Escapee!

Well, we had an escapee the other night... Rachel has been throwing a bit of a temper tantrum at bedtime for the last week. She will cry for about 5 minutes then go to sleep- just enough to let us know that she's not happy! Well, she was taking longer to settle down. Dustin walked by her room and she was standing at the door- not in her crib! Not quite sure how she got out of the crib, I was in the living room under her room and never heard a thud, so we think she just climbed out. Either way, she was a little scared that she did get out. Took her a little while to settle back down, but she did, and hasn't ventured out since. I didn't sleep very well that night since I was worried that she'd try it again. About 3 she started talking a little and I could hear her shaking the side of the crib, but went back to sleep pretty quickly. We got a gate and put it in her doorway last night so in case she does get out, she won't venture down the stairs! So far, so good though!

Pregnancy Highlights

Pregnancy Highlights:


How far along?
9 1/2 weeks


Size of the baby?
1-1 1/4 inches- a medium green olive

Maternity clothes?
No, but skinny jeans are definitely out! A lot of my pants are becoming difficult to button, it won't be long.


Stretch marks?
No

Weight gained:
None since my first appointment last week


Sleep:
I haven't slept through the night since I've been pregnant. Sometimes I wake up and can go right back to sleep, it's not uncommon for me to be up for 3 hours in the middle of the night though- ugg

Best moment this/last week:
Teaching Rachel to hug and kiss the baby!


Movement:
Not yet


Food cravings:
Most things taste pretty good!


Gender/Names:
Don't know/Throwing some names around, but nothing seriously

Labor Signs:
No

Belly Button in or out?
In

Wedding rings on or off?
On, but sometimes I can't get them off- of course it is HOT and HUMID!

What I miss:
Sleeping at night, and being awake with energy during the day


What I am looking forward to:
Finding out if it's a girl or boy

Rachel's new Tricks

Yes, that's right! Mommy has a baby! Baby #2 is due on February 27th and we are very excited! I've been feeling pretty good, for the most part. I am really tired, but It helps that it's summer and I can rest when I need to. I'll post more on that later, though. For now, enjoy the video!

Busch Gardens

I was so excited for Busch Gardens this year. We haven't been able to go the last few years because I was extremely pregnant, then Rachel was just little and it wasn't worth it to go. This year we took her and she had a great time! We didn't ride any roller coasters, but that was ok, watching the kids was better, anyway!

SOOO excited, and she didn't even know why yet!

She though this one looked fun while we were in line... didn't like it so much while riding- she kept trying to climb on my lap. Maybe next year will be better.

Brent and Blake on a little free-fall ride. He loves it.

Watching the Elmo show!

Mimi was having the time of her life with all the grandkids (maybe the kids, too- more the grandkids though!)

Rachel didn't really care for the water jumping out of the ground at her. She finally warmed up a little bit, but was perfectly fine when we left!

She liked the balloon ride with Blake much better! Look at those smiles!

Alli had a great time too!

Daddy was happy to ride the plane ride with Rachel.

Blake had a great time on the bumper cars

Rachel LOVED the swings. This smile stayed on her face the whole time she rode!

Watching the kids

Riding the boats

Rachel didn't like this ride at first- she did finally warm up to it though. I think she was getting sleepy and liked cuddling with Daddy

Trying to decide where to go next

Rachel thought she liked Elmo, until she got close and realized he was HUGE! She wouldn't get close, but did blow him a kiss goodbye.

Passed out on the way home. What a great day!

Chesapeake

We had the chance to go over to Chesapeake for a long weekend and had a great time watching the kids play, going to Busch Gardens (post to come), spending time together and helping mom celebrate her birthday! I think we got in the pool a few times, but the weather didn't cooperate very well. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't hot, so the water was only 84 degrees, and that is just not acceptable for us adults!

Look! All three kids sitting-at one time-in the same place! So glad we got this picture! I know I'm a little biased, but they are the cutest kids I think I've ever seen.

Alli and Rachel with their matching Build-a-Bears! I'm sure they were talking about something, just not sure what.

