4th of July

Waiting for the parade to start! Notice her "black front tooth"? About a month ago she fell on the slide and hit her mouth. We go to the dentist this week to see what they can do, her tooth is dead but still intact. 

Sitting with her besties!

It's hot out Mom!

They throw candy at us! You gotta be kidding me!

Patiently waiting

Going down the slide...not so much! She froze up there and I had to climb the massive ladder and go down with her.  The slide was unsuccessful in inducing labor :)

Dad, what are these sparkly things? I don't like them!

Get away with that thing!

I will just dance around with them instead!

38...almost 39 week appt

Had our almost 39 week appt this past Thursday. The nurse came to our house for this one which was a nice change of pace from driving 30-40 minutes to the clinic. It was refreshing to have her come. She helped change my mentality about a few things and even said that she would pray for me to have more patience and enjoy my time with Lauren while I wait (so awesome that my support team incorporates the Christian faith into my care). I can tell I have been a bit impatient with Lauren lately which is stemming from my lack of control over when the baby will come and Kyle working extra hours to complete his internship (not to mention the 100+ degree temperatures that are forcing us to stay inside our cave). I have been constantly reminding myself about patience since the nurse left and have been feeling better about carrying this pregnancy much longer than I did with Lauren. The heart rate was still in the 140-150s and baby is still head down right where we like it. It doesn't look like I gained any weight from the last appointment but my scale might be different. I am still measuring at 33 which means the baby is slowly descending more because when they feel for position they are noting the baby getting larger just not my stomach. 

And for those who would rather see pictures of Lauren...here are a few for your enjoyment!

Lauren's baby in her tummy. We had 3 friends have babies this week (2 girls, 1 boy). Lauren is now telling everyone that her baby is a girl named Nora (same as one of the mommas). People think she is talking about my baby when she says that. I will fill you in on a hint now...it is not Nora and it could very well not be a girl too!

 She really scared me this day. We had been struggling with naps for a bit and she would "play" in her bed for quite some time before settling down. Thankfully she is back on track and staying in her room after we get her all tucked in. I noticed her being really quiet so I went back to peek in on her and found her like this. I was actually scared at first that she had suffocated herself and did check before grabbing my camera. She was quite a sweaty mess when I unwrapped her.

Notice anything odd? When I was in the shower one morning I heard her "arguing" with Kyle about wanting to wear one of my bras. He relented and snapped a few pictures for me to enjoy later.

 Side view

 We have amazing neighbors! I absolutely love our town but our neighbors make it so much more enjoyable. Directly across the street is an elderly couple that treats Lauren like one of their own grandchildren. We love to sit in their garden and on the porch swing. They are full of so much history and I learn something new every time I chat with them. They planted a trumpet vine right behind the swing because she had so many memories growing up of picking them and placing them on her fingers and running around. Their yard is a massive impressive garden with fountains and ponds and they mentioned having a trumpet vine wasn't very impressive in the gardening community but she had to add one based on her memories growing up. So, she taught Lauren how to pick the flowers off and stick them on her fingers just like she did. I love seeing generations of memories being passed down and neighbors who let my child pick all the flowers she wants without telling her otherwise. 

38 weeks maternity/mother-daughter photo shoot

Kyle took a completely impromptu photo shoot for Lauren and I. I can't wait to print some of these out!

Storm!

Our town hasn't had rain in a LONG time. We got quite a nasty storm that other night that left a bunch of trees in tough shape. News reports say that we had a "microburst" which is pretty much a little tornado and massive gusts of wind. Reports said it was around 90-100 mph winds. 

Our front yard, this little tree lost a limb

 A bunch of branches and leaves

 Our neighbor's tree lost a large limb that came crashing into our side yard. Thankfully the fence was unharmed but the picnic table took a beating and our awning crashed from our side door. Can you spot Lauren's bike? 

 There it is!

 Our neighbor's house had quite the tree destruction. The far left side has a massive hole in the roof from the limb that is up there. 

The town got cleaned up pretty quickly but still looks rough. It is devastating to see so many mature trees and yards destroyed. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt!

37 picture and Prairie Fest

We went to Prairie Fest a few weeks back in the next town over. It was a REALLY hot day but the kids were champs and soaked up as much as they could in the short few hours we were there. 

Our friends have an "Ethan and Olivia" just like Lauren's cousins. She thinks it is hilarious that she knows two families with Ethan and Olivia. Here is Olivia and Lauren. They are the same ages as our cousins but friend Olivia is older. 

 Driving the semi truck

 Checking out the cab of the semi. The kids were quite impressed that there was a mini kitchen and bed. 

(Miyah, Gabby, Ethan, Olivia, and Lauren)

 They had a little petting zoo that we spent a good chunk of time in. Lauren was in love with this little white goat. 

 The massive bunny!

 She kept saying, "I am going to tell Dad I want chickens!"

 Her little goat again

 Little piggie!

 Mini Donkey

Lauren intently watched a balloon guy magic show

 I think his Elephant face was pretty impressive

 They had a gymnastics show and then anyone could come up and do the "ice cream and cake" dance with them. Of course, the girls jumped at the chance and showed us their mad dancing skills right up in front

 And then they ran out onto the mats and had a "solo routine"

 Riding a pony named Merlin

37 weeks picture

Blogger was not cooperating with me lately so I couldn't upload any pictures. We have tons to put up so be prepared for possibly multiple posts in one day.

37 weeks!!!

We were practicing curlers for Aunt Amanda's wedding, Lauren enjoyed wearing the bandana on her head to keep the curlers in!

We had our 37 week appointment last Friday, I now go in on a weekly basis. I didn't make it to weekly appointments with Lauren. If things would go at the same rate, that means I would go into labor this upcoming Thursday, yikes! Everything still looked good, heart rate was around 145 which has been consistent the entire pregnancy. The student nurse felt around and said she thought the baby was around 6 1/2 lbs. The head is very low so I am measuring at 33 centimeters which is common when the head is engaged. I lost 1 pound, which I did at the same time with Lauren too; total weight gain is 22 lbs. We had the group B strep test as well.

I just started taking some vitamin supplements called "Birth Prep" which are supposed to help prepare your body/organs for labor, delivery, and recovery. Consistent Braxton Hicks contractions and cramping so I am thinking I might go early but ultimately this baby could arrive any time within the next 5 weeks (I hope it isn't closer to 42 weeks though).