2 and a half weeks and counting....

I had my appointment today with my OB and all is well. Baby Blake is staying steady with a heartrate of 144- that's been his tried and true heartrate for many of my appointments. He is head down which is always good. As for me, I was already 1-2 and 50%. Being that I technically have 4 weeks until the actual due date and only 2 1/2 until the induction, that's pretty good. I remember being about 3 weeks from my due date with Hunter and being 2 and 80%. I'm not counting on him coming any sooner than the planned day, but I probably shouldn't take any chances. I have been packing my bag this afternoon with things that I don't need on a daily basis. I should probably make sure that the camera and video camera are charged and ready.

On another note, when Hunter wakes up this afternoon, I have planned to do some fun things with him for Halloween. We are going to make iced pumpkin sugar cookies and then carve our pumpkin. I saw the cutest idea on another blog and had to share...
As you carve your pumpkin, this is something special you can do:

Dear God,
As I carve my pumpkin help me say this prayer....
Open my mind so I can learn about you. (Cut the top of the pumpkin)
Take away all my sins and forgive me for the wrong things I do. (Clean out the inside)
Open my eyes so Your love I will see. (Cut the eyes out in the shape of a cross)
Open my ears so Your Word I will hear. (Cut the ears shaped like the Bible-rectangles)
Open my mouth so I can tell others You are near. (Cut the mouth)
Let Your light shine in all I say and do! (Place a candle inside and light it)
AMEN!

So cute! We will have to take a picture of ours and post it later today. I do remember thinking that Hunter would be all about digging in and scooping out the insides of the pumpkin last year. Instead, he was disgusted and said, "Ew momma, no you do it." It doesn't phase me in the least!

Hope everyone has a fun Halloween! Many pics to come from that I am sure!

The birthday buddies!

A couple of nights ago, we enjoyed a family dinner with Cari, Derek and Kate. Hunter and Kate have always had a special relationship and really enjoy being with each other even though Hunter is 18 months older. Both Hunter and Kate are going to be the "Big Brother" and "Big Sister" in only a couple of weeks. Cari and I are due a day apart with little boys. So fun! We could not resist posing with our tummies so we can add it to our baby books and show the boys some day.







Above: Me posing before a wedding that we did not last too long at. Standing up for long periods of time is just not so much fun anymore. I think I have grown so much in the last week or so. This is nearly 36 weeks.

Happy Anniversary... a couple of days late!

Edited to Add: New Pics from the weekend.

Posing with my big tummy- this was pre-Ruths Chris dinner! :) (35 weeks)

Chris and I on our 6th Anniversary!

It always feels funny to take pictures in a restaurant, but it's always worth it for the memory.

35 weeks! At this point I had about 4 weeks to go until induction day!

I cannot believe that October 19th marked our 6th anniversary! It's amazing to see where God has led us in that amount of time. We have both changed jobs... Chris has almost been working as a real estate appraiser for 6 years coming up in January... I have taught 4th grade in McKinney and 6th grade in San Antonio. I have since "retired" to be at home with Hunter who arrived 2 months after our 3rd anniversary and now we have another baby about to arrive in a little less than a month!

We have moved, bought our first house, done an extensive home addition, bought several new cars and sold several cars (thanks to Chris), gone on some fun vacations both near and far, established incredible friendships with amazing people that I know I will still be writing about 50+ years from now, been a part of a great couple's Bible Study and helped start a Sunday School class for couples, walked the journey of becoming parents, celebrated many holidays and birthdays together, learned a lot about the other person's habits and tendencies (Chris leaves cabinet doors open, I leave countless pairs of shoes around), had the opportunity to truly see God's provisions on many occasions and are very grateful, have splurged and saved, we've seen our inner-child come out of each other while raising Hunter, we've laughed and cried- but mostly laughed, we've been so fortunate to have health and the many opportunities that have been provided... overall, I would say we have been enormously blessed!

This past weekend, we had the very unique opportunity of having no child with us. Hunter was off in Waco having a great time with his Mimi and Bapa. Chris and I took the chance to eat out (hence the 10 pounds I am sure that I gained in that short amount of time). We went to Dough for one of the best authentic Italian pizzas ever! We shared a delicious appetizer of all assorted cheeses and then made room for a great salad only to top it all off with a Margarita pizza that was literally made like they do in Italy. I know... I've been!

