Drive it like You Stole It

For Father's Day, we got Gabe a racecar driving experience.  I thought for sure he would be all about speeding around a track in a real racecar...well, I am not sure he was all about it, but he did say he's glad he did it and he doesn't need to do it again, ever.  I think between the optional insurance they suggest (which we passed on...), to the fire extinguisher in your passenger seat, the full body suit, helmet, head strap, and heat, it was a lot to really love.  It was fun as a spectator to watch him fly by the bandstands and Little Guy loved looking at all the cars.  He wasn't a huge fan of how loud the cars were, but he powered through and cheered on his daddy.  The best part of our whole day was that Daddy stayed with us all day, not one minute of work, and we had him all to ourselves.  He even did grocery shopping while we napped then we all enjoyed a BBQ with some of our favorite friends.  Wesley can't get enough of playing with Jack Jack, I wish we could have captured the two of them racing down the hall in just diapers and dress up hats, it was the cutest thing I'd seen all day!

Lower end of 9

I had my 38w4d appointment today and left feeling like a million bucks because a) I only gained one pound and b) Shauna said the baby seemed to level out and she's guessing may only be in the lower nine pound range...it's a miracle :)  I know that's just a guess and this baby could still come out weighing 10 pounds, but it helps put my mind at ease as I try to wrap it around the thought of giving birth again!!!  Everything looked great at the doctor, we booked a 40 week appointment and a postpartum follow up- they are being optimistic and hoping I don't need a 41 week appointment!

Scary

Little Guy doesn't have a lot of hair...and if we're being honest, he may not ever have a thick head of hair depending on who he takes after....that being said, even with his thin hair, I am pretty sure I would still not resort to these if he was a girl...they scare me, and like my sister said " When baby is meant to have pigtails baby will grow them like the rest of us. Creepy!". I couldn't agree more!

Drama Kings Come Out at Night

It seems like the universe thinks it is funny to totally rock our sleeping world ANY time I mention the slightest satisfaction with how well Little Guy goes down, and today was no exception.  We had a very rough night yesterday, one that ended with him sleeping in our bed, so we were determined not to let the slippery slope start right before baby #2 is due.  We worked really hard on bedtime and while Little Guy was EXHAUSTED, he thought otherwise about going to sleep.  Here is a snapshot of the video monitor- I think I am wasting my energy teaching him anything, he needs to be enrolled in drama STAT!

Oceans

We tried for another Tuesday bargain movie today and everything seemed to be all lining up; the weather was rainy, the movie sold out but Heather had our tickets, and Phoebe and Henry had saved us seats.  Well, that's about all that lined up.  The movie was a little slow for a majority of the audience, which softened the blow when we had to leave early, and Little Guy was more entertained laughing at Henry than anything on the big screen.  We made it until the last 20 minutes, then we found ourselves in the lobby playing with Uncle Chris and Caden.  We'll try again with "Horton Hears a Who", I don't think we're quite ready for the documentaries.

All Systems a Go

We are ready!  Our house got officially deep cleaned today and I could not be happier.  Even Gabe said, "Doesn't it feel good to see everything so clean?"  I am hoping we can get on Rosario's permanent schedule!  That being said, the house is cleaned, the toes are painted, the hospital bag is packed, and the belly mold is cast.  Baby #2 has the green light :)

The kitchen

My dad spent the day here putting almost all of the finishing touches on the kitchen!  We are just waiting for the knobs to come in for the cabinets, but it is ABSOLUTELY amazing!  I told my hubby today that I am sure the novelty will wear off, but right now I could spend all day doing dishes and wiping down the counters.  The table is breath-taking and it just makes me smile to be in there.  I can't wait to have both my babes at the table on a warm fall night with Daddy BBQing and me pulling cookies out of the oven, I know I know, that's probably a pipe dream, but I still can't wait to get full use of my kitchen when my belly isn't hitting the stove or the sink while I cook.  Thanks Dad, we can't believe how spectacular everything looks!  I'll try to get some pictures that do it justice, but I am not sure a photograph can capture everything!

14 days....

