Relaxing Sunday

We enjoyed breakfast outside this morning as the weather was beautiful! Lorelei thought she needed her "recliner" out there for her to sit on as well. Was so nice to enjoy it outside! Then we had church which is never relaxing, but we had a few "wow, really?" moments from her. First she pointed to one of her books and said "No" requesting Noah (yes it was the correct book...the surprise is that she can tell me the person!) then she pointed to a picture on a Bible character coloring book and called him "Gee" (Jesus) and then she called the hymnal "Bi" (Bible)! We were just sitting there with our mouths open! Guess it just goes to show that at least SOME stuff you are teaching them really does sink in, even if you don't realize it. :)

Pink and Chocolate Party

Party Prep

We go all out with decorations so just wanted to share a few of those. Of course colors are pink and chocolate. :) Then I also painted Lorelei's toe nails for the first time ever! Figured a special occasion was a good reason to give it a shot. She sat very well for it and loves looking at her toes. "Pretty" is her reaction each time she notices them. As we were preparing all the goodies for the party Lorelei took advantage and snuck some early morning cookies, pretzels...you name it. I was in the kitchen doing something only to come out and find she had taken a bite out of several cookies and then put them back on the tray! She was very much enjoying the freedom to eat everything while we were distracted. :) Then of course we were running late and eventually ended up even having to do her hair during the party! So much for being prepared. :)

Party Fun

I had planned a few activities for the kids to do during the party. The first being decorating their own party hats. This is because pretty much every time Lorelei puts on a hat she says "party" so we just had to make sure she had a hat for her official party. Her friends did a great job decorating their own hats with stickers, but Lorelei really could have cared less! She preferred playing with "Mi" aka Mike, Lily's dad. :) Whatever makes the birthday girl happy! Then pudding painting was the main event. All three girls joined in on the painting. Lorelei did way more eating of the pudding than she did painting. :)

Party Song

Here is the part where I blame my pregnancy when I tell you that I did not think to charge the camera before the party...SO the best part of the song was cut off! The battery died just as the song ended and Lorelei perfectly blew out the candles! She really was trying to blow them out through most of the song, but then managed to get them blown out just at the right time...if only we had the evidence to prove it. :( We then re-lit the candles to try and catch it on film only to have her get one blown out and then try and touch the other one. Thankfully no burns to show for it, although a big scary for her. She got distracted by bribing with getting to eat her cupcake. :)

Party Yum

Since chocolate was part of the theme I wanted to make sure and have plenty of it. To add to the chocolate cupcakes we had more sprinkles, chocolate or strawberry ice cream, Coco Puffs, and chocolate syrup. Brad even added some of the fondue chocolate to Lorelei's bowl. Amazingly enough she DID take a nap that day. :) I was glad that the grown ups were able to relax and enjoy some fondue. Its a good thing I didn't sit down near it until the end of the party because the chocolate with strawberries was pretty yummy! We did also have a few healthy things and some lunch...but really just ate the chocolate. :)

Party Bummer

No pictures to go with this one, but the party ended with a big bummer! Poor Lily fell and hit her lip on a plastic chair, busting it open and had to get two stitches! Thankfully she seems to be doing much better after a few days but we are so sad that she had to leave the party. This also means we didn't get a group picture...maybe someday we will learn to take the picture first thing so that the kids are not tired and ready for naps...or on their way to the ER!

We also made an attempt to get a family picture. Couldn't get Lorelei looking at the camera...but again, do this before they are ready for naps! Thought it was still cute anyway.

We were so thankful that we had our good friends to spend Lorelei's 2nd birthday with. Thanks for celebrating with us!

Parks, Bikes and Lunch with Dad

This week we finally had some relief from the heat! The temps stayed in the mid and lower 80s and we have taken advantage of it! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all park days for us.

Monday we met the Bonfiglio's at a park near the hospital before our appointment. Lorelei did her usual climbing on everything that I would prefer her to climb in a year or more, but she gets the hang of most pretty quickly.

