Monday, April 29, 2013

April 2013

Oma planned a great weekend Sachs reunion in French Lick Indiana -- a perfect meeting spot between Holland MI and Memphis TN.  We stayed in a large, cozy cabin, the Wise Old Owl, and Evelyn had the BEST time with her cousin Helen.  We took hikes, the girls did some coloring and blew bubbles, there were campfires and marshmallows, guitar playing, and a trip to a nearby waterpark (where the super rapid slides gave Opa a bit of a flip...).  It feels good to give Evey time with her cousins - although poor Ruby had to tolerate some overly-aggressive moves from Ev who isn't that used to little ones yet. Ev can't stop talking about how much she misses Helen. Looking forward to getting these girls together again.
 
Beautiful Flower Girls, with fresh bouquets for the breakfast table
Corn Hole on the lawn with Oma
A wander in the woods

 
The Reunion Crew in French Lick, IN

Ev and I hit the Down to Earth Day at Shelby Farms and had so much fun.  There was an amazing little feeding/petting zoo with unusual petting zoo creatures like huge turtles and baby pigs, there were pony rides, fancy face painting (glitter!), and a crafts tent.  Evelyn is so energetic and open to trying new things - and she's big enough to really get into it now. With the exception of a particularly painful bouncy house collision, it was a perfect day.
Earth Day at Shelby Farms - So fun
 


And last but hardly least, the news is out: I'm 40 and pregnant (!!) but it wasn't the suprise I had anticipated when telling Oma & Opa.  Apparently Evey spilled the beans weeks before...
The plan was to keep the pregnancy a secret until we could be sure that things were going alright.  Tag and I agreed not to tell Evelyn until it was okay to tell everyone.  Well.  She and I were driving along one afternoon when she suddenly started to sing-song to me “mamma…you have a sweetheart in your tummy….!” And I was totally taken off-guard.  Did Tag tell her? What is she talking about? “What’s that babie?” I asked her. 
“You have a sweetheart in your tummy.” 
It felt good to start talking openly about it, so I agreed, “Yes, you are going to be a big sister!” And we had a very exciting conversation around the whole notion.  Looking back, I have to admit that she seemed surprised by the news.  She had tricked me, albeit unwittingly. I thought Tag had let it slip.  But apparently I was the one who couldn’t seem to hold back.  So anyway, I told her that it was a secret and that we couldn’t talk about it outside of me, her and poppa.  She happily promised.
When we finally did announce it, after receiving a beautifully healthy ultrasound, Oma had the funniest reaction.  She knew already! Weeks before, Ev had told her there was “a baby in mamma’s tummy but that it was a secret so we weren’t supposed to talk about it.”  She is Too Funny.

The first good peek at our baby on the way...