Summer Treats!

Quick Update

I had an ultrasound this morning and the doctor said Maya is looking great. She weighs approximately 6lbs 1oz. I don't think those estimates are always accurate, but at least she looks good. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of her this time around. No biggie, I'll get to see her soon enough.

4 weeks...

4 weeks (tomorrow) and baby Maya will be here. My actual due date is Aug 14, but the doctor said she wanted to deliver a little earlier. Since I know I'm having a c-section it's technically safe to deliver around 38 weeks (which is considered full term). Of course this works out great for us since we needed to plan for help taking care of the boys. I was thinking the other day, what if I go into labor earlier? Oh, that would complicate my plans! Jessi is "on call" for night help and Gwen is "on call" for day help. I'm just praying my plans all work out accordingly.

I was suppose to have an ultrasound last Thursday. I had one at 20 weeks and the doctor does another around 34 weeks. Chad and I waited in the lobby at the office for 30 minutes until they called me up to say the doctor had to leave to deliver another baby. I understood, but was irritated. Now I have to wait until July 14th! Ugh! I'm too impatient to have to wait another week! Oh, well.

I still worry how the boys will react to the change with the baby. I'm not worried what they will think of Maya, but more the shift of attention from ALL on them to sharing it with her. It seems lately that Adam has become more clingy. If he sees me put my shoes on, he grabs my legs and holds on for dear life. It's like he senses when I'm going to leave. I've read in books that say you're suppose to sit down and tell your child that you are leaving but will be back soon. Yea right. Adam will just ball his eyes out until he turns blue and passes out (literally). I think Jack will do better with the attention part, but I will have to watch him closer around Maya. Jack does this annoying thing where he will sit or jump on top of you, whether you know he's coming or not. I often peek in their bedroom after I put them down for a nap, and Jack is rolling on top of Adam while he's trying to sleep.

I'm so excited to meet Maya and have her home and a part of our lives. And I'm SO ready to not be pregnant and finally have some energy again. I've gained 40lbs so far, and boy I am feeling it! It's like carrying around a 40 pound fanny pack all day. I also get tons of Braxton Hicks (pre labor, fake) contractions. I had those with the boys too. I'm in the final stretch and it couldn't come sooner, except she can't come sooner because that would screw up all of my plans!

T-Ball Time!

Chad bought the boys their first t-ball stand for their birthday. As you can tell from the pictures, they love it! Adam was able to hit it without help right away. They both loved it when Chad helped them wack it across the yard. The only downfall (you'd think we'd learn by now), there is only one bat. Looks like I'll be heading to Target to get another bat.

Boys Birthday Weekend!

Since Chad was out of town on the boys birthday, we planned on celebrating this weekend. Last night, when Chad got home, the boys opened all of their presents! And boys did they have a lot. The still don't understand the concept of opening the present, but they sure were happy once they saw what was wrapped.

Today we had some of our friends over for a cookout to celebrate. Tim/Jessi, Ron/Gwen/Eve/Emmett, Chris/Jen, Courtney/Kyle/Kinsey, Ali/Daryl, all joined in the celebration. Once again, Chad smoked some really good pork. We ended the day with huge chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. The boys, okay all of the kids, were on huge sugar highs. We had a great time and were so happy to be able to celebrate the boys 2nd b-day with good friends.

Ending our big day with a Happy Meal!

Collecting Birthday Rocks (our new favorite pastime)

Party Pic's!

Happy 2nd Birthday Adam and Jack!!

The boys are 2! Wow, how fast time goes! So far they have had a great day. They woke this morning to a decorated playroom. At 9:30am their friends came over to celebrate with cookies and cupcakes. All the kids were on a sugar high! The boys were so tired that they ended up crashing before their friends left. They had a great time though. Adam and Jack were spoiled with all of the great presents they opened.

And they're out!

6 Weeks until Maya Kate arrives!

Buddies!

I love the pictures above. Courtney brought Kinsey over to play and she got some really cute pics of the kids together. Kinsey is in love with Jack! She's always trying to steal a kiss from Jack, who always seems to play hard to get.

This weekend I had my first garage sale. I made out with 140.00, not to shabby. My friends Jessi and Courtney worked it with me, so we definitely had fun. Now I just need Chad to take all the left over stuff to Goodwill. I can't believe that people will actually pay for your old crap! I was giving some good deals too. I sold my old patio table with 4 chairs for 20.00. It was toward the end of the day and I did not want to be stuck with that thing in my garage. The guy was super happy that he "wheeled and dealed" with me. Towards the end of the sale I was pushing to get rid of the big items. Overall, I had fun, and can't wait to get rid of all my baby stuff next year!

