Just for Fun

This week I reached the beginning of my 3rd trimester with baby girl!  To celebrate I thought I would share just a few things I have been looking at, laughing at, enjoying and dreaming about the last few weeks.  Thought you might enjoying them too

For a good laugh...

For a good read...

Fun fabric and quilt pattern for our baby girl's quilt...

A new idea for organizing the kids room...

My go to cookbook...everything I've made from this is good

A fun way to beat the heat...(he finally learned to jump in)

Some fun baby things for our soon to be arriving little girl that I've been eyeing...

Baby Sling

Blanket

Home Decorating Idea for in my kitchen/eating area (we could have fun with this chalkboard all year long)

Finally: A must have for anyone with a baby...this is on top of my "new baby wish list" this year

Fun in the Sun

Summer is quickly coming and for now the sun and weather has been perfect for spending time outside swimming and soaking up the sun.

Neal and I go to the pool at least twice a week and Neal is getting a lot better about getting his face wet.  He is still hesitant about jumping in from the side but will jump from the top step of the ladder and will actually let Tyler and I toss him into the water (as long as we do it quickly before he can protest).

And during the afternoons I have enjoyed sitting outside soaking up the sun while keeping cool in the plastic pool as Neal naps.  It makes for a restful afternoon for both Neal (who naps in his bed) and me, who gets to nap in the sun.

We should have a few more weeks of great weather before the heat and humidity really come, so we are going to enjoy it.

The Big 30!

This week we got to celebrate Tyler's 30th Birthday!  We had a small family celebration here at the house.  Neal and I worked on his cake while daddy was at work.  Neal wanted a "Mr. Incredible" birthday cake for dad, but that was a bit out of my skill level so Neal's next idea was a baseball because "daddy loves baseball, mommy."

Neal is exactly right, daddy does love baseball.  For his birthday gift Tyler got to go see a Red Sox game in Baltimore with a few guys from church.   They got to see a great game, Red Sox won, had great seats and perfect weather.

Neal was so excited about Tyler's birthday that as soon as he walked in from work Neal told him all about his birthday cake Neal could hardly wait 'till after dinner to sing happy birthday and have a slice.

I am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man.  He is a wonderful husband and such a great father.  He always makes us, his family, his priority and is always making Neal and I laugh. We have a lot of fun together as a family and love to spend lots of time together.  

Tyler is always doing things with Neal and it is fun to see Neal want to be just like his daddy.

And even though he may have tuned 30 he is still a kid at heart...Neal and him are so much alike.

Happy 30th Birthday Tyler!!

Growing Baby Girl

I'm a little over halfway through this pregnancy (26 weeks)  and the time has gone by way faster then I remember it going with Neal.  I guess if you had asked me earlier on I would have said that the time was dragging by, but feeling sick for the first 17 weeks tends to make time move slowly.

I reminded myself often during those first 17 weeks that it was really a blessing to feel so sick since it was a reassurance that the pregnancy was going well and baby was growing.  Then after those 17 weeks, as I started to feel way better, I was able to start feeling her move, and that is my favorite part of pregnancy.

She is moving all over, all the time.  For the first time last week Neal was able to put his hand on my belly and feel his baby sister kick.  Now he asks me several times a day "mommy is baby sister kicking or asleep?"   His other favorite question for me is "where is baby sisters head and foot?"  He asks this and then likes to tickle his baby sisters feet by tickling my belly.

I remember with Neal I had cravings for Taco Bell Bean Burritos at first and had to stay away from most desserts and sweets which would make me feel sick.  However this time it has been totally different.  First off I was way more sick at the beginning this time around.  Any and all food made me feel bad.  The one thing that I have been craving a lot more during this pregnancy is sweets.  Especially Skittles...

You can almost always find a bag of Skittles (any flavor) at my house these days.  Neal never complains about this and I think he might miss having so many skittles around once baby sister comes.

I am getting even more excited as the time draws nearer.  It has been a lot of fun collecting girly clothes and accessories (I love all the hair bows and headbands).  I also have had a lot of fun choosing fabric and patterns for her quilt.

This is the carseat/stroller quilt I just finished for her.  I only need to add the ties to the endges so it can tie onto the handles of the carseat/stroller and it will be done.  My next project is her baby quilt (that quilt will have be made up of more pinks and greens) and then maybe I'll get to work on Neal's quilt for his "big boy bed" (he's been in need of a bigger quilt for over a year now).   There is lots of my today list already and I am sure it will just get longer as the arrival of baby girl get closer :)

June 10 on 10

I had fun doing another "10 on 10" photo day!  So here was our day through pictures on Monday June 10th.   It was a cloudy, rainy and humid day but we still had lots of fun!

