Life Lately

I feel like I go through blog spurts....I am actually proud of myself for not consuming all of my time on the computer. However, I wish I could say it was because of better things, but darn it! I've just been to lazy and tired :)  Actually, I've been crocheting a lot. A LOT. I've just launched my own little "mini business" called Baboo Baby. You can find me on Etsy and I have a FB page www.facebook.com/baboobaby. I have just recently noticed there is another Baboo Baby on FB (don't know why they let me create the page if the name was already taken) and I am the page with the yellow sign :) NOT the home and garden page! I have also been reading like crazy about different discipline techniques using the Bible so that has been a new interest. I've finally realized that I needed some Christian guidance so these books have helped reference a LOT in the Bible that I've always wondered how to preach it to my kids. I felt at the end of the ropes with Miss WC....this last book is called Don't Make Me Count to Three and it's wonderful. It actually gives examples of how to discipline your kids using scripture. So far, it's effective. Now I just kind of feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, I'm not supposed to be perfect and I have been given a lot of grace!

 

 

Check it out! Totally worth the money! All nine dollars of it :)

Chris has started a new position at his work. He's the new Executive Officer for the Commander. Which means long hours but at least he's keeping busy! Chris has also been a rockstar at physical therapy! He told me last week he was able to shoot some hoops with his therapist. Which hasn't happened in almost 2 years. Huge accomplishment! 

We've launched a new small group within our church with another family that meets at our house on Sunday nights, so we've been busy praying and planning for that. This is an exciting thing because our other small group wasn't so small anymore. We miss all of our friends from the other small group, but we're looking forward to what God will be doing with this group!

WC is keeping busy with playdates, Mother's Day Out, and Gymnastics. She is such a social butterfly. Just the other day I asked why she was cleaning and she told me, "I'm cleaning for my friends come ober (over). To play...". This was news to me. I hadn't invited anyone! Ha! She is always surprising Chris and me with silly sayings and she repeats everything we say...She loves to call me dude which is kind of funny now, but it's on the line of being disrespectful. Chris and I are learning about boundaries with WC and what to let her do because everything is a challenge. We are starting to reap what we sow with her though.....lately she's been using her manners without being prompted. It's just taken so darn long!

Natalie is just happy being Natalie :) She loves to play and any kind of social interaction. She loves dogs and little babies (I think she forgets she is one!) and everything that sister does is HILARIOUS. She's going to be walking soon.....she is cruising from one piece of furniture to the next! Nat's a great eater too. She eats with such force that I have to really keep an eye on her. Everything just tastes so good! Which I can relate too.....

All in all, everything is great :) I am so blessed!

Date night of the year!

Let me just start out by saying that since Natalie has been born, I haven't been away from my kids for more than 4 hours at a time...it's been 9 1/2 months. Needless to say I was doing a little jig allllllll the way to Cincinnati!

We started off our date night at The Montgomery Inn Boathouse. We enjoyed ribs, shrimp, homemade potato chips, and broccoli (at least I did anyway!). This was such a pretty place. The restaurant had a great view of the river but too bad it was not pleasant outside!

 

Then we headed over to the Reds game and drove around looking for the closest handicap parking. I have got to hand it to Chris...he's a champ on those crutches!! I can barely make it down the drive way walking with those things. Let alone walk long distances in a ball park!

  A really nice ballpark!!!

 Our view from our seats!!

The Reds and Braves played a great game and in the in the Braves won! YAY!!! There were very few Braves fans around...... We stayed for the fireworks after the show and it was so beautiful!!! They were right over the river and you could see all the boats gather around for the show too. We can't wait to take WC sometime. She would love them!

 

We ended our evening with a quick stop to the Hofbrauhaus.....this crazy German bar where half of the menu I couldn't pronounce. They had a polka band and everyone who worked there was dressed in your traditional German garb. It was just a crazy place!! Inside there were long wooden tables with benches and you just sit with everyone! People were dancing on the benches and acting a fool! ha! I was definitely enjoying people watching and I realized that half of the people there were under the age of 25. University of Cinci was not too far away so I'm guessing that is this bar's main clientele :) We had a great time here.....it was nice to hang out with friends for about 45 minutes!

