Race for the Cure

Saturday, Layla and I walked in the Race for the Cure with my cousin, Mandi, and Lindsey and Jonathan. We should have maybe called it Pace for the Cure. I'll explain why:-). I had my 21 week appointment on Friday (which for my record the heartbeat was 159--Layla was 148 at 21 weeks so I guess he's not obeying that boys are supposed to have lower heartbeats rule) and I aske my doctor if I could do the race totally thinking he'd say it wasn't a problem. He said he couldn't really answer that without checking me. He was going to wait until my next appointment in 4 weeks but he ended up checking me and I am not dilated at all--obviously good news at this point in pregnancy. He then said I could do the walk but to take it slow. I decided to still do the race and thought I would then just take it easy the rest of the day--however part of me did think that if something was to wrong with the baby soon I'd never forgive myself if I thought the race had something to do with it. Well, we walked around the booths and such for a bit and then ended up at the way back of the line. Then all of a sudden tons of people all started going the opposite direction of the "normal" racers. Someone then told us that they were doing the 1 mile community walk. With Lindsey and I both pregnant and Lindsey having to get going soon after the race ended, we decided that sounded like a better idea. So we slowly walked behind all the others with strollers and the slow walkers. It ended up working out good though. If I ever walk in it pregnant again, I'll probably opt for that again:-). It was a fun morning and I'm glad to have been able to do the walk again --this year in memory of my mom. Thanks to Mandi and Lindsey for walking with me! I really appreciate it!

Not a great pic of Lay, but I was trying to get her "I race in memory of my grammy" sign. She is wearing Gavin's race shirt from last year...

Lindsey, Jonathan, Layla, me...also kind of my 21 week pic (and Lindsey's 15 weeks) :-) It might be hard to see here, but I am getting HUGE for only being 21 weeks!

Mandi, Layla, me

Layla and me...

Layla slept pretty much the whole ride home so I decided to just quick change (since I had to go back to Hamilton anyway to drop my cousin off) and then bring her to her flu shot clinic. I was planning to go between 1-3 (they had it 8-12 and then 1-3). There was quite a line when we got there and after waiting for a bit someone came out and said that they were about out of the vaccine. She said they were hoping to get to all of us in line but those after us probably wouldn't be able to get it until they get more in in October. It was probably only about 11am or a little after. After waiting in line a bit longer, thankfully Layla got one. I didn't want to stand in line that whole time for nothing! I got my flu shot at my appointment on Friday. I'm not sure if the flu shot really works, I know it just protects against certain strains, but since they really recommend it for pregnant people and kids, I figured why not? It can't hurt!

And this pic is really just for my own memory. I bought this bathing suit at Gymboree on sale in maybe July and Layla never got to wear it this summer. The bottom is still a little big (it's 6-12 months so I thought it'd fit) but it'd work--she just hasn't gone swimming in awhile--so I thought I'd just try it on her after her bath on Saturday so I could at least see her wear it once:-). I'm really excited to have a boy, but it is a little sad now when I put her clothes away that I really like (and especially if she hardly got to wear them) knowing that I might not ever have another little girl to wear them. I guess if we don't have another girl, we'll probably have some little friend to share them with:-).

Ludington

This past weekend we took our last camping trip of the year to Ludington State Park. It's a beautiful huge park that with only being there for a long weekend it felt like I barely got to see any of it! Guess we'll just have to go back some day:-).

Thursday night us, Heukers and Konings headed up and then Friday night Lucas' joined us. Here is the whole campin' group before heading home on Sunday (unfortunately we didn't think to get one while Jim and Julie were up):
Jill, Brad & Ella, Alden, Curt & Jamie, Joe, Elv, me and Layla, Darrell, Jonathan & Lindsey

We got there around 6pm Thursday night so that we could set up and eat supper before Layla had to go to bed. Thankfully Layla did good again this trip with sticking to her normal night time and nap schedule. She still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap. One of these days we'll drop her morning one, she just doesn't seem quite ready yet. I'm afraid if we do that that her afternoon nap will only be an hour--momma needs more of a break than just one hour a day! :-)

Joe and Layla setting up...

Friday night while Jamie was unpacking their stuff Jill and I decided it'd be cute to put Alden's hair in a pony just like the girls'. He does have nice thick hair, so it worked quite well:-).


For some reason we couldn't get Jonathan's hair to fit in a pony so we tried to get him to wear a headband but he didn't want to keep it on. We might as well do this stuff before they know better:-).

It was slightly hard to get them to all smile nice for the pic:-)...

Making and eating pizza...

The guys + Layla watching the pizza cook over the fire...

Layla and Ella in their matching ponies drinking their matching waters earlier in the day...

More pizza eatin',,,

Enjoying her camping chair...

Our campsite...

