Spud is FB Official

I announced that we are expecting Spud on FaceBook today.  Now the world knows.  I was so nervous about announcing this.  Probably because it is so unexpected, and I am/was nervous about what everyone else would say and think.  Why should I care though?  I shouldn't care, but I'm human.  The reaction was wonderful.  I received so many happy congratulatory comments.  It made me feel so loved.

Spud is growing well, and so am I.  Oy!  My body is expanding at a record rate.  Not sure how much longer I can get away with thinking that its "leftovers" from Nora.

8 weeks

10.5 weeks

We had the 12 week ultrasound done and everything looks good, for the most part.  The purpose of this ultrasound is to check for down syndrome, and spina bifida. They measure a space in the baby's neck and take blood from me.  Well, the neck space measurement came back at 2.6.  This is apparently a gray area.  Doctors say that under 2.5 is normal, and over 3.0 is concerning.  So we went ahead and did a more detailed blood panel to have more conclusive results.  I am not worried about it at all, just want to be sure.  The blood results take about 4 weeks to come in.

The final push to list the house

This weekend was the final push to get the house ready to list.  My parents took the big girls for us so that we could get more work done.  We met my mom half way up the mountain and shared a Frosty at Wendy's.

I stopped at Target on my way home to get more bins to put things in to make it look pretty- a suggestion from the stager that came last week.  The blossoms on the trees were so pretty.  Even in the craziness that is going on, it was refreshing to be at Target with just Nora and to see the pretty trees.

The girls had so much fun at Mamma and Pop's house.  My mom just got little ducklings so they had a great time playing with them.

We have just about filled the storage unit.  There is nothing left in the house except for necessities.  My house looks like a magazine!  The photographer comes tomorrow after the house cleaner comes.  I can't believe this is happening.  It has gone so fast!  We are praying hard that the timing works out and that we find our new home soon.

Take your Kid to Work Day

Cecilia got to go with Dad to work!  She was so cute, and so excited about it.  Ball does a great job with the kids and lets them explore all the cool stuff, and does a science demonstration for them with liquid nitrogen and robots and other cool engineering stuff.  Jon didn't get any work done, but he did get some awesome quality time in with his daughter.

Moving Status Update

We've been diligently working on the house to get it ready to sell.  We've rented a storage unit and cleared out most of the non-essentials.  The drywall is finished in the basement.  We've been painting the basement now.  Several miscellaneous projects have been getting wrapped up.  The painters for the exterior of the house are coming next week-ish.  We've also been looking at a few houses.  We've been very picky as to what houses we actually want to see.  Our basic criteria is a two story house with 4 bedrooms upstairs, and a newer home that does NOT need a lot of work.  We are done working on the house.  One of the main reasons for moving (besides we are out of space) is that our current house still needs work, and we would rather have time as a family, then to be working on the house constantly.  The last house we looked at, we really liked.  We liked it enough to even put an offer on it.  Even though we knew it was a long shot because our house is not even on the market yet.  We did not get the house, but it made us all the more anxious to get our house on the market so that we don't miss the right house when it comes on the market.  So, we have decided to move up our list date to May 1st.  Yikes!  That is right around the corner!  We have had so many people come and help us get the house ready to sell, and we feel so blessed to have this many awesome people that are willing to give their time to help us.

Easter 2014

Easter fell on April 20th this year.  It was also the 15th anniversary of the shootings at Columbine.  So this year was bittersweet.  Honestly, I focused so much more on my family, and the JOY that Easter brings, that I made note of the anniversary, but didn't dwell on it.

Easter started with a wonderful surprise on Holy Thursday: my brother Pete showed up at the front door just as Jon and I were heading out to mass!  I was so surprised!  Jon and I made it to all three services of the Triduum again this year.  It was beautiful, and it continues to be my favorite part of the liturgical year.

Easter Sunday was spent at Ma & Pa's.  I bought the girls' dresses on Zulilly months ago, and they were perfect.  I was lucky to find them matching in all three sizes!  

Nora: 7th Month

Nora is quickly proving to be more like her very active and independent big sister Cecilia.  Oh man, I could be in big trouble.  She is very busy, and is a monkey.  She is pulling herself up on furniture, and starting to cruise around them.  She is the fastest crawler in the west.  She absolutely loves her sisters, especially Cecilia (go figure).  She has been teething something fierce.  Drooling all the time, and up a lot at night, but also very snuggly.  Most of the time she is a very happy baby.  She really does have the best smile, and lights up the room with her beautiful blue eyes.  She keeps me on my toes.

  

What to Play With?

The toys are mostly packed up in the house because of the drywall project in the basement and the moving.  The weather is getting warmer outside, but there are still days when it is not conducive to playing outside.  So, we keep busy playing with play dough, baking soda and colored vinegar, and when all else fails, my girls like to play "bed time" and pretend to tuck each other into bed.  When the weather is nice, they can be found outside.  Cecilia continues to amaze me with her creativity on the play set.  We have been known to go to a park too, where Nora loves to swing!  I am thankful that they are pretty independent and play well together most of the time.

Crazy Hair Day

The girls' school had a crazy hair day.  This was the one day that Cecilia's lovely bang trim was acceptable.  They were pretty funny looking.

Kite Flying

Jon faired fairly well with the girls while I was gone.  When I got home on Sunday afternoon, the breeze was perfect for kite flying, so we took advantage.  Lilly's kite was great, and she had so much fun.  Poor Cecilia though, her kite was scared to fly, and Jon and her spent most the time trying to get it untangled or in the air.

Retreat

I got to escape for the weekend with some amazing women to a retreat in Estes Park.  I wasn't going to go this year because Nora is nursing and I thought it was going to be a big hassle to have to pump before and during the retreat.  Jon was insistent that I go, so we made it work, and I'm so glad that I went.  It was just what I needed to rejuvenate my soul.  I was so lucky to be able to go with the women from my small church community and a few others that were in our group.  I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to reconnect with God and my faith, and to bond with these women.

Snow Flowers

I want to be more like my tulips: Beautiful and strong, no matter what lands on you.  Resilient and patient for the storm to clear.

March Cuties and Other Post Worthy Pictures

1-2.  My girls are cute.  Even when they don't wear pants.  They like to dance with their dolls.

3.  This was mid-morning, I think on the way home from speech.  Rare for them to all be asleep in the car at this time of day.  Obviously, they were exhausted.

4.  Mamma came to visit in the middle of the week- a super special treat!  We celebrated with Smart Cow.

5.  Happy St. Patricks Day!  I make the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage with Irish Soda Bread.

6.  Oh Cecilia!  I threw away the scissors after this time.  It was bad.  Really bad.  

7-8.  Nora and I have been frequent shoppers at the Home Depot.  Seriously, I don't even want to know how many trips we've made.  At least I've got a cute shopping buddy.

9.  We made our first ever trip to Trader Joe's.  It was fun, we bought some yummy things.

10.  Nora and Pops

11.  I celebrated a friend of mine who is having baby #4 at her Birth Blessing party.  She had her henna lady there too, and I have so enjoyed my owl on my hand.  Every time I see it, I am reminded of my friend and the new tiny blessing about to be born.