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.

Ben at 21 months

A few things about Ben at 21 months . . .

• He LOVES matchbox-sized cars. Most of them are the cars from the movie Cars. He plays with them constantly and carries them with him everywhere. Even if it's 5 at a time. He lines them up on the table in front of him at meals and keeps them in his cup holder when we're in the car.
  
  Jack didn't get into these until older, mainly because we didn't have them in the house when he was Ben's age. Give him two cars and plenty of "race track" and he'll be happy for a long time.
  
  
• He is so friendly. He says "Hiiii" to everyone we pass, no matter where we are. If he spots someone yards away he starts waving and calling out "Hiiii!"
  
  
• He was about 29 pounds when we visited the doctor's office in May.
  
  
• He loves to do belly smackers. Onto the couch sometimes. Most often, he moves the couch cushions to the floor and just throws himself down onto them. One time, he got a little confused and threw himself down onto a throw pillow. There was a HUGE thud and he just laid there dumbfounded for a second. And it's really not limited to his belly. He'll jump up and just land on the floor on his bottom. Over and over. He's just rough.
  
  
• He copies Jack like crazy. Words, actions, everything. For better or worse. We often comment that Ben doesn't do much on command. We used to ask Jack to say things and he'd just say them. When we ask Ben to say something that we know, he'll often just say "uh-uh" or "no, no, no." But he will copy Jack. So Jack likes to tell people that Ben "only does thing on my command."
  
  
• He has a scream that is unlike anything I've heard from another human being. And he KNOWS that it gets Jack all riled up (and rightfully so) so he does it when he doesn't know how else to fight back against him. Jack tries to scream like that back at him, but I'm telling you . . . the noise is inhuman. I don't think any of us could replicate it.
  
  So, I've been working on teaching him to use his indoor voice. It's so funny because when he screams and I remind him to use his indoor voice, instead of whispering like I do, he does this soft little shriek. Hilarious.
  
  
• We do happy and sad faces a lot. When I say "happy face" he smiles and puts his fingers on the side of his mouth like he's having to manually pull his face into a smile. When I say "sad face" he stops smiling and makes this pathetic little moan. It's so funny.
  
  
• He's the first one to remind us if we've forgotten to pray before a meal or bedtime. He folds his hands and says "Ama? Ama?" (Amen?)
  
  
• He says too many words for me to list, but my three favorites are "ink ou" (Thank you), "Baay" (Bye . . . it sounds like he's saying it with a deep Southern accent . . . in fact, many of our staff have started saying goodbye that way!) and "I unv ou" (I love you).
  
  

Injustice

I just posted these super cute pictures of Debbie and her little lemon when she was in her 14th week.



Adorable, right?

Well, the next photo isn't quite that cute. There's something unfair about my friends and family having cute pictures of themselves while pregnant and I get stuck with the out-of-focus, bathroom mirror shots.

Oh, well.

I'm in my 14th week now, but here I am a little over a week ago at 12ish weeks. Truth be told, half of the baby bump is baby #3 and half is leftover from Ben.

Again . . . oh well.



I'm still feeling good . . . other than the fatigue. I still forget that I'm pregnant on a regular basis. There's really not a whole lot to report.

Compare to 18 weeks in my first pregnancy with Jack . . . yeah, things pop faster the third time around.

My kids . . .

Jack is 4

Jack turned four years old on June 2! I'll post pictures of his real party soon, but we bought him a cake on his actual birthday, too. I'm wondering if there will ever be a birthday that I don't tear up while we sing to him.

At bedtime that night he said, "I'm so glad you're my mom. And I'm so glad I made it to four." I guess he was worried . . .

And of course, grandma brought Cars plates and party favors that Ben was loving . . .

Fatigued

Being pregnant this time around has made significantly more tired than it did the first two times. It looks like Jack can sympathize . . .

About Ben

Things to know about Ben at 20 months . . .

He loves cars. Not just any cars . . . the matchbox-style cars (though I don't think we have any actual matchbox cars). Jack didn't get into these until older, mainly because we didn't have them in the house when he was Ben's age. Give him two cars and plenty of "race track" and he'll be happy for a long time.

He loves to do belly smackers. Onto the couch sometimes. Most often, he moves the couch cushions to the floor and just throws himself down onto them. One time, he got a little confused and threw himself down onto a throw pillow. There was a HUGE thud and lots of crying. And it's really not his belly. He'll jump up and just land on the floor on his bottom. Over and over. He's just rough.

He copies Jack like crazy. Words, actions, everything. For better or worse.

T-ball

Jack's playing T-ball this year. The league is for kids ages 4 - 7 and I was a little uncomfortable with him starting this year, since he was 3 when practices started. They let him play as long as Kyle came with him to practices. The age difference between 3-almost-4 and 7-almost-8 is HUGE. But honestly, he's done okay with it.

They don't use the tee much. It's mainly coach-pitch. The games are pretty typical . . . one kid hits the ball, and every single kid on the opposing team dives for the ball. During his first game, Jack ended up on the bottom of a pile of his teammates, all fighting over the ball. They've become much better at working together since then.

I think our "proudest" moment was when after his first strike, Jack was yelling to his coach and instructing his coach on how he should be pitching.

Jack is so proud of his "jersey" and baseball hat. He loves the t-shirt and would wear it every day if I let him.

His, um, let's just call it his "competitive spirit" has also become more obvious. While standing on first base during his first game, I could hear him arguing with the girl on the opposite team about who was winning. Please note: They do not keep score. On our way back to the car that same night, he was sure to inform many players on the other team that his team did, in fact, win. We've had some fun conversations about that.

Do you see him chasing after the ball? Yeah, he's supposed to be running to third.

His "victory" chant . . .

And here's what Ben did the whole time . . .