She sank her teeth into him!

Ella had her first real "time out" today. She got in trouble at child care, when she decided to bite little Luke. (another child at Laura's house.)

Luke is only about a month younger than Ella, so they have very similar interest in toys. Unfortunately, they don't have siblings at home. So neither of them likes to share.

Today, Ella wanted to play the toy piano. So did Luke. When his hand hit the keyboard, Ella picked it up and bit him. He screamed, but not really. He was probably asking "what are you doing?!" Laura screamed, "ELLA NO!" Then Ella cried. (At least she takes Laura seriously when she scolds her.)

Laura says she told her "we're not going to bite with our 'toofies.' That's not nice." Ella cried some more, then she sat in the "time out" corner for about 30 seconds before Laura let her go back and play.

She definitely took Laura seriously. Now if we can just get her attention when she misbehaves at home!?

The Naughty Step

How do you convince a 1 year old that what they're doing is wrong, dangerous and not allowed? She climbs onto the ottoman stands up and just smiles at us....

We tell her no, we put her down, she climbs right back up and smiles again. She even wants to clap for herself, like this is a game or some great accomplishment.

Now we're trying a sort of "time out," "Super Nanny" style. When Ella climbs up, we tell her no. When she does it again, mommy or daddy takes her to the bottom step on the stairs. That's the "naughty step." She has to sit there for 1 minute. We tell her she cannot climb on the ottoman because it is dangerous and she could fall and get hurt. After 1 minute we divert her to playing with something else.

Does it work? Of course not!!! Works on the show, when the Super Nanny does it. Real life is not so easy. She comes right back to her climbing and keeps on smiling.

It's hard not to laugh at her when you have no idea how to convince her you're serious! We may suck at the discipline part of parenting so far.

Surprise, Reprieve and now I owe them!

I promised I'd write an update today so Troy doesn't feel like the Grinch who stole my Christmas.

It was just after 4pm yesterday, when two smiling faces peeked in my office door. My two favorite people, Ella and Troy of course, made it for the holiday open house after all!! Troy expected me to cry... but I'd cried so much from the thought of having to attend the party alone, that I was just so relieved and excited to have them there!!

Laura had dressed Ella in her Santa shirt and put a sweet, pink bow in her hair. No one even cared that Troy and I were there after seeing our cute girl. She's always a hit and why shouldn't she be? We selfishly think she was the sweetest girl at the party. She was well-behaved. She ate, drank, played and we all had a great time.

I'm so lucky to have my little family!!!

Christmas Party Blues

It's pregnancy. I know that makes my hormones go into overdrive.. and I'm just crazy emotional. But my day has turned into a complete blubber-fest!!!

We're having a holiday open house at work. (in place of our annual Christmas party to include the families) Every one is bringing their spouses and children, even some grandparents and grandchildren are coming. Offices are decorated with lights and trees, they've been out all morning carting in the Christmas goodies and games.

I'll have to celebrate this gathering solo.

Troy had hoped to get away from work an hour early, pick up Ella and come over for the party. But that's not gonna happen. Sometimes, his job is very unorganized and things get changed at the last minute. I swear, it's like TV news, maybe worse since he doesn't make nearly as much money. Anyway... some person's poor planning means Troy has an emergency and he's stuck at the office.

I could drive out to pick up Ella. But it's 30 minutes to get there... probably 45 minutes to an hour to get back in traffic... and then we have another 30-45 minute drive back in the same direction to go home. That just doesn't make sense.

I did print out some Christmas photos of Ella to hang on my office door. (so at least people can see how cute she is) Now they're stopping by all day and asking "do we get to see her?!"
They'll just have to think I'm the unwed, pregnant lady this year.
BAH HUMBUG!!!!

I'm calling it "he"

I just can't help it. After my regular monthly OB visit last Friday, I've started calling baby Robinson #2 "him" or "he." The doctor heard the heart rate (around 140-142) and he guesses it's a boy. (Nothing scientific of course, just an old wives tale and he admits he has a 50/50 chance of getting it right.) For some reason I just can't get boy out of my head.

This little guy is swimming around like crazy. The doctor had to chase him to hear the heart beat. I can feel him kicking at night and Friday, for the first time, Troy could feel him too.

They're scheduling our appointment for the level 2 ultrasound in the next few weeks... so we should know for certain by early January 2007.

I've already started thinking about a boy's room and trying to pick out some cute stuff. (although Troy insists this is another girl and I have to give him some credit, he was correct the first time around when the doctor was wrong.)

