"Big Girl" Bed

It's official...she is now in a twin bed. I was hoping and praying that this transition would go well. I couldn't have asked for better. So far (about three weeks) she has only come out of her bed a handful of times. I just promptly put her back in (trying to interact with her as little as possible) and ignore all requests. She calls it her "comfy bed" or her "snuggly bed." I hope things continue to go so smoothly!

Foamy Mustaches

I'm not sure which of these fun boys started the mustaches, but before I knew what was happening, everyone had one...even Daddy!

Estella's is hard to see, but it is there.

Canoeing

Jackson's parents have two canoes. They invited our family to take a trip down the Colorado a few weeks ago. Because of the contraction issues, I volunteered to be the driver. Cell phones sure made that a lot easier than it would have been without them!

The kids had a great time throwing rocks in the river while we were getting the canoes ready.

Estella was excited!

Thomas was excited!

Nicholas was NOT excited...he was VERY nervous. He was doing his best to be brave, but he was really scared.

We tried being silly to help him loosen up and not think about his fears. Here are he and Jackson showing their angry faces.

Everyone (minus grandparents) showing off the grumpy face.

These tactics helped until it was time to get into the canoes. Michelle and David took the oars in one canoe with Thomas and Jackson and my sister Jamie took the other with Nicholas and Estella. As I was trying to put Nicholas into the canoe, he started screaming that he didn't want to go. That upset Estella, and she started screaming and crying also. Jackson and I looked at each other, paused, and then agreed that we were committed and they would have fun once they got going. We were attracting quite an audience by the time we got them out onto the water. I stood on the bank chuckling to myself, wondering how long they would cry.

When I picked them up a couple hours later, Nicholas was visibly relieved to be done, but agreed that it was fun and that he would like to go again. Estella and Thomas both enjoyed it. It is a very calm stretch of river, which makes it great for small children. There are a few fairly swift areas that give it enough excitement to help it not be boring. Thanks to Bubba and Grandma Chelle for the fun memories!

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership

This is such a boost for me. I couldn't resist sharing it. I think I just might need to watch it every morning :)

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership

Family Field Fun

About a week ago, the sky was overcast and the temperature wasn't unbearably hot, so we walked down to "the field" after dinner. I was glad to have Jackson there to run around and throw balls and frisbees with the kids. I wish my uterus would just calm down and not be so sensitive, but I still have to be really careful not to do too much. There are only six weeks left until my due date. That means three more weeks until the baby will be considered full term. Estella was born three weeks and a day before her due date. Nicholas was born two weeks before. And Thomas was born three days before. I am aiming to keep this little one inside for four more weeks, and then I'm throwing all caution aside. I will probably end up going all the way to my due date because I am planning on going early. That would be fine too, just more time to be uncomfortable. Everything must be sagging and stretched out inside me because I am much more uncomfortable this time. I do love the miracle of pregnancy, though. There is something so beautiful and truly amazing about having a baby growing inside you. I feel very privileged to be a part of it.

I didn't mean to ramble on about that. Here are way too many pictures of a fun hour at the park.

There are some little furry critters that live under this tree. I haven't been able to get a good look at them, so I don't know what they are. The kids love to check out the entrances to their burrow to see if they can see them.

Nicholas finished the 75th lesson in his reading book, which meant we got to go to the store and pick out a prize together. He chose this big green watch that can project pictures onto the wall in three different colors. He and Thomas think it is the "coolest thing ever."

As we were leaving, Jackson grabbed the camera from me and snapped some pictures. He kept telling me to do silly things...here is the only decent one.