Spring is Teasing Us!

The whirlwind which we call life continues!! As I am teased by the sun shining outside and think the beautiful weather is here to stay, I have to wonder if I will once again be shown that Mother Nature has a mind of her own! For now though, we will soak up every possibility of time outside and believe that one day, summer will be here to stay!

John continues to amaze us and make us smile every day! He is full of stories daily about what he has done at Grandma's house and can't wait to call an aunt, uncle or grandparent on his phone and tell them about his day as well! It's quite amusing to hear the one-sided conversations that take place! He is so animated and detailed in his story-telling!

Here are some pictures for you of our last couple of months of chaos!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

John was so tired one day after having a nap strike that he laid down in the warm laundry after I pulled it out of the dryer. Perfect place to rest!

Over spring break, Phil and I were thrilled to have extra time with John. We planned a few fun outings and otherwise enjoyed some play time at home. We went to Pump It Up in Eden Prairie and John and Daddy had a great time jumping, sliding, and going through the inflatable obstacle courses. It wasn't the perfect place for a pregnant mom, but I enjoyed watching them play together and getting a few pictures as well!

One of John's favorite parts (as well as ours) during spring break was the extended time we could spend in our jammies in the morning! One day, John helped me organize his dresser and closet for Baby's arrival, since they will be sharing a room. He climbed in his bed, made sure to bring Teddy, Cow and his baby for the fun and curled in with his blanket to help observe my organizing and keep me company! He was so cute and proud to have his friends by him, especially his baby!

I was determined I would be different than so many others who said that we'd have MANY pictures of John and some less of Baby #2 and even less for the others yet to come! I was sure that it wouldn't be like that for us.... oops!! We've already failed!! We started taking belly pictures at 14 weeks with John.... and 24.5 weeks with this baby!


We went to the MN Zoo over spring break as well and were hopeful to see the new baby animals that had just been born. We were disappointed to see only 3 baby piglets, but John enjoyed our time outside and seeing other animals as well, even if it was quite chilly! He asked to see more baby animals and we told him that maybe we'd be able to go to the State Fair again this year and see more babies there!

The sun was so bright....

So John thought he should just pull his shade down and peer out of it... what a goofball!

John has very clearly reached the "obsessed" with water stage of life!! If we are ever unsure of where he has run off to, we know to just check the kitchen or bathroom sink, since John is probably pouring or splashing in the water! This day, however, he also found the dish scrubber and thought he'd try it out! We'll just train him in household duties from an early age....

John also loves to sort things these days! He found Phil's coin container and was quite proud of the arrangements he did! He even sorted them by kind of coin at the beginning, but then there were too many and he decided to just cover the table instead!

Then he found Daddy's hat too... Oh, so much fun to be had!!

John is quite the little artist and loves to draw, color, and now paint on a daily basis! He is one who doesn't appreciate getting his hands dirty though, for the most part, so we weren't sure how finger painting was going to work! He started by using 2-3 fingers in the paint, but once they were messy and we wouldn't wash them off right away, he moved on to only using one at a time!! It was so cute! However, the more familiar he has becomes with it, the more fingers he's involved, but we're still waiting for use of his full hand while painting! He enjoyed it though and thought it was so funny that we could paint with our fingers and not use a brush!

Easter this year was even more fun than in the past, as John was very excited about the fun treats we were able to make! He was a great help in putting the Whopper eggs and M&M's on the nests we made. Of course, a few were consumed during the process, but normally our little man was so honest he would announce that he was "snitching" while he was doing it! It was so funny! We certainly had a great time making the nests, as well as the Easter basket cupcakes, even if they took three times as long to complete!

Phil, John and I went to Mass on Easter morning and while we were gone, the Easter bunny came! He knew just what John wanted and needed! John was thrilled with his new Chuggington trains, as well as the Thomas backpack (just in time since his other backpack was ripping apart!) and of course the treats were a hit too!

"Ok, Mom, take the picture fast, since there are toys to be played with!!!"

John was thrilled with his Slinky!! He now loves running through the house with it trailing behind him and he quickly figured out how to have it "walk" down the stairs!

Pure delight!!

This past weekend we had the opportunity of family time with both sides of the family while Mike and Jeanna were home from Chicago to run a half marathon in Nisswa with Katie. Sadly, Jeanna had broken her ankle in a random misstep off the stairs and wasn't able to run. The weather did not cooperate either and with temperatures in the 40's and pouring rain, Mike and Katie still ran the race and did a great job finishing!! I think I would have bailed out that morning, had I been one of the contenders! They both agreed that it was miserable to run in, but they were extremely proud to have accomplished the race!

Tim and Crystal were home from CA this past weekend as well, so it was great to see them too, since time is also so limited with their schedules. Matt was also able to get away this weekend and join everyone up north. John had his first "adventure" up north without Phil and I on Friday night, while we went to our Spring Fling fundraiser for school. We met Bob, Joan, Tim, Crystal and John in Nisswa on Saturday morning then so John could see Mike and Jeanna while they were home too. He had a great time up north and loved playing outside and being crazy with his aunts and uncles! He was so busy playing with everyone that when we called to say good night, he kept running away from the phone to get back to the fun!

Phil and I are both looking forward to the end of school on June 9. Our lives have taken another turn over the last week, as Phil had a follow-up Colonoscopy last Monday and we found out a week ago that our fears had been confirmed. Not only was Phil's Ulcerative Colitis flaring again, but he also had 4 definite precancerous portions, which means his colon needs to come out as soon as possible. After all of our hopes of remission, we are now back on the path of planning toward his surgery on May 31 and the long recovery after.

On a more exciting note though, we are 10 weeks, or less, away from meeting our new bundle of joy! I have been feeling pretty good lately, but am certainly getting more tired with each passing week, especially with the stress of work and knowing what's to come for Phil too. We are all hopeful that I won't need to be on bed rest again, as that certainly doesn't fit into the plans! Last week, I failed my first one-hour glucose test again as well, so I now get to look forward to the 3 hour test next week. I was SO hopeful I would pass this time and not have to do that awful test again!! Hopefully it comes out negative though like last time and I can have clear sailing through the end of my pregnancy!

We know this summer will be a busy and somewhat stressful one, but we will have a lot of family time at home together, resting and recouping! John is very excited about Baby's arrival and can't wait until we set up the crib! He is proving every day that he is going to be an incredible big brother as he helps around the house and has gotten to be very fond of feeding and burping his baby! We'll see what he thinks once our new addition comes home!

We wish you all the best as spring finally arrives....someday!!