Tuesday we ran a couple of errands first and then headed to another park (thank goodness we have so many to choose from right!?) and met up with the Check girls. The girls played well so we moms could catch up a bit. Both days Lorelei loved climbing and the swings. Its so nice to have her old enough to do most of it all herself!

Wednesday was playgroup at another fun park. Then I finally made sure to bring my camera...which was a very good thing as the Bonfiglio's brought their bikes and scooters, with Kira bringing hers just to share with Lorelei...she LOVED it...this girl will need to be getting one in the near future. She was actually pretty good at keeping her feet on the petals and had the general idea but I had to do a lot of hunched over pushing. :) She was also very persistent in trying Chase's bike as well, but I think its still a bit too big, although she can reach the petals! She is also big on telling me that its "bright" so we had to make sure to have our sunglasses on hand. :)



Then we were surprised with Brad calling to let us know he could meet us for lunch because he was able to work out of the office for the rest of the day. Lorelei was thrilled to meet her favorite man for lunch and could not have been better behaved and happier even though it was nap time! Loved how she was looking at him so adoringly in the picture where they are supposed to be looking at me and smiling. ;)

Fun story: Today while we were driving we were stopped at a light and I pointed out the construction going on. Then I heard, "HEY! MY!" (what she says for "mine") and realized she thought that the man had taken HER construction hat she has in her dress up clothes. :)

Expect the Unexpected

Well although most of you know this, I figured I better document it on the blog as well. We are now scheduled for a c section on Sept 8th! We get to meet Baby Stahl about a week earlier than first thought because he is not head-down at this point, so it is unlikely he will turn around. I'm sure he will probably end up turning around the morning of the c section and they will send us home. ;) This little guy is certainly teaching us to roll with the punches with each new challenge he gives us...probably giving us gray hair before we are 30, but we are excited to meet him in less than two weeks! :)

Nesting Checklist Progress

Well you are stuck with yet another update on the crazy lists I have been waiting forever to get checked off. This weekend was decided that no matter what, we are getting that list done! (Well, at least mostly done, I think I was a bit too ambitious.) So we worked and worked all weekend and did get most of it done. I was waiting a bit to post this hoping we could do a little video tour, but it has become obvious that the house will not be clean until this weekend for the party, so I suppose it will have to be on another post. Right now the most clean and organized thing in this house is my freezer. I was very tempted to take a picture of that, but refrained. :)



The morning had to begin with my Walmart trip as it was that grocery time again. Of course it took way longer than usual for some reason, but I was pleasantly surprised to come home to the new table already assembled! I'd like to see the rest of you try that with Miss Lorelei there to "help"! :) Brad did a great job! Not only was that put together, but Lorelei seemed happy as can be that she had been working so hard with her dad. The picture down the hall is one of her ways she was "helping" by putting all of the chair legs down the hall. She was SO proud.

I guess I should mention the weekend actually started on Friday night when we made a trip to Babies R Us for a diaper bag, as well as a new booster seat for our big girl! Lorelei is beyond thrilled to have this and even insisted on being buckled into it in the shopping cart. Here you can see her enjoying it as well as some of the baby toys we dug out of storage. Getting baby things out of storage was yet another job to accomplish, which proved the most challenging as we had a very unhappy camper when we brought out the swing etc that she was not allowed to sit in. We had been planning to wait a bit longer to bring them out, but decided we may need a bit more time for her to adjust than first planned. SO the swing, bouncer and playpen (waiting to empty the storage out a THIRD time to try and find the bassinet part for it as we didn't realize it was packed somewhere down there) are out and ready to go...apparently going to be moved into our bedroom for the big birthday bash this weekend. :)

Somewhere in there we also got the frig and freezer cleaned out, I made casseroles and fried up ground beef, we got her playroom all set up and most toys out of the living room...and a few other things. But there are somehow still things left to be done so going to have to try and keep motivated.



Lorelei enjoying the new baby toys. When she asks to sit in them ("try") we continue to tell her that she can't but she can use her dolls to play with them. :) So far she is enjoying that a lot.

