I had my 24 week appointment yesterday. I went just fine. In and out. I go again in a month and then I start going ever 2 weeks! This pregnancy is going SO FAST, I cannot believe it! I took a profile shot of my belly at 20 weeks…
And then I took another one just 4 weeks and 4 pounds later…
I can’t believe that just 4 weeks and 4 pounds can make that much difference in a belly!! Pregnancy is amazing to me…
Something about Paul…he is very sweet. Ever since the day Brigg came into this world, he has made sure that he spent special time alone with him and really worked on building a strong father/son relationship. He has done the same with Lani and I think he has been able to capture their hearts in a completely different way than I would ever be able to do. Each morning Paul goes into work several hours before the kids even wake up. Because we have had such an issue with wetting the bed, Paul takes Brigg to the bathroom before he heads out to work. Often times it is before the sun comes up. He and Brigg have had some very sweet conversations before Paul tucks him back in and heads out to work. On Brigg’s birthday this year, after Paul took him to the bathroom, he had hidden a birthday gift for Brigg under his bed and he pulled it out and gave it to him before he tucked him back in. Brigg was so excited and thought this was such a special gift! He couldn’t wait to tell me about it as soon as he woke up. “Daddy gave me my first gift in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!” So today is Paul’s birthday. Brigg and I set up a plan that after Paul went to bed, I would place a gift for Paul, from Brigg on the toilet to be found when he took Brigg potty.
When Brigg woke up this morning, I asked him if he gave it to Paul and Brigg said, “Yes! I kept walking in the bathroom all night to make sure you put it there and FINALLY it was there and I could go to sleep!” I asked him what Paul said when he opened it. He said, “Daddy said it was the best gift he had ever gotten!” Now isn’t that just sweet!?!?
Happy Birthday Paul! Thank you for being the kind of parent that Brigg and Nalani need. Thank you fall all you do each day to make us all feel special. We love you so much!
Brigg: Daddy, you’re my best daddy ever.
Paul: laughs
Brigg: Even if I get a step-daddy, you’ll be the best daddy ever.
Paul: (not laughing) Do you know something I don’t?
That’s the forecast for the weekend. The Bix is going on in Davenport this weekend, so Paul’s plant is closed down and he doesn’t have to work! Perfect weekend for that! We have NO PLANS. That is unheard of around here. I set out beef tenderloin for supper and plan on fresh sweet corn, grilled zucchini and baked potatoes for sides. And who knows, maybe Paul will humor me and take this pregnant lady out for ice cream for dessert. Paul just called from work and said, “What are you doing?” I replied, “Shucking corn.” Then I laughed. That just sounded kind of funny. Not so much to us Iowan’s, but I’m assuming there are others out there who would have no idea what that involves. A supper of beef, potatoes and fresh sweet corn, and 86 and sunny in the end of July…we could be nowhere else other than Iowa. Here’s to a great, relaxing weekend!!
Tonight was the annual ping pong ball drop for Great River Days. This is our second year going. Last year Brigg won one of the grand prizes…a GameBoy. They drop 500 ping pong balls and everyone wins a prize. There are limited “Grand” prizes. So over the course of the past year we have decided that a free Game Boy was like the best prize ever. It’s also been the most used and made several long car rides much more enjoyable. So this year we decided we’d give it another try. I tromped downtown to register with the kids at 4:00. We were heading back home by 4:15 to wait out the next 2.5 hours until the actual event. It was hot and sunny. Paul got home early and was mowing the lawn. I was inside peeling beets and starting to prepare some other veggies from the garden for a quick supper. All the sudden I hearing screaming…I mean BLOODY MURDER screaming. Brigg comes running in the kitchen screaming and flailing about. All I could make out was something about bees and wasps. Seriously. This little boy’s LARGEST nightmare had come true. He is more scared of bees and wasps than any other human being on the planet! He has been for years. Totally freaks out at the sight of them. He had disturbed a bee’s nest and had been attacked by a swarm of bees. He was pulling his shirt off and 2 were stuck to him. I batted them off and they died almost immediately. He was FREAKING out. It was so bad. Ok, so I hand him off to Paul and google “How to treat bee stings”. Thank goodness for the internet! 
