34 Weeks and 22 Months

I'm a little bit behind here, so I'll just do an update for 34 weeks, since I'm only a couple days away from that anyway!

34 Weeks Preggo
Weight:146 lbs
Belly:

Doctor's Visits:
I went in at 31 weeks, and my fundal measurement was small.  I should be 31 cm, but was measuring in at 28.  Weird, because I felt huge!  Dr. Jaacks then came in to double check my measurement, and then told me that she'd like me to have an ultrasound to make sure Baby Girl is growing correctly and didn't have a growth *gasp* abnormality.  Way to scare a pregnant lady!!  She asked me to take it easy until we knew for sure.  So, I got the call the next day to get in for the ultrasound, and had to wait an entire week.  That week, I ate 20 lbs worth of cottage cheese and luna bars to try to bulk her up with protein just in case I wasn't giving her what she needed.  However, I knew she was fine.  Like I've posted before, this girl HURTS me when she moves, so if she was small, she was strong!
The day finally came for our ultrasound.  Let me tell you, I was excited.  The last ultrasound we had with Connor was when we found out he was a boy at 18 weeks!! This was a real treat, and I couldn't wait to see what she looked like at 32 weeks in there.  It was INCREDIBLE!  She had the hiccups, and we could see her diaphram move up and down with each one.  I could see just what was making me hurt (her foot, and her tush that she push up against my belly).  The ultrasound tech had fun with her-trying to get her to keep her hands and feet out of her mouth, but my little girl was stubborn!  Her measurements were right where they should be at 49th percentile, and she weighed in at 4.3 lbs, which will put us on the track for her to be about 7 1/2 pounds when she is born.  I can handle that, since Connor was 7 lbs 14 oz!  They have said at every single ultrasound how perfect her heart is, and I can't hear that enough!  She even brought in another tech to show her, and made the comment "That's what a healthy heart looks like-Don't you wish they all looked like that?"  My  heart melted, and I realized how lucky we are to have two such healthy kids!  How blessed we are! 
Then the big surprise came...she did 4D!  Normally, 3D ultrasounds cost hundreds of dollars-a.  I'm not willing to pay that b.  I do have SOME patience to see what my babies look like.  However, it's required for a growth ultrasound, so what the heck?  Holy cow, is she CUTE!!!  She looks SO much like Connor...right down to the cute little nose, wideset eyes, and forehead that sticks out a little.  She even opened her eyes!!  I didn't even know they did that in there, but there she was, opening and closing her eyes in the darkness!  She was sticking her tongue out, swallowing, sucking on her hand, yawning.  It was just amazing.  It made me so much more anxious for the next few weeks to go by so we can meet her in person!  (and hopefully have a name picked out for her!)
I go in next week, when I am 35 weeks, and they start checking my cervix then.  (Sorry if that's too much information!  It's just as uncomfortable as it sounds!)  That will be weekly, until our little active girl is here.  I just can't believe time has flown by so much that we are just weeks away!


Nursery:
Ryan got the bright idea to order off Amazon.  We haven't done anything to the room since we painted it and got the bedding in.  So, we decided on a very pretty white crib that came with a toddler rail (ps: I don't even want to think about her being a toddler...it's going to fly by!), and then into a full, just like Connor's crib does!  That came in yesterday, and the changing table should be here next week too.  Ryan's mission is to get that put together this weekend.  It's coming together!

