A Week of Firsts

This was definitely a week of many firsts. First and foremost – this was the first week that Alex was happy more than he was upset. Yes - Mr. Alex seems to have taken a turn for the better. It really is amazing.
We ended up going to the doctor because he was having a really hard time getting back down at nights and almost sounded as though he was having a hard time breathing – wheezing, etc. And, of course, as soon as I mentioned that, they wanted to see us right away. The doctor thinks that he has some post nasal drip going on and that, mixed with the acid is causing him to be uncomfortable. So, she increased his medication and we now have a humidifier in our room. Both seem to be helping, because he is a different child! He almost never cries during the day any more except when he is tired. Which, brings me to our next first. Even though he has gotten better, he still will not sleep during the day unless he is being walked in the stroller or driven in the car. SO – instead of fighting it, I decided the other day to just walk him to get him to take a nap. Avery was taking a nap and Josh was gone, so I decided that I would just walk him in our yard. I did that for about 5 minutes and he was out. I thought about taking him out and putting him in his room, but then realized, why rock the boat? So, for the first time ever, I just left my child sitting in the middle of the yard sleeping. Now – some may think this is a bit cruel. However, you will note that he is sitting in the shade AND I have that marvelous bubble around him that my sister sent to me (and, that I use daily) AND, I decided to take advantage of two children sleeping and to sit in the sun on the deck, which was relatively near where he was. So, really, I wasn’t all that bad of a parent – I’d like to consider myself smart, actually.

Here he is looking happy! Well, not really happy because he hasn't really started smiling yet, but content...



Alex also found his hands for the first time a little over a week ago. It's pretty cute- you'll be holding him and all of a sudden you"ll hear this sucking sound - sure enough, he's sucking on his fist.


The next first was Miss Avery’s first real temper tantrum. Wow – this was a doozy. Don’t worry –I will not include a picture of this one (not that I have one anyway – can you imagine??? Now THAT would be the ultimate blogger – a mom who insists on photographing her child’s temper tantrum…). We were at the beach and something happened while she was up at the bathroom with Josh. The next thing I knew – I could hear a screaming child coming back down to the beach (mind you – the bathroom and where I was sitting on the beach are NOT close, which gives you an indication of how loud this tantrum was). When she got down to where I was, she preceded to throw her hat on the ground and scream, at which point, her father reached the end and dragged her back to the car kicking and screaming – all of this while probably 10 families turned around to see what the deal was. Lovely.
Unfortunately, that tantrum was the beginning of a pretty rough couple of days. I think that she has reached the point of, “Why the hell is HE still here??” and she is letting us know about it by whining, crying and just generally being very difficult. These are the times as a parent that you wish there was a rule book that told you what you should be doing in these situations. I’m still learning, but so far ignoring her seems to be a good way. If it gets really bad, she sits somewhere until I can tell her she can get up, but that hasn’t seemed to have any long term effects considering this behavior hasn’t stopped. And, leading to our next “first” – what is even more unfortunate, is we had some friends of ours over for dinner for the first time the other night. They brought their son Max, who is the same age as Avery and their son Travis who is the same age as Alex. Well, Max wanted to borrow Avery’s bike and Avery didn’t really like that so much, which led to her second tantrum. However, eventually, she got over it and, as you can see, she and Max had fun together…however, I’m pretty certain they think that our child is a total nightmare. Ugh.


Another first – Chili went outside for the first time ever this weekend. I didn’t have the heart to just let him out and to just see what would happen (i.e., hope to god he just never returns). Instead, I got him a leash and a collar and let him out on the deck. He loved it and just laid down in the shade. However, I think that it got too hot for even him at one point, because he nearly begged to be let back inside after about 20 minutes. On that note, I have officially posted an ad on Craigslist to try to find him a new family and I plan to post a picture of him at the local vet and the bulletin board in town in the hopes of finding him a new home. It’s time. He needs more attention than I am willing to give him and if he doesn’t get it, he pees. Which really pisses me off (no pun intended). So far - no takers.

