Bethany the talking girl

Oh Bethany, you are such a fun girl! You are talking and talking all the time now and have such a fun, enjoyable personality. We can't help but smile and laugh at the things you say and do. You are now 27 months old and getting closer to 2 1/2. You are very good at going potty and poopy in the toilet at home and at Koala Bear and love that you get skittles, jelly belly's or other fun treats if you are successful! I think you wonder why mommy and daddy don't get "poopy prizes" because every time we come out of the bathroom you ask if we want a jelly belly or whether we went potty or poopy. Very different conversations with 2-year-olds coming out of the bathroom than it is with my co-workers!

You are so sweet to your sister and love doing tummy time together or laying next to her. One time when we were cuddling in bed as a family you said, "April is next to me, Mommy is next to me, Daddy is next to me!"

Little sayings or expressions are something you pick up easily. Today when I noticed water on the floor and was cleaning it up, you exclaimed "There is water EVERYWHERE!"

You LOVE Wheel of Fortune. We don't watch a ton of tv, but your favorites right now if they are on are Wild Kratts, Curious George or The Cat in the Hat in the morning, Clifford the Big Red Dog during lunch and Wheel of Fortune during dinner. Today was Saturday and when we were making lunch you asked to watch "Cwiferd! the big RED DOG!" When I told you he wasn't on today and was taking a break, you asked if he needed a time out or was sleeping :)

When you stayed at Grandma and Papa's while we went to Miami for my work meetings you built a snowman but because of the warm weather the head fell off. When you got home you told us that the "Snowman had a headache! His head fell down!"

We love you Bethany Claire Totman and think it is so fun you love to tell people your whole name! You also know mommy, daddy and April's whole names and are working on your other friends and families middle and last names too. I think it is fun you can recognize letters, you know B, D, H and A for all of our first names and sometimes recognize others too (like O). You are a little smarty pants!

Bethany - 26 months (when do I stop with the "months"???)

Bethany Claire is 26 months old! People are so surprised that you just turned two because of your exploding vocabulary and your high activity level :) You keep us laughing all the time. I need to remember to write down the funny things you say more so we can tell you about them when you get older.

- When Mormor and Morfar came over you had a messy shirt on from lunch. Morfar commented that it looked like you left a snack on your shirt for later. You came over to me and Mormor and said "Do you want a snack?" while lifting out your shirt for us to see!

- Another thing when they came over was when we asked if you wanted something back... you turned around in circles looking at your back to see what we were talking about. :)

- We left cookies out for Santa and you mentioned several times on Christmas morning that the "cookies all gone?!" "Santa ate cookies... reindeer"

- You also like to mention that Jesus was born in a MANGER (that part of the story really stood out to you)

- You think Santa is pretty scary though and everytime we see someone with a beard you say you don't want to sit on Santa's lap :0 and then proceed to say "ho ho ho!"

- You are very polite and say "no thank you mommy, I don't want it" when I ask if you want peas or carrots... neither isn't an option hunny!

-Now that April is with you at Koala Bear you are allowed to visit her. You want to go and visit all the time your teachers say and you talk about April a lot. Such a sweet older sister you are!

- You always want to include everyone in what you do. "Come mommy?" when you want me to join you in playing or going upstairs etc.

- Everything deserves a band-aid. Even if it is a bump, you run into our bathroom to dig for a bandaid. We've explained it is only when something bleeds, and you were excited when you skinned your knee and got to have a band-aid for real one time!

- at a restaurant you waved to a little boy with one finger and then wanted to eat our lemons and drink Dan's Mountain Dew. You then "paid" for the meal when you handed our credit card to the waitress and said "I got it!"

- at Christmas you put hot pads from Charlie's new play kitchen down your shirt and walked around and said you looked like mommy, you also took my nursing cover and put it on and asked to feed April :)

- you took your crayons and started drawing on your eyes like mommy

You are a fun, fun little girl and we love this crazy age! You love to sit around with us drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music even if the sitting only lasts for 3-5 minutes :)

Bethany's view of how the Vikings are doing this year

At 2-7 the Vikings have had a tough season so far. But, each Sunday we all get our Vikings gear on to cheer them on. Bethany has picked up on some things we've had to do throughout most of the games this season when watching the games. She also seams to like watching the Bears instead because then we can talk about her cousins from Chicago.

