finally some pictures!

Hey, everybody! So it turns out that there IS a SD card slot on Cliff's computer. . .it's just computer savy me who couldn't find it! O-well.

So. We have been busy with CJ playing, Cliff fishing and me working. I've gone up to the cottage a little, too, but Cliff likes to take CJ when I work a few nights in a row. Ever since Cliff caught that muskee he is obsessed with fishing. CJ likes it, too, but turns out he likes to throw Cliff's fish back in the water when Cliff is not looking. He was excited about having some eater fish a little bit ago, but went to retrieve them and found that SOMEONE took them from the bucket and freed them! He did admit to it when Cliff asked him.

We recently went to Minneapolis to visit some friends. Had a good time, but forgot our camera. We took a riverboat ride down the Mississippi, went shopping at Mall of America, went to Cabela's (who could pass THAT up in every city we go to?), ate at some fantastic restaurants, and hung out with friends. Cliff's new favorite game is Balderdash, which we played until the wee hours of the mornings. . .

Pregnancy has been going well, but I am measuring about 4-5 weeks ahead of schedule. Just had an extra ultrasound to make sure there isn't a problem. . .everything seemed to be fine, but baby has a large head and average body just like her brother. I also have a bit extra fluid. . .so my belly is gigantic. Baby looked healthy, though, just has a large brain! Night shift seems to have it's disadvantage while pregnant, despite the obvious of being more tired. . .baby has become a night owl. She's active during the day, but CRAZY at night. Often on work nights she is active almost nonstop between midnight and 6am. It actually seems to put the other babies to sleep when they are cuddling on my shaking belly at night.

CJ is doing well. He's going through a whining phase, but other than that he is great. He finally felt the baby move and now likes to rest his hands on my belly sometimes or lay on it. He often asks when she is coming out and who will help me when she comes. He always volunteers to help so far!

Well, I guess that's enough for now. As we speak I am watching CJ drive his F150 truck through the front lawn, telling Cliff he's gonna run him over and giggling. Funny little kid. . .

Love, Dana

It's a. . .GIRL!

Well, the Moll's have been waiting something like 90 years for this. . .a Moll girl should be making her arrival at the end of November! Had our ultrasound a 2 weeks ago. Everything looks fine so far. As of now she's right on schedule for growth, although my stomach would beg to differ. WAY bigger this time around, but that's to be expected for my 2nd so I have been told. Sorry I still can't post pics (no SD reader on the Cliff's work computer and ours is still on the fritz). She has a name, but we're not blabbing until she makes her debut. At least we will try to hold out until then!

Another new arrival to our family. . .we are the proud new owners of a new vehicle. Our Honda Accord was needing some attention, so we figured we get rid of it and get something bigger for the expanding family. We now have a 2011 Honda Pilot (SUV). Up to 8 passengers, so we can have more kiddos, or just drive friends and family around with also having room for the 2 car seats. It's pretty nice to have the extra room. We were gonna get a used one, but newer used Hondas are hard to come by and we ended up getting a decent deal on the new one. It is black.

Cliff is pretty excited about his accomplishment last weekend. . .he caught a 40 inch muskee up near his parent's cabin in Eagle River. I guess that's pretty big, but he's excited about it cause he caught it on a (and I use my non-fishing lingo here) pole meant for little fish. Apparently this means that actually landing it was a big feat in and of itself cause they usually would bite through the line and the pole isn't made for that much weight. He thinks it was around 20pounds. Too bad no one had a camera with them! Now he's really excited about fishing, so we're going up to our cabin this weekend. . . CJ likes fishing, too. He plays with the minows, and takes the fish from you to the live well. He also kisses them! I won't touch the bait or the fish, so he's already a better fisherman than me!

Well, my breadmaker is about to beep with the dough for my homemade pizza tonight, so I should be signing off. Hope you all are well. Thanks for the comments letting me know at least a few people still look at my blog. . .

P.S. Katie Mears, email me sometime! I'd love to catch up!

P.P.S Miss you, too, Ann! Wish I could have been at the party, but had to work. CJ had fun! Hope to see you soon!

Love, Dana

anybody still look at this thing?

