All by myself!

We were outside this afternoon and I let Holden get in the swimming pool for a few minutes in just his shorts. So when we came in, I put a diaper on him and then just let him be (it's almost always a fight to get him to put clothes on, so I just left it go for the time being).

All of a sudden I hear, "Mommy I put it on all by myself!"

And this is what I saw:




He put his shorts on. :)






I wish you could hear how excited he was. Marching around in his shorts that he put on all by himself.

"A" for effort, little Buddy.

Too funny.....

A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday was such a good day.

Jared took the day off, I had a quick doctor's appointment in the morning which went really smoothly, and then we spent the whole rest of the day at the Cleveland Zoo.

We walked around a bit first, then ate lunch before seeing the rest of the animals. Both boys did pretty good with only minor little fits here and there - all quickly neutralized. And it was just a beautiful, sunny day (a little hot in the direct sun, for me at least, but actually very comfortable in the shade).

And Holden has been telling me off and on for weeks now that he was "excited to go to the zoo" so I think he really had fun. He rode and walked and always got to get out to see all the animals better. Every time there were 2 of something, he would tell us that they were the Mommy and the Daddy. And he kept asking to see the elephants over and over again, so I think they may have been his favorite.

Bridger Dean loved the aquatic building and looking at all the fish. He kept pointing to them all and making his little humph noise. He was having fun. Plus we left the stroller outside and he got to be carried around so that probably made it more fun, too.

Then for dinner we stopped and got some Subway so I wouldn't have to cook! An excellent end, I thought :)

The elephant!

Bridger likes stroller rides

Watching the camels

He sat down here and asked me to take his picture. Silly boy.

The boys in their new ride

Checking out the animals with Daddy

Watching the fish

Bridger pointing at some fishies
(And Jared says he wasn't mad, he was just concentrating!)

Group Shot! (Bridger was starting to get sleepy.)

Rhinos. The baby was neat to see.

Watching the Polar Bear

Holden asked me if he was going to eat the people! Goof.

...... and zonked.

Who is this toddler?

For weeks now, Bridger has been scooting or cruising around furniture to get where he wants to be. Then a couple days ago, he started letting go of the couch to walk toward the toy room. And if something or someone was within 5 or so steps, he'd let go and walk for that, too.

Then this morning, much to my surprise, I guess he just decided he was ready. And has been walking all around the house ever since.

Oh, and he's had 2 bottles so far today and held them both all by himself. Which he's also never done before.

It's like, over night my baby decided he was going to be a toddler!

And, while it did kind of surprise me this morning, now it makes me smile. And I choose to take it as a blessing. With every new milestone he reaches - and as fast as he seems to be changing lately - he just doesn't seem like such a baby anymore. And it makes me feel more and more ready to have another little baby around here soon.

Rolling Ridge Ranch

Grandma and Grandpa babysat Holden's 3 cousins all last week while Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jen were away, and they did lots of fun things to help pass the time. On Thursday, they all went down to Rolling Ridge Ranch in Holmes County, and the boys and I tagged along.

We had so much fun.

We started off with a horse-drawn, covered wagon ride all around the grounds. I think it must have lasted about an hour. Everyone got a little bucket of feed and all the animals came right up to the wagon to eat during the ride. It was really neat. Holden loved the 2 big draft horses pulling us and he had lots of fun feeding and trying to pet all the animals who came over for a snack. Even Bridger did really good, just sitting/standing with Grandma and watching all the excitement.

Then after the wagon ride we walked around in the little zoo/petting zoo area. All the kids had fun going in the "pasture" to pet the small animals.

And we finished with a picnic lunch under the pavilion (packed by Grandma) and were on our way home just as it started to get really hot out. So it all worked out great!

And, of course, I took lots of pictures :)

The first animal we got to feed: Eeyore the donkey.

Camel

He got really close

So we gave him a nibble

Bridger watching all the animals

Riding on the wagon!

Feeding an elk all by himself

A water buffalo and an emu. Or something like that.

This guy pecked his big beak in the bucket too fast for my liking. But Grandpa wasn't scared!

He was really big

Some of the elk keeping cool

Zebras

Here comes a llama...