The drive home was loooooooooooong. After a few wrong turns and hunting down an open ATM, we made it back home to relieve our AWESOME babysitter, Becca (who conveniently lives across the street). She's only 14 (or 15.....can't remember) and she is one of the few teenagers I trust with my kids. She tells me everything that happens and was a real trooper dealing with Natalie who went TEN HOURS without nursing. Becca is GREAT!

This date night was a real treat. It's not something we can afford all the time.....but TOTALLY worth it. Chris and I needed this date night B-A-D. 

We didn't get home until 1:45 and didn't go to bed until about 2:30, so needless to say I was really tired when the girls woke up!! I think WC was up a whole hour by herself before she realized that Chris and I were home....I walked in to the living room and all her toys were out there and she looked at me with this big surprised look on her face then asked where Becca and Sarah (Becca's little sis) were. Poor baby thought she was home alone!! Well...poor baby nothin'.....she was probably LOVING it. HA!

I am so blessed to be able to share these kinds of moments with my husband!

Here's to date nights!! HIP HIP HOORAY!  :)

Strawberry Pickin' at Fulton Farms

We had a great day! This Ohio summer weather is absolutely gorgeous and we went to Fulton Farms with a few friends this morning. We have never done this before since our move here almost 3 years ago. WC is at the age where she would actually enjoy something like this!

We loaded up a few buckets of berries and now I have lots of things to make :)  I'm going to make jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberry ice cream, and a few other delights along the way! The berries are so sweet and now I'm not so sure I could ever buy store bought again....

 WC kept yelling, "Straw-da-berries mom!!!!" She tasted one, but quickly spit it out. She said she was going to eat it but I knew better..........

 There were so many strawberries to be picked! I don't see how people do that for a living. My back was killing me after only 30 minutes.

Natalie at 8 Months

Sighhhhh....my 2nd offspring is now closer to one than newborn. She is growing so fast and I really have been trying to just soak her up before she looses the "baby" part of her.

She's our "smiley girl" and "boo head" (a random nickname...) and she really does light up a room with her smiles. Natalie thinks that everything WC does is HILARIOUS (which I don't find so funny sometimes) but I love the bond that they already share. They're favorite time with each other is in the car. WC will just act a fool and Natalie always lets out her belly laughs...so of course I can never get a video, because I'm driving!

At 8 months, Natalie is completely on table food and breastmilk. It's been about 2 months of her being on table food after only doing baby food for a few weeks (following her sister's footsteps here) and I can never give her her food fast enough. She wants everything on your plate and she wants it now!!

She is low-crawling and will regular crawl for about 3 feet. But she's really slow at that so she just flops down on her belly to go really fast :)

I think she will be giving up her 3rd nap soon.....but she's a really good napper now, so I am very thankful for that! I haven't even begun night training yet for sleep. I have a tender heart when it comes to crying it out at night. She is waking every 4 hours and every now and then I'll get a 6 hour stretch. I know she can do it...and she's ready, but I'm not I don't think...almost there though!

Natalie is really easy to be a mom to. You can give her a bucket of toys and she'll entertain herself for at least an hour...then she'll move to the entertainment center and pull out all of the DVD's. Rosie is her pal, and she loves to eat her food and her hair. Lovely.

Natalie has made such a happy addition to our little family :)  She is the spitting image of Chris, but definitely a momma's girl!!

Lydia Jeanne Robsinon

My new neice!! I love her!!

 

WC and her babies!!

 Proud Meena to three beautiful girls!

Natalie @ 7 months

This little girl just makes me giddy looking at her!! She is so lovable and just smiles at everything. I can't believe we are over the 6 month mark....it won't be long until she is one! Sniff Sniff.....

She is low crawling EVERYWHERE. She is getting pretty fast too! Everything that WC does is hilarious to her and she watches WC very carefully.....maybe she's taking mental note on what NOT to do so she won't get spankings :)

Natalie has been on table food for a couple of weeks now. She eats almost whatever we eat. Mostly fruits and veggies. I'll give her some meat every now and then.

Sleeping still isn't something that happens a lot in this house. The Trobough children just don't sleep well. At least Natalie will eventually stop crying and sleep! She takes about three 45 minute naps...maybe a little longer if I'm lucky. So I don't nap often! She is waking every 3-4 hours still at night, but more out of habit than hunger. So sleep training will be coming soon!

