Five on Friday

1. My mom is visiting!  She arrived on Wednesday, and it's bliss!  And she'll be back SOON--whenever Anna Reaghan is born. :)  With her help, the house/ironing pile are totally being whipped into shape! :)  THANK YOU, Mom! Asa is ecstatic that she is here and asks, "Where Mine-uh?" whenever I get him up from a nap or in the morning... he has to make sure she hasn't snuck off somewhere (Sunday morning ought to be fun when she won't be downstairs waiting for him to get up). He is also occasionally calling her G-Ma! And he's finally referring to my dad as G-Pa! :) It is so fun to see Asa and my mom enjoying each other SO much. Love, love, love.

2. Our new couch for the basement was delivered yesterday... except it was too long to fit into the basement doorway!  It was too tall for a straight shot, and there's a corner near the basement door that prevented any angled maneuvers. We figured any couch (it's not an extra long couch or anything) would give us similar problems, so the store took it back and is delivering a love seat from the same collection instead--tomorrow! The basement will be so homey then as we put down our carpet piece last weekend... but that's a post in and of itself. Let's just say it's a comedy of errors to try to put carpet down when the scenario involves a huge thunderstorm complete with tornado sirens, a lady who's 9 months pregnant, a 15 ft. long roll of 18 ft. of carpet, and the corner that prevented the couch from going down to the basement.... among other things. Everyone survived, we laughed a lot (A LOT), and we all love the cushy carpet under our feet downstairs now.

3.  This week I worked to set out larger baby gear items for Asa to get used to. The big swing is now set up (I put it in our room so Anna Reaghan can nap in there with some sound separation from Asa if he's playing in the living room or we're eating a meal while she rests, etc.). The bouncy seat is currently also in our room, but only because Asa is ENAMORED with playing music on all the baby gear and we're trying to spare the fresh batteries we put in things. :) The travel swing is upstairs so there's a place to put her besides on the floor if we're up playing in the kids' rooms or the loft (or eventually sewing?  Someday?  I know I'll have to take a hiatus, but I also remember how refreshing it was to sew again when I got around to it after Asa was born). Asa seems mostly to have quenched his investigative desires to try pushing the swing really hard, sit on the bouncy seat, etc. the first day they were set up. Now he likes to put Anna Reaghan's stuffed hippo into them, turn the music on, and cover hippo with a "cozy" blanket. What a sweet big brother he is already! :)

4.  Matt was supposed to be traveling to California this weekend--I'm pretty sure I mentioned how that wasn't my favorite since it's so close to our due date ;)--but this trip was canceled!  He still has to go next week, so please keep praying Anna Reaghan stays put. I'm thankful we eliminated one of the times Matt would be gone though.  We're down to a 36 hour window next weekend.

5.  I'm feeling well for being almost 37 weeks pregnant! I take it easy getting up off the floor when I've been playing with Asa, and I ask for Matt's help with little things I *could* do but it's easier to ask for help on (picking something I've dropped it, etc.), I'm tired but not exhausted (don't worry, I know that's coming ;))... the biggest change I've noted is that I have reached the stage where I am hungry at meals, etc. but Anna Reaghan is too big to allow me to eat very much. I eat about half of my meal and just can't take another bite I'm so stuffed. So I stop and if I get hungry later I have a snack.  I vaguely remember this with Asa, but not as strongly.  Then again, they think she might be up to 1/2 lb. bigger and I think I'm carrying her higher... she must be squishing my stomach  more than he was!

That about catches you up on us!  Stay tuned--the official "place your bets" invitation is coming very, very soon.  Start thinking---what day will Anna Reaghan arrive, how much will she weigh, how long will she be, and if you want bonus points you can follow Brad's lead from Asa's guess collection and even include an estimated TIME of birth! I won the weight/length guess last time--I was SPOT ON!  We were all off by daaaays with Asa's birth date of course (today is the anniversary of his due date, by the way). ;) It will be fun to see who's closest this time!

Five on Friday

1.  I accomplished several pre-birth to dos this week, including some crafting

I made bloomers and 2 hairbows to match the dress I sewed earlier.  One hair clip is a polka dot bow and the other is ribbon shaped into a strawberry.

