great bumpa, the newest "ne-ne" & the scarecrow farm.

i haven't been able to mention the heartache we endured back in august, up until now. i realized that every time i wanted to share, there were still some wounds that needed to heal. in august, i lost my first grandparent. and i know that many have already experienced this loss & many of you will tragically have to endure this in the future, but it was an experience that taught me a lot. a lot about myself & a lot about how strong of a man my grandpa leon was. losing grandpa, was like losing a parent to my siblings & i. growing up, if we weren't with mom & dad...we were with grandpa & grandma ehler across town. there are so many cherish-able memories i will take with me from that. and i am so very thankful that oliver was able to know his great grandpa leon also. oliver very tenderly told his great bumpa goodbye the last night we were up at the hospital visiting him. that is a moment that i will forever keep dear in my heart. these two just hit it off...the first time i brought oliver to see grandpa after getting home from the hospital, i remember grandpa reaching out wanting to hold the little guy. i believe that these two had a very special connection & they always brought smiles to each others faces.

switching gears here...one of oliver's new favorite words is "ne-ne"...& yes, this is in reference to his "ne-ne" aka weinie. upon listening to mike & oliver in the shower one day as i was getting ready...i overheard the conversation of oliver repeating "ne-ne, ne-ne, ne-ne" & mike responding, yes, oliver, that's a "ne-ne", yes that is daddy's "ne-ne" and that's oliver's "ne-ne". nice! we're learning parts around these parts apparently.

on the other hand, we are also very excited to announce that baby schweitzberger number two will be a boy!!! so, that makes me an official "ne-ne" farmer. mike's first comment before we even left the ultrasound room was "oh yes! this means three motorcycles!" oh boy oh boy...mama is in for a treat =) and this explains the undying 24-hour sickness, equivalent to his brother's pregnancy.  he's a healthy little man in there, weighing in just under a pound & starting to move around a lot.

so mike & i have been finding ourselves working more & more with our side jobs lately. myself with my photography & michael w/ his handy carpenter work. our weekends have been full of busy-ness & trying to find a balance is so hard. i'm just hoping...hoping that we can find some time to work on our own house projects in the near near future! at least the little "ne-ne" news bought us some time on the addition to the house talk =)

yesterday, as mikey was mr. handyman somewhere else...my mom & i decided to hunt out some pumpkins & enjoy a little fall weather with oliver. we visited 'scarecrow farms' near lawton, iowa yesterday. it was a beautiful day & there was lots for oliver to do. i think that his favorites were the old tractor & the giant corn box...like a sandbox...only filled w/ corn...& i couldn't resist myself, i had to hop in & check in out myself.

so in less than a month, we'll have a two year old & only about three more months to wait for the newest baby schweitz. i've been working on party planning for oliver's birthday...which will appropriately be themed "cars"...as we cannot get that movie out of our dvd player...the weekends usually entail a 10 viewings minimum of that movie. but, hey, i cannot complain, it's the go-to for getting anything done...i am posting a blog entry...right?! it's either cars or listening to him say "puppy" & "baby" 3 million times through 'marley & me' =) his ever-growing vocabulary is awesome to experience. he says words like "battery" & i have to question "how the heck does he even know that the battery is dead in his toy car...really?!" it's so exciting to witness the evolution of child development! please stay tuned for an oliver photo shoot, as i have been slacking big time on photographing him & his birthday highlights!

you are my sunshine!

so this is way past due...but...that's just the way we roll lately...i'm hoping to get all caught up with this summer postings by next winter =) but don't hold your breathe =) so the end of may marked the end & the beginning of a new era. michael & i flew back out to basalt for two reasons. to haul all of our belongings back to iowa. and to celebrate our friends, paul & sonya's, wedding. and we were ready for an exciting week off back out in the mountains! we arrived, late of course, due to the weather not cooperating in denver the day we were supposed to fly out. and we almost were way-layed over to grand junction due to weather in aspen for our final landing...but they took the risk & we landed safely!!! we made our way to basalt & checked into a sweet little local hotel "the green drake"...right behind paul & sonya's house...talk about convenience ;) so, thursday night was a fun meet & greet of their old college friends, family & familiar faces from the area. then came friday...this was "packing day". we picked up our trusty ole budget truck & opened up the storage unit that hadn't seen the light of day since february. and this is where is starts getting a little sentimental. i am, honestly, still a little devastated that we had to move from this place! so we packed everything from point a to point b & headed up to redstone...avalanche ranch...where we would spend the rest of the weekend celebrating the wedding. sans the budget truck of course =)

friday was wedding preparation & rehearsal. with a lovely rehearsal dinner at sonya's parents mountain home. the unpredictable spring weather in the mountains was in full effect already...sunshine...rain...you name it. the rest of the night consisted of bbq, flavored ice, unicycles, many cocktails, laughs & finished up indulging in the natural hot springs back at the ranch...aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! talk about zen.

