Merry Christmas!

So despite the crappy weather we ventured over to Earlham on Thursday night. We had a good time even though Presley was crabby. She wasn't feeling good and she isn't used to being around that many people! She'll just need to get used to that. I have no pictures of the Goodrich Christmas b/c she was so demanding and whining, so that makes me sad. We only stayed a couple hours and drove home very slowly, but we made it! Presley's runny nose and inability to breathe kept her up off and on throughout the night, so that was fun.......Her crying didn't keep Santa away........he came anyway!

Friday morning we went to my parents house to spend Christmas day. It was a fun day of presents, eating and games!

Here is Presley and Grandma Becky together! So cute!

Here is Presley and Grandpa Lester watching the Packer game on Sunday. Presley and I dressed in our Packer stuff to support them.

It looks like they are having a stare-down! But Presley finally has more hair than Grandpa!

We hope you all were able to spend the holiday with your families and that you all had a wonderful time! It was a great Christmas and we hope the new year will be the same!

'The Look'

So Presley goes thru different phases of giving us certain looks. She tilted her head to the right all the time, then she gave us her cheesy smile, now we get THE GLARE!
She basically gives this look to anyone and everyone. It's slightly embarrassing. Hopefully this is just another phase and next week we'll have some other funny face to show you!

Decisions

I hate making decisions with a passion. I don't even like to choose what to have for dinner!
A lot of changes have been made in my department at work. A lot. Some for the better and some for the worse. Then they promoted all of the people below me, and I got nothing for all the work I've done all year.....for all the overtime I've worked, the people I've trained, going with the flow of the changes..Nothing.
I've been looking for a job off and on for months, but there is never really anything out there within my same company. Then a friend of mine, Shannon mentioned a job opening! It was more money, I was tired of the same ole crap and I applied without thinking much of it!
So I had a phone interview Tuesday, I thought it went well. The next Monday I was offered the job. That same Monday, my current job announced they restructured our pay scales. So basically twice in one day I was offered more money! Rock on!.....however, this decision came to be very hard for me. It made me sick to my stomach thinking about what I needed to do. I love my new team and manager and all my friends at my job. I love that my mom lives on my way to work for me to drop off Presley. I love the parking ramp. I applied for this new job partly for the money, which was now not an issue since either way I was getting paid about the same. So.....what do I do??????? Then I had to remember about every time I emailed my sister or my friend Missy, or complained to Steve on the phone about needing a new job, and then I really realized that I needed to take this job. Either way I'm going to wonder if I made the right decision and I think I'm mostly nervous because I HATE CHANGE! I'm sure you'll hear more about this in the coming months. I also have 2 weeks of training in Tempe! How in the world can I be away from my husband and baby for 2 weeks! Wish me luck!

Another Sunday.

Well Steve did a good job of not drinking too much in Creston at the ugly Christmas sweater party. However, he text messaged me about 10 pm because he wasn't feeling good. He managed to get the flu and spent most of the night at a friends house trying to sleep. He didn't get to enjoy his party and then he had to drive 1 hour back to DSM this morning. Poor guy has been in bed all day. Keep your fingers crossed that Presley and I don't get it too!
So Presley and I had another mother/daughter Sunday in our pajamas! I really needed to go to the grocery store, but I didn't want to take her with me and I didn't want Steve near her! So we just hung out, played and took naps!
This was the first time she has tried to get into her toy basket.........
and it may be the last.

2010

So I've been thinking about the new year and what resolutions I need to make. I never keep resolutions for the whole year, but I can at least try! So here are a couple of the things I'm going to TRY to do in 2010!
1) walk in the skywalk 3 times a week. I know I said I was going to start this a couple weeks ago, but honestly I haven't worked a full week in a while! Bad excuse, I know.
2) drink more water, but not buy water bottles. we started buying bottles of water about a year ago, it's just silly to pay that much for water.
3) give all the nieces and nephews their birthday cards before their birthdays. we are the relatives that are always late and I make this resolution every year. But it throws me off b/c there are 3 birthdays in January and I've never prepared for them. (note to self: need to buy Derek, Zac and Sam birthdays cards ASAP!4
4) be more positive. I know I complain a lot, and I need to be reminded that things really aren't that bad! Our life is pretty good, there really shouldn't be that much to complain about!
5) lose 10 pounds. Since Presley is going to be one in February, I can't really continue to call this 'baby weight'.

