Gender Predictions

In one week, on January 7, 2010, we will have our first ultrasound to peek in at baby Delta.   At this point we should be 19 weeks 2 days.  As long as Delta decides to cooperate, we intend on finding out if we should use masculine or feminine pronouns to describe Delta.  As I did with Jenna, I will be happily accepting guesses of Delta's gender all week.  Let me know your predictions (if you haven't already)!

2 Dinner Parties

On Tuesday evening, we hosted a dinner party including guests Larry and Rita Beckley, Bob and Jo Rentchler, and Matt Carla and Ciara Schenk.  This was the (almost) annual Beckley/Rentchler Chili and Corndog supper.  The food was good and the company was superb. 

On Wednesday evening, we hosted a dinner party with guests of Joe, Charity, and daughter Jordan Price.  Joe and Christa went to high school together had stayed in touch for several years while Joe was in the Army.  Christa and Joe ran into each other and found out both were in the Evansville area and we should get together to catch up (and to meet each other's spouses and child).  Last night I made a salad, Lasanga, garlic bread and green beans.  We had a very nice time visiting and catching up. 

It has been lots of fun having company over the last couple of evenings!

Christmas Time

Christmas brought much joy to us this year.  We had a  nice get together with the Hofmann and Williams family on Christmas Eve at Lance's Mom and Dad's house.  As a family tradition, there is a family photo taken every year. 

Since I figured we would have a picture of the Hofmann Family, I thought we should also have a photo of the Rentchler family to start adding to the collection.  Christmas with the Rentchler's was on Christmas afternoon, hosted by Christa's Mom and Dad.

As for pictures of Jenna unwrapping gifts, they really don't exist this year, because she didn't quite understand ripping paper to see what kind of gift was underneath.  We worked with her to get her to tear the paper, but she didn't have much interest in it this year.  I am sure after watching Kent and Ciara this year, that opening Christmas gifts will be MUCH different next year.  From our family to yours, have a  Happy New Year!

New Firsts....

This week has started several firsts for Jenna.  Jenna gave Mommy her first kiss on the way down the steps to the babysitter's house.  She leaned over and puckered up and muah! 

Jenna started looking at Lance and saying Dadda and looks at me and says Momma.  I am sure it's a fluke, but we thought it was neat. 

Jenna got her first wrapped box to open on Friday.  Jenna tried opening it.  Here is how Jenna opens presents....

First, take off the bow and try to eat it.

Second, stand up against the package and then try to pull on the paper.

Then sit down and try to pull on the paper more.

Finally, get daddy to pull the paper off, so she can play with the paper and the toy.

We put up the Christmas tree a couple weekends ago on Saturday.  Theresa said Jenna never paid an ounce of attention to the tree at daycare (after the first day).  She did the same thing here, never really cared that the tree was put up in the corner of the living room. 

Until yesterday when she got curious.  I found her playing with a glass Santa ball.  She found a beaded star and started playing with it.  Needless to say, she thinks she has found a new toy, regardless of how many times she hears "no, Jenna, leave it alone!" She has even figured out how to take the walker over to the tree so she can get there faster.

Right now, the living room is lots of fun (and a little bit of trouble)!

Mr. Claus

Sunday was the first start I have had a feeling in the Christmas Spirit.  Maybe it was the pitch-in dinner, a visit with the big jolly guy, finishing Christmas Cards and getting the tree up and decorated that did it to me.  I feel like Christmas has finally arrived.

Sunday afternoon, Thresherman's Antique Club had a dinner with Santa Claus.  I wasn't sure how Jenna would do, since some Santa's can be a little scarey looking.  She seemed very intreagued by the Jolly Man's beard.  She acted like she wanted to touch it, but I don't think she ever did.

Of course, once she figured out there was a camera snapping picutres of her, she stared hamming it up!

I would like to specially thank Laura for taking these pictures since my camera battery was dead!  Thank you Laura for capturing Jenna's first visit with Mr. Claus.

Delta

Some of you may have heard by now and some of you may not, so we are going to make an official announcement.  Lance and I are expecting our second child on June 1, 2010.  That makes us 15 weeks pregnant.  So far, I have had an easy pregnancy. 

In stead of calling this baby the new baby or he / she / it, we have given the baby an in-utero name - Delta.  I chose the name Delta, as it is the Greek symbol for change.  Growing into a family of 4 will be a change from a family of 3, but Lance and I are thrilled to have this blessing from God.

Walking and Talking

Lance took a video of Jenna walking behind her push along toy and she was babbling and walking, then stopped to ham for the camera before she started walking again.  I would have posted the video, but Blogger is not cooperating tonight.

