on our way to a complete family

proposed to amy over the weekend, march 22nd. don't think she saw it coming. i sent an email out to the framily to see when we would all be able to get together for the surprise. i even emailed bob and rhoda and jan and bill, to ask for permission for their daughters hand in marriage. thought at least i could be somewhat traditional considering everything else really isn't. the plan was to somehow get amy to zilker park. we met there 11 years ago at an austin city limits festival, so i thought it would be nice propose there. bob and rhoda were even in on the surprise but it almost became hard to get her out there considering there was a chance of rain that day. amy had other ideas of what to do that sat afternoon so we all had to be persuasive on getting her to the location. people made signs and there even ended up being someone playing music when we arrived. someone had asked them to stick around for the surprise and they were kind enough to do so. i had a big ring pop ready to give her. part of the gang came around the rocks, while some were on the rocks with signs saying things like, "can i get an amen?" "say yes" and "put a ring on it." i got down on one knee and asked her if we could complete our family. luckily she said yes. everyone cheered and we celebrated at shady grove down the road. most everyone came back to house to carry on the celebration. it was a lovely evening. hopefully one amy will never forget.

big girl bed...well kinda

we went to ikea yesterday and found the cutest duvet cover for h when she got into a big bed. i guess it made us talk again about changing her crib and using the conversion kit we bought some time ago. it basically changes one side for her to have an opening to get in and out of her bed and the sides are lower to make sure she doesn't fall out. we hesitated because we imagined a whole other world of her not wanting to sleep and trying to come into our bed, come downstairs or whatever 2 and 1/2 year olds try to do to not sleep. but on the other hand, it could be good on the weekend mornings when we are not ready to get up at 7am. she could get up and play in her room til we get up. still, the possibilities were endless. we knew we needed to start a small change soon since we were going to be starting potty training this year too. she was so excited she wanted to call everyone and tell them about her big girl bed.

she did awesome as usual. she got excited after reading books to be able to get into her own bed. good thing because it was getting hard for me to pick her up and put her in and out of the crib. i am too short! she got under her covers and stayed in her bed. granted she didn't go to sleep for a long time, but she did not get out at all. nightlight was on and door was open for her. at one point during the night, i checked the monitor to see how she was doing. her legs were hanging off of the bed, but seemed to stay on the bed. when i went in to get her up, her immediate reaction is usually to stand up, even if her eyes are not even open yet. had to tell her to slow down and remind her she was in a big girl bed. she scooted down so her feet touched the ground and got out of bed on her own for the first time. it was pretty neat. i could see a smile on her face too. this is only day one of course. fingers crossed it continues to go well and she doesn't figure out that she can run around if she wants.