Pink, Pink, and more Pink

We were able to hang out with Aunt Nellie and cousin Easton today. We started out the day taking the kids to the Children's Museum (I had two sleeping girls on the car ride home :)). Then Grammie graciously watched Audi and Easton while Nellie, Miles, and I snuck out for dinner and margaritas/beer at Mad Mex. Moose (I mean Easton) didn't have any clothes after his bath, so Elizabeth Rose let him borrow some PJs. The result was all 3 kids in Audi's favorite color....pink. It tickeled me...so I took a picture (although Easton and Elizabeth Rose weren't so amused)...enjoy

Oktoberfest and Audi's Birthday Party

We had a great first annual Oktoberfest party a couple of weekends ago. The weather was beautiful, and we had great family and friends to hang out with. And yes...I am officially a Mt. Lebo mother...we rented a moonwalk (which was AWESOME) for the party!! The kids and adults loved it. I wonder if there will be more moonwalking in the future??? Autumn loved the fact that her friends were able to spend the day with her...

Audis 3+ Preschool

Autumn's birthday was yesterday...I can't believe she's 3 years old already. She's growing up so fast! She in now old enough to hang out in the Eagle's Nest when I do my grocery shopping (it's a play area for the kids). As I was dropping her off, the mom behind me said, "This is the unofficial way to celebrate your kids 3ed B-day." She loved it...and so did I!

Yesterday was also the first day of Audi's preschool. For the first two days they only do one hour sessions, but starting Friday is a full day. She was so excited, and on the way home she said, "School is fun, thanks mommy". She's looking forward to Thursday...

Grammie and Papa watched Audi when we went to DC for the triathlon. She had a blast going to the fair and the Blue Slide Park while we were gone. I think she also enjoyed her undivided attention over the weekend, lucky goose. Be sure to check out the post about the Triathlon below.


Before leaving for Audi's first day of preschool...all smiles:)

Washington DC Triathlon

Drumroll please....Lucas wins!! Miles and Lucas successfully completed the Washington DC Triathlon this past Sunday. Elizabeth Rose and I were able to make the trip down to watch (:(I missed them crossing the finish line) I really enjoyed the short weekend trip, and we were able to spend some time with Lucas and Chrissy.

So here are the stats...
The overall winner...Lucas 2:30:31
However, Miles was close!! 2:33:54

Overall places in their division (M 25-29 y/o)
Lucas 64/392
Miles 88/392

and overall for men
Lucas 397/2480
Miles 532/2480

Swimming times: (Miles beat Lucas by 8 seconds!!!, sorry Lucas)
Lucas 27:11
Miles 27:03

Bike times:
Lucas 1:09:29 (average speed 21.4mph)
Miles 1:10:36 (21.1 mph)

and Running times:
Lucas 46:59 (rate 7:35)
Miles 48:03 (rate 7:45)

Lucas and Chrissy after the race

Miles and Lucas after the race...CONGRATS
The night before the race after a pizza dinner...

Bunnies in the yard

I was mowing the lawn yesterday when I noticed a patch of straw in the yard move, and out popped a baby bunny! I had inadvertently stumbled upon a bunny nest. So after I googled "how long do baby bunnies stay in their nest" I learned some interesting facts...
Mother bunnies dig holes in the ground and cover the tops of their nests with straw/grass/and their fur.
Baby bunnies stay in their nests for about 4-5 weeks. There is a diamond of white fur on their forehead that gradually disappears when they're ready to leave the nest. At this time they're about 5 inches in length.
The mother bunny will stand on top of the nest to nurse her babies (which does not happen every 2 hours...not fair!!)...this fact also explains why there has been a rabbit in our yard that does not jump away...
And uncovering the nest or touching the babies does not make the mother abandon them.
So there were about 6 babies in the nest, and by nightfall there were 3. I think they were getting ready to leave the nest by their size. I did see the mother rabbit return to feed her babies that night....
So now that you know more than you wanted about baby rabbits here are some pictures...Audi and I did enjoy discovering them!
l

Miles' Inspiration

Miles has been training for an upcoming triathlon that will take place in Wash DC in approximately 2 weeks. (For those interested he'll be swimming one mile, biking 27 miles, and then finishing with a 6 mile run). Yesterday he got his bike back from the TREK store where they gave the bike a tune up and placed the racing tires on. He was very excited, and rode the bike for a test drive last night. Wish Miles luck in his upcoming race!! Here's the bike pictures at Miles' request...
k

Elizabeth Rose~1 Month

I can't believe it, but I took Elizabeth to her one month doctor's appointment last week. She's growing like a weed: 10pds 2 oz (80%) and 22in (85%).
Elizabeth Rose and Audi
Look Ma...I'm Growing!!

