Late

I don't know why I should feel surprised that I am past due with this pregnancy (not like I'm ridiculously past due or anything, it's just one day so far). But, all pregnancy long you wait and wait and wait and wait and then you feel like the end is in sight with a due date. Then, the day comes and the day goes and here I am. Still pregnant. People I talk with are very supportive. They tell me how nice I look and that it's all belly. I've also gotten a lot of advice from people for how to start labor (I'll leave the advice out.). I find it all pretty funny. But, I did go to the chiropractor yesterday for my weekly adjustment (chiropractors are amazing people by the way) and they did a few more things that could have an effect on starting the labor process. So far nothing. Baby feels like she's dropped some, but by the looks of me I still look like I've swallowed a watermelon sideways. Overall I feel good. I don't sleep well, but for the most part I can't complain. Here is the latest picture of me at 40 weeks.

Due date: 40 Weeks

It was also Brooke's 2nd birthday last week. She turned two and is quite the little lady. She always talks about listening to our iPods so we got a music player with a microphone that we can upload music to. She calls it her iPod. We also went out to dinne

r at Green Mill to celebrate.

Mommy & Brooke - Happy Birthday!

Brooke & Daddy - Happy Birthday!

Halloween – Just About

Halloween is just about the corner and while I was originally being a little bit of a grinch about the holiday, I broke down and bought Brooke a costume today. (Wasn’t going to because, well, she’s just a few days shy of 2 and we weren’t planning to take her trick or treating. But, daycare is having a Halloween party and tonight Justin took her to a guys and kids night and all the other kids were dressing up. So, I just can’t let Brooke be left out so I bought her some wings and a fluffy skirt. I told her she was a fairy, but she is insisting on butterfly.) If I can get a good picture of her in the outfit I’ll be sure to post it.

I’m taking in a relaxing evening tonight. Justin & Brooke are at guys and kids night (Don’t even ask me what they do there. I think it’s just drink beer, eat pizza and watch the kids play.) So, I’ve been doing a little laundry, getting the house ready for the weekend and sitting on my buns watching Thursday night TV (SWEEET!). 

Since Halloween is just around the corner, that also means that B’s birthday is just around the corner, too. We are having her 2nd birthday party this weekend. And, everyone we’ve invited says they are coming. Unfortunately Uncle Ryan won’t be able to make it, but we just want him to get over his illness. It’s going to be a full house with people upstairs and downstairs, but it will be good. Next weekend, we might do just a family celebration for her actual birthday and go back to the waterpark at Canad Inns like we did last year.

No sign of baby for me, yet. I’ll be 38 weeks tomorrow. I’m not pushing it; I’m just a little tired of being pregnant. I know the last couple weeks will be here before I know it, but the wait is awful. (I feel like I’m waiting for Christmas to hurry up and get here.) Life will be crazy once baby is born, so I know I should enjoy the time we have right now. But, if you’ve been pregnant and waiting for baby to come, you know what I mean.

I’ll post pics of B in her costume and of her birthday party. Until then, here are a few of my faves from this month.

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Living Room Update

When we moved in, the living room was stark white. Then, we decided to paint. Never put me in charge of paint colors. I picked grey and darker grey. After living with it for a couple years, we decided for another change. So, we headed back to the paint section and picked out a soft green for two walls (left the other two the light grey). Justin did this painting after we installed one of the new windows (now all that's left is the picture window).

Then, in August, we made the spontaneous decision to get a new couch and loveseat. (Originally, I just wanted a rocker/recliner. Now, I've got a full size reclining couch and a rocking/reclining love seat). And, finally, after Labor Day, we made the split decision to put carpet down in the living room. I was nervous about covering the beautiful hardwood floors and that it would make it look smaller. But, personally, I think the carpet makes it look bigger. Cody loves lounging on it. Justin was sprawled out on it after work. And, Brooke's first words about it were, "That's nice." If she approves it, it must be good right?

There's still a lot of hardwood left in our house. The entry way, hall, and all three bedrooms. Plus, if new owners want, they can pull up the carpet and have beautifully, already finished floors right underneath.

Here are a few pics of before carpet and after carpet.

Before

All the furniture is jammed into Kylie's room, the dining room and hallway.

After

This was the first look we got when we came in the door.

After

And finally, with all of the furniture moved back in.

Potty training

I just about forgot...We've spent a lot of time since August working on potty training with Brooke. It's been going really well and our little angel is nearly trained (just a diaper at nap and bedtime). The first two weeks were tough, but all of our hard work (and her hard work) has totally paid off. Now, she very few accidents. We couldn't be happier with her!

But, we aren't free and clear of diapers. I think I need to start stocking up with baby 2 right around the corner ;-).

