Hutchinson, Kansas

We had a great weekend visiting family in Hutchinson. Grammie was a lovely host, treating us to a carriage ride through an Amish town and taking us on a tour of the newly opened Kansas Underground Salt Museum. There we travelled down 650 feet below the surface (or 'top side' as the miners refer to it) and got to tour a working salt mine that had been in operation for the past 80 years. It was very interesting.
It was also really nice to visit with Aunt Liz and Uncle Bill, Avery, Syndy, Michael, AnnMayre, and Jeff. Look at the presents Aunt Liz and Uncle Bill got for the baby! It’s an itty bitty K-State hat and a wee little Cubs outfit. I can’t wait for Levi to wear them.

Birthday Boy

Here are a few pictures from our weekend. Lucas turned 30 on Friday. We celebrated with his parents, sister and brother-in-law, cousins, and a big ol’ chocolate cake. It was a lot of fun to be together.

Surprise

This past weekend we were back in Providence for Mom's surprise birthday celebration. It was so much fun. We took family pictures, had a luau, and spent plenty of time in the pool. The winner of the 'dive-off' contest on Saturday night was too close to call but Luke's cannonball was quite entertaining and impressive- he drenched us all.

Ruby was so cute. We couldn't get over how much she is learning and how quickly she has started picking up new words. Her sparkly eyes and wide smile (with 4 little teeth showing) just melts your heart.

5 months down

Here is a picture of Amber's 5 month pregnant belly and one of the stroller system that Luke put together this weekend. Slowly but surely we are preparing for the baby's arrival in November. Any advice on baby gear would be very much appreciated. What's neccessary and what is not? It's a little hard for us first-timers to determine.

Red, White, and Blue

Happy Independence Day! We very much appreciate our country, the freedoms we enjoy, and the ones who fought to protect those freedoms. We also appreciate (though on a much less significant level) the day off work. Lucas and I painted in the kitchen and worked on getting the trim laid at the baseboards and at the top of the cabinets. Our kitchen remodel has been stuck at the ‘almost-done’ stage for 8 months now and we realized we needed to put in a concerted effort if we had any chance of completion before the baby arrives. He is due in 18 weeks now! In the evening we went to the Hails for dinner, along with the Monterossos. As always, we had a good time.

Summer is definitely in full force here in Kansas. The sunshine stays up late, the humidity is high, and the watermelons are on sale at the grocery. We had the chance to travel almost every weekend this past month and it has been great to see family. The following are ‘catch-up’ posts. The pictures we took were being held hostage in the new camera Lucas got me for my birthday. We finally were able to download and share them.

Catch up 1

Last weekend we had a great time in St. Louis with the Dicksons. We had a lot of fun playing games, eating good food, and relaxing. We also got to see Uncle Vint, Sherry, Lexi, Dehlia, and Brandon who all came over for a visit on Saturday afternoon. In this picture, I’m holding up part of a birthday present. There is a set of three safari scenes featuring animals with their babies. We’re going to hang them in the nursery.

Catch up 2

Mom and Dad treated us to a wonderful weekend in Providence, Rhode Island. It was a lot of fun to visit with them and with Lea. We enjoyed the scenic drive to Narragansett and ate great seafood. Lucas and I went shopping with Mom for items for the nursery. Nana and Papa are already spoiling this little baby of ours!

Catch-up 3

One weekend we headed west to Dodge City and stayed with Grandma Dickson. She took us to Boot Hill where we toured the museum and restored buildings as well as witnessed a wild-west gun fight reenactment. We also drove to a spot where you can still see remnants of the Santa Fe Trail. On Sunday we got to visit with more Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins over lunch before we had to head home. On our drive back we were glad to have the opportunity to stop in Hutchinson to visit with Grammie Feerer, Aunt Liz, and Avery.

It's a boy!!!

Recently we had an ultrasound appointment. While there, we received the happy news that we are pregnant with a healthy baby boy! It was very reassuring to hear that all of the many aspects of the baby's physical development are going as they should. The sonographer reported that our baby's head measured at the 73rd percentile. Lucas says this means the baby is a genius. Amber just says 'Ouch'.

