Fun Weekend Recap...

I love 4th of July!

It's probably my favorite holiday of all times.

Even though I didn't get to swim and ride jet ski's this year,

Hubs and the "big kids" did and had a blast!

Our weekend was cram packed.

We started on Saturday with a 2hr car ride to my aunt and uncles house on the lake.

I was very unsure about the ride.

It was going to be our first trial run for our Colorado trip in August.

Yes, we're that crazy.

(and have been anticipating that Carlos is as good of a traveler as Bug and Ace have been)

Anyways, back to Saturday...

I actually took pictures!!

Aunt Bec and Uncle K were there,

Aunt Bec monopolized Carlos most of the day...

she had some time to make up  :)

The kids spent most of the day in the water...

this would be why Ace fell asleep about 30 seconds after we put the car in drive!

(and yes, that's our Sweet Girl, jumping off the dock just like the big boys!)

(the girl is fearless)

This is where I spent most of my day, when not feeding Carlos.

The covered porch, with the help of shade and a fan, was actually quite a comfortable place to sit, visit and watch the kids.

We had a great time with my dad's side of the family.

There's always plenty of kids and lots of visiting.

On Sunday, after church, we had family nap time and headed to "Nana's".

Nana, is not actually my kids Nana, but the funny thing about growing up in a close knit church family is that you actually feel like family.

Nana is one of Gram and Grandpa's friends that they've know since before they were married.

Any-who, Nana has a pool, and a big 4th of July fellowship every year.

There was lot's more swimming, visiting, and fun.

Carlos stayed in the living room getting loved on by all of the ladies, which I was thankful for, because it gave me a chance to watch Bug, Ace and Hubs in the pool.

(They always bring him straight back at feeding time :) it's the funny thing about nursing!)

And guess what...I took more pics!

Bug with her friend Mac.

My crazy boy!

Sweet Girl with BFF.

Our goofball nephew Ry.

Ace had a great time being tossed in by "Napin!"

Anybody who has tried to pick up Ace lately now knows how strong "Napin" is!

Just a few of our church family hanging out, enjoying the entertainment.

And my sweet Bug, who wanted nothing to do with the diving board, but has proved herself as a fearless pyrotechnic this year!

We wrapped up our weekend with the actual 4th of July.

We made our way to Granny and Poppy's small town for their festivities.

Hubs grilled burgers and hotdogs for a late lunch/early supper, then we pulled our lawn chairs out to watch the parade, that went right by the house!

Why yes, that is Uncle Sam...in his golf cart!

After the parade, there was a mean game of baseball...

Everybody got in on the fun!

I anticipate that next year Carlos will be in the thick of this next year...

but this time, he just chilled!

And, probably the funniest part of the afternoon,

Bug giving Hubs ballet lessons!

Cracked me up!

She became quite the ballerina this year!

After all that fun, we cooled off in the house before heading a couple of blocks over to watch the fireworks.

It was a great show, and we had the best seats!

I am so proud of Ace for finally conquering his fear of fireworks...he ended up having the best time next to his Aunt LeighLeigh!

It was the most fun weekend in a while.

I'm so thankful for all of the family time!

Hubs and I have gotten so used to not spending holidays together because of our weird schedules, so this was a real treat.

Hope you all had a great Independence Weekend!

2 Weeks!

Yesterday marked 2 weeks of having Carlos in our arms.

Also, marked his actual "due date.

I already wonder what we ever did without him in our family...

well, except for sleep more than 3 hrs at a time :)

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Hubs bought a new camera in anticipation of Carlos, but honestly, I've not been using it like I should...it makes me nervous.

It takes great pictures, but I'm scared of caring it around.

But, this weekend, I decided to keep it out and use it.

I'm trying my best to soak in all of our moments this  summer.

It becomes more and more real every day that these are the last of our baby days and I want to be able to remember all of this time together.

So...

Carlos is 2 weeks old.

He's in size 1 diapers

Nurses like a champ

Sleeps a lot

Has about 2 "awake"stretches a day

(We appreciate when the last one takes place BEFORE 11pm)

Makes funny faces like ACE

Is the best snuggler

Is just a sweet boy.

And I feel like, over the weekend, he grew 2 inches.

We are loving this boy!

Oh So Random...

Friday we had to travel "to town" for some errands.

After hair cuts, a Dr. appointment, and a run to Sam's we were all ready for lunch.

Hubs decided to head to one of our favorite BBQ places.

What happened next will go down as probably one of the most random, exciting things for him ever.

I'm worried it may trump the recent birth of his new son.

OK, so as we walked in one door, Josh Hamilton and his wife walked in the other.

I'm not joking...Hubs could barely form a complete sentence.

He might have peed his pants.

Josh is his most favorite baseball player...

he spent the night outside in the cold with his brother and SIL for the chance to meet him this winter.

I had to take over ordering and paying for lunch, because he couldn't quit staring.

It was really cute :)

Turns out, the guy is super nice.

Hubs let him finish his lunch and took the kids out to meet him, and he spent about 5 min talking to them.

SIL drove like a mad woman with Uncle J's Josh Hamilton jersey and bat.

Here's a few pics we got...

This is ACE finally finding out who Hubs was talking about

It was priceless.

