Abbi is 3!

It has taken awhile for me to post, but we celebrated Abbi's birthday a few weeks ago. On her actual birthday, we had family over for supper and cupcakes. On the following Saturday we had a few friends meet us at Kids World to have fun, some hot dogs and of course cake. Abbi was very overwhelmed and excited! I can't believe she is already turning 3...where does the time go?!?

Last week we had the opportunity to meet Tyler in Calgary while he was taking a course. We were able to go and meet Carter Holtz for the first time. He is so adorable! We also got to visit with a few other friends; overall it was a great time.

Here are a few pics from Abbi's birthdays!!

Gracie's Earrings!

Wow...two posts in less than a week!

On Friday of last week, Auntie Jena, Abbi and myself took Gracie to get her ear's pierced. I had Abbi's ears done when she was 6 months old so I figured it was time to get Gracie's done. She faired well and was back to her old self again in no time. The ears are doing well and we have had no problems and she looks so cute!!!!

Rachelle

Been Awhile!

Many people have encouraged me to update the blog. I do find it frustrating as it takes forever to download pics, but anyways I will try again.

We are all doing well!

Abbi is turning three on Sunday!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She is really into dolls and barbies these days, especially the dress up part of it. Abbi is also a big help with Gracie and will often fetch me things or just sit down and play with her sister.

Gracie will be 9 months in February. She is busy, sitting...haha. She has no interest in crawling and would rather sit and watch everything around her. As of lately, she has had a bit more interest in being on her tummy but nothing leading to crawling. She loves to say "mama" and "dada" and we are working on "abbi." She is a BIG eater. Some nights, Gracie can eat more than Abbi. She loves baby food as well as finger foods.

Tyler is busy at work. He has experienced some reorganization with the company and has managed to keep his job, but is no longer a manager. They are now promising something in a year from now but it has us looking for something sooner. We are hoping something comes up or Telus give us something better. I guess it is a waiting game.

I am busy with the girls. We attend playgroup, gymnastics and a few play dates during the week. I have really enjoyed my time off with the girls. I am dreading the fact that my maternity leave is almost up. I am hoping to go back to work, part time; especially now with Tyler's job being so uncertain. I am also looking forward to warmer weather so we are able to get out more and not couped up!

The kitchen has been "almost" finished for awhile now. We were just waiting for tile for our backsplash, which we have now received. Tyler is busy with side jobs at the moment and will have to wait for a few weekends to get it installed. I will post pics when it is totally done!

Well that was a quick update. I hope to update sooner than later.

Rachelle

Summer is here!!!!

We are very excited that summer is finally here. We have been couped up in the house with the rain we had at the beginning of the month.

Gracie is growing like a weed. At her 6 week check up (last Friday) she weighed 10 lbs. 8 oz. and is now 23.5" long. She loves to smile and "talk" to family members. No, she is not sleeping through the night, but is giving me longer stretches, which is appreciated. I am very happy to say that she will take a bottle. Abbi never took a bottle which made it difficult to leave her with anyone including Tyler. Besides eating and sleeping, Gracie loves to be under her gymini watching her toys; she also loves her swing.

Abbi is doing very well. She is pretty much fully potty trained...Yippee!!! She still wakes up in the morning with a wet diaper so it may be a bit before we can lose the night diaper. She is dry 75% of the time for naps so I guess we will work on that. Abbi has adjusted well to being a big sister. She is a huge help to me and is very patient when I am feeding Gracie. She has never really liked holding her sister but this week has asked twice to hold her...maybe she feels like she is not as fragile anymore.

Tyler and I are doing well. Tyler is very busy with work right now. He has also taken on some side jobs and is building furniture for a few people too. I am staying busy trying to keep the house in one piece and laundry caught up!

Two weekends ago we went to Calgary for some much needed visiting. I was able to catch up with friends that just had babies as well. We stayed and visited with Brandon and Chandra. Abbi and Tyler enjoyed playing Rock Band (see pics below). It was great to see everyone!

We are heading to the lake this weekend for the holiday. We will stay at the cabin with Tyler's parents, brother and sister-in-law. My parents will be camping out there so we will be able to spend time them too.

Here are some pictures that were taken this month...Enjoy!

Rachelle

Welcome Gracelyn Coral Ulmer!

Welcome our new daughter, Gracelyn! She was born May 9th, 2008 at 7:28 pm weighing in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. We call her "Gracie."

Here is a pic the morning of my induction. Gracie was born that night.

We are very excited to add another girl to the family and Abbi is loving being the big sister. Abbi helps mommy with Gracie, especially with diaper changes! Tyler was at home for a week and is back to work this week. We have adjusted well and even had a few outings this week to playgroup and the mall.

Not too much else new besides the our new little girl. Abbi is fully potty trained at home and we are working on the training when we are out and about. It is a bit tricky to find a bathroom everywhere you go! Tyler is very busy at work as well as getting the yard work done at home. Hopefully we can get the rest of our yard done this weekend!

Here are a few pics of Gracie!

Rachelle

Baby Countdown!

So I am now officially in my 38th week and so it could be any day now. I do have a feeling that I will still go into May as I was not early with Abbi and was in fact 2 and a half weeks late.

We are all ready for the baby to come. The nursery is all ready and Abbi is in her new room. She adjusted well to sleeping in her big girl bed and enjoys having a room for her things. She is also getting use to calling the nursery the "baby's room." We also set up some of the baby things (swing, chair, etc.) so that Abbi could get use to all the "new" things in her environment. We are doing pretty good and only needed to give a few reminders for her to leave the baby stuff alone.

Tyler is trying to get some odd jobs done around the house before baby arrives. He would really like to start our kitchen renovation but I am trying to convince him to put it to the side until the baby is a few months old. I am not too sure if I can hold him off that long.

At my doctors appointment this week the doctor informed me that the baby is face out which will mean back labor. The chances the baby will turn to be face down are very slim. I am trying not to let this worry me but I know what back labor is all about because Abbi turned. I guess we will have to see what happens.

Rachelle

Abbi is in her new bed!

Abbi has officially moved out of the nursery and is in her new big girl bed. Tyler built her bed and dresser and is just working on a shelf to complete her new room. Abbi insisted on sleeping in her new bed the minute we moved it in and she has been sleeping in it ever since. It is quite high of the ground, but we haven't had any "fall outs" yet. I can't believe how fast she is growing.

As of this week I am home from work. My doctor would like me to take it easy and get as much rest as I can...I am not going to complain. Tyler did take me in to emergency a week ago with a high fever and some mild cramping. They hooked me up to an IV and pumped me full of fluids which seemed to do the trick. After that I was experiencing some shortness of breath and my doctor said it sounded like a bit of fluid in my lungs. He gave me some puffers and insisted that I be off work and now I am feeling a lot better.

Abbi and I are concentrating on going on the potty now that I am home. Today we have been successful two times...here's hoping!

We are counting down the days until Jena's reception...11 more days! We can't wait to see everyone...it will be a blast.

Here are some pictures of Abbi's new bed and dresser. I have also posted a pic of me at 30 weeks...not the greatest, but oh well.

Rachelle