More Lake Time

C and I decided to take another weekend away and hitched a ride with Hattie and Poppy to the lake! We had perfect weather and were able to enjoy the calm water for a few days. C is finally warming up to swimming and he seemed to have just as much fun as the adults! I am so proud of my little fishy for overcoming a huge fear and hope we can get a few more trips in before fall hits.

Sunday Silence

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet

stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

– James 2:10 (NIV)

July in iPhone Photos

Carter cuddling with h2o, date night with daddy, all dressed up for dinner with friends,

C’s first trip to the movies (epic fail) and his new baby doll, and a winning Scrabble move!

Cousin lovin’, C’s new backyard playhouse, more baby doll, and some cuties of my cutie!

Little Buddies at Catch Air

Lake Break

The other weekend Carter and I packed up our things and headed out of town to spend the weekend at the lake with my family. Linc had a lot going on with work and multiple tennis matches so we were excited to have the company! We arrived on Friday and C had a blast getting spoiled by his Hattie and Poppy. It was mighty toasty so we were glad to spend the mornings out on the water at little rock. I was impressed with how well Carter did (for hating swimming) and the second day he managed almost three hours of play time before we headed back to the house. It really helped that we were able to beach the boat and he had plenty of sand to run around on. The water was nice and warm and we all had fun floating around and being lazy! We are looking forward to going back soon!

Bumpdate- 24 Weeks

I had my twenty four week appointment today and everything looked great. Baby boy was turning somersaults in the waiting room and had a strong heartbeat of 154bpm. I tried to convince my midwife to move my scan up only to find out that one of the doctors in my practice wanted her to wait until 32 weeks! Yikes! Thankfully she agrees that since I haven’t had any bleeding or spotting that we can go ahead with the scan at 28 weeks. Hopefully everything will check out and I’ll be just fine! If for some reason the placenta previa has not corrected itself, we will scan again at 32 weeks and then scheduled a c-section if it hasn’t moved into place. I am really hoping we won’t have to worry about that and will find out next month that everything is where it should be for a natural delivery! Read on to see what’s been up this month and how everything is going!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How far along? 24 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss? Up five pounds since my twenty week check up (18 total). I was surprised to find out I am four pounds lighter this time around than I was with Carter. Guess chasing around a toddler is good enough exercise since I can’t do anything “real.”

Maternity clothes? Just about everything except pajamas and some shirts. Most of my non maternity shirts are getting too short to cover this crazy huge belly so I’m sure in the next few weeks it will be all maternity clothes from here on out!

Stretch marks? I can see my stretch marks from being preggo with Carter now that my belly has expanded. Hoping I can escape this pregnancy without too many more.

Sleep? Still loving the snoogle!

Best moment this month? I’m having a hard time narrowing it down! I think the best part is finally being past all the morning sickness and yuckies that pregnancy brings. Dare I say it…? My friends are going to kill me…I have gotten past the worst of the first and second tri and…I love being pregnant now!! The belly is solid, the baby is kicking up a storm, I am sleeping decently, and the minor aches and pains I experience are easy to ignore. I guess when people heard me say I loved being pregnant with Carter (and then laughed at me) I should have specified that the first trimester is absolutely wretched stinks. No one enjoys puking every time they brush their teeth or think about Chick fil A or simply smelling something off. The great news is that all passes and I have been feeling really good for the last few weeks. Sure, I still get sick on rare occasion and have my moments where I feel like a giant beached whale, but this is the phase of pregnancy I really enjoy. I love having a big ol’ belly and being able to feel my little one saying hello from the inside! So yes, while the beginning sucks and the end is really tough too, I am happy to be enjoying the middle of this second trimester!

Movement? Baby Boy is a mover and a shaker! He is always very active right when I’m trying to go to bed and first thing in the morning when I am eating breakfast. I love the flutters and pokes. Helps me to remember to slow down and think about this precious little one inside me!

Food cravings? Nope. None of those.

Gender? Baby h2o is all BOY!!!

