Bump

Pictures of the bump with 11 days left!  I would rather not have pictures of myself in pjs posted on the internet for anyone to see, but we always forget to take one and we remembered right before bed last night.

 

I have cankles and my toes look like cocktail wieners.  I never swelled with the other two, but the humidity is getting to me this time.

We're getting so excited to meet this little person...and I'm very ready to have my body to myself again!

Branson Vacation

 

We had such a great time in Branson with Kirby's whole family.  The kids were at great ages to be able to enjoy everything, the weather was perfect and we LOVE Branson.  It's kind of our home away from home since we spent a year there for Kirby's job.  So we never had to worry about finding things to do, we just did all of our favorite things.

 

Getting ready to leave.  I thought the kids would sleep for hours if I got these soft comfy neck pillows.  Lydia slept for half an hour on the way down, Clae didn't sleep at all.  On the way home neither of them slept a wink.  Soft comfy neck pillows did not work their magic.  Good thing for DVD players!  The kids actually did awesome for the car ride, I can't complain at all. 

 

We spent A LOT of time at Silver Dollar City.  One of Kirby's and my favorite places to go and the kids loved it.  Clae rode on a big full size roller coaster with Kirby.  I was a nervous wreck about it, but he loved it and did great. 

Lydia was pretty much with me the whole time eating Kettle Korn and drinking frozen lemonade. 

I was extremely tired by the end of most days and my feet and ankles were very swollen, but I made it without once having to rent a Rascal!

 

 We dressed the kids in the same bright color every day.  It worked out really well, we were able to spot them easily in the crowd. 

 

 

A cute picture of four of the seven kiddos.  Enjoying an evening at the Landing, another of our favorite spots.

The kids loved the whirlpool tub.  I enjoyed relaxing in it a few times myself.

 

Riding on the trail (another of our favorites).  Clae learned to ride without training wheels while we were there.  My baby is growing up!

 Lydia would rather just push her bike and pick flowers.

 

We  spent A LOT of time at the beach, this was a new one for us, we hadn't been there before, but the kids loved it.  The water was freezing, but they didn't seem to mind and the sand kept them entertained most of the time anyway.

The pool where we stayed was the perfect size for them, they love to swim.

Lydia Turns FOUR!

My baby girl turned four the day we got back from vacation.  We had one celebration with Kirby's family while we were still on vacation.  For her 3rd Birthday I made her wear a dress and her party was pretty much miserable until I let her take off her dress and put on shorts.  This year she was much happier to throw her 'Birthday Girl' shirt on over her wet swimsuit and party away.

The day we got back from vacation I decided to throw together a celebration with my family.  I called HyVee and they were able to make me a Barbie cake at the last minute, we ordered tacos from the Café and had her party in the dining room at our building. 

Another birthday.  I can't believe how fast time passes.

 

Catching up



I always say it's much easier to KEEP up than it is to CATCH up.  But because of camera problems, growing a baby, and general busyness of life I have not been able to keep up with this blog.  I'm not going to try to go all the way back to January to catch up, I'm just going to start from here and try to keep up going forward.

 

Clae's t-ball season compared to last season was a night a day difference.  I guess it's a lot better to play as an experienced FIVE year old than as an inexperienced FOUR year old.  He loved playing ball this year, he did a great job and he didn't cry ONCE.     

Random picture of Lydia eating watermelon with her "sweet" watermelon shirt on.  I thought it was a perfect photo op.

Me and my babies on Mother's Day.  Would have been nice to get a decent picture of me, but you take what you can get.  

Christmas 2012

We're back!  It's been a while and I really have no excuse for why I've been neglecting our blog...ok maybe one small excuse...we're expecting #3!  I found out at the beginning of November and knew that meant I would be in the worst of my morning sickness (or in my case morning, noon and night sickness) right during the Christmas season.  I was a little bummed that we didn't get to do all of the fun pre-christmas activities, baking, etc, but it's all worth it.

 

 

I found enough energy to put up our tree and our nativity set, and that was about it for the decorations.

I LOVE to make Christmas candy and cookies.  Usually my mom and sister and I have a whole day spent making goodies, that didn't happen this year.  The kids and I did manage to make almond bark pretzels one day, they enjoyed it, but I wish we could have done more.

We were very excited to get some snow, it has provided hours of entertainment for the kids (and a little peace and quiet for mom).  I keep a close eye on them through the window, but it's so nice that they can go out by themselves now.

Warming up with some hot chocolate. 

Kirby ended up being very sick for TWO full weeks, starting on his birthday, the 19th, and straight through Christmas, of course.  But I don't think the kids really knew the difference, they had a great Christmas despite the fact that both of their parents were basically out of commission.

The kids mainly got socks, underware and clothes.  And ties, Clae got lots of ties, the kid loves ties and wants to wear one every Sunday to church, so we stocked him up. 

We really tried to cut down on the toys this year since this house is overrun with toys as it is, they ended up getting several Lego sets which they will play with for years.  I think next year I'm going to have them pick a few of their toys to give away right before Christmas to make room for the new ones, help them realize it's not all about getting, it's about giving too.  

We hope everyone has a great 2013!!!