Matt hung Anna Reaghan's name letters above the crib

 

The flash kind of washed out the E and H in Reaghan, but I promise it's adorable in person! :)

And I made 2 important phone calls.  I confirmed with our pediatrician's office that Anna Reaghan can be added as a new patient.  Thankfully Asa's been so healthy, we haven't been to the office and our ped didn't know I was pregnant!  I wanted to give them a heads up. ;)  I also called the hospital to see if they prefer for patients to pre-register.  Not only was I able to pre-register over the phone (in FL, Matt & I both had to be present in person, answer a zillion questions, have photo ID and all sorts of things--this was obviously more stream-lined than that, so hopefully Matt's up for answering all those questions when I go in in labor and need to focus on slow, controlled breathing ;)), but the hospital also gives a 30% discount for pre-registering!  They ran our insurance through to give an estimate of what our responsibility for labor and delivery will be, and we got GREAT news!  Our doctor's fees meet our deductible!  Woo hoo!  We're free and clear from here on out for the rest of the year. :)  We have a small co-insurance for the hospital, but it's measly compared to Asa's birth (which was still a smaller amount than I thought it might be, and TINY compared to the portion insurance pays.... especially when you have room and board fees for a DAYS long induction).  This was very happy news to me.  We have a higher deductible here, so I don't know how it worked out that we pay less for the birth, but I'll take it!  And we have an HSA to cover the deductible/co-insurance we ARE responsible for.  I am praising God for the provision.  It was kind of scary to go into this with new insurance and hope we had interpreted and understood it all correctly.  YEA!

2.  I also received a call this morning that our new couch is in and ready for delivery!  As you might recall, when we ordered a new comfy reading chair for Asa's room, we browsed for a couch or love seat for the basement as well.  We found one we both liked, but it was on back-order.  It's in even earlier than they thought it would be!  The salesman said he though it would be mid-June before we'd get it.  Woo hoo!  Now we just need to decide if we want to hurry and get carpet ordered this weekend before we have the couch delivered (we have carpet picked out, we just need to purchase it).  Decisions, decisions. :)  I, for one, am very thankful we'll have a nice place to sit in the basement very, very soon.  Getting up and down is an increasingly cumbersome task as the weeks fly by. ;)

3.  Earlier this week I saw a listing on Craigslist for a now-discontinued Fisher-Price washer/dryer/laundry station.  My parents have one that all the grandkids love to play with.  The seller was asking only $5 and she lived less than 10 miles away!  I was so excited to receive an email reply that it was ours for the taking!  Asa is loving opening the washer compartment, putting things in the dryer compartment, and carrying the "in-ron" all around the living room.  I also think it's amusing and cute that whenever he puts something into the washer, he tells me he's "washing diapies."  Yup, we have a cloth diapered kiddo over here, all right. ;)  You see, our actual washing machine has a transparent window on top (it's an HE top loader), and he loooooves to sit on top of the washer while it fills and when it starts agitating.  He knows we wash his diapers about every other (sometimes every 3) days, so that's what gets washed most frequently and what he ASKS if we can wash several times/week. :)  The things he'd never know or say if we didn't use cloth! hehe

4.  Asa got some new shoes in the mail yesterday.  They are a brand that includes an optional squeaker.  I kind of feel like we're probably past the age of that being adorable out and about (the squeaker is supposed to encourage heel-to-toe walking as it's in the heel of the shoe), but he was HILARIOUS running around the house in them.  We had a pair back around Christmas that had squeakers, and he liked them but I'm not sure he tooooootally made the connection that he was in control of the squeak.  Does he EVER "get" it now!  He immediately starting bouncing up and down to make them squeak.  He'd start to walk and then run really fast to make them squeak more quickly.  I was cracking up and Mom could hear him squeaking all over the downstairs when we chatted on the phone.  The ones I ordered are for a few sizes from now, but I am certain he'll be thrilled when they come back out of the closet to wear all the time.  He couldn't stop grinning and giggling, and neither could I. :)

5.  We are sooo excited for a long weekend!  I can't say we have any big plans, but just knowing we have 3 days with Matt sounds WONDERFUL!  Tonight we're actually helping set up a fund-raising garage sale for a family at church.  The husband/father sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident about a year ago (visit supportjeff.com), and the garage sale is to help support the family.  It's part of a larger, huge neighborhood garage sale that I hope we can peruse tomorrow morning (it's over near the townhouse we rented).  Then Saturday afternoon Matt's helping finish and clean up the garage sale.  Sunday we'll have church.  Monday Matt has off.  The only thing I know for sure is that he'll be grilling us burgers :), and Asa and I will both LOVE having him home an extra day. :)

We hope YOU enjoy time with family this weekend and the sweet freedom that has been won for us... not only here in America, but in Christ!