And, last but not least - this last week was the first that I heard of my dear friend, Amers, being a seamstress (yes - I'm stretching the "first" theme, but I really wanted to include this picture because I was amazed that a) she can do this and b) she can do it with a 6 month old in the house). I received this great gift for Alex that Amy made. I was so impressed that I needed to share:

OK-off to try to get in a shower so that I'm presentable for Avery's ice cream social at daycare. I'm thinking that whole no dairy thing is going out the window tonight - we'll see how the new happy Alex handles it!

Big Bad Wolves

So, the other day, my mother-in-law told me a somewhat funny, yet freightening story. She said that she was talking to a co-worker and he asked how Alex was doing and when she said that he was a bit fussy (see below for further discussion on this point), he made the comment that he can’t believe that the human race even exists because, in his opinion, infants, until the age of 1 should just be thrown to the wolves because they are just too difficult most of the time. Well, clearly that seems a bit harsh and quite unrealistic, but come on – all of you with kids out there, you have to admit – there have been times where something along those lines sounds like a damn good idea. However, seeing as how I’m not totally insane (although, recently, I’ve wondered), I’ve decided to throw him in the Ergo rather than throw him to the wolves in order to get him to calm down. First of all – for all of my friends who plan to have more kids and don’t have this – I would highly recommend it. It is WAY more comfortable than the Bjorn and you can use it until the kid is pretty old, as it will eventually go on your back and they can ride in it that way.

Oh, and you will notice my 2 year old looking a bit PWT without a shirt on. By that point, I had tried to get her to put one on for a half hour and had just given up - I've learned to pick my battles. ANYWAY – yes, I have succumb to “baby wearing” because that is one of the only ways that my child will calm down at times. Either that, or nurse him, which is also a type of baby wearing, I guess. Poor Alex has reflux really badly and is in pain a decent amount of time, which in turn, causes us to have to deal with a crying child for most of the day. I have found that, as long as we stay on the go, we are fine because he does sleep in the stroller and in the car, so that is what we’ve done. I’ve also cut out all coffee, chocolate, dairy, spicy foods, peanut butter (yes, I read that can irritate their stomach and it does seem like he does better without it) and tomatoe-y foods out of my diet to see if this will help. I swear – I need to just eat boiled chicken breasts and bread and that will probably cure this problem. Anyway - I’m hoping as he gets older, he will grow out of this. With my luck, it will be right when I go back to work. We’ll see. Although, I must say - even with all of the issues, he sure is a cute child! :)
yes - he is clearly borrowing his sister's blanket








On a positive note – we did actually all get out of the house one night!!!!! I swear, you would have thought that I was going to prom with how excited I was. Josh’s cousin and uncle were in town from Florida, so we all had dinner at his parents club (we’re fancy like at – actually, we just tag along – his parents are fancy like that). It was just so nice getting out of the house and enjoying a glass of wine and good food and wearing something other than workout clothes or the one pair of shorts and one shirt that currently fits me. AND, as it turns out – I do have eyes!!!! I just need to get a little makeup on them in order for anyone to see them!


Here is a picture of Avery all ready for the big night out wearing one of the cutest dresses I think that I’ve ever gotten her (and, it should be given the freaking price). I was psyched that she actually got a chance to wear it because I was convinced she wouldn’t.


And, here is Alex in one of the nicer outfits that he owns.



On another positive note – Christine came in from NYC this last weekend. It was so great seeing her and having some girl time. She is amazing with Avery and Avery really adores her. She is still asking where Auntie Christine went. She was a HUGE help with both Avery and Alex. This is her trying to give Alex a bottle – didn’t have a ton of luck, but then again none of us really did.

