Don't Forget!

I wanted to remind everyone to take a minute (literally that was all it took me!) to fill in your guess on the poll to the right of the webpage! I find out what I am having in exactly a week - so that doesn't give you long to register your vote!

Couple Hints:

Evelynn was born 3 weeks early

She was 6 lb 7 oz and 18 3/4 "

Now, they say that just because one baby was born a little early, doesn't mean that the next one won't be overdue...but I thought this might help spur some of you onto guessing!

A Couple Weekends Out of Town

Life at the Buser house has been anything BUT normal for the last couple of weeks. After losing a best friend's father in a bicycle accident, we headed out of town to attend the services. Evelynn and I made the trip by ourselves, and it went pretty well. We did get caught in a horrible thunderstorm for an hour, but at least we made it there safely. We then returned home, only to find out that my Papa had lost his fight with cancer the very night that we had come home. So, as a family, we made the trip back to attend those services. Of course, our times at home were rather somber, so there weren't many pictures taken...but here are a few taken out at the Busers from the two different trips that were worth sharing.

Grandpa Buser cut a few zinnias for Evelynn to give to Grandma.

"Hel-woah?"

Evelynn looking rather jealous that Jake ("big doggie") had his own pool. On another occasion we did rinse the pool and filled it for her enjoyment. The water was FREEZING, but she had a great time. Sorry I can't share those pictures, but she was in the buff!

Evelynn's first time sleeping in a BIG bed! Granted the mattress was sitting on the ground, but even still...she didn't get lost in the sheets!

More Milestones!

Evelynn has had lots of milestones lately! Not only is she 21 months old now (where did the time go?) but she is definitely going down the road of becoming a "big girl!"

The above picture shows that Evelynn is starting to dress herself! Well, she needs help putting things on, but she definitely likes to have a say in what she wears. Hence, the Winnie the Pooh hiking boots minus socks! She also likes having a say in what Hannah wears (her baby)! Grandma Buser made Hannah some clothes and Evelynn loves dressing Hannah.

Here is Evelynn showing off another milestone! Evelynn is potty training! She is doing super, and had her first dry day (no accidents) yesterday! We are super proud, and so is she!

Another big milestone is that Evelynn is sleeping in her big girl bed, well sorta. She is actually sleeping in her crib, with the rail down making it a day bed of sorts. I always thought she would be a "runner," but she has surprised me with her obedience in staying in bed. She has only gotten out of bed when she wasn't supposed to a couple of times. She also only fell out of bed (the whole 4 inches) only twice as well! Thanks goodness...I hated hearing that thud! Here in a few months we will be making the move to the real big girl bed, a full size bed, to get ready for the next baby. I was worried about this, but I am quite confidant that she will do great now.

Evelynn has also started drinking her milk out of a cup! Bye bye sippy cup! We still use cups with straws during the day for water, but during meals she now uses her big girl cup!

Last, but certainly not least, Evelynn has finally started saying her own name! Technically she has been able to repeat her own name for a while now, but now she is starting to refer to herself as "Eh-nen."

Landscaping Before and After Shots

As many of you know, we have been spending A LOT of time outside doing some much needed landscaping! I thought you could use some before and after photos to show some of our sweat equity.

Here are some BEFORE photos of the house:

Here is Brad workin' his tail off! We borrowed a tiller older than we are from our neighbor. I wish I had this on video because Brad looked like he was seriously riding a bronco until he got the hang of things!

And here are the AFTER shots:

(You'll notice the little ornamental trees are gone, but it will take a little while for the grass to fill in, despite our efforts of transplanting.)

We bumped out the western side of the front bed, and of course lined it with rock. It also has all perennial plants now, which will look gorgeous once they all fill in. I couldn't afford to buy them full grown, so you will have to use your imagination for now!

