Happy 35/35 to Me!!

I reached my 35/35 milestone today!

I am now officially 35 weeks pregnant, with only 35 days left to go!

So, of course, Holden and I took a few pictures this morning before we left for the store. Just to mark the occasion :)


And we are still pluggin' away on the nursery. Actually, Holden is going to spend Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa, so we are hoping to make lots of progress then - since we'll be kid-free and both able to be working on the room together. For once.


Over the weekend we're really hoping to get the floor sanded and something else painted - either the woodwork, walls, floors.... something. It is a long weekend and Jared already promised to work on the room. (He detests painting and says I'm a slave driver because I am always asking him when he's gonna get to it.... and I do feel a little bad for nagging, but seriously, I'm sorta on the clock here. Haha.) So I'm trying to remain optimistic :)


I did manage to get the crib skirt almost finished the other day. Everything is now cut, measured, folded, pressed, and pinned. Just need to hem the edges all up and it will be done!


And I am making some progress. Slowly. Little Brother now has a few, new, really cute little onesies, the dresser is all finished and the new hardware is on, I bought the crib bumper, and I spray painted a mirror and a lamp base for the room. Tonight I'm going through baby clothes. And tomorrow I'm going to try to cover a lamp shade with some of the extra fabric I have left over from the skirt. Wish me luck :)


And I had another Non Stress Test last night, and it went very well. Actually, when the nurse came back after giving the report to the doctor, she said my doctor was "pleased." Which was definitely a pleasant and welcome surprise - for a change!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend, everyone! Have fun!!

How cute is that?♥

Fireworks!

Let freedom ring!

Holden got to go to his first fireworks show this weekend (in Mount Eaton) and it was great! I didn't really expect him to be scared (and we talked about how they were going to go "Boom! Boom!" in the sky), but I thought maybe at least a little apprehension.... nope. He did great.

We took some popcorn and just sat on a blanket behind our car. The whole show lasted just long enough that no one got too bored or tired.

And we actually thought about maybe skipping it since it was going to make Holden have to stay out pretty late, but I'm so glad we decided to go. It was a nice, mellow setting and a great way for him to get to experience fireworks for the first time.

(And on a side note, I can hardly believe it's already time for fireworks and almost the 4th of July. Time is flying! Our days countdown until Little Brother gets here is already in the 30's now... wow. Time to get crackin' on his room!!!)

Waiting for the show to start

Flexin' with Daddy - bright flash = super squinty eyes :)

Holden likes popcorn

Fireworks!

Watching with Daddy for awhile.....

.... and then it was Mommy's turn♥








Yay for the show :)

Bumpin' Along

Little Brother continues to grow! And so does Momma's belly :)

And while I'm fairly certain that we're not quite ready for him to make his grand appearance just yet, I'm also beginning to feel like I'm ready to be done being pregnant. Not that it's even that unpleasant - I'm pretty lucky and I haven't ever really experienced any of the yucky pregnancy symptoms - but I have a serious dislike of medical "stuff" in general, and I'm ready to not have to see any more doctors or have any more tests run for a long time.

In addition to countless growth ultrasounds, and feeling like I live at the doctor's office, I've now also started having weekly Non Stress Tests (due my history with high blood pressure during pregnancy) just to check on Little Brother and make sure he's still doing good in there.

(And I'll say it again, I can't wait to be done being pregnant so I don't have to deal with any more medical stuff for a long time :/)

But aside from all the medical crud, I feel pretty good! I've been keeping track of my BP at home and it always seems to be just fine - whenever I'm not around the hospital/doctor people..... I haven't really had too much swelling yet (thankfully! and surprisingly with all this heat and humidity!), I'm still feeling pretty mobile and comfortable most of the time (getting off the couch is another story....), and aside from the typical pregnant middle-of-the-night potty breaks, I'm still sleeping very well. So all good news :)

And, in other news, Holden is now NINETEEN months old! Whew! Growing like a weed. And Jared has had a really long, busy work week so hasn't seen Holden much these past few nights. And he swears that in the last 2 days he's missed, Holden's just talking more and more. Probably. I'm with him all day and I can definitely tell you that the only times he's not talking are when he's (a) sleeping or (b) doing something he's not supposed to be doing!


I leave you with the last few most recent belly shots. Enjoy!

(and it was time for a haircut!)

A Day for Daddy

Jared is a great father.

As soon as he gets home every night (and Holden lights up because he sees Daddy pull in), he walks in the door, picks Holden up and, and just makes it seem like he's been waiting all day to come home and play with him.

And once Daddy is home, Holden wants nothing more than to be with Daddy. (And on the days Jared lifts, he looks out the window, points at the garage, and just says "Daddy" over and over again until he sees Daddy coming back inside for supper.)

And Jared is so good about including Holden in absolutely everything he can. They mow together. Wash cars together. Jared gives him a bath every night. They look at books/the Jeep magazine together. They get Daddy's work clothes ready together. And just about anything Jared needs to do in the garage or with the Jeep, he does with Holden. Really, most of the time, Holden just wants to sit in the Jeep and watch Daddy work anyways. Oh, how he loves Daddy's Jeep :)

Actually, when I go get Holden out of his crib in the mornings, most days the first thing he does is point to our bedroom and say "Daddy." And I have to tell him Daddy is at work.

So we really wanted Daddy to feel special this past weekend for Father's Day and have a good time. So on Saturday, we did one of Jared's most favorite things: we sat around the fire and listened to classic rock. He is man of simple pleasures :)

Then Sunday, after church, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's and had one of Jared's favorite meals for lunch: Steak with Bleu Cheese.

