July - HOT HOT HOT

The beginning of July also marks the beginning of the late preterm period of our pregnancy (34 weeks), woohoo!!  Things at our appointments are looking great.  I am 1cm dilated which is pretty normal for a second pregnancy. 

I know I sound like a broken record but the temps are still incredibly HOT!  Mike took off the whole first week of July to have a sort of vacation at home.  Although he was hoping to be able to spend lots of time outside playing with Ethan, we spent the majority of the week indoors because the temps were over 100 degrees and humid!  When we were outside, we tried to be near a sprinkler or pool at all times!  Otherwise, inside we had lots of fun goofing off and, as always, Ethan had fun dressing up in his gloves and winter boots :)

On July 2nd, during the stretch of over 100 degree days, we were brave enough to venture off to Milwaukee to see the Brewers play.  Although it was incredibly uncomfortable attempting to tailgate on the concrete, inside the stadium was at least bearable with the little breeze!

Mike and Ethan also decided to brave the weather on the 4th of July to go to the parade (I was sleeping after working night shift).  He said it was pretty hot but Ethan loved all of the big trucks, tractors, and candy.

 Later that night we went into Milton to go to the 4th of July carnival.  Ethan went on a ride...

 tried a snow cone...

 played at the park with yet another girlfriend...

 snuggled with dad....

 and even got to shake his booty with Heather to the sound of the UW Marching Band!

 When it started to get a bit darker outside we all headed back to Kel and Chad's house, pulled out some blankets, and watched the fireworks from the comfort of their house!  Ethan even got to sneak in some more quality time with Heather...

 and Lainey!

 A couple of days later Mike, Ethan, and I joined up with Lainey and Mike's mom and went down to the Rockford Children's Museum to play and then watch a juggling show.

 The juggler even ended up sitting right next to us juggling for part of the show, how cool!

 The finale!

 Just another day of dressing up and being goofy :)

 The kid definitely takes after his dad with his love of chocolate!  Chocolate smile!

 Like I said, we have been spending lots of time in the water.  During one of these times when Ethan was left alone for a few seconds, he figured out that when chalk gets wet it turns into a kind of paint.  Mike found him like this, covered from his shoes to his arms in orange chalk!

 Mid-month Ethan and I joined up with Mike's mom, Kel, Lainey and Andrew for a trip to Rotary Gardens.  They had a smelly garden, bubbles, face painting, and a bunch of other outdoor activities for the kids.  Ethan helped grandma fetch a pail out of the well and then went on to get a lady bug and some ants tattooed on his arm.  Although they didn't last long before he demolished them, they sure were cute while they lasted!

 Later that week, we again joined up with grandma and Lainey and went to the Monona Olbrich Gardens to see the new butterfly gardens.  Although we ended up not seeing very many butterflies, the gardens were gorgeous and provided some outdoor run and play time for the kids.

 Ethan of course found the water!

 Isn't this cute?  Two little bears made out of plants having a picnic :)

 Toward the end of the month we had yet another outing!  We went to a Beloit Snappers game where Ethan got to meet Snappy!

 My attempts at getting a good pic of the boys...

 That weekend we had a special birthday party for my cousin, Shannon.  She just turned 18!  Man, it seems like yesterday I was babysitting her!  Happy Birthday Shan!

 Ethan was loving the cake!

 The end of July marks 38 weeks!!  I am almost 3 cm dilated and this little man can decide to come out at any time! 

End of June - Lots of Cousin Time :)

The second half of June was still VERY hot! That meant spending lots of time outside, mostly in sprinklers, pools, and shade.  For Father's Day this year we went to my dad's house for a cook out and pool time.  This year was a bit more special because my brother Aaron, his girlfriend, Sherri, and her daughter Paisley were able to come celebrate.  Although I didn't get any good pictures of it, the most fun was had during the family water fight.  My brother, dad, Mike, and the kids had lots of fun with spraying each other with the hose and throwing each other in the pool.  Here are some pics from the day.

 Grandpa and Ethan time

 Ethan saying good-bye to his new friend, Paisley.

Although we don't usually take pictures of it, I decided it was about time to take a pic of something we do a lot of.  My mom regularly comes over with Kileigh for dinner, dessert, and a movie.  Ethan loves the extra snuggle time with his grandma!

 Although this next picture looks really cute and sweet, what you don't realize is that I snapped this picture almost a half hour after Ethan was supposed to be sleeping.  Needless to say, he was pretty proud of his "tower" he made out of all the books on his bookshelf.

 Another development in June was the transition of our tadpoles to baby toads.  We ended up with six toads!

 At the end of June each year we head off to Rotary Gardens in town to remember Mike's dad, Kevin, on his birthday.  This year we had a picnic at the park where the kids got to eat and play and then ventured over for a little walk through the gardens.

 We ended the walk by looking at the brick laid in honor of Kevin.  We sure do miss you!

 To finish off June, we had lots of quality time spent with the cousins.  Ethan and Kileigh playing around being goofy with their "hats."

 Movie time with Lainey, Kel, and Peg.  We went to see Madagascar 3!!  Ethan loved the popcorn!

 Kind of a random pic in the midst of all the cousin time, but over the last weekend in June while Ethan and I were busy with lots of cousin play time, Mike and the boys (Tom, Chad, and Nick) went to Chicago to see Jimmy Buffett!  Before they took off they were loading up all of their Buffett gear.  Ethan wanted to take a bite out of the huge cheeseburger!

