Fathers Day Weekend

We had a busy Fathers Day weekend! It started with my sister Lisa's bridal shower, then it was off to Des Moines for some relaxation at a hotel and a day at Adventureland, and the weekend ended with a birthday party. Here are some pictures...

The deck addition to the house is completed; and Gabbie's favorite part is digging in the dirt around it! Good thing landscaping isn't in the plans for this year.

The bridal shower was at my Mom's house. Apparantly at Grandma's house we color on the coffee tables?!

The beautiful Bride and 2 of the bridesmaids, Rachel and Laura, opening gifts. I'm becoming one of those ladies who enjoys watching the gift opening and thinks to myself 'gee, I wish I had one of those'!

The bridal party...from left to right; Lydia (flowergirl), Andrea, Laura, Rachel, Lisa (Bride of course!), Mindy, myself, and Gabbie (also a flowergirl). The shower was a success with a good crowd, good food, and good weather!

Gabbie and I at the hotel in DSM, downing our Shirley Temple. Note that Gabbie now has her very own 'clock' to wear :-)

Father's Day morning!

At Adventureland...trying to explain to Gabbie why she can not ride the 'Himalaya'. Not only is she not 52" tall, but the ride looked crazy...

This is more Gabbie's style, the tea cups :-)

The Dragon. Only Brice and Mindy attempted this one! You can barely see it, but they are waving from the car in front. Unfortunatly I could not get a better picture by zooming. I dropped my camera and if I zoom the picture is just white.

Note the sidewalk. Those 'swimmer' diapers truly do not absorb!

Trying to understand the concept of waiting in line...

Adventureland Bay!

The Chuckwagon ride; Gabbie and Brice

Dave is contemplating this ride...

...and instead goes with the cute dragons.

Gabbie's got the Infant Ocean under control, with one hand even!

The Space Shot-Brice and Mindy were on there.

Well, the last ride of the day was the train. I thought this would be the highlight of Gabbie's day. But after almost 6 hours of going at high speed she obviously could have cared less. We resorted to the pacifier in hopes of at least leaving the park in peace :-)

Barely 2 blocks away from the park...

Overall it was a great day at Adventureland. Not many lines, good weather, and a safe trip.

We were home by 9:00 that night and made it in time for Laila's 1st birthday party! I didn't get this picture when I wanted to. Just prior to this Laila and Gabbie were on the floor eating potato chip crumbs out of this bowl like a couple of cute little puppies!

The late night party crew...Morgan, Miley, Laila, and Gabbie

Such a big girl lately. Requests cereal ("with milk Mommy") and even finishes up the milk at the end. She 'requests' lots lately....swimming, swinging, bubbles, bike ride, suckers, stickers, etc. Maybe this talking thing is overrated?

The carpet people called me for the 3rd time this week, wondering when we wanted our carpet. I told them we were close enough, come next week. She said "how about tomorrow?" So...the next day we woke up early to clean everything up and get ready. It was also the same day I'd rented the sander so Brice could do the wood floor upstairs. He decided to stay out of the way of the carpet layers, who didn't get done until 8 p.m. or so, which meant he was sanding until after Midnight. Oh well....as you can see in the next picture, at least we made some progress...

After the carpet was done. I barely saw their taillights down the lane before I started moving things out of the dining area/kitchen and into other places. I am so ready to have my 'normal' house back where I can dust and vacuum, and especially back to where we can find where things are at. The chaos has lasted long enough for me.

We did run into a big of a snag however. A couple years ago I bought a queen size mattress, which has been awesome for a couple reasons:

1. Brice is 6'4", the extra length is nice.

2. Occasionally a 2 year old ends up in bed with us, the extra space is nice.

Well, the bed does not fit up the stairs. We thought about a couple options. One was to keep sleeping downstairs, which I don't like the idea of right now if we are going to have 2 little ones sleeping upstairs. The most likely case is we will return to using our full size mattress, no big deal. Lets just hope that fits or we will be the weird couple sleeping on seperate twin beds!

We had a doctor appointment last week that went well. Baby's heartbeat is around 140. I lost a couple pounds, but wasn't surprized. For a couple weeks my hands and feet were puffy, I wasn't able to wear my wedding ring or certain shoes. However that has gone away. Not much else new in that department other than being surprized we are down to 8-9 weeks until baby #2! It has been flying by lately. I am excited, but at times notice feeling different about adding another to the 'Gabbie and Mommy' club. Not that we aren't willing to add another member :-) Its just different to think its been her and I for almost 3 years; its definetly going to be different, but an awesome different! I am feeling well, although I need to be more careful about what I lift and how much I do. I feel fine, so think I can move furniture around the house, then notice my stomach muscles are pretty much non-existent right now. I keep thinking I should start gathering the baby bottles, etc, but then realize we'll have time for that after its born. Right now I'm just trying to enjoy the baby moving. I remember missing that the most after I had Gabbie. Apparanetly this one likes riding on the lawn mower, because it was constant kicking and moving tonight as I mowed the lawn. Or maybe that means it is upset I interrupted its sleep! There's nothing like hitting a bump in the lawn when you have a foot in your rib!

