8 Months and Thankful!

Thursday wasn't just Thanksgiving, it was also the 8 month mark for Ziva! We began the day by making and decorating handprint turkey cookies (I forgot to take pictures, but let's be honest, they weren't that pretty, and I ended up doing most of the decorating. It will be more fun when Ziva can help.), and Ziva and Daddy did a little "project" of their own, using Berry Bananas for paint. Here was the final product....


We headed to my parents' house in the afternoon for our Thanksgiving day celebrations. Our friends Mike, Brooke and Eden came, and Ziva had so much fun chasing and playing with Eden. Even though Ziva's not walking yet, she crawls so fast she still gave Eden a run for her money! We're expecting some steps very soon. Ziva can stand for a few seconds unsupported, and we think it's more psychological than anything else that she's not doing more. If she's got something in her hand, even if it's not actually supporting her weight, she stands better....she just thinks she's being supported, but she's really doing it on her own. So once she figures that out, watch out!


My cousin Katie joined us for Thanksgiving, too. She hadn't seen Ziva in a few months and was astonished by how big she's gotten! It was really fun to have her with us for the holiday.

And not to be left out, Ziva and Uncle Nate help Grandma stir the stuffing. She's quite the little chef!

All in all, we had a great Thanksgiving. We have been so blessed this year in so many ways, and we don't take any of it for granted.

Odds and Ends

Staking her claim in the fridge. She so thinks she's a grown up!

My $5 beauty college haircut. It took an hour and some intervention by the instructor, but I think the final product isn't half bad!

Ziva and I are off all week for Thanksgiving, which is so nice! Well, I had to work Monday and part of Tuesday, but they were very productive days without the students there! Ziva spent some fun time with Grandma while I was working. She has still been sick, and yesterday she had a fever of 101.5, so we went to the doctor AGAIN, and discovered she's getting another ear infection. So today we started a new round of antibiotics (only three days this time, so hopefully we will avoid another icky diaper rash.)

There are a million things I should be doing besides blogging right now....lots to get ready for tomorrow. We're excited about Thanksgiving at my parents' house, but we miss our Florida family!

I just remembered....Ziva had both her top teeth come in. Did I say that once already? I can't remember. There's a gap in between them right now, which is cute, but I guess it will go away once her other teeth start coming in. I'll try to get some pictures, but she doesn't like it when I stick my fingers in her mouth and try to get a closer look at those pearly whites.

RSV and Pudding

Here are a few things from school: These apples decorated the door of the classroom for a long time. But these stats are a little out of date...we went to the doctor again today (more on that in a sec) and Ziva is pushing 18 pounds now!

Today she made another pudding painting for Thanksgiving. I wish you could see the picture they got of her when she realized the paint was not only edible, but delicious!

So I got a call at work this morning from the baby room, informing me that one of the other babies has RSV and Ziva's been exposed. Since she still hasn't been quite herself even after finishing up the antibiotics last week, I made an appointment with Dr. Horton just to be safe....she seemed to have several of the symptoms for RSV, even though they could be anything else too. So we went to the doctor, and no RSV. Just a cold. We're really getting to know everyone at that office now, though. :) It stinks that she's still not feeling well, but I'm enjoying the extra snuggle time (although I fear we're creating some bad habits when it comes to sleeping and being held).

She just woke up.....more later!

Our Life Lately

Here are a couple recent pictures. The remote control is one of Ziva's favorite toys, and she found a perfect place to store it!


Getting ready for the cold weather!!

We have spent the last several days in recovery mode. Ziva had an ear infection, so the doctor started her on antibiotics, which seemed to give immediate relief from the ear woes, but within 4 or 5 days of starting the antibiotics, they took their toll on her digestive system, and I'll spare you the details, but it led to the WORST diaper rash I've ever seen, poor girl. So we've spent as much time as possible playing without the diaper. I finally broke down and called the doctor again after trying several different creams on my own, and she called in a prescription cream, which, after two full days, is finally making a difference. Hooray!! Hopefully tonight she will sleep better than last night....I felt like I did the first week we brought her home. She just would not stay asleep for longer than two hours at a time!

