I wanted to wish all the fathers out there a wonderfully happy Fathers Day. Ryan (and soon Audrey) are really lucky to have such a great dad. I'm off to make sure Ryan gives Dad a lot of hugs and kisses so he knows how much we love and appreciate him!
We decided to have our last 'before baby' trip, so we escaped to Wrightsville beach and Wilmington. I was told by the doctor not to travel since my due date is so close but I did... and I didn't go into labor so already the trip was a success. 
When we first got in we went straight to the beach. Ryan got to swim in the ocean for the first time, he actually really enjoyed it until the water splashed in his face... then he tightly mouthed let us know that it was time to go back to the beach.
In this picture he was trying to collect water without getting his feet wet... it wasn't working very well.
Ryan, who gags at everything, was willing to play with seaweed on the beach. This kid literally gags when stepping on cracker crumbs or at the sight of chedder cheese. I am now completely baffled at what his standard is for gaggability. 
In the play kitchen/ restaurant Ryan cooked up a pancake meal and made Don sit at the table. It was super cute, he even pretended to wash the dishes when the meal was done.
They were having some sort of water day at the museum, we didn't know that so Ryan got to play in the water in his clothes. His favorite parts were giving the baby dolls baths (hopefully this is a good sign), and driving the school bus that was in the background of this picture. This morning I found a tick on Ryan's back. Now for all of you who live in the woods this probably seems like no big deal..... I freaked out. First of all it was really latched on there (it took both Don and I to get it off) and second of all I have known 2 people to get lyme disease and would really like to avoid knowing a third.
After a successful removal Don was carrying it into the kitchen in the tweezers and he dropped it! Did I mention I HATE ticks, I freaked out again... I would rather run into a spider or a snake then this little bugger. Don was unable to locate it so after he left for work I vaccumed EVERYTHING but I still have a major case of the heebee jeebees.
I called a friend of mine who is a nurse to ask if there was anything else I should do, I of course freaked her out also because it was 7:30am and she thought I had gone into labor. So exciting morning for all of us!
On another note.... baby Audrey is due in exactly one month from today!
We got to ride on a school bus to the race location! 
Don getting ready to run.
Ryan insisted on wearing Don's race t-shirt... it was a little big but he looked awfully cute. 
Ryan drinking just like dad. He watched EVERYTHING Don did the whole morning and is still running around with the chip that measures start and finish time for the race, he acts as though he is running his own race.
They had an ambulance and helicopter that they were allowing people to get in and talk to the drivers. It took a little convincing to Ryan but he eventually got in and ended up having a good time. 
Ryan sitting in the LifeFlight HelicopterHere is a video of Ryan playing with a new puppy! And before you ask, no we didn't get a puppy, he belongs to a friend of ours. Enjoy, the video is pretty cute if I do say so myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj3h77wRpw4&feature=player_embedded
I am officially not glowing with this pregnancy. I will be the first to point out that I am incredibly blessed that nothing that has gone wrong in this pregnancy has caused any detriment to the baby. That being said this pregnancy has kicked my ass.
At first there was the nausea and mind numbing tiredness which subsided (at least for the most part) after about 14 weeks. Then I got the stomach flu which made me lose so much weight in two days that they put me on the medicine they give chemo patients.
At about 20 weeks I became, or at least became aware that I had gestational diabetes. I had to give up bread, potatoes and anything with sugar which when you are pregnant and HUNGRY is not a fun prospect.
Everything was chugging along fine there until I had the 2 weeks of double ear infections and bladder infections. I apparently have the bladder infection that won't die so after 2 rounds of antibiotics they are essentially giving up declaring it mild enough it should be fine. Luckily the pain that was waking me up every 1.5 hours during the night is gone and hopefully will stay that way.
Now I have a rash that not only itches like nothing I have ever experienced, it spreads like wildfire and blisters thus giving it a nice stinging itch. Of course it started on my face so now I look like I have really bad acne scaring/ I am a burn victim. I took a pictures to post here but they actually kinda grossed me out so I will save your eyes those little gems.
I am growing more and more mentally and physically exhausted every time something new comes up. I am trying to stay positive but I can feel it fading. I just need to keep looking forward, Don and I have deemed my goal for everyday is to "keep the misery at bay." Not exactly roses and sunshine, but it's working to get me to where I need to be. As of Saturday I will be at 35 weeks and the doctors are all set for me to have the baby. 5 weeks which I will take one day at a time. I promise the next post will be happier.
*Update... it's poison ivy. I went to the dermetologist, now I'm waiting on my OB to approve the medication they prescribed. The good news is that they were able to remove the weird blood blister thing so I wouldn't have to come back like I was planning on doing anyway after Audrey came.
Here is an article about my family focusing on my brothers recent graduation from law school!
I am now going to the doctor weekly... which means that we are getting super close. In fact my doctor told me that in 5 days if I went into labor their reaction would be congratulations because they don't worry about earliness as of 35 weeks.
Ryan is starting to acknowledge babies more. In fact when I was playing with him in his classroom this morning he took the baby doll on a walk through the classroom, then gave her milk and then put her to bed. He really wanted to show me how well he was able to take care of the baby. While I think he is a little young to really understand that there is a new baby coming to live with us, we are trying our best to tell him about her. No more then 6 weeks (hopefully) and we will find out what his reaction actually is!
On a side note, Happy Birthday Don! It looks like he won't be sharing a birthday with Audrey :)
Today when I was dropping Ryan off at school I gave him a little extra time to show me around his new classroom (he moved up to the 2 year old classroom this week). It was really fun watching him. He fed the babydoll who he had put in the play highchair.. he even made eating noises for the baby. He then put the baby to bed when she was done. Just another step in his quickly developing mind...
It's crazy that in just the one full day that he has been in his new classroom you can see the new things he has learned and his langauge is already improving. He even asked if we could say "Bye Bye to Barbara" (his last teacher) when we were leaving school Tuesday. I love watching when he goes through these rapid growth weeks.
With 45 or so days until my due date things have been falling apart physically for me. Last week my doctor caught what she said was the beginning of another bladder infection... I couldn't feel it so I went on antibiotics and thought nothing of it. Then on Saturday my stomach started cramping like it had with my first bladder infection. Since Saturday I have woken up about 5 times a night because of being so uncomfortable (I usually get about 7-8 hours of sleep at night so you do the math at how often I wake up). I went into the doctor yesterday because the pain has continued and they wanted to rule out that I was going into preterm labor... they told me that the pain was not the bladder infection since that had gotten no worse, but I also wasn't dilating so it wasn't "real" contractions either..... so the conclusion is that it is probably Braxton Hicks contractions and there is nothing that they or I can do about it. 45 days seems a lot longer after writing out that story... The good news is baby is moving well and her heartbeat is what is should be so we are just waiting now.
First I'd like to point out that I am due next month!!! AHHHH
Okay, but now to the post with pictures from my very delayed mothers day picnic (i was sick for the real day). 
Ryan had his 2 year check up today... here are his stats. They said he was very healthy. He seems to be right on track.
A few months ago when we were visiting Don's family we had some pictures taken and they arrived in the mail today! Enjoy! 
