check, check

Since we've had kids I've enjoyed fall more than I used to, partly because of all of the fun activities we do during the months of Sept. and Oct.  However, for whatever reason, we've not done many of the usual fall things throughout the past few weeks.  Church and Colts games occupy our Sundays, but I'm not sure what we've been doing with our Saturdays!

 

Anyway, we decided this past Saturday we needed to check some things off of our "Fall To-Do List."  We began the day by attending the Children's Museum's haunted house.  The boys always enjoy it, and this year Caroline was old enough to sort of get in on it, too.  The boys dressed up because we'd decided to head to our second fall item right after the haunted house.

The boys dressed up in front of "Boo!" at the Children's Museum haunted house.  Little Miss refused to wear her costume.

 

 

We then headed to ZooBoo at the Indianapolis Zoo.  We hadn't done our research and assumed it was going on all day.  Wrong!  We got there at around 11:30, but the ZooBoo events didn't begin until 2.  So, we spent 2 1/2 hours dragging tired, grumpy, impatient children (and selves) around in an effort to waste time until we could check off our second fall "must do."

The boys took a picture in "Super Hero" pose.  Yes, Caroline was there too, but she didn't want to be in the picture.  What can you do?

We zipped through the bat area where the boys took pictures with the bat wing spans.  I just have to say that I think I'd be freaked out if I ever saw a bat in the wild with a wing span the size of that largest one!

Even Super Heroes like to play on the playground!

We took a popcorn break.  That made Grant happy!

 

We were the first ones in line for the ZooBoo train.  I always wondered who those "first in line" people were--now I know!

 

Ryan riding with the boys on the train

proof that Caroline was there

...and so was I!

 

We did have a lot of fun.  It's amazing how you can forget the not-fun stuff when you begin actually enjoying yourself.  It was a very busy, tiring day, and all the kids fell asleep on the way home, but we had a fun time.  Plus, we were able to cross off two things from our list: check, check!

pregnancy week 27

How far along? 27 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Way too much in the past month--I think that both Baby and I have gone through a growth spurt in the past week.  I can definitely feel this little one much more this past week than I did before.  Overall, though, I'm right on track with where I was for the other pregnancies.  (I'd hoped to gain a bit less since I'm older and it's harder to lose the weight each time, but whatever.  As long as we're both healthy, I guess it's not a huge deal, so to speak.)
Maternity clothes? Um, yes, for sure.  I still wear my pre-pregnancy running shorts and my work uniform shirt.  However, I will be trading in the shorts for pants as I will now be donning oh-so-chic compression socks to cover my oh-so-attractive (and increasingly painful) varicose veins.  And I definitely need to order a new shirt for work as this one is coming up past my belly button--not a cute look, even with a tank top underneath!
Sleep? Fortunately, I haven't had too many problems with sleep...yet.  I know it's just a matter of time until the couch and I become good friends for a couple of hours/night. 
Movement? Like I said, this little one has become so much more active in the past week.  Of course, I found out at my ultrasound that the placenta is in the front so that has muffled a lot of the feelings of movement.  Maybe this baby has been active the whole time but is just big and strong enough to be felt now.  Jack has actually felt it move and thinks it's pretty funny.  I love knowing that he's old enough that he'll remember it when he's older.
Food cravings? None really, but I wish that would translate into less weight gain!
Gender? We did not find out at our ultrasound but have the gender in an envelope in case we want to find out.  A few people have said they think I'm having a girl (based on how I'm carrying I assume).  A co-worker and I had a "girl" dream on the same night--is that a sign? :)
Belly button in or out? popping out--ugh
What I miss: working out and running; holding my kids on my lap
What I'm looking forward to: feeling the baby move more and more

Holy covered wall, Batman!



*alternatively titled: Thanks, Aunt Melanie!*

 

Last week my sister sent a package to Jack, who is currently obsessed with all things Batman.  So imagine his excitement when he opened up the box and discovered all these Batman wall decals!  It provided a couple of hours of enjoyment for Ryan and me--and the boys (homework was easier, and the boys played well as/after Jack decorated his wall).  The best part is that they all peel off easily.  I don't know why Ryan and I didn't think of buying these, but we love that Melanie thought of doing it for Jack!  Thanks, Aunt Melanie!

Happy birthday, Nana!

Last week we celebrated Ryan's mom's birthday with a surprise party.  We all headed to his sister's house where we surprised his mom. (She thought she was going to be babysitting.)  It was a lot of fun for everyone, and I think she was surprised.  Here are some pictures from the shin-dig.

 



All the kids and grandkids signed a poster for Carol.  I was thrilled to see Grant's signature as I've not been able to actually see him write his name.  It's nice to know that he's able to do it.  (10 points if you can find it on the poster!)

I hadn't seen or heard from Caroline for a bit so I wondered aloud where she was.  My sister-in-law said she was upstairs playing with her cousin.  I headed up to find her and saw the 2 two-year-olds climbing up the slide on my nephew's bed then sliding down.  They were having a great time!

