Stolen Car?! Weird!

Well, I spoke too soon about the car sale going well. Here's a weird story for ya :)

Last night at 3:30 in the morning we got a mysterious call from some unknown number.  We didn't answer it and there was no message.  We left it be and didn't think anything of it.

This morning Steve's dad calls and said he got a call from the Ottumwa Police Department and wanted Steve's number about a missing car.  We realize that was the number who called us...but why?  The police apparently found the Cutless in the middle of a road stalled with no keys.

What!?!

The car has never stalled for us before!  Were these bad guys who were involved in something shady? Oh dear!  Who did we sell the car to and for what purpose?!

Steve later got a text from the person who bought the car stating that the car was missing and he needed the plate numbers to locate it.

What?!

Now, why do they want the plate numbers? What is going on, seriously?  I warned Steve not to give them the plate numbers, because we didn't want to get involved in something and what was their purpose for that anyway?  It was still our property that we had here; how could it help them?

What?!

Finally Steve called the guy back and found out the reason he needed to plate numbers was to try and locate his car because it had been STOLEN!  Steve told him that the Police Dept had called and the guy did find out if was in their custody.  He also wondered if there was a spare key hidden or if the robber hot-wired it.

HOW STRANGE!!! So, we are glad (for our sakes) that it really didn't stall for them but CRAZY that it was stolen! I guess since it didn't have plates it was an easy target.

Anyway, I knew I never really was a fan of Ottumwa and now I have proof why :)
Hope you enjoy the strange but true story!

Sold the Cutless

Since we bought our new Chevy Equinox we debated about whether or not to sell the Oldsmobile Cutless that I bought out in California and then the one that Josh used there and drove back to Iowa.  

Initially we were going to trade it in when we bought a new vehicle, but Pella Motors only wanted to give us $200 or maybe we could have gotten them to take it for $750, but we thought that wasn't worth it.  We also thought that maybe Steve could use it as a "farm" car but then we decided we should at least try to sell it and see once since.  

We put the car on Craigslist last night and got about 6 different contacts in about 24 hours!  Steve called me this afternoon and told me to vacuum it out and clean it up a bit because someone was coming to check it out.  Someone did come this afternoon and we sold it for a decent price!  We were amazed at how fast it went, but it was definitely a nice surprise.  

One last time, here is the picture of the '99 Oldsmobile Cutless...it served us well :)

Whole Milk

Since Aubrey turned one, our doctor recommended that we start trying whole milk.  Just a little at a time for supper or start mixing it with formula to phase her off of that.  On Wednesday night I thought I would give her a couple of ounces in her sippy cup.  At first she didn't want any, but when I put it in a big girl cup she drank it pretty easily.

I knew that there was a possibility of her reacting to it since she is on sensitive formula and is a puker anyway, but she seemed to keep it down. . . UNTIL. . . I went to check on her before I went to bed.  I always open the door just so she isn't too cold or hot in her room and when I went to do so I noticed she was sleeping in her puke! I felt horrible! Steve and I then proceeded to give her a bath, change her sheets, and put her back to bed, all within about 15 minutes; we thought that was pretty good.

THEN, about 5 minutes later we heard a noise and I went to check on her and she threw up again!!! Oh. My. Goodness! I knew it was going to be a long night.  So we did the same process all over again and hoped that was the last of it.  Not so.  She ended up throwing up a total of about six times and had a total of three baths that night and about six different sheets/blankets and jammies.  Finally towards the end of it I wasn't giving her a bath anymore, just wiping her down and decided to take a bath in the morning.

I decided to stay home from school with her since we were both up for most of the night and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't really the flu instead of a milk reaction.  The next morning she woke up in a great mood, no temp, and ate and drank (formula) just fine like always.  She did take an extra 2.5 hour nap so she was definitely exhausted from the night before, but was back to her normal self.

