29 days and counting!

Now that's pretty impressive. I mean, out of an average pregnancy of about 270 days, that is pretty rad that I only have 29 days left. As you all know, I have begrudgingly been keeping a "countdown calendar" for Ben, but today, as I changed the numbers and we got into the 20's, I got so excited! So, thank you Ben!

On another note, I always seem to get so behind on blogging. Or, in perfect Kim fashion, I start a post and then get interrupted so I save it, and never go back to finish them. Case in point: the 4 posts I have right now in my drafts. Someday.......

So, we have been to the Pumpkin Patch a couple times this season. Of course, we get there and I only have 4 pictures left on my memory card, so we did the best we could. And if any of you know my kids, they aren't the best picture takers, so they were thrilled with the lack of hounding by mom to get a good shot at every turn.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Take note of the pumpkin on Ben's cheek. Now, I know I painted a pretty dang good picture of a humpback whale in 5th grade (to which my dad kept up in his office for like 10 years!) but I am seriously no artist, and have never claimed to be. In fact, I kind of suck. But I had to give myself serious credit here for, not the way the pumpkins looks, but the almost PERFECT circle I made with the cheapest, most mangled pumpkin patch paintbrush I have ever encountered. My husband and mother-in-law both thought it was creepy how perfect it was. Now, of course I took the picture 2 hours after the perfection was made, so it started to crack and Ben was itching it, but hopefully you get the idea.
Anyway, here are the pics.

Jake and his "new best friend" Pepper. We went back and got to ride Pepper again and Jake was so stoked.

Crazy cute boys trying to sit still for a picture. Trying to get Jake to smile and look at the camera is an event!

This was like our 4th attempt and finally I gave up. They are definitely not the posing kids!

Okay, so he scratched off a little of the bottom left, but it still looks pretty darn good.

A conversation with Jake

Jake: "C'mon mom, let's play trains now. "(he has now been waiting about 10 minutes for me to be ready to play. He lights up in excitement as I come into the train room.
Mom: (I enter reluctantly, as I just decided we would have to go somewhere before we could play) "you know what buddy, we have to go to Aunt Jill's to pick up Ben's library book." (Waiting for the fight to ensue.....)
Jake: "N0hoho, I don't want to do that!"
Mom: "I know baby, I'm sorry, we can play trains right when we get back."
Jake: "Noooo! Play trains with me. I don't want to go."
Mom: (I kneel down in front of him) "Jakey, if we don't get Ben's book, he is going to get in trouble because it is due today. You don't want brother to get in trouble right?"
Jake: (He looks up at me, stands up and heads for the door.) "No, I just want him to be happy. Let's go get it mom."

Love that kid and his love for his brother. Being a mom is the best.

What the heck

How can someone as tired as me, not be able to sleep at night. I don't get it. You would think I would just pass out and not feel the body aches, leg cramps and frequent and annoying need to urinate. But no, I feel everything. And I wake up a total grouch because I feel like I should just be getting to sleep, not waking up. And then the only thing I crave on days where I am exhausted and frustrated is a coke. To which then a feeling of guilt follows about the fact that I shouldn't be drinking caffeine.....Oh the joys.

A much needed family day

We had such a great day on Saturday. Rarely do we have a Saturday that is not filled with various commitments of some sort. But last Saturday, we were commitment free! And it was awesome. We went to Ben's soccer game in the morning, which he did a great job at, then headed home for a bit. We did some chores and then were off to watch Sadie and James' soccer games. After that we taught Ben to ride a 2 wheeler, then played at the park and fed the farm animals at Golden View. We went and got ice cream and then headed home. Ryan and I watched the SC game, (which I'm sure he hopes to soon forget!) while the kids jumped on the tramp and played games. It was such a relaxing day. After the game, the boys wrestled with dad and then we headed to the boys room to wind down and read books. After the books, the boys built an awesome block castle and then Ryan and I just sat back and enjoyed watching our boys enjoy each other. They play so great together. They decided that Ben would give Jake a piggy back ride. We were all laughing so hard, they would take off and then just eat it. They did it several times until we had to pull the plug. Anyway, it was a great ending to a great, commitment free day. It was such a nice day to just enjoy each other. Sometimes our lives are so hectic, that a nice day spent at the park and at home just feels so good. Not to mention having Ryan home all day, that was great. With school in full force, homework and big projects, full time work, and USC home game tickets, he is a busy man. So we were stoked to have him home all day with us. Here are some pics to enjoy. The first are from the end of the night, they boys with their "castle" and the piggy back adventures.

