I'm Back!!!

Wow! It feels so good to have internet again. Rob and I have been cut off from the outside world for about a week now. The move went well and we've officially moved into our new house. We had 4 guys show up early Saturday morning and we had all of the main furniture and boxes moved by 1:00ish. Thanks so much guys!!! The rest of the weekend was spent making a few more trips back and forth from the old house to the new house continuing the moving of boxes and odds and ends. It's amazing how much junk you can find and be willing to throw/give away when you move! It was a good thing though because we went from having a two-car garage to a one-car garage so storage space is limited. Our renters move in after this weekend and yes, I splurged and had a cleaning lady come in to clean the old house from top to bottom. It was so nice not having to worry about that part since I can't smell most chemicals or bend over anyway. The lady was there for a good 3 hours cleaning out the house. She did the ceiling fans, blinds, windows, baseboards and cleaned all of the regular things too. We still have some things in the garage, but the renters will have to live with it for a little while until we are able to go through it.

As far as the transition, it went very well. Avonlea was a little confused when she took her first nap here, but she slept for 3 and 1/2 hours! That night, I had found all of her bedding, night-night luvies, her noise machine, etc. so it made things a lot easier. She's back on schedule, although she was never really off. She's familiar with this house being Rob's mom's house and all so the familiarity helped. She loves jumping on the trampoline and playing outside with Riley (our dog). They chase lizards, pick flowers, play ball and so much more. The porch has been wonderful to set up some toys on (painting easel, sand table, etc.). I can let her play on the porch while I keep an eye on her from inside the house.

As for me, I won't lie...I'm tired and feel as though there's always something to get done with not enough time in the day and not enough energy. We've still got boxes everywhere, but the nice thing is that we're not unpacking 1/2 of our stuff due to the fact that we'll be starting construction in a few weeks. We meet with our contractor this Saturday morning to discuss details and sign a contract for construction. We couldn't be more excited! I'm a little nervous about having two small children here while dust and things are flying around, but the bedrooms are all on one side of the house and we'll have to stay on that side for awhile until the "dust has settled". We're also going to be out of the house while major things are going on. We'll probably be living at the park and friends' houses during that time, but at least the kids won't be breathing in anything harmful. My belly is as big as a watermelon (which I have been craving lately) and "the day" is approaching quickly! Next Monday is the day and I can actually say that I feel as ready as I can be. Bags are packed and by the door (just incase), Lincoln's room is set up enough so it's functional (we've still got to finish putting up the chair-rail around his room and would like to put in a close organizer, but those things aren't too crucial. I finished washing the last load of baby things tonight (burp cloths and blankets) and got the baby bouncer, swing and pack and play up, cleaned and functioning in the living room. An extra bed is set up in the living room for my good friend Corlee who is staying with Avonlea the first night we're in the hospital. I was really worried about how that would happen. I'm still a little scared as to what we'd do if he did come early because it wouldn't be cool calling anyone in the middle of the night to come watch Avy, and it would be impossible to take her with us. I just hope this little guy stays put until June 11th. :)

Well, Rob and I got cable/internet installed today so we're going to sit down and enjoy a little television before bed. Enjoy the pictures and I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!

3 Day Left Until the Move!!!

So, Saturday morning we have a truck rented out and we'll be moving all of our big furniture out of our first little house Rob and I bought. It's kind of sad knowing we'll never live here again, but God is good and we've been having so much fun painting and doing fun projects at the new house. Carpet is being installed this Thursday in the bedrooms (3) and we've painted the rooms for the most part but have yet to finish up the detail around borders and the ceilings, etc. We're also going to purchase new blinds (the wood ones we have in our current house) and some ceiling fans. Getting the kids' bedrooms set up is the first goal though. We're going to set up Avonlea's room the exact same way it is now so that it can be as familiar as possible. Lincoln's room is a forest green color on the bottom and a sand color on the top with a white border in the middle going around the room. I have yet to make curtains for Avy's room. Avonlea's room colors are staying the same (light pink on 2 walls and a dark rose color on the other 2 walls). Rob's and my bedroom is a chocolate brown color, but we're still playing around with it. Here is a picture of Avonlea's room. Rob accidentally spilled A LOT of paint (the bucket tipped over) on her floor so we let it dry and had fun writing "oops!" on it, knowing that carpet would be covering it of coarse. Avonlea loves looking out her window and she's just the right height to see out and watch cars as they pass by the neighborhood. The backyard is so shaded and peaceful and Grandma has a giant trampoline that is definately the highlight of living there for Avonlea. She LOVES playing on it and it's such a task getting her back inside.

2 and 1/2 more weeks until Lincoln Cole arrives!!! I can't wait to hold and cuddle this new little one. More house pics to come...

Shop Til Ya' Drop!

