School pictures

Tyler gets school pictures twice a year and we have yet to get a really good picture (but they're always cute of course). Third times a charm because we got them back today and we have a winner! Here's the evolution of the school picture so far and we're only in year 2 of 18...

First one...looks like he spent too much time inhaling the air at a Phish show if you know what I mean (he was just getting over being sick).





Second one...looks like maybe he was crying or getting ready to cry...we're not quite sure what was happening here. And I think he was crying in the school picture.





Third one...what a charmer! And he was all smiles in his class picture too! We're definitely making progress :)

Weekend adventures

The long weekend meant there was lots going on and along with it came some really great weather considering it's February. We started the weekend off at Adventure Aquarium and then had a nice walk on the trail with Karen and Juliet (while Dad and Ben ran), we spent Sunday hanging with Gram and Pop, playing in the park, collecting/playing with sticks (a new favorite thing to do), checking out the llamas, emu and feeding ducks. Today, we played outside with the neighbors for a few hours, Tyler climbed the rock wall for the first time all by himself (Dad is very happy that at least he's willing to climb if not ski at the moment) and then fit in some tree climbing too. Even though I love winter, this supposed winter we've been having is making me get really excited for Spring. Even the poor flowers don't know what's going on. For about 2 weeks our daffodils have been peeking out...really early, but always nice to see! Picture overload for you...

Valentine's Day and a little more

Valentine's Day...the day where we're supposed to let people know how much we love them. We like to tell each other everyday around here how much we love each other :) We had a happy heart day that involved me getting beautiful flowers at work from my boys, Tyler having his party at school and trading valentine's with his friends, we came home and swapped valentine's with some neighbors, ate some candy and once Tyler went to bed Dave and I ate Chinese takeout and caught up on some TV shows we had recorded. Chinese food and sitting down to relax and watch TV is my idea of a perfect night with my hubby :)

Here's Top of the Hill's most eligible bachelor on Valentine's day.







And the next day was picture day so we broke out the button down shirt. When I put it on him that morning he told me "Ty like Daddy". This is what Dave wears to work a lot jeans, sneakers and a button down :)



And we're done with the baby room! We brought swings, car seats, bathtubs, bouncy chairs and so much more down from the attic and all of a sudden our house feels a lot smaller. It's all washed and put back together. Now, all we need is the baby! With 2 weeks left until my due date all I have to do is get some meals cooked and frozen for those first few weeks when we're walking zombies. I decided that next Friday will be my last day of work. I was originally going to work until I had the baby, but then told myself I deserve a few days of no work before he's born. And when HR told me I'd have to be taken in an ambulance to the hospital if I went in to labor at work, well that pretty much sealed the deal for me. Not saying it can't happen next week, but I'm not pushing it :) I could tell we're getting closer because I've been having some random pains, but nothing consistent. My back keeps making this pop when I flip over in the middle of the night and every time I think it's the infamous "water breaking pop" I had with Tyler. And every time I call Dave at work to tell him something he says I thought you were calling to tell me your in labor. So I don't think I'm allowed to call anymore until it's the real deal :) I forgot about the fun of not knowing when a baby will decide to arrive!









Tyler seems to really be getting the idea that Zachary will be here soon. We're not sure if he knows he'll be coming home to live with us permanently, but he knows there's a baby that will be here soon and he looks in the crib and says "Zachary not here yet", so he knows something is up! Tonight I was putting him to bed and asked if he was going to help with Zac and of course he said "yes" and then I said will you sing him the ABC's when he cries and he broke out in to singing ABC's. This was the first time I've ever heard him sing the whole song by himself. I love it, he's taking this big bro thing seriously :)

37 weeks down...3 to go!

Taaaaadaaaaaa (as Tyler would say)!! We made it! We're officially cooked, fully baked, brewed to perfection, whatever you'd like to call it, but we're at the point where we could have the baby and all would be good! Not saying we're ready just yet though, I like to cook em a little longer :)

I celebrated my 37 weeks by taking the day off on Friday and getting a massage, pedicure and manicure. It was a wonderful day of pampering! Then, on Saturday we had a fully cooked dinner to celebrate with my two preggo buddies, Shannon (due March 2nd like me) and Amy (due March 3rd). The guys cooked us a Mexican food dinner and then we enjoyed some cake that had an alien like fetus drawn on it compliments of Ryan along with other goodies :) It was a fun night of celebrating our soon to be babies!

