Countdown

We are within days of having a new addition to our family and we are so anxious. We had an ultrasound last week to see how big the baby was to determine if I wanted to try for a vbac or plan on a c-section. It was estimated that the baby was already about 6 lb. 11 oz. We decided that if it doesn't come on its own in the next week, we are scheduled to have a c-section on April 1 at 12:30 p.m. It will be an April Fools baby:) We are anxious to finally meet it and find out the sex of the baby. We haven't made any progress on names yet. Hopefully it will have one by the time we leave the hospital.

To get ready for the baby, we bought Ainsley a "Big Girl" bed which she loves. It is just a mattress and box spring right now since we will be moving in a few months so it is perfect size for her to get in and out of by herself. She loves to run and "crash" on it. I pulled out the twin bedding set that matches her crib set. She loves to help me make her bed every morning and is fascinated by the decorative flower pillow that goes on top. She calls it her "Sprinkle" pillow and asks to sleep on it everynight. She doesn't understand that it is just for "decoration."

We had to do a lot of rearranging to make room in our already cramped apartment for the upcoming little one. We thought we would be moving in January and so we had packed all of the baby stuff in the very back corner of the storage closet. Tom had to take every box out of the closet to get to it but it allowed us to do some much needed de-junking.
Opening the boxes of baby stuff was like Christmas morning for Ainsley. She loved rediscovering her old toys and carseat. But she reverted back for the afternoon and wanted to be treated like a baby. She found two green binkies that we got in the hospital but never used. She immediately stuck them in her mouth. She had a tantrum when we told her that she was a big girl and doesn't need binkies anymore. That night she insisted on sleeping in her crib again because I think she thought that if she slept in the crib like a baby, she could have a binky. No such luck. We won't be at all surprised if she yanks her little sibling's binky right out of their mouth and tries to suck on it. I guess she is still not fully weaned from wanting one, even after 2 years.

She wanted to be strapped into her baby car seat...what is funny is that she still within the 30 lb weigh limit. Tom picked her up and swung her around a few times. She loved it.

Tom has been busy at work. This rotation he is working in the marketing department for Automotive Electronics. They develop anything electrical that goes into your car. But Tom's project has to do with a Bosch e-bike system that is already being sold in Europe and Asia. They have asked him to do all the market research to see what it would take to bring the product to the US. It is a bike that has an electrical assist system that will help you maintain speed without having to apply as much force.

This past month Tom has gone on two business trips. One to Fort Lauderdale, FL to give a presentation about the ebike to all the VP's of Bosch. Then the following week he went to a bike tradeshow in Austin, TX to research what new things were happening in the bike industry. He saw some really cool stuff and had a great time. He is supposed to be in Germany this week to see an ebike and meet with the German marketing team, but decided not to go since it is only a week before my due date. I would never have forgiven him if he missed the birth of our baby:) He is excited to go back to Bloomington in a few weeks with Bosch for the Little 500 bike race. I wish I could go with him, but we will have family in town. We had so much fun at the Little 5 last year! Here are some pics of what the Bosch ebike looked like at a Taipei bike show.

Since Tom researches bikes all day he has been anxious to get out and ride his own. We finally had warm enough weather this week for him to get out and ride. Ainsley helped him get his bike ready before he left.

Ainsley has loved her new "glass slippers" from her Reese grandparents. She wears them everyday.

Grandpa and Grandma Come to Visit!

Last week we were so lucky to have Tom's parents come visit for the weekend. We had a blast with them and it was so nice to be with family again. We hadn't seen the Reese family for 8 months which is the longest we've ever gone without seeing them. Ainsley was so excited. She talked about it for weeks ahead. We didn't tell her when they were coming because we wanted it to be a surprise for her. They had rented a car and drove to our apartment. When they knocked on the door, it was like she knew it was them and she said, "That's my grandma." I tried to play it cool and told her I didn't know who it was. When I opened the door, she was shocked and then became really shy. She didn't understand what was going on and she buried her head in my shoulder. She is so used to seeing them on a webcam and I think it was confusing to see them in person. It took her about an hour for her to warm up to them, but once she did...we couldn't separate her. She became Grandpa's little buddy and always wanted to hold his hand everywhere we went. She wanted to have grandma rock her and read her stories and sit with her all the time. It was really cute to see her bond with her grandparents even though we hadn't seen them in so long.

