Doctor's Excuse

WOW. This may be the longest I've ignored my blog. At least since I had my mini meltdown in Feb/March. But I have a Doctor's Excuse! ;-)

Remember how I was saying how "unbelievably tired" I was in my last post? Well, it was SO much more than the regular "7 months pregnant + taking care of 3 little ones + 100°heat" tired. That's pretty tired.

When they ran the numbers for my glucose test ( I PASSED!!!! ), they also ran numbers for my iron! And it's LOW! The #1 symptom of low iron is FATIGUE! It's funny how it's all coming together. Because I had mentioned to several people just how TIRED (more than normal) I was feeling - which I put off to the baby having a growth spurt. Plus the ICE CHOMPING (which gives Robert a slight head tick when I do it) is a sign of low iron. I don't EVER chew ice. But have this unstoppable craving to eat it everyday. Weird, huh.

Plus, we were out of town at the lake last weekend and I had a little break from my precious MAC. So no blogging or photo fun!

But here's a little recap in pictures!

Tried to do a lot of this. Getting UP from a low hammock is no easy task for a pregnant woman!


We did a little sliding. (Into the lake as well!)


We put the crazy 2 year old on a tube behind the boat. And (surprise) it was HER idea! And she LOVED it! (Notice anything illegal in this pic?) ⬇



We "forced" Landon on the tube and (shocker) he LOVED it! We had a nice little trust/training/parenting moment with that one.



We did NOT force Landon into the lake. Just didn't want to pick that fight this weekend. But he had his fishing pole (regular size) and spent the days casting off the doc. Knowing that there has only been ONE fish to ever be caught off the dock, I just thought he'd get some good casting practice! Then we noticed he got his line stuck on something. He was yelling for help and we kept telling him he was doing a great job. Then all the sudden, he pulls up a BASS!!! His patience (and refusal to go in the water) paid off! He caught his very first fish and pulled it in all by himself!!


This summer is just FLYING by! And we're having a TON of fun! Hope yours is AWESOME too!!

Let's See...

Here's a few random updates about things. Our weeks have been SUPER packed and I'm UNBELIEVABLY tired lately.

1) Robert's still working as a consultant for a company here in town. He's still praying for clarity in which direction to go with concerning his job. He's also still staying busy with a few side painting jobs. I'm very proud of him and know that where ever God leads him will be awesome. But it's still a little scary - especially with baby on the way. The last thing I want (selfish, huh) is to have 2 big life changes in the fall - new job and baby. But I know everything will be just fine.

2) The kids are VBSin' again this week. Thank you Lord for VBS and all those wonderful volunteers!! It has been really nice to have a mini "break". Because I'll be working out the one at our church in a few weeks!!

3) I had a doctor's appointment earlier this week. It had been over 5 weeks since I last went! ;-) Which is fine by me. It seems like you go ALL the time when you are pregnant. So the far and few between the better. I took my glucose test. Did you know that drink is equivalent to ONE CUP of sugar! I felt horrible afterward. I find out my results in a few days. I did NOT pass with Lillian and had to take the 3 hours - not fun. Oh, and the baby is measuring BIG (well not huge - we're not bound to have huge kids) and ahead of schedule!! YAY!!! :-) He even looked back at Lillian's chart to compare and we're a good bit ahead of where we were at this point with her! Again, it could mean NOTHING, but I have felt that this baby was bigger...don't know why, but I do. And it was nice the doc confirmed it a little for me.

I'm still feeling good - as good as can be for the third trimester now. Carrying Lillian around is getting painful and starting to mess with my right hip a little bit. I'm trying to teach her to walk and hold my hand but that takes FOREVER with her tiny little steps and she pretty much refuses to wear shoes - so I can't put her on the hot pavement.

Speaking of HOT, I don't go outside either. Yep, I announced it to the family the other day. You all can go out and play in the scorching sun, but mama's going to stay in the AC. It's all for the safety of the baby. We don't want to get overheated...ya know! :-)

4) We have 2 long lake weekends coming up! In which I will probably be spending most of my time IN the water or ON a moving boat. And lucky for all of us, Lillian will be strapped in a life jacket 99% of the time. Though I look forward to see how much she will enjoy the water at the lake after THIS.


5) Speaking of THIS...we figured out what we have to do with her at the pool when we're all swimming....



...strap every floatation device we could find in our garage on her. And it worked great! She floated perfectly...and was able to kick those little legs as fast as she could to get around! And then proceed to practically run off the end of the diving board without hesitation.

All righty! I think that's it!

STAY COOL PEOPLE!!

We Had To Make Sure EVERYONE Knew

That our Daddy is #1!!

How you ask?

By writing it in shoe polish all over our car!!!



We got stares and honks all day yesterday!! It was so much fun to draw attention to how much we love our Daddy! He is the best, you know!


I planned on doing this a week or so ago. And Saturday, he and the kids worked SO hard at washing and cleaning all the cars. I felt bad knowing I couldn't talk him out of it - also knowing that the windows were going to be dirty the next day! But he didn't mind one bit!


WE LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Birthday Lillian!!

You are TWO years old today! This year you finally knew that it was all about YOU around your birthday! You danced around and showed off when your great grand parents came over! You even blew out your own candles this year - of course, on the second time around....after Landon blew them out first. :-)

You are such a wonderful part of our family and I can't imagine life without you! I look forward to all God has in store for you!



WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

New 'Do, One Less, and Spoiled

Hello Friends! What a nice week it has been. I'll explain more later. :-)

First up...Lillian's sporting a new 'do lately. Finally, the girl has enough hair to do something with. I think it makes her look a lot older! What do you think?



I also think it fit her sassy attitude.



Next, Olivia lost her first front tooth!! Boy, once they start falling out, they don't stop!!!! We are losing teeth like crazy around here! The tooth fairy is very busy...she even "forgot" to come one time. Oop! ;-)




She talks a little funny, but it's so cute.



And lastly, Olivia and Landon have been in VBS from 9-12:00 all week long. (They are doing one next week too from 8:30-12!!!!!!) Can I tell you this is the first time EVER, I've had a consistent break from those two!? Don't get me wrong, I love having them around. It's quite boring around here without them. But it's been a nice refresher...especially with being pregnant. I don't do so much bending over and picking up a million things off the floor during the day. And the grocery store is a walk in the park with only Lillian. I've just gotten to slow down and enjoy the peace and quiet. And yes, going from 3 to 1 is peace and quiet. I'm getting quiet spoiled around here.

It's funny how busy you feel with one child - and you ARE!! I've been there. But then things slowly get busier with more and more children that going back to just one is a breeze!

But today, I'm going to work out and enjoy my "free time" baking cupcakes for Lillian's birthday!!! This spunky little girl turns 2 tomorrow! And to think, 2 years ago today I was in tears in my OB's office. Overdue and caring for 2 kids just pushed me over the edge! My oh my how emotinal we get when we're preggers.

I'm prayin' hard for an early delivery with this one...but AM NOT counting on it. My theory is plan on going to your due date, and then an early delivery is a nice surprise! It worked until I went 2 days past my due date last time. And I believe it's a complete myth that you go into labor earlier with each child! But I have some serious respect for women who go 1 week or so past their due date!!! They have some supernatural patience!!

This little one will be here soon enough. :-)

Don't Know What I'm Going To Do With Her

I know, I know....MORE beach pics. There are just so many cute/funny ones that I want to share! I took somewhere in the neighborhood of 800-900 pictures this past week! So if you think about it, you're only really seeing a few! :-)



Let me start with Lillian. We all know she's fearless and independent. Well, she took it to a whole new level around water. Like I've said, Olivia loved the water and was a water baby. But Lillian....oh Lillian. I don't know what I'm going to do with her this summer in the pool! She is crazy relentless when it comes to jumping in.

And when I tell you she wouldn't stop or slow down...the only way to get her to stop was to take her back upstairs to the condo and strip off her bathing suit!


She must have done this 1,000 times! And did not tire.







She really though she could swim. Kicking her little heart out and holding her breath (really well too) trying to pry our hands off her little wiggling body....in 4 ft deep water! She would even run down to the deep in (adult following in the water) and jump in!!!!!




Future Ole Miss cheerleader in training. She even tried to nose dive off his hand over and over again too!

She's going to give someone a heart attack before the summer's over.



Cutest little bottom! :-)



Daddy doc helping look for shells!


Whew...ok, I think that's enough beach pics.....maybe. :-)

I Thought About Sparing You

...more beach pictures, but I decided not to. :-) I'd have to many upset grand parents, great-grand parents, aunts, and uncles out there! :-)



After all these years of avoiding the unavoidable, we finally gave in and took the kids to.....dun dun dun....THE TRACK. You know the place with all the fun go carts, putt putt, and video games that charge you an arm and a leg to play on everything? Well, we went in the morning when it was 2 for 1. And it was perfect.

Ironically, Lillian loved all the rides the most. Olivia was kinda bored on them and Landon just wanted to play putt putt. And after a couple of holes of putt putt, Olivia was done and wanted to go play all the quarter games and win tickets! Which was fine withe me because they had the AC on about 60 inside!! ;-)



Yes, I sent my baby 20 some-odd feet up into the air in an airplane that spins around and goes up and down. I was a nervous wreck! But the workers assured me she'd be fine. And she was. And she loved it. Figures.



Landon was also big enough to ride with Robert on the big go carts. And LOVED it!!


Landon really impressed me in the few holes of putt putt that we played. Twice he was this close to a hole in one. But then made it in 2 strokes! Watch out Tiger!


So after we got THE TRACK visit out of the way, we were able to do more of this:


Well, sort of. There wasn't too much sitting still with kids at the beach. But every once in a while we got to relax! This pic's for you Rach! You asked! ;-)


It was such a fun trip! But we are so glad to be home! And thank goodness we CLEANED HOUSE before we left. And we've already unpacked and put away EVERYTHING - thanks to my hubby!

We start a busy week of VBS! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself without Olivia AND Landon! I'm sure I'll find some things to fill my time....like enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet. Yes, I consider having only one child at home peace and quiet! My how things change! haha

The ONE Thing

When we were preparing for the beach listing all the things we wanted to do or try to do while we were there, I had only ONE "must do" thing on my list.

Take family pictures on the beach at that "magic hour". Where the light is so good, it's almost impossible to take a bad picture.

I knew that I would get moans and groans when I announced it was time to go and take pictures. But I wasn't going back home until we gave a nice, solid effort!

And I think it went very well. Definitely got some framers.

Bribing them with jelly beans helped a little too. :-)