You are too funny Bethany! You pick up on everything we say! Another favorite is when anyone leaves you say "Bye bye, nice to see you! Have a nice day!" You are such a cheerful little girl and you bring joy everywhere you go!

Bethany singing the ABC's - 23 months

Chatterbox

Someone told me that once Bethany started talking, it would be tough to get her to stop. Well that is certainly proving to be correct. In the last month or so her vocabulary has really taken off! I'm sure I'll miss a lot in my quick list, but here are some things she is saying these days:

my shoes (especially when she wants to go outside, and is usually followed by mommy shoes? or daddy shoes? if she wants us to come too)
oh no! (exclaimed anytime someone else is talking animatedly - like she wants to participate in the conversation)
clean up (sung to a song Auntie Amber taught her to pick up her toys - but everyone around must help clean-up time or else)
boat ride or dock, usually followed by saying fast (very excited to go fast on the boat and she has a favorite spot to hold on while she jumps up and down when we speed up)
thank you and please (still working on those but sometimes said spontaneously)
ABC's (she sings the entire song along with us, sometimes hard to hear each letter, but she knows what comes next in the song)
A bee! (stated at every bug, bee or fly that comes near us)
Mommy eye, mommy nose, mommy owie (puts mommy or daddy in front of everything she is talking about us for)

A week or so ago Bethany and I were outside and she saw a fly buzzing around and she said "bee!" I told her it was a fly, which she repeated, but then I told her to say "shoo fly" and she had the most confused look on her face. She slowly bent down and took off her shoe and started shaking it at the fly saying "shoe fly!" Too funny. I'm sure a lot of what we're teaching her is confusing like that, but I don't stop to think about it from her perspective which is what made me laugh so hard at this.

Bethany is also jumping, real jumping! She gets so excited if we say we're going to see cousin "Charyee" or friends "Ayish" or "baby E" she says yay, yay, yay while jumping with both feet off the ground. She loves to try and jump off anything, which we try to discourage, but she is really coordinated and seems to do just fine pushing her boundaries if we feel it is safe enough. Her interest in balls to kick, or bounce or throw is also really interesting and I wonder if we have a little athlete on our hands?

Bethany - we love you so much! At 22 months you are an active, busy full-fledged toddler and we love you to pieces. We're so proud you've adjusted so well to your new surroundings and pray that you continue to love to sing your Bible songs and read our Bible stories each night. I love when you point out Jesus in the stories and remind us to pray for dinner or before bed if we happen to forget. You love routine and know exactly what we need to do for simple things, like going for a boat ride - you get your shoes, towell, and then make sure mommy and daddy get theirs too :) We can't wait for your new little sister to arrive because you will be a great role model for her to look up to - her big sister!

Moving, Part 2

We sold our Minnetonka place! It has been a busy couple of weeks trying to get all the details finalized but we will be closing September 13th. We were concerned about a couple of things that could cause the deal to go through but so far things are moving along smoothly. The inspection found what we had expected that the roof over the addition needed replacing but thankfully that was the only thing they asked to have done. Dan spent yesterday afternoon and evening tearing off the old roof and laying new water barriers so that the Richters could come next week and put down the new shingles. Scott came and helped which was great to have someone with experience in roofing, plus to keep Dan going after a long tiring day!

We're now in the midst of packing as we left the house pretty much fully furnished for showings. Dan and his parents moved everything for the nursery into the baby's room last weekend and everytime we stop at the house we pick up a few things to hopefully make the move next weekend go as smoothly and quickly as possible. I'll post some pictures of the baby's room as soon as I take some - it turned out great! I love the Harvest Brown color on the walls (thanks Monica for painting the rooms upstairs!) and with the sloped ceilings it is such a cute little nursery.