Which, brings me to my next story. I was bound and determined to go out to dinner with Christine on Sat. night and have sushi and wine – 2 things I haven’t had in a long time. So, I figure, might as well make sure Alex will take a bottle before I leave (mind you – I had given him one a week earlier and he sucked it down). Well, that night? Not a chance. He wanted nothing to do with it. So, basically, the night started out with me crying on the couch nursing Alex, Josh trying to suggest 1000 different things that we could do in an hours time so that we could at least get out of the house, Christine trying to occupy Avery by taking her for a walk outside and my inlaws coming in the middle of the entire fiasco not really quite sure what to say or do. Well, eventually, Christine and I left and went to a restaurant down the road from our house and got a glass of wine and ordered food to go (all at Josh’s suggestion) while Josh took Alex in the ergo and walked around the neighborhood for AN HOUR AND A HALF so that he would sleep. In the mean time, his parents cooked (josh was originally supposed to cook for them) and fed Avery and got her ready for bed. Pretty crazy all around, but I have to say, I felt like a new woman after just an hour and a half away. The two glasses of wine didn’t hurt either (ironically enough, Alex slept very well that night. Hmmmmmm…I may have found a soloution! Kidding. Kind of).
Avery continues to do well with the situation, but is having a few more emotional breakdowns lately. I think that the 5 days away from daycare this weekend was part of the problem, but there were a few discussions had that involved me explaining to her that she can not scream “no” at her parents, etc. She still loves her baby brother Alex and wants to give him hugs and kisses whenever she can, which is good. She also likes to give him stickers out of her 700 sticker Thomas book. Poor kid...

That’s about it for the last couple of weeks. I hate to sound like things are horrible. They really aren’t. We’re managing. But, man! This two kid thing is a challenge at times! I’ll close with a classic picture of Avery and Alex – this pretty much sums it all up…

Welcome, Baby Alex!

Well, it’s official! We are now a family of four. Alexander Raymond Holland made his way into this world on July 2, 2009 at 10:58 AM. He was 7 lbs. 4 oz, which I was really happy with since the doctors thought that he was going to be small. But, he actually ended up being a perfect size.




Overall, I have to say – Avery has done much better than I thought she would. She loves “Baby Alex” and kisses him and hugs him very gently all of the time.

She has also been great about the fact that I can’t lift her in and out of her crib or hold her. I told her that Mommy has a boo boo and I can’t hold her until it heals. It’s amazing how empathetic she has been with the whole thing - it’s like she totally understands and is ok with waiting until my boo boo heals. Now, I will say that there have been some random temper tantrums and she has had some issues listening to us. But, I have to also think that part of that has to do with her being a 2 year old. It’s amazing – we will ask her to do something and she blatantly just ignores us – it’s as though we aren’t even there. Unfortunately, it has resulted in us having to “force” her to do what we need her to do (i.e., carry her kicking and screaming, etc), which really sucks when you have to do it, but I guess these are the things that you have to do with a 2 year old.

Oh – and the other thing that she has done twice now is peed in her pants, which is totally not like her. And, after she does it, she just comes up to us and announces that she just peed on the floor as though it is totally a normal thing to do. I have to think that this is because of the baby considering, when she does this, I have no other choice but to put the baby down and assist her. I was torn as to whether I should get mad at her because I don’t want to set her back with the potty training, but then I figured that she is far enough along with it that she knows better, so I expressed my “frustration” with the situation last time she did it – we’ll see if it worked.

Unfortunately, Alex has not been the easiest of babies over the last 2 weeks. We think that it is either reflux, lactose intolerance, gas, lack of naps during the day or his raging diaper rash. You choose…

I have found that the vibrating bouncy seat seems to keep him happy for a decent amount of time, so that is pretty much where he resides most of the day


I’ve decided that the best way to get through the two days when it is Avery, Alex and I is to stay active with them. So, we bought a double stroller, which I’m totally psyched about. It starts out as a double stroller and then converts to a sit and stand once Avery is to the point where she doesn’t want to ride in a stroller any more.


