curlers

I decided to curl Becky's hair just for fun. So that's what we did Saturday night after bath before bed.

And here is what it looked like after we fixed it in the morning. Not too bad for our first time. There was really only one piece of hair that fell out wouldn't curl like the rest.

Ta Da!  She thought she was pretty cute, and Al thought it brought out more attitude in her, but it was fun anyway!

20 weeks

Here I am at 20 weeks. Halfway there! I have decided I am not going to consider 4 weeks to be a month this time. That ends up making it 10 months of pregnant! I'm hoping that will help it go quicker. So, that means I am 4 1/2 months along. Had a doctor appointment yesterday. Took Becky and Al to the ultrasound. Becky thought it was pretty neat to see the baby, but she was wanting to see the doctor take it out. The baby was very active. It even did a somersault or two while the ultrasound was being done. So far everything looks really great. No problems detected with the ultrasound at all. Baby's heartbeat was 156. The ultrasound tech asked if we wanted to know the sex, and we said no. It is definitely harder to make that decision when we have the opportunity. (I only had one ultrasound with Becky before you could tell what she was.) We're planning on waiting it out and be surprised. I have been blessed to be feeling very well, other than being tired. My doctor said that's normal and that I should expect it because I have another child to take care of this time around. It's supposed to be more tiring!

P.S. We're an aunt and uncle again! Brenda had a baby boy, Boone Eugene, on April 28. Check out their blog to see pictures. I think he looks a lot like Bode did when he was born. Everyone seems to be doing well. I don't know if we're going to make it down to Florida to see him before they come to Iowa for a visit, but either way, we sure can't wait to meet him!

wedding

Two weekends ago we attended our last friend wedding, for a while, anyway, in Remsen, Iowa. We had a blast. It was great to hang out and party with everyone. Here is a pic of the girls, minus the Bride Rachel and Matron of Honor Angie (Harvey.) They had better things to do than hang out in the bar area, I guess!

bike riding

Becky got a bike from a coworker's daughter who has outgrown it. Not only is it just her size, but it's princess. What more could a girl ask for? The other night she practiced riding it. She rode all the way to the end of the dead end street and back. I think she had fun. I was just glad that her bicycle helmet finally fit her head this year instead of falling down over her eyes!

Here is a closeup of her showing off her skills.

Reba and George

I was lucky enough to get to go the Reba McIntire and George Strait concert last Saturday. It was great. It is a concert that my mom and I would have loved to have gone to together. However, Al was absolutely not crazy about going with me, so I went with a coworker who loves country music. We had a great time. As you can see, our seats were almost to the top, but the screens they had made it seem like you were right down front.

Easter

We had a nice, laid-back Easter.  Becky got up early to find Easter eggs.  She was amazed that the Easter Bunny found the eggs we had dyed the day before!

Here she is on her hunt.

Look at all the loot she got!

Here is Becky ready for church in her Easter dress.

Ready for the Easter egg hunt at church.

Showing off her eggs.

playing catch with Daddy and her new ball and glove

chasing bubbles

Al wasn't feeling well on Easter Sunday, so just Becky and I went to church.  We came home and had dinner and then all took pretty long naps.  After that, we realized it was nice outside, so we went out to enjoy the weather and play with some of Becky's new toys.  I don't know that she'll be a star softball player, but she seemed to have some fun.  We even got out her bat and ball to let her hit.  She got it a few times.  Al and I had to laugh.  I don't know that either one of us is really any good to be teaching her how to play!

I got Al's cold on Monday night, so have been feeling pretty crummy most of the week, which is why I hadn't felt like posting the Easter pics.  I am feeling much better now and am very excited about that.  It's nice to be able to breathe through my nose again!  Luckily, Becky had a mild cough, but I don't think she got the worst of the cold.

Ready for Easter

We had a busy day getting ready for Easter today.  First it was the Easter Egg Hunt at the Beaverdale Park.  Becky didn't get any eggs to get a prize, but she got a ton of candy!

And she's off!

Then we headed to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny

and ride the train, of course!

after nap it was time to color Easter eggs

and decorate sugar cookies

What a fun busy day we had today!

16 weeks

I'm 16 weeks pregnant. Yeah! It's been a long 16 weeks, but I finally feel like everything is going to be okay this time around. I had a doctor appointment today. Everything seems to be fine. The baby's heartbeat was between 148 and 152. It's so reassuring to hear that heartbeat! I had an ultrasound at 12 weeks and everything looked fine then as well. I have been a little hesitant to post about it, but I'm afraid there's no denying or hiding it anymore! As you can see, I'm starting to get a little bump. I'll go to the doctor again in 4 weeks. Right now, however, things seem to be going really well.

sprinkler fun

Al and Becky laid grass seed in our yard on Thursday night. Since it was 80 degrees out that day, Becky decided to get wet. Here she is soaking wet. She had a blast.

And then she fell down right after I snapped this picture. She was filthy. Time for a shower!

hanging out in St. Louis

We couldn't leave St. Louis without at least going to the Arch, so after we checked out from our hotel, we took the MetroTram back downtown. We couldn't go up in the Arch, as tickets were sold out. (who knew you could buy them ahead of time?) But we looked around at the museum inside for a while and took some pictures outside.
Then we went to tour the old courthouse. It was really pretty neat. A lot of history. I'm sure we wouldn't have enjoyed it as much had we been chasing Becky around, so it was a nice thing for the two of us to do.

one of the old courtrooms.

the dome