Grandma & Grandpa N + their new "bus"

This weekend Grandma & Grandpa N stopped by to see us on their way home from Florida. They've been "snowbirding" it down in sunnier temps for the past three months. We've missed them while they've been gone and it was great to have them here - even for a brief visit.

They arrived Saturday and we just kind of hung out and let Eli show off all the new tricks he has learned since they saw him last. Eli also got to explore Grandma & Grandpa's new "bus". While in Florida, they traded RVs and Eli kept calling this one a "bus". Doesn't retirement life sound great?! Yet it seems so far away! We had a nice dinner and once Eli went to bed, I think we all dozed off on the couch with full tummies. Sunday morning, Grandma N, Eli & I went to Target to look for some rain boots for Eli. Grandma bought Eli some cute cow boots - he picked them out himself (ok between the cow and dragon - and we know how much he loves his farm animals!). Eli was fussy this weekend and took very early naps both days. Unfortunately during his Sunday nap, Grandma & Grandpa had to head back home so they could drive in daylight and we missed telling them goodbye. Even though it was a short visit, we did enjoy them being here and look forward to seeing them again soon.

3 generations watching 'Bob the Builder'
Grandma & Grandpa N's new "bus"

Eli out for a test drive

Playing in puddles in his new boots - thanks Grandma!!

More puddle time

Eli & Daddy went for a bike ride on Sunday. All helmeted up and ready to go.

Two Things for Thursday

Two pieces of good news for Thursday:

1 - The results of my glucose test came back good so I don't have to suffer through the 3 hour version this time around. Woo hoo!

2 - The Pack Rat is officially gone from our lawn. Super Woo hoo!! Now we can take some pictures and share the before / after shots of our construction project.

And we're looking forward to a good weekend. Soggy but hopefully we'll still find a way to have fun. :-)

and the belly shot.......

Here's the 24 wk, 3 day belly - getting rounder and rounder

24 weeks, 3 days - doctor appointment

Today was my 24 week appointment at the doctor for 2.0. Had to do the one hour glucose test this morning. I absolutely hate fasting because I'm a breakfast person. Did the other normal stuff - weight, blood pressure, etc. Had a big weight jump this month and I'm pretty bummed about that. If anything, I've been more active this month but I guess stress can play havoc on your body and I've been pretty stressed. I'm going to try (best I can) not to let it get me down. Also got to hear little man's strong heartbeat. He seems to be doing great. My follow up ultrasound has been rescheduled for 4 weeks (instead of 2) and then Tim & I are having a 3d/4d done on April 27th. It was so much fun to see Eli at that point so we're looking forward to it. Keep your fingers crossed that my glucose test comes back good. Last time I had to suffer through the three hour version only to reveal that I did not have GD. I don't want to go through that again!

Taxes, ugh

I have been putting it off because I knew we had to pay but I finally filed our taxes tonight. Turbotax e-file prices go up on the 27th so knowing that nothing is going to change to make us not pay, I decided to get the pain over with. Over the past few years, I've been experimenting with witholdings and stuff to see if I can make things even. Last year was perfect - pretty darn close to zero but this year was another story. Boy was I off! Hope I can fix it for next year.

A weekend with Grandma = Fun + lots of progress

This weekend Grandma C came to visit and play with Eli while Tim & I worked to unpack the Pack Rat in the front lawn and try to get the house somewhat back to normal after all the construction. So here's a rundown of the weekend.

Friday: Grandma C got here mid afternoon, just in time for a quick shopping trip (needed another pair of pants for this growing belly) and then to pick Eli up from school. She had not seen his school before so it was great to take her. Then we had a leisurely night at home and Grandma put Eli to bed while Tim & I just chilled.

Saturday: Eli & Grandma played their hearts out. After our pancake breakfast (Eli's were star shaped) they made play doh treats and pretended to make cookies, pies, cakes and pancakes. Eli really enjoyed pretending and making things with Grandma. Then they played upstairs with the train table for a bit and ran around outside. After lunch was naptime and then more playing. It tired me out watching them and I wasn't even playing!! Tim & I - we unpacked all the storage containers and got them inside. Also ran some errands to finish some things for the room (Lowe's and THREE different Targets - whew). During naptime, I put together an ITSO system from Target to use as our entertainment center type thing in the new room. Tim stained the wood doors for the room and I continued to clean / organize. Then Eli, Grandma and I ran to Boston Market to pick up dinner. It was very yummy and filled our tummies for a good night sleep.

Sunday: Eli & Grandma played more and more. After breakfast, it was upstairs to play trains and whatever else Eli could convince Grandma to do. Tim & I continued to work on little odds and ends around the house as well as five loads of laundry. Eli and Grandma walked to the lake to see the ducks and to watch the turtles go "night night" - apparently when they went underwater Eli said they were going "night night". Tim & I did manage to go have some fun during Eli's afternoon nap. We went to see 'Duplicity' and it was really good. We felt kinda guilty being off duty all weekend (pretty much, Grandma was a HUGE help) and then going to do something fun for ourselves.