I had a doctor appointment tonight and everything is looking good. He estimates the baby is about 6.5 pounds right now, which should put him right around 8 pounds if he's right. I know how much to trust these estimates though, but at least they haven't said we have another 10 pounder on our hands!




The alien fetus baby cake :)



37 weeks 2 days...this picture is the real deal of what a Sunday of playing in the snow, lounging around and a 3 hour nap will make you look like :)



And we finally got a little more snow. We haven't had enough mornings this winter where I could wake up and see this peaceful scene out the kitchen window.



Fit in a little sleigh riding...



And another attempt to get Tyler on his skis. It was a no go again and it breaks Dave's heart every time Tyler won't get on them. I have to remind him that he's 2, not 10 and he'll get on them when he's ready.



He looks like a ski bum though :)




Eating breakfast at the counter like a big kid



And we couldn't call a day complete without a little Kung Fu



Some fun with stickers. Thank goodness we have about 1,000 stickers in the house because we go through about 100 a day.







Patiently waiting for his new favorite food...hot dogs! As I post this picture I realize we have tons of pictures of Tyler on the counter. My Mom always use to let us sit on the counter and watch her and I still climb on the counter when I need something up high, so be it he's my counter top kid :) He had just realized there was a flame under the pan so he was checking it out.

Happy Week

We had lots to be happy about this past week. First off, Dad came home from his ski trip last Wednesday. He was in Colorado for 6 days and Tyler and I were both very happy he was home. It's always nice to get your other half back especially when you're very pregnant and running around after a 2 year old. I gotta say though, Tyler's activeness has kept me feeling really good and hasn't allowed me to think about all the stuff that comes along with pregnancy. I barely have any swelling this time around and I thank him for this - he keeps me on my toes! My rings still fit and they were long gone at this point with him. Every little ache and pain I had while Dave was gone I envisioned me having the baby without him here, thankfully all was good. Phew!



We celebrated Uncle Kevin's birthday with a little party on Saturday afternoon. Add in some really good ice cream cake and this preggo was a happy camper. Then my Mom and I went to this outlet for an online baby store and I went with 3 things I wanted and we found all three! Grammy bought us the Sit and Stand double stroller that I've been wanting! We got a Moses basket for the baby and another set of the same monitors we have all at a discount! I never find bargains and don't have the patience to really look for them, but this time we scored big time! Smiling, happy, preggo leaving the store.

P90X before the cake...





What could make my day get better? Date Night! Dave and I went to dinner and a movie. Ahh, we ate and ate and ate. Filet Mignon's to be exact with all kinds of other good stuff. Celebrating our last few moments of sanity before baby #2 arrives. Then, on to see a movie and I stayed awake. Bonus! It was a great night with just the two of us.

On Sunday, Tyler and I went to see GG. Tyler is the only great-grandchild that calls her GG. Kyle and Adam call her Old Gram. Great Grandma is 96 and has decided GG will be her new name. So I guess GG it is! Within about 10 minutes of being at her house Tyler managed to press the Life Alert button that she wears on a necklace. Interesting...I had no clue what was going to happen once he pressed it. I thought an ambulance was going to show up, but I ended up talking to a man through a box on her counter explaining my 2 year old pressed it. Hey, at least we know it works right? We ended up having an impromptu lunch at McDonald's. A 1.5 hour lunch at McDonald's with a very broad range on the age spectrum...2, 31 and 96. GG ate McDonald's for the 2nd time in her life and Tyler showed her how to eat chicken nuggets because she's never had them before.



Dave, Kyle and Amy got in some skiing on Sunday. By time they got home from skiing I was ready to go to sleep. I'm starting to run out of fuel at the end of the day. When we got home, we got in to our PJ's, ate really bad for you food and watched the Super Bowl. The half time show came on right before Tyler was going to bed and I wish I could've got video because I think he might have a slight obsession with Madonna. He just pointed and made this noise like "hmm, hugh, hmmm". He really liked her.

And lastly, a bed update. Tyler has been successfully sleeping in his bed for the past week! No more sleeping on the floor. Not sure what brought this on, but all of a sudden he's happy and content in his bed! Yippee! I'm one happy Mama!