Memorial Day Weekend...

Wow...what a weekend!  I think it's fair to say Memorial Day weekend might have been the busiest weekend we've had in quite a while!  It was definitely full of fun, lots of family time and we managed to get a lot accomplished.

We started off the weekend on Saturday morning by throwing a surprise retirement party for my parents.  They are both retiring from teaching this year and officially ended their school year last Friday.  My sister and I have been planning the surprise party/open house for them for a little over a month now and are pleased to say that we did in fact surprise them.  If you know my parents...that's saying something.  They both had their suspicions, but fortunately we were able to avoid too many questions and pull of the surprise.  The party was at their church and we had a great turnout.  I wish we would have figured out an actual count, but we are guessing there were at least 75+ people there. 

The little ham posing for a picture with daddy.

Shooting baskets.

 After spending a few hours at my parents visiting and relaxing, we headed back down to Indy to enjoy a nice dinner out to celebrate my Grandma and Grandpa Zurcher's 60th wedding anniversary.  It was a nice evening and surprisingly both girls (Elli and Kensley) did quite well even after a full, busy day partying.  We all seemed to crash though as soon as we made it home.

The only picture I managed to capture at dinner...the girls on the move.

Sunday we were able to knock out quite a bit on our to do list and ended up packing up quite a bit in addition to finding the baby gear and getting some things washed.  We spent late afternoon and early evening out on Grammy and Grampy's boat.  It was Kensley's first boat ride of the season and she loved it!  She obviously doesn't remember all the rides from last year so we were unsure as to how she'd do.  The entire drive over to Grammy and Grampy's, Kens kept saying "boat ride" and clapping her hands...she was clearly excited about what was to come.  Despite having to wear her life jacket, she seemed to love being out on the boat and didn't complain at all.  I think it's safe to say, she will want to do this again very soon.

Happy girl on the boat.  She loves to wear her sunglasses!

We were thankful to have Monday off to work on some more packing for our upcoming move and preparing for baby girl.  I think it's safe to say that we are finally ready for baby girl's arrival!  Hospital bags are packed, carseats installed, clothes washed, temporary room set up and plan for Kens in place!  It feels good to know that we are at least (somewhat) prepared now.  We also managed to find time to squeeze in a family trip to the pool and cookout with Nana and Papa.

Adorable little bathing beauty.  When did she get so big?!

Daddy was a trooper and went where ever Kens wanted to go.

Such a sweet picture.

Saying "cheese" but couldn't get her to look at the camera.

 After the busy weekend, we're thinking the work week might be a nice "break" for us.  We are thankful for all that we were able to accomplish and the extra day home with our little munchkin.

37 weeks and light at the end of the tunnel...

Wow....I honestly can't believe that we are down to less than a month and really only a matter of weeks before we welcome a new little girl to our family.  It just doesn't seem possible that it's almost June already! 

Ironically, we seem to get busier as we approach our due date.  I remember the weeks leading up to Kensley's birth.  It seemed to be such a waiting game.  I felt like we had everything ready...the nursery set up, clothes washed, hospital bag packed, carseat installed, etc. and we were just waiting on the baby.  Now, we are scrambling to get the basic things ready...washing clothes and finding the basic baby gear (which seems to be buried in our attic).  No nursery this time around, especially since we are moving shortly after baby girl arrives.  I've told myself that her room will be one of the first one's I do in our new house to make up for not having a decorated nursery in this house.

I had my (almost) 37 week appointment on Friday...really was only 36 weeks and 5 days.  That appointment revealed that I am progressing much faster than we had anticipated.  Last week I was 1 cm dilated and this week I am already 3 cm and 50% effaced.  My doctor seemed to think, she could see me again at anytime.  Reality seemed to really set in after that appointment and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Physically I am feeling pretty good.  I'm starting to feel more sore in the evenings as my stomach continues to expand.  My heartburn and asthma seem a little better as the baby has since dropped and made a little more room around my rib cage.  I am definitely feeling more tired these days, but I think that is attributed to more than just being pregnant...we have a lot going on and extra stress with our house situation.

Kens continues to be pretty oblivious to the fact that she will soon have a sister.  She still gives the baby (my tummy) kisses, hugs and shares lots with her.  We talk about "sissy" and we've been trying to get her to say her name (I probably shouldn't say that as our parents will now try to coax it out of her).  She refers to my tummy as "sissy" and it's so cute to hear her say it.  We're excited to see her in a big sister role and know that she will be very interested in the baby (however that might wear off when she realizes the baby is not leaving).

