Lazy L Safari Park

The weather here has been awesome!  It has been in the mid-70's every day.  So on Wednesday we met my friend Jennilee and her girls and my sister-in-law Sarah and her girls at Lazy L. Safari to see the animals and enjoy the beautiful weather!

She looked at everything and waved and said "HELLO!" about 50 times!

Sweet little friends =)

Ansley was doing a good job of feeding the goats...until one literally ate the bag out of her hand!
It was SO FUNNY!  She kept going "oh my gosh, he ate the bag!"

 

One of the goats was loose!  HA!

The picture CRACKS ME UP!  The loose goat kept coming after Charli and her stroller...
so Brynn tried to protect Charli by pulling her feet out of the way!  HA!

Feeding some birds.

They have some pretty cool stuff out there...even some zebras, emus, monkeys, alligators, etc.  We had so much fun looking at all of the animals!  And seriously, the weather was AMAZING!  It was plenty warm, but had just a touch of fall in the air.  (And later in the day I had a routine doctor appointment, and after the appointment I seriously drove through Starbucks and got a "Caramel Apple Spice" because it tastes like fall!)  The weather just put me in the best mood!  It was just a random Wednesday but one of those special little days full of great memories!

When did Brynn turn 15?

Brynn has been saying and doing the funniest things lately...her little personality is really starting to come out!  (Or should I say...continues to come out?)  

The other day I was taking some laundry upstairs.  When I came back downstairs her Dora had finished and was on that screen that is paused and says "do you want to delete this episode?"  She was looking at the TV saying "seriously?  seriously?" with her hands out to the side.  I about died I was laughing so hard!

She has been saying "seriously?" a LOT lately.  Ryan said "where in the world did she get that?"  Then later he says "seriously, why did that guy just park right there." And I said "I guess she hears us say it!"  So he was joking her and saying "seriously? seriously?"  She kept saying it and we were all laughing.  She then turns to me and puts her hands up and says "seriously mom?"  AHHH!  When did she turn 8?

I think (fingers crossed) it's a phase she's almost through, but about a week ago she started calling me "mom" instead of mommy!  NOOOOO!  I quickly started correctly her and saying "remember, I'm mommy!"  HA!  I am not ready to be called "mom" yet!  She would be like "mom...look!"  "Mom...wanna play princess."  And I would say "MOMMY would love to!"  HA!

She's in a big "oh my gosh" kick.  And she says it like she's 15.  Anytime something happens that deserves an "oh my gosh" she will yell it out.  OH. MY. GOSH.  Ansley is really good about saying "Oh my goodness" so we are working on switching to that.

The other night I was putting the dishes away and Brynn and Ryan were watching a few minutes of Tangled.  It was the scene where the water is rushing out and Ryan started laughing and says "Whitney, come in here!"  She was putting her hands over her eyes and saying "oh no! OH NO!"  It was so funny!

At night when we pray she has been saying that Emory wants to pray.  She uses this squeaky high baby voice and puts her hand on my stomach and says (as Emory) "Thank you God for my big sister Bwynn!"  HA!

The other night we had fajitas and we made a can of green beans.  She LOVES green beans and I think she ate 3/4 of the can!  GROSS!  Then she started putting them in her tortilla and eating a "green bean taco."  The grossest (is that a word?) part was that after she ate all the green beans, she tipped the bowl and started DRINKING the green bean juice like it was the milk from her cereal!  I about DIED!

Green Bean Taco!

She needed more green beans in her taco....

She was really proud that she "made" it herself...by stuffing her green beans inside!

My grandpa also gave her some raw okra the other day and on the way home she was EATING IT!  She said "yum...takes like green pepper mommy!"  WHAT?  Who is this child?  In all seriousness, I guess I should be thankful she's NOT a picky eater!  HA!

What a FUNNY girl!  But I'm hoping she starts acting two again, instead of 15!

33 Week Update

This past Sunday I was officially at 33 weeks!  

I know that is a crazy picture, but Ryan wasn't home to take one and I figured this poor child needed a belly shot more than just once every five weeks or so!  =)

How I'm feeling...

