More Pictures

My family wants more pictures of Camille and the boys. So here are some more:

Camille doesn't cry often and when she does we get a kick out of it. Her cry sometimes squeaks and it makes us laugh. I'll see if I can get it on video.

She is docile like this most of the time. I love that her cheeks are getting chubby.

Pat's father, Bill, was in town. We went hiking and fishing. We also hit an excellent German Deli near Cherry Creek Mall. I am not a huge fan of brats and sauerkraut, but Pat and Bill are. They have other good food and amazing chocolate!

There are two things that give me the heebie geebies, spiders and ticks. After our hike we found several ticks on our clothes. When we got home I washed our clothes and we all took showers. I get the shakes just thinking about it.

Pat took off the kids' hooks. At first I thought it was mean because then there was no chance for them to even catch anything, but after I was hit several times with their line and weight I figured it was for the best.

For a two-year old fishing doesn't keep their attention for too long.

Camille trying out her play mat.

The play mat was actually for the boys. I needed 15 minutes to myself. It worked.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

At times I can't help thinking that my little Paul is growing up so fast, and other times he seems so young. It is an inner struggle for me to treat him older and be patient because he's just four. One day he will be independent of me and I'll wish these days back. It makes me want to be a little more loving, a little more patient, and be a better mother all around. Being a parent is much more difficult than I ever imagined it. In the beginning you're just so excited to have a little baby, and then those babies start to grow up and you get thrown some curve balls. Personality traits that you thought you possessed (like patience for one) no longer apply. And three kids later you're trying to just muddle through the best you can, hoping they will turn out to be educated, responsible, and kind people. Here's hoping those small efforts amidst my flaws will make a difference in their lives.


Paul's preschool did a Mother's day Interview. This made my day!

1. What is your mom's name?
Susan
2. What does she do?
She makes cookies and she makes waffles and special waffles with chocolate cookies.
3. How old is she?
I can remember, so I have to tell you next time I come to preschool. I think she's three or four.
4. How does daddy call mom?
He calls her mom.
5. What is her favorite color?
Pink and red
6. What is her favorite food?
I can't remember. I think it might be bacons and peanut butter sandwiches.
7. What is her favorite movie?
it's a kind of a mommy and daddy movie, like Harry Potter.
8. How many brothers and sisters does she have?
I have one sister.
9. Where does she like to take you for fun?
My mom likes to take me to the outside parks.
10. What message do you want to send her for Mother's Day?
I like to do something and we're excited. It's way cool but I can't tell you yet.

A Little of Everything

I am recovered. During the first week of recovery I would have given anything to be pregnant again. Now that I am recovered there is NO price that would entice me to be pregnant again, ever.

The c-section went well from the doctor's point of view. I have healed perfectly and the surgery went "text book." The healing part was more painful this time. The pain medication kept dropping my already low pressure so I had to stop taking it. My blood pressure was 70/40 for about 12 hours after surgery. It felt like I was dying (or at least it crossed my mind). I could take Tylenol and Motrin, but they didn't seem to help much. In any case, I am better now and loving my increased family. All of it worth it in the end, but it is hard to say such things in the thick of things.

I love these kids! Camille is wearing one of my baby dresses. Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny was good to us this year. I was excited about a record player just like the one I had when I was young. Do you remember them?

Cousin Sarah, Grandma, Camille, and Paul. It was so nice to have my mom here for the past few weeks. I finally feel like I have some legs underneath me. My mom did so much while she was here. We were all taken care of. Thank you Mom!

My Dad came out for Easter weekend and we went to the Wings Over the Rockies Museum. An X-wing fighter from Star Wars IV was there. Very cool :) and signed by a lot of the actors.

Caleb is sitting on a hydrogen bomb. I was also pleased to see a B-1 Bomber up close. They are HUGE! We are actually standing underneath the B-1 in this picture.

A rare thing - Caleb is holding Camille.

And Paul doing what he loves most. I am so glad that he still is excited about her. He has been looking forward to her arrival for SO long.

Camille 2 weeks old. 6lbs. 8oz. She is still a good eater and a good sleeper. She is such a pleasant little thing.

This is a typical picture. Paul holding Camille and Caleb ignoring her.

Caleb's naps went out the window for a few weeks. He would occasionally crash on the couch late afternoon. He still carries that bear everywhere.

Camille Ruth

Camille Ruth Dannenberg was born April 8th. She weighed 5lbs. 15oz. and was 18 inches long. Our little peanut is so sweet. She's a good sleeper and a good eater. Hooray! I am still on the mend, but here are some long awaited pictures from the hospital.

Family Home Evening

I love family home evening! 5 sheets of paper, one big bag of Easter marshmellows, 2 boxes of rice krispies, and the DVD of the Testaments equals out to a family night of fun!

New Dresser For Baby

I bought a rocking chair at a yard sale and after paying for it couldn't figure out how to fit it in the car. Pat went and picked it up from a friend's house the next day and saw a free dresser on the side of the road. He wanted to fix it up for the baby. It was in poor condition and would need quite a bit of "fixing." I wish I had a before picture, but it turned out pretty cute finished. Thanks Pat!

The boys helped paint the dresser.

The finished product.

And this is me supervising the painting. This was a full time job with such good helpers.

