Sha Shwoosh Sha Shwoosh Sha Shwoosh

I had the pleasure of hearing the baby's heartbeat today. This is always a good thing. I also scheduled the ultrasound (late February) to catch a glimpse of this tiny person. Kate looks at my belly and says, "Hi baby!" and gives it a kiss. I hope she has the same enthusiasm in July.
Yesterday I had a great deal of emotion regarding the swearing in of our new president. It occurs to me that change is upon us, that yesterday made incredible history in this country, and that my babies will know Obama as their first president. Regardless of how you feel about him, it all strikes me as a very important part of their lives and it gives me even more hope for their happy futures.
That said, my future involves a long winter's nap...

A New Year, A New Look

Obviously I'm trying a little something new with the blog, and when God grants me more time in the day and fewer things to take care of in life I will try even more fun things. I thought maybe pink would be fun for a while... at least until I find out the sex of this new trouble-maker on the way.

There are no pictures from this week, but only a brief update. Brad went out of town to play with rockband .22 so I went to town on the house. This weekend I managed to tear apart a couple of closets, make large piles to donate to Goodwill, carry heavy furniture around (this is a specialty of mine when I'm pregnant), decide on big-girl bedding, and make decisions about who will go where when the baby gets here. Pretty soon Kate will have to make the move to a big girl bed, and I want to be strategic about placement and furniture decisions so that when the transition happens it is a done deal and Kate won't have to endure much change. She's definitely ready for a bed. Twice a week she's been going to McPhee's and nap time happens in a bed. Apparently Kate gave her grief on the first day, and since then it has been a smooth process. I'm very thankful to McPhee that she broke Kate in for me. As a matter of fact, McPhee does a lot of heavy lifting for me - all of which I'm grateful for.

The house is still in disarray and likely will be when UB walks in the door late tonight. But hey - Rome wasn't built in a day. Not to mention the couple of naps I had to fit in this weekend along with everything else. Oh, and then there was Kate, who when I'm busy with something loves to tug and pull for my attention. Go figure.

Happy New Year!

I think it is safe to say that I've been a blogging slacker as of late. Truth be told, I have an excellent excuse, but I'm not going to share it with you now. For now I'm just going to bring you up to speed on the travels and fun we've had since Kate's birthday. The weekend after her celebration we enjoyed a quiet weekend in McCall where we enjoyed a ton of fresh snow! It was very exciting for Kate, who was able to get in some fantastic snow time - quite frankly her first snow time.

On the way home from this weekend I was talking to Brad about how I haven't been feeling well at all lately. He suggested that Kate and I fly to Michigan to spend some time with Nanny and to allow myself to relax a little (and quite honestly, be taken care of). This sounded like a fantastic idea - especially since my generous Aunt Marilee had just offered her frequent flier miles for a Christmas trip to Michigan in order to surprise my mom. The next day I started looking at flights and that night decided to book a trip. THANK YOU, AUNT MARILEE!! It was all I could do to NOT tell my mom that we would be showing up on her doorstep a few nights later! I quickly started to prepare - which meant leaving the house and Annie The Dog for 2 weeks, a doctor's appointment for Kate, one for me, wrapping up work, a work holiday party, packing for 3 (Brad also booked a round trip to Chicago), Holiday cards distributed, Christmas gifts purchased (I skipped this step), etc etc etc. It was something. THEN, the night before we departed Brad booked us (him and me) a round trip from Michigan to Cabo San Lucas for 8 days. Needless to say, Brad left at 6am on Friday the 19th, Kate and I left at 1pm that same day. We both made it unscathed and I was able to surprise Nanny (with the help of Aunt Marilee and Grizz, Phatty and Mallory) on her doorstep at 11pm that night. Brad joined us the next day and on Monday he and I flew to Mexico for sun and relaxation. What a trip it was! Cabo was great and I have to say that the true beauty of it - besides the incredible weather - were the naps and the HBO movies. True relaxation! Ahhh. And so it didn't seem like Christmas on Christmas day in 80+ sunny weather; I knew Kate was in good hands and that Santa was visitng her on Christmas morning with lots of snow and family and fun.

