5th Anniversary

If only I had known on Mother's Day that the trick to getting Avery to pose for a picture was to put the camera on timer, then that morning would have gone a whole lot easier.

Scott and I celebrated our 5th anniversary today and it was as close to a perfect day as you can get. We leisurely woke up, snuggled with Avery in bed, had a casual morning, got ready, did some shopping, watched Avery eat a bucket of guacamole for lunch, took a long nap, and went out for a tasty dinner. Avery's behavior was exemplary and there were almost zero fights about using the potty. Scott is on his way to a movie and I am going to read in the bathtub.

At lunch, I got a little teary because I had a moment where it hit me that we are only going to be 3 bears for a little over a month. I want to cherish this time with Avery because he gets all of our love and attention, knowing that soon our lives will become an increasingly complex juggling act. We are all very excited for Sister's arrival but today was a day that I will cherish with my first born son and my wonderful husband.

PS. I am a bad wife and even though I did not forget our anniversary, I did forget to get him a card. Negative 5 points for me. Sorry, Bear.

Farmer's Market

The East High School Farmer's Market has finally returned. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say "locally produced gourmet foods" market as there was one stall of tomatoes and the rest were such things as crepes, salsas, teas, and baked goods. Later in the season, there will be more produce but it's still fun to go and taste everything and then let Avery play in the fountain. Eventually, the fountain will be filled with water, but for now, the empty one was fun enough.

Quick Thinking

First time licking the beater, folks!

Trying a different tactic

This would be easier with the smaller hand held whisk.

I love the crazy focus of this picture

AVERY was REALLY craving cupcakes on Monday so I reluctantly agreed to take him to the Shoppe on Colfax (Avery's favorite street) for a treat. We were just about out the door when I remembered that they have the nerve not to be open on Mondays! Well, Avery was all hyped about the cupcakes and after some very quick thinking, I realized we could make our own...that is, if whole grain, organic wheat muffins could somehow pass as cupcakes. Turns out, if you add "frosting" (I had some heavy whipping cream in the fridge) just about anything can be a cupcake. I might put it on broccoli and see if he'll eat it. Anyway, our muffins were a success and it was hysterical watching Avery figure out how to maximize the amount of whipped cream he could get off of the whisk.

Soccer

This might be one of the cutest Avery/Daddy pictures to date.
(There is a soccer ball on top of my head, fyi).

Watching very intently.

He'll eventually have to learn that hands are not allowed.

He rarely lost track of Daddy.

Go, Daddy!

Celebrating the win!

Reuben Barak

Stacy, Scott and Hannah welcomed Reuben Barak on May 12, weighing in at 7lbs 14oz and 20 inches long. This means that two out of the three maj babies have been born! Stacy looked amazing and was just glowing. Scott was tired, and Hannah seemed to be a moderately interested in her brother, but definitely wanted her Mommy. I think seeing all of his friends get little siblings has helped Avery realize that this is just what happens. I am however, nervous about how he's going to react when he has to share HIS mommy. In case you haven't been paying attention, Avery is VERY attached to me. However, he seems to be genuinely excited about having a baby sister and interacts with her (my belly) almost every day.

Yesterday, I asked him what Hannah's baby brother's name is and he said Reuben. He then asked me what his sister's name is. He caught on awhile ago that we aren't just going to call her Sister for the rest of her life. Well, I said it was a secret and that we would tell him when she comes out. He then leans over to me and says in a whisper, "It's okay mommy, just tell me." I didn't, so it's no use asking him :)

We are just thrilled for the Wassermans and Reuben is absolutely adorable. We are so excited that he has joined our ever expanding circle of family and friends.

Mother's Day

Guess who did not want his picture taken?

You have no idea the energy that went into getting this picture. Plus, we had to crop Scott out because his face looked funny (insert your own joke about Scott's face always looking funny, if you so choose).

All I wanted for Mother's Day was nice family picture. The TWO was in full force that day so Sarah didn't get her picture and we had to work really hard to get the one above. For some reason, I was pretty cranky, and when I say I was cranky, I'm being nice. Raging-Semi Bitch might be more appropriate and my attitude precluded me from showing my appreciation for all of the wonderful things Scott, Avery and Sarah did for me; Pete's coffee, cinnamon rolls, sleeping in, thoughtful cards, & flowers. So, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize for my bad attitude. We ended up going to Castle Rock and having a pretty good time, despite Avery's unwillingness to go potty or do anything without mommy. Sometimes I wonder if he knows they cut the cord over 2.5 years ago.

Aunt Sarah

Waiting patiently for Aunt Sarah to come up the elevator (clearly we've gone from a pants optional house to a clothing optional one)

He's so excited that he has to run away!

She got him...love, love, love...