Anna Reaghan's Room

Anna Reaghan's room is still lacking the wall art we have planned, but we finally moved the glider into her room and rearranged the furniture.  I figured enough of her room was in place that we ought to give you a sneak peek. :)

This is your view to the left as you walk through the doorway.  You are seeing the changing table immediately on your left, past that is the glider, then the new table, closet door, and the curtains we made (going counter-clockwise)

Straight in front of you as you walk through the doorway:  crib and curtains.  A bookcase will be going in the "blank" wall space between these two.

A better view of the reading/rocking/nursing area :)

Better view of the changing table wall

Standing in front of the window looking back at the doorway

This is the basket I found on clearance at JoAnn's and made a liner for which matches the curtains

Anna Reaghan's crib

Another view

Dresser drawers:  sleepers, onesies, and swaddling blankets

bibs, shoes, socks, tights, and hair bows, oh my!

A peek in Anna Reaghan's closet

Asa checking out Anna Reaghan's bed

He's dancing with her owls

Showing Anna Reaghan how to lay down in bed :)

;)

New House Pictures!

I uploaded pictures of the new house to our Shutterfly photo page.  If you've visited it in the past, it probably looks a little different now.  I made some tabs and rearranged a few things so there are sections for Asa AND Anna Reaghan now.  The house pictures are front and center on the main page though, so they are easy to find. :)

Week/end Rewind

I didn't get any other posts up last week other than the wedding weekend recap.  Whew!  It's not even that we were that busy, I guess just enjoying some slow days before newborn days begin again and making the most of being in the house while it's still COLD--hopefully spring will arrive in earnest very, very soon. ;)

We had our usual outings:  Bible study on Wednesday, the grocery store, etc.  I was thankful to see on Wednesday that Asa was so engaged in playing that he wasn't clamoring at the door in distress when moms started arriving to pick up their children from the nursery (like he does on Sundays).  Bible study is winding down.  This is the last week of study, then there's a week of overview and a final luncheon.  It has passed so quickly!  I am hoping to sign up for the Fall Bible study and go whenever Anna Reaghan's (& Asa's) sleeping permits. ;)  Even if I only get to go a couple times, I know enough ladies now that it would be a blessing to me and not feel weird to just pop in now and then.

The weekend:
Friday:  Asa and I had a pretty low-key day around the house.  He napped late in the afternoon which turned out to be great.  A friend needed help retrieving car seats from her husband's car at the airport, and I volunteered Matt's services. :)  It ended up being a bit of a time intensive endeavor, and Matt didn't get home until 10:30!  In the meantime, Asa napped late, had a late dinner, had a fun bath , and then went down to bed late (and slept in Sat. morning--woo hoo!).  My most significant aversion during this pregnancy has been Italian food--well, Italian food in a tomato based sauce.  SOMETIMES lately, I'll think I could probably stomach spaghetti, lasagna, or cacciatore, but I do not write them into our weekly menu because I never know if I'll have an "I could probably eat that" day or a "don't even THINK about it" kind of day.  On Friday, I thought I could probably stomach it, Matt's been missing spaghetti for 6 months now, so I surprised him with a spaghetti dinner waiting on him when he arrived home at 10:30.   Then we fell asleep watching tv.