The weather has been perfect for packing and Dan's roofing project and I hope it stays nice through next weekend too. June was cold and rainy, July was HOT but so far August has been pleasant which has been so wonderful being pregnant. Even though I've had a few bad back pain days, this week I'm feeling a lot better and actually have been getting some things checked off my to-do list. Amber came with Charlie and helped me organize the baby's room and get her clothes washed and put away... so nice! It would be great if I can last a few more weeks, not only for the baby's sake, but also to get through the move and hopefully feel a bit more organized and ready.

A couple more things on my to-do list:
PICK A BABY NAME!!! We are down to three first names, but need to agree on the middle
Buy a baby book, 2nd video monitor, noise maker (love the sleep sheep) and a few more things on my registery
Find rugs and toy storage for Bethany's room - I'm thinking shelves with baskets to keep things hidden but cute
Pack my hospital bag - Bethany was born at 35 weeks, 5 days which is next Monday.. what will this baby do?

Lots of other things to do related to organizing and unpacking, but that is what winter months are for, right? I still want to enjoy the summer as much as possible and give Bethany lots of 1:1 attention. She had a hard time seeing the crib get setup and her baby toys be put in the room. We kept making a big deal of her big girl bed, fun new room and toys but I'm sure she is remembering when she had the baby things not that long ago and it is yet another transition. She has been a trooper though and really good about everything all things considered.

I'll need another post to talk about all of her new words, but her vocabulary has just exploded the last few weeks! She came in from a walk with Grandma last week and said she saw a "Derr!" and that the boat "beeped" at her when she waved. She repeats everything we say (better be careful!) and we can understand so much more of what she says which is fun. At almost 22 months, she is growing up so fast and will tell you she's "one" with her pointer finger... good thing she caught on to that before we have to start teaching her "two" in October!

New Room

Last week was a whirlwind! I had a great birthday, the humidity stayed low on Sunday and Monday last week for our get together with my family and then for Dan and I to go out while his mom watched Bethany. It was fun to go out on the boat and enjoy a perfect summer evening.

They got to work on the baby room Tuesday and Wednesday and then Dan and his parents got some priming and painting started so Dan could lay the wood flooring. It only took him 8 hours starting Friday evening and finishing Saturday afternoon. He cleaned and put her new furniture in and then we showed Bethany her new room. She loved it! Dan thought it would be fun for her to sleep there, but she was so excited it took her awhile to fall asleep so it was a long night. Tonight was night #2 in her new room and she was fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. We're hoping that trend continues so she gets used to her new room before baby comes!

We had a few more visitors today with Dan's aunt and uncle from Colorado and then my best friend from high school's family with new baby Freddy! Bethany loves playing with Sophie and the two girls were giggling under Bethany's covers in her new room together... I think it is a sign of my future with little girls :)

so the video has title slides apparently, not sure how I did that!

It's been HOT!

Bethany has found a nice way to stay cool in this heat wave we've been experiencing. The last week has been incredibly warm with record levels of heat and humidity. Much to my dismay this has led to more Braxton Hicks contractions and back pain if I do anything besides sitting in AC laying down... not great for nesting and getting ready for baby!

I'm so excited that Bethany's room is almost done! The sheetrock is installed so we may be able to paint this weekend, yay! I also found an adorable classic bedroom set on craigslist in yellow that I originally was told had sold, but the other buyer didn't pick it up so we were able to get it! It's a 40 year-old trundle bed set from Gabberts so is great quality and has a retro feel to it... I love it! I now need to pick paint and then decide between hardwood or carpet squares for the floors (both for easy clean-up). We may get that part of the project done by the end of July, how nice would that be?

More summer pictures

Close-up of Bethany (20 months) during her fun-filled weekend. Each morning she woke up the 4th of July weekend we talked about the previous days' activities and she jibber-jabbered on and on about how much fun she was having.

This was a little dangerous having two toddlers (Bethany and Charlie) running around with mallets and balls, but they were having fun!

Happily watching Cars and eating a sucker during her first haircut

Warming up in her "Bethany sized" folding chair after swimming at the Momentum Lake Day

My mom, sister and cousin took WAY more pictures of the weekend fun but I haven't gotten them yet. It will be fun to see them and then I'll have to post our favorites soon!