So, now the plan is to take daily walks down to the library (yes Mom and Dad, I’m actually going to get a library card – the first one since college (which was forced upon me)) or to the playground. Other than that, I may venture out with both of them to go grocery shopping or run other errands, but I haven’t decided yet. Alex has already been out and about all over the place – yes, he has even been to the beach – his first visit being when he was only 4 days old. Got to get them started young…

Oh – just a random piece of Avery news – turns out, she has my skin. She got bit by a mosquito this last weekend on top of her eye and woke up the next morning with her eye nearly swollen shut because of it. Pretty crazy…


I’ll do my best to keep this updated as frequently as possible, but I can’t make any promises, as this mother thing seems to take up an awful lot of my time lately.
:)

"No Mama! Avery do it!"

Ah yes…that is the stage that we are in. Avery is now 2 and has to do EVERYTHING. On one hand, I want her to learn how to do these things and I want her to be independent, but holy cow! Having a 2 year old do everything makes everything take twice as long. In fact, when I was in DC for work the other week – Josh told me that, both mornings I was gone, he didn’t get into work until 10 AM because Avery had to do everything. Now…I will say that most of this has to do with the parenting and the fact that he has a very hard time saying no and listening to her cry (he’s much softer than me in that sense). And, I will admit – it is very hard to know when it would just be faster to let her do it and avoid her freaking or when it is faster to just let her freak for a minute and do it yourself. Not only is it a matter of which is faster, but it is also a matter of the fact that she is 2 years old and she needs to realize that she can’t do everything and that we will say no to some things. Man – this disciplining thing is tricky. Anyway, just an example of some of the things that she needs to do herself:
1. Flush the toilet (regardless of who just went to the bathroom;
2. Turn on the faucet to wash her hands and wash her hands without my assistance;
3. Give Leinie his dinner, his pills and his water;
4. Put her clothes and shoes on;
5. Put toothpaste on the toothbrush. Note – after EVERY time she does this, as I’m brushing her teeth, she exclaims “Avery no walk away from Mama! Make Mama happy!” because, back in the day, she would immediately run the opposite direction when I said it was time to brush her teeth. Until, one day, I told her that it didn’t make Mama happy when she did that - hence, the comment now. I have to admit –it’s pretty cute when she says that;
6. Fill glass with water from the fridge;
7. Walk upstairs and downstairs;
8. Fold clothes (which, she is actually getting pretty good at);
9. Wipe her face and hands after a meal; and the latest…
10. Take Leinie for a walk;





11. Help Josh paint; and…



12. HOLD BABIES!!!


Clearly I’m thrilled with this one. This picture is of Avery and Fitch, my friend Lindsey’s newborn son. She met him for the first time this last weekend and was great with him! She was very gentle and was very intrigued. Granted, Fitch left after 2 hours and clearly this one won’t be leaving any time soon, but still – it was a good first step.
I’m feeling great, still. Although, I’m getting very anxious to meet this child. Just a little more than 2 weeks! I can’t believe it. Here is the latest belly picture of me at 36 weeks. I'm carrying the exact same as I did with Avery, so we'll see if it's another girl!



We’ve got the nursery almost put together - I'll post pictures in the next update. I have washed all of the baby boy clothes that sara has given me and they are in the drawers. I am trying to locate Avery’s baby clothes so that I can get those washed. I figure, I will just split the drawers between girl and boy right now and switch them out when the baby is born.

Oh - and, Avery actually got to feel the baby move the other night! It was great. He/She had hiccups, so there was constant movement - she loved it.



That’s about it. This weekend is free in terms of having nothing planned and then the following weekend, my parents arrive on Sunday and then the following Thursday, this child will make his/her appearance! Crazy…

Must be something in the water...