Connor is 22 months!!
I update on Connor so much on facebook, that I feel like everyone knows just what he does and how he is.  Lately, he's been my little snugglebug.  For awhile there, as soon as we were done with books and turned out the light, he was ready to be put into his crib and go to sleep on his own.  Last week, though, I went to put him in his crib, and he turned around and put his arms around my neck and snuggled right in.  I couldn't resist, so I sat back down in the rocker, and we rocked and snuggled until he was asleep.  I walked out of that room and cried like a baby.  He's such a sweetheart, and he and I are attached.  We have a special bond that is absolutely indescribable.  I understand him, and even when he frustrates me, I can always figure out why and fix it.  Each night since then, he's done the same thing.  I'm savoring it, because I know things are about to change for him in a big way.
Maybe he gets that?  Does he sense that his world of "Connor" is about to be rocked off its' axis?  That Mom is no longer going to be able to cater to his every need?  Who knows, but for the next 6 weeks, I will continue to snag every chance of "us" time that I can.  I'm feeling a HUGE amount of guilt...hoping that he will handle becoming a big brother and a family of four in a positive way, hoping that we can handle the tantrums I'm sure are to come, and the jealousy or confusion he might feel.  Luckily, I have a great support system of family and friends who have offered some great advice of how they have handle similar situations.  I know that the guilt I feel is normal, and that it will all be ok.
But still, he's 22 MONTHS!!  Oh how time flies.  He's going to be two. years. old. in just a couple months!  He's starting to communicate more, but we're still not making much progress on actual words.  I was hoping we would by this point, but I'm just giving him time.  We've moved to 2T or 24 month shirts, finally in 18 month shorts (but not because the 12 months don't fit around they waist-they do, but they are too short), and I just bought him two new pairs of size 6 shoes.  The poor kid was wearing size 5-he put these on today and ran around the store happy as can be!  He still loves to color, still loves his Baby Einstein (although I think his love for these are FINALLY fading), and still loves to swing.  He's growing and learning over at Rachel's every single day, and has become great at keeping himself occupied and playing on his own-a skill I am thankful for as I will become a little busy with a newborn here soon.  His smile still lights up a room and melts our hearts, and his eyes are still as sweet yet mischievous as ever.  He's still my baby...for now!

30 Weeks and Signing

I can't believe I'm 30 weeks!  It gets a little bit scary when you hit the weeks that begin with "3"...that's it-it's go time!  Next week marks the single digit waiting game, and since school is starting then as well, time is going to FLY!

Measurements:
Waist: 39 1/2 inches
Weight: 143 lbs. 

Developments:
The bigger I get, the more uncomfortable I get.  However, I have to say I'm pretty comfortable!  Besides being constantly hot (seriously-just chopped all my hair off because I was sick of drying my hair!),  I still feel amazing.  I still LOVE being pregnant.  But, I have had to listen to my body more lately.  The Braxton-Hicks contractions have been happening more, but only when I am pushing myself too hard.  The bummer part is that pushing myself can be just trying to get the house vacuumed.  I notice that my back will hurt and my stomach will tighten and I have to just sit down and take a break.  As of right now, I just try to keep our dishes done, the kitchen clean (thanks to the wonderful summer ants), and the laudry kept up.  I will try to clean one room a day during Connor's nap, but that usually lasts until Thursday and then I use Connor's nap time to sleep!  That's another thing that has returned!  I am so tired by the time Connor naps.  If I don't nap, then I'm ready for bed super early.  I am SO incredibly thankful for my work schedule which allows me to be home with Connor during naptime-I think that'll be key here in the next 10 weeks.
She is getting the hiccups more and more.  Yesterday, it was six times!  They make my entire belly shake, but it's fun because I can tell exactly where she is.  Usually, they are low in my stomach, but every once in awhile I can track her movement by the shaking of my belly.  She's still very strong, but I can tell her movement is slowing down just a bit, so that must mean she's growing!
My doctor's appointments are still off by a week, so I don't go in until next week.  I will be going every other week until near the end of September! 

Connor:
My little love bug is growing.  Everyone keeps commenting on how tall he is looking!  He is running everywhere.  His current favorite toys are the different colored counting bears with the different colored cups.  I'm trying to teach him colors by sorting the bears into the cups since he LOVES putting things back into buckets and cups.  He's getting the hang of it with a couple of the colors, and holds each of the bears up like he does with his crayons, which is how he asks me what color it is.
His coloring is getting better too.  I just bought the triangular shaped crayons for him to help him learn how to hold the crayon better.  Up until now, he would hold the top.  Then he would get frustrated because he couldn't really see the color on the paper very well.  He will seriously sit there for 15 minutes at a time with such focus on his face-his attention span sometimes amazes me with certain things!
The newest thing lately is that instead of talking, he's decided to pick up sign language.  No joke, I haven't done signs with him in months, and a few nights ago at the dinner table I said "Are you all done", and he did the sign!  I was shocked!  So, I said it again, and sure enough-he did the sign!  Since then, he's also mastered "eat", which he did when he woke up to tell me he was hungry and "more" which I showed him when he wanted more crackers.  He picked that one up immediately, and it's perfect!  I'll take any form of communication I can get, and if it's sign language instead of tantrums, I'm a happy Mommy!