There are plusses and minuses on both sides of course:

If it's a girl:
- we already have clothing coming out our ears!
- we get to re-use a lot of stuff ( pink and yellow and floral)
- no guns, killing bugs, jumping off things, additional penises, etc...

If it's a boy:
- Ella will still get to be our baby girl
- Kristi is ready to send boy hand-me-downs
- we get to buy some new stuff in boy colors
- Troy finally gets some testosterone in the house!

Of course, all that really matters is that this baby seems to be healthy so far! He or she is very active and growing right on schedule. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what we're getting... but it won't be long now.

You're in the army now- almost

My friend Jerry... you never cease to amaze me! Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, traveling to all 50 states in a week. Is there no end the to abuse you will subject yourself to?!

Now you've gone and signed up for the army. I'd say I'm surprised, but in some ways, I'm really not. You've always been the kind of person who did things that might seem crazy, but really took a lot of guts.

Leaving TV for a year to go home and tend to your family farm... thought you were nuts, but in the end, you came out better for it. Leaving sports for a job as a news reporter and anchor... thought you had to be a glutton for punishment, but look where that got you! Number one anchor at the number on station in town.

You're like famly to me, which is kind of sick and twisted since I was hoping you'd father my children if I didn't get hitched by the time I was 35. In fact, you were my stunt date the night I hooked up with my future husband. (You should thank Troy. He came along just in time. I was 34.)

I've always known you were something special, just because of how my Nana felt about you. Faye was perhaps your oldest and greatest fan. In her eyes, Jerry Jacob could do no wrong. She loved you like a grandson and felt like she had family in town, just because she could watch you on the news every night. You touched my heart by showing up at the hospital to visit her. Then, when you showed up at her funeral, it was a great comfort to me.

I'm so proud of your latest adventure! I know Nana will be watching over you. I love you my friend. Be safe!

(hope you all enjoy this picture.. this was Jerry, Jenn & Kimmie, in the not so flattering early 90's!)

2nd trimester funk

My clothes don't fit, at least, not the way they should. But who wants to start wearing maternity clothes when you're only in the 15th week! Regular pantyhose are too tight, maternity hose have a giant extra belly that I don't need yet. I'm already clumsy so heels are not the greatest idea.. but on the plus side... I am still wearing my boots!

And I'm freezing! How did that happen? During my last pregnancy, I was hot all the time. My face was flushed, I sweat profusely. I assumed being pregnant in the winter months would be a welcome break. WRONG. This time around I can't get enough clothes on to stay warm. I'm using a heating pad at night to warm the bed, and Troy is dying! He sits around in shorts and a t-shirt complaining that we can't turn up the heat anymore because the bill will be too high!

I thought the second trimester was supposed to be that happy time when you enjoy pregnancy? I am much less nauseaus than I was a few weeks ago. I'm starting to get some energy back, but I still want to go to bed by around 9:00. We dont' know if we're having a boy or a girl so we can't do much prep on the room, I'm starting to look pregnant, but not really enough that people notice. (In other words, I just look fat!) Overall, no one seems very excited about the pregnancy.

Ella doesn't know what it means when I tell her our new baby is growing inside mommy. She just HATES it when I touch another baby and she doesn't like to share with anyone. (Sibling life should be fun.)

Troy is sick of having a sick wife who sleeps all the time and can't get warm.

I'm sick of wearing the same 2 pair of pants alternating every day with different bumpy sweaters and shirts that gape over my growing body. I'm tired of not sleeping well and not feeling well and looking fat instead of pregnant.

It's still early... maybe we'll get excited when we find out if this is a boy or a girl. All we want is a healthy baby... but it's exciting to know and start planning everything. Hopefully, that will help liven things up at our house.

Trouble lurking under the tree

I've seen the warnings and read all the parenting magazines. They say "don't put up your big Christmas tree with a toddler in the house. Put up a table top tree that can be out of reach." Right, whatever. We're sticking with our holiday plan and trying to keep little miss sticky fingers away from all the decorations.

I started by putting ornaments that I deemed sort of "child safe" near the bottom of the tree. Nothing glass, nothing with small beads, nothing we love that's irreplaceable, etc... But leave it to Ella to wander around and find anything that's even close to fragile.

