Summer, summer, where art thou?

I haven't posted since the middle of May, whoops! It has been a little crazy around here, mostly due to our move on June 11th, and after a break from blogging I realize that the thought of trying to catch-up on everything is a bit overwhelming so I think I'll just give you little snippets of what has been going on with us.

At the end of May we went on a family vacation to Riviera Maya, Mexico! It was HOT, HOT, HOT and when we arrived the first room had no a/c so I was feeling a little nervous and debating looking up the next flight home. Dan was trying so hard to try and make his emotional, pregnant wife happy while resolving the situation and we finally found a slightly cooler room that turned out great for the week :) Bethany did great and loved swimming in the pools and the ocean and we all enjoyed our last vacation as a family of 3.

Once we got home we quickly got ready for the move and on Saturday, June 11th moved the cabin things from storage and the things we needed from our current place into our new home! It turned out to be a great day and we had family and friends along with 2 movers to make things going smoothly. Even though I was only allowed to carry my purse, it was a tiring day trying to decide where to tell people to put things and make little decisions while walking around. We all slept so well that night.... in fact Bethany spent her first night in a twin bed! We had borrowed a bed rail from Joel and Erin and decided one big transition from a crib to a twin bed in a new house sounded easier than a few smaller transitions. She did great! She has since figured out that she can actually get out of her bed but when she's tired she goes right to sleep and on average sleeps from 8:30-6:30. Bethany has also decided that one nap is just fine for her so that is another big adjustment (more so for us I think!). My mom helped us find some big girl bedding so her temporary room while we get her room upstairs finished is all for her.

We're finally starting to feel a little settled, thanks to lots of help from Dan's mom the first week after we moved. She came over almost every day that week while we were at work and put things away, cleaned and did laundry which was so helpful! My mom helped sort through things one day too and things always go faster with help :)

My grandparents and the rest of our family came over to celebrate Father's Day. I think we're going to enjoy hosting get togethers here even more than the cabin because we can be here all week, not just the weekends!

Let's see... other news worthy items include Bethany's first hair cut this weekend! She did great during the hair cut but didn't enjoy the blow dryer all that much. She looks so grown up now with her baby hair trimmed, and yes, I did keep some for her baby book!

A few big purchases have also occured: Dan's dad found a riding lawn mower at a garage sale and so we bought it after we (ok, Dan) realized mowing our larger lawn with a push mower wasn't so fun. We also got a treadmill and the boat lift is being installed tomorrow. Boat lift is essential so we can start enjoying the boat - it hasn't been out yet this summer; and the treadmill will be key for my maternity leave this fall after the complications and caring for a toddler this pregnancy have left my workouts non-existent.

If I think of anything else I'll post again, otherwise I think we're pretty caught up! My aunt and cousin are coming from AZ next weekend over the 4th of July so we'll have lots of family time and other get togethers with friends to look forward to. I can't believe how cool and rainy this summer has been though this far, hence the title of my post. This week is supposed to be in the 90's and I say bring it on!

The Big Announcement

Putting Bethany to bed and drifting off to sleep 30 minutes later while watching tv...

Waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (and one time breaking my toe!!)....

Seeing a sappy commercial on tv and getting teary eyed....

Smelling stale bread from across the room when no one else can....

Did I mention being soooo sleepy?

Yep, we're pregnant with tiny tot #2 expected around September 22nd/23rd, 2011. Given my history with Bethany we'll be prepared for an August baby but I'm hoping to make it to at least Labor Day, because in any event it would make a good story, right? The Doctors will keep a close eye on things this time because routinely second babies come earlier than firstborns.

We are hoping that the 2nd and 3rd trimesters are less eventful than the first. Remember my appendectomy? Well, that happened when I was about 7 weeks pregnant. In fact, I was worried that the stomach pain was because of the baby and the nurseline confirmed that they were suspicious of a tubal pregnancy. Thankfully it was my appendix, but it was still very stressful knowing that 13% of pregnancies end when having an appendectomy. The surgeon and Dr's were very kind to walk through all the risks with me and in explaining that having a CT scan to confirm it was my appendix would have been too risky with a developing fetus. God was really watching over me and this little one and although I had a tough recovery (which I NEVER want to experience again!) we made it through. Subsequent ultrasounds showed that the baby is still growing right on track and there are no adverse signs related to the surgery and they expect a normal pregnancy from here on out. Right now baby is about the size of a lime and I'm looking forward to when I will start to feel the little twitches and movements for the first time.