2009 has been a wonderful year. Wonderfully tiring, frustrating, amazing, surprising, stressful, and satisfying all rolled into one short year!

Long week.

Steve stayed home with Presley on Wednesday, she was very whiny and didn't want to nap. That makes for a long day! Our friend Kari, was going to watch her for us on Thursday and I was thinking about NOT taking her there and putting Kari thru all that! Well, it turned out that Kari's little boy was getting sick and had a fever! So Steve and I each took a half day. I stayed home that morning and Steve took off the afternoon. It worked out pretty good! That night we had Steve's work Christmas party! Holly was nice enough to come watch Presley for us. Presley was very good for her and went to bed very early too! The party was great! Free food and drinks, it is nice that such a small construction company is able to do that for their employees considering most construction companies are slowing going out of business!
Friday was my day to stay home with P-dog, she was pretty good. I took her into work to see everyone! She glared at everyone. She has an evil glare that she picked up somewhere over the last couple days and does it ALL the time!
We took her to see Santa that evening. We knew she would cry, but she didn't flip out as much as I thought she would! Santa said he hasn't see crocodile tears as big as hers!
So today we basically stayed home, got the Christmas cards done and mailed, presents wrapped and some cleaning done! My parents got back from Texas so I took Presley over to see them. Grandma was very excited to see her grandbaby! (and I think Presley missed them too!)
We were invited over to Susie's house, so we swung over there and hung out with the family for awhile. Presley was pretty good! She can get scared and shy when she is in a different place. But she played and glared at all of them. Susie got an awesome picture of Presley's new glare, I'll have to post that picture once I get it! Thanks Susie, the flan was great and Presley had a good time playing with your (dusty) toys! :)
Steve went back to Creston for another ugly Christmas sweater party, let's hope this one doesn't end the same way the last one did...with Steve hung over! :)

Overall the week was good, even though Miss Presley didn't seem like herself most days. We missed Grandma and Grandpa a lot but hope they had a good trip.

Cute!

So when Samantha was babysitting Presley she brought over her dog Scout. Presley likes Scout b/c she doesn't bark! While they were watching Baby Einstein, they both wanted to sit on her lap. How cute is this pic?

Vegas baby!

So we booked a trip to Vegas! I've been looking for a while but I haven't been able to actually book the trip! I think the snow storm we got last week, finally convinced me that we need to get out of town! A nice 4 day weekend, maybe a little warmer weather and a nice way to spend some of our tax return! :) My mom has been nice enough to volunteer her babysitting services for the long weekend! Thanks mom!!!!

We are on day two without Grandma babysitting. Yesterday I stayed home, Presley was pretty good. A little whiny, but I think she was tired of seeing me and being stuck at home. She has her fathers energy and need to get out of the house! Aunt Samantha came over and watched her today. She was really whiny, but they made it thru the day with Baby Einstein! We think she might be getting some teeth. Hopefully it's teeth and she's not getting sick! Tomorrow Steve is lucky enough to stay home with his baby girl! Of course, he is trying to figure out where they can go tomorrow, so they don't have to sit at home all day! :)

Baby, it's cold outside!

Another weekend has gone by. Saturday morning Presley and I met the fam at Texas Roadhouse for Holly's birthday lunch! Steve had to go to a funeral for his sister-in-laws father. I wish we all could've gone to pay our respects to Stu, but with the long drive and Presley's napping, it just wasn't going to work out that way for us. So Steve went to represent our family. I can't imagine what they are going thru. I don't know what I would do if I lost one of my parents. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
Presley napping. She was so cute with her little diaper butt in the air, in the fetal position. I couldn't help but capturing that moment. On a side note, she had taken 2 steps a couple times in the last week! She is no where near being able to walk yet, but she wishes she was!
Mommy and Presley in front of the tree. We don't have that many (good) pictures together, so I was happy this one turned out!