• I have gained about 24 pounds at this point.
• Sleep is so-so.  I tend to get really "congested" or I guess everything (including my nostrils??) gets slightly swollen, so I've been sleeping in breathe-right strips for the last 15 weeks...I'm super attractive at night, I know Ryan.  =)  I have nights where I wake up at like 4 am and just can't get comfy and I come out to the couch to try to go back to sleep.
• I have been having MAJOR Braxton-Hicks contractions for the last couple of weeks or so.  My doctor (and my friend Kristal who is my go-to for all things pregnancy related) said it's no big deal, but I can tell they occur when I'm really active (like on vacation, if I'm in a cleaning frenzy, etc.) So I just try to take it easy and drink even more water than normal, especially when I have a bunch right together.
• Unlike last time, I have some major vein issues, especially on my upper thighs.  I'm hoping they go away after this baby is born!
• I have super strong calf cramps almost every morning at like 5 am...weird!
• I do tend to get "warmer" more than usual, but we've had a super mild summer, so I can't complain.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to be pregnant during a summer where EVERY day is in the 100's...yikes!
• At my last appointment, I told my OB about the really annoying, stinging feeling I get every day that's below my right boob, kind of in the gall bladder area.  I had it with Brynn too.  It's worse after I eat, especially if I can't stretch out and I'm in a sitting position.  My doctor ran labs to make sure there weren't any issues with my liver or gall bladder, and there aren't.  I'm hoping that just like with Brynn, it goes away after she's born.  That's probably the MOST annoying symptom right now.
• Obviously, those are all the annoying, negative things I'm feeling, but overall I CANNOT COMPLAIN.  I feel Emory kicking and moving around, and I just don't want to ever take for granted what a miracle being pregnant is, and how blessed I am to be her mommy!  Even though pregnancy can definitely have it's downsides (and I'm tending to notice them more and more as I get closer and closer to her due date..ha!) I wouldn't want it any other way.
• I am so thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far, and ask that you would continue to pray for us as we head down the home stretch.  Please pray for a safe and healthy delivery!

Princess "Punzel"

Brynn has really been into Rapunzel lately...although she calls her "Punzel" instead.  She wanted a "Punzel" lunchbox for "school" and just got a "Punzel" nightgown while we were on vacation.  She has also been wanting me to leave her hair down "like Punzel's hair mommy!"  The other day it was rainy and yucky outside, so we decided to watch the movie Tangled.  And by watch, I mean we actually sat on the couch for a good 30 minutes before she got a little antsy and we switched to playing dress-up..."Punzel" of course!  She was so funny and I just had to snap a few pictures to commemorate our "princess day."

She even let Mommy wear the crown...she was too busy with her
"princess lipstick".

I don't know if that's a princess smile or "grrrrr"...HA!

Mastering the princess wave...

She was in a FUNNY mood!

I LOVE my little "Punzel" SO MUCH!

Weekend Shenanigans...

This past weekend was super busy and so much fun!  Friday night we indulged in one of my favorite pregnancy cravings (let's be honest...it was a favorite restaurant before I was pregnant!) and ate at Pagliai's Pizza.  YUM!

Then Saturday morning we got up and had a somewhat lazy morning at home.  Ryan even made chocolate chip pancakes (although I thought our smoke alarm was going to go off because I turned the griddle on WAY too high and before he started them we had some MAJOR smoke blowing around!  HA!)  At noon we headed to a birthday party for Trevor, Ryan's cousin's little boy who was turning four.  Then we came home and took a quick nap before heading to the Water Park for another little birthday party.  Bella was turning three and we love her and her family so much!  Her parents are friends of ours and were our Life Group teachers for the past five years.  They are such a great example to us and we aspire to have the type of Godly marriage and raise our family the way they do.