In other news, Bethany is going to be attending a new daycare in a few weeks. She LOVED her time at Westwood with all the loving teachers and her friends, but we're going to try a new place we found closer to home. That way she'll spend less time in the car and it will be easier to pick her up and drop her off the days she attends. It will be nice to get that transition done before the baby comes so she can start to develop new friendships. They just moved to a brand-new facility and the day we visited they were finishing the new playground. It will be so nice that everything is new and clean and they are even opening a new 12-24 month toddler room now that Bethany is enrolling with a 1-4 ratio of teachers to kids so she'll get some extra attention to help with the transition too. One other fun thing is that because they're right on Lake Minnetonka they take the kids on pontoon rides once a week during the summer! I thought it was funny that the materials said to pack the normal things like diapers, wipes, extra clothes... and a lifejacket :)

The weather has really been nice for swimming - the water is so much warmer now! There is a public place with a beach one house down from us that few know about that we've been enjoying. Bethany likes to run in and out of the water on her own and our own lot is about waist deep when you get in, so this is perfect for toddlers. She also loves our boat rides and gets upset if we try to go down to the dock without getting in the boat. We try to go fairly slow to avoid too many waves and bumps for my pregnant belly but Bethany would prefer to go fast the whole time. More, more, MORE she'll say as soon as we slow down.

Still good news from the Dr that there aren't imminent signs that we'll have the baby in the immediate future. I'm almost 30 weeks so 10 left to go! She is moving around a lot and when I relax in the evenings my belly is quite comical with all the motion. We have Kevin and Rachel's wedding the beginning of August in Lutsen and I'd love to have the green light for the drive and make it the full 10 more weeks!

Dan has been busy tearing out the closet in Bethany's new room to prepare for the contractors to come in for the renovation. We're hoping they'll be able to start later this week! My goal has been to have everything done by the end of July so we have time to move in the baby furniture to her room and Bethany's room permanently upstairs. Hopefully things will continue to make progress :)

Summer fun

I should post titles like my last one more often - summer has finally arrived! I still have more pictures to upload but blogger is too slow tonight. We had a great weekend with family and friends. My aunt and cousin from Phoenix came and everyone came over to our house Saturday for a lake day, Sunday friends came by and Monday we went to the Apple Valley parade and later that evening went out on the boat with Dan's parents to watch fireworks. It was a fun filled weekend!

Dan and Bethany at the 4th of July Apple Valley parade - lucky girl gets a yummy sucker
Roger, Monica and Bethany ready to watch 4th of July fireworks from the boat

Bethany playing a frisbee game with Mormor and Morfar at Lake Harriet listening to a band
Aunt Lynette and Bethany - she's enjoying her watermelon

18 months?!?

I can't believe my baby is 18 months old! It is funny this whole time thing... on one hand it seems like just yesterday we were heading to the hospital and holding our sweet baby girl 10 hours later, and on the other hand I can't remember life without Bethany. So many friends have had babies in the last few weeks that I caught myself thinking back to those first few weeks; so little sleep, trying to figure out what each cry meant, but most of all lots of snuggling and staring at this wonderful new creation that was mine!

Bethany had her 18 month appointment this week and is doing great. She showed the Dr how she likes to jump and climb on everything. We asked if she was a monkey and she started saying "ooo-ooo-OO!" like a monkey says. She showed off where her nose, mouth, eyes, belly button and of course her new thing: elbows. We talked about the typical toddler behavior and that "no" and "mine" are favorite words as they try to learn boundaries. Being consistent is the best thing to do and giving choices so she doesn't feel like she doesn't get to make any decisions. We got her a strap that goes over her arms and around her waist so that she can run in public about 3 feet from us, but can't get away too far. It has been a life-saver since she loves to run away giggling but doesn't understand dangerous situation like busy roads yet.

