June 2012 update

June 2012 Pictures:  A glimpse at our month

The weather was wonderful and the boys skipped rocks out back at the creek

We love our blackberries!  Toben always helps to water our plants.

Both of the kids sit on my stomach and I snap this shot of my beautiful view.  Proud big brother :)

Carousel in Mansfield OH originally built in 1907!

Toben loves to take care of his friends baby dolls.This doll would actually cry, so he tried to comfort it with a hug.

First fort built that Fiona was able to participate in.

Cant keep this girl away from her toes. 

Introduced rice cereal mixed in mommy's milk a few days ago.  Still working on keeping it in her mouth as opposed to on the bib.

Visiting Pittsburgh, Fiona spent some time with Uncle Jens and was very happy as you can see.

Saying farewell to Knud and Shannon... they are off to Germany.  Last week Toben confused Knud with Dr D off Phineas and Ferb (Disney channel)

Toben and Shad... earlier he had very smoothly wiped his dirty hands on the back of her shorts.  (Lovely)

FIONA SOPHIE

 

Some of my favorite pics of Fiona so far

Learned to stick out her tongue in April

Still sticking it out in June

I am a happy momma.  :)

Teeth have definitely started to put pressure on her gums... but she handles it really well. Lots of slobbering and biting things lately. 

And Then There Were Two!

Toben's Mom is now, Toben and Fiona's Mom!  (Although the blog name will stay the same) I am the proud momma of two children!  :)  Fiona Sophie was born Feb 16th of this year.  She has been a complete joy and we are so happy to have her as a part of our family now!

Before her arrival, I was very worried about how Toben would handle not being the center of my world.  I thought he would regress or maybe be jealous of the new baby.  Being an only child myself, I had no past experiences to pull on for comfort.  I was a bit worked up. How would I handle being a mother of two? 

Toward the end of my pregnancy, Toben and I would talk about his soon-to-be role as a big brother.  We focused on how important it would be for him to help me with our baby.  He would tell me how he wanted to have someone to play with him and all his toys.

After Fiona arrived, all my worries melted away as I watched my little baby boy turn into a helpful and sweet big brother.  No regression.  No jealousy.  Only curiosity and genuine love.  Turns out having two children isn't as hard as I thought it would be.  Turns out, being a parent of two is not rocket science.

 

 Here is a video of the kids in March.  Toben thought I was still in the bathroom, but I pulled out my camera and caught this beautiful clip.  He was telling her she will get "bigger, and bigger, and bigger!"

Settled in and Lovin' Life as a Stay at home Mom!

It has been almost a year since my last post.  Forgive me, I will try to post more often.  Let me give you an update of some of the events from the last ten months.  :)
I left my job in the beginning of August.  (No regrets there!!!)
We moved to the lovely town of Mount Vernon Ohio at the end of September 2010.  I love our home, barn, and six acres!
Toben is now all but 18 months old.  So, I think it is safe to refer to his age as 1-1/2 from now on.  No more months... just years and half years.  (2....2-1/2.....3......3-1/2...)  His 1st birthday party was held at his G-pa and G-ma Weyant's house with a Phineas and Ferb theme.  Lots of fun was had by all.  Tons of gifts were received.  Weird thing was he insisted on eating his birthday cake with a spoon. 

Life is fairly simple now that it is just me and Toben all the time.  (Zach works and travels 4-5days a week)  Toben has a relaxed schedule which includes Monday play dates with Elizabeth, 2-1/2 and Wednesday story time at the Fredericktown Community Library.  (Fredericktown is also the school district we are in) Other than that he is just a normal growing little toddler.  He doesn't talk much yet, but we communicate very well.  He recognizes many, many words that I say and he can point to the picture or object in question.  At ten months he had his first words, on and off.  No joke.  I have it recorded.  He would insist on be held up to a light switch for what seemed like hours, so he could flip it back and forth and say "on, off."  There were even times he would say "on, off" repeatedly until he fell asleep at night.  Cute, but it got annoying. What else developmentally,.....he walked just before a year old... and quickly went into running and climbing. 
Nowadays, his favorite words are "Dadwee" and "Mom" or "Mommy."  My name is typically coupled with a whiny high pitch and Zach's name is usually in a questioning tone into a phone.  (He loves calling his Dad)  He likes playing outside with his wagon and climbing up but not yet down the stairs.
I guess that is enough for tonight.  I will simply flood the rest of this post with some pics and post more in a few.  (Because this bloggin' thing isn't rocket science)

Sammy at Toben's 1st Birthday Party

October 2010

Unwrapping Birthday gifts with Daddy

Great G-pa Yaggie at Toben's Extravaganza

Sammy loves T-bone

Zach in the Barn

Toben loves sledding in the snow

Can There Be Too Many Onsies?

Last weekend, before Zach went to Wisconsin, a large tote of just size 6-12month clothes was found.  This find comes just days after I packed away nearly three full boxes of 3-6 month Toben clothes.  I had a few days where I thought, "Toben doesn't have enough clothes"!  I ordered three onsies and one two piece pajama set for my gettin-big-baby from carters.com.  (The package came with Toben's name on it, too cute)


Like I said a few days later we found 26, I repeat/retype 26 onsies that can now fit my spoiled child.  So what did I do?  Hung them up in the closet of course by color like any average crazy mom.  :)  Baby clothes are so much fun!

All We Need is Love... and 10% Down

Every two weeks Zach, Toben and I are a few hundred dollars closer to our 'Home Sweet Home.'  It is so awesome to know that out there, somewhere in that flat state of Ohio is a house and a yard with grass and a mailbox just waiting for us to come and say, "Well take it."

Over the last few months I have literally become an expert with the remax.com site.  I probably know more about the demographics of Ohio then the residents.  Within the next two or three months, one lucky Ohio community will be graced by the Weyants from Newville PA.

I know it is a bit early for goodbyes, but I have been thinking lately about what I will miss when we move.  I will surely miss the familiar Sheetz gas station at Ritner and 495.  No Walmart is the same as our Carlisle Walmart at midnight.  I will miss seeing my Mom every week and Tina, Jeff, and Lars everyday.  I think the thing I will miss most of all, like that I will think of daily, would be the mountains.  We have beautiful mountains here in Central PA that surround our small towns like a big earth hug.  Good luck to our soon-to-be Ohio home as it attempts to live up to that!  Well they do have baskets the size of hotels in Ohio, so that is a good start I guess.

Sweden is Far Far Away

Well, Zach has a new job with DeLaval that he started in the beginning of February.  He likes his jobs as a Voluntary Milking System Specialist (VMS), the only down side is he travels a lot!  He has been away at least six full weeks since he started.  Last week, and this coming week, he will be in Tumba, Sweden.

Six weeks, in the scheme of a six month old's life, is a fairly big chunk of time.  (Thank goodness for skype)  Toben has grown so much in these last three months and unfortunately, Zach has missed about half of it because of the travel.

The plan is for me to be able to stay home with Toben ASAP.  Whenever Zach travels in the future, Toben and I can decide if we would like to go too.  Our little family unit can be together enjoying all the little moments in life.  Like, waking up with a smile, singing all the silly baby songs, listening to the new sounds Toben makes, walking outside after dinner, and giving kisses goodnight.  I cannot wait to be all together again, and in our own home.