I am back to work now.  This week I worked 2 full days and helped my mom in her room this morning.  I'm BEAT!  It does feel good to be back in a daily routine again, and as many of you know, Connor loves his sitter and friends.  He's been such a happy boy since he's been back with her.  I've enjoyed my time with him this summer immensely, and feel incredibly grateful that we had so much time just the two of us until his sister arrives.  We've had so many fun memories, and although I don't think he'll remember all of our fun activities, we have a ton of pictures and blog posts to help show him later in life!

Beautiful Flagstaff

I wanted to make sure I got our last couple Flagstaff trips down because they were so much fun!  I don't quite remember having the heat get to me this much with Connor, but then again, I didn't have Connor to run after all day, and if I didn't want to go outside, I didn't have to. Lucky for me, I am married to a man that absolutely DESPISES the summers here.  I am married to two men: a. winter Ryan-happy go lucky, smiley, positive Ryan.  Then there's b. Summer Ryan-miserable, sweaty, complaining, negative Ryan.  And I get it.  Especially right now where I have sweat dripping from everywhere.  I feel like I can't wear dresses for fear of someone thinking I just peed my pants with the amount of sweat dripping my down my legs.  I digress.  (that's for you Jen!)  Nonetheless, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather just a quick drive away.

Ryan's grandma lives in Munds Park, and it's one of his favorite places to be.  He literally wanted to get married on her deck when we were brainstorming spots for our wedding 6 years ago.  It's full of a million special memories for him with his grandparents, siblings, and cousins.  So we make it up there as often as we can to visit.  Lately, we haven't been very good about that-weekends are quickly filled up with chores.  A few weeks ago, Ryan's Aunt Sandy and partner Rhonda were there for a visit.  (These are two of my favorite people!  I'll have to save this for another post, but I'm sad we won't visit their place in California this year).  We dropped everything and went up for an overnight stay to join the party.  They saw Connor last in December, so he's changed since then!  We ate at La Fonda's (which I love because you get sopapillas at the end of your meal with honey...yum!), and spent hours upon hours out on the deck.  Connor hardly came inside from his bubbles, throwing the ball around, and watching the birds and squirrels.  We took our nightly walk around the neighborhood, and got the scoop about what all the neighbors are doing.  Then, after Connor went down for bed, we had yet another one of our great late-night discussions with Sandy and Rhonda.  It's another part of what I love about being with them.  We talk about anything from politics (yikes!) to education (they are both in education as well) to life in general.  Then we wake up to the cool morning air with the fresh smell of pine trees!  What a difference from here!  We could even play at the park without fear of 2nd degree burns!

 My little cutie pie-I adore that smile!

 The Morgan Line

 Swinging with Daddy!

Sliding down the slide-he had to have done this 50 times!

Then we drove back down to the valley, all depressed when we saw the dustbowl of dirt and brown...I mean home sweet home!  It didn't take long before we decided to take another trip back up to the cool country.  The last week of July seemed perfect-Ryan had that Friday off, so we loaded up and headed up north-for the entire weekend this time!  We stopped by Anthem to see Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Dave, and then went to Munds Park for the night.  Connor quickly remembered the deck and playing, so he got right to it.  We had an amazing dinner cooked by Ryan's Grandma, and all went to bed early after the long day. 





Daddy and Connor inside the cabin



Blowing bubbles in the morning!

Eating dinner sitting on a pillow! Big boy!

Before checking into our hotel at Little America Saturday night, we hit the Deer Farm near Williams.  We've been wanting to take Connor there for awhile now, and it seemed like the perfect day to go!  We had some time before his nap, and it's not a huge place so off we went.  We saw a storm coming, but thought we could beat the storm and a cranky pants tantrum.  We did fairly well!  When we got there, we got sprinkled on a little bit, but nothing we couldn't handle.  The deer were anxious and ready to get the food we bought!  Connor was waving to them all like crazy!  We walked around to the other animals too, many of which were hiding from the rain.  He did get to pet a miniature horse and got the hang of feeding the deer.  By the time we got back to the exit, the storm hit hard.  We ran out to the car, which wasn't far, but we were SOAKED by the time we got inside! 
I have to enter a little sidenote here...actually, a big MomFail.  Earlier in the week, I was too lazy to wash my car myself and decided to take my good ole Trailblazer through the carwash.  I thought "Hey, it'll be fast, and maybe Connor will think it's cool".  Umm...the EXTREME opposite happened.  My poor child freaked out in the back seat.  I put on baby Einstein, his music, gave him his blankie, and pretty much climbed in the backseat with him.  Every time that big scary machine inched its way close to him again, the panic attack started again.  I. Felt. Awful.  Vowed I would never do that to him again and gave him a sucker when we got home.
Why would I tell you this embarrasing story of such a failure?  Because when that storm hit while we driving back to Flagstaff, you would have thought we were in the carwash again.  The rain on the windshield must have triggered that scary moment for him again, because he freaked out!  I climbed in the back seat, we turned on his music, and I distracted him by singing the ABC's and any other song I could think of.  Poor guy. :(
Here are some pictures from the happier part of that experience!

