News Flash: summer half over & baby on the way!

Where is this summer going? You know the drill... once we pass the 4th of July, it just flies. I'm still in shock that a sweet baby girl will be joining our family in less than 10 weeks. I know I've said this before, but we have SO much to do before she gets here. Her room is still our office, her closet doesn't have nearly enough clothes, I need a double stroller and just some general help in the sanity department taking care of her brother lately. :)
I had my 30 week OB appointment yesterday. I now go every 2 weeks and have been since week 26, then at 36 weeks I begin to go weekly. Considering I started some early stages of labor with Preston around 36-37 weeks and he was born at 37 weeks and 4 days, I am wondering if this baby will hold off until September. (That is my utmost hope because I'd love for Preston and the baby to have different birth months so that neither grows up feeling they have to share party plans, etc...)
My blood pressure was 110/64, I gained 5 (YES, FIVE!) pounds in the two weeks since my last appt. which puts me at 2 lbs heavier than I was with Preston at this exact same stage. I definitely wanted to gain less weight this time around... so, um... yeah, it's not looking good in that arena. I have Braxton Hicks contractions all the time and both my swollen cankles and heartburn have reached the extremely annoying and painful stage. Other than that, I feel good overall...my energy level is still ok and I don't have too many other aches and pains. Sleeping is getting more difficult, but I know it's not going to get easier in the coming weeks so I'll just pipe down about that. ;)


The weekend of the 4th was crazy busy. We had the Goettermans over for a yummy fajita dinner (thanks to Patrick's awesome marinade!) Spent the next day at the lake where Preston enjoyed a cookout and watched his first fireworks display, Kevin and I enjoyed a date night on the 4th, and we also made a trip to the Fort Wayne Zoo where Preston FINALLY got to see the giraffes up close at the new African Journey exhibit. We've been really lucky for Kevin to have some time off this summer and we've done lots of fun family stuff. Good times!

I believe he's saying here, "I pooped!"

Muscles!!


Mezmerized by the fireworks and all the boats lining up to watch them. I was curious how much he'd remember the next day, but when we asked him "What did we go see last night?" He'd reply, "BOOOM! Red! BOOOM! Blue!"





our attempt at a family photo at the lake:



Wooo-hooo, date night! Such a treat- thanks Nana Connie. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my husband? It's amazing what a dinner out together at a nice restaurant without trying to feed a unfocused toddler can do for your meal time mental health.

We've had a nice break from the heat and humidity and have been taking advantage of it by spending every waking moment playing outside...

Fun on the new hide and slide!!





Loving the zoo. Can't say enough about having the season pass- it's worth every penny! I know I've said this before, but if you haven't gotten the chance to check out the African Journey, be sure to put it on your summer to-do list!







This goat's eating my shirt!









As my recent hire as kitchen-protege, Preston helped me make these delicious and festive chocolate dipped pretzels! I think he enjoyed it, although he kept requesting "mo sprintals" for the sprinkles, and he didn't quite get the importance of using my red/white/blue theme. He preferred the confetti mix "sprintals," so I let him do a few of those. Little stinker, trying to undo my Martha Stewart mojo.
YUM!




We are pretty unsure of how Preston will handle having a baby sister. He hugs my belly all the time and says "Baby Sisto." He also says the name we've been calling her. (Which we aren't sure of yet, so I'm not mentioning it here on the blog! HA!) ;) We do, however, have a strong contender that was on the list before we had Preston, but we're a bit stuck on the spelling and the middle name. The funny thing is that we both think we need a back up boy name in case she is a he. So we are literally trying to finalize both a girl and boy name.

BIG NEWS in the nursery department: we're gearing up to make the switch to Preston's BBB, or Big Boy Bed if you don't speak in acronyms like me. If anyone has any advice on transitioning out of the crib, please feel free to pass it along, I'm all ears. Baby Sisto will be using Preston's crib, changing table, and dresser, so big changes are coming to his room. Stay tuned!

pics from the weekend!

We had the lake to ourselves this weekend so we decided to go overnight and go out on the lake, help Grandma Joan with some chores and let Preston swim. Such a great time! We have a busy couple of weeks ahead, but are going again for July 4th with my mom's family. Lots of people and Preston's first fireworks- wish us luck!

Father's Day Fun

Preston wanted to make sure this was a special Father's Day for Kevin since it's his last one being an only child before his baby sister joins the family and gives him some competition.

