Couples Shower Part 2-Friends

We are so blessed to have such amazing friends! I am so grateful that they all got babysitters and came out to our shower.

Since we wanted to keep our shower small we just invited a few of our closest friends, all of which know each other. It was very low key and intimate. I felt like I really got to spend some quality time with our friends without the awkwardness of shower games and opening a ton of presents in front of everyone.

Christy, Jenny, and Benjamin

Megan, Tana, Alli

Amy, Vaune, Rebekah

The girls

I asked Mikey to figure out what he thought this little thing was. He guessed it pretty quickly. A pee pee tee pee! Oh, one of the many things we get to look forward to with a little boy. Ha!

I got this cute outfit from Christy

An Ergo baby carrier from the hostesses and Megan (I am super excited about this!)

Alli and Greg gave us this cute shirt along with a few other goodies

Since the theme of the shower was "great thinkers" these two great thinkers, Mikey and Zack, dressed up for the part with the stick on mustaches, pipe, glasses, and books that were part of the decorations.

The guys and their staches

Group shot (minus Vaune and Ryan)

My bestest friends (modeling their hostess gifts) who put the whole thing together. Love these girls so much!

Playing at the park and The Burkharts

Before the shower we, along with the Burkharts, met the Louis' and McAdams' at a nearby park so that we could get the kids together to play.

This was the first time for Rebekah and Tom to meet Benjamin (Jenny and Zack's baby) and for Jenny and Zack to meet Simon (Rebekah and Tom's baby).

Brinley and the other kids helping baby Simon open his present from the Burkharts

Zack and Mikey pushing their girls on the swings

We failed to get a good group picture of the kids together but here they are gathering around Bekah like little birds because she had a bag of trail mix...with m&m's.

Sweet Jenny playing ring-a-round-the-rosie with the girls

Precious Benjamin enjoying a good nap

The Burkharts stayed with us and Ava and Bekah had the best time playing dress up together and watching Tangled.

The Burkharts are always so thoughtful! They brought Ava a Big Sister gift.

They gave her a book about being a Big Sister and a picture of the last time her and Bekah played together (last April! Way too long!)

Benjamin got in on the dress-up action too

It was so good to have the Burkharts stay with us and give us a glimpse into what life with two children is like. Zack and Jenny are such a good team and make it look so easy!

Ava couldn't get enough of little Benjamin. She loved making him smile.

Thank you Burkharts for traveling so far, with two kids, to be make our weekend so special!! We enjoyed every minute!

36 weeks

(I just updated the blog so be sure and check out the other 3 posts after this one)

I am 36 1/2 weeks!! Baby Connor is growing like a champ and making his mommy more uncomfortable these days. I now feel the need to sit down more often and be off my feet. Holding Ava is becoming more challenging and afterwards I usually feel aches. I had my first dr. appointment last week where they check to see if I am dialated any and I am already 2 cm dialated, 50% effaced, and Connor's head is very low. Things are on their way and that is so exciting to me! I do hope and pray however that he doesn't come too early. My dr. said that it is common with second pregnancies to already be dialated to a 2 at this point and that it is very likely that things will stay the way they are for awhile. Maybe it is just mental but ever since the dr. visit it seems like I have been feeling more pressure and experiencing more Braxton Hicks contractions. Mikey and I have decided, for many reasons, to induce this time around. Our induction date, although not officially in the books until this Thursday's dr. appt, is set for Saturday March 10th! My doctor usually doesn't work on Saturdays but since she will be out of town a few days leading up to my due date she said that she would come in so that she could be the one deliver Connor. She has seen me go through so much with this pregnancy and my last one where I miscarried that I would be so sad if she wasn't right there by my side to deliver Connor. She is one of the sweetest and most compassionate doctors I have come across. It just feels right to induce so that I can guarantee she will be there, I will have someone to watch Ava, and that the granparents will have some time to meet and spend time with their grandson before they have to leave town and go back to work. Of course he could come before the scheduled induction date but we are hoping not! Either way we are excited to meet our little guy! He will be here so soon!

Here are a few pictures of Ava and I for comparison sake.

16 weeks

36 weeks

We took the rest of the baby equipment out of the attic and as expected Ava has had fun testing them out and putting her babies or herself in them.

A lot has changed since the first time I put her in the baby carrier.....

and now..... (tear)

She is going to be the sweetest big sister. I love this little girl to pieces!!!!!!

