Thanksgiving

We have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Our families drove down to be with us this year, as they've done for the last few years. Our house was filled with laughter, family stories, and the delicious scents of Thanksgiving dinner.

Dylan enjoyed every moment of having so many people in the house. When the last group finally left this morning he was in tears. What's he supposed to do with only mom and dad to hang out with?

Uncle Gregg brought over this Pac-Man game. It connects right to the front of your tv, and you can play Pac-Man just like the old days! Dylan thought this was the most miraculous thing he'd seen in awhile.

We had appetizers and hung out from mid-morning until the meal was ready. It was fun to hang out with everyone!

After dinner, I couldn't resist giving Dylan a gift. I had purchased it as a Christmas gift, but I wanted to see his reaction so badly I couldn't wait. I also thought everyone else would enjoy seeing his reaction. Add to this the fact that Dylan spotted the gift in a cabinet when I went to get something out of the guest room, and I almost had no choice! So Dylan opened up the Sodor Engine Wash and James the Engine. He loved it! Pretty soon the adults were joining us at the table. They convinced me he didn't have enough track, so I got out another Christmas present - the track add-on pack - and Dylan soon had his own little railway going! It was really fun to see how pulling out the train brought everyone together in the kitchen.

One more thing we are thankful for - our friends Paul and Tracey had a baby boy yesterday on Thanksgiving Day. It was a rather traumatic entrance for little Aron. At some point the doctor discovered the baby wasn't getting oxygen, and hadn't been for approximately 5 minutes. They rushed Tracey off to the operating room for an emergency c-section. It went so fast Paul was not able to join them, Tracey wasn't able to get any more pain relief drugs, and Aron was lacerated in the process of cutting Tracey open. Aron had to be resuscitated, BUT today everyone is okay. So it was a day to be very thankful!

30 Weeks

Well here we are at 30 weeks now. Just 10 weeks to go, yay!!!

The days of sleeping well are over. Now I toss and turn for what feels like most of the night. I think of Dylan in his room, sleeping peacefully. It's strange to be the only one in the house awake! It's been awhile since I've had any reason to be awake in the middle of the night without some company.

Baby is still nameless. I've narrowed it down to one name I want, but Brian just isn't ready to choose a name. I think I'll be able to convince him, but you never know, maybe he'll surprise me with a new suggestion I really like.

For some reason, today I had more people touch my belly than all the people in both of my pregnancies combined. It was co-workers that suddenly realized I'm pregnant and wanted to get a feel. I don't mind - I think a total stranger would creep me out though!

The baby continues to be very active. He tends to sit right on my bladder, which is getting painful. I think I may have started waddling when I'm in a hurry to get to the restroom.

Now that Thanksgiving is here, I'm feeling like babies are going to be born fast and furious. My friend Tracey is due this Sunday with a boy. Angie is due around Christmas with a girl. And then it's my turn. It will all happen soon and before we know it there will be three more precious little lives in the world!

I'm getting excited for my 32-week appointment. My doctor's office does an ultrasound at 32 weeks to check the growth and progress. I'm planning to schedule my appointment at their office location near the hospital, which is where the 3D machine is. Cross your fingers my plan works out! I've been daydreaming a lot about what this baby will look like, and how he'll be similar to and different from Dylan.

Gathering firewood

After our visitors left about 12:30 this afternoon, we decided to make a quick trip over to Galena. The Luther's cabin is coming along, and with snow forecasted for next week, Brian wanted to get firewood in our garage to dry out for next winter.

Dylan was very helpful, and quite a little work horse. He enjoyed handing the wood to Brian. This slowed down the process a bit, but that was alright. With the three of us working, we barely spent twenty minutes at the cabin before heading back home.

Dylan loved running around the backyard. He seemed to really enjoy exploring. I think once we start spending some quality time there, he is going to be in his element. He did fall down quite a bit, and informed us he was 'dirty,' but kept running around.

We call this one "Pooping in the Woods" because, well, that's what he seemed to be doing. Turns out the grunting may have been because his butt was soaked when he got up. Either way, the look on his face says it all.

While we were at the cabin, we were thinking of the Luther family. They were all in Anamosa, IA at Brian's aunt and uncle's house, celebrating an early Thanksgiving. Not knowing what time my family would leave, we decided it wasn't going to work out for us to attend this year. For those of you reading this, we missed you and hope you had a great day together. We hope to see you at Christmas!

Early Thanksgiving

This past weekend we had lots of visitors! Oma, Kelly, Oma's friend Lori and Jess all came on Friday. Oma and Lori went to the SOLD OUT Brad Paisley concert at the MetroCenter (yay Brian!), while Kelly and Jess joined me and some neighbor friends at my Lia Sophia jewelry party. My mom and Lori enjoyed the concert, and I think the rest of us had fun shopping for jewelry in the catalog. My co-worker Cari is a Lia Sophia advisor, and instead of feeling forced and awkward, she made if fun and inviting. The party went well and I think I'll be getting lots of new jewelry!