Over-all, she's pretty darn easy. It's neat how different both of the girls are, but they have a lot of similarities (including sleep habits)!!!

Cleveland, OH

 This past week we traveled to Cleveland to see another Sarcoma specialist for Chris's case. So we decided to make it a mini family vacation! We had not been ANYWHERE in a really long time, and we definitely deserved it :) After the appointment we headed to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo which was incredible. It was so clean and organized and the staff was more than willing to help us and accommodate Chris's wheelchair. We were quite the sight to see...lemme tell ya. I had Natalie in the backpack carrier and WC was sitting in Chris's lap while I pushed those two around. The hills made for a great workout :)

 Our favorite exhibit was the Elephants. Such awesome creatures and so beautiful!

So I guess I'll write a little about the doctor's visit :)
We had decided that Chris will not do anymore chemo at this point. His scans were clear for a few months so the only reason we'd be doing chemo now is just for precaution.  This was a big debate among doctors and friends, but Chris feels he is doing what is best for him! No one else can tell him otherwise. We've been SO blessed with different people's opinions and believe me, we considered EVERY

 point of view and we are thankful for everyone's input. The cancer is weird. There is no protocol because  .4% of every millions of Americans develop this kind of cancer.  We have been encouraged to just go with our gut instinct! Unfortunately, there is an 80% reoccurance rate with this, so we have to be prepared for it come come back! Neverless, we are SO ready to be "normal" again. You can't even imagine.......And don't! HA!

We also ate great food and enjoyed the hot tub and swimming pool at the hotel. Just a great get away...even though Natalie was sick the whole time! She tried to be happy at least :)

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

(Too bad neither of the kids would look at the same time at the camera just ONE time! ha!)

Natalie @ 6 months

So she's really 6 1/2 months, but who's getting technical?? Not me...

Here is my punkin pie :)

She is sitting up on her own, scooting backwards and pulling herself forwards. She is rocking on her hands and knees so I know it won't be long til she's trying to keep up with WC!

She takes 3 naps a day and I finally did cry it out for naptime last week. It's helped tremendously with her sleeping and so the next thing to tackle is her night time sleeping habits. She still wakes every 3 hours to eat so I'm going to start cutting some feedings soon. I don't feel any hurry...but the thought of having 6-7 hours of straight sleep just thrills me.

She was eating homemade baby food, but after she had a graham cracker and baby finger foods, she doesn't want to be fed from a spoon anymore. She watches WC eat and wants everything we have. So I'm sure she'll be on pure table food in a few weeks! Following the footsteps of WC...well, I hope not every footstep. HA!

Natalie is such a happy girl. She smiles and thinks everything is awesome. I love having her around and it's been neat to watch her and WC bond. I wish I had a sister bond too!!!

New house

So here is a picture of our new house!! I'm not finished decorating on the inside yet, so you have to wait :) A plus for all my Dayton friends....if you've been to the William's house before they moved, then you already know what it looks like! ha!

We've been here 10 days and L-O-V-E it. We don't miss 610 Halleck Court AT ALL. Now don't get me wrong...we miss our friends and the military community a whole lot. But that house was horrible for our allergies and we obviously can't live there with the stairs and Chris's upcoming surgery.

We are renting from friends who PCS'd a couple of months ago. This house AND the location is just a testimony to our faith that God ALWAYS provides for you. It may not be in your timing, but He DOES provide. We are so thankful for this house and for the family who lived here.

It's 3 bedroom, 2 bath, spacious living room, open kitchen, deck, SWING SET, and a huge side yard. It doesn't have a fenced in yard for Rosie, but she is doing great hanging out on a leash in the backyard! It's just that much more motivation to go for a run with her :)

More pictures will come soon :)

No more "Hah-see"

That is what WC calls her paci.... "Hah-see". It's been 10 days without it! I am so glad we made the decision to "leave the paci's at the old house for the next baby." She doesn't ask for them anymore and doesn't try to steal Natalie's :)

The first night was rough. She cried for an hour and 45 minutes so Chris and I just hung out in our bedroom listening to music so we couldn't hear her scream. Are we mean? Nooooo...I felt like it, but we just didn't want to hear it anymore! ha!