We booked a second babymoon for Memorial Day weekend to go to a different resort in the Riviera Maya region in Mexico. Bethany will come along and we're excited for our last family vacation as a family of 3.

This pregnancy is going much faster! Probably because we have a little toddler running around to keep us busy. I haven't taken one picture or written anything down besides this post! It really is true that the second baby has a lot less documented with its life! Well, little one, we are very happy you will be joining our family in a few short months. We welcome you with open arms and Bethany has been practicing with her doll. Don't worry, we won't let her try to wrap you in your blanket or put your hat on as we've only see her do this with her doll in varying degrees of success. We know she'll be a great big sister!

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!

Mexico!

We had a wonderful time on vacation... and wish we were back there now that it has been cold and rainy yesterday and sort of today. When we found out Dan's mom would be out of the country for a few weeks we knew we needed to take time off to watch Bethany for a few days so we decided to go on vacation. There were some great deals in Mexico since it is hurricane season so we chose an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya district south of Cancun. It was an amazing resort with wonderful service. We had lots of fun swimming in the pools and in the ocean. Bethany enjoyed her first real experience in the sand and had a lot of funny expressions tasting it as well as the salt water! We just hung around the resort and ate, slept and swam all day. Sometimes we'd nap at the same time as Bethany, and other times we'd take the video monitor out with us to the pool to relax and it even reached one of the outdoor seafood restaurants. They had a big screen setup on the beach so we watched the Vikings game Thursday night and also parts of Avatar another night. The variety of restaurants was nice and the people were so friendly. I realized that with a baby we are only known as "Bethany's mom and dad" and all the locals loved picking her up and watching her for awhile. While dining we'd see someone take her on a "kitchen tour" and try to "sell" her to other tables for $20. She loved the attention and would crawl right over to new people to meet them. There were 2 older couples we met on the van ride to the resort that we ran into all the time and they would yell "Bethany!" and come over to talk to her. She always had big smiles for them and would happily babble away. She did great on the plane rides and it was nice to have a layover in Atlanta to let her get out and crawl for awhile. She enjoyed looking over the back of our seat on the plane and saying hi to other passengers. It was her own game of hide and seek and she would laugh contagiously until she had the attention of everyone around us. I was so glad she didn't get too antsy on the plane and slept most of the way. Everything was so much fun that we are already talking about our next vacation. It would be fun to go with another couple with kids to trade off watching the babies but we really enjoyed the family vacation together. So relaxing!!

View from our room over the marina and adult pool- we had great weather except for one brief shower (while we were taking a nap)

family pic along the ocean

Bethany's waiter friend

Bethany's football game friend

The two ladies that loved Bethany

Someone smiling at Bethany

On September 11th they had a whole program on remembering the event and flew the American flag at half-mast

Our "babysitter"

Wearing my swim diaper

They had these awesome lounging beds along the ocean - fun to watch the sunrise from

Trying all the fun new food

I love the beach!

Yea, sand!

Hi, Dad

They had these fun swings along the ocean too

We took a ton of pictures, but this is a good sampling for now. Bethany is soooo close to walking. She pulls up to standing all the time and stands for 20-30 seconds sometimes. She pushes her walker around like a pro and even turns sometimes although ramming into furniture doesn't bode well for her driving skills quite yet. She tries to sound out new words sometimes, like saying "brr" for bird because we saw a lot of those near the open-air restaurants. She was so brave in the water and could crawl out of the pool on her own. She does "so big" and claps when she is happy and bounces up and down too. Her laugh is so funny and cute. We love you Bethany and really enjoyed our first family vacation together!!!

More cruise pictures

Shuffle board
Eating one of our many meals


More fish while snorkling


We always had a new towel animal when we got back to our room

Beach in Key West

Ft. Lauderdale once we get off the ship


Dan climbing the rock wall on the back of the ship

Baby getting a sunburn

Beautiful ocean water in Belize going back to the boat
Belize jungle

Eating the yummy meal in Belize after the tubing
Dan in Belize City

Good thing our suitcase made it so we could go to "formal night"

Babymoon/"yea, Dan found a job" cruise

Dan and I decided it would be fun to get away one last time as a couple before our baby arrives this fall, and since the timing coincided with Dan finding a new job at Select Comfort we decided to celebrate with a cruise. We have so many events in May including my mom's birthday, mother's day, my dad's birthday, Memorial Day weekend, work trips and a bridal shower for my cousin that it was difficult to find a week that worked. We finally settled on the week of May 11th and chose a 5-day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West, to Cozumel and then Belize City. Of course as everyone knows the Swine Flu frenzy happened 2 weeks before the cruise so they canceled the Cozumel day and so our two stops were Key West and Belize.