Two weeks usually seems like nothing, but when you have the end game of giving birth hanging there, two weeks is a daunting amount of time.  I know it will fly by, but before we get to meet this baby, we're going to celebrate 4th of July and our five year anniversary, both of which seem like they are ages away but they aren't!  I was talking with my sister yesterday and all of the sudden the memories of giving birth started to come back to me and as excited/nervous as I am to meet this baby, I am remembering just how intense it is...I am not sure but I almost think it's easier the first time around when you don't know what to expect.  I used to say that I thought the second time around would be easier because I would know how hard it was going to be and be able to gauge where I was at, but I am thinking ignorance may be bliss.  In any case, we are 14 days away from my due date (although Little Guy was 5 days late!), holy smokes!

1,2,3,4,5...

Every day when we walk down the stairs, Little Guy likes me to count each step (we have 16).  He is always so excited when we get to the bottom, and I am usually just as excited that he didn't face plant while jumping down step by step.  Well, today we had a super fun and productive day with Gigi and decided to treat ourselves to some yummy salads for dinner.  Little Guy was an excellent dinner date and right in the middle of eating, he lined up the sugar packets and started counting- 1,2,3,4,5!  My mom and I were so impressed since he hasn't had any interest in counting past 2 until today!  Way to go Little Guy, we can't wait to see what you learn next!

Rough days

Some days you just can't seem to get it together...those days are are a lot tougher when you have an active toddler that isn't really on board with the whole lay around and not get dressed or do much of anything mood his mommy seems to be in.  I don't know what it was today, but the only errand we had to run was to pick up diapers and Uncle Chris came through with a diaper delivery from Sam's Club so the motivation to leave just wasn't there.  I am blaming it on the 37+ weeks pregnant belly I am sporting, but honestly, that excuse is getting old.  Not all was lost on the day as Daddy and I were treated to a yummy dinner date with the Schroeders (which also gave me a reason to shower) while Grandma and Grandpa stayed with our sleeping angel.  It was a great adult dinner with some DELICIOUS food at a local restaurant Gabe is OBSESSED with and a nice date night before baby #2 makes his/her grand entrance.  It was an especially sweet dinner since Daddy and Uncle Greg had bet on basketball for dinner and Daddy was the big winner...Here's to a yummy dinner with great friends filling my belly and giving me energy to tackle tomorrow and show Little Guy a GREAT day!

Rio

Little Guy and I had our very first movie theatre date and it was a complete SUCCESS!!!!! Our local movie theatre does family movie Tuesday and for ONE buck, you get a movie ticket, box of popcorn, and drink! I couldn't pass up the $2 chance to see how he'd do in the theatre and sure enough my pregnant hormonal mommy heart just melted when I saw my baby sitting in his own chair with his popcorn in his lap and milk in his cup holder! His "oh no" commentary and shrieks of glee were precious and echoed by all the children in the theatre... It figures that the one grump bucket in the theatre was sitting next to us, but I didn't let it bother me and I never tried to sshhhh Little Guy's excitement....Rio was a huge hit and I can't wait for "Oceans" next Tuesday!!!!

Colors

Little Guy is OBSESSED with Sesame Street and I am trying to use that obsession to work on color identification.  Well, he certainly knows what colors all the characters are, but now instead of saying "It's a red truck", he says "An Elmo truck" or "A Cookie Monster car".... We're working on positive reinforcement, agreeing that the truck does look like Elmo because Elmo and the truck are both red.  We'll see if it starts to catch on....

Happy Father's Day

Today we celebrated Daddy's second official Father's Day.  Little Guy is so lucky to have such an amazing role model to show him how to work hard and love his family- I feel blessed everyday to have my amazing husband come home from a hard day's work and jump right into Daddy/husband mode.  I couldn't be any luckier and I can't wait for Baby #2 to meet his/her Dada!  We're also so lucky to have amazing dads to look up to.  Little Guy's Papas have done an amazing job being the best dads we could ask for and I can't imagine my life without my dad teaching me and helping me with everything still to this day!  Thank you for all you did when I was younger and all you do for me and my family now and thank you to my father in law for raising a man as wonderful as my husband! Happy Father's Day!!!

Katie and Mark

Today we celebrated Katie and Mark and their upcoming wedding with a couples shower at our family friends' house.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and a wonderful way to kick off the wedding frenzy that is stirring up as we get closer and closer to their big day.  Little Guy was jazzed to be partying and decided against his nap (not for his mommy and daddy trying EXTRA hard to get him down!) and made it until the end of the party...then as we were cleaning up, I look over and my sweet baby is asleep in the chair, iPhone in hand, completely passed out from the day's fun! He slept all the way home, never opened his eyes as I changed him into pjs, and woke up the next morning ready for a fun day!  It was a great day for all and a wonderful night sleep for mommy and daddy!

