Happy 4th of July!

Allison has officially completed her first round of holidays. We spent the day with my family at our annual 4th of July celebration. We started off the day watching a parade in Fenton, which is south of Flint.

Afterwards, we went to my sister Jodi's house for lunch, swimming and a new activity that was added this year...more to come in the pictures. We had a wonderful time. Allison did great considering she only took a 15 minute nap all day until the car ride home (too much to see and do). We really enjoyed our afternoon and are looking forward to many more celebrations with our little ones. It is hard to believe that next year Allison will be standing by the curb with her bag, ready to catch any candy that comes her way.

Allison enjoying her first parade with dad.

The whole family. There were 17 kids under the age of 18 and 14 adults at the parade. Plus we had several more family members that joined us for lunch later on.

Allison showing off her patriotism. Of course, she had to have a special outfit for this big event.

Allison and her cousin Jackson, watching their first parade together.

Allison showing off her bandanna that Aunt Jodi bought her.

All the kids with their bandannas.

Katie enjoying the parade.

A Family Shot

My sister rented a dunk tank for the celebration. The kids loved it and played with it all afternoon. Even a few of the adults were brave enough to get in. I pleaded pregnancy and didn't get in.

Allison was trying to use Jackson to pull herself up, but it didn't quite work. In the end, both of them were on the floor. Allison thought it was hilarious, but Jackson didn't.

So Jackson decided to do some paybacks. What is funny is that he really wasn't hitting her in the head. It was a very light tap, but she didn't appreciate it. I guess that is what she gets for being a bully. By the way, this is her new "look." As soon as we see the squint, we know she is in pouty mode.

The Mindframe of a Pregnant Woman

I took a long walk with Allison this morning. As I was heading home, I was thinking that I couldn't wait to get there because I was so tired.

When I turned the corner on my street, I noticed two dogs in someone's backyard - I thought - hmmm I didn't realize that a house on this end of my street had two dogs. I saw some lady picking up her yard (didn't recognize her)....I kept on walking thinking I'm only a few houses away from being home. I looked up (the sun was bright and in my eyes, so I had my head down and was squinting) and was confused.

I then thought to myself "Shoot this isn't even my street. I'm on the next road over."

So I stood there and debated, do I turn around and go over to my street or continue walking around the block. I was halfway down the block, so it was debatable. Too bad I just couldn't cut through people's backyard. That would have been the quickest route.

Happy Birthday Nana!

Happy birthday to my special buddy. I love you lots, Nana. Sending you lots of kisses through the computer.

Love

Allison

22 and counting

22 weeks pregnant with Baby #2

22 weeks pregnant with Allison

I'm over half way done with the pregnancy. I feel like I should be doing something to get ready, but it is different this time. I don't have to register, pick out a stroller, or car seat. I'm not stressing about getting the nursery done.

Oh, I guess I should call the Blood Bank to get the blood cord donation kit. I almost waited too long with Allison because I forgot to call. I highly recommend that to any parents-to-be. They will store Allison's blood core and it will be available for us to use, if God forbid, we should ever need it If another person that is a match needs it, they will be able to use it. It is nice to know that by taking five minutes to make the call and remembering to put the kit in my hospital bag, I could be potentially saving a life.

We do have to decide what we are going to do on furniture soon. We have a toddler bed that we might use, but now I'm worried that she will be too young, even if we keep the baby in a bassinet for a few months. So do we decide to buy another convertible crib that Allison can use as she grows up. Choices to be made.

The baby will be moved into the nursery and Allison will move into the guest bedroom. We already have the bedding and decor purchased. We went with the lady bug line shown here http://www.kidslineinc.com/products/kids/lady_bug.php Now we just have to decide what to do with the walls. We are going to keep the base color the same, just add stripes, accent wall or something like that. My mom will be staying with us for a few days after the baby is born, so we will wait a few weeks to completely redo the room, but hopefully we can at least do the painting before the baby arrives.

I'm definitely bigger this time around, I am at where I was at around 24 or 25 weeks along with Allison. This is a good thing because I was always measuring behind with her. I had to get an ultrasound to make sure that she was growing properly. The acid reflux has been a pain to deal with. I'm looking forward to being able to drink a glass or OJ or lemon aid without paying the price. Other than that, I've been feeling pretty good.

11 is one less than 12

Eleven months....that means I only have one month left that my baby is a baby and not a toddler. How did this happen?

We only have a month left to get ready for her party. We thought we had all the time in the world to get the basement done, the garage fixed up, etc. But now we are on countdown time. Oh well, at least we have the decorations ordered and hopefully the invites will be finished this weekend.

Allison is cruising around like crazy. Her legs are getting stronger and stronger. She finally figured out how to walk with her little push cart toy. It won't be long before she figures out that she can do it without the toy.

She discovered the stairs a few weeks ago. I decided to follow her and let her climb them, while I was standing behind her. She climbed the whole staircase. I was a little worried that I might be opening the door for her wanting to climb them all the time, but she is pretty good about not trying. Occasionally I have to run over and catch her before she heads up.

Allison went on a baby food strike a few weeks ago, so we are doing all table foods. She loves grilled cheese, chicken, peaches, pears, corn, yogurt, waffles, pancakes and sliced cheese. I am trying to come up with creative and healthy ideas for her meals.

She is doing much better with strangers. She doesn't mind if people we know hold her. My friend Carrie came over the other day and Allison crawled right up to her and played toys with her. I think I found a babysitter that we can leave her with, so Brian and I can go out together some more.

Anytime I mention something about napping and sleeping, I jinx myself, so I won't go into that topic.

I think that is it for this month. A month from today, I will be posting pictures from Allison's 1st birthday party. Hard to believe huh?

What a Wonderful Weekend!

I just have to say that I had a wonderful weekend and am feeling very refreshed. This weekend my mom came to visit. Friday night after I put Allison to bed, my mom and I went to Target and we were wild and crazy gals who closed down the store. We didn't even realize that it was 10 pm until we heard the announcement that the store was about to close.

On Saturday, she and I headed out to Saugatuck for the afternoon, while Allison stayed home with dad. We stopped by the Farmers Market in Holland first and then had lunch in Douglas. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the shops. It felt so nice to be able to get away for a few hours and relax.

Saturday evening Allison was spoiled, I mean babysat, by her Nana while Brian and I went out to dinner and a play for my early birthday celebration. Allison really enjoyed spending some one-on-one time with her Nana. They played with her basket of toys, took a walk around the neighborhood, and then Nana put her to bed.

I think they had some special bonding time together this weekend. I really enjoyed watching the two of them together. I wish they could spend more time together - are you sure you don't want to move to Grand Rapids mom? Allison says thank you and can't wait to see you again in a few weeks!

My mini-me

This is a picture of me when I was 5 and my niece Katie who turns 3 this July. My family has always said how much Katie looks like I did when I was little. Considering I was bald until I was about three, I didn't quite believe it. When Brian and I were looking through my albums for pictures of my dad and I, he commented that he really could see Katie in the above photo of me.

In addition to looking similar, we are both the baby of the family of four children and have a lot of the same personality traits - cute, loveable, sweet, shall I go on? Maybe modesty as well.