Nap time the next day was a little rough. WC cried for about 45 minutes then only slept an hour. That made for a really long afternoon. Then day by day the crying got shorter and shorter. She still cries when it's time to sleep because she doesn't want to miss any of the fun, but at least she's not screaming for her "hah-see" anymore!

She's a big girl...doesn't need it. The anxiety that the paci's caused for me was ridiculous. She had to have 3 at all times when she slept. One in each hand and one in her mouth. Then she would try and sneak one from her crib and bring it in to the living room. Which was not allowed. At night time she would totally play me....she would throw her paci's over her crib, cry for them, which would lead me to going in there and getting them for her. ENOUGH! Enough I say.....so buh-bye paci's. You will not be missed!

Moving on up

Moving, moving, moving is what we've been doing for almost a week now and we just got internet and cable today! So I will be posting about the new house, how WC is weaned from paci, Natalie's horrific sickness, Chris's surgery, and WC potty training herself. Yes, a lot has happened in a week!!

Peace y'all

Birthday Time

My little baby turned two last weekend....I can't believe how big she is. And she is as solid as a rock and nothing but muscle! Or "musk-uhls" as Whitley calls them :)  I am amazed every day at things she can do. She definitely a little Chris. Just watching the way her mind works in amazing. She is so particular about things (which is a curse from her mother) but so stubborn and strong willed (I assume from her daddy...because I was a perfect child. Tee-hee.)

We had such a fun little birthday party. Chris's parents were able to join us after all and that was such a nice surprise! My parents also made the trip and they stayed almost a whole week. It was so nice having them around. Just someone else to entertain WC because right now we are teaching her to play by herself. And she hasn't quite got that yet!


I didn't make a big deal out of her bday like I did last year. We had cake, a few decorations, lunch, a couple of close friends, and a few presents. Well, it sounds like a lot, but I was WAYYY more relaxed than last year. WC had fun and that's what matters.

I wish that everyone could get to know our WC. She is something else. She is determined, sassy, intelligent, HILARIOUS, and always full of energy. She loves her sister and enjoys telling her not to cry and to be happy!

Happy 2nd Bday to my sweet love Whitley Claire!

Miss Natalie is 4 months old

My punkin' is 4 months old now :) She is such a sweet pea and such fun to be with. Well...except when in the car :) She is still pretty cranky in the car seat. One of these days it will be pleasant to ride around and run errands! Wait a minute....I DON'T run errands. I try not to by myself!!

Natalie is a squirmy thing and has almost mastered rolling over from back to tummy. She's been rolling from tummy to back for quite a while and I know she wants to crawl so bad. Natalie just wants to keep up with her big sister!

Natalie is been pretty sketchy with naps these days. She doing the 1 hour nap at a time thing. Which is exhausting for me because I JUST WANT TO NAP!!! I know it will pass, but I'm ready for longer naps. She sleeps from about 730 to 730 waking every three hours still. She was sleeping 4-6 hours at night, but she's changing things up on me! Not fun...but I know she will only be little for so long.

I can't complain though. At least she's happy when she's awake. As opposed to WC, who just screamed all day!!

I love having two girls. There is always drama in the house, but I wouldn't have it any other way :)

On this random Tuesday....

..........I thought I would actually blog!! Why?? Because Chris has taken Whitley Claire to gymnastics and Natalie is asleep. And it's not close to bed time so I actually have some brain left :)

Today has been a good day. Shoot...this week has been pretty good! I love MOPS Tuesdays, but by the end of the afternoon I'm exhausted. To have 2 little girls dressed and at the church building with everything I'm supposed to bring by 8:45 is tough. This morning I had to take a special trip to Meijer to pick up some breakfast for the girls since I didn't know I didn't have enough grits to make cheese grits. Bummer....  I love seeing Whitley's face when we pull up to church. She starts screeming, "Chuhch!!! Chuhch!!!" then starts asking for her friend Adeline. They are besties and don't know what to do without each other :)  Before I knew it, it was nap time, which unfortunately didn't last long for WC, but I was able to squeeze about an hour nap in while both were napping.

