Pool Day; Sick Night

On Wednesday we met Carter and Meghan at the wading pool. (Jackson was there, too, but he slept the whole time.) The boys were very excited to see each other and had a great time playing in the water. At one point Carter decided to get out for a while and was laying in the grass on a towel. In order to be near his buddy, Micah joined him. The two of them looked adorable relaxing in the sun together.

Micah "fixing" his cars at home that afternoon

Unfortunately, the day did not end as well as it started. Micah refused to eat any dinner (a fairly common occurrence) and then had major meltdowns before bed. He felt slightly feverish when we said goodnight. Around 10pm we heard some unusual noises, then crying. Poor little guy had vomited all over himself. He kept crying, saying "Mommy, my jammies are wet!" Super Dad took care of the bedding while I cared for the boy. He was up and down today, but by 4:30ish was starting to act like himself again. Hopefully he'll be good as new tomorrow.

Getting There

Thanks to Eve, women are cursed with pain during childbirth. God was looking out for us, though. He gave pregnancy just enough discomfort and unpleasant side effects that by the end of our 40 weeks, we don't care about the upcoming pain! I'm trying not to wish away my last few weeks of having just one kid. I'm trying to enjoy the quality time with Micah and the freedom we have to do lots of activities together. However, each day the pain of childbirth is starting to look a little more inviting.

I've been pretty lax about taking pictures these days. I'll have to remedy that before baby girl arrives. Although I don't have visible proof, Micah and I have been pretty busy this past week. We had the usual things, like grocery shopping, errands, and story time. We also had a super fun play date at a wading pool with our friends. Friday night Micah went to Carter's house while Scott and I went out to celebrate our anniversary (seven years!). Saturday was Kayla's birthday party. There was pink and princesses everywhere, but Micah came out unscathed. We also had dinner with friends that night.

On Sunday, our wonderful friends at church had a "sprinkle" (like a baby shower, but smaller) for me and Neiva (whose baby boy will hopefully be coming home from Africa in a month or two!). Everyone was very generous. I happily spent the afternoon washing and folding adorable little girl clothes.

We think Micah is going through a growth spurt. He's being eating more than usual (including the paper wrapper from a mini muffin - I'm waiting to see if it makes it through his digestive system today). He's also been taking extra long naps. (Which is nice for me because I can nap too, and still have time to get stuff done.)
Here's a picture of some finger painting he did last week:

Camping

Tent camping at 34 weeks pregnant? No problem! As far as camping goes, it was a pretty cushy experience. We had electric and water hook-ups at our site, and a very nice pool to help keep us cool. Also, we had a great group of people with us. It was some of the best camp food I've ever had, and I barely had to do anything! Micah had a great time as well and slept like a champ in the tent.

Mouth full of pancake

Touch-a-Truck

Micah had a lot of fun, but he was timid about actually getting in the vehicles. He liked the police car and the army truck. Other than those, he was content to just wander around. He was super excited about his yellow balloon though. He was skipping around singing songs about it. I was prepared for tears when it unexpectedly popped, but he was very calm. He said, "Maybe I can have another one later. After my nap."

Suite Retreat 2010

Although we live in four different states across the country and have 5 kids (and 2 on the way) among us, we still managed to have our Suite Retreat again this year! It certainly was not easy to coordinate. It took some intricate scheduling, and we relied on several different family members and friends to help with the kids. But it was worth it! There's nothing quite like being with people who have known you intimately for a long time. We talk, laugh, cry, eat, and encourage each other to be the wives and mothers that God has called us to be.

Audrey was the most content 8-month-old you can imagine. We barely knew she was here!

Emily is also very calm and well-behaved for a 2-year-old. It was very easy to keep her entertained.

Micah spent most of his days at friends' houses and his evenings with Daddy. When he was home, he was pretty shy; he mostly refused to speak to any adult but me. Jenn started a game of ball with him, though, and then he was more than happy to play with her.