As for an update on Jenna, she is talking a lot.  Let me rephrase that she babbles a lot.  She is trying to blow raspberries and is making clicking sounds with her toungue.  She is doing a really good job at walking behind her push toy and stands up and sits down a few thousand times during the day.

Running Behind

I know, I haven't been keeping my blog up-to-date lately.  Ohhh, so much has been going on since I last posted.  Let's see, where to start. 

Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the camping group of girls got together at Carla's house for a playdate.  Unfortunately, Lisa and Emma were not able to make it.  But it did seem that the little girls all had fun playing together. 

Ciara, Aubrey, Kate, Lexi, and Jenna

Bonnie playing with Lexi, Jenna, Aubrey, and Ciara

Thursday was Thanksgiving and our 4th wedding anniversary. We spent the day with the Rentchler family eating turkey and all the fixing's at my Aunt Linda's house. Jenna really enjoyed eating mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, and a bite of pumpkin pie.

Friday, Lance had to work. Jenna and I went out shopping after lunch for a few things we thought we needed. Afterwards, Jenna and I packed up to head north.  We made a couple stops along the way.  First, we stopped at Vincennes Tractor for a potty break, bottle, and diaper change, then we stopped by Ivan and Angel's house and played with Kaity and Kent for a little bit before going to the house.

Saturday was Lance's 27th birthday. He spent the day helping Ivan haul corn away from the fields as the combine shelled it. Jenna and I just worked around the house and played together.

Sunday, Janet (my mother-in-law) hosted the family for a belated Thanksgiving dinner.  Jenna got to see her cousins, Kaity and Kent, and eat turkey, noodles, stuffing, and mac & cheese.  After dinner and visiting were over, we headed back south to get ready for the week.

Blogger Buddies, I may have found a solution!

To my fellow bloggers, I believe I may have found an answer to help us fix our problem. If you have noticed your new posts are not updating under other blogger's "My Blog List" area, read on!

I googled the problem this evening. After reading through many people complaining about having this same issue (earliest complaints noted April 2008), there were a few people who suggested trying this solution.

Sign in and go to the "dashboard - under 'reading list' - 'Blogs I'm Following' tab - click on 'ADD' button - enter your own blog address."

Some people say it works and some say it is a hoax. I did it with my blog and then checked all the blogs that "follow me" and my most recent post at that time, showed up. You may try this basic solution and see if it helps your "updating" issues. Let me know if you try it and if it helps!

Play Time!

Today, we went to the Newburgh Locks and Dams Park to spend some quality time outside. I have never heard Jenna laugh so much. She really enjoyed the baby swings and sliding down the slide. We watched a tug boat reconnect itself to the barges of coal after having passed through the locks.

Jenna's favorite toys today have been the register vent and the Rubbermaid tote I put her toys in. She crawls over to the register vent and smacks them because she likes the sound it makes. We have been wanting to get Jenna a nice toy box, but haven't really found anything (Santa may find one), meanwhile we are using a Rubbermaid tote. It is perfect, Jenna loves to use the handle to stand up and grab at her toys. It seems she is in constant motion these days. I fear when she gains a little confidence, she will be running around the house!

Fall Photo Shoot

I took some cutesy pictures of Jenna today. Okay, the first face is a little scarey, but you can see both her bottom teeth.

Jenna smiling prety with the scarecrow!
Happy Girl!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Pretty Pose!

Family - Please let me know which picture (2 - 5) you would like printed. I know it's been a while since you have gotten your picture frames (or wallets) updated!

Farm Girl

Daddy was helping Grandpa Hofmann farm this weekend. Mommy and Jenna brought Daddy lunch to the field and rode several hoppers full with Daddy, on both Saturday and Sunday.

Jenna was making funny faces. This is the only picture I see a vague resemblence of Mommy. Like I said, it is a vague resemblence...

Jenna in the driver's seat!

Jenna sitting on Mommy's lap in the buddy seat. If you blow this picture up you can see her first tooth.

Cuttin' Beans

Unloading the Hopper.

Jenna and Daddy were playing a game. Daddy was steering the combine and Jenna was trying to catch the green steering ball. She had a lot of fun playing with the ball on the steering wheel. She didn't seem to interested in the fact that we were harvesting beans, but she was a good sport about riding in the combine with Daddy.

Along with Teeth, comes...

getting your teeth brushed. Jenna has been really good about getting her two bottom teeth brushed (with water). I believe she is working on 3 more.
I opened wide for you mommy!