All in all it was a great weekend. Eli loved playing with Grandma and Tim & I got so much stuff done. The Pack Rat is empty and hopefully we'll get it removed from the yard this week. Then we'll be able to take some before and after shots of our construction. Hope everyone had a good weekend - now it's time to get ready for another week.

Rolling out play doh to make pretend treats
Look at all those colorful yummy looking cookies
Flipping a play doh pancake just like Mommy does

Mommy, Eli and a blue play doh snake around his neck

Saturday afternoon nap time with Grandma

Playtime - crawling under the train table

Sunday morning smack down - wrestling Mommy's 3 foot Gumby

Riding his bike - he did good wearing his "hel-mutt"

Look ma, no hands!!

Watching 'Bob the Builder' with Grandma and enjoying a snack

Crazy boy in motion - going down the slide fast

and flying on the ground at the bottom - he loved it!

Eli's advice for the day: Never go thirsty - one in each hand

Little Leprechauns

Eli's class on St. Patty's Day - aren't they all cute?!

Wild Thing - project for 2.0 finished for now

It feels so good to see a project completed - well at least for now. Here's the cross stitch birth record for 2.0 that I have been working on - finished it last Wednesday. Now all that's left is his name, birth date and weight. It'll look great framed in his jungle themed room!

Kaboost

Not too happy with his booster chair, we decided to let Eli try Kaboost. This lifts a regular chair up to table height so the little ones thing they're just like the big kids. He's doing pretty well with it but definitely likes to slide around. Makes meal time adventurous!

Rain Rain go away

Not a lot to report from our house this weekend. We've missed being able to go outside and run around. I did let Eli play in the puddles when we got home Friday afternoon but other than that, he hasn't really been out in it. I think we're fighting sick again. He's been cranky and not sleeping as well as normal (whatever our normal is) so I'm worried. It seems like a week or so after antibiotics are over, he gets something again.

We (mostly Tim) did manage to put some shelves and a tv in the new playroom. Also, Tim hung the valance in Eli's new room and I put the sticker decals on the walls. Lots of time spent in the new room - Eli loves it! This upcoming weekend Grandma C is coming up so Tim & I can empty the Pack-Rat that has resided in our front yard for over 2 months and get things back in order. Hopefully then and if the weather cooperates, I'll post some before and after shots of the house. I also finished my cross stitch project for 2.0 on Wednesday night and it looks really good. Will have to post a picture of that maybe tomorrow.

Hope everyone stayed dry and is healthy. We're looking forward to the sunshine coming this week. It can't come soon enough!

House update, Big Boy bed and Clothes for 2.0

House update: Carpet was installed yesterday. Not sure if anyone has ever had carpet in their entire house replaced but it was chaos! Such a mess moving stuff from one room to another. We're putting things back together now so complete house pictures will be coming soon! The playroom/bonus room is complete except for the doors. Tim took them down to stain them and they'll be installed later. We've moved some of Eli's toys in there (train table, rocking horse) so we're going to try to break it in tonight with his buddy Ryan. With all the work we've had done and all the painting Tim has done, it feels like we've moved into a new house. We love it!

Big Boy Bed: After they finished carpet last night, we set up Eli's big boy bed so he could see it. He absolutely loved it. He ran around on it (it's a full size mattress) like it was a big moon bounce. He then figured out to put the pillows on the floor and leap onto them. We'll start trying some naps in there this weekend and see how it goes. If nothing else, it'll be nice for Mommy & Daddy to take naps with him!

Clothes for 2.0: The last picture on this post shows some adorable onesies that I picked up at Kohl's. I was shoppping for pajamas for Eli and couldn't resist buying 2.0 a few cute things.

Carpet in the driveway - old worn out stuff and new squishy carpet
Tim's pretty, newly epoxied, garage floor

Eli trying to keep us from making up his bed

Hanging with Daddy

Yep, this is MY bed

Tumbling around, wrestling pillows

Such a big boy

Cute clothes for 2.0

ps - NOW I think I'm updated, whew....

Our farm weekend

As noted in an earlier post, Eli & I went to my parents house this past weekend to 1) get out of Tim's hair so he could work on the house, 2) to just get out of town and 3) to visit my parents and grandparents. We had a fun weekend and, as always, Eli LOVED the farm and seeing all the animals.

Friday night was a tough drive down for me after working all week - got to the farm around 10:45pm (I'm usually well into my sleep by then!). Since I was by myself and having had trouble with Eli going back to sleep after a drive before, I let him sleep in the big bed with me. That was such a great decision! We had a good night of sleep and it was the most precious thing to wake up looking at him and when he opened his eyes, he let out a big "HEY" and smile. Awwww.