This weekend we are working on painting the exterior of the house...hopefully I'll have some good pictures to post (if my camera holds out!)

Its June! Wait...its already June?!

Wowza, Spring flew by! A couple weeks ago it dawned on me that I am over 6 months pregnant; when did that happen?! Amazing how nice weather and lots to do can make time go fast! I had more home health clients than usual the past couple months, and our weekends have been busy with graduations, weddings, showers, and other get togethers with friends to enjoy the nice days!

Time for the pool! Gabbie had a blast on Memorial Day at the Breda Pool.

Grilling with the Meisters. Gabbie loves Leila! These 2 girls are quite the busy bees! We laugh that Gabbie treats Leila like she is so much younger than Gabbie.

A little bigger than last month :-) I feel like the baby has grown a lot, and (just like its big sister) enjoys having its feet in my right lower ribs! This is my favorite part of being pregnant. I feel great, have energy-as much as can be expected with 25 extra pounds on me anyway-, and other than numb hands and feet the aches and pains are minimal. I feel like the big day to meet the baby is near, but yet far enough away that I have plenty of time to get ready. Really I am not sure what I need to do to get ready. I have the car seat (somewhere in the basement!), a few outfits, the only major thing left is to get Gabbie in her 'big girl' bed so I can have the crib for the baby. I think anything else could be handled after the baby. We had an appointment a few weeks ago, went well other than finding that back pain I've been having is likely kidney related; as long as its my kidney and not the babies we can deal with that later on, too. We have another appointment next week with a follow up ultrasound due to an issue that arose on our ultrasound in March. Really its all going pretty well, such a blessing!

I can hardly believe it, but the deck project has begun. Enough of the floor is done for us to sit on, so we've been doing that almost every night for at least a few minutes (until the bugs show up!) Here Gabbie is enjoying a cheeseburger :-) My main upcoming project is to paint the exterior of the house, if the humidity ever decreases!

Awesome year so far for the garden! Here are some radishes and spinach, which we have been enjoying nightly. Gabbie loves it in the garden! I've been mostly pulling the weeds...I find my big belly makes utilizing a garden hoe difficult. Someone warned me about that and I thought they were being silly, but the last couple nights I've found out for myself.

Happy Summer!

Easter, Birthday, Mothers Day, Misc

We have had some fun and busy weeks! Here are some pictures:

Okay...last month we took Gabbie to the doctor once again for her 'pooping issues'. I had a doctor appointment that day for the baby, and while in town I decided to stop at the second hand store for some clothes for Gabbie and for the baby. Also that day I started shopping around for carpet for the house. Gabbie decided that after 4 days of not pooping she would do her job while we were in one of the carpet stores. Lucky my Mom was with me and said she'd take care of the job. They were gone for a LONG time...when I went to check on them Mom was scrubbing the floor, cleaning Gabbie's shoes and socks, etc. So, Gabbie came home in a pair of her new pants and one of the shirts that I'd bought for the baby (size 3 month)! Note to self: carry extra clothes until we get this problem under control. And as I learned last week, carry extra clothes for myself as well (long story short-we both came home from the park covered in her poop).

Another try at the Easter Bunny :-) She came just in reach to get a bag of candy, no closer!

One Saturday night we decided to finish making Brice's deer into ground meat. Gabbie was awesome at helping clean up...sometimes a little too helpful!

Family picture on Easter. Gabbie is holding her new bubbles from the Easter Bunny, and under her coat is her new swimsuit ;-)

The tub is installed! Since I took this picture the drywall/cement board has been put up, and yesterday I was able to prime the walls. This week the walls will be textured and I can paint! Almost done!

Preparing for Brice's birthday. Someone has to clean off the frosting!

The birthday boy and Gabbie. The cake is supposed to look like a farm scene, and we did fit 30 candles on it!

We continued celebrating with friends a few days later. Brice was thrilled that I told the restaurant staff multiple times that it was his birthday!

Me with the old man...

Gabbie and I have been making frequent stops at the park when I get off work. I love the way kids look on swings...so happy!

My tulips were looking awesome! I told Gabbie to go pick me one; I was trying to find tasks for her to do while I finished some painting. Well, she decided to pick all 25 tulips that were blooming! I should have shown her how to pick wild flowers in the yard. Oh well :)

My Mom and I finished painting and decided to sit outside and rest. She commented on how warm it was, then it dawned on me that I had left a Twix bar in my purse in the car. Of course it was melted, but Gabbie and Gypsy took care of it for me!

