Ring of Fire

'



y

e



I can't believe these photos were taken Monday already! This was the slowest fast week ever. The weeks are flying by these days and I feel like I'm getting WAAAY to wrapped up with work and not enjoying my toddler nearly as much as a I should. HOWEVER, Sunday and Monday nights Q, Mike and I enjoyed "the ring of fire!" in our backyard.



It was nice to enjoy time in the chill of the evening while they're still around (assuming they'll go away and it's going to be 75 plus through my pregnancy, of course.

Sunday night, Q didn't get back from Grammy's until almost 9pm! We had more the 24 hours without a kid...and it was crazy weird. So weird, in fact, that Quinn was up until after 10pm! I just wanted to spend time with her, but she wanted bed. Then didn't and wanted ring of fire. We made her a s'more or two and she headed to "brush teess" and go to bed. I think Mike and I watched that fire until after 11pm...crazy.

We had so much fun, we invited Scott over on Monday night to enjoy the great stillness of Minnetonka (as if SLP is so hopping!).

Q enjoyed an ice cream sandwich on Monday instead of hot melty goodness.



And all was fun and good and games....until the pit broke on us! The bottom fell out when we added a log!! I should've video'd but I was busy getting water to try to save most of the grass....we did lose a nice patch right in the middle of the lawn but we created a temporary way to keep the fire going for several more hours.....the guys did at least. Let's just say I could use some new oven pads and mitts. :)


Mike's going to try to find a way to keep the bottom in place for our next fire. Sadly, it's not currently very safe to have a fire in our own backyard. Hopefully a neighbor will step up soon and invite us over!!! :)

We're going to have some new neighbors soon! We discovered that a family of 4 (1 and 3yr olds) are moving in around the corner. Some other neighbors "our age" that live in our kiddy corner back yard are expecting in mid August. And the house across the street from us says "sold"! We have no idea who bought as those neighbors have been moved out for awhile, but I'm excited for company across the street!! Hopefully they'll be friendly and not mind Q's loud mouth coming home each night (our front driveway really echos between our house and the neighbor's across the street)....it's odd.

OOH, and here's Katie POPPED OUT at week 24 (ish).



It's been awhile since I've take the profile pic...since the week Dad visited us (week 14ish)!

And I thought I was huge then!

And of course then the shot of like, 6 weeks...I love how I'm all arched back as if thinking my barely belly was something to note! :)

Changes in my life since baby boy:
*Vision changes!!! I can wear glasses only (contact not only dry out, but I can't see with them in!! It's like they're swapped...but they're not...I went through a few pair --mostly old ones hanging out in solution around the house in travel bags -- until I convinced myself that it was the contacts, not my inability to tell left from right!)
*Baby belly! He's active, but mostly during the day and when I go longer than 3 hours without eating during the day. He also moves after some snacks like peanut butter, applesauce, and some juices...almost all the time after those things. And it's his favorite when I sit down and recline my feet! You can see him move most of the time now...kicks and exaggerated movements.
*Swelling: My wedding band is too small for my slightly swollen fingers, so it's engagement only..which is actually a little loose on the left hand. My ankles hate these long days at work, driving, and then housework: in addition to the increasing temps and dew point! This summer will be F-U-N. Crazy idea to do late 2nd and 3rd trimester in the hottest part of the year...oh well!
*Cravings: peanut butter, sugary cereal, anything dessert with lots of sugar, cucumbers, broccoli, pie, Outback baked sweet potatoes & potato chips and Deans French Onion Dip. I don't really ever have an appetite, but wow do I eat all day some days! And water galore...can't seem to get enough! Which means lots of potty time. We'll see how the glucose test comes out in a few weeks...if the result is gestational diabetes, I may cry...we have so many desserts at work it's hard to say NO!
*Kid loves music just like Q did. Car rides home (when Q yells for RADIO LOUDER MAMA! the rare times she's not demanding nemo or puppy do) are fun for the kiddo---he moves a ton.
*Driving: I moved the seat back yesterday! I realized I couldn't really get behind the steering wheel yesterday morning...didn't think anything of it until I reached back to give Q some more cereal and my belly hit the wheel in the slight body rotation!!! Ha ha...yeah. So I have to find some sort of happy medium because it was more difficult to reach the pedals further back!!
*Names: NO WE DON'T HAVE A NAME YET! Stop asking! It won't be Michael Jerome, we don't really want a junior.
*Weight gain: slow and steady...I'm still almost already at the recommended weight gain, but I'm a tiny gal, so no one's too worried...especially if it's baby growth and not fluid retention. And hopefully slow and steady stays!! I can still move fairly easily and want to keep as active as possible. Having Q around sure makes 7pm bedtime more difficult (as 7 or 8 was often bedtime when preggo with Q). So I'm still plenty active through my work day, and then with Q after work too! Not to mention I'm in almost all my largest summer clothes and don't really care to buy a whole new wardrobe for the last few months (seeing as my last months with Q were cold!). Not to mention I lived in sports clothes since I wasn't working....oh well. We'll see where that goes.

Well, Q's actually napping....off to clean!