She pulls at things. She wants to take them off the tree and play with them. Her favorites are a little doggie that Troy has had for years, and a computer (also Troy's) which plays "Favorite Things." This one is real trouble, because she knows it makes music and she wants to play it. But she can't, at least not without help, so when I see her up to her shoulder inside the tree, I have to send Daddy for help to play the music.

Only 23 days until Christmas. We hope our tree will last that long! Now do we dare to put presents underneath?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

First we had 1/2 inch of ice on Wednesday night. Then we got 10-12 inches of snow Thursday. Today, Friday, Olathe, KS is a winter wonderland. This was a reminder for me of how great it is not to work in the TV news business anymore!!!

If it snows or sleets, my office often sends us home early. If school is canceled, my office opens on a delayed schedule. When the roads and sidewalks are this bad, this pregnant lady stays home and works from the computer upstairs... still in her pj's.

I've worked from home Thursday and Friday of this week. Thursday, Troy went ahead and took Ella to childcare. He just didn't want to worry about his pregnant wife getting stuck somewhere or slipping on a sidewalk. Today, Friday, after all the snow, Ella stayed at home as well. She was amazingly cooperative and well behaved. She played and watched her movies. I was able to work from the home computer and make my phone calls during her two naps... we had a great snow day together.

She keeps looking out the window and saying "no" which I think means snow. She's probably waiting for daddy to come home and let her play in the cold white stuff.

I'm not mentally unstable! I'm pregnant!

How are you supposed to get into the holiday spirit when it involves so much work and reorganization?! Last night, we decided to drag out all the Christmas decorations and put up the tree. Mistake #1 was attempting this BEFORE Ella went to bed.

Our first step was the move furniture and make some space for the tree. We decided on our usual spot in the living room, near the fireplace. (We assume if Ella wants to mess with any ornaments, etc... we're most likely to catch her if we're in the same room.)

Since last Christmas we've purchased a leather recliner which occupies that corner. This particular leather recliner is big and fat! We could only bring it in through the front door. It's too wide to be moved upstairs or down to the basement. Basically it's stuck on the first floor, or in the garage.

So we moved it into the front room. You know, the room which we never use that will eventually have french doors and new furniture and become an office. (TANGENT) We couldn't just move it down the front hallway to that front room. It's too big to fit down the hall, so we (meaning Troy since I'm pregnant and can't lift) moved it through the kitchen around the corner and into the front room.

Now the front room is packed full!!! Sofa and love seat, (both big and deep) huge recliner, bookcase, tables, lamps, etc... I hated it! I wanted to put up a big curtain and just close that room off until after Christmas.

Troy says, "I know you want it perfect, but it's only for a month." My response "fine, but no one can come into our house and see this mess for the next month." This is when Troy decided I was mentally unstable in my holiday decorating and furniture moving plans. I chalk it up to pregnancy and nesting and the need for things to be just right.

Eventually, after 4 or 5 re-works, we finally found an arrangement that we could agree on. Yes, the room is still pretty full of furniture and yes, Troy did have to take several ALEVE before going to bed last night. But I think we're actually ready to bring up the Christmas decor tonight. (of course, we'll wait until AFTER Ella is in bed this time.)

NO means NO (unless you're Ella)

It's hard to discipline when she cracks you up! Troy literally had to turn his head away from Ella last night, because he couldn't stop laughing at her. Sometimes, even when she's being rotten, she's just so darn cute!

We're working on "NO." Ella hears it, and sometimes stops what she's doing for a brief second. She says it, "no, no, no, no" when she's doing something wrong, or trying to tell another kid not to do something. But she really doesn't have the slightest idea what this word "NO" means.

She constantly wants to climb onto the leather ottoman, which we use as a coffee table. It's soft, it's the perfect height for her to get on top of, and it's a much better seat for TV viewing than the floor. Unfortunately, Ella's still pretty clumsy, and we're not so sure she won't tumble off and land on her head.

So the battle begins. Ella puts a leg up to hoist herself onto the ottoman. Troy pulls her down and says "NO Ella, you can't climb up there." Ella laughs and we go again. She climbs, Troy responds by pulling her leg down. "NO Ella." By the third round, this is a game and Ella is just cackling at Daddy. What fun they're having she tries to climb and he pulls her legs.

Plan B: Diversion

Finally Troy tries what the parenting magazines, parent educator, etc.. have been telling us... DIVERT THEM TO SOMETHING ELSE. Instead of pushing her leg down, he carries her over to her toys and starts playing. Game over. Who cares about climbing on the ottoman when you can play with Daddy on your car!

