Our Guestrooms Get some Changes...

Ava's new room and big girl bed Baby's room

Our house has been a bit of chaos for the last few weeks. Once I was given the okay to move around and not sit all day, all of the projects I had so much time to sit and think about started to take shape. We moved Ava out of her room into what was one of the guestrooms. We painted her old room green and turned it into the playroom. We then painted both guestrooms for the kiddos, one pink and one blue. Ava loves her new room and her big bed. She has been in it for about six weeks now, and hasn't fallen out of bed once. She has gone through a couple rough weeks where she was up at least once in the night, but she seems to be doing better. She especially like the stickers on her wall and we have had some issues with her removing them when she was supposed to be "sleeping". Ava loves to go in the baby's room and talk about where the baby will sleep and point out his clothes and diapers. It has been a ton of work, but I finally feel like things are pretty well in place. All of the gear and bottles are cleaned, clothes in the drawers, and crib is ready. We still need to install the carseat, but at least we know how to do that this time. Brad is wondering when I'm going to quit rearranging things and cleaning out cabinets. I have informed him that I will probably still be doing this the night we go to the hospital!

33 Weeks Pregnant...

33 1/2 Weeks Pregnant

It's hard to believe that it is September already. As I write this, I'm just about 35 weeks pregnant (my pics are a little behind). I remember praying so hard to make it this far in May and just wondering if this baby was going to be okay. I wondered if I would be lucky enough to still be pregnant in my 3rd trimester or if I'd be sitting in the NICU with a tiny premie. God has truly blessed us! We are so thankful for this gift. As the doctors decided my SCH was stable, I traded that for another issue which is my AFI (amniotic fluid index) was above normal limits and the baby is measuring large. After weakly biophysical ultrasounds, my fluid is now less than a point from being back within normal limits, so much less concerning. Baby is still measuring large, but I'm not all that surprised after having a 9 lb. 6 oz. baby the first time around. These issues don't worry me too much after all the other things we have had to worry about. Overall, things couldn't be better. I have been joking with Brad that after all we have done to prevent this baby from coming early, I'll probably end up getting induced!

Joe's "Happy Birthday"....

I managed to get all 20 candles on the cake.. Ava couldn't be more excited for birthday cake!

We managed to light all those candles!

Ava plugging her ears instead of singing!

We had Joe over for supper and birthday cake for his 20th birthday. Ava noticed the cake on the counter all day and kept asking when she could have some "happy birthday cake". I told her it was Joe's birthday, and she couldn't wait for him to come over to celebrate! She still is talking about it...

The Fritz 40th Anniversary Party....

All ready to leave for the "party" Cousin Evan & Ava

Ava was a bit more forward than Evan would have liked

Daddy & Ava

Ava playing with Uncle Butch- she loved when he teased her!

Stan & Rose with all their godchildren

Joyce & all her siblings

We made the trip up to the Mankato area for Brad's aunt and uncle's 40th Wedding Anniversary party. Ava could not have been more thrilled when we told her we were going to a party and she was going to get to play with kids. It was a little bit of a long trip for her (2 hours) but she did pretty well. It was another warm and humid day, but great to see a bunch of family we haven't seen in a long time. Ava enjoyed playing with Evan who is Brad's cousin's son. They are only a couple weeks apart, but Ava was much more forward than he was. I think he would have enjoyed if she would have kept her distance a bit more. Ava also loved getting teased and chased by Brad's Unlce Butch. We all had a great time and Ava enjoyed a nice nap on the way home.

Washing Daddy's Pickup & Some Fun Pics...

Ava loves the hose!

Her baby had to have a headband too!

Ava will dearly miss the vehicle washing when winter sets in. She is surprisingly controlled with the hose and keeps it where she is supposed to. She loves to point out when Daddy's van or pickup have "bluck" on them and then politely reminds Daddy that they need washing. Then the fun begins! When Mommy's car is dirty, she will ask to go to the carwash which she certainly doesn't mind doing either!

Big Sibling Class at Luverne Hospital...

The nurse talking about babies Touring the birthing suite

Watching the Movie

The community education office offered a "big sibling" class at the Luverne Hospital. We didn't think it would hurt Ava to get a little better acquainted with what will happen when the baby comes. The class began with a movie that lasted a bit too long for Ava's taste. She sat for about 5 minutes, and then began wandering about. Luckily, she wasn't the only one. Then the nurse had a doll and talked about what was appropriate for a baby to eat and play with. We then toured a birthing suite and had snack (Ava's highlight of course!). She seemed to enjoy the doll, but probably would have liked it better if she could have actually played with it herself. We'll see how she does with the real thing....