Halloween and other fun

I am horrible at updating blogger b/c facebook is just so much easier, but alas, since i believe we have a few followers that don't have facebook, i will continue to add some of our pictures and stories here as well.

First, We were finally able to squeeze a trip to a pumpkin patch in. The weather in october was horrible in DM, and it was so hard to find time for all 3 of us to go when the weather was decent. Apparently this was a common phenomenon as there were literally 1000's of people at the pumpkin patch when we went. Thankfully, the place is HUGE, so it wasn't a problem. Activities we enjoyed included: picking out and rolling pumpkins, "swimming" in a corn pool, jumping on a huge blow up thing, hay ride, petting zoo, "pretend land," etc. It was a blast! Here a couple of cute pics from the day, i particularly like the one w/ Daddy and Gretta.





Sadly, halloween night (or beggar's night in DM) was horrible weather. My family was down here, so we wanted to take G to a couple of houses, but it wasn't going to happen. We did end up stopping out at the new neighborhood for a little get together. I love how they already include us in their activities. We are moving in to the best neighborhood ever! :)
We also got the chance to dress G up in her costume to go to Ankeny Library's trick or treat night. Adam was really disappointed to learn that no candy was handed out. Thankfully for him, he convinced me that we had to have candy on hand in case we had any trick or treaters ourselves (which is hilarious for anyone who knows where we live right now), so we still had some candy around the house. I am sure trick or treating next year with Gretta will be a blast!
Well, I wanted to share pictures, but unfortunately blogger isn't letting me. Adam and I forgot our camera when going to the library, but thankfully aunt ali remembered. Unfortunately, in order to send the pics to me they had to be in a file that my computer really struggles with. so, no pictures right now. I'll figure it out at some point and try to remember to post.

In housing news, we hope to move in to our new house on Nov. 25th! We just really hope there aren't any hiccups along the way. Rescheduling adam's time off is virtually impossible as it would affect 80-100 patients, so we just hope the appraisal, etc. goes well and is done in time. We already can tell that we LOVE it, and are really excited to be in our first official house for Christmas. I will be sure to share pictures when it is completely done.

Finally, in our biggest news - we are expecting again! Baby S #2 is due June 13th, although I am going to guess it will be a tad earlier, as G came a little early, and my dating suggests earlier. Either way, that means Gretta will be almost exactly 2 when the new baby arrives. It is a little earlier than we initially planned, but we are very excited and hope this means they will be best of friends. I am already convinced it is a girl, but we'll see (but not before the birth day, we like the surprise). So far I am feeling pretty good. I am more tired than I was w/ Gretta, but I don't know if that is just b/c i am tired chasing her! I also seem to be having more intense cravings. All in all it is going pretty well, though. I was sad to get H1N1 very early on in my pregnancy, and hope that everything with the baby is going great. We have no reason to believe otherwise, and the baby has a strong heartbeat, etc. but we would appreciate any prayers in this regard.
We are warming Gretta up to the idea of being a big sister. I think she'll love it at times and not love it at times. :) She likes to kiss the baby (my belly) and tries to feed the baby milk through my belly button. But, when I asked her whether it was a baby brother or sister, she yelled, "I DON'T CA (care)" haha, in her defense, it was like the 100th time i had asked, i was probably annoying her.
Either way, she likes her big sister shirt:



Blessings to you all!

Gretta Update

We've been spending plenty of time at daddy's office lately, but not just visiting him for fun. Gretta has had a string of ear infections that she just can't seem to shake. We met w/ the pediatric ENT yesterday and after looking at her medical chart and peeking at her ears immediately asked, "so when do you want to schedule her surgery?" I guess she is a prime candidate for tubes. So, we are scheduled for this coming wednesday (the 14th) bright and early. I am not too worried about the procedure itself, more about the general anesthesia, since she has never had anything like this before it is impossible to predict w/ certainty how she'll react. Thankfully we don't have a family history of poor responses, so I imagine it will be fine - but we'd definitely love some prayers that morning.
We are hoping that the tubes may solve a couple other problems as well. Word on the street is that occasionally placing tubes will dramatically help a child's appetite. we really hope so, b/c she is still a terrible eater. Every time G's ears have been looked at they have been full of fluid, even when not accutely infected, so perhaps draining them will make her feel better and be more willing to eat. Apparently just generally feeling better after tubes can also improve a child's behavior. Not that she is horrible in this regard, she is just a typical toddler, but if it made her a tad more agreeable, we'd be all for it! Most importantly, we just hope it fixes her ears so she isn't prone to hearing damage.

