31 WEEKS AND SOME CHANGE

So I'm 31 and a bit weeks... down to the single digit count down.
Little Kate will be here before we know it.

I've had a much better pregnancy with her.
I'm carrying smaller and more comfortably, I've gained a lot less weight with her, than with Luke and once I got through the first 16 weeks, the rest has been pretty easy going for me.

A sweet friend took some belly shots for me yesterday.

It was also my baby shower yesterday. My great friend Rachel, hosted the shower, and a few other friends were kind enough to give her a hand in the food preparation and set up etc. I felt quite loved by the willingness of everyone to do something to help make it a special day :)
It turned out great. We had such yummy food (we had a brunch), and I got some great gifts for little Kate.
What a spoiled little girl she will be :)

Unfortunately, one damper on the day was that I was feeling a little self conscious because an infection I got, resulted in some facial swelling, and so I felt a bit puffy and somewhat like a character from Star Trek. LOL.
Thank goodness for make-up and a sweeping hair style that partly covered my face. LOL
Good thing my friends love me no matter how 'strange' I look.... hehe

So now I get to enjoy sorting through, and washing all of Kate new blankets and clothes etc, and getting the nursery ready for her big debut.
Not long now.. we're very excited :)

FUN WITH DADDY

This week, I spent 2 and a half days away at the church youth convention. I was one of the chaperones.
Jake was off work for the week, so he stayed with Luke and they had some fun together.

On Thursday, Jake took Luke to the park. Luke LOVES the swings.

After the park, they went to the mall, to ride the little train they have there, and then Jake took Luke to throw pennies in the fountain. We've started saving all of our pennies and 5c coins for Luke, because he LOVES to throw them in the mall fountain, as I discovered a few weeks ago when I was there with him.

Fortunately 2 years old can be extremely inexpensive to entertain. :)
Going to throw pennies in the fountain is hardly a bank breaking 'excursion' and Luke loves it.

I missed my boys so much while I was gone. I went to New York for 6 days last August, so nearly a year ago, and it wasn't nearly as hard being away from Luke as it was this week for the 2 and a half days I was gone. Luke is so much more aware of his mommy and daddy now, because he is older, and he notices when we're gone. He had a great time with Jake, but he would point to a picture of me and whimper when Jake told him it was 'mommy', and he cried every time he heard me on the phone when I called.
It broke my heart that he was missing me so much, and I was itching to get home and cuddle my little sweetheart.

He was napping when I arrived home today, but when he woke up and saw that I was back, he was so silly and giddy with excitement. I got hugs, and kisses, and cuddles and he just laughed and giggled for a few minutes while I held him on my lap. He may be a little stinker on some days, but he is MY little stinker, and I love him to bits... it's hard being away from him, even if it's only for 2 days.

Jake did a great job being the 'single' parent while I was gone. He spent extra time with his little boy, made sure that they had fun together, and kept the house in great shape so I didn't come home to a big mess.
He's such a keeper :)

I LOVE MY BOYS :)

29 WEEKS

I decided with this pregnancy that I'd take pictures every 2 weeks in the final trimester, instead of only every 4 weeks, because I missed out on my 'last' picture with Luke because he was born before the 4 week mark.

This is my 29 week 1 day picture taken yesterday.
I feel MUCH better this pregnancy than I did with Luke, and I feel like I look better too... probably because I didn't spend 6 months horribly ill and so far I've gained about 10lbs less with Kate.

A PIRATE PARTY

Today Luke went to a little friends birthday party.
The theme was PIRATES.
I was so glad about that, because it gave Luke the opportunity to wear his pirate costume that I made him last Halloween, one more time before he completely outgrows it...
I had to alter the waistband a bit to allow more room for his bigger pot belly, and he didn't have a white shirt to wear under his vest like he had at Halloween, so we let him go 'rough and tough' with a bare belly, but it worked out pretty well.
He is such a cute little pirate... Uh, I mean, FIERCE AND SCARY... lol

 WALKING THE PLANK...

 This picture cracks me up :)
Pirate Luke is standing his ground, no matter how big the competition is. LOL.
Size doesn't matter when you're a fierce pirate. Aaarggghh! LOL :)

 Luke sniffs EVERYTHING he eats.. especially if it looks unfamiliar. I've never seen a kid so young, use so many senses to determine whether or not he likes something. LOL.. most kids will taste it and spit it out if its not good...Luke will decide based purely on a single sniff. LOL

 NO TREASURE????

 No pirate is a REAL pirate without a scar... Luke got his pirate scar today...
I'd love to tell you that it was in a fierce sword fight over a big chest of gold and treasures... lol
But nope... my little pirate got his pot belly caught in the empty treasure chest. haha...
Oh well... a scar is a scar... we'll stick to the sword fight and treasure story.

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He had a great time... thanks Wade for inviting Luke to your party :)

FUN AFTER THE STORM

Today, we had 2 VERY big storms, that brought a lot of much needed rain.
Our driveway got some pretty big puddles from all the rain, and Luke made full use of them.
He had a blast :)

 

HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES

Luke still has very limited vocabulary, but he is learning things so much at the moment.
Every day, we see him trying to say, sing or do something new.

I love watching my sweet boy grow, and the excitement of seeing him learn something new, never gets old for us.

Jake was able to catch a video today of Luke trying to sing and do the actions to 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'
What a cutie. I unfortunately was out at the time so I missed out on the fun. Thank goodness for the technology of cameras. :)

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