Baby Shower

Melissa and Sara were gracious enough to throw a baby shower for us as a MOMS group event. As you can see there were wonderful decorations and goodies as well. It was great to get some much needed items like some baby toys and books (particularly boy ones we don't have!) and of course the much needed diapers and wipes! It definitely helped make a dent in our list of baby items we still need get this weekend. Of course Lorelei enjoyed playing with her friends and as you can see by her face pretty much just the frosting from the cupcake. :) She also tried out the baby swing with a baby doll. We are so blessed to have these friends in our lives. Thanks so much for a wonderful shower ladies! Also big thanks for taking the pics Melissa! :)

Laundry Time

We still have not gotten to the point where Lorelei wants to let me get any chores around the house done during the day...at least without propping her in front of the tv or lots of "help" from her. Laundry is one of the few things I can manage to get done even with all of the help. :) This almost always results in some time spent on the washing machine and her favorite thing to do there is bang it with her feet.

Bathtub Painting

Lorelei was ecstatic to receive a birthday package in the mail from Amanda and John! They sent some creative goodies, including paints for the bathtub! This made for a lot of fun at bath-time tonight and we had to show the fun she was having. I would also like some applause for taking one of these pictures upside down, leaning over the bathtub and not dropping the camera in. :) Big thanks to the Rogers for the package! She loved it!

Sesame Street On Paper

Lorelei is getting more and more into imaginative play which is a lot of fun. The other day we ended up coloring and making our own little paper of Sesame Street for her characters to play on. We have Big Bird's nest, Elmo's room and Cookie's house. Then she said "snack" so of course we had to draw a table and chairs for them all to sit at. She enjoyed putting her little characters in each spot. Such an imagination! :)

Playgroup Swimming

Wednesday we were able to enjoy playgroup at CarolAnn's backyard. She is the grandma of the group who is generous enough to watch her grandkids full time. Lorelei was very excited to go as soon as I told her about it and was ready to drag me out the door immediately. She loves spending time with her "friens." :)

They have an AMAZING backyard with a huge swing-set complete with fort etc, also a huge swimming pool with a slide (we didn't go in as I did not want to wear my suit and swim) and also a kiddie pool where Lorelei spent most of her time. Not to mention the outdoor deck and bar area. :) We started out on the swings but then as soon as a few more friends arrived we got ready for the pool. Lorelei had lots of fun. I roasted as the temps and humidity were high, but at least I had my feet in the water. :) As you can see we have she and Kira in their sunglasses as well as her trying to give an Ernie toy to baby Leah to play with. She also got a floaty I had told her was for babies and gave it to me to put Leah in. :) Very sweet. It was a nice way to spend 2 hours but boy I'm ready to stay inside until some temps cool down!

One cute story from that night was when Brad was home that evening he was playing the "which hand is it in?" game with Lorelei (she loves it) and then she was also doing it to him. She cracked us up when she concentrated very hard to hide the item under her foot (of course we are watching this whole thing) and then show him it was not in either hand. :) Then the next morning she was doing the game again and proceeded to toss the item behind her and show "not in my hands!" :)

Paint Day

This Tuesday we headed over to Newport News to try out an activity at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center. Each Tuesday and Thursday they have what they call "paint days" intended for children to be able to come and enjoy painting. The plus side of this is that you don't have to clean it up yourself. :) Well, other than cleaning the clothes afterward of course!

The Bonfiglio's joined us and the kids had a great time painting on easels and then also attempting some cutting/crafts they had available, writing on the chalkboard wall and building with blocks and legos they had in the same room. It was really a "do whatever you want" set up as there was not even anyone in the room in charge...but it seemed to work fine that way. Lorelei of course loved painting and seem to enjoy the morning. We also had a picnic lunch in the courtyard before heading home.