Speaking of Gretta, I was reflecting a couple of days ago on just how much changes in such a short period of time. At the beginning of this summer she was barely able to walk. Thus, when we would go to a park I'd have to hold her hand everywhere, and we primarily stuck to the swings. Now it is a totally different story. She really wants nothing to do w/ the swings b/c she has so much fun exploring. I still follow her around, just so she doesn't decide to plummet to the ground at any given point, but I really don't have to help her any longer. She can climb up the stairs like a "big girl," holding only the handrail and walking up. She loves running over the bridge and to a slide. She can sit herself down now (after we have learned this lesson the hardway) and pushes to go down by herself. We don't have to catch her or anything, she just runs off as soon as she hits the bottom. It is so cute to see her enjoy her freedom at the park so much now. It is just crazy how much they change in only a few months.

In housing news, we have an official close date of Nov. 24th now - yea!! We are hoping to move in on the 25th and will probably eat thanksgiving dinner sitting on moving boxes. We are just so excited to get in before Christmas! Can't wait to go get our first real Christmas tree.

15 month appt

I admit I am getting bad about updating the blog since most family/friends seem to have moved to facebook, and it is much easier to upload pics to facebook than blogger. but, nevertheless, i will continue to update at least periodically the sort of things you don't put on facebook.
For example, Gretta had her 15 month appt yesterday. Things are going pretty well. She is in the 57% for height and 21% for weight, which is pretty consistent for her. She is a horrible eater, but manages to continue to gain weight, so that is good. We tried to learn some "bad eater" secrets, but it turns out there isn't much we can do about it at this point. She is still too little to send to bed hungry, so at this point she still gets what she'll (kind of) eat, at least at dinner. Which means dinner is often 1 bite of whatever we want her to eat, 1/2 a cup of mandarin oranges, and as many lucky charms marshmallows as she can pick out of the serving we give her.
Gretta is slowly but surely learning more words, and we were assured that her vocab is very normal for her age. apparently my perfectionism carries over to my child as well. i didn't think i could count it as a word unless it was perfectly correct. i guess if she uses a "word" consistently and I know what she means, it counts. so "dare" for "there" counts. who knew? G's fine motor skills are particularly developed, which is the one and only area where adam and I excelled in sports, so that is somewhat expected. G is very cute/clever in our non-biased opinions, which is good, b/c she is a big time stinker sometimes too.

It is getting late and I am losing steam, so here is a picture of our trip to the zoo to add some interest. We had a nice time showing Gretta all of the animals, the giraffes and beavers seemed to be 2 of her favorites. She really enjoyed the petting zoo, until a mean old donkey bit her fingers. One of them actually got infected, but we were able to fight it w/o having to go to an oral antibiotic. Lesson learned for us, be careful around donkeys.


Things on the house front are going well. We will try to remember to take some pictures tomorrow b/c things are really changing daily at this point. We hope to pick out flooring tomorrow during adam's day off. i just don't know if i can look at any more hardwood! i really hope carpet choosing goes smoother. it seems like it should, i don't really have strong opinions about carpet. of course, i always think that until i see the options. it turns out i am much pickier and more discerning than even i originally thought. according to our builders, i am the most "involved" home owner they have ever worked with. haha! it was said in a kind way, but i am *pretty* sure i know what they meant.

Long overdue update

Things have been really busy lately w/ house building, etc. and blogger just takes forever to upload pictures, so I have been bad about updating the blog. It is about time that I do so, however. Who knows if anyone is still checking for updates any longer though...
First things first, Gretta is doing well. She is a very proficient walker at this point, where we no longer have to really worry about her falling over. She does like to climb on furniture, playset, etc. and she doesn't seem to understand that she is not able to walk over the edge of a tall object, so we'll have to work on that one a little. We go to the nearby playground every morning that we don't have another activity planned so that she can run off a little energy. We usually meet other moms and kids there, which is nice for both of us. We have been attending a Wee Worship class every tuesday morning for the past month which we both enjoy. It is held at a girl's home in Beaverdale. The host is a former elementary school music teacher who is currently staying home w/ her kids, so it is great instruction w/ a Christian focus, and it's free! Can't beat that.
Our little G is already extremely feminine. It is so funny how early gender tendencies seem to develop. She is very loving to her dolls and animals, always picking them up and patting them gently on the back. She especially loves Kate (her monkey that she always sleeps with). She loves watching mommy do her hair, and then always asks me to put hers in a ponytail as well. Of course this is a tad difficult since she is still kind of lacking in the hair department. She also loves it when Aunt Ali puts lip gloss on her, she puckers her lips and everything. She is always stealing Ali's jewelry too and wants "pretties" on all the time. She thinks she looks beautiful in my glasses too. Here is some photographic evidence:




Getting lip gloss applied:


Last weekend we enjoyed a full weekend of anniversary celebrations. My parents celebrated their 30th, Adam's parents their 35th, and Dana and Dylan their 1st, all w/in the same week! We celebrated by having both sets of families down for two different dinners and nights at an I cubs game.
Here is my family at Racoon River Brewing Co.:


