A Wedding Story

We left off just before Emily and Jesse's big day in the other Columbus. It was great to be back together with college friends again, and the weekend was perfect, including beautiful fall weather. Saturday was a long day of bridesmaid preparation with hair and makeup (it takes a lot to make me look like this).

Here I am with my baby daddy. Just a disclaimer -- we were getting drinks for other people, only the juice is mine.

The bridesmaids from the left: Bari and Brittany, Emmo's high school friends, and then her college roommates, Kristen, Jesse, me and Kate.

The happy Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong!

All Things Baby

So many exciting things come with pregnancy. This is a post about all the gifts we have received from family and friends! (I don't think anyone reads this blog -- at least I hope -- that doesn't already know we are expecting... actually, does anyone read this blog at all??) Can't wait until next week when we tell the rest of the world!

A Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag from my parents (limited edition "It's A Small World" 45th anniversary print)... yes, this is unisex:

Look, it can be worn as a backpack too!

Baby's first outfit, ducky pajamas that Carolyn bought when they visited Minneapolis:

A hooded blanket from (girl) Jesse -- I had to spill the beans to my college roommates before Emily's bachelorette party:

A hat and book from Sarah Dahms (the hat will come in handy no doubt, and Mike and I will be able to learn a few things from the book I'm sure):

The bible buying guide for everything from Anne and Corey:

A pregnancy journal and cocoa butter (yaaayyy stretch marks!) from Kate:

Last but not least... the first (and only) thing Mike has bought for the baby... Hoosier booties! These will accompany some kind of IU sports outfit if its a boy, or a cheerleading uniform if it's a girl:



Last Dance

This weekend marks our last wedding of the season -- our last dance, so to speak. Actually, we don't even know anyone else who is engaged, so it will be our last wedding for quite some time. We are going to Columbus, OH to celebrate Emily and Jesse... blog post to come!

Besties

One more video from Columbus. I went over to the Burts... we miss our besties. Addie wanted to make a video for Mike since he wasn't there. She can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving. Originally she was going to sing and dance, but then it just turned into her playing with Hayden (who has great hair). They had just returned from their Halloween night at church, hence Hayden's costume. Addie had already changed out of her Dorothy outfit. What a great big sister!

Boy Genius

One more video of Ethan. He is so smart and loves to play with an iPad. He even says "iPad" though I couldn't get him to say it on this video. Kids are getting so smart these days.

Bobblehead

This is one of Mike's favorite video of Ethan, so we wanted to include it as part of our blog. He just loves how Ethan bobbles his head and plops into the chair. If anyone is looking for a Christmas gift idea for Mike, he would love a chair that matches Ethan's.

Help, I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

Our blog hiatus included a work trip to Columbus. I was lucky to spend some time with Ethan. After a bath one night, we played before bedtime. Sometimes when you fall down, it's just easier to stay down instead of putting in all the energy it takes to get up. I feel the same way.

Champion Chores Comes to Minneapolis

When the Champion Chores team visited Minneapolis, we did... some chores. On our to-do list was remove the ivy from the chimney and the house since it may be doing damage. Too bad, because it looked nice.

Here is the before (gosh, our lawn was so green and pretty this summer!):

During:

And after:

White Men Can't Jump

Well it has been awhile since a blog post... haven't been feeling great for the past couple of weeks, but it's past time for an update.

We had lots of fun with Jim and Carolyn the weekend of October 14. It was fun for them to see where we live and show them some of Minneapolis. One of the places we went was Browndale Park, which is just a few blocks from our house. Mike and Jim played one-on-one, and Jim won twice. Mike is going to work on his game.

While the boys played basketball, the girls gave Riley some exercise. He loves chasing the tennis ball around Browndale.

It was an exhausting afternoon for everyone... even those of us who really just watched others exercise.