Heukers' site (on the right) and Konings' site on the left. Curt and Jamie's tent was on the other side of Konings' camper. We had nice sites--they were bigger than a lot of them and really only had one other campsite surrounding us.

"Do you think we can scale this fence??"

"Let's both make a funny face!"

When we went camping in August we realized how annoying it was with 1 year olds toddling around by a fire, so this time Darrell put chicken wire up around it--definitely made it easier to keep them away from the fire. Although Alden did have one close call leaning on the fence and nearly touching the inside of the fire pit! Thankfully he didn't get burned!!

And Layla got ditched for a boy...she looks upset:-(.

Layla, Jonathan and Ella before Alden arrived...

Elvis and Ella sharing a moment...

We brought the cars again as we did when we went in August...definitely worth taking along!

Joe and Elv having father son bonding...

Ella enjoyed pushing Layla in the car for a bit...

And then she realized that wasn't fair and wanted to switch spots:-)...

Mommy and Layla...(don't mind Layla's socks with shorts--she didn't want dirty feet:D)

Saturday afternoon a friend from Calvin happened to get married in Ludington. I think they only planned the wedding about 6 weeks prior and we booked our campsites a couple of months ago so it was quite a coincidence! Heukers and us only went to the reception as the kids were both napping during the wedding (and already being tired out from a big weekend outdoors probably wouldn't have been a good combination with no afternoon nap!). We didn't know if it'd be best to leave Elv in the trailer or in Darrell's truck with their two dogs and decided to leave him in the truck so that he'd be close by and not be upsetting people at the campground with his barking while we were gone. Thankfully there was music at the reception so you only heard Elv's constant barking when you walked away from the music:-). Otherwise we wouldn't have claimed him as ours:-). I seriously think he barked the entire time. He's a good dog, he just has seperation issues and gets mad when he's left alone. Kaya and Mickey (Heuker's dogs) were in their crate next to him and quiet as can be the whole time--we had been hoping it'd help Elv to have friends next to him but no such luck! Spoiled little boy!

Jim and Julie also came to the wedding and then hung out at the campground with us afterwards. Here's Julie reading to the kids, proof that her and Jim will make great parents--not that we didn't know that before:-). Julie is due really close to Lindsey in March. We can't wait for the three new additions to join our friends this winter!!

The lovely bride and groom, Kishon and Johnny...

Since we missed the wedding, we didn't actually see Johnny and Kishon's little girl, Ava, ride in the wagon, but I thought I'd post this since I didn't have a pic of her with Johnny and Kishon.

Heukers...

Throwers...

Konings...

Lucas'...

Us...

Layla and Jonathan had fun after they ate wandering around. It worked great that the wedding was outside and that there was stuff for them to play on! Layla wondered over to the bride and groom during their first dance and was dancing to the music on the sidelines. Too bad I missed a picture of that. I was too lazy to get off my chair:-).

Again with the laziness, this probably would have been much cuter close up, but I didn't feel like going over there:-).

When we got back from the wedding we celebrated Ella's first birthday!!!! She'll be one on October 3. She wasn't super happy at first as she didn't really nap the entire trip, but once she tried the cupcakes, she realized how yummy chocolate is and changed her mood quickly:-).

We had a great weekend with perfect camping weather (no rain, not too hot but not cold) and I can't wait to go again next summer! I'm sure it'll be different with a baby, but at least he won't be moving yet!! And hopefully Layla will better understand "stay away from the road" (one time we found her wandering down the road by herself!! It's scary how quick they can wander off!!).

Dancing Queen

So this is super short, but every time I pull out the camera, she stops dancing. She LOVES to dance and does it often when she hears music, just not for the camera:-). She had been playing with her beauty salon and came over quickly when I turned music on--that's why she has her curling iron in her hand:-).

Race Reminder

No pressure, but just a reminder that in case you wanted to support Layla and I in the Susan G. Koman breast cancer walk this Saturday, here's the link http://race.komengr.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1030&px=1003193.

RV Pics

No, not pics of our recreational vehicle, pics of our baby boy:-). We had been calling him at home by the name we plan on naming him and then we realized that we better stop that or we'll accidentally let it slip at some point! So we are now calling him RV after our dad's--Ronald and Vernon. No, Ron Vern will not be his name after delivery. I can guarantee you of that:-).

They're a little hard to see, but this is his little bod with his belly sticking up...

And here's his face on the left side with his body going towards the right. It was easier to see on the u/s machine, but it looks like he's smiling...

It's A...

