Time for an announcement from the Meyer family.....

Well, I'm not sure why it took me so long to get this on the blog but guess what?! Our family of 3 is about to become a family of 4! Yes, I am pregnant and due December 12. I am 20 weeks along and have been feeling very well. The first month or so I was a little queasy and very tired but I feel almost normal now. I still am asleep at practically 9pm every night but that's okay with me!

not sure why this won't turn but here is our little peanut at 20 weeks!

 

 

On Monday we had our ultrasound and were surprised to learn that the baby is currently breech and is resting its feet on my bladder. I haven't been feeling this baby as much as I had been feeling Liv at 20 weeks so I was relieved to hear that it's all because of its position. Its facing my spine so any movements are going into my back....and bladder. The crazy thing is that the ultrasound tech was having a hard time getting any good pictures for us because the baby was moving so much - and I didn't feel a thing?! We decided to find out the gender but reveal it with Liv in a cake. I dropped off our cake order right away that afternoon and picked up the cake tonight. Duane was thinking it's a boy and Olivia and I were thinking it's a girl.....

that's pink filling - IT'S A GIRL!!!

3rd weekend of visitors - Brian, Stephanie and Charlie Augspurger

Lucky us - the Augspurger's came for a visit! On Thursday, July 24th, the Augspurger family rolled into Apple Valley around 5pm. It was the first time for me to meet Charlie and as soon as he came out of his car seat, he smiled at me and was just fine with me holding him! He is the most easy going baby and I'm so happy for Brian & Steph - they really lucked out with Charlie!

Friday morning it was raining when we all woke up but it stopped in time for us to head to Minnehaha Falls for a short walk. With all the rain we've had, the falls and the creek were running fast - there were only a few places where Liv could dip in her feet. We had lunch at Sea Salt and then the guys took the kids back to our house. Stephanie and I headed out for some shopping. By the time we got back to the house, the kids were awake and it was time to head out for dinner - Punch Pizza.

Saturday morning the boys headed over to Wisconsin for some gun range time while Steph and I took the kids to the MN Zoo. Steph was my good luck charm - we saw several animals that normally hide during daylight hours. The Siberian tiger was even out wading in some water and playing with a log - that was the first time I'd ever even glimpsed that animal out in the open, much less playing! The weather was beautiful later in the afternoon/evening so while we sat out on the patio, the kids played in Liv's baby pool. Olivia really liked Charlie but I think she mostly liked bossing around the adults when we were watching him.

"whoa Dad, a little help here!"

Charlie and Olivia

look at that face! he's so cute!

Sunday morning came too quickly and before we knew it, the Augspurger's were loaded up and hitting the road again. We had such a great visit and we hope we can do it again soon! Thanks again, Brian and Steph, for making the drive up here and spending a weekend with us!!!

2nd weekend of visitors - Gary & Kathy Meyer

With just barely enough time to catch our breath from my mom's visit and the week in Indiana, Duane's parents arrived on Thursday, July 17. Duane and Olivia spent the day at home with them on Friday but I had to go into the office. The 4 of them worked so hard so I'm kind of glad I was at the office! They pressure washed the front and back patios, the deck furniture, cleaned windows and cleaned out gutters. As I was about to leave the office, I texted to Duane to ask how Liv was doing and if we were going to meet at Como Park. He told me that around 1pm, she touched the exhaust on the pressure washer and burned her left hand. She was in a lot of pain and hadn't napped and was only able to stop crying if her hand was in water. I rushed home and after I saw her doubled over in pain, I knew we needed to take her in for medical help.

Duane and I took her to an urgent care center and sure enough, 2nd degree burns on the palm and fingers of her left hand. They put salve on her palm and wrapped up her hand really well. There were A LOT of tears but it had to be done. Thankfully she was able to sleep that night with no interruptions and seemed back to her old self on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning I ran errands and Olivia stayed at the house with Kathy. We cleaned windows and our deck for about 2 1/2 hours and then I said, "We are done. I can't do this anymore!" We woke up Liv from her nap and headed to Como Town. (What a disaster - Como Town was HORRIBLE!!! MN friends - avoid that place like the plague!) Olivia had a great time with the rides but Duane and I were so grossed out with everything that we cut the evening there short. (Sorry, Liv!) We ended the evening with a delicious dinner at Sea Salt.

riding the swings with Grandma Kathy

Gary and Kathy left before any of us were awake on Sunday. With some errands to run, the three of us were out the door after breakfast and headed to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. We were there longer than expected so we had a quick hot dog for lunch. Even though Olivia's hand was wrapped up, she was not about to let that stop her from enjoying her hot dog!

4th of July / Back home again in Indiana

On Thursday morning, July 3rd, we hit the road for Ferdinand, IN! Our 12 hour drive went as smoothly as we could have asked for and we made great time. Olivia had her fill of DVDs and was really well behaved but we were so glad to see my parents at the end of the long day.

We didn't waste any time and were at Patoka Lake before lunch on the 4th of July! The weather was perfect and we all had such a great day on the lake. Olivia swam and bossed everyone around and then took a really good nap below deck so we could finally relax.

Giesla's yummy sugar cookies

Libby!

swimming with Daddy

swimming with Papa

and finally, nap time!

Saturday the 5th was a day to stay around home and not go to Patoka. We visited Grandpa Kraus at the nursing home and made a quick stop at his house to pick out some items we wanted. Cori Begle and Mike Walthers had their wedding on this evening so we stayed in and putzed around the house. Duane and Olivia spent the evening with Ryan, Andrea, Jack and Savannah while I went to the wedding. All of my cousins were in town for this so it was great to see everyone!

Sunday the 6th was more Patoka Lake time and it was great again! Olivia spent a lot of time in the water, had lunch and napped below deck. We really lucked out with her enjoying herself and so easily laying down for a rest.

Monday the 7th was, well, you guessed it - Patoka Lake again! The morning started out a little cloudy so we had a lovely breakfast at the Ferdinand State Forest. The weather seemed like it was going to be okay so we decided to head to Patoka. Duane stayed back so he could work and see some friends so it was me, Liv, my parents and Liv. Much of the same - water time, lunch and nap for Liv.

 

Pura Vida II - my mom & dad's boat

Fishing! (this lasted about 45 seconds)

someone showed her how to blow on one end and have water shoot out the other side....she could have done this for hours, I think!

 

later that night, we headed back out to the campsite for s'mores

On our last day in Indiana, we went to Holiday World. Duane's sister and her family met us there and we had a nice time. Olivia absolutely loved the water park and could have ridden the water slides all day! We let her skip her nap but knew she couldn't make it without one at some point. As we walked out of the park, she fell asleep and stayed sleeping the truck on the drive home. Later that night, we had pizza at the Legion with Ken and Jan.

On Thursday morning, July 10, we hit the road again - MN bound! This time we had an extra passenger -  my mom! Since my mom has the summer "off," she decided to ride back and spend a long weekend with us. We were happy to bring her back with us and Olivia was able to extend her week of extra-attention.

The weekend with my mom was great - we were able to get a lot done around the house and she could keep Olivia company! We had a lot of fun, though - we went to Punch Pizza, the St. Paul Farmer's Market, the MN Zoo and even did some shopping at MOA! Thanks again, Mom, for all the help while you were here - we really appreciated it!

Monday, July 14, was tough on everyone - Olivia went back to school, my mom flew home and Duane and I went back to work. We were not ready to end our July vacation - we had such a great week back in Indiana and extended into the weekend with my mom!