Less than 24 hours...

Happy Easter to all!

It's the final day of countdown for us and I couldn't be more ready.  Ready to not be pregnant anymore.  Ready to have this surgery and few days in the hospital over with.  Ready to meet my daughter and make our family of three a family of FOUR!  I have plenty of anxiety and have to admit I've shed my fair share of tears today.  I can't help but worry about how everything will go, how this will all affect Ben.  Needless to say, it's a big week for the Vollmer family.  Deep breaths, and I guess just go with it and know it's all in God's hands.

I was very fortunate to spend the afternoon with my family today.  It was great to be around my brothers, sisters, their spouses, all of my nieces, and of course my Mom.  And Nick and I were able to get one final picture together with Ben as a family (with my big preggers belly)...

The next posts and photos we share there will be another family member to talk about!  Can't wait to introduce you all to our baby girl!  

Countdown to Baby Vollmer

Well here we are- 2 days away from Baby Girl Vollmer's birthday!  I've surrendered to the fact that she is not (just like Ben) going to decide to arrive in this world until we go in after her, so Monday is the big day!  At this  point in time, I have nothing left to possibly do to "prepare" for her, so it's just a game of hurry up and wait.  Mostly, I'm trying to maximize my moments and time spent with Ben as I know it will be a little limited over the next few weeks.  We have cleaned the house from top to bottom, run every errand I could possibly think of, packed the hospital bags... now what?  I guess we can just enjoy this beautiful April weather and two more relaxing days to save up our energy!

My goal is to post one more pregnant picture of myself here on the blog on Monday before we leave for the hospital.  Then, sometime Monday afternoon we will be sending out the word of her arrival and you will all get a chance to see our newest Vollmer family addition!  Keep checking in for updates!

Treats for Hot Days

With the unseasonably warm weather we have had this "spring", and these last few weeks of March getting up into the 80's, Ben has had lots of time to spend outside on his new playset.  He particularly seems to love the built in picnic table underneath, it is his new favorite spot for snacks.  Check out my little man enjoying chocolate covered banana and popsicles:)

Chocolate covered bananas hold a special place in my heart- Mom and I used to make them for Dad all the time, it was one of his favorite snacks.  Mom says I would always sneak him seconds when she wasn't looking...

Hello, Ladies. 

A conversation with a 2 year old...

Me:  Ben, would you like a rice krispy treat?

Ben:  CHRISTMAS TREES!!

Me:  No, not Christmas trees, a RICE KRISP-Y TREAT (showing him the snack)

Ben:  Yeah!  Christmas Treats!!


He was close enough, right?  So I gave him his rice krispy treat, and then...

Ben:  MORE CHRISTMAS TREATS!!!  


Me:  What do you say?  (such a typical Mom comment)

Ben:  PEAS!!  


I love this little guy so much:)

Pool Party

Just over a month ago we signed Ben up for his first swimming lessons.  8 Tuesdays in a row, pretty much through the months of March and April.  This has been Nick and Ben's thing- and until tonight I hadn't had a chance to witness the fun.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  Ben is a little waterbug- he absolutely loves it.  And he has such a good Dad to take him swimming once a week and help teach him the basics.  Making the lessons a little more eventful for all, Mike brings Ben's best bud Owen to swim lessons too.  They jump off the edge of the pool, swim (or get pushed) underwater through hoola hoops, and even learn to kick across the pool on little boat-like rafts.  It is so cute- and hopefully helping Ben and Owen get used to the water!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from tonight...

Construction Zone

As I said in my last post, Nick and Mike spent the majority of this past weekend building Ben's new playset for the backyard.  It was a HUGE undertaking, lots of wood, hundreds if not thousands of bolts, screws, etc., and 2 very hardworking men.  I'm sure they will take away a sense of accomplishment, as well as a few good stories:)  Here are pictures of the progression over 2 days...

Voila!  Thanks for all your hard work guys!  This little happy face is worth every minute:)

Ben Turns 2 (part 2)

So for Ben's actual Birthday weekend, the 17th/18th, Nick and I stuck around home and enjoyed our little boy all to ourselves.  Actually, Nick spent most of the weekend with Mike putting together Ben's birthday gift, a new playset for the backyard (literally I think between the 2 of them they worked for about 10 hours on Saturday and another 5 on Sunday).  And I, on the other hand, played with Ben and his buddy Owen, baked a cake, and supervised the building project:)  So here are some great pics of Ben enjoying his friend Owen, some chocolate cake, and his new playset!