Lots of family time

Big Pool
Last weekend, we took Maddie to her first real pool. Up until that point, she thought a pool meant two things: inflatable and ankle-deep water.

We went to Robin and Waylon's gym pool as guests. Having Noah there and seeing him being comfortable and brave in the water helped her to overcome any fears she had. Also, Frank wasn't afraid to get wet with her and that helped too. The water felt great and she had so much fun. We ate lunch poolside and stayed until her and Noah both were exhausted. Maybe next year, we'll join the YMCA and enroll her in swim lessons. She is definitely a little fish, just like her daddy.




Garden Harvesting
The garden we planted a few months ago is almost overtaken with grass. Still, we are harvesting cucumbers, Roma and German Johnson tomatoes and soon an eggplant or two! We started the garden against Frank's pleas, because he knew as the pregnancy progressed, he would have to be the main caretaker. Still, up until the last few weeks, we were all able to help with watering and weeding. Now, it really is up to Frank. But Maddie likes to show "our garden" to visitors and it is important to us that she knows that food doesn't just appear on store shelves. Since this is our first NC garden (we had one in TX, but it consisted mostly of hot peppers -- imagine) we have learned quite a few things for the future. Our recent harvest below.


Double trouble
A last minute dinner date with Amy and Stella Dot on Friday night gave Maddie a chance to play in her new room with a friend for the first time. They were happy and laughing for a really long time. Amy and Frank and I were foolish enough to think there was no mischief involved -- ha!



Hooray for washable markers and wipeable latex paint. We even found open markers in the bed! No wonder they were laughing!


OK, let's see if the markers wash off the girls as easily. Bubbles and boats strategically placed...

Rainy Weekend
It has rained all weekend. We are glad for the water, but it makes for scarce play options for little ones. Maddie and I spent lots of quality time together, and I had to bend some rules (TV, painting nails) to keep both of us happy indoors. I am not the Mom to take my two-year old to the Princess Prom Place or whatever they are called. BUT, it was raining, she liked my painted toenails, and my mobility is limited. The result: Maddie's toes
And then her turn. My fingernails:

After nail painting, we played with her new favorite thing, groceries.
"Mommy, can we play something else now?" OK. Time to get creative. So we pretended to be cashiers and I made a "beeper/scanner" out of a CD. Paper bag plus old receipt and you've got hours of entertainment, folks.

And finally, I'm not going to lie, there was a bit of TV-watching involved. All educational of course!
I love this photo -- thoughtful and quiet.

Wild, Wild Week

Last week was nuts. I think Frank and Maddie felt like they were playing musical beds. Frank spent the week in three locations, and Maddie and I were in two locations.

Frank left for a virology conference last Saturday, leaving me, Maddie and the lump in my tummy to fend for ourselves. We made it through the day, and on Sunday, Grandmama and Grandaddy came to visit. Ever helpful, they whisked Maddie away to their house to have a fun week with her while I worked and rested at night. At first, I wasn't sure this was such a great idea for her....we were finally in a routine with big girl bed and potty training. But they had a great, although exhausting week together. Lots of fun on the farm, fresh veggies from the garden and golf cart rides to the pond! And Maddie didn't mess up a diaper ALL WEEK!! Thanks Grandmama for keeping her on track!!!

Late Wednesday night, Frank returned and we worked and packed and cleaned house until we left for a beach trip Friday night. We were planning to go to Topsail Beach like we have in the past, but we were offered my Aunt and Uncle's new place in Emerald Isle for the weekend so we made a last minute change of plans.

Friday night, we swooped in at my parents house, put Maddie to bed and hit the hay ourselves. After a clingy goodbye Saturday morning, we hit the road for the beach.

Grandmama and Grandaddy say goodbye to Maddie. She looks less than thrilled --
she was clingy, I promise!

