First boat trip

On Wednesday of our trip to Florida, we boated over to a restaurant for lunch!  Larry & Diana Forrester's house is right across the street from where my parents were staying, and so we were lucky to see them a lot while we were there.  We cooked several dinners on the Big Green Egg (Jeff's ultimate grill dream), and then they took us for the boat ride.  We even saw dolphins on our boat trip!  Larry & Diana have a black Lab named Boiler, and, as we know, Melanie is not a big fan of dogs.  The catchphrase of the week was "Boiler is asleep" - Mel's answer any time we asked her if she wanted to go see him.  She even came out with a full sentence - "I don't want to see Boiler." 

First trip to the beach

Our first full day in Florida, the guys played golf while the girls explored the beach. This was Melanie's third plane trip (her sixth non-Indiana state visited), but it was her first trip to the beach! She really wanted nothing to do with the sand ON the beach, but I captured her first touch of the sand on the playground. And her first wipe-off of the sand on the playground :) By her second trip, the following day, she had warmed up and enjoyed the beach - and walking in the sand on the beach AND the playground - more.

Fun with Gigi & Poppy

When we arrived in Sarasota, Melanie was beyond ecstatic to see Gigi & Poppy waiting for her at the airport!  She JUMPED out of her stroller and barrelled down the hallway to greet them with open arms.  While she was a bit confused to see them without Molly, she enjoyed having them all to herself for the week!  She had LOTS of stories to tell them, and was drop-down exhausted by the end of each day (as were they, I'm sure!) 

Updates on both babies

Standard OB appointment today.  After today, we move to having appointments every two weeks!  I can't believe I'm that far along!  Today was the glucola test (for gestational diabetes) where I drink the fun sugary drink and sit there for an hour, then they draw blood.  During my hour wait was my actual appointment, and I've gained about 20 pounds, the baby's heart rate was 147, and Dr. Kenley gave me clearance (with an official note and everything) to fly on Sunday.  I shared with him my ankle woes; two Fridays ago, I fell at a restaurant, and my ankle seems to be progressively getting worse instead of better!  I saw my primary care doc this past Monday, but she was hesitant to do x-rays, and diagnosed me with a sprain.  Icing, wraps, and "staying off of it" (yeah right) isn't really helping, so Dr. Kenley ordered x-rays today.  Hopefully I'll find out yet this week what's going on with the crazy ankle.  In the meantime, I have a temporary handicap parking pass so I can park closer to my work!  I promise I won't abuse this power.

Melanie continues to have quite the mind of her own.  Last night after her bath, she refused to put her pajamas on, and wanted to pick out her own outfit.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of her masterpiece.  First, she was very upset (as she was this morning) that the shorts that were on the floor were NOT a shirt.  She was insistent she wanted to wear them as a shirt.  So she ended up in brown sweatpants that have an orange basketball and the number 33 on them, with a pink (too small) "I love Grandma" shirt.  The things this girl comes up with to say are a hoot.  The other day, she was climbing up on the couch, just talking to herself, having a great old time.  I heard her say "Don't worry...." - the catchphrase that Daddy taught her.  She's finally nodding when she agrees or wants to say yes.  She has now taken to spitting on the baby anytime she wants to "talk" to him.  I can't really discipline her for this, since I know it's not done in malice; I'm just concerned that she will spit on him once he's here.  Oh, who am I kidding - if that's the worst she does to him, I guess we're all right!  I got out the stuff to make cookies on Sunday, and she started throwing a fit; I couldn't figure out what she wanted.  Well, she wanted to stand on the chair and "help," like she did last time.  Silly Mommy!  That same day, she threw a fit because she wanted me to shower.  Really, she had an ulterior motive, she wanted to play with her toys that are in the bathroom.  But she just kept screaming "SHOWER!"  So my plans of staying in my pajamas all day were interrupted by a shower - then I got right back into (clean) pajamas and didn't leave the house all day.

Fun & Lazy - the perfect weekend!

We had a great weekend, and not even a Colts loss could put a damper on it.  Well, if you talk to Jeff, it might not have been the ideal weekend, since he spent it shoveling and painting... but since he doesn't update the blog, he doesn't get a vote here, does he?  :)

Melanie was VERY excited to welcome her Daddy home on Friday evening after he was in Portland for a few days for work.  Many times during his absence, we had to review the fact that Daddy was on a plane.  That's right, we just stuck to the "Daddy plane" story the whole time.  It's easier than trying to explain exactly where he was.  So Friday night while Jeff shoveled us out, we stayed nice & dry inside.