Fall has arrived

Reader beware. This post is pretty choppy. My mom and I were talking today and she said some family members said they liked reading my blog. Well, I finally realized I haven't updated since about July. So, if there are people out there who actually read this, my sincerest apologies. My life with a toddler has gotten so busy, I honestly don't know what happened to summer. (And, now I think I'm going to be able to handle another one in 6 short weeks? Who do I think I am? God bless Grandma Burckhard and Grandma Esther. With 13 and 7 kids, respectively, I don't know how you managed. Sometimes we try to tell Cody that he's in charge, but he just sighs, looks for a sunny place on the floor and curls up for a nap. What a life.). So, again, I'm sorry for how choppy this post is, but I'll try to give some run down of life as we know it.

We've been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time outside this summer (which is probably why I haven't spent much time on the computer). Either my parents came for a visit from Minot, or I made a couple trips back to the Magic City. We also had Justin's 10-year high school reunion (along with a couple bachelor parties the Justin attended). Other than that, we made sure to spend time with the Hecht side of the family, too (Katie, Ryan, Austin and Ethan Anderson as well as Grandma Patti & Grandpa Mike). Last but not least, we've rounded out September (and the start of October) with 4 weddings. They were all a blast! Unfortunately we had to miss my cousin Nathan's wedding in Minot because I was a personal attendant for my friend's wedding in GF. We sure wish we could have made them all. Here are a couple shots from August through September.

One of Brooke's favorite past-times this summer was riding her four-wheeler she got at Christmas. She's still learning how to steer. But, when push comes to shove, she just gets off, drags it to a new spot, and hops on for another ride until she needs to "turn" again.

She loves eating tomatoes. She eats them just like an apple. This has got to be a tomato from Grandpa Kenny's garden (her favorite).

Grandma Wendy & Grandpa Kenny came over Labor Day weekend for a visit. For his birthday, Grandpa Kenny got lemon meringue pie (from the store. No, I didn't have a chance to whip it up. But, I'll take the credit. It was delicious.). Brooke insisted on sharing Grandpa Kenny's with him. Things always taste better off of someone else's plate, right?

Our little daredevil now likes to be pushed high enough that she can flip her head back and watch you from behind. She totally has her dad in her 100%. I'm too much of a nervous nelly for this.

We also had our nephew, Ethan Anderson's, baptism over Labor Day weekend. He did so well during church. Brooke on the other hand, bless her heart, had so much "enthusiasm" for the service that we had to take turns with her out in the lunch room area so she could run off some steam. (Again Grandma's how in the world did you do it?)

Belly Shots

(I don't know the last time, if ever, that I've posted these, so I figured I'd update with a few of the newest belly shots we have. I've definitely grown quite a bit. Justin and I are making bets on just how big this baby will be. Another 9 pounder like Brooke? I'm not going to doubt it.)

26 weeks

29 weeks

34 weeks

Getting Ready for Baby

This weekend, we finally had a few spare moments to get more of the baby's room ready. From our house projects this summer, Justin already painted the bedroom (along with the living room) and installed a new window (along with one in the living room, one in the dining room, and one in our room). All that was left were the odds and ends. After we got the crib put back together, we had to fill it with nearly everything from the living room because we are getting ready for carpet in that space. (Bye-bye hardwood. Hello soft, plushy, warm, comfortable carpet. I know, I know. The hardwood is what sold me on this house in the first place. But, at least we can tell new home buyers that there is beautiful hardwood under the carpet that doesn't even need to be refinished. They just have to pull back the carpet and viola!) The last few pics are Justin and Brooke pitching in to get baby's room ready to rock.

Brooke helping out by attempting to put the fitted sheet on the crib mattress. (Don't worry kiddo, I have troubles with those darn fitted sheets, too.)

Justin putting the finishing touches on the crib. (Cat's out of the bag if you've noticed. We've decided to name our newborn Kylie. Six more weeks till we see her pretty face. Hopefully she'll fit the name we've picked.)

And, last but not least, Brooke's new and improved big-girl room. We picked up her new full size bed today and got it all made up (hot pink of course). She had a tough time falling asleep tonight (I think because of how big the bed was). But after about 15 minutes she was sawing logs.

So, that's it. That's what's been going on. Doesn't seem like a ton, but it sure takes the wind out of me. And, tomorrow, it's back to work. Next weekend, we've made some time to take Brooke's pictures at Target and my mom will be back in town for a quick visit. We've also got to figure out plans for Grandma Patti's birthday. Then, Brooke's 2-year birthday will be right around the corner. Last but not least, it's Kylie's arrival. I wonder if Justin will be able to handle all three of his girls with November birthdays.....

With that, remember to enjoy life one moment at a time.

Summer Fun

Brooke's latest new favorite doo - pigtails. She always asks me, "Mommy, me pony."

Brooke & Austin snacking on Father's Day 2010.

