A Full Weekend

Two family Thanksgiving celebrations, one busy day of Black Friday shopping, two Christmas tree setups, and an independent two year old leave me (and apparently her) feeling like this...

Happy Thanksgiving

So thankful for the many blessings God has given us... two of which are shown in the pics below!  I'm abundantly grateful for all the people we will get to see this holiday weekend!  And I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of another blessing next week, my new neice!  

Better get out of bed to finish what we started yesterday!  Graham Cracker, Gracie, and I got a head start on Wednesday, but we still have a lot to do. 

Fall Highlights!

Several fun and important things happened this fall, and I don't want to miss them in our 2013 Family Yearbook!  The first of which is a big, big deal for Little Gracie... or shall I say, Big Gracie?!  

We had just gotten home from our vacation to Osage Beach and Steph was watching the kids while I worked.  Every day when I came to pick up Gracie, Steph said, "Nerned!  You have got to potty train your kid!  She's ready!"  She continued to inform me that ever since Kia potty trained, Gracie begs to use the potty chair, too.  She takes her diaper off, sits on the potty, and sometimes potties or poops.  She explained that she would come downstairs to find a bottomless Gracie because she'd ditched her own diaper.  

I resisted for several reasons.  First of all, I thought she was too young and not ready physically.  Second, I knew that once we began the process of potty training, there was no turning back.  So diapers seemed much easier than accidents all the time.  Lastly, I was feeling super icky and tired from pregnancy, and the last thing I wanted to do was potty train my toddler.  But, after pondering it for a while and looking everywhere for scientific proof that she wasn't ready, Gracie approached me about it herself that weekend.  She said that she wanted to give her diapers to Natalie and she wanted to go on the big toilet.  I realized at that point that she was ready.  Additionally, for the previous 2 weeks, she would tell me she needed to go potty, and I would tell her to go in her diaper (I know, Mother of the Year, right here!)  So we did it!  We went shopping for panties, (princess and My Little Pony) bought a new cup, and grape Kool-aid.  We bought Pull-ups, carpet cleaner, and stickers.  We also borrowed Kia's lady bug potty chair.  

It was a painless transition for Gracie, probably because she was so motivated!  We made a sticker chart and wore panties during all awake times.  It took her the first day to realize that she couldn't just let her potty out when she wanted to.  But by day two, she was holding her bladder until she had enough potty to go a bit in the chair.  By the third day she had earned enough stickers to go to Chuck E. Cheese for her Potty Party, but Momma was too nervous to take her out in public just yet, so we waited until Saturday.  The biggest surprise to me was that she poop trained at the same time.  I decided we'd just do potty first, but Gracie knew what to do, so beginning on day one, she pooped in the potty, too.  Which I feel the need to add that a poopy diaper is so much better than a turd in a potty chair.  Disgusting to think about, I know.  But dumping a potty chair of poop is seriously repulsive.  Maybe it was because I was pregnant, but ewwww!

But now we've been potty trained for a couple of months and she's had less than a handful of accidents since day one.  We've been so proud of her!  I really cannot believe how easy this transition was for her!  She still wears Pull-ups at sleep times, but she goes on the big toilet now... such a big girl!

At her Potty Party!
So, so happy!

Enjoying a horsey ride with Graham Cracker's help!

We also made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch in late October.  We lucked out with a nice fall day, not too chilly and not to hot.  It was perfect!  Gracie had more fun this year because she was able to do more.  I enjoyed watching her explore.

Gracie had one memorable take-away from her trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  We were sitting at the picnic tables enjoying our pumpkin donuts (yum!) when she commented, "Something stinks!"  It's hilarious, by the way, when Gracie thinks something stinks.  It's the way she wrinkles her nose, I think.  Anyway, we looked around and saw that there were goats in a fenced in area right behind us.  I told her that the goats were the smell.  She didn't believe me, so we went closer and she realized that I was right.  So now, anytime she hears people talk about goats, she giggles hysterically and yells, "P. U."  We can get to laughing pretty hard when we sing Hush Little Baby... there's a line about a billy goat when we shout P. U.  But it's not so good when the Pastor at church reads a Bible passage about sheep and goats and your toddler says, "Goats?!  P. U."  Well, it actually was kind of funny!

Learning to climb with Uncle John's help!

Riding the tractors.

Rocking with Kia while we waited for the train.

The cousins!

Of course we trick-or-treated this Halloween.  And as you can guess, Gracie had an amazing time.  Candy, candy, candy!  She wanted to be Abby Cadabby this year.  I put her costume together.  It was a blue leotard, purple wings, a diy tutu and pompoms, tights, a wand, and some Chuck Taylors.  She looked adorable, as you can tell!