8:00 AM

Getting ready to go with daddy to wrok

9:00 AM

Excited to join daddy in the office for the morning

10:00 AM

A quick stop at one of my favorite stores 

11:00 AM

Headed back home after a morning at daddy office

12:00 PM

Picnic lunch inside while we watch "Word World"

1:00 PM 

Time for some chores - Ironing 

2:00 PM

A little nap time for Neal, me and baby girl

3:00 PM

Being silly during snack time

4:00 PM

Another huge rain storm came through, our yard was instantly filled with lots of huge puddles

5:00 PM

Getting ready to make some dinner - a yummy Couscous salad and Roast Beef melts

What would your day look like if you were to share it with photos?  I think it's sort of a fun way to remember the day, even if it's just a normal day of chores and regular life.  Sometime those simple days turn out to be the best.

Click the link below if you want to see lots of other fun blogs that participate in the "10 on 10".  

San Antonio Zoo

While on our Texas vacation we spend one day at the San Antonio Zoo.   We picked the right time to visit Texas 'cause the really hot weather wasn't around, yet (though it was hot we were able to walk around outside all day and still be somewhat comfortable). 

Once we arrived I realized that the last time we had been to the zoo was while we were still in Alaska and Neal was just over a year old.  This trip to the zoo was so fun, especially since Neal could recognize each animal.   He run form one animal to the next and was amazed by something at each spot.  

Some of his favorite animals to see where the fish, alligators  elephant, and monkeys.   When we saw the flamingo's Neal, who was plugging his nose, said "they are super smelly", which was true, so we didn't stay and watch them for too long.  

The Monkeys were so energetic while we were there.  Many of them were swinging all around on the ropes and walls in their cages and a couple of monkey were running around playing what looked like tag.  Neal and his cousins stayed and watch these monkeys for quite awhile, laughing and smiling the whole time.   

It was a great family outing with everyone and all the kids had a great time.  

 

Family Vacation

We just got back from a wonderful 2 week family vacation.  We loaded up the car and drove west to spend the 2 weeks with family and friends in Texas!  

We headed out on Wednesday night and it took us a bit longer then anticipated.  Neal did wonderful the whole time.  Between sleeping, watching movies, and singing songs we passed the long 24 hour drive with no big issues besides a little trafic and few wrong turns. :)

Our final destination was in Austin, TX to visit Nathaniel, Wendy and the kids.  They have a beautiful home with a great pool in their back yard.  We spent most of our afternoons hanging out in the pool.

Neal was a little unsure of the pool at first but after about an hour he relaxed a bit and started swimming all around.  His favorite spot however was to play in the hot tub 'cause it was warmer then the pool.  He called it his "huge tubby" with lots toys and friends.

We were able to do lots of different things while in Austin and even got to see around downtown a little.  I will post about some of our outing while there soon. Neal loved all the time he had with his cousins and loved story time with Aunt Wendy.

By far my favorite part of our time in Austin was the time at the house just visiting, swimming, relaxing and enjoying the sun.

The Baseball Game

"We're gonna watch baseball just like daddy watches on tv?"  This was the question you heard from Neal in the backseat the day before the Texas Rangers Baseball game we told him we were going to while in TX.  

He was beyond excited for the game.  He fell asleep in the car on the way to Rangers Stadium and as we drove through the pouring rain we were hoping the gome would not be canceled.  Once we parked Neal awoke and starting talking and laughing non-stop on the way into the stadium.  He was full of excitement and joy about getting to watch a real baseball game.   We found our seats next to our friends and waited for the field to be prepared for the game and the tarp to be removed.  Thus far the game was just on a delayed start.

After being there for about 40 minutes they announced that the game was going to be postponed to another date due to the bad weather and condition of the field.  Tyler turned Neal around on his lap and told him the game was canceled and instantly Neal burst into tears and started crying about not being able to watch Baseball.   There are very few times that I have seen Neal cry so hard and be so genuinely sad.  The whole walk back to the car he was in Tyler's arms and would every few minutes lift up his head and say "daddy I'm sad about the baseball game".

(This was his sad/disappointed face after his tears) 

It broke my heart to hear how disappointed he was about not getting to see the game.  We drove away and got some ice cream on the way home to help make the evening special.  This helped for the moment but the next day Neal still talked about how sad it was that we didn't get to see a baseball game.  He continues to talk about it even now (several days after the game).

I think a family trip to a game is in-store for us soon.  Oh how I wish North Carolina had a baseball team.  Next time we visit Grandma and Pappa in Washington I think a trip to a Mariners game is going to be on the agenda.