 Over that weekend we were lucky enough to spend lots of time at the Freedom Fest.  It was a free carnival all day on Saturday followed up by free fireworks on Saturday night.  Although the sign said pregnant women were not advised to go on the rides, Lainey, Ethan and I took a trip up in the ferris wheel.  They loved being up high and looking down on Grandma and Andrew!! 

 After the ferris wheel the two kids rode around in this car carousel.  It went so fast it pushed Ethan all the way out til he was squished up against Lainey.

 Later that night, after the temps came down from the 100's, Ethan and I headed back to the festival with my aunt Mel, or as Ethan says, Melon, and cousins Steph and Amber to listen to some music, eat ice cream, and watch fireworks.  Ethan had a ton of fun playing with his older cousins!

 Josh even stopped by with a friend and had a little mini dance party with Ethan to the live music.

 During the fireworks Ethan cozied up with the girls and everyone was laughing pretty hard at Ethan's constant, "woah, that's a big one!"  He even took the opportunity in the middle of the show to scold one of the fireworks for being too loud and put it in time out. 

 Although it was a very fun and exciting day, by the end of the fireworks I think someone was getting a little sleepy!  I'm thinking Steph probably didn't mind :)

Thanks guys for a great weekend!!

Pregnancy Update: For one, our family was hit pretty hard with getting sick during the last part of June.  We all ended up with bronchitis, stuffy noses, and generally just feeling pretty sick.  Apart from that, things are going really well!  The end of June marks 33 weeks pregnant which also means the scary period is coming to an end :)

Summer Fun!! - First Half of June

One really fun thing that happened this summer is the hatching of our little bird friend under our deck.  Although it is hard to snap pictures of him (partially because the nest is under our deck and on one of the support beams but also because his mom watches us very closely), we have been having fun watching him grow.  We waited a few days for the other eggs to hatch but they never did.  Here he is a few days after hatching.  We could already see some feathers sprouting!

 

Just a few days later, our little pink baby bird was completely covered in feathers and had his eyes open!

 

About a week later we went to check on our little bird and found him perching on the side of the nest!  Sadly, this was the last picture we will ever get of our friend.  We left for the afternoon and when we came home and went to see what he was up to I spotted him just below his nest dead.  We think he might have fallen off of his nest from the wind.  Poor bird!  Guess we have to wait for a new batch of baby birds next year!

  

The first weekend in June we had a very special day for our nephew, Andrew.  He was baptized!  I hope Ethan is as nice to his future little brother as he is to Andrew.  He gave him hugs and rubbed his head while he got changed into his little baptismal outfit.

The family after the baptism. From there we went to Kel and Chad's house for an awesome lunch and outside play time for the kids. Congratulations Andrew!

Probably the thing we have done most so far this summer has been playing in the water.  Whether that means in our little kiddy pool, playing with the hose, or running through the sprinkler, Ethan absolutely LOVES playing in the water!  A few days Kileigh even came over to play with us!  Here they are trying to outrun Mike with the hose!

Every once in awhile Ethan gets to play with the hose too!  Although it is fun to fill up his pool and water the plants, he would much rather try to get us.

Running through the sprinkler with Daddy!  He is such a good sport and always participates in the sprinkler fun!  I, on the other hand would much prefer to snap some cute pics :)

 

 Bracing for the cold!

This past weekend, my dad had Kileigh for the day so they came over and played outside for awhile.  Grandpa was also a great sport and played in the sprinklers!  The kids LOVED making grandpa get all wet!

 He even taught Ethan a new trick.  With the one type of sprinkler, you can avoid lots of the water if you crawl. 

 

Or use grandpa as a "house" and crawl under him!

 Yummy popsicles on a hot summer day!

 Another big event this month was the high school graduation of my cousin, Stephanie!  She will be going to Whitewater this year and studying education.  Congratulations Steph, we are so proud of you!!

Finally, on this past Thursday, Mike took the day off so our little family headed out to the cottage for the day for some more play time outside.  While we were there, we checked on the nest of eggs that was there last time we were there.  I couldn't tell how many, but, as you can see, there were lots of baby birds in the nest!

 We even got to go out for a boat ride!!  It was the first time I had been out this season and we couldn't have asked for a better day.  I was in the 70's, sunny, with a little breeze, perfect!!  Ethan even helped Mike drive the boat.

 Sometimes, we would go super fast and Ethan had to cuddle up to keep from falling over!  We almost lost his hat in the wind we were going so fast!

 Happy boy on the boat!

Another preggo update!  Almost 32 weeks and going strong.  The contractions are still there but I seem to be doing a better job of ignoring the non painful ones. At our last appointment we were measuring right on so hopefully this baby won't be as big of a moose as we were thinking!  We have been working on a name list and haven't really gotten anywhere.  Pretty sure we will be going to the hospital with a list of 6 or so names and making an in the moment decision.  Can't wait!!

Funny Ethan Story:
Mike's mom told me I had to post this so I figured I probably should :).  Ethan has been working hard on pooping on the potty.  Each week we are becoming more and more successful.  Last week after pooping in the potty, he leaned in to see it and said, "Look Mom!  There's a snake in there!"  Then today he informed Mike and I that he pooped a mommy, a daddy, and lots of baby poops.  Oh my, the joys of potty training a little boy with a creative mind!