Our friends Damian and Jen had an Ugly Sweater party on Saturday night. So we put on our best 'ugly' sweaters! I borrowed mine from Colleen's mom, (thank you Cathy!) and Steve went to Kmart (they had the best selection, in case you ever need one!) and found a real nice outfit! He decided he wanted to go ALL out, I think he thought it was Halloween. It was hideous and hilarious! (yes, that is a Santa coffee mug he is drinking from!)

Here is a nice family picture of us in our sweaters. We couldn't find Presley an ugly sweater, so she got a cute one instead!

The party was a lot of fun and I think Steve won for the best 'ugly' sweater! Presley and I left the party about 8:15 (way too late for her!) and Steve stuck around to enjoy the fun. And fun they had, or so I guess from the hangover he had today. He slept on the couch b/c I didn't want to deal with him when he got home! :)

Today Presley and I hung out and went over to Kari's to say hi. Kari is going to watch Presley on Thursday for us since my parents will be out of town. Presley seemed rather comfortable in their house and didn't seem too scared, so that made me feel a little more comfortable. This will be the first time we have left her all day with someone other than family!

Then we went to the mall and had lunch and I bought a new pair of shoes (I really needed them! I'll have to tell you that story too!) By the time we got home it was time for a nap, for both of us!

I have tomorrow off from work! But I think I'll be taking Presley in to see everyone, it will give us a good reason to get out of the house (and I forgot to complete my timecard for last week!)

Things you might not know about me

1. I wear a white tank top under 90% of my shirts. It became a habit when I got pregnant, not sure why. It smoothes everything out and helps hold in the tummy!

2. Steve and I have been together for 7 years now. Married for two.

3. I love sleep. I love naps. I love sleeping in late. Steve does too. Sometimes when we worked at Von Maur, we wouldn't have to be at work until noon. We both had instances where we overslept and were late for our 12 o'clock shifts. Pretty sad, huh?

4. I've bought 3 cars since I was 18. Steve is on his third car in 7 years.

5. I've had 6 jobs since I was 16. Target for 6 years, Von Maur for 2 and Wells Fargo for 6. The other 3 were small part time jobs that I didn't have for very long. Obviously I don't like change.

6. I had a skin cancer scare about 5 years ago. I probably deserved it, after all the weekends I spent in the sun. I worshiped the sun! LOVED it! You never think it will happen to you. And even now the people closest to me still lay out, use tanning beds and tanning oils. I'm sure they don't think it can happen to them either.

7. I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Management, I don't want to be a manager. I originally was going to get an accounting degree, that was hard and way too much work!

Snow Day

So you've probably heard, seen or experienced our snow storm. Started Monday night and is finally slowing down. Now we are dealing with cold and wind! YUCK! So today has been a pajama day! Presley and I are still in our pj's, Steve isn't but only b/c he has snow blowed the driveway for the second time today!
Here is our baby all bundled up!
Presley loves to pull the DVD's off the TV stand, notice the full basket of toys behind her that she ignores!Here is a picture of our poor table. The snow drift on the right is almost as tall as the table!
I hate snow, but I do feel sorry for people that have never experienced or seen it!

Cry

I hate snow!!! Sure it looks pretty, until it melts and gets dirty and just sucks! If I never had to go out in the snow, I would like it a lot better!

The weekend was pretty good, too fast as always and not as productive as we wanted it to be. Friday night I went with Holly to her work Christmas party! Our friend Andrea works there too, so she brought April as her date and the 4 of us girls went together! It was fun! They are lucky they work for a company that still provides a Christmas party, and one with an open bar! I work for a fairly large financial company that is actually making money right now and we don't get anything, not even our department does anything. If we are lucky, they'll let us wear jeans! WOW!