Saturday morning we went out for breakfast and then each got to work on some of those little jobs that we have needed to do for so long. After a full morning of work and finally being able to check off the list, we headed out for an early evening movie. We saw, Fireproof, which was incredible. We both really enjoyed it and loved the message. After dinner we tried a new restaurant in our area and had a great time actually getting to have a conversation over dinner rather than refereeing and juggling Hunter. It was a treat!

Sunday, we actually slept until 9:30. I do not know when the last time was that I slept that long! Chris helped me shop for the Foundry, the coffee shop owned by the church, and then we came home to put our feet up. That night we enjoyed one of our favorite meals at Ruths Chris and literally ate ourselves to death. It was well worth it though!

The entire weekend was a treat and one that we will not soon have again given that we will have 2 little ones in about 3 weeks. Thanks Mimi and Bapa for keeping Hunter- he had the best time and loves being with you both! And thanks for giving us such a treat by having a weekend to ourselves! We had fun!

Something scary...

Yesterday, while my back was turned for no more than a minute, Hunter climbed up on the kitchen counter and got a bottle of Children's Motrin from the windowsill. It had been there for about a week, and I had just forgotten to put it back where I keep all of the medicine- at the top of my bathroom cabinets. I walked into the kitchen to find the bottle open in his hand, some on his little table, but definitely the smell of medicine on his breath. I was panicked and questioned him over and over about how much he drank, etc, which really upset him. After a call to Poison control, I was told that the amount he injested was not enough to cause harm. Thank you Lord! After that ordeal, along with a 5:20 wake up that morning, this is what Hunter did the rest of the afternoon...

The Pun-kin Patch 2008- Take One

Hunter and I took advantage of the overcast skies this morning to head over to the church Pumpkin Patch. My ultimate goal was to walk away with some great pictures, but instead we ended up with some decent pics and 3 awesome, hand-picked pumpkins by Hunter. He insisted on the exact 3 that we came home with, and I have to say, they make a really cute arrangement on the front porch. I love fall!

The Things they Say...

**The other day, as we were leaving Hunter's school, he asked to get a sucker from the front office. All of the kids know that Ms. Jane keeps Dum-Dum suckers in a basket for them and Hunter wanted one. By the time we got home, he had finished the sucker, so I held out my hand for him to throw it away. He looked at me and said, "Just a minute mom, I need to blow smoke out of it first," with it still in his mouth. I ask you... where did this little one learn about smoking????

**Chris always plays around with Hunter that he has taken his nose or his ear and Hunter really buys it. He will get upset if you don't immediately replace it on his face. Well, after dinner at a friend's house the other night, Chris informed Hunter that, "We accidentally left your nose at their house." Hunter looked at Chris and said, "Well, we need to go get it right now!"

**I was returning emails the other day in the sunroom and heard the alarm beep that signals that a door has opened in the house. Hunter has recently been able to open the front door without help, so I knew that he was the culprit. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied, "I need to run up to the office real quick." Like father like son!!

**My mom asked Hunter about whether or not he was going to share his toys with Baby Blake. Hunter looked her straight in the eye and said, "No, he can get his own toys." How's that for brotherly love?

Hunter found a stash of dum-dums intended to be treats for potty training that is not currently happening. Apparently moderation is not practiced at our house!

Wild and Crazy at the Animal Safari

Last Friday, we loaded up with Carey and Jackson and headed to the Natural Bridge Caverns Wildlife Safari. Hunter was thrilled to go again and thought a huge highlight of the trip was riding in the SAME car with one of his best buddies! They had a blast getting to roam free in the car and see all of the animals. It was definitely a learning experience with lots of laughs too! The boys loved throwing food out the window and especially loved the antics of the ostrich nipping at the food. Hunter was in heaven when Carey let both of the boys "drive" on her lap. I think Hunter was convinced that he was the one actually in control. Heaven help us!!

At one point, the zebra stuck his nose completely through the open window and Hunter jumped about 3 feet. I think I captured this picture right before that happened.