First, on Friday, we went to the store and got the ingredients to bake Kevin a homemade carrot cake. For those of you who know me well, you know that baking is not my forte, nor is it something I particularly enjoy. Cooking on the other hand, is wonderful and even a stress-reliever for me. There's just something about baking that seems so overwhelming and like there's so much pressure because it doesn't give a lot of leeway for error. However, recently, I have been feeling more adventurous and brave and am even making some german chocolate cupcakes later today. The recipe is from Ina Garten (known as "The Barefoot Contessa" to my fellow foodies) so I know they'll be delicious. Click here for the recipe: German Chocolate Cupcakes

Back to our Carrot Cake... Occasionally, I have Preston "help" me cook or prepare things in the kitchen. It takes longer than if I were throwing something together on my own, but it's so worth it because he gets such a kick out of it. I really strive to be the kind of mom who can always slow down enough to enjoy the every day little things with her kids. Now I like carrot cake, but I don't love it the way Kevin does. But this really was delicious. You can see the recipe by clicking here: Carrot Cake Recipe
Check out my little chef:





Can you tell we were pretty proud of our efforts as we presented the cake to Kevin? There were about 100 little finger marks in the frosting, though.





Saturday morning, Kevin golfed, then when he got home, we gave him his Father's day gifts a little early since we had such a busy few days planned. Then, a visit from Grandpa and Grammy Roberts to deliver and assemble his new Little Tykes Hide and Slide! Along with a birthday party and fun with neighborhood friends for Finn Adams who just turned ONE! Not sure why these pics are showing up so small? Perhaps because I illegally yanked them from Matt Adams' facebook account, but you get the idea... (Go ahead, Matt, try to sue me!) haha ;)





Here's a stock photo since we don't have pics of Preston on the Hide and Slide yet, but will get those up soon. He's loving it, by the way, and my dad and Kevin put this thing together in about 7 minutes tops. It's totally going in my basement this winter for indoor play.



Sunday we spent the day at Lake James which was so nice and included a boat ride and a certain toddler who was way too brave in the pool for my comfort. I forgot my camera, of course, and will have to get some pictures this weekend as we are taking off for an overnight trip up there tomorrow.

Monday, Kevin took the day off work, so we finally got to check out the African Safari at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. It was amazing! They really did such a nice job and the landscaping alone is worth seeing. The Ostriches and Giraffes come right up to you and you can feed them. It was ungodly hot so they weren't into eating much, but one Ostrich in particular was especially enamored with Preston and caused some roaring laughter from our little guy as his shoes were about to be eaten. We got ice cream for a treat and headed home to recoup after our busy and long weekend.

Ok, bear with me because I know I mentioned this in my last post, but honestly, I feel so lucky and blessed to have a husband who is such an amazing father. He really is the kind of dad that cherishes each moment with Preston and his patience and communication with him just floors me. Thank you, honey! You mean the world to us and we love you with all our heart and hope you had a wonderful Father's Day!! xoxo

Pic Fix!

Camera cord has been found and we are back in business. So, for your Preston pic-fix, here are some recent pics from the last few weeks as promised.

The Pryors came to spend the night one night of my birthday weekend. It was so nice to see them, even if it was a short trip. Emma fell in love with Preston's car and he was happy to help her out when she and her baby, "Baby" got a flat tire.



We've been desperately trying to spruce up our backyard with some creative landscaping. We still need a few square yards of sod, and some more trees or large flowering shrubs, but those may be projects for next year. (You know, when I have tons of time on my hands with not one, but two kids under the age of 3.) I really regret not bringing some of the beautiful perennials we had at the old house over to our new one. I did make a trip this spring with my master gardner mother in law to pick out some new ones and I've also been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of her plant splitting a couple of times this year. Anyways, we have a desperate need to add some privacy along our deck. Our neighbors are very nice, but their bedroom window is literally about 12 feet from our back door, so if I were them, I'd be very thankful for some privacy there. We planted a really pretty chokecherry tree, and along the back of our yard, a serviceberry tree. Preston enjoyed helping us plant and water them.




Speaking of sprucing up the backyard, we are getting our effort and $'s worth, because we're spending tons of time out there. Preston has a water table, a pool, a golf set, balls, trucks, sidewalk chalk, etc... And today, much to his surprise, he's getting a new Little Tykes climber courtesy of Grandpa and Grammy Roberts. (pics to come!) Anyways, we've had playdates, planting, and dog washing sessions out there and even though I keep him slathered in 500+ SPF sunscreen, he still has a farmer's tan. The suit goes on and he's immediately in play mode. Seriously, I hope you won't get bored with pictures of Preston playing in our back yard because that's what most of our days consist of right now.






We recently watched his cousin, Baby Elliana a couple of weeks ago and he was sooo great with her. Loving on her and giving her kisses. I really hope he'll be as good with his new baby sister when she gets here. How sweet is this?




I mentioned that we had some painting done in my last post and promised pics of the nursery color. It's ridiculously far from being done. Like, stressing-me-out far from being done. But, alas, it's painted and that's a step in the right direction. We went with a very pale pink called "Pine Hutch." I'm really happy with the color because I was pretty worried about a pepto-bismol look.