Here are her 18 month stats:
Height 32 3/4 in - 80th %
Weight 24 lbs 1 oz - 25-50%
Head 46.2 cm - 40%

Although she is still a picky eater she's growing really well (most likely from all the milk she drinks!). We are really looking forward to our vacation coming up over Memorial Day weekend as a family to relax and practice our swimming. Bethany loves swimming lessons and practices in the bathtub and jumping off of her potty chair so she's ready on Saturday mornings for class. When I ask her if she wants to get her swimsuit on she yells "YEAH!" and runs to her room. Good thing she still loves water!

I tried braiding her hair but she kept pulling it out seconds after I finished.... this was after her rubbing it but I'm impressed it is almost long enough to stay in if she leaves it alone.

Practicing her back float in the tub. She thinks it is funny to have her ears under the water since it sounds funny when I talk to her like that. I don't want her to get too much water in her ears but everytime I try to get her to sit up she lays right back down!

Here are some other things she's up to at 18 months:

- when we see new babies she uses her finger by her mouth to say "shhh"

-knows what she wants - points for me to lay next to her in our bed in the morning or outside on the chair we sit on when waiting for daddy to come home from work

- some 2 or 3 word sentences: all done, what is it?, I don't know!

- almost jumping with feet off the ground

- knows where we are, sad when we get close to come and points back to the trail to keep going in the stroller

- says "Yay!" or "Whoa!" a lot when excited or sees a bus or truck

- says "no" everytime we ask if you had a good day (little liar)

- still love to lay on mommy's chest for comfort or rub my belly and give your sister kisses

- so interested in Charlie's belly button and nipples - but he is ticklish :)

- says 1, 2, 3 - go! or ready, set go!

- "buh bye" with bag over your arm walking towards door

- twirls around in circles

- help vacuum, use wipes to clean things, use broom to sweep garage

- blow your nose and then throw the kleenex away

- points to most body parts correctly

- practice colors and ask "what is it" when you don't know

- love to take our things and say "mine!"

- very upset when babies cry and you try to hug them, give them your pacifier or snack you have to help

Mother's Day #2

Sunday was my second Mother's Day! Dan watched Bethany after she woke up so I could stay in bed awhile longer and then they made me breakfast and gave me a card and a gift certificate for some house cleanings. I'm really excited to use that at our new place prior to the new baby coming! Dan's parents joined us at church, for lunch and to watch some NBA playoffs. Then we went to my sisters for dinner that the guys prepared and cleaned up for us all on their own! I had been feeling dizzy this past week and my Dr said I had low blood pressure and needed to try and rest a little more. Just in time for mother's day weekend so I could really relax and let Dan and the guys pamper us. Thankfully I'm starting to feel better so I hope the dizzy spells are over!

Charlie and Bethany had fun together as always. We actually saw them three days in a row because we had house showings on Friday and Saturday and needed to be out of the house. Bethany gets so excited when I ask if she wants to go see Charlie and say "YeaH!" She nods and starting running towards the door to get in the car.

Saturday night we got together at Jeremy and Allisons to celebrate 2 birthdays, 2 new houses, 1 engagement, 1 new baby, finding out the gender of our baby, and Cinco de Mayo for good measure so we had tacos. I think we need to get together more often! Bethany has a fear of dogs right now because of her face to face experience with Bella awhile ago, but we're trying to get her over it. Allisons dog Bear was an older lab and really laid back. Bethany was brave enough to pet him and even walk near him without flipping out which is a big step! Bella is a nice dog so this summer at the lake we'll keep trying to get her used to her... she is just so excited to see Bethany I think and sometimes the extra licks face to face is scary for an 18 mo old!

In other news we've had 4 friends have babies in the last couple weeks with one more left any day now. A few more this summer before we're due in September. It is a baby boom! I love having an excuse to bring over meals so I can snuggle with a newborn, I can't believe Bethany was that small such a short time ago! We have her 18 mo apt tomorrow so I'll update soon with her new stats.

Well, we are experiencing severe weather here in MN tonight. Hail, tornados, it was 88 degrees tonight with like 100% humidity so prime weather for a storm. Since all the tv stations are talking about the storm I decided to get caught up on blogging!

