Poof!

Usually 'poof' can be a good thing- like the conclusion of a magic trick where a rabbit all of a sudden appears out of a hat or 'poof' one of your socks is left solo at the end of your laundry pile. This is not the kind of 'poof' that happened to us, wish it was!

Friday Corey decided to go racing in Superior, WI. It was a 2.5 hour drive but I decided not to moan and groan because he has always wanted to go. We packed up Emma and headed out. I have to say, it wasn't a bad trip and Emma did very well. We got there, unloaded, and got on the track. Corey looked great in his heat--until around lap 3 when the car went from a strong 3rd place to fighting for 4th. Then it came- poof-- white smoke. As a racer or race fan, you know this isn't a good thing. Corey put the car in neutral and rolled to a stop. They pushed him in and that was the end of the night. We know the motor has some big problems but we haven't rolled it out of the trailer to look at it yet. Needless to say we drove 5 hours for 4 laps. :(

We had a wedding on Saturday night and hung around the house on Sunday. A lazy rest of the week-end..and that was all right for us!

HELP! Need help in the food department!

Emma has been off the bottle for over a week and was off of formula for almost that whole time as well, until recently when I started giving her a little in her sippy cup as a snack to help supplement the nutrients she needs because....she has become a very picky eater! In the morning she does great- I still have her on Gerber Cereal mix that up with some applesauce or yogurt and she is in heaven. However for lunch, snack, or dinner she isn't eating so well. About 5 days ago or so I gave her a piece of dry bread as a way to buy time while I was getting her supper ready. Needless to say, she fell in love that day...with dry bread. She will eat 2 whole pieces if I let her. She will ignore everything else-spaghetti, lasagna, green beans, fruit, any meat etc. However, she will eat grilled cheese (Go figure--bread!). She also loves toasted bread sprinkled with cinnamon or even a little peanut butter. If its bread- dry or toasted- she loves it. When she was younger, she used to love the fruit and veggies in the jar..and now none of those things interest her. At first, I liked that she was getting her grains and now it seems that is all she is getting. I will say, that generally I don't give in. If she doesn't eat then I may try another thing but then she is done. For example, last night she wasn't eating her lasagna. I tried to spoon feed it to her and I also put it on her tray for her to pick up and neither option worked. Then I tried some fruit and also green beans. She ate a few green beans and then was done. I try to offer a variety of food groups during each meal--and it was working well--until the bread came along!

HELP! Anyone have ideas of how to integrate other foods or how to ignore her only choice? Where am I going wrong?

A Maze'n!

Our life is always eventful in the summertime, but I wouldn't trade my family for anything in the world (the hobbies--maybe but not the people :) Friday we bummed around the house and then Saturday we went racing. The last few days Emma has been in such a great mood that we decided to bring her and she did not dissapoint! It was her second time at the races and the weather was much more favorable this time. Emma hung out on a blanket in the trailer. She played with toys and ate supper/snacks. She got sleepy but I was trying to keep her up for as long as possible so she would just crash. Well she did just that the race before Corey's feature. I put her in her carseat in the truck. She sat up and played with the buckle on her seat belt and then ended up falling asleep like that. I layed her back and turned on the truck to keep it a bit cool in there. Lucky for us we didn't have too long to wait, Corey wanted to watch the Mods after him but it all goes pretty fast at that point. Plus I knew she was out.

Sunday we went to the A Maze'n Farmyard in Eden Valley with Jen, James, and Avery Unger. It is a farm that you can pet animals, enjoy a pony ride, has a large slide, and a train ride (that literally takes you on a path to see nothing--very (un)interesting!). However, the weather was great and it was just fun to have Emma pet the rabits, the camel, horses, and so forth. We even got to feed them a bit..it was a good time.

