Into the single digits

I can hardly believe that I am a little over 31 weeks already! That means only 9 weeks left 'till we get to meet our baby girl.

The other night baby was kicking a moving a lot and I had Neal come over and put his hand on my belly.  She kicked him really hard and he laughed out loud.  He immediately placed his hand back on my belly and she kicked him again.  This continued 5 or 6 times and Neal was laughing the whole time, thinking it was really funny that she was kicking him.  He would say "baby sister is saying, hey get out of my space."  

It's a lot of fun to see him interact with his sister already.  He loves to lay his blanket on my belly to help keep sister warm and loves to lay his head on my belly and give her "snuggles".  At night he presses his mouth to my belly and sing her "night, night songs" which I think is really sweet.  I'm sure he is going to be a very sweet big brother and I cannot wait to see how they interact together.

First Movie

Neal got to go to his first movie in theaters a few weeks ago.  His Aunt Kate won some tickets to see a previewing of the movie "Despicable Me 2" and decided to invite Neal and us to join her.  It was so much fun, especially since the movie was in 3D!  

Neal was wide eyed and excited as we steeped into the theater and couldn't wait to eat his popcorn and watch a movie on a "super huge TV."  Neal kept his 3D glasses on the entire movie, ate almost the entire bag of popcorn and laughed throughout the whole thing (not always laughing at the right times but laughing just to laugh).  

The last two weeks he has been wearing his 3D glasses nonstop.  I can't believe that they don't feel funny as he looks through them but he loves them and won't take them off.  Also, while driving in the car the other day he said :"mommy remember when we saw that movie on the big TV?  That TV was bigger then our house."  

It was a lot of fun to go to the movies with him and experience the movies in a whole new way.  Since he had so much fun we ended up taking him one more time a few days ago to see "Monsters University" with one of his good friends.  They loved this movie also and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed "Monsters University .   It has been a fun filled few weeks with two trips to the movies and lots of popcorn and laughter.

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It's also been a lot of fun to have some of these special family times/activities together doing things with just the 3 of us before baby girl come.

Our 4th of July

We hope all of you had a great time celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends.

We had a great 4th here at home!  Our day was filled with lots of relaxation and simple family time during the day.  We joined our neighbors across the street for a fun cookout in the evening and got to meet a few other neighbors while there.  We also got to see an amazing firework show right from the back yard.  (the firework pictures were taken by one of our neighbors).

Neal loved watching the fireworks and even got to experience some new 4th of July fun with "pop-its" (the little firecrackers you throw on the ground) and some sparklers.  His favorite however were the big fireworks in the sky.  He may have plugged his ears the whole time but he couldn't take his eyes off of them.

Our neighborhood has some amazing fireworks that they set off and we love that we can see them right from our front porch.  It is even better then some of the big shows they do downtown, especially since we don't have to fight traffic or crowds.

Neal got to stay up 'till 10pm which was a special treat and by the end of the night we were all ready for bed and a good night sleep.

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 :)