Lately

Even with all the busy things going on, we have still managed to have some fun!

Olivia was THRILLED to come home on Thursday (April 20) to find a For Sale sign in our yard!

We had a showing that weekend so we snuck out to Westside for the first swim of the summer.  Even though the pool was heated, it was a little too cold for me.  But the goosebumps didn't stop O!

And we stepped our foot into the world of softball by cheering on Emma at one of her games.  The evening confirmed for me that (1) Olivia is not into sports and (2) snacks are her life.

And, just for the memory book, I need to document the CRAZY events of my last Monday.  I was walking across the street 2 blocks from my parking garage to my work when a car came flying around the corner and hit me!  Like hit my body -- my right leg to be exact.  It was scary and required us to spend NINE HOURS in the ER to confirm all was okay with baby, but luckily it all turned out okay.  I will however count that as one of the worst days of my life going forward.  And I now take a different route into the office!

Easter Fun

We had such a fun Easter this year and it was mostly due to party planner extraordinaire, Olivia!

We started things out on Thursday morning with her school's annual Easter Hat Parade.

Unfortunately, I picked her up that evening and she was burning up with a fever.  An immediate stop at urgent care confirmed strep!  But after some medicine, popsicles, and apple juice, she was good to go within 24 hours!  Just in time for our baby shower + Easter.

We read an Easter book and left out some carrots & jelly beans for the Easter Bunny.

She woke up bright and early on Eater morning to find that E.B. had eaten the carrots and jelly beans + left a scavenger hunt again this year for her.  She was pretty much able to read all the clues herself this year and I think she had fun running around the house until she found her Easter basket -- in her brother's rocking chair!

And she immediately dug into the candy!

Then we headed outside (note its like 6:15 am at this point, so still dark!) to hunt for eggs!

No sugar high over here.  Nope not at all.

And then she got dressed and patiently waited for the family to arrive.  Because it was 7 am, those 3 hours went by VERY slowly!  But finally everyone arrived and she went into "cruise ship director" mode.  She had a schedule and a plan and made everyone follow her instructions.  

First up, pin the tail on the bunny.  This was all Olivia's idea.  I made it happen by buying a $5 template off Etsy that we took to Office Depot to be printed.  Easiest thing ever that brought her SO MUCH happiness.  We hung it up on Friday night and she "practiced" all day Saturday.  And by "practiced" I obviously mean she figured out how to peek out of the blindfold to see the bunny.  (This was frankly a welcome change from her response to not cheating.  The first time she did it, I covered her eyes and spun her around.  She put the tail on the completely wrong wall from where the bunny even was, took off the blindfold, saw her tail placement and immediately fell on the floor crying.  Competitive much?!).

Most of us got our tails on the board.

 

 Matt got no where near, which obviously Olivia thought was hilarious!

  

BUT....Olivia got hers DIRECTLY ON THE TAIL.  It was a win for the times and she was beaming with joy.

 

 Her prize was a chocolate bunny!

The final score (clearly my mother is a cheater too).

Next up was an Easter egg hunt.  Olivia re-stuffed all the eggs she got from the Easter Bunny and hid them around the house for us to find.

And then it really turned into "The Olivia Show" -- she literally pulled out her guitar and made Yasmin play a song while she invented lyrics on the spot.  As I watched her shine as the center of attention and looked around at her loving and captive audience, I couldn't help but wonder how baby brother will fit into this craziness next year.  I can't wait to see what his little personality is like.

And finally we sat down to brunch.  Given the pregnancy, new house and an array of work obligations - we kept it super simple.  But I think it was still yummy and everyone seemed to enjoy!

Baby Sprinkle

A few of my closest friends + my sweet sisters hosted a little Sprinkle for Baby Dean this weekend.  It was so lovely and sweet.  Most everyone there knows of the struggle we had to get this little guy to this point and I just felt the love in the room.

Besides me, the most excited guest was definitely big sister Olivia.  She had been talking about the shower for MONTHS and there was much hand-wringing, angst and consternation over her hair and her outfit.  At the last minute she finally decided on an adorable little Matilda Jane dress and curly hair.  We went to a little blow-out salon by our house before the shower, and she was loving the pampering.

Once we were all dolled up, we headed over to Benjy's!  The room was so cute and festive.  The food was delicious and we were surrounded by our closest friends and family.

My friends Kate, Katherine and Casey were among the hostesses

Plus my sweet little sisters

Love this pic of all of us

Olivia was thrilled to see the whole "Mehta" gang

And she was a very big helper with the presents

Casey gave us this paci/giraffe and I'm pretty sure there is now no way I can give it to baby.  Olivia completely confiscated it for her/her baby dolls.  I am 90% sure I saw HER sucking on it the other day!

Katherine knows me well - I had been wanting a TX themed book for our little guy!

 And I'm not sure how much "danger" I can handle - but at least there's a book on it!

One of my favorite memories of the day was the appearance that Jennie made.  She drove into town just for me and when she walked into the room was overcome with emotion on all we had been through to get to this point and immediately burst into tears (which obvi caused me to as well!).  It was just this great tangible manifestation of what I felt that day and when I looked around the room.  The women surrounding me really carried us through these past 3 years - they learned about shots, hormones, embryo quality, and incubators; brought me pasta/chocolate/flowers after I miscarried; talked/texted me off the ledge when I was at my lowest; and helped me work through the madness and frustration of infertility.  And even during the pregnancy, I am constantly getting checked on and doted on as we all understand how tentative and delicate this process is.

Ah...this smile as she holds Grady....makes me SO EXCITED for her to hold her own little brother!

And when we got home, Olivia was thrilled to show Matt all the stuff brother got and explain to him how it all works.  One of her favorites was the matching baby carriers that Tutu gave us!

This is one lucky little guy for sure to be coming into the world surrounded by so much love and wanting!  We are feeling very lucky right now for our village!