Fall?

We had a week there where the weather was in the 70s and it actually got cool at night. I could smell Fall in the air and even baked pumpkin cookies! It was short-lived. The heat is BACK! So we packed our swimming gear up again and spent a day at the beach.

"Jacky" throwing sand. And he was amused by it for several minutes!
It's boys like this that make me excited for ours to get here.

Ethan, another sweet little boy.

Anna in the lovely brown water (hence, the B/W photo)

Being Tourists

Sometimes we take opportunities to experience where we live from a "tourist's" perspective. Which I think is good. It would be a shame to live here as long as we have and realize we've totally missed out on what we can see and do here. So, one day, we did the Williamsburg/Jamestown thing and really enjoyed it.

A statue of Pocahontas (whose real name, as it turns out, was Matoaka. Pocahontas was a childhood nickname. I didn't know that until they named a new school here "Matoaka")

A statue of Capt. John Smith....and no, there was not one of John Rolfe....at least not one that I found.

We had told the girls we were going to see a "fort" (the location of the original Jamestown Fort). Anna peeked through the wall and asked "where's the tent"? I think she was envisioning the kind of fort we build at home. Sorry for the let down, love!

"Isn't this the kind of hat that BOYS wear?"

I thought this was a cute pic of B and his little look-alike, enjoying the grounds in Williamsburg.

Kate playing in the dirt...just in case that needed clarification.

The Turkey's 3/4s Done!

And it should be ready around Thanksgiving.


Just over 30 weeks. And honestly, if this child gets any bigger, I think he is going to break my ribs! He's got his feet up there just like Anna did....only he's more active!

This last part of pregnancy is always so interesting. I'm sure I'm not unique in this, but I start having such intense feelings about our "family dynamics". I remember when I was very pregnant with Kate and we were packing our house in Utah to move out here. Anna was a year and a half old, and she walked up to me with her arms up and said, "Hold you." And for whatever reason, at that moment, I just lost it! I couldn't believe we were disrupting this perfect threesome. She had been our little buddy and of course everything revolved around her.

And now, of course, Anna and Kate are best little buddies and I don't know what they'd do without each other. Or what I'd do without either of them. And here I am thinking, "how is number three going to fit in?" I have had these two little girlie sidekicks for the last three years. It's been so great. We walk across the street or through the store and I have a hand for each of them.....our own little "Girl's Club", and now a BOY is coming into the mix! Where does he fit? But, of course, just like it is with Kate, I have no doubts that there will be a day that I think,"What did we ever do without him?"

I think this is one of those times I realize how important it is to love and appreciate every stage of life. Not to rush through to the next. At some point I'll be looking BACK at these moments in life wondering how they passed so quickly. And then, also, to embrace change and the new memories that will come with it.

Anyway, the countdown has BEGUN! I had an extra ultrsound yesterday. They had been worried about the position of the placenta. Everything is just fine, thank goodness, but it was sure fun to have a reason to see him again! She used her new 3-D machine again and I saw his hands so perfectly. He has LONG fingers, just like Kate did.

10....9.....8.....

Big Wheels = Big Ideas

When I was little, I loved riding my bigwheel. Kate got a bigwheel for her birthday. We haven't had much of a chance for the girls to ride it, so I thought I'd take them out in the gorgeous afternoon weather and let them cruise.

It started out quite innocently with Anna at the wheel.

Then the lightbulb went on...can you see it in her face?

She CHARGED me!!

And judging by this expression, she thoroughly enjoyed it!
(I think I'll take off the "Barbie" decal and replace it with "Harley Davidson")

True to the nature of little sisters, Kate followed suit.....um, ouch!

So, to preserve my ankles, I started taking pictures of our
neighbor-kid learning how to skate.

It didn't go so well.

Kate was disgusted by the display of emotion.
Or maybe by his twisted shorts.


Kids these days.

Anybody Want a Peanut?

We were all together yesterday in the car. We were going from one city to another, so we had a bit of time. Just for fun we started quizzing the girls about "opposites"....we'd give them a word and they had to tell us the opposite. Then it turned into rhyming. Anna was catching on really well, so Barrett was giving her words that were progressively more difficult. Just to tease, he asked "what rhymes with Mississippi?"

Get this: "Can-you-get-my-sippy?"

I laughed so hard I thought I'd go into labor. We don't give kids enough credit.

Kate. Eating Peas. For Breakfast.

Happy and Sad

Today was Anna's first day of preschool. As I was driving her there she asked me if I was as excited as her. I told her I was happy AND sad. She laughed and said that didn't make any sense. So I explained that I was happy because I knew she would have so much fun there, but that I was sad because she had been my little buddy for the last 4 1/2 years and I didn't know what I'd do without her. She assured me that I would be just fine. And when I dropped her off she ran excitedly into her classroom and seemed very comfortable, so I was happy. (I didn't even need to use the tissue they provided) As I left her there though-- and I know every parent goes through it--I realized this was "it"! She'll never be my constant little sidekick again. And that makes me sad.

What's in the Water?

After several requests, here is a "pregnant" picture. I don't think it gets much more pregnant than this! Is this a phenomenon or what? Many of my Williamsburg friends are expecting as well. And come to find out, we were missing one! Needless to say, I think it's baby shower season around here!