Chamberlain’s Chocolate Factory

The Baby Brigade and some friends went on a field trip to Chamberlain’s Chocolate Factory a few weeks ago. The kids had a chance to make their very own chocolate treats and sample some yummy flavors of candy! It was such a neat field trip and even though everyone was WILD afterward, I’d say it was a successful event! Thank you to Anita for organizing and all our extra buddies who were able to come along and make it extra special!

Love this look of pure JOY on C’s face after making his chocolate dipped Oreo!

Our crazy group after chocolate overload!!!

Kinsey Family Farm

Little Boys on a Tractor!

The second week of October we joined our buddies Lauren and Cullen for a field trip to Kinsey Family Farm. It was an absolute perfect day with gorgeous blue skies and a cool breeze in the air. We got there around 10:30 and the boys grabbed wagons and loaded up on all kinds of amazing pumpkins. After running around and touring the barns we jumped aboard the tractor for a hay ride around the farm. We went down to the pond and fed some creepy catfish and then went and found a nice shady spot for a picnic snack. The boys picked out some adorable tiny pumpkins and then we headed back home to paint them! C stayed out WAY past his “curfew” for nap time but it was such a fun day and we had a blast!

Carter loves his buddy Cullen! (I promise C is not strangling him…)

Check out that cheese face on my boy!!

Welcome Fall!

Uncle Shucks 2012

I was desperate to have some family time before h2o arrived and what better way to welcome fall than hit up the pumpkin patch! We love Uncle Shucks and drove out there early one morning to beat the crowds. It was so much cooler than last year (where we almost got sick from heat stroke) so the entire experience was much more enjoyable. C actually walked through most of the maze this time around and loved going for a hay ride around the property. He picked out two tiny pumpkins for himself and two for his baby brother, ate lots of “cop-corn,” watched the goats climb the ladders, and helped daddy solve the mystery of the corn maze. I am so glad we were able to squeeze this in before baby came and have some quality time with our little family of three. After C’s nearly four hour nap, we ended the day by playing at the park and then having a huge Mexican dinner at our favorite restaurant.

I remembered capturing this corn maze picture last year and had the boys reenact ;)

Look how tall my bubs is getting!!

This little boy had an angry birds shirt and C was instantly smitten with him!

Such a great way to welcome fall and spend some time with our biggest boy.

First October Playgroup

The Baby Brigade may look a little different these days, but there is no stopping us getting together! Even though most of the big kids are in school, we made sure to set aside time to see our buddies as often as possible. Halie hosted our first playgroup in October and we got to test out their new swing set! It was a bit of a soggy day, but the kids had a blast stomping in puddles and running around the yard. Afterward, we decided to snag some lunch at Moes and let them run off even more energy. It is one of our favorite restaurants because the patio is completely enclosed and lets the mommies have a chance to eat without fighting about sitting in a high chair the entire time!

Check out this awesome play set!

Kayden loves her little boyfriends! She is going to have her pick with this group!!! ;)

Haw Creek Park

“Mama!! I ridin’ a bear!”

A few weeks ago we joined friends Lauren, Cullen, Kerri, and Miles at a new park recommended to us by buddies Krissy and Nicholas. They weren’t able to join us because N had school but I am so glad they told us about this awesome park! It is SO different than any park we have ever been to. Try and imagine a giant park in the middle of the woods but no swings, slides, or play sets. Instead, there are bears, caves, mushrooms, rocks, and all sorts of “natural” play elements. Definitely the neatest park we have ever seen and so much more up Carter’s alley since he hates swinging and sliding hahaha We stayed for nearly three hours enjoying the beautiful day and eating a picnic lunch. Afterward, we went with Lauren and Cullen for some fro-yo to celebrate CW’s half birthday! I can’t wait to spend more time at this park with all our buddies and am looking forward to seeing the other four our county added this summer!

Carter, Miles, and Cullen riding the bear!

Tiny Buddies!

Thank to the beautiful and talented Lauren for all of

these pictures and capturing our sweet boys in action!

Baby Brigade Winter Babies Sprinkle

On September 24^th we joined all but two of the ladies of the Baby Brigade for a Winter Babies Sprinkle! I am one of five girls expecting between November and February and can you believe we are all having BOYS? And yes, we all had boys the first time too! Apparently the Baby Brigade was in charge of adding a few more little gentlemen to the world!! I still have a hard time believing that by next year we will have 18 boys (we started with three) and 7 girls (we started with two) in our fabulous little gigantic playgroup! Anyway, all that said, we had a fabulous evening “sprinkling” the latest of the second generation babies and I am so thankful to all the girls for throwing such a special party in their honor. Shari opened her house to us and was such an awesome hostess and Halie did an amazing job on the party decorations. Everyone made delicious food and chipped in for our very generous gifts. I love these girls and we are so very blessed and lucky to be a part of this incredibly special group of friends!

Katie worked so hard on our thank you gifts to the rest of the group!

Allison, Kasey, Shari, Nancy, Kerri, Beth, Halie (not pictured- Laurie and Julie)

Mommies to Be: Dina, Krissy, Anita, me, and Katie

Where’s Carter?

Sometimes when I peek in on Carter’s school camera to see how his day is going, it is hard to spot him! This particular day he was busy, busy, busy and constantly moving around the classroom keeping active. He really seems to be in the groove now and even after taking a week off to go to Hilton Head he was able to get right back on schedule. I was a little worried he would regress and have a hard time getting back to school since we had been gone so long, but thankfully Carter seems to love his teacher and the little buddies he’s made so far! He also has a wonderful memory and is able to recall a lot of the things we discuss. I don’t know why I thought he would forget what school is like but I am grateful for this time for both of us and thankful God continues to reassure me that this was the right decision!