Watch out daddy, looks like she is a shoe girl.

I just love her hair in this picture.

Summer is finally here! Okay, now that I've said that, I hope it doesn't turn dark and dreary. For a while I thought that April and June got their seasons mixed up because it was so nice during April and then most of June was rainy. But, near the end we got some nice weather out of it.

The Hecht family is still doing great. I really think Cody is enjoying how much Brooke plays with him more. Plus she loves taking him for walks. Well, we walk and Brooke rides in the stroller. Cody doesn't care as long as he gets to leave the fence he's fine and dandy. Baby Hecht is growning too. We are now at about 18 weeks and Ba

by has been kicking so much more lately. I really started feeling a lot on Tuesday night. Since about 13 weeks I've been feeling Baby on the inside and not anything outside. Lately, if I put my hand on my stomach, it doesn't take long before I feel a kick or punch. This was definitely something I missed after Brooke was born. Won't be long now, I guess. About 5 more months and Baby 2 will be with us.

We had quite the surprise yesterday. Justin came home for lunch and noticed our shower door in the bathroom shattered (here's the picture).

(It might be difficult to see, but the one door is completely spider-web shattered. The door on the left is still intact.) Well, we couldn't figure out what happened. As far as I knew, the doors were just fine when Brooke and I left that morning and Justin had an early morning meeting. Plus, Cody was outside all morning so it's not like he would have been in the house doing anything. So, Justin shut the door after lunch and we didn't go back in until later that evening to get things cleaned up. When the three of us got home that night, Justin was sitting in the living room talking with Brooke. He asked her if she broke anything this morning. (Note: We didn't say anything about the shower to her.) She nodded her head yes. Then, he asked her what she broke. So, she walked to the bathroom, opened the door and pointed to the shower door. Then, he asked her how she broke it. So, she put her hand up to the door on the left (the non-broken one) and pushed it in. It looks like our culprit was our own innocent Brooke Marie. She must have pushed hard enough on the bottom corner of the glass for it to bend in and shatter (it's a cheapo shower door that wasn't connected at the bottom). Thankfully none of the glass fell out and instead stayed within the frame. Looks like I should have went for the more expensive door right away (that is attached at the bottom) rather than cheaping out on the sale item. I know better for next time.

That's about it for us. Fourth of July is just around the corner and we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home with my parents coming to town. Should be fun. Hot, but fun.

Rain rain go away....aaaahhh SUNSHINE!

Before I logged on, I didn't think it was that long ago that I put my last post. Boy was I wrong. Hello, Christmas anyone? I can't believe it's been about five months. Either way, here we are. Right in the middle of May. Lots has happened since Christmas.

Thankfully, now the snow is gone. (Knock on wood 20 times over.) April was beautiful and then we had about gloomy weeks in a row with rain. Now hopefully 70's - 80's weather is here to stay. My mom was just here over opening fishing weekend and we both agreed that we'd like to live some where with 70-80 degrees 9 months of the year and the other three can be slightly cooler. That's not too much to ask for right?

In March, Brooke got tubes. I was really nervous about the procedure, but overall it went really well. And, the results have been amazing. She's talking up a storm and is hearing so much better.

In May, we (okay, not me. But, my dad, Justin's dad and Justin) put four new windows in our house. The windows they took out were originals from 1960 so they were due. The new windows look amazing. They really open up the rooms we've put them in. So, now I think we've touched every room in our house with some type of remodel project. Next step is paint, paint and more paint. We need to re-paint a couple walls in our living room, the spare bedroom upstairs and then re-paint Brooke's room.

And, the reason why we are painting the spare upstairs (and where the window project started) is because we are expecting baby number two!!! Yes, that's right. We are so excited and can sometimes barely believe it. I had my first appointment last Thursday and the baby is extremely healthy. And, the heart was pumping at 180 beats per minute. The even better part was that the doctor found the heartbeat immediately. No hiding this time.

Hopefully this time I don't wait five months before I post again. Until then, don't forget to always find something about everyday to celebrate! Here are a few of my reasons to celebrate in the pictures below.

Tea party Saturday!

Happy Mother's Day

Favorite place this spring - the park across the street from home.

"Grandma, I'll swing here and you go swing over there."

"Higher Grandpa, higher!"

"Swinging with Grandpa."

"Dad, I can slide by myself."

"Happy Mother's Day, Grandma."

Jumping in the jumpy castle with Ivy.

First nice afternoon at home with mommy.

Too precious not to post.

Happy Easter!

Cody looking fancy with his bandana.

Brooke & Austin

Biker Brooke

"Okay, Brooke, you don't have trucks, I guess a baby and stroller will have to do."

"Thanks for the hat auntie Marcie."

A few hours after getting tubes in the ears. Easy as pie.

Minnesota Wild Game