We've got a runner!

Audrey is getting fast! Check out this video expertly directed by her father:

Good Times

I don't know about you, but my favorite weekends are the ones spent without an agenda of crazy activities. It's been too cold out at night to even think about a camping trip and we couldn't swing our day trip to Leavenworth this past weekend with all the comings and goings between here and the hospital, so we chilled around the Tri-Cities for John's three-day weekend and it ended up being a lot of fun!

We kicked off the weekend with some Toy-sploring at Toys 'R' Us. This is shopping in its most glorified form; meaning, we let Audrey loose in the store to have a ball and we don't actually end up buying anything--Audrey thinks she's just had the best time ever and Mama and Papa get some good ideas of what to get her for Christmas. Everybody wins! By the way, toysploring is a word completely made up by John and it is also his favorite Audrey activity. I can see them having many toysploring dates after Bailey gets here, probably including stops at Red Robin and Sports Authority.

Liberty Christian's Apploosa Festival was also this weekend. They have tons of games set up for kids and it's very family-friendly. (*cough* better than sausage fest *cough*) Audrey is still a bit young for most of the stuff there, but we love taking her out to see new things. She made friends with some ponies and got to 'bob' for apples. We ate lunch and some apple crepes--it was a lot of fun and it supports the local christian school where several family members teach.

I FINALLY picked out carpet for the man cave (with Audrey's help) so that should be in the works in the next few weeks. I don't even want to talk about the Seahawks/Bears game. And the men continue to work on the never-ending challenges involving the projector. Have I mentioned how much work a mind-blowingly awesome Man Cave is? Those guys on TV make it look so easy...

In Grandpa news: Bob is doing much better; he's been eating more than he has in months and the Physical Therapist is working to get him up and about. It seems like he's handling recovery really well and we hope to see him home soon. The last I heard, heart surgery will probably be put on hold until he's fully recovered from the hip surgery, so I'll keep you posted on that too.

On the schedule for this week? Apple Picking, (yum!!) incubating Audrey's little sister, and hopefully a little day trip to Leavenworth for some German culture this weekend!

Look at this

Then look at this:

Now guess how nice this feels:



...In case you were ever wondering why it's cruel to let tall men date shorties.

I'm so glad I found a freakishly tall family to be a part of and can now make freakishly tall children of my own!

And Now...What You've All Been Waiting For!!

A belly picture!

Seriously, this is what I get when I ask my husband to take a belly picture. Welcome to my life. For better pictures, go here.

Bailey is 23 Weeks old! Right now she should weigh a little over a pound and be about 11-12 inches long. Her favorite activities are practicing her soccer kick and enticing me to eat sweets so she has energy to keep kicking! I think this little bub might even beat out Audrey in the level of activity going on. At least it means I won't have to put any serious effort into kick counts later on.

I just went back to the doctor on Tuesday--everything remains boring! We did talk about my issues with breastfeeding Audrey and it looks like the doc is going to start me on a prescription of progesterone next month to help my milk production. I feel like preparing for breastfeeding with this one is like preparing for battle. Last time, I had NO idea what I was doing...and really, aside from actually observing someone else breastfeed (which seems frowned upon) there is no way to be realistically prepared for it. I could go on for hours about how the natural process of breastfeeding does not come naturally! Anyway, stepping down from my soap box...this time I have an arsenal at my disposal. Not only do I have past experience, but I feel like I have a million tricks up my sleeve. Maybe I should make up a motivational chant or a battle cry or something...I'll get John right on that.

In other news: Audrey is learning to sign! She has picked up two signs pretty consistently. The first is: eat. I think she's been using this sign for 'drink' too, but she gets the point across. The second sign she's picked up is: stinky. Also of vital importance! We tease her about her stinky feet all the time because it makes her laugh. Then a few days ago while we were in the Man Cave, Audrey pointed at Grandpa S' feet and made the sign for stinky. It was hilarious! Her first real communication with her Doo Doo was to tell him his feet stink. (a disclaimer: he had shoes on and no one else noticed anything smelly. This is just further evidence that Audrey has a killer sense of humor)

The house has been really empty for the past 24 hours. Karen and Gary went up to Spokane early yesterday morning to see Grandpa Bob. He had his hip surgery yesterday afternoon and it seems like everything went well. From what I've heard (probably 2nd or 3rd hand) Grandpa was down in the dumps for a while about the surgery until he really got to talk to Gary and the doctor about it. They reassured him that it wouldn't be as bad as he thought and he seems to have a positive outlook on things now. The surgery wasn't nearly as complicated as they had anticipated and the doctor said Grandpa would be able to (theoretically) stand on both legs directly after surgery. So, now they're focusing on keeping him happy and healthy to help recovery. I haven't heard word about whether they'll go through with the heart surgery too while he's up there or not. I'll try to keep posting updates as I hear what's going on.

We're still crazy...

True to form, things remain interesting around the Schweighardt Complex...

First of all, I wanted to give everyone a heads up that John's Grandpa Bob is in the hospital with a broken hip. He's had problems with his heart for quite a while now that have led to other health issues and, long story short, after taking his sleeping pill for the night Sunday, he got up to go to the bathroom, fell asleep and fell down. He was taken to our local hospital and then MedEvac'd to Spokane Monday morning. He's heavily medicated for the pain, so he hasn't really had a chance to come to yet, but Marlene made it safely up there to be with him and they're doing some testing and meeting with the surgeon to see how well he'll handle hip surgery today.

Before this all happened, he had been pursuing valve replacement surgery to try to remedy his ongoing heart problems and was actually supposed to be in Spokane for some final testing for that surgery this Thursday; strange how these things pan out. There's not a lot we can do for him right now, but we just ask that you all keep him in your thoughts and prayers--He's a heck of a guy.