He was getting good at holding on tight and feeding some of them all by himself

Talking with Grandma

Putting some food down for the deer

And Bridger getting a closer look

There were a lot of little deer

And Grandpa helping him feed the big Buffalo

His horns were enormous

And this guy looked really hot

Cheesin' with Grandma. He had fun :)

Isaac, Naomi, and Holden checking out some of the animals in the petting zoo area

Baby calf

Grandpa and the kids

Itty-bitty baby pot belly pigs - not even a week old. They were cute.

All the grandkids!

Eight weeks, eight weeks......

(I don't think I really post things focused on me that often, but this is one...)

So I'm officially down to about 8 weeks left now and I can definitely tell he's getting bigger in there. I actually couldn't fall asleep last night for a little while because he was squirming around so much it felt like he was trying to break out through my belly button. I think he may be starting to get a little cramped.

And oh, the hiccups. He's been getting them for awhile now, but he must be growing because he gets them like 2-3 times a day lately and it's no longer just this tiny little bumping feeling anymore that I need to be still to detect. Now it rattles the whole inside of me until they finally pass.

Eight more weeks.

And while I still don't feel completely ready to have another baby around here yet (and who knows if I ever will), I'm pretty sure I'm feeling just about ready to be done being pregnant.

And I know there's a good possibility this may be the last time I ever get to have a baby inside me, wiggling and growing, and I try to appreciate all the little squirms and thumps and soak it all in... but honestly, it gets tough when sometimes my feet feel stiff like they're swelling up, I can't go up the stairs without feeling heavy and tired, I can't lean forward or take a deep breath because it just feels like there's no more room in my abdomen, I am forever chewing on Tums, or (my favorite) when he rams his head straight into my nether regions. Oh, baby.

I know it sounds really selfish and ungrateful, but I think after 3 babies in 3 years.... well, I think it'll just be a really nice gift to have my body back for me for a change.

And to drink a glass of wine again :)

But we'll get there. I've actually had an extremely smooth and easy pregnancy and I know I shouldn't whine about such minor inconveniences. I guess this is just a little vent. So you know it's not all peaches and cream. Ha.

And I think I'll be totally ready when the times comes. Ready to meet him and hold him, ready to see if we feel like we're a "complete" family now, and ready to be not pregnant anymore.

So cook, Baby, cook! And then come on out. Because we're all getting excited to meet you ♥

The weekly photo

And with my handsome boys ♥

It was so nice out and they were both in good moods and cooperating so well.

Happy Fourth!

It's been a pretty festive couple of days around here!

For the Orrville parade this year, Jared drove the Streb's Meats truck for his uncle. And I wasn't feeling much like going, so Grandma came and took Holden so they could both watch for the truck. I think he had lots of fun and he definitely brought home a bagful of goodies :)

Then on Sunday afternoon we all went over to my grandpa's house for some swimming and a family cookout. That was nice, too. The pool was so warm and both boys had fun splashing and swimming.

Then last night, on the actual fourth, we just made a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. We played with some little Bang Snaps (the things you throw and when they hit the ground they go "snap!") and sparklers, played a game of one-on-one cornhole (Jared beat me left-handed. Talk about a blow to my self-esteem...), and enjoyed the four different sets of fireworks going off that we could see from our backyard. It really was nice. And although we would have liked to get out and take Holden to some fireworks, since he loves them, we really were surprised at how well we could see them just from our yard. And how calm and quiet it was, sitting by the fire watching, as compared to actually being in the bustle of everyone at the show.

So yes, our fourth was kind of quiet this year, but it really was nice to just be at home, outside, together, just hanging out. It feels like that doesn't happen often enough. And I know I really enjoyed it.


These are from last night:

Waiting for Daddy to roast the hot dogs

A stick, some meat, and a fire. It sounds like a man job to me.

Eating his supper

Almost every time there's a chip clip around, no matter what I say, Holden wants to play with it.

And almost every time, it ends with me having to kiss some sort of boo boo.

Is it any wonder?

Helping Daddy

Such handsome boys I have in my life.

Bridger Dean sitting in the big boy chair

I left him sitting in the grass for a minute and this is what I found. He no longer sits still for very long, that's for sure.

Watching the fire with Daddy

Photo by Holden.

The first one he's ever taken that we're actually in :)

Cruising around the picnic table

Throwing Bang Snaps with Daddy

And time for Sparklers!

First time. We told him it was going to be like a little firecracker he could hold.

I think he liked them :)

Happy Fourth, everyone!