Labor signs? I have had a few Braxton Hicks contractions these past few weeks, but nothing consistent. I have a feeling this baby isn’t going anywhere for a long time.

Belly button in/out? Oh goodness…I think this button might actually pop out this time around.

What I miss: Still Tennis :( four more weeks till we find out about the placenta previa. I went ahead and signed up for Fall tennis anyway though because I have high hopes that everything will be ok!!!!

What I am looking forward to: All the fabric has been ordered for baby boy’s nursery and Carter’s big boy room is coming together! I can’t wait to see everything in place. My mom and MIL have both offered to help get the rooms ready and as soon as we decide on paint colors the fun can begin! My mama is making all of h2o’s bedding (just like with Carter) and I cannot wait to share how amazing it is!!!!

Milestones: I finally bit the bullet and signed Carter up for preschool! This has to do with the pregnancy because I am worried once baby comes he will be bored. I had high hopes of homeschooling him for the first few years, but I know this time away will be good for both of us. It will give me and h2o some time together to get to know each other, and it will make my time with C even more special. I already sobbed like a baby when I dropped the registration forms off, so I’m a little worried about how I’ll handle the first few days, but I know we’ll get used to this new routine! It’s only two days a week and I think Carter will really enjoy it! I was SO impressed with his school and hope it lives up to my expectations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Baby C wanted to say hi to baby brother and get his belly picture taken too!

Sunday Silence

Live such good lives among the pagans that,

though they accuse you of doing wrong,

they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

– 1 Peter 2:12 (NIV)

Favorites from Rocky

Our Last Morning- Rockywold 2012

Baby C listening to a lecture about how to build water rockets!

The path to our cabin!

Ironman Linc and his cheering squad

My Loves

Thanks Rockywold for the great memories!

Sunday Silence

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,

so that you also may have fellowship with us.

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

We write this to make our joy complete. – 1 John 1:3-4 (NIV)

Rockywold Triathlon

One Rocky tradition we love is the annual Triathlon! Teams (or individuals/ironmen) compete in a swim, kayak, run format and there is always a great showing of campers. I believe our family had four groups compete and two ironmen! It was so much fun to watch and I hope next time we attend I can actually participate. I think I could have held my own against the girls doing the individual competition and would have loved to give it a try!! I was so proud of Linc for racing in the ironman and finishing with a great time. His younger brother Madison also competed and even though they didn’t win it was great to watch! The gentleman who did win races for a living so I don’t think anyone else stood a chance ;)

Competitors started off with a 400yd swim across the freezing cold Squam Lake. The second leg consisted of a really long kayak course. I am not sure of the exact distance but it was barely visible from the dock!! The kayakers then tagged the runners who took off on a 2 mile run across the camp. Almost everyone finished with a smile on their face and it was so much fun to watch! 

Aunt Jane (pictured below in white shirt/black skirt) lost 100 Pounds and competed in her team’s kayak portion! We are all SO proud of her and cannot believe what a transformation she has made since last year. She has worked very hard to get healthy and I am grateful we were there to celebrate her victory!

Congrats to all the Triathlon teams and Ironmen! What a great race!

Rockywold 2012

The week of June 30- July 7th we joined Linc’s extended family up in Holderness, New Hampshire for a week at Rockywold! It had been four years since our last visit and this was the first chance for most of the relatives to meet Carter! We flew up with his brother and parents on a Saturday and made our way to camp just in time for dinner. Rocky is a very unique family camp- imagine Dirty Dancing- with cabins, family meals, and lots of outdoor activities. Did I mention no A/C? Thank goodness the northern relatives brought us all fans or we might have melted!!! Our cabins had a great view of Squam Lake and were easy walking distance to the dining hall. This trip was a bit difficult for me because of the modified bed rest I was put on. There was not a whole lot I could participate in but thankfully we had great weather all week and I got to spend lots of time with C catching up with all of the family. The high light was soaking in the refreshing lake water and enjoying all our meals together!

Linc and Aunt Sidney came in first place in the camp wide tennis tournament!

Everyone got a little silly at our cabin dance party!

We celebrated Fourth of July with an awesome picnic and wild games!