Saturday:  As I mentioned, Asa slept in!  That rarely happens, even if he goes to bed late (which pretty much never happens at home, because I admit I'm a pretty big stickler about bedtime... I KNOW my child and he will reverse his sleeping if you extended his waking hours ;)).  It was a blessing to get a little more rest before we heard our favorite little boy voice talking over the monitor. :)  We had a list of possible things to do and a honey-do lists for Matt.  He whipped right through it!  First we actually went to a craft show over by where we used to live.  Many of the same vendors were there whom we saw at the winter craft show, including the BOW LADY!  I was SOOO excited!  She makes ADORABLE hair clips, and when we went in the winter we did not yet know if we were having a baby boy or girl.  When we walked into the venue on Saturday, I said to Matt, "Oh!  I wonder if the bow lady is here again!!"  I turned around and was looking right at her booth.  Yea!  I have been saving pictures of lots of novelty bows to make myself, but we bought two that looked a bit more complicated:  a hedgehog clip and a ballerina slippers clip.  If Anna Reaghan is born with as much hair as Asa was, she'll be able to wear hair clips right away.  But just in case, we also bought a few crocheted headbands the clips can be attached to. :)  Our other purchase was two small fabric birds Asa saw and was instantly attached to.  One is made of a shaggy pink chenille--it's Anna Reaghan's, the other is made from a yellow cotton--Asa's.  Although he held them both, clutched to his chest, the rest of the time we were at the craft show and the next 2 stores we stopped at!  After the craft show, we stopped by 3 stores looking at carpet remnants.  We want to put carpet down (not installed, but lay it down) in half of the "finished" basement to make it a bit more cozy.  The first store had nothing that worked for us, the second had a strong contender, and that strong contender turned out to be THE contender after checking the third store.  So when we are ready, we know exactly which carpet we want to purchase.  Asa LOOOVES playing in the basement even now, but I'm also looking forward to having a cozy half of the room to play in.

As for Matt's honey-do list, he completed the final step of setting up my car's homelink to the garage door opener (it involved using a ladder which I figured would be frowned upon at 6 months pregnant ;)), fixed a setting on our tv, and collected our local bank's online access information for me (in the busyness of the move, I guess we never added my name to the account he started when we moved here--it's not our primary bank so it's not a significant issue, but I at least wanted online access until we can stop by the local branch and add me to the account).

Lastly, the GROOM from last weekend called Matt to catch up while driving a moving van to his new home.  It reallllly blessed Matt to hear from Tyson already and they had a great time talking.  Hooray for Tyson & Anne setting up their first home together!!

Sunday:  We went to church, ate a quick lunch at home so we could get Asa down for a nap, looked for a fw things in the basement I needed Matt to bring up for me, and enjoyed relaxing (for me that meant prepping some sewing projects :)) while he napped.  When Asa woke up, we ran to Walmart for a few things.  It is still awfully chilly here, but Asa has been asking to go outside for days, so Matt chased him (and Sammy) around the backyard for a little while when we got home.  I started dinner in the meantime,  and we all ate a yummy chili dinner. :)  Asa is a fan. :)  Asa was asking for a bath as soon as dinner was over (he loves baths), but with it still being cold/the heater running, we try not to do a bath EVERY day for him or his skin gets dry.  We distracted him with an offer to play downstairs in the basement instead (it was met with gusto!), and I sorted through more baby clothes pulling out gender neutral items for Anna Reaghan's closet while Matt and Asa played rice table, ball pit, and Asa raced back and forth across the room with his firetruck Duplo container.  He finished up with some sliding downstairs before we came back up to get ready for bed.  With only one nap on Sunday, he was more than ready and we got him all cozy in pjs, read his stories, and got him tucked in.  Matt and I cleaned up the dinner dishes, made s'mores (yum!) as a special weekend dessert treat, and enjoyed relaxing as the weekend drew to a close.

We both felt like this weekend afforded us lots of fun family time and a nice, slow pace. :)

Anna Reaghan's Room

We are starting to piece together decisions about Anna Reaghan's room.  At this point, I USUALLY change Asa's diaper on the floor.  It's easier than hoisting him up onto the changing table, and he's really pretty long for the changing table now that he's 20 months old (eek!).  Anna Reaghan, on the other hand, will be much lighter and smaller and fit on the changing table just right. ;)  So we decided that our current changing table AND crib will be in Anna Reaghan's room.  They are a matching set that was passed down to us from one of my mom's friends, and it's not just that they're the same wood stain or something.  They are an antique white with beadboard ends and some stars and moons carved in the end of the crib and drawers of the changing table/dresser.

That meant we needed to decide where Asa would sleep.  As I mentioned on Friday, he loves his bed!  I have several friends having babies about 2 years apart, and I think the majority of them are moving their firstborn to a bigger bed.  I just didn't want to add that transition to Asa's life in addition to moving and adding a baby to the family.  And I didn't want to take a crib from him when he's so happy there AND safe--if I am nursing Anna Reaghan in the morning or after a nap when Asa wakes up, I know he'll enjoy playing in his crib with his sound machine and lovies until I can get to him.  We decided to get another crib.  Then there is NO pressure to get Asa switched and acclimated, no battles about staying in bed when I'm either 1) tired from being pregnant or 2) tired from being up with a newborn.  I found several options I thought looked nice and showed them to Matt.  This is the crib he liked the best.