I'm not sure who won this battle, but I'm sure we'll fight it again soon. Ella may not know what "NO" means yet, but Mommy and Daddy are certainly learning something!

Thankful that Thanksgiving is over!

I'm so thankful for my husband! I'm thankful for his patience and his ability to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously while grinning and bearing it.

It was a rough weekend. I was sick. Ella was sick. First, we just had bad head colds. Then it got worse, so we made a trip to urgent care. Our colds had turned into bronchitis (Mommy) and an upper respiratory infection. (Ella)

You have to understand Troy's mentality... for him, a holiday is a time to lay around, watch football, play on his computer and enjoy time off from his work. Throw a child into that plan and his ability to be a "couch potato" is limited. Add my family, visiting for the holiday and Troy's free time is gone.

This was only compounded by his sick, pregnant wife and a sick toddler. Troy cooked, cleaned, fetched, entertained and pampered ALL of us.

Now that the guests are gone and we're on the road to recovery... Troy is ready for his 4 day holiday weekend to begin!

Ella and I are going to try to return the favor this week. Troy loves putting up the Christmas tree and decorations. He gets very festive! We'll make this a special time and hopefully, get him back in the holiday spirit! We love Troy (daddy) very much and we're so thankful to have him to take care of us!

(****On a positive note: my first Thanksgiving dinner turned out pretty well. Everything was edible and enjoyed by all. Lots of leftovers and we're eating those up during the recovery period!)

3 little words...

I can't believe I heard them today, for the first time, from my girl!

My parents are babysitting Ella today. They're in town for Thanksgiving and Laura's taking a day off from childcare.

Her vocabulary is really increasing lately. She says "Laura" and "truck" and "okay" and "Papa" pretty frequently. We've been hearing "Momma" and "Daddy" and "doggies" for what seems like months now.

But today, when I called home to check on her (and the DirectTV repair man who is late to show up) Ella talked to me on the phone. First she just listened as I said hello and blew her a kiss. I said "I love you Ella!" and soon those 3 little words came right back at me. "i love you..." (Papa says she kissed the phone. )

My heart stopped. She recognized mommy, and said the most precious phrase I'll ever want or need to hear. She loves me. That's it. I've lived my most perfect moment. Everything else... just gravy.

Vikings fan... a life sentence.

Ella is a Minnesota Vikings fan, by default. Troy insisted that just as he was raised cheering for the mighty Vikings, so would he rear his offspring. "MAN LAW." (Okay, whatever, as long as she can cheer for the Cardinals during baseball season, I'm fine with that.)

Football season is an intense time around our house. Sunday morning Troy and Ella put on their purple and gold jerseys and get ready for game day. Troy is glued to TV from noon until he goes to bed Sunday night, then again Monday night. (of course, this week, we have the Thursday night Thanksgiving game.)

Some of this season has been okay. The Vikings have actually won a few games and that makes Ella's daddy very happy. When the Vikings lose--- expect Troy to be disappointed and frustrated--- until Monday or Tuesday when he starts looking ahead to the next week's game.

Ella has learned to cheer and clap when the Vikings are doing well. But she doesn't quite understand why daddy yells at the TV, when they Vikings are messing things up. I guess that's a lesson she'll learn as she gets older. Unfortunately, this weekend was another loss for the Vikings. But Ella, Daddy and grandpa Robinson all hold out hope that someday, they'll see their mighty Vikings win the Super Bowl!

Finally Friday! Will we survive the weekend?

It's funny how I've always looked forward to weekends, and still do, even though they are no longer a time of rest. Once Ella entered our lives, the days of sleeping late ended. 7:15 is a welcome break for us. If she sleeps to that point, we feel like we've had a real treat!

None of us will be sleeping this weekend, we have grocery shopping and prep work to do! My parents are coming into town and I've decided I'll make Thanksgiving dinner. I've never cooked a turkey before. I'm just going with a turkey breast for the 4 of us (+ Ella). I ordered it in advance, so I won't have to thaw a frozen bird for several days. How hard can it be? Worst case scenario, we'll have hot dogs and all the side dishes.

As if Thanksgiving guests weren't enough, we're entertaining friends this weekend. Troy spends Sundays parked on the sofa, in front of his new TV. (more on the 46" monstrosity in a later posting) Anway, he wants to have his friends over to watch football. Great idea! But, the timing means more shopping and more cooking just 2 days before my family arrives!

