Happy spring!

Well, it is back to school for me next week. I have truly enjoyed my time off with Jonah and think I will find it hard to go back to the "real world". But honestly, I only have ten weeks and then SUMMER VACATION!!! I know, I planned my pregnancy pretty well without planning it! It will be good to get back in the routine of things for awhile. But I will miss spending time with the little ones and being a "stay at home mom". It has been fun.

Jonah is changing so much these days. Although he is a happy baby--he still gets me up about twice a night now and he has gotten in this pattern of getting up at 4 a.m. and that's pretty much it. He's ready to begin the day. His mother is not! He just learned to laugh, which makes all of us in the Gasser household laugh too. He is a lot of fun and his brother Nolan can't wait for him to be able to play! (neither can I!!!)


We also put our house up for sale. We are looking for something bigger, as we are starting to outgrow our little Cape Cod. Since I was on maternity leave, it was the perfect time to declutter and tidy up the house to try and sell it. We had an unsuccessful open house and two private showings but no bites. We have only had it on the market for about two weeks so I'm not too concerned. But it has been fun looking at other houses!!!

Oh, and the biggest news in the Gasser household these days--Nolan has tackled potty training! He decided the time was right and that was it. It took him about a good week to get a hold of it, but he's got it down pretty well and has even woke me up a couple of times at midnight to go potty! Yay! One finally gets out of diapers and...we have another kid! I'm just happy I'm not changing two anymore! Enjoy the slide show below. I may post more pics after Easter as we are getting together with the fam and having an Easter egg hunt! It should be a good time!! Happy spring and Happy Easter to you and yours--love The Gassers

The second time around the block...

I must say, the second time around the block with a baby is a little easier. You know what you're doing, you've been there before and it just seems easier. Having a three year old also in the mix does change things a little bit, but for the most part, I think we have the hang of it! Both Heidi and my mom are on my case to post some new pictures of the baby. Check below at the slide show, but before you do that--take a look at the two pictures below: One is Nolan and one is Jonah--can you guess who is who(I'll post the answer at the bottom of the page)? I think they look A LOT alike--but I am sure their personalities will be quite different. It will be interesting to see how Jonah grows and changes. Can't wait. He is already a great baby. Eats ALL THE TIME and sleeps pretty well too. I can't complain. Nolan loves being a big brother and does get the twinge of jealousy once in awhile but really is a pretty good boy these days.



Besides the new baby, things have been a little hectic. To keep me from going stir crazy, Charles and I have been decluttering the house--as we are wanting to put in on the market in spring (our goal is the beginning of April). We have a few projects to do, like paint part of the basement, but we should be able to hammer them all out by then. Most of the decluttering is done and we have a ton of stuff in storage. Looking at houses, even online has become quite fun and we are hoping to find something with a bit more space!!! (and at least a bath and a half). Another adventure begins--nothing stays boring here for long--Ali always needs a project!!

We also celebrated Nolan's birthday this past weekend, a little earlier than usual. He turns three on the 22nd but Charles is heading to California this Friday and won't be home to help celebrate it. So we decided to bump up the celebration a little. Nolan had a great birthday--he helped pick out his race car cake (in my opinion it was a pretty ugly cake, but that was his choice!). He loved his presents, especially the garage from Aunt Clare and Uncle Josh. On his actual birthday Clare and I are planning to take Nolan and Quinn to Monkey Joes (an indoor fun park with inflatables). I know Nolan will LOVE that! Pictures will come soon.

And Charles leaves for California this Friday until the 28th. He has a major show at Sunset Sessions, a venue play for tv and radio producers. They also played this venue last year, but this year they are on the main stage (Jason Mraz and Melissa Ethridge will also be playing this stage on Friday). Its a pretty big deal for Bascom Hill. They have the same time slot that the Zac Brown Band had last year--and if you watched the Grammys the Zac Brown Band won for Best New Artist this year. So maybe this time slot will have some luck attached to it! They also will be working on their music video, which stars Mr. Quin Stickler, the Bradley Brothers (tennis champs) and possibly Lou Ferigno--The Incredible Hulk (and maybe a few other stars if they are lucky). He is excited and nervous about the trip. I'll let you know how it goes.