This weekend was Lexi’s baby shower in Milwaukee. It was a great weekend overall and I think that she had a great time. I flew in on Friday night at around 10:30 and then left at 6 pm on Sunday night, so it was a quick trip, but well worth it. And, as it turns out, the shower ended up being one week after Avery’s 2nd birthday, which means that I would have had to pay for a ticket for her had I brought her with me. Granted, I probably could have just fibbed a bit and said that she was just shy of turning 2, but honestly? It was kind of nice flying solo. I just sat on the plane and did my cross stitch (yes, I know – kind of 80-year-old’ish, but whatever) and watched the other parents struggle to keep their toddlers occupied. It was lovely. I will say that I did miss her and I was excited to see her on Monday morning, so I’m not entirely as selfish as I sound. I might also add that I think Josh was pretty excited to see me come home. As it turns out, taking care of Avery and trying to get everything done around the house is pretty challenging. Not to mention, dealing with Leinie who a) is just kind of a freak and has taken to pacing the house and panting pretty much non-stop for no reason (it really is enough to drive you freaking nuts) b) who decided to spill his water bowl twice on two different rugs, resulting in Josh attempting to dry it up with fans and whatever other device he could find prior to me seeing it oh, and c) bleeding all over my new living room rug (he has a sore on his leg). Lovely. Anyway, enough about us…

The shower was really nice. My aunt Nancy seems to be the chosen one to host all of the showers at her house and let me tell you, as a result, she has this type of thing down to a science. Lexi’s shower was a rubber ducky theme, and wow – there were lots of rubber duckies! Oh – first of all, I should start with the invitations – they were delivered all rolled up in a baby bottle! It was such a great idea (and, one to steal if you ever throw a baby shower!). Anyway, back to the duckies…here are some pictures of the various tables that she had set up.

It was hilarious having Lexi and I there together with our bellies. We are both pretty much all belly (ok, so my butt has gotten a bit larger than hers, but whatever…), but it’s funny because mine is kind of more narrow and seems to stick out more and then lexi’s is a bit more round and basketball-like and much lower than mine. It will be interesting to see if we have the same sex of baby.

So, not only were Lexi and I pregnant, but there were FOUR other women who were pregnant at the shower as well (hence, the title of the post – although, none of us live near each other, so I guess it really doesn’t make sense because we haven’t all been drinking the same water, but I thought that it was catchy nonetheless). One of the other pregnant ones was Sara, who is due in September and then there were the 3 Larsen girls – Sarah, Becky (sisters) and Kersten (sister-in-law). Sarah is due beginning of July, Becky is due middle of October and Kersten is due end of October. Here is a picture of all of us – there were two cameras taking pictures and mine ended up with the not so good ones apparently, but you get the idea. We are standing in order of due date.
The rest of the day on Saturday was spent hanging out with my family and Sara and then on Sunday, all of the high school girls got together for lunch to celebrate Melissa’s birthday. Melissa and Anne brought Jack and Kate, who are both adorable and really well behaved! We realized that there are soon to be 10 kids between the five of us. It makes me wonder when we will ever be able to have another girls’ weekend where none of us is pregnant or nursing (because, let’s face it – a sober girls’ weekend just wouldn’t really cut it). Somehow, I think that it may be a while…

Sara and I spent the rest of the day Sunday playing with Chad outside. It was a nice end to the weekend. He really is such a great kid and I love spending time with him. Oh, and you have to check out this car that he has. It’s crazy…it has a real radio and everything.
After this last weekend, things have finally slowed down for us and the plan is to now start focusing on this baby. I’m hoping to get the nursery furniture shortly and then we can get the nursery set up and get some clothes put away and diapers and anything else that we need for this one. I actually brought a bunch of Chad’s baby clothes home with me, as everyone is convinced that this one is a boy. We’ll see!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Avery!

Yes – we officially have a toddler on our hands now. Avery turned 2 on Sunday!!! The whole weekend was great. My parents flew in from Amsterdam (their last trip from AMS to BOS, as they have moved back to the states for good now…crazy!) on Thursday night. Avery was THRILLED that they were here. As we were leaving daycare that night, all that she kept saying to everyone there was “Opa, Grandma at my house!!!” She then proceeded to run around like a maniac all night on Thursday night when she got home – she was so excited. Friday morning, my parents watched her while I went to work – she had a great time with them walking around the neighborhood and playing in her sandbox. I came home at noon from work and the rest of the weekend was spent getting ready for the big party on Sunday.

