So it is October and I am sitting here pushing myself to make time to update our summer and document all the goings on. Some moments we won't forget, but others were glanced over and I want to make sure we remember the small fun moments. Our summer started with celebrating our Daddy's birthday and summer school...
May 29th: Daddy's Birthday & 1st Day of Summer School
Happy Birthday to our awesome, wonderful, cool, mighty, sweet and amazing Daddy! While we celebrated the big day the weekend before (see previous posts), we had to get a picture together before he headed to work. God has blessed our family by giving us our Daddy, and my hubby. He is the daddy that stays up late changing diapers or cuddling someone after bad dreams, even though he is half asleep and might not remember it all the next morning. He loves taking us to football games and really any other sporting event. He isn't afraid to give kisses to boo boos after a wrestling match on the floor (that mommy typically has to end due to the boo boo). He is always up for taking the kids to the pool or park, even though he has had a long day at work and hasn't had down time. He is addicted to his iphone, but he does put it down to be with our family.... I will blame the lack of sleep for not being able to keep my thoughts here aligned... There is so much more to him, its hard to get it all down. We know he isn't perfect (heck, no one in our family is), but he is the BEST DADDY/HUBBY and WE LOVE YOU DARLIN'!
Here are my two big kiddos, going to summer school together at preschool. It is our last summer to be at the same school together, as sweet KK is off to kindergarten in the fall. KK is joining the shark class this summer with her favorite teacher Ms. Katie. AJ is going to the Turtles class just down the hall. Summer school is always fun, each week is a new theme with crafts/games/show and tell/dress up to match the theme. We can't wait to see what the summer has in store for us!... (foreboding music here please)...
June 2nd: Aunt Sam's Baby Shower
While we are excited about our baby sister arriving later this summer, we always had to take the time to celebrate another very special baby's soon to be arrival: Aunt Sam and Uncle Nick are having a bouncing baby boy! Baby boy is due three weeks before our baby sister, they are set to be best friends just like their mommies. I won't lie, I have been happily anticipating this day ever since my BFF got home from her honeymoon. We always joked around that when I had baby #3, she would be having baby #1... never in our wildest dreams did we realize that is exactly what would be happening! When Sam and Nick came to dinner to tell us their great news, we were so excited. As we had just learned about baby #3 and hadn't shared the news with anyone including the kids, we wanted to focus on their joy and news... but as best friends for over a decade, they just had to see our smiles and they instantly figured it out. Best friends having babies together - what a wonderful surprise!
Well, as the BFF, it was my job to immediately begin dreaming and planning for a beautiful baby shower. I mean this is their first baby, it had to be done right. I was blessed to have a dear friend of ours join me in this endeavor, making this ladies brunch into a fun event without much stress. It turned out just beautifully!
Here are the girls, they were so excited to be at the shower!
One of the touches I worked on for the shower - the diaper cake. I was very happy with how it turned out and loved decorating it with items from the registry. I also got a cute little outfit from hat to shoes and placed it on the mantel as a clothesline.
Like I said, the shower was a huge success. We surprised the parents-to-be with all our decorating touches and the yummy food we prepared. Aunt Sam and Uncle Nick got to spend a few hours celebrating their Baby Boy with friends and family and making memories as we all eagerly await his arrival into this world. He is one lucky little boy to have so many people that already love him, our family included!
June 7th: Cowboy Day at school
So cowboy week was this week at school and of course we got to dress up like cowboys and cowgirls! I had to share my sweet picture of my little cowpokes. It makes me smile to see how KK is all about the boots with shorts (she said it "made" her outfit), while AJ thinks that cowboys can wear flipflops if they want.
June 8th: First Movie Monday with our Friend KJ
One of the best parts of summer is MOVIE MONDAYS! For just 50 cents a movie we get to wake up and head straight to the theater. Rules are broken as candy and popcorn (and maybe soda) are on the breakfast menu as we snuggle down in blankets and watch some of our favorite movies like Rio, Clifford, Happy Feet 2, Shrek, Arthur Christmas and many more! And what made our first movie of the summer even better? Why our best bud KJ joining us to celebrate with us.
While KJ was glued to Happy Feet 2, my kiddos were a tad restless and a little afraid of the scary scenes (KJ in manly fashion refused all offers for me to sit near him and hold his hand if he was afraid... AJ on the other hand was on my lap with his pillow after five minutes into the movie.. luckily I love to snuggle). After the movie we found the best little deal... I mean what beats a 50 cent movie? Try a 99 cent lunch at McAlisters! We ran into our sweet babysitter who was enjoying the same deal so we sat together and ate a yummy lunch. Then we do what you always do with 12 of your semi-closest friends. Play heads up 7up in the back room of McAlisters until some of the energy is worn out of these kids!
Okay.... maybe not all the energy was worn out. But we had a great day!
June 8th: Spray Park Playdate with C-Bear
So we finally set up a playdate with the sweetest little girl in town: Claire Bear! She just so happens to be the daughter of two of our oldest friends from our TCU days and such a blessing. We have loved getting a few moments with this girl over the past year and having a full on playdate was awesome. KK is all about "babies" and she wanted to mother and love on Claire the whole time. She was so patient and sweet as she tried to show C how this spray park thing works.
We had to get a family shot (though someone would rather be on the go). We had fun splashing and playing together at our spray park. We got to finish off our playdate with some fun conversations and pizza at home, and the promise that we have to do this again soon.
AJ wasn't too interested in playing with everyone else, he does what he does best: finds his own game and plays how he likes. Today (perhaps due to lack of nap), he decided to play "make a napmat on a wall and don't fall down"...
