Monday, May 25, 2009

Como Zoo!


This is Erin's first trip to the zoo. We went to Como Zoo as it is free and I remember going there as a kid. I also love the zoo so it was fun for me too. Thankfully the weather was perfect. We drove through some rain on the way there, but it was sunny and in the low 70's, a pregnant woman's dream! My brother Ben and his girlfriend Katie (whom we all adore!) live very close to the zoo so we all went together.

Here are the huge turtles that they have and Erin looking at them.




These are the African hoofed animals and it smelled like poo in this area, so whenever Erin sees this pictures all she says is "stinky".

It was nap time for the large cats, but they were still very cool to see. Erin was getting quite tired by this time so we had to move quickly to avoid toddler melt-down.



When Erin saw the giraffes she was so excited and BEGGED to ride them. . . the real ones. We eventually got her to settle for the fake ones, but had to wait in a small line for other families to get their pictures. Of course once it was our turn some rude family walked right up in front of us and put their kids on the giraffes instead. So as we kept talking to Erin about waiting, being patient, and taking turns it's the adults who needed the talk instead.








It was surreal to see these gorillas for me this time. They are so big I would hate to meet one in the jungle. There were some gorillas inside as well and Erin was amused by the one that was picking it's nose and eating their buggers.









We saw the short seal show, but we didn't make it there in time to get a seat. Erin had a good spot though, Ben is a little over 6 feet tall. She loved the way his hair felt so she just kept rubbing his head the whole time.





Here is Erin with Katie, Ben's girlfriend. She is the best and so pretty!


I remember coming here and were able to buy a little bit of fish and feed the seals, but it you can't feed them anymore.

They have an old carousel here too, and Scott took Erin on it. She was beyond tired by this time and it was a creative chore to keep her happy. Once she got on her horse she was happy, and then when it started to spin a huge smile spread across her face. Getting her off was a whole different matter. . . tears and more tears. So what did we do, went to McDonalds and got her chicken nuggets, fries and a little pop. We didn't leave my brother's apartment until about 3:30 and Erin was asleep in about 4 minutes after we took off. She has never fallen asleep that fast in the car!




Baby stuff is going well. I have given Izzy her own pillow and that has helped tremendously with my sleep. My back pain is nearly gone, which is so great because I NEED my sleep! Contractions seem under control even with getting some stuff around the house.
We got the peppers and tomatoes in the ground the past few days. There were nearly 40 tomato plants to put in the ground with their corresponding steaks. Scott was kind enough to cut me some steaks out of branches that were laying around our property, as well as dig the majority of the holes for them. Now we have cucumbers, melons and corn left to plant! Plus we have decided that we need some sort of fence to keep the deer out as they seem to enjoy nibbling on my vegetable babies. Then find someone who has some straw for sale to mulch the garden so we don't go crazy with having to weed all summer. I have a feeling that we may be busy with other things.
I have another midwife appointment on Wednesday and as long as things are still looking good Erin and I will be headed to see my dad for the weekend.
My brother Jon is leaving for basic training on June 7th!!! So we are having a little going away party for him on Tuesday. Also with other big news. . . he got married on the 27th! That boy and so much stuff at once. . . enough to make a pregnant woman go crazy!

Friday, May 22, 2009

32 Week Appointment News.

No dilation and baby Izzy has not dropped at all, so those are very good things. My midwife is still concerned with all the contractions that I have and really wants me to make it at least another 4 weeks. The end of June is my goal as I will be 37 weeks pregnant by then. She said as long as I am not having more than 4 contractions in an hour that I am okay, but to call them right away if I am having 4 or more.

She also wants me to take it easy and not do anything that is strenuous or using a lot of abdominal muscles. And no lifting anything over 10 lbs. Poor Erin, she loves being picked up by mama.

So over all, I am very happy that there is no dilation and feel pretty confident that we will make it to at least 35 weeks.

On other Erin news, she now has decided to call her dad by his name most of the time. It is cute, but I think he has grown tired of it. He says it makes him feel like a step-dad. Such a silly girl.

I am getting more and more uncomfortable by the hour it seems. What has been the most frustrating is that my back hurts so much when I go to bed that I am not sleeping well. . . and I NEED my sleep! I'm already limited to my sides and when that causes pain as well I feel I am out of options and doomed to suffer uncomfortable, sleepless nights. Grrrrrr. . .

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

30 Week Pic.



Well here I am at 30 weeks pregnant. I had to take the picture myself, and it didn't turn out too bad. Things are going well still. I am trying to get last minute visits in before we have the baby and I am far too busy and tired to do anything but take care of her.




We had some Target gift cards leftover from Christmas so I used one to order a new diaper bag. The one we have is okay, but gets stuffed with just stuff for Erin. So I researched and found one that people loved for having more than one kid to bring stuff for. I am excited to get it and plan to pack it up as my hospital bag. It seems crazy that I should be doing that already!


My other brother Jon graduated on May 13th with an Accounting degree. We went to his graduation, but did have to leave early to get Erin to bed. For some reason the ceremony didn't start until 7pm and there was over an hour of speeches. Very hard to get an almost 3 year old to sit still for. But there were plenty of laps for her to travel to and they were happy to see her. My brother did inform us that afternoon that he had spoken with a recruiter and decided to join the Army Reserves. I was a bit shocked, and am scared because who knows what could happen!









We went to Forestville Park to hang out with some friends while they were fishing. Scott made Erin her own pole out of some string he found and a stick. He put a bobber on the end and she had tons of fun throwing it over the side of the bridge and pulling it back up.


Here she is holding a worm, and she also thought it would be a great idea to put one on mom's head. I'm very proud of her that she isn't afraid of them though.























Aparently the park was also a real town and some of the buildings are still there. The bridge is also only for foot traffic or hoof traffic as we had a few groups of prople on horseback ride through.














We did some pruning of one of the flower beds in the back yard. There was some sort of shrubbery thing that must have been planted 50 years ago as it was a monster! We cut and ripped that thing out of there and burnt it in our fire pit. Wonderfully enough there must have been some poison ivy somewhere in it because I got it on my arm and to my delight cleavage. As if I wasn't uncomfortable enough being pregnant now I itch!











We are absolutely loving our new home in the spring. Driving up our long driveway seems almost magical. We have discovered a raspberry patch and we have all three colors of lilacs as well. Lots of the flower beds and "curb appeal" has been sorely neglected, but we will whip it into shape little by little. There is tons of field stone on our property that we plan on putting to use whether in borders or even a patio! So many possibilities. I also ordered fruit trees as I have plenty of room. We already have some apple trees so I though I would try a pear, peach, plum and apricot. Who knows what will happen, but it can't hurt to try!


The latest antics of Erin. . . she had a poop accident in her underwear, didn't tell anyone and tried to take care of it herself. She must have pulled down her pants and the poo fell onto the floor. Well she couldn't have that so she used her little hands to scoop it up and put it in her potty chair, smearing it all over the floor. I found her carrying her potty bucket with the poo in it into the bathroom half naked. Somehow her hands were all clean though. She then informed me that the brand new toothbrush that I bought her was used to scrub the poo off her hands!!! Gross. I promptly threw that toothbrush in the garbage and she melted into a tearful puddle because she really did love that new toothbrush. . .it lit up when you pressed a button. However, I was able to teach her the lesson that poo does not and should not go into your mouth, it will make you sick.


I will try and keep updates coming about the baby!