Enjoy the pictures below. I promise to be a little better about posting more frequently! Charles just got a new camera so hopefully I will be snapping more pics as our current camera works only some of the time!



Nolan is on the left! Jonah on the right!

Meet Baby Jonah

We had an excellent Christmas and New Year's this year as we welcomed baby Jonah into the world. He was born on December 29th, 2009 at 7:54 a.m. via c-section. He was 7 lbs 2 oz. and 19 inches long and at his first doctor's appointment he was already 8 lbs 8 oz! The boy likes to EAT! Nolan has really been enjoying the big brother role and always checks to see if Jonah is awake. A few classic comments when we brought him home: "Please can I pet him?" "Aww, she is so cute" He is constantly calling Jonah a girl due to the fact that their are all girl babies at his daycare.

We spent an enjoyable Christmas Eve at Clare and Josh's and had a very quiet Christmas at home. Nolan played with his trains from Santa all day while Charles enjoyed playing the Wii, our new fun entertainment, a video game console. We didn't get out of our pajamas all day! It was great!!!

We also celebrated Charles' birthday the day before Jonah was born. Charles and I actually got one more night out before our little newbie entered the world spending time together at dinner and a movie (Nolan had to stay at my parents due to the fact we had to be at the hospital at 5:30 am on Tuesday). I don't remember much from the C section---not sure if I blocked it out or not, but poor Charles witnessed the whole surgery as the curtain covering me was a little low and he could see everything! His comment, "Good thing I watch a lot of medical shows!"

We got to come home from the hospital on New Year's Eve. It was good to be at home, on my own couch and sleeping in my own bed. Jonah is a fairly good sleeper and at the moment I am getting up about once in the middle of the night to feed him (with an 11:00 pm feeding and a 6:00 am feeding). The trick for me to solve is to not fall asleep in the rocking chair in the middle of the night! Below is a slide show of pictures of Christmas festivities and Jonah. Enjoy!

Christmas (and baby) Countdown!

Usually I am annoyed to see Christmas trees up early in department stores, but this year was different. The sign of the first Christmas display (in Kohls right around Halloween) made me think, "Yay, this baby is almost here!" For those of you that don't know, we are scheduled for the c-section December 29th, the day after dad's birthday (he even said, pretty cool present--guess that means I don't have to get him anything this year--just kidding Charles!) We even have a countdown posted on our blog (look right!)

We have been busy getting our house in order and getting prepared. Although this time will be different because I will have a full week off of work before I actually have the baby. I am looking forward to that! I think Charles is actually in nesting mode as well as he is tackling projects all over the house (redoing the bathroom, regrouting kitchen tiles, hanging new shades). Most of the Christmas shopping is done (I am NEVER done this early but it feels great!) and I am ready to put up the decorations over Thanksgiving weekend. We are definitely in the holiday mood around here. We went to see the holiday parade downtown last weekend. Nolan was a little sad when it was all over and tonight we took a walk outside the zoo to see the Christmas decorations--Nolan's new favorite thing to look for while driving in the car. While getting our coats on and heading out the door, I explained to Nolan that we won't actually be able to go in to see the animals--as they were all sleeping already. Nolan's response, "Will we have to tip toe?" Where does he come up with these things??? I also enjoyed celebrating my 33rd birthday this weekend. Charles and I went out to a nice dinner at Olde Madrid downtown and then out to see a movie and then out for dessert. The movie freaked me out though--as he was snoring away later that night I was up thinking about alien abduction as we went to see "The Fourth Kind" (our other two choices were sold out!) ENjoy the pics below and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween weekend was quite hectic! I honestly felt like I moved into a new house. We recently bought Nolan a new big boy bed (which he loves!!!) and with the deal at the furniture store--we also bought a new couch, chair and tv (no we didn't win the lottery but the deal was too good to pass up!)

