18 months later...

Gosh, not much and a lot has happened in the last year and a half.
So I can't really catch you all up in a blog post, so here are some highlights.
I have gone back to school...again, for the third time. This time I am entering a nursing program and will finish up the Spring before Abby enters Kindergarten. So I will be able to go to work while the girls are in school. I am still working at home during the day and I take classes at night or on the weekend. Once the clinical time of nursing school starts I won't work from home any more.
Liza started Pre-School this year (Jan 2011) and so far she is having fun. She knows her letters and numbers and loves to write and color. For Christmas Oma gave her a digital camera. Fisher Price makes one that is just right for little clumsy hands, and she totally loves it.
Allen joined the Navy as an Ensign, and is also working as a civilian at the Army Corps of Engineers. He will likely be deployed early 2013, not a time I am particularly looking forward to, but one we will survive. He is much happier with Army Corps than he ever was at Delta. He works down town, so the commute is a fair bit longer, but he has a carpool buddy, and that helps with the cost of gas, and gives him someone to talk to.
Abby is 2 and talking in paragraphs. She loves puzzles and is really good at them. She and I love our time together while Liza is at school, it is a great treat to be able to play and snuggle with her and not have to marshal sibling squabbles. Being the second baby, we didn't have that one on one time together when she was little, so it is nice to have it now.
I think those are the major events.

I'd like to start blogging, but not exactly sure what I'd write about...so we'll see how this goes...

It's been a while...

OK, so being a mommy of 2 has taken a bit of my time leaving little for blogging. However, I am going to try to catch up.

Abby is now nearly 10 months, she is pulling herself up and cruising around the coffee table. She loves to play with Liza and follows her around wherever she goes. Yesterday, Abby climbed all the way up the stairs all by herself (with mommy right behind). Abby is still a very picky eater. She'll take graham crackers, some dry cereal and other crunchy things, she loves her bottle, but I can't get anything else in her. She won't eat fruits, meat, or veggies...hopefully that will come sooner than later. We were thinking she had a texture aversion, but it seems like she's just picky. We had to say goodbye to Tako the cat. We discovered that Abby is quite allergic, she has many allergies, but the cat was a big one. Now Tako lives with my dad and his wife.

Liza is 2 and a non stop talker. I don't always understand her, but her stories go on and on and they are very important. She is a great big sister and takes great care of Abby. Liza is one of the most caring 2 year olds I have ever known. Often if she is with friends or at Chruch and there is someone who is crying, she will go sit with the sad friend, offer her "lovie" and make sure the friend is OK. She will make sure everyone has a snack before she eats hers, she is so kind and thoughtfull of others. I am excited to see how that manifests in her life.
Liza has been suffering from night terrors for several months. When they first started she was having up to 10 a week, they started to taper off after a couple of months, but lately they are back to full force. If you are reading this and you are the praying sort, please include peace for Liza.

As for me and Allen, we are doing great! Allen is joining the Air National Guard, I am so proud of him. He has wanted to serve our country for as long as he's known you can, and now it is finally happening. I stay at home and care for the kids - I take in a few others to bring in some income and give the kids friends to play with. I will be returning to school, again, this time to get my teaching credentials. Hopefully in the next year or two I will be teaching. Lord willing it will be in a Christian school where Liza and Abby can join me and our schedules will match.


I think that catches us up...I will try not to take so long to post again...
Blessings,
CJ

We have been a family of 4 for 6 weeks now and we are beginning to get the hang of it. I am home with the girls while Allen works 3 jobs. I like being a stay at home mom, I enjoy spending the time with Liza, we get to play lots of fun games, sing songs, work puzzles and get to know each other better. .Liza is experimenting with the terrible twos, temper tantrums are a daily event. While I try to ignore them, sometimes I just can't help but laugh. They really are silly. She will want to open the basement door and I won't let her so she throws herself on the floor and kick and scream for just a moment, then look up at me to see if I am paying attention. If I am looking at her the tantrum continues, of I walk away she will follow and throw herself in front of me again kicking and screaming. It really is funny. Others are a little more annoying - she gets mad at something and walks around the room clearing off the shelves and tables, throwing everything on the ground - I don't know what to do about those.