After lunch (and Holden's nap time) we went swimming - another favorite, relaxing summer activity - and then went over to my Mom's for another delicious meal and one more of Jared's summer favorites: Cornhole.

All in all, I think it was a pretty nice Father's Day weekend. And I truly hope Jared knows how much we love and appreciate him. He is definitely the most important man in our lives♥

Daddy and Holden by the fire Saturday night

Jared wanted a picture of the fire, moon, and clouds.
I aim to please :)

And no fire is as fun without snacks. This time, it was popcorn.

Holden liked it and, since we were outside, Mommy didn't care how
much he dropped. Perfect!

Watching Daddy pick out another log

Building it up....

So relaxing.

My boys♥

Sunday morning before church.
Jared's holding his Father's Day mug from Holden. HeHe :)

Grillin' Time at Grandma and Grandpa's!
Holden and Daddy relaxing while Uncle Tyler H cooks up the steaks.

Jared, Holden, and Grandpa
(or "Pa" whenever Holden sees him)

Sunday evening at Mimi's house. Hanging out after dinner.

Daddy is a Cornhole champ :)

Swinging in Mimi's garden.

Happy Father's Day!

"It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear. " - Dorothy Evslin

A few nights ago, after Holden was all tucked in, Jared and I were just sitting on the couch talking and getting ready for bed. And Jared made a comment about how you could tell how big Holden was getting by how high up the smudges on the wall and tv were starting to appear. Tears instantly welled up in my eyes because it reminded me of the quote above.

I told him that I could deal with the smudges.


I know now that there's something in this life way more important that a spotless home:

The Jeep Magazine

For anyone who may not know our family too personally, I'll just tell ya: Jared loves Jeeps. Actually, as a group, we're sort of a Jeep family: We have 2, Grandpa and Grandma H have one, and both of Holden's uncles have one.

So Jeeps of all shapes and models everywhere!

But Jared's passion is The Wrangler. (I say this somewhat sarcastically, but he really does love 'em.)

So every once in a while we get a new Jeep magazine in the mail.

Do we ever buy anything from this magazine? No. Not yet. But Jared swears he's buying at least something small this year. One special, new thing for his Jeep.

We'll see.

But anyway, so it seems like just about every time Jared has some down time, he picks up the latest copy, and peruses. Dreaming of new bumpers, and hitches, and lift kits, and who knows what else.

And now, since it's pretty much always lying around - and Holden is newly in love with anything related to "cars" - Mommy often gets the pleasure of looking through the magazine with Holden. To see all the "cars."

And to make up stories about how fast they are, why they're all dirty, why they're driving over rocks and through water, and where they're going. While Holden repeats my every other word, and waves and says "bye" to the pages. Lol.

Pretty cute, truthfully.

But much cuter when, on rare occasion, Mommy doesn't have to look, too! Since Jeep accessories, no matter how awesome, really just aren't my "thing" :)

Relaxing with the Jeep magazine after bath time

Holden is his Daddy's boy.

And just a quick little photo of the boys looking
at it together on Saturday morning.
Mommy definitely doesn't get it.

A Graduation Party for "Emmy"

Holden loves his Uncle Tyler B's girlfriend, Emily♥

We have her senior photo on the fridge, and at least twice a day Holden points to her and tells me it's "Emmy."

Actually, almost every time he sees a blonde, teenage girl somewhere, he points to her and says "Emmy." And then Mommy has to tell him it's not. Silly boy.

Daddy told him the other night that he better get over it - she's too old for him. Haha.

But anyway, this past weekend, we got to go to her graduation party! And Holden definitely had lots of fun.

Sitting with the big kids :)

Holden and his "Emmy"♥

Holden loves water.
And Uncle Tyler B was swimming at the party.
So Daddy lifted Holden up so he could put his hands in the pool.

Splashing away!

But then Daddy wasn't really paying too close of attention....

......and when Mommy looked over.....

....Holden was basically dunking his whole head.

(Look at Daddy just patting his back, completely unaware that Holden's whole forehead is submerged. Ha!)

But by then, he was already wet and having fun, so we let him play a little more.

Putting the water on his head. Silly, silly boy.

More "swimming"......

.....and soaked. Good thing he had a bath before we went. Haha....

Playing with the rocks around the pool.
I don't know what it is about rocks, but he loves messing with them.

Trying to get some "dirty" off his neck.
Cookies, cake, rocks, dirt, grass.... who knows what it was.
But he thought I was just tickling him :)

Going for a walk then over to the cornhole games to see his Mimi play.

(And maybe dry off just a little bit!)

Fruit Loops

Holden loves Fruit Loops. He knows where the box is, he can reach it, and he gets them out at least once a day.

And he loves playing with/feeding the dog.

The other day, his two loves combined.

Almost every morning after we get up, right away Holden wants to go out on our enclosed porch and play with Indiana. And almost every morning I can hear him rummaging through the dog food bag and dropping handfuls of food into Indy's bowl.

It makes almost no difference how many times I go out there and tell him to stop. He just keeps saying "Indy" and "food" and getting handfuls. Good listener, huh? I think he's convinced the dog always needs to have food in his bowl. We do not agree on this.

Anyways, the other day, I tried to be very very clear that I didn't think this was a game and I didn't want him playing in the food. Indy didn't need anymore, he was full.

So a little while later, I hear a sound. I look over and Holden is standing over the dog's bowl, holding the Fruit Loops box upside down, emptying it into the bowl.

Sigh.

I guess he wasn't playing with the dog food, at least.

It's more Fruit Loops than any dog needs.

Checking out his mess. He kept saying "No No."

I asked him what he did and he said "meh" (mess). Guilty.