The many faces of "Rocky"

We managed to get in and get a quick 3D ultrasound, but Rocky was a little camera shy. We did manage to get a few shots though. We were 31 weeks yesterday by the calendar... and Rocky was measuring at 32 weeks. So everything appears to be moving along well.



This is a hand... sorry the scanner can't pick up the lines very well, but you can just make out the curled fingers.

In these pictures, to top of Rocky's head is on the right.

Spring is finally here!

and here are the crocus to prove it. The weather has been great in MN. In fact, the weather man says that this will be the first March on record with no snow. Apparently we typically average about 8-10 inches so that is pretty impressive.



Kasson had an Easter egg hunt for the kids last Saturday. It was a little chilly but we bundled up and had a blast. Carly even found these bunny ears to get in the mood.

"Are you sure they aren't too much mom?"



"Nope, you're right. I look fantastic!"


How is it possible for someone wearing bunny ears to look so grown up?


Carly wasn't too sure about the bunny but he did give us candy so she decided he was ok.


"Can we start yet?"


"Come on mom, you're slowing me down!"


Sunday was another beautiful day and we decided to get some yard work done. Carly was a big helper.


Don't let her fool you she is not looking for direction she is telling Mommy what to do next.






After all that hard work she decided to lay down next to Columbo (who opted not to stay for the photo shoot) to look at the neighbor kids who's parents let them play with cool toys rather than work as groundskeepers in their own yard.



That's all for now. Hopefully we'll get some yard work videos uploaded soon. Hope everyone has a great Easter!

The Gerken's Visit

It seems like we haven't seen the Gerken's in forever. So we were very excited for their visit.
I wonder who is more excited to see who.....


Carly loved to hug and kiss Cassidy


Cassidy wasn't so sure about all the love.


On Sunday we decided to load the Gerken's and the Schahl's into the swagger wagon and head to Wabasha to see some eagles, play with some toys and find some lunch. Carly made sure she had the essentials....a beverage, blankie, a movie and don't forget the shades.


Our first stop was Lark toys a great place for the little kids (and the big kids) to explore. We took a ride on the very cool carousel. It sounded like a good idea at first....



Then not so much....



At least someone liked it! Take note of the big smile on Cassidy and the death grip by Carly in the background.


Carly much preferred playing with the toys that she had some control over.



This shopping cart was a favorite and she pushed it and the baby around for a long time while she perused the books. Sadly mom and dad weren't willing to fork over the $50 required to take this shopping cart home with us.


Fortunately, Carly got over it pretty quickly and still likes us.



After the toys and a nice lunch (followed by some ice cream) we headed down to the river to watch the eagles.




Carly decided to work off that ice cream by doing a little rock climbing.


It was such a nice day that when we got home we decided to forget about nap time and play outside while we grilled some dinner. Carly loved showing all of her outside toys to Cassidy.



She didn't even mind sharing.


Carly's getting close to figuring out how the trike works. It looks like those fancy boots help.


It's always feels good to back in your own house.


Just a random shot of Carly enjoying her books.


The Rocky update:
Kim had another ultrasound on St. Patrick's day. Everything still looks good and Rocky is doing everything he/she should be (growing and kicking). He's not the most photogenic (at least by u/s) but here is a profile shot from that visit.


Time seems to be slipping by and we only have about 12 weeks before the due date. So for those of you thinking about a visit (we do love visitors) the "guest room" will be going away so make your reservations soon!

Just a video of Carly playing.

This is a pretty long video. My apologies to anyone on dial-up.

So we missed February, big whoop.

So we've had quite a bit of time, and gotten several phone calls asking where the updates were. It's been quite busy around here. So much in fact that we haven't had the camera out nearly as much as we probably should have.

Carly had a sick day, and she and Kim just laid around the house. Carly got up on the loveseat and pulled her blanket up all by herself.


After she was feeling better and the temps co-operated, we decided we'd better at least make an attempt to get her out on a sled. This snow isn't going to last forever!

She wasn't exactly sure about whether or not she liked the sled. Although she did put up with it, I'd lean toward not enthused.

Figured we'd better get a couple of those "remember the snow when you were a kid" posterity pictures. Here's Carly in the driveway.

And this was after they'd already melted down a little...

She is getting big enough to almost fall in to and out of the toybox all by herself.

And fast forward to today. While enjoying Jason's morning coffee, Carly found this very interesting advertisement to look at.

It was full of interesting things like patio blocks, decking materials... and hey, what do you know... pages full of swingsets!

This one daddy... that's the one.

We've been hearing good things about the "House of Bounce." It's a place that has a large open space with a bunch of those inflatable jumpy things. Carly's been cooped up so much this winter, we thought we'd give it a shot.

She took a little while to warm up, but overall had a good time.

Sorry it's blurry, but she loved the big 20 foot slides.

The trip was a success. We'll be back.

Then we came home, and after all that excitement it was nap time. After a brief one of those, it was too nice to stay inside. It was nearly 50 degrees out! With all that sunshine, we had to head out back.

Carly was happy to get back to the summer cottage, and start getting it cleaned up for the seasonal use.

Checked out the coupe too, made sure it was still in working order.

Hrmmm... who says we're not role models?

She was also very excited to try out some new stuff...

This wagon fits just fine.

And for a little comic relief... Jason has been working late several nights each week. He calls home and talks to Carly and Kim around dinner time. Carly has been increasingly active in these calls. Here's a sample.


And now a quick and short Rocky update.

There he/she is. That's it... you know as much as we do.

Ok, everybody take care. we hope to see and talk to you soon.