Brad and I returned from Cabo sunned and relaxed. We questioned more than once why we choose to live in cold weather climates, but I think he'll remember once he gets to ski this coming weekend up at the cabin...
Just prior to our departure and just after our return I was able to join my Bylsma family in some Christmas celebrations. It was fantastic to see Kate running around with her cousins, getting to know them by name, and to hear her say, "I wuv you, Uncle Grizz!" without running away from him in fear.

Kate and I finally returned to Boise on Monday, 1/5, after getting delayed in Michigan without luggage for 2 extra days due to Minneaplis weather (oh well!!). It is good to be home and settled, but I have to admit, Grand Haven is home sweet home. I can't deny it.
Thank you to everyone who made the time to visit with us (especially Lauda, who drove all the way to spend a couple of days in GH!), to Nanny who gave up her life for 2 weeks to be with Kate, to those who helped Nanny out with watching Kate (especially Grace!! and thank you for the report card, Grace!), and a huge THANK YOU to Aunt Marilee, who made the entire trip possible in the first place. And thank you to my loving husband, who knew that a relaxing, sun-filled, pool-side pool was just what the doctor ordered. Thank you for a(nother) wonderful trip.
And for those of you who haven't figured it out, I'm 3 months pregnant and due in July. I haven't been blogging because a) I don't feel well enough to want to share our lives with you and b) haven't been doing much at all due to the fact that I feel so terrible! It has been a rough first trimester, but I am hoping that I will start to feel better soon. I must admit, having toast with Nanny's homemade jam at my beck and call durring our visit to Michigan made me feel TONS better. Thanks Nanny!! I'm sure it killed you that I wanted to eat toast in your bed, but it was wonderful!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl

I think it's official - I have to stop calling her Baby Girl, but alas, it has stuck for 2 years now. On her birthday we hosted our weekly playgroup AND the kids from our block. It was a great little party and Kate had a blast. Her true happiness began when she found out that under the pretty paper and ribbons were toys and books and surprises! Check out this face while opening gifts...

Hello!

We've rented a mountain cabin for the winter with our friends, the Bausch's. We're trying to make the most of this 6 month investment and have already made multiple trips there to enjoy the quiet of the woods, streams and mountains. The other day my mom asked me, "What do you guys do when you're there?" It took me a second, only to realize the answer was, "Nothing." And doesn't that sound wonderful?!? Here's a glimpse of the "nothingness."

Guess what I wished for when I blew out my candles!

Halloween 2008

Okay okay! Enough with our fans asking for the Halloween photos! I'm a busy girl, people!

Kate isn't quite sure what this Halloween business is all about. It was exciting and fun, but she was confused by her friends that didn't look quite the same and by all of the dad's answering the doors (men = scary!). Her costume, although SUPER CUTE, was hot and kept pecking her in the face. She wanted to eat the candy, but you'll see why that wasn't an option outside of her highchair in a photo below. Once the bigger kids started trick or treating she loved the continuous door bell ringing; however, once Brad scared the kids on the front step and they screamed in her face she pretty much panicked. An interesting night to be sure, and yet another event where I sum it up by saying, "she'll get it next year."

Pumpkin Weekend 2008

We had fantastic weather this weekend - and gladly took advantage of it. Friday afternoon we enjoyed our weekly playdate, which turned into good-timin on the back porch, ending with 4 of us huddled for warmth around charcoal on the grill while 2 little ones slept upstairs.

Saturday we had big plans to ride the Pumpkin Liner Train out of Horseshoe Bend; however, didn't realize that a lot of other folks had the same plan and that tickets would be sold out. Instead we headed to a pumpkin patch - the same one featured in pumpkin picking pictures approximately 1 year ago on this blog. This year we were able to take advantage of the super fun kid activities - which was delightful (for us to watch and for Kate to do). It was great fun seeing her do the big kid stuff. She had her first pony ride, first cow train ride (?), first public bouncy house thing, and lots of fun food! Oh, and we picked out some pumpkins, too.