Then we got back to Flagstaff and hit all of our favorite spots: Bun Huggers, Macy's Coffee Shop, Beaver St. Brewery, Lumberyard, Mike and Rhonda's, and our favorite shops.  Connor even took one of his naps in his stroller while we walked around, had coffee and ate some lunch!  We also went to see the first day of the Cardinal's Training Camp.  We put Connor in the hiking backpack, and he had the best view!  It was awesome to see them go through all their rotations.  You can tell they are a bit rusty, so let's hope some more practice will make these guys better!  

Practicing 1-2-3 JUMP!

Enjoying some Railhead Red-Ryan's fave!

Can you tell how much we love Flagstaff??  Who knows, maybe one of these days life will lead us out of the heat and into the trees!  Until then, we'll enjoy our family get-aways!

28 Weeks and 21 Months!

It's officially Third Trimester Time!  The countdown is on...12 weeks to go until we meet our little girl! 
Measurements:
Weight: 140 lbs
Belly: close to 39 inches

Taken right before yoga!

Major Developments:
The end of my second trimester means a few things.  My restless legs have returned!  I had them with Connor, and would have to frequently get up in the middle of the night to walk the house.  The worst night so far was waking up at 3:30 to pee again, but then I couldn't go back to sleep because my legs wouldn't let me! Ugh!  I sat out in the living room and watched Friends reruns and ate a bowl of Rice Krispies then walked laps around the house until about 6:30 am.  I fell asleep around then, but Connor woke up at 7:15, so it was an interesting day. 
Ryan and I have Massage Envy memberships, so we've been getting massages on a regular basis and using up some stored ones.  I'm going to cancel mine-as much as I love getting massages, it's not helping like I thought it would and I'd rather put my money into my current obsession: Prenatal Yoga.  I tried it last night, just to see how I'd feel.  Oh. My. Gosh.  My sciatic nerve in my back has been giving me some pain and tension (probably thanks to picking up Connor so much and bending over to play with him) and the stretches and poses we did helped that out SO MUCH.  My legs felt great, as did the tension in my lower back.  I left there on a Yoga High, and will definitely be continuing as long as I can.  What a difference that hour and half to myself made with the few other women there.  It was quiet, I focused on my breathing and getting the poses right, and didn't feel a bit out of place (again-I contribute that to Stroller Strides.  We have done some of the stretches at the end of our workouts, and I feel like I'm in good shape despite the basketball on my belly!)  Luckily, Ryan wants to try Yoga too, so he's totally supportive of it, and happily watches Connor and puts him to bed on Tuesday nights so I can go get my yoga on!
She had the hiccups for the first time Sunday night.  I can tell her head is in the down position because that's where I could feel her little hiccups.  (that also means that her knees/feet are what I feel on the right side of my belly constantly during the day :) Ryan could see my stomach twitch with each hiccup and could feel a couple of them too.  Since then, she's had them at least twice a day!  Poor girl!  She's still moving like crazy, but will soon be running out of room to move around so much!  Her favorite spot it seems is my bladder.  It'll stop me in my tracks sometimes! 
The poor girl still doesn't have a name.  We have a top three (I think), but we're not releasing anything until we decide-which very well may be when she's born! Ugh!
I go to the doctor on Tuesday-somehow my appointments are a week behind.  After this week, I go back every two weeks until mid-September, when the appointments become weekly! Yikes!

