Spring!

March is here and it has brought wonderful weather. We have been able to grill out and Gwen has got to play outside quite a bit, which she LOVES.

Gwen has had a very fun weekend! We spent Friday afternoon with Mara and Nolan (Reese was at a friend's). They are so nice to her and let her sit with them and play the computer and share snacks. Adam has been busy a lot working on the house, but we eat dinner with him every night. Friday night we went to our church's fish fry for Lent with the Pletchers and she had a blast running around with the big kids. Then Saturday, Duvy and Paisley came for the day. She loves "Paysies" and they had fun watching shows, playing toys, and eating snacks (while Duvy and I got to chit chat and eat lunch together). After Gwen's nap, the weather was beautiful so we took a walk to the park. Gwen loves to play and wants no help! She climbs, digs, and slides and gets very messy, but has a blast!

Saturday night Adam and I had our last date before the baby comes; we got lots of errands for the house done and got a nice dinner out. Then today we all went to church and to Sams, Adam worked on the house while Gwen and I did some cleaning/laundry/grocery shopping, then we had dinner with the Pletchers.

Now that March is here, we had a fun weekend, our house is completely clean, all I need is to get through Thursday (my last day of work) and I will be completely ready for the baby to arrive.

Doctor Appointments

Gwen and I had appointments this afternoon...her for her 18 month checkup, me for my 36 week check.

I dread Gwen's doctor appoinements. She knows she gets shots at this place, so the minute we arrive, she starts screaming. I hate it because not only is it sad to see her so scared, I feel like it's so hard for them to measure her and really get a sense of what she does developmentally because all she will do is cling to me and cry. Since she has such a hard time, I recorded an episode of Elmo's World where they talk about going to the doctor. The whole way there I kept saying "Elmo goes to the doctor too." I thought it was cute because although she cried through the whole appointment, she kept saying as she sobbed "Elmo doctor, Elmo doctor."

Anyways, she is 34 inches long (96%, she has been consistently between 95-99% her whole life, strange with average height parents), 26.5 lbs (76%), and 51% for weight for length (meaning she's well proportioned). Her speech and motor skills are great and overall, she's one healthy kid. I feel so lucky that we've made it to 18 months with only 1 ear infection, pink eye one time, and a few colds. Let's just hope she gets through her current "climbing stage" with no major injuries!

My appointment was pretty uneventful. No signs that the baby is coming anytime soon except for the fact that I feel like I should be having him soon because my stomach is so big and round and hard that I can't even bend over anymore, let alone easily get Gwenna in and out of her crib, carseat, high chair, bath, etc. I start weekly appointments now, so let's hope next week I'm dilated or showing some signs of progress :)

My Baby Girl

Since Gwen's time being the only child is quickly coming to an end, I want her to have lots of fun since we might be stuck at home quite a bit once her brother is born. Lucky for her, we have had Paisley, Leighton, my mom, and my birthdays to celebrate this month. She has had her fair share of cupcakes, parties, and balloons, which she LOVES.

Our regular activities include going to the library every Tuesday for storytime, which is usually the highlight of her week. She loves going there; we sing songs, she sees her same "friends", the kids play with shakers and puppets, and the librarian reads a book and blows bubbles. We also have been trying to do playdates with her favorite friend, Makayla, to new indoor play places each week. Last week we went to the indoor playground they built a few years ago here in Champaign, I had never been but was so impressed. It is so big and nice, is surrounded by a track, and she had so much fun.

Last weekend we went to Morton all day Saturday. We got to have a playdate with Mara and meet her new baby sister, Parker. Sadly, I didn't even take my purse in their house, so I got no pictures. Parker is an angel, she's so cute and so so so tiny! It makes you realize how sad it is that your baby grows up SOOOO much in just 18 months.

After our playdate, we went out to lunch with my mom, Court and Leighton. Gwen was a mess so I gave her a quick little change, her and Leighton played, and we were off to take them to see the Fresh Beat Band Concert. I didn't know how she would react, but I was excited that she loved it. She sat still on my lap the whole time so she could see and danced, clapped, pointed to things she liked, and shouted out things she liked to me! Leighton stood in front of her chair and danced the entire time. It was so much fun to see them have so much fun!