We are so excited to meet this little girl!  We often talk about what she will look like and wonder what kind of baby she will be.  We will soon find out!

We managed to once again miss taking a picture at 36 and 37 weeks so we'll shoot for a comparison picture at 38 weeks.

Wedding weekend...

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to be a part of my roommate from college's wedding in Milwaukee, WI.  Not the most ideal timing...being 36 weeks pregnant and 4.5 hours from home, but it was such a fun weekend and we made it through without a baby!  One of my biggest concerns leading up to the wedding (outside of not going into labor before or during the wedding) was making sure that my dress fit.  We ordered the dresses back in early November and I took a guess on the size.  I ordered the dress several sizes larger and with minimal alterations...it fit! 

We headed up late on Thursday evening.  The girls spent the day getting pampered on Friday before the rehearsal and dinner and the guys spent the day on the golf course.  Saturday was another full day with the wedding prep, pictures and of course the wedding/reception.  Kensley did not make the trip with us and this was the longest we have been away from her (3 nights).  She had a good time staying with both sets of grandparents and I'm not even sure she noticed we were gone.  We were excited to get home and see her though!

Here are a few pictures from the beautiful wedding.

All the ladies at the rehearsal dinner.

Bob and Dawn (Groom and Bride)

Jeremy and I

Clearly happy to finally be Mr. and Mrs. Mallof

Jeremy and I at the reception

Me with the beautiful bride

Molly and I (yes, she is married to Bachelor, Jason, who was also in attendance)

It was such a beautiful wedding and we were so glad we to be a part of Dawn and Bob's special day!

SOLD!!!

That's right...as of 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 (as we were en route to a wedding in Milwaukee) we finally reached an agreement with a seller and our house is officially under contract!  Now while this timing is not exactly ideal, we are thrilled that our house sold so quickly and for a price that we are happy and comfortable with. 

We are set to close on June 27th...just 8 short days after my due date with baby girl #2.  How are we going to do it and what's our game plan (you might ask)?  Good question...we, too, are trying to figure it all out and have decided to take it one day at a time.  We plan to hit the house hunt hard this next week beginning with this evening.  We have a good list of houses we'd like to take a look at and we're just praying that one of them is the right fit for us.

We realize this next month will be a whirlwind as we plan a move and adding a new baby to the family, but we are thankful that we have plenty of family and friends close by to help with the transition.

Maternity Pictures...

We decided since we had maternity pictures taken when I was pregnant with Kensley, we should probably do them again for baby #2.  We had them taken at our house a little over a week ago by a friend of ours.  We think they turned out great and they are a good reflection of our family right now.  For documentation sake, I was 34 weeks in these pictures.

Here are some of our favorites.

Thanks, Sarah!  We love them!

See the Resemblance?

Ever since Kensley was a baby, we've heard that she looks just like her daddy.  I have always agreed with this, but have noticed slight resemblances to my side of the family as she has grown older.  On our last trip to my parent's house, I scoured their pictures to see if I could find some of me at Kensley's age for comparision sake. 

I'd say the biggest thing she got from me at this age are my facial expressions.  It's hilarious to me as she will make these funny little faces and I'll think..."I wonder where she learned that".  Yep, like mother like daughter.

Can you see the resemblance?
(My baby pictures are on the left and Kensley's are on the right.)

18 month stats...

We had Kensley's 18 month well check visit yesterday and it went pretty much as I expected it would.  The little tantrum Kens threw as we were getting packed up to go, set the tone for the morning.  The crying and clinging started as soon as they called her name at the doctor's office.  She actually settled down a little as the doctor was examining her.  Our doctor is so great and she took the time to examine Peter (Kensley's stuff rabbit that joined us on the trip) so Kens would see that it wasn't so bad.  It was sweet to watch as Kens seemed genuinely concerned about Peter as the doctor checked his ears, etc.  Kens just had one shot and surprisingly she handled it really well with only a few tears (which I think more so stemmed from laying down on the table and having the nurse touch her).