Family photo -- the four of us

The whole day Saturday was spent checking out the house and nearby beach and eating good food and having lots of fun. Thanks Aunt Angie and Uncle Michael for having us down!! I don't have a single photo of our wild time at the beach with Angie and Michael. We only stayed for an hour before the rain sent us packing. Maddie was a bundle of energy and Frank and Michael took turns keeping up with her!! We had a quiet, restful night and Angie and Michael left for home.

Sunday, we woke up and hit the beach again. Maddie was afraid of the water all of a sudden. The day before, she couldn't get enough of it and wanted to wade out to the buoys!! What gives?? Maybe it was Michael and Angie's influence that had made her so happy. All we know is that she was pretty content to just play in the mud on Sunday.

Looking at a caught fish in a mud "pool" some kids made.

Making our own "pool."

We picnicked on the beach and headed back to the house for naps.

During naptime, someone apparently switched our child with another who was grumpy, angry and generally impossible to deal with. We made it to dinner and a promised ice cream treat (no melt downs in the restaurant).

Monday meant Maddie's first visit to an aquarium. Yay! She was in a great mood, too! The aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores was renovated a few years ago, and it was really family friendly. Little did we know that Noah had been there just a few days before!!!


Favorites at the aquarium included the stingray touch tank, the huge snapping turtle "Crunch," and the many, many sharks in the dive tank.

Baby Alligators. Is there such a thing??

Finally touching a stingray after many attempts. Yay!!

Told ya the shark tank was a hit with her. This is what she picked out from the gift shop and fell asleep with on the ride home -- a stuffed shark she hasn't let out of her sight for two days. Apparently sharks are fantastic snugglers....who knew??

Ultrasound and underpants

Some pretty interesting happenings to report this time.

Maddie is slowly conquering the potty. One pee at a time. This past weekend, she used the potty in a store and a restaurant. Today, she used one in a doctor's office. We presented her with big girl underpants -- Elmo, Dora, overly pink and polka dots -- still, she only feels minimal remorse when she has accidents in them. We are still very proud of her and are working with her with the hope of changing diapers on only one child come September.

Frank's bug bite update. I'm sitting at my desk at work when I get an IM from Frank that says "Hey, I have Lyme disease. Yay!" No kidding. Blood test has confirmed it. So the good news is that the bite and surrounding area that has given him a lot of pain and worry lately will soon be no more. The bad news is he has to take some pretty powerful antibiotics that should make him equally miserable. Hopefully, there is no lasting joint damage. Serious stuff, those tick bites. Be very afraid...

As for me, I'm starting to have a sinking feeling. Too much preparation left and I'm really afraid I'm going to run out of time. I'm taking bets that the baby does not go full term. A bit stressful since I have projects at home and work that will take me through the end of August to finish. The pregancy dreams are becoming more disturbing. I had great, happy dreams when I carried Maddie so what gives?? Two nights ago, I dreamed I was on the Titanic. No kidding. And was separated from all my loves ones....and oh yeah, we were sinking!!! I am not making this up -- ask Frank!

Today we had a 31-week 3D/4D ultrasound. Since I'm older and this pregnancy has been so different, we decided to get one this time -- not covered by insurance of course. We also decided that maybe Maddie would like to see the ultrasound, too. We've been reading a Waiting for Baby book (by Annie Kubler) that has pictures of the Mommy having an ultrasound, so Maddie was as prepped as she was going to be.

After asking several times, "Where's the baby doctor?" we were ushered to the room and the hunt was on for an active fetus. This kid was having no part of it, though. He was sleeping and barely moved the entire time. He did entertain us with a few seconds of sucking his thumb. Frank was wrestling with Maddie, so the experience wasn't exactly riveting. But, the baby looks really healthy and has what are now known as the family features: huge cheeks.

Sucking his thumb:

Frank thinks the baby looks just like Maddie. We'll see. Final confirmation that this is indeed a boy...no mistaking that this time. Good to know. Also found out he is measuring larger than for his due date (not shocking to me at all). He is 4 lbs, 6 oz. and normal size for his gestation is 3 lbs, 3 oz. Hmmmm............His due date seems to be earlier also, but the tech said it's really too soon to tell if that will be the final date.