Flashback Friday

During the summer, every Friday we have a playdate at the pool. It's the only place outside we can stand to be for longer than it takes us to get fastened into the air conditioned car. Have I mentioned that we have been on quite a lengthy stretch of 100 degree weather?

Much of my childhood was spent in the water, and I'd hope that my children would love it as much as I did. I'm excited to say that it takes quite a few "no, not yet"s and "wait"s once we enter the "pool zone" to keep them from jumping in alone. They are more than ready.

Here are a few pictures from Josiah's first swim at 6 months old.

These are a couple from Laney's first trip to the pool....she was just 2 months.

Thank you, Sabrina, for hosting "Flashback Friday"....I've really enjoyed looking back. Although, I'm not sure I'm too excited about next week....baby pictures of me and Randy (if I can find any).

Compliments of Big Brother

This is what happens when you bend over to pet a puppy, and then your big brother decides to pet the puppy from the front of his bike, accidentally moving backwards and causing you to face-plant into the back tire. Poor baby....now she has an eyebrow boo-boo, just like her big brother.

Cafe Preggers

Instead of enjoying a much needed afternoon nap, I dove head first into a massive pile of papers begging to be filed. I've never been really good at keeping the filing pile minimal, but it's also never really bothered me...before. Now it bothers to me to end that one corner of my bedroom has become overrun by a mountain of loan statements, receipts, tax documents, etc. I'm pretty sure it's a result of needing to find all of the extra space possible in order to welcome baby #3 to our home without resorting to putting him/her in the bathtub...and as we all know, clutter takes up more space.

Sooo, after about 30 minutes into my filing extravaganza, I undercovered an issue of Babytalk magazine. Of course, I had to stop my efforts and read through the magazine real quick before I threw it in the "garbage pile" (plus, I had to take a potty break--boy, I forgot just how small the bladder gets when a baby is competing for space). And written on the last page was a menu from "Cafe Preggers"....I thought it was just too funny not to share. Hope you enjoy it just as much as I did.

*******

Cafe Preggers

We always have just what you want, at any stage of pregnancy--from the queasy beginning to those last weeks when the baby has taken up every ounce of spare room in your belly.

First Trimester Menu

Appetizer

Turns compote

Entree

Fresh Saltines on a bed of Saltines, lightly seasoned with Saltines

Beverage

Ginger ale (IV drip available upon request)

Dessert

Ten minutes in a dim room with an ice bag on your head

Second Trimester Menu

Appetizer

Half a roast chicken, extra crispy

Entree*

A succulent leg of lamb smothered in pork chops, served with BBQ ribs and garnished with cheeseburgers (all burnt beyond recognition for your safety)

Beverage

Toll House-pie smoothie, prepared with 1/2 pint heavy cream

Dessert

9"x16" pan of double-fudge brownies

Third Trimester Menu

(Each course followed by a 15-minute neck massage and/or bathroom break)

Appetizer

Three bites of tossed salad

Entree

Two bites of lasagna

Beverage

None-so you'll have room for dessert

Dessert

A Tic Tac

*Double portions available if you're expecting twins

Flashback Friday

I mentioned last week that I wanted to start posting old pictures, particularly of Josiah, since this blog started about a year and a half after he blessed our world. Soooo, I decided to join my good bloggy friend, Sabrina, in her "Flashback Friday" series, which she created to enable her love of looking through old fotos. I, too, enjoy drifting back....although it does make me a little sad to see just how quickly and how much my children have grown.

It was tough deciding on which pics to use for this post, so I decided to copy Sabrina's idea and use pictures from our first family vacation in July 2007. Randy's parents, brother, SIL and our nephew flew from West TX to VA to celebrate Josiah's first birthday as well as visit Washington, DC (it was their first visit).

National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial

(Randy's uncle was shot during a routine drug check at a Greyhound bus stop in West Texas in 2002)

WWII Memorial

(Iowa--the other half of his 'roots')

Randy and I always enjoyed our time in the DC area....and we miss being so far away.

Zoo-tastic!

Our MOPS group decided to change up the scenery of our Wednesday AM play date this morning, from the air conditioned church gym to the 95 degree ambient air of the Zoo. It really wasn't too bad, even being pregnant....we just made sure that we had enough juice and water. The kids really enjoyed themselves. Josiah thoroughly enjoyed running around with his good friend, David; and Laney giggled each time I picked her up out of her stroller to get a better look at the animals. She loved watching the flamingos and did a petting hand motion each time she saw a big kitty--lion, tiger, or bobcat (she pets the kitty cats in her books while she reads).

After 2.5 hours, we just couldn't stand the heat any longer and left to enjoy a picnic lunch at a neighboring park. Even though Laney missed her morning nap, she did really well...and enjoyed playing with the other kids. Of course, she crashed once I got her fastened in her car seat and got the A/C circulating. Josiah amazed me by continuing "full throttle" despite a full morning of running around the zoo in the heat. But they were more than ready to say "good night" tonight. No fighting at bed time always makes for a perfecting ending to the day, don't you think?

I'm still trying to figure out this whole collage construction thing in Photoshop, but here are a few pictures from our day.

Taken Sept 2008 (Laney was just shy of 5 months old)

Something New

In preparation to change our blog name (ya know, 'cause we're adding another little Mexican to the family), I thought I would try my hand at redesigning our blog. I'm trying a free 30-day trial of Photoshop Elements 7.0 just to see if it would be something I would and could use...and so far, I'm LOVING it!

I've also learned a little bit of HTML to change the background tile as well as adjust the writing space.

Who says you can't teach an old dog (with preggo brain) new tricks? LOL! Nap time for the kids just can't come soon enough.

