Hot Hot Hot...

We got the heat wave that the rest of the country got earlier in the week this past weekend. I was excited all week for it, but when it came I realized that I am SO glad that I am not going to be pregnant in the summer! It didn't help that I don't have much in the way of summer maternity clothes or that we don't have our a/c units in yet (its April!). I was very happy to find out that Audrey's shorts & capris from last year fit as I haven't outfitted her for summer by any means yet. Anyways, we had a good weekend regardless. We spent a ton of time outside, including eating out on the deck all weekend which haven't done since last year.

Saturday Charlie was in full project mode. Our neighbor announced that he is nesting with me. I laughed... He put wood chips around Audrey's swing set and prepared the rest of that area of the yard for sod. I'll post finished pictures when it is all done. Audrey enjoyed helping, we just need to get her some tools her own size. She is also loving her new sandbox (as are the other kids in the neighborhood) that Charlie made last weekend for her.

Sunday there was a "Touch a Truck" fundraiser down the street that we thought we would walk over to. Audrey LOVES trucks right now (wonder where she got that from eh?), especially the trash truck so we thought she would enjoy it. It was a great concept, but it was in a parking lot with no shade and 85 degree temps so we didn't last too long. Audrey was kind of scared at first but she got into by the end. Her favorite was the school bus and the trash truck.

the Zoo...

Audrey and I went to the Franklin Park Zoo last Friday and had a great time. I have been wanting to take Audrey to the zoo, as we have never been and I thought she might finally enjoy it. I wanted to fit it in last week for 2 reasons a) it is school vacation week this coming week and I had no desire to be there with all those people if I didn't have to b) after that who knows if I will be able to walk around a zoo for that long! The trip worked out well. It was the most gorgeous day, it actually hit 70 which was awesome! Those of us in the Northeast hadn't seen that temp in quite awhile.

We went with our neighbors, Heidi & Izzie which was great. Izzie is 5 months older then Audrey and the 2 of them have been having a lot of fun together lately. Heidi got a pass from the library to get us all in free which you can't beat right? That being said, it is good that we didn't pay. The girls had a blast, but it wasn't because we were at the zoo or that there were even animals for that matter. They were just so excited to be able to run around, they could have been just about anywhere.

I thought it would be a good time to try out our new double stroller, and while it did serve its purpose and was great to test drive (can I tell you that I am SO happy we got the City Mini??? at least after one use of it:), the girls were out of it most of the time.

Anyways, we had a great time and will definately go back. Hopefully that will be after I am done being pregnant so I can actually run after Audrey. She seems to know that I am at a disadvantage here lately and loves to just run the opposite way of me. Awesome right? She really is lucky she is so cute...

Welcome Baby Meisberger #2!

Here's another one! Yes, we had back to back births last week, what are the odds? Our good friends Jason & Becky welcomed their 2nd baby girl into the world last week. Gretchen Irene was born on Thursday, April 9th. They live in Indy which is hard because we don't see them enough, but we are lucky to have them coming to visit us soon so we get to meet baby Gretchen soon! Their oldest daughter, Kiersten, is a year older then Audrey, and I know she is going to make a great big sister!

Congrats Jason & Becky! We can't wait to see you and the girls in June!!

Welcome Baby Carey!

Our good friends Beth & Jim (you may remember them from the "baby party" we had a couple of months ago) welcomed their first baby last week and we couldn't be happier for them! They had a beautiful baby girl, Katelyn Elizabeth last Wednesday, April 8th (yes, this is a little late sorry!).

This seems to continue the baby boom of girls in '09 with all of our friends (everyone had boys in '08 & we have 6 friends that have had or will have girls in '09). They didn't find out what they were having, which I am positive bothered me way more then it did them (how could I buy clothes when I didn't know the sex???), and I was so excited to hear that they had a girl. Part of my excitement is being able to share Audrey's clothes with someone. It is so sad looking at all of the boxes of her clothes, knowing that a child of mine might not wear them again. We got a chance to see Katelyn and her parents Saturday and I brought over the 1st round of girl stuff that hopefully she can get some use out of.

Congrats Beth & Jim!! Welcome to the parenthood club, I know you will fit in just fine:)

Bunny Bread...