Can you spot my sweet boy?

Bumpdate- 36 Weeks

Well, we are quickly approaching delivery day and I am beginning to freak out more and more as the weeks pass!! I have said multiple times that at this point I do not want to be pregnant anymore, but at the same time I am so not ready for a newborn! I think I am just nervous how I will juggle Carter’s demands and the stress and exhaustion of welcoming this new little life into our family. I never got to the point in my pregnancy with Carter that I wanted him OUT NOW but this time around I feel so much more uncomfortable. I wonder if it’s because I am a lot more active at the end, versus with Carter all I did at this point was go to work and then sleep. I am hoping it doesn’t mean this baby is going to be that much more massive than C was…yikes!! I don’t even want to speculate. I have been measuring slightly ahead at every appointment so there is no doubt in my mind that baby h2o is going to be a chubbo like his big brother.

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How far along? 36 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss? Up four pounds at my thirty four week check up and 2 more pounds at thirty six weeks (34 total). Seems like I’m on track to gain exactly the same amount as I did with C.
Maternity clothes? I have a few random non maternity shirts that somehow still cover this bump but the majority of my outfits consist of strictly preggo clothes. I am having a hard time wearing my workout pants which is annoying since that’s pretty much all I feel like wearing! My tennis clothes are still working but now my sneakers are too tight. I had a narrow foot before this pregnancy but those piggies are definitely swollen more often than not and my regular shoes are quite tight. I guess that’s the one benefit to it still being hot is that I can wear my flip flops without looking silly.
Stretch marks? Oh geez. I don’t know if these are new or just leftover from having C (and I couldn’t see them before) but my belly is fully decorated now. So sad about it, especially since I have ruined a few shirts with the amount of oil I sport after my showers!!
Sleep? Still so, so, so tired all the time. I usually wake up to go potty three or four times before dawn and then get in about three solid hours where I am not disturbed until C wakes up. I would really love one single day before baby comes where I can just sleep all day long and not do anything else. It is so much harder to heave myself over in the middle of the night and I have to switch sides about every hour because my hips fall asleep. I remember with C we had a headboard where I could grab on the bars to help me flip over. This time our mattress is on the floor so it pretty much sounds like a beached whale every time I try and move hahaha
Best moment this month? The baby’s nursery is really coming together and between paint, curtains, and closet organization I am really feeling more prepared!! Thank goodness for Hattie who has worked tirelessly on every detail to help this nursery come together. We also spent a weekend cleaning and organizing the garage and Linc and my dad got that area completely cleared out. It is so nice to be able to park in there again! So very thankful for my awesome parents. There is no way any of this would have gotten done without them (as evidence in the rest of my house). I have done as much nesting as having a two and a half year old will allow and if baby comes we will be ready with the basics!
Movement? I can tell he doesn’t have as much room to move because he’s a lot quieter these days! This boy’s rump sticks out on my right side and occasionally he stretches his legs up into my ribs. His head is nice and low and if I scratch my belly he dances around. He also gets the hiccups a LOT! Usually around 3am too which tends to get a little annoying. Hard to fall asleep when someone is constantly thumping you in the pelvis hahaha
Food cravings? I wonder why I haven’t had any cravings. Seems like something every pregnant woman gets to experience except me. Oh well. Maybe it’s just because I love food regardless ;)
Gender? Baby h2o is still all BOY!!!
Labor signs? Nightly contractions- a few instances where I timed them and got a little worried but so far baby is staying put.

Belly button in/out? The button starts out flat in the morning but sticks out by the end of the day!
What I miss: Sushi, sushi, more sushi. Can’t wait!!!! And wine ;)
What I am looking forward to: Baby :) celebrating Halloween with my little pirate (and maybe another one outside the womb???)
Milestones: We are nearing the end. The anticipation and suspense of how this will all go down is driving me crazy!! I just cannot even begin to imagine what will happen in the next few weeks and am just praying that baby will arrive in his time without medical intervention.

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Holy Belly Batman……………!!!

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Get to Know Me!- 25 Things Blog Edition

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Better is One Day- My Testimony

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The Most Amazing Trip of my Life:
Greece I
Greece II
Greece III
Greece IV
Santorini I
Santorini II
Santorini III
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Athens

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We're Expecting!
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Twelve Weeks
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4D Ultrasound
Gender Reveal
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Gender Ultrasound
Twenty One Weeks
The Registry- Oh, if only I knew then what I know now!!
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The Nursery
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L&D Tour- Week Twenty Six Bumpdate
Twenty Seven Weeks
Twenty Eight Weeks
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A Baby Shower
Showered with Love
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School Shower
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Thirty Six Weeks
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Thirty Eight Weeks- celebrating my birthday. Little did we know that C was going to come ten days early!
My Birthday Present- hint...it was a baby! hahaha

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One Week Postpartum- A belly update

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My Greatest Sports Achievement!
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The Swim Portion
The Bike Portion
The Run Portion
How the Triathlon Changed Me

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The End of an Era- Twenty Two Months of Breastfeeding Bliss

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My First 5k- The Great Valentines Race

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We're Expecting #2!
The Official Blog Announcement
Telling the Family
Bumpdate at   8 Weeks
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