Sister gets married!

The other main event that brought us to Illinois back in July was my baby sister's wedding. (She's really on 1 year and 3 weeks younger than I am!). She was marrying Pete, Raina's dad. Everything was perfect for the outdoor, backyard wedding and reception. For late July in the midwest you could not have had more ideal weather. Sunny... not humid or hot, pleasant and ideal. The ceremony was very small, just the immediate families, then about 2 hours later a great party began with dancing, bags, good food catered in and good company. The day was exactly what my laid back, easy going sister and her husband had in mind. The dress was semi-casual, the guys sported Hawaiian shirts and we were welcome to wear what made us comfortable (and my flip flops were on before the reception even started!)

My uncle and mom did a great job getting the outdoor space gorgeous for the big event. Congrats to Jen, Pete and Raina. And an additional "official welcome" to Jen's stepchildren, Joe and Lexie, two very sweet and loving kiddos. And another special thank you to the newlyweds for moving their early October wedding date up to July so this prego could be a part of your special day!

Uncle Jim and Braden at the rehearsal dinner at Glenwood Oaks... yum!
Me, sister Jenni Lou and Mom at the rehearsal dinner

Jenni Lou... the beautiful bride

The "Just Married" couple with Mom and Uncle Jim

Sisters
Joe and Lexie, both a part of the wedding and so proud! :)

Big B behind the bar... What can I get you folks?

Last... but certainly not least... my pretty niece, Raina.

Two Special Little Men...

Baby Mania 2009 continues... Last week two of my very good friends (both bridesmaids in our wedding) welcomed precious Baby Boys!!! If I'm lucky and things work out they way I hope they do... then I'll get to meet both of these babies this winter and I can't wait!!!

Meet Aidan Edward Butscher, Staci and Jason's delivery surprise! Weighing in at 7 lbs, 14 oz and 19 in! Look at those cheeks!!! Ah... too cute! This is the first child for them, he was born last Saturday, August 22nd, and has been doing well, they came home this past Wednesday. Welcome Aidan!!!

Born Tuesday, August 18th is my friend Amy's new son, Chase Ryan Korsos, coming in at 7 lbs, 7 oz. Chase joins big brother Jackson (Jackson who is 5 weeks younger than Braden and now Chase is just weeks older than Baby Girl!). Look how peaceful and beautiful this babe is... sigh. I know it's early, but in this picture I see a lot of his brother... lucky kid, Jackson's a looker! Welcome Baby Chase!

Congratulations ladies! I'm so happy everyone is healthy, home and adjusting. Up next in September... Kristy, Jen and... who am I forgetting... that's right, it's our turn! :)

The Dunbars!

Yes... this post (and a few others I need to finish) is very late. But life has been moving pretty quickly this month and I realized I still have so much to share!One of the major events that brought us back to the Midwest last month was the wedding of Chad's hometown friend, Andy to Amy. Andy has been a best friend of Chad's for years, and I have found him to be a great friend also, and he's Braden's godfather! :) By the way, doesn't Amy look stunning?
To Andy and Amy - another congratulations and best wishes for many fun years ahead!!!
Chad served as co-best man (along with Jeremy Miller) and Braden was a ring bearer! Braden did such a great job down the aisle, holding the hand of one of the flower girls, as soon as he saw me at the end he dived into my arms and was really emotional. I'm sure all the people starting and ooh/ahh made him a little nervous, but he held it together until the end! We had a great time, it was nice to visit with friends we haven't seen in a long time... but the time is always too short! And a special thank you to Grandma Ramsey, she was also a guest at the wedding, but generously took Braden back when it was time for bed so both Chad and I could visit longer!

This was practicing walking down the aisle... don't kids all dressed up like this make your heart melt???

Chad and Jeremy - Co-Best Men

My Two Men...

A family shot...

I wasn't the only prego there!!! Chad's good friends from home (DeKalb) and their wives are expecting too! Colleen - at this time 13 weeks, Jen - due just 10 days behind me! These girls have always been a lot of fun and good friends... and even better I had fellow sober buddies throughout the weekend.

Braden applauding his dad's best man speech!

This kid can dance. It may just be a lot of hopping around and moving in circles now... but wow, was he SO SO happy and having so much fun! He was a hit! :)

And something else may have happened on this special night... Braden I think had one of his first real crushes, this is Mary (Andy's niece).

Belly update and August Days

Just a quick update and some pictures... I can't believe August is almost over already!

37 weeks today, pardon the way (i.e. no make-up, worn out) I look, it was 9:30 in the evening when I realized I haven't taken any pictures lately. I'm feeling really well and hope that this keeps up through the the next 2-3 weeks! :)

This PG lady had a craving for some brownies... so I accepted some help from my eager little assistant. It was the first time he tried brownie mix and like any child of mine he love, loved it!

Mom... are those brownies ready yet???

HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NAPPING... but when I went in to check on him I found him on the toilet reading a magazine, just like his daddy! In related news... I think we can consider this kiddo potty trained!

Just playing in the dirt, or should I say hard at work, singing himself a little ditty and enjoying a beautiful afternoon outside.

