New videos

Here's the link to where we'll be keeping videos on our YouTube site:

Link

Just put some new ones on there. Enjoy!

36 weeks!

I had my 36 week appointment this morning. The doctor said I'm dialted to 1cm, but that doesn't mean anything because I was with Justin for a LONG time! He does want to induce me as soon as he can legally since Mason is so big, so it looks like unless he decides to come sooner his birthday will be August 20th!!!! We have to be at the hospital at 6am! SO excited....wow; that's only 3 weeks from today! Wow!

Okay - this is short and sweet because we are off to Michigan soon....can't wait to see lots of you!!!!!

Have a good weekend!

HD Video

Here's a quick video from our new camera. Took us a little while to figure out how to upload HD video to YouTube!

Here are a few pics I stole from Ericka's facebook account for those who don't see them on FB! Just a few pics of some of the fun stuff Justin and Lauren have been doing with Ericka & Stephy :) So far this month they have had TumbleBus every Tuesday, gone to the movies every Wednesday, out for some lunches, to the zoo, to the park, etc. They have so much fun and we are SO blessed to have such great girls taking care of our kids :)




J&L on their way to get cookie ingredients at Jubilee


















Justin helping Ms. Stephy with the cookie dough













Yummy :) The best part!














I think this was on the way to the zoo...

I have the best BFF in the world :)

Women are allowed to change their minds, right? When I was pregnant with J, I was so excited to have that little baby boy and registered for everything blue plaid. It was nice and I really liked it, but my tastes have changed in the last 3 years. It didn't help that my boss gave me their old car seat (~ 2 years old) and it was Chicco brand. I loved it. Simple colors, nice feel, etc. I tried finding the matching stroller to that pattern, but it's discontinued. I made the mistake of pushing the Chicco stroller in the store though....and fell in love. The handle comes up past my belly button, so it's uber comfy for tall people, it manuvers really well and looks so nice! I think we will be using this one much more than we ever did with J too - 40+ Rivermen hockey games plus Justin's hockey games, etc. That's a lot of strolling in his first few months of life :)

I was emailing with Katie this morning becuase I had a devil on one shoulder telling me to just buy it and an angel (and Rob!) on the other telling me that you have one that works you don't need to buy a new one. I wanted her opinion....The next thing I know I have a tracking number and it will be at our house next week! I am sooooo excited :) You did not have to do that Mr & Mrs Adams!!! I hope you know how much we appreciate it! I can't believe in less than a month we'll be bringing Mason home in it!!!!

Oh, and the best part is we still have the one from my boss that has a car seat and 2bases. The bases themselves are $80 each!!! I think that we might just keep both bases and scrap the car seat since we would probably not get more than $80 for it on Craig's list or anything. That way we will have 3 total - one for each of our cars and one for Ericka or Steph in case they have to take him anywhere!

Do you like??? I can't even tell you how excited I am to get this stroller/car seat combo :) Thank you SO much Katie & Josh!!!!! Plus it works now for a boy and if our next one happens to be a girl, a pink blanket will still look nice with the black/silver!!!!

Expectant Brother class :)

I just signed our family up for this class...I am pretty excited! Rob and I have never been to the L&D part of the hospital, so it will be good for us too. I think it will help Justin to maybe understand what is going on a little better? If not, he'll still have fun diapering one of his stuffed animals :)

Description:

This class is for "expectant" brothers and sisters, ages three and older, and their parents. When you attend this class you and your child tour the Wonder Center to see where mom stays and to visit "brand new" babies in the nursery. The children talk about new babies. Children are encouraged to bring their favorite doll to diaper! At the end of class, they enjoy special treats. Each child receives a tee-shirt!

35/35!!!!!!!!

35 weeks pregnant and 35 days to go :) Getting closer.....

I'm not going to lie - if Mason wanted to come tomorrow I'd be perfectly happy with that. I am huge....and uncomfortable. I have to pee every 4 minutes, I can't pick Justin up very much anymore, he wants me to run the bases when we play baseball - yeah; that doesn't happen. I know I shouldn't complain though; we have a big healthy baby boy on the way and for that I am grateful! I am just ready to be done being pregnant.