Ace loves to watch Josh hit "bombdiggities" aka homeruns!

Thank-you Josh Hamilton for deciding to eat lunch at our favorite BBQ joint...

you made my family's day!

Staying Busy...

One of our biggest challenges being at home as a family of 5 has been...

being at home.

We are normally a very "out and about" family, 

so I shouldn't be surprised about Cabin Fever.

It's been made worse by 100 degree outside temps.

So, we've done a lot of chilling in the AC...

and have gotten creative with at home activities...

We've turned the sprinkler on the trampoline

and I even bought Play-dough...

(for those who don't know me well, I HATE the stuff...

however, it keeps the "big kids" occupied and busy for extended periods of time)

This is Bug's Solar System...

Yes, those are all the planets.

She specifically demanded requested a picture be taken and

"put on Facebook or the Internet".

What is the world coming to??

We've also been trying to spend as much time in the evenings, after dinner, when the heat is tolerable outside.  Ace loves to play baseball and golf.  Bug has taken an interest in basketball and been practicing her dribbling up and down the driveway!

Last night some of our neighbors were shooting fireworks down the street.

Ace headed indoors (hates them), Bug and I (and Carlos) watched for a few minutes...

the poor guy was getting a little sweaty snuggled up to me, so I plopped him down in Ace's chair for a few minutes...so cute!

That's what we're up to lately...

hope all of you are finding fun ways to stay cool and avoid Cabin Fever! 

We're looking forward to a busy holiday weekend...

lots of family and friends will be meeting out new guy for the first time,

we're going to try out a long day trip in hopes that Carlos is as good of a traveler as Bug and Ace were,

and Oh, do we have a fun story to blog for later!

On another quick note...

Carlos had a well baby visit this morning.

Here's his new stats...

Up to 8lbs 14oz (from 8lb 9oz last week)

and has grown a whole 3/4in!

He's a perfect, growing, healthy boy!

Really loving this boy.

Our Carlos!

He's here!

Yes, a HE.

So for all bloggy purposes we'll just keep with Carlos for now :)

He's beautiful.

Huge

and we are all so much in love already!

He was a whopping 9lbs 7.8oz, 20.5in!

Countdown...

Carlos will be here soon.

Everything, good and bad is starting to sink in.

Sometimes it gets overwhelming.

Exciting and

Scary

I have to give birth.

Until about a week or so ago that seemed like no biggie...

I mean, I help girls through it all the time.

Now all of the potential complications start creeping in my brain.

So, while trying to keep my inner freak out at bay,

and attempting to remind my inner control freak to chill,

I've decided it's time to focus on a few of the things going on around here.

First, I have the most amazing parents in the world.

They've seen a LOT of me and the kids lately.

In my advanced stages of bigness and tiredness and Hubs being away for some long stretches, I've hovered towards my mom and dad.

Especially since we reached the time frame of when my water broke with ACE

(37 wks, which I'm sad to report did NOT happen this time, grr!)

I'm thankful that they've just taken us on.

ACE

Cracks me up.

He's been the most involved with Carlos.

Constantly hugging and kissing my belly, talking to it.

The other day, when I got home from work and was standing in the doorway of the living room, he lifted up my shirt, pulled the panel of my pants below my belly, started squeezing on either side, looks up at me and says

"Mom, I'm wreally ready for our baby to be here...

even though I know all it's going to do is cry."

BUG

Informed me the last night that

"If this baby doesn't get here by Monday, I'm out!"

Not really sure what she's out of, but I giggled anyways.

She's done a great job of helping out recently.

I think she's kind of picked up on the fact that I'm tired and just not able to do some of the things I've always done.

Love that girl.

Hubs

Well, I chose to have more kids with him for a reason.

He's great.

Currently, as I type, he's getting the yard mowed and the garage back to where I can park in it.

People that know us IRL know that he gives me a hard time, but he loves his family, and is just as excited and nervous as me about everything that's about to happen.

I'm excited that he's able to take FMLA with me this time

(with ACE he had just started at the fire dept. and didn't have much time off banked)

So, he'll be here with us for over 2 weeks straight before he goes back to work after the baby is born, and has also arranged to take off about a month later on to help get the kids back to school and me back to work.

Names,

believe it or not,

we're still not settled on.

We've thrown a few around, but could potentially see this baby and go totally different directions.

Hubs named BUG the day we found out she was a girl.

He picked a name that wasn't awful, and I jumped on it.

ACE...well, I just won't go into the details, it wasn't pretty.

We did finally name him for sure about 2 weeks before he was born, but decided since we'd gone so long without one, we didn't reveal it to our family and friends until after he was born.

This baby, who knows.

I may even be surprised :)

So, I'll quit being sentimental and teary.

Quit blogging for now, and go finish up the last check boxes on my list of things to get done before Carlos arrives. 

Hubs and Ace are set to install the infant car seat today, and I'm on a clean floor and laundry mission.

Still need to pack the kids an overnight bag and a hospital fun bag.

I'm most looking forward to this experience for them.

They're both so excited.

Please pray for us this next week.

We are hoping for a quick, easy birth, and a healthy baby.

I'm not so silly to think everything will go the way I've got it in my head, but for sure know that everything will work out according to His plan.