Zoo day

We went to the zoo last Saturday . . . it was HOT out, but the zoo we like to go to is almost entirely shaded. We were a little sticky, but not too uncomfortable. We had such a good time with the boys. It was a last minute decision, but I'm so glad we decided to do it. I've included a couple of photos of the boys, and a family picture that a friendly stranger snapped for us.

Later that night, we cooked dinner around a campfire . . . in 90 degree weather. We had promised them, so we had to follow through!

Thanks to the friendly stranger (who seemed to be behind us at EVERY exhibit all day) for snapping this family photo!

Twitter: June - July 22

Selected Twitter posts from the last month or so.

July 22
"Hey mom! Try and find me!". yfrog.com/kjgzgkzj
{Later when I showed him the picture, he said, "Are you serious? You could totally see me!"}

Ben has had more to eat for breakfast than I will probably eat all day.

July 21
Remember on Monday when I said, "We probably need to have our leaky, noisy air conditioner serviced?" Kyle's wishing he had listened to me.

"Feels like 104"

July 17
It's so nice to be married to the world's best dad. He's making up for my parenting shortcomings today.

Thanks to his older brother, Bennett has now taken up telling a knock, knock jokes. It goes like this: "Kna Kna!" "Who's there?" "EYEBALL!"

July 16
Went to the zoo. Cooking dinner over a fire. But I'm pretty sure these were the boys' favorite surprise of the day. yfrog.com/ki85nmj

It's just dropped below 90 degrees, so of course we're building a fire in our back yard to cook dinner. That sounds fun, right?

Proof of a good day at the zoo. yfrog.com/ke1j7oej

July 15
I just had to put Bennett to bed without a story or a song. And now I feel like a monster.

July 13
High of only 76? Come on, July!

July 12
I just read that my baby is the size of an avacado. And now I'm craving guacamole.

July 11
The weather man told me it would be 100 degrees today. But I just bought a sweatshirt.

July 8
My favorite moment of the day? Hearing Ben yell, "Jat! Omeee!" Which is Ben-speak for "Jack! Come here!"

July 7
I woke up this morning feeling little tiny baby squirms in my tummy.

July 3
Jack's first night without a nighttime pull-up. Fingers crossed that we won't have a mess in the morning. {We did not! We did have a mess the night after, though.}

July 1
I'm watching the guys in the Tigers dugout & wondering if their moms will yell at the coach for not giving their sons playing time tonight.

June 30
Today marks the 31st anniversary of the end of my almost-2-year reign as an only child.

June 29
LOOK WHAT THE UPS MAN JUST BROUGHT! Angie Peterson just made my day! yfrog.com/h4eywnlj

June 28
It really doesn't bother me that "under God" was left out of the pledge on NBC. I'm not 100% sure God's all that bothered either.

June 25
Someone asked Kyle today what we're doing on our day off. That's cute.

June 21
I normally like storms, but I'm bummed that the longest day of the year has been cut short by dark clouds.

June 20
The good news? I found my wedding rings. The bad news? Kyle's is still at the bottom of the lake.

Hello, second trimester.

June 18
If I didn't have kids to feed, I'd eat cereal for most meals.

June 16
My inbox is overwhelming & today's schedule is intimidating. But we're having French toast sticks for breakfast, so everything will be fine.

June 14
Jack let me know that he doesn't want to be King of Israel. So glad he's starting to narrow down his options.

June 10
I'm thinking of adding a second 27" monitor to my workspace. I remember a time when having one 27" monitor seemed excessive . . .

June 9
At Panera listening a super loud talker plan out the next 10 years of her life. Best wishes to her fiancé.

June 8
I've found my new calling in life . . . I want to be a freelance reality show casting agent.

June 7
There's something so comfortable about people to whom I can make Friends references without any sort of explanation.

Watching video footage of Ben from last year at this time . . . totally choked up.

Have I mentioned how happy highs in the 90s make me? Because they do.

June 3
Jack just told me he'd do all of my work and I could go to sleep in his bed. If only . . .

I had a dream last night that I was swimming, pulling a boat behind me with a load of groceries, and 3 or 4 people in it. What does it mean?

