Trip to Illinois and 32 weeks

Last weekend we had the chance to go to Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL. We went with my dad, Barb, Steph, Luke, Kaiya, Shelly, Jay and Jack. We had a nice (fast) weekend. We played some mini golf, rode some amusement rides, got to ride the train around a couple times, walked/hiked Starved Rock and swam at the indoor water park (in Grizzly Jack's). We had a great weekend and were pretty wore out from the drive and all the activities we did.

The "Older Kids" riding a ride at the indoor amusement park (part of Grizzly Jack's)

The "Little Kids" riding a ride at the amusement park


Mini Golf- Being silly and looking at eachother through the log


Couple of CUTE girls..





Starved Rock:
Grandparents and grandkids

Family Picture.. Soon to be a family of 4 :-)

Johnson Family

Pringle Family

Group Picture


Matt got up early one morning and hiked to find some water falls and this was a photo he captured..




On our way to Illinois last Friday, we stopped by to see me mom, who was staying at my aunts house in Montezuma. My aunt keeps the family pony (called pony.. go figure) at her house so my mom wanted Avree to come riding. Avree loves horses and we are just hoping she doesn't get her dad's allergies to horses!
I didn't get very many pictures that turned out.. they were all blurry cause Avree wouldn't sit still for a good picture.. she kept kicking the pony to keep him moving :-)





32 weeks and counting....
In the end of my 32nd week and I keep thinking "how in the world am I going to make it till the end of Sept!" It seems like a ways away still. I do hope this one comes a week or 2 early :-)
Had my Dr appt yesterday and my Dr told me to take it easy. With it being so HOT out and I have been having some very mild braxton hicks, she doesn't want me to over do it. So I am trying to drink my fluids, and rest.. but doesn't always happen when I have a house to pick up, people to cook supper for and a 2 yr old to watch :-)

Week 32- 2nd Pregnancy


Week 32- 1st pregnancy


Headed to Pella next week while Matt works in Moline. This will be our "last" road trip before baby. Hopefully I can find some time to relax and have some "alone time" since there are 2 sets of grandparents in Pella. I am sure they can keep Avree busy :-)

30th week and 3D Ultrasound

Still feeling great.. just getting rounder and bigger :-) (Thankfully just in my stomach and no where else). We decided this time around to do the 3D ultrasound (we didn't do it with Avree) but we thought we should do it for one of the kids.. just in case this is our last baby. Well, baby was not interested in getting its picture taken! We had the hardest time trying to get a picture of just the face. There was always a leg or hand/arm over the face. We think from the 2 ultrasounds (18 weeks and 30 weeks) we have had, that this one is going to be a noisy chatter bug. (NOTHING like Avree was/is) We saw the mouth "talking" and the tongue go crazy. At our 18 week ultrasound we got a little video clip of this baby "talking". So 12 weeks later, it still likes to "talk". :-) We also confirmed the gender again! So no surprises for us. ;)
Enjoy the belly photos and the ultrasound pictures from my 18th week (2D) and 30th week (2D & 3D)

18 week ultrasound- Foot Foot by head Again with the feet up by head


Belly Pictures
30 weeks

30 week ultrasound.. 2D & 3D/4D photos
2D Profile Picture

3D/4D Side of Foot (toes on the left, heel on the right)

3D/4D Face shot

3D/4D Face shot, with fingers in/by mouth

2D, Profile with mouth open (this was when the baby was "talking" to us and we saw the mouth and tongue move.)

3D/4D picture of hand/arm (again covering the face from us)

3D/4D- A little hard to see, but on the left is the leg, the hand is by the nose/mouth (in front of the face) and the knee is right under the face.


As you can see from both ultrasound visits, this baby loves having the legs/hands scrunched up by the face...Just like some of Avree's ultrasounds.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.. Almost August!! Wow!

My Pretty, Pink, Pigtail Princess and New Dora Couch

I usually don't spend a lot of time "doing" Avree's hair everyday. There really isn't any point unless we need to be somewhere or have to look somewhat decent. (Matt says she looks like a "Wal Mart Baby" when she has crazy hair and is dressed sloppy.) :-) We still have problems with her hair ratting up in the back after nap times and when she gets up in the morning. Some days aren't bad but water or tangle spray works great! Well last week I decided to take some time and "do" her hair. She sat pretty still and she let me put pigtails in this time. So adorable!!!

