39 Weeks

We're at 39 weeks!  It's hard to believe we will be meeting our baby girl any day now!  Last Tuesday at our appointment her heart rate was in the 140s (I can't remember exactly) and everything still looked good.  I'm dilated about "a fingertip" and have been since about 36 or 37 weeks.  We have our next appointment tomorrow morning so we will see what they say then!  It was the same way with Kyler though, I went in for my appointment mid-week and was dilated 1-2 cm and then he was born the following weekend.  My official due date is Saturday though, so we'll see what happens over the next few days!

39 Weeks

Kitchen Update

So, I realized that I haven't posted an update on our kitchen lately, and I figured if I don't do it now, it might be awhile since baby #2 could make her appearance any day now! :)  We (or mostly Erik) :) have been working really hard this summer and fall to get our kitchen almost done.  No, it's not completely done, but we have made MAJOR steps in that direction!  I think the last post I put up was that we had moved our fridge back to where it belongs and finished tiling the floor.  Well since then this is what we have accomplished...

We finished refinishing the cabinets.  This included stripping, staining, and finishing them.  Don't they look great?! (Just ignore the unorganized dishes inside) :)

We then painted the inside of the cupboards.  As you can see from the picture above they were an ugly peach color and needed a fresh coat of paint!

We then tiled the backsplash!  It is a subway tile that is cream/off-white in color, it makes it look very clean and nice!

Cabinet doors!!  Yes, we got all of the bottom cupboard doors refinished and put back on!

Backsplash grouted and outlet covers back on!

Cupboard hung! My Uncle Nick built us this cabinet so we could hang a microwave over our stove!  Previously there was no cabinet here at all.  It was a great addition of cupboard space and it gets our microwave off of our counter!

Cabinet doors back on the top!  Erik's dad came over a couple days this fall and helped finish stripping the cupboard doors with a heat gun so then Erik could strip (with liquid stripper), sand, stain, and finish the doors.  Don't they look great!!

Microwave hung!!  This has been so nice to be able to get our microwave off of our counter.  We have such limited counter space anyways and this just gives us a bit more!

So, as you can see, we have made great progress over the past few months!  We are not done, as you can see, there are no doors on the cupboard above the stove, but it got too cold out to stain them and Erik doesn't want to do it in the house.  Also, we have the doorway that goes from the kitchen to the dining room that is now completely sanded, but needs to be stained.  Again, we are waiting for warmer weather.  We then have a window and one set of cupboard doors that are by where the fridge was that need to be stripped, stained, and finished, but that will be this summer's project.  Also, we have some trim work to finish up too, but overall we are on the home stretch and I'm very excited about it!  Thanks Erik for all the hard work you have done these past few months in our kitchen!!!

21 Months Old

Kyler turned 21 months old yesterday!  It is hard to believe that in 3 short months we will have a 2 year old! (And another baby!) :)  The past month has flown by with all the preparations for baby #2 and celebrating Christmas.  Kyler is doing great and makes us laugh daily with some of the silly things he does.  Here are some of the things that happened with Kyler this past month:

*Talk, talk, talk! Right after Christmas Kyler's vocabulary just started to explode and he has been really trying to repeat what you say.  One day I said "duh" to something Erik said and then Kyler said "duh" right after I did...it really surprised me because that was the first time he had repeated something I had said, guess I'll have to start paying attention to what I say! :)

*Big boy bed!  There is a picture below of Kyler's new bed!  He got all of his bedding for Christmas from Grandma Deb and Grandma Nadene, so I waited until after Christmas to kind of make a big deal about it and move him.  The bed has been in his room for about a month or so now and we've been talking about it, but he just started sleeping in it last week.  He has done really well!  The first day for nap I had to convince him to sleep in there, but after that he was fine.  He has also been doing okay at night too.  When baby #2 comes she is going to sleep in a pack n' play in our room at first, but we wanted to get Kyler used to sleeping in a normal bed.  It is just a normal twin bed and was too high on the bed frame, so we just put the mattress and box spring on the floor with a railing and that is working well.  

*Being a helper!  Kyler is really into helping out.  Whenever we are in the kitchen making lunch or dinner he wants to be "up" so he can see what his going on and "help".  He loves to push the button to start the microwave and dishwasher.  He really does a pretty good job with things too.  Today he had taken the hat basket from the front entry way and brought it into the kitchen and emptied out and tried on all the hats.  So before his nap this afternoon I asked if he could help put away all the hats, so we came in and he helped me put all the hats back in the basket.  I turned to do something else and when I looked back he had picked up the basket and carried back to the front entry and put it right back on the shelf where it goes.  It didn't surprise me that he picked up the hats and put them back in the basket, but it did surprise me when he put the basket back exactly where it belongs. It's things like that that remind me how observant and knowledgeable these little minds are already! 

Taking everything out of the cupboard...I guess that's what happens when you don't have a door on it. :)

Taking a ride in his "car" with Santa. :)

CRAZY hair!

First time out to play in the snow...didn't go very well as he does NOT like to wear his boots...

Big boy :)

Trying out our new double stroller that Daddy surprised us with!  Kyler was NOT a fan as you can see, hopefully he changes his mind by spring! :)

Making muffins with Daddy

Reading on the little built-in bench in our kitchen

Trying out the car seat :)

Big boy bed!

Sitting in his chair that Henry made-I think he looks so old here!