So Charles and I spent the better part of the weekend cleaning house and rearranging furniture--the living room, our "new" playroom down the basement, Nolan's bedroom (making room for the baby and his bed!). It was A LOT of work but our house is clean and ready for a newborn. We love the new furniture and Nolan is very excited to take a nap or go to bed (or else he is coming down with something!). He just thinks it's neat that he can sleep in his own little bed.

We also went trick or treating this weekend near my parents' house. We walked the neighborhood with Aunt Clare, Uncle Josh, Caroline and Quinn. Tons of fun--Nolan was more excited to ring the bell and see the decorations (his new favorite word) then actually get chocolate (although mom wouldn't mind the latter!). Caroline did her best to help pick him up to try and ring the bell--since he couldn't reach. But nine times out of ten, the person would come to the door before he actually rang it! Good try, Caroline! Well, that's about all from this end--enjoy the slide show below!

Did I mention my husband rocks?

Yes, my husband is a rock star, but did I mention that he rocks? We celebrated our five year anniversary this weekend. Yes, we were married in August and our anniversary celebration is a little late due to the fact that Charles was in LA during our anniversary (but he did send me flowers while in LA). So he had "something" planned--I had no idea what and just had to go with the flow.....

For those of you that know Charles he is NOT a very good secret keeper, but he did REALLY well this weekend. After dropping Nolan off at my parents for the night, we headed to Milwaukee. Being pregnant, I am hungry all the time and thought outloud--"I should have grabbed a snack for the ride." Well, he thought of everything--first of all, he had provisions for me to eat when I got hungry--which he knew would happen. Then, we ended up at a fantastic restaurant in Milwaukee--"Swig" which had many "small plate" dishes which he thought would be a great choice for me because I fill up fast. We stopped at a bar for another drink (non alcoholic for preggers here) and then we were off to the big event.....a Kelly Clarkson concert. And once again, he thought of everything. He got great seats and made sure to get an aisle seat for me-- the one plus being that no one was sitting in front of me so if I needed to sit I could (and still see the stage). It was a great night, a great concert and a wonderful anniversary! Thanks Charles for an awesome anniversary---you totally surprised me! I love you!

A Whirlwind of Events

We have been very busy in the last month. With going up north to see Charles' parents to celebrating Anne and Jason's big day (which was amazing, awesome, spectacular and everything in between). It was truly a wonderful day and Charles and I were thrilled to be a part of it. I even danced quite a bit and the reception went until 2:00--we made it until the end! A very tired Ali, but so worth the great time we had!

Nolan has been growing and always a ton of fun. We went to Party on the Pavement recently (they shut down Main and Sixth Streets and although it was cold this year, we had a good time). We also celebrated dad's birthday that night after Party on the Pavement. Good times with the fam! I have been busy with school. This year seems busier than last, but my curriculum for sixth grade has changed which is why. I am loving it and will miss my students a little when I am gone on maternity leave. They have started a baby name list for me--it is now four pages long and they are voting on the best names (some of them are really out there--like Nacho??--remember they are middle schoolers). One of my students asked me recently if that was how I was really going to pick the baby's name. Remember, they are middle schoolers.

I am just ending my long fall weekend--I had off Friday and this Monday--it was great! We went out on Saturday night with my sister, and my cousins. We headed to a haunted house after dinner and I didn't realize how nervous Josh actually got at these things. It was fairly decent for a haunted house. I am looking forward to the 23rd---as Charles has a surprise planned for me for our anniversary which we didn't celebrate as he was in LA with the band. Looking forward to that and the living room furniture we ordered last week! I am sure I will post pics after it all comes in! Enjoy the pics and the video of Nolan below! Can't believe the weather is changing so quickly---guess that means winter is almost here and so is this baby! Hope the time flies! Just so you know--I will be having this one on December 29th or 30th but I am sure I will post before then!

As a side note, I apologize for not having more pics of Anne and Jason's big day--we were having way too much fun to take pictures! Below is a video of Nolan. He is a big fan of Uncle Jason---therefore the guitar I dug out from when he was a baby is now his favorite new toy. We also have been practicing raising our eyebrows---funny!