Out of Town Playdate!

We have friends that live in Hilton Head (only about 10 or 15 minutes from our hotel actually) so we headed over there house for a playdate after lunch.  The kids had a blast playing outdoors most of the time we were there.

Makena and Katelynn

I had left our swimsuits and things at the hotel, not expecting any water fun so Jenn loaned us some clothes that the kids could get wet in and have fun!

Justin didn't have much interest in the water fun that the other three were involved in.  He was way more excited about the leaf blower and the rubber rain boots than anything else!  Ha,ha.

I changed him anyway, but he wouldn't give up the boots and hung out on the bike a little ways from the water instead.

Red Light, Green Light! 

.. And at the end we had to try out some dress up clothes before leaving!

Midnight Swim

Okay, technically it was not midnight.  It was only 7 p.m. but it was a late swim for my kids.  After Grandma Carney spent the day in meetings, the kids were dying to have some fun in the water with her.  It was a bit chilly as the sun went down, but again, my water girl did not mind one bit.  While they should have been going to bed, Mommy let them bend the rules (we were on vacation afterall!) and let them spend 30 minutes in the pool before getting ready for bed.

Justin spent most of his time on the first step and then finally ventured into the second step.  It was cold so I don't blame him one bit for taking it slow!

Hilton Head Island: Day One!

Daddy had to take a trip out of town for the weekend to Houston, and the kids and I were going to be stuck at home on our own until we heard Grandma had a convention for work in Hilton Head Island, SC.  She invited us to join her down there for some fun on the beach, and we couldn't resist. 

Grandpa Carney came too and kept us company while Grandma Carney was in her work meetings.  It was pretty windy on the beach Friday, but we still made the best of it and had a good time!

If you can't already tell, Katelynn is my beach girl.  She LOVES the ocean as much as her mommy does.  The cold did not affect her; she fell into the ocean several times running and playing with the waves and while it was freezing, she didn't even flinch.  She loves the freedom of running along the ocean!

As usual, Katelynn took advantage of the flat ground and had to do some of her gymnastics moves.  You can't take her anywhere without her having to try out some cartwheels and crab walks!

Justin has been in a refusing-to-nap mode lately, but the beach wore him out and he crashed in my arms for a nice nap on the beach!

Dance Costumes have arrived

I can't believe it's that time of year already, but Katelynn's dance recital is just three short weeks away.  Today we had to dress her up in her costume to get her pictures taken at dance.  Their song this year is "Crocodile Rock".

K's dance class is pretty big this year.  This is probably not even half the girls in her class.  The little girl on the left of Katelynn is going to be in Katelynn's preschool class next year!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

Our day today was filled with birthday parties!  I only remembered to bring my camera inside to the last party we went to (Kendall's 5th birthday) but hopefully I'll get some copies of some other parent's pictures from prior to this party. 

Kendall's party was outside at their house, and my kids had a blast! 

Trampoline (Katleynn is the one in dark green who is in the air- far right)

Katelynn and Schyler (a school friend)

Cake Time!  (Katelynn, Emma, Schyler)

The boys eating cake- Justin and Luke (only 2 weeks apart in age.. this is Kendall's little brother)

Katelynn and birthday girl Kendall

So there are a lot of these next few pictures, but I couldn't pick a favorite.  They are all cracking me up.  Kendall's backyard had a hill that they put a slip and slide down for the kids.  Most of the kids only did it once or twice and then they were freezing and gave up.  Not Katelynn.  She and two other friends must have spent over 30 minutes on this thing.  I was freezing in my tank top and capris without getting wet.  The temperature dropped this afternoon in preparation for a thunderstorm and it was kind of cold.  You would have never guessed by the fun Katelynn had.... you also would never guess she actually thought the slip and slide was fun based on the faces she is making in most of these pictures (which were multiple trips down) but she had a ball!

(Is this picture big enough on here to see that she is holding her breath?  It makes me laugh.  There were little sprays of water halfway down and she was holding her breath to avoid getting any water in her nose or mouth.)

The boys were content with the puddles that were being left by the slip and slide.  I thought Justin was going to go for the slip and slide big time.  When I went to grab the kid's swim suits from the car, I came back to find Justin at the top of the hill removing his shoes and ready to head down with his clothes on.  He did start to go down it after I got his swim suit on, but then started crying.  I'm not sure if it was because one of Katelynn's friends jumped on behind him and was trying to ride with him or if it was because he didn't like the spray, but I couldn't get him back on it after that.  He also gave up completely with the water once someone went down the slip and slide and splashed him from his puddle hopping area. 

My kids defintely had a day full of fun.  Will they be exhausted and sleep all night?  Probably not but here's to hoping....

A Carwashing-Popsicle Eating Kind of Day

It was yet another gorgeous day today here in North Carolina!  After Katelynn got out of preschool, we spent yet another full afternoon playing outdoors.  The kids and I decided to wash my van as some added fun today.  I thought it was the greatest idea to get something done and make it fun for them...... not so sure I'll do it again as it was a lot more work for this pregnant mommy than I was expecting!  I knew the kids would get soaked, but Justin made sure to soak me too!  We did have some fun, but for all the work, my van didn't turn out quite as clean as I would have liked.  I think it still needs another wash!  Ha,ha.

As you can see, Justin thought making puddles and splashing everyone (himself included- see the second picture) was way more fun than actually spraying the van.

It was a great day for popsicles too!  (We actually had these before we washed the car, but it would have made a great after treat had we thought about it prior to!)

Only 12 more weeks to go!

Slowly but surely I am moving along in this pregnancy.  I am officially 27 weeks pregnant today.  It still seems like a while to go until we can meet our little guy, but I can be induced in 12 weeks from today, and when I think about it that way, it doesn't seem that long away!  The first 12 weeks of my pregnancy went pretty fast so this can too, right?  I love feeling him move all over in there, but I am just ready to hold him and watch his big sister and brother interact and love on him!

I had my 26-week appointment last week and was shocked to hear that I already have to start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now!  That is another great sign that I'm moving along!  I had my gestational diabetes test at that appointment, and I passed with flying colors!  After drinking that sugar drink, this little guy gave the nurse a run for her money when she was trying to get his heartbeat.  Everytime she would get the doppler on my stomach in the right spot to hear his heartbeat, he would move away and she would have to go chasing him.  The game went on for several minutes before he finally stayed put long enough to get a reading (144 bpm).  We laughed so hard because it was like he was purposely moving away from her to play a game!  I guess that means we will have yet a third child with a mind of his own (not that I expect anything less!).  I have been having a few "issues" that I mentioned to the OB (it wasn't my regular OB at the visit), and she thought they sounded like contractions and instructed me to get in immediately if I had more than four an hour.  I have tried slowing down and not doing as much since then (which is hard for me, especially with two kids), but it seems to be helping as I haven't had anything as severe as I was having.  (I was having what I describe as heartburn in my stomach.  It was significant enough that I would have to stop and not move until it passed after a minute.  These always started after a long day of running around,  lifting Justin and laundry baskets, etc.  I never had any type of contractions prior to active labor with my last two so this is new to me.)  I would go nuts on bedrest though and this baby can't come just yet so I am trying to slow down and sit more often! 

Here's my belly at 27 weeks today!