National Night Out

Every year our neighborhood participates in National Night Out, which is an event to encourage neighborhood solidarity and prevent crime. Sponsers provide free hot dogs and ice cream, and the organizers put together activities for the kids. Ally was a week old, so we thought it'd be a great "coming out" party for her. We got her all dressed up, but she ended up sleeping through the whole thing! Sophia wasn't too sure what to think about Smokey The Bear. When she saw him, her first response was "Uh.....Mommy, that bear is wearing a belt!"

Like most kids, Sophia loves firetrucks, so she was thrilled to get the chance to see a firetruck up close.

She even got to climb inside! She was shy and didn't say a word when she was in the truck, but she has talked about being in a firetruck every day since then.

Sophia and her buddies had a great time climbing on the firetruck.

We are so fortunate to live in such a tight knit community. Next we need to have an event to kick the skunks out the neighborhood!

Ally's First Condo Trip

Well, our daughter is quickly coming up on 2 weeks old, we figure she was a bit overdue for a trip to our condo in the Lake Tahoe area. What a success! She slept well, ate well, and enjoyed the great outdoors!

Of course, Sophia had a great time too! Here she is on a mountain bike ride with Daddy:

With so many trails nearby, Daddy wasn't sure which way to go. Sophia used some of her Dora the Explorer map-reading skills to help us find our way again!!

She also enjoyed getting off the bike and hiking a bit. It's hard to go far, though, with all the sticks, rocks, and dirt to play in!!

We had such a great time, and Ally really enjoyed her first family hike. Can't wait to go back!

I leave for 20 minutes....

...and come home to find my 2 year old saying this:



I have a feeling the next time I leave Sophia alone with Daddy she'll be asking for a jet ski!

Summertime....And The Livin's Easy

We've had such a great summer so far. I love the summer weather and we've been fairly lucky this year with only a handfull of days over 100 degrees. That has translated into lots of time spent enjoying the outdoors.
One of the highlights of our summer so far was spending a day with the Shaws on their houseboat. Sophia was a natural at driving the boat and had fun hanging out with Shannon and Ian.

After the trip, Sophia kept saying "Daddy and Sophie need a boat Mommy." Hmmmm....can't imagine who gave her that idea!

We live within 2 miles of the Sacramento and American rivers, so we've also spent several afternoons lounging on the river shores. A favorite father-daughter activity is to take a bike ride to the beach. Sophia loves playing in the sand and looking for sea lions (they actually make their way up to Sacramento all the time and are easy to spot most days.) My favorite river side activity this summer has been digging a hole in the sand for my belly and laying on my stomach. It's funny how you don't think twice about something like that until you have to go 9 months without it.

We've visited the local sprayground a couple times, but Sophia is a little more timid this year than she was last year.

We've also spent countless afternoons hanging out in the neighborhood. The Hannah-Bird pool is the favorite hangout and Sophia always has fun swimming with her BFF's.

And of course we've racked up many hours playing in our own backyard.

Our summer activites may change pretty dramatically once Allyson arrives, but I'm sure we'll still have a great summer together as a family of four. And I'll finally be able to enjoy a cold beer ~ woohoo!!

9 1/2 Months

Since I'm in the final stretch now, I have actually had 2 appointments since my last pregnancy post. Last week my OB called in sick so I saw the nurse practitioner. My weight and blood pressure were great and my group B strep was negative. The room I was in had an u/s machine, so the NP decided to sneak a peek just because. Baby looked great, was head down, and had lots of fluid. And once again, she had her hand folded up over her eye and was sucking on her arm, just like her big sis! The NP thought my cervix was still high and closed, but soft and 70% effaced. My belly was measuring right on track too, so she predicted I'll have another 7ish pound baby right around my due date.

I had my 38 week appt on Wednesday, and again my blood pressure and weight were great. My doctor said I felt 30% effaced and fingertip dilated, so I'm not sure if there's really been any progress. I was glad I had an appt because the day before I started having a lot of itching. My hands were itching enough that it was waking me up. Itching can be another common complaint of pregnancy, but it can also be a sign of cholestasis, which is a liver/gallbladder condition that can develop in late pregnancy. My doctor didn't think I needed blood work at this point, but she said if the itching wasn't better by my appt next week, we'd talk about an induction.

The itching has been coming and going, and I'm actually hoping it continues because I've officially hit the "I'm-so-sick-of-being-pregnant" point. And on top of feeling miserably pregnant, I've come down with a cold, which is so unfair.

We're all ready for Allyson to arrive now: the bags are packed, the diapers are out, and all the baby gear is set up, so hopefully the wait won't be too much longer.

Fourth of July

As usual, we had another fun packed Fourth of July this year. Sophie and I actually started the festivities the day before by picking blackberries and making a homemade blackberry pie. Yum! After we washed our blackberry-stained fingers, we painted our nails red and blue. This was a huge treat for Sophia, and she proudly showed off her fancy nails to anyone and everyone!

The next morning we got ready for the neighborhood kids parade. Sophia looked adorable in her red, white and blue dress, which she now calls her "Tinkerbell dress." I'm not sure why she calls it this, but comparing something to Tinkerbell is the highest compliment in her book! She was fascinated by her bejeweled tattoos, as were all the other girls in the neighborhood (yay for Target dollar bins!).

She proudly waved the flag she made at KidsPark the day before.

After getting a sufficient sugar high from doughnuts and orange juice, we marched proudly around the neighborhood with all the other kiddos. It was so much fun that Sophia cried when it was time to go home!

After the parade, we met the Clavennas and Samuel-Burnetts for brunch. Sophia's blood sugar was apparently dropping rapidly, so she wasn't at her best, but it was great to catch up with friends.

After brunch, we went home and all took some much needed naps. We then moved the celebration poolside to Gary and Suzanne's annual barbecue. After swimming and stuffing ourselves with chips, chicken wings and sausage, the Samuel-Burnetts joined us again for the fireworks.

Sophia has never seen fireworks, so we weren't sure if she'd like all the noise, but she LOVED them! She couldn't contain her excitement and was literally jumping out of her seat.

She and Teddy looked absolutely adorable sitting together.

We even caught Teddy trying to sneak in a kiss or two! So cute!

Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures

We have several great pictures we've taken lately that haven't made the blog yet, so I thought I post them all at once.

Bathing Beauty

Meeting 2 week old Anelia Werner

Playing with Mommy's hat

Muaaah!

Swinging on the Beach: Does life get much better than this??

On the Merry-go-round at the zoo: a close second to swinging on the beach!

Snuggling with Gramma on Mother's Day

Blissfully showing off her Oreo cookie goatee