Saturday was a busy day. Eli started his day outside checking on the animals, helping Grandpa give them water, watching Grandpa feed them and then he just had to go inside the chicken coop to see the "bock bock"s. We then went to visit Great Grandma C for a while. The funniest thing is that Eli has learned how to do Ring Around the Rosie. I've been doing it with him, he had my parents doing it with him and the best was when he got my Grandma C, his Great Grandma, to do it with him at her house. Don't kids just bring out the kid in all of us?! After that visit, we grabbed lunch and then went to see Great Grandma & Great Grandpa S. Eli was quite the handfull during all these visits. He wanted to touch everything that could break! So of course, when he got antsy, we went outside to play. It was so great watching him play in my grandparents front yard - where I played many many hours and remember Easter egg hunts and family celebrations. Eli also started playing in the dirt in their driveway, again something I used to do! Then it was back to the farm for a nice long nap - for Mommy too. Dinner was out to Pizza Hut with my parents and brother Billy. Eli loved being out in public and just charming everyone around.

Sunday morning I was worried about the time change but Eli stayed up so late, he slept really well. The day started with checking on the animals again - did I tell you that Eli loves the animals?! He also helped Grandma bring in some eggs from the chickens, he only broke two of them thankfully. We hung out for a bit playing and then Eli & I hit the road. We made a pit stop by IKEA (crazy number of people there! So overwhelming) and then Concord Mills for lunch. Lucky for me that Eli napped almost the entire way home from Concord.

We happily arrived home to see Daddy and all his progress. I think Daddy missed us but also appreciated the time to get stuff done. You'll have to stay tuned for pictures of the finished room!

Helping Grandpa water the animals
Hanging in the chicken coop

BIIIIGGG cheese face - love those overalls!

Great Grandma C

Great Grandma S

Great Grandpa S (isn't he the most handsome man ever? I love my Grandpa)

Stacking oatmeal cans with Grandma & Grandpa

Tractor boy - this wasn't really a ride on tractor!

The egg bounty

Grandma C and Uncle Billy

Starting the ride home - he has learned his feet can go any which way but front

A short time later snuggled with blankie -a nice quiet drive

So much to update....too tired for much

Lots has been going on at our house the past few days. Eli & I went down to the farm this past weekend so Tim could work on painting trim in the new room and putting epoxy floor in his garage. Eli & I had a great visit with my parents and grandparents - pictures to come hopefully tomorrow. Tim painted like a mad man this weekend while we were gone, painting all the trim and base in the new room, doing the garage floor and reinstalling some shelving. Today the crews came to replace carpet throughout our entire house. Talk about house being upside down!! It was total chaos and now the work of putting things back together starts. We did set up Eli's big boy bed tonight and he had so much fun playing on it. So, for now, construction is 100% finished and we'll be posting pictures soon when things are cleaned up and more organized.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the marvelous weather!

Shirts for our boys....

Yesterday the "boys" got a package in the mail from Grandma & Grandpa N. In it were the cutest "I'm the big brother" t-shirt and "I'm the little brother" onesie. So much fun that we'll have two boys this summer! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Belle!!

Belle enjoying a Frosty Paws treat for her 13th birthday. My sweet old doggie.

Frozen waffles for breakfast.....still frozen

This morning I had prepared Eli a nice breakfast but when Daddy went to toast some French Toaster Waffles, Eli decided that he wanted one - straight out of the box! He ate the entire waffle, still frozen. Such a crazy boy we have!

Yummy waffle

Baking and Cooking

Snow day.....another day mostly inside.....what oh what to do. Bake and cook - what else?! I went into work this morning while Tim & Eli hung out and had a lunch date with Ryan. I got home during Eli's nap which allowed me to get dinner in the crock pot - yummy country style steak, good old fashioned Southern comfort food to beat the cold. As soon as I got it in and cleaned up, Eli woke from him nap. He & I baked chocolate chip cookies and had fun. He kept eating chocolate chips out of the measuring cup - he is so my child!! He wasn't interested in the dough, yet, and he didn't even eat one when we finished but he'll get there. We did have a lot of fun in the process though and practiced our counting and motor skills. Afterwards, some of the neighborhood kids came over to enjoy cookies and spend a few minutes playing with Eli.

Stirring together flour, baking soda and salt

Measuring and pouring brown sugar

Checking out what he'd put in the bowl

Mommy & Eli - I need to make him a cool boy-ish apron

Sneaking chocolate chips

And the crock pot of yummy country style steak and gravy - it was so good!

One thing I'm learning in this weather that keeps us inside is that I CAN do this Mommy thing. I'm growing into the creative Mommy who shares most everything with her kid (and soon to be kids). Eli loves hanging out with me no matter where I am or what I'm doing. I can still do all my normal house things, it just takes a little longer with an 18 month old helping. I'm letting go of some of that rigid personality and "have to do it now" attitude and letting Eli be a part of it. It's so much fun and I hope to continue to develop and grow into that Mommy I want to be.