Living Vicariously

Well, as you all know, I am about to give birth to my 3rd son. So, I have taken it upon myself to use my niece to get my girly fix. We enrolled her in gymnastics this week and she started on Thursday. I got to take her to the gym where I took gymnastics for years and then taught gymnastics when I graduated high school.

Here we are upon our arrival. She was so excited she was almost beside herself.

Here she is waiting in line to go in for her class. There were girls of all ages but the girls in her specific group were her age, or close to it.
She got to pick out her leotard and she chose this one because she liked how soft it was.

Ava had a little bit of trouble staying focused on what she was supposed to be doing when her teacher was helping the other students and this little girl kept trying to keep her straight, telling her where to stand in line and to stay on her own mat. It was pretty funny.

Ava was learning how to do a forward roll, which she already knew how to do, but I think she liked rolling down then wedge mat because it makes her go faster.

Here she is climbing up onto the bar! She was especially excited about this part.

pushing up into a back bend was a breeze for her. She did that better than the rest.

Here she is on the beam. This one lies flat on the ground and she kept running to the higher ones and walking on them. You can tell in her mind she is better than this just like she thinks she is at everything else. She is just too big for her britches. I will say though, when she climbed up onto the other beam which sits about a foot off of the ground, she did it really well, and without falling off so, maybe she's right.

Getting help with her forward roll.

Here she is learning to do a cartwheel over the mat. It's pretty hard to teach a child this age to do a cartwheel, but she was trying.

This was at the beginning of class, when they were stretching. As you can see there is one boy in her class, and Mikey and I were thinking about letting Huett take classes too. He would be great at it, and my brother took gymnastics with me and Trisha when we were growing up, so it can't hurt! I'm going to take him Thursday night and let him watch to see what he thinks about it.

Anyway, I got a little sad talking to the gym-owner Regina because I started thinking about how I probably won't ever have a daughter to take on my own, but I got over it when I wrote that check for Ava's gym fees and started to realize how much money we will save having 3 sons. I mean a monthly fee, not to mention leotards and hair bows and recitals and cover-ups, etc.

I might have to pay a registration fee for the boys to play sports but it is a one-time a year thing, and then uniforms are usually included. And they are only 4 years old.

Oh boy...and girl!

let the countdown begin!!

Well, I went to the doctor on Monday, and I am starting to have very swollen feet, hands, and face...which I hate. I have actually had to take off my wedding rings which I've never had to do. Anyway, my blood pressure was up a little, so he told me that he would really like for me to quit working, which I was more than happy to do. So I won't be going back to work. I will be going back to the doctor on Monday and the plan now is to have my c-section on next Friday September 4. If my calculations are correct, that makes me have to go back to work the week of Thanksgiving which really stinks. I was hoping to atleast milk the Thanksgiving holiday out of it. Maybe it will still work out. Anyway, I am just taking it easy and trying to get the finishing touches on his room. So, 9 days and counting!!!

BUSTED!

A few weekends ago, my parents and my sister took the kids camping at Oak Mountain. Everyone had a blast, but as you can see here, Sam got a nasty busted lip, bless his heart. He was just walking down down the sidewalk when he tripped and hit the curb with nothing but his mouth. Mom and Trisha said that had he been running, it would've knocked his teeth out. When he fell, there was lots of blood. When he finally calmed down, they called to tell us about it. I got on the phone with Sam and he said," I fall down, I cry, I need you." Talk about making you feel guilty for not being there. A big part of me wanted to go and get him, but I didn't b/c of My hot date with Mikey, to go see Little Texas, but that's a whole other post. Anyway, once he calmed down( and it took a while b/c he wanted his pacifier, but to add insult to injury, he could use it b/c it hurt too) he was fine and eating again so he recovered well and didn't really need his mommy.

Can I just say that this picture really doesn't do the severity of it justice. This pic was a few hours after it happened and I think it must've continued to swell, b/c when I got there the next day, it looked worse than that.

Archer made the trip too. He's such a sweet boy!!

He just plays all day! I hope Charlie has the same temperament

Sam is just trying to eat a cookie with his new big lip

Going for a ride in the bicycle pull-along / stroller. They love this thing. Problem is keeping the adults in good enough shape to pull them around. Dad does a great job though considering his typical bike ride by himself is several miles around town. Ava made the trip too, but somehow, mom and trisha didn't get any pictures of her. Go figure. Mom and dad are planning on taking the kids camping again the weekend after Charlie's born. Hopefully it will be less eventful.