My boss is coming into town tomorrow to interview 3 guys. I hope it goes well...I do not want another Mark situation. I am trying to get the office looking nice today. Our landlord has not washed the exterior of the building since we moved in (2 years ago almost). It's white with black shutters. The white part has so many spiderwebs, etc. and the black shutters and windows are both grey. So I'm armed with my cleaning supplies and I'm going to make it look nicer. I have to wait for the Menards deliver people though. Right now I have a folding table with a microwave/coffee pot and stuff (paper plate, plastic silverware, coffee cups, etc) all sitting out and it looks cluttered and ghetto. I went to walmart to try to find something to hide the "stuff" under the table, but with the crossbars it had to be low profile and it would again still be ghetto. So I went to Menards instead, got an instock white 5' cabinet and an instock 8' piece of countertop to match. That way there is room to put the fridge under the countertop leaving much more space for the microwave/coffee pot and the "stuff" can go in the cupboards. My boss didn't answer his phone to "approve" my little spending spree, but once he sees how nice it looks I'm sure he'll be happy to pay it :) Plus I've been salesman of the month 5 of the last 7 months and booked over 2.3M in sales - what's $350-ish right?

Nothing else new is going on here - GG Brooks and Godsie are coming to visit on Saturday/Sunday. Justin is excited to have new people to play with! Then a week from today we leave for Michigan!! Fun times :) After we get back from MI it will be only a few weeks until D-day!

Baking with Justin....

Here is a video from last week of Justin and I making a cake. Beware before eating baked goods at our house that this is pretty normal :)

The Hills 7-20-09

Hi there! Hope everyone had a good weekend... Ours was another nice and relaxing one! I could really get used to this, but I think they will be coming to an end soon! A few more of them at least though. Mason is good - he is moving a lot; or at least trying to. He's getting so big in there that it is getting harder for him to stretch and kick. Plus when those 3" feet get into my ribs I stand up and try to coax him back to the belly region :) I had 2 people tell me that I look like I'm carrying lower than I was; which of course got me a little excited that maybe he'll come early...but probably not. According to the ticker we have 38 more days; but according to the doctor he said to make plans for 39 weeks....so 31 days! If you want to get technical I'm 86.429% of the way there based on the full 40 weeks :) I'm not going to adjust the ticker though; just be pleasantly surprised if/when he comes early. Don't get me wrong....I like being pregnant and am grateful that I am able to have big healthy babies - but Rob, Justin and I are just excited to meet him. I think especially now that we have the house done, the boys bedrooms are finished, baby clothes washed, awesome child care in place, etc. We needed a couple of last things for Mason and we got them this weekend - a baby monitor (the one we had for J broke) and a wipes warmer. I know that some people don't think these are necessary, but I like being able to wipe a baby with nice warm wipes :) Oh, and Justin got him a soft baseball rattle that says "little slugger". He wants to get him a bat too, but I think we'll hold off on that one for a few months :)

I think I figured out what I want to do for my next job.... Just kidding; I'm not quitting the job I have, but I'm thinking about another business. I wanted to get a pre-natal video/pictures of Mason like we did with Justin. As you can see in the last post, it's a much more vivid, clear picture. That one was not done at the OB/GYN office - it was a place that you go into just for fun...no medical license or anything. We got it done in the Chicago area when we lived there. I think it was a 30 minute session and it was around $175 for the session and video. You can get more stuff added onto the package, but we went cheap. I wanted to do it here with Mason, but the closest places are either Chicago or St. Louis! I seriously think that a business like that could survive here. You have not only Peoria, but Bloomington and all of the other little surrounding towns. Pregnant women tend to spend money on a lot of things - and I thought that was one of the coolest things when I was pregnant with J! We have to make a lot more $$ to finance something like that, but it's worth a thought someday :)

Here are a few (okay - more than a few) pictures from the last week!



J at Emack & Bolio's...a new ice cream place by Daddy's office. We tried to go to Emo's but they were closed on Mondays. This place was really, really good - but it was almost $10 compared to the $5 we spend at Emo's. Guess we'll have to wait until grandparents come into town and let them take us there :) J/K!

There was a girl there with long brown hair and Justin kept telling us that she looked like Morgan (which she did!) and he wants to see Morgan. Only 10 more days :) :) :)





J helping Mommy make a cake - stay tuned for a video on the next post!













The best part of baking :)














The monkey on a tree he got from the Riverfront Market Saturday morning. We already lost a few leaves from the tree when we got the camera out...but he's still in his room and not popped!










