Avery is here!!!

Hello. I am sure A will modify this post later and improve it with her creative flare but I wanted to get some pictures out there while she is still recovering. Hope you enjoy.
We are going in...
WELCOME AVERY. A beautiful 6 lb 7 oz born 30 Sept at 0943.

Mommy and Avery doing great!

Here come the boys excited to meet their sister.

Jack was so sweet. He took one look at her and said "She looks nice" He was very excited to hold her and touch her cheeks and face. Wyatt held her for a little while but seemed more interested in when she would be ready to play.

Papap and Avery

Showered and Blessed

37 weeks and 4 days...six days longer than I was pregnant with the boys. Not long now.

My good friend Heather hosted a shower for me last night at a local restaurant. I had so much fun with an amazing group of women. I was so touched by how much thought went into all the details. My friend Lindsay made these invitations:

And Katie had cupcakes made to match the invitations...so so cute.

And Kristen made the dark chocolate truffles below for everyone to take home - Y.U.M.:

And check out this diaper cake Lindsay also made:

Heather and Erin decorated the tables with fresh flowers and provided appetizers...

Heather, Erin, and I:

I know it is a lot of work to coordinate all of it so I am so appreciative! Oh.my.goodness.

And having everyone come out to celebrate the new baby was so amazing. I know everyone is busy during the week and that it is hard to get out in the evening.

Talk about "feathering the nest":

So thank you thank you thank you Heather! And thank you to everyone else who helped with the shower and came to the shower. I am truly blessed with such great friends.

Tumbling, Sleeping, Camping

We decided to put the boys back into gymnastics. We first tried when they were three years old...but they were just not quite ready then. We learned quickly last winter that we needed an indoor activity that was very physical for the boys. There was a lot more action this time around. The boys ran right out onto the floor and the coach started music and said to "run" and they just did--with big smiles on their faces. They were attentive the whole time and participated in everything. J told me after his first practice that he "liked it all but the running."

J running (and smiling):

But I have learned not to judge an experience based on one time. So we headed back to the gym yesterday and they were just as enthusiastic. It was hard to get pictures from where the parents sit but I took a couple of them running.

They especially liked doing the trampoline and LOVED the bungee cords. The gym just got the bungee cord-contraption and I wish I had my video camera. W had the biggest grin the entire time he bounced up and down on it. It is fun to watch them having so much fun. And the last two days they had gymnastics...they were definitely tired. J even got upset and acted very cranky in the car right after gymnastics from being sleepy. We are just starting with one day a week for now just to see how it goes.
As for sleeping, I still love getting any photos of the boys I can while they are sleeping. The other night I found W like this:

Is that angelic or what?

Looking comfy.

And here is J and W with Geoff before camping in the back yard last weekend. At least for a few hours. Geoff said he was cold and couldn't sleep. Although the boys were out and tucked deep into their sleeping bags, he carried everyone inside for the rest of the night.

A Little of This...A Little of That

Is September really already half over?! I am in that giddy-excited-it-feels-like-it-is-almost-Christmas-stage awaiting baby to arrive. I love that she is arriving at the end of September. If baby arrives as scheduled, we will kick off fall with two huge events...her arrival and Geoff's (hence Uncle Matt's) birthday. Which then leads in to October and fall and the start of all the fun holidays. We have so much to look forward to!

Last weekend my friend Christina drove down from Bend to host a shower for me. The weather was beautiful so we ate outside and just enjoyed relaxing and visiting with each other. It was really nice. 36-week pic before the shower:

They "showered" me with such great goodies that I know the baby will love.

Thanks so much lovely ladies!

I am 37 weeks today and feeling great...I just can't eat very much because there is just no room. I had an appointment yesterday and the OB was only getting a bad echo-sound while trying to find the heart beat. She was listening low on my belly. Then she started to feel around to see what position the baby was in and said "hey, since we happen to be in the ultrasound room, let's take a peek." And sure enough, baby has been doing somersaults and is now breech like both the boys were. So the big hard bump up high on my belly is her head...sitting right under my ribs.

As for projects, we are making progress on her room but we still have lots to do. Mostly just getting all of our stuff out of the walk-in closet of that room and finding a new home for it. So our hallway is just full of stuff in transition. The crib is together, we have some frames on the wall and the furniture is in place. Now we need to hang the mobile, get window treatments, and find something else for the walls...there is more wall space than I realized in there. Here are some progress pics.

The after-painting but before cleaning out the room before picture:

Getting better:

The boys wanted to help change the light fixture:

And they each really wanted a turn in the crib. They are infatuated with getting in the crib (I think it is because of the super-soft crib sheet). They had the same crib sheet but in blue so maybe it is bringing back memories.

W in the crib:

J in the crib:

The boys resumed preschool right after Labor Day and the transition from summer to school was awesome. I wasn't sure if they would have trouble adjusting back to a "schedule" but thank goodness they didn't. They are returning to the same school with the same teacher but going four days a week instead of three. We lost most of their schoolmates from last year to kindergarten and other reasons so right now they are in a class of four total! Hoping the class will continue to grow because they are getting pampered right now with all the attention. W and the teacher made an awesome shark yesterday that is a whole length of a table. He painted it and everything. It will be fun to hang that in their room when it is done. Here is J and W before the first day:

More to come!