I haven't posted these photos yet and they really have nothing to do with what has been going on lately but I thought they were so cute. Michael is so independent- he wanted a snack so he pushed his chair up to the fruit bowl and grabbed himself an apple! He is such a funny guy.

He is growing so much every day and I swear he looks older after every nap. He has been very sweet lately with lots of snuggles and hand holding. It really is tugging at my heart strings because I am just so conflicted about him not being my baby anymore. We have been having lots of good snuggles at night when I rock him to sleep and I know that it won't last for very much longer!

I am really starting to slow down because of the pregnancy. Yesterday after school I couldn't do anything except for sit with my feet up for about 30 minutes until I got my energy back to get dinner ready and head out to my bible study. After Michael goes to bed at night I am usually done for- it is reading, vegging on the couch or soaking in the bathtub the rest of the night for me. This combination of lack of energy and ambition is not good as I still have lots to prepare for in just 6 short weeks!

When is the nesting phase supposed to kick in? I hope it makes an appearance soon! :o)

Chicks and Diggers!

Happy April! Can you believe it? We are just 7 weeks and change away from a new baby at our house! I am hoping that the snow stays away for good and we can get lots of work done outside before the little one makes his or her arrival!



On Wednesday we stopped at Tractor Supply Company to check out the baby chicks, thanks to a suggestion by my dad. It was great entertainment for Michael!

He was so excited and loved walking around to the different bins to look at all the types of chicks. It was very appropriate since we had just heard a book at the library about chicks!

We also had some excitement here yesterday morning when our neighbors were doing some dirt work in their backyard. Michael has several books about diggers and he was pretty happy to see one in action. As soon as he saw it he showed me where it was in his book- isn't he so smart? I love to see him start to make connections between things in real life and in books.




We can't wait to see what fun types of entertainment today brings! We'll keep you posted!

Staying busy...

Staying busy is definitely the name of the game over here at our house. Every day I wonder what we can do to make sure we have a smooth and quick day, especially when we are cooped up inside being sick. Except on days when I work...those always fly by no problem! I'm always way too busy at school! :o)



(can you see the grass getting greener outside?? yay!!)

I bought Michael a huge bag of little cars at a consignment sale last week. The sale was crazy but I picked up a ton of new to us stuff to keep Michael occupied. Most of it is put away until the new baby comes but I had the cars out for our weekend away. I've been catching him playing so nicely by himself in the sunroom. He lines the cars up and moves them from one end to the other and makes little noises and talks to himself...it just makes my heart melt!

We've also been working on coloring with crayons. He usually gets a few scribbles in before he starts to gnaw on the crayons. Maybe I should try markers instead? He is also starting to like to do stickers but I try and save them for special times like a restaurant.

Busy boy...time for a snack!

Family Weekend

This past weekend Scott's mom's side of the family got together in Cedar Rapids to celebrate his grandma's 95th birthday. It was quite the celebration with family in town all weekend. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up with people we haven't seen in a long time. Some we haven't seen in 3 or 4 years!



All the great-grandkids, minus the two new babies and Andy who was sick.



We had the party at Betty's home. They have a nice party room in the lower level and it was perfect for hosting a big group. We brought in sandwiches and chips and had a great time. Michael loved the grapes!



Scott's aunt brought a pile of old photos to look through. How Boardwalk Empire is this one?

The night before we all gathered at the Amana colonies for a nice dinner. I wanted to get there early to walk around and visit some of the shops but we pulled in right at 5 when everything closed. Maybe we can head back there sometime this summer, it is something I really want to do!

We ate at the Ox Yoke Inn, which was where Scott and his family always ate growing up. Scott had a fun time showing Michael all the cool things in the restaurant like the stuffed bear upstairs. We had a family style dinner with fried chicken, pot roast, ham, corn and potatoes. It was awesome!!

It felt great to get out of town for the weekend and see lots of family. Hopefully we can all do it again next year!

Thinking Spring....

Is anyone else thinking spring out there? It is another sunny but chilly day here and it makes me want those warmer temperatures back! I have lots to do outside before May 17th!

My lovely coworkers at school threw a baby shower for me and another girl having a baby this spring. It was really unexpected and very generous! I loved getting all the new baby things and it makes me excited to keep preparing for the new addition to our family.

I've wanted to make these little bird's nests for something ever since I had them at an awesome shower for a friend. I whipped them up and took them to school as a thank you for the shower. I thought they looked so sweet! Obviously my food photography needs some improvement (how does Pioneer Woman do it-she is awesome!), but I wanted to share them with you also!

Michael and I are both having a sick day today. We got colds over the weekend and now we are trying to rest and get back to usual. We've spent lots of time snuggling in bed and watching movies and hopefully we will be feeling better soon.

Nursery Changes & 30 week update

Michael's nursery has gone through some minor changes as we get ready for the new baby. We are planning on having them share a room for several reasons such as: the room is huge, we don't want to buy more stuff, we didn't want to convert our office into a kid's room, eventually one of them will move downstairs, and I am lazy.

:o)

I am actually trying to do the least amount of work possible in preparing for this baby....I don't know if you have picked up on that or not! Kidding, we are getting there bit by bit.

We moved the daybed we had in the basement upstairs and this is what it looks like now:



Also- disclaimer: I took these photos after I read a tutorial on how to photograph room in your house well. I did not follow the rules!

The daybed is replacing the queen bed that was in there before. This bed has a trundle underneath so sometimes we will lay down on it when we are trying to put Michael to sleep at night. I think it is the cutest bed and I'm glad it is getting some good use!

I'm not 100% sure on how sharing a room will work, but I'm sure I will keep you updated. I'm not making any promises, and we have lots of space in our house if we need to be flexible where people sleep. So far Michael is doing great in his big boy bed and I love that there is more space in his room for him to play.

I feel like time is really winding down before the baby is here. There is only about 4 weeks until my concert at school which is kind of my next big check mark to make it to now that spring break is over. Baby is starting to feel a lot bigger in my tummy and I can really tell when it is up in my ribs! Michael and I took a walk yesterday and it took me about 40 minutes to go as far as it normally takes us 30 minutes so it is safe to say I am slowing down a little bit. For the most part I am feeling really great and I just try to keep reminding myself that there is lots of time left! Blood pressure is still looking good and I haven't had any swelling yet. I had a short and sweet appointment last Friday so I guess that is good news! I'm sure I'll keep you all updated...thanks for your nice comments!

Friends Weekend Recap

Since our weekends are gradually winding down before we'll be a family of four, we took the free weekend we had and invited friends to stay for the weekend!

It was super fun and I had a great time. Thanks everyone for making the trip to our house! We did a lot of relaxing, some wii dancing, and lots of eating. On Saturday I had my neighbor girl come over to watch Michael and we got out of the house for a little bit to walk around the downtown sculpture park and see a movie. It felt so nice to be out without Michael! I think I am spoiled after having two days to myself over spring break week.

The group (minus Scott and I)!

I had never been to the sculpture park before. It was a nice time and we were glad we got some fresh air and a chance to stretch our legs for a bit.

I think you can probably tell which sculpture was my favorite!

We saw the movie "The Adjustment Bureau" and I recommend it to anyone! We went to a nice local theater which was much better than fighting the crowds and the teenagers at the mall. Scott and I haven't been there in forever....we really need to get out more!

Thanks for the great time this weekend! :o)