Crazy for Baby

For some reason these last two pregnancies have been full of extras. With Porter, he only had a 2 vessel umbilical cord so I went back in at 33 weeks for another ultrasound to make sure everything was developing properly (it was). It was so fun to see him on the ultra sound screen again.

With this baby, they found protein and blood in my last urine sample and the doctor was worried about possible kidney stones so in I went at 26 weeks for an ultra sound to check my kidneys and the baby's progress. Then, yesterday, at almost 30 weeks,  Blake and I went in for the clinic's complimentary 3D ultrasound. It's been really fun to get to see this baby a few extra times before it makes the big debut in (hopefully) 10 weeks!

The baby's face was pushed into the placenta most of the time and also had hands blocking the face...so if the images seem bumpy or like there are holes in parts of the face, it's because the tech was trying to erase everything except a good image of the baby's face. I love getting to see the baby when it's further along and actually starting to looke like, well, a baby! Definitely makes it seem more real and gets me excited for round 3 of this!

These are the days

Early in the morning I hear the squeak of a bedroom door opening. Little feet pad into my bedroom and I can barely see a blonde head reaching above the height of the mattress. I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. I hear the grunt of a little body trying to climb up on the bed. Finally he makes it, climbs under the covers, lays his head on the pillow right next to mine and says, "Morning!" I open my eyes and laugh and snuggle close to him. We lay there and snuggle and laugh until he finally says, "eat now". Sister usually joins us in the morning too. She'll climb on the other side of me or will take Porter downstairs to get something to eat while I get a few more minutes of rest before the day begins. This has been how our day has begun for the last month or so. I look forward to every morning when Porter climbs in bed with me and Brooke pokes her sleepy head and crazy hair into my room. 

Today as I was laying there trying to wake up, I heard Brooke say to Porter, "We're going to be best buddies and not throw any more fits." (Can I get a hallelujah?!) 

The other morning, Blake was helping grate zucchini from our garden so I could make bread. We told the kids to go upstairs and play. After a while it was very quiet up there so I went to investigate. I found them in Porter's closet reading books together.

 Then Mr. P on his bike. He was making me laugh so hard wearing the helmet on his head.

We also love when Porter talks about hummingbirds. He pronounces it "yummy-terd"

These are the days I want to remember.

Scouting

Blake drew a once in a lifetime buck tag for this fall. He's really excited and has been antsy to get out to the area and start scouting. We went on a family drive a couple weeks ago to check it out.

 Blake got to play with his new spotting scope.

 Just driving around, we saw so many deer from the side of the road.

Later, Blake took the camper and Brooke and headed back out for three days of scouting. They took the four-wheeler and had a blast just going for rides and spotting deer. Besides deer, they also saw buffalo, coyotes, and even two bears! I'm so jealous they saw bears. I've always wanted to see a bear in the wild.

Hopefully Blake will get his dream deer this fall. Everyone pray that he gets his deer early in the hunt because his hunt is only a week before I'm due.

Picnic with the big trucks

I can't remember if I already posted the these first few pictures. 

Oh how this boy loves his car, buses, trucks, trains, and boats. It amazes me that he can just play with his trucks on the floor for hours.

 He also loves to help me sweep. I swear he has bionic hearing. He can be down in the basement and if I get the broom out he'll come running upstairs wanting to help. I usually give him the small dustpan and sweeper to use while I clean up.

 The first part of August was the annual summer picnic at Blake's work. This was our second time going and we always have a great time. The kids got their faces painted, we ate a yummy dutchoven lunch, there were carnival games and bounce-houses/slides for the kids and of course the main event: the heavy equipment.

 Porter was a go getting on the inflatable slides. He climbed up the ladder all by himself and loved coming down the steep slides. I tried to get a picture of him coming down, but he was just too fast.

Brooke is teeny-tiny standing in front, Porter is by the ladder on the right and you can see how big just the wheel of the truck is compared to Blake standing on the left:

 They had a professional photographer at the event and she took a few family pictures so we'll see how they turn out.  And although I assumed the pictures would be free, I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll have to pay for them if we want the images. So depending on how good they will determine if I actually buy any ;)

August Already?!

Wow, where did July go? Our family was busy with holidays, family reunions, a trip out to the city, and Blake had a week-long conference for work he attended out of town (that made for a LONG week for mom!) and the month just flew by. Hello August!

Brooke is really excited to be starting school soon. Porter found Brooke's backpack and it looks like she's not the only one who's excited for school to start. I think he'll get a rude awakening when Brooke leaves on that first day and he doesn't get to go.

We still enjoy our daily cool-off sessions in the back yard

 Look at our garden! We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, corn, peas, pumpkins, zucchini, and squash. As you can see the vines are trying to take over our yard.

 We went on a family outing to the river (where it's really calm) and let the kids play on the shore and swim for a bit. We packed a picnic lunch and had a really great afternoon. Next time we'll bring a campchair for mom. Sitting on my rump on a rock or the hard ground was not fun with a 7 month pregnant belly!

 Blake took Brooke swimming across the river to the other side.

 Then it was Porter's turn

 And speaking of the belly--it just keeps growing! I can't believe that in (hopefully) less than three months we'll get to meet the newest member of our family! The baby is very active, especially at night. I also have been getting tons of heartburn, leg cramps, and sciatic nerve leg/back pain. Besides feeling worn out from chasing 2 kids all day and feeling like I might die in the heat--I'm actually doing pretty good!