pumpkin carving

Speaking of pumpkins, our little one hasn't come yet. Andi and I are really funny with dates, so here goes. I'm cool with the 25, 26, 28, 29, 1, 2. Dad's birthday is Nov 25, Maxine's birthday is June 26, Kenna's birthday is May 28, My birthday is June 29, 11/1 is just easy to remember and December 2 is Angie's birthday. Knowing my luck though, we will have this baby on Halloween.



We had a really nice time carving pumpkins with Ang/Curt and kids. We ordered pizza and then started designing, carving and getting all the goop out of the pumpkins. Todd decided to do a Spiderman one since Dylan is really into that right now. His took a few hours to do. My favorite one has to be the Hawkeye though- way to go Angie!







Of course I got an injury though... with a toothpick of all things. I was carving out my web and then my web broke. I tried fixing it and jammed the toothpick in the pumpkin and then slid it across my hand.

You will be missed

Our sympathies go out to Laura L. Willenborg's family and to her fiance Dan Pfab. We can't believe how young you were and now you have passed. Your family is in our heart and prayers.

Happy belated anniversary mom and dad

Wow... 37 years has already flown by. I wish you guys many more happy years ahead. We can't wait to see you guys soon and for you to meet your second grandson.

Happy Birthday Amanda

Happy Birthday to you Amanda. We hope you had a very special day.

Kenna- picture perfect

I just love this picture of my little niece Kenna. She is soooo adorable.

No baby yet...

Hi everyone- well, no baby yet. My due date is actually Sunday, but I'm ready to go at least physically. The sad thing is, I'm working on getting the baby's room together and I'm still working on a few projects for work, so I'm hoping he holds off a little longer. My parents are thinking about coming down this weekend just in case.

We had a great weekend in Des Moines. Todd had a conference there and we left on Wednesday night. Dylan had a blast with his cousins. It was fun playing outside on Thursday




and going to the Science Center on Friday >



and to the zoo. >




We also went to Living History Farms on Saturday night




and then to Kenna and Kade's soccer games on Sunday. We sure miss those guys a lot.

Thank you Judy

My friend Judy is so giving... she just bought Dylan a lion backpack with his name on it and a coloring book holder with his name on it. We LOVE it... we haven't shown him the book holder yet. We are going to give that to him at the hospital. I've picked up some coloring books for him, books, and added the crayons. He will think it is very special. Thank you again Judy. We wish you lived closer to us.

13 days to go

WOW, I can't believe 13 days until my due date. This pregnancy sure has gone by very fast. I'm feeling great, so I really don't think it will happen this weekend. At least, I hope not. We plan to go to DSM for Todd's conference and spend time with Andi/Troy and kids and Todd's parents and Austin. We are sooo excited. The crazy thing is Todd is already packed and I'll pack later for Dylan and me. Dylan has already asked if he could bring his spiderman jammies and batman ones. He says that Kader Tador will like them. Kade is his cousin and Dylan just always calls his Kader Tador, pretty cute. We plan to swim at the hotel, go to the zoo lights, and a pumpkin farm. It should be a lot of fun. Maybe the adults can play some cards in the evening too, who knows.

I'm in the process of redoing Dylan's old dresser. His new one comes in tomorrow. I have it sanded down and the old wallpaper strips removed. I'm going to paint it this afternoon and do touch ups tonight. I really want to have the room near completion before we leave. Then, when we get back, we will just have the waiting game.

Work has been pretty busy lately. We have a hospital opening in a few weeks, so I've been getting everything completed for that. I just don't want any loose ends while I'm on leave. Also, we have another one that is expected to open in December, so I'm trying to get as much done for that as possible too. The opening for that is while I'm out on leave. We will see... most likely it will get pushed back though.

I have some pictures on my phone from this weekend. We went to a pumpkin patch with Ang/Curt and also Adam/Alyssa. It was a very nice time and the weather was absolutely perfect.

goofball

Dylan likes to line things up in a row like a cho-cho train. I just love these pictures of him being silly.

