Weekend Getaway

We had a great time in Chicago.. It was a short, but fun getaway. We got to Chicago Friday afternoon and after checking into the hotel we went downtown to the Shedd Aquarium. We didn't know what Avree would do or how long she would last, but we had a great time. We didn't stay long in one spot, but she watched as the fish/turtles/snakes/etc, moved along the glass. She would just point, stare and "talk". :-) You can tell she wants to talk so bad, but just can't quite figure it out yet. The pictures below from the aquarium are dark cause you couldn't have a flash on.
On Saturday we met up with Katie, who lives in Chicago with her husband, Dustin. We had a short visit, but it was great seeing her.. The last time we saw her was at her wedding in Chicago last July!
The main reason for going to Chicago was for a friends wedding. It was a Catholic wedding so it started early Saturday afternoon. We had Matt's dad (Dave) come too Chicago so he could watch Avree while we went to the wedding. She was napping while we went to the ceremony and then we brought her to the reception. She stayed for the dinner, then as the dancing started we brought her back the hotel to hang out with Papa (Dave). She did great at the reception and everyone loved her!
We had a little bit of a scare Sunday morning (before our 9 AM flight)after Avree woke up we saw she had a rash on her inner thighs and in her arm pits. We called her Dr. and he said it was probably just an allergic reaction to something and get some cortisone. He said if it doesn't go away to come in on Monday. After getting home, I gave her a bath and laid her down for a nap. She slept for a long time and when she woke we noticed the rash had spread to her back and stomach. We called the Dr again and they told us to give her some benedryl and to come in on Monday. Well come to find out she has hives and the kind of hives that she has was something she ingested. He told us to make a list of everything she ate this weekend so we know if this happens again we can compare notes to see what food caused this reaction. We have her on antibiotics and is doing just fine. This hasn't even bothered her as she is just acting fine as can be. I will keep you updated on how she is doing.
Going to try and head to Pella this weekend for Tulip Time, but we will see if we feel like traveling again this weekend.
Take Care



On the airplane...Loves Mama's sunglasses


Shedd Aquarium in Chicago


Shedd Aquarium


Riding in a canoe; Shedd Aquarium in Chicago


Outside Shedd Aquarium.. Overlooking Lake Michicagn


At the wedding

Meeting baby Jack!

Avree and I decided to head to Iowa Sunday afternoon after dropping Matt off at the airport (AGAIN!) We were so excited to meet Jack, but weren't too excited for the long drive ahead of us, since we did just make the drive to Iowa a couple days earlier. We stayed in Pella Sunday night and saw Grandma & Grandpa McCulla, Nana, uncle Brian and one of my high school friends Emily and her daughter Bray-Lynne (born in Dec.) We then headed to Des Moines on Monday, mid-morning. When we got to Shelly and Jay's, Jack was all bundled up in Shelly's arms. He was so precious! I got my hands on him right after walking in the door :-) Avree wasn't too sure what to think of her mom holding another baby... She kept wanting me to hold her too and started getting upset when I couldn't, so aunt Shelly distracted her by taking her into another room. My mom and Larry also came on Monday to meet their new grandson. So it was nice seeing everyone while we were back.
We stayed Monday night at Shelly's, so I decided to cook them dinner. I made Spaghetti, garlic bread and sugar cookies! yuuummmm... (my mom also helped me get everything ready)I think the hardest part was trying to figure out what to make that Jay would like. He is WAY too picky and hard to cook for. I about just made a box of mac n' cheese :-)
Tuesday morning (while Avree was still sleeping.. I think she slept till 9:15/30 that morning) I helped Shelly give Jack his first bath at home. I told her to get the bathroom all warm and cozy (we turned on a personal heater to heat up the bathroom) and I filled the baby tub with warm water. Jack wasn't to happy when I was taking his clothes off, but once we got him in the tub he was quiet as can be and was trying to fall asleep! Those personal heaters work wonders on heating up a room fast! (I also used a personal heater for Avree's baths when she was a little baby.)
Jack smelled so yummy after I lotioned him up! I just love the smell of baby lotion. He was then all ready to meet his great grandpa & grandma McCulla. Of course he slept the whole time they were there, but I don't think they minded. They were just so happy to hold him and meet another one of their great grandkids! (Jack makes the 6th great grandkid on the McCulla side.) Steph and Kaiya came to DSM on Tuesday too, so Avree and Kaiya had fun playing for a little bit together.
Avree and I headed home Tuesday afternoon but wanted to stay in DSM for a couple more days, but there was too much stuff waiting for me at home :-( We leave tomorrow for Chicago and I had tons of laundry to get caught up on and errands to run. But we are looking forward to our little family getaway this weekend. We have a friends wedding on Saturday, so we thought we would go up earlier and maybe go to the zoo or something fun like that.
Hope everyone is doing well! Can't wait to see some of you in a couple weeks for Shelly & Jack's baby shower.


Grandpa & Grandma Hansch with their grand kids


Grandma Hansch with her girls.. and Shelly and I with our kids


Grandma Hansch, Shelly and baby Jack


Could you say, ADORABLE!


Chillin'


Great grandpa & grandma McCulla


Cousin Kaiya holding Jack


Grandma McCulla and her grandkids


The Cousins


Little Ham


Avree giving Kaiya a hug


Kaiya and Avree playing outside

The baby is here!

Jack William Johnson made his appearance at 5:09 PM Friday night and I can't wait to meet him! He looked like a little chunk in the picture message (on my phone) Shelly sent to me. :-) I am hoping to get to see him Sunday or Monday. Then I can post some pictures!

Ready to be an AUNT!!