Brynn has flipped a switch recently, and has reached the point where she actually goes down slides by herself and doesn't have to be rescued!  HA!  (Seriously, I didn't want her to even go in the play room at Chick-Fil-A because she would get to the top and not come down and we had to go rescue her).  Lately she has been going up and down all by herself...and the Water Park was no exception!  I was SHOCKED that she started doing the kid water slides all by herself.  I bet she went down those slides 30 times!  

Seriously, when did she turn into such a BIG GIRL?  AHHH!

We headed back to the Greene's house for supper and hanging out, and I WISH I would have taken some pictures because the little girls were all sitting at a table together and just looked SO BIG.  They played really well together and we had such a fun night!

Sunday we had a good morning at church and then that evening we headed to our friends' house to celebrate the FIRST FOOTBALL GAME OF THE SEASON with some hot dogs and chili!  Again, I WISH I would have taken some pictures because we were all in our football gear.  We aren't even huge Cowboy's fans, but it honestly doesn't matter to me WHO is playing right now...the EXCITING thing is that FOOTBALL IS BACK!  OH HAPPY DAY!

It was a GREAT weekend of hanging out with friends and family!

Baby Sprinkle - Girl's Night Out!

This past Thursday night some of my closest friends hosted a "Baby Sprinkle" for me!  We all went to eat at Olive Garden, and had such a fun time visiting, catching up, laughing, and celebrating baby Emory!  I LOVE THESE GIRLS so much and felt so blessed and loved!  Thanks girls!

My WONDERFUL sister-in-law (and FRIEND!) Sarah

These girls mean SO MUCH to me!
I feel SO BLESSED to have these friends in my life!
Raising all of our kiddos together is wonderful! =)

More sweet friends!

I love this pic...this is how our time together is...
a million different stories and conversations, TONS of laughs, etc.

After we all ordered I opened some gifts!  My friend Kristi (who probably isn't in ANY of these pictures because she was doing such a great job at capturing the moments) snapped a bunch of pictures.  I'm just going to warn you...they are just a bunch of me opening presents, but I figured I would still post them because maybe someday Emory will want to see them!  =)

This is the "oooo it's Mizzou stuff" face!

And this is my "you ALL need to be putting your kids in Mizzou clothes" face. 

My friend Tami (who is currently 15 weeks preggo with her FOURTH little one...she already
has three boys so we are secretly praying it's a girl!) and her son Mark (who could be Brynn's future man?)

GOTTA LOVE the nursing pads...I used these ALL THE TIME when Brynn was first born!

I think I'm mid-sentence saying "OH MY GOSH, THAT IS SO CUTE!"
Sorry Kristal, I know you won't like this picture of yourself but I don't know how to crop it.  HA!

Thanks to Jennilee, Emory will have SOMETHING of her own!  HA!

Sweet baby smell!

Unfortunately, I am NOTORIOUS for taking gifts without tissue paper, so my friend Erin
surprised me with a whole pack of tissue paper in my gift!  HA!
(That's why I'm laughing so hard!)

First thought?
My child will have name-brand diapers for ONE WEEK now!

We got such a wonderful mix of gift-cards and money, diapers, clothes, blankets and toys, etc.  I couldn't have asked for a better night with all of my friends!  

And then as we all slowly trickled out, those of us who were left realized we would be going home in the middle of our kids "bed-time routines" so we quickly decided to extend the party to Simply Swirled (our frozen yogurt place) and had A BLAST eating some yummy ice cream and laughing until our sides hurt!  And a big thank-you to our hubbies for putting our kiddos to bed and letting us have a wonderful girls night-out!  (Actually, according to some hilarious texts sent after we all got home, a few hubbies didn't quite have the kiddos in bed yet, because the little ones evidently "weren't tired yet" or needed their mommies to help!  HA!)  When I got home I had so much fun getting everything out and showing Ryan all the cool stuff we got!  

I also want to say a HUGE thank-you to Mrs. Linda for this ADORABLE diaper hanger!

And THANK YOU to my grandma and grandpa for this adorable blanket!  My grandpa actually cross-stitches these for each great-grandchild and then my grandma sews them together!  The time and love put into these is PRICELESS!

Baby Emory is SO LOVED already and we can't wait to meet her!