Weekend Away

This past weekend will be our last weekend away before Jellybean joins the family. We headed down to Dunedin for a quick visit with our Carson family.

Saturday was a beautiful day, and we were blessed by friends who were willing to share their boat with us and take us out for the morning.

Too bad, the engine quit on us on our way out; stranding us for nearly 2 hours. Thankfully the weather was picture perfect (despite my camera being on an incorrect setting and me not noticing until too late as it was too bright to catch my mistake...oops!) and we were with wonderful friends. A mechanic friend hopped a ride out to us on another boat and repaired the broken part. Quite an adventure, and Eli, of course, loved every minute of it. He was sure to defend us from any looming pirate attacks. Don't know what we would have done without his brave efforts.

Driving the boat on the way back in may have been the true highlight for him. Check out the many faces of our "Captain Eli."

And what trip to Pap Pap's is complete without a swim in the heated pool? We were sure to get a quick swim in on Sunday morning.

Mommy made sure to get a pedicure at her favorite spot with her favorite sisters-in-law. The swollen legs and piggies were very thankful.

And thanks to Aunt Ann's willingness to babysit, Matt and I were able to go to another Bucs game this season. YAY! Always a great time, and it was Military Appreciation Day so we got paratroopers

and a flyover! Totally awesome! Thanks for inviting us, Pap Pap.

We decided not to stay for the entire game so we wouldn't be driving back super duper late, and we, sadly, missed a pretty exciting comeback with a touchdown in the final 10 seconds to win the game. Go Bucs!

Next time we make to trip to Pap Pap's, we will be a family of 4!!! Definitely an exciting thing to think about.

The Perfect Shower

I'm a bit behind. Got a few things to blog about, but the end of this pregnancy is starting to slow me down in a big way. Teaching in the mornings is making me pooped. When I get home, all I wanna do is either sit on the couch and nap/do nothing but veg out while E naps, or use what little energy I have to take care of a project that is needing doing. Housework? Cooking? Grocery shopping? What's that? We don't have much in the way of food around here. Just enough to get by. I haven't been to the store in a couple of weeks....I just can't muster up the energy in the afternoon to head back out and walk around a grocery store.

For a little bit, I thought we were going to have a baby Monday. Had a couple pretty intense contractions (along with about 30-40 milder ones sporadically throughout the day), but they settled down. Baby boy has dropped a bit and is getting ready to make his entrance into the world. Still a little over 2 weeks from the scheduled date, but maybe this little guy is getting antsy and wants to come out and play.

That just means, we need to get our booties into gear and get all of our final projects finished pronto.

And thank goodness, I have the sweetest friends. A group of friends took me out to dinner and showered me with diapers, wipes and books galore.

Just what Baby #2 needs! Now we don't have to worry about stocking up on diapers before his arrival. One less thing to do. Yee haw! And to be honest, it couldn't have been more perfect. I've never been a good "guest of honor" at a shower. I always feel awkward and uncomfortable as the center of attention. Even on my wedding day, I wanted to downplay the attention, so a nice dinner with friends was absolutely PERFECT!

Thanks for the beautiful books, the necessary diapers & wipes, and the fabulous company, ladies. I feel bad not making sure we got a group shot before we left. You all are the best. You know how to make a girl (and her baby) feel loved.

Adventures in Baking with a Toddler

We do love our chocolate chip cookies around here....especially lately. That is Mommy's favorite pregnancy food. And since baking your own is always fun, and Eli loves to help make a mess, we decided to whip up a batch of my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies.....

HALLOWEEN style.

I know, I know, chocolate chip cookie batter is not really a cookie cutter batter, but we figured we'd try anyways. Didn't turn out too well; just made big, blobby-shaped cookies. They still taste fine, and they are, as Daddy dubbed them, "fancy."

E was having a blast with the sprinkles. I decided to let him go at it. He didn't really get the theme of Halloween colors, but he had fun just the same.

Abandoned the idea of Halloween-shaped cookies and went with normal ones, with lots of sprinkles of course.

And don't worry, I didn't let him eat too much batter, but how can I deny a child the pleasure of licking the spoon? He was a happy camper.

And though it was a lot of fun baking with my boy, my feet and ankles didn't appreciate it too much. Fat ankles and swollen piggies. Needless to say, I had Daddy pick up dinner on his way home that night; something I do frequently these days as Jellybean's due date nears. A little over 3 weeks to go. Hmmmm....wonder when I'll start nesting?? Hope it kicks in soon as there are many things to finalize and finish before his big debut.

A Festival Fit for a Pumpkin

We made our way over to Havana for the Pumpkin Festival on Saturday. Another beautiful fall day that we just had to get out and enjoy. We invited some friends to come with us, and it made the day even more fun. There were so many booths to walk through and a lot of activities for the kids.

Of course, we went for the kids, so it was all about what they wanted to do. Eli loved the giant bounce houses and made his way through them several times.

There was a fire truck to climb on and explore. Eli was a bit nervous at first and told me that he shouldn't sit on the front seat. "I am not supposed to touch those buttons or turn the wheel."

He loosened up a bit with his buddy.

There were hay rides, mask making, pumpkin painting, and more. It was a beautiful day to get out and enjoy pumpkins once again.

Our little scarecrow is definitely in the fall spirit and gearing up for pumpkin carving, Halloween, and trick-or-treating.

The Patch

In response to the effort to find an outing this past Saturday, and a desire to start putting pumpkins everywhere...to "fall-ify" the house, Eli and I made a trip (one of several, I hope) to the pumpkin patch.

We were on a mission to find smaller pumpkins to use to make our front door and house look fall and festive. Eli loved the littlest ones

and eventually chose one that was round and looked like a basketball.

Mommy liked the ones with the funny stems.

Overall, it was a beautiful day to be outside, so we took our time. Eli loved exploring the patch and discovering/playing with all of the different and interesting pumpkins.

Can't wait to go back again to find ones just right for carving as Halloween gets closer. Eli is super excited for Halloween this year and has changed his mind about his costume several times. I won't disclose the decision just yet, as it may change again as there are still a few weeks to go.

Happy Fall, y'all!

Multitasking

Already mastering the art of multitasking.