Zoo

We had to take a family trip to the zoo before it gets chilly, so after visiting Hannah in the hospital, we jetted to the zoo. Luke loved it of course and now has many new animal names added into his vocabulary. Penguins, tigers, and monkeys topped his list as his new favorites to watch. It was a beautiful day! checking out the hippos with daddy

Welcome Hannah

This is ridiculously late, but we would like to welcome Hannah Elizabeth Julia into our family as our new niece! She was born October 14 and weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and is a beautiful little girl, already well loved! Luke is definitely in awe of her and did not want his turn to hold her to be over.

It's a.............

Well, I am 21 weeks along and we had our ultrasound this morning. As far as we know, everything looks good and Baby is growing right on track...currently weighing in at 15 ounces. It seems weird that we could possibly already know the gender, but we do! Baby was a little shy at first, but eventually the technician got a good look. Anybody want to place any final guesses??

profile pics
face shot (the blob on the left) - at least this one is not quite as alien-looking as Luke's was!

one little foot
Two little feet! Luke will soon have a wrestling buddy and a new best friend. That's right, it's a BOY!

Still not convinced? Here's another shot. Someday I'll have to apologize to him for exposing him in this way!

Hair Cut and Farm Fun

We stopped at my parents' house for a much needed hair cut from Grandpa...

...and then Luke was off to explore the farm! First stop: getting the eggs with Grandma.
I don't remember it being that exciting when this was on my chore list as a kid, but for Luke, getting the eggs is a treat. Next stop: Visit the cows. Admiring them from a distance...
They noticed him and got curious, much to Luke's delight.
Luring them in...

Almost there...
Bingo! Luke gets to pet a wet nose. Victory! Life on the farm is never boring.

Pumpkin Patch!

Last year, we went to this great pumpkin patch with tons of stuff for kids to do. So, we have decided to make it a family tradition to go each year. Luke was all about it this year and it was so fun to watch his face full of delight as we explored all of the activities. He literally walked around clapping because he was having so much fun.

Our new annual family photo op
Luke loved the pumpkins!
And we know this because he would not stop smiling. This from a child who does. not. smile on demand ever.
He also couldn't get enough of the hay bale maize. Even though a mean big kid pushed him down in the middle of it.
He cried when it was time to leave. The only thing that appeased him was getting to hold one of the pumpkins he picked out during the ride home.

As soon as we got home, he helped put them on our porch. We stopped first to take a picture with our flowers. He entertained himself by picking the flowers and decorating the pumpkins. Whatever.
Four pumpkins...one for Daddy, Mommy, Luke, and Baby #2!

Pregnancy Woes

So I'm still kind of in the in-between stage in this pregnancy. I'm in maternity pants for sure, but a number of my maternity shirts still swallow me, while my normal shirts and "a little too big shirts" are too tight. Therefore, dressing each day is a challenge. I decided to try to get ahead of the Sunday morning rush and figure out what to wear the night before. So after much frustration, I found one of my maternity shirts that seemed to work ok. What happens? You guessed it. Toothpaste down the bottom of the shirt minutes before needing to leave for church. So I did what any pregnant person should do in such a situation. Rinsed it out, threw a sweater over it, and away we went. I cannot be bothered with finding something else to wear, seriously.