This weekend we got lots of things moved from the infamous "To Do List" to the lengthening "DONE!" list! In about 2 1/2 days, we painted Brynlee's room, painted Cade's room, got Cade a bed frame and put the crib up in Brynlee's room. Cory also got the doors we'll need to finish the basement; not on the to-do list persay, but still a step to FINISHING the basement!
And speaking of our basement, my sister moved out of her apartment this weekend but can't move into her new place until August. So that leaves her living in our basement for the summer! This obviously will put a damper on getting the basement "play" friendly, but maybe we'll have to focus our energy on everything else :)
Anyway, back to the kids' rooms.....Brynlee's colors are dark pink and light green. We'll put a white chair rail around her room. In Cade's room, you need sunglasses! I got my inspiration from his bedding: We used bright blue, bright orange and bright green. The green is brighter than I anticipated, but it works for his room! Under the blue, we're going to hang a white shelf and trim and under the orange stripe we're hanging white trim. Hard to explain, but we'll have pictures when it's done :)
Here are both rooms painted and ready for their trim and wall decorations!!!
This past weekend was the annual ISU celebration, VEISHEA!! It's always a good time, whether you can "go out" or not :) There are tons of family activites and we've had a lot of fun the past 3 years we've celebrated with Cade. His favorite, and the biggest activity, is the parade. We have had "our spot" the past 3 years and we love it. I could complain about the unruly kids that stood RIGHT in front of our chairs and stole candy that landed in our personal spaces, but I won't because the last 2 family events we've had (see Easter Egg Hunting and Cade's First Recital) have had someone or something "ruin" things and I'm not ruining this memory :) Let's just say next year, we're putting our chairs in the middle of the street and working our way back from there :)
The day starts bright and early with a pancake breakfast that starts at 8 am. We usually try to get to campus as close to 8 as possible, park our cars, set up our chairs for the parade, then fill up on all-you-can-eat pancakes for $5. Actually, I don't know if it's truly "all-you-can-eat" but you get to go back at least once and you get anywhere from 2-4 pancakes in one trip and that's all that I can eat! Cade even got seconds! We hit up some booths and tents set up on central campus on our way back to "our spot" and this year I answered a trivia question correctly to win a Cy tattoo for Cade. Woohoo!! The parade was great (about 1 1/2 hours long), even though this year they only had 3 real "floats" among all the entries! Must be budget cuts, haha! My mom, Cory's parents and the Otts joined us, so that was awesome! Bridget and I had to humor ourselves with our "teacher talk" to the rude little kids in order to refrain from blowing our tops :)
After the parade we visited some of the open houses. There was a petting zoo and a cow milking exhibit through the Pre-Vet college and of course Cade got to participate in that. He didn't know what to think about actually milking the cow, but he did it! To kill some time while we were waiting for the food lines to shorten (next year, we're getting our food BEFORE the parade ends!) we decided to see what the Psychology Club had set up and actually had some fun playing the games and doing the experiments they had set up. After lunch Cory, Cade and I stopped by the ISU spring football game/practice. The weather was GORGEOUS and it felt so nice sitting in the sun!!! This year, my ritual of buying a blown glass pretty from the Gaffer's Guild didn't hold true, but I hope to take time to visit them next year. I have some really cool, unique vases that I got 2 years ago (Cory broke the things I got last year before we even got home!)
After we left the game, we headed back to campus to hit up the carnival. We parked by the horse barns and saw that they were giving rides so of course we (I) HAD to have Cade do it!!! He did really well...not scared or apprehensive at all! At the carnival this year, he could actually go on all but one of the rides all by himself! Of course, I couldn't ride anything (*tear) but Cory did go on the swinging boat with him - the one he was TERRIFIED of last year - and this year he liked MOST of it. Mostly, just the first half :) He wasn't "scared" persay, just didn't like the feeling in his stomach. Overall, he LOVED the carnival of course, and like always, his tickets didn't last as long as he would have liked.
