Very Busy Weekend!

Holy cow - I think we are all totally exhausted after this weekend! It all started on Thursday when we decided to get Jacob's 2 year pictures taken. After a quick bath we headed to get his hair trimmed and then to get the pictures done. Since we really didn't plan this in advance, the only time they could get us in was 11:45, which we thought might lead to a disaster since it's between lunch and nap. Much to our surprise, Jacob turned into such a ham and we had so many pictures to choose from! The last professional pictures we had taken were Jacob's 1 year pictures, so we ended up getting three poses that I am in love with! He looks like such a big boy, and I can't believe how blonde his hair is now. He's getting so big!

Friday we went shopping for some new clothes for me since all of my clothes are very kid-friendly (boring) and I wanted an outfit for Saturday and for an upcoming baby shower I am headed to. So, no maternity clothes, but a stop at The Loft had us set. Luckily they have kids books in the dressing room and Bob sat with Jacob and read a million books and he didn't even care how long I was trying on clothes - thank you, Jacob!

Saturday I dropped Jacob off at my parents' house because I was headed to Michigan City for some quality time with Sarah and a few girls. Her mom was driving us to wineries in Michigan. She had already planned this before I found out I was pregnant, but I still wouldn't miss it! Sarah drives down here so often for birthday parties and baptisms and so much kid stuff that who cares if I couldn't drink for the day?! We had a really good time, I had probably the best burger ever for lunch, and even got to stop and see my Grandma in Valpo on the way home. Even though I didn't get home until about 12:15 a.m. and had to be up at 6 a.m. the next morning for our day with Thomas the Train!

My parents bought tickets for all of us to take Jacob to see the "real" Thomas come to Connersville. We had to be there by 8 a.m., so it made for an early morning! We had the best time, and it was all worth it to see Jacob's face when he saw Thomas pull into the station! Thank goodness our ride was at 9 a.m. - the first of the day - because it was so hot on Sunday! Jacob had the best time playing with trains, having a storytime, and meeting Sir Topham Hat - the man in charge of all the trains in his shows. It was such a wonderful day and well worth how exhausted all of us were at the end.

Afterwards, we headed straight to a birthday party for our neighbor's little girl who was turning two. We only stayed for a little bit, though, because it was about 92 degrees outside and the party was at a park. It was great being able to share the party for a little while and see the birthday girl! But, Jacob looked miserable and we had to get him home and cool off.

Hopefully this week will be quiet so we can just hang out as a family and relax a little bit. But, such a great weekend!

It's Too Hot!

I am beyond sick of these humid days - takes all the fun away from summer. Too hot for a toddler to be outside for long, and I really wish we had a spring this year instead of instant summer! We went out this morning at 8:30 and were already sweaty messes by 9.

Today at the grocery we almost broke down and bought Jacob a fish. Until I really remembered who takes care of the fish and who hates fish...me. He'll get a pet eventually, but I'm still holding out hope Bob gives in and we can get a cat.

In other news...I'm done with my first trimester tomorrow! That's very exciting. Starting to get a belly a little bit, but of course still looks like I just ate a little much to everyone else. No maternity clothes yet, and I go back to the doctor next week to hear that wonderful noise...the baby's heartbeat! It's like heaven hearing that and knowing everything is okay with your little baby. We are starting to think of some names, but nothing is really standing out right now. I think we were spoiled knowing that we were naming Jacob even before we were pregnant, so it wasn't that difficult for us. Although, we didn't have a single girls name picked out. Now we have a pretty good size list of names we like, but nothing that we could really see as a definite.

Bye, Flu!

Well, I finally had the flu for the first time in, well, as long as I can remember. Jacob's little episode that night turned into Bob getting nailed by the flu early Saturday morning, and me getting it even worse Saturday night and into Sunday. And, unfortunately we passed it on to my mom as well. Sorry, Mom! It was no fun having the flu, especially while pregnant. You get a whole new appreciation for parents once you realize how hard it is to be sick while your toddler is running around like a crazy man all day! But, we are all pretty close to okay now!

In other news, we did have to put Tabby down on Friday night. We miss her terribly already.

Everything else has been pretty quiet around here while we try to recover from the flu-filled weekend. Bob and I took Jacob to the Children's Museum yesterday, and had Gymboree this morning. Jacob cracks us up at Gymboree with how much he tells the teacher and the other parents. He is so comfortable there that it's nice to see him open up and really talk to everyone. And, it's cute that he has a little "crush" on a little girl, Sammy Rose, there. They play together, and he likes to go and stand right next to her. I think he also loves that her hair is normally in a ponytail, and he loves to hold onto one while he sucks his thumb. So far, no hair pulling incident, but he's had his eye on her hair since he was like 11 months old!