On a less somber note, we did have a good 'ole time this weekend. The Annual Sausage Fest was this Friday and Saturday and it was a first for all the Schweighardts in attendance. Grandpa S. got some great quality time with Audrey, showing her around all the carnival games and even playing duck pond with her.

There were three separate areas split into games, food and a Bier Garden; the games were tons of fun, the food area was a jam-packed chaotic mess of people and the Bier Gardens were up two tiers of stairs and really brought out the gems in the crowd. Since there were so many people waiting in line for food, the men decided to go grab a beer while the women-folk waited in line for sausages...with lots and lots of dumb people who have no courtesy toward someone with a stroller. (can you tell I was getting irritated?) By the time we got our sausages (and no, they didn't sell beverages...or have napkins) loaded up said sausages with toppings, plowed Lil A's stroller through the crowd of idiots, enlisted some poor teenage kid to help me carry the monstrosity of a stroller up the stairs to where the men were supposedly lounging in the Bier Garden, was ID'd and given a wrist band, only to be told I could go no farther than the door because Audrey was with me (blocking everyone in line behind me)...two police officers show up and make some joking banter about being arrested for allowing minors in a "bar" (meanwhile, a ten year old has somehow found her way through security and is walking through the "bar" behind them) We get through all this--and we find out the men aren't even here--there's more than one Bier Garden! By this point, I was tired, dehydrated, hypoglycemic and perhaps more than just a little bit psychotic.

Meanwhile, John is having a really nice time hanging out with his Dad and Buddy, Seth, drinking a beer and relaxing...Enter: his half-crazed wife...on the phone, demanding he find her immediately, and eat his stupid sausage so she can go home before committing homicide. It was not pretty. And it was probably a really good thing you weren't there. Next year, I'm staying in my happy little world at the carnival while John goes to get the sausages.

We spent the rest of the weekend chilling around the house. The men have been tinkering relentlessly in the Man Cave (harr harr harr!) And even though the Seahawks lost, it was still a good Sunday.

Now I'm back to the weekday grind. The house feels empty without Grandpa here, but we're praying for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

WOW...

We've been busy. Like, crazy do-we-even-have-a-legitimate-reason-to-be-this-busy. I can't believe I haven't updated since the first of the month! Apologies to all the addicts--I would understand if you hate me.

We've been spending a lot of time in the Man Cave the past few weeks. John and I spent all day on Labor Day painting the walls and ceiling. The new projector got here just in time for the opening Seahawks game and I've been busy cooking for the men while they tirelessly work on making their manly, manly dream come true. That being said, we've still got work to do. Carpet is being installed in the beginning of October, we're waiting on a receiver and a universal remote to be delivered...and THEN...we'll be closer to being finished, but not quite there. It's exhausting! Who knew manliness required so much work?

In unmanly news: Audrey is still awesome...just in case you were wondering. She is EVERYWHERE. We've had to buck up the childproofing all over the house and she just keeps finding new things to get into. She has also decided that now she can walk, it's time to re-test all the old boundaries we had established and we're back to "NO" being a funny word. She has especially been trying to get into trouble with the outlet covers in the past few days and I've progressed from telling her "No" to pulling her arm away while saying "NO" and now, I have to pull her arms away, hold them down and tell her no before she starts to figure out I'm not joking. She hates (and I mean H-A-T-E-S) anyone telling her what to do with her arms, so this is probably worse than time-out or a spanking in her book.

p.s. When did I even start thinking about time-out or spanking for that matter?

That being said, Lil A is still the most fun EVER to be around. It's amazing to see her learning--she can understand a lot of things I tell her and follow instructions (like pick that up and put it in the cabinet) She just has also discovered that she can make the choice to do what I ask or not. And sometimes it's more fun not to do what Mom wants!

We went back to our first MOPS (mom's group) meeting for the year yesterday and Audrey has moved into a new room with the 1-2 year olds. This is a big deal! She doesn't just sit around playing anymore--they walk through the hall in a (confused) group to go do singing and dance time and then to another room for snacks and, of course, lots of playing with cool toys we don't have at home like big BOUNCY BALLS!!! She's doing so much better when we leave her with other people now, it actually makes me happy to see she's ok with gaining a little independence. Just ask me how I feel about that when she's on her way to college.

Bailey is getting bigger! I'm 21 weeks now--I think this week's vegetable is something ridiculous like a carrot. I'm starting to sprout a legitimate belly and I'll try to post a picture soon. Lil Georgie is kicking a lot more, especially when I eat sweets (which I crave constantly, but try not to go overboard on...too often) and when Audrey is sitting in my lap, squishing my belly.

I'm pretty sure I have new pictures on our camera to post on Picasa, but I have no idea when I'll get around to it. I see no cessation in the craziness in the short term, but I'll try to update more often! I promise!

Remember, Remember the First of September

Ok, so I took some liberty with the title...but I think I will always remember the first of September as a significant day in my life. Two years ago, today, John and I officially made it to the Tri-Cities after three days of trekking half way across the country with our Dads and all our worldly possessions.

It's significant, not only because it marked a fresh start in our lives, but it was also the biggest leap of faith we have ever taken together. We knew the Lord was calling us to Washington, so much so that we marked the date on the calendar and left the Mid-West without looking back. We were going on nothing more than faith that the the Lord would provide for us and did he ever! Two years later, we're still living with an amazing extended family (and intend to raise our children that way), John is constantly being challenged and growing in his job which allows me to stay at home with the craziest little girl I've ever met. And, blessing of all blessings, we have another amazing daughter on the way.

If you had painted this scene for me when we first arrived in Kennewick, I would've called you a liar.

So, basically, I am thankful...life is good...God is great. It's almost scary to think he could have anything better planned for us as a family.