5 Weeks from Today!!

I cannot believe that 5 weeks from today we will get to meet little Blake! I am beside myself excited and am ridiculously ready for him to get here. Of course, I am not wishing him to come early, but instead for those 5 weeks to not be pure torture.

I have his bag packed for the hospital, the car seat ready and the base installed in the car, clothes are washed and hung up in the closet, diapers and more diapers ready and waiting, the room is spotless and set up for him at a moment's notice, the Moses basket is ready and waiting in our bedroom, the monitor is plugged in even though it is monitoring nothing right now, the baby creams and bath gear are ready and stocked...

The only thing I still need to do is pack my own bag, and I think if I did that right now, Chris would think I was crazy. He's already laughing at my "nesting" instinct that has set in so early. He thought it was a little early to install the carseat base, but my motto is to do it when you are thinking about it.

After running our video camera out to the hospital Saturday morning for some close friends to borrow for the birth of their little girl, I realized that I had not stocked up on blank tapes for the camera. Well, I can say that that is now taken care of! We have 2 packs of 2 ready for Baby Blake! I feel like I should keep my digital camera on the charger permanently so it is always ready since you never really know... but I think we will be fine!

Hunter seems to understand that there is a baby in my tummy and gave Blake some kisses today. He loves to push on my belly button that has proceded to stick out very obviously and turn me "off" and "on." It doesn't help that I totally play along and stop and freeze what I am doing to play like I am "off" and then resume my activity when he turns the button back "on." The things you do!

Anyway, I am going to be content to enjoy my last couple of weeks with just Hunter. He's at such a great stage- he's funny and silly and so great to have a conversation with. We are really relishing these days before life gets hectic and unpredictable again.

Baby Blake's Nursery

The room is ready and waiting for little Blake! I am so excited the PB rug came in this week and we were able to get it in the room. I think we are finished- I can't think of anything else we need to do.

Fortunately, we didn't have too much work to do in the nursery since we moved Hunter to his big boy room a couple of months ago. We did have to replace the blue and white rug with a new one (thanks Mom and Dad), and we rearranged some of the things on the wall. I had the cross collection over the crib for Hunter. For Blake, we moved them to the striped wall on either side of the window and got a precious piece to hang over the crib from Chris' parents. I also ordered a cute canvas with Blake's initials painted on it to hang over the glider. It turned out so cute!

The room is so cheery and cozy and I cannot wait to have a little one to hold and rock again in that chair. It won't be long now!

10 Years goes Faster than you think

One of the last weekends in September was my 10 year high school reunion. We had so much fun getting to see everyone and it was a full weekend of activity. Friday night was Mexican food, Margaritas and the AH football game. It really was fun to go back to the high school after several years and experience the whole Friday night football again. I don't know if it's age, pregnancy or both, but those metal bleechers are not comfortable enough for an entire football game.

Saturday, I had helped to arrange a picnic at the high school under the oaks. We had BBQ catered and everyone brought their kids. Hunter had a blast with Caledonia, the mule mascot for those of you who don't know. She came dressed in her mascot outfit and probably was dying from the heat. We also had some girls come and do face paint for the little ones and 2 football players sign little footballs for the kids to have. Hunter loved the face paint, the mascot and the footballs. He was a taker on all of the activities!


Saturday night, we had a great night at the Quarry golf club. The only picture I managed to have taken was one of Stacy and I, due about a month apart, posing with our tummies.

I laughed because I was voted "Most the Same"- but was certainly confused by it seeing as I have a big pregnant belly these days! :) Over all, it was a really fun weekend and treat to see everyone from near and far.

Here's to the Red, White and Blue

We had such a fun opportunity this past Saturday to watch President Bush be flown in by helicopter to TSTC near Waco and see him board Air Force One to travel to Midland for a fundraiser. Hunter thought it was so exciting to see the three huge helicopters coming from a distance and land within 100 yards of us. Parked directly in front of us was Air Force One- ready and waiting for the President and First Lady to board. It was all very exciting!

While we were waiting for the President to arrive from his ranch in Crawford, this is what Hunter found highly entertaining!

Here's the crew waiting in front of Air Force One.

The helicopter has landed! We were waving and taking pictures at the same time.

Watching them walk up the steps to the plane.