Week 17: April 28-May 4 A little of this and a little of that.

Last week was a crazy, fantastic week on many levels, but we also have a little sadness mixed in.

To start with, baby's doing great! Kicking my butt, though! To say that I've been exausted is an understatement. Some days, I feel like I'm walking through the day in a tranze. Baby is 17 weeks old today. According to thenestbaby.com, baby is the size of a vidalia onion this week- 5.1" and weighs 5.9oz. Baby is starting to get that wonderful layer of baby fat and his/her skeleton is hardening. Yeah! Maybe I'll feel that kicking soon! We've seen my belly jiggling around when I'm laying flat, but haven't felt or seen much else. OH! And baby now has its very own fingerprints!

We recieved some sad news this weekend. Greg's Aunt Ruth died after a battle against breast cancer. The visitation and memorial are tomorrow afternoon and evening. Lots of love and support go out to Greg's dad, Rick, as well as Greg's grandparents during this tough time.

The last week was fantastic. We had Evan last week from Sunday-Tuesday and had fun with getting him ready for school each morning. I got to spend Monday evening with him after work, taking him to karate with my mom and then out to his favorite restaurant-- Old McDonald's. (blah). Then of course we had bathtime and read a big brother book. Bathtime and book time are two of my favorite times with him. He decided he had to use his bubble bath that Grandma V got him for Easter and played for a good 45 minutes in the tub before bedtime. Then we read a book about babies their brothers. We talked for quite a while, between pages and at the end of the book. There were some great questions-- his current favorite is "why does the baby grow in your belly?" and "how will I help with the baby?" We're loving answering the questions and helping to prepare him for the changes that are going to be happening over the next year.

Friday, we picked up Evan and went straight up to Toledo to Sam's Club to get the usual "stuff" that we needed. We went to Mancino's for dinner. Yum! We got home, read a "big brother" book that came in at the library and then Evan went to bed. Greg and I posted a TON of Grandma Refsell's stuff that evening. If anyone is interested, our eBay username is iawlpoisonfan. Check out our sales!

Saturday morning, we got up relatively early and started our day with the usual-- donuts at Stimmel's. Evan loves that tradition. It's not one we'll ever give up! After that, we went to the rental to find a box and to visit with Papa V. We then went to Wolfe's Greenhouse to get a beautiful hanging basket for Mom for her birthday. I LOVE this place. If you're ever looking for a great hanging basket or potted plant, this is the place to go! I also love Joseph's greenhouse on Housekeeper Rd. I'll be going out their to get my plants to make my pots in a few weeks.

After Evan's naptime, the three of us went to the ART!walk in downtown Bowling Green. It was VERY cool. I'm hoping that next year, we'll have more time to enjoy this event. There was an open house for the Masonic Temple in BG. This place was incredible. Both creepy and intriguing at the same time. We also got Evan's fingerprinting done, and a safety ID kit, as well.

Finally, we went to Mom's 58th birthday party. Em and I worked our butts off to make sure that she had a fantastic birthday. Em made potatoes and green beans, and I made 7-layer salad, garlic bread and a chocolate cake. The kids all paid lots of attention to Grandma and each other and had tons of fun in general. She recieved lots of flowers from us, too! Peterson's came over, and thanks to Barb, Mom managed to have a fantastically, giggly good time. It was great. lol! I think Greg has seen a whole new side of her that he didn't realize exsisted. I'm hoping that we get together with my folks and Peterson's so that Greg can learn how to play Twos-up.

Sunday, we went to breakfast at BG Cafe with Greg's folks. I now know why I don't go to that restaurant very often. Blech. But we had a good time visiting with G's folks and giving Evan an opportunity to spend more time with them as well. He adores them, and I think the feeling is mutual, so it was good that we were able to get them together for just a little bit on a crazy-busy weekend. Baby will be so lucky to have both sets of grandparents so close by, and unlimited in the amount of time baby spends with either.

After breakfast, we headed to Findlay for Evan's KARATE TOURNAMENT! Woo hoo. It was an interesting learning experience and very, very amusing, to say the least. Evan was quite the ham. He managed to get 2nd place for his cata (basic series of karate movements). Of course, there were only 2 kids in his group. The other kid clearly practiced on a regular basis and paid attention. Evan, not so much. His steps were way to big, and I swear he makes up half of it. But he's cute and amusing, so he gets away with it. lol. He also earned 1st place for his age group in the sparring competition. Granted, he was the only kid in his age group and everyone he competed against got a 1st place medal, too. Afterwards, we went out with Evan and his mom, Dani, for ice cream at Dietches'. Poor Evan was SO tired and worn out. He told Dani that he wanted chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. So Dani ordered it in a dish. Evan heard that and had a meltdown. He wanted it in a cone. Greg and I had already ordered our ice cream, and of course, to make matters worse, ours were in cones. We picked a seat and Evan continued his meltdown, refusing to even try to eat his. I offered to let him try my cone, and well, he took it over. lol. But, meltdown was ended, and I ate chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles in a dish. (BLECH, by the way).

We left Findlay around 4pm, and went up to Toledo AGAIN and bought a new video camera, since the one we have wasn't doing so well. The new one is probably about 1/4 the size of our old one, and weights a lot less, too. G had to work last night, so I did somethings at home and just hung out. It was early bed for me.

Work continues to be FANTASTIC. I signed my first 24-hour client. Soon, I'll have that monthly bonus. Woo-hoo. yeah, me. I'm hoping that once I hit that first tier of bonuses (almost there!), Greg will quit at Movie Gallery. We'll see what happens, though. Busy week, plus I'm on-call next weekend.

I think we're going to work on Evan's room next weekend-- putting up the loft and starting to make room for the baby.

Loving you all!

jenn