Getting ready to take off...

They would seriously eat it and just laugh so hard.

Their building Jake was so proud of.

FUN AT THE PARK

Ryan's sunglasses and no make-up makes for an interesting picture, but hey, this is for posterity, right?

Jake and Dad checking out the animals.

Ben

Brothers having fun together!

Big Momma and Ben.

Jake was so bummed at me for making him take this picture.

Cute Jake sitting still long enough for one shot!

Ben was all about posing - he kept saying, "how about here, how about his shot."

Jakey wanted to try and ride a big boy bike like Ben.

These animals were crazy, they would reach thru the gate and snag the food right out of your hand.

Ben slightly more tentative about the aggressive animals.

Look who knows how to ride a 2 wheeler!

So, we took Ben to Golden View school today to teach him to ride a 2 wheel bike. He did such a great job. Within 5 minutes of practicing, he was off and running on his own, with dad close by to catch him if he fell. Here are a ton of pics I took of the little man. We were so proud of him. Seems like it took me way longer to figure it out!

Check me out guys, I'm learning to ride a 2 wheeler with my dad!

They started out on the grass to ease the fear of falling, but Ben wanted to move it to the concrete. Way too hard to peddle in the grass...

A little frustrated....

Starting to get a feel for it....

He's doing it! Notice, no hands on the back of the seat. Not sure he even notices yet!

Ben getting good on his own.

Hooray for me-I did it!

See ya dudes!

Why am I doing this to myself!?

So, this whole pregnancy, I have really made a conscious effort not think about how much time I have left. In fact, most of the time I was unaware of what week I was in. I just feel it makes the time go so much slower, and as much as I love this sweet little boy inside of me already, I am not liking this pregnancy that much. Let's just say that I can't wait to not be pregnant. That was really hard for me to say at first as it felt so wrong. After all, this is such a blessing and I am creating life, right? Shouldn't it be so blissful? I should feel honored, (which I totally do) and not complain.... Well, I learned from other women that it's okay to not always enjoy it.I mean, don't get me wrong, I love some aspects of it, especially feeling him move around. This one has just been harder on me, I don't remember feeling this way with my others. I have had way more issues in this one......makes we really debate a 4th. Also, as most of you know, I am probably the least patient person you will meet, so having to wait so long to meet my special guy and hold him in my arms is killing me! That part is hard to have patience for. I can't wait to hold him, hug him, nurse him, have my kids who ask every day when he will be here, finally get to meet him. We are all so excited for Baby Boy #3's arrival.

With all that being said, and to explain the title of this post, we have started a "Countdown to the baby". Ben asked today when the baby was coming and asked in terms of days. He likes me to cross out days on our calendar so he can see the precise day he is on and count the days on the calendar to a day he is looking forward to, ie: Halloween. Well, we do our calendars one month at a time, so we made a special spot on our calendar that looks like this:

51 DAYS
until the baby comes!

This will probably make an eternity seem even longer to me, but it will definitely satisfy Ben. Jake will still ask, in his ever so sweet manner, "When's your baby going to pop out?" probably every day, but that's okay. It's good to know they are so excited.

Well, so now that we only have 51 days until this sweet boy comes, we need a name and we aren't even close! Please, if you have any suggestions, just throw them out there. We thought it was going to be Barrett and we would call him Bear, but we're not sure how we feel about that name anymore...... So, your help would be much appreciated! See ya.