Now, I'm not sure where to go from here, but I will probably try it mixed in with some formula and during the day so we aren't awake all night cleaning up a mess:) We shall see.  She already is giving me quite the run for my money and she's only one. Lol.

Spring Things

Actual picture of our 2011 Chevy Equinox

Aubrey LOVING her swing from G and G VG!

It was so warm we just had to bust out the pop ices :)

Standing by the couch reading a book. 

Wishing she could go outside to play.

Poor quality pic but Aubrey wanted to lean 

against the couch just like Mommy :) Too cute

Daddy and Aubrey zooming cars to each other :)

Aubrey's 1 year stats

Aubrey had her one year appointment this afternoon.  She had her normal checkup which included shots AND a finger prick!  She did super with the shots and was quickly distracted with the choice of a sticker, but I was not prepared for the finger prick! They had to get two small viles full and man she screamed pretty much the whole time straight! It seemed like it was forever, but in reality was probably only a few minutes.  Glad it's over now!
Here are her stats :)

Height: 30 in (79%)
Weight: 18 ob 12 oz (12%)
Head Circ: 17 1/2 in (27%)

So, all in all, she is still the little fine peanut, but she's doing just fine :)

New Chevy Equinox

This is the "new to us" car we purchased on Saturday from Pella Motors.  2011 Mocha Steel Metallic Chevy Equinox!  We love it already!!

1st Birthday Party - Part 2

We spent a few days of our Spring Break up in NW Iowa to spend time with family and have another birthday party, too for Aubrey. The weather was  BEAUTIFUL!

Aubrey and Camryn are really starting to play together :)

Grandma Van Grouw reading to her two girlies 

We got to have lots of fun together this trip!

Going for a walk around the farm on a gorgeous afternoon. 

Two girls posing nicely :)

Grandma enjoying the nice weather and Aubrey, too.

Playing with Grandma's outside toys. 

Playing inside with Grandpa.

All the girls eating pizza for supper before the party.

Time for party number two!

"Oohhhh....what is it?!"

A swing from Grandpa and Grandma VG

an oldie but goodie from G and G VG

More presents to open!

Thanks for the cute outfit Uncle Josh and Aunt Jessica!

Another cute outfit from they Wynia family!

We used some birthday money to get her some Fridge Phonics

alphabet magnets.

The cake Grandma VG had decorated from Casey's Bakery.

family photo op

another photo op

Grandma VG feeding Aubrey birthday cake 

Grandpa VG with the birthday girl

Uncle Curt with the birthday girl

Grandma VG reading bedtime stories together 

1st Birthday Party - Part 1

We celebrated Aubrey's 1st birthday at our house on Monday, March 12 with Steve's side of the family.  We had a good time with supper, presents, dessert, and of course a smash cake.  Unfortunately we must have spread the flu bug, too since about 3/4 of the people there were struck down with sickness within a few days!

Aubrey the morning of the party in her jammies

I found this idea on Pinterest too make a collage of each of her pictures 

from 0-12 months and displayed it along the food line.

Aubrey's free Smash Cake (from Hy-Vee)

These were cupcakes arranged in a flower shape! (from Hy-Vee, too)

Aubrey ready to dig into her cake NOW! 

She's "ONEderful"

Mommy and Aubrey checking out the decorations.

Waiting for the guests to arrive.

Grandma Char, Aubrey, and Kailey

eating her birthday supper before presents 

the party table

"I'm ready to open presents!"

"Yay, I already know what I'm spending this money on!"

digging right into the presents 

people at the party (left side) 

people at the party (right side) 

Time to dig into the smash cake!

She acted like such a little girl and only stuck a 

few fingers in at a time and carefully licked each one off. 

Mommy thought that was no fun so she 

shoved her hands in to get her really into it.

Now we added a chunk of cake onto the fork and she got more excited.  

"So BIG!"

All done with the cake and ready for a bath.

Nice pink highlights there, Aubrey.