Throwing sticks into the bonfire to help Daddy















Being a goof ball. We spent a lot of time out by the fire this weekend. The weather was PERFECT - 70's all weekend and cooler by the time we were out by the fire. Mmmmm....smores :)










Being goofy again :)














Out to eat for lunch Sunday at Flattop Grill. He had just gotten his hair cut and she spiked the front. Rob and I loved it, but he kept trying to push it down and would not let me spike it again this morning. He looked like such a little trouble maker boy!









Making chocolate/banana milkshakes with Daddy













I love his hair :)













For all of my mommy friends - you have to get to Toys R Us this week if your store is doing the same sale as ours!!!! I got everything here for $16!!!! It's buy one get TWO free!!!!! A lot of places have markers on sale for back to school, but not many of them are washable....I would not buy markers that were not washable with my little monster :)

34 weeks...and one day :)

This morning we had our 4D ultrasound appointment. We took Justin with us, but he was not quite as interested as we thought he would be. He liked the face part, but when she was doing measurements, etc he got bored. Speaking of measurements.... in Dr. Flemings words "Wow - you're having a big baby!". Mason is measuring 2-2.5 weeks ahead on everything. He weighs 6 pounds already! He is healthy though and everything looked good so we are thankful for that :) Dr. Fleming said to come back in two weeks and then after that we'll do every week. He said that they can't induce before 39 weeks, but we might want to look at that as a possibility if he keeps growing the way he is. We'll be having another ultrasound at 38 weeks to check his size. Other than a big baby though I am a pretty boring patient - no problems, no swelling, nothing abnormal!

Oh and I got the go-ahead to travel to Michigan!!! Yeah :) He told me that I have to take it easy though; no cooking, no dishes, no cleaning up, etc. Ha! Just kidding. Rob did get my jet ski privileges revoked though...looks like I'll be stuck laying in the sun! I have my next appointment Thursday the 30th at 4pm and then we'll head right from there to Kalamazoo!!! I am so excited!

Here are a few pictures....




This is Mason's foot. The ultrasound tech said that if we had to buy him shoes today they would need to be 3" long. That's a big foot!




These are not as clear as when we did it with Justin, but they are still great shots :)



He always kept his hands up by his face just like his big brother did! The thing on the left is part of the placenta...not a growth on his chin :)



Here is the picture of Justin for comparison purposes. This one was done around 33 weeks, so pretty close to Mason's. I don't think they are twins, but there is some resemblance!

The Hills 7-12-09

Not too much new going on around here to report, but I thought I would post a few pictures and a few tidbits for those fans who can't live a week without new ones :)

This weekend was fabulous - we had NOTHING that we had to do. Sure, mowing the lawn, cleaning up, etc. but nothing scheduled! Friday night we just hung out I think; I don't even remember.

Saturday we got up and went to the Farmers Market, Sams Club and then hung out at home. While Justin napped Rob and I got the yard mowed, trees/bushes trimmed and yard swept. Then Katie & Josh came over and we grilled steaks and had a fire.

Sunday we were planning on going to the Air show, but that didn't happen. I asked Justin in the morning if he wanted to go see the airplanes at the airshow and he correlated that with seeing Grandma Airplane and Papa. I told him that we couldn't - they were at home and he started bawling. He would not quit asking to go to Las Vegas. I told him we couldn't because mommy can't go on an airplane and he went and asked Rob if he'd take him because Mommy said no...and then he bawled again. Which of course I'm bawling too because it just breaks my heart. Then he sees me crying and gets even sadder. Not a good morning. We scrapped the airshow idea and played outside instead. Then came nap time. Saturday was horrible for naptime. He would not go to sleep until I finally laid with him 90 minutes after we originally put him down. Sunday he wanted to sleep on his cot (like he does during the week with E&S). We told him sure - so we put him in the toyroom on his cot with the music on and the curtains closed and he slept for almost 4 hours!!! I think we'll just keep his normal nap routine on the weekends too :) We then just went grocery shopping, had dinner on the deck and played outside until bed time. It was wonderful!

Speaking of E&S - the new childcare situation is going SO GOOD!!!! We are so very happy with how everything is turning out. It's such a good feeling knowing that he's being so well taken care of and having fun. I am sure some of you saw the pics Ericka posted on Facebook and tagged me in; doesn't he look happy? I can't wait for Mason to be born and get the same care :) Sometimes it doesn't seem real that our kids get Ms E & Ms S all to themselves (almost) instead of with 16 other kids!

