30 Weeks

We have been up to lots of things lately, and each one of them has been a blast...well, maybe except for the moving boxes. I can think of lots more fun things then packing those.
We stayed overnight with some of our dear friends kids while they jetted off to New York. We always have so much fun with them!
Austin playing lacrosse. This is a HUGE game here. Scott is busy trying to figure out the rules and I am still trying to figure out how these kids see a little white ball the size of a baseball.
We got back to the game a little late and the kids were really looking forward to the park, so we walked over to the playground.

Reagan and I took the longest to get there. She didn't care, and neither did I . :)
We also roasted marshmallows. This was really my doing, Kirsten made the mistake of showing me these marshmallows that her mom got for smore's and of course these baby cravings went into high gear! Or maybe it was the chocolate part?
We had a great time at a movie on Monday. We went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and just had a blast with the kids.
In other news Scott has been busy selling the world vacuums and fans, and growing his new plant.
And while he grows the plant I grow baby E who has now taken over quite a bit of real estate
So here we are at 30 Weeks. They started making every other week visits for me at the doctors office, and I think I looked at the receptionist and said "are you sure it's that time already?" Baby E and I have been very healthy so far, and we are entirely grateful for that. I now have bragging rites in my family because I took that fantastic 28 week test to test my glucose levels and they were great! My doctor then said, "AND you're not even anemic. " I asked the doctor to look again. :) (this is something my mother and my sister struggled with.) All I can figure is it must be the fact that my husband always asks "where's the meat" if dinner doesn't contain any. Isn't he sweet.

Personality

Mr. Bywater and I finally got a day off together on Monday. We have both been out of town, and the funny thing is that as much as we both love the little break I think baby "E" makes it such that we miss each other more when we are away. So, even though we were doing the not so fun errands, grocery shopping, fixing the car, etc. I loved every minute of it. Mr. Bywater's personality is something to behold
So when the baby figured out a few days ago how to play in my ribs I knew instantly who had whispered to her "try playing in mom's ribs." I also LOVE the fact that she seems to know when her dad gets out of bed in the morning and LOVES to keep me up until I decide my sleep is over and just get up. Now if she comes out with the signature "Scott" smile...
Well then, we can safety say that she thinks she is at a big event where she has to behave, and then she will be her daddy's baby.

Water Aerobics

Scott joined me at water aerobics last night. It was bring a guest/partner day. I was nervous about not having any friends afterwords....luckily he behaved. I had this thought on the way home about how nice my husband was to do something he totally didn't want to for me (did I mention he missed a softball game to come?) However, my second thought was that he didn't do it for me...can we say the princess already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger? :) I'll say it, and I love it.

More Changes

It's crazy to think that we have lived in Chicago for almost a year now. We have known for several months that our lease on our little condo was knocking on our door. We have also known for several months (try 7 months to be exact) that our little family was going to get bigger. WE started looking for a new home in May of this year. Here was the list Mr. Bywater and I compiled....

• Must have in unit laundry (or else Shelbi will die)
  
• Must give us the opportunity to get rid of that dumb storage unit (weekends at the storage unit having boxes fall on your head will make Scott die)
• Must fit in our budget (more on this later)
  
• Good landlords a must (we have them, but they are a bit distant. The furnace not working for several weeks this winter was slightly rough)
• Must stay in the ward (Hey! Now is probably not the time to be switching up when I can forsee our absence for a while- plus , we have some great friends out here)
  

Let me tell you that Scott and I were honestly shocked at all the "crap" (I really couldn't think of a better word) that we looked at. We tried to contact a Realtor...to no avail, I am sure because we weren't buying we weren't worth the time.

I do have to stop for a minute here. When we first started calling on places we found on craigslist we found that my phone calls were being returned more often then Scott's. We thought it was a funny coincidence until I heard him call on a place and leave a message. "you have to threaten to get a Realtor" I said. "oh...ya, that makes sense." said Mr. Bywater.

We then enlisted our friends from the ward. I have been faithfully receiving e-mail after e-mail probably written in the car from a friend who was probably trying to get a kid here and pick another one up in a different place at the same time, and I am sure she did it AND sent me an e-mail. We have been looking at craigslist for the last several nights, packing our weekends and weeknights with houses and condo's to go see.
Finally Saturday I do have to say that I had had enough. It pushed me over the edge to go see a place that was apparently "newly carpeted" and "newly painted." I consider myself a pretty good judge of those things....but concrete floors and a promise to carpet had me considering murder for the wasted time and gas.