Emma is on her 4th day without having a bottle (may even be longer but I realized it and started counting 4 days ago). She has had formula 1x the last 2 days. She eats a large breakfast- usually a formula/cereal (toddler cereal) mixture with yogurt and a piece of toast. Then she really hasn't been eating lunch so formula has been supplemented to get her to eat something then at night she eats a full lunch. We haven't tried milk yet but will be soon. She loves to drink out of her sippy cup--usually prefers juice or formula--but will also drink water almost the same. She doesn't crawl yet but she has been rolling over for the past week and a half. She rolls both ways but hasn't really used it to get to places. I know...a lot of babies roll over when they are like 4 months old..but Emma decided that she wasnt' ready until she was 10 months. She also loves to be on her feet and walk around the house. When we let go she falls instantly--still not sure how to balance her weight but we'll take it one day at a time.


                                                         Emma's first racing bracelet.

Cute girls!

Let's pet the bunny!

This fun lil guy kept following us around since we had food. So we decided to let Emma ride him!

Let's go down the slide!

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

Mommy & Emma

2 + 2 = 4 teeth!

Emma's two top front teeth coming in. We noticed that one broke through the gum over the week-end and noticed the other yesterday. She has had a temp on and off and has been kind of whiny, but she has been WAY better than I expected a teething baby to be.

She turned 10 months old yesterday-so hard to believe. Every time I am away from her I feel like she grows like a weed. :)

Love that girl!

Do you have any allergies?

Up until about 2 months ago, my answer to this question was always "Nope." However, I have realized that I have been allergic to eggs and milk probably most my life. I would get stomach aches after eating and just thought I over ate (again) but now I have realized that it was an allergic reaction. Now that I have stopped eating the foods I have really noticed a difference, especially since I drank at least one glass of milk with every meal.

Well, yesterday my sister and mom had Emma so I asked that she take her to see Jim, the ultimate Chiropractor/Muscle Tester because she has been struggling to have a bowel movement for up to a week. He gave her an adjustment, which he said was needed. Then he also completed a nutrition check and low and behold, she is allergic to eggs as well. If this girl gets any more like her mama--she would BE her mama! She is a true Mini-Me. It goes without saying that 24 hours after her appointment her colon is empty and she is a very happy girl.

I haven't given her a lot of eggs, but I have made them on at least 3 different occassions for her because I just thought it would be a great food for her to eat- protein, easy to make, and easy to eat. She never really cared for them and so it's not a huge loss----however my allergy is strong. I can't even eat foods with eggs and milk in them. I made salmon last night for supper and put mayo on the outside (grilling tip for salmon btw, the mayo adds flavor as well as prevents it from sticking) and I was extremely sick--read the ingredients of the mayo and of course there was egg in there. Yep...thats how bad my allergy is. I will assume that Emma will be the same way for now. So that means a lot of 'ingredient' checking as well as good-bye egg noodles, pudding, a lot of baked goods, ice cream, and all the other yummy foods!

I can't recommend Jim and his practice enough--honestly--it doesn't always work overnight but for Emma it always has. For me it took 2 months but it is SO worth it. In addition, we are working to correct my knee which keeps dislodging and has prevented me from running and enjoying other excersises for years. If I lived close and was able to go as often as I need--it would probably be fixed by now but due to living an hour away, working, and so forth-- I just haven't been able to!

Fun week-end with friends!

Friday came and went without much action around the Eystad home. As Saturday came, Corey's excitement hightened for the big $20,000 to win Modified special at Deer Creek Speedway, which he attended that night. My friend Sarah Anderson and her son Tyson came and spent the day/night with us. We had a lot of fun just hanging out together. Once the kids went down we brought out the adult beverages and sat and laughed. Corey got home around 1:30 and caught us watching our wedding video......yes we started at the beginning and were just minutes from the very end. It was like 'people watching' without having to leave our couch. It was fun to watch our ceremony but a lot of fun to watch the reception and people dancing. Corey joined us for a few drinks and then we all hit the hay. Sunday became a lazy day but I did get the lawn mowed, so it wasn't a complete waste.

Today (Monday) I was supposed to go to Valleyfair with a friend, but thanks to the storms, we didn't get there. Instead, I had a day home with Emma. I also did all the laundry and some homework. It was a successful day...now back to work tomorrow.

Here are some new pictures--until next time..

P.S- It's August?!? Really.....not cool!

Here are some pictures of Corey and 'daddy's little girl'

Here is Emma & Tyson taking a bath.