A Playdate!

Bella and I had our first playdate! Really it was a playdate for Mom and Niki but Bella and Chase got to spend some quality time with one another. Niki and Chase came over around noon. It was so nice to get to sit and chat. Chase is getting so big and it is fun to see their little personalities start coming through. We ventured out and grabbed some lunch at Bread Co. and the little ones did great! Next time I think we will try a walk! Time flew but it was great getting to talk and we have some cute pictures of the two of them!

Surprise!!!

We have had a busy but fun couple of weeks. A few weekends ago Andy, Autumn and Briley were in town for a wedding. We got to spend Friday night relaxing on the deck eatting Mexican, sipping margaritas, chatting and of course, playing with the babies. It was nice because they come to town often but typically it is for Card's games and we are rushed or it is with the rest of the family and it is a full house.

The next weekend was the 4th and we celebrated by going to the Cards-Cubs game with most of the family. Everyone was in town except Amanda, Todd and Carson. The most fun part was taking Bella to her first Cardinals game. She did so well and loved looking around. I carried her in the Baby Bjorn part of the time and she did very well. Ryan thinks I look rediculous using it but she loved looking out and I loved having two hands! The game was a great time. My parents tickets are in the Casino Queen Party porch which worked out perfect. They have a great covered area with lots of space to sit and tables, a bar, food and best of all, clean and unoccupied restrooms. Since some of us had standing room only tickets, we just hung out back there and took turns going up to my parents seats. Mark and Cheryl were also there and that was great! Jackson is quickly becoming a baseball fan (which we all know makes Papa very happy) and he really seems to enjoy the games and going to the stadium. Ellie, Briley and Bella all looked sooooo cute in their red, white and blue attire. Briley had the sweetest dress and Ellie and Bella matched (sort of). Ellie also had firecracker piggy tails. You'll have to check them out.

That Saturday my family all took off in their black suv's for Florida. They really looked like the presidents motorcade. Well a motorcade with a hitchhauls full of beach bikes, luggage carriers and a kayak strapped to the top. I was sad to see them go but Ryan, Bella and I weren't able to go this year. Since Bella was born on a Sunday, Ryan used a lot of his vacation time to stay home her first week which was wonderful. Florida is great but Bella is just a little bit better!:) When Ryan found out that he might have a few vacation days to use, we tried to come up with a plan to go but he had a pretty important meeting which fell on Thursday, right in the middle of the trip. So after all of that we decided to wait till next year.

Since we were going to be in town Ryan and I had some friends over for a BBQ on Saturday. It was great having people over instead of having to meet everyone out. I feel like you can relax and actually hear one another at home. Ryan did a great job with his chicken kabobs, party potatoes and buffalo chicken dip. I made some pasta salad and margaritas. The only alcohol I really missed when I was pregnant was margaritas. Priyal, Bhavik, Justin, Shanika, Ryan, Megan, Brett, Scott, Emily, Tim, Kelly and Olivia all came over. It was pretty fun and I even got a little sun. I was the palest I have ever been during the summer this year. Bella and I don't get to lay out much! That Monday as I was folding laundry Bella decided to put a show on for me. Check out her silly faces and precious smiles!

On Monday I was feeling a little lazy but I got myself going and in between feeding, playing and putting Bella to sleep, I cleaned the house, did dishes and did all of our laundry. When Ryan came home at 5pm he said "You're not going to believe this but, my Thursday meeting got cancelled." I was thinking are you kidding me. We dropped a vacation with my whole family (we hardly ever get the whole family together at once) because of that meeting. Just as I was starting to get upset, Ryan said "so, I looked into flying and we could leave tomorrow and it will be quite a bit or we can wait till she wakes up to eat in the middle of the night and head out." I think I started packing immediately. Bella started fussing a little so I threw her in the Baby Bjorn and we went on packing. We told Ryan's family we were going and they were great enough to get our mail and even water my flowers. (THANK YOU!) I cancelled all of my plans for the next week and by 2:30am, we were on the road. Ryan was a champ and drove the whole way there and back. Bella was such a good little traveler. We got a little confused on our directions as we got there but we found the house pretty quickly.

It was so much fun getting to surprise everyone. We really threw Todd off when we walked through the door. We walked right past Molly and Kaitlin before they noticed. Next we found Mom upstairs. She was getting ready to go down to the beach. My Dad heard my voice and came out of the bedroom. My Mom and Dad were so excited. After we surprised them, we headed down to the beach to see everyone else. Most everyone ran and gave Bella smooches and then they told us hi! We all know who is the most important between the three of us! Just as we thought we were done surprising people, Andrew came out of the bedroom after taking a nap and was a little confused. It was pretty funny.

