Musings on life

So, here's some random things that are going on in our life/my life right now (Cliff note version):

• Ava is wearing a size 4 in shoes -- impossible to find at Once Upon a Child
• I have already started Christmas shopping as Dec. 15 is our due date. I love Christmas!
• I love veggies right now, meat is um, ok.
• Love potatoes too -- french fries, tator tots, anything...are veggies potatoes?
• Love Jeni's ice cream. It really makes life better. Favorites include, backyard mint and strawberry
• Saving for things really is hard! Is anyone else saving for something, and you feel like you will never get there?
• Baby G is now baby Sophia ^&*^&* Shmidt (don't know middle name)
• I have been trying to get up at 7:15 or so in the morning as Ava wakes up around 8 a.m.
• Brandon just made me a candlelight dinner...so sweet
• July and August are murders' row for birthdays! We have almost 10 birthdays in these two months.
• Brandon has been going on 20-30 plus mile bike rides and loves it. He wants to enter a race.
• Ava loves our little neighbors. Today, Emi said she could hear Ava screaming at her from inside her house.
• Ava had five time outs today ranging from hitting mommy to throwing books, toast, shoes over the porch. Last week, she did a somersault over the porch so we have to really watch her.
• Ava, 18 months, is a little mommy's girl. She loves to cuddle in the morning. Also, she loves to say cheers when we are having our ice cream cone breaks in the afternoon.
• I have gained 9 lbs so far---20 more to go. Ouch. that's going to hurt. Literally. Last time, my knees were cracking everytime I went up the steps.
• Brandon and I are getting Ava a twin bed for her when the baby comes.
• I love peanut butter and jelly on toast in the mornings for breakfast. Yum.
• Jessie is having her baby this week! Congratulations guys! Helloooooo, Adam!
• Mom is going out to Colorado to help out Jessie and Nick. Nick just had his appendics removed so he can't lift anything for 4 weeks. Get better Nick!
• Nick's sister, Rachel, is getting married at the end of August.
• Rachel, Cadence and Livvy went back to Arizona. Boo. I need the sisters here!
• Becca is still celebrating Beccapolooza, and Ava loves to say, "Becca!"
• Luke and Kelly are having a baby September 29. (probably sooner)
• Cousin Shaun is in Alaska. He just was in Boston. I can't keep track of you!

Random thoughts from this week:

• Why does the time schedule for the mail lady differ so much from day to day?
• Why do people mow at 10 p.m. (or 7 a.m. on weekends)
• Who honks at a pregnant woman in a SUV with a baby when she is not turning fast enough?
• How does everyone else keep their house clean? Post-baby it seems like I am living "Groundhog's Day." Clean, clean, clean. Wake up, clean. I know, some day Ava will be living on her own, and I will cherish the cleaning. But, I am really tired right now!
• I wonder if peaches are still in season. I am craving them.

Aba!

So ava's name is so easy to say, or she has sipped love potion no. 9, because every little boy that meets her can't stop saying "ABA!" Ha. But, really little cousin ethan loves to say "ABA" so much that Kelly was like, "Erin, he won't stop saying her name!" And she saw her little friend, Jack, at the mall, and he loved saying, "ABA!"

Ethan and Ava are so cute when they are around each other. Ava and E-man rush to each other, hug and say, "Baby!" (so cute that they call each other baby!) And when Ava was crying the other night Ethan put his arm around Ava and hugged her. He's so cute.

Anyways, life is good. Weather is getting more tolerable (think 80s). I simply can't wait for fall!

Summer favorite things

Here is a list of some of my/my families favorite summer things. enjoy!

1. Maui Melon gum from orbit - I love the sweet, honeydew flavor. It keeps the flavor for awhile and helps to keep you hydrated in the hot summer months! Try this new flavor.

2. Fresh fruit or veggies from the farmers market or dad's garden. Sweet fruits like peaches, plums and blueberries are so yummy fresh from the farmer's market. I love to buy lots and have them all year long. Ava loves to eat whole peaches or plums as snacks, and they are so healthy!

3. OxiClean products -- After all of those peaches, Oxiclean takes out the stains from Ava's clothes. This product has helped rescue so many of our outfits and is amazing!

19 weeks

Everything is going really well on the baby front. Ava is getting so big and loves to read. She is reading "Hop on Pop" right now with Brandon. Ava is also saying new words including, "truck," "poppa," and "cheese." We were on vacation in the Outer Banks so of course I had to use tons of sunscreen on her. Bran and I were laughing at her because she would go over to the sunscreen and start going "shh, shh, shh," making the sound of the sunscreen coming out!

She really loved the beach after she got used to having sand on her hands. And Brandon and I loved going to the beach, going to the sand dunes at Jockey Ridge Park, and eating tons and tons of seafood! Yummy crab legs. If you get a chance, go there sometime. We had a great time. We also got a chance to visit Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

Pictures to come!

Baby in belly is doing well. Little Oliver as I call him! We find out next Wednesday, July 30 what we are having. I am all but certain it's a boy. He is really low, kicks a lot, is making me really uncomfortable because my muscles have relaxed, and is a little hiccupper!!

Anyways, i have to return all of our movies and books to the library so I better be going!

Little kicker at 17 weeks

For some reason, i think we are going to have a boy, Brandon disagrees and believes we are going to have a girl. I told him it's because he's so good with girls! Seriously, Brandon gets along really well with women, and they always love him.

Anyways, the other afternoon I had just laid Ava down for a nap after an afternoon at the pool and felt a really bad pain in my lower abdomen. Excruciating, naseauting pain. Dude, it was serious pain.

This was how my voicemail went to Brandon:
"Brandon, don't freak out, but I need you to come home right away. I am having really bad pain and can't get up from the couch." (After I hung up the phone i thought --- Brandon is going to freak out.)

After getting checked out at Labor and Delivery at Riverside, I was told that either it was round ligament pain or I had a cyst burst -- i think it was the latter.

I have been trying to take it easy this week and Brandon was great.

So, here's to our little kicker! We love you so much and can't wait to see you dec. 15--or sooner.
Ava is really excited to see you as well, she keeps on lifting up my shirt, as well as every other person's shirt to say, "Baby!" She is going to be a great and kind big sister.

She is going to spoil you rotten!