It was a great way to spend the morning and Lorelei was eager to show off her art work to her dad when he got home. :)

Check List Progress

I have been itching to get a lot of changes made around the house to prepare for the upcoming baby...for various reasons this has been taking a bit longer than I would have liked, but things are finally starting to come together. I think once I realized the calendar was on August it really kicked everything into high gear! Monday evening we got Lorelei's cube shelves put together. They aren't full yet but we are glad to have things more organized. Lorelei put Elmo in one of the open shelves and then decided she needed to sit in one as well. :) The old dining room/office is now going to be her playroom. This should make room for more baby stuff in the living room and also it will just be nice to have all of her toys in two areas (her room too of course) so we are excited to have that totally done, but still need to get the kitchen table moved out. I think I may have to post a video when we are all done of the rearrangements. :)

On top of our huge "to do" list I decided to add drying out fruit to the list! I saw some great looking strawberries and blueberries for sale VERY CHEAP at Walmart during the week, and then decided we just couldn't pass up the chance to have healthy snacks for Lorelei for the winter for those kind of prices. So the weekend was also spent running the dehydrator and preparing the fruit to put in it...I'm not sure if I'm on board with this idea completely and I have come to the conclusion that those tiny little bags of dried fruit are overpriced for a reason. :) That quart sized bag of blueberries are 5 containers worth..and it didn't even fill one quart baggie! Then we are now completing the strawberries tonight, but it will be 6 containers worth and I'm pretty sure it will only end up filling ONE quart baggie...a lot of work for what seems to be a little bit...not sure it will last much past November at this rate! :) We'll see if I change my tune when apple season comes around.

Oh I should also mention we managed to fit in another Saturday morning trip to the beach! We had another gorgeous day and decided that the list needed to wait as fun family beach time was more important. :) We definitely try to make sure and keep Lorelei having fun through all the jobs to get done.

And of course to finish off our weekend we spent Sunday afternoon searching for a sleeper sofa. We felt it was important that both moms, who are generous enough to fly out here to help us out when the baby comes and for the surgery, deserved a bed to sleep on rather than just the couch, so we wanted to get a sleeper sofa. Apparently these are harder to come by than you realize as most stores had only a handful or less to choose from, which does not go along with my picky taste in furniture. :) I had been searching craigslist for a while and given up (it is basically like the worlds ugliest couch contest), but after going to 4 furniture stores with no luck I ended up checking again Sunday evening after my mom asked about it. Well sure enough there was one for a great price in great condition! I figured it would be sold already but apparently we were the lucky ones this time and they even delivered it for us that night! Then to add to the chaos we had to put our couch up on craiglist today and someone already came to pick it up, along with a couple of other furniture pieces we were going to have to donate...at least we don't have to drive them there! Progress has been crazy the last 24 hours! I was surprised to be a bit sad to give up the couch as I realized a lot of memories were made from when Brad's parents had it and we used to be able to relax and watch movies there when I would visit (ah the pre-kid days) to Lorelei sleeping on it as a tiny baby, then using it to help her walk across the room, to now having it as the only way she will cuddle with her mother while watching her shows. :) The couch will be more missed than I realized!

We still have a pretty long list but we certainly made a dent the last few days. Thankfully Lorelei has embraced the changes better than I thought she would. Guess we'll see how it feels to cuddle on the new couch tomorrow. :)

Butterfly House and Old MacDonald

Monday we had our 34 week doc appointment in Norfolk. No exciting news to report there...everything just seems to be going normal but I was reminded that the labor could be very different from the first...LETS HOPE SO!!! :)

Then although it was very overcast I decided to take a chance and head to the Botanical Gardens. They are actually on the way home from the doc and since we have a membership it just seemed worth a try. And what a great way to kill two hours it was! :) It did end up raining on us, but mostly just a light drizzle until we caught the tram on the way back. And so much cooler temps than we could have asked for...beautiful!


Lorelei enjoyed the butterfly house where she got to see several butterflies, the cocoons, and a LOT of caterpillars. It was especially good timing since we happen to have "The Very Hungary Catterpillar" book from the library this week.




















Then we were able to trek back to the Storybook Forest and visit Old MacDonald. Thankfully it was not very busy (although a surprising amount of people there like us in the rain) so she got to ride her tire horse swing to her hearts content, and also enjoyed playing around in the barn.

It made for a wonderful morning for us!