The rest of the trip was wonderful. How could it not be. My whole family was together and we were at the beach. Bella instantly relaxed with the breeze and the sound of the waves. She got to dip her toes in the ocean for the first time ever. She also had a bottle in the pool. It was the baby version of the "swim-up bar". She was on vacation too! The rest of the grandkids were so much fun to watch. They really know how to enjoy the beach. We also learned that not all jellyfish are poisonous. Caroline found one that was though. Ouch! There were too many things to write about but you can see some of the events in the pictures!

Fighting for our deck!

When Ryan and I bought this house, we were so excited about the back deck. It was so large and had a beautiful tree coming up through it providing lots of cooling shade. We pictured many warm summer evenings out on our deck and lots of BBQ's with friends and family. Well - The tree died and had to be taken down and we have some friendly carpenter bees who really enjoy hanging out on our deck while people are out there. My parents suprised us with a large umbrella for Christmas and that helped to take the place of the tree. As for our bees - they are very social. If you are out there they have to be out there. Also - there is no way to get rid of them besides putting steel wool in the hole where their nest is found (which is under the deck with about 6 inches clearance due to the tree roots). So - we have this great deck which we can't sit or entertain on because these giant bees like to buzz by. Well - we have had enough and Ryan went to war last night. He finally found that he can knock them down with a pillow, stomp on them then spray them with the wasp foam my Dad got. Last night was the first time in a long time we were able to sit and enjoy a nice relaxing meal on our own deck with out being buzzed by the bees. It was so nice and Bella even got to enjoy it. We brought out her pack-n-play and she was so relaxed. If they tried to buzz us - Ryan killed them. I think word is spreading around the bee community to not mess with the man who has the big deck. He is a killing machine!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Tim and Kelly Sedlak!

I have tried to fix this about 10 different ways but for some reason, you can't view the slideshow for this post. If you want to see the pictures, click on view all images and it should let you see them. I attached a few pictures.

What a fun and exciting weekend! Tim and Kelly's wedding was finally here after almost a year and a half of planning. After hearing about the rehearsal, you are probably curious about how the wedding went - and I am so happy to say that it went off without a hitch! Everything about the wedding was gorgeous including the church, the bride, the wedding party (especially groomsman #2), the flower girl, the flowers, etc. The service was very sweet and it was a full mass so as a guilty Catholic, it is always nice to not feel too bad about sleeping in on Sunday! It was so neat how they involved Olivia in the whole event because she kept saying how "our wedding is coming up!" Tim walked her down the aisle at the beginning of the service which was adorable and then Fr. Wilke had Olivia come up for the nuptial blessing over their family at the end of the service.

After the wedding, Mark, Kelly's Dad, surprised them with a carriage outside of the church. They ran out of the church with everyone blowing bubbles and hopped into the carriage for a romantic ride. It did start to rain a little on them but you couldn't even tell when they got back into the church and I always hear that rain on your wedding day is good luck! They are going to be "very lucky!" On a side note, Emily and I were the greeters and handed out programs before the ceremony. At the end we were supposed to pass out bubbles to everyone as they left the church. We could not get back there in time. As we got back there we saw the ushers in their manly tuxes holding little baskets with bows on them going "you want some bubbles?" to all of the guests as they left. It was pretty entertaining.

I also want to throw in a HUGE THANK YOU to my Mom and Dad! Since they are always so helpful - they typically get voluntereed for lot's of side jobs. Thank you Dad for hauling down the coolers full of beverages and food for the bus afterwards. It is always tricky trying to figure out how to get those things to the church. Thank you also for video taping the ceremony. It is always fun for the bride and groom to look back at those tapes a few months and years down the road. So many things happen that you don't realize or you forget about and it is hard to catch all of the details in your memory. I know Kelly and Tim appreciate it. Thank you Mom for being on Bella detail for the ceremony and to both of you for taking such good care of her all day (and night!) Even to the point of washing her pretty dress so she didn't smell like spit up at the reception. You two are the best and I really appreciate it. It was nice to get to ride the bus and relax a little bit but I did miss my Bella Lou! Also - I felt better knowing to she could go home from the reception a little early and get all cozy in her sleeper and eat and relax at home. It was so comforting to know that she was in better hands than mine! Also - I heard she had so much fun at Christa's graduation party and got lots of snuggling from Tike! Congratulations Christa on a job well done! We hear that Truman grads are pretty smart.