Saturday we ran all kinds of errands. Throughout the day we split off or went together to many different stores, and both Kelly and I managed to get some Christmas shopping taken care of.

For dinner on Saturday evening my mom made an early Thanksgiving dinner. She brought the turkey, pie and other ingredients with her. She even made us real, fresh whipped cream to top the pie.

The turkey was juicy and a lovely brown color!

While waiting for dinner, Dylan colored. He has become quite an artist lately. He usually likes to color a few lines on each page. We're going through coloring books rather quickly now.

Here's a picture of me with my buddy.

Baby steps in the Baby's room

Slowly but surely, we are making progress in getting the baby's room ready for his arrival. By the way, for those of you wondering, he still has no name.

Before he went into work tonight, Brian hung the curtain rod and valance. Looks like I need to re-tie it so all the ties are even, but you get the idea. The walls are a very light blue. If you compare the walls to the ceiling you can tell the difference. In person the blue is a bit darker, but in this picture it looks very pale. Next we'll be adding blinds and wall decor!

We bought a dresser on Craigslist. It's very similar to the one we have for Dylan. We're just not ready to give up the changing area for Dylan, so getting another changing table/dresser was a good option. It matches the wood color of the crib, so that was lucky! I also dragged some of the bins of clothes from Dylan's room into the baby's room. I haven't gone through them yet - I'm letting the dresser air out a bit. It was in the previous owners attic for awhile and smells a tad musty. In the upcoming weeks I'll start washing and putting away clothes.

Decisions, decisions

Brian and I have decided to get Dylan a train for Christmas. He can't get enough of Thomas the Tank Engine. He has two small train engines so far (Thomas and Percy), and instead of carrying around his cute little lambs, now he carries trains.

Yesterday at Target I bought him a Thomas coloring book. I noticed that as Dylan turned the pages he would name each train. Sounds like nothing spectacular, until I mention that the trains are uncolored (obviously), and he can identify them. I was really surprised. I can't figure out how he can tell them apart. If they were in color, that's one thing. Also, they all have a different number on them, but he doesn't know numbers that well. Is it that their facial expressions are all different? He knows Thomas, Percy, Gordon, Henry, Ben, James, Toby, and a few others I can't even remember!

We went to Kohl's this morning, and saw some Thomas toys on sale. We stopped and picked one up. Brian and I were examining the package, trying to figure out which train engine it was that was included. Dylan kept saying "James, James, James, James, James." I heard him, but it didn't really register. Finally on the back in a small bubble it said "James included". Well, duh, mom and dad. It's James!

After the trip to Kohls, we decided to go to Toys R'Us to check out our options. Turns out buying a table and some trains isn't such an easy decision. There are at least three different types of Thomas train sets. You have the classic wooden Thomas railway set, the Take Along Thomas set, and the Trackmaster set is yet another option. They are all manufactured by different companies, and are not compatible with each other. I've been trying to find reviews online, to see what other parents have thought about the various sets. So far I've found that the wooden railway set is by far the most expensive, but most durable set, and seems to be the set 4+ year olds like. The Take Along set seems to be the most popular with beginners in the train world, especially toddlers. It's portable for easy play, but the track is plastic, so you don't have that classic appearance. The Trackmaster set has the least info out there and doesn't seem to be very popular.

After some debate, we've decided the Take Along set is the way to go for now. You can buy pieces as you go, and still have a complete play set without investing hundreds of dollars. Plus, each set is transportable (important for a toddler), and can be set up almost anywhere. The wooden set would most definitely need a table, and we're not sure we want to get that involved this year. So I'm pretty sure we're going with the Take Along stuff, but if any mothers of train lovers have an opinion for me, please share!

And finally, for you pet lovers out there...we stopped home quickly between morning errands, and I saw Opie resting comfortable on the couch. I couldn't resist catching this picture. I guess I do still love those darn cats after all.

Ice Hogs Home Opener

Thursday night my Uncle Gregg came to stay with us. He had a business meeting in Chicago on Friday and stayed with us two nights. Dylan, who recently has been rather shy with strangers, warmed right up to Gregg.

Here they are looking at our blog together. Dylan loves to see pictures and video of himself. When you ask him "Who is that?" He'll respond "Baby"

Friday evening Gregg, Dylan and I headed down to the MetroCenter for the big home opener, and re-opening of the building. Though only phase 1 of construction is complete, the changes to the building evident, and Brian was very busy the whole night. We managed to visit with him for a few minutes before the game.

Dylan is such a guy when it comes to sporting events. He eats a lot and yells at the players. Here he is enjoying some cotton candy.

And here he is with his popcorn. He had a late evening, didn't get to bed until after 9:30. He's taking a really good nap now to make up for it! :)