According to the ticker we are down to 45 days! I know I've said it before, but on one hand that seems like tomorrow and on the other it seems SO FAR away!!! I am down to about 5 articles of clothing that fit me. It's not because I'm too cheap to buy new things - it's because when you are a size XL to begin with, it's hard to find clothes. Sure they make maternity in plus size - but they make it wider - not longers. I don't need it wider! I have been wearing baby doll dresses with leggings to work everyday because that is about all that covers my belly. Mason is moving around like crazy, but running out of room. It hurts when he decides it's time for karate and/or soccer time. I am enjoying being pregnant, but I'm ready for it to be over! At least we have a few things coming up to look forward to that will make time go by faster.... This weekend G&G Brooks are coming to visit, then after work on the 30th we are going to Kalamazoo for a long weekend - I can't wait! It will be the Jacobs, Yinglings, Uncle Ry/Aunt Mana, Uncle Mikey, G&G Rosebush and even G&G Metzler are coming for a day to visit! The only piece missing are mom and dad :( We will get to see them soon though when Mason is born and we can't wait!!!! I really hate the miles that separate our family - no fun.

Work is really busy too so that helps pass the time. Although since the new child care situation, I work a lot more! I don't stay home and leisurly check email/voicemails and hang around the house to watch Hot Topics on The View :) I miss Joy and Sherri....Elizabeth not so much. But I am getting much more accomplished at work; like filing - something I was severly behind on!

I think that's all going on here....I'll post more later this week. We have our 4D ultrasound Friday morning! I can't wait. This is where we actually get to see his face like we did with Justin. With Justin though it was a place that you pay to do it just for fun. They don't have those around here, but our doctor uses the 4D at the 34 week ultrasound. We are taking Justin with us to this one - I think he'll get a kick out of it and it might make it more real for him :)




Playing on his new swingset. We bought the stain for it - we have to sand the edges and stain it later this summer.












He wouldn't go down the slide for the first few weeks, it's pretty fast. Now he loves it!












What a ham - I love him so much :)












Trying to drink from the hose, but not understanding not to spray it up his nose!!!













Ice cream cone, sunshine and a freshly mowed lawn... I love summer!












What's better than soccer? Naked soccer!












This was from a while ago, but this was the first time that Justin beat Rob in Wii bowling :) He was so proud!

He will have to see if he can beat Grandpa Brooks this weekend!

The Hills 7-7-09

Hope everyone had a fun 4th of July weekend! We managed to have fun even though the weather did not cooperate for us on the 4th :) Below is our weekend in pictures!




This is from Sunday - the 5th....it was a BEAUTIFUL day! BLT's & Corn on the cob out on the deck :)











I think this picture is the epitomy of summer!












Here are the curtains I made - yes mom I said made :) As in went to the fabric store and winged them! They are not perfect, but they keep the bright sun out of our bedroom in the morning. I could not find any curtains to match our comforter and these are not perfect, but it was $30 (and a lot of swearing at the bobbin) vs. over $100 at most stores!






And here is Justin's new bedroom - finally done!!!!! (less baseboard, but we're considering it done for now!) His furniture came in on Friday and we got it all decorated. He loves it :) He also got a new TV because he's spoiled. We had given him our old one from our bedroom, but it doesn't fit on the dresser and is really wobbly on the Direct TV box....so he got a new one.





His fatheads from Uncle Mikey, Uncle Ry and Aunt Manda are hanging up - except for the Zetterberg one; he was too big! You need 6'5 x 5" of wall space and he doesn't have that in this room. He's rolled back up though to go in the basement when we finish it!









I love his new bed :) It's so comfy!












Justin helped me with the letters to put in Mason's room. We spray painted them and Justin was a big helper :) Insert sarcasm here!











This is what you do when it's the 4th of July and pouring rain out. My name was last hence the ugly color selection left :)













We managed to go to the fireworks after it quit raining at 8pm! We parked at Bob Evans, walked up a hill to an office building lawn and had great seats! You didn't get to feel the booms in your chest like you do down on the river, but we were in and out and the drive home was less than 10 minutes! It was great :) I think Justin was loving them from this picture.... At one point I leaned on Rob and Justin bent down from Rob's shoulders and hugged both of us and told us how much he loved us. I melted - and started crying :)