1...2...3...WEEEEEE!!!!

Waiting for our table at the Aquarium Restaurant

Sarah just so happened it have business in Denver this past weekend (she's in charge of the ladies handing out samples at the grocery store) and extended her stay so that she could spend some time with us and by us, I mean, Avery. We LOVE having Sarah stay as she is so helpful and equally happy to go have adventures appropriate for wee ones as she is lounging in her jammies all day. I'll give you one guess as to which is my preferred activity these days? This was a very nice, unexpected a visit and it was not lost on us that the next time she is in Denver, there will be a niece for her to love.

The Wedding

Fatty & Shorty

At the altar

Just married

First Dance

So the entire time we were in Illinois, the weather was questionable at best, torrential at worst. This is the same storm that caused all of the flooding in Tennessee. I actually didn't mind the rain because it released me from any obligation "to do something" for most of the weekend. Meaning, I slept in and took a nap. It was a true luxury not to have to negotiate with a certain 2 year old to get just about anything accomplished and it made me realize how much of my time and energy is spent getting him to cooperate, listen and go along.

We did leave for the wedding a little early so that we could go wine tasting! (That exclamation point is sarcastic) Apparently, southern Illinois produces some pretty good sweet wines, not that I would know. I was prepared to enjoy a little wine at the wedding, but just couldn't bring myself to do more than take the tiniest of sips, both at the wedding and at the tastings. It's not because I was worried about the baby (she's fully developed and is at low risk of sprouting a third arm), it's that the spectacle that a very visibly pregnant woman imbibing a fermented beverage creates, made me uncomfortable. Also, I'm not 100% sure that Scott was okay with me having some wine because in total, I had 6 sips over 6 hours and he's still talking about it like I'm so kind of addict and in need of an intervention.

So it was "dumpin' down rain" and the only time it let up was during the ceremony, allowing Cheney and Travis to get married outside. The ceremony fit their personalities to a tee, and I love that Travis was the one who got teary. Cheney later told me that she had a valium :) They had their dog Nollie bring the rings down the aisle which was pretty darn cute.

They served bar-b-que which was a HUGE hit. However, the kids' buffet had mac n' cheese and the adults were so interested that the staff had to put a guard by it to ward off cheese loving grown-ups. Not to brag, but I helped myself to some and walked away, because who's going to stand in the way of big, hungry-looking pregnant woman who obviously hasn't had a drink in months?

Overall, we had a wonderful time. It was relaxing and very nice to be the center of Scott's attention. He can be supremely loving and attentive when not distracted by a hotel or 2 year old.

St. Louis

Heather and Scot

Scott and some fat lady

Semi-authentic St. Louis pizza (I say semi because we only got veggies on it, no meat...unheard of).

In celebration of Cheney and Travis's wedding, Heather, Scot, Scott (I told you we know a lot of Scott's) and I traveled to Carbondale, IL by way of St. Louis. Well, I thought Detroit was a depressed, sad city. We did find a little area by the river that had been redeveloped and seemed to be enjoying a little renewal to have some dinner. We chose the restaurant because of it's promise of authentic St. Louis pizza, approved by Rachel Ray, and were very curious to know what kind of pizza St. Louis has to offer.

Turns out, one gets a square pizza delivered on a cookie tray smothered in Provel aka white velveeta and according to wikipedia, "Although popular in the St. Louis area, Provel is rarely used elsewhere." The city went and created its own processed cheese in order to give its pizza a unique character, and I mean processed cheese because, "Provel is not legally labeled as simply cheese because it does not meet the moisture content requirements that the (FDA) holds for a food to be considered cheese." Nice. All I can say is that I have an affinity for processed cheese and thought the pizza was damn good and so did everyone else.

Our time in St. Louis was brief since we still had a two hour ride to Marion, just outside of Carbondale. I don't have much to say about Marion except that it is Everywhere USA and we ate a Bob Evans, because it was the best choice.

31 Weeks

Yup. Carrying them differently. Avery on the left. Sister on the right.

How many chins do I see?

Avery is actually in all of the pictures I took today. In the photo above, can you see his elbow?

Here it is - 31 weeks. I feel huge. Waddle. Could sleep 14 hours a day if not more. Pee more times a day than I care to count. Experience a slew of aches and pains throughout the day and can't eat what I want (there is not enough room for baby + food). HOWEVER, I am really, really excited about Sister's arrival and feel like we can see the home stretch. I've started dreaming not only about tiny, snuggly babies but also about running and losing the baby weight. Seriously, it looks like I've gained more than 21 pounds.

Even though I said I wasn't going to post any bra belly pics, my sense of vanity has all but dispersed and I'm more interested in keeping record and noting the differences. I think it really is remarkable how different my two bellies look.