happy birthday, livia!

happy birthday, livia: livia celebrated her birthday with family and friends on monday. We had a nice get-together at my parents' house in Hutchinson. It was enjoyable to see Livia's face light up with excitement as we filled the birthday balloons. She was running around the house yelling, "Birfday party! Birfday party! Yeah!" What a sweetheart.

Today Livi celebrated at daycare with her little friends and daycare family, the Koepkes. She had another wonderful celebration. It was pretty low key at home this evening with Livi's favorite meal, a birthday cupcake, and presents.

As I am writing this I am thinking about where I was just 2 years ago at this time. At 9:04pm I was looking at the clock wondering, "will this baby ever come out?" I started pushing at 8:30pm and Livia wasn't born until 10:31pm. It was a difficult task bringing her into this world, but we are so blessed to have her in our lives! Happy Birthday, Livia!

sink or float- I loved grandpa's boat!

sink or float: daddy, livia, and grandpa went out fishing on sunday afternoon. Grandma and I had a bridal shower for Rachael Schaffer in the afternoon so the boys decided it would be a great day to take Livia out fishing for the first time. The day was perfect for a boat ride- all sun and hardly any wind. Livia said "Grandpa's boat fun", and daddy told me that Livi also enjoyed playing with the meal worms. The only downfall was that the boys and Livia didn't catch any fish. Oh well, there are still 91 days left of summer to try...

we are ready!

we are ready: what a difference sod can do to the exterior of your home. We finally have grass on the west side of our home, and what a difference! We have been diligently working to get our house ready to sell. Our hopes is to have it up for sale by the end of next weekend. So if you know of anyone needing a home near Dassel, give us a call!

if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies...

if nothing ever changed: as you can see from the pictures, there have many "highs" and "lows" this week. Bobby and I took the day off from work last Monday to help replace our sewer line. After 2 hours of digging, they were unable to find our sewer line...hence, the picture of our front yard. An hour later and 9 more people in our yard, they were able to find the line in our backyard. So, this week Bobby has been prepping our yard for sod. We are ready to move!

there'd be no butterflies: livia has been doing so well with potty training. My mom, Livi, and I went shopping last weekend in the cities. When we used the bathroom, Livi actually sat on the "big potty" without any help. What an accomplishment! Above you will notice Livia's sticker on her belly. Just a little incentive after each "potty trip". As for the house, we are hoping it too, will turn into a beautiful butterfly by the end of the month. Bobby and I hope to be out of Dassel by the end of the summer. Keep your fingers crossed...

what a relief!

what a relief: last week was quite a week for the withers family! For the first time ever, Livia went potty on the toilet all by herself. Our wonderful daycare provider, Kim, has been working with Livi and her buddy, Bryn, at daycare. Then today, Livi went potty at our house, too.

We promised Livia that if she went potty on the "big" toilet, she could call Dora. As a surprise to mommy and Livi, daddy brought home a "good job" cake. Can you tell we are first time parents?

Also this weekend we said "good-bye" to the pacifier. Livi has gone 3 days successfully without it during nap and night time, and we couldn't be more pleased! It is hard to believe, but our little girl is growing up!

the future's so bright...i gotta wear shades

the future's so bright: livia is pretty excited about her new shades and sandals. She even can put them on herself (it may take awhile...but she can do it). Whenever we ask if she needs help, Livia responds, "Yi ya do it"...which in translation means "Livia can do it".

I have started to count down the days to summer. The end of the school year means the beginning of my summer with Bobby and Livia and my painting job with the Woods'. Bobby and I are all excited about spending more time together as a family, possibly in our new home. We are getting our sewer line replaced next Monday. Please think good thoughts. It looks like the line will just miss our driveway...whew! Come on over anytime because you may miss you last chance to visit Dassel. Oh, and what a shame that would be!