4th of July, 2015

The 4th of July looked a little different for us this year. We were supposed to be on vacation at the lake this past week, but after a string of illness in the family and unforeseen events we decided to postpone vacation until later in the summer. So we stayed home and had a great weekend with friends and family. Todd and I both had Friday off work, which was so nice to have a bonus weekend day. We spent a lot of the weekend tackling items on our to-do list. We did some errands to pick up items to help baby-proof the house. Todd took care of some little projects around the house. Saturday we made a trip to Ikea searching for some dressers and patio furniture. We got some great ideas but only came home with some storage tubs to pack things away in our basement while we begin the waterproofing project.

Saturday afternoon we headed over to a friend's house for a pool party and cookout. It was so much fun to visit with friends we hadn't seen in awhile. We mostly stayed inside and in the shade to keep our sweet girl from getting too much sun. She had a great time showing everyone her new found skills of crawling and pulling up to stand. She was all smiles and just happy as could be. We headed home before any fireworks started to keep the pups company. Ellie is terrified of them and we didn't want her home alone. The neighbors came over for a quick visit and to capture our 4th photos. The bugs started coming out so we headed inside, tuned into the fireworks on tv. The kids played for a bit and once they left we headed to bed. It was a noisy night since our town does a big fireworks display just 5 minutes from our house but luckily the baby slept right through it, Niah ignored them and Ellie just clung to our sides until they were over.

All in all, a nice weekend with the perfect balance of work and fun with friends.

Easter 2015

We had a wonderful Easter weekend, full of relaxation and fun times with family. We haven't had a weekend just for fun in a long time. It was a breath of fresh air for us not to have projects or work to do. The weather was just beautiful, a little windy, but the sun was shining. This was Charlotte's first Easter. She is still little and doesn't really know what is going on, but it was still fun to dress her up and she even participated in the egg hunt at my grandparent's house.

Saturday we spent at Todd's parents with his sisters and their families. Two of our nephews were anxiously watching while the eggs were being hidden, they couldn't wait to get outside. The kids had a blast hunting eggs in the back yard.

Todd's parents got all the grand kids the cutest Easter bags with fun summer things. Charlotte and our niece got matching swim outfits, sun bonnets and sunglasses. These two are just 4 weeks apart in age. I pray they will become the best of friends. Of course we'll have lots of fun this summer dressing them in their matching outfits. : )

 
Our nephew is a ball of energy most of the time, but it is so sweet to see him settle down and want to hold his baby cousins.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning before heading to my grandparent's house. Charlotte was so good all day. She slept all through church, which she never does, so it was nice to be able to stay in for the whole service. We were home just long enough to let the dogs out and get changed to head to Columbus. She slept the entire car ride and was happy as could be when we arrived. A lot of my extended family hadn't met her yet so it was really nice to see them and introduce our little girl to her great-aunts and uncles, even her great-great aunts an uncles! All my cousin's children loved making faces and getting her to giggle. She was happy as could be laying on the floor watching them.

Of course her Auntie had to get some snuggles in. All dressed up in their Sunday best.

My grandma was so excited to see her, as soon as we walked in the door she quickly greeted me and asked where the baby was. I told her Todd had taken her upstairs since she was still sleeping. "Okay, well I call first dibs on holding her." Next thing I knew she had scooted off to scoop her up.

We had a lovely lunch with my mom's extended family and after lunch there was an egg hunt for the kids.

Charlotte's first egg hunt. She loved that this egg had a quarter in it which made a fun rattle!

My parent's barely had enough gas to get to my grandparent's house. My grandpa had a gas can in the barn so he spotted them enough so they could make it into town to fill up. Dad tried to give grandpa some money and grandpa refused. He giggled and said "you take that money and get off my driveway!" Haha, he is so funny, always making jokes with us. So mom took the money and gave it to Charlotte as part of her Easter present. Charlotte started giggling and kicking her feet like crazy, she was happy as could be. It was precious watching her so happy in her carseat, especially since she had spent so much time in there already.

We had a great time spending time visiting with family that we don't get to see very often. It was a long day in the car, but full of fun memories.Luckily Charlotte slept the entire ride home as well. I couldn't believe it! I hope she is always a good traveler, I see many adventures in our future! By the time we got home, we were all pretty tired from such a fun day. Charlotte loved being able to stretch out on the couch after being cooped up in the car seat.

We took the dogs on a walk to help them burn some energy, had our neighbor snap a few family photos for us and then settled in for a quiet evening at home. All in all, a lovely way to spend this holiday weekend.

 

Valentine's Day 2015

This year for Valentine's Day, we spent some time as a family just hanging out at home. It was really nice to spend the day together just the three of us.

My grandparents and aunt were in town for the day, so later in the day we went over to my parents house for dinner and to spend some time visiting with them. They aren't in town that often and they were excited to see Charlotte and to get in some baby snuggles.

After dinner we were taking silly pictures and all of a sudden little peanut got this straight face. Parents, you know the face. She had the biggest blow out I've ever seen. Bless her heart, she had been having an upset belly all day, after that she was much happier to have her tummy feeling better. It was straight to the bathtub for her. Once we got her all cleaned up we headed home to get her to bed.

 

While it wasn't a typical Valentine's day full of chocolates, flowers and fancy dates, it was exactly what we needed. A nice quiet day spent with each other and then quality family time.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

We headed up to Columbus on Thursday morning to have Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. My grandparents had everyone over for lunch and it was great to see our extended family.
On Friday we did a little Black Friday shopping, really, we only went to the fabric store to pick up the rest of the fabric fabric for our baby's quilt. Hopefully I have time to finish this in the next month before he or she arrives! Then we went over to Todd's sister's house to meet our new baby niece. She was born this week and is absolutely precious.

Friday night we went back up to my grandparent's house for a baby shower. My aunts wanted to host a baby shower for us and invited all the women in my mom's extended family and many of my college friends. It wonderful to see so many friends and family that I haven't seen in awhile. I'm so thankful they were in Ohio for the holiday and able to come into town for the evening.

Saturday Todd and I went to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. Every year we try to get tickets for one game through my membership with the Alumni Association. This year we couldn't attend the game we got through the ticket lottery and we were pretty bummed out. My parents get season tickets and ended up with two extra tickets to the Michigan game. So, we sold our tickets and jumped at our chance to attend this game. We love OSU football and what better game to go to than this rivalry game. I was a little nervous to go, being an hour and a half from home and 8 months pregnant, but we had a great time, plus the extra insulation the baby provided me kept me nice and warm! :)

This was such a fun day date with Todd. We love going to games together and cheering on our favorite college team. Our seats were way up, but I don't mind sitting up higher at football games, it is easier for me to see all of the plays and everything that is going on in the game. After the 3rd quarter, some seats opened up near my parents, so we moved over to the north end of the stadium to sit with them and watch the last quarter.

We had a great time at the game and tailgating before hand. And it is always fun to be at a game where the Buckeyes win!

After the game we went back over to Todd's sister's house for Thanksgiving with his family. After dinner we made the trip back home. We had a great weekend, lots of time with family and friends. We are so blessed and thankful for those near and dear to us. I think we'll be staying close to home now until our sweet baby makes his or her debut!