Today we headed up to Horseshoe Bend early and took an 1 1/2 hr train ride to a pumpkin "patch" (a place where picked pumpkins are placed for families to come and make a selection). When we pulled up to the station Kate said, "choo choo!" She seemed to really enjoy the ride, and although it was nap time, she fared quite well (Brad gave her a B- for behavior, but I'd say it was a solid B).

This afternoon we've relaxed, watched a Packers victory! What a weekend!

Fall in McCall

Happy Birthday to The UB! We had a fabulous weekend in McCall with our dear friends at a great cabin in the woods. The weather was just as you would want it, and of course a trip to McCall means a trip to the lake. Here Kate is, discovering sand and the glory of letting it wiggle through your fingers, as well as learning the hard lesson that you can't go running into the water all year round. As you can see here, it was a very hard, sad, lesson.

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet UB.

Michigan Recap

What a whirlwind trip. Every night after I put Kate to bed over the course of those 2 weeks I wanted to do nothing but go to bed myself. It was FANTASTIC seeing all of our family and ALMOST all of our friends. The 40 days and nights of rain, my sinus infection, Kate's ear infection and the 7 trips to Walgreens, did put a damper on things, and prevented us from seeing Lauda at her cottage and Steph and Paul; however, the number of visits we were able to squeeze in between the daily naps and the early bedtimes was still remarkable. Thank you to everyone who made time for us, fed us, and showered Kate with love and affection of the greatest kind! It was wonderful to see you all. And a special thanks to Grammie B - who set aside her life for 2 weeks and dragged us all over tarnation and back. We love and miss you!

More more and more Michigan!

Michigan! The Mother Land

Here we are in Michigan! I knew it was too good to be true - sunny, breezy days by the lake, cousins, aunts, uncles, Pronto Pups and Fricano's Pizza... and HORRIBLE allergies that I had long forgotten about. Unfortunately I'm sick as a dog, but we're making the most of it. Here are a few pictures from the first couple of days. We miss you, Dada!

Zoo, Friends and Good Times

We went to the zoo yesterday with the Triplets (and their mom, Jules) and Joey (and his mom, Courto). Good times.

Nothing to Share?

I feel a great deal of pressure from you all to post something each week, which can be difficult if there was a lull in activity or if we just didn't get out to do something fun and family friendly over the weekend. Unfortunately I suffer(ed) from the flu this week(end), and didn't really bother to take photos of Kate watching videos, recorded television and the Olympics (she loves the diving). #2 was able to get away yesterday for white water rafting with friends, but again, no pics. I do, however, have a great deal of video that I haven't bothered to put together until tonight, so please enjoy this hodge-podge of this and that (mainly Kate wandering around and being Kate).
Things you'll see here:
- Kate pushing baby Ben in her baby stroller. He didn't much care for it, but she thought it was pretty cool (although she has to work on looking where she's going, much like me)
- Kate enjoying the entertainment of our neighbors Esme and Isabelle. I don't know who enjoy's their company more, me or Kate
- Kate having fun in the pool with our friend, Bailey. Bailey taught Kate to say, "I did it!"
- Kate enjoying an Oreo cookie as a bedtime snack tonight. If you can catch it, we have the following exchange:
K: "What's that?"
G: "The power button."
K: "Good job, Mama."
G: "Thanks, Kate."
K: "You're welcome."
- Kate playing on the swings during our trip to Wisconsin. Leave it to Brad to stir things up
- A random assortment of pictures that I had yet to share with you all

Hodge Podge

On the Go

We've been going and going lately (hence the lack of updates). 2 weekends ago we enjoyed a great weekend in McCall with Peter, Kerry and Baby Ben. It was nice to get away and to relax in this beautiful town. Kerry took all the pictures, so I have none to share, but it was memorable due to the fact that Kate had the chance to feed a bottle to a REAL baby, instead of a creepy doll with a tuft of blond hair sticking out the top of her head. Thanks Peter and Kerry for a great time! Oh - and this trip taught us that Kate can climb out of a port-a-crib. It also taught Kate that she should try crawling out her crib back home (successfully).