Conversations- Part II

As documented earlier, Luke entertains us by having conversations with our unborn child. Sometimes it’s not an entire dialogue but just an impromptu response from Ziggy to something I’ve done or said. The baby is always very expressive, sounding perhaps excited or exasperated or sleepy depending on the conversation.

While I’m laughing hard at something.
Ziggy: “Up, down, up, down. Help, I’m on a roller coaster!”

After getting my appetite back for a couple of weeks, eating lots of goodies, and then stepping on the scale:
Amber: “Whoa, it looks like I need to cut back on the sweet stuff. You better finish the rest of that chocolate cake, Luke.”
Lucas: “No problem.”
Ziggy: “Nooooo! I love chocolate cake! Send down more cake!”

As Lucas is driving us through a construction zone where the road is rough:
Ziggy: “Bumpy! Daddy, why are you driving like that?”
Lucas: “The road is being worked on. We’re in a construction zone.”
Ziggy: “Oh, I see…Daddy?”
Lucas: “Yes?”
Ziggy: “What’s a road? What’s construction?”

Ziggy: “I love Jesus, yes I do, I love Jesus, how bout you?”
Lucas: “I love Jesus yes I do, I love Jesus, how bout you?”
...silence...
Ziggy: “Oh Mama, I can’t hear yoooooouuuu…”
Amber: “I love Jesus yes I do, I love Jesus, how bout you?”

4 months down

We wrapped up the fourth month of pregnancy with a visit from Ziggy's Nana and Papa over Memorial Day weekend. It was a very nice time. We had a slightly soggy picnic at the Liberty Memorial on Sunday. This was followed up by plenty of shopping, eating, and all 'round good fellowship on Monday. Luke is seen showing off some of the gender neutral bounty from the shopping expedition. Amber is showing off her growing belly.

Nesting

My nesting instinct has kicked in. All of a sudden I feel that it is of vital importance to immediately take care of all the cleaning, organizing, and house projects around here that are in various stages of completion. Lucas has been a great sport about it. This weekend we worked on the basement and garage. This involved sorting through many boxes that were being stored down there. We unearthed treasures like Luke’s old boy scout parephanalia, little league trophies, and pictures. We also found un-treasures like pens that don’t write, old bank statements, and a bag of un-matched socks.

Happy Mother's Day

We have been incredibly blessed with wonderful mothers and there is not enough space on the internet to list out all the things we appreciate about them. We love you!

Weekend

On Friday night Aundrea, Chuck, Nathan, Sheralyn, and Jerrika came over for lasagna. We did lots of chatting over garlic bread and Jerrika amazed us with her feats of strength. She is a very smiley, strong baby.

On Saturday morning, Luke got a lot of yard work done and I did some cleaning in the basement. That evening, we had dinner at John and Cyndi’s to celebrate Brendan’s birthday. His party had a Curious George theme and it was very fun to watch him be so excited about turning 3 years old. Afterwards we met John and Kim for a show at the Heartland Theater. We saw ‘Bunk Bed Brothers’ which was pretty entertaining.

It's great to get to enjoy our friends, the nice spring weather, and the boost in energy I've felt now that the middle trimester is under way.

Conversations

Lucas has conversations with the baby (who, while in utero, we’ve given the nickname ‘Ziggy’)- helpfully supplying both sides of the dialogue. Here are a couple of the exchanges that have taken place over the past couple of weeks:

While I was sitting on the couch looking quite green from morning sickness:
Luke: Now Ziggy, I want you to be nice to your Mama…you’re making her stomach feel sick.
Ziggy: ok…but Daddy?
Luke: Yes?
Ziggy: I’m just…I’m just trying to grow big!
Luke: Well, I guess that’s ok, then.

Saying goodbye as I leave for work:
Luke: byebye Ziggy, have fun at work with Mama.
Ziggy: I have to go to work?
Luke: Yes, you have to go to work
Ziggy: But…but…I’m just a little, bitty, tiny, baby! You’re making me get a job already?

Luke definitely does the best Ziggy impression but I still help make his/her desires known, saying things like:

“Ziggy was hungry and wanted me to eat the last piece of pumpkin cake…”
“Hmmm, the baby must have been cold, that’s why I stole your covers last night…”
“Ziggy is very, very tired. I’m going to go take a nap.”