Ava's Painting Party

This year's bday theme was painting, since it is one of Ava's true loves :)
Odd angle, but the fruit tray includes all the colors of the rainbow. The rest of the menu included: fair sized hot dogs (they were huge!), different colored ketchup and mustard with paint brushes to paint onto the hotdogs, a salad (that also had every color of the rainbow), chips and dip (again, had a chip for every color), potato salad (my grandma,"you can't have a party without potato salad"), and my Aunt Kay's baked beans (she knows that baked beans is one of the things I've been craving with this pregnancy- along with corn on the cob :) )

I just have to point out the shirt. I found this on a clearance rack last year and saved it for this year's party. Yes, I know the themes way in advanced. Hey, that's how you get the best deals, and yes I already have something in mind for next year but not set in stone yet.

I made all of the cupcakes (along with Ava's help). Since Ava's favorite color is red, she got one cupcake heaped with frosting for each year :) I then set up a "decoration station" for everyone to decorate their own cupcakes. The "paint can" was filled with all different kinds of sprinkles. The "paint cans" were made from the giant economy sized canned goods that schools use (I have my connections :) ). They held all of the silverware, sprinkles, napkins, and wet wipes.

Not to brag, but didn't they turn out awesome!?

This is when the rain started to pour. I was hoping it would miss us, but no luck. Thankfully, my grandma has huge trees in her yard, so everyone stayed dry (until the end). One of the kid's activities was a squirt gun fight. Not just any squirt gun fight, though. Each kid (and some adults) put on a white tshirt and chased after each other with their squirters that were filled with....paint! A little background story, we decided to test this out a couple of weeks before hand to make sure it would work. Well, the paint looked great on the shirts but didn't look so great stained on Ava's skin for a week. The worst was her blue splattered face that she sported for the week. So, more testing had to be done, and I'm happy to say all of the children washed clean in the rain :). The shirts turned out really cool too. The kids ran around painting each other for a couple of hours.

Another activity, that I didn't get because of the rain and me rushing to get everything in, was finger painting. I covered a buffet table with paper. Did you know that you can get the end rolls of the newspaper from the newspaper company for free or really cheap? Who knew? The day before I made finger paints of every color. We spooned them all out into bowls and let the kids have at it. Our youngest guests, 10 months, particularly enjoyed this.

All in all, this was a great party. I'm just bummed that it got rained out. Our parties usually last around six hours. What can I say, our family knows how to have fun. We promised all of the kids that we would have a "do over day" on a nice day to do squirt guns, finger paint, and swimming. Well, better start planning for next year's party :)

Ava Finnli is 4!

Well, I can't believe I have a 4 year old! She is truly the light of my life. Over the past months, I've noticed she is turning into a little person. The things she says and understands is unbelievable. Here is a little interview with my amazing 4 year old.

What's your favorite color: red and pink
What's your favorite food: pizza and broccoli
What's your favorite movie: Rapunzel
What's your favorite thing to do: play outside
Who's your best friend: (Aunt) Laney
What do you want to be when you grow up: a sunshine fairy

I lost her interest after that. She's still a busy bee and is always on the go. Enjoy the pics!

35 weeks baby!

I never would have imagined I would have lasted to this point. I get my cerclage removed this Friday. Most of my family think I'll go right into labor on Friday. I think I'll have to be induced because I'll be overdue. It will be just my luck that I've worked so hard to keep BGM in, she won't want to come out. I have been having a lot of contractions the past couple of days and horrible back pain, so we will see. We have everything ready, but still no name.
As for Ava, she has been busy having her birthday and going on vacation with Grandma. I will update about that later, so I can give the post its proper attention :)