I give him Tylenol and Benedryl and mix meat tenderizer and water to put on the wounds. Nothing is helping. He is still hysterical. He stops screaming for a few seconds and then his whole body tenses up and he starts screaming again, “It huuurrrrrrrttttts!!! It huuurrrrrrttts!!!” This went on for approximately 45 minutes. No joke. I think at that point the meds had kicked in and took the edge off. So he says he still wants to head down to the ping pong ball drop. Off we go. They drop the balls…
We get out balls and wait in line to see if our number is a grand prize winner. That takes a half hour…
We find out that Lani has a grand prize winner ball. (Brigg is so drugged up that he really doesn’t care.) So we go to the big stage to wait and see what grand prize she won…
They call her number and ask her what her name is. She says “Lani” right into the microphone. It was so cute! And they hand her her very own, brand new black and silver Schwinn bike…
She likes it fine, but Brigg is immediately in love. That’s ok…all Lani really cared about was the really cool water bottle on the front…
Everyone is happy. I think the night was a wash…
True story…when my dad was in highschool and the carnival would come to his tiny Iowa town, he and his brother would work for them. He loved and they they even asked Dad and Terry to join them and travel with them. He says he almost did it! So see, when the carnival comes to town these days, we just can’t stay away and that explains it! There is something very enticing about it. (ok, that last part isn’t so true. i felt as though i wanted to shower in bleach when we got home, but it sounded good!)
I found this photo to be fitting. Brigg driving and Lani in the back. She started to get in the front, but she was somehow drawn to the backseat instead. I think she looks like a movies star hiding from the cameras in the 2nd photo…
I loved these pics…
The slide. First Lani went down with Paul and then by herself.
And I joined Lani on the ferris wheel. It really was a lot of fun. In the first photo Brigg was yelling at me that his heart was “beeping”. Too cute…
“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” (M. Scott Peck)
I am 24 weeks pregnant. I have 16 weeks to prepare if I’m lucky. I have the crib set up and 3 very cute burp cloths and 3 very cute bibs. That’s it. I’m starting to panic! So I started to nest a little bit today. I cleaned out Lani’s dresser and packed away all the clothes that are too small. I completely emptied out the freezer and scrubbed it. I threw away all old freezer burned items and you should see how it sparkles now! I have spotted the Rubbermaid tub containing Girls baby clothes ages 0-12 months. I plan on having Paul bring it up from the basement tonight so I can sort through it. I am moving the safari decorations from Lani’s room up to the baby’s room and Lani is getting some different things put in hers. I have a Sit-n-Stand stroller picked out and I’m just waiting for it to go on clearance. I have some closets that need sorting and lots of stuff that needs tossing. But for today I feel like I’m getting some much-needed things accomplished!
My dog is driving my nuts. She is chewing. My socks, my underwear, my bra, Brigg’s pajamas, part of the Cooties game, Kleenex, towels, and practically anything left laying around…which in this house is not hard to come by. We decided we would give her away…possibly for a small fee of $100. This would include dog, leash, collar, kennel, dog bed, dog dishes….the whole 9 yards. We bought the dog, got her spayed, her shots are current and we put her through round 1 of obedience training (which may not have been worth the $60). I bought Brigg a pair of pj’s the other day, which he is always in need of. He wore them twice and while I was washing his hair in the bath the other day Harley chewed up the shirt. I went CRAZY. We made the decision. We are done. We had the talk with the kids. They sobbed. It was all very sad. So I decided to call the vet and see what they suggested. With a new baby on the way, we cannot deal with this anymore! Of course she tells me it is my fault and not the dog. I am giving her too much freedom. She is like a toddler. I need to be able to see her every single second of every single day or she should be in her kennel…which is SO very easy with 2 little ones running around. She mentioned something about a cong, or a pong, or something like that. So it looks like I am going to give it one more shot. I have a few months to try and get this under control. But if after 3 months we are still having trouble, would anyone be interested in this adorable little ball of fur?? She is very cuddly…really. You would love her…
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