Baby Doll

Tonight Lorelei was done eating WAY before we would be done so we told her she would have to play by herself and let us eat. This is easy enough seeing as how our current arrangement has her toys right by the table. :)

She surprised us by doing amazingly well and ended up getting out one of her baby dolls. She pretended so well and put her doll in the shopping cart calling it a stroller, laid the blanket down for bed and then went and got one of her stuffed animals for the doll to sleep with, and also sat her down with her to "play" per her request with the puzzle at the table. Oh and lets not forget the ride on her zebra...she could have been taking a real baby on a horse she did so good with it! :) It was amazing and I can't wait to see her with her baby brother...although so not the same I know! Also can't wait for some new baby accessories and then I really think playing house will take off. Then when I told her it was bath time and baby needed to go to bed she bundled her up and said "night night" and gave her a kiss. :)

A few mentionable moments:

Brad was telling Lorelei to say "bye bye water" after her bath (this usually makes for a better transition getting away from something if she is wanting to stay...hopefully no fits involved). So she told the water bye and then proceeded to say "bye bye light, bye bye mir (mirror)."

Pretty much every morning Lorelei and I are in the kitchen and I put away dishes etc while she eats her breakfast. I usually ask, "Do we need some music?" and have been asking her that probably since she was old enough to sit in the high chair...the other morning she surprised me by saying "nee!" and pointing to the stereo telling me we needed some music! :)

Lorelei seems to be getting more and more cause/effect concepts and also pushing many boundaries lately...as to be expected I suppose. One of the things she has done a few times is when I tell her something like, "you can't sit on that or it will break" she then responds with "try" :) usually shaking her head yes and look at me to make sure she wont be in big trouble. This was pretty amusing at the beach when she requested to sit on the sand castle Brad made and of course you can imagine the result. :)

Okay, I also have to share an amusing story that has nothing to do with our daughter but hopefully it will at least make you smile...my sister passed it along to me from a coworker. His son was playing baseball...which was apparently not HIS idea but his parents...so after he hit the ball and was running to the base he yelled very tragically and dramatically, "I JUST WANT TO BE A PALEONTOLOGIST!!!" :) Hope you all found it as amusing as I did.

Okay marathon blog session is now over and hopefully I won't be so long winded next time. ;)

No Ordinary Pile Of Junk On The Table

Okay I have to have a mom happy/brag moment now. This may look like a pile of junk on a table I need to put away...oh believe me it is, but this exact scene brought a huge smile to my face. I was attempting to clean up a bit and started to set the magazine on this table when Lorelei came over wanting to look at it...it had sock monkeys on the front after all...I guess I just assumed it would be on the floor when she was done but no...I noticed the magazine put right back on the table where I was starting to put it to begin with. Sigh...nothing like having your almost-2-year-old clean up after herself without a word from an adult. She did the same thing when putting away a book and trying to hang her diaper stacker back up on the drawer knob...LOVE IT. Believe me there are many MANY more times when she does not want to clean up but I am just trying to cherish the few moments when she does it all on her own. :)

Super Summer Saturday

Again we had a forecast for a beautiful day so we made sure to make the best of it. This could be our last beach trip for quite a while if the temps stay as high as they have been, SO we had to milk it for all it's worth this weekend. We headed out to our favorite, Sandbridge Beach, first thing in the morning and had the playground almost to ourselves! Lorelei is big into every climbing thing you can try out at the playground these days.



Then we headed to the beach. We had planned to get proffesional pics taken at the beach but now I have hit the "take no pictures of me" phase of pregnancy SO we decided to try and take our own for Lorelei in the dress I was hoping to use. We may end up taking her in or having some taken for her 2 yr but these will have to do for now. If anyone wants any that are not part of the collage let me know and I'll be happy to email!

Anyway, although I prepped her for the idea of getting pictures taken first, this did NOT go over well with the sand princess. She wanted to play with her sand toys and nothing to do with walking to the water so I could snap a few pics first...so as you can see there are a few fit throwing pics included as well. :) Thankfully we did persuade her for a short while but it was pretty quick. I guess its a good thing we weren't paying a professional after all!