At MOPS this year, we are reading a really great bible study called, The Mission of Motherhood. This week's study was on how to be a teaching mother. That hit home....real close. I pray that I can be a mother who in the heat of the moment can teach and discipline my girls using His Word. Before I can do that, I have to KNOW the Word. I've been digging deeper in to finding out why I believe what I believe so I can teach these morals to my children so hopefully one day when they need to make a good decision, they will already have the tool they need. I don't want to be caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day life...and not take the time to really sit down with my family and talk. Maybe since I feel so convicted now about it, I will make more of a conscious effort to not let that happen!

I can't believe WC will be two soon....her language is exploding each day and my favorite sayings of her right now are, "Opee dis peese" (open this please), "Don tosh it" (don't touch it), "Tie out mommy" (time out mommy), and then just listening to her jabber off all day long wishing I knew what she was saying...but she knows! ha!

Natalie is such a fun baby...just over 3 months old now. Chris can make her laugh so hard and she is all smiles. She rolls over from belly to back every once in a while and she is such a strong baby!!

I am going to a new bible study tonight with a bunch of girls that I am really excited about. It's called, The Politically Incorrect Wife and I excited about this good study on how to strengthen a marriage! I love trying to improve. Key word, try. haha

We are still waiting on word from the doctors if they are going to let Chris do this Perfusion thing. Pray that word comes sooner rather than later just for our peace of mind :)

Happy 3 Months to Sweet Natalie

Today my smiley girl is three months! It's gone by fast...and watching her grow up is so much fun. I've been able to really concentrate on her lately. By this I mean really, just really looking at her and taking it all in. With WC, she screamed all day, so I was really tired! I want to just soak up this cute baby stage since this is our last baby.

Natalie is lifting her chest off the ground and even rolled over yesterday for the first time! I even got it on video!! So excited. Firsts are hardly ever captured on video because they happen so fast! She laughs and loves to smile. her favorite thing to do is sleep and watch WC run around playing. She is sleeping 5-8 hours at night without eating and eats every 3 during the day. She is on an awesome 3 hour sleep/eat/play routine that she put herself on!! I love it :)

All Of Me

My heart is hurting this Holiday season...though I do have many things to be thankful for. I'm learning a lot about myself and the control that I DON'T have. I've felt lost....and sad that I can't cure my husband's cancer....sad that I can't make him feel happy....sad that I can't make us "normal" again. But what I'm NOT sad about is how my Father loves me. Will always love me. This song sums up everything I've been feeling the past 5 months. To learn about "surrendering" is an eye opening experience. Have you ever truly GIVEN something entirely to God? It's a hard thing to do....as easy as it is. You should try it sometime...it's freeing :)


All of Me

Holy father, love me still
I have fallen from your will
I am broken
Hear my humble cry
My cry

I have wandered for so long
Tired and weary on my own
In your arms I know I’m home, O God
My God

Take my life and make it yours, Lord
Fill me with your love
You are all I need
I surrender all of me

Take my life and make it yours, Lord
Fill me with your love
You are all I need
I surrender
I surrender
I surrender all of me

Natalie is 2 months!

2 months already!! I can't believe how big she is! We went to her well baby visit on Friday and she weighs 11 lbs 2 ozs! She's in the 76% for weight, 94% for height (she's a tall girl!), and 64% for head circumference. She is such a smiley and "cooey" baby. I call her my smiley girl. She wakes up smiling and goes to sleep smiling....well...most of the time :) She has put herself on her own AWESOME schedule. She goes to bed at 8, sleeps for 4-6 hours, then wakes up one more time before 9 in the morning :) She is on the 3 hour eat, awake, sleep cycle that she decided to do herself! I have to brag about all this because if you know my firstborn, then you know why this excites me :) While Natalie is awake, she just coos and stares at things. Her favorite thing to look at is the Christmas tree :) It keeps her occupied for about 20 minutes!

She prefers to be in her bed to sleep. She is a tummy sleeper so it's been challenging to train her to sleep other places. She still won't nap in her swing or bouncy, but the car seat is the next best place to sleep :) I find myself being at home more these days just so my sweetness can be in her bed to sleep :) Whatever it takes to have a happy baby!!

I love having two little girls. My family is so awesome :)

Crazy As Can Be

I wonder life will be normal??