And, while I'm at it, here's a 27 week belly shot and a pic of the upstairs bathroom color, called "Quietude."



Last but not least, Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband Kevin who makes being a dad a top priority every single day. Our kids are so lucky. And so am I. :)

We're still here!

Geesh- I've been away from blogging for a few weeks. Just wanted to pop on and give a bunch of excuses, er- uh..... "reasons" why.

1. We've been busy! So get off my back, ok?? :) Just kidding, but we really have been swamped. With summer stuff, life, family, OB appointments, friends in town, parties, etc... The summer is flying in a blink of an eye.

2. I lost my camera cord. But never fear- I found it and have weeks of photos to upload and share.

3. I threw out my back- last week at a lunch with some friends while I was lifting Preston and have spent the last several days trying to rest to let it heal. I know, what a perfect time to blog, right? Well, the camera cord and all...


So, in an attempt to catch up, here's a family picture and some pregnancy progress info to tide you over...
This was taken at Grandma and Grandpa Erb's this past weekend. (keep in mind, my back... I was in pain) and Preston was having a ROUGH day. But Kevin looks good. As always. :)


And in pregnancy news- I'm 27 weeks. Yep, that's a week away from starting my third trimester. Ridiculous. Where has this pregnancy gone? Kevin and I keep saying that it drug on and on with Preston because we were so nervous, but this time it's going too fast. We had the baby's room painted a pale pink last week. (In fact, we got a ton of painting done.. it was my attempt to hire someone to take care of my nesting duties for me.) :) Btw, can I just say how nice it was to have someone paint FOR us? We've always painted our houses by ourselves, but we left it to professionals last week and they did a great job. We had the kitchen painted, some trim in the breakfast nook, the foyer and upstairs and downstairs hallway (bye bye obnoxiously dark black/brown color!!) the baby's room, and the upstairs hall bathroom and we are really relieved to have done in one day what would have taken us a few months. Pics of the baby's room to come...

27 week update: (taken from BabyCenter)
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Memorial Day!

We had a busy weekend- starting with story time at the library with Aunt Kim, then Aunt Tori's birthday/shopping trip in Fort Wayne, a quick trip to the lake for Sunday, then on Monday, we took place in our first Illsley Place Memorial Day parade and cookout. Preston really enjoyed all of these activities, but I hardly had my camera at all, so this was all I could get... enjoy!

Having fun at the library!



Helping daddy drive the boat:

Everybody lining up for the parade. I love the bike with the red/white/blue ribbon on it! The pledge of alleigence was said and the parade took off, but it seemed everyone spread out by about the 4th house. Couldn't keep these paraders down...they were ready to go! :)



Since Easter was late and Memorial Day was early, it feels like one blink and BAM! Summer is on in full effect. Here's hoping it's a slow, leisurely summer that drags on because we are NOT ready for this little girl to be here yet- too much to do before September!

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend and has a wonderful week!

Somebody stop me.

...Because shopping for a girl is really fun.





And she's got a few (read: several) other items waiting to make their way onto my camera.

Let's hope she never gets this messy in them:

Yep, that would be my son eating leftover brownie batter. Only the very tip of the spoon and just the one taste. He's never had it before, but let's just say he was pleasantly surprised. :)

Happy Mother's Day '09!

We've had a fun but busy week here- lots of playing outside. Preston is obsessed with the mower and can't stand not to be outside with Kevin when he's mowing. Actually, he can't stand to be inside pretty much at all right now. When it's time to come in, he usually has a tantrum. Aunt Kim and Uncle Bill gave us some handmedown outdoor toys. One is a water/sand table which has been a huge HIT! (And has allowed us to get some work done outside by keeping Preston occupied for long stretches of time.) I swear, it's like an outdoor babysitter. If you don't have one, you should. Another thing I think I've mentioned before is an awesome excavator ("didder!") from Preston's cousin Gabriel. Also a huge hit even though it's usually found digging in my flower beds.




Speaking of flower beds, I am going to Shipshewana with my master gardner Mother in Law this week- can't wait!!! :) She and I are also taking a gardening class together at IPFW right now and it's been super informative so far! This is the time of year that I long to spend about 6 hours a day just working in the yard and gardening, planting flowers and digging in the dirt, moving plants around, and deciding what needs to go where and next to what else. I am telling you, if your soul is feeling a little caged, there is nothing like an hour spent focusing on creating a living scape with all the different colors, shapes and textures to really ground yourself and get some creative juices flowing. It's my free therapy. :)

My mom and I took Preston to the Indianapolis zoo one day last week. We met some family friends there and had a wonderful time. Preston is a vetran of the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, but has never experienced the one in Indy. It was great! There was an exhibit with small sharks that open on top and low to the ground, so that kids could reach in the tank and "pet" the sharks! He came nose to nose with a walrus, saw a mama and baby elephant and enjoyed a train ride. He loved meeting a new friend, Aidan, and just had a blast the entire day. Good times!