BOY!!! We found out today that we are having a little boy!! Layla is super excited to have a little brother:-). Or at least I'm sure some day she'll love it:-). He was super active which was cute to see. He kept stretching his legs out like crazy and with a full bladder (that they make you have) I thought I was going to burst:-). We got some cute shots of him smiling (but we don't have a scanner that works right now) so the tech said that she's positive that that means he'll be a super happy baby that never fusses or cries:-). Yep. I'm pretty sure that's what that means:-). Layla was super active at her u/s too and has been active ever since--so we might have our hands full:-). As far as the tech could tell he looks healthy--all major body parts are there anyway. We could certainly see his boy parts--he wasn't shy:-). Next week Friday I meet with my doctor to go over the u/s and for my 20 week appointment. I'm 19 weeks and 1 day today and he was measuring at 19 weeks and 3 days, so he's growing right on track! Right when we got there I called him a 'he' and the lady asked if that's what I thought it was and I said yes, but that nearly everyone else thinks it's a girl, so I'm probably wrong. She then said that almost always the parents are right, well, I was! I'm excited for a boy--Joe was kind of hoping for another girl so that Layla could have a little sister, but he's super excited for a little boy to hunt with too:-).

Hopefully now baby boy will stay in for many more weeks (like at least 14)! I'm still feeling sick and lately have been having bad headaches. It'd be nice if that would end soon:-). But I'll take feeling crappy if it means a healthy pregnancy!

Since I don't have pics of the u/s to post, I'll leave you with some pics of Layla. She loves wearing accessories. Too bad she's missing a purse in these pics--she loves carrying purses around and loves to put really random things in the purses:-). She also still LOVES shoes. This morning when I got done getting ready she had moved one of my sandals out of my closet and put it by the top of our gate and had put her sandals (left out from last night by the top of the gate--that's what pregnancy does to me:D) in my closet. Silly girl.

Oh, and for the baby book, she got her 5th tooth last week--a moler on her back right and she's close to breaking her top right (next to the front two that she has). I don't really think that's the "correct" order to get them in, but she doesn't like to be traditional:-)

Just a typical day at Layla's Beauty Salon...

Support Us!

If you'd like to support the fight against breast cancer, you can support Layla and I as we walk in the Race for the Cure on September 26. You can support us with your prayers or if you'd like to support us financially you can make your donations online at http://race.komengr.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1030&px=1003193. Thanks!

Labor Day Fun

Last night we went to my cousin, Mandi's for a cookout with the fam. It was very nice of her to have us all over!!

Having fun swinging...


The guys (minus my dad) busy cooking the burgs and dogs...

The kids enjoyed coloring (minus Caleb)...

Quick Get-a-way

This weekend Joe and I decided to take a quick trip to the outlet mall in Howell and to Cabela's. We were going to take Layla with but since Joe's parents were willing and able to watch her we figured that'd be easier! Plus this could be one of our last trips alone before Baby comes since I'm not sure how long I'll be able to travel (which by the way I'm pretty sure I've been feeling move lately!). It was nice to have some time away and spend some money:-). We arrived in Howell Friday night just in time to have about 30 minutes at the mall--all spent at Layla's favorite outlet--Gymboree:-). Then we stayed in Howell overnight right next to the mall at the Holiday Inn and hit the mall in the morning until about lunch time. We found lots of good deals--mainly for Joe and Layla--shopping for maternity clothes just isn't as fun, although there is Motherhood Maternity Outlet there that I did find a couple of things at.
Here I am squinting into the sun for a quick pic before heading to Dundee...

We stopped for lunch on the way and arrived at Cabela's around 2:30 (about an hour drive from Howell). We didn't end up leaving Cabela's until after 6:30!! That was a long time in that store! There weren't too many good deals, but we did find some stuff (yes, even I found some stuff--mainly outdoorsy decorations for our basement and such--and Joe found some hunting items he had been wanting).
Here is Joe infront of the ever popular yet pretty creepy mountain of dead animals at Cabela's...


Layla was SUPER tired today from her big day at Grandma and Grandpa's. I knew right away when she woke up at 8 that she was still sleepy. Then this is what I found her doing as we were about to leave for church (that footstool is there for her so that she can get on and off the chair--and yes, that is Elv's leash she was carrying around--gross, I know).

Layla then started getting tired and crabby in nursery (I was in with her today) and fell asleep as soon as she got in the car. Of course then she didn't go right to sleep when we brought her in the house, but she did shortly after that. She is now on her third nap of the day (fourth if you include her nap in the car earlier) so she's pretty much been sleeping since we got home at 11:30! I think maybe she's teething too because she's been drooling like crazy today. Her head also feels pretty warm. Hopefully it's just sleepiness and teeth!
I tried to get a picture of Layla with her new shot gun (a toy of course), but she doesn't seem to want anything to do with it:-(.
We had a great weekend away and are so thankful that Joe's parents could take care of Layla! Otherwise she'd be even more tired and crabby today had she been on the go all day yesterday!! :-)