It was a WONDERFUL vacation! It started off a little scary because we had an early flight on the 11th to make our ship departure time at 5, and the plane had mechanical problems! They delay was going to cause us to miss our connection in Detroit so we were sitting in Minneapolis trying to figure out how to get to our port. The direct flight to Ft. Lauderdale had one seat left, and although having one of us make the cruise vs. neither of us crossed our minds - it wouldn't have been as fun :), so we felt helpless. Finally I asked how far Miami was and upon hearing it was only 45 minutes away we decided our only option was to fly direct and arrive at 2:45 p.m. Knowing the ship closed at 3:30, that was not a lot of time and certainly not enough to wait for our luggage, but at least we'd hope to get on the boat. Our friend Missy's dad lives in Ft. Lauderdale so we called to see if he'd possibly be willing to pick us up in Miami and drive us to our port (quickly!). She thought he would do that for us, so we thankfully had the transportation worked out... now if only the plane would arrive on time, or early! Thankfully it landed at 2:22 and we rushed to the luggage area knowing we needed to leave at 2:50 at the latest and guess what - our bag made it! I don't know how it got off our original plane and on to our new one, and was one of the first bags out in Miami, but we grabbed it and sped away to our port. We were the last ones to check in but the process was much quicker than when the other 500 passengers arrived earlier! Our room was a tiny interior room but we were so happy to just get on the boat we didn't care! That evening we ate dinner and just relaxed after a stressful day.

Tuesday was Key West and we decided to do a Catamaran (sp?) boat ride to the coral reef and go snorkling. It was a beautiful day and we saw a sting ray, a sea turtle and something that looked like a baracuda. We also walked along Duval street and ate Key Lime Pie. It was formal night on the boat that night and so we dressed up and had a fun time.

Wednesday was a cruising day since we didn't stop in Cozumel but it was relaxing to sit on the boat, swim, and read. We played shuffleboard and ate every two hours :)

Thursday was Belize and we had a Jungle River Tubing and Mayan River excursion planned. It was so fun to see the countryside and the river was so relaxing. Belize is very colorful and we stopped and some shops for a necklace and wood coasters to remember it by.

Friday was our last cruising day and we spent time by the pool. Even using sunscreen every 20-30 minutes we both got sunburned! We enjoyed lots of food again and used the ice cream machine by the pool several times!

On Saturday we departed about 10 a.m. (we were last on and last off because we didn't hear them say they were ahead of schedule so everyone should get off the boat - oops!) and Missy's dad dropped us off at the Ft. Lauderdale beach for the day. We walked along the shops and Dan got a shirt and we ate Mexican food which I was craving. They only serve American food on the cruise for the most part which was good - but I wanted something spicy! Then we went to the airport and had no plane issues getting home. It was nice to be on solid ground again, but we both really really enjoyed the cruise. I'd love to go again someday!

Key Lime pie in Key West!

Snorkling in Key West

Jungle River tubing!

Vacation Part 3 - Las Vegas!

Sorry it took so long for me to post about the last leg of our vacation. Once we got home it has been busy getting back into things at work, Dan has had a lot of interviews, and Dan's parents finally moved into their new home!

But, it was fun to pull a few pictures of Vegas! We made it to Brent and Amber's on Friday the 6th around 1 and Amber was just waking up after sleeping off her night shift. Brent works earlier in the day because his students are on Central Time. It was fun to see their apartment and see Bella again. I think she was excited to have familiar faces! Friday night we went to the strip to hang out. Saturday we went to Red Rock to go hiking, Sunday we went to their church and then hiked at the Valley of Fire. Monday we had to fly home in the evening so we spent the day at the older half of the strip which Dan and I had never been before so it was pretty neat.

My pictures are out of order for some reason. This was at Valley of Fire. We got there in time to see the sunset!

This was at Red Rock
Another Red Rock mountain pic

Between New York, New York and the Excalibor

Red Rock

Bella trying to participate in the fun by squeezing her head over the backseat :)

Before Valley of FireWe took Bella to the dog park on Saturday and this HUGE puppy kept wanting to sit on me! I think he thought he was a lap dog?

The sunset at Valley of Fire

At the Venetian

Amber and I at the older end of Vegas - nice muscles Amber!!

Outside the Mirage

Outside the Mirage again

Amber and Brent it was so much fun to see you and see where you have been living the past few months! Thanks for letting us stay with you! It was fun sight-seeing and cooking all the yummy meals with you :) Can't wait for you to get home!