Adam has been gone a lot, either traveling or working on our house, so we went out for breakfast after church on Sunday to this dive diner in Mahomet called Hen House. Adam always wants to go there and we were kind of in a hurry for him to get working on our house, so I agreed to go this weekend. Gwen sat in a booster instead of a high chair, got a Micky Mouse shaped pancake, and thought the Hen House was just great!

While we aren't doing planned activities, Gwen's current interests include climbing onto counters, climbing out of her high chair, turning on any faucet she can get her hands on, putting blankets or dish towels over Diggy's head and running from him, playing her drum or harmonica (which she is pretty good at :), getting into the pile of decor for our new house, trying on Adam and my shoes, coloring (which usually ends with trying to eat her crayon or marker). She also still loves to snuggle when she's tired and is pretty clingy to me, so hopefully she's okay with the baby joining us. She talks more in phrases now than just single words, my favorite by far is "Oh sorry Mama" as she goes to do something she knows she shouldn't, like saying sorry in advance will make it okay! I can't believe she's not a real baby anymore, but no matter how many kids I have, I will still consider her my baby girl!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Normally in the mornings, Gwen yells for me when she wakes up, grabs about 5 pacis from her crib, wants to sit and snuggle on the couch, and if anyone besides me tries to talk to her or come near her, she about bites their head off. After about 10-20 minutes, she wakes up and is her normal happy self, but it takes her awhile to wake up.

This morning, however, Adam surprised her with a special Valentine's Day breakfast waiting for her when she woke up, she was cranky at first, but the minute she spotted something that looked like a dessert (he got her these apple danish things), she perked right up and had a great family breakfast with us!
Adam brought me coffee and flowers too, not a bad way to start the morning!
Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Fun Day Trip to Chicago!

Today we took a fun little day trip to Chicago. We got to have lunch with Panichi, Andrea, and Emily, then Em came with us to take Gwen to the aquarium. At first, Gwen was a little scared if she got too close to the glass and was saying "No No No No" but after some warming up, she really liked it. She needed to burn some energy after being in her carseat and high chair most of the morning, so we let her go! She ran from window to window and had fun. Thankfully, Adam came and kept up with her most of the time! She exclaimed all day "fishies" "splash" "bubbles" and when she found a play boat, it was the highlight of her day. We had to pull her from it!

We had a fun day! I love watching Gwen have fun and I love seeing my cousin and friends. I was happy Adam got to come too; he had been traveling all week and works on our house a lot when he's not at his real job. We are all tired now, Gwen's fast asleep in bed, Adam's out of it on the couch and I'm about ready to go to bed myself!

Hard To Dress This Month

I'm officially 30 weeks pregnant and had a doctor appointment today. The baby is growing and growing, which means I'm growing, which means I experience all that comes along with having a big baby inside of you: about 10 bathroom breaks per night, lots of kicking and movement (which I like), and the joyful pains pregnancy causes your body. The past 1-2 months, my wardrobe has diminished from a closet of stuff that fits to maternity jeans, leggings, a few shirts/sweaters that are loose or maternity, and coats that I can't zip up. I save my "good outfits" for work or special occasions though; I spend the majority of my time in pajama pants, whichever one of Adam's comfortable shirts I like that week, or my robe :)

Dressing Gwen this month has been hard too, not because she's growing too fast, but because the weather extremes!!! We have left the house this month to sunny 60 degree weather, thunderstorms, ice/snow, freezing temps, etc. It makes it hard to know which coat, if any, she needs.

Rare Sunny Day at the Park in January

Rain Coat Type Day

In other news, the Boekers moved to Texas. We spent a whole day with them right before they left. Gwen loves them all, but I know she will really miss playing with big cousin "See See" aka Sylvie, who is one of her absolute favorite people in the world. We will miss having them so close, but I am excited to have a new place to visit!

Happy 2012!

I can't believe it's already 2012. We spent New Year's Eve with Duvy and her family at our house. It was the perfect NYE for us having Gwen and me being pregnant. They brought Paisley, we made some appetizers, watched Rockin New Years Eve, played our Table Topics game, and had a little slumber party. Paisley and Gwen are finally starting to kind of interact a little, which is fun to watch.

Hope everyone's 2012 is off to a good start!!!