The addition.

While the blog title may be deceiving, 'the addition' I'm referring to is not house business (for once), although I wish that addition would hurry up and take place.

We are adding another member to the Munce family! Dave and I are excited to announce that baby #3 is in the works and is expected make it's grand entrance sometime in late October. This pregnancy has definitely been the hardest on me so far. Between nausea and exhaustion, everyday has been a challenge. Not to mention the rest of the excitement going on in our lives. I will be 14 weeks on Monday, so I'm hopeful that the first trimester symptoms will begin to subside.

I had an ultrasound on Monday and was relieved to get a great report. I am officially advanced maternal age which makes me high risk, so needless to say, we are hoping for a very uneventful pregnancy and delivery. Im under no false illusions that once this baby is born, my life will be more hectic than I could ever imagine as I will have three kids, three and under, but we will survive :).

Here are a few photos of the newest member of the Munce family.

Baby's profile with its hand by its nose. 

3-D image of the previous image. Peek a boo! 

Baby's footprint. 

A move and a boys trip.

We made the transition to our little rental last week and overall, I'd say it went pretty well. The kids were busy at Maggie's on moving day so Dave and I could work together and get as much done as possible. There is a train track that runs next to and behind the house (it is literally a stones throw away). So we woke to trains the first night, the whole house was vibrating. Needless to say, that is something we will have to get used to.

Dave was on call the following day so I took the kids to Miss Jaspers' playtime and went to my parents' house to clean, vacuum, change sheets, and pick up dog poop. What a morning. I was so efficient, and so exhausted by the time it was all done.

Months ago, Dave booked a boys weekend to see Greenday get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At the time, it seemed great and really fun and awesome, however, when the timing coincided with the move to the rental, I nearly blew my top. We were in new surroundings, I was not feeling very settled and I was overall just over the whole being out of our house deal. He left on Friday and I pulled up my big girl pants and made it through the weekend. The anticipation is always so much worse than it actually ends up being. The house was gradually feeling more homey by Sunday. The kids and I hardly woke up to the trains by the end of the weekend. Dave returned on Sunday evening and by Monday morning he claimed he was over the rental and ready to move out. I got a good laugh out of that as the kids and I had been there for nearly a week and he had been there for maybe 24 hours.

Seven weeks and two days until we move home (not that I'm counting down or anything ;).

Crazy hair. 

Bowling party for Sully's buddy, Rhys. 

Picking up daddy from the airport. 

Star Wars fun with Rhys. 

Tubby time at the rental. 

Hall of Fame induction. 

Ringo Star's drumset. 

Souvenirs and smiles. 

Wrapping up Riverview.

Its hard to believe we have been here for almost 10 weeks and it is already time to move on. Since we have been here, Sully has given up diapers and his crib, both sure signs that he is a big boy. Unfortunately the crib transition has not been smooth, at all, in fact, it has been an absolute nightmare. Unless one of us lays with him until he falls asleep, he will come running out looking to play, it is exhausting, to say the least. Bedtime is when I wish we were home and had our own bedrooms to retreat to. Since Sully and Greta are currently sharing, we feel like we need to do whatever possible in order to assure he doesn't wake her, which results in us completely catering to his every whim. Transitions, phases, call it what you want, we need to get on to the next one, asap. I like to think of myself as a pretty patient and fun mom, but I am neither of those right now. Spending an evening at work has never felt so amazing.

We are off to a small rental beginning on Wednesday and we will stay there for 8 weeks. Everything is on schedule for us to move back in to the house on June 13th. I go through weekends (usually weekends Dave is on call) feeling desperate to be home, to have my own space and to feel settled. I am looking forward to this being the last move before the last move, and having open shelves and closets to move in to. I am not looking forward to living next door to a set of train tracks and not having a dishwasher. Everything is temporary, I keep telling myself that, I can do anything temporarily... Now if we could just get Sully to sleep!

We will miss my parents' house. The old familiarity of things, the amazing outdoor space, the huge kitchen and the cozy living room. I am a bit bummed that we wont spend any time here while my dad is here as the kids talk about him so much (I use grandpa's potty, I take a tubby in grandpa's tubby). We are grateful for the time we did spend with my mom here, when she was home. I feel like the kids developed a deep space in their souls for her, something I will appreciate for years to come, that and the fact that she made room for us in her quiet space without question or hesitation. There is no doubt that we will be frequent visitors once we have moved out, don't worry, mom ;).

Easter at the Willard farm.

Prezoo smiles (Sully wore his monkey for the monkeys :)).

Eating duck food.

Matching fleece jackets, Greta loving the hand me downs. 

He loves his basketball shirt, this is his third day
in a row in it. 

Shooting hoops in the driveway. Don't you love the
basketball net holder (the tree)?!

The Magnolia Tree blooms. 

Backyard fun.  

Watering grandma's flowers. 

The usual order of things, Sully leads, Greta is always a few steps behind. 

Popcorn night while mommy is at work. 

Popcorn night gone wrong.

Spring has finally sprung.

What a long cool March we had. I feel like I have been hibernating, which explains the lack of blog entries. We are still settled in at my parents' house, almost 8 weeks in to our 10 week stay. Unfortunately our house will not be ready for our return for 8 more weeks beyond that. The news was deflating, to say the least, but I did have a haunch that that was the news we would get. We found a furnished rental that will take all of us, including Kenzie, so all is good. The time away has gone fast and there is definitely forward progress at the house, so that feels good, too. We decided to have the builder finish a second room in the attic which will serve as a bedroom in the future if we need it. They have also uncovered some house weaknesses (mismatched floorboards and headers, a sagging ceiling related to an inadequate header in the foyer, etc) that they are correcting since they are in there. Many of the major decisions have been made and things are starting to happen. The cabinets go in to production this week, marble has been selected for the master bathroom and kitchen, all appliance have been picked out, etc. Between meetings and appointments, I feel like I have a second (err, third) job. I will be grateful for downtime when we get it.

