What a summer!

Oh my stars what a summer it has been!!!!  Ready for our mini vacation next week and the fall being a better season for us.  The flea bag vacation, intestinal virus, to moving to the big girl bed and mike traveling more for his job.  WOW has momma been overwhelmed.   Oh and completely changing my work schedule for the fall and how I work to keep my great sitter on board with Jailyn.   So blessed to have Colleen and family taking care of Jailyn the nights I work.  That is why there have been no posts for over a month.  Well we have survived the fleas.  Jailyn still has very little notice she had a ton of flea bits however mine that got infected still are healing over 7 weeks later, a constant reminder I want to go away.  If we ever go into a hotel, condo or cottage with any bug in sight we will turn around and leave.  We got most of our money back from our vacation however decided not to fight for the last few hundred from the rental real estate people as by the time we got our attorney involved the cost was not worth it.   I just want to forget the whole thing.   If anyone ask to rent from the company I will make it known that I would no way ever use them as they are not customer friendly and were not honest with us and truly did not live up to the contract having no pets in the cottage we rented prior to our arrival.  You know you take off the time and have this one week a year you so look forward to and then we had fleas.  It took me down and never got the R&R needed to rejuvenate.  We so badly need to get away from it all and in a week we will be out of here and so excited to get a short trip in before our fall begins.  So birthday week came and lots of itching and then the intestinal virus came and Jailyn had it for 2 weeks plus taking the benadryl for relief of the flea bites.  BY THE WAY GREAT NEWS TO SHARE:  JAILYN WILL BE AN AUNT!!!   Yes Katie and Billy are pregnant and due in February.  We are so thrilled to be grandparents in 2013.  Katie was having migranes the first trimester and seems to be better and in 6 weeks will find out what she is having, a boy or girl.   So we made the switch to a big girl bed since Katie and Billy wanted to take the crib, changing table and bookcase.  Wow did we have trauma.  It was one day the crib was there and then the big girl bed.  Change is hard regardless and for our little creature of habit it put her in a spin and had a huge night terror and freaked her out and regressed her back to being needy and wanting to be held all the time.  She talks up a storm now and is so cute the way she talks and says "hold jyou. hold jyou" to be held.   Now three weeks later we are adjusting.  She goes down with little crying yet when she wakes up in the middle of night she gets out of bed and runs down the hall and jumps in bed with us.   She never liked sleeping with us in the past and now it is what happens nightly.  Last week Mike was traveling most of the week and Jailyn slept in the pack in play because she did not want to goto sleep in the big girl bed and momma needed to get her to sleep.  This week we pushed through the tears and finally adjusting.  Jailyn is defintely starting the Terrific Twos throwing the fits when she does not get her way.   It is hard for a two year who wants everything to be her way and things have changed now with NO's and more discipline.  She loves her Gymboree classes and will continue into the fall and we start Gymnastics next week too.  She loves to dance and do somersaults so it should be interesting.  She is going to Cincinnati gymnastics and will be in a class with 4 other 2 year olds and of all things her instructor is named Katie.    So we have two fun events a week we will attend and two days with Colleen and the grandparents get their fair share of time with her too.    We went to her two year old check up and in one year she grew 6 inches and 6 lbs.  She weighs 24.2 lbs and is 34 1/4" tall.   She is long and lean and still petite.   We had shots which were not fun and was the picture of health.  She still has some exzema on her wrists and elbows (which flare up when upset like the change to the big girl bed.)  Mike has been extremely busy with work traveling and I have been trying to balance it all and find the time to work and build my MK unit.   Mike has a rotator cuff injury and will have to have surgery this fall which has been painful for him.  I completed my 24 weeks of weight loss and maintaining my weight and really targeting toning the flabby areas.  I will get back to some more weight loss in Sept to Dec and hope to lose 15 lbs more slowly and firm and be super fit by Christmas.  I am proud I have been maintaining and been able to eat more however still can not stomach the fattening stuff and have little desire.  Mike and I have our August date night tonight with a new sitter and looking forward to our quality time we have planned each month.  We miss it as our lives are still adjusting to parenthood of a busy toddler now who demands so much attention.  It is a challenge however we love her so much and continue to figure it out.  I will post her 2 year b-day photos.  Looking forward to a fun fall and more special times with Jailyn.  She is such a blessing and joy and there is never a dull moment at our house.  We are moving forward with the house plans and hope to break ground in Sept.  Until next month....we appreciate you being a part of our journey.
Love,

Linette