Father's Day was suppose to be spent in Connersville to ride the "real" Thomas the Train, until everyone got sick! Now we rescheduled for next weekend - looking forward to seeing Jacob's little face when he sees Thomas pull into the station.

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was our fourth wedding anniversary, and was actually a great day! Bob came home from work at midnight with flowers - pink and white carnations. Carnations are my favorite flower, which I think makes Bob one lucky man since they are so inexpensive. He also booked me a pedicure, so off I went yesterday morning. I still cannot believe how wonderful pedicures really are after you have kids. Thirty minutes all to myself with a gossip magazine is pure bliss every once in a while. I had lunch with mom before heading home to see Bob and Jacob.

On the way home I stopped by Classic Cakes and picked up a small cake for us to share for our anniversary. They did our wedding cake, and I'm pretty sure we've had a cake from there on our anniversary every year, but maybe missed a year. They did Jacob's baptism cake as well. I got my favorite...dark raspberry. It was delicious!

After Jacob's nap we hit the library and then decided to treat ourselves to Carraba's for dinner. I LOVE their lobster ravioli, and it was a great dinner. We don't eat out that often anymore, and definitely nothing expensive usually, so it was so nice. And, Jacob ordered his food and his drink, asked for "more milk please," and when the waitress asked how is dinner was he said, "good." He's so big now! I gave him a bite of my lobster ravioli, which is his first taste of shellfish (lobster is shellfish, right?) which might have been a mistake!

When we got home we played outside for a while, and then I came in to get our cake ready. After time outside, Jacob looked exhausted so we put in Finding Nemo, put blankets on the ground and had some family movie time before bed.

Around 4:30 this morning we woke up to hear Jacob screaming "MOMMY!" over and over again. He had thrown up in his crib - Bob got to him first and put him in the bathtub. He threw up some more. I gave him some water, wiped his head with a washcloth and changed his diaper and clothes. Then, we let him crawl into bed with us. A few minutes letter he said "my belly hurts." I asked him if he wanted to go in the bathroom and he said yes, so I took him and he threw up again. He tried for the toilet, but he wanted me to hold him because we all know it hurts when you are struggling to throw up, so most of it ended up on the floor, my pants and my shirt. Another change for both of us and back to bed. Bob held him on his chest, and just after Jacob fell asleep he woke himself up throwing up...all over Bob's neck. Poor, Bob! I took him into the bathroom again, but most of it ended up on my shoulder and down my back on the way. Another change later, back in bed, and we were finally done for the night.

At first we thought he might be allergic to lobster, but come to find out Miles was throwing up last night as well and now we think maybe they caught something from each other on Wednesday. Who knows with kids. We'll let him try shellfish again in a few weeks and see. Thankfully he's fine today - just tired.

Today has been a rough day for all of us, I think. Just tired from being up that much, and also my cat growing up, Tabby hasn't been doing well. Last night my parents said she was throwing up a lot and couldn't walk. The vet said she might have had a mild stroke. My parents are actually at the vet with her right now to see what to do. I pray she comes home with them, but we had to say good-bye just in case. She's 18, and is the only pet I have really ever had. I'm lucky that Jacob was able to get to know her.

Bye Storms

I am just so thankful there is no storm in the forecast today. Although, I did enjoy the past few days when Jacob would hear thunder and say, "storm coming!" I thought it was adorable. I just cannot believe how much he's talking now - his sentences are getting so long, and he's starting to get his own ideas and make up his own sayings. The other day he was on the couch playing while I flipped through a cookbook when he turned to me and held out his hands and said "oh no, mud on my hands!" Of course, no mud on his hands, but he had it set in his mind that he had to wash his hands to get the mud off.

My mom reads the book Five Little Monkeys with him when we are at her house, and now he'll say "bump his head, doctor said no more monkeys jump on the bed." I literally cannot believe he gets that all out, exactly like that every time. It's just crazy to me. He has also moved on from singing just the last word in each line to Miss Mary Mac to singing the entire song - no joke! Of course he skips over some words, but you can clearly tell what he's saying and singing. It's the best - I really need to get it on video!