Saturday afternoon went over to Janelle and Ryan's house so Janelle could take some pictures of Presley! Presley was not very cooperative. She basically just stared. No smiling. She did cry a couple times, so I'm sure those will be cute b/c she does have the perfect pouty lip! Thanks Janelle for putting up with us! :)
Saturday night we met our friends Brock and Jackie at Jethro's BBQ for dinner and drinks. It was very good! Presley was good, she loves all the people and stuff to look at. She was sitting right below some of the TV's there, so I'm sure she thought everyone was looking at her, which is perfect since she likes to stare at everyone!

This morning Steve went to the walk-in clinic b/c his shoulder and neck have been killing him. He can hardly move or turn his head and he couldn't take the pain anymore. They gave him a muscle relaxer and some pain relief and told him not to lift more than 20 pounds. Lovely. Let's hope he gets better soon!
We had a pretty unsuccessful trip to the mall and Target. I had all intentions of getting a little Christmas shopping done, but ended up buying Presley clothes. She was whiny and not real happy about sitting in her stroller, so we all went home and took naps! I love naps!........................ and I still hate snow.

Ducks vs Beavers

We are watching the football game between the Ducks and the Beavers, doesn't sound real tough does it?

Something very exciting is happening tomorrow.....we are making the last payment on Steve's student loans!...............now don't get me wrong this is a big deal, until you realize that we only pay $25 a month and his loan from 10 years ago was for a very small amount, for the one semester he went to college. So in another 5-7 years I can announce that my student loans have been paid off!...don't worry, I'm paying more then $25 a month on mine! ha

We've watched 2 Netflicks movies in 4 days! That's crazy for us! Living on the wild side huh? The Bucket List and 21, both good! After watching 21, Steve thinks he is going to make millions by counting cards in Vegas. I say, go for it! Bring me the money!

Christmas, I love. My checking account hates. We have to buy presents for 18 people, that doesn't include me, Steve or Presley. Only 4 out of those 18 are my immediate family! The Goodrich family has kids up the ying-yang, from 18 years old to 6 months old! Needless to say the older ones will be getting their usual $20 and the youngers ones, the coolest thing we can find for about $10! ha.

10 months old! Yikes!

Presley is 10 months old now! OMG! She is now so happy and fun! Now we fully understand the joys of being parents! I look forward to picking her up from daycare after work! Our favorite part of the day is waking her up in the morning and it's almost a competition to see who can get her laughing more!
Our baby girl -

• loves walking along furniture or with her walking toy. She loves climbing over things, instead of going around them. She's even let go of things and just stood there standing by herself, not for a long time but it happens!
• sleeps! People, she actually sleeps now! Usually we can get a good 11 hours out of her at night. She sometimes will wake up in the middle of the night looking for her pacifer but hey, I'm not complaining!
• knows what a doggy says....I knew that her grunting would be useful someday. If you ask her what a doggy says, she'll usually grunt or growl. Of course, we've been asking her what Santa says and obviously Santa grunts or growls too.....So this whole thing might just be coincedence.
• doesn't like to do tricks anymore (sounds like I'm talking about a dog, huh?) will occasionally play pat-a-cake or wave bye-bye.....but that is only occasionally. No so-big, or scrunchy-face smile, she hardly claps for herself anymore. I guess she's past all that and is ready for bigger and better things.
• still doesn't talk. There is a mumble or babble every so often, but no syllables. No dada, baba, mama.....nothing.
• can wear most of her 12 month clothes, some things are still too big. The problem with a lot of baby clothes is a lot of the sizes come in 6-9 months and then 12 months...and the 6-9 months stuff is officially too small. The clothes that are just plain ole 9 months still fit though.
• has 3 nicknames - Presley Pie, Peanut, and Baby Girl
• loves to eat! That must be the Moeller in her, which probably isn't the trait I want her to have. If you give her 10 Cheerios, she will grab then all with both hands and stuff then all in her mouth, it's almost as if she is starving. She'll eat all the time if you let her! She loves real food too, but Gerber yogurt bites are her absolute favorite!

She is taking a sneak peak at some of her Christmas presents! Being nosy is a Moeller trait too!
Still trying to get after her presents! She hasn't really tried to go after the tree or ornaments yet, but she does like the bows on the presents!

So happy!