Coloring time

Happy 4 year anniversary

I just wanted to wish Todd a happy 4 year anniversary. We went out to dinner last night and Ang/Curt watched Dylan. It was nice just to be with eachother. I hope there are many more happy years ahead of us.

SNL clip on Palin

Did anyone see the SNL clip on Palin? I seriously thought it was so hilarious. Check it out.

Painting weekend

Well, I was able to remove all the wallpaper from the kitchen and get the room prepped. Mom/dad came down early on Sunday to help paint. It looks awesome!!! I'm so happy with the color. At first we put it on the wall and it was too bright, so mom and I went back and they added some black to it to make it more of a tanish cast of a golden color. When we put it on the walls, I just loved it. It reminds me a lot of the color we had in Birmingham and it flows very nice with the other rooms. We were totalling all the rooms we have painted so far and it comes to 11... Can you believe that?

Dining Room
Office
Kitchen
Powder Room
Laundry Room
Dylan's 1 wall in his room
Babies room
Spare Bedroom
Basement
Toy Room
Basement bathroom

Not to mention the two closets my parents painted. I am also planning on painting the spare bedroom downstairs this week and then I'm done. Eventually I will do the master bathroom and the bathroom upstairs, but I will hold off for awhile. Its amazing how a little paint can really change the look and feel of a room and pretty inexpensive. I'll need to post some before and after pictures of each room so you can get a feel.

Thank you so much mom and dad for coming down and helping. It means very much to us.

Its officially fall

Its officially fall. This is my FAVORITE time of year. I started getting out all my decorations and might have them up by the weekend. We plan on painting our kitchen. We have it narrowed down to Bees Wax and Dry Mustard. I'm going to the paint store tomorrow to get some samples and see what I like best on the wall. I'm 1/2 way done stripping down the wallpaper. I've been doing a little each night and it seems to go by fast. I can't wait for the project to be done though.

cute ideas

Isn't this a cute idea for his coloring books? I'm thinking it just screams out Dylan's name.

I was also thinking of some storage options for his play room and came across these two pictures. I wonder if Todd could make them. I already found the storage bins very cheap if he could.

35 weeks - big 'ol belly

Oh mommy, I just don't know what to think. I see your belly getting bigger and a lot of my things are going in the babies room... hmmm am I going to like this? Yes, I promise I'll be a really good big brother.

Happy 3rd Birthday Carter

Happy 3rd Birthday Carter. Hopefully we can get together this weekend and celebrate.

Happy Birthday Robert

Happy 13th Birthday Robert. We wish we were there to celebrate with you. Enjoy the teen years.

Random

Labor Day

We had a great Labor Day and very busy too. My parents watched Dylan on Friday night and we went to a bon fire with Todd's co-workers. Dylan did a great job and really liked hanging out with the grandparents. They ordered pizza, went for a walk, and just played and played. He also had a bath, so he smelled so good. I met up with Jen and Michele the next day for coffee and it was great seeing them. Its been so long since I've seen them both. When I came home, Todd's parents were there and Andi/Troy and kids were on their way. Denny was making ribs and man oh man were they good. Mom, Maxine and I went to get some food for the weekend and when we came back everyone was there. We had a bon fire that night and made smores. The next day we went out for breakfast, drove around and did some shopping and then went to Ang/Curts for Avery's 1st birthday party. It was such a great day. The weather was perfect. Several people played the bean bag game and we all just stayed outside and chatted. That evening, their neighbors had a firework display. This wasn't just any fireworks, it was like Dubuque fireworks in her backyard. It was awesome!!! I think it lasted almost 20 minutes too. When we came back to our place we put the kids down and the adults stayed up talking. It was a lot of fun. The next morning we made breakfast, played bean bag games, shuffle board, and grilled out. Once everyone left Todd and I just layed on the couch and relaxed. We were so tired, but had a blast. The crazy thing is I didn't take any pictures. Maybe next time.

Tomorrow Todd and Troy are going to the Iowa game. He is pretty excited. I think I am going to tackle the paint job in the bathroom. I want to get that finished along with the spare bedroom and the kitchen before the baby arrives. We will see if that happens.

Have a great weekend!!!