Today has really been a great start to the day. I took Jacob up to the Wiley's house for some play time. They gave him the cutest birthday gift ever and it was so cute to see them open it together. They are just getting so big. Miles and Jacob play really well together, and chased each other around the yard for quite some time. Miles kept asking Jacob to get him! I am super jealous of their huge garden they planted this year. I'll have to get on that for next year.

Tomorrow is our fourth wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it's been four years since we got married! Even though most people say it feels like just yesterday, I really think it does feel like a long time ago. Sometimes we have a hard time remembering what we did with our time when we didn't have Jacob around! Especially on the weekends - we just don't remember what it was like to not have a set schedule or to have a day where you have no plans. It's amazing how much changes in four years, and how different our relationship is now compared to the day we were married. Being parents just changes everything, but definitely for the best. I just couldn't have imagined four years ago that we would have such a wonderful son, a baby on the way, and what a strong team we have become. Of course every married couple has their ups and downs, but it's amazing to see how we work together and put Jacob's needs above our own on a daily basis to give him the best life possible. Looking forward to the years to come as a family!

Cincinnati 2010

Because of Bob's random work schedule this summer, we decided to take advantage of him finally having two days off together and headed to Cincinnati. Tuesday, we decided to book a hotel for Wednesday and Thursday night. Originally, we were going to head to Chicago, but something must have been going on because everything was completely booked! Instead, we headed to Cincinnati, which ironically is the only place Bob and I have gone on a "vacation" since our honeymoon. We went to Cincinnati back in October of 2006 for Bob's fall break just because it was cheaper than heading to Florida for 5 days, especially before my brother lived there!

So, I found a hotel that looked nice in Wilder, KY, just outside of Cincinnati. It ended up being really nice. It's funny though, what ends up being really nice perks for you once you have kids. Like free movies downstairs, which included "Cars," helping us get our showers in each day and keeping Jacob happy. Free breakfast, including waffles, sausage and eggs, which normally wouldn't have mattered to us much pre-kid days! Definitely somewhere we would stay again! The manager also came and declared Jacob "guest of the day" Friday morning and gave him a coloring book and crayons - he thought it was pretty cool!

Wednesday we left right at Jacob's nap time, so he slept the entire 2 hours to Cincinnati. I fell asleep for a while, too, which was nice! We got there, checked in, and hit the indoor pool for a while. Jacob loved it - this was the first time he was in a big pool and not just a kiddie pool in the backyard! Then, we showered and headed out for some dinner at Big Boy (yummy burger!) and off to the Reds game. Jacob's very first baseball game ever! I think the most money we spent on the trip was on food at the game, haha. We enjoyed some cotton candy, nachos, lemonade and also caught up with Aaron, Bob's pledge brother from college who was also in our wedding. He was at the game with some friends, and we sat with him during the last part of the game.

Jacob fell asleep on the way back to the hotel, but was surprised to find that he would be sleeping in bed with us. He was so happy - just kept getting up and saying, "Hi, Mommy and Daddy!" He was cute, and luckily slept really well since he has never slept in our bed before!

Thursday we had some breakfast and headed to the Cincinnati Zoo. We had the zoo package at the hotel, so had 2 tickets to the zoo for only $18, saving us $10 if we bought them at the zoo. Jacob was free, and we spent the morning trying to catch all the animals we don't have at the zoo here. Jacob fell in love with the meerkats - he laughed for a long time at them running back and forth!

We grabbed a quick lunch at McDonald's across from our hotel and headed in where we all took a nap. Afterwards, we headed to Aaron and Megan's house. It was the first time we saw their place - such a beautiful home and they have a pool, so Jacob burnt some energy before we headed to dinner. They took us to a place called Paxton's, which had great food and a really great atmosphere. They live in a suburb of Cincinnati that is the cutest place I have ever seen. If we ever moved somewhere, it would be on my list. An adorable downtown, an awesome bike trail, and tons of parks. After dinner we just walked down the road to a park and Jacob had a great time even though he was getting pretty tired. Great catching up with Aaron and Megan, and we were lucky they were able to spend some time with us even though we gave them no warning we would be in town!

Friday we had plans on doing some shopping, but decided just to head home instead so Bob didn't have to rush to get to work in time. We had a great time, and it might be our last "getaway" before the baby is here, so it made it pretty special to spend that time with Jacob as a family of three.

And baby makes four!

Yup...I'm pregnant! We are so thrilled and lucky to be adding to our family. Mark the calendar, I'm due January 14, which puts me at 8 weeks pregnant. So, no, not done with the first trimester yet, but not many people read this blog and I only write to look back on here later and remember what I was doing. And, I'm sick of avoiding writing just because the only thing going on is that I'm tired and sick and pregnant, haha.