saturday was first spent w/ coffee & a dip in the hot springs...i could seriously get used to doing that! then, we were down & dirty finishing up the final details for the wedding ceremony & rehearsal. i was honored to help capture their wedding moments so...please check out the link at the end of the photos to see more from the wedding =) and i must admit...i did get a little "shoe" photo happy. as ceremony time crept closer, once again, the weather was changing every 10 minutes...rain... sunshine... snow... overcast... sunshine ...and back again. highlights from the day... a rare rainbow sprung through the sky directly...and i mean directly...over the newlyweds! the intimate outdoor ceremony. pauly's gift to sonya, the coconut cruiser bike. margaritas on tap. wedding meal catered by the woody creek tavern. THE DECOR! dance party. paul & sonya koozies. and finishing up the night in the hot springs.

sunday, we rolled out of basalt in our giant loud budget truck & we trucked back to iowa, tired & sad...but anxiously ready to see the little o man! enjoy the photos & hit up the link for more wedding shots.

point a...to point b...

i told you there were unicycles...

and flavored ice

and this is my most favorite photo from the whole weekend!

i did have fun photographing sonya's wedding shoes!

paul is a bit of a koozie connoisseur.

sonya is very artsy...these were the name cards/table assignments...

margaritas on tap on your left...

as if you could reach out & touch the rainbow...it was unreal...& such a beautiful sign.

the coconut cruiser bike.

...and then we had to go...

the raging colorado river!

and there is where i stopped taking photos for the weekend. please visit the link below for more "moore" wedding =)

 moore wedding.

we're pregnant!!! for reeaaaalz this time.

so, ironically...the next to last post was titled exactly the same...except for the "for reeeealllz this time" follow up. and no i didn't accidentally re-post...it's july...& that was for april fools. and this is no april fools...we are excited to announce that we will be expecting baby schweitzberger number two in february! long live the blog address =) since oliver has now graduated to whatever you want to call it...toddler stage...terrible twos {he began his terrible twos the day after his first birthday i swear!}...we didn't want the blog to become neglected...of course, it has...& since i've already decided that i'm probably going to be calling oliver my baby until he's 50...society frowns upon that...so new baby schweitzberger will have to fill that gap.

oliver is becoming quite frequented with "baby" talk. we ask him where the baby is and...at first, he would lift up my shirt & poke at my belly button...now when you ask "oliver, where's the baby?"...it's a quick lift of his own shirt to show you his belly. well, not quite the right belly little man, but he's getting the point. he's already begun to blow kisses onto mama's belly, imitating fart noises & entertaining us all &  listen by smashing his ear up to my stomach. it's going to be interesting how it all pans out. i think that this is one of the first things that new second parents think about...how's the first child going to accept & behave with the second child...stay tuned...

so, yes, i have deeply neglected you bloggies for months...& months...but for a brief explanation, hear me out. i started a new job about three months ago. let me tell you, it's been a godsend to be working...but, the transition from no schedule/flexibility to do whatever to clocking in & out...sucked. not gonna lie. oliver, transitioned to daycare quite well...& i dodged the first time daycare crazy bawling mommy transition because he was 18 months old & let's face it...i could stand to be away from him for a period of time...you know what i mean =) it is, however, the best feeling to go pick him up at the end of the day...it always brightens my mood & refreshes me for the evening to come.

as far as where else i've left you all hanging...mike is working in aurelia still pouring concrete...we'll just leave it at that. oh! and we bought a house in holstein! so, it looks like our residency here is going to be more permanent this time =) plus...i told mike that if we ever...EVER moved again, it would only be under the circumstances that oliver was graduated from high school, i didn't have to any of the packing, driving of a large moving vehicle {okay riding shot gun} or unpacking anything. we would leave that up to others & i would just show up at our new residence. so, that said, we have settled into our little money pit...2 houses south of my parents mind you, & have been enjoying the new space. we have a lot of plans for updating & remodeling...especially now with baby two arriving in february...our plans for some of this needs to move a little sooner than later! very exciting though.

a little update on the pregnancy so far...like clockwork...a couple days after we confirmed the pregnancy...i retreated into 24-7 nauseousness...again! turns out, this body just doesn't agree with pregnancy! i've a lot of indigestion this time around. something i don't ever recall with oliver...hmmmmm...could it be an indicator of the sex?! and other than that...i've just been trying to creep my way through extreme tiredness which is the first trimester.  i really hope to at least post some photos from the past 3 months to update you more on the goings-ons. time just doesn't seem to be anything i have anymore. a giant transition for me!!! so, please stay tuned...