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve decided that I’m going to do my best to make a cake for the kids for every birthday. Mind you, I have never in my life baked a decorative cake, so I truly have no idea what I’m doing. Perfect example – the 25 pound (no, I’m not exaggerating) lady bug cake that I made for her first birthday – little did I know, I didn’t need to make TWO layers using the largest cake pan I could find. This thing was bigger than Avery. This year, however – I ordered a Barney cake pan that was much more of a practical size. And, it actually turned out really well, if I do say so myself! For some reason, my camera makes the frosting look blue, but I swear it was purple – very purple, actually.

This year, because we have just moved into the house, we just had family and a few friends over for Avery’s birthday (i.e., not a huge party with 10000 kids – maybe next year). It was the first thing that we have ever really hosted, as this was the first occasion that we had enough room to host, so it was fun. We ended up bringing our patio furniture in from outside and setting that up and then borrowed some chairs and silverware from friends so that we had enough for everyone. Oh, and Avery contributed her part by putting a Barney sticker at each place...

So, maybe not the “prettiest,” most perfectly coordinated table, but it worked! Then, seeing as how it was Mother’s Day as well, I got a bud vase and put a flower in it for all of the moms to take home that day, which ended up working perfectly as a centerpiece.

Oh, and then , since it was a Barney theme, we had Barney Plates, Barney Napkins and I made everyone wear a Barney hat. Funny thing was, the only ones not wearing the hats were the 2 year olds. And, I’m pretty certain most of the adults are still cursing my name (as you can see in this picture of my father), as it became obvious that the hats were in fact hurting everyone, as the string was a bit tight.

However, after seeing my enthusiasm over the hats, none of them said a word about this until I announced that I thought that my circulation was about to be cut off and that everyone could take the hats off if they so choose – at which point, I hear a huge sigh of relief from everyone, as they take them off, only to leave a bright red line under their chin where the string had been. Sorry about that!

Avery had a great time – she was a little overwhelmed by all of the people and the short nap that she took that afternoon didn’t really help (doesn’t it always work that way? They never take long naps on the days that you need them to), as she got a bit tired as the day went on. But, overall, she enjoyed herself and had fun playing with Asher in the sandbox and on Grandpy’s tractor that was still there from mowing the lawn earlier.

She got some great gifts and especially loved the bike that Grandmy and Grandpy got for her! She hasn’t quite yet gotten the concept that, if you push the pedals, you will go, but she’ll get there. Josh and I also got her a kitchen set, which we put together on Saturday night - what a pain (I swear, they couldn't make those things more difficult to put together if they tried). But, she loved it when she woke up on Sunday morning. Of course, I only have video of these two gifts and I can't figure out how to upload that onto my computer, so instead, here are some random pictures of Avery opening other things...

So, overall, it was a great weekend. Thank god my parents were there! I really couldn’t have done it without them. It was so nice having the extra sets of hands and, most importantly, having someone else who could occupy Avery so that we could get some stuff done!

Oh goodness! Winker II! Poor child – he/she is already neglected and it isn’t even born yet! I had a dr’s appointment on Monday and everything looks great – the baby is actually measuring a bit larger than normal – 4 lbs 4 oz. and the ultrasound showed a due date of July 3rd with every measurement that they took, so it makes me wonder if I’m really a week further along than I thought? Either that, or this one really is just a bigger baby. Who knows. Anyway – here is a belly picture at 32 weeks. I’m actually pretty psyched, because this shirt isn’t even a maternity shirt – granted, I think that this was the last time that it will really work, as it was getting a bit short, but hey – not too bad for 32 weeks. Only 7 more to go!!!

Wow - Can we say "Productive??"

I am actually starting to feel like our house is truly turning into a home after this weekend. We got so much done!!!