Tuesday night Avree and I decided to head to DSM and spend some time with family. We were getting a little lonely with Matt being gone last week, this week and will be gone again next week! Since Shelly's last day of work was Tuesday, we thought we would stay with her and keep her company for a couple days. It was nice to relax and hang out... I don't know when the last time Shelly and I had some time like this to just talk. We got to meet Nana and Papa for supper Wednesday night and then on Thursday we met my dad for lunch in Altoona.
I told Shelly we needed to go on a walk so we could get the baby's head way down, so we took a walk with 4 dogs, a very pregnant lady, myself and Avree on Wednesday! We looked pretty funny :-) Then Thursday I needed to go to the mall so Shelly came with me and walked to a couple stores. Then she went home to rest! (she was pretty tired) Avree and I headed home yesterday afternoon but thought about staying Thursday night too (Matt's cousin runs in the Drake Relays this weekend, so we wanted to stay and watch her) but decided we should probably get home... Then got a text message at 6 AM this morning that Shelly is in the hospital!!!! Go figure, Avree and I leave and she goes in :-) I told Jay that we must have got that baby to come!! :-) There is still no baby at this time... Hopefully by the end of the day. Mom is doing well, just getting antsy and excited to meet the new baby! I will post again once the baby makes his or her appearance.

Trying to get back on my feet....

Wednesday was just another typical day for Avree and I- playing, running errands, napping, going on a walk, but getting sick was not on the agenda! Wednesday afternoon quickly turned to a downward spiral when I started getting a queasy/sick feeling in my stomach. I had felt fine all day, and then 4:30 came upon us and I started getting sick. I ran to the bathroom every 5 minutes, trying SO hard to hold it in. It was pretty hard trying to watch Avree, and run to the bathroom every couple minutes. She eventually started getting sick of me running into the bathroom and "leaving her". So the tears came running and the "hold me" look was on full force! She was pretty tired and just wanted mama... of course! Then to top it all off, Matt was gone last week with work. So here I am being a single parent with the flu! Thank goodness for my friend, (THANK YOU LINDSAY) for coming over and taking Avree (and her son Wesley, 3 days older than Avree) for a walk, then fed Avree supper and put her to bed. All while I was "trying" to sleep it off, but pretty much was so queasy/nauses and sick, I was in the bathroom the whole time. Finally about midnight, I was done getting sick and was able to keep water down at least. I tried to get some sleep after that cause I knew when I woke in the morning, I would be hurting. Didn't sleep well though and the morning came too quick. I felt like a bus ran over me and put it in reverse a couple times. :-) My back hurt SO bad and I was just "blah" all day. Finally, Friday I was feeling better but still felt pretty weak....Finally I am now feeling like my old self again.. of course at the end of the weekend and Matt leaving us again this week :-(
So far Avree has not gotten the flu bug (and I pray she doesn't) but she did start getting a running nose which is waking her up some nights cause she can't breathe.
Other than my 24 hr sickness, we doing good and staying very busy!

Here are some pictures from the past week...

She loves looking out the window



Gamma Hansch and Avree at Shelly's baby shower



Eatin pancakes



She thinks she can take a ride in her doll's stroller

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a great Easter/Easter weekend with friends and family. We had Matt's parents and Brian here for the weekend. The boys went golfing on Saturday and what a great day for that! I just wish it would have stayed nice for today.
Avree and I went to Des Moines for Shelly's baby shower on Saturday, which was nice to see Shelly, the baby bump, grandma McCulla, and "gamma" Hansch.
We went to early church this morning, and then planned on coming back to the house to eat/cook but we decided going out to eat would be better. So we went to Perkins and had brunch. It was really good and even better that we didn't have to cook or clean! After we got back to the house, Brian hid a couple eggs in the living room for Avree's little egg hunt. We gave her a little bunny bag/basket (from "gamma" Hansch) and when she grabbed the eggs, she (without any help) put them in the basket. It was SO cute!! Then she sat down and they all started falling out. Ha-Ha


Easter Egg Hunt


Daddy & Avree


Family Picture


Tickle, Tickle, Tickle

We got a ONE year old!

I can't believe Avree is one and already has such an attitude :-) Nana said she is skipping one and going right to two. No, actually she is still a great baby.. well I guess not a baby anymore :-( She is at such a fun age and we are SO excited for summer to get here so we can go do some fun activities.
She is saying Mama, Dadda, dog, duck and ball. She likes climbing the stairs, pulling on the dogs, feeding herself and is all about trying to carry everything! She shakes her head "no" and "yes", dances and does "so big". She is just too cute!!

On saturday (her actual birthday) we had her party and had a great time! Lots of people helped us celebrate and we are so thankful for lots of friends and family! Avree also has the same birthday as grandpa McCulla (my dad), so he is pretty excited that he doesn't have to celebrate his birthdays anymore...It will be all about Avree now on April 4. Which I know she won't mind :-)
Avree did pretty good at destroying her cake. At first she wasn't sure if we were going to let her do this, but after a couple minutes she dug right in :-) She ate a lot of cake and frosting, that I think she made a lot of people sick to their stomachs. ha-ha. Suprisingly enough, she didn't have a sugar high and went to bed early that night!

Thank you to everyone that could make it on Saturday!





Mama and the birthday girl


Birthday boy and his girls




The birthday girl



Can't believe they are letting me do this





Starting to dig in...



Yummmmm...





Birthday boy feeding the birthday girl



Mama, Dadda and birthday girl



Opening gifts



Grandpa and Grandma McCulla, Avree, Nana and Papa



Where did everyone go???



Playing with her new doll stroller from Gma/Gpa McCulla