Let the nesting begin

Isn't it a little ironic that at 9 months pregnant and after a several day stretch of only sleeping a few hours a night, God instills in a mom, the urge to clean and prepare for the babies arrival? I mean seriously, out of the going on 10 months of a pregnancy if ever there is a time when I should not feel like cleaning and organizing, it is now. But just like I have with every other pregnancy, I have this burst of energy and a sense of urgency to get everything just right for Charlie's arrival. As we speak, my brother/personal contractor on-call is painting the nursery room and trim, as well as painting the trim in Huett and Sam's room which I have been putting off for months. Don't worry,we are paying him :-)... Mikey and I are going tomorrow to buy new ceiling fans and light fixtures for several rooms in the house, not to mention, Charlies special-order fabric has arrived at Hancock Fabric so I can finally put a rush order on his bedding! Also, yesterday, I could be seen at Wal-mart buying outlet covers, light switch covers, and a new digital thermostat to convert our ancient round one into something a little...make that a lot more modern! Now more so than with Huett or Sam , I feel like I have to be organized with everything. I just hear horror stories of going from 2 children to 3 that make me feel a little intimidated. But I also heard the same things when I went from one to two and they were only 17 months apart and I showed them! (I am sticking my tongue out as I write) Anyway, I can't wait to hang his cute wall hangings that I blogged about in an earlier post.
It's all so exciting!
ON another note, I wrote that my c-section was scheduled for September 5. After arguing with my lovely husband about the fact that the 5th is indeed a Friday, I stand corrected. My c-section is scheduled for Friday September 4. Love you honey! Thanks for straightening me out on a regular basis.

A few days ago, I celebrated my 26th birthday. We had a yummy Strawberry cake from Edgars Bakery. You have to try it if you never have. Best. Cake. Ever. I had lots of help blowing out candles.

I think Sam was trying the hardest.

What do you do with this behavior besides take a picture to use as black mail in the future?

He can turn it on and off in a flash. Even looking at him in pictures like this, I could just eat him up! Oh the drama.

With Ava at the wheel, this picture is a little scary.
Lets just say, it seems like she got her driving skill from her mom.

We piled them on just for these pictures. Huett is a very cautious driver, so it isn't quite as dangerous as it may seem. Notice Sam hiding out if the back.

Aren't they a good looking bunch? It was virtually impossible to get a pic of them all looking at the camera at the same time. I think Huett actually makes a point not to look at the camera just to spite me.

Sad to think that Summer's almost over. It's actually kinda unbelievable. Where has this year gone? I remember adults telling me time will fly once you grow up. Now I get it! And, now more than ever, I want it to stop!

This is something I am learning to deal with on a daily basis. It's hard to cherish the moment when everything is so busy and crazy and messy, but somehow I am trying to slow myself down and do just that. Wish me luck b/c when Charlie gets here, it will only get even harder.

slip and slide

Huett got a slip-and-slide for his birthday and we got it out to play. Last year, we tried a slip-and-slide and it was a disaster. They didn't understand it and they just kept falling down. This year, however, they took right to it.

Huett understood how to do it right off the bat. He didn't really need too much coaching.

He would run from way back and really get some speed. For a while, he was the only one who could make it to the end.

Ava was just scooting to the end because she couldn't gain enough speed...at first.

She had a much more creative mind when it came to ways to get to the end and after we moved the slide to a little hill, she was set.

Another Ava original. She was the only one that perfected the frogger slide.

It took Sam lots of practice and the help of the hill before he ever even came close to the end. He did a lot of crawling to the end and then jumping into the little pool like you see in this picture.

He was breakin' it down in between slides to his own little beat in his own little head.

Don't you wish you could see this picture from behind. What a sweet little man.

Arch-head wasn't quite ready for the water so we just sat on the sidelines.

Teagan even got into the action with a little help from her daddy. He was her own personal rocket booster as you can see in the upper left hand of the picture.

She takes such a pretty picture.

All three of them were racing for the slide. This looks like an accident just waiting to happen.

Mikey has begun a new exercise regime which including cycling on this particular day. He has a very eclectic workout going on right now that includes a little bit of everything.

It''s tough work.

Charlie update

I went to the doctor yesterday (on my birthday) for my 34 week check-up. Charlie is doing fine as far as we can tell and I actually lost a pound putting my total weight gain for those of you who are keeping up, at 15 pounds! It's a miracle. I don't see how I haven't gained more. God knows I gained 2-3 times as much with Huett and Sam. Must be my healthy lifestyle...yeah right! It will be interesting to find out whether he will weigh as much as Huett (7#12 oz.) and Sam (8#2 oz.) did without me gaining all that weight. Anyway, my c-section is tentatively scheduled for September 5, 2009. That's the Friday before Labor Day. Exactly one month from today. I am more than a little excited. I can't wait. I need to get my $h!t together and get his nursery finished. I just picked out all the fabrics for his curtains and bedding, so now my mom and Granny just need to get it all put together. It's really cute fabric. Pictures to come soon hopefully b/c time is running out. Also, my blood pressure is lower than it has ever been! Something about being pregnant with Charlie seems to really agree with me. Aside from sleeping at night that is. My bed and I aren't on the best of terms right now, but it's not the bed's fault, it's doing all it can. Stir-crazy nights are just part of being 9 months pregnant. I can deal.
I'm a little...make that a lot... sad that this pregnancy is almost over b/c I am pretty sure it will be the last one. I really do enjoy being pregnant. There is so much more good than bad in my eyes about being pregnant. It's so neat to me. Everything about it is cool. Not to mention the end result. Anyway, unless we strike it rich, (keep buying those lottery tickets Michelle), this is it. So I'm soaking it in. Sleepless nights and all. So, I'll keep everyone posted!

Slip and Slide/ 26th birthday pictures and post to come!