We finally got him convinced that we needed to go and we met up with my mom and sister at Applebee's for dinner. After a late lunch, day of snacking and time in the sun, Cory and I were only able to split an appetizer sampler. Not surprisingly, Cade got a full kids' meal and finished most of it :) It's also not surprisng that all of us were ready to CRASH when we got home and without a nap that day, Cade went down very easily! All in all, we love VEISHEA and can't wait until next year. We're definitely taking notes to better our experiences each year and we're creating some pretty cool family memories and traditions!
Here are some pictures of Cade's Easter egg hunting fun! We went to the citywide hunt at a park on Saturday morning, then had our own fun at home Sunday morning.
 2010 was the second year that Cade could really get into Easter. We started off Saturday going to the park for the annual citywide Easter egg hunt. The weather was beautiful, my mom, Bridget and her little girl Kaylin joined us and Cade was all hyped up and extremely excited. The only thing that could "ruin" it was a crazy Asian mom who didn't understand common English courtesies and her son who had to be at least a year younger than Cade who didn't even seem to care to be there. Let me explain...
The egg hunt is over as soon as it stats. There are three different age groups and hundreds of crazy parents waiting for the go ahead to push their child into the sea of "hidden" eggs. This would be just fine if everyone would show at least a little respect to others standing around them. When I noticed where Cade's age group was gathering, I got him a front row seat because, remembering from last year, if you weren't right up there ready to go, you lost! I told Cade to stand nicely to wait for them to tell us to go. The lady "in charge" was still standing on a picnic table giving a few directions when I heard crazy (foreign) battlecry beside me and saw some Asian lady literally running and carrying her child by his arm pits into the middle of the eggs. Ummm, excuse me, what's going on?? Everyone else kind of looked around, but didn't want their kid to "lose", so they ran in behind her. I was so angry, annoyed and frustrated that I didn't even get any pictures of Cade during this frenzy. Lucky for him, Cory was standing there and told him to go ahead because I just couldn't take my eyes off of the crazy lady and kept looking back at the people in charge for someone to...stop her? Somehow?
Anyway, Cade did end up getting 4 1/2 (yes, 1/2) eggs and was pretty pumped about it. We saw someone we knew and his granddaughter who was just around a year old, and she didn't have any eggs so we even made Cade SHARE one of his eggs. What a concept, huh? Don't worry though, the crazy Asian family had, oh, THIRTY+ eggs!!!! They couldn't even hold all of them in the TWO baskets they had. Dad had to hold some in his hands and the BABY (who couldn't even walk yet) also had some in his hands and spread around him on the ground like a cute little picture perfect moment. I wanted to run by, yelling my own battlecry, grab one of their baskets (and maybe the baby too, just for payback) and herd my own family to our vehicle. Then, I would share with the other kids who got NOTHING. I saw some kids in tears :(
When it was all said and done, I thought we'd get a nice picture with the Easter bunny walking around. He was obviously swarmed with other kids and crazy parents trying to get a picture (the bucket of candy he had was probably an unneeded distraction!) but I walked Cade up to patiently wait his turn. I was still pretty annoyed with the whole debacle with the egg hunt, but decided to try to forget about it...what could I do anyway?? Well......
It took three or four attempts to get a GOOD picture of Cade with the bunny. The one I put at the top of this post is the good one. Here are my other attempts...
This one is okay...a cute "wave" moment. I'm attempting to move Cade in closer to the bunny person to have him stand next to him, but closely look at the left side of the picture. Okay, now imagine me nudging Cade forward and this, is my next attempt.... AH HA! There you are crazy Asian mom, who not only stole everyone else's Easter eggs before they even had a chance, but now you're jumping into everyone else's pictures. This is only one out of NO JOKE, TEN PICTURES THEY TOOK WITH THIS RABBIT!!!!! They kept walking away (probably to check the picture on the digital camera) then would randomly come running back through the crowd to get another picture. I tried to push Cade up THREE times, but he was so confused and in awe of this creature that he wasn't quick enough and OH! HERE SHE'D COME AGAIN!!! And LOOK at her son. He is BEGGING someone to rescue him.