Her magic words were,
'Lumpkin!  Sumpkin!
Diddle, diddle pumpkin!'

Gracie and Great-Grandma Jean

We joined our friends the Willis' for trick-or-treating and as you can see, all the kids looked awesome!  Such a fun tradition!

Good News... again!

Things have been busy in the Weaver house lately!  And I'm kind of upset at myself for missing many blogging opportunities over the past 6 weeks or so, but I'm cutting myself some slack because I have a good excuse!

We've been hesitant to share, but we're feeling pretty confident now that we've heard the heartbeat.  Yes, you guessed it!  I'm pregnant!  Ryan and I are excited (and a little nervous, too).  Big sister, Gracie is really excited, as well.  Although she has made it clear that she only wants a little sister.  I think it's mostly because she doesn't know that boy babies exist.  She has only been exposed to girl babies... only a few little boys here and there.  I'm not worried though.  I know that she will LOVE any baby!  If you've seen her around Natalie, you know how much she adores babies.

The main reason we were hesitant to share too early was because of our miscarriage in mid-July.  I was only 6 weeks along at the time, but it made me worry this time around.  We both trust God's wisdom with that pregnancy, that little one, and continue to trust Him with this pregnancy, this little one.  Since I'm 14 weeks along now, the "danger zone" is behind us and we're thinking positively for the future.

The first trimester of this pregnancy was different than Gracie's.  I was super-duper-double-tired this time around.  Which may or may not have been the case with Gracie.  I don't think it was quite as bad with her, but it's tough to compare pregnancy without kids to pregnancy with a toddler.  I also experienced some yucky-icky-sick feelings.  I wouldn't call it nausea and I never threw up... just slow digestion and an unsettled belly all day, every day for about 6 weeks.  It passed right at 12 weeks for me and I definitely did a 'happy jig' to celebrate!

We went for the 12 week appointment a few weeks ago.  The baby's heartbeat was 165, which is exactly what Gracie's was at her 12 week appointment.  Everything else looked good (there's not much to check when the baby is so small).  We also met with the finance girl, and she told us how much we'd be paying to have this baby.  Let's just say that the recent change in Ryan's insurance (due to Obamacare) has not resulted in any benefit for the Weaver family.  This one will likely cost 5 times as much as Gracie did.  Lovely.  I hope the hospital doesn't mind if we have to pay $100 per month until this one graduates high school!

I'm due on May 22, which is currently the last day of school.  Some people call that great planning.  I, on the other hand, think it's about 6 weeks later than I would prefer!  Either way, the kids will be almost 3 years apart, which should be perfect.  As with Gracie's first summer, I'm sure our lake season will be affected, but Little Weaver #2 will surely experience camping at a very young age, too!  This time Ryan and I are planning to find out the gender, which will be a new experience for us.  The main motivation to know is to help prepare big sister for her new sibling.  I'm actually really excited to find out what we're having.  No major guesses yet.  Some days I'm sure it's a boy, but yesterday I would have placed money on girl.  So who knows!  We will know at the end of December.  I can't wait!

If it crosses your mind to add us to your prayers, please pray for health for the baby, an easy transition for Gracie, and peace of mind for Mommy and Daddy.  Oh yeah, and if you have an extra second... pray that the baby is  a really good sleeper!  Just kidding.  But, really.  

Sevedge Family Vacation

A few weeks ago, our family joined my sister's family and our mom on a week-long trip to Osage Beach.  Our Aunt Diane and Uncle Emilio (our mom's sister) were generous in giving us their time share points, which allowed us to stay for an entire week in a penthouse suite at the resort.  It was something we have never done before and probably could never afford to do again.  This place was amazing and accommodated all nine people easily.

The view from the dock... gorgeous!

Just outside our door

Enjoying the balcony!

Enjoying the view!

Enjoying each other!

Gracie loves Natalie! 

Ryan and I had our own king bedroom with an attached bath and balcony.  Steph and John shared a king with Natalie and had a bathroom just outside their door.  Gracie and Kia bunked together in a sweet bedroom with 2 twins, while Kyle and Grandma shared a king bed downstairs, with their own bathroom and balcony.  There were 2 living areas, a large kitchen, and dining table large enough for all of us.  The kids were able to burn off tons of energy between running the steps, chasing balls through the family room, or pacing back and forth on one of the balconies.  It was heavenly!  Each bedroom was equipped with its own TV, so Kyle was in seventh heaven as he rotated between bedrooms to watch his DVDs.