9 Months

Jenna is 9 months old today. Here is a picture with her and Nash. I think she is picking his nose!
I tried to take a picture of her teeth, but it didn't work out too well for me.

She just sticks her tongue out at me!

Then, I guess she was looking for reading materials. She kept playing in the magazine rack on the back of the end table. She pulled out The Furrow, which is John Deere's magazine, laid down on her back and played with the magazine. She really seemed to like it, which thrilled Daddy!

This may have been the best picture I got of Jenna and Nash!

Number 2

Tooth number 2 broke the skin between 7 pm last night and 7 am this morning. Jenna kept sticking her tongue out at me this morning as she was getting dressed. Wahh~laaaa, there was tooth number 2. I have tried to get a picture of her tooth, now teeth, but all I have gotten is tongue pictues.

We hope everyone had a nice Halloween.

Its not that I don't like you....

Jenna is going through a stage. I know she will go through many stages throughout her life, but this one makes me feel super important and visitors don't seem to like it at all. Jenna is starting to show anxiety toward strangers (or people she doesn't see daily). This is a common phase for children between ages 8 to 10 months.

It took Jenna almost an hour to sit down on the floor at Kaity's party and try to be social. Then we were at the doctor's office on Wednesday, my mom (Grammy) wanted to take Jenna and show her off, well Jenna didn't want to be out of mommy's sight. Even while I was holding her talking with a couple of mom's co-workers, her bottom lip was stuck out and would quiver if they got too close. I know the puckered lip made the ladies laugh, but I realize it may also hurt people's feelings.

If you see us in the near future, please realize she really is a good girl, it is only a phase and hopefully it will be over soon.

9 month Dr Appointment and Recent Happenings

Today, Jenna and I went to see Grammy at work (aka Jenna had a doctor's appointment). This was her 9 month visit. Jenna is now 15 pounds even and 26 inches tall. She is still in the bottom percentiles for weight and height. However, she is reaching all of her milestones and developing just fine.

Dr. Best asked.... and I said
if she is crawling .... all over the place
if she sits herself up... yes
if she is pulling up .... yes
will she walk holding on to things .... yes, especially holding mommy and daddy's hands
making constinant sounds.... like dada and mama and nana? yes
picking up foods and feeding herself.... yes she had peas for supper last night
what all will she eat .... anything she can get her hands on
does she have any teeth .... one
upper or lower.... lower
is she still sleeping through the night... yes

His response was, she is doing absoluetly everything she should be. Good Job Momma!
He asked if we were having any problems with Jenna and I responded, she doesn't like to be separated from mommy and daddy. If we walk out of the room, she cries. She has cried 3 out of the last 5 mornings I have left her at daycare (which breaks my heart).

As for other recent happenings, we went north this past weekend for Kaity's 6th birthday party. It is hard to believe she is 6. She was 6 months when Lance took me home to meet the Hofmann crew. Miss Kaity has lost her first baby tooth and has another one loose. We had a nice time seeing the family over the weekend.

We also got our window air conditioner taken out of the house and put into the garage for winter storage. Then we took a newer hand-me-down dryer to the basement and carried our old one that stopped working upstairs. Now we can do laundry up north again!

That's all I know for now, I will post pictures sometime around the 3rd, if not before!

Sitting Up and Pulling Up

Jenna can sit herself up, from the crawling position now. She acts like such hot stuff when you watch her do it. It is really funny to see her little personality coming out. Jenna has also been pulling up on everything. She likes to pull up on anything she can. Her recent favorite has been her walk behind toy, which just seems to topple over on top of her. I appologize for the lack of pictures lately. I hope to take a few this weekend.

Tooth and Sitting Up

Jenna has her first tooth. It is her bottom left center tooth! It has only broken the gum and you can barely see it, but as of Saturday, it is through.

When I was picked Jenna up from her 8-10 am nap on Saturday morning, she was sitting upright. This is the first and only time she has gotten herself sat upright.

As for crawling, she has been getting faster and more steady all the time. She got slowed down this weekend because she couldn't get good traction on the hardwood floors. She has gotten to where she crawls over to an object then pulls herself to her knees. She tries to get her feet under her, but so far has been unsuccessful. I know it is only a matter of time.