April snow showers? and other news

What a surprise to look out our window this morning! I am so done with snow for the year... that means the entire year, you better not snow again until next January. Not exactly a great day for another house showing.... but it will be fun to show Bethany the house we liked from last weekend that we put an offer on this week. Who knows if we'll be able to work out the details and come to a purchase agreement, but hopefully we'll find out this week. Otherwise, our real estate agent said one thing she knows about us for sure is that we don't get emotionally attached to the properties! We know what we like: close distance to get in to work, nice views, swimmable lake front and big enough for our growing family. Sometimes when we see places we know we have to give a little on things that would be nice to have, so we'll see where the journey brings us. Still struggling with headaches most days. It makes it really hard to get things done that I know I have to (and want to) do. Saving the best news for last: Bethany is going to get a SISTER this September! We had been hoping for another girl to have a built-in playmate and selfishly so that we could reuse clothes that would be in the right season :) I'm blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with my sister so I'm excited for Bethany to have the same experience! I found out that I need to go in for ultrasounds at Meadowbrook at Methodist Hospital every 2 weeks to monitor some things the Dr's are wondering caused Bethany's early delivery. It is great they are keeping a close eye on things because we'd love to keep this little girl cooking as long as possible (although going full term after going early the first time will definitely be a change for me!)

catch-up

I've been delayed in posting recently. We successfully moved out of the cabin with no major issues. The closing with the buyers went well and it made me happy that they love it so much. They seem to be very similar to us and I'm glad they are excited about it. It was emotional to leave it behind for the last time! Here are some recent pics to enjoy. Bethany playing piano and Grandma and Papa's. Bethany is getting really good at praying on command. When waiting for dinner she folds her hands and looks at you while yelling "ay!"

I made some homemade play doh

sunny day

Baby #2 at almost 15 weeks - I wasn't this big last time until 20+ weeks! Tomorrow I have another ultrasound and although it isn't the anatomy one yet (that one is scheduled for May 3rd) I'm hoping they'll make a guess for me :)

Feeling pretty good this pregnancy except I've been having a lot of migraines. Obviously there is a lot going on which may be part of it, but my Dr did say sometimes with a second baby people do get more headaches... bummer.

Otherwise, we're getting used to being home on the weekends! This is our first one and we had a Momentum Volleyball event and went house hunting so stayed busy. I signed Bethany up for swimming lessons so we'll keep busy doing that too. I'm sure we'll find lots of fun things to do around here this summer if we don't find another place soon. Bethany is as such a fun age so we'll have fun wherever. She loves being outside and listening to the birds and frogs outside in our yard. She says "chirp chirp" in the sing song voice and points and jabbers to them. She loves chapel at Westwood and cheers after every song she hears there or at church. They say she's being so nice to her friends, hugging them when they wake up for naps (she is a short nap taker there) and playing activities with them. We're so happy the biting stage appears to be over! I love it that she understands what we ask her and most of the time does it! Bethany - you are such a sweet, fun girl. You are busy, but it is so nice when you come to cuddle with me and give us hugs too. It makes us want to pocket up these moments forever!

The many expressions of Bethany

Stink eye

Smirk face

finger painting

who me?

Not sure about all of Charlie's hugs, but I think I'll let him!

Oh Bethany, you are such a funny girl! I laugh at you daily with all your expressions, noises and actions. Your stink eye developed after I was doing that expression when I smelled your poopy diaper which you quickly associated with sitting on the toilet. When we asked if you were stinky you'd make the face and run to the bathroom. Now its expanded to other areas and if you don't like something you might give it or them the stink eye! You have such a beautiful smile but I can never catch it on camera because it is quick and then you're off to the next thing. I hope you continue to wear your heart on your sleeve and let us in to what you're thinking even when we get the stink eye :) I love you baby girl!

Learning how to jump!

We've been practicing jumping with Bethany. She doesn't quite have it yet, but it is pretty funny watching her try :)

Phoenix

I had a work conference in Phoenix last week and Dan and Bethany tagged along. The conference is always so busy so I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to hang out with them, so we stayed a few extra days with our really good friends the Button's.