We set a date for the middle of June and if we had not found a place by then we were just going to sign another lease and as punishment walk up and down our three flights of stairs for at least three hours. (it was going to be a party)

Then, I stumbled across two new listings in the same condo complex area for condo's that had three bedrooms and 1.5 baths. Seems to be the fad out here to have a three bedroom house and only one bath. I called and set up appointments to go see both places not realizing that they were across the street from each other...talk about awkward!
The first place was okay, but we were meant with total hesitation on our own personal animal kingdom. We moved onto the house across the street and were shocked. It was in FABULOUS condition- and here is the thing- the landlord kept apologizing for its condition.
I would post the craigslist posting so that you can see photo's but we are the proud new tennents of the condo come July 15th, and it was removed from Craigslist before I could snag the photo's.
Upstairs has three bedrooms, one bathroom, main floor has a new kitchen with granite countertops (yes I did drool) and a great living room. AND that is not all, a finished basement! Finished in actual drywall and carpet. A huge laundry room, and tonz of storage. Did I mention the garage?

To say the least we are so thrilled...and no more stair parties for us...

Birthday's

We have a month of birthday's in May, and I would love to tell you all that we are fantastic party people but, we aren't, and my birthday involved cake in bed and me asleep 15 minutes later. Hahaha! There is no other place I would rather be right now!

Let's start off with Scott. It was his week for sure! He came home Monday with quite the story to tell.
These are Scott's jeans (take a look at the left side of his back pocket)
This is the inside of his jeans after he had an unknown encounter with the train and the train won and ripped a hole in his pants. A helpful co-worker pointed out that he may want to dial down the air conditioning. When you live 45 minutes away from home that means "quick, get the duct tape from my drawer." And can you imagine being the person to be in the restroom when he was taping his pants back together!
Another unfortunate event happened on Friday night. We took the garbage out.
I know, sounds harmless right.....wrong......there was a racoon in the garbage plotting to scare poor Mr. Bywater to death! Oh, and how lucky I was to be there! I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants (honestly, try being pregnant) Scott screamed his "Scott scream" and ran away from the dumpster.
Let's move onto the big day. He is going to withhold the Pop- Tarts if I tell you any more (and yes, I am craving them lately.)
I made Mr. Bywater a cake befitting of a king! Okay, not really, but I was able to get 28 candles on it WITHOUT burning myself or the house down.
Scott is one happy camper after this birthday present...
We had a great time the next week watching 6 kids for some friends in our ward, and then celebrating my birthday on Friday, in bed with a cupcake.
Oh, and the milk, we can't forget the milk. With heartburn like I have never had heartburn before heartburn, we go through several gallons of milk a week. Check out the belly. I joked with Mr. Bywater that while I was at water aerobics the other day I tipped forward on my noodle and landed face first in the water all because the belly is taking over.
Scott took me to a great restaurant for dinner, and it was entirely delicious! The new ring on my finger is my birthday present. I am hoping that the third time is the charm...so is Scott...

Lots Going On

So sorry I have neglected this blog lately. We have had so many things going on that it is hard to even know where to start!
We'll start with our lovely trip to Utah...
Scott showed up early (I was in Manchester, New Hampshire at a show) and surprised our nephews by picking them up from school on Friday. I am told that they had a great sleepover, I have no proof however of that, but I am sure my sister in law's house was rockin'.
We were party people this visit. My dear mom, who has taught in Granite School District for 30 years took the leap a few months ago and signed the papers to retire. We had a little party for her and it was great to see all those that we as children heard so much about.
Aniston and I making sure that everyone had a fantastic time. We had licorice (my mom's personal favorite) and Cheesecake, mine and Aniston's favorite.
We also had a shower for Baby E. It was great to see all the people that love and support us in this fantastic endeavor of becoming parents. :) We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support group.
Here are the cousin's and married into the family cousins that I dearly love. And my sister, who flawlessly did such an amazing job on both parties. Being pregnant and tired all the time made me a delightful help, and Jena took the reins (like usual) and even crawled through my parents dearest neighbors rusty old shed to get a wagon for our decorations.
I have officially joined the ranks of motherhood in our families, I will love it when my back doesn't hurt, I have Baby E to hold and cuddle with, and I can run a mile. :) (please don't squash my hopes about running a mile)
We also had a Bywater family tradition. We celebrate May birthday's in our family with a fantastic Cinco De Mayo party. This year was no exception. We had a great big pinata, fantastic food, a Tre's Leche cake to die for, and so much laughter it was uncanny. Sadly however, I lost our travel camera somewhere between Manchester, New Hampshire and Salt Lake City, Utah. Please tell me the brain cells return... (keep the faith for me people :) )