So, with 3 and 1/2 weeks left to go until Lincoln Cole Bates arrives (if the little guy doesn't come early), we've been in need of a little shopping trip. With Avonlea, I was so organized and prepared with every little detail. With this baby, I've been busy with Avonlea and have been lucky to have prepared for as much as I have. I have been collecting clothes (newborn to 6 months) and we have other things from when Avy was a newborn, but let's just say that Rob was pretty adament about him not having pink everything (receiving blankets, pacifiers, bedding, etc.) so I made a trip to Babies R Us today to take care of a few items. We had a million showers with Avonlea, but I wasn't expecting one with the second baby just because it's not as common. So, Kelli did some shopping! It was kinda fun. Avonlea and I drove up this morning around 10:00 a.m. and we got a bedding set, double stroller, carseat that fits in the new double stroller, some boy receiving blankets, bibs, another mattress (Avonlea still uses hers for her toddler bed), changing table sheets (not pink!) and extra crib sheets (again, not pink). I think if I would have planned this out better when Avy was born and bought mostly newutral color things, I wouldn't be in this predicament. So take that advice first time parents-to-be... Buy neutral because you never know what may come next, if there is a next!! :)

After the shopping trip, we came home to eat lunch and of coarse we had to open the new stuff up (I want to wash the new bedding, etc.) and play with it. Avy loved the new double stroller and we even put one of her life-sized babies in the carseat to try it out. We took a couple of strolls around the living room and then it was naptime.

Tonight, Rob and I are packing up more boxes for the big move. We're moving things over to the new house this Sunday and we're going to begin painting the bedrooms and measuring out for carpet for the three rooms. We're going to buy that special paint that pregnant women can paint with. It's more friendly to the environment although it does cost a few dollars more than regular paint. We've seen it used on Trading Spaces when one of the designers was pregnant.

It's weird that this whole process is FINALLY beginning after talking about it for 2 years. We're very excited!

Happy Friday everyone!

House rented out...score!

I'm so excited!!! We FINALLY rented out our house and the renters are perfect. God knew who we needed. She's a young college student going to USF downtown here majoring in Education. Her parents are paying for the rent which is great...we know it will get taken care of. She loves to garden and do yardwork including maintaining our new lawn, roses and etc. We're still sacrificing financially due to what she's paying and what our actual mortgage is, but we're not complaining. At least it's done and we have to be out by June 5th at the latest. We'll be packing and moving things for the next few weekends and then it's BABYTIME! Talk about cutting it CLOSE. Just thought I'd share the good news. :)

"No, I'm not due any day now!"

Okay, so everywhere I go now people are saying, "So, you must be due any day now." It's getting old and I just politely respond with, "No, I still have 3 and 1/2 weeks left to go." I have always shown A LOT during my pregnancies and I've been asked if I'm having twins both times! The worst part is when people say that they're sure the baby will come early. Well, to be honest, that would be okay with me as long as he's healthy and there are no problems. Being pregnant is definately a blessing, but to be truthful, I'm tired, out of breath all the time, constantly thirsty (I think I drink a gallon of water a day) and like any woman, ready to start losing the baby weight. I am grateful that I haven't gained as much with this little boy as I did with Avonlea so there won't be as much to work off, but I've been eyeing my Windsor Pilates DVDs lately wishing I could do them. I got them about 9 months after having Avonlea and that's when I really started losing the weight and feeling toned, but oops! I got pregnant again and had to stop. All in good time I guess. :)

Here are a few new shots of Avonlea taking over the boucy chair we recently recovered from storage and the stuffed animals that HAVE to wear diapers. I think every dolly and stuffed animal she owns is currently wearing a diaper.




I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Rob and I wound up having an open house that day (we're getting desperate!!), but he was so sweet to help clean up the house and he got me a Cracker Barrel breakfast and a card that whistles at me! He was great with Avonlea all day as well. I did get to get out for about 2 hours to have some "wind down" time.

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm going every week now until the baby is born. I have awesome friends that offer to watch Avonlea so I can go alone and in peace which is so great. I never thought I'd look forward to just going to the doctor's office alone, but I do. I usually bring a book to read and it's great not having to lug around a "busy bag" filled with toys to keep her occupied. She's usually found racing cars on the floor, reading books, coloring on the paper on the exam tables (the nurses get a kick out of this one!) or singing songs while I'm getting my blood pressure taken or blood drawn (yucky!). I can't wait to meet this new baby and finall hold what God and I have been making for the past 9 months.


I've been scrapbooking lately and here's the front page of Lincoln's book...

Smoke in Florida

So I woke up this morning and the sky was clear, the air was fresh and Avonlea and I were looking forward to a playdate at the park with some friends. As we continued to play at the park, we noticed that the kids were getting extra dirty (more than normal) and the air was beginning to fog up. It was smoke again from the Georgia wild fires. We stayed for a little while longer, but then had to leave because it got so bad. Because Avonlea has asthma, I have to be especially careful on watching her breathing but she seemed okay today (luckily, I gave her a breathing treatment right before we left). The smoke is so bad though that I can smell it from inside the house! Of coarse, there are nooks and cranies in every house where air comes in/escapes and today I've had to make sure that the house is sealed especially tight. My doctor (OB) also said to be careful on how much I'm breathing in as well (being prego and all).