While we waited for Tom to get home from work, the grandparents showered Ainsley with presents. The biggest surprise was a set of four Princess"glass slippers." Ainsley always puts these type of dress up shoes on at her preschool class and she has been asking for them for her birthday for months. She was so excited to open them and wore them every chance she got. She even had to wear them in the car while we drove around. She was also really excited about a pair of pink gloves from Aunt Susie and wore these gloves everywhere the entire weekend including to the restaurants and stores. She is so lucky to have such wonderful family who spoil her!The day they arrived happened to be Grandpa Reese's birthday so we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant not far from our house called Antonio's. Ainsley sat between her grandparents and talked to them nonstop during dinner. Afterward we came back to our house to have icecream cake and open presents.
The next day we took them to Ann Arbor to see the University of Michigan campus. Then we had lunch at our favorite deli, Zingerman's for some amazing sandwiches. It was rainy so we headed home but stopped by Costco to get some treats. That night Tom and I were able to go on a date while the grandparents babysat Ainsley. It was so nice to have a night to ourselves and Ainsley loved spending the night watching movies and playing with her grandparents.
On Saturday morning, we headed to downtown Detroit. We drove in parts of the city that Tom and I hadn't even seen and it was a little eye opening to see the decay some parts of the city. We saw tons of boarded up, abandoned, and burned buildings. But we never felt we were unsafe. But we also saw the nicer parts including the Detroit River, Comerica Park, Ford Field, Cobo Center, Renaissance Center, etc. We found the Motown Museum where the birthplace Motown Records was. But we didn't go inside. Afterward we drove around trying to find an authentic Detroit Style pizza parlor, we couldn't find one and ended up in Mexicantown where we had some delicious Mexican food. It was the best Mexican food we've had since leaving the West.

We saw this sign while we were waiting outside the Motown Musuem....and thought it was a funny and creative name for a church:)

After lunch, we headed to the Ford Complex to go on the Ford Rouge Factory tour. The Rouge Factory is the major Ford plant where most of their vehicles are made. It was opened by Henry Ford in 1928. We were able to walk the observation deck and see workers assembling Ford F-150 trucks. It was amazing to see every step of the assembly process as well as how many people it takes to put together a vehicle! We learned that it takes about 4 1/2 hours to assemble one truck and about 1,000 people work at the factory during one ten hour shift. We were there right before closing time, and they had assembled 635 trucks so far. We all walked out of the factory having a newfound appreciation for every bolt, knob, electrical component, and aspect of our vehicles and all the many hands that it took to put it together.

We weren't able to take pictures inside the factory, but this is what they were building

On Sunday, Tom's parents were able to accompany us to church. Then we had dinner together, skyped with Annie and Sue back in Utah, and headed to bed. On Monday, we helped them get packed, ran some errands, and went to that authentic Detroit Style Pizza Parlor we had tried to find earlier. Tom and I hadn't heard of it before, but Rob had and so we were determined to find somewhere to eat it. We learned a Detroit style pizza is a square pizza but what makes it unique is that the sauce is drizzled on top of the cheese and toppings rather than on the bottom. It was really good. After lunch we had to say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma Reese. We were really sad to see them go. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family again. Thank you so much for coming to visit! You are welcome anytime. We loved having you here!

February Activities

February has been a really cold month in Michigan so we've spent most days inside. There was not a lot of things to post about, but we did do a few fun activities. On Martin Luther King Jr. day, we went sledding on a big hill right in our apartment complex. A bunch of friends from the ward came too. Ainsley didn't seem to like the sledding part, but she loved playing in the snow with all her friends from church.

Ainsley and I went down the hill one time, she wasn't a fan. Plus carrying her back up the hill while being 7 months pregnant, was not very fun.

One day we headed to the Hands On Children's Museum to meet up with my childhood friend and neighbor Michelle. She only lives half hour away but we've only seen each other a few times since moving here. But it was so fun to catch up and spend the day with her!

She loved this dollhouse display but was upset she couldn't play with the dolls inside.

She still loves her preschool class and asks almost everyday if she can go to school that day. She gets upset when I tell her we have to wait until Friday. She has become so much more outgoing and sings along with all the songs. She dances to the music and calls out answers when the teacher asks something. These are all things she was too shy to do just months ago. It is fun to see her progress.

She still spends almost the entire time playing dress ups and pretending to be a mommy. She's ready to be a big sister.

This past month she discovered the dress up bin at school. As soon as the lesson is over, she runs over to the dress up bin to pick out a princess dress. This particular week, the pink dress made her Sleeping Beauty. Her other favorite thing is that she discovered there are "glass slippers" in the dress up bin. She talks about them all week and is already asking for some of her own for her birthday.

For Valentines, the kids exchanged cards. She loved handing out her valentines

Opening her bag of Valentines and discovering all the yummy treats and prizes.

Ainsley loves to do whatever Mommy is doing. Most mornings she watches me intently as I get ready. She insists on wearing her own makeup. Here she is pretending to put on foundation and blush. Afterwards she always says something like "Wow, I look so pretty."

Ainsley loves to have friends come over to play. Here she is playing with one of her little friends from Nursery class. They have a blast together.