And then there were TWO....

We've been celebrating babies since March when Miss Peyton made her grand appearance and just three weeks ago, Mr. Oliver was born and today we got to meet him for the first time! Katie and Kelli are both glowing new mommies (talk about pressure!!!) and Kristen and I are ready to join them with our babes in our arms, not our bellies! Both Kelli and Kristen are having boys this go around (they both had girls four months apart three years ago!)so we'll see if that means this set of sisters are having girls....in the meantime, Kristen is having baby boy on the 25th, then we'll have to jump on our photo before my babe comes....I can't wait to see all our babies growing up together!!!!

Nine pounds and counting

I had my 37 week appointment today and oh boy, was it a doozie! I have been feeling really great about my smaller size this go around and my significantly lower weight gain, that was until I stepped on the scale today and was greeted with a number that put me four pounds away from outweighing my husband! Talk about a depressing way to start your day....if only that was the most depressing part of the appointment...my ob felt around my uterus and concluded the baby is head down, YAY!, and based on the distance from the head to the heart beat, she estimated the baby to be NINE pounds at this point and looking to be close to TEN!!!!!! come delivery....TEN, as in double digits, pounds that I am going to give birth to....she tried to reassure me that the weight gain was of ZERO concern because I just "grow big babies" and my vitals are all perfect, so no need to worry about the toddler sized baby I am set to give birth to or the stare worthy cankles I am sporting with all the water retention I have going on, yeah, no worries over here..... I tried to brighten up the day with a trip to Six Flags, but compression socks and too tight Converse in summer heat don't really do a lot to raise a pregnant woman's spirits. With only 24 more days to go, I think it's safe to say I am ready to
hold this big baby in my arms!!!!!

Sesame Street Live

Today we partied like rockstars front row at Sesame Street Live! Little Guy could not have been more jazzed to go to Elmo's house! He wore all of his Elmo shirts on the way there ( I stripped him down to just one before we went in!) and stood at the door cheering and oohing over every Elmo toy, cut out, and picture he could see. We had passes for an Elmo/Cookie Monster meet and greet and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up when I saw the look of pure joy and astonishment on Little Guy's face when Elmo walked in and gave him a high five! It was a priceless family outing and I am so glad Daddy and I both got to share in his excitement. The show was about 2 songs longer than Little Guy needed and we had one meltdown on the way out when I just couldn't get on board with the $10 balloon they were selling, but he was over it in about 2 seconds :) As we were leaving the show, he turned to Daddy and said "Tank you Dada!".... We can't wait for next year!!!

Belly shots take 2

I haven't received my disc of our first family photo shoot, but I knew I wanted to capture the belly at least one more time before the big day, so I enlisted help from the ever talented Cari Metcho!  She came up with her two amazing assistants, and together we got some great shots of my belly and Little Guy.  Little Guy was pretty stoked to be playing with Madison and Jack- when they left he was yelling from the front door "Bye Jack, Bye Mads!", it was TDF.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day!

Buddies

Little Guy was smitten with Jack today, it was too precious to see how kind and gentle Jack was with him and Little Guy was all about the rough and tumble boy time.

Big sticks

After a party packed weekend, we decided to go out to dinner....ironic I know since we finally have a kitchen and could easily eat at home, but doing anymore dishes just seemed like the last thing any of us wanted to do!  We headed to BJs with Lizzy Bug and her family, but before we could even make it inside, Daddy and Little Guy discovered a big stick they had to carry through the parking lot.  Little Guy had a death grip on his daddy's neck and wouldn't let go for anything until he saw this stick, then it was hands free shoulder ridin' the rest of the way!

Alyssa's shower

Today we hosted a little garden brunch for my preggo twin Alyssa.  We have the exact same due date and it has made this pregnancy so much fun to have someone to share EVERYTHING with.  Erin was gracious enough to open her house since mine is still under remodel and her garden and new fence were a beautiful background to a lovely party. We REALLY lucked out that the 105 degree heat from the day before was over and we even had a slight breeze to cool off the guests and make it a tad difficult to decorate with our flower vases being knocked over.  I can't wait to meet baby Medina!!!