KK showed her brother up by showing him the real way to warm up and look cool.
June 9th: Madagascar 3 at the Movies
Another fun summer activity outside of the pool or spray park is going to the "real" movies with Mom and Dad. And once the previews for Madagascar 3 came out, you would hear the chanting throughout our house "We like to move it move it, we like to MOVE IT"... so of course we had to check it out as soon as we could in theaters (mommy really wanted the chanting to stop)!
Here we are in line, ready to go...
Well ready to eat popcorn with our pillows and blankets! The movie was WONDERFUL! Even mom and dad were glued to the movie and impressed. Definitely recommended to all of our friends... The chanting did stop... but it was replaced with a new song "Afro. Circus. Afro. Circus. Polkadot-Polkadot-Polkadot." Talk about a song you can't get out of your head.
You know you are singing it in your head right now (just like I am)!
June 12th: Sono of Baby Girl
So this little stinker (aka baby #3) has been a bit of trouble all this time when it comes to sonograms. Yes we found out she's a girl awhile ago... we even did a balloon release to announce it to our friends. But in the back of my mind I worried if this baby really was a girl. See during our sono to determine the gender, the sonographer had to work it and after a good 20 minutes of documenting and looking she said "I think its a girl".
Wait, what? Think? Is that a professional guess we just got? So of course, the girl that I am started to wonder: what if it is a boy? Did we just ruin the poor kid for life with a balloon release that said girl? Will we donate all our blue boy bedding and clothes and make the more kid come home in pink? I know, I know - none of these seem like huge problems in the scheme of the world. But when you are pregnant and hormonal and hot (it is Texas), you might lose it a little and start to believe. I will add this is not the time to talk to other equally pregnant friends who will just add to the heightened emotions and get you to go onto google. You will start taking random online gender tests that are based on made up wives tales. And you will believe.
So that belief leads to a question at your next visit "Are you sure you saw girl?" The sonographer looks confused. You maybe not so gently remind her of her 20 minute search and her "educated guess". She takes pity on you as you are huge, hot and hormonal. So she says she will check again as she does her normal checks... and guess what? Baby #3 is BREECH! Yup... and suddenly, if you are pregnant, hot and hormonal, you will know that this child is going to cause you grief from this day forward so long as you both shall live. And you think about the trouble child you are carrying (and loving) as the nurse pats your back and says to come back in a MONTH to try again to make sure.
A month is like dog years at this point. All things are on hold. No bedding will be donated, no clothes will be purchased. The nursery will stay barren until we know: pink or blue. Finally June arrives and the sono is here. Orange juice is gulped as we head to the doctor's office. This baby will not be breech... He/she will be doing the splits and showing us the goods just as his/her older sibs had done. I will just will it to be and it will be as it is my body (like seriously, I am so not in control here but I let myself believe for that day that I was). I believe I saw fear in the sonographers eyes as we started... or was it my hubby who probably didn't want to put up with another month of my wondering hormones? All eyes were on the screen and it was go time.
And the verdict: STILL A BABY GIRL! While a boy would have been celebrated too, it was simply the 100% confirmation that no baby has been messed up by us... well yet anyway.... hehe. Oh this poor child - your momma is crazy! Shush, don't tell anyone and stay away from google. It's bad news bears.
June 16th: Movie Night at the Pool
One of our favorite family spots is the pool. Its free and fun - we love the sun and the cool water and our kids are half fish. So it is just icing on the cake that our pool does a monthly movie night in the summer. Our first one of the summer: RIO. This was going to be good!
Just relaxing and chilling in the pool
KK after getting soaked by our bucket pool
AJ running away from my picture while he attacks the slides and jungle gym.
It is not a movie night without pizza, drinks and snacks!
The movie was great - we had snacks, snuggled up in our blankets and swam in the chilly water while watching one of our fav movies together. Note no pregnant mommies were included in pictures but she was there, in swimming attire, trying not to scare the small children and enjoying fun with her big babies!
June 17th: Getting the nursery ready
So now that we knew it was a GIRL (see earlier post), it was time to get this nursery ready to go. Mommy's record for going into labor early was enough of a push for Daddy to get this room ready and painted in just a weekend. We took our study and converted it into the new nursery. We had done pink and blue walls for the past two babies, but since our nursery was the first room you see in our house and we wanted to do something different: we voted for chocolate froth cream colored walls. Fancy right? Well cute anyway!
The best two helpers! Always ready to paint and get dirty.
Of course no painting weekend is complete without Popsicle breaks and a lunch break for Joe T's! These guys did a great job, the nursery looks perfect and we are ready to start decorating. Maybe, just maybe, we might have a baby's room ready BEFORE the baby arrives (note foreboding music here please).
June 21st: Dress Like a Grown Up
So this week at preschool we were learning about careers for when you grow up. So of course one of the fun days was when we got to dress up for a job you would like when you grow up. I wanted to make sure the kids weren't led by me or daddy in this, while secretly hoping we had the gear to make the "dress up" work. See what they surprisingly came up with:
Nurse KK to you please - plenty of love in this girl to heal all your hurts
AJ, our future TCU football player... he does run away from me often enough when in trouble that I have no doubt he can avoid being tackled while running to the endzone hehe.
So here are my two cuties! June was a great month. We had lots of summer fun together while getting ready for our baby sister to arrive. It was a long post, but we had to remember all the fun times we had together and all the smiling faces we captured. Every smile, every memory is a blessing - we learned that this summer. Sweet dreams guys!
