Sold!

Although this may come as a surprise to some of you - quite frankly it came as a bit of a surprise for us too - we sold our house! Brian and I have been talking on and off about putting our house on the market and finally decided that we'd just bite the bullet, put up the for sale sign, and see what happened. Our house sold 36 hours later. Crazy...


After a great many mixed feelings, I've come to terms with the fact that we're moving. I've already shed a few tears over this fact, and I'm sure I'll shed more in the future when we actually begin the moving process, but really this move is a good thing. We love our house, the location, and the upgrades we've made, but, there are certainly some things we won't miss - such as the pipes freezing, the fuses blowing, the lack of storage space, the occasional mouse, the major draft under the front corner window, the temperature difference between the upstairs and downstairs (for example in winter you need to wear a hat while downstairs and your swimsuit while upstairs), and the floors that are about 50 degrees in winter! I will greatly miss our amazing location, our large kitchen, the colors, my flowers (which I'll get to see bloom before we go), my garden (which I won't really get to harvest any produce from), our trees that are finally big enough to cast a large amount of shade, our walk-in closet, and the upstairs floor layout in general.


What I haven't quite come to terms with is where we're moving to (still up in the air on that one) and what we're going to do with the massive amount of stuff we've accumulated over the years! Right now we're on the apartment search - we're going this route because we're 95% positive that we're going to build. We've got a lot picked out in the Bruening Addition just up the hill from us but are waiting to meet with our contractor, the cement/basement person, and our design lady before we officially purchase as there's a little slope that we want to make sure will work into the overall layout okay.

Here's our general timeline (cross you're fingers please!):
July = buy lot and finalize house plan
August = basement/foundation being poured
September = begin buliding
December = move in

Building a new house (assuming we don't change our mind last minute and buy a house) will be an adventure. I'm looking forward to it actually, and I think it will be great to make things just the way we want them. I feel sometimes though that this entire process is a bit bittersweet. I'm excited, yet sad to be, in a sense, losing something that we put so much of ourselves into. Did you know that Brian and I closed on our house exactly one year before our wedding day? Our home has so many memories associated with it, but I know that deep down, it the memories that are really important - and thank goodness those are portable...

For Bapa Thornton...

Bapa - You should know that I've been asking about my bapa and gamma a lot lately - especially today after I heard mom talking to gamma. When are you going to come and visit me and Baby Gracie? I hope sometime soon! I just wanted to show you these cute picture of me wearing the t-shirt you gave me for Christmas! Sorry I'm not smiling in any of them - I'm not particularly fond of getting my picture taken these days. Plus, I was really trying to work on my "Harley girl face." I think I have some work to do yet in that department. I hope you'll take me for a spin sometime when you do finally get your motorcycle! By the way - did you know motorcycle is one of my favorite words these days and that I like to say it over and over again until mommy acknowledges me and every motorcycle we see? Motorcycles are cool! I love you lots!

Dear Daddy...

Dear Daddy,

Roarrrrrr!!! Roar is my favorite game to play with you! Thanks so much for always chasing me around, letting me jump on you, and pushing me on my little bike. I'm so glad you play "rough" with me sometimes because mom's really not too good at that. I had so much fun with you a couple of weekends ago at Wisconsin Dells! Thank you so much for playing with me and going down so many slides. If I'm thinking correctly, you had just as much fun as I did! I'm excited to take many trips to the pool with you this summer! Do you think you could catch and dunk me like you did last time? I loved that so much! (This picture will show you how much I love playing "roarrrr" with you.)


I'm sorry that sometimes I get a little demanding and throw the occasional fit. But really, can you blame me? I'm not even two after all! I hope that all my kisses and hugs to you make up for those very few negative things! :)

I'm so glad that you are my daddy! I couldn't ask for anyone better. It's so nice of you to watch Micky with me in the morning instead of the news, and I really like when you sing "Oh Tootles." Also, I know you must be sick of watch the Elmo's Potty Time DVD since I like to watch it every single day, but it's nice that you still lay on the bed and cuddle with me while watching. Thanks a million for spending countless hours outside with me. Being outside is one of my favorite things you know, and I love to pick weeds, water, and climb the church steps over and over again with you.

Thanks for always encouraging me to try new things and not getting too annoyed when I'm really "acting like a girl!" You've taught me to do so many things like climbing at the park, rolling down the sidewalk really fast on my bike, and playing catch. I love that you have so many nicknames for me and show me that you love me in so many ways. Thanks for letting mom sleep in some mornings. I love that I get this one-on-one time with you and just between you and me, I secretly plan to get at 5 sometimes just so we can play without being interrupted!

You make me laugh more than any other person in my life. I love you sooooo much! I know that you're really tired from working 12 hour days with tennis camps right now, but I really appreciate that you still make time to play with me when you're home for breaks. I can't wait until you can watch Elmo with me and can read me some books at bedtime after camps are done. Someday do you think I'll be able to go to your camp?