Swollen Feet

Well the heat and the busy schedule we're keeping finally caught up to my feet...I only lasted until 20 weeks with Little Guy so I feel like this was a marked improvement, but at 35 weeks pregnant, I am officially SWOLLEN and wearing compression socks on a daily basis.  I asked my sister how I was supposed to wear them all day when it's 105 degrees outside and her response was to plan my next pregnancy so I would be third trimester preggos in the winter....we'll work on that for next time.  In the meantime, I am sporting the socks, and not always with pants I might add, sometimes shorts or a skirt...and I'd like to say I only did that if I was staying home, but the truth is if I am not going to an actual party or event, I'll wear the socks with shorts, even outside of my own home (pregnancy has sucked all fashion decency out of me recently!).  So for the next four and half weeks, let's hope I can keep my feet up at night and with the help of the ever fashionable compression socks, keep my feet somewhat under control.

Growing too fast

How did my baby grow into a boy so fast????? The scratched up knees and elbows get me every time! I can't believe my baby is this big and in just 30 days we'll have a newborn in the house....it feels like yesterday we brought Little Guy home and then I blinked and he's jumping, climbing, talking, and growing up way too fast! Baby #2 better know to slow down this whole growing up thing!!!

Splashing Bread

We're gearing up for the 105 degree heat they are predicting this weekend and what better way to prepare than to jump in the pool!  Little Guy found it to be more entertaining to stand on the edge and drop Olive's ball in the water and let the water splash him in the face.  He could barely stand up he was laughing so hard!  I love to listen to him laugh at things he does himself, he fancies himself quite the comedian.  We were also lucky enough to get not one, but two, loaves of Gigi's bread....let me tell you, when Gigi's bread is in the house, there's really no point in offering anything else to eat.  Little Guy walks around asking/begging/pleading for more "Gigi's bread"...apparently I need to learn how to make banana bread (yes I know, it's not terribly difficult!)

Our table

We went and picked up my dad's latest masterpiece today, our kitchen table.  It is an exceptional piece of furniture- we hand picked the redwood (all five HUGE pieces of it) and my dad went to work sanding, planing, staining, and creating the most amazing table I have EVER sat at.  The bench is SO comfortable and it is the perfect compliment to our newly remodeled kitchen.  We are so lucky to have my dad not only helping us transform our house into our dream home, but to also create pieces that we will pass down for generations to come.  Now we just have to work on filling up all these dinner seats :)

Water

We have WATER!!!  My dishwasher is running as I type this and I cleaned off plates in the kitchen sink, not the guest bathtub, this evening!  I am so excited for the fridge water and range to get hooked up tomorrow...we are so close, I can't wait to have our first family dinner any day now!!!

Nap Time Professional

This weekend marked the start of shower season- I have SIX showers this month, one I am the guest of honor, two I am throwing, and three that I am simply enjoying as a guest!  That being said, this weekend I was sans kiddo for both showers and Little Guy's Daddy was in charge.  Naturally I may have given more advice than needed, but he breezed right through nap time, never resorting to the car, just simply laying with him in bed.  Every time my hubby has sleep success, be it with naps or bedtime, it adds to his very humble opinion of his superior parenting skills....yes honey, you were the nap king this weekend, but be careful what you wish for, you may find yourself in charge of sleep training this next baby :)

Grocery shopping...

Today we got to babysit sweet Peyton while her mommy and Gigi did a little shopping.  Little Guy was less than excited to wake up to a baby in the house, but after he discovered he could push her in his grocery cart, he was sold!  I can't wait for more play dates with all THREE babes!

Laughter and Lemonade

Today I was showered with motherly love at a luncheon in my honor!  We were celebrating Baby #2 and it was just the most perfect day, I couldn't have asked for more.  I really wanted something small so all the ladies could talk and enjoy each other's company and that was exactly what I got.  We had one long lunch table, so beautifully decorated it needed to be in a magazine.  Cari and Heather hosted with dessert help from the Erins- let me just say, I am so lucky to call these amazing women my friends.  Here are some shots from the day (you can check out more about the crafty side of the shower over at Teaspoons and Twine).

The darling lemonade stand that greeted the guests- it also enticed the garage salers!

Miss Erin and her lovely dessert creations.  The cake was TDF, I may have had 3 pieces...

Relaxing with my amazing gifts- we are set with diapers!

Miss Mads and Peyton!  Love the matching colors!

Friends from playgroup.  Funny to think we met when our boys were just months old and here we are gearing up for baby #2.  Alyssa and I have the EXACT same due date, SO FUN!

The Fitzsimmons ladies...maybe I am carrying the 5th one, you never know....