Overall, the doctor said she looked great.  She is right on track physically and developmentally which we are thrilled about.  Here are her stats:

Weight: 24 lbs 9 ounces (53rd %ile)

Height: 32 inches (59th %ile)

Head: 18.5 inches (62nd %ile)

We are now done with shots (with the exception of the yearly flu shot) until Kens is 5!  Definitely thankful for that, however we will soon be starting the whole process over again with baby girl!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday afternoon.  It's amazing what a 3+ hour nap can do for one's temperament.

18 months old...

Our baby girl is officially a year and a half old and we just can't believe how quickly she is growing up!  She is really becoming quite the little person and we are loving watching her grow.

Kensley still continues to make us laugh every day.  Although here lately, some of the things that make us laugh can also frustrate us as well.  Kensley has entered the "no" stage and we tend to hear that word from her more often than we'd like....however she says "doe" (long "o" sound that rhymes with no).  This makes us laugh as she says it very decisively and loud.  It is often her response to things like: "Can you hold mommy's hand (as we're walking outside)", "Can you take another bite", as I rub her back or play with her hair (often get pushed away as well), in response to wanting a different snack than the one offered, etc.  It's so funny to see her start to form and express her own opinions about things.

Kensley is also quite the helper these days.  She LOVES to help with just about anything...unloading the dishwasher, putting clothes into the washer/dryer, folding laundry (you can imagine how helpful this really is), cleaning, throwing trash away, etc.  We can only imagine how helpful she is going to be once baby sister gets here.

Here lately, Kensley has really starting talking more and saying lots more words.  She attempts to repeat most words we say and it's so cute to hear her sweet, little voice.  She still loves music and will dance to most songs she hears.  She'll often clap/cheer at the end of a song as well.  She likes to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with us and it's funny as she always says the same few words in each line as we get to them.

Kensley is still a happy little girl and becoming quite the social butterfly.  She is so affectionate and loving and it's always so sweet to see her give kisses and hugs.  She'll come up to us randomly and will hug our legs and offer a kiss that usually hits our knee or thigh.  She's got the kissing sound down which is funny when she air kisses babies or other kids.  At night after she gives us a hug and kiss goodnight, she'll often say "uv eww" (love you) unprompted as she heads up to bed.  Such a little sweetheart!

Our pictures are limited this month as we've rarely had the camera out.  Here are the few of our active little 18 month old.

Random Updates...

This is a somewhat random post, but I wanted to post some pictures of our happenings over the past few weeks.

A few weeks ago, we participated in the Walk for the Cure.  We had planned to do the full 3 mile walk, but due to the chilly weather and a restless little girl, we opted for the 1 mile family walk.  We are glad we did as we were able to finish earlier and made it to the car just as it started raining (to add to the misery of the coldness).

Posing for a quick pic with our friends, Ashley and Steve.  I love the look on Kensley's face here...too funny.

Waving to mommy.

Walking across the finish line with daddy.  She was such a trooper out in the cold weather.

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Right before Easter, my good friend from college and her family made a quick stop at our house on their way through to Chicago.  We haven't seen each other in several years and it was so great to finally meet each other's kids (Jensen is 19 months old and Bella is 2.5 months old).  Our time was so short, but I am so thankful we were able to have a quick visit.  Thanks Nate and Brit for making time to see us!

Helping herself to Jensen's snack.

Clearly pleased with herself.

Sharing a snack

Sweet girl!

Kisses for Bella.  Kensley was obsessed with giving Bella kisses.

Brit and I with Kens and Jensen

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We finally had some nice weather last week to test out the new bike carrier.  As with most things, it took Kensley a few minutes to warm up, but she ended up loving it!  She did great with wearing her helmet (or "hat" as she calls it) and was quickly asking for more.  She says "bike ride" and points at the bike whenever she wants to go.

Posing with daddy.

So excited!

Off they go!

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And lastly, it's been kind of a slow go with potty training.  Days will go by and we'll realize that we haven't asked Kens if she needs to potty, etc.  We also ended up putting her little potty away for a showing several weeks ago and have yet to get it back out.  No wonder we had no intention of starting the process so soon!

This past weekend though as we were eating dinner, Kensley kept saying "poop" and was grabbing her diaper.  We decided we should just go with it and see what happens.  We had success as she pottied on the big toilet.  We celebrated with a M&M and lots of cheering.  A few pictures to document the occasion.

Smiling for daddy.

Can you tell she's excited?