6 Month Update!

First of all, thank you Hubby for updating about our current computer status. I'm trying iPad blogging for now, pray for our computer if you have some prayers to spare!  Totally kidding, if you are sparing prayers, pray for our fetus. :)

I am 6 months pregnant!  25 weeks to be exact.  And man do I feel it!  I am still feeling great, it's definitely the best I have ever felt pregnant.  The amount of times I pee in the middle of the night has doubled.  Literally doubled.  Which is less an enjoyable, and around this time I start looking forward to a little squeezable breastfeeding baby waking me up, rather than a full bladder AGAIN.  Also, when the phone rings, I'll jump off the couch thinking I can just run and get it, and then suddenly remember (by the pain I feel) that I have an infant in my belly.  Moving slower these days!  

I am SO thankful that Reagan walks now!  It is much easier not having to carry her everywhere, not to mention hilarious watching her become more independent.  And putting on Reilly's boots and traipsing around the house. :) 

Reilly is becoming such a good helper lately.  She is always bringing me a diaper, finding the eye drops, helping clean up, getting Reagan a toy to make her happy.  I am concentrating more on special "big girl" activities that she can be excited about so there isn't just responsibility associated with being the oldest in the house, but special things too.  She has started helping me cook, and she loves it!  She is such a good big sister, and really loves being "little mommy" as she calls it.

Hubby has started calling me his loving pregnancy nickname that he always uses: chubby.  Our daughter reminded him that "it's not nice to call adults chubby!", so she squashed that one pretty quick. (She is allowed to call babies chubby, however. :) )

I find it to be so fun to be pregnant at a completely different time of year this time around! With Reilly I got pregnant in early September, and with Reagan in July.  So those pregnancies overlapped and were the same months pretty much...beginning in warm weather, middle in the winter, baby comes early Spring.  Experiencing summer being pregnant, looking forward to the fall being third trimester, and having the Christmas season with new baby is so exciting.  Winter time here is always very cozy, cuddly, cabin-fevery anyway...so we might as well set up camp indoors with our Christmas movies, hot cocoa, and our littlest beanie baby! 

Someone at the park asked me today how hard it is being pregnant with 2 little ones.  She seemed amazed that the girls and I were playing by the lake, covered in sand, making castles, running to chase both.  I realized how natural it has been, and how thankful I am that this pregnancy hasn't affected our mobility this summer.  Aside from moving a bit slower and needing help pushing the stroller uphill, little baby has just been along for the ride, and what a blessing this pregnant summer has been.

Computer

Hey everyone!

I want to apologize for my wife because I think I killed our computer.  She will be blogging again by tomorrow afternoon (hopefully), but we have been out of commission for a little bit.

She still loves all of you and misses posting all of our deepest darkest secrets online.

Sincerely,

Daddy

Our Family Staycation Vacation

Once a year in August, Mima and Papa, Mima and E, and Uncle E come to visit for a whole week!  This year Alyssa came too.  We always have the best time!  Here are millions of pictures of the fun :)

 We had lots of long days by the lake, playing with our coloring books and other fun activities.

 Reagan LOVES coloring, and it's just the cutest thing ever.  Most of the time she lays sprawled on her belly, kicking her legs around. Hilarious.  But only crayons for her...she eats markers.  Straight up bites the tips right off.  So we aren't quite up to that yet. :)

 But boy did she love toddling around in the fresh air!

 My little peanuts with their coloring book and magnet princess puzzles. :)

 We played several rounds of "Pony Girl", which always gets the biggest giggles when Papa does it!  It's a song that he used to sing to us when we were little, and now my babygirls love it too. :)

Can't you just hear the giggles??

 Reagan having a little snack, and getting ready for nap with her little blankie.  That thing is GOLD.  As soon as she holds it, her thumb is in her mouth, and her head is on her shoulder.  She is ready for bed instantly.  Without it...there is no settling down.  Which reminds me, I need to go buy a backup one.  It's just not worth the panic when it goes missing!

 "Up!" (which sounds like "Ut!")