The eastern side of the front bed was bumped out a little toward the driveway, lined with rock as well, and we added a much needed pathway to the driveway. No more cutting through the grass! We also transplanted our Japanese Bloodgood Maple to a shadier location in hopes that it won't look so crispy come August. It has a gatorbag on it right now, so please forgive the tacky picture.

Now we are working with our neighbor, Chad, to get the west side of the house in working order. Here the boys are putting rock down to create an extended walking area for our very narrow driveways. I don't think the bulbs are going to stay long term, but they are there for now. I am hoping to put some creeping euonymus there in the spring.

And, it wouldn't be a proper blog entry without a picture of Evelynn.

A Fun Game

Hello everyone!

A sweet friend of the family, Diana, passed me a link where we can all go and submit our guesses as to the details of the arrival of our baby! I would love for everyone to go and place a guess. Who knows, maybe I will even give something special to the person who guesses the closest?!?! Good luck to all who enter!

http://expectnet.com/game.php

* If this doesn't take you directly to the game, you may have to enter KiraandBrad in that top left hand purple box that asks the Invited Guests for a Game Name. Let me know if you have problems. I am trying to figure this out myself!

A Much Needed Update

Okay, I hear you! You want pictures of the cutie of the family! Well, I finally snapped a few today. Enjoy!

Here she is with some "balls" as she kindly refers to them (aka Trix cereal) for snack.

She was also watching her very favorite, Sesame Street, on TV at the same time. Sorry, I had a hard time getting her to look at me. Apparently Elmo is rather distracting.

So, I tried again later. Here we are playing with the maracas. She is showing everyone that the top changes color.

She is shaking it here, but you can't exactly see that in a still picture. So, thats when I got the idea that I should try to take some videos. I apologize for the quality, and for Evelynn's attention span, but at least I tried!

Warning EXTREMELY long videos - at least for my attention span!

12 Week Appointment Success!

Okay, I admit, I haven't been updating the blog like my usual self. I apologize profusely, but please understand that I have been exhausted! This baby making business is hard work, and in my free time (aka Evelynn's nap time), I like to SLEEP!

In other news, my 12 week appointment was today. All was well. Baby's heartbeat was strong and healthy. Gained a pound (woohoo - big difference from the ten I lost at this time with Evelynn) and the doctor seemed pleased. We even set up my ultrasound appointment to find out the gender! Drum roll please...the big day is July 14th! We'll have to take a poll when the time gets a little closer. Evelynn came with me for this appointment and she did SO WELL. Not that I doubted her, but I have heard some serious horror stories. She got a little nervous when they drew my blood, but I had a secret weapon: DUM DUMS! Yup! That's right, I sugared by kid up, and boy did it work! It was her first time with suckers, so she was a little messy, but super cute. I was kicking my butt that I didn't have a camera to catch the pink tinted drool soaking her cute little outfit.

I promise to update with pictures soon. Maybe even show you a little belly bulge. They aren't kidding when they say you pop a little sooner with the second pregnancy! Of course, this doesn't exactly look like a baby belly, more like I just ate a big Thanksgiving meal. Eh, oh well! I'll just be thankful that my ankles and back don't hurt from this bulge yet! Ha!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Too Long!

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to put up another post! I have pictures to share, but those will have to wait until I have a few more minutes (maybe during nap today). I did want to share that I went to the doctor on Monday, and all is well with the baby. They gave me an official due date of December 4th, and I was able to have a sonogram and hear the heartbeat. What sweet music, even the second time around! Also great news is that I am not NEARLY as sick with this baby as I was with Evelynn. As long as I eat, just about every hour (especially protein), then I can usually make it through the day with very little nausea until the late evening hours. I think by Evelynn's bedtime the fatigue contributes a lot to the nausea, making things a little worse. I can't thank you all enough for all of your prayers!

Family Time!

Evelynn showing Aunt Carrie her belly button, for the millionth time.

Evelynn, Auntie A, and Uncle B posing...

...and being goofy.

And Grandma and Grandpa doing a little reading before they had to leave!

Thanks for coming everyone! We had so much fun!