Being totally lame, I bought a new hard floor wet/dry vacuum for my kitchen with the money I made. I absolutely love it! Between the boys, Lola, Baxter, Chad and I, our floors need major attention several times a week. This is quite a process for me, now it should be simple. (It's by Hoover, for those interested.)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, dad, Bob and Dick! We had a great weekend. Yesterday Chad smoked some ribs and pork with the smoker we got him for fathers day. It turned out really good! Chad likes the ribs better, but personally, I like the pulled pork BBQ sandwiches. Makes me hungry just talking about it.

This morning we went to breakfast with Gwen, Ron, Eve and Emmett. We meet at our usual spot, First Watch. Afterwards, we met up at the zoo. It was a gorgeous day! A little warm (I'm ALWAYS warm), but beautiful out. The boys loved the fish aquarium, snakes and of course, the monkeys! Monkey is a word they say all day long. I think their favorite part was the train. Their first train ride! It was my favorite too, being I could sit and enjoy the breeze.

Once we got home, the boys took at 3 plus hour nap. They were pooped! We all were pooped! Now the day is winding down, and we'll just relax until bedtime. Well, most of us, Chad still has to mow the lawn. That's one chore I don't bother doing (sorry Chad).

So we had a great day. Chad is such a good dad. The boys just light up when he comes home from work everyday. Something about Chad makes the boys want to wrestle and be boys! I couldn't ask for a better husband and father to my kids!

Summer fun!

Amazing Friends!

Gwen hosted a baby sprinkle for me this weekend. It was so much fun! The theme was "tea party", so we had so many yummy tea sandwiches, salads, punch and naughty desserts. All of the girls spoiled me! Maya is set with clothes until next year! I loved everything they gave, especially my necklace that has Adam, Jack and Maya's name on. So special. I couldn't ask for a better set of friends! I'm so lucky! Thanks Gwen and all the girls!

Trying for another family photo

Thanks Nana and Papa!

Papa and Chad built the boys a sandbox under their swingset. It's their birthday gift from Dick and Lorraine. It's perfect, with toys, trucks, 16 bags of sand and a tarp to cover at night. I would say Adam likes it more than Jack, but Jack does play in it. Jack doesn't like the sand in his shoes or stuck on his hands, so his time in the box is quick and neat. Adam on the other hand will be covered head to toe with sand and could care less. I've even caught Lola laying in the cool sand!

Waiting for our sister!

9 weeks and counting...

9 weeks and Maya will be here. I have a scheduled c-section for August 4th. Though, I am nervous because random people keep telling me that I look bigger and were surprised that I wasn't due sooner.

I'm so excited, Gwen is throwing me a "sprinkle" next weekend. Since I have already had a baby "shower" for the boys, she's doing a sprinkle for Maya. It's so exciting celebrating her arrival with friends. Knowing Gwen, Maya is going to get SO spoiled. Gwen came over the other day to see what I had for Maya and what I needed. So, I showed her the onsies that I had from the boys that I was planning on using. It was so funny because most of them were blue with cars and airplanes or very boyish. Gwen wasn't having any of that!

We started (sorta) potty training. I originally bought a potty for the boys but it didn't have the shield thingy on the front so they could sit and pee. They both would stand and go, but I decided that I want to train them sitting. I bought a new Elmo potty today. Adam was a little scared sitting on it. Jack on the other hand didn't have to pee but he sure was trying. He squeezed and hard as he could, but nothing came out. It was so funny. I'm going to put M&M's in a jar in the bathroom and every time they go give them some treats and really make a big deal about it. I'm not ambitiously training but decided just throughout the day ask them if they have to go, then put them on it and see what happens. I'm sure I'll have funny stories to tell soon about our potty adventures.

Jack has been all about hiding and hoarding stuff lately. He will sneak in his bedroom and take all of the babies off Adam's bed and put them on his. That's what the picture is about above. Then I went to make his bed, and Jack had so many toy cars and random stuff hidden under his pillow. It's cute, but a little scary. I just don't want him to get a hold of my car keys or wallet!

Adam has been using his words a little more. A couple weeks ago, everything was "what's that?" All day long he would pick random items up and ask "what's that". He said it so much that it eventually sounded like "sat?" Now he'll actually say what things are. Of course, now I'm asking him all day long "what's that?"

Today we had a change of dominance. As most of you know, my 15 pound cat, Baxter, has total control over my 60 pound dog, Lola. Most days, Baxter will walk up to Lola and bite her legs while she's sleeping or kick Lola out of her doggy bed. Lola is scared and skiddish around him. Today, Lola decided she has had it. Baxter came up to Lola while she was laying down and Lola aggressively jumped at him and bit his head. I didn't see it, but Chad did. Chad checked Baxter and he was fine, just scared. I'd usually freak out about Lola doing something like that, but I really don't blame her. About an hour later they were back to their old selves, Baxter was slowly walking by Lola and Lola sniffed his butt. Ahhh, back to normal.

We did it!

We finally bought a minivan. We both really love it. It's a Honda Odyssey with all of the bells and whistles including DVD player and navigation system. It has so much more room than my old Yukon. I wish we would have bought one sooner.