Baby Three: He or She?

Our newest member at 20 weeks.

After having our 20 week ultrasound we found out there will be another little GIRL joining our family in October!  I have had strong feelings it was a girl early on so I feel like the ultrasound just confirmed it.  I'm three for three in guessing the gender of our children!

She's in the breech position now (feet down rather than head) but there's plenty of time for her to flip so it's nothing to worry about.  It does make getting a nice profile shot like the one above more difficult though.  This is the only profile shot we have.  All the others are the face on, almost alien-looking pictures.

Below, I have the same picture as above but I labeled it in case you don't really know what you're looking at/for.  If I didn't already have kids I'd be like, OK, great... look at all those blobs that look like nothing at all.  Hope it helps!

Grandpa Grandpa

It's been no secret my Grandpa (Grandpa Grandpa for today's post) has not been my kids' favorite person.  They didn't dislike him by any means but they were never the first to run to him either.  They slowly warmed up to him.  The kids and I went to stay the night with my mom on Thursday night to give a very busy with work Dan time to pound out some extra hours uninterrupted.  I suggested we meet my mom at Grandpa Grandpa's apartment on the way up -- it's been a while since I've seen him.  Boy, am I glad we stopped.  

The kids were so comfortable with being there and most importantly, with him.  There was lots of giggling, chasing each other, playing hide and seek, going in and out of his bathroom (it has a sliding door... awesome!) and eating chocolate that Grandpa Grandpa kept sneaking them.

The best! This melts my heart.
Grandpa lifted Myles up to his lap for the picture with a
loud grunt and said, "This kid weighs a ton!". 

Great smile on that kid and I love how
Grandpa Grandpa is looking at him.

Caught this moment between the two.
Myles thought Grandpa Grandpa's lips needed a little chap stick.

My Uncle Greg was there for the visit too.
Myles and Nora were pretending to cough
then Myles actually coughed.

Everyone thought it was hilarious.

We couldn't believe this was how
comfortable Myles was with Grandpa
Grandpa after not seeing him so long.

It was probably the best visit we've ever had there and I think everyone could agree on that.  Thinking about today still puts a smile on my face.

Sunday Funday

It was hot today.  Perfect time to break in the new swimming suits for the summer, get out the splash table, the hose, and let them have at it.  I had so much fun watching them have so much fun.  Occasions like this call for getting out the real camera (and putting on my zoom lens while sitting far away so I - and the camera - don't get sprayed).

Myles loved being Captain on the hose.  

Nora loved being sprayed.
It was a match made in heaven.

Occasionally, she'd get the hose for a bit.

But he'd quickly get it back while she ran around again.

And when he wasn't spraying her, she'd yell, "MINNOW!
Spray me again," and more giggling would ensue. 

The Captain only appreciated spraying.
Not being sprayed.  Which for today,
worked out perfectly. 

Pure. Joy.

Drying off in the hammock swing.

We all slept good that night.

Are you cold?

She insisted on wearing this dress today even though it's not tank top dress type of weather. I knew how this would end so I let her wear it. We get outside and she's looking kind of cold. 

Me: "Nora, are you cold?" 

Nora: "No.  But it sure is chilly out here." 

She cracks me up sometimes. 

And yes, after this picture we went inside and put appropriate clothing on. 

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was a special one. Nora got to perform two songs with the little kids (preschool through second grade) in her Sunday school group for their last day of the school year.  And what made it even more special was that Daddy, Myles, Gram, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Greg, Jess, and both Gramma Grammas were there to watch.  I think I was more excited to watch than she was to sing! 

Despite how this picture looks she really was excited to
sing in church.  

We had been practicing Glory Be (one of her faves from Sunday school) and Father Abraham all week in preparation.  She loved doing all the motions along with the song.  She was looking forward to the party with cupcakes and a movie after singing too.  But then as they were lined up in the back of church, stage fright set in.  She later told me she thought I was going to leave while she was singing (which kind of makes sense considering I left the line to go to the bathroom and didn't tell her).  So we were just about to walk to the front and I see her in tears.  Hence the sad looking Nora you see in the picture above.

Then the nerves set in so of course, she
lifts her dress.  Classic Sunday school
performance. There's always "that kid"
who's lifting up their dress or picking
their nose.  

Then while they were singing Glory Be
she noticed herself on the screen and didn't
look away nearly the entire time.  

After they sang, she sat with two of her friends - Amilie
and Mallory - watching the big kids put on a puppet show
before she went down to celebrate the last day.  

After church, everyone came back to our house for lunch and dessert to celebrate Mother's Day.  It was a very nice day with everyone.  One thing I wish I could do differently - get a picture of me with my kiddos!! Next year.

Lilacia Park & 31

My birthday landed on a Saturday this year which was nice for many reasons.  Although it was a chilly day it was perfect timing for our annual trip to Lilacia Park.  The lilacs were in full bloom and it smelled amazing!  The tulips, however, weren't as vibrant as most years but I think that had more to do with the lack of sun and unseasonably cool weather than anything else.  

When we first got there, Nora was a little disappointed.  She heard us saying we were going to Lilacia PARK.  She pictures slides and swings.  When she got out of the car she kept asking where the slides are and saying, "I wanted to go to the park".  After a few minutes she and Myles remembered how to play with without swings.  Here are a few pictures from our morning. 

A train went by as soon as we got out of our car.
Fun was had by all the kids.

Brother-Sister Love.

He sniffed many o' flowers throughout
the morning.  He would mainly blow
out with his nose instead of actually
sniffing but close enough, right?

He found a flower that was already off
the stem -- believe it or not he didn't
rip it off himself (or any... the entire time!
Shocking, I know.) and gave it to me.

We even got to meet Karen and Claire there for a while.  

More fascinating trains.  You would think they rarely see trains.

After the park, we had our traditional lunch at Portillo's and went home for a nap.  Gram came down to watch the kids for the night so Dan and I could go on a birthday date to one of our all time faves -- Girl and the Goat.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I have no pictures of that but thankfully we got a couple of seats at the bar (we had no reservations) after about an hour of waiting to pounce anytime someone shifted in their seats.  It was just as delicious as the first time we were there.  Amazing chef = amazing food!  The night ended with me in tears on the way home.  Why you ask?  Pregnancy hormones kicking in while listening to a Darius Rucker song on the radio.  And I'm not talking just a tear gently rolling down my cheek.  Full out tears, blowing my nose kind of crying while kind of laughing at myself at the same time because I know how stupid it really is to be crying like that for a song.  Yeah, pregnancy hormones.... they show their true colors every now and then. 

Happy 31 years of life to me.  Year 31 will bring in yet another child and only the Lord knows what else is in store.