Thursday

Thursday evening Nate and I had dinner at the St. Paul Grill to celebrate us finding a house and finding out the sex of the baby.  It was a fabulous night to ourselves with amazing food.

We opened the envelope...

Looked at the ultrasound pictures and determined...

We're having a BOY!!!  Ava will be getting her little brother that she told us she wanted. 

We ended the dinner with a delicious dessert with what else but a blue candle to celebrate.

Out of sight, but not out of mind

I don't have any pictures to post because I've hardly seen my baby girl in the past week.  Ava left Thursday afternoon with Mema and Boppa and headed to the cabin.  She made sure to get them up bright and early Friday morning.  Daddy joined them Friday evening while I spent the weekend at work.  Ava enjoyed her time visiting everybody including Grandpa Ed (the neighbor at the cabin), helping Boppa mow, and riding the pontoon.  She can't wait to help Boppa mow again is what she told me  earlier this week.  She was in bed by the time I got home Sunday night. 

Monday Ava spent the day at daycare with her friends and got to spend the evening with Lauryn and Dave while Nate, Mema, and I headed to Apple Valley to pick out flooring, counters, etc for the new house.  It's finally becoming real!  I just wish that the building would start now.  They don't break ground until August.  Ava and I did get to spend a little time together Tuesday morning.  It was gorgeous out and we headed to the park in the morning.  That afternoon we were off for another road trip...to IA.  We met Aunt Lisa and Zack in Clear Lake for dinner and then Ava went home with them until Friday.  Zack and Reece requested that they get to spend a couple of days with her.  They will all be coming up on Friday afternoon so that we can spend the weekend together at the cabin. 

I have to say that I almost cried when I left the parking lot in Clear Lake.  I've been away from her for 3 days before, but she was with her Daddy.  She's never been away from both of us for this long before.  I know that she's having a great time with her cousins.  There are days when I think that I would do anything for a few days by myself.  However, when she's not here I can't help but think about her constantly and hope that she's having fun and is happy (I have no doubt that we're missing her more than she's missing us right now).  I called Lisa earlier today and the kids were in the pool, she was having a blast.  Nate called her tonight and she answered the phone, "I'm so tired, I need to go to sleep" in her whiny voice.  Hopefully she sleeps well and wakes up refreshed and happy in the morning. 

Nate and I are going to take advantage of our time alone tomorrow evening.  We made reservations for dinner and will be taking the sealed envelope off the counter and opening it to find out the sex of the baby.  I'm hoping that the ultrasound tech put a note in their to clarify the sex, rather than just the pictures.  We'll keep you all posted on the results.

A plan

We finally have a plan regarding where we will be living in a few months, and I couldn't be more relieved  This has been hanging over our heads for the past month and I was stressed beyond belief.  After quite the ordeal, Nate finally called me on Friday and said that we had a deal.  We will be building a new home in Apple Valley.  We should be signing papers today to get this show on the road.  The big downfall is that they won't start building for another 4-6 weeks which means that the house won't be done until November.  Believe me, I am not happy about not having our own house to bring my baby home to.  However, I have to try to think more long term and know that we will eventually be in there and will love it.  We close on our town home at the end of July and will then be moving in with Mema & Boppa until the new house is complete.  Now it's time to start packing and looking for a new daycare.

We had our ultrasound on Wednesday morning.  Everything looks great.  I would post a couple of pictures from the CD that we have, but I have yet to look at all of the images since I know that there are a few on there that show the sex of the baby.  As of right now, there is a sealed envelope with the pictures on the counter downstairs.  We had said that once we bought a house we would go out for a nice dinner to celebrate the new house and find out the sex of the baby.  Maybe we'll have some time to do that later this week.  In all honesty it's not killing me to find out like I thought it would be.  I thought the sealed envelope would taunt me every time that I walked by, but it hasn't.  Perhaps it's because we've just been so busy.  Also, we didn't find out if Ava was going to be a boy or a girl and I didn't think that was a big deal.  If we weren't moving and trying to make each transition a little easier on ourselves, I'm not sure if we would find out the sex or not.  Either way, it's exciting.

We were gone again this past weekend.  Ava & I left with  Mema Friday morning for the cabin and Nate worked from St. Cloud so that he would have a shorter commute to the cabin on Friday evening.  It was great, he was there in time for dinner on Friday.  That sure beats arriving at 11:00 at night with a toddler who gets her second wind after sleeping in the car.  Our friends Josh, Kate, and Tate joined us on Saturday and stayed until Sunday.  The weather left a bit to be desired, but it was great to get to spend some time with them and catch up.  Tate is adorable, and may be the most laid back and happy baby that I have ever met.  Ava woke up nice and early on Sunday to make sure that she was the first to say Happy Father's Day to everybody.  Thankfully she took a nice long nap and was very good on the way home. 

We hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and a belated Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

The water was definitely chilly, but when you're two I guess it doesn't bother you even if your teeth are chattering.  She was also super pumped to use her Mickey floaty.