Saturday, with all of the snow, Gymboree was canceled.  I went out on errands and to test the roads, which I thought were perfectly accessible given a snowstorm in Indiana in February.  We went to Connor Doran's 3rd birthday party (Mel's first non-family birthday celebration), and then to pick out paint for Melanie's new big-girl room!  Then while Jeff got his paint brushes out to work, Melanie and I headed to Frankfort to see some friends.  Out to dinner with Laura & Christal, and then meeting up with the Shaffers for some FHS basketball fun.  Melanie's reaction to seeing Aunt Julie at the game was priceless.  She saw her from a ways away, and just RAN into her arms.  Very excited!  Aunt Julie took her home to see Molly while I caught up some more with my friends - since it was past Mel's bedtime at this point, that visit didn't go so well.  She was asleep before we hit the town limits, and stayed asleep until about 8am on Sunday.

Sunday's plan was for no one to leave the house.  I was all for being lazy all day.  Melanie absolutely insisted that I take a shower, though, so at least I got that marked off my list.  She & I still were able to avoid leaving the house, although Jeff had to make several trips out so we could eat.  She & I took a three-hour nap, which was just perfect for both of us!  We watched the Super Bowl at home on our own, since we knew that Mel's bedtime would interfere with any company or trips out.  I said it before the game and I'll say it now - I'm a true Colts fan, but if they had to lose to ANYONE, it might as well have been a Purdue QB with a good story behind his team!  Well played, New Orleans Saints.

Melanie's room is just about ready now.  We just need to hang the curtains to make it livable.  There are several other touches that need to be made, but that don't have to be done before she moves in.  The plan is to move her in upon our return from Florida on February 18.  She has already been introduced several times to the room - and last night when I was taking her to bed, she actually wanted to go in there - she laid in the bed and sucked her thumb for a while before deciding it would be more fun to play in the closet.  So, we're taking baby steps....

St. Vincent Carmel

On Tuesday night, we toured our "new hospital."  Well, new to us.  It's been open six years, and it's just north of Clarian North, where Melanie was born.  St. Vincent Carmel is very similar to Clarian in that all the L&D rooms, as well as the "recovery" rooms, are private rooms, equipped with flat-screen TVs, DVD players, etc.  Some of the perks include a 15-minute post-baby massage, free fresh cookies in the lounge, a birthday cake for each family, really nice restrooms.... and as of today, a lift on the "child ban" that was in place (that we didn't even know about).  So Melanie will be able to come visit her "baby broba" (that's about what it sounds like).  She does like to give the baby kisses, talk to him, give him "zerberts" (or spit on him, as she did tonight).  She did a great job during the tour, but she was pretty wound up; Jeff didn't get to listen to a lot of the tour, for chasing her around; but she did entertain the rest of the crowd with her antics such as getting on the L&D bed and pushing buttons to make herself more comfortable, stealing cookies, etc.  She was actually in a great mood, and I wish I would've had my camera with me to capture some of her antics.  Who thinks about bringing a camera to a hospital tour, though?   

One more baby-preparation task checked off the list!

COLTS Weekend!

We had a great weekend celebrating the Colts - yet didn't have a camera battery to capture much of it on film.  Friday night, we went to a Superbowl party at Gymboree.  They had a lot of great football-themed activities for the kids, along with the craft & snack.  Melanie seemed to have a good time running around causing havoc.  Saturday morning it was back to Gymboree, this time Molly joined us!  Molly did great at all of the "new" actvities, and the girls had fun playing with each other.  Since we were trying a new level (Level 5) class, and I don't know the parents in this class, I'm sure they were really impressed by the fact that I was letting my kid rumble with the little brunette - but, hey, that's her cousin, and that's what they do :)  Mel got to spend more of the afternoon with Molly & Gigi while I went to lunch and for pedis with the girls. 

Sunday, Mel & I had nursery duty at church, and then Gigi & Poppy came over to watch the Colts game.  Mel really likes saying "Go Colts!" and will point out any Colts shirt/paraphenalia she sees.  She's trained well.  This was her face at halftime, when the Colts were losing:

After the second half started, Mel started running out of steam.  She enjoyed a nice nap in Poppy's arms.  Lately, Mel has been talking about "Butch."  I asked her who this "Butch" character was, and she responded "Poppy."  The kid is picking up on things, we need to watch our mouths :)