Baby Bunk Bed

We have been acquiring baby gear over the last few months since I had already gotten rid of all of our old stuff. We just bought this port-a-crib with a bassinet attachment, and Drew wanted to put it together to see what it looked like. He filled the bassinet with a pillow and a blanket and proclaimed the bed to be a bunk bed that he would share with the new baby.

The Tie Breaker

The whole crew tagged along for my ultrasound today to hear the big verdict. Well, not everyone tagged along willingly. Drew begged me to let him stay with the Waddells and wanted me just to tell him what it was. He decided to be a happy camper once he saw the images of this sweet baby.

Mallory saw this one and kept saying, "It's waving to us! Hi baby! I love you!"

Here is a a sweet picture of the feet.

We are all tickled pink to find out we are having a GIRL! Mallory, who has been insisting it's a girl this whole time immediately said, "I think it's a boy." Ross and Elizabeth are both happy. They didn't mind what it was. Drew simply wanted a pizza, but he will eventually be just as pleased to get a baby sister. I think.

I thought it was a girl all along, although I would have loved a precious little boy as well. A short time before we found out that a baby would be joining our family, I had a very vivid dream about a little girl. It was the kind of dream that seems so real. I dreamt that a tiny little girl was walking around in our bedroom. It was so real that I woke up to find myself walking around our bedroom and hallway looking for her. It took me a minute to realize that she had indeed been in my dream. I truly believe this little girl is meant to be a part of our family, and I can't wait to meet her in December!

Boston 2010

Edward and I just got back from four wonderful days in Boston, MA. He qualified for the trip through a campaign with his company, American Family Insurance. Am Fam has provided us with trips to several destinations we might not normally visit (Washington, D.C., San Diego, New York City, Montreal, and Orlando are the cities we've visited thus far) but that we've had a wonderful time vacationing. We felt a little guilty leaving the kids behind, but we looked at it as one last hurrah before a new baby. The kids stayed with my wonderful parents, and of course they all had a blast.

~The Old State House~

Over the course of three days, we walked the Freedom Trail. It is a 2.5 mile trek that highlights some of the most important events and places in the city. It was a definite highlight of our trip. It was neat to actually see some of the significant places I've learned about throughout my life.

This is Old Granary Burying Ground. John Hancock, Paul Revere, Robert Treat Paine, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin's parents, and Elizabeth Goose (believed to be Mother Goose) are all buried here. The OLD gravestones were quite remarkable.

~Samuel Adams~

~The Victims of the Boston Massacre~

~Josiah and Abiah Franklin~

~John Hancock~

~Paul Revere's House~

"Listen my children and you shall hear,

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere...."

Paul Revere had 16 children. This three bedroom home was probably quite spacious at the time. It is the oldest home in Boston.

~Edward having a good time~

He figured he might as well let the donkey eat straight out of his wallet.

~Paul Revere Statue in Front of the Old North Church~

"One if by land. Two if by see."

This was one of my favorite places. Two lanterns were hung here on April 18, 1775, signaling the Redcoats' departure by sea for Lexington and Concord. This is still a practicing Episcopalian church where services are held each week. The pews are set in these cubicle-like boxes. Church members' heads barely peak from the tops to see the minister. It would be kind of nice to corral our kids in one of these! Although, they were VERY loud due to the old and creaky boards. I suppose at this church it was believed children should be heard and not seen!

We often saw really small doors. I don't know if it was because the people were smaller 200+ years ago, it cost a lot to build larger doors, or something else.

I don't even know what this was for! I felt sorry for the pregnant mamas if they had to use this door!

~The USS Constitution~

This was another favorite. This is the world's oldest commissioned warship. This vessel, with wooden sides, was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" when in 1812, cannonballs of a British warship literally bounced off the triple hull. It was quite impressive. Too bad that ugly crane blocked the great view!

~One of the 44 guns/cannons~

This ship was pretty massive. It was especially impressive considering it was made 200+ years ago.