1st Unofficial Sleepover

Every month we get together with a few of our friends for Supper Club. We usually meet at The Wolters' house, let the kids play, then lay them down in their own seperate rooms to go to sleep. This is usually the time that the adults get to relax, eat dinner, the girls do crafts, and the boys do boy things like smoke smelly cigars and such. The past two times have been not so relaxing for Mikey and I because Ava has decided that she will NOT sleep at someone else's house (unless it is a grandparent's house but even then it takes awhile for her to fall asleep). We have had to leave Supper Club early because she just wont go to sleep. Vaune had a great idea for this month's Supper Club.....a "sleepover" for Ava and Luke where we put them both together in Luke's room to fall asleep. At first it sounded like the complete opposite plan of approach we should take BUT I figured there was nothing to lose (other than a few hours of sleep for poor Luke!). Vaune thought it would be a 50/50 shot that they would fall asleep and I thought it would be more like 90/10 that they wouldn't. Actually I was the most concerned about Ava not falling asleep because that girl is a fighter! Mikey and I both thought that she would be the one keeping Luke up. We were partially right but I am happy to say that eventually they both fell asleep! It was Ava's first unofficial sleepover and it was with a boy!!!! ( I say unofficial because we ended up waking her up so that we could go home and sleep in our own beds).

Ava picked out special pj's to wear to Luke's house along with a few of her favorite things she likes to sleep with. She even brought Buzz Lightyear for Luke to sleep with because she thought he would like that. :) We also remembered to pack her toothbrush and toothpaste so they could brush their teeth together before bed.

Aren't they adorable!!??

They played for a little before we took them upstairs. Luke pushed her around in his red wagon.

Vaune and Luke layed out two sleeping bags on the floor of his room for them to sleep in. They each had their lovey blankies, cuddly toy, and ladybug/turtle nightlight that both shine stars on the ceiling.

We put the video camera in the room so that we could watch them. After Vaune and I read them a book, we went over the ground rules again, tucked them in, and said goodnight. They talked and played with their nightlights for quite awhile. We went up there about two times to remind them that they needed to stop talking and go to sleep or we would have to end the sleepover. During the second time we went in Vaune turned Luke around so that they were laying in opposite directions and couldn't talk or see each other as easily. Luke settled down and went to sleep shortly after but Ava wiggled around a lot and had a harder time settling down. At one point I even saw her patting Luke either to wake him up or maybe it was just a little love pat. She eventually fell asleep and we were all so happy and proud of them! Vaune told me the next day that when she asked Luke if he had fun at the sleepover he said "Well, sometimes it was fun." He said "It was not fun when Ava was talking and not letting me go to sleep and it was fun when she was quiet and I could go to sleep." That's my girl!! I knew without a doubt that she would be the one to keep her sweet friend awake. Hopefully he will let her sleepover again so that we can continue to have Supper Club. :)

Quality Time

Over the past few weeks we have been trying to make a conscious effort to spend quality time with Ava before Connor arrives.

Lately, you can find her playing soccer, coloring, or snuggling with daddy on the couch

One day we were playing with stickers and she wanted to give Connor one so she put one on my belly and that gave her the idea to put them ALL on hers.

Most evenings we just spend playing in the playroom

This Saturday we thought it would be fun to take Ava to "Old McDonald's" (as she calls it) for a breakfast date with Mommy and Daddy. We have been only once before but we remembered how much fun she had eating her favorite breakfast food, pancakes, and then playing in the play area.

This time didn't disappoint either

I'll take whatever picture I can get these days!

Valentine's Day

Last Monday we had a Valentine's play date at The Warminski's house.

Hugs for her best friend Brinley. Melts my heart and makes me so sad that they will be moving in 4 months.

It wasn't long before the girls were in Audrey's (far left) dress up clothes. In fact, Ava was so excited to play dress up with the girls that she couldn't fall asleep the night before. She layed in her bed for hours and when we went in there she said she was ready to get up and go play dress up at Audrey's.

The kids made special valentines for their family

And we made them a valentine themed muffin tin lunch

I will never get tired of hugs from this girl!

I didn't take any pictures of our actual Valentine's day. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary that evening but Mikey and I did get to go on a date on Saturday night and I met him for lunch on vday while Ava was in school. Ava got to wear her pj's to school on Valentine's day and have a pizza party and exchange valentines with her friends. Did I get any pictures??? Of course not! I am awful these days. :(