It has been ordered, and Asa will go ahead and start sleeping in it when we move into the new house.  It's shaped and styled very similarly to Asa's crib, but in a wood finish instead of antique white.  I love having solid ends on his current crib and really wanted them again.  It makes it easier to sneak it and check on resting little ones without being spotted. ;)

We also decided on bedding for Anna Reaghan's room.  Back when we were deciding what to do with Asa's room, we liked working around a theme that included birds whether we had a boy or a girl.  We chose woodland forest animals for Asa's room, as you know. :)  We are continuing with more birds and trees by using this bedding for Anna Reaghan's room.

I plan/hope to recreate the tree mural I made in Asa's nursery in Florida, but on a piece of cloth this time.  We can hang it nicely on the wall or "frame" it with wooden moldings, but that way it can move with us/we don't have to repaint since we don't own the house we're moving to. ;)  Anna Reaghan can have some bird houses like Asa did, and I'm sure we'll find some soft, feminine touches to finish off her room as well.

Our glider will start in Asa's room when we move in but slide down the hall to Anna Reaghan's room before she comes.  In the meantime, we're looking for a comfy upholstered chair for Asa's room so we'll still have a nice little reading nook--he LOVES to read!  We need to find another little side table, touch lamp, and maybe another small bookcase as well, but we might be able to arrange the our other bookshelves such that we can move one we already have to one of the kids' rooms.

There's a snippet for you!  I'm excited to see what other decor we come across for Anna Reaghan's room like we did for Asa's.  I'm debating making curtains for her room like I did for Asa's.  We'll see how the unpacking and settling in goes--i.e. how far along I am when I have time to get to it. :)  And it would be fun to find a beanbag animal or something like that for her room like Asa has his raccoon.  We'll be sure to post pictures when we really have the room coming together!

Don't Forget

Asa LOVES post-it notes.  He loves anything sticky actually, with stickers probably being his absolute favorite.  But post-its are a close second. The other day he found a small stack of mini post-it notes and walked around and around the house with the post-it notes clutched tightly in his fist.

Somehow he ended up with one on his bottom!

I don't know what all Asa is trying to keep track of with the post-it notes, but I whatever it is, he has himself "covered." ;)

5 on Friday

1.  Asa had his check up on Wednesday.  We tried a new pediatrician here in town (we went to one when we *first* moved here and Asa had croup.  He was nice but just not the right fit for me).... and the verdict is GOOD!  I think she's as close as we'll find to Dr. Kelly up here in Ohio without actually visiting every pediatrician in town. :)  She had a great bedside manner with Asa, completing her exam with him in my lap the whole time (check!), she did not make me feel rushed at all or stupid (check!), she was receptive to how we've handled vaccines (check!), and she was super complimentary about Asa (check check! ;) ).

2.  Speaking of which, Asa is doing GREAT!  He is up to 22 lbs. 2 oz. (he has gained exactly 10 lbs. since we found out about his tongue tie the end of January/beginning February!  So 10 lbs. in 8 months vs. gaining 5 lbs. his first 7 months!  Improvement?  I think yes!  He's also gained just shy of 4 lbs. (3 lbs. 14 oz.) in the last 3 months!  I love the math!  Praise the Lord!).  His height has taken longer to get on the upswing with his increased intake, but it's finally catching up as well (just short of 30").  He is more the size of your average 12 month old, but ever since he fell off the curves his size has been about 3 months "behind" his age.  He is chipping away at that difference though and slowly closing the gap.  We are SOOOO thankful!  The doctor commented on how talkative he is and said his vocabulary is already what she'd see in an 18 month old, and she noted how developed his fine motor skills are.  That was fun because every doctor has commented on that from the very beginning. :)  They gave me an infant gown to put on him while we waited.  Asa looked at me like I was crazy when I was putting it on him, and he kept tripping on it as he tried to walk around the exam room.  I couldn't help but take a picture!

