Midwest Vacation: Days 3 and 4

Our third day was pretty low key. We spent most of the day relaxing at the hotel. We did venture out in the morning though to stock up our refrigerator and "pantry". After lunch we did what Abigail had been waiting all week for-we went swimming.

Sarah seemed to shut down soon after we put her in the water. She seemed really relaxed in her floatie and I was pretty confident she would easily go down for an afternoon nap. Well, as soon as I brought her back to her room she bounced back to life.

Abigail stayed back at the pool with Jonathan. At first she was a bit afraid, even with all of her floatation devices. After a little reassurance from us she was much more comfortable and had a blast.

The next day we ventured out to South Bend to visit the Potawatomi Zoo. The girls really enjoyed walking around and looking at the different animals.

This could count as a family portrait, check out the reflection in my sunglasses for Jonathan and Abigail.

You learn something new everyday. Did you know there was such a thing as a Diana Monkey?

Later in the afternoon Papa Kapaldo stopped by for a visit. We had a nice dinner at Carrabas. After that it was bedtime!

Midwest Vacation: Days 1 and 2

It is our vacation week. Uncle James (Kapaldo) is graduating on Saturday from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. We thought we'd make a week out of it and head out west.

We hit the road on Saturday morning and headed for western Pennsylvania. We were in the van for a good solid 10 hours. I have to say though, the girls did really well! Because we'd be in the van for so long we decided to put the girls in the back seat, stow away one of the middle seats to make extra space, and use the other middle seat for me. The van didn't get crazy messy and I was able to meet the needs of the girls more easily.

I like to keep track of our progress and know what to expect as far as how long we have to go. So, I had Jonathan blow up a map of each days' route and print it out so we could track our progress (and so maybe the girls would have an idea of what was going on).

Maps courtesy of Google.

Our second day of driving was, let's say, miserable. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. But I was ready to drive and let Jonathan take my spot. We were in the car this time for just over six hours. I guess the girls were just ready to not be in the van anymore.

The nice thing about our second day was that we were able to have a nice visit with Uncle Nate and his girlfriend Amanda. We had a nice breakfast and got a tour of Nathaniel's school, Slippery Rock University. The girls really liked being able to run around and get some fresh air.

My Grandparents let us use a week of their timeshare (thank you Grandma and Grandpa!). So we have a nice place to stay for the week. The girls have their own room, Abigail has her own king size bed. We are also able to make simple meals and go swimming in their indoor pool. You'll notice in the picture below that soon after we arrived Abigail already had her "babysuit" on (she can't say bathing yet).

Photo Fridays 05.06.11

The girls having a "sleepover". Abigail likes to use pillow cases as sleeping bags and Sarah wanted to join in.

Three

So, Abigail has been three for a few weeks now. So far, so good. But that isn't what this post is about. It's about a different sort of "three".
Curious? Read on...

I am writing this post on March 19, 2011. Today is the day I cried happy and scared tears. Today is the day I found out we are pregnant with our third baby. Our THIRD baby.

I found out I was pregnant with Sarah when Abigail was 10 months old. I cried then too. I was just getting used to the whole "mommy" thing and now I was going to start all over again. But, not too long ago I was thinking about it and looking back-this was really perfect timing. The girls really get along and are so good together (minus occasional fights over toys or personal space).

So, today, May 2, we are happy to announce that we are expecting baby number three. I said it again...THREE!

Sarah is 17 months old (or was when we found out), so she and the little one will be just over two years apart. Abigail and the baby will be over 3 1/2 years apart. I think that will make for some good spacing.

Right now (as of the actual posting date) we're almost 12 weeks along with a due date of November 17, 2011. Right now baby number three is about the size of a lime. We are almost in the happy trimester where hopefully I will have more energy and less nausea.

Here is an ultrasound picture from earlier today. All is well! We also got to here the baby's heartbeat for the first time today.

Stay tuned for more! Life is going to get interesting!

The Girls Had a Ball

I think Abigail was convinced that the reception was going to be more like a Cinderella-type ball. She was ready to go soon after the wedding ceremony started. It seems like she has been waiting for this moment all her life-she couldn't stop talking about wearing her dress and dancing.

Well, Saturday she finally had her chance.

Here is a quick summary of what Abigail did at the reception:

Slept:


Danced:

Ate a bit.

Danced (Abigail learning the Cha Cha Slide):

Had some ice cream.

Danced:


At one point the ring bearer was dancing too. He fell at one point, so Abigail decided to join him on the floor. He got up, then he gave her his hand so he could help her up. Abigail liked being the damsel in distress. So, about 5 or so more times she would fall so he could help her up again. Kids do the funniest things!

Sarah's reception activities were pretty similar.

Sarah ate.

Sarah danced:


Sarah ate some more.

Sarah danced some more:


Sarah fell asleep:

I think it is safe to say that the girls had a ball at my brother and sister-in-law's wedding reception!

Wedding Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating my brother's wedding in New Jersey.

We started off the weekend with the rehearsal followed by dinner. The girls had fun "rehearsing". Their favorite part was probably the big pool of holy water attached to a little fountain. Papa was on Sarah duty and I tried to keep Abigail under control (remember, Jonathan was en route to Massachusetts at this time). The rehearsal dinner was a little crazy because there were a lot of people and it took a while for the food to actually come. By the time it did come the girls were not interested in eating. They had had enough. So, I took James' car and drove us back to the hotel where the girls went quickly to sleep.

Despite the late bedtime (around 10:00) Abigail still woke up at 5:30. Sarah was out. As soon as my Mom was up I sent Abigail over so Sarah could sleep as long as possible. In the meantime I paced back and forth waiting for Jonathan to arrive with our wedding attire.

Nonna, Auntie Laura, Abigail, and I went to a salon to get our hair done. Then Laura, Abigail, and I were taken to Dawn's house to change and do pictures. Then we all headed to the church for the ceremony. We don't have many pictures from the ceremony because Jonathan was in charge of Sarah (and then later Abigail when she wouldn't sit still).

After the ceremony we stayed back a little longer for portraits. Then we headed over to the reception. Abigail fell asleep on the way there and continued her nap for a good 20 minutes or so. Sarah fell asleep a little later during the reception. The reception was a lot of fun and the girls had a blast!

Congratulations again James and Dawn! We hope you have a fun and relaxing honeymoon!

Funny Story

I'll be posting more about our wedding weekend in the coming days, but I thought I'd share a funny story first.

We got up bright and early Friday morning but ran a little late anyway. We headed to Nonna and Papa's to join our little caravan to New Jersey for my brother's wedding.

We made a few rest stops and arrived at the hotel around 4:30. The girls were happy to get out of the van and do some exploring. My Mom decided to try on her dress for the wedding to make sure all was well, so I thought about taking our dresses out of our garment bag.

I went back to our hotel room. I froze. In shock I started to cry and told Jonathan that his suit, Abigail's flower girl dress, and my bride's maid dress were hanging up in our closet. In MASSACHUSETTS!

After taking it all in Jonathan knew what he had to do. He had to drive back home, get our dresses, and then come back-all before 7:30 the next morning. He was a trooper and made it home by 10:00 Friday night. He napped for a few hours and headed back to New Jersey at 3:00 Saturday morning. He arrived promptly before 7:30.

Jonathan saved the day!