As I mentioned on our new page, "Baby Bucket List," I am a list maker. I always strive to be organized, but do fall short most of the time :) Hey, it's a lot of work to stay organized...almost as much work to REorganize, so what's the difference, right? HAHA!
Anyway, after creating a list of things to do before Brynlee is born, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I want those things done, NOW!!! That's where I believe lists really help, whereas Cory criticizes that in the time it took me to create that page and write the list, I could have gotten something done. Whatever!
My point is, I created the list on Friday and on Saturday, I talked Cory into (forced him into, actually) getting our upstairs closets under control. Don't get me wrong, they were still completely functional and pretty well organized, but there were A LOT of clothes, shoes, purses we (I) don't wear anymore and needed to get rid of. We'd gradually been taking some things from our closet and dresser and bagging them up for "garage sale." This wasn't going fast enough to suit me, so we got that DONE today!! No more extra stuff in our closet, and we gained a little floor space, some extra hangers and an ENTIRE shelf!! Also, our dresser has one whole drawer completely EMPTY! YAY!!
We also went through the closet in Cade's room. The way it's built, we can't use it for clothes so his clothes are actually in what will be Brynlee's room. This is another project on our list! Anyway, we weeded out some of the things in the storage closet (old bedding, random stuffed animals and baby toys that we won't use for Brynlee, Cade's old humidifier, etc.) Mostly, the only stuff we have in there now is extra blankets and sheets, gift bags, tissue paper and wrapping paper and some memorabilia things. Hopefully we'll get his closet ready for his clothes after we're done with the stairs!
So, all in all, we've "gotten rid of" a lot of junk and freed up some space! (And when I say, "gotten rid of," I mean, it's moved from our closets to garbage bags that now sit in our living room, waiting to be moved to the basement, where they will wait to be sold at a garage sale! hahaha) On the surface, all of this may not seem like it relates to having a new baby, but it does feel good to have these certain things under control before she releases all sorts of chaos on our lives!
Cade's (& my) center is doing a "Mini March" fundraiser to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on Wednesday, March 31. I am actually the volunteer chairperson for the "March" and would appreciate the support even more than Cade would understand :)
It's a little walk-a-thon where the toddler and preschool rooms march around our center and/or playground and we have optional lessons to teach the kids the value of helping others. This is a pre-paid event so I would need any checks mailed to me ASAP. Because the march is already next Wednesday, I can write a check for everything and collect from everyone afterwards.
These are just a few examples of the prizes that Cade could win:
$35-$64 - Mini March T-shirt or this year's "soundtrack" CD, "Rory's Little Broadway"
$65-$99 - Pocket Power Racer or My First Uno/Skip-Bo Card Game
$100-$149 - Frog Hopper Game
$150-$249 - Princess Barbie (maybe he could give this to his little sister, haha) or Junior Stilts
$250-$349 - Etch-A-Sketch
...and this goes up to $1500 where he could win a pair of two way radios or $150 gift certificate for Teachers' School Supply.
In addition to prizes earned for raising $65 or more, Cade would also get the choice of the T-shirt or CD.
The prizes are great, but I really enjoy raising money for things like this, so ANY donations would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!
Give me a call (641-799-9795) or send me an email on the "Contact Us" page for any questions and/or to donate! Thank you so much in advance :)
So we JUST had the ultrasound to find out that Baby #2 is a girl, and we already have gifts from friends! I hope this doesn't continue for the next 5 months/when she's born or we'll have to find a new house! Here's some of the things Brynlee has so luckily acquired at 5 months gestational age :) Thank you to my mom and sister! Brynlee will of course need her own giraffe, just like her older brother! The blanket has a giraffe on it and says "I "heart" you" :) They bought these on the way up to Ames on SUNDAY, before the ultrasound! Thank you to Pranav, Neha, Aneesh & Anika from the child care center. Aneesh is in my room. His parents are SO sweet and Neha had these in her pocket when she came to pick the kids up MONDAY AFTERNOON, meaning, she already had them bought, just knowing that I was having a girl :) Thank you to Aunt Kelsey! Kelsey works with me and is the most sweetest person ever :) I saw this outfit at Target and almost bought it myself! I love the color and unique design...I'm so excited for her to wear it :)
Ultrasound pictures of Brynlee Emersen (yes, that's her name unless something crazy happens and we change our minds!)
19 weeks, 5 days. I didn't remember to ask her length but the technician said she was right on track and looks to weigh 11.5 oz. Mouth open wide BIG feet and long legs :) Fingers, hand and arm Nice looking spine :) And although you can't really see this picture, I had to put the "female" proof up :) I have yet ANOTHER ultrasound April 19 because the little stinker wouldn't move from waaaay down low so the tech couldn't see all the organs/get all the measurements she needed. Next time, I'm going to eat a HUGE breakfast and drink some caffeine to hopefully get her moving :)
At the ultrasound today, we found out the gender of Baby #2! This is the riddle we gave people before giving in about 2 minutes later and telling them...IT'S A GIRL!! The riddle spells the answer down the right side: I had one written up if it was a boy. I also wore a black shirt with a pink cami underneath, bright pink lace footy things that showed a little out of my shoes and a bright pink hair band. I also had all of these things in blue, just in case! Most people either saw that it spelled "it's a girl" down the side or they noticed that I was wearing pink. We told everyone else without making them wonder very long :)
According to all the polls we did (facebook postings, the poll on our homepage, a poll at the center among my coworkers and family and friend opinion) there was an OVERWHELMING consesus: girl! I think there might have been 3 people who thought it could be a "boy," including Cory. Duh, don't you people know that Mom knows best ;) I just always had "that feeling!"