So my mom asked last week if I was making bunny bread with Audrey and I kind of laughed and said probably not. It was one of those things that sounded like it would be fun to do with her, but I knew she would probably be into it for 5 minutes then leave me with the rest. My mom (and my sister for that matter) insisted I make it with her, like what kind of mom was I? I don't know if there is any history behind bunny bread, but my mom still fondly recalls me making it at one of my friend from high schools house and how neat it was (I actually contacted my old friend on Facebook and she still makes the bread which is pretty awesome!).

Anyways, I decided what the heck, I had all the ingredients mine as well. It was actually easy to make and Audrey did enjoy at least some of the process. She again ate the dough, which I didn't think she would like because it is not sweet but she didn't seem to care. She is becoming quite a pro with adding ingredients and mixing batters. I need to get her a spoon that is her size, I feel like that might help keep the stuff in the bowl and not all over my counters & her but who knows...

Here is the finished product (4 of them actually). You are supposed to do whiskers and grass and all kinds of decorations but I was happy to just get to this point. Maybe next year...

Egg Hunt...

One of our neighbors had their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. The rain held off thank goodness, but it was definitely cold (notice the winter coats). The neighbors are amazing party throwers (they do a ton thru out the year) and the Egg Hunt is no exception. It is quite the production that they have down to a science. There must have been at least 50 kids there, most under the age of 5, so as you can imagine it was mass chaos, but organized mass chaos. They have the Easter Bunny come while the eggs are being hidden, then the race is on to collect your eggs, followed by a pizza lunch.

Audrey was pretty cranky for this whole thing (I think it is because she is getting her last 2 molars but who knows) but she made it thru. She actually didn't manage to get any eggs as the big kids had a leg up on her, but she didn't seem to care. A couple of people gave her their eggs and once she figured out there was candy inside we were all done.

It is always fun to see all of our neighbors and this was no exception. I have gotten to see a lot more of many of them since I have been home which is really nice. There are so many kids just in a block radius that are within a couple of years of Audrey which is awesome. Especially now that she can fully play with everyone...

Easter...

Happy Easter everyone! We have enjoyed our day so far, though it has been very low key. I enjoy those days the best sometimes...

Audrey started her day following the egg trail the Easter Bunny left her to her Easter Basket. I wasn't sure if she would "get it", but she sure did. She picked up most of the eggs like a pro and put them in her basket. She also shook each one to make sure there was something in it. If there was, she opened it and ate it. If there wasn't the poor egg got left. I think she had more chocolate before 6:45 am then she has had all year but oh well. Its Easter right? She enjoyed her basket (and also the other baskets she received before today!) that had more toys then candy thank goodness or we might have gone to the hospital.

We decided to attempt going to the 9 am children's mass at our church. Like everywhere else I am sure, this is the packed one and is hard to get seats. We aimed to leave at 8:15 and actually did. It turned out that the other mass hadn't even gotten out and we got there in plenty of time and scored great seats. Audrey did pretty well I have to say. I am ashamed to say we haven't been for a year so we weren't sure how she would behave. She made it til communion with the help of a full diaper bags of books & snacks, not so bad.

The bad part is it has been freezing here this weekend for some reason (like highs of 40). There was sun today (in lieu of the rain from yesterday) but it still is wrong to have your winter coat on in the middle of April right? I was bummed that Audrey had a cute dress on and never took off her winter coat at church. I guess what are you going to do?

Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

22 Months...

Really, I have stopped using months for her age (I swear I tell people "she will be 2 in June", but it is an easy time to update on her "month" birthday... Being home with her so much recently has been interesting. She is quickly turning into a human being that you can interact with, granted lots of the interacting is her saying "no" she doesn't want to do what you are saying. At least she responds to me though. She is also quickly becoming independent and wanting to do things herself. I can't do anything in the kitchen anymore without her running to the dining room and grabbing the chair so I will bring it in the kitchen and she can help. This is fine when making pancakes and bagels, but not so fine when I have meat and knives out. Her speech is improving daily. She uses "I" this or that all the time "I do", "I did it" and my least favorite "I can't" (no idea where she got that one). She is really into letters right now. She knows A, C, K, M, O and R. She loves going thru books and pointing out letters and seems to get a new one every couple of days. Its hard to explain that an "X" that look like a "K" is not a "K", but I guess that is part of the learning process right? Her favorite shows right now are Dora (do-do) and Go Diego, Go (go-go), though at this point she will watch anything on Nogen unfortunately. Her favorite book is Go Dog Go (also go-go), thanks to her friend Payton for sending it for Christmas (though it is a really long book, and I am glad that Audrey skips to her favorite pages right now). She loves to dance, spin around and jump when she hears any kind of music. And she runs everywhere. There is no walking, only running, which leads to lots of falling (that and she got my klutzy-ness). There is no mistaking when she gets up from her nap, you can hear her feet anywhere in the house. I am looking forward to her 2nd birthday in a couple of months, and am happy that we will have family around this year to celebrate. If anyone has any must have gifts for 2 year olds I am all ears.

Finally, the Nursery...

Well, it is not done, but it is darn close, and I had to share pix because who knows when it will be done done... The crib skirt and pillows came out amazing (thanks again Cathy!!), I couldn't be happier with them. The crib is set, as is the changing table. I just need a rocker (I think we have decided to keep Audrey's in her room), a side table and lamp and to finish up the wall accessories.

It is a super small room and really hard to take pictures of, but hopefully you all get the idea. Hopefully you will all see it in person sooner then later...

Bring on the Easter Bunny...

I think we are finally ready for the Easter Bunny's arrival in the Dennison household. We have Audrey's bunny ears out, and by some miracle she will actually wear them. We (ok I) made an Egg Tree that I have wanted to do for many years and never got around too. We have a plethora of plastic eggs, ready to be hide, if I can find any of them when the time comes (they are all over the house of course, many up in Audrey's room because she wants to sleep with them).

Yesterday we finally made Easter sugar cookies, which I believe makes us ready for Easter... Granted there will be no cookies left by the time Easter comes next week, details details... Audrey calls cookies "cupcakes" and enjoyed making the dough, eating the dough and eating the frosting (all of the best parts right?). She had no patience for the rolling and cutting out of the cookies (I thought maybe she would think it was like Play Dough, wrong) so note to self to do that when she naps next time.

We have no big plans for Easter at this point. We are going to make it to church, it has been a LONG time since we have been there I won't even mention when it was. I would like to go see my family in Pittsfield, but I think the drive will be too much for me right now, I am uncomfortable sitting on the couch for 10 minutes, I can't imagine a 2 1/2 hour car ride. We have a neighborhood Egg Hunt on Saturday that I am looking forward to. This is the 1st year Audrey can partake, we will see how she reacts to the 50 or so kids running around...

At Home...

I have been horrible about posting in the past couple of weeks, which is kind of ironic because I am actually home now. I am taking an early leave, going back to work in August, and am on my 3rd week now being home. I must say I have enjoyed it so far. I feel like I am getting the best of both worlds which is wonderful, but I am struggling to keep Audrey on some semblance of a schedule which is not easy.

Audrey is going to day care 2 - 3 days a week, so I have those days to get things done. My list is long and keeps getting longer, but I have been doing pretty well at checking things off. There are things on my list that I have been meaning to do for over a year (print all of the pictures from Audrey's 1st year and put them in an album, bad mom right?) and of course there is getting ready for this baby to come.

I am also getting some great time in with Audrey. We have a 4 or 5 day block together and it has been really nice to spend so much time with her. She is getting very clingy to me and I can't tell if she knows the baby is coming or if her new "schedule" is just lending to this. Poor Charlie hasn't been "aloud" to put her to bed recently, but I know it is just a phase. We made it to the Children's Museum last week which was a lot of fun. I took no pix, as it was hard enough running after her the entire time. She enjoyed herself, and she could actually "do" a lot more there then I was expecting. There was a room just for toddlers, and the other rooms had enough for her to explore and get into, as long as she wasn't competing with some of the older kids there.

I'm under the 6 week mark for baby #2 to make his arrival which is both exciting and terrifying... I am getting his bedding this week (a big thanks to Cathy Freeman for making everything!) so I will hopefully post some pix of his nursery then.