Liza is persistent in her desire for my attention - I will be feeding Abby and Liza will want my attention, so she will bring me a puzzle and dump in on my lap. I will tell her that this is Abby's lunch time with Mommy, and that Liza and Mommy will have Lunch time together in a little while. Liza will then bring every toy from the toy box, one at a time and set in on the couch or the floor saying "ME?" to see if I will see something cool enough to stop feeding Abby and play with Liza.

Abby is growing, she was 10#6oz and 22.5 inches at her 1 month appointment - so big! Last night Abby slept almost 7 hours, I am hoping this is the beginning of sleeping through the night. I am really ready for a night time schedule that reflects my need for sleep - I don't mean to sound selfish, but boy am I tired. Liza is still a great sleeper, she will go down at about 7pm and not wake until 8am, I don't have much room to complain there. On Tuesday night Abby was up at 11, 1, 3, 5 and 7 - needless to say I was tired all day Wednesday.

Today was our Chruch's Trunk-or-Treat festival, the girls dressed in Pumpkin outfits that Grandma Kay gave them the last time she was in town. They were so cute, but everyone that didn't know us kept saying that I had cute boys...ARGH! I don't have sons, I have daughters!
Liza liked the bounce-house and the ball pit. Well, with the ball pit she would stick her head in, grab a ball and throw it. She never actually played inthe ball pit. If you recall last year there is a picture of Liza in a ball pit screaming - she didn't like it so much back then.
Abby was good, she slept in the baby bjorn most of the time, only crying for a moment. We had fun, there were lots of people to hang out with, games to play and treats to eat. Needless to say we all came home full and tired.

Abigail Win Nash

Friends and family,
Friday September 12th at 10:11 AM Allen and I welcomed our new daughter into our lives.
Abby tipped the scales at 8 lbs 15 oz and measured 20.5 inches long. She has all her fingers and toes, and everything else is right where it should be.
We came in to the hospital Friday morning at oubt 5:30 to have a C-section. What they didn't tell us was they re-scheduled me for 9:00...we could have slept longer - Oh well, we were there. We got settled into our room and started waiting and I was getting nervous.
Nine o'clock came and I was wheeled into the OR. I was prepped and ready when they let Allen come in. They tugged and tugged and finally - after what felt like my throat being pulled through my uterus - Abby was born. She started to cry and sounded like a little duck.

Once I was all closed up they handed Abby to me and took me back to my room. My mom and her friend Mary were there to greet us. We agreed that Abby looks a fair bit like Liza and alot like Allen. She has my fingers, Allen's eyes, and an appetite that is not yet worthy of the Nash name. Just the same, we all think she's beautiful.

In other news - Grandma Kay and Great-Grandma Dorothy came into town to help out. Liza loved great-Grandma's earrings and decided she was going to try to bring back the fashion of her elders. She walked around the hospital wow'ing the nurses up and down the hall with the new look.

New Baby update...

Happy 4th of July!
Sorry for the delay in updates, we don't have our scanner hooked up yet so I don't have new ultrasound pics. But I do have pics of Liza and news of the new baby.

Things are going well in the Nash household. We bought a home in St. Peters MO and have gotten almost all the way settled. We still have a few house projects to go before the house is "finished", but we are working hard and getting closer every day. This new house has everything we need, 3 bedrooms and a bath upstairs for kids and a guest, and a main level master suite that is more space than we need. There is also a large basement where I will host a day care for the next couple of years. It is nice to know that I will be home with the kids.