Grandma's Visit

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma, and already miss the extra set of hands around the house. I know both of the girls enjoyed the extra attention. It's always nice to catch up with family. Unfortunately we're going to miss the Texas Schlitterbahn trip, but count us in for the future. We'll hopefully see Grandma Lori and Poppy in the next couple of months.

Visitors

We have been lucky to have so many family and friends come in to see our Izzy, which has also given us a chance to catch up with out of town family. Poppie and Grandma Lori have both been for a visit already. When Poppie came in we took the girls to the zoo (I think that's Izzy's first official outing) and went to Pitt's graduation ceremony. Sweet Audi says that Poppie is "my friend". Grandma Lori has also flown in and is staying for a couple of weeks. She has been a huge help to have with two little ones! She's visiting with her brothers over the weekend, but we can't wait see her again on Monday. So far we have been to Kennywood, the pool, and out to Pamela's diner. I see some shopping in our future. Aunt Cate drove in and was able to visit for a couple of days. We met up with Aunt Nellie and Easton in Oakland to ride the carousel and play in Shenley Park (which has an awesome playground for kids). Cate and I were also able to sneak away to Mad Mex for dinner. As always, we loved everyone's visits. Come again soon!! My only excuse for not taking more pictures during everyone's visit is my hands were full:)
Audi with Aunt Cate...all smiles:)
Grandma Lori and Izzy. It must be love...

Kennywood

We went to Miles' company picnic at Kennywood last Sunday. It was the second time Audi was able to go on the rides in Kiddieland. It was a successful day, and I really think she enjoyed her time at the park. I see a few more years of Kiddieland i our future before we are able to hit up all the bigger rides!
Audi won herself the Sponge Bob Square Pants stuffed prize!! On the last throw she was able to toss the ball into the only red floating cup. It was the perfect way to end the day.
Grandma Lori and Audi on the cars. They were both smiling after this ride!
Izzy the trooper baby. She hung out in her stoller all afternoon. What a sweet baby!
Audi loves the carosel, which is funny because last year she was terror-stricken whenever we went on them. My little goose is growing up too fast.

Graduation!!

About a week after the arrival of Izzy I officially graduated from the Family Nurse Practitioner program. We celebrated by going out to India Garden before the graduation ceremony with our Dowiak clan, Grammie, Papa, and Poppie. I checked for my final grades (which have been posted) so I'm free and clear! There's some paper work that needs to be compleated by the school involving transcipts and such before I can sit for the national exam. I don't have any pictures of the actual night...so here are pictures of Audi and Izzy instead!
Fingerpainting in the kitchen.

Our girls!!

IZZY IS HERE!!!

Elizabeth Rose Dowiak is finally here!!! She came in at 8lbs 4oz, 20.5 inches, and we couldn't be any prouder! I'm still on a mom high, and am so excited that we have another little girl to love. She's perfect.
Here's a proud Audi "big sister" with Izzy when we first came home from the hospital.
The last prego belly shot...this was taken on the way to the hospital...
A proud Mom and Dad in the delivery room...the doctor broke my water around 8pm, and she was here 11:51pm. I had time for an epidural and 3 pushes (both the epidural and short transition time come recommended)
I think the picture tells it all (Miles in the delivery room)
We were so excited to come home!! The decorations were a surprise from Grammie and Audi. We loved it. It's so nice to be home and begin to settle into a routine. I'm just estatic that we have another addition to our family.

