Ready to POP!

Here I am at 34 1/2 weeks...only 38 days to go (not that I'm counting or anything)! Surprisingly I'm still feeling really good. With Sam, my back hurt a lot, but I'm not having those issues this time. I've been having to get up 1 or 2 times a night to pee, so that's kind of annoying, but I can't complain. Also, I've been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I know this is typical and expected, but it makes me anxious! I lay awake worrying that I don't have everything done and end up getting up out of bed at 4:00 a.m because I'm so wound up. Some people might call this "nesting", but anyone who knows me knows that this is just part of who I am... a slightly anal retentive/perfectionist person when it comes to organization, cleanliness, etc. Sometimes it is a trait that serves me well, but mostly I just end up driving both myself and Brian crazy with my to-do list of "Things that must be done or the world will end"! My poor husband, God bless him, has been awesome for me lately. He works hard all day, but still comes home and does whatever I need done around the house or in my new classroom to help me relax. My goal is to be done with everything by the end of next week so I can just relax and enjoy a few weeks of summer before the baby arrives. Oh, and I think we finally picked a name! Well, at least we're down to 2 favorites. We will probably wait until he arrives and we see his cute little face to make the final decision. Here's some more pics of some of our summer adventures...

Cory and I took Samuel, Samantha and Brynn to a mini-zoo exhibit at the library. Sam got to pet a turtle and a big lizard, and look at other things like snake skins, deer skulls, and snow leopard furs. He had fun, but did not like waiting in line!

Last weekend, Brian, Sam and I went up to Silver Lake again for some family alone time. It rained alot in the mornings and evenings, but Saturday afternoon was gorgeous! We all got terrible sunburns (even with SPF on!) Guess we forgot to reapply. :( Here Sam is building a sand castle with a little boy that he met at the beach. While Brian fished, I sat with him on the beach for 3+ hours and he had a total riot making mud, throwing things in the water and then jumping from the dock into the water to retrieve things. He was SOOO tired by the time we got back to the cottage.


Sam was the fisherman of the weekend. He mastered the technique of slowly reeling in his line and everytime he pullled it in, there was a fish on the end! He was so proud of his skills, but actually he probably had more fun playing with the worms.

One of Sam's favorite things is to be pushed over and over again on the swings. He giggles so hard the entire time...it's so cute! Apparently I don't push him as high as daddy does because he kept bugging me to push him higher. When I finally gave him a good shove his response was, "Now that's what I'm talking about lady!" (needless to say, I almost peed myself from laughing so hard!) I have no idea where he comes up with some of his little sayings!

Last week, I took Sam over to Anna's house for a playdate. The kids had fun dressing up and playing for hours while LeAnne and I chatted.

Sam is in his 2nd week of gymnastics. He is having a blast! Every morning he wakes up and asks me, "Am I going to preschool today?" For some reason he has confused preschool with gymnastics, but either way, he is always excited to go. Today he started learning cartwheels and he seems to catch on to everything quite easily. He's one of the older kids in his group so I think he feels a little over confident (several times I've caught him running and trying to cut in line or push over some poor innocent little unsuspecting 3 year old girl in a too too.)

Every year since Samuel was a baby I've taken a picture of him in front of this flowering bush in our yard. It only blooms for about 2 weeks, so it's kind of neat to see how he changes from one year to the next.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a "Family Night" and roasted marshmallows in our outdoor fireplace and made smores! Yum!

Last but not least, I couldn't resist this adorable pic of Sam all pooped out after a day of gymnastics and playing at the park with his church buddies. He has lots of friends, but Murphy is still his "best buddy".