Happy Easter!

Olivia's basket had puffs in the eggs, and the chocolate is for Mom!

Elena's had a soccer-monster soccer ball, and mints and jellybeans and fruitsnacks in the eggs.

The fish is for everybody!  

When I asked Elena what we should name him, she said, "black!"  I said, but, he's blue!  So we named him Buddy.  Get it?

Olivia's Shower and Some House Pics

Today we had Olivia's baby shower--thanks Jacki and everybody who helped!! It was a really nice time, celebrating this new little one who will soon be here!

We used the new china--thanks, Gran! It was perfect!

Sister loved the baby shoes, and she's been carrying the diapers around all afternoon.

We had sweet tiny guests as well as the grown-up kind.

It was a perfect party to celebrate my new girl. :)

Because the house was so spiffy clean for the party, I took some pictures of all the improvements. Thanks to Michelle for helping us out so much with the cleaning and the decorating of the living room/dining room--she really helped us take it to the next level! We still have to match the paint on the living room wall... what a nightmare. But other than that, we are so pleased with the space!

Andrew and I love how peaceful our room is with the blue walls. And I LOVE how big our bathroom is. Here are a few pics of the master bedroom/bathroom.

The last room that needs to be finished is Elena's room, and the kitchen has a few unhung pictures yet. But we are so close--it's great to feel so settled in, in just under a month. We love how homey it feels to us. What an enormous blessing and answer to prayer to be in our own house before baby Olivia is born!

Nursery and Bird Feeder

We finished the nursery, horray! It feels so great--it makes it feel very real that she could be here any time now!







Big sister loves the room, too!


Gran and Bob-bob bought us a bird-feeder for our housewarming gift--I love it! It's great that we can see it from the back porch. I can't wait to see the birds coming to eat, and I know Elena will be so excited to see them! :)

Some Overdue Pictures

Of course, I have had some of these on my camera for a long time, and I'm just now getting around to posting them. My excuse--the move, of course! :)

A few weekends ago we went with friends to the beach--it was beautiful, and Elena and I were so happy to have Andrew along for the first time this season. The waves were a little stronger than the last time, so Elena was a lot more cautious than usual, which didn't bother me! She is usually a beach daredevil! We had so much fun with Andrew and with our friends.



These pictures are from the first time we came to the house as the actual homeowners!! It was a very exciting moment, and though we didn't have a tripod for a family shot, we each got a turn in front of the camera. :)



The week of the move we spent lots of time with out-of-town people who were in town for just that week! Strange timing, but we were so glad to see Aunt Steph and crew, and April and baby Jack. April and I were photo duds and only got one shot of her and me, but I did take some cute ones of Elena playing in the pool with the cousins. They stayed at a nice resort that has 7 pools! This one was perfect for little Elena. :) While we were there, Lauren and Aunt Steph started feeding a squirrel, which hung around for the kids to stare at, and even touched Elena! She was a little freaked out by that! We forgot to take a picture of the whole family when my mom came into town and we went out to eat with the McDonalds, but we did get a quick shot of Mom and Aunt Steph in our garage, haha. :)










Now for some shots of our floor renovation. The day I took pics it was half-carpet, half-laminate in the room, so you can see a before/after perspective. The new furniture comes on Saturday (yay!), so when it is set up I will take another picture.



And last but not least, a cute picture of Elena eating strawberries and yogurt, and my 37 weeks pictures. It's been awhile, so it will be a big jump. :)



Olivia is technically "term" now, so she could come anytime! She is growing and crowding my lungs and innards more and more. My pelvis has been aching a lot more this time around than with Elena, but on the upside, I haven't been swelling nearly as much than I did with Elena. That's a blessing. Olivia is not in a perfect position, but she is head-down, and she has plenty of time to switch positions before the big day, whenever she decides that will be. :) We are almost ready for her--we still have some work to do on the nursery, but we are close! I had my home visit from my midwife today, for her to make sure they know the way and check out the place. It feels really real that she is coming soon!

Big sister zais out of her crib now! She is switched to her toddler bed, though it wasn't a perfectly smooth transition. She had a really hard time the first night. She seems to be doing better and better each time, though. Today after her nap she got out of the bed by herself, which was a big step. We are hoping that soon she will learn to get out and play once she is done sleeping--that will make it easier for us! She is such a big girl. :)