We went to our first OB appointment today, and everything is fine. A strong heartbeat, everything measured fine, and we got our first ultrasound picture of baby. Jacob was confused why I couldn't hold him right then, but overall he did really well. And, now he looks at the ultrasound picture and says, "Baby!" He's too funny.

I found out I was pregnant May 7, just two days before Mother's Day - perfect gift! It was so nice celebrating Mother's Day knowing I had my two kids with me. Such a dream come true. We are just super excited to have our family complete, and make Jacob a big brother. He's going to love having someone to run around with and play with, and to look after. He'll be a great big brother.

I went out that very morning and bought Jacob a shirt that said big brother on it, and took him to see daddy at work. I made Bob come out to the car though, because we aren't ready for his work to know I'm expecting. He was surprised, but we both had a feeling I was pregnant. Then, I took Jacob over to see my mom for lunch and surprised her. It was a perfect day!

We tried getting a picture of Jacob in his shirt that day, but it just didn't work out very well!

But, for now, just trying to rest and take it easy. But, not too easy with a toddler and such great weather. No wonder I'm exhausted with all of the running around, but it's worth it. Not showing yet - getting a little bit of the "I ate too much" look, but not pregnant looking yet. I've only gained like half a pound, so that's good so far. Not back to the doctor until early July, but we'll find out if we are having a boy or a girl in late August or early September. Very exciting!

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Sunday was Jacob's birthday party! I can't believe he is two, but what a wonderful birthday party for the little man. We had a Thomas the Train party for him and three of his friends. We knew it would be on the smaller side because our family is all out of town, and it's the same day as the Indy 500. But, it actually was perfect and he didn't get overwhelmed with a huge group. We had the kids out in the kiddie pools and then fed everyone lunch, opened presents, had some cake, and called it a day! He had a great time with his friends, and we just loved seeing him understand the whole thing this year. He even blew out all of his candles all by himself - no one helped!

Jacob with his Thomas balloons, and still in his pajamas.

The goodie bags - I don't know why, but I thought it was so cute that he was old enough for goodie bags! Some play doh, bubbles, and a granola bar!

Watching Chaz and Ginny arrive!

Ginny, Chaz and Jacob. Chaz was so funny - he walked in and opened Jacob's present and said, "Here's what we got you, Jacob." Jacob loved the Cars present and they started playing with it right away.

Kids inside pretending to cook some pizza.

On the way outside for pool time.

Chaz, Jacob and Ginny, with Kylee in the background.

One of my favorites of Jacob - just happy in the water!

The Thomas the Train cake I made.

Kids eating their lunch.

Jacob blowing out his candles. It blew them out all by himself - I was very impressed! I told him to blow like he was blowing bubbles, and he just did it!

Family photo.

New Car

As if throwing a birthday party for a two-year-old wasn't going to keep us busy enough this past weekend, we decided to use some of our tax refund to buy a new (well, previously owned) car. I loved my Alero, but it was a pain to get Jacob in and out of, and not much trunk space after the stroller. So, my mom watched Jacob on Saturday and Bob and I headed to the dealer to take a look.

I hadn't decided what I really wanted. I just knew we wanted something with relatively few miles, and in good condition. Either a wagon, van, or SUV. But, I'm not really that much of an SUV fan because really, you aren't gaining trunk space which was most important to us. I needed room for baby gear and kid gear as our family gets older and into sports or activities or whatever they decide to do with their time.

The very first car we test drove was a Mercury Sable. It's a station wagon, and we fell in love with it. It was in perfect condition, few miles, leather seats, sun roof, and right in our price range. So, we only test drove one other car and called it a day. Bob and I are pretty decisive. Once we know we like something, we're fine with it. We don't need to go to every dealer on the street to make sure - we just feel confident with what we have and the deal we get.

So, hours later, we bought our fabulous wagon. I am SO happy with our decision and love our new car. Funny that we have one of those seats that folds up in the back - where the kids can sit and face out the trunk window. I remember those from when I was little. Even though wagons are so not popular now, I think it meets our needs the best.

I did feel quite adult buying our car and working a deal with them. Bob said he was impressed with my skills and getting them to knock off quite a bit of money. They weren't very pleased with me when they met my payment maximum and I still told them that wasn't a deal because they were still overcharging us for what the car was worth. But, it's money in my pocket at the end of the day!

So, if you see me driving around in my wagon, I am one happy wagon owner! Even if I am only 26, haha.