On a happier note, I got to see several old and dear friends this past weekend at a women's conference in Arkansas. The speaker was one of my best friend's mom, and it was just a great time overall. I gleaned some great nuggets of wisdom, and so enjoyed seeing my old girlfriends!

Another Tooth!

Ziva's third tooth is pushing its way through right now. You can't see much, but you can barely feel the sharp edge poking out on top...I think it's just one, not both her front teeth, so she'll have a cute little lop-sided grin.

She's getting over an ear infection this week...she had a couple rough days (but she was extra snuggly then), but she's back to normal now.

I found a really cute idea that I'm hoping we can try in the next week or so for "turkey cookies." You trace your kid's hand on cardboard and use it as a cookie cutter (or tracer, I guess). You cut out cookies the shape of the hand and decorate them to look like turkeys. Cute! Ziva's hands are still pretty teeny, but they'll make cute little cookies for Thanksgiving!

8th Graders on Obama

I have my 8th graders first thing every morning, and when I got to school this morning, I heard snatches of comments like, "We're all going to die!" and "It's the end of the world!" (and some worse). I was prepared for that; as I watched some of the exit polls come in last night, I was thinking about that very group and how worked up they've been and I knew would be after the election results.

Here's what Vince and I discussed and I shared with them, in case anyone out there is also freaking out and/or cares:

• God is not surprised by Obama's victory....in fact, He allowed it, and He has good reasons (Romans 13:1-2)
• God is in control...always has been, always will be
• God commands that we obey our leaders and submit to them (He doesn't say "only if you agree with them")
• We need to pray for our new president

The last thing I told them comes from 1 Samuel, which I've been "coincidentally" reading in the morning. I'm right around the part where Israel asks for a king, and God gives them what they want even though they're rejecting Him in the process. In 1 Samuel 12:13-15 it says, "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers."

Do you see how it says the responsibility for right choices and holy living is up to US, not our leaders? Regardless of whether or not we're happy with the person in office, we have a responsibility to keep God's commands. That's all we can be responsible for, and God tells us not to worry about the rest.

"Dollars and Sense"

Here's a link to a really great sermon series by Jon Courson, a wonderful through-the-Bible teacher. If you want encouragement and wisdom about our economy right now, it's worth listening to. Just click on the link, then play the "Dollars and Sense" messages. The first part was on 10-19, part 2 was 10-26, and part 3 was today.

http://www.joncourson.com/teaching/teachingsmostrecent.asp

Laundry Queen

Ziva is really getting into this helping around the house thing. Today she was my little assistant doing laundry. She pulled out dryer sheets...

She threw them in the washing machine....when she wasn't eating them, that is....

Satisfied after a job well done, and a tasty snack of laundry basket.

Pumpkin Patch

Thursday afternoon we made another attempt at the pumpkin patch, and it was a huge success! It was still a little windy, but the weather was beautiful, and we had lots of fun.

This one's my favorite

Ziva had never crawled on the grass before, and she seemed to like it once she got used to it!

Our little pumpkin is the cutest one of all!

Daddys are good for daring, 6-foot-off-the-ground poses....pretty cute!

Friday Night Lights

Last night we watched Rejoice's last game of the season. We just stayed for the JV game; our friend Mike is the coach of the team we played against, and we sat on their side with Norma and Brooke, Mike's wife. (We aren't traitors....it was just out of the sun!)

Ziva had fun playing with Mike and Brooke's daughter, Eden. We really like their family...they moved from Florida to Oklahoma just about a year before we did (with a little baby), Brooke was a teacher before having Eden, and Mike is a huge Chicago fan, so we feel like slightly different versions of each other.

Big smile in the new high chair!

Check it out....she's already pulling her weight around the house! Our rule is, if you wanna eat, you gotta work! (just kidding, of course!)