We were HOPING that Phoenix being in the desert would mean that it would be hot, or at least warm but unfortunately it was pretty cool and rainy a few of the days we were there. We did miss a big snowstorm back home though, so we're not complaining! On Saturday it looked like rain so we decided to get an early start on a hike in the Superstitions (is that the one we did, Lindsey?) It was supposed to be about a 4 mile hike but about half-way up it got a little windy and looked like rain. Instead of getting stuck with 3 kids on a mountain we decided to turn around early. We were bummed we didn't get to see the whole trail but we got a taste of it!



To get our energy for the hike we stopped at the Burrito Shack for breakfast. It was this awesome for real shack that had the most amazing burritos. I was craving them the rest of the trip after this day! Good thing we had a lot of Mexican food while we were there because in Phoenix they know how to make tasty food!

Hayden, Bethany and Owen waiting for their burrito

Dan and Nate enjoying their burritos

Bethany and Owen

Dan and Nate got to take in a Suns game one night (Dan has always loved the Suns) and we got to see my aunt and uncle and cousins that live in Phoenix too. Tamara even came over to our hotel to babysit Bethany the night they went to the game as I had a work event that evening. Thanks again Tamara - Bethany loved playing with you!

On Sunday Ian and Courtney came up for the day to go to the zoo but because it looked like rain we went to the Children's Museum instead. It was an awesome museum (my favorite part were the hundreds of noodles (like the ones you swim with) hanging in one area that you could walk through - so fun! It was so nice to meet Charlotte too for the first time, what a doll. Thanks again for making the trip up to see us Ian and Courtney!

The rest of the trip was filled with walks to the park, long naps by Bethany, yummy restaurants, great conversation and a backyard fire with pie irons. We had such a great time Nate and Lindsey - thanks again for your hospitality!

Bethany traveled so well. On the way home the lady sitting next to us commented on how good she was. I was pleasantly surprised she slept so well and played so nicely... I think we found a fun new toy: stickers! She loved to have me peel one off and stick it on her shirt. Each sticker lasted about 5 minutes where she'd put it on me, Dan, the seat in front of us, her shirt again and then finally the sticker book. Yea for the dollar section at Target with sticker books!

I can't believe she is 16 months old today. She loves to copy everything we say and do, especially funny noises. The ice maker at our hotel in Phoenix made a noise when the ice fell into the bin and every time she turned and looked at it and made the same noise! Anything we ask Bethany to do (take a bath, let's go eat, go downstairs, put your jacket on, find your hat) she does and with a smile because she knows what we're saying. When she has a dirty diaper I wrinkle my nose and say stinky so now when she needs to go, she runs over to me and wrinkle's her nose. It is the cutest and funniest thing ever and amazing that she's starting to potty train! I just ordered some pull-ups but had a hard time finding them in a small enough size... she's still only 22 lbs - I know most kids aren't starting before 16 months! But, I figure why not help her start if she is interested in it. She also loves to spin in circles which we take advantage of and try to get her to do it on command like a puppy :) At Westwood she moved to the Toddler class today which had 3 new changes: 1) drinking out of a glass (no sippy cup!) 2) sitting at the table with chairs for meals and snacks (no high-chair!) 3) sleeping on a cot during scheduled nap time. So many changes, but day 1 went great!

Bethany - you are a full-fledged toddler and growing up so fast! We love your new discoveries and how you have such a passion for life. Your bright eyes and excited "ooohs and ahhhs" when you see or learn something new is adorable. We love you!

Yum, spaghetti!

Fun with Chicago-land cousins!

Bethany always loves it when her cousins from Chicago come to visit! She had so much fun running around with them trying to keep up with the older boys and walking together with Emily. It was COLD the week they were here so we didn't get to go outside like we hoped, but it was fun hanging out and spending time together. On Sunday we all went to Bennihana's and watched them perform as they made on our meal. It was yummy and the kids loved watching all the action.

Here are a few pictures from their visit.

Bethany, Paul III and Jacob at the McDonald's playland a few hours before I went to the ER for my surprise appendectomy
Bethany and Emily - do you like french fry's Bethany? That was one of my favorite things as a toddler my mom said.... when we'd go through anything with a drive-through I would say from the back seat "fwef fries please!"