Hey, everyone. I know it's been a REALLY long time, but there is a good explanation. Technology sucks. Of the 2 computers we have both were out of commission for a while and the home computer (one is Cliff's work computer) is still out. Can't use it for ANYTHING now. For a while I could use it for internet, but I was unable to save any pictures because of the memory being full. Hence, the lack of recent entries. I did just now come to the conclusion that I should post SOMETHING, although pictures are what most people want to see...

So, for those of you that haven't heard, Cliff and I are expecting another baby in November. I am now 20 weeks pregnant and so far things have been going very well. Not nauseated, only puked a few times from some super-strong smells (I have the superhuman pregnangy nose, so smells kinda get a little strong sometimes). I've been tired, of course, but not like I remember being when I was pregnant with CJ. My biggest complaint is the acne I get while pregnant, so I am pretty lucky. Don't know the gender yet, should find out in about 1 1/2 weeks at out next appointment.

CJ is doing really well. I swear he's getting taller every day. He's having a good summer, especially since we've been taking him on 4-wheeler rides. He could spend all day on that thing (once we convince him to put his helmet on, which he never wants to do). There's a free zoo here in Ohskosh, so we have been there a few times and they also have a little train that you can ride for a dollar, and we all knwo how much he loves trains. . .

Cliff is doing fine. He has spent a lot of time remodeling the bathroom at the cottage. He has all the plumbing done and the walls back up. The floor is still plywood and the walls and ceiling are bare drywall, but at least it is usable now! Cliff's got some research to finish this summer, too.

For those that don't know, I have switched from casual to full time at work. All that was available was a full time night position, so I work 3-12 hour shifts a week from 7pm-7am. Work itself isn't bad, but I have to use more time at home to sleep during the day and my housework is lacking because of it. Oh, well.

Well, I think that about sums it all up. Miss everyone and hope you all had a great 4th of July!

I have finally found the time to update this site. CJ is at the sitter today and I am in between sweeping and vacuuming. . .

Well, let's see. . .what has happened since Christams?

We have made a few trips to Lake Mills for McKynzie and Rylie's birthdays. The three kids have so much fun together!

I have been busy keeping house and entertaining the little one. It's been a little busier at work so I have actually been working most of my shifts for the last few weeks. I am also in the midst of applying for a full time job. I don't really want to, but with all the crap going on with our ridiculous govenor and the cuts he's making to government employee benefits and wages, we will be taking a hit next year on our finances. If I get the job I will just switch from a casual employee to a full time nights position at the same place I work now. It'll be three nights a week, but as soon as a two nights a week position opens I am going to try for that. Right now all that's open in my department is the full time position and I really don't want to switch hospitals. . .

Cliff is doing well. Spring break is next week so he is looking forward to that. He's been a little stressed this semester, not only having to deal with all the political stuff going on, but also he has two new classes this semester so he has a lot more work to do to prepare!

Now to the star of the show. . .CJ. He is as crazy as ever, a ball of nonstop energy and nonstop chatter-boxing. He is now in a twin bed after crawling out of his crib a few times. Doing fine there so far. Bed time is a trip. He usually stalls quite a bit and has a hard time settling down, so either Cliff or I have to listen to "what's mama doing? what's daddy doing? what's ruby doing?Are they sleeping? Where's grandma? Where's grandpa? Erica, Brian Kynzie, Rylie? I wanna go swimming!" and so on for anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes of nonstop questions before he finally quiets down! Potty training is up and going again. He is back to using the potty a few times each day, so hopefully that will continue now (last time he was doing great then refused for weeks to sit on the potty at all). He is doing awesome in swimming lessons. He jumps in, doesn't cry when I put him under, is paddling and kicking and blowing bubbles in the water. He has class with two little girls that he loves. They are in the second session together, so they are very comfortable with one another.

I suppose that's about it for us right now. Nothing big planned for the near future. . .just CJ's second birthday!

Hope everyone is doing well! Love you all!

Christmas and more. . .

Christmas in Waukesha

All dressed up for a wedding in St Louis




]] "Driving" a 4x4

Christmas Eve at the Moll's

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! It's been a busy month for us. . .

We had a wonderful time visiting with my side of the family the weekend before Christmas. We celebrated with my mom's side on Saturday at my grandma's apartment in Waukesha. Then we celebrated with mom, dad, Erica, Brian, McKynzie and Rylie. The kids had a ball playing, as always.