3.  We also had a big morning in Wednesday (the doctor appointment was in the afternoon).  We went to our first Bible study here in Ohio!  The women's study at the church we've been attending started last week when we were visiting family out of town, so this week was our first chance to go.  We are studying Cynthia Heald's Becoming a Woman of Simplicity.  Asa was in the nursery with 3 other "under 2s."  He did GREAT!  He cried when I left (to be expected), but he was already calming when I left the nursery corridor AND he played happily the whole 2 hours!!  During church he's only in the nursery for 1 hour max (we keep him in with us for worship until the sermon begins), so this Bible study nursery was a huge step (and praise!).  I love the head nursery lady at the church.  She already knows us by name and could not be sweeter to Asa.  She even told me on Sunday that she missed him not coming last Wednesday!  The first hour of Bible study is a whole group "teaching" time, and the second hour is broken down into small, consistent (yea for getting to know people!) discussion groups.  My group had 3 other ladies in addition to the leader.  I'm definitely the youngest person in the study, and most of the ladies are old enough to be grandmothers, but that's okay!  I'm just so thankful to be there and have the opportunity to learn and make friends!

3.  I have been on a roll with dinners this week.  On Monday I made the teriyaki burgers, Tuesday was the oriental chicken salad, Wednesday was a yummy pot roast with loads left over for another dinner in the freezer, Thursday was not mind-blowing but ham and veggies is turning into an extra freezer dinner of scalloped potatoes and ham from the leftovers--yum!, tonight was homemade pepperoni and artichoke heart pizza, tomorrow is peachy pork chops, and Sunday is chicken tortilla soup.  I am racking up lots of meals for the freezer which I love. I'm hoping to always have a week's worth of dinners in the freezer this winter in case a snow storm keeps me homebound when I'm low on groceries.

4.  Matt's new video game (Halo Reach) was released this week.  He's excited to say the least. ;)

5.  I broke out my serger today!  I wanted to make some little cloth bags for storing some of Asa's toys when he's not playing with them (namely some awesome alphabet blocks Holli & Todd gave us and Asa's toy cars), and I figured the serger would make strong reinforced seams that would withstand the tugging of an active toddler. :)  Thankfully, my grandmother left the serger completely threaded for me, so all I had to do was plug it in, turn it on, and refresh myself on a couple levers and buttons.  The I was off and running (thanks for the lesson, Grandma!).  I have a dedicated craft space in our room now (I used to sew in the dining room in FL which was easy enough to keep Asa out of when needed.  Now we have a medium-sized great room Asa is in all day long... not conducive to sewing with all the needles and scissors and such spread out, much less that my sewing mess isn't great for the dinner table ambiance ;)).  Our bedrooms is huge and I have taken over the far side with Matt's blessing and encouragement. I have a bookshelf of sewing books, 2 sets of cubbies--one for sewing materials and one for misc. craft items, a desk for sewing, and a table for cutting, the serger, whatever else have you.  I am LOVING it. :)

So this is not the crafting center in our room, but it IS our new bed frame, as promised :)

10 on Tuesday

I missed posting 5 on Friday last week when we were out of town, so I thought I'd make up for it today!

1.  We spent last week traveling to visit our families.  We usually try to make a summer road trip earlier in the year, but Matt hadn't been at his new job long enough to take time off when our normal vacation week rolled around.  We decided to take advantage of Labor Day week instead and visit both our families in TN and SC.

2.  The timing was GREAT because we got to see both our  moms ON their birthdays!!  HOORAY!!

3.  Asa had LOTS of great cousin time.  I LOVE that he can truly interact with them now.  It was his first time seeing his cousin Izzy in SC and really interacting with her (he last saw her at Christmas when he was 6 months old).  Fun, fun, fun time with cuzzies! :)

4.  Sammy endured a week at the "spa."  She definitely lost weight and they told us she refused dinner (at least for the day we picked her up... by the looks of her I'd say she refused it more nights than that), but that's her usual response when we're gone for a longer trip.  She is verrrrry glad to be home and enjoying some extra attention. :)

5.  It is FALL here now.  We're told the temps changed the weekend we left.  Highs are now in the low 70s or high 60s and evenings are getting into the 40s!  The highs were still low 90s/high 80s when we left!  This is CRAZY (but wonderful!  I need to enjoy every minute though, because I have NO idea when winter will hit instead!).

6.  I switched out Asa's clothes to prep for this cooler weather.  It made me sad to pack up some favorite outfits, but judging by the new clothes hanging in his closet, there are plenty of new favorites to be found!

