STL Family Float Trip 2013! STL Baby Sprinkle!

Pregnant lady on a float trip with a toddler in August.  

This was my idea, I organized this, back when I was barley showing.  

I'm awesome... or an idiot.

 You had so much fun but didn't want to get out of the water, 

you kept asking to swim whenever we were in the boat.

 Cousin Megan and Cousin Moo-moo taught you how to step and throw.  Cousin Megan is a pro softball player and I told her that your arm needed a little work.

So you would step down with your foot and then throw the rock.  So funny, but it actually did improve your throw.  Watch out Jude...

Then on Sunday my amazing sister and Gma Wendy threw Jeff and I and baby boy a "sprinkle". 
It was beautiful and the food was absolutely delicious.

Always a story I don't want to forget...

SO many things to write about and pictures to share.

But first a few stories:

This morning you found a tape measure and ran up to me saying "Midwife Shelia!  Measure baby brother!?" so I sat down on the stairs with you and we measured my belly and then your belly.  And you hugged and kissed baby brother.  Yesterday you were playing and hiding in Daddy's closet and were asking me to close the closet door.  I was sitting on the bed resting and I said "Oh Quinn I can't, I can't reach."  So you came out of the closet and looked and me and said "Mommy.  Get up.  Push right here." And you showed me where to push on the door to close it for you.  It cracked me up, I'm always surprised by your memory and ability to communicate.

We've been working on using a happy, nice voice to ask for things instead of a whiny voice.  You know how to do it, when I remind you to use a nice voice you say "please" (while signing please) in a sweet voice and then you say "thank you".

We are still working on you telling us when you need to go potty instead of us telling you to go.  I try to let you have the time and space to learn to listen to your body, even when that means more accidents.  This week has been going very well.

You are so funny when you wake up in the morning or from a nap.  Sometimes if I take to long to come get you, you take all your clothes off and yell "NAKED!!" when I walk in.  Sometimes when I ask if you are dry you say "vagina dry!  booty dry!"  One night you were not going to sleep and instead you took off you underwear and when I walked in you started dancing and sung out "booty! vagina! booty! vagina!"  Needless to say I couldn't help but laugh hysterically.  We are beginning to talk about how these are girl parts and private parts since you are getting older, and with baby brother coming I know we will be explaining what the boy parts are soon too.  It's all very interesting.  You also love to put on my bras, most of the time you just call them "boobs".  You'll get into my drawer while I am getting dressed and pull out a bra and say "Mommy, boobs, help please." and so I tie the bra around you.  I'm sure me nursing baby brother will be very interesting to you.  I'm sure you will imitate and want to nurse your babies, which I think is awesome and will be great role playing for you.  I'm also excited to give you the baby carrier that I made for you as your big sister gift.  Then you can wear your babies while I wear baby brother in the wrap. 

32 Weeks...

It's crazy how fast this pregnancy is going.  I can't wait to hold this little guy in my arms and at the same time I am not ready and I feel terrified about going from one to two.  But I know it will all be worth it and we will figure it out.

At my appointment this week Shelia said I had gained just 16 lbs which is on track with what I gained with Quinn at this point.  She said he is head down and hopefully stays that way.  She thinks he will be high 6s low 7s in weight.  Quinn got to help measure my stomach (measuring perfectly at 32cm) and got to push the button on the dopplar to hear baby's heartbeat.  I passed the 3-hr glucose test, thank goodness (that was fun).  I've been feeling better lately, my back hasn't been hurting like it was, I've had more energy (most days).  But I'm still having allergies and sometimes I have a hard time getting myself to go to sleep because my mind is racing.

My prayers right now are that I pass the Step B test so I don't have to get hooked up to anything.  That I go into labor on my own, around my due date.  That I can labor at home for a while and that it goes quickly (of course).  That they only need to do the 20 min. heart monitoring so that, again, I don't have to be hooked up to anything.  And of course that Sawyer is born healthy, happy, naturally, and without complications.  :)

Here are some pictures:

Quinn saying hi to baby brother and giving him a hug.

Quinn's Play Kitchen!! (late post)

So I think that I completely forgot to post the photos of the play kitchen I made for Quinn this Spring!  Below are the photos, although they are pretty terrible photos, bad lightening and my iPhone don't mix.  I got this entertainment center off Craigslist for FREE and made Jeff go pick it up.  Of course he almost didn't end up taking it because it is SOLID and super heavy.  But I'm glad it solid because hopefully that means it will be durable and our grandchildren will some day play with it.  :)

So, Jeff picked up the entertainment center in November maybe? and it sat on our porch all. winter. long. because it was too heavy to bring in (couldn't put it in the basement, no room inside to do the work on it, etc.) and I couldn't get much done on it outside during those cold yucky months.  So finally in April we had a few nice days (and also some snowy ones).  And I was finally able to work on it.  I actually sanded and primed it over the winter when we had some nicer days.  Once Spring came, I painted on several coats of blue and gray, made all the cuts, etc. etc.  It was good to have to time over the winter to obsess over all the ideas on Pinterest, draw out a plan of actions, make lists of things I needed to buy, what I could get used, what I had, etc., and choose paint colors (that took forever).

Love. You.

I wish I could memorize every detail of you as the days rush by.  You become more charming, more, vibrant, more talkative, more expressive, more loving as each day passes.  Your imagination astounds me.

Today you were playing in your "tunnel" that we made from a big cardboard box and you came up to me and said in a whispered voice "alligators! by the tunnel!"  So we tiptoed over to the tunnel and quickly crawled inside where we talked about the alligators and their snapping and I made an alligator mouth with my hands in a shadow inside the box.  You talked to me about how you saw alligators on tv with Daddy.  You were so excited and into pretending.  I'm so glad I understand your words and the stories that you tell me, as only a mommy can.

Then, of course, alligators turned into "Uh oh turtles!" and that into "Uh oh tigers, rarrr!  Uh oh zebras!" and then we were talking about the zoo, and the train, and the tunnel, and the peacocks.  So of course my heart melted and we went to the zoo.  :)  But this time, just the two of us.  We have almost always gone with friends.  But today it was so good to go, just the two of us.  And for the first time we didn't bring the stroller.  We packed up our stuff in backpacks- one for you, one for mommy- and we walked the zoo and rode the train around.  You wanted to see the snakes, you told me all their colors; you wanted to see the tigers and the peacock.  You saw the Hornbill and wanted to hop, hop, hop just like he was across the branch.  You wanted to see the polar bears and you watched with intense fascination, as you always do, shrieking and shaking with excitement each time Nikita swam up towards you and did his back flip against the wall.  We rode the train and the carousel-you rode the giraffe and were "really high!" and you wanted mommy to ride the wild dog next to you.  I bet I looked pretty funny riding the carousel with my big pregnant belly.  Then we walked through the Lorikeet cage.  I'm learning some of the specific animal names as you are, being careful to tell you exactly what they are called (not just monkey or bird, etc.) and having you repeat it back, because you actually remember!  I really enjoyed our morning together my love.

 "Yayyyyyyyy ZOO!!"

 "really high!"

multiple days of box fun