Christmas Eve we were at the Moll's. We had a great time visiting with Jan, Lori, Grnadma K, Grandpa Henry and Eric. We dropped Ruby off there and came home, because on Christmas Day we started our drive to MO for our friends Matt and Autumn's wedding. It was a long drive, but we had a great time. We spent an extra day in St Louis and visited the Arch and we also went to Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop (guess who wanted to do that. . .) The ride home was rough for CJ, but we made it.

Nothing special for us for New Year's Eve. Cliff went to see FSU beat South Carolina in the Chic-fil-A Bowl (we don't have espn at home, so he went to BWW to watch it) and CJ and I just chilled at home and went to bed early.

CJ is a little spitfire. He loves his new train set and train table that we got him for Christmas. He spends a good majority of the day playing with it. He loves all things train, truck or tractor. His vocabulary is growing like crazy again. He is now putting a few words together to make his point. He is very convincing and if he doesn't get what he wants he throws a massive tantrum. Before the tantrum usually comes very cute begging of "please, please..." and he tries to bribe you with kisses. He also likes to ask you to follow him to the cupboard for constant snacks by asking "hand?" and pulling you into the kitchen. I think he's going to have a growth spurt soon.

Cliff is on winter break, but spends most of his time working on research. Nothing new with me. Hope the New Year brings happiness for all!

Dana

Halloween

Halloween was fun. CJ and I went to Lake Mills and went trick-or-treating in their downtown with cousins McKynzie and Rylie. He did well considering he doesn't quite get it yet. McKynzie helped. The following day we went to Madison to the Children's Museum for their halloween party. It was fun, but VERY busy. We were going to go to Green Bay for the halloween party at the zoo, but ended up with a nasty stomach bug instead and spent the weekend sick. Sunday was trick-or-treating in Oshkosh and CJ helped his daddy pass out candy.

CJ spent this last weekend with grandma and grandpa (nama and bapa) Bavlnka while I worked in Sturgeon Bay helping redecorate with Grandma K. We had fun, but MAN is border hard to remove! I will never do that again!

Lori and I took a Thai cooking class monday. It was fun and I liked probably half the food the class made. Tonight is thai left-overs, so we'll have to see if Cliff likes it, too.

Cliff has been doing a lot of hunting. He got a 6 point buck down near Omro, so he's happy about that, but they coudln't find it for a few days so the meat is no good. That sucks. We've been eating a little bear meat. I don't love it, but I like it better than venison. Cliff really likes it.

This weeknd we're just going to chill at home, then next weekend I am spending "widows weekend" with Erica again. Both the husbands will be out hunting, so we're gonna party (as much as you can with 3 kids between us).

That's about it for an update. Miss y'all!

18 months

CJ's first finger painting

Didn't really like being thrown in. . .

Driving his car in the leaves

Cliff's bear (since I couldn't post it last time due to technical difficulties)

Hello, everyone! Well, fall is here and Halloween is around the corner. Sometimes I can't believe how fast time flies. . .

CJ is 18 months now. He just had his routine appointment and is 24 1/2 pounds (30th%), 32 1/2 inches (50th%) and his head is 85th%. Guess he needs room in there for all those brains! This is about the curve he's been on for a while now. . .skinny with a big noggen! Oh, well. What's new with him? His vocabulary has exploded. He seems to come up with new words every day and copies a lot of what we say. Last night I swear he repeated "I love you" to Cliff when he was going to bed. We're also working on potty training already. He has been struggling with diaper rash since he was a couple months old, so as soon as he started showing interest in the potty, I started working with him. It's been 2 2/2 weeks so far. Each morning we sit on the toilet after he gets up and he has pooped on the potty each morning except for 4. Hope this trend continues and we can start working on other times of day. I know he's young, so my hopes aren't high, but it would be awesome if we could get him out of diapers sooner than later.



Nothing new with Cliff or me. Still no deer for Cliff. He did get his bear (I think I wrote about it last time) and we just got the meat back. I don't love it, but I will eat it, which is more than I can say for venison. Cliff is also hoping to get a coyote this season. As for me, nothing new. Just looking forward to doing some Halloween stuff with CJ. I'll make sure to get some pictures of him in his costume for y'all.



Hope everyone is well and is staying warm this fall. I heard there's a possibility of snow in our near future. . .we'll have to wait and see!