Connor is almost 21 months!
Well, no talking developments yet.  He is singing Old MacDonald with us more, and makes a "Mooo" sound whenever he sees a cow.  We're working on other animal sounds too, but that seems to be his favorite!  He also says "hot" which is darn adorable.  He says it whenever food is put in front of him and we blow on it, or pretty much any time we go outside.  I think that's thanks to my complaining that it's "too hot" outside.  When he says it, it sounds like "hhaaahhh".  :)  I love his little voice, and can't wait to hear more!
We're still working on body parts, and he's learning more and more!  New ones are his eyes (he was unsure still before), mouth, and tongue, and he still solidly knows head, ears, nose, feet, belly, belly button and *ahem* peepee. :)  He's still addicted to Baby Einstein's, and we've had to find new hiding spots for the movies on top of the fridge so he doesn't get to them.  I would LOVE it if he would watch something else.  I've DVR'd Sesame Street, other Baby First TV programs, Little Einstein's and even tried movies-all a great big fail.  I will say that he usually starts watching, and then will go play with his toys.  Sometimes I think he just likes having the music of it on in the background.  He's also discovered that Daddy has some on the computer, so when Ryan is sitting in the chair, Connor will come up and sit in his lap to watch.  Ryan put on some YouTube videos of cats a few times.  It's pretty hilarious to hear the two of them cracking up because a cat is playing the piano.  Two peas in a pod, those boys! 

Other News:
I go back to work on August 9th.  I was very lucky to be kept on in Title 1 working with kindergarten students again part time.  We'll be back to our normal routine of Connor playing at the sitters for awhile in the morning, and coming home to have lunch and take a nap.  This will work out great for my 3rd trimester when I want to take a nap too!  I love the kindergarten teachers, not to mention working with my mom at school, so it's a perfect situation!  This will be my last year working part time, so I"m going to savor every minute with Connor, and then with my little girl, for this next year!

We've had a great time this summer visiting with family.  I'm sure you read my Montana post, and I need to update with a couple visits to Flagstaff...more to come soon!

Monthly Update: 25 weeks and 20 months

Time continues to fly by!  Didn't I just take that pregnancy test?  With Connor?  Yikes!!

Baby Girl:
Because we were in Montana, I had my 24 week appointment on Tuesday, where I was really 25 weeks.  I knew that my belly had gotten bigger by looking at the pictures from Montana.  That big belly wasn't there a couple weeks ago!  I did have lots of yummy food to eat on my vacation, and I have noticed a huge jump in my appetite.  I seriously eat all day long.  I have breakfast with Connor, then a big snack, then lunch with Connor, then another lunch (just smaller, I promise!), then a snack before we go to swim, then dinner, and then either dessert or a bowl of cereal before bed.  I'm going through a lot of cereal right now!  Holy moly!  I know this won't last long.  Give it a few more weeks, and my stomach will be too squished to fit much food in.  That being said, the doctor commented on my 10 pound weight gain since my last visit.  Her words were "You've gained 10 pounds since we saw you last...have you noticed a lot of swelling?"  I said "Umm..."  Hello, lady! I just got back from vacation-give me a break! Haha!  Then we heard Baby Girl's heartbeat (No, no name yet.  Ryan and I spent four whole days in the car with each other and still couldn't decide on a name!), I recorded it for her Build-A-Bear like I did with Connor, and we talked about the next appointments.  I have to do my fun glucose test in the next couple weeks, and then after my next appointment, we go to every other week!  I can't believe it!!  We have 15 weeks left to get her room done and ready for her arrival.  I'm also thinking about having a "Sprinkle" so we can stock up on diapers and girl clothes.  These next few months are going to fly by, so I'm getting very excited!
Weight: 139
Belly Measurement: 37 1/2 inches
Room Progress: Zilch
Changes: Belly's getting bigger, and I feel her moving much higher now.  She's still all over the place, which I love!  She seems to be using my bladder as a trampoline, which stops me in my tracks sometimes.  I love feeling her move so much!  I do notice it's a little harder to bend over or paint my own toes!

Next appointment: August 2

Connor:
My baby boy is 20 months old!  This is getting eerily close to the TWO YEAR mark!  Wow!  He is still such a snuggler, but he is having a hard time getting comfy on me at night with his little sister getting in the way.  Ryan put him to bed last night, and he fell asleep on him.  (Actually, I think both of them fell asleep back there!)  We are still rocking him for a bit after we read his books and listen to his lullabyes while snuggling with his blue blankie.  We'll be moving the glider into the baby's room as time gets closer, so I'm soaking up this bedtime routine each and every night.