Soooo, what do ya think?
(I've got a lot to learn, but I don't think what I've created thus far is all too bad.)

Then & Now

My bloggy friend, Trisha, started a "looking back" series as a way to incorporate the pictures taken before she started her blog. I thought it was such a good idea, I couldn't not copy (imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, after all).

Not counting our trip to IL just last weekend, our last trip up to visit my parents and sisters was Dec 2007, when Josiah was just 16 months old (he's now just 1 month shy of being 3).

And since I finally broke down and started a new addiction friendship with Photoshop, I thought I would try to compose a simple collage of a couple of "Then & Now" pictures. (It's far from perfect, but you have to start somewhere, right?)

Fun in IL

Last week we travelled to IL for my sister's wedding, the last "Good" wedding. And we figured that since we were spending $$$ on tickets and we are uncertain when the next time we'll see everyone again, we decided to spend a week at Grandma and Papa's house.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves...we had great weather and lots of new things to do.

They had fun at the park....

They wrestled with Aunt Kara....

They rode the John Deere with Papa....

They loved on Moby (Aunt Leslie's furry child)....

Laney got her toes painted....

Laney with Aunt Leslie and Soon-to-be Uncle Josh....

They played the piano....

Josiah played Candy Land (game board circa 1978) with Aunt Kara and Uncle Chris....

They rode on the John Deere some more....

They helped Grandma sweep the grass clippings off the driveway....

They posed with Grandma....

Laney quietly ate a mouthful of black M&Ms....

They even celebrated their birthdays (2 months late for Laney and 1 month early for Josiah)....

Laney even blew out her candle by herself...

Whew, it was a fun yet exhausting trip. We were sad to leave, but it's good to be home.

PS. I apologize for all of the individual pictures....I have just downloaded Photoshop and hope to figure out how to create collages and edit color, etc. Wedding pictures will be posted soon.

Happy 4th and Fourteen Months!

Sorry, I'm a bit behind, but better late than never, right? I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend, celebrating the freedom that our many service men and women work so hard to protect.

We spent the afternoon at a cookout/pool party at our Program Director's house. We enjoyed good swimming, good food, and good fellowship with our fellow Residents and their families.

July 4, 2008

(Laney was just 2 months old)

July 4, 2009

In addition to fun in the pool, Josiah tried out the homemade slip n slide, complete with dishsoap (helps in gaining distance).

There were also games. Josiah was excited to be able to participate this year. I think he was even more excited about wearing matching bandanas with Randy.

Our evening ended with a small backyard fireworks display. It was a great night...bright moon, no clouds, light breeze, and NO mosquitos. After spending the last couple of days saying how he wasn't going to be scared of the fireworks this year, Josiah ended up hiding out inside while Daddy, Laney, and I enjoyed the site, sounds, and smell of the fireworks outside. Laney even fell asleep during the "show", that's how much she enjoyed them. Oh well....maybe next year.

*********

And while we were celebrating our country's independence, we were also celebrating Laney's 14 month birthday. Laney is getting so big and is doing and saying so many things. A couple of weeks ago during a visit to see Randy, I weighed her....26.5 pounds, so still a big girl. She is still wearing 2T clothes and has grown into a size 6 shoe...and speaking of shoes, she loves to wear them. If she sees them laying around, you can most certainly expect that she will bring them to you, say "shoes" or "here ya go" and sit down. Definitely a girl (well, except for the whole not-wearing-a-bow thing)!

In addition to saying "shoes", Laney now says "juice", "go", "ouch!", "uh-oh", and "up". And she will clearly sign "please", "thank you", "milk", "more", "eat", and "all done" (and she'll also open her mouth REAL big if she sees something she wants to eat and say "ah, ah"). Laney is also thoroughly enjoying learning her letters and sounds along with her brother, she already knows that "the A says ah, the A says ah, every letter makes a sound, the A says ah". She is also learning her animal sounds and has cow, dog, and goldfish down pat. If you ask what a goldfish says, she'll open and close her mouth silently...it's SO cute.

Laney is still seated rear-facing in the car (her feet are just now barely touching the back of the seat). However, she will get an opportunity to see the world from a whole new perspective when we turn her around this week for my sister's wedding. I hope that she won't like it too much because I do plan on turning her back around when we get home....until her new car seat and baby brother/sister arrives.

Laney sure does love her brother...if imitation truly is the highest form of flattery. It's 100% "Monkey-see, Monkey-do" around here. And in just the last couple of days, she'll walk up to Josiah and give him a kiss. It's darling! Eeek, so many cute things to capture on video before they are gone and forgotten!

Laney, you are definitely one quirky, sassy, funny, and cute little girl...and we just love that about you.

Happy 14 Month Birthday!

Halfway

It's hard to believe that I've reached the halfway point of this pregnancy already. It seems like just yesterday I was sharing our shocking news. I guess that's what happens when you're in denial for 3 months. *wink* Things have been going well, and I feel great. I've just barely started showing, and I'm not in maternity clothes yet (losing 30-40 pounds twice now has given me a little bit of room for growth in my "fat pants"). While Laney has no clue what is about to happen to her little world, Josiah is much more aware...and he has started talking to the baby and pat my belly when we lay down together...it's very cute.

Please pray that the next 20 weeks go smoothly (and I'm on the fence about whether I want them to go by quickly or not) as we adjust the house and the big brother and sister for baby's arrival in just a few months. We hope to transition Josiah to a big, "big boy" bed, in a separate room from Laney, move Laney to the toddler bed, and move the crib back to our room, in about 4 months. New car seats are on order (our current seats are too wide to accommodate 3 seated across the back of our car)....I just hope they fit and that the kids like them as much as their current seat.

Lots to prepare for in the next 5 months....