This most recent weekend we headed to Cedar Rapids, IA for #2's 20-year high school class reunion and to visit Grandma S. We went to the St Jude's Sweet Corn Festival and made a trip to a local watering hole while reuniting/getting to know Brad's classmates. It was a great deal of fun. Saturday morning we headed off to Westby/Viroqua, WI to visit with the (Great) Grandma's for dinner and breakfast, followed by a trip back to IA and a flight back home on Sunday. It was a lot of time in the car and on planes, but it was also some wonderful, quality time with Grandma S and Kate's Great Grandma's. A special thanks to Grandma S for all of the time she gave us - sans Kate! A win-win for everyone involved.

Camping!

A Week In Review

We had a fun week since our last update. Kate has been up to... everything. She will say nearly anything I ask her to say and she's in the process of figuring out how to communicate with us when it comes to the words she doesn't know. If anyone knows what, "ta ta? ta ta? ta ta?" means, I'd LOVE to know. My favorite thing that she's currently saying is, "you're welcome-ah." I don't know where the "-ah" comes from, but it almost sounds like she's saying, "you're welcome, mom." Oh - and she has this confused with, "thank you." For example, when you hand her a toy she responds with, "you're welcome-ah."

On Tuesday Kate and I went to see the Boise Hawks play. There was a Special Olympics event there so we joined some of my co-workers and a group of athletes at the game. We didn't last long, but Kate loved the never ending steps, the loud music and the mascot Humphrey the Hawk (although when he came close to us she wasn't so sure). I only caught one photo, and please imagine the "cheeeeeze" she's busting out here.

Yesterday Brad took us all to the local water park. She shivered the entire time even though it was 100 degrees - I think it was from excitement. She was so thrilled to be there that she was grunting like an animal. She is the hugest dare devil - she went down a curvy crazy slide by herself and LOVED it. After shooting down every slide, immersed in water, she tried to stand up and climb back up it, only to get knocked down by the next kid. It was insanity. She was happy to walk right into deep water, swirl around under water for a good couple of seconds, only to be pulled out, spitting water and laughing. When we tried to put a life vest on her she screamed bloody murder until we gave up...

And in the midst of the fun, we've been struggling with our entrance into the Terrible 2's. This girl can throw a tantrum with the best of them. I'm trying to keep it together and not react to her the way she's reacting to not getting her way, but wow - this is a daunting time.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

Thank goodness Joey likes Yo Gabba Gabba, too. Last night Mike and Courtney threw the best Yo Gabba Gabba party to which we've ever been. I don't think Kate realized that Yo Gabba Gabba could exist outside of the television set, but alas, it exists in Joey's backyard. Well done, Mike and Court! Thanks for a fun party, Joey!

Reading Genius Baby

Last night I showed Kate her name spelled out on her magnadoodle and she said, "KATE!"

Brad said we can't call her Buba Girl anymore because there's nothing Buba (baby) about her (aside from the diapers). I'm struggling with the change to Lil' Kate, but I have to admit, if she can read her name she likely isn't a buba anymore.

Independence Day, 2008

Yes, I know it is over, but it takes me a few days to get it together to get the pictures out here. This said, I can still hear fire crackers off in the distance so this still counts as being on time. We took it easy this weekend, but that included a float down the Boise River with friends (while Kate was with a sitter), a BBQ, a picnic in the park, a trip to Idaho City for breakfast and a couple of visits to the Bausch household to hold that new, sweet, fresh, squeaky baby they brought home on our nation's day of independence.