The talking thing is getting slightly better.  I was hoping Montana would help him to verbalize more because he would be around so much talking amongst the family.  I swear he said "sit down" to me to watch one of his movies, and he says "Hi Dad" quite a bit to Ryan.  He's starting to mimmick the sound that words make, almost like humming.  He just started doing the "EIEIO" part of Old MacDonald, which is stinking adorable.  I also got him to "Mooo" yesterday, so at least we have one part of the song down!  I busted out our flashcards again yesterday, and he knows SO MANY of the words, so I know it's in that brain of his!  I would put them in front of him and ask him to find one, like the cow for example.  He looks, and picks it right up!  Like I've said before, he's a smarty pants and knows everything you say to him.  It's just getting him to say it, and we're closer than ever! 

He can also point to his head, eyes, nose, mouth, feet, and *ahem* a certain boy part (that didn't take long!).  He also does "happy feet" and still does the cutest dance around!  If you ask him to dance, he usually has to step one foot away from you before he starts grooving.  I love it!!! 
We're still working on sneaking some veggies into his food.  He still likes his broccoli, but will spit things out if he feels something out of the ordinary in his meals.  We're eating a lot of PB&J, mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets in this house for lunch.  He does love fruit, but not melons.  He'll eat just about any snack out there though!

We are in round 2 of swim lessons right now, and he's getting much better at blowing bubbles! His kicking is getting better too, even when we backfloat!  It's good to be getting out and in the pool.  He just loves it since we can't play outside as much.  That's a big change from playing outside all day in Montana!  We do try to get outside in the mornings, and his favorite is the swing.  It could be the breeze he feels or the nice rocking motion, but it's a must!  He even fell asleep in it the day before we left for Montana.  I couldn't believe it!

Ryan and I were talking last night about what a little sweet heart he has.  He has the most gentle demeanor.  Sure, he has his moments and his tantrums, but when he looks up to you and gives you a kiss, forget it-it's over!  And that smile!  Full of perfect little baby teeth and his eyes are all lit up. :)  When he plays with a big group of kids at Stroller Strides, I always bring his ball.  It never fails that another kiddo will get to the ball before Connor, but instead of getting upset, he just turns and looks at me like his world has been crushed.  I sure hope his big, gentle heart stays that way!

That's it for this months' Morgan kids update!  I'm sure the next one will be here before I know it!

Montana 2011

I've taken this trip every year since I was Connor's age (actually I was a little younger!).  It's just been a part of my summer my whole life.  We'd drive for two days, stopping at gas stations for potty breaks and a little treat, and my sister and I kept busy for the entire ride with a little whining here and there I"m sure.  I never fully appreciated the beautiful scenery or the time spent with family until I've had my own.
I have to back up just a little and tell you that the reason we drove two days through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana was to see my grandmother, who was one of the very few full time residents of Silver Gate.  She loved it there, winters and all, and I was always amazed by her knowledge of her surroundings.  She lived there with her various kitties throughout the years, and we have many stories of her and the wildlife-my favorite being the time she sprayed a bear that was peering through her picture window with a can of Lysol.  She wasn't the typical "grandma" type, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.  She loved us, and we knew it-she didn't have to be down the street for us to know that.  She always sent us cards on birthdays or special holidays with a $5.00 check (which we always looked forward to!), with a little hand written note inside about what was happening there with the weather and the animals.  Most of the time, we'd have to have Mom read it to us, because Jennie and I had a hard time reading her handwriting.  I miss those cards, and I miss talking to her over the phone and hearing her voice.  The wonderful Mountain Woman that we all loved so much unexpectedly passed away five and half years ago, just before Ryan and I got married.  And so, we still make the trip every year in memory of her-maybe to feel just a little bit closer to her...after all, it was because of her that all of us Wolfe's are such a tight-knit family. 
Now, my Unlce Tom and his wife, Cheryl, have moved into her home and are loving it just as much as she did.  They have a store with Cheryl's sister, Toni, and are making things happen in my favorite little town.  Last year, I took Connor with me while Ryan stayed home.  The pictures from last year remind me of the pictures I have with my mom when I was little.  He began to really crawl and pull himself up last year, so I was anxious to see what new things he would learn this year!
Ryan, Connor and I loaded up and left at 4:00 am on a Saturday morning for the big trip.  We met Carrie, Jennie and Robert and off we went!  Connor did amazing in the car the entire trip.  We made sure we were prepared with music, dvd's, snacks, toys and books, but he was content most of the trip watching out the windows and napping here and there.  We definitely have a great little traveler on our hands!  We did stop quite a bit so I could stretch, refill my water, and change Connor's diaper.  Even with a detour, we made it to Silver Gate in one piece without going too crazy! 
The week was spent with my incredible family members.  We mostly hung out at the store so we could all be together and catch up on each other's lives.  Thanks to facebook, we are able to connect throughout the year in short status updates and pictures, but the face to face stories about our life events and retelling past stories are always the things I love most about being there.  Everyone took turns making dinners, which are always so good (maybe it's because I didn't have to cook?)-alfredo, Schwan's pizza, brisket, chicken and rice, and my ALL TIME FAVORITE, chicken and dumplings (I seriously had 4 small helpings!).  Then we would all sit around the fire laughing until our stomach's hurt and we couldn't keep our eyes open...or until we got sick of eating s'mores.
During the days, we made sure to take Connor in his new Kelty backpack (LOVE this product!) on hikes down the Banock trail to the waterfall, up to the homestead, up to Trout Lake, around all of our favorite spots.  It sure made him a happier kiddo to be up that high with Daddy and be able to see everything for himself.  I was happy to keep up with everyone on the hikes and not feel too winded going up and down the hills.  It's amazing how much better I feel physically with this pregnancy!  Ryan and Connor took naps just about every day there, and Connor adjusted easily to the new routine of being in a new place-he's so easily adaptable! 