Gabbie and I today, Mother's Day. Right now she is sitting on my lap going "That's Gabbie!"

We hadn't taken a big belly picture in awhile, forgot about it after my last appointment and didn't post an update anyway. Yesterday Brice said "Woah, that's getting big!" Yes dear, trust me I notice it too!

I got a Mothers Day manicure!

Gabbie did hers as well. She kept holding up her hand saying "Look at me, its pretty!"

The weeks have been busier lately. I took on some extra home health jobs that are 45 minutes to an hour from home, but really since the sun is up so early anymore the days don't seem much longer (though I do feel more tired, for some reason extra time in the car does that to me). Evenings and weekends I usually work on painting, with my goal being to have everything done so the carpet can be installed by the end of the month. Everything should be done for us to move up there except for the baseboards and trim around the windows. Getting those done will require time spent stripping wood, staining, and varnishing. I would prefer to do that either while on maternity leave or this winter when there isn't as much to do.

A few weeks ago we had our monthly baby check-up, I think we were around 22 weeks or so then. Everything is still going well. We do have to have another ultrasound in the next couple months due to a blood leak in the placenta. Not sure I said that right or not; and I'm not sure I understood the explaination. Doctor didn't seem too concerned, so I didn't see it as much of an issue. He just said to watch out for heavy lifting and if we were to start bleeding to give him a call. The little guy (yes, I am saying its a boy although we do not know) seems to be very active the last week or so. I feel tons of movement, and just like Gabbie was its usually around 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Yesterday I was still able to do my weekly 7 mile lake walk. Thankfully I do this with a friend or I probably would have given up by now! I remember being not quite this far with Gabbie and having trouble walking 3 miles. I'm hoping it will assist in having a shorter labor this time! We'll see.

Happy Easter, May Day, and Mother's Day to everyone! Happy Spring!

Easter Egg Hunt and more!

After her nap last Sunday, Gabbie put on her coat, shoes, and backpack and said "Mommy, I go to school". I'm sure she wasn't trying to break my heart...but it was hard to keep the tears back. Not sure what will happen the day she really does go to school!

We're on top of the world!

She insisted on helping me wash windows! I would follow behind and wipe them up. She helped for over an hour!

Below are some pictures from Gabbie's first Easter Egg Hutnt :-)

Not so sure about the Easter Bunny...neither was the kid next to me who said "Look, the Easter Bunny has a zipper taped to his back!"

The first find...guess she wanted to enjoy one at a time!

Now I get the idea...time to fill the basket!

She stopped to eat from this one too!

This is what I love about my daughter. Words I have used to describe her recently include "Difficult", "Miss Independent", and at times "Bratty". Many moments she reminds me of why I also call her "Sweetheart", "Lovey", and "Cutie". Today instead of always adding to her own basket she thought she should help the other kids fill theirs, even gave them some of her candy from her open eggs. As irritating as her increased attempts at independence have been, I do enjoy that she is kind hearted :-)

"Look at my basket!"

Fun times...life is good :-) I think Gabbie liked the twirly flower she got even better than the candy!

Busy times

Thankfully we have 1 room almost finished on our ongoing remodeling project! Once I get some carpet picked out we will be able to move into one of the bedrooms (although the trim work and closets won't be done, it will be done enough to live in!) I have never shopped for carpet before, and I am not really looking forward to it since I do not have a clue what I am doing.

The pictures below will show the painting we have done so far. I am hoping by the end of the week we are ready to paint the stairway, hallway, and the other bedroom. Then its time to get Gabbie back in her own room, in a 'big girl' bed, empty the furniture out of our storage unit, and get somewhat back to normal!

We have also been working in the garden. Radishes, brocolli, lettuce, peas, spinach, potatoes, and beets are all in the ground. Gabbie has been a big help with that...it will be interesting to see what comes up in what row!

Miss Independent. She can take her little wagon anywhere, including down to the mailbox. I went inside to check on supper, looked outside and she was half way down the lane.

I need more zoom on my camera :-) Lucky her Dad saw her going for her walk, and decided they would go together. I'm surprized at how far her little legs can travel!

Priming the bedroom walls...what would we do without Gabbie's help?!

Taking care of "Dolly" is the new thing. She's in the wash machine now as Gabbie naps. I'm hoping cottage cheese will come out of her clothes fairly easily.

After the room was primed and textured, now time to paint!

Another 'before' picture, looking out into the hallway.

'After'.

Dolly apparantly has to wear shoes to go outside.

I had to take a picture of the garden before it fills up with weeds :-) Gabbie is at one end scooping up the dirt and planting peas in random places, her 'dolly' is on the other side apparantly sleeping (anytime I said anything I was told to "shhh")

All done...time to take dolly home...