9/29/2010 Two Little Monkeys

9/27/2010 Success!

Gavin is currently fast asleep in his toddler bed! This is his first night not sleeping in a crib.

9/26/2010 Baby Briggs #3

It's been brought to my attention (several times) that I have not made an official baby announcement on the blog. I'm sorry that I am so late in doing this, but here are the exciting details!

Baby Briggs #3 has a due date of December 23rd, however we are scheduled for an induction on December 20th unless the baby decides to come sooner. This pregnancy has flown by! I can't believe my third trimester starts this week! We kept the pregnancy a secret from our families for a long time because we wanted to tell them in person. We waited until our last vacation back to Iowa & Nebraska in late August when I was about 6 months into the pregnancy. Everyone was shocked to see me! I really didn't have to make an announcement- they knew as soon as they saw me! We have decided to be surprised about the sex of the baby. It was a rough pregnancy in the beginning with morning sickness. It was terrible for the first 20 weeks, but with the help of my antinausea medications (Zofran and Phenergan) I was able to stay out of the hospital and continue working. The morning sickness was so severe when I was pregnant with Alexa and Gavin that I had to be hospitalized to receive IV fluids and medication to stop the vomiting. Around 20 weeks, I started to feel much better and started putting on weight. Since then, I have gained over 20 pounds! My doctor has always assured me that the morning sickness is not harmful to the baby and the ultrasounds have confirmed that the baby is growing and thriving.

The baby's cute profile

A tiny little foot that keeps kicking me!

Daddy tried to take some pictures of me with the kids this morning. We got some cute ones, but Gavin only cooperated for two- that was his limit before he got fussy. So we didn't get any of me with both kids, but I hope you enjoy them anyways.

My little man is going to be a big brother! We really need to stop calling him "Baby Gavin" now. We started calling him that when he was born because at that time, Alexa was 14 months old and every time we called him Gavin, she thought we were saying Gabbi and she'd get confused. So to help her learn his name, we started calling them Baby Gavin and Gabbi Dog. Baby Gavin stuck and we are all guilty of calling him that on a daily basis.

Alexa is very excited about the new baby. She is always kissing, hugging, and patting my belly. Sometimes she says that it's a baby sister, and then the next time she says it's a baby brother. She says really funny things like, "He's so cute! He's smiling at me!" She loves to tell people, "There's a baby in Mommy's tummy- at Christmastime!" (meaning the baby will be born close to Christmas)

Alexa came with me to my 20 week OB appointment. As soon as the doctor walked in the room, Alexa announced that I had a baby in my tummy and showed the doctor where it was!

I'm looking forward to seeing Alexa with the new baby. I think she's going to be a big helper! Daddy says that she can change all the dirty diapers. I don't think that's a good idea.

All the pictures below were taken mid-June on the morning that the kids made the announcement to their friends and teachers at daycare. Everyone was very surprised and excited.

The shirts say it all!

9/25/2010

We had a very fun day with the Obermire family today. Kara and I took the kids to Inniswood Gardens. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day! The kids enjoyed nature on our walk and Alexa stuffed her pockets full of leaves. They also loved the tree house and swinging bridge. After the park, we showed our new friends the library.

Emme, Alexa, and Gavin up in the tree house

Luckily Kara was able to help the kids up and down the ladder several times (not so easy for a pregnant lady!).

They liked standing on the tree stumps.

While the men were grilling our supper, we went for a short walk to feed the ducks at the pond. The kids always love riding in the wagon.

Alexa is holding our bread for the ducks.

As soon as they saw us, the ducks came running (waddling)!

throwing bread

9/22/2010 Alexa's New Room!

We are getting ready for Baby Briggs #3! We decided to switch the kids' bedrooms and put Gavin and the baby together and Alexa in her own room. We ended up selling her nursery furniture and buying her a "big girl" bed. I found an adorable bedroom set on Craigslist for a very reasonable price. It included a full sized bed, dresser with mirror, and bookcase. Although it was in excellent condition, I decided that I would prefer it in white. When we purchased it, it was distressed/antique white and looked very country. Once we brought it home, I immediately went to work sanding it all down and then coating it in bright white paint. It was really hard work and it took me twice as long to finish as I expected, but I think it turned out great. Our whole family is enjoying her new room! Now I need to tackle Gavin's room! I have less than 3 months before our new arrival.

Since we don't have an extra bedroom to use as a guestroom, Alexa's room will work great now. We can easily have her sleep in our bedroom temporarily when we have guests sleep over and give them her room. It's very pink and girly, but at least it's comfortable!

I took off the dresser drawer knobs and painted them with the leftover orange paint from when I painted the walls. The walls in this room have always been orange. I bought Alexa bedding that would match to save me having to repaint another room.

Her beloved piggy bank
(She knows that she cannot play with him because he could break, but she asks to give him hugs and kisses every night before she goes to sleep.)

I added a few butterfly decals to the walls.

Our bedtime routine includes bath time, pajamas, brush the teeth, story time in Alexa's bed, hugs and kisses, take Gavin to his room, and then lights out!

Such a sweet little boy

He has a nice place to rest on my tummy!

We love Alexa's bed because our whole family can lay in it for story time. Before, she had a toddler bed which had a 50 lb weight limit so we would have to sit on the floor. It was uncomfortable for us and Alexa had a hard time seeing the book if she was laying down. We used to do story time separately with the kids, but now it's nice to be able to do it together.

Still plenty of room for Mommy, even with my big belly!

Alexa loves the bookcase!

9/22/2010 Table for Two

We now have a kid table in our dining room! This set belonged to me as a child. It had been stored in my parent's barn back in Iowa and last time we visited, we brought back what we could fit. We only had room for 2 of the 4 chairs, but we only need 2 right now so that's okay. When I was cleaning it, I saw written on the underside of the table in permanent black marker "Gena Leah McGrew- 1982" in my mother's handwriting. It is so special to me to see my kids enjoying it. Alexa and Gavin think they are pretty cool to sit at their own table! It also works great for puzzles and coloring.

(It looks much better today, but Alexa got a black eye yesterday at daycare. She was accidentally hit in the face with a toy. She's calling it her "boo-boo eye!")

Last week I was reaching into the cupboard above the microwave and I bumped the can of Pledge dust spray. It wobbled and then fell down below to the top of my stove. I was shocked to see that it cracked the cooktop. I ordered the new part and with delivery plus labor, this little accident is going to cost us nearly $600!