June 2
Four years ago today, I started a brand new job . . . as a mom. Happy birthday, Jack!

Jack's fourth birthday party

Jack turned four in June and we had his party the weekend after. I had been thinking about the party for months, but as usual, I waited until the last minute to throw everything together. I had actually forgotten decoration for the tables until the night before. Whoops. I realize that the centerpieces look more golf-ish than they did baseball-ish.

We served hot dogs, carrot sticks, grapes along with peanuts, cracker jack and pop corn. We had chocolate milk, water and Gatorade to drink. And of course, cupcakes by my friend Maria.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some. These are pictures of the party. I'll post pictures of the birthday boy & friends later.

Knock, knock

Jack loves telling knock, knock jokes. Some of them are actually funny. And, as you might expect from a 4-year-old, some of them don't make sense. His favorite?

"Knock, knock."

"Who there?"

"EYEBALL!"

And then he erupts in hysterical laughter.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

But like any good little brother does, Bennett likes to copy Jack in every way possible. Here's his retelling of the joke to me this morning. He had already told the joke 10 - 15 times so he was lacking enthusiasm, but you get the picture.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Celebrated

Kyle and I came home late one night and found that his cousin, Amy, had left us flowers as congratulations on baby #3. They were beautiful and I was so surprised and grateful.

By child #3, it sometimes seems like no one cares as much as they did the first time around. It was so nice to feel like this little one was being celebrated! Thanks, Amy!

Guacamole

I read earlier this week that my baby is the size of an avacado. Of course, I immediately began craving guacamole. On facebook, a friend noted that this weirded her out.

I can see why.

It's July

We're on the last day of Family Camp. Everyone's leaving and it feels as if things should be slowing down, but we're only half way through the summer. Youth camps start again this weekend. I kind of enjoy family camp, because Kyle and I both get to be home at bath and bedtime. Starting next week, I'm on my own again in the evenings.

With the exception of bad storms on Monday, we've had great weather! I depend on July to keep me warm all year long, so I try and soak up the 90s as much as I can. I've spent a lot of time working the zip line and running around outdoors, so I've had a chance to enjoy it!

Jack leaned out his bedroom door this morning and yelled, "Dad? Do you have a copy? Dad?" Which is the call we use on the radios at camp. I couldn't help but laugh. The boys are with us at camp every day and they pick up so much that I don't realize they're picking up.

I've started feeling little baby movements in my belly. Not kicks really . . . just that heavy rolling/shifting feeling. I'm just about 17 weeks. I had an appointment last week and the heartbeat was strong and in the 160s. My gut feeling is that it's another boy. Mainly because this pregnancy has been exactly like the first two. And maybe a little because that's what I'd prefer.

I've had more cramping and I have a few painful contractions every other day or so. My doctor isn't worried, so neither am I.

I've gained 8/10 of a pound, which is good, because I still have plenty left from last time. It's weird though because looking at me you'd think that it was a lot more than that.

The only non-maternity clothes I'm wearing now are drawstring capris that I can leave loose. I was hoping to go as long as I did with Ben without having to break out the maternity clothes, but summer clothes aren't as forgiving as winter clothes are. ALl of my summer maternity clothes were from when I was 7 - 9 months pregnant with Bennett, so they're all a little big on me. I depend on my bella band to keep them in place.

Here's the picture of Jack that I deleted from my previous whiny post. I'm still a little stunned by the fact that I have a four year old.

The Ballgame

This post should be about the baseball-themed birthday party that we threw Jack a month ago. Alas, I still haven't even touched the few photos that I managed to take at his party.

Instead, this is about our night out with friends, sans kids. We went to Detroit, out to dinner and to a Tigers' game and it was so much fun. It was HOT. Almost 90 degrees and the sun was beating down on us for the first part of the game. There was a nice breeze that helped a little.

The first 7 innings weren't all that exciting, but the last two made up for it. Even though the first 7 were kind of boring, I learned a lot. Kyle knows a ridiculous amount about baseball, and I've always known that. But still, I'm stunned at how much he knows about strategy and history. It was amazing.