Wow, it's been a while

So, I started this blog back in October, with great intentions of keeping it  updated and posting current pictures of the kids. Well, that proved to be too much of a task for me. It takes so long to upload the pictures (about an hour a photo), that it was taking FOREVER to get a post published. So I decided I'm going to do this a little different. I will keep everyone updated on our happenings here, but will also just include links to our most current photos on Facebook.

         So, I feel like the kids have changed so much since my last post in January. Mason has 5 1/2 teeth, and is almost a year old!!! He started walking about 2 weeks  ago, and is a climbing machine. We have had to do soooo much more baby proofing with him. His favorite thing to do right now is pull out the drawer underneath the stove and get in! We spent Memorial day with my dad, where he discovered the pool for the first time, and loved it.

        And Bailey has really changed too. She will actually have conversations with us now, and is very opinionated about what she will and WILL NOT wear. Mommy just isn't cool enough sometimes! :) She has still been having some issues in the potty department. We are supposed to meet with a couple of doctors at the end of this month, to rule out any serious issues. However......two weeks ago, I asked her in the morning if she wanted to sit on the potty (the normal reaction is kicking and screaming NOOOOOOOO!!!!) well, she said," ok." So in we went, and while it took almost 2 hrs of her sitting there, she went! And has been going ever since. She still  won't tell me that she has to go (even if she clearly needs to), but we are making huge progress!! She is still having some hesitations about going, but is very proud of the fact that she is  wearing big girl underwear now. And it's a good thing because she starts pre-school  three days a week in September! They said that they would work with her in diapers, but of course I didn't want to have "the special kid" in class that was still wearing diapers. SUCH A RELIEF!!.

Both kids just got over a case of Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. If you don't know what it is, look it up on google, it's icky!

Mark has continued to be very busy at the farm and hasn't been able to spend much time with us, but I am hopeful that will change soon. However I've been waiting for almost 5 years now for it to slow down! We hope to take a day or two this summer to go up to Chicago for a little vacation, but again, there are just so many projects going on, that it's kinda hard for him to take any time off. He has also been busy with his showpigs. The fair is next month already!!

I have just finished up my volunteer work for Junior Achievement. I was working with a 7th grade class at Frontier, talking about different economic issues that will be important to them once they are out of school. We touched on the importance of education, different types of careers, budgets and the cost of living, insurance, credit scores, and some other things. This was the first time I had worked with middle school students for JA. I was used to 2nd and 3rd graders. This was quite different! With the little kids, they are so excited for a "Visitor" and with middle schoolers, well......they tune you out. But I tried to make it as fun as possible with pop quizzes, games, and real life scenarios. I think they will at least remember our sessions when they come across these terms later in life. I believe I will be taking on two classes for the following year. It's something that I really enjoy and reminds me of my desire to teach once the kids are in school themselves.

That pretty much brings everyone up to speed on what's happening here with the Furrers.
Below are links to my two most current Facebook albums. You should be able to just click on the links. If you would like to save any pictures, just click options and download. Then you can pick where on your computer you would like to save the pic. Until next time ya all!

 Winter 2011 / 12

Spring 2012

Fall and Winter with the Furrers

Well, I said that I would keep this blog updated and I guess I've failed. But hey, I have an excuse right? Well we had a busy fall. Halloween came and we carved pumpkins, which Bay loved.  

                                         

Bailey's

Mommy's

Daddy's



She enjoyed baking the cookies, but it was so hard to not eat them!

 We lost our dog in November due to a little mishap in the driveway. Instead of learning to stay away from vehicles, he was getting more daring, and just got a little too close to Mark's truck one day. oops....   

We were lucky enough to spend some time with my mom and sister in Tennessee. It was great to have a little bit of family time for a few days. Mark and I went out for our anniversary to the Lumberjack feud and then to dinner. Thanks to mom and Katie for watching after the kiddos for us.

She enjoyed counting the drool spots

My Photoshoped Family Picture. Yep, 4 different pics combined to form this one of a perfect looking family! Ha Ha

Then came the Christmas season. Lots of places to go, people to see. Mason seemed to really enjoy the tissue paper in his first Christmas gifts.