These two had so much fun with each other! They hid under blankets, pushed each other on a fire truck riding toy, but my favorite memory we didn't see right away. All the adults were downstairs and we noticed that the kids weren't around. We did hear the biggest belly laughs coming from the monitor that was in Rachel's room though. They had snuck upstairs and I'm not even sure what they were doing, but they were having a great time! Makes me smile just thinking about it. :)

Love this little one's smile!

Rachel was trying to find a bow to put in Poppy's hair!

Playing in the sprinkler

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Everyone has recently gotten smart phones... still trying to figure all the apps out- or maybe they were playing games- or checking the weather- or planning bike routes!

I love that we were able to be there for Mom's birthday. I think she was happy, too!

Helping Mimi blow out her candles. Good thing we all love the kids and didn't mind the fact that the kids had a little "extra" with their air!

Sharing Cheerios!

Trying to eat the recliner!

Grandma Nieter

I wrote in an earlier post from Indiana that Grandma went into the hospital the night that we left their house. She had a bad case of pneumonia and was moved to a hospital further away from home. She got better for a little bit, then would take a turn for the worse. She was finally moved to a rehab center in Warsaw. She passed away on Sunday, July 10. She was ready to go to Heaven and she told everyone so. I guess she was having a good time messing with the family and they laughed a lot in the midst of saying goodbye.

Brent and I flew up for the funeral on Wednesday. Of course the funeral was a sad time, but we had a good time spending time and catching up with family and of course remembering Grandma. She was a wonderful lady and we all miss her so much already.

Grandma and Grandpa at our wedding rehearsal in 2005

Grandpa, Grandma and Rachel right before we left their house 3 weeks ago.

All of the counsins with Grandpa

Just the cousins. (We haven't all been together in about 8 years)

Me and Grandpa talking before we had to leave the next morning.

Williamsburg/DC

Dustin and I took a weekend for just the two of us. It was actually a free stay in Williamsburg if we sat in on a time share gig. So we listened to a guy try and sell us something we had no intention of ever buying. He realized we weren't going to and let us go after about 30 minutes. Not bad for a free hotel for 2 nights.

We did some sight-seeing and some shopping then headed up to Washington D.C. for a night.

This was a birthday present I've been waiting to get since 2 months before my birthday and I finally got it 2 months after- Wicked! I've been wanting to see that musical for years! We were so glad that it came close to us and we were able to get tickets. It was so good! I highly recommend going to see it if you ever get the chance.

Fourth of July!

We had some amazing plans for the Fourth of July this year. Since our church is at the top of a mountain and you can see fireworks from all over the valley, a lot of people go up there to watch them. The church has really made it a big outreach- inflatables for the kids to play on, hot dogs and hamburgers for sale to help local ministries, music... just a great time all around. So, we were going to meet a bunch of other couples up there and hang out all afternoon then watch the fireworks. Problem though, it stormed! And by stormed, I mean a small plane was flipped over from the wind, trees down, and of course the church lost power for the majority of the afternoon. So, there went all the festivities. It cleared up in time for the fireworks though, so we met some friends up there to watch. It ended up being a nice night, just wish we could have spent the day with everyone. Oh well!

Hmm, no pictures though...

South Carolina

After a week being home from Indiana, we headed down to South Carolina for a few days. We stopped by Nannie and Papa's on the way down for lunch and to catch up a little. It's always nice to see them, even if it's a short visit.

Benji and Katie came over for a day to spend some time with us- we are so happy they could make it. We weren't sure if they could because we were there in the middle of the week, but thankfully they both had the day off!

Zoe was waiting for something to drop... even if it was just ice from the ice cream!

Dustin's parents live across the street from a park, so we headed over there to get out of the house some and get some energy out!

Rachel figured out how to advance to the next Elmo YouTube video... the kid's addicted!

Dustin and his mom took Rachel to the library for a story time one morning. After the story the kids got to play with toys for a while. (I stayed home to get some work done)

Dustin's dad just started a new job-Yea! But that meant that he was out of town for the first couple days that we were there. Rachel was so excited that he was back and they had some good quality reading time!

A church about half an hour from Dustin's parents put on a big event for the July 4th weekend. We were happy that the event happened on the Friday before so we could make it. Honestly, we didn't know quite what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised!

Rachel rode her first ride- a carousel! She had a blast on it!

Then we watched the fireworks. She loved them, too! She squealed and clapped and said "boom" after nearly every one!