March 2013

             March has come to an end and we are still a family of 3!  We are down to the final 2 weeks left and weare excited and nervous at the same time. Everything went pretty well with Allison’s delivery and we can only hope to have the same experience.  People have started to ask if we are “ready” and the only way I have to respond to that is the same way I responded to that question when we were getting close to having Allison.  Maybe.  I mean, you can sit here and make sure you have a nursery ready and plenty of diapers and clothes.  You can cook meals left and right and get as much ready as you can.  However, I’m sure during the first few months we will have some lows and highs that no one can be “ready” for, so we will just wait for the arrival and take it one day at a time.  I say that now…let’s see how the April blog sounds when we have a 2-3 week-old newborn. 

At the beginning of March, Pete threw Laura a big 30^th Birthday party in Ohio.  I left on Saturday morning and I was back by Sunday a little after lunch. Beth rented a limo for Laura to be surprised after she went shopping with mom.  She was greeted with a limo full of family and friends and we drove around for an hour or 2 before we went to dinner!  I was glad I was able to make it, as I was able to celebrate Beth and Laura’s 21^st and 30^th birthdays over the years. 

During the month, several of Deb’s friends continued a tradition of taking the mom who is having her 2^nd or 3^rd child to lunch and pedicures.  It was a surprise and she really enjoyed it.  She was tired since she worked that morning, but I think she enjoyed being out with the girls and having some laughs.  I went out with the guys that evening to Broad Ripple and then we played some poker.

            We observed my Dad’s 2 year anniversary of his passing carrying on the trend fromlast year, where we enjoyed Dad’s favorite foods.  This year, we went to a Chinese Buffett!  Beth, Matt, Mom, Pat and Paul were with us and we enjoyed the many foods offered! Allison’s favorite was bananas dipped in strawberry sauce.  It was a messy meal for her!  Deb and I took Allison home and put her to bed and then I went back out to Beth and Matt’s condo to share some stories.  There is plenty to distract me from this anniversary right now, but I had a hard time with the good and bad memories on that day.  Deb and I took Allison to his grave and she said the word “grandpa” and that was especially difficult, but I was glad to hear it. 

 Easter was the past weekend and we celebrated with family in Indianapolis.  The Vandervaarts, Wahmans (minus Chelsea),the Dodson’s, Mark and Mom were around on Friday to celebrate Claire’s and Chris’ birthdays.  It was fun to see Allison interacting with her cousins and playing “ring around the rosey.”  We were over there again on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  We searched for eggs from the Easter bunny and Allison really enjoyed it! 

 

We took Allison out to breakfast at Cafe Patachou where she really enjoyed the cinnamon toast.  Later that day she rode a tricycle for the first time!!

A few more items from this month:

·        I went to a Timmy Global Health Fundraiser at the Conrad. Beth hosted a table and filled it with her friends and family.  It was quite a night and a good time. 

·        I went over to play cards at Wahmans on a random Friday night. Chelsea and Chris were home from school from spring break and it was good to see them. 

·        We had 3 more swim lessons in March.  We are going to switch to 1 per month starting in May with our instructor.  Our hope is that on those days, she comes back over to our house and babysit and then Deb and I can have a pre-scheduled date night.

·        The Depps came for short day-visit in late March.  It was great to see their daughter and catch up with them.

·        Deb and I went to the daycare for an Easter egg decorating party.

 

·        Deb beat me AGAINin our NCAA bracket challenge.  The sad thing is, the tournament isn’t even over and our brackets are done!