Getting There

Well, I'm 31 weeks. Can I get a hallelujah!!!! I'm pretty impressed with myself considering my perinatologist thought I would be lucky to get to 28 weeks. I'll be getting my stitch out at 36 weeks. I'm hoping to go right into labor, but my luck I'll be close to 42 weeks :). I feel like I have gotten twice the size of my normal self overnight. The other night, Danny took Ava and I out to our favorite mexican restaurant. I literally tried on all of my maternity pants and nothing fit. I'm serious, everything was tight and uncomfortable. Call it hormones, body image issues, or just having a pity party over my huge self, but I had a break down. I know that you are supposed to get big when you are pregnant, but I never really did with Ava, and I feel like I will never get back to my normal size.
Well besides my mental breakdown, everything has been going pretty good. I've been trying to plan Ava's next birthday party and get the baby's room ready before I get my stitch out-just in case. Maybe I should put it off, and then maybe I'll go into labor right away. What do ya think?

Easter and Pregnancy Update

Our whole family always makes plans to get together at least once a month. This month of course was Easter. Each of the kids got a bag (their favorite color) and a designated Easter egg color that they had to find. The kids had a blast!

On Easter, all healthy eating goes out the window. Breakfast of champions, cotton candy!

Ava has been real into Mario lately. I have no idea how or why. She got a Wii Mario game that her and her dad played for three hours that day (yeah, eating and screen time rules go out the window on holidays). She also got a Mario shirt that I had to watch everyday so she could wear it for a week straight (hey, at least it was clean).

Now for pregnancy updates. I failed my glucose test by one point!!! My perinatologist came into the room laughing. She broke the news to me and told me that I have had one of the most unlucky pregnancies. Gee thanks. BGM (baby girl Mcgraw) also has slightly dilated kidneys. The dr. didn't seem too worried, but we will keep a close eye on things. When she was checking my cervical length (sorry TMI),she asked if I have been feeling pressure. Are you kidding me? I feel like I have to walk with my legs crossed and the pressure, that once was just uncomfortable, now just plain hurts. She turned the screen to show me why I was feeling this. TMI again, BGM's head is literally pushing so hard against my stitch that my uterus is getting pushed down. She said there really isn't anything they can do, and that my stitch looks great and is obviously doing its job. She said if I didn't have it in, BGM would already be here. If the pressure continues/gets worse my stitch may have to be taken out early to prevent any tearing. I guess only time will tell. Keep the good thoughts and prayers coming.

still going

Thought I'd give a little update. I am now almost 27 weeks, woot woot! BGM (baby girl mcgraw) is a very active little thing just like her big sis. I don't know if I can handle two little spitfires that are full of energy though. The excitement of a new baby has been in full swing with my family and coworkers for a while now, and it has been quite contagious to me. We have started to clean out the "toy room" to make room for the "baby room". The great name debate still remains, and my belly is constantly growing. I was never very big with Ava (I'm actually bigger now than when I delivered Ava) so this big belly thing is an all new experience for me. Putting shoes and socks on has become quite the sight :). I get to go to the doctor every two weeks, so time is moving a little closer. I am also sooooo thankful for my friends at work. They are always checking on me, sending encouraging words, and just being plain positive. You definitely find out who your true friends are when the going gets tough.
Now to Easter. We had a fabulous and busy Easter weekend. I will post pics as soon as I find the chord (I always seem to lose).

update

Well, not much going on here. I haven't had anymore contractions, just lots of pressure. I still can't work, wich really stinks. I had no idea how much I would miss work and "thinking". I have started to do some monitor teching- which i just sit in a chair with my feet up and watch monitors. It is totally boring, but it's keeping the baby inside and providing a little money. My coworkers are soooo great! They come to get me in a wheelchair, wheel me to the bathroom, and wheel me back to my car at the end of my shift. Have I mentioned how great my coworkers/friends are?! I'm starting to let it sink in that we may just get to have a baby at the end of all of this. I'm starting to stress about normal pregnancy things. When should I start getting the baby room ready? I don't want to set it up and then not have a baby to put into it. When should we tell Ava? The sweet thing still hasn't noticed my belly, just my bruises from my lovenox shots. And don't even get me started on the great name debate. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. I like old fashioned names, but can't be too long for early learning spelling purposes :). And Danny, well, he doesn't like anything.