We were right on the water, with a gorgeous view and a 2 minute walk down to the dock.  The drive to the main strip was about 4 minutes and to get to most of the attractions took us less than 20 minutes.  It was so perfect, so fun!

We went during the off-season, but there was still plenty to do.  The first full day of the trip was forecasted to be the warmest day of the week, so we swam in the resort pool.  The water was a bit chilly, but no one really cared.  There was a large hot tub/heated pool to warm up in when we finished.

The next day, we drove to Ha Ha Tonka State Park to hike and see the castle ruins.  It was a gorgeous fall day and the kids had a fantastic time in nature.  They all get along so well, so we adults were able to enjoy the sights as well.

This purple flower was the highlight of her hike.  

When we returned from Ha Ha Tonka, everyone took naps (well, everyone who is smart... not sure what John and my mom were thinking?! --- that's what vacations are for!)  Seriously, Ryan and I were very deliberate in making sure we got an afternoon nap every afternoon.  Ahhh... the life!  After dinner, we went to the resort game room, which included a ping pong table, pool table, workout facility, and plenty of room for the kids to play.  We bought balls at Walmart and the girls spent a few hours chasing them around and hiding from "the tickle monster" and just enjoying a fresh new place to romp around.  Kyle learned how to play ping pong for the first time, and while the more intense players, Ryan and John, took a break, Kyle and I challenged each other to a few games.  He and I are more on the same skill level!

On Saturday we noticed that a local town was having their air show, so we decided to check it out.  It turned out to be a fun way to spend a few hours.  There were several small planes doing different acrobatic stunts, along with free candy and overpriced hot dogs and burgers... can't go wrong!  Gracie is still talking about the air show and all the airplanes she saw.

He was mesmerized!

Anyone who has been to Osage Beach knows about Miner Mikes, I'm sure.  I'd always seen the tourist trap, but never stopped in.  I think everyone thought we would be fake mining for gold or something inside, but really it's just an arcade and play place for kids.  We spent the entire afternoon there one day while the kids climbed through tunnels and ball pits... the adults were allowed to play, too.  So each of us took our turn, as well.  Downstairs was a play area for younger kids with a few mini rides, games, and bumper cars.  Again, they let the adults play too, so we all jumped in!

My sister, mom, and I also wanted to visit the outlet malls while we were there.  We've all been to Osage Beach before, with the sole intention of spending an entire paycheck at the outlet malls... so we had to go for old times' sake.  Although the only one with enough free cash to spend an entire paycheck was my mom... and she did!  Good for her!  Steph and I got some good deals on kids' clothes and I picked up a few gifts.  I'll admit that I miss the days of no mortgage payment and just being able to shop without a care.  Ahhh... the life!  But I wouldn't trade it for what I've got now, either.

Sunday night Grandma and Natalie stayed back for a nap (should've taken one everyday like me!) while the rest of us went to the indoor water park at Tan-Tar-A.  Turns out we only had 2 hours to play before they closed early on Sunday, but it was was perfect anyway.  We had the entire place to ourselves.  The guys went down the big water slides over and over again, while the little girls went down the little ones.  We lounged around the lazy river multiple times and swam around in the big pools.  It was so, so fun!  We all agree that we want to visit an indoor water park here in KC sometime this winter.  We had an absolute blast!

The rest of our time was spent shopping, eating, watching football or 24, and lounging around.  For me, having a few extra adults around was so nice!  One morning, Ryan and I woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon cooking.  John had started breakfast early  Now, neither of us drink coffee, but the smell in the morning is awesome and add bacon to that... it was a nice treat... coupled with the fact that we didn't have to cook it.  SWEET!  My sister and I divided up bathing duties with the kids... she gave a few more baths than I did, but still, neither one of us was 'on bath duty' every night.  We all shared the load of cooking and cleaning up after meals, so everyone got their chance to sit with his/her feet up every now and then.  It was wonderful.  Simply, wonderful!

I owe Aunt Diane and Uncle Emilio a big thank you for this trip.  All the family memories we created in Osage Beach are completely priceless.  To hear Gracie reminisce about "the hotel" and "minnie macks" (that's Miner Mike's) is so endearing.  We were driving to the lake to go camping last weekend and she said, "Let's just go to our hotel instead."  She quite enjoyed the freedom of that giant place and spending day in and day out with her cousins was the supreme happiness to her.  So thank you, thank you, thank you.  It was our first vacation (outside of camping) as a family and we will remember it always.

One last look at the water before we head home.

Heading toward the car to drive home... sad girl.

Everyone buckled in for the ride... including baby!

To those of you who read through this post and sifted your way through all the pictures, my apologies.  I know looking through someone else's family vacation photos can be boring... but I just had to post them... for us!