Bath time with a hat :)

36 Weeks

Here we are at 36 weeks already!  I can't believe that in four fast weeks our little girl will be here!  We are working on getting things ready and are pretty much there, just a few things left to wash.  We had our 36 week appointment last week and her heart rate was 142 and everything still looks good.  I'm feeling pretty good, just some backaches and uncomfortableness sleeping and lying down-normal 3rd trimester stuff. :)  Not much more to report now...we're on weekly doctor visits and just finishing up all the stuff I want to get done before we are a family of four!    

36 weeks

Christmas 2010

It's hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone!  We had a great time celebrating Jesus' birth, spending time with family and friends, and eating way too much good food!! :)  Here is a recap of our Christmas celebrations:

Christmas #1:
We started a week early and had Christmas in Dows on the 18th with Erik's mom's side of the family.  We left late morning and got there just in time for lunch.  After lunch we hung around a bit and then opened presents.  I was curious to see what Kyler would do, if he would be really in to opening presents or not.  Well, he was not as into it as I would of thought.  He would come and open one and then want to run around for a bit, then open another one a little later (with a lot of encouragement) and then go run around for a while again.  After presents, we hung out for a while longer before heading home early evening.  Erik's aunt and uncle had three foster kids with them all under the age of 2, so Kyler really enjoyed playing with them.  I had my camera but failed to take any pictures. :(

Christmas #2:
On Christmas Eve we went over to Erik's parent's house to celebrate with his immediate family.  We went over around lunch time, ate lunch, and then opened presents.  I was again curious to see how Kyler would do with the presents thinking maybe he would be more interested since he had just practiced a week before.  I was wrong again! :)  He opened a few and was interested, but then he had some chocolate teddy grahams in his stocking that he decided he needed to eat so he took a break and had a snack. :)  This worked out well because it gave the adults some time to open some of our presents and then Kyler was more interested in finishing his pile.  After presents we came home, Kyler took a nap, Erik and I got ready for church and then we headed back to Erik's parent's house for a quick dinner before church at 7:00.  Erik's parents came with us to church as well as my parents.  It's kind of nice that everyone is here in town so we just all go together. :)  Then after church we went to my parent's house and had pie with Erik's parents and my aunt and uncle.  Having pie after church is something that we have done for as long as I can remember, so it's been fun to keep that tradition going and include Erik's family.  After pie, we came home, Kyler got a bath, and Erik headed back to church to work the 11:00 service and clean up for Sunday morning.  Here are some pictures from Christmas with Erik's parents:

Watching daddy shovel all the snow we got on Christmas Eve

Opening his stocking at Grandma and Grandpa Blanchard's

Taking a break for a snack with David and Leah :)

Opening his new tent!

Opening his BIG monkey from David and Leah! (It is bigger than Kyler!!) :)

All dressed and ready for church!

Our family on Christmas Eve

Christmas #3:

We slept in a bit and then got up and opened presents with just the three of us on Christmas morning.  This didn't take very long as it was only Kyler and he's still so young.  Obviously in the next few years this will change! :)  We then ate breakfast and got ready to go to my parent's house.  

Christmas #4:

We headed over to my (Ashley's) parent's house to have Christmas with my immediate family.  Kyler was a little more interested in opening things here, so he got a few done, but once he opened a drum and a wooden ball set where you pound the balls through, he was good to go. :)  The break again allowed us adults to open some presents and then we watched Kyler finish up his presents.  He was intrigued by the clothes he got and wanted to wear them on his head instead of opening other things.  One thing he was especially excited about (that wasn't wrapped) was his new basketball hoop he got!  It's a little tall for him right now, so we taped another hoop onto the post of it until he gets a little bigger.  However, he is still enjoying playing "hoop" as he likes to say. :)  Here are some pictures from this Christmas:

"Wearing" his new pjs and watching Ben take the plastic off his new toy

Opening his drum!

Playing his new drum! (Notice it's on top of the other toy) :)

Waiting to try out his new hoop!

Christmas #5:

After some waffles for lunch and a nap, my (Ashley) mom's side of the family arrived for the final Christmas of the day.  There were 22 people total that arrived around 3:30 in the afternoon.  It was sad in a way because it was the first Christmas that my Grandma was not able to attend.  She wasn't able to come to Thanksgiving either.  She is in the Lutheran home here in Cedar Falls and her health has gotten so that we are not able to transport her out of the Lutheran home anymore.  She turned 95 years old on the 21st of December and we are thankful we were able to celebrate that milestone with her!  Back to Christmas...after everyone arrived we started to get food prepared to go in the oven and ready for our big meal.  After the food was in the oven and ready, we started to open presents.  The kids went first and had a ball, then they went to play and the adults had their turn.  Kyler was back and forth again, but opened everything by the time the kids were done. :)  When we had opened all the presents, we cleared out everything and got ready to eat dinner.  We had a wonderful meal of ham, two kinds of potatoes, salads, veggies, bread, and pie.  After dinner everyone hung around, chatted, played games, and enjoyed the evening.  Here are some pictures from this Christmas:

Passing out presents...

Driving his new tractor from Great Aunt Mimi

The adults opening presents

Kyler with his new sock monkey made by my cousin

Having a snack with Great Uncle Nick

Overall we had a wonderful Christmas!  I always love this time of year and am sad when it's over.  We were very blessed by the gifts we were given and the time spent with family and friends.  But most importantly we are thankful for the birth of Jesus!  I am excited to continue the traditions we have started with our kids and add some new ones as our family grows and changes.  We hope you and your family had a great Christmas as well and we wish you a Happy New Year!