CHEESE!! 

 I think she starts giggling as soon as she sees Papa!

 The girlies had a great time playing in the sand too.  It cracks me up how Reagan imitates Reilly and really digs and fills her bucket.

 Speaking of imitating, Reagan now does or says EVERYTHING that Reilly says.  Literally everything.  Mimi had a talk with Reilly about being a "role model" for Reagan, so now that's our new key word in the house.  Reilly is very aware of being a role model for her sissy.

Mima arrived after a few days! Hurray!

 We played lots of games with Nessa.  I love watching her with other kids, I could do it all day. 

 The water balloon made her a bit nervous. Hehe.  She apparently thought it was going to be loud!

 

Reagan playing with her little pal Jammer!

They were the cutest little pair.

 We were so excited when Mimi arrived!  We didn't even let the cloudy weather ruin our day!

 We had the funnest time sitting by the pool, having snacks and doing sticker books.  At some point, either Reilly or Mimi pretended to be a bird, and then all of us just communicated by saying "Tweet tweet!" for the rest of the morning. :)  It was hilarious, Reilly thought it was the best thing ever.

Things not photographed: the longggg naps that were taken every afternoon, which is why there are so many smiles throughout the day. :)  After such full days, they were both exhausted (and definitely let us know), so the girlies afternoon naps were very imperative.  More pictures and fun tomorrow! :)

Siblings

I am reminded every day of the gift that we are giving our children by giving them siblings.

 

 

Th gift of friendship.  The gift of laughter.  The gift of togetherness. 

The gift of a life full of making wonderful memories with each other.

Adventures in Blueberry Picking

When Matthew asked if we had any plans last weekend because he wanted to come visit, I told him yes.  Yes, we have very important plans that cannot be broken.  We are blueberry picking.  Our busy schedule is set in stone here. But that we would love if he joined us!

 So Uncle Matt, Alyssa, and their friends came on a blueberry picking adventure.  Have you ever seen two manlier men?

 This is as soon as we got into the fields.  Notice what Uncle Matt and Reilly are BOTH doing.  Yes, they are chewing.  No matter how many time Mama tells them, no eating the berries!  Geez these kids.

 Getting the hang of the picking.

 Two beauties on a gorgeous day!

Me and my girl.  This day really was gorgeous...it was breezy, in the 70's and just the perfect amount of summer warmth.  I didn't feel uncomfortable heat all day, and yet the sun was shining the whole day.

 You couldn't ask for a better little 3 year old.  This girl is just the best.

 "Look Mommy, a RAINBOW one!"

 Showing off her new walking skills to Uncle Matt. "Hey wait...are there BLUEBERRIES ALL OVER THE GRASS?! This is glorious!!"

 Trying to play referee between Reagan and the millions of ground-berries.

 Obviously failing, because she just thought a blueberry covered ground was the greatest thing since walking!

 We couldn't get equal enthusiasm out of the girls, but Uncle Matt was very excited to be picking. :)

 She loves Uncle Matt!

 A sweet picture of the cutest couple ev.

 And then someone made them laugh, and they just got CUTER. ;)

 Whenever there are other humans around us, I can't resist asking them to take a family shot.  Because one of us is always behind the camera, I like to take advantage of getting us all in together.  And plus, the more you take, the better chance of getting one where everyone is looking and smiling!  And maybe not nose picking!

 

And then Reagan waved at the camera, like she does to everyone these days, and so we all decided to wave. And then we got one of my favorite family pictures ever of family pictures. The girls faces just kill me. :)

 The two handed Reagan wave! Reserved for when she's really excited to see you.

Reilly decided then would be a good time to stroll by her lonesome down the blueberry patch.  I swear, she is an old soul.  I mean, what could she be thinking about?  She looks like she's contemplating a lot in her ruffley little dress. :)

It was a great day, ending with ice creams cones and honey sticks.  I love a nice day trip to the local blueberry patch.  (I love that we live in a place that has a local blueberry patch! Still not used to the country living, and I hope I never get used to it.)