An Unwelcome Visitor

The other day I was standing in the kitchen and saw something dart across the floor in my peripheral. When Pat came home he made a thorough inspection and determined there is no way to keep mice from entering our house. There is an opening to the floor boards from the kitchen cabinets and a hole in our outside closet to the floor boards. When I saw the mouse again tonight Pat set a trap. Pat has not seen any feces and is not entirely convinced that I know what I am talking about. Anyway, he is trying to figure out how to block the entrance in the outside closet. Thank you. Here is the tried and true trap system we used all summer at boy scout camp:

It is a 5 gallon bucket with peanut butter inside. You then put a ramp to the top of the bucket. We will check it in the morning. I will keep you posted so that I can prove I know what a mouse looks like. :)

Belly Shot

My four year old took these pictures while we were baking cookies. These will have to do for now. I may or may not post another one. In fact, I believe these two pictures are the only ones I have of me being pregnant. I am 38 weeks and I have a C-section scheduled for April 8th. 1 more week to go!

A true belly shot. I told Paul to make sure he got my tummy in the photo. He followed my directions so I can't complain. Who needs the eyes in a picture anyway?

Here I am trying to tell him his finger is in the way. After this picture he proceeded to take pictures of my thighs. When I asked him what he was doing he replied, "I am taking pictures of your legs." ??? He lost interest in portraits after that and took pictures of the fridge. I love my four year old.

Big Boys Get Bunkbeds

In preparation for the baby coming in a couple weeks we moved the boys downstairs. They are very excited about their bunkbeds. We waited until the last minute because I haven't been thrilled about my little guys being so far from me at night. So far they have been loving the novelty of it. Now I need to figure out how to keep them off the ladder all day. That probably isn't going to happen anytime soon though.

Now that I have started to get the baby's room set up I am getting more and more excited. I'll get a belly shot posted soon.

SUGAR!

My son Paul has what you call a sweet tooth that he unfortunately inherited from me. He loves strawberries, but I think some of his love for them comes from me serving sugar with them. The other day I saw him doing this after his strawberries were gone...

A couple days after this incident he asked for some sugar, and proceeded to explain to me that he didn't want any strawberries with it this time. "Just the sugar this time, k mom." Nice try.

Baby Shower

One of my best friends, Tracy, threw me a baby shower. I had a ton of fun and everything I received was super cute and much needed. The support from all the people I love here in Denver was overwhelming. Thanks Tracy!

My Fingers Are Still Raw

The quilts I made the boys are finished!



This is what the backside looks like.

I shopped around for comforters and couldn't find anything that I liked. I wanted a generic pattern (no sports theme, no trucks, no characters). I wanted them to last 10 years and since we are going to bunk the beds next month I wanted them to match. So I decided to make them instead.

The pattern I chose ended up being a difficult one and I didn't fully realize how difficult it was until after all the squares and rectangles were cut and experienced quilters told me I was crazy. I am the opposite of experienced, but I had some serious determination after I spent so much money on the fabric and a ton of time cutting it all out. So on I chugged. I took all my cut fabric to Boise to work on over Christmas break and when I showed it to my aunt she laughed in my face betting I'd never finish it (insert increased determination). There are no littler patterns or squares to sew into bigger squares. You have to sew each piece adding it to the whole one by one, to give reference to those who have done things like this before, and the rectangles are not all the same direction so you have to leave edges unsewn until the piece underneath on the next row is added. It's a little confusing.

I sewed every spare minute I had. We put them on quilt frames and hand quilted them from sun up to sun down for a week and a half. My mom stayed up all night the last day I was there to sew the edges. I went home with two completed quilts. It's been three weeks and my finger tips are still raw and sore from hand quilting them. I am glad they are done and I probably will never do it again. :)

Cold and Snowy

It has been cold and snowy here in Denver lately. We took the kids sledding the other day and they loved it. I was convinced that the kids would be too scared, but I was happily proved wrong. Paul was even carrying his own sled back up the hill! Pat and I were the ones that called it quits after we were cold and tired. The kids would have kept going if we'd let them.

It doesn't look like there's a lot of snow in the picture, but there was plenty behind me. We got 4 inches more that night and we are scheduled to get 6 more by tomorrow night. We'll try to take them out again soon.

Yeah for Keyless Entry

I have GREAT news!!!!! It may not seem like a huge deal to anyone else but me, but I finally found my car keys!!!!! They have been missing since early fall. I have a duplicated key that I have been using, but I couldn't lock the car with them. It only started the car. The alarm goes off and then the car won't start if you try to unlock or lock it with the duplicated key. Anyway, it is a very good day for me.

I found them in a bag by the kid's bookshelf. I used the bag over the summer for library trips, and I haven't used it since. I moved the bag the other day to vacuum underneath it and I happened to look inside when I picked it up and SURPRISE! Who knew vacuuming could bring such joy.

Grandpa's Plane

We had a wonderful Christmas in Boise.

While we were there we went to my dad's hangar so the kids could see grandpa's airplanes. The ultralight plane pictured has a new engine on it and it needed some flight time, so my dad took it up and let the kids see him take off. We were watching him in the air and then he suddenly turned out of the flight pattern and descended behind the buildings. I knew something wasn't right when he exited the flight pattern prematurely. So we put the kids in the car and headed toward the other end of the runway. As we drove closer I could see my dad walking on the access road to the runway. Hmm?


His engine seized in flight and he had to make an emergency landing. I was glad he was okay. After having several problems with this new engine he is sending it back as a 'lemon' and exchanging it.

My father would love it if one of his kids followed in his footsteps and became a pilot, but it doesn't seem promising at this point. I started taking pilot's lessons when I was eighteen and not too far into them I decided it was not my love. In fact, I dislike flying very much.

This is my dad towing his plane back to his hangar.