She LOVES the dogs and wanted her picture taken with "her boys".



Last week, a couple houses down from us, was having a garage sale. So we thought we would walk over there to see what they had.. Well the first thing we saw was a DORA couch and Dora chair! I knew we were in trouble the second we got there and saw DORA. For those of you who don't know, Avree is OBSESSED with Dora! Dora, Dora, Dora, is something we hear around here atleast 5 times a day! Anyways, I decided to get the couch (it was pink, and we all know I love pink) and it was in good condition and was only $5. It also folds out like a hidaeabed and can also fold back into a "couch". Avree has spent a lot of time laying on the couch. And the funny thing is, the dogs love it too. It is the perfect size for them. Everytime Avree isn't using it, the dogs are laying on it. It's pretty comical seeing the dogs lay on a pink kid couch. :-)


Avree "pretending" to sleep.


This weekend I will be 30 weeks!! WOW, 10 weeks (hopfully sooner) to go! I am to the point now, where I am ready! Bring on baby #2 :-) I just hope and pray for another healthy (not too big), beautiful baby.

29 Weeks



Avree's Pregnancy- 28 weeks

Avree's Pregnancy- 29 weeks


We have a busy couple weekends ahead of us... Next weekend a good high school friend of mine gets married back in Iowa and then the following weekend we are making the LONG trek to Illinois! My dad and Barb got rooms at a water park hotel (like a Great Wolf Lodge) so all of us "kids" are going to IL to spend the weekend together at the water park. Should be a fun weekend, but not looking forward to the 7+ hour drive, especially being 31 weeks pregnant!! So we shall see who will last the longest in the car.. Avree or ME! :-)
Once August gets here, we plan on trying to stay put. Maybe head back to Pella one last time before Sept. but no traveling for us starting at the end of August.
Hope everyone is staying cool today.. 110 heat index!!! Crazy! We stayed inside and enjoyed the AC and had a movie day :-)

4th of July, Pregnancy and Random Photos...

We had a great 4th of July weekend but just wish it didn't rain ALL DAY on the 4th. We went back to Iowa to my dad and Barb's lake house, in Panora. We had Matt parents, brothers and grandparents come stay with us. We had a nice, relaxing, fun-filled family weekend! The boys (and Avree a couple times) went out on the jet ski, the guys golfed and then the days that it was nice, we sat around the dock/sand area. We were stuck inside all day Sunday, so we watched movies and played games.. I am so sick of Connect Four, that I probably won't play it again..EVER! :P Ha-Ha. Great weekend with great family!

Avree being a "ham" and doing her cheesy smile, but not wanting to look at the camera



Trying the "help" dad start up the jet ski




Matt did a little photo shoot of "Uncle Boo" and Avree when we were at the lake house. They turned out GREAT!
Avree just adores her "Boo-Boo".



Pregnancy:
Still doing/feeling pretty good. My leg/calf though has been bothering me. When I am on it for a while my veins pop out and it starts throbbing. I try and ice it, but sometimes I don't have time for that.. Other than my leg, nothing else to complain about. The heat isn't bothering me and no swelling! I just can't believe I am in the middle of the 28th week! Crazy!!
28 Weeks


27 Weeks



Random:
One thing you can usually catch Avree doing... Being naked! This girl always wants to be naked. Anytime she gets her clothes "wet" (more like damp) she says "shirt yuck... dry, dry" as she is trying to take it off. Most of the time when we are inside and we catch her in the process of taking off her clothes, we just let her but we do have 1 rule when it comes to clothes.. They MUST be worn at ALL times when she is outside! We have let her occasionally play in the nude on the deck, but we have a high privacy fence so no one can see her. This doesn't happen very often, but this one afternoon when she was done swimming in her pool and she wanted her suit off to "dry, dry", I decided it was ok..
I of course had to grab my camera and take some pictures of my naked baby, eating a freezer pop and hanging out with "the boys".



Even though she has the "cutest lil buns", I hope this is just a phase and grows out of it when she get a little older :-)