That brings us to the new year. I'm glad that things have settled down a bit.
 Time with Mason has flown by, and can you believe that he is crawling now? He suddenly became a lot more work! I spend a big part of my day now picking up Bailey's toys so that Mason doesn't get a hold of them. He weighed in at 17lbs 1 ounce last week, and his heart murmur is completely gone now. The gates are back up here at the Furrer house as now he has found the stairs and enjoys climbing onto them! He is also pulling himself up to stand using Bailey's chair. Oh NO! I think he will be my emergency room child for sure! It's amazing how he went from not being able to sit up, or eat from a spoon, to crawling, climbing and eating like a man, in just a week!

That just about brings us current. You are welcome to see all of our pictures by clicking on the 3 individual links below which will take you to my facebook page, where you can view and download all our family's pictures. Just click on the first picture and it will make it full size, then you can scroll through them. Until next time Y'all....

Fall 2011 Pictures

Tennessee Pictures

Christmas / Winter Pictures

He loved his sister's new chair

Princess Bailey

His new favorite spot

Less than thrilled about all the layers just to go outside

A New Beginning

So here we are! It seems that so many of my friends and family are doing this, that it was only natural that I join in too. Well, Bailey is 2 Yrs, 5 Months, and Mason is 3 months old. As some of you may know, it has been a very challenging 3 months. I've been dealing with some postpartum depression since Mason has arrived. While it is getting better overall, every day is still a struggle. It couldn't be happening at a worse time either, as Mark has been so busy that he really hasn't been home very much to offer me much support or relief. I feel a sense of accomplishment if I can get through the day with just a couple breakdowns. But I just have to keep telling myself that it will get better eventually..... :)  But, there's much more positive things going on in our lives! Bailey just amazes me everyday with how much she is learning and remembering. She now counts up to 12 ( I'm not sure why 12 became the magic number, I only taught her up to 10), can mumble her ABC's, knows all the shapes and can sorta draw them. She has also been learning lots of new songs. Her favorite is the Veggie Tales Theme Song. She knows the whole thing and I didn't even work with her on it. She just sang it one day, and I was like "what?! How did you do that?" And she hasn't stopped singing it since :) It just makes me smile every time she does it. We moved her into her big girl bed in July. It didn't go so great at first, as I would check on her each night to find her asleep on her floor. But she eventually figured out that it was much more comfortable to sleep in the bed, and loves it now. She has only fallen out a couple of times. We have been slowly working on potty training. She did really well right after Mason was born, however she has decided that she isn't ready after all. I will sit her on the potty, and she will stay there for an avg. of 30 mins. Nothing will happen, so I'll put the diaper back on, then she will go. ugh...come on that can't feel good right? She still has her "paci", she can only have it in bed and even goes without it sometimes for nap time. She is VERY into princess stuff at the moment, anything pink is "pretty" I bought a Halloween costume ballerina skirt for her, and she wears it every day. I mean EVERY day. I try to hide it and she will go looking for it and ask where it is. She is pretty much talking in complete sentences and is growing up toooo fast. It's hard to believe that she will be going to Sunday school / Pre-School next fall.  Now onto Mason. Not much to report with him, lol, he's a baby. He has started rolling over, mostly in his crib, I think it's easier to do there with the soft mattress. He is slowly grabbing for toys and loves to talk and laugh to us.  I have been un-impressed with his sleep patterns in the night. He sleeps for about 2-2 1/2 hrs at a time before he is ready to eat again. He is eating 4 Ounces every three hours, around the clock. I try to give him more, however most of the time, he has a hard time getting the 4 in. The one exception is right before I put him down for the night, I can usually get 5 ounces in and I get about a 3 hr break. I do try to just give him his paci at night to try and get him to fall back asleep instead of eating, but what can I say? He's Mark's son, and he likes to eat!  I forgot about these nights! Or maybe it's just that I'm caring for a toddler as well and don't get to take a nap like before. Bay didn't sleep through the night till she was  8 months, so I guess I may be expecting too much out of my little man. I think that is just about it for now. Future blogs will not be this long, I promise :) I don't have the time to write like this every day.  I just had to get everyone caught up with what has been happening. Till next time folks, Happy Trails and Go Boilers!