Bubble Bath and Kneeling

Jenna had her first bubble bath last night. We have been struggling with bathtime a little and mommy thought she would mix things up a bit. Traditionally, Jenna cries when she gets in the tub. Not because she is naked, cold, or hot, just because. This stops after a minute or two, but she seems afraid of the tub, then she figures out it is okay, she may even decide she likes it, then mommy says it's time to get out, and she decides she would rather be in the tub. Last night, even with bubbles, the initial reaction was the same. However, once she figured out there were bubbles, she was funny to watch. She smacked them, tried to eat them, did a nose dive into them, splashed around, and had quite a bit of fun.

Tonight we were playing on the floor. She crawled over to me (like a pro, she is getting faster and faster) and then she got herself up on her knees in kneeling position. She kept trying to get her feet underneath her, but she couldn't quite get it figured out.

Apple Festival, Craft Fair, and Threshermans

I have been in the mood to buy some knick-nacks and decorations lately. Turns out, I have been to 3 very good spots to do just that. Lance, Jenna and I went to the Cory Apple Festival a few weekends ago. There were several nice craft booths there. I purchased this metal pumpkin for my front door. I don't have very many Halloween decorations, because I think they are a little silly. Straight fall decorations can be put up and left out much longer. This halloween pumpkin....
....has a magnetic face, so it can solely be a pumpkin when Halloween is over. How cool is that?

Then, I bought Mr. Snowman. I thought he was adorable!

I watched Ciara a couple weekends ago. When Carla got off work, we all loaded up and went to the craft fair at Audubon Park, in Henderson. It was a pretty nice show. There, I purchased another snowman, that is roughly 4 foot tall.

I also bought a cute picture to go with the Americana theme in the Clay City house.

Yesterday, Jenna and I went to Thresherman's Fall Show. It was really, really muddy. I purchased this scarecrow which stands about 2.5 feet tall. He looks cute standing by the fireplace. He came with chalk to put a message on the board, but I haven't thought of anything whitty to write on it yet.

As for today, Lance has had Jenna crawling around the house in circles. Then we installed her big girl car seat and lowered her crib mattress.

The First Combine Ride

On Sunday, Jenna got to go on her first combine ride. She got to ride in Papaw Rentchler's red combine, harvesting soybeans. This is a picture of daddy coming at us as we are waiting to board the combine.
Daddy holding Jenna while mommy gets a picture. Lance had harvested a full hopper of beans and we were unloading.

Mommy with Jenna on her first combine ride of the season, too. We were dumping into the grain cart, which you can see through the glass of the combine.

Jenna didn't really know what to think of the big machine. She watched sat on mommy's lap and leaned over to look out the front glass. She sat that way for almost a whole pass in the field. Then she leaned over and held on to the metal bar that runs across the door and held on to it with both hands looking out the door. She seemed curious about what was happening, so I explained how Papaw plants the soybeans and the comine harvests the soybeans and separates the beans from the stem and pods. She got a good start to her farming education.

8 months

Jenna was 8 months old on the 3rd. She is growing and changing every day. She has really gotten the hang of crawling now. She is not speedy, but she is now fully capable of getting anywhere she wants to go, as long as she doesn't get side tracked.

Here is her 8 month photo with Nash.

She has a doctor's appointment at the end of the month, so I will update her stats then.

Lawnmower Demolition Derby

For those of you that didn't already know, Lance grew up in a very small town called Cory, Indiana. A couple of weekends ago, we went to the Cory Apple Festival. It has a nice little flea market, car show, craft fair, tractor pull, and lawnmower demolition derby. This was the first time we had ever witnessed a lawn mower demolition derby. It definately was a site to see.

Lawmowers provide very little protection to the driver while mowing grass or pulling a wagon. The provide even less protection when someone is intentionally trying to run into you! It looks like a very dangerous sport, between the lawnmowers tipping over and people crashing at the ankle. I thought I would share a video just to show you how wild it is. At the very end you can actually see the yellow mower tipped over on it's side.

Crawl and Walk

Jenna never ceases to amaze me. She is becoming more mobile all the time. I am sharing a video of what I think looks like an inch worm. I guess you could call it really, really slow crawling....either way, she is getting the idea very quickly!

We have a set of links, with my watch on the end of it to entice her to move. We have to be careful though, because she stops to be a ham with the camera.

Inch Worm

Jenna has been wanting to crawl for a long time. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks, but has never really gotten anywhere. Last night, Lance and I were playing with her and she was doing the inch worm. She got up on all fours, lunged forward, layed down. She took several "steps" with her knees, but seems like she is a little scared to take off. Lance and I had figured she would be crawling by the end of the month....and she very well may.

Flatware, Cousins, and Flowers

I got a new set of flatware. I used some money I had been given for Christmas and my Birthday. I got 12 place settings and 12 serving pieces Here is one place setting up close. It is a combination of a satin and crome finish.