Oh and I did I mention we have dinner plans tonight with friends at our house, plus Ella's Christmas card photo appointment Saturday afternoon?! Throw a grumpy pregnant lady and a high maintenance toddler into the mix... thank God it's only 37 days until Christmas!

Our doggies

They're Ella's best friends. I had to write about the dogs today so I could share a cute weekend photo.

Daisy and Lola have loved her since the day she came home. Now Ella's mobile, and the dogs have a new playmate. They can chase her around the house and run together in the backyard.

These dogs are patient with the newest member of their pack. They let her poke at their eyes, pull their tails, even ride on their backs like a horse, (notice Daisy the lounge chair) and they still want to be with her morning and night.

These are truly a toddler's best friends!

Nightmare night!

Who knew night terrors would be so scary for the whole family!?

Let me first explain that Ella is a great sleeper. She's been this way since she was 2 months old. She wants to go to her bed, with her blankets and be left alone. No bassinet, no co-sleeper, her crib, her room. Now she says "night night" and heads for the stairs when she's ready. She actually looks forward to bedtime!

So this is a new development for us, but apparently it's pretty normal for kids Ella's age. We've had a couple of occasions in the last month... where she just wakes up screaming. Nothing will comfort her expect Mommy and Daddy. She wants both of us, in her room, at the same time, hugging her. She is afraid to be left alone after one of these terrors. She will lie back down, hug her "blankie," cover her head and just cry. She's scared of whatever happened in that dream!

Last night, we spent 2 hours trying to soothe her before we finally gave up, and brought her into our bed. This is not something we like. (by we I mean all 3 of us) Normally Ella just won't sleep in our bed. She lays there talking and playing with Dad's nose or watching the clock which projects onto the ceiling. But in this case, being with mom and dad was all she needed. She was asleep before Troy even got under the covers and she stayed with us until morning. 1-3 a.m. was rough. 3-6 a.m was... well... at least quiet. We all got some, but not nearly enough sleep.

Troy hates mornings in general, he's grumpy when he wakes up. A morning like this could push him right over the edge! But he's trying to take this all in stride. (I think it's hard to be a grump when you get to wake up next to that little bundle in her footed pj's. All we had to do was save her from the bad dream.)

Ready or not, here comes our blog!

Well, I've watched friends do this for months and finally decided it was time to join the electronic age. As Ella gets more active, we get busier, and it just seems tough to keep up with everyone on what's happening in our family. Hopefully, this will give us an easy outlet and you an opportunity to check up on us from time to time.

Troy has already flat out refused to offer ANY CREATIVE INPUT WHATSOEVER to this project. He will provide "technical assistance" as needed. I think he worries that I might actually use some his strange ideas in my posts. (as if!?)

Anyway... here's where we'll start this all off: it's a week before Thanksgiving, 2006. Troy and I are busy as ever with work and keeping up with Ella. She'll be 15 months old next week. She occupies her time chasing the doggies, digging all our Tupperware out of the cabinets, and generally destroying newspapers, magazines, or anything paper that she can get her hands on.

We're lucky Ella is a good sleeper, a great eater, and a generally happy child. She's a big flirt and Troy knows that will come back to haunt us in a few years. But, for now, she's a gem!

I'll try to post photos, updates, etc... every 2 or 3 days. Feel free to check back at anytime and let me know if there is something I'm forgetting to talk about.

Speaking of forgetting things, I've already forgotten to mention baby Robinson to be. He or she is due June 1st, 2007. We are in our 12th week of pregnancy and so far things are going really well. Last week we had our first ultrasound and heard the baby's heartbeat. That was a big relief for me. There's just something about seeing and hearing that life in there for the first time. It was also a big relief for Troy. I've been dreaming of twins and triplets, but the doctor assures us there's only one baby in there!

I should mention right off the bat that this will be my steam of consciousness talking. You may get some random things thrown in from day to day. (I'm a pregnant lady who can barely remember to turn off the faucet after brushing my teeth, so just cut me some slack.) You should also know that I'm a TV person at heart. I've been writing for 15 years in a way that's comfortable for people to speak aloud on camera. I'll use ellipses (...) in places where they probably don't belong. My sentences are usually short and to the point. I'll do my best to avoid the spelling and grammatical errors. But that's just how I write, so take it or leave it. I never promised this would be a work of literary genius.

I do hope you'll find this a fun way to keep up with what we're doing. Until next time... (see there are those pesky ellipses!!! Already!)