In New baby news....Allen is going to be out numbered 3 to 1 - we are having another girl! We are so excited! It is going to be great fun to have two girls so close together. I have already gotten out Liza's 0-3 month clothes and started to put together the new nursery. We think the name Abigail Win Nash is going to stick, and she will be called Abby. Before we knew the gender of this baby, Allen came up with a tribute name for his Grandfather, Walter Ivan Netson, his initials spell WIN and that makes a nice middle name.
As for me, I am getting bigger every day and those aches and pains I so quickly forgot after Liza's birth are returning with great familiarity. I am a little slower on the get go and if I am still too long my hips forget how to work. Our new house had a bunch of Poison Ivy in the back yard and unfortunately I got a bunch of it (via the dogs) all over. So for the past 6 weeks I have been battling one itch-fest after another. My Doc and OB-GYN say it is not uncommon for PI to go on for several rounds...as soon as one round is about to clear up another is popping up. I can't seam to get a break.

Liza had her first visit to Michigan two weeks ago and we had a blast. She had just started to really walk - so when she stood ont he sand and it moved beneth her feet...she was a bit afraid of it. But after a few tries she walked all the way from the ladies beach to the big assembly beach! what a treck! It also took her some time to get used to the water. But again after a few introductions, she was ready for "Calling all beginners - Hurry Hurry Hurry". Liza and Oma had a great time playing together.

This weekend we went to the O'Fallon 4th of July parade with some friends and everyone seemed to have a great time. At the start of the parade were some emergency vehicles with sirens and horns blowing - Liza wasn't too thrilled with all the noise, but tolerated it Liza wasn't too interested in the floats but she had a great time walking around the park and watching the other children.

Liza is going to be a BIG SISTER!!!

Yes you read corectly, Allen Liza and I are expecting a new member of the family on or about September 22nd. We are 15 weeks along and I am feeling well. ... I have gone back to the previous blogs to "remember" some of the blurry details of my pregnancy with Liza and I have noticed that this pregnancy is NOTHING like the first one! Morning sickness comes at 2pm for me this round, although it is nothing major, just woozies, like I've been traveling in a car for too long. Also this go-round I got much bigger much sooner.
here is our 12 week ultrasound. Look at the little one starting in on that thumb already.
We can only pray that this baby is as good as Liza.

Christmas

Happy New Year! We started the Holiday on Christmas Eve over at Oma's house for a nice dinner. Kirby and his family were there as well. It is nice to be able to be all together. Liza and Tripp are becoming great friends! they even share toys! How cute is that!? Liza is pulling up to standing and can reach many new things. Needless to say we are learning a whole new meaning to "cleaning up the living room" Christmas morning came and a Liza learned all about presents. Liza LOVED Christmas! Pulling the paper off the boxes was so much fun! She didn't pay much mind to what was in the boxes, but the paper was loads of fun. We started the day at home just the three of us - our first Christmas as a family. Then we were off to Oma's for her Christmas and lunch. It was a wonderful relaxing time, no pressure to get things done and plenty of time to visit and be together. After a nice afternoon with Oma it was off to Grandpa and Granny Barb's for another Christmas and some dinner. Needless to say with three Christmas' Liza was showered with toys clothes and other wonderful gifts. The following weekend the three of us went to Topeka to visit Allen's family. We left Friday after work and spend Saturday with Grandma Kay and Great Grandma Dorothy. There was loads of snow on the ground, enough to sled in even...press the play button to see Allen fly down the hill!

In other news... Just last week we went to Steak-N-Shake for dinner, Liza looked super cute in her S-N-S hat! She is such a beautiful baby. I don't think I will ever tire of hearing people say "Oh, what a beautiful baby". Liza makes friends wherever she goes, she waves and says "Hi" in the cutest little voice. She has one tooth on top and three on the bottom, with couple others starting to make their way in. Even cuter than Liza in her SNS hatwas her solution to her bottle dilema. Liza was having a hard time holding her botte high enugh to get the milk out...so she put the bottle down on the table and drank from there. She is SO SMART!! More to come...the cuteness will contine.