Slip N Slide with Grandma!

Grandma was here this weekend, so we pulled out the slip n slide.  What fun!  This was Margaret's first time.  It's fun to watch her progression from hesitantly crawling down it to demanding big pushes upside down and backwards:)

She started just crawling down it.

Daddy: Want a push?
Margaret: No.
Daddy: Just a little one?
Margaret: No!
Daddy: Are you sure? It's a lot of fun!
Margaret: Nope!

Down the hill she goes....but still crawling on the slip n slide.

And it's over and over and over and over again for Andrew.

Ready? Set? Go!

And she’s caught the bug now!

Can't get enough.

BK3 @ 16 Weeks

I've sort of been thinking girl with this baby, but only for two minor reasons:

1 - My first trimester with Margaret was worse than with Andrew, and they say that is common when pregnant with a girl.  But my first trimester this time around was the most challenging, by far.  The same fatigue plagued me, but I don't remember being so paralyzingly lethargic.  Perhaps it was because of the June heat, or now chasing two kids all day while pregnant, but the lethargy really made me quite mad.  I have too much to do for that!  And weeks 6-8 I just felt downright rotten.  I felt queasy and nauseous all day, which lead to more weight gain in this first tri.  "Surely another bite to eat will settle my stomach, right?  Or maybe I just need something salty.  Nope.  That didn't do it.  Let's try sweet....."

2 - The only other feeling for girl so far is that perhaps I sort of want a girl, just thinking that she and Margaret may have more in common long term than Andrew would with a little brother nearly 5 years younger. 

But all of this girl feeling may have changed at our 16-week US (which, once again, everyone in both offices gave us trouble for..."if you're not testing for anything, why are you here?").  That's another story.  We told the Ultrasonographer that we did not want to know gender, but I did catch her saying "he" one time.  Perhaps "he" is her default, or maybe that means something.  I was so focused on the screen that I didn't notice if she said it again, or alternated using "she", or said "baby" from then on out.  Then when she printed the shots, she cut three pictures out of the middle that she did not give us.  We didn't even ask.  Was she cutting out views of something obvious???  Hmmm.  Come January, we shall see!

Nascar Race Day!

One of our on-going jokes is how horrible I am at getting good gifts for Michael.  Early in our relationship, it was made clear that new things for the house were probably not ever top on his birthday or Christmas lists...nor was a bike rack for the car for my budding triathlon habit:)  So I have tried to get him things that are truly just for him.  After several more failed attempts, he is rarely surprised.  He may get every last thing on his wish-list, but seldom is he surprised by any of his presents.

Last fall, I took a leap of faith and jumped on a Living Social deal that landed in my inbox.  It was a 3-hour racing experience, including 5 minutes of driving yourself AND a 3-lap ride-along with a professional driver...at their speeds.  It wasn't inexpensive, but I decided to give it a whirl.  Hoping to ice the cake, I forwarded to his college roommate's wife to see if she thought it might make a good Christmas present for Mark, too.  The next thing I know, the best friends are set up to drive together.  Hopefully this would be a score!

There were several race tracks offering the deal, but one was just up the road in Richmond.  Perfect!  We could do a family day-trip with Uncle Mark, Andrew could watch his own Daddy drive a race car, and we could stop by Trader Joe's on the way home!   But of course that didn't pan out.  None of the Richmond dates worked for both Michael and Mark, so they booked a weekend in Charlotte.  Michael driving 9 hours total to be away from the kids all weekend after travelling during the week is not exactly the "present" that I intended to give him, but this portion was out of my control.   So off to Charlotte he went.  Here are the first few pictures I have received.  From what I am told, they had a really awesome day.  SCORE, finally!

Formula One race cars on display.

Sexy in a helmet!

Ready to go, in a Nascar.

Not sure if this was before or after clocking 126mph - nice work, babe!

Always better without the glasses:)

Summer Shots

When I get behind on my memory-jogging documentation, I inevitably wind up with a post or two of random shots and quotes from the kids.  Here's the summer version!

Andrew to Michael pointing to a church we pass as we leave our neighbor:  Is that the cross that Jesus died on?

Michael: No, but it’s kind of like it.

Andrew:  Oh. (and moved on instantly to the next question in a series of 100 in 5 minutes.)

The 2nd week in July was VBS at First Baptist.  Just like last year, Andrew adored every single minute of it!  We are singing the songs like there is no tomorrow and listening to the CD every single time we are in the CD!  No matter how mundane that gets for Mommy, it still melts my heart when he bursts into, "Jesus is Alive!" and spews out the entire song walking around the house:)  And another favorite, "Be strong. Don't be afraid. God is always with you." has been a great tool for our recent panic attacks about things that terrify him.

Hand-made "Amazing Wonders Aviation" t-shirt.

Time for a blessing...anytime, any place.  I guess the ensuring drawing needed some help from above:)

Just watching a little TV before bed, in my diaper, in frog-position, chewing on a wool hat. Isn't that how you watch TV?

"You looking at us Mom?  Should we say, 'cheese' now???"

One big ole ship in the Inner Harbor.

Pool Time!  Bathing suit - check.  Swim suit - check. Towel - check. Clare's hand-made wool hat for Andrew's first winter - check.

So natural looking - Why would you not need your winter hat at the pool when it is literally OVER 100 degrees?!?

She looks burned in this shot, but the color is just off.  She's actually got a lovely tan, showing a killer farmer's tan when naked.  And I swear we drench her in SPF 50 every time we're at the pool!

Nothing like coloring in July in the South with a wool hat on!

Maybe the colorful hat is inspiration for the drawing???

Gotta have a little backyard pool time in the summer.

Michael or Meg?

Susan stumbled upon this picture the other day and sent it along.  Who's riding on the back of the sled, Michael or Margaret???

While Mommy is away, the boys sure will play!

I snuck away to Richmond Friday night for an overnight with girls.  Thank you, Mom & Dad, for your house!!!  We had an awesome meal at Edo Squid's, passed on drinks at the Martini Lounge on Main (let's just say that we would not have fit in, for oh so many reasons!), decadent dessert and coffee at Mezzanine's in CaryTown and stayed up WAY too late chatting after surprise birthday and baby gifts.  I can't say I returned to Cville well rested, but I can say that the boys were having a blast!  I guess we didn't get any pics of Reese and Margaret (our Sept. 17th birthday gals....coming up on 3 and 2, respectively), but Keyes and Andrew sure did play hard in the backyard!