Daddy & Ava playing in the water

This girl can not get enough fruit.

No better way to spend the day than a picnic on the pontoon.

Tantrums and a tummy

The title of this post is what's been going on in this house over the past week.  That is, a tummy for me and tantrums for Ava (ok, maybe I've had a couple of tantrums as well).  We'll start with the tummy...

No, I don't have any belly pictures to post.  I'll be honest, I think that I look better at this point in dim light rather than a bright flash drawing attention to my oddly proportioned body.  I had to break out the maternity clothes for the first time this past week.  Yes, I pulled on the ruched short sleeve shirt.  My mom and I went shopping a couple of weekends ago for maternity clothes while she was here.  I hate shopping for maternity clothes for so many reasons.  I must say that the top two reasons are
1. I hate spending money on clothes that I'm going to wear for only a few short months.
2. Why must everything have either ruching or the shirt ties in the back?!?  The ruching I have come to embrace because I have to.  The ties in the back, I just can't do it.  They scream "look at my belly  and let's accentuate my growing breasts while we're at it".  I don't need something to make me look more pregnant than I already am.  Granted, one would think that I would like to accentuate my growing breasts since I only have them for a few short months during my entire life.  However, I've also come to embrace the fact that I don't have boobs and am quite comfortable with it.  Still don't need the ties!

I feel as though the belly has expanded this weekend (I'm sure that the multiple cookie bars that I made and ate at work didn't help).  This means that I'm most likely going to have to bust out the maternity shorts.  Yep, the ones that don't have buttons or zippers, only a giant piece of stretchy fabric that goes up and over the belly.  Nothing makes you feel sexy like a pair or maternity pants. 

Now, on to the tantrums.  I have to say that today was tantrum free so I can't say that this is an everyday thing, but it has become quite frequent.  This is where I tell Ava that we have to go inside or do something that she obviously doesn't want to.  She'll bend over at the waist, squat down to the ground, and start yelling.  Now, I don't really acknowledge it much.  I just pick her up and go on, trying to explain why we must do something.  However, sometimes this is impossible.   For instance, the other night when she wanted to wear her clothes to bed rather than change her diaper and put her jammies on.  This was not just a tantrum, this was a full blown meltdown.  There was the kicking, screaming, pushing, and sobbing to point where I was fairly certain she was going to vomit.  After a mommy & daddy team effort we got the diaper changed, pjs on, and daddy got her calmed down.  I guess she did something similar to this at the cabin this past weekend for Mema & Boppa.  The thing is, the next minute she can be the sweetest little girl (the one that we are used to).  Perhaps it's because she senses a lot of change going on in our house.  I'm not sure, but the changes aren't going to stop anytime soon so I hope that she finds a better coping mechanism. 

The cabin

Last Friday we packed our bags and set out on our first trip to the cabin this summer.  We started out late in hopes of missing some of the traffic.  We were doing great until we hit the construction zone.  Unfortunately that set our total trip time back to 3 1/2 hours.  Fortunately, Ava slept for half that time.  She slept until about 9:30, when she opened her eyes she said, "look at all those lights".  Unfortunately, most of them were brake lights.  She got her second wind and was ready to rock and roll when we arrived to the cabin at 10:45.  She made sure to wake up Mema & Boppa so that they knew she was there.  After a few stories she went down for the night. 

Saturday morning Daddy headed out on the lake early to fish with our neighbor Jeremy.  He came home telling the tale of a big fish.  So, we all went over to see the "big fish" (that Jeremy caught, not Daddy).  After that, the rain began.  It rained  on and off throughout the day.  The boys did manage to get the pontoon lift in, and we then all headed over to the public access to put the pontoon in and take our first boat ride of the year.  Daddy had brought popcorn for the ride.  Ava now thinks that every time that we go on a boat ride, popcorn is a must.  That's ok, food is usually a must for us when we go out on the pontoon.

We woke up to thunderstorms on Sunday morning.  Daddy, Ava, and I made pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  That girl can house her pancakes!  We got a little play time in outside before we packed up to head home.  I had to work on Memorial Day so I had to come home early.  Daddy and Ava decided to join me since the weather was not very nice. 

Tuesday Nate and I went out in search for a house...no success.  It was a crappy day at work for the both of us, we did not find a house, but we came home with something...a "Sold" sign.  Good news, our appraisal came back at exactly what we needed it to.  Therefore, our house is officially sold!  The buyers wanted to close at the end of June, but since we're still homeless (Ava and I went and looked again today) we'll be closing at the end of July to give us a little more time.  I've got pictures of Ava and Daddy with the sign that I'll post next time. 

This is what Ava wanted to wear as we packed for the cabin.   I think she likes her new cabin hat.  She also loves to wear her backpack around.  I think that it makes her feel like Dora.