I really appreciate all the things you do for me, and, if you haven't figured it out by now, what I really want is to be just like you when I grow up.

Lovey Daddy,
Nut (Olivia)



Dear Daddy,

I can't write as much as my big sister Olivia did because I just can't do as many things as she quite yet. But....boy am I excited for when I'm a bit more steady and can play a bit more! You and Olivia better watch out because as soon as I can crawl, I'm going to be all over you! For now though, I'm pretty happy watching you and Olivia rough-house; you both make me smile and laugh all the time with your silliness.

When I was little (well, I mean when I was just a bitty baby), one of my favorite things to do was to cuddle on your chest. You were so nice and warm and it made me feel safe and comforted to lay with my head on your chest listening to your heartbeat. Now, I like when you cart me around so that I can see the world. You and mom sure have some strong arms from carrying me and Olivia around all the time!

I really liked that you stayed home with me so much when mom went back to work. It was really nice to have such a familiar face around and I liked having some bonding time with you. I know you're not a huge fan of changing diapers and all that, but you're actually pretty good at it. If you promise not to tell mom, I'll let you in on a little secret... You're much better at putting me down for naps than she is! I like to give her a hard time on occasion, but you just seem to have the special touch.

I love you very much. Even though I can't actually tell you that, I hope you know if from the way I smile, squeal, and kick my legs when I see you. I can't wait to be running around and playing with you and Olivia in the near future!

Love,
Gracie



Happy Father's Day to all you fantastic dads out there! Both Brian and I are so fortunate to have such great role models in our lives, and we are so thankful for all the guidance, love, and support our "dads" have provided! We love you!

Wisconsin Dells

On the last day of school and Brian's birthday, we headed to Wisconsin Dells for some time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We had a fantastic time! It was so wonderful to catch up on a year's worth of conversation and to watch the kids play both together and in the water park. We're so glad that we were able to continue this "Dells tradition" for the third year in a row and hope that we can meet up again next year! Thank you so much Bob and Michelle for being the organizers of this all! This time while the kids are little is so precious, and it makes me so glad that our kids are getting to know each other while making happy memories too!



Even though Grace and Olivia are technically second cousins to Hannah, Andrew, Elliott, and Evan, they're basically cousins because of their proximity in ages. Hannah was quite the little mommy to Gracie in particular, and she was a great little helper when it came to changing diapers, getting Gracie dressed, and bath time.


On Saturday my Grandpa and Grandma Roiger came down for the day. They spent lots of time giving Grace and Olivia some love. This was the first time they met Gracie, and I think it's safe to say that Grace took to both of them! My grandma in particular had Grace belly laughing and demonstrating her "squawking" abilities during playtime. I'm hoping to make a visit to Wausau sometime this fall while Brian is at a tennis meet so that we can spend some more time together and so that my Grandpa and Grandma Hanz can also meet Grace.


I think I've gotten almost everyone covered in all these pictures! There's quite a few, but I wanted to document all the fun!


Of course we spent lots of time at the various water parks. Since the warm weather has arrived, we've discovered that we have a water-lover on our hands with Olivia! She doesn't at all mind getting splashed or getting her face wet and seems to relish every moment in the water in general. For as hesitant of a girl Olivia is at times, she has absolutely no fear (or maybe very little fear) of water in general. Even though this makes me a little nervous, I think I'd rather this than have her be afraid. She loved the slides, lazy river, water swings, water animals, wave pool, and everything else in between! Olivia got lots of quality time with her daddy as they explored basically every aspect of the part together. I think Brian definitely had as much fun as Olivia did!


By the way, I stood at the bottom of the slide to take this picture - I stepped into the water to just get a little closer for the perfect picture... Yep, you guessed, when they hit the bottom, a wave of water completely soaked me - I wasn't wearing my suit of course. Some people nearby were kind enough to give me a couple of towels! At least the picture's pretty decent! :)

I got to spend some time at the wave pool with Olivia on Saturday morning. We mastered all the slides in the non-wave part of the park and then took on the waves. I was sore for two days from lifting her up every time a wave came our way, but her smiles and squeals made the soreness worth it! I was impressed with Olivia's daring - she even insisted on sitting on the inner-tubes and exploring some deeper water (don't worry, not too deep) with mommy.


Both girls were on best behavior the entire weekend. Olivia took three hour naps both days, and Grace did approximately that in the morning and afternoon. Grace hung out and napped a bit in the baby bjorn while we were at the water park and didn't seem to mind the noise. All the activity and attention definitely wore them out! We did pretty well sleeping in the same room and managed to get through some mid-night feedings and a really dirty mid-night diaper without waking Olivia up. All-in-all we had an absolutely fantastic time and are already looking forward to next year!