We are VERY excited, and I have even made a trip to Target already to buy a few things: I ended up getting two dresses, a pajama/jumper outfit and a pack of 3 bibs. The rainbow dress and elephant jumper is 3 mo. The polka dress was the first I saw and I really wanted it, but it only came in 6 mo or Newborn. Well, experience from Cade tells me not to buy ANYTHING smaller than 3 mo! Not even Newborn size diapers (note to anyone wanting to get us gifts! haha) But, like I said, I just had to have it :) so I got the Newborn size and decided it could be a hospital/going home dress! Smart shopping huh (hahaha!) I got the bibs because the first one says, "Daddy's Sweetheart" just in case Cory was annoyed that I was shopping already! Turns out, I didn't need any bribery or explanation...he's going to be worse than me! FINALLY!! HAHA!
From the first day we moved into our house, we have had a list of things to change! That list includes, but is definitely not limited to:
-opening the kitchen and adding a bar (CHECK!)
-adding a bathroom to the basement (CHECK!)
-adding storage shelves to the basement (CHECK!)
-replacing ALL the flooring...carpet is old and stained and cheap and linoleum is outdated (HALF CHECK...ALL BATHROOMS ARE DONE!)
-finishing family room area of the basement (HALF CHECK...WALLS AND CEILING IS DONE BUT FLOOR IS NOT EVEN STARTED)
-creating two bedrooms out of the one gigantic one upstairs, to make our house a three bedroom (CHECK!)
-redoing the closet in the second bedroom upstairs from strickly storage to clothes
-tearing out the unattractive hedges under our kitchen and living room windows and planting pretty flowers and plants (CHECK!)
-replace kitchen appliances (1/4 CHECK--DISHWASHER IS NEW!)
-and opening up our staircases (going up and down) from a solid walls to railings and spindles (ALMOST CHECK!)
This last bullet point is the focus of this entry. We have officially started to FINISH our stairs (whose status have been "HALF CHECK" for several months now!) We started to tear out the walls (because demolition doesn't cost money!) but our funds had to be refocused on things like student loans and new vehicles, blah blah blah! But now that tax refund season has arrived, we're back in business! I'm so excited to finish this project! Besides the flooring and basement, the stairs have been my most anticipated project. Here's a couple pictures mid-demolition. Originally, there was a half wall running down the first flight of stairs and that's the part that we've had torn down for awhile now. In the first picture, you can see that the rest of it is torn off. In the second picture, you can see Cory has torn down a small part of the wall at the landing to open it up there. Next to go is the white wall leading down to the basement.
The next day, we finished "all" the demolition and rewiring and now we're waiting for my dad's help and my mom's advice on putting in the railings. Here's our stairs before the new railings and spindles: We hope that the 2x4's in the middle of the open area going down the basement stairs can be cut out, however Cory didn't want to attempt that without my dad's opinion. I really hope they can go, otherwise, the look won't be as impressive as I hope! The work will be in progress all this week, as my parents are here for my sister having surgery to get her tonsils out. Stay tuned for more pictures! :)
A couple nights ago I was sitting at the computer and felt the baby turn a few times, basically just the quickening, "butterfly" feeling. Then wham!...I got a kick! A real kick right in the middle of my stomach. I pushed my hand against it and got another pretty strong one in the same spot, this time right in the middle of my palm! It was so exciting, I ran upstairs where Cory was already laying in bed and he felt a couple more jabs. I've definitely been able to feel more and more strong movements since then. I can't wait for even more!
Ultrasound is coming up...March 22!! We can't wait!
 I'm excited to be writing my first real blog on our website, but I'm not excited that our fun-filled family weekend is over :(
We spent the first weekend of March 2010 in Council Bluffs and Omaha, going to a Disney on Ice show, a great restaurant and arcade called The Amazing Pizza Machine, the Omaha Zoo and I can't forget our super nice hotel! We definitely had a ton of fun and I hope it's something Cade remembers for a long time.
We left Ames Saturday morning at 8:00 am to get to Council Bluffs for Disney on Ice at 11:00. Of course, the first thing we had to do first was check out all the vendors set up outside the arena. With all the lights and music, Cade couldn't wipe the smile off his face. I think he thought THIS was the show! We had to get a little something, even though most of it was overpriced and cheaply made. Cade settled on a Buzz Lightyear toy for $12 whose paint will probably chip off within a month or so. He loved playing with it before the show though. I also had to get a big book program for him to keep and we got a picture of him next to a Woody & Buzz prop. We also had to get some snacks of course, and Cade loved the popcorn. He doesn't like cotton candy so much (the texture throws him off) but he LOVED he foam Nemo hat that came with it!
With our tickets, we got a free Kodak one-use camera for Cade to take his own pictures. I'm excited to get them developed and he's actually a very good photographer for only being 3 so I hope at least a few turn out! We had front row seats which I was super excited about, but they were RIGHT next to the castle backdrop, all the way at one end of the ice, which happened to be the BACK of the performing area. All the big stuff happened on the other end of the ice and most of the time the actors faced the other direction too. Towards the end of the 2-hour show, Cade started to get tired and bored (the only characters and movies/shows he's seen were Mickey Mouse and Friends, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Overall though, I think he enjoyed the show.
|
RSS Feed