C loved watching the camp parade and staying cool by eating LOTS of popsicles!

Purple Hippo Art Studio

Evan and Carter- Our Little Artists- June 27, 2012

The other week we were brainstorming ways to survive the triple digit temps when my friend Anita suggested we check out Purple Hippo Art Studio in Dunwoody. Basically you pay an entrance fee and the studio has every single thing you could possibly need to create your masterpieces! Feathers, glitter, paint, beads, the supply wall goes on and on and the children have free reign to collect and use whatever they would like! The boys got a bit distracted by the toy area, so Anita and I took their supply buckets and went “shopping” for them! I grabbed a handful of shells, some glitter, and paper and Carter was able to make his own little beach picture. After that, and painting a bit on the big canvases, Anita and I attempted to get the boys to make a Fourth of July flag craft! We had them paint and then add glitter to some wooden stars, glued down popsicle sticks for the stripes, and added a little more paint to finish off the design. Carter was back and forth between the toys and helping me so his project is a little mommy heavy, but I love the way it turned out and we both had a great time being creative! Then the boys got crazy with some play dough and even decided to paint themselves instead of the paper!

After scrubbing the boys from head to toe, we walked over to My Friend’s Place for a yummy lunch. The boys were so well behaved and it really was a great day. Thanks to A & E for this great idea and for snapping all the pictures! We can’t wait to go back and create more messes with you guys :)

Sunday Silence

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.

As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

– 2 John 1:6 (NIV)

Friday Phone Dump

June 2012

July 4, 2004

Eight years ago, Lincoln and I were on vacation in Holderness, New Hampshire. His family held a reunion every other summer at Rockywold-Deephaven Camp and for the first time ever, a non family member (me!!) was allowed to come along! Little did I know, Linc had big plans for us that week and had been collaborating with his step father to create the perfect proposal! We had been dating for four years and I had a feeling we were ready to move forward, but I was anticipating getting engaged around Christmas time- about six months after this trip. Imagine my surprise when Fourth of July rolled around and he popped the BIG question! Before blogs, I was a big time scrapbooker. Here are some pictures I took with my phone of the pages I made for our engagement. We only have a handful of photos from that trip, I did not have a camera back then and we were too busy playing tennis to worry about posing! Thankfully someone was behind the scenes in the dining hall the night of our engagement and snapped a few photos of us making the big announcement. Yes- in front of the entire camp!! What a fun night! Curious to know how the proposal went down? Keep reading below!

After a long nap, we decided to cruise around Squam Lake in a double kayak until dinner time. Right in the middle of our adventure, Linc stopped paddling to take in the scene. It was such a gorgeous day and we were surrounded by amazing blue sky and water. The mountains were off in the distance and we were loving life. I had no idea he was about to turn around and propose and when he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him, I was so shocked the only thing I said for minutes was, “Are you serious"?” When it finally sunk in, I started laughing and crying and of course said yes!! It is hard to believe that was eight years ago today. We never could have guessed where we would be now and the reality is far better than my dreams. I am so thankful for this amazing man that God brought into my life and the fact that I get to spend every day with him until death do us part. As the fireworks go off tonight, we will be toasting to the memories made at Rockywold that summer and all the amazing memories yet to come!

Summer Time Fun

I’m a little worried about what is to come in July and August since it has been SOOO hot here, but thankfully our friends have some awesome neighborhood pools! The Baby Brigade crashed Shari and Spencer’s pool the other week to cool off and have some fun. It was a great day filled with lots of our friends! Kristin, Nathan, and Hattie came to play and our friends KariBeth and Lila were also able to join us for a few hours! Everyone stayed nice and cool under the fountains and splashing around in the kiddie pool while the littlest babies hung out in the shade. C’s favorite part was squirting his friends with a water gun and it was  surprisingly refreshing! Thanks for hosting Gordons and to Halie and KariBeth for all the pictures!

Sunday Silence

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;

may his foes flee before him.

May you blow them away like smoke—

as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.

– Psalm 68:1-2 (NIV)