I was able to go to St. Louis a few weekends ago and spent some much needed time with my favorite St. Louis family. The time goes so fast when Im there, and it feels so good to be there. Im already excited for my next trip in May. I also went to Des Moines this last weekend with High School girl friends (yes, Dave won the husband of the year award). We had a great visit. Lots of chatting, even more eating, some shopping, manis and pedis, and that about wraps it up. Six of the 12 girls showed up. We really have a great time together, it is so comfortable.

Sully is officially in a big boy bed. He decided to crawl out of his pack and play, so we packed it up and moved him to the bed in my parents' master bedroom. The first night he came in at 1:30 and the following night he came in at 4:30. We are hoping that trend follows and he can make it all of the way through tonight. Fingers crossed. Either way, he loves talking about he sleeps in Grandpa Paul's 'big boy bed.' Greta is as crazy as ever. She is obsessed with robots and being outside. As soon as she steps foot out there, she squeals and screams and laughs with delight. We are so glad to have warm weather.

Dave's niece, Sarah announced on Sunday that she and her boyfriend, Troy, got engaged over the weekend. Amazing and exciting news for a really great couple. They will get married in November. We are so happy for them.

Fun with the Olivers. 

Sully's first movie outing with Maggie, Anna and Grandma.  

Tubby fun. 

Night night time on Grandma's table. 

Prebedtime fun. The best part about this photo is Dave's and my reflection.
That is the drama we create to get two smiles ;).

Des Moines fun. 

The newest Oliver, Greta is not convinced.  

Backyard fun. 

Following my 'stay on the deck' rule so well.

A staycation and a birthday girl.

Its been weeks since my last blog entry. I don't even have a good excuse for my absence, life has been busy. But not nearly as busy as Greta is. Oh my goodness, I don't remember Sully ever being as busy as she is. She is nonstop. She looks here and there, climbs this and that while antagonizing Sully, who usually gets the blame for it. She is sweet and smiley, but gosh does she keep me on my toes.

Sully is his mild mannered self. He is the sweetest little boy who definitely pushes the limits. I can't believe he will be three in two months, and...he has mastered potty training! We are so proud of him. He is in undies full time except during his nap and at bedtime. This was honestly not part of my plan, I originally thought we would do it this summer, after he was three. Apparently he showed me who was in charge ;).

Dave was on vacation this last week and we spent it mostly in Sioux Falls, although the two of us were able to get away to Minneapolis for one night. We had originally planned to look at some things for the house project, but those things fell through. We went anyway and had dinner with Leanne and her family. It was great to see them. The kids had a great time back home with Courtney. Otherwise we took it easy, Dave had his share of Mr. Mom duties and is ready to get back to work tomorrow.

Yesterday was my 35th birthday (and was also week 4 of 10 in my parents' house). We had a very mellow day which included a trip to the fitness center, naps, and take out. It was perfect. We had brunch with Dave's family this morning and will celebrate with my family when Maggie and her family gets back to town (next week).

All in all, life is good. Enjoy some photos below.

Sully and Greta before church.

Peek-a-boo with Greta. 

Breakfast smile. 

Park fun with Sully.
The park matches his coat and mittens :).

Puddle jumping. 

Ice cream with the Oliver kids. 

Farris Wheel ride at Scheels. 

Cozy Kenzie. 

New robot jammies.
Sully says "I LOVE them mommy!".

Greta's 15 month check up and Valentine's Day.

Greta and I went to see Dr Sam last week and are happy to report a really great check up. She had a slightly low hemoglobin at her last appointment so we had been giving her a multivitamin with her bottle once per day. She had a repeat level drawn and had great results, which meant no more bottle. She actually transitioned very well, so we packed up the bottles and took them back to the house. One less thing to worry about. She is the happiest girl. She smiles all of the time. She has mastered "thank you" which is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. She loves to snuggle before bed, but loves having Sully as a roommate even more. They are quite the sibling duo. Greta's stats are as follows: Height: 30 inches (31 percentile), Weight: 19lbs 11oz (7 percentile), and Head Circumference 18.25 inches (66 percentile).

Valentine's Day was quiet. Dave was post call, so we stayed pretty close to home. We had dinner with some friends and their two small kids, needless to say, it was wild, but fun. Dave and Sully surprised Greta and I with balloons and flowers. We have such great men in our lives :).

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Day trip to the Children's Museum

Maggie and I took the kids to the Children's Museum on Friday. Dave was on call so when Maggie suggested it, I knew it would be a good way to break up the day. We hit the road by 9:30 and arrived in Brookings at 10:30. The kids had a blast. Sully was content chasing after Isaac and Anna while Greta would rather stick by my side. Maggie and I checked in with one another as we kept an eye on one or all kids. It was definitely a tag team approach. We had lunch, played some more before having a snack, and then hit the road. We arrived back in Sioux Falls at about 3:30. The kids were tired and happy. I am proud to say Sully even had a dry pull up all day. We had several potty breaks, which obviously did the trick.

Thanks for the invite, Olivers! We are already looking forward to the next trip. xoxoxo

The minivan selfie.

Greta girl picking carrots. 

Sully shooting hoops, he could do this all day.

Sully dressed as a cowboy while Native American dancing. 

Admiring the dino. 

Waitress Anna taking orders at the Ice Cream Parlor.

Live size light bright. 

Group photo. 

Maggie and her kiddos. 

Sully, Greta and I. We are pushing nap time ;).  

Greta is in heaven. 

Better than heaven with Isaac.