And here is the Secory's at Centro:


Finally, here are just a couple more pictures over the past month.
Gretta posing:


Playing w/ Grandpa:


Spending time w/ Uncle Rip and Aunt Dana:




Oh, and for anyone interested, house building is still going well. I hope to take some pictures today and will post soon so you can see how things are coming along. We still have tons more decisions to make - kitchen, floors, etc. So it wouldn't seem we have done that much, but there are so many other "behind the scene" decisions that have been made, so I assure you that we are making progress. As one might expect, my type A tendancies are in full force, which means I am doing a lot of leg work myself. I have researched appliances like crazy and Adam and I are going to go to all the area stone fabricators this Thursday while my mom graciously watches Gretta so that we can be assured we are getting the best counters for the right price. Hopefully all the hard work will pay off in the form of a house we love that is still (relatively) w/in our budget.

Boating and House Building

I figure I better update before we head home for a long 4th of July weekend and take more pictures.
We were back in CL just over a week ago and enjoyed some great weather. Gretta even got to go for her first boat ride, she loved it! It is a very rare occasion when G is laid back and calm - which she was throughout the whole ride. We are always a little concerned that something is wrong when she isn't yelling and running around! She loved laying on nana and sipping water as we looked at the beautiful homes on the lake.








Last week Gretta had her first dentist visit. She did relatively well. She didn't love it, but also didn't totally freak out, which was good. She is just getting some practice in before Uncle Rip becomes her dentist and she has to be a good girl for him. She has 8 teeth totally in and is working on her first molars right now. They said she has great baby teeth - very straight and the perfect amt of spacing. I guess there is some good that comes out of never taking a pacifier or a bottle, no shifting of teeth! :) I am really hoping she inherits her daddy's teeth as he got to avoid braces!




In housing news, the framing is well on its way. So far they have framed the basement and main level, and should be working on the 2nd level this week. It is exciting to see some progress and start envisioning where things will be going. Here are a couple of pictures from the front and back:




While we were out looking at the home we had the chance to meet a few more of our neighbors. Actually, I was meeting them for the first time, adam already had the chance to do so. He knows a few of our future neighbors b/c he is their pediatrician and the others he has met from his frequent visits out there. I think we are going to LOVE our neighborhood. There are lots of young, fun families who are very outgoing and friendly. There are already 2 other girls that we know of w/in 6 months of G's age, and several other slightly older kids. We are really looking forward to moving in! Here is a picture of Gretta getting to know the next door neighbor's dog:

Lots of new pictures

I haven't updated for a while, so there are many new pictures and events to report, I am just hoping that I can remember them all!
First, Gretta and I continue to enjoy getting together w/ several different babies and their mommies. Recently we have enjoyed some pool time, park time, etc. Here is Gretta w/ her friend Malachi, loving the ball pit.

As an added bonus, Malachi has 2 doggies, which Gretta absolutely loves. She also loves to tell you what a doggy says.


Another fun recent activity comes courtesy of one of Adam's partners, Brian Waggoner and his wife, Julie, who gave us their Burley bike trailer. It was such a generous gift and Gretta loves going for rides. The first night out she won the battle of the helmet, and was so relaxed she quickly fell asleep. From then on she has worn her new bike helmet, which is absolutely adorable on her (picture to come). The ride didn't go quite as smoothly as she hates having anything on her head, but we made it and she'll get used to it. I bet we'll put plenty of miles on the trailer this summer.



A couple of weekends ago the 3 of us went to the DM Home Show Expo, which was held in Johnston this year. It was a little smaller than in years past due to the economy discouraging large home building, but it was still fun to see. We were actually able to get a few ideas for our own home too, which is nice. Building has officially begun on the home, it is fun to actually see some progress. We are still months away from our move in date, but we are excited nonetheless. No pictures yet b/c I am sure they would be exciting only to us b/c you really can't see
much. Here is a picture of Gretta sporting a (clean) foot bootie:


That same weekend Adam's parents came down for a visit and we had a great time. The highlight of the visit was dinner downtown followed by the Iowa Cubs game. Unfortunately, Gretta and I had to hit the road early due to an early bedtime. The rest of them enjoyed great weather for the game followed by some fun fireworks.
Gretta looking at Grandpa Jon to see if was ok to try the spinach dip:

She really liked the pita chips and dip, which was funny b/c it was spicy spinach dip that others thought was "too hot."



The gang at the game:


We'll have more pictures soon, I am tired of uploading tonight! :) Oh, I almost forgot, Gretta is now officially a walker. I wasn't sure when to give her credit in her baby books b/c she has been "kind of" walking for a couple of weeks now. She walks pretty well now, and prefers it to crawling, so she'll get it checked off in her calendar now.