The Good Ship Lollipop

Last weekend we went to Station Square to meet up with the Wilson's and ride the Good Ship Lollipop. I can't remember the last time I went on the tour, but I have to admit I did enjoy the trip. They take you up and down the three rivers in Pittsburgh and point out different buildings. I could have done without the clown, although when I asked Audi about him she did say he was "happy". There are some pictures of the boat ride below...
Later that night we went to Nellie's for dinner. I had a lovely time catching up with everyone, and can't wait for the beach trip in October. I know Audi will be excited to visit her friend Tony! And as much as I hate the idea of fireworks (they're just dangerous)...Miles put on an excellent show!

Random pictures...

This is Audi at the petting area they had set up at Mt. Lebo park for the 4th of July. Although I will say her absolute FAVORITE thing to do at these little festivals is the moon walk bouncy thing.
We went to the arts festival with Grammie and Papa while it was here. I couldn't resist posting Papa dancing with the drums...
Here's Audi in a train at Trax farms strawberry festival earlier this year...
Before anyone gets any ideas...this is not our kitten but a neighbors!! Audi loved holding the new kitten, but I'm still not inspired to get a pet yet...

Where has all the time gone????

I have to admit...I have been a horrible blogger!! So much has happened since I last posted, such as a new camera to actually upload some pictures to share. Some highlights over the past couple of months:

We were able to take a weekend trip to Washington DC during the cherry blossom festival. As always we enjoyed visiting with Uncle Lucas and Chrissy. We were able to explore DC on bikes which I highly recommend.

We were able to enjoy a Dowiak wedding (Congrats Megan and Anthony!!)...and what a great wedding it was. PLUS we were able to visit with everyone from out of town. We had a wonderful time hanging out with the Dowiak clan...Miles was able to escape and play a game of soccer with his brothers which is always a good day in his book. We were able to finally meet our sweet nephew Matson, and Audi was able to play with Reese all week. Audi was also able to spend some one on one time with Poppy and Grandma (thanks!) which I know she enjoyed. We can't wait for another family reunion (I did hear some rumors about a beach trip next summer...anyone???)

And yes...the countdown begins...7 weeks until the end of July and baby should be here! (One of the bonuses for not having a functioning camera is no one can take your picture pregnant!) Now it's a race to see if I can squeeze in all of my clinical hours before my due date. I have to say that my family has been awesome while I've been going back to school, which I deeply appreciate. I'm really starting to get excited waiting for the new addition to the family...

Outdoor fun

The backyard

I'm posting pictures of our backyard to show that there has been some progress over the past year. We now have a fence that keeps both the dog and child in our yard. I LOVE FENCES!! It's so relaxing being able to sit down and watch Audi run all over the yard instead of chasing her up and down the street, into the neighbor's yard, or into the back alley...love it. Hopefully if the weather holds up this weekend we'll make some more headway.

Family Fun...

I don't have a picture for this, but I'll be sure to post one soon. Miles bought new rollerblades to "walk" the dog with after I had a vivid dream about rollerblading with Spencer (I saw an episode on the dog whisperer where he rollerblades with dogs+We use to rollerblade with my old family dog Rusty). Anyways...tonight I took Audi on the back of the bike and the whole family, including the dog, went to Virginia Manor for some biking/rollerblading fun. And let me tell you...I couldn't keep up with Miles and Spencer, and I was on the bike. I don't think I've ever seen a dog run that fast before, except Marabelle...maybe. At one point the dog was not only pulling Miles, but also Audi and me on the bike. Yes, we wore his butt out. It was a lot of fun to spend some time together, and get some freash air at the same time (finally!). So we'll keep you updated on the family's new activity together...

It's official...I need a post about being pregnant

Audi is going to be a big sister on July 29th, if this baby decides to come on time. If not we'll have another little one in August. Anyway, I'm 18+ weeks pregnant now, almost over the middle hump, and feeling quite fine. ( Except for the continuous back pain, I couldn't feel better!) We did have the ultrasound this morning, and walked away with a healthy check up...all systems are a go. I did have grand ideas about not knowing the sex of the baby until delivery, but when the tech failed to tell us to look away we had our answer...a little girl (my favorite!). If everything goes according to plan we'll have the baby in July and a graduation celebration in August (yikes...that's only 5+ months away!!!) You can guess the body parts below...peace...