Grace Elizabeth - 4 Months

About a week ago, Grace turned 4 months. At Grace's appointment she weighed in at 12 pounds 11 ounces (25th percentile) and was 24 inches long (70th percentile). I suspected that she was on the long side, and I was right! According to Dr. Maher, Gracie is right on track with all her milestones and is "a perfect little princess." I happen to agree! FYI - The pictures throughout this post were taken by Grace's great-uncle Bob while we were in The Dells this past weekend.


Gracie continues to be a cheerful little girl full of smiles and squeals; she's such a joyful addition to our life! Some of my favorite moments are when Grace and Olivia start talking to each other. I swear that all Olivia has to do is look at Grace and she's guaranteed a smile! Lately, Grace will just start squawking (for lack of a better word) in order to get attention. She gets the giggles if Olivia squawks back to her - I definitely need to get this on video! Other ways to get Gracie to smile are tickling her belly, raising her up in the air, and just generally talking to her in a cheerful voice. I think she might be one of the happiest babies I've ever been around - of course I might just be a bit bias, but this picture speaks volumes! :)


In the sleep department Grace isn't doing as well, but I still can't really complain. She gets up most nights at some point to eat and generally again around 5. Then, she'll go back to sleep till 6:30 - or later if we're lucky! Napping continues to go well. Typically we get a really long morning nap, a shorter one in the afternoon, and then a little half hour snooze in the evening. I'm debating messing with the morning nap in order to get a longer afternoon one so that she's on track with Olivia, but I'm a little nervous to mess with the good that we've got now too! The weirdest thing Grace has done is to take crazy long naps at daycare - one that was 7 hours and another that was 6! As Grace has conquered her fingers, she's developed the habit of falling asleep with her middle two fingers in her mouth - it's odd, but pretty cute at the same time.


The transition to daycare went really well. Grace's happy disposition of course helped with this, and I didn't feel as much stress about the whole process as I thought I would. I think it really helped to have the transition be cushioned by some time just with family when I initially went back to work. Olivia is very loving to her sister while at daycare and if an almost two-year-old can be proud of a sibling, I think Olivia is. Daycare finally got her saying "Baby Gace" and more recently "Gacie."


Olivia and Grace's relationship is growing in such a fantastic way. Grace is now the first thing Olivia asks for in the morning. She's moved up in front of "milky," a major honor! :) And Olivia frequently says "baby old (hold) her," "baby lap," and "baby see." More frequently, Olivia has begun identifying Grace's emotions with "baby happy/sad/fuss." Olivia entertains Gracie on a regular basis as I already mentioned and always wants to have Grace watch her - this includes having Grace watch her while she sits on the potty. Olivia also carries her baby around on a regular basis and does the same things with her baby that I do with Grace.


Developmentally Gracie has gotten the hang of grabbing objects and bringing them to her mouth. She continues to roll from belly to back and is working at going from back to belly. However, I'm not going to make any predictions on when she's actually going to conquer that milestone as I tend to think things are going to happen much sooner than they do. She's become a pro at sitting in the bumbo seat and has just started trying out the exersaucer. She's holding her head really well in the baby bjorn, and I notice myself holding her a bit more on my hip than I used since she's getting more steady and strong in her trunk (although her favorite position is still facing out hanging). Grace is nearing the excessive drooling stage, so who knows - maybe a tooth will make it's appearance in the next month or two.


Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with how Grace and our family has progressed after 4 months as a family of four. Things have smoothed out into a generally peaceful routine, and I'm so looking forward to a fun summer together!

Baptism

This past weekend was Grace's baptism. Tara, Grace's aunt, served as Godmother, and Paul Berland, a family friend, as Godfather. Grace is lucky to have two such amazing people to watch over her in an extra-special way!


Our little girl held up fantastically during the service and actually seemed to enjoy the entire holy water experience. When we got home I was doubly impressed by her general calmness as her entire body was covered with heat rash most likely sparked by the itchy tag on the inside of her dress. She even tolerated being taken out into the 85 degree weather for a couple additional pictures before being changed into the softest cotton dress ever created (thank you Auntie T!).

During the service, Olivia provided some entertainment by repeating, "All done song," when we went up to the front of the church to introduce Grace and to request the baptismal rite. She also insisted we discuss the numerous people sitting "up high" (in the balcony) multiple times! Olivia is definitely at the stage where she won't stop repeating whatever it is she's saying until rightfully acknowledged - it's quite cute most of the times and somewhat ridiculous at others.


After the service, we had friends and family to our house for a little lunch. It was great to have everyone together for conversation, food, and laughter. The kids all played together so well, and I have another post in the making detailing the fun events of Memorial Weekend.

Thanks everyone for helping make Grace's day a special one!!!