And this picture... just because I like it! He was giving me a sarcastic cheesy smile because I had asked him several time to look at the camera, this is what I ended up with. A little pots and pans dance party in the kitchen today while I was cooking dinner. Yeah... I know he's just hanging out in his underwear, but it was warm outside=warm in the house.

Place your bets...

Well... there is no prize. Just bragging rights. I've added a widget to the blog where in about 20 seconds you can enter your guess to Baby Girl's date of arrival, weight, length and time born. It has some kind of formula to determine who gets the closest. So, if you're interested... just click on the widget to your right on the top of the page.
If you want my due date just as a point to start from... it's September 14th.
To be fair in case you think I'll be really late. Since Chad's mom is coming to town to help us take care of Braden while we're in the hospital. We have scheduled a surgery time for a c-section just to be safe so we can be sure to have care for Braden. I'm still committed to a VBAC, but being far away from family we also had to consider a c-section as a last resort/back up plan. Paula is leaving 9/22... so if Baby Girl has not arrived by Saturday 9/19 (5 days past due) we'll have a c-section on 9/19/09 at 9am. (Also my sister's 30th birthday). Hopefully she'll come before 9/19, but realistically we needed to have something scheduled in the books in case she doesn't.

Quotes of the Week

Braden's favorite things to say right now...
"I don't like it" (applying to nearly everything... for no reason)
"I need ____ (insert nearly everything... for no reason)
" Snuggles Mommy, I need it" - (my favorite!)
"Big Boys go to the potty ALL the time" (hmm... I think he's heard us say that a lot!)

Sigh...

Happy Tuesday. You're welcome. (Thank you Chad for ignoring... I mean... understanding my relationship (one-sided obsession) with Tom Brady.)

The "Pop" and I've been full of excuses

Oh... the "Pop". This is what a pacifier is known as around this house. Braden started calling it that as one of his first words and it stuck. He never used it a ton... and by the time he was about 10 months old it was just something that he used at naptime and nighttime.

Now judgers... stop judging. If you had told me that my son would use a pacifier to sleep at 2 1/2 I would have thought you crazy and swore at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 months we were done with it. But the timing never seemed right, we were either traveling (about to travel), leaving, transitioning to a new bed, you name it... I had an excuse. I'm aware it was an excuse, and I'm aware it a mutual attachment Braden, Chad and I all had. I mean... who want to screw with a perfect naptime/bedtime ritual and a child that never fights you to sleep, it was peaceful and it worked... so I continued to put it off.

That is until April... we had just moved into the new house here in Washington. It was Braden's month of terror. Everyday was a struggle, he would. not. listen. for anything. It was a difficult month and during that time one day in my fed up moments when my son was whining for the "pop" when it wasn't sleeptime (which he never did... I couldn't understand) I was pushed to the edge and decided "It's now or never... how much worse can it get?" So, cold turkey, I took it away. And even though I didn't think it possible... it got worse.

My sweet child that was already out of sorts and crazed was now barely napping... not falling asleep before 10:30 and up by 6am. He was losing about 4 hours of sleep a day and I was losing my sanity.

After 10 days it seemed this habit wasn't broken and I (pregnant, husband traveling, adjusting to a new place... I know... I'm full of excuses) gave in and went back to the "pop". You know what... life was good again. Overnight my child was listening, rested and fun to be with.

BUT... I knew this was a habit I had to break before Baby Girl arrives and just over a week ago we did it. Cold turkey... with an explanation that he's getting ready to start school in a few weeks and big boys don't use "pops". It's worked. He's going to sleep at night and with a few minor short episodes at night he's sleeping solid. HOWEVER... there has been a trade off (isn't there always?). The precious 2-3 hour daytime nap has disappeared. It was an amazing time for me each day to regroup, recharge, clean up (or at the beginning and now at the end of the pregnancy... chance to nap for an hour). But as parent's come to realize... it's not about what works for you, so I'm coming to adjust. I was disappointed since I was counting on his naptime once I have a newborn here next month... but get over it and move on (and I need to up my bedtime to super early). I had a weeklong pity party for myself last week and was in quite the funk, but I'm better now. I think Chad's constant travel for work in the midst of all going on added to my sheer exhaustion since no break was coming for days.

Okay... enough of that. In other Braden accomplishments, I'd say he's about 90% potty trained. We're still working out some details (my hang ups if I'm honest about leaving the house, etc). But I've changed my mind set and just going with the flow.

So... that's why I've been missing last week, I just wasn't my happy self and still have a lot of really exciting and fun times to blog about our Midwest trip last month. So... without much delay I'll get caught up this week! :)

Grin and "Bare" It...

When I was PG with Braden we went and got one of those 3D ultrasound pictures and video. This time around I wanted to do something different and opted to take some maternity belly pictures. Warning... all bare belly.

A few notes:

1) Chad was mortified that I made us all dress in white shirts and jeans, we did look a bit silly in the mall, I think it was better for the pictures.

