September So Far

Oh, how I love this little boy!

Just a few random things that have happened in the first half of September.....

1. We found a new park that I absolutely love...Robert Burns Memorial Gardens. It's a series of gardens, pine trees and waterfalls. I think it is a beautiful place to walk, enjoy the beauty and of course, take pictures! Here is Nate with his buddy Jackson at the park:

2. Our ward had its annual "Corn Bust" which is a delicious excuse to get together and enjoy the corn that is locally grown. I thought it was a great turn-out, and one of the men in the ward brought his water balloon launcher. I don't think the kids could have been more thrilled, especially when he let them take a turn launching a water balloon. Here is Nate on one of his turns:

and watching the other kids' turns with Alden and Jackson:

3. I am 36 weeks pregnant today and certainly feeling every week of it. I'll post an updated belly shot soon, but until then you'll just have to trust me that I'm a big pregnant lady. This pregnancy has been sooooo different from my pregnancy with Nate. I still have my ankles, I am carrying way high and straight out (with Nate it was way high and wide...maybe some of you remember how wide....I hope not though!) I am loving the idea of having another sweet child join our family. Nate is really excited about having a little brother, and asks me every day if the baby is "ready to come out yet." Not yet, but.....

4. I've been scheduled for a repeat c-section on October 3 (that's less than three weeks away!ahhh!). It was totally my decision whether or not to have another c-section and I was in agony over the decision. I prayed and prayed and pondered and cried over what to do, and finally decided to schedule it so that I could have my own doctor, and not just whomever is on call, perform the surgery. But if baby boy decides to come before that, I'll just try to have a regular VBAC. That is the plan, anyways. I'm very nervous about the idea of surgery and recovery (especially with an active four-year-old at home) but my fears were lessened when I found out that....

5. My mom is coming to Calgary!!! She is coming for the birth of our little man, who will be her third grandson. She is going to come for 12 glorious days. I feel so grateful to her for coming, for my dad for letting her come, and for my younger siblings who are not putting up too much of a fight over her leaving them for that long! I feel much better about the whole thing now that I know my mommy will be here to help. Nate is counting down the days, too :)

6. Okay, last but not least, I had so much fun at our ward's Enrichment last night. A friend of mine, Rhonda (who happens to be Alden's mom), and I tag-teamed teaching a basic digital photography class last night. It was really fun to get prepared for the night, and Rhonda put together a really great powerpoint presentation with our photography work in it. I just love photography and I loved sharing it with the ladies of our ward. Plus, we had a great turnout and even had DELICIOUS brownie sundaes for dessert (Thank you, Allyson!) Anyways, check out Rhonda's blog: http://rsteedphotography.blogspot.com/

She's really good!

Hopefully the rest of September will be great, too! And as a reward for reading all that, here is a bonus picture of Nate!

Oh, the joys of BOYS!

So, it was time for dinner and Nate was outside playing. I called to him, and heard this little voice: "I'm over here!" I looked around but couldn't find him. "Over here" turned out to be next to the house, behind the bushes, digging in the dirt. He was filthy from head to toe, and as he undressed for his bath that night, I realized dirt was in all the nooks and crannies of his clothes and his body...in his hair, his ears, between his toes...So anyways, here he is, showing me how dirty his hands got. I just love this little boy, he's never boring!

First Day of Preschool

Nate and Jackson on their first day of school!
So many fun things to do in preschool!


Nate had his first day of preschool last week, and I've just been so busy that I couldn't get this blog entry done until now. Oh, well. So, he has absolutely loved it and it certainly makes it more fun that his two best buds are in his class, Jackson and Alden. Their teacher is really sweet and there is so much for them to do. He spent the first day going from center to center, playing and painting and doing play-doh and art projects. I've been given the job of "room mom" (ah, the things we do for our little ones) and so I was able to spend his first two days in the classroom with him. (We'll see what happens when I don't stay with him next week.) This preschool has a parent volunteer each class, and so I figured I'd sign up twice this month so that I don't have to do it again for awhile. Plus, the bonus was that I got to be with him for his first day. That was oh-so-special for me!