~The USS Cassin Young~

This was a World War II warship. It was also very impressive.

It's kind of hard to tell, but that is the sleeping quarters. That's a triple decker bed!

~Ginormous Torpedo~

This kitchen was TINY! But check out the four foot mixer!

We ended our trip with a stop in Cambridge to tour Harvard. Eh. It was just like any other campus in my book, but I'm glad we had the opportunity to go there.

We were glad to get home to see our babies. Edward took an extra day off so we could rest after our vacation. We walked our little legs off! Vacations are great, but there's no place like home!

Whale Watching

One of the highlights of our trip to Boston was a whale watching cruise. We managed to book our trip with several other American Family friends, so it made for a really great day. Our family had been on another whale watching cruise when we went to Bar Harbor, Maine six years ago. It was an incredible experience, so we knew we wanted to do it again when offered the chance. When we went in Maine, there were only about fifty people on board the boat, and it was FREEZING out on the water. This time about two hundred fifty people were on board, and thankfully, it wasn't as cold. The big crowd made it a little harder to view the whales than our previous trip, but still, it was an amazing thing to see.

~Heading away from Boston~

We were delighted to have such a great "show" by two humpback whales. We only saw two during our three hour trip, but our boat stayed right with them the entire time.

~ Up close and personal~

The most amazing part of the cruise took place during the last twenty minutes we were out at sea. This funny girl, Ursa, would stick her tail out of the water and slap it down, making enormous splashes. She repeated this over and over. She would also roll over onto her back and stick her pectoral fins out of the water. The "show" she gave was far better than anything we've ever seen at Sea World.

11 Years Goes By Way Too Fast

June 28, 1999

One of the four most beautiful babies I have ever seen

Summer 2010

Ross is a lover of all things Yankee/Gator/Cardinal.

He is a lover of baseball/soccer/wrestling/basketball.

He is an outdoorsman as well as an avid reader.

He is quick to laugh and quick to feel compassion for others' burdens.

He is a good friend and a great big brother.

He is a wonderful son.

We love you, Ross!

A Prank 11 Years In The Making

You know these things? These little devices of torture for any newborn? Around our house they are called booger suckers (I believe the correct name is nasal aspirator.). And they were the tools used to pull off The Great Bathroom Prank of 2010.

Nearly eleven years ago I watched a hidden camera/prank television show in which the booger sucker was used. At the time I was watching the show, I held a month-old Ross in my arms and decided then and there that when the time was right, I would use my new boy to commit what I thought was fantastic prank. After waiting patiently for over a decade the time finally came while we were in Branson.

A few months ago I filled the majority of my family in on my little plan. The intended targets would be my fun loving brothers, Aaron and Ben. We all laughed as we pictured their reactions. Here is what we did:

One hot and steamy morning, shortly after arriving at Silver Dollar City someone in the group announced we should all stop at the restrooms before hitting the rides. Our victims were unaware that earlier in the morning we filled two booger suckers with water. There they sat, in the bottom of a bag, where the water began getting warm. To speed up the warming process, my dad sat holding the booger suckers in his hands.

Warm weather means shorts. And shorts mean bare legs. :)

Ross and Grant were selected to do the dirty work. Ross was designated to get Ben, and Grant was designated to get Aaron. Ross walked quickly behind Ben, and two urinals sat empty side-by-side. It took only a second of squeezing the booger sucker before Ben disgustedly shouted, "Are you kidding me!?!" He looked down at Ross and was relieved to see what he held in his hands. Ben later said the thought it was weird that Ross was standing so closely.

And Aaron found a stall. Grant entered the adjacent stall and got to work. In a matter of seconds, Aaron was yelling, "HEY! HEY! HEY!" My mom was outside waiting for everyone, and she said she could hear Aaron's shouts all the way outside."

We were glad the uncles were such good sports, because the rest of us certainly got some belly laughs out of the ordeal.

The pranksters and their victims