2) Next time I'll go somewhere else, I'll hit up a less expensive place that let's you take a CD home. These pictures are pictures of the pictures... so they don't really look as clear as the original.

3) Maybe they turned out a bit cheesy... but after having barely any pics of my Braden belly I didn't want to make the same mistake this time. Plus, Grandma Ramsey totally rocks at scrapbooking and I thought maybe it would be nice for the baby book.

4) This is my belly at 34 weeks... today marks 35 weeks. Baby Girl will be here in 5 weeks (I hope!).

Some of our time in the "Lou"

Our first stop in the Midwest was St. Louis for the Dunbar/Sterrenberg wedding. I'll post about that separately, but first thought I'd share with you details of the rest of our time there.

We flew in on Wednesday night and stayed with the Underwoods - Nick, Lindsay and Graham (Gray for short). Friends of ours that used to live in Chicago, but relocated to St. Louis just about the time we moved to Canada. They were great hosts (and have a king size bed in their guest room... awesome!). Last time Gray and Braden met up was over New Years when the Underwoods came to our place in Furry Creek and Gray was 7 months old and just starting to get around. Well now he's over a year and these two guys got some quality time playing around! :)

Big B and Gray having a chat, I think Braden is telling him he likes all his toys.

We asked Braden to give Gray a hug... but it wound up looking more like he's about to tackle him to the ground. When these two get older I see some wrestling matches in their future! Or some football match up, which will be the QB and which will be the linebacker?I was so grateful to get the chance to spend lunch Thursday with my very good friend Amy and her cutie son Jackson! Braden and Jackson are only 5 weeks apart. Here they are waiting for the paddle boats, it just kind of looks like they are being mischievous!

After a yummy lunch at the Boathouse in Forest Park we took the boys on a paddle boat. Now our first borns are only 5 weeks apart... and our second babies are due 3 weeks apart! It was a bit amusing for two women that were so pregnant to be paddling along their toddlers, they kept us busy so it was the only belly shot we got together!

No matter the time that passes by or the distance between us, we've always picked up where we left off!

The morning of the wedding, I had a strategy, Braden was ring bearer and needed to be ready by 4:00, I wanted to be sure he got in a good nap so Chad's mom and I took Braden out hoping to wear him out a bit. Even though I had lived in STL one summer I'd never been to the arch... well we made inside and couldn't get up there until 12:30... too late so instead (after an hour in line) we took Big B to a park and let him run, run, run!

Run and Jump... it worked too. He took an awesome nap, we had to wake him up for the wedding!

Saturday morning after the wedding we made another stop at the Underwoods. Braden was totally into all of Gray's toys!And... we finally got to meet this little man! Michael Vincent Dauphinais was born in November and I pretty much held on to him the whole time we were there... such a sweet, snuggly little dude! The guys with their little guys! Chad and Braden (2 1/2 years old), Nick and Graham (13 months old), Mark and Michael (8 months old).

Grandma Carole's Pool

This year is the debut year of the inground pool at my mom and Uncle Jim's house. It's a pretty sweet set up, gated with a big cabana with anything you could need it's a nice way to spend the day. While we were in Homewood we spent a lot of time at the pool... the first day my good friends Katie (along with cutie son, Jack) and Staci joined us for some pool time fun, we grilled out for lunch and played with the kiddos! It was a bit chilly, I would have expected that in late July things to have been much warmer! Still fun all the same! My niece Raina, sister Jenni Lou, and her two stepchildren, Joe and Lexie also joined us... good times all around!

Picture proof that I was there... but this is the only publishable picture of me and my prego body in a bathing suit I'm willing to share!

My super cute niece Raina, strutting her stuff in a little bikini!

Grandma Carole (my mom) with her two grandbabies... it's near impossible to get them to both look at the camera when occupied in a pool!

Katie and her beautiful son, Jack Henry Hager, I typed out his whole name because I like it!(doesn't he look so much like her?)

Fellow prego (due in 2 weeks on 8/22) Staci entertaining Big B... he was having so much fun!

And then... Chad joined us, bringing things to a new level

First he has Braden jumping off the sides... let me tell you Braden can leap far! So funny he kept counting, ONE... TWO... TTTTHHHHHHRRRREEEEEEEEEE (forever dragging out the three before he jumped!)

Then Chad is tossing him to dangerous heights! But of course, Braden loved it. I have to admit, Chad had a lot of power!

Then he decides he wants to take Big B on the slide. I'm sure you're wondering, "Mon, what's the big deal, you took him to a water park a few weeks ago"? Well this was a faster, narrower slide going into 8 ft of water where Chad couldn't touch standing, not into 3 or 4 ft like the slides made for the kiddos at the water park. Needless to say, I didn't want to be a total bummer and ruin the fun, but I wasn't really comfortable either. So... my friend Staci took the pictures, while Katie was in the water at the bottom of the slide for extra catching/support, while I hid under a towel, closed my eyes and hoped for the best!

Almost... does look like he's having fun, huh?

This picture... well it makes me a little nervous, you can't even see Chad. But I'm told this is as far under as Braden and since I was hiding I'll never know.