Anyway, enough ranting......
We ended up having a great Easter! Cade got to play at the park for awhile after the hunt. Bridget stuck around with us for a bit and we chatted a little. When we left, we ate lunch with my mom at the Dutch Oven Bakery. Sunday morning, Cade got up to find all the eggs the Easter bunny left behind at our house (inside AND outside!) He loved it. I'm just glad our neighbors didn't send their kids out to attack Cade while we were doing the hunt outside...haha. He even asked before we went out, "Is it just me this time, Mom?" Yes, dear, and I will fight anyone who thinks otherwise :)
Cade's life never has a dull moment, and if it starts to slow down, he sees to it that it doesn't! Last Friday, Cade was riding a bike outside at school. Next thing I know, I hear him crying and see a teacher walking very quickly toward me with Cade and a bloody lip - Cade's bloody lip, not hers :) He had somehow tipped the bike over and banged up his top lip on the sidewalk. It was nothing I hadn't seen (more literally than I knew at the time!) so I got it washed, got some ice and started the accident report paperwork. Routine procedures. What I can't believe I forgot to make "routine" was to check his teeth and gums. EVERY child who has a hard hit to his/her mouth should ALWAYS get a good check of his/her gums and teeth! Parents and caregivers, TAKE NOTE! Anyway, I know this from a previous experience with another child in my class who hit their mouth and did not have a good outcome.
I did "watch" Cade's mouth over the weekend and didn't think there was a problem. He even ate raw baby carrots :) Monday morning, however, as I'm putting him into his seat, I attempted to wipe a piece of food off of his "tooth in question" and noticed it was a bit loose. He also chose THAT moment to tell me that it hurt a little. Won-der-ful! Cory made a dentist appointment for that afternoon and I was in nervous breakdown mode until then.
Cade was amazing at his appointment. He jumped right up into the chair, laughed when the assistant layed the seat back and talked the dentist's ear off about how he hurt himself. He even sat still with his mouth wide open the entire time the dentist's fingers were rooting around in there! SO proud of him! We ended up leaving with a relatively clean bill of health: no fractures, no severe trama. Possible, slight darkening and some looseness for awhile was the prognosis. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! That was a huge weight off my shoulders! I haven't noticed any change in color yet, but I'm not about to wiggle it! Also on Monday, Cade started swim lessons. Just another activity to add to our hectic-ness! Now, 6:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays is swim and 5:30 on Thursdays is dance (but just until April 10, when he has his recital!!!) Not to mention that Cory is still working nights and we have a ton of work- and home-related projects going on....it can get crazy, but hey, that's life, right?!?
Of course, Cade had to start swim lessons off with a bang (literally?) when he was struggling to climb onto the ledge to sit and pushed himself too hard and hit his "injured" tooth right on the edge. No blood, no mark, but lots of tears! You could tell it hurt! Other than that, he's really enjoying lessons so far. The only complaint I have is that it's SUPER loud in the pool with other classes all around and people constantly coming or going. The kids have a hard time hearing and the teachers have to speed through a 30 minute lesson, even if some of the kids aren't listening or can't hear sometimes, which has been Cade's situation so far! He's just so mezmerized by the huge pool and so excited to be in the water - he loves to swim - that he gets lost in daydreams and doesn't hear the next direction. At least I should be thankful that he stays by the wall where he needs to be and he's not the kid throwing in all the toys and swimming away from the class like a couple other boys! Here's a video as proof :)
He still hasn't put his face all the way under (he's only had 2 classes) but really, he hasn't even HEARD the direction that that's what he's SUPPOSED to do. I think I'll look into private or semi-private lessons next time, maybe in 5 weeks when these lessons are over.
In any case, our lives have been nothing short of busy, dramatic...normal!
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! :)
 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