Waiting for the fireworks to start!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We hope everyone is having a great 4th of July! We are having some quality family time - but doing it inside the house since it's been raining since we woke up - without stopping. And it's a high of 68 degrees. We might head towards downtown later tonight if it clears up - not to sit on the wet ground near the river, but maybe just drive to the casino parking lot or somewhere near there where we can still see the Methodist Red, White and Boom show without having to fight the crowds and weather. We can just sit on the tailgate of the van :) I have such fun memories of the 4th of July when I was growing up.....the Bay City fireworks are awesome! We would take the boat on the river to watch them from the best seats in the house. We would tie up our boat with Grandma & Grandpa's and have tons of food, drinks, and fun in the sun! I realize now how stressful it probably was for mom and dad; trying to anchor along with thousands of other boats, then manuvering the way back to the harbor after the show with all of the other boats...but they did it. They made sure that we had fun and made memories! Or when we all went to Harrisville and had a great day of fishing, fun times at the dock and just an all around fun family weekend. Love and miss you so much Mom & Dad, Mike, Ry and Manda :( The memories that I cherish so much make me want to create family traditions and fun memories for our kids - but unfortunately the weather is not cooperating this year....maybe next year!

Here are a few pictures from last night and today - enjoy!




We bought a cake to bake for the 4th - the original plan was a flag cake, but then I realized that "fireworks" might be easier with Justin helping me!!! :)











The finished fireworks cake. Ignore my son with a dirty mouth, shirt, etc - it's a stay in the house and not care day!!!!













Last night we went to Evan & Sandy's for a bonfire - here's daddy and Justin. Not a perfect picture but the flash was too blinding and they didn't want me to try again!!!














Self portrait....I love him so much!












Justin's mad photography skills - not bad for a 2 year old!















Justin "driving" Evan's lawn tractor











When we left the house, we ran to Jubilee Foods to get stuff for smores. Then we realized we forgot the child friendly bug spray so we went back home. When we pulled in the driveway I asked him "did you have fun?" and this was the response I got..... I didn't mean to make him cry - I was just kidding!!! He was happy when Rob grabbed the bug spray and we were back on the road :)





"But we didn't see Evan or Sandy or Katie or Josh"..........

The Hills 7-2-09

7-2-09!?!?!?! July?!?!?! When did that happen? Where did June go? I can't believe that Baby Mason and I are 32 weeks along already! 2 months to go - or maybe less? Maybe more :( Either way as long as he's healthy I'm okay with it!

We have been busy getting the house ready (story of our lives lately). It takes quite a while when it's just the two of us - and the Adams - and throw Justin's "helping" in the mix and it takes a long time to accomplish even simple tasks! Plus the whole cooking, cleaning (a little) and lawncare still has to be done. We are getting there though! Our new carpet got installed on Monday and we LOVE it! It's so nice!!! Justin's new bedroom furniture *should* be here tomorrow. We're hoping it is! He has still been sleeping in there on the matress/box springs on the floor but it would be so nice to just finish that room! All we have left to do is the baseboard and door trim and then the furniture/decor. Mason's room (Justin's old room) has the wall holes patched and we just have to paint over the patches and get that room put together. I found curtains at JCP on sale from $49.99 each to $14.99 each! Not exactly what I wanted, but for that price they are going to be perfect :) They are light blue and have a thermal backing for room darkening and preventing the cold/hot air transfer. I think we might get a closet organizer for Mason's closet like we did in J's new room too. It's nice and gives much more space. Right now it's just one shelf/bar across the top.

Ericka & Stephanie start coming to our house to watch Justin on Monday! Today is his last day at PALS. On one hand I was a little sad because we really have enjoyed PALS, but then realized that everything we loved about it is going to be coming to our own house! All of the fun projects, learning practices, etc. were made up by E&S and he still gets to do that! Plus he's still going to get to do TumbleBus (gymnastics class on a bus that travels around to the different daycares) at the daycare right down the road from our house! Ms. Lori said that is not a problem to bring Justin and Lauren to that one :)

Okay - this is getting long again. Maybe I need to post more often so the posts are not novels!

Here are a few pictures from the last week.



The new and improved toy room! For most people these pics won't mean much, but if you had seen the room before I think you'll agree this is a HUGE improvement!














We took the burgandy curtains that used to be in the living room and put them in here. I think it turned out great!



























Last Saturday Justin had a birthday party to go to for his friend Sydney. Here he is hitting the pinata - he loved it!













Justin, Lauren and Kierra - they loved this swing. It was 90+ degrees though and not many shady places, so I would have loved it too!