.

Rosalee ended the trip the way she started it, by eating them out of house and home! At least the cereal kept her busy while we packed our bags.

2009- a year of change

I've been thinking about the past year and then about this new year. This year is going to be a year of change for our family. I know change happens to everyone but our family is going to experience several larger changes.
Jesse~ He's graduating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In May Jesse will be done with college... for now. He says he's been thinking about getting a Masters degree, but not for a few years. With graduation another change comes- getting a career. Jesse has worked before but this will actually be a job that he wants, not just one that pays the bills. :) All of those years of school will finally pay off for him so we're excited. Jesse has applied for several jobs and plans on applying for a lot more. Most of the jobs are back in the west, closer to family, so another change will be leaving Indiana for wherever we end up. Some of you may say, "But how do you know you'll leave Indiana?" To that I answer, "Because he's applied to zero jobs in Indiana and plans on applying for zero jobs in Indiana." Sorry Indiana people, but we're just not Midwesterners. That and there aren't any jobs for him in Indiana.
Rosalee~ That kid changes EVERY day! She is starting to run which is hilarious because it usually ends with her landing on her bum. She also is starting to talk more and more everyday. Some of the big changes we'll see are having her completely potty trained, her getting some teeth (FINALLY!), being able to feed herself using a spoon/fork, and being able to hold simple conversations.
Marie~ Sadly I think I'll be the boring one of the family this year. Not much will be changing for me in 2009. (I'm looking forward to moving in early summer though!) This August Jesse and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. I know 5 years doesn't seem like that long but it is 1/10 of the way to 50 years and with today's society making it 5 years is longer than most.