Shelby's in First Grade, Gretchen is 2 and We Are Having a Baby!

I'm not going to bother catching up on everything from the past 6-7 months.  But, I am going to try to be a bit better on updating my blog. 

Shelby started first grade last year.  She absolutely loves it!  Her favorite subject is math and she loves writing books.  She loves music and hates playing sports, but she likes her PE class. 

Gretchen turned 2 in November! She shares a birthday with my dad so we all went out to dinner to celebrate.  She loved that people sang just for her...and grandpa.  I like that she's growing up, but I'm sad she's getting older.  I miss my baby girl. 

Gretchen loves to climb and get into trouble.  She's always running and jumping.  She loves to build legos and dress up her dolls, which means I spend a lot of time building legos and putting clothes on her dolls.  She loves playing with her sister and being outside. 

I gave her my old cabbage patch doll and loves taking care of her.

 

She got another cabbage patch doll from an aunt and she loves her, too.  And they match so it's quite adorable.  

In July, I found out we were having another baby! Because I see a reproductive endocrinologist to help me get pregnant I am able to get lots of ultrasounds.  From the very first scan at 6 weeks when all I could see was a flashing heartbeat I  knew he was a boy.  The 12 week scan confirmed it for me when I thought the baby just looked different than my girls. Travis and I could see it in the shape of the head.  I had another scan at 18 weeks and we saw that the baby was a BOY!  The anatomy scan at 21 weeks confirmed that baby #3 is in fact a BOY!  I'm really excited and a little weirded out.  I'm pretty good at handling the girls and doing lots of girly things and from what I've been told, boys are different from the very beginning. I am due March 18th, but if history tells me anything he'll be born at the end of March. 

Officially Too Busy to Blog

I'll be honest. I have zero time to do any updating on my blog.  If Gretchen is napping, I am catching up on chores or eating lunch without having to share my food.  Or napping. Or using the bathroom in peace and quiet.  

Back in March we moved into a tiny cottage near Travis' parents.  We did this so we could rent out our townhouse so we can eventually qualify for a loan to buy a new house - one that is bigger, has a yard, and a 2-car garage.  The townhouse is nice and all, but it has none of those things.  We bought it 6 years ago with the intention of selling it 3-5 years later, but the market tanked and so did our hopes of being able to sell it. Being underwater isn't something you only do when you are swimming. 

Anyway, hopefully we will be able to buy a house in the next year.  In the meantime we are in a tiny cottage on 17 acres of land.  The house is old, but fixed up for the most part.  There are 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and the kitchen is tiny and hard to cook in.  But, it works and we are grateful to have a place to be in while we are in transition.  The girls, ( mostly just Gretchen) are happy with all the outdoor space.  We live next to cows and a Christmas tree farm and horses.  Gretchen loves our daily walk to feed the horses and to try to feed the cows.  We still haven't figured out why the cows are scared of us.  Or why the look confused when we shove grass in their faces.  Silly cows. 

Mowing the huge lawn area is my new favorite chore and I love only having 1 bathroom to clean.  (The townhouse had 3 toilets and 2 bathtubs).  It's also easier to clean a house that is on 1 level. 

Here are some pictures over the last few months since we moved.

Gretchen was upset because she had to wait to go outside on Easter.

And now she's happy.

Puddles are Gretchen's new favorite. 

And she likes eating rocks.  And grass.  And dirt.  And bugs.

Gretchen is 1

Gretchen is 1! It's amazing how fast a year can go.  We celebrated her birthday with a cookies and milk party a few days before her actual birthday.  Gretchen is lucky to have a birthday buddy; my Dad and her share a birthday, so there was another party on their actual birthday.  My Dad turned 70!

The two birthday kids sharing a laugh. 

First Birthday Photo Shoot!

These were taken on Gretchen's 1st Birthday. It was freezing and my  little one was shivering the whole time. It was really hard narrowing down my favorite photos to just a few, but these we love. Gretchen is a happy, sweet, lovable little girl and she is a delight to have around. We love her so much.