7.  We bought a new bed frame.  When we were first married, we got a particle board/put together bookshelf headboard.  I loved the bookshelf feature even though that's not particularly grown up or romantic, I guess.  Anyway, it kind of just barely made the move from the townhouse in FL to the house in FL.  It was jerry-rigged (particle board holds up so well ;) ) and definitely not going to survive a move across the country to OH!  We've had our mattress on plain rails since our belongings arrived which is fine, but didn't feel very homey or inviting to me.  I scoped out a furniture store that runs sales on bed frames each week.  We ended up with a sleigh bed!  It's a cherry finish and we really like it.  It really helps finish off our room--I'll try to post pictures soon!

8.  Asa tried some new foods this week and liked one of them!  He decided sloppy joe sauce is DELICIOUS. :)  HE couldn't get enough!  He also liked baked beans for a short amount of time (4 bites' worth) and then changed his mind. :)

9.  Asa is growing!  Today he is wearing a pair of jeans that are size 12-18 months!  I think this is the first (or mayyyybe 2nd) time he's worn something that was the same size as his age!  Wow!  To be fair, they are a small 12-18 months, but they fit in the waist and the length!  Asa has a check up tomorrow with a new ped (please pray it's a good fit!), so we'll know his official stats soon!

10.  We (Asa and I) begin Bible study tomorrow!  He's stayed in the nursery during church up to an hour, and Bible study is 2 hours, so that will be new and different for him.  But the same ladies work on Wednesday mornings and said they missed him last week. :)  I am so thankful for our smooth transition to using church nursery.  God has really covered that big change for both Asa and me!

And speaking of our sweet boy, I hear him talking to himself upstairs. :)  He's up from his nap and ready to roll again!

5 on Friday

1.  We averted disaster (really it was just God).  The basement of the place we're renting is half finished. In the unfinished half we have our laundry area and then boxes and boxes of things that just didn't work now that we lost some living space and/or weren't worth unpacking knowing we hope to find a house to rent at the end of our lease.  Stacks and stacks of cardboard boxes.  Cardboard boxes that are certainly not impervious to water!  And water we had!  The HVAC drain line was leaking apparently, only at some point it must have been more like a gush based on the areas we found water and the puddle of standing water under the HVAC and water heater.  Only a handful of boxes got wet.  We have one more to check, but so far the contents of the soaked boxes have been no worse for the wear (praise the Lord!).  Plus for renting:  we didn't pay a dime for the repair. :)

2.  Asa and I went to the county fair on Wednesday morning.  We saw goats, geese, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, cows, hogs, and sheep!  The goats were the friendliest and Asa's favorite (and mine).  The rabbits came in a close second. :)  It was cute to see Asa's reactions to the various furry things he knew were not dogs but couldn't quite place. :)

3.  I took care of lots of odd jobs!  I finally closed our bank account in Florida.  I rerouted the last doctor bill the insurance denied while the COBRA neglected to inform the we had purchased the COBRA.  Hopefully everyone will get their money now--out of the insurance's pocket! ;)  I mailed a bunch of letters and pictures this week.  Paid bills.  It's nice to have those things off my to do list!

4.  We received Asa's 1 year portraits from our photographer in Florida!  I was slow in choosing which prints I wanted, but once I did we had a fast turn around.  I love, love, love them!  The free Picaboo book I made of Asa's first holidays came this week as well, and it's sooo fun!

5.  Asa is excited to see his G-Pa, G-Ma, Poppy, Nana, aunts, uncles, and cousins very soon!!!! :)

Pictures!!

Here is a random smattering of pictures as promised :)

weekly Snoodle picture from right after Hilton Head (April 20th)

"Pants on the ground, pants on the ground..."

being silly with the sliding doors in FL

Master bedroom in OH (still needs some tidying, etc. but it's coming along...)

the far wall is "sewing central": bookshelf with my sewing/crafting books, sewing cubbies cabinet, and desk I use to sew

Asa's room in OH

weekly pics from THIS week (2 months after the first picture in this post)

evidence of the beaver :)

Aha!!!  Dada's wallet!!!  Cha-ching!

I will buy many, many peaches...

Oh yes, I have plans...

I can't wait to go shopping!

Where should I go first?

crib with the beaver guard

entryway hallway (doorframe on the left is the coat closet, middle is a half bath, and the far right is another coat closet we use as extra pantry space and the doorway to the kitchen)

other side of entryway hallway

back left corner of great room

dining room part of great room

kitchen (looking toward front of the house/entryway)

great room (facing front of house/living room)

great room (facing back of house/dining room)