September in a nutshell

Hey all -

My last post was a bit of a downer! Lol.  Things have been getting better.  I had a bit of "lordosis" or sway back caused by my pregnancy...but after some adjustments and luckily for me a shift in baby positioning, I'm feeling much more like myself.  September is literally FLOWN by.  We had that wedding over labor day - the one I referenced in the last post - then a wedding the following weekend in Door County (pictures to following weekend - then a weekend at home (which was great - we took the boat out for its last hurrah!) - then again, this past weekend traveled to Wisconsin Dells so Broghan could finish his Continuing Education courses that need to be done by the end of the year.  We finally get some back-to-back weekends at home in October with only a few day trips to River Falls (for Broghan to do a hockey seminar) and both of us (to go to our last wedding of the year).  Other than that, the travel bug in this family is taking a break and sleeping for a while! This momma is very excited about that.

Outside of travel, here is a quick update on the Reilly crew:

Broghan - September was a month of re-focusing at the office.  We had some personnel switching at the beginning of the summer and then of course took our long vacation which (as most vacations do) inspired Broghan to really focus hard on building our practice/business over the next few months.  He's been working on streamlining things for patients and also looking into boosting our online presence.  It's been a lot of brainstorming, phone calls, meetings, online things and of course keeping up with his ever-growing patient base.  To learn more about everything going on at the office and what he's been up to, check out our website - www.chippewachiropractor.com - he's worked really hard on it and it has some great information...even for those who could never be patients!

Abby - I started school at the end of August and September brought about the beginning of many of my mom-club activities.  Since school is on Tuesday and Thursday nights though, I actually have to miss out on one of my favorite monthly meetings - the Holistic Mom's Network.  I have learned a great deal from attending and love hearing all of the alternative and new innovative ways to keep your family and home healthy and clean.  School has been...well...easy.  I finished my first course this summer with an A+ and am on track to repeat that with this second one.  I think coming from an educational situation at Gustavus where learning was combined not only with extremely demanding courses, but also with hockey, work, Sigma, social life and family; the situation where I only take one course makes it all very easy, step-by-step and straight forward for me.  This course is a little different in its layout than the last, but I seem to be doing find thus far.  Much of what we're learning are things I have previously learned either in Highschool or Gustavus or actually through some seminars that I've attended with Broghan.  It makes me excited to keep moving forward with school, yet at the same time, makes me wish I had the finances and the time to take more courses at once.  Other than that, its the usual mom stuff for me - food, laundry, home cleaning, kid-caring, etc.

Keller - While we haven't actually attended yet (we were out of town) last Thursday marked the start of his Fall dance class (thank you Auntie Anna!).  It's called Creative Movements and I'm hopeful we will pick up some stuff to help burn energies while inside over the winter months.  As Broghan keeps reminding me, he has turned a corner in his development and is no longer a toddler...but a little boy and little boys need to burn  A LOT of energy!  So basically, I have to find ways to wear him down.  He has completely achieved day-time potty training and is working on night time stuff.  But he is constantly finding ways to be independent.  He wants to try and do everything on his own.  He is also (finally) in a phase of constant verbal repetition of what he hears.  So needless to say, we've heard some words we probably need to be more careful of expressing come out of his mouth...not that he has a clue what they mean of course.   This winter will also bring some fun outdoor activities for Keller since we're fairly sure he'll be able to hold his on on the ice (skating) and G-ma/G-pa Reilly are ready, willing and able to take him downhill skiing for the first time.

Lucy - She is what I would call...spitfire! She is smarter than I can even fathom.  She talks way more than Keller did at this age, but that is no surprise (she wasn't preemie, she is a girl and she is second in the house).  She is watching everything that Keller does and is constantly determined to do what Keller does too.  She has figured out how to get her way with most everything and has the stubbornness (or should I characterize it as willfulness?) of my husband.  She also has the appetite like an adult; however, measures in the 10th percentiles...making it hilarious when people look at her and think she is much younger than she really is (17 months currently).  I will say that she is much different than Keller in that she enjoys her quiet times alone and its an obvious attitude shift when she is out with me, Broghan, or another adult or set of adults without Keller.  She isn't quite as rowdy. She is loving and sweet and gives kisses and hugs freely; although has this ability to be so cutely bashful around strangers.  She isn't involved in any "activities" yet and isn't necessarily drawn to anything quite like Keller was, but she is in LOVE with her blankies probably more than Keller was in love with playing with balls (which he still loves to do).  So while she doesn't have specific fixations, she does seem to enjoy doing most of the things we do anyways - the park, going for walks, dancing, singing, drawing, etc.

Baby #4 - This one is giving me a hard time.  Not physically or anything, but emotionally.  I kind of knew it would in a way, but from all outside and examining points, this baby is healthy and doing fine; HOWEVER, in the past week or so it certainly has chosen to shift positions and sleep...a lot.  I feel movements everyday and whenever I take time to rest and try to feel them, but that is such a nagging concern.  One that I don't think will ever change with any pregnancy once fetal movements begin.  The babe is 26 weeks gestation now and I have no real concerns about pre-term labor.  We have scheduled our fall/early winter to be as low-key as possible, but who knows right?!  But that's about it...my belly is getting big and baby is too!

I'll follow this up with a barage of pictures of from September....I'm too lazy/out of time to organize them or describe them...but most follow along with something I've written about above!

Until Next Time...