God must have been watching over Tim and Kelly because apparently a few more days of rain and the route to their reception site would have been flooded. The reception was so pretty and the photo both was a hit. By the way Lissy - they did not steal you idea :) they saw it at a wedding show and it did go over very well! The lady said that on average they typically take between 100-150 photos at an event and at this event they took almost 250. The photos were hilarious and the little cousins really enjoyed it. The first dance was "Me and You" by Kenny Chesney which I remember another couple dancing too (Andy and Autumn) and it was a perfect fit for them as well. Since there was a balcony they were able to get a picture of all of the people at the reception on the dance floor. Dad went up to video tape it (of course) and he said it was really cool! The band was a ton of fun and the dancing was great as was the food! At the end of the night - they sent everyone out the door with Gus's Pretzels. What a perfect way to end the night.

There must be something about the location because I have been to two weddings there (Colleen and Kevin) and both times the bride and groom have had to find a ride home. I got to drive the newlyweds home and I think I provided a very romantic ride. Ryan was in a not so cheerful mood and pretty well passed out in the front as Scott, Emily, Kelly and Tim had to squeeze into the back. They did get to sit on laps which is sort of romantic except Tim really had to pee. I did get some funny pictures of them squeezed into the back of the car and Tim carrying Kelly over the threshhold. The whole time, Tim had on a white undershirt, huge khaki shorts which kept slipping down and high black dress socks with no shoes. The guys had to leave their tuxes at Andre's and after Tim spent days reminding everyone else, he forgot his own clothes.

Overall, it was a very sweet wedding and a blast of a reception. I think a fun time was had by all. Especially Tim and Kelly. We hope they have as much fun in Riviera Maya on their honeymoon!

We're back!

Sorry it has been so long. We have had an eventful couple of weeks. The other week we woke up on Friday and it was a little warm. Ryan went downstairs and sure enough, something had happened with our air just as it was starting to warm up outside. We were actually getting ready to leave town for awhile. Ryan was leaving for Tim's Bachelor party at the Lake after work that day and when he got home he had to leave again for a business trip for a few days. Since he was going to be gone, and Bella hadn't been to KV yet, Bella and I headed back to Kirksville for a few days.

We spent Friday trying to pack up and make sure there was nothing left in the house that would stink or melt in the heat. That night Bella and I spent the night at Aunt Lissy's. It was so nice of Lissy to let us have a slumber party. She even gave us her bedroom for the night and Bella slept so well that I told Lissy we might move in. The next day Grandma and Papa Early left from St. Louis to take Molly to meet one of her camp friends for her first trip of many this summer. While they were gone Lissy and I took Bella to the mall for the first time and she got her Father's Day gift, a swimsuit and sunhat and some sunglasses for Mommy. Amanda and Carson flew in on Saturday and my parents took us all back to Kirksville. Bella did so well on her first long distance trip. We will see how long this lasts!

Carson is getting such a fun little peronality. He is such a BOY! He loves to wrestle and scream and climb and explore. He had a ton of fun going through Grandma and Papa Early's house. What an adventure! Bella spent most of her time sleeping and being loved on. She loves to be held and snuggled. While we were home we got to spend time with all of the Farwell crew. Miss Ellie is such a cute little sassy pants with her little conversations and looks. I think I could watch her all day and just laugh. She liked Bella and she even says her name. She sometimes mixes it with bubbles and we get "bubbella" which is so cute! She also likes Bella's "boppy" which is her pacifier. A good thing is hard to give up sometimes. Jackson seems to be taking to babies a little bit more now because he liked to give her kisses and say how pretty she is. He held her a little and was so gentle with her. I think the Farwells could handle #3 now. From what I hear, #3 is the best anyways! Just kidding. While Bella was back she got to have a slumber party with Grandma and Papa and she told me she had the most fun! She also got to go swimming for the first time and surprisingly, she didn't mind it. Hopefully she will like swimming. Bella got to meet Randy and Kathy and had fun snuggling with Kathy.

Mommy had fun hanging out with her family. Allison made some yummy cupcakes which we couldn't eat in front of Ellie. Amanda was so helpful, she always is. I would just get going for the day and she would have my bottles all prepared. Mom, Kaitlin and Caroline were so kind to take Bella and Carson in the mornings so Amanda and I could really get ready. Bella was really relaxed while Andrew was holding her. He must be a natural! Grandma and Papa were great as usual. Lots of great food and lots of fun. Overall, it was a wonderful trip home. I can't think of anyplace I find more relaxing than our backyard and love sitting out there. Oh yeah- we got to witness the end of the weeping willow. In some high winds, it finally gave in and fell over. Now you don't have to fight with the branches on your way to the pool.

