Making An Attempt...

In the past several weeks Alayna has been showing some interest towards the potty. She brings me a diaper and wipes when she wants changed, and occasionally points to her diaper and says "poo." So, we figured it was time to get out the little potty chair and get her used to it. Well, can I just say that this is ALL she wants to do now. She hasn't actually "gone" in it yet, but she loves to say "pee" and go sit on her seat. It's a start, and one of these days she'll get the hang of it. Maybe she won't need to eat as many M&M's as her sister did, in order to learn. :)
These pictures are from her first attempts last night, after her bath.
Notice her adorable little "outy" belly button...I'm sure she'll hate it someday when she's older, but I just think it's so stinkin' cute. :) Actually, the belly button is a result of having an umbilical hernia when she was born. I'm thankful to report the hernia healed on its own, but she was left with the outy.

 

 

Memorial Day & More Bears...

For the past three years our family has made it a tradition to go to the Memorial Day parade our town holds, followed by a short ceremony at the community center, and free hot dogs and soda. Usually Dave is in the parade driving a fire truck for the department he volunteers for. This year, considering the fact that Memorial Day "WAS" my due date, and my increasing discomfort, we opted for him to join us at the parade, rather than be in it. I admit, I did miss seeing him in the parade this year. Julie always enjoys the parade, and especially enjoys collecting the candy that is tossed. I'm so pleased that this year she didn't push another hershey kiss in to her ear, when the noise of a fire truck startled her. That was last year's fiasco. :)
My good friend, Lori, and her son, Max, joined us this year, and the kids had a good time watching the parade together. Here's a couple pictures from our day.

Julie, Max & Alayna

 

More of Julie, Max & Alayna

 

This picture below is of our shed in the back yard. When we were getting in to the van to head to the parade on Monday, I noticed all the trim that was missing from the door. This shed is right next to our kids swing set. The trim damage was the work of a bear!!! We keep our garbage in this shed, and he or she was apparently trying to get in to have a feast. Thankfully the bear must have become frustrated, and gave up, leaving us with much less damage than what could have been. There was also a piece of trim ripped off the back of the shed, as well. Dave has since repaired the damage, and so far the bear has not tried again. It does make me more nervous now about allowing Julie to play outside without me being right with her. She's not thrilled about being outside alone right now either, after seeing the bears for herself. The idea of getting a dog is becoming more appealing...we would get one for sure if I wasn't about to bring a new baby home any day now. Somehow puppy training, and baby training, at the same time does not excite me. :)

 

Lions & Tigers & BEARS, Oh my!!!

Okay, we don't have any lions, or tigers, roaming around our backyard...but bears, that we do have! After lunch today Dave spotted some bears in our neighbors backyard. He called to let them know, but they were not home. We enjoyed the show, and were glad they weren't destructive to our neighbors garbage, or bird feeder. At first we watched from our dining room window, but curiosity got the better of us, and we had to go out into the driveway to get a better view. Dave took our camera and wandered in to the woods to get a few pictures. Don't worry, he used the zoom, and didn't really get too close....just in case my mother is wondering why the "Soon-to-be-father-of-three" is getting near the bears. Julie was very nervous that the bears would bite him, or the police would show up...not sure where she got the "police" idea from. :) There were four bears total, and Dave guessed the biggest one weighed near 300 lbs., it's the biggest one I've seen yet.
Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

Still Pregnant...

In case anyone is wondering, yes I am still pregnant! I'm due any time now, so it's a waiting game. Just thought I'd keep everyone up to date.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

This past Friday, the 9th, was Dave's 33rd Birthday. He received an early wake-up call from Julie, at 5:50a.m., because she was so excited to wish him a Happy Birthday! I think he would have been happy to wait for the well-wishes until at least 7...

 

Dave and the girls with his birthday cake. Julie decided how many candles should go on his cake. She thought he should have five, since that's how many she had on her cake.

 

Alayna was more fascinated with the candles, and watching them blow them out.

Our Getaway

For my 30th birthday (back in March) my husband booked us two nights at a Bed & Breakfast, 2 1/2 hours north of us. We have been wanting to get away, on our own, before the baby arrives...which is now only 3 weeks away. Our planned date to leave was Monday, April 28th, and return on the 30th. Sunday evening, after packing and having all our arrangements set, Dave was called on to do a funeral service for the brother of a lady in our church. The funeral was to be Wednesday morning, followed by the graveside committal, etc. Although we knew this was the right thing to do, I have to admit my complete disappointment. Dave was determined that it would work out for us to go. He called the B&B and they still had availability Wednesday through Friday, and then he called my mother-in-law, and she graciously re-arranged her patient schedule (she's a physical therapist) to accomodate our change in plans. The Lord knew we really needed this time away, and although there was a glitch in our original plans, He saw fit to make it work for us. It turned out the weather was better at the end of the week, than the beginning.
We had a wonderful, refreshing, time. We have stayed at this B&B before. It is owned by Dave's former youth leaders when he was a teen. I am kicking myself for forgetting to take my camera. I can't believe I forgot! Pregnancy Brain for sure! You'll have to check out the B&B website to see what a great place we stayed. It's: http://cornerstonevictorian.com/index.htm Each morning you are served a 5 course gourmet breakfast, which was fantastic! I could get used to that, and learn to live like that each day...I just wish Dave would learn to make those breakfasts for me. :)
We did a lot of shopping for ourselves, and the baby...oh, and eating dinners out. No cooking for two full days...what a treat! It was nice to spend some time focusing on things we want or need for the baby, since we haven't had much time for that lately. All in all it was a great get away, and much needed. The girls did great with Dave's mom & grandma, and Alayna didn't seem too scarred that we left her, since this was the first time she's been away from me all night.
Thank you, mom, for making it work to watch our girls!
Thanks Dave for such a thoughtful birthday gift! I love you so much!