Saturday, Carla had to work a half day, so I watched Ciara. I got a couple pictures of the girls playing together.

It is nice to see the girls play together. They are both getting to where they actually play. I think it was easier to watch both of them than it is to just watch Jenna.

Lance had to work on Saturday as well. When he came home we decided to make cookies. Turns out I was short on flour. I asked him to go to the store to get me more flour while I made dinner and finished the cookies. When he came home from the store he had flour and flowers.

Isn't my hubby sweet?

Puffs and the Sippy Cup

Today Jenna ate her first puff. After she figured out I put it on her tray, she wanted to play with it. She would switch it back and forth between her hands, but she couldn't get it off her hand and into her mouth. So mommy stuck it in her mouth. Her first reaction was to gum it.

Then it disovled away and she ate it!

Mmmmm, yummy, Mommy can I have another?

Jenna has also been drinking out of a sippy cup for about a month. She does really well with it, she just doesn't always get it tipped up far enough to get the liquid out.

She has had Apple juice, Grape juice, and water. Grape juice is her favorite by far!

Papaw's Tractor Pull Debut!

On Saturday, Lance took Jenna and I to the Gasthof for lunch. It is an amish restaurant and the food was superb. Afterwards, we went to the Antiquie Tractor Show in Elnora. The feature tractor of the show was Massey, so of course my Dad took 3 of his tractors. The show had a "just for fun" tractor pull that my dad entered with his Massey Ferguson 444. This is a pictue of his tractor pull debut!
"Ohhh no papaw, it's too scarey I can't watch. Please don't break the pretty tractor!"

Since it was just for fun, they didn't measure how far the tractors actually pulled. Regardless, fun was had!

Play Ball

Tonight I sat Jenna on the floor and grabbed her ball. I rolled it to her and she was very excited. So excited she smacked the ball and it rolled back to me. This, of course, made me roll it back to her. We had lots of fun rolling the ball back and forth. She did very well sitting up and reaching for the ball. However, I was too busy playing to be a good mommy and take pictures. Maybe I will get the camera out and post some new ones later this weekend.

She's Getting to be a Big Girl

Lance and I have really seen a transformation in our baby girl lateley. She is starting to show much independence and personality. Jenna is doing a wonderful job sitting up and using her hands to play while doing so. She is getting to where she like to be held even less than she did before (which I didn't think was possible).

Over the weekend we ate at Hardee's. She kept grabbing for my basket of french fries and the ketchup. She managed to get into both. Lance gave her a french fry to gum on and she managed to get it gummed apart and actually at it. You would have thought we gave her a million dollars, because her facial expression was priceless.

Yesterday, Lance and I went on our "date night" and Jenna sat in a real high chair. We weren't sure how she would do with it, but she did wonderful. She thought she was hot stuff, getting to sit in her own chair. It is amazing to see her get excited when she "graduates" to toddler things.

Plus 2

Jenna and I went to the doctor's office today for an appointment. Jenna got a weight check. She is one day shy of 7 months and now tips the scales at 14 pounds 8 ounces. That is just shy of a 2 pound gain in 6 weeks! YAY. She has exactly doubled her birth weight (7 lbs 4 ozs). She is just starting to outgrow her 3-6 month clothes.

Then I found out that Jenna still had all her clothes and diaper on. So she hasn't really gained two pounds and still hasn't doubled her birthweight......

Breaking News

Jenna has been breaking in the newsPAPERS! Tonight, Lance was in the office reading the Farm World newspaper, so Jenna and I decided to go play with Daddy.

As you can see, Jenna had lots of fun destroying the paper. Kaity- we are teaching Jenna how to play with the paper so she can play with you and Kent and thewrapping paper after we open Christmas presents this year!

Eating

Jenna has been doing a good job eating all the different pureed baby foods we have given her. Her favorite so far is pears. The only thing she has simply refused to eat is some green beans that werefrom a garden and home processed. However, when those are mixed with either sweet potatoes or carrots, she eats them no problem.

Today for Jenna's 5pm meal, she was having a green bean and carrot mixture. She was finished eating and I left the container and spoon on the high chair tray to get a wash cloth to wipe her face. When I turned around, this is what I found.
She knew exactly what to do with that spoon. She refused to give it back to me. So she played with a spoon for a little bit.

Lance and I are having to adjust to Jenna's reach now. She has learned to reach a lot farther than what we think Jenna should be able to reach. It amazes us how if she really wants something it is rarely out of reach now.