Actually, Saturday – Josh got so much done on the house while I spent the day at the mall with Avery (trust me, I heard all about it when I got home, so I don’t need to hear it from any of you…). BUT – I had scheduled Avery’s 2 year pictures to be taken this weekend, so it wasn’t like I was going to cancel. Anyway -Saturday morning, Avery and I drove to Warwick to get her pictures taken. I was shocked at how well she did. I mean, A) she is 2 and doesn’t really feel like posing for pictures – not only that, but she has also gotten a bit smarter than she was a year ago and just looks at me as though I’m retarded when I dance around and make funny faces in order to get her to smile. And, B) she typically takes a while to warm up to strangers (i.e., the photographer), but she did great! After that, we went to Macy’s so Mama could get some much needed summer maternity clothes. I have to say, I tried continuously remind myself that I really only have 2 months left, so there really was no need to buy out the entire store, but somehow, I still managed to buy more than necessary. Avery, I have to say, was great and sat there eating her apples the entire time I was trying on clothes (ok, ok, she also had chicken nuggets from burger king – I was going to try to sound like the healthy mother, but let’s be honest – anything to keep a kid quiet). That afternoon, we got home and I raced to clean up the house so that our friends Lindsey, Chris and their son Asher could come over for dinner. Granted, I was still wearing my cleaning clothes when they showed up and there will still a few things that I had to make once they got there, but other than that, we were ready and it was a nice dinner. Avery loves playing with Asher and surprisingly, they do very well together. I think that we really only had to tell them to share once and believe it or not, it was over the cat’s bed – still not sure what they were doing with that thing other than playing tug-a-war, but, regardless…

Ok – so, house stuff that got done:
1. Josh got the patio furniture out of our inlaw’s basement (where it has been for 2 years) and cleaned it all up – mind you, it is sitting in our basement because we will actually have to bring it up to the kitchen to use it for Avery’s bday party this weekend, so we didn’t want it to get wet. These are the things that you have to do when you don’t have enough seating for 17 ppl.
2. Josh got the hammock from our inlaws and set that up.
3. Josh got the sandbox from our inlaws and put sand in that.

4. Josh bought a weed whacker and weed whacked the edge of the lawn
Yes….I did some things as well…
5. I hung pictures, organized our entertainment center,

hung my birdfeeders (ok - one feeder - the other is still on the ground awaiting a hook to hang it with)

and generally cleaned up a bunch of stuff. Oh, I also put together Avery’s rocking horse that her Opa and Grandma got her for her 1st bday. The funny thing is, I hadn’t put it together because, based on the size of the box, I thought that it would be too big for the apartment. Turns out, it really wasn’t that big, so we probably could have put it together a year ago – sorry Mom and Dad! But, nonetheless, she loves it and is at a perfect age for it now. She has named it “neigh.” Very creative of her. Sorry - I'm a horrible mom and haven't gotten a picture of her on it yet - will put it in next post.

6. Oh – we also got our bar stools for the island that we ordered on overstock.com!!! I love them. They go really well in the kitchen AND they arrived just in time for Lindsey and Chris to come over and fulfill one of my dreams – to have company sit at the bar stools at my beautiful island in my beautiful kitchen while I cook. It was fabulous. The only thing that would have made it a bit better would have been a nice glass of pinto grigio. Soon enough…

7. AND, the biggest thing of them all???? Our deck was finished this last week!!!!! As you will see, this puppy is ridiculously high off of the ground right now, so we will need a significant amount of dirt and mulch in order to avoid having our child experience a 5 foot drop off some day, but we’ll get there.

So, now we are all ready (for the most part) for Avery’s bday party this weekend and for my parents visit. Kind of crazy – after 30 years of working for NWA, my mother is officially retired. They are moving back from Amsterdam on Thursday and are stopping here for the weekend for Avery’s bday. Avery is THRILLED that Opa and Grandma are coming and keeps on saying, “No Opa and Grandma leave. No Opa and Grandma leave.” Very cute. I’m excited for them to be moving back to the states, but also a little sad (and anxious) for them, as I know that this is going to be the beginning of a very very different life than they are used to. Then again, what am I talking about? I would give anything at this point to be retired. Only 33 more years…