When we got back to STL, our air was still not working so we stayed at Mama and Papa Sedlak's house. Thanks for taking us vagabonds in. Bella got to sleep in a crib for the first time and she did pretty well. She will probably be moving into her own crib soon because she is sleeping pretty well and will be starting on cereal soon! By Thursday we were home and our air was up and running. We are thankful for all of our family who took us in but it was nice to be home. Since we have been home Bella has been very happy as evidenced by the pictures. She has been trying out some new spots like the Boppy.

Last night was Kelly and Tim's Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It was at Giannino's and it was really good! They are going to have such a fun wedding and we are very excited. They had a great slideshow. It was sweet and hillarious all at the same time. There were some unfortunate events with Father Wilke getting into a car accident on the way over, a girl's car getting stolen and the maid of honor had a flat tire at the end of the dinner. Overall that makes 3 bad events so I think we are good to go for the wedding and it should be all sunshine and smiles!

While at the dinner, Bella got to meet Uncle Rob for the first time. It is official, she now knows all of her family! She also got to meet Danielle. Olivia racked it up at the Rehearsal because she is going to do such a good job as the flower girl. She got big chalk, dress up clothes for her build-a-bear (which fit Bella nicely) and a BIKE! It was pretty cute watching her face when it came in. You'll have to check out the pictures of Bella sporting the build-a-bear wedding veil.

Packing on the OZ's!

Bella is getting bigger every day! When we took her in for her first check up she had lost over a pound from her 6lbs. 14oz birth weight. The next visit a week later she had only gained a few ounces and then only a few ounces more the next visit. She eats alot takes her time so we are always feeding her and finally it paid off. She is up to 6lbs 12oz. We are almost up to her birth weight. Even with her soaking wet diaper before we left and having a power spit-up as we were walking out the door! I'm sure with all of that she would have been above her birth weight! She has become quite the eater so I'm sure she will have no problem fattening up now. I have explained to her that she has to enjoy her food if she wants to be a part of the family and I think she understands. It was a little chilly when we had an appointment the other day so I went to put her in her sleeper and realized she has outgrown the preemie sleepers. She still is a little too small for her newborn sleepers but she isn't swimming in them like she was before.

As far as her sleeping, that is another story. For the first week or so she was sleeping so well. I think we were in the honeymoon period. Since then, she has been trying out a couple of different schedules. My personal favorite is when she eats at 9:00pm, 12:00am and then sleeps until 5:00am. Bella seems to favor the schedule when she eats at 9:00pm and then rests for 15 minute intervals till anywhere between 2:00am and 4:00am. After about 3 or 4 nights on her schedule, she will usually give up and give in to my schedule. I have to admit though, she does sleep better in her swing so she has been spending some time in it at night. I think I am going to save the swing for the nights when I am having trouble keeping my eyes open.

Our daily activities are pretty dependent on how the night goes. I am trying to get our house back in order but it seems like it just keeps getting worse. I think it is because I start a project when she is settled in and then I get about half way through it before it is time to eat again and she is calling me. I also like to play with her a little when she is awake and content. I keep trying out her new toys such as her bouncy seat and swing as well as just laying on a blanket on the floor and playing with some of her toys or just with me. As far as playing with some of her toys, if she will look at them for a short period of time, it is a hit. Right now, she likes the one with feet that vibrate. I put them on her belly and she wiggles around. She will lay and glance around for a longer period of time but she doesn't like it when I get up and walk away. What can I say - she is a social one.

She has had a few outings lately. She went to a picnic at our friend Curt's house and loved hanging out with Amy, Abby and Priyal. She likes girl time and relaxing outdoors in the sun. Bella also got to meet two adorable twins, Abby and Ellie. She also went to Mama Bev's and Papa Ted's house for dinner on Sunday. This was her second time but since there was a small crowd, she got to sit at the table. The ribs were yummy, to bad she doesn't have teeth yet. She also made her third trip to Mommy's school this week. I not only missed out on the last weeks of school but my classroom is going to part of a renovation so everything had to be packed up and moved to another room. It is pretty hard to do when I am not there. Luckily, my wonderful substitute, Katie, and all of the other first grade teachers were so helpful and did quite a bit of my packing and end of the year things for me. Bella was wonderful and met lots of new friends up at the school as I tried to empty my room. Ryan has helped with a lot of this as well. He took her up to the school with me to meet the kids. They thought she was pretty wonderful and were very excited to meet her. They had been waiting the whole school year so I'm glad they got to meet her before school was out.

Well, I am going to try and start dinner and we will see how it goes. She is probably getting hungry so the clock is ticking.