I don't know exactly why she was laughing, but it was probably because she'd talked her cousin Landon into getting into mischief!

 

Grant was in his element when he found a Bumblebee transformer car thing.  He is obsessed with tranformers and specificially Bumblebee right now even though he has never even seen the show.  It sort of fits with his problem-solving bent, though.

Nana enjoyed some time with three of her grandsons while playing on the iPad with them. (Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that she held it while they played!)

We hardly saw Jack the whole day, which is typical when we get together with Ryan's family.  There are four cousins all within a year of each other so they all play together the entire time.  Jack ("Spiderman") had so much fun and was sad to leave at the end of the day. 

 

Happy Birthday, Nana/Mom/Carol!  We had a great time celebrating (with) YOU! :)

Potty Training: Round 3

Yes, another potty training post.  I am neither ashamed of the fact that I'm posting once again about potty training nor that I am now on my *ahem* 3rd attempt with Little Miss. 

I decided this time we would just wait until the diapers were completely gone.  See, not only is she Miss Independent, but she is also a smart and somewhat stubborn little cookie.  She knows where we keep the dipes, and when I tried before to train her she would run and go get the diapers out of their storage place.  She was not turned on to potty training by the idea that she would be a "big girl" or that she could wear "big kid underpants."  In fact, there was nothing that was super appealing about it to her.

So I set the "date" for both of our sakes: diapers gone=potty training starts.  There it was: the deadline.

We started last Friday, and I cheated a little by leaving 2 diapers in our house.  I just figured that it would easier to start in the morning than to start mid-day.  Fortunately, our lovely neighbors invited the boys over to play for most of the day (it was Fall Break--don't get me started on what great fun a week-long fall break is with a child who loves the structure of school!) so I was able to concentrate on our adventure. 

I will spare most of the details (you're welcome), but suffice it to say I have experienced in the last few days what I've known to be true since my sweet Caroline's first day in the hospital: the child either has a HUGE bladder or can hold her urine for an unbelievably long amount of time.  (The nurse in the hospital could not believe how heavy her diaper was--I was just happy she had finally peed and didn't have kidney problems!)  Like, I'm talking 3 nights with dry pull-ups, not going for 5 hours, only going 3 times/day.  And all I have to say about that is, it sounds like a great thing, but it really makes potty training hard because if you are trying to get your kid to practice using the potty, he/she needs to do it more than 3 times per day.  I'm just saying.

So, we shall see how it goes.  I'm not buying any more diapers so I guess we're rolling with it, but I sure hope she gets the hang of it quickly!  The further I get into this pregnancy the less patience I have!

Miss Independent

My sweet 2 1/2 year daughter has turned into a two-year-old!  Yes, I realize that officially happened 7 1/2 months ago, but you know what I mean.  I can remember when she was born, and I thought with sadness, She's a little sinner.  (Keep in mind that I had a four- and two-year-old at the time so I was sort of experienced with the whole parenting a preschooler/toddler thing.)

 

Well, friends, we're now seeing Miss Caroline's independent spirit.  Don't get me wrong--she's still sweet and goofy and fun.  She is also feisty and headstrong and tenacious.  And I love her.

 

For example, her new favorite phrase is "I do it myself."  It was cute at first, but I'm waiting for it to carry over to potty training.  We shall see...

 

And here are some recent pictures of my little spitfire:

Camping 2012--check

A couple of weeks ago Ryan took the boys camping.  When we were at the Hoosier Outdoor Experience there was a booth where you could sign up to go camping with a camping education group, and they would provide all of the food, the tents and sleeping bags (if necessary), and activities.  Plus, it was all FREE.  Since Ryan hadn't taken the boys camping this summer, he signed up.  He also signed Caroline and me up--but we figured Little Miss and I would NOT be joining them. 

 

Remember, I'm not a camper.  I'm especially not a camper at 6 months pregnant!

 

Caroline and I spent the day until dinner at the site, and Caroline had a great time playing. 

The kids seriously loved the tent.  They didn't want to do anything else except hang out in the tent.

For dinner they had ingredients to make Hobo Packets.  (For those who don't know, it's meat and veggies put inside of foil and placed on the grill.)  I'd never made one, but it was kind of fun.  Of course, it took about an hour or so to actually cook the things, but they were pretty tasty.  Maybe we'll try doing them next summer on the grill.

 

This picture cracks me up.  I'm not sure what was going on to cause these expressions.  By this point I'd already left with Caroline, but the boys and Ryan went to a campfire.

Jack--The temperature got down to 35 degrees so the boys were quite bundled up.  I guess they stayed warm, though.

Grant, who was a champion sleeper of the night.  He slept until after 9! 

 

They all had a great time, and Ryan was happy that they were able to go camping at least once this year.  Although they came back with great stories and so excited about camping, I'm not sure that Caroline and I (and baby!) will be joining them on their next camping adventure!  The boys like having their "boys only" time--and I'm fine with it, too!