I love this picture that Jenn took after Micah's nap. It may not be the cutest image of him, but it's an accurate representation - one finger in his mouth, watching WordWorld, holding the red and blue loops of his blanky. That's my boy. :)

Baby girl is still doing well. I had a check-up yesterday, and everything is as it should be. I'm feeling ok most of the time - just the normal pregnancy woes.
Today Micah and I are headed to "Touch-a-Truck" in Cuyahoga Falls. Tomorrow we're going camping with a few families from church. (If you just pictured my 34-week pregnant body trying to get in and out of a tent, you can laugh. I don't mind.) It's only for one night, so I think it will be a lot of fun.

I'll leave you with one more "Micah spelling". Yesterday I paused the TV while watching a show. It just happened that the screen was black with just the "FOX" logo in the corner. Micah looked at the screen and said "F-O-X....TV!"

Micah's Spelling

Here's a few of Micah's attempts at "reading". He's so enthusiastic with his proclamations that I don't bother to correct him.

- (upon arriving at the grocery store and seeing the "GIANT EAGLE" sign) "E-A-G-L-E .....store!"

- (looking at his name label on his cup) "u-a-c-i-M.....water!"

- (tracing the letters on the trunk of my Toyota) "A-T-O-T-O-Y-O-T.....Mommy's car!"

Happy 5th of July

After the lameness of the Memorial Day parade, we asked around to find out who had a good Independence Day parade. We were not disappointed. The Stow parade was an hour and forty-five minutes long!! I've never seen anything like it! It just kept coming and coming!



Micah talked non-stop on the drive there, mostly about the fire trucks and police cars he was going to see. However, when the firetrucks led off the parade, it was a bit too loud for him to handle. He retreated to a safe distance from the road and covered his ears with Daddy.



He much preferred the marching band (or anything playing music) and a lot of the political candidates with their interesting convertibles and old cars. We avoided most of the candy (and there was LOTS of it!), but we did go up to the road when the Little Tikes float came by. They gave Micah a plastic baseball and a wrench! It doesn't get much better than that.

Oh, and did I mention it was hot? Fortunately there were trees nearby for us to take breaks under. Two hours in ninety degree sunshine is a bit much. If you look closely in the picture above, you may be able to see the beads of sweat dripping down Micah's forehead.
Even with the heat, it was two hours well-spent. We had a great time having family fun. :)

Catch up

It's been a week since I posted! I think I'll blame it on being pregnant. (I can only use that excuse for 8 more weeks, so I might as well live it up.)

Micah is loving being in his big boy room. He is excited to show it to anyone that comes over. Nap times and bed times have been a little easier because he's excited to get in his bed. His old room has now become baby sister's room. When Gramme was here she gave it a fresh coat of paint and helped me make a roman shade for the window. I've had a lot of fun put things away and getting it ready for our little girl. The beautiful dragonfly bedding and decorations were a hand-me-down gift from our friends, the Wagners.

One of Micah's new obsessions is his blue shoes. Nana bought him a pair of crocs when she came to visit. I thought it would be nice for him to have shoes that he could easily get on by himself for running out to get the mail or little things like that. I had no idea that he would love them so much that he wants to wear them everywhere! At first he had trouble walking and keeping them on his feet, but now he can run and play with no problem.

He has also become very interested in reading his Bible. He likes hearing the stories, but he also enjoys reading it to himself or to us. (Sometimes he uses real words; sometimes just babble.) Here he is reading to himself one Sunday morning before church.

For Christmas last year, Scott gave me the gift of a cake-decorating class. I postponed signing up at first because of the fatigue and nausea of my first trimester. Last month I realized I'd better get going before I have a newborn! In four sessions I had fun and learned a lot of practical advice for layering, icing, and decorating cakes. It will take a lot of practice to be good at it, but now I at least know what to work on. Here was my cake from the last week. Micah thought it was both lovely and delicious. :)