And thankfully at least one good smiling one. :)



As for enjoying our beach time...between the playground and beach we managed to stay for 4 hours! Sitting under the umbrella in the shade, you could not ask for more perfect weather...not to mention Lorelei playing happily in the sand so I actually got to relax...we probably could have stayed all day. Lorelei actually could have stayed even longer but by the time we pulled out of the parking lot it was already 1 o clock, her nap time, and we had not even eaten lunch yet! Sooo we knew we better head out. Of all the days not to pack a lunch!? We did make a quick stop to pick up some sweet corn on the way home as well. Then quick lunch, nap...but the day wasn't over yet!

Well she is half corn husker after all...

While Brad ran to pick up some burgers Lorelei and I attempted to shuck the corn.















Way to go mom...you picked the worst place ever for husking corn...the corn cob rolled right off the edge. :( Poor Lorelei crying because her beloved corn fell to a long and painful death. Although it did get a bit smushed we were still able to eat most of it. :)














So we finished our day off eating watermelon while Brad grilled burgers for supper...and of course eating our corn on the cob! Lorelei loved it and actually got most of the corn off. We even got to hear "tales from the Nebraskan" as Brad told us that sometimes all they had for supper was corn! :) Believe me it did not compare to our beloved Nebraska corn though... Think we managed to fit in enough summer fun? ;)

Fun Friday

It was a lot of fun to look forward to Friday this week. The weather was FINALLY supposed to cool down to reasonable temps so we could get outside. Thursday night we had a huge storm and even had to keep an eye out for funnel clouds forming above our heads. I did notice the "rules" for tornado's are a bit different around here when it comes to it being a "watch" or "warning." A bit different from living in tornado country. :) Thankfully no tornado's actually formed and we survived the night fine other than a few nerves.

Anyway, this was all part of the cold front coming in. Lorelei and I started the morning hitting up two garage sales and then made a trip to the park. Much needed since we have not been able to go much lately in this heat! I enjoyed it so much and Lorelei didn't mind drying off the slides for everyone else and enjoyed playing in the wet muddy mulch. Gotta say I'm pretty thankful she doesn't mind getting her hands (and everything else) dirty. She also enjoyed climbing up a slanted (not straight up...) rock hill several times and this was a proud feat for her. The other cute moment from this was when she decided to go over to a picnic table. She then told me "snack" and when I said it was in the car she said "get" and then I asked if she wanted to come with me she said "back" telling me she was okay and I would be right back. It is so amusing having these little conversations with her!

Then after coming home and playing a bit and grabbing some lunch, we headed to Dairy Queen for a MOMS event. Only one other mom showed up but at least we got to enjoy some ice cream! While we were waiting she kept saying "oreo" and then when she was sitting with me and the moms were visiting she said "back", got down and said "see-ya". :) Will try and get the chatty one on video sometime soon!

Well we have finally hit the "I want to take stuffed animals with me" phase and I have made at least two trips back up the stairs to get her puppy (for some reason the one with the bunny ears is now her favorite car companion). Thankfully this time she remembered them right away and brought her horse ("neigh", never attempts to use the word "horse") along as well.






Enjoying our ice cream.

Then of course home for nap and then hung out a bit until Brad came home early (went in early to work) and we headed out to the Botanical Gardens. Yes, we were really pumped about the cooler weather. :) We enjoyed visiting the Storybook Forest and Lorelei loved all the playhouses. She also loved stopping at each garden gnome she found...and as you can see there were quite a few! There was some fun wooden play equipment also. Unfortunately I did not do my research and thought the garden closed at 9 but as we were finishing up at the old woman's shoe a man came around to tell us to head out as it was closing in 15 minutes...well this is a major problem when you pass by Old MacDonald's on the way out with an awesome horse swing made out of tires...we gave her a 30 second ride and then put her screaming into the stroller then proceeded to power walk (yes remember ultra pregnant woman power walking) back to the car. The sounds of toddler's tantrums became harmonious as we walked to the car so at least we were not alone...sure is different from the peaceful walk you enjoy going in!

I'm crossing my fingers it might not rain Monday and we can head back after my Dr. appointment and get a chance to see the butterflies and spend some time at Old MacDonald's place. :)