The week went by too quickly!  We stayed an extra day (and missed the worst heat of the summer so far here in Phoenix), but could have stayed an extra week.  The weather was so beautiful, and spending time with my family always seems to go by far too fast.  Aunt Pat always says that you never know what a year will bring, so we have to cherish the time we do get to spend with each other!

Father's Day 2011

I love Father's Day!  I am the luckiest girl in the world-I found my perfect match in high school.  We became the best of friends and have always had the most fun together.  We have been through much of our "growing up" experiences together.  We have made good decisions and bad decisions together.  But perhaps the most important thing we have done is the decision to start a family. 
We always knew we would have kids-it was never a question.  But the moment Connor was born changed our lives forever.  I watched Ryan change into a father instantly.  It is something I'll never fully to be able to explain into words, but a change I will never forget.  When he laid eyes on Connor, his world was turned upside down in the best way possible.  He has always been there to change diapers in the middle of the night, get cranberry juice while I was nursing, comfort me while I cried (happily) for no reason.  He has cheered Connor on through ever new step in his life.  He encouraged him to roll over and manned the video camera to capture it on tape.  He laughed as Connor did his "superman".  He stayed home for a couple weeks while I went back to work to bond with his son.  He has been there for his tumbles, his tears, and his triumphs every step of the way.  Now, he hurries home from work to wrestle with Connor and spend every second he can with him before it's time for bed.  He takes him outside to swing and blow bubbles, and shows tremendous patience when whining takes place and tantrums are thrown. 
The point is...he's not just a father, he's a Daddy.  He is Connor's favorite man in the world, the person Connor will look up to all of his life. 


So, we made sure Ryan knew just how much he was loved this weekend (or at least that was the goal!).  He works so hard at his job every day to support us, and often works just as hard around the house on the weekends.  This weekend, we found someone to come do the front, back and side yards.  It's a TON of work!  We had many bushes and plants that needed some help from the winter freeze, and it's hard for Ryan to keep up.  Ryan supervised, and was amazed at how quickly they worked and what a great job they did.  He would have been out there all weekend for two weeks in a row to do what they had done in 3 hours.  Whew!  He loved it!
The morning of Father's Day, I let Ryan sleep in and when he got up I made coffee and pancakes (a specialty of mine, not to brag!  I just love pancakes, what can I say!)-some with blueberries and some with bananas (and chocolate chips for me).  He opened his presents-two new books to read to Connor that teach him about basketball, a picture collage of the two of them, and a stepping stone with Connor's cute footprint in it for his nice, clean yard!  Then we got ready and went to the Diamondbacks game!  Ryan's sister and husband invited us along to a friends' suite for the game, which was perfect for Connor, their little one, Jack, and Ryan's oldest sisters' kiddos, Alyssa and Brendan to run around the room and play while still watching the game.  It was AWESOME!  A great day with family, kids, hot dogs, popcorn and baseball!  (even if the dbacks did lose!)
We came home and played some more before heading out to Ryan's favorite BBQ place, Bobby Q's.  PS-I'm so glad I made a reservation.  That place was packed!  We had some yummy bbq, and I even let Ryan pick dessert.

Ryan said he felt the love, so I think we did our job.  I sure hope he knows how much he is loved and appreciated by us every day.  I don't know what we would do without him!