HA...... I have an almost two year old, a newborn, and a sick husband. But I couldn't be more in love with my family! Whitley Claire surprises more and more each day and Natalie is just happy to be her :) I hate that I don't blog more. It used to be so fun! I was always out doing something with WC and always had something to blog about! I could just blog about how cute my kids are....but I'll try and do just one big post about that instead of a million :)

Let me just say I am so glad to have had my kids close together. I love the stage that WC is in...as hard and exhausting as it is, and I'm thankful for Natalie's sweet temperament. She is my little bunny.

What's going on with my family these days:

WC- She is non stop ALL day. From the time she wakes up, until bedtime, she is busy! She loves to play with her baby dolls, blocks, books, and likes to watch anything on Playhouse Disney. She is Miss Independent also. She washes herself, picks out her own clothes and shoes. Watch out what you say around her, because she copies EVERYTHING! Soon she will be starting Mother's Morning Out at Fairborn Baptist Church. Right now there are no available slots for her, so she will be "drop in" status. I'm hoping a space opens up soon for her! She is still LOVING gymnastics. Poor thing hasn't been able to go the past couple of weeks because of someone in our family being sick. She's keeping busy though...we are nice enough to let her do gymnastics in the house :)

Natalie is such a great sleeper. She doesn't fight me on it and she has put herself on her own awesome schedule. She goes to bed at night around 8, sleeps for 4-6 straight hours, then usually wakes up 2-3 times after that. She is finally ready to get up around 9 and then stays up for about an hour then goes to sleep...and the routine goes on all day. It's awesome!! WC was never like that so I'm surprised by everything "normal" Natalie does because it's all new to me :)

Chris is hanging in there. He just finished up his 4th round of chemo and goes in for a PET/CT scan on Monday and meets with his oncologist on Wednesday. Hopefully there will be no more rounds of chemo...keep your fingers crossed! Right now he is fighting a cold. WC and Chris have been passing something nasty back and forth and neither one of them can kick it.

I am enjoying having my family at home all the time. I have had to step back from a lot of extra curricular activities, but it's been worth it to take care of my family. I'll be able to start back up soon hopefully! I do miss it :)

I am looking forward to Christmas. WC loves the Christmas tree and I can't wait to tell her all about Christmas and Jesus and Santa. Tis the season!!!

Hello Mr. Snot

Our family has been infected! YUCK! It all started a week ago and WC came down with a runny nose and a slight cough. This would be no big deal for a "normal" family, but with Chris's and Natalie's immune system comprised, this is serious business!

So all was fine and dandy until about 4 days ago....Natalie started getting a runny nose and a little annoying cough. The next day we are at Dayton Children's Hospital because she had a fever of 101. Poor thing had the whole "work up" done with the spinal tap, catheter, IV for antibiotics, blood taken, and other pokes and prods. It was by far the hardest thing I've had to witness as a mother! All evening I was hearing that they were getting our room ready so we could be admitted, but around 830, the doctor came in and said we could go home. I'm not sure what changed, and I'm still a little surprised by this decision (as well as the doctors on Base), but we were happy to be going home! Natalie was at the doctor the next two days getting antibiotic shots and her temp taken just to make sure :) We still don't know, and probably won't, what kind of infection she had, but PRAISE GOD that it wasn't RSV or Meningitis!

WC is still really snotty and stopped up...I feel pretty good....Natalie is on her way to feeling better....but now Chris is sick. This could be serious, but thankfully his blood count is at an acceptable level so he can start chemo on Monday. My mom is flying in tomorrow to help out (YAY) and WC is excited about her "Jojo" coming!

I wish I had normal things to post about, but I'm having a hard time remembering "normal" things. Chris's oncologist has us on lock down this weekend. No outside contact :(  We are going to plan fun family things around the house to pass the time and not to mention watching FOOTBALL! Which is our favorite thing to do :)

Natalie is almost six weeks old...can't believe it! She is such a good baby....only crying if she's hungry or tired. I keep telling her that her big sister has desensitized me to crying to it doesn't bother me!!! She has such a sweet cry too :)

Hopefully this is the last round of chemo....possible two more after this one! But we are going to pretend this is the last one!!!!!