Mothers Day was a busy one! Preston woke up early, and I got some nice cards from he and Kevin. We drove to Angola for brunch at Pokagon with my mom and grandma, a quick stop by the nature center there to show Preston some things, then back to Fort Wayne for a cookout with the Erbs. Preston had a blast playing with his cousins and we enjoyed some quality family time. Remembering the twins we lost today as we do every Mothers Day since it was our due date, and taking time to be thankful for all we have awaiting us in the upcoming months with our daughter joining our family! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in our lives- we are so grateful for your love!






Also, a big congratulations to Scott and Emily Stanski on their wedding this past weekend! They were a beautiful couple and our weekend was spent enjoying time with friends.

Spring time update!

Preston has just been cracking us up lately and he's becoming so much more like a little boy and less like a baby. He's talking in 4 word sentences and saying things like "Mama, bus right there!" Then, after the bus passes, he says, "More bus!" If we see another bus then, he'll say "More bus right there!" He's also doing this hysterical thing where he goes to get in his little tykes car, and says, "bye bye! Day!" (We say bye bye and have a good day to Kevin every morning.) And I'll ask where he's going and he'll say, "Wort!" (Work) Then, he'll go, "Meenings." (Meetings!) OMG- we think it's so funny.

We spent some time in Jasper with our friends the Pryors last weekend and Preston had a wonderful time playing with Emma. Emma is my Goddaughter and Preston is Natalie's Godson, so our time with eachother's kids is really special. There were a couple of times that Preston would watch Emma, who is turning 3 in July and just seem to act so much older like her. He'd approach her with "Hey Emma." And as just another example, the other day, he called me "mom." MOM?? Are you kidding? When did he turn 5? Anyways, the ride down was hard for Preston and he got car sick once on the way, but we had a great time with friends and the return was much easier. How cute are these two?




We also went to see my brother Collin play in a golf tournament here in Fort Wayne recently. Preston is currently interested in golf, so he thought it was pretty cool to see his uncle tee off right by us and yelled "Sod Sob!" (Good job?). I was an idiot and didn't realize we'd follow him for a while while walking and didn't bring the stroller. It was 90 degrees and I am getting bigger, so the thought of carrying him was horrible and Dawn and Tori stepped up to the plate. (Thanks guys!) Here he is with Aunt Tori outside of the clubhouse.



I've mentioned before, Preston is obsessed with trucks of any kind. When he was about 18 months old, Kevin searched YouTube for truck footage and a new hobby was born. Now, when Preston see's Kevin's laptop, he begs to watch trucks. Kevin gives in about twice a week, but it could keep Preston occupied for hours if we'd allow it. He loves to sit on the couch with his dad and talk about what he sees. And he usually gets so excited that he want to pull the laptop onto his lap and hold it himself.





We've reached the halfway point of this pregnancy. I can't believe it. Where is the time going?! I am feeling great and seem to be past 99% of my nausea and 75% of my exhaustion. Baby girl is moving a lot lately and remains nameless. We do have a few ideas, though. She weighs about 10 oz and is almost the length of a banana.

Our newest dilemma is whether or not to get a new crib for the baby. She'll be in our room for awhile, so we could use Preston's crib for her once he's ready for a big boy bed and she's ready to transition for the crib. Or, we could get her a crib and leave Preston in his until he's actually ready. OR, we could get Preston a convertible crib that becomes a toddler and double bed for later on and give his crib to the new baby before she gets here. We are torn because I definitely don't want him to feel like she's taken over his sleeping space or that we are rushing him out of his room. He hasn't ever attempted to climb out of his crib, so part of me thinks "Why mess with a good thing?" But I also think, "if I could avoid buying another crib, that would be nice." We'll see.


We have four flowering Crab Apples in full bloom right now at our house and they are just gorgeous. One is right outside Preston's bedroom and you can see the branches that brush up against both of his bedroom windows. Every day after his nap when I open the blinds, he says "flow flow" with a huge smile. Happy spring!

IT'S A....

GIRL!
We are in shock! At least I am. It seems I've gone back and forth on what I thought this baby was, but we found out today that we are in fact on Team Pink. The ultrasound went well and we got to watch her bounce around, make a pouty sucking face (she's ready for the boob already!) and then put both her hands behind her head like she was relaxing. The tech is 100% sure it's a girl and so were we- we made her show us about 5 times. We would have been just as excited to have another boy, but we feel very lucky and blessed to have one of each. Now.... let the shopping begin!




And because I can't make a post without adding some Preston cuteness, here is her big brother.




HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!