Hopefully it will clear up soon!

I Wish This House Would Sell!!!

Okay, so another false alarm on the house. We thought the contract would go through, but the buyers didn't like how the roof of the garage sloaped so they backed out. Very frustrating!!! As of next month, we'll be floating two mortgages...not fun. (Please continue to pray.) We're contimplating having an open house this weekend on Mother's Day (??). We don't want to but the house down the street is having one and we're thinking me might need to. I'm off to Lowe's this afternoon to purchase a "For Rent" sign for the house just in case. At least maybe someone else can pay our mortgage down as we're living at the new house. We met with our contractor last night and he came in right on our budget, actually a little lower than we thought. He also said that the renovations could be completed in 12 weeks! So cool. We still haven't signed a contract with him yet due to the housing situation being up in the air.

Avonlea and I went to the beach this morning and we were the only ones there. It was really nice out and the water was a perfect temperature. We made a sand castle, played in the water a little and then headed home. I love living 10 minutes from the beach. I remember that when I was going to college in Illinois, that was the hardest thing to be away from (besides loved ones). I literally bottled up ocean water, sand and shells everytime I came home and took them back up to school with me so I could smell the ocean whenever I needed to. I think my roomie thought I was crazy (I love and miss you Jo if you're reading this!!!).

Well, it's Wednesday and there's only two more days until the weekend. Yea, that means Rob is home and we usually do a fun family outing on Saturday morning. I love weekends. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Another Picture Update

Lots going on in the Bates house lately...

1. We went to Uncle Nathan's last high school baseball game two weeks ago. We lost, but the event was still fun and as a senior, he was recognized and played catcher the whole game. It was sad to know that it's his last ball game, but who knows what the future holds as far as playing ball in college. We're so proud of you Uncle Nate!







2. We had a play date this past Friday with some friends from church (Zachary, Ian, David, James and Cousin Madelynn came too)! We played in Avonlea's room for awhile and then headed outside for some sunshine. The kids played at the sand table, in the swimming pool, ran through the sprinklers, blew bubbles and chowed down on animal crackers and raisins. At the end of the afternoon, we all cooled off with popsicles or as Avonlea calls it "ice juice" (don't ask me why she calls it this). What a fun day! We'll have to do it again sometime.



3. Just this past week, we received an offer on our house! It was significantly lower than we were asking, but we're definately considering the offer since the selling market in Florida is rediculously slow. According to the buyer, we would need to be out in 2 weeks!!! We're waiting on the final contract and the house still has to pass inspection before I'm going to begin packing anything. We're very excited about moving and Rob and I have spent lots of time at Lowe's pricing out appliances and home improvement things (bathroom sinks, cabinets, tile, flooring, etc.). So, more info. to come...


4. My belly is still growing and if I had a quarter for every time someone asked if I was overdue or due anyday, I'd be rich. I politely respond with, "No, I have 5 weeks left". I have enjoyed being pregnant and am extremely grateful that the Lord has blessed Rob and I so that we can have children biologically, however this may be our last one, at least biologically. We have been discussing adoption for a few years and we would love to adopt a third child, possibly from China. You have to be 30 years old to adopt from China so we still have a few years to go, but it's something that we're seriously considering and praying about.

Going grocery shopping this morning, I purchased a watermelon and some ears of corn. We all know what that means...summer is here!!! :) Florida temperatures are rising and the ocean water is getting really warm. I'm just glad that I'm having this baby before August, the hottest time of the year. Praise the Lord for air conditioning, popsicles and fans! :)

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend everyone!

Avonlea's 1st Time Out

Avonlea has always been a very loving, nurturing child...however lately, we have had out moments. She is great when it comes to sharing, giving, waiting and being patient but this morning, I think she was overly tired and had had it. We were eating lunch and Avonlea had her cup of milk while I had my iced tea. She wanted a sip of my drink and was saying, "Share Ma ma". So, being the one that has taught her how to share, I let her have a sip of my tea. Well, one sip turned into 3 sips, then turned into 7 sips and she wouldn't give me my glass back (real glass mind you). I was afraid she'd spill it or break it so I said "All done". She screamed at the top of her lungs and taking my pediatrician's advice, I began her first official time out. I pulled out a chair from the table, sat her gently in it and said, "Avonlea is in time out for screaming". I set the timer for one minute (I guess the rule is a minute for every year your child is) and when it beaped, I told her that screaming is not nice and she needed to say she was sorry. She said "sorry" and I gave her a hug. The funny part was that she doesn't really know what it means just yet so she sat there so sweetly and just started talking to herself. It was really cute!! Hopefully we won't have too many more outbursts requiring time outs today, but I'm ready to do whatever it takes. :)