Hilary's Baby Shower

On Saturday, I (with lots of help from my mom and two of Hilary's friends) threw a baby shower for Hilary. She is due about two weeks after me. We have really enjoyed being pregnant together! But Saturday was all about her. Here are a few pics.

One of her friends made her a diaper cake. So cute!

Hungry pregnant lady.

Hilary. . . somewhere under the rainbow. (The shower had a Noah's ark theme.)

We had the shower at Hilary's house. And it was a full house! I think we had about 28 people there.

Opening gifts.

Everyone loves little bitty baby shoes.

Jim arrived with Lena at the end of the party and she snuck into a picture with Aunt Hilary.

She got to hold a 17 day old baby. She is the daughter of Scott's cousin. Lena loved the baby; that's good!

Hilary holding Jade.

As one of the party games, each guest had to draw a baby on a paper plate with their eyes closed. The results were pretty funny! This was the winner, from Hilary's friend Lynn.

This was mine. It's a baby laying on his back. It must not be too bad, because when Lena saw it, she said, "Baby night-night."

Just for fun, Jim did one when he got there. No comment on the supposed "arm" on the right!

Belly pic. Hilary at around 31 weeks and Lesa at around 33 weeks.

The proud parents.

The shower was lots of fun and Hilary got some neat stuff in preparation for her little guy. That will probably be our last trip to Indiana before our baby comes, barring any emergencies. With my hip bothering me so much, riding in the car and being away from home overnight are becoming increasingly difficult for me. But, in only 5 weeks (and one day!) I will no longer be pregnant and can have my body back!

With the shower done, I am now able to focus on getting our house ready for Baby Girl. We are going to switch bedrooms since the girls have to share and our current bedroom is bigger. We are also painting both rooms. It will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it to have everything in order for baby's arrival.

Outside Fun

Lena sure has been enjoying the few days here and there that is nice enough to play outside. Lately we've been having about two days a week like that. Here are a few pictures I have taken over the last couple of weeks of her playing outside.

We have a bunch of these coming up. They're supposed to be annuals.

Lena really enjoyed playing in the dirt on this day.

Loving the slide.

That's a different way to do it!

What a goof.

This is the look I got when I "interrupted" her dirt digging to try to get a smile.

This picture cracks me up because it looks like she is talking to an invisible person.

This is how she posed when I asked her to look at the camera.

"Helping" Daddy clear some brush in the backyard.

Eating something she found in the yard. Turns out that her love of green things extends from the dining room table into the backyard.

Playing with the pinwheel the Chrysts got her.

Another goofy "smile" while on her car thingy.

Finding all kinds of stuff to play with outside.

Trying to eat another plant she found.

Practicing her lock-picking skills.

It's going to be another beautiful day today. And then, of course, cold over the weekend!

Weekend in Wisconsin

We had a fun time in Wisconsin this weekend. On Thursday we drove up to Racine where our friends, the Chrysts, live. On Friday evening, Tom and Brenda watched Lena while Jim and I went to Milwaukee (about 40 mins away) to see the Cardinals play the Brewers. Here are a few pics.

Lena opening her baptismal birthday gift.

She got a bunch of fun outside toys to play with.

She had fun with the pinwheel.

Morgan, Helena, Bailey, and Lena.

Miller Park, home of the Brewers.

A zoomed-out view of the stadium from our seats.

Pujols up to bat.

Indoors fireworks! Neat!

Even though Jim isn't into baseball like I am, he always enjoys attending games with me. It was nice to have an evening out together.

The game was really fun. Throughout most of the game, the Cardinals were down by a run. In the top of the 9th inning, all of the Brewers fans stood up because they thought the game was going to be over in a matter of minutes. The Brewers brought out their closing pitcher to much fanfare and hoopla; more than I had ever seen for a closing pitcher before. He struck out the first batter, but walked the second. Then the Cardinals pinch hitter, Stavinoha, hit a home run, scoring two runs and putting the Cardinals ahead. It was so funny to watch the Brewers fans have to sit back down again because the game wasn't over yet! The Brewers failed to score any runs in the bottom of the 9th, so the Cardinals won 5-4.

We had a great time, but that will have to be the last car trip we take until after this baby is born (besides a trip to Indiana for Hilary's baby shower). Riding in the car for that long (5-6 hours) was really hard on me physically and was quite painful on my hip. So we will be spending the rest of the time waiting for Baby getting the house ready for her and doing fun things in Middleville.

Easter

We had a great Easter. It was a super busy weekend, but it was fun. Grandma Sheryl came up Friday morning and spent the weekend with us. Here are a few pics.

Lena and Grandma Sheryl on Good Friday.

Lena in her Easter dress. Yep, she's still doing the goofy face thing when you tell her to smile.

I think Jim is laughing at Lena.

Looking at the pretty red tulips outside the church.

This is the best family pic of the day. It was really windy.

Lena playing with her pal Rebecca.

It was a beautiful day.

Lena's Easter basket.

How did I know she would go for the SpongeBob stickers first?

Oooh, jelly beans!

Grammy Tammy, Roger, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Frank came up after church and had Easter dinner with us. Lena had fun playing with Aunt Amy. She also had fun blowing bubbles outside with Grammy Tammy, but I didn't get any pics of that.

Aunt Amy french braided her hair. Pretty!

Styling in her sunglasses.

Lena and Aunt Amy.

Before she left, Aunt Amy trimmed Lena's bangs.

The busy weekend (seven services in four days) was pretty rough on me physically, so I am so thankful that Mom was here to help out. She stayed home with Lena while I attended the late evening services on Friday and Saturday and was so helpful around the house. I was in such bad shape after church on Sunday that Mom ended up making almost our entire Easter meal.

My hip has been bothering me so much that my OB referred me to a physical therapist last week. I have tendinitis in my left hip that is causing me a lot of pain. I am now going to physical therapy twice a week to try to alleviate the problem. Considering the pain and discomfort I am in, it's hard to believe I still have two months to go before this baby is born!

Of course, my lovely husband has taken this opportunity (no doubt combined with the fact that I am turning 30 in 2 weeks) to tease me about being old. The physical therapy center I go to is on a street called Gezon Parkway, but he finds it hilarious to call it "Geezer Parkway." Thanks Babe!

Jim's school is on Spring Break this week and he is enjoying a quiet week after such a busy one. We are taking a little trip this weekend as well. On Thursday we are driving up to Wisconsin to see our friends in Racine, the Chrysts. On Friday evening, they are going to watch Lena while Jim and I go to Milwaukee to see the Cardinals play the Brewers. We haven't yet been to Miller Park, and this was the only opportunity I would have to see the Cardinals before the baby is due, so I am excited about that. The biggest problem with going to games in the spring is the likelihood of rain, so I am praying that it doesn't rain in Milwaukee on Friday night! It's very unlikely that I would be able to attend a make-up game if that happens. We will be driving home on Saturday.

I hope everyone had a nice Easter!

4/7/10: Just found out that Miller Park has a retractable roof so even though it is supposed to be 53 and sunny on Friday, we don't have to worry if it does rain!