 Watering her flower that she and Mema planted

 Swinging on the big girl swing

Ava & Janna getting ready to get on the boat for the maiden voyage of the year

Ava checking out all the controls.  She takes her job as co-captain very seriously

Enjoying some popcorn and snuggle time

As you can see by the fact that Ava has on a sweatshirt and a raincoat, the weather left a bit to be desired

Enjoying a little story time.

Weekend with Grandma

This past weekend Daddy left for his "trip"  He left Thursday evening with "the guys" for his annual golf weekend to Giants Ridge.  It was just Ava and me until Friday evening when Grandma Becker showed up.  She met us in Apple Valley where Ava and I were checking out a model home.  She got there just in time...Ava was being a bit "busy" to put it nicely.  Grandma and Ava played so that I was able to discuss a few options with the lady working there.  Yes, we are still homeless come the end of July.  The buyers of our place have graciously offered us the option of closing at the end of July rather than June.  Considering we have no idea where we're going to be, we took them up on the offer.  I'm praying that we'll find something soon!

Saturday brought us beautiful weather so we headed out to the Como Zoo as soon as it opened.  Ava has not yet stopped talking about all the animals that she saw.  She had such a great time.  I think that her favorite was the polar bear, coming in just ahead of the giraffes.  We'll be going back there again soon.  We headed home for nap time, and then took a trip to the mall for the rest of the evening.  After dinner we all crashed.

Sunday morning we stayed in, had pancakes and smoothies for breakfast per Ava's request, and played.  We later went over to Plymouth to show Grandma a model home that we like (no, we're not moving to Plymouth).  We picked up some Chipotle for lunch and headed home.  The weather was rainy, cold, and windy so Daddy and the guys decided to forgo golfing that day and head home.  Ava was very excited to see him when he walked in the door.  Shortly after lunch Grandma had to head home.  We thank her for coming!  We had a lot of fun, and I really appreciated the extra help and company over the weekend.

This week has been filled with work and house hunting.  We'll be heading up to the cabin for the weekend (a short weekend for me since I work Monday).  Hopefully it will be a fun, relaxing weekend.  Wishing you all a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Grandma & Ava getting ready to head into the zoo.  Ava is grinning ear to ear!

Sitting back and enjoying the ride

Checking out the buffalo

She was mesmerized by the polar bear who kept jumping in the water and swimming by

Shaking the penguins hand and saying "nice to meet you"

Ava, Mommy, & Grandma

Even though her face may not show it, she asked to ride on the giraffe.

What an exciting week

It has been a very busy and exciting week.  Two Fridays ago we met with our realtor and signed papers to put our house on the market.  Last weekend Mema & Boppa were nice enough to stay home from the cabin to help us actually get the house ready.  It's amazing how much crap you accumulate in your house that you never use.  Needless to say, there were two large garbage cans fulls and multiple boxes sent to Goodwill.  We took down lots of pictures and "depersonalized" the place as much as we felt comfortable.  I still wanted it to feel like our home.  After a long day of cleaning, packing, throwing away, and some take out chinese we were all exhausted.  We finished up a few things on Sunday, and the photographer came on Monday to take pictures.  It actually feels nice to be living in a very clean and organized house.  :) 

The house went on the market sometime Wednesday, and we had our first two showings on Friday afternoon.  By Friday evening we were told that an offer had been sent to our realtor, and that the other people would be submitting an offer on Saturday.  WOW...who would have thought?!?  We got both offers by yesterday afternoon, and signed an agreement last evening.  God is good!!!  Now we are just praying that the appraisal of our house comes back at the purchase price.  We will most likely not know anything until next week.  We would be closing at the end of June, but have the option to stay here until the end of July if we have not found something.  I'm hoping that the "perfect place" pops up on the market very soon.  We never expected things to move along this quickly, and are so grateful (and a little overwhelmed I have to admit).  I will breath a little easier and be even more excited once we get the appraisal done. 

We did find some time to have a little fun this past week between the house stuff and working.  Ava and I got to have a play date with Cora and Kristi.  Ava loves Miss Cora, and spends a lot of time calling her on her pretend phone.  We spent a gorgeous morning at the park and had some lunch before we went our separate ways for nap time.  It was so great to see them and catch up.  Thanks for a fabulous morning ladies!

This week will be pretty low key, as I'm working 4 out of 5 days (for some silly reason I picked up a Friday shift for somebody).  So, Ava will be spending some quality time with her friends at day care.  Uncle Wes & Janna will be coming over next Saturday for their first adventure in babysitting.  We have our friends Brian & Marissa's wedding, so they are on babysitting duty.  Say a little prayer for Ava.  :)

Helping Mommy do a little baking.  Ava has become quite the little helper

I would love just one picture where both girls are looking at the camera.  This is the best I could do.  Cora was such a lover and so full of hugs this day.  So sweet (and how cute are those pigtails of hers)!

She loved playing on a new playground

Ava spends hours concocting new ice cream combinations and sharing them with everybody.  Great gift Janna!

What could be more comfy than enjoying a nice book in the laundry basket?