And Thank You For Our New Deck

Sam says our prayer at lunch. It's his "thing." I'll ask if he wants to say the prayer at other times and he always asks, "is it lunch?" If it's not, he doesn't want to. Strange.

Anyway, he always thanks God for our new deck. It's new in the sense that Bob tore down the old and rebuilt a bigger deck, but that was last year so some of the actual new has worn off. Still, to Sam, it's the new deck.

And on days like, oh wait, all summer...when it's 8,000 degrees outside and the kids still want and need to go out, I'm so so thankful for it too. (I'm even more thankful for it on cool nights and in the Fall when we eat dinner out there. Thanks Bob!)

So, you probably want to know what they do on the deck.

Boys who love playing with construction equipment
+
a desire to "dig" everything
+
some stale granola
=





After the chocolate chips in the granola started melting, I tossed that and pulled out some spiral pasta for them to use. And by the way, that granola definitely did not stay inside those containers. Most of it got dustbusted.

Who dustbusts outside? We do.

Oh Hey There, Big Bird

Sorry, just the first thing I thought when I saw this picture.

I don't know why I didn't see it this morning while I was getting dressed.

I guess that's just unfortunate.

So, here's my belly picture at 27.5 weeks (to be precise) a.k.a. 6 months a.k.a third trimester.

Did you see that? Third trimester! The flip side of that is that I can't believe I'll be pregnant for 3 more months. 3.more.months. At least 1.5 of those will still be blazing hot.
Oy.

By the way, click here to see a 27 week picture with Grey and Sam. See? I really AM bigger.

Stats...
Weight change: Gained about 16-17 total. Still going strong in this area.
Energy level: About the same as last month which was "pretty good, although the heat really wipes me out. Can I get an amen? I'd equate my energy level to anyone with two little kiddos, dealing with Alabama heat and humidity, and subtract about 15%" except I'd take away 25% this month.
Cravings: Food.
Baby Gender: Still a boy. I hope. I mean, I guess.

Wordless Wednesday

With Age and Knowledge Comes Fear...Which Can Be Conquered

Hey Sam,
Yesterday, I had a real "proud-mom moment."
It's incredibly hot here and we've got season passes to Splash Beach, which means we've been quite a few times this summer. Yesterday, you had a little breakthrough.

Let me back up first. In the little kid part of Splash Beach, officially named Salamander Bay, there are 4 slides that are about 20 ft. long, side by side on a little hill. Last summer, you were all about going down them with me. This summer, you wanted nothing to do with them. You did not want to slide down with me, much less go down on your own. So, I took Grey (since he can't object yet) and asked every time we went if you would like to try.

Every time...no.

Yesterday, you changed your mind. I have no idea why. Maybe it was because you heard me say this would be our last visit for the summer. Maybe you just decided it was time.

After watching me go down with Grey, I asked if you wanted to go down with me and you said, "um, yea, I do!" So we slid....probably 3 or 4 times. Then I asked if you wanted to sit in my lap and I would send you down ahead of me where Ebee could catch you. You were ok with this plan too. I think you were starting to feel pretty proud of yourself.

A few minutes later, you asked if you could go up by yourself. Quite surprised, I said, "sure!" and looked at Ebee with a "what's going on" look. I completely expected you to go up the stairs then stand at the top of the slide and yell for me to come get you. Nope. You walked around, climbed up the stairs, sat down in the water and pushed yourself on down the slide.

I was so proud of you.
Still am.

To make us (me, Ebee and Ya-Ya) even prouder, you learned how to stand up right after hitting the water so we didn't need to catch you.

Buddy, you make me proud. Not just when you show how brave you are by conquering things you've been afraid of or trying new things, but when you're sweet to Grey, when you want to share with others all on your own and when you learn new things like your ABCs, or how to correctly pronounce the "v" sound.

I'm looking forward to having many more "proud-mom moments". Thanks for this one.

If You're Thinking About Being Real Pregnant During the Summer

First, let me tell you the last few summers in Birmingham have all been pretty similar.

Second, let me point your attention to our forecast for the next 3 days...specifically the heat index...110°-115° on Tuesday and not going below 108°.

Refreshing.