Aunt Melissa, Paul II and Jacbo with our gingerbread train - good job boys!

Thanks again for all the fun when you were here! We can't wait to make plans to see you again.

Who needs your appendix anyway?

Warning: This post contains information and a picture from my recent surgery, read more at your own risk!

I promised a post about our time with Dan's sisters family from Chicago but I will do that in a little bit. First, at the end of their trip is where my dramatic weekend started. Bethany had her 15 mo appointment and everything looks good.

Her stats:
Height- 31 1/2 in 80%
Weight - 21 lbs 14.7 oz 25%
Head - 45.5 cm - 40%

We're working on Bethany eating better at meals and getting rid of a persistent diaper rash. On the plus side (but still a little TMI) she's pooped in the toilet for me 3 times (and grandma once) so we're hoping that means she'll be an early learner in that arena? They are happy with her level of understanding of words and although she's active, she is a toddler! She was a champ with the shots in her legs and even got a Dora sticker afterwards which she proudly showed her cousins at lunch at the Eden Prairie McDonald's.

That afternoon I started having a stomach ache and after Dan came home from work I called the nurse line and got a second opinion by calling Amber to see if I should go in. I went to Methodist Hospital ER at 7 and by 10 when Amber made it over to be with me, they decided it was my appendix and I needed surgery that night. It was so nice Amber could be there to ask questions and stayed with me overnight in the very loud observatory area. The surgery was about an hour and all I remember is getting the mask put on in the OR and then waking up to people giving me warm blankets awhile later. Everything went well and it was my appendix so it was good to have the surgery. I was extremely nauseated after the surgery and they had these leg squeezy things to prevent blood clots but also prevented me from sleeping. In the morning I tried sitting up to use the bathroom but couldn't do it... so we just kept trying to keep on top of the pain, nausea and see if I could get some sleep. By the middle of the day Saturday I was getting to the point of extreme anxiety from the vicious cycle and just wanted to go home. Dan came that morning to let Amber go home and Dan's parents kept Bethany at their house. I'm sure it was tough for him too as he felt pretty helpless. I was finally able to eat a few grapes and spoonful's of soup which allowed me to get some much-needed rest. 2 hours later I felt like a new person and accomplished my three tasks for discharge: walk to the bathroom, walk around the unit twice, and eat. We hurried home that night so I could sleep in my wonderful sleep number bed. It never felt so nice to be home! Bethany came home Sunday afternoon and we watched the Super Bowl with some friends, but I laid low. It was wonderful not to have to clean ahead of time, cook or clean-up. The rest of this week I'm working half days Monday and Tuesday and from home the rest of the week until I'm off the pain meds. Fingers crossed that I'm better by next week when we have plans to go to Phoenix for a work conference and to extend a few extra days with friends and family.

15 months old!

Allison getting Bethany to read the WHOLE book

The three incisions from my surgery - the swelling should go down in 2 weeks

Fun with Bethany and Charlie

This weekend our nephew Charlie had his 1st birthday party! It was fun to see him dig into his cake especially since Bethany was so careful with hers. Is that a boy vs. girl thing? It was fun to celebrate with family and eat yummy food and watch Charlie open so many fun gifts. Bethany acted like an old pro and wanted to show Charlie how to open everything first. My Aunt Lynette was so thoughtful and brought Bethany a book so she'd have a present too, isn't that sweet?

Bethany and Charlie had so much fun - especially with the balls in the inflatable pool that my sister got! They were so excited to play in them but Bethany wanted to keep all the balls in the pool while Charlie was trying his best to throw them every which way. I think both of them slept well that night after Charlie's fun day!

Yay, balls!

We went to the Children's Museum awhile ago together and I wished we lived closer because I would get an annual pass. They had some really neat toddler areas and this water area below was fascinating for both of them.

Exploring a tunnel

This concludes another episode of "Fun with Bethany and Charlie", tune in next week for "Adventures with Chicago-land cousins"!