Fourth of July Weekend

It's felt like an extra long 3 day weekend. We needed it. Not only to get more things accomplished but to also rest up. I think we've done a little of both. 

Little brother's room is almost finished. The last step has been getting Drew's clothes out of the closet in that room. We bought another dresser to cram in our bedroom, so between it and an additional rod our buddy Eric installed in our little closet....hopefully, we'll be able to manage. 

Friday night we went to Drew's parents' house as usual for BBQ, swimming, and a fireworks show. Griffin thought the fireworks were too loud and only semi paid attention to them. With so many other kids around, he stays pretty busy trying to keep up.

get her!

Grandma Delores came down for the fun

little Ella enjoying the pool

Briley and Bennet 

pretty Sophia

Uncle Brent helped G get warm

and tossed the rest of the kids in the pool

Thank you Todd for lighting all 800 sparklers that Griffin burned

first time getting to do one!

everyone loves snakes.....

two hands, watch him go

end of the evening

partial crowd shot

and we had to do a few more before we left

We also got a little sun this weekend by hitting the pool with Tammy and Griffin's crush, Bristol. 

Today, I bought a small pool for our house. It's bigger than the $10 plastic pool option, but small enough for Griffin to stand up in. We'll see how long it takes to get it put up, but I'm hoping we can use it to teach Griffin to swim. 

A special moment......

I happened to be eavesdropping on a conversation Drew was having with Griffin this past week. He asked Griffin what he wanted to do when he grew up. I was curious as to what funny occupation he would name. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for him to simply say "work". I'm pretty sure my Republican (capital R for emphasis) husband was smiling ear to ear. But after another pause, Griffin added "and hunt". 

I've never seen Drew cry, but I was sure I was about to witness it at that moment! He couldn't have been more proud!!

We'll never forget that. Ha ha!

Baby Brother's 3D Ultrasound

Today was our 3D ultrasound for baby boy #2. I was considering not doing it until I imagined him asking one day why Griffin was special enough to get a CD/DVD and he wasn't. I'm trying really hard to give him the same treatment, although I hear it's natural for most children after your first to not get as many pictures, videos, etc. I may have set the bar too high. Ha!

Baby brother was very uncooperative but after walking in the parking lot, drinking Sunny D, flipping from back to side, and a lot of pushing around by the ultrasound tech........we finally got a few pictures in the last 5 minutes of an hour's worth of trying. His hands and a foot were in his face pretty much the whole time. I appreciate the reassurance of knowing he's doing fine in there. Also, the confirmation that he is definitely a he. 

We also got to see him yawn several times....here's a real creepy open-mouth shot in 2D:

35 Months Old

We love summer. Griffin has been rocking a farmer's tan for at least a month now. He's very much a water bug and is more than ready to do his fair share of swimming. I think Mrs. Donna from daycare is going to give him swimming lessons in July. She's been the city pool manager for as long as I can remember. 

Griffin's also aware that his birthday is coming up very soon. He knows he'll be 3 (and that he's currently 2) and when you ask him what he wants, his reply has consistently been "candles". I'll be sure to get him 3 individuals rather than the number. 

In the past month we have been to Branson, St. Louis, the animal shelter for a visit, a wedding, a roping, a graduation party and we've also spent 2 separate weeks without Drew while he went to New Mexico on business. I don't see any slowing down until after baby brother makes his debut. 

Weekend in St. Louis

We planned an overnight trip to St. Louis to get out of town and enjoy some time together, just the 3 of us. Also, Griffin had been asking repeatedly to go to a Cardinals game.....which now he realizes it's not just a quick trip to town that can be accomplished any time he wants.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday and we enjoyed a lap around the zoo before the game. It was fun to see Griffin's excitement when he saw animals that we look at/talk about in his Ranger Rick Jr.  magazine that he gets. A nice day makes for a packed zoo, so pictures aren’t that great. We ran out of time and did not get Griffin on the train but promised to do that first thing on our next trip.

click here and scroll down to see Griffin at this statue
last time we went

this is what the lion was doing

the best part of the St. Louis zoo is the hippo area

this one decided to get in and swim along the glass like they do

here he comes! Griffin was trying to step back

there he goes!

I think this is the elephant that was a baby last time we went

new baby

We took a few minutes to freshen up and change at the hotel, then headed over to the game that evening. Our good friends Josh & Nicole met us there since they had come to town to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Griffin eagerly looked for Fred Bird (the Cardinals mascot) every chance he got and had no trouble staying pretty happy for all 9 innings.

We also had tickets for the game on Sunday afternoon. It was pretty special because a co-worker of mine was there to throw out the first pitch and we got to witness it! Jeff is our Operations Manager and four years after being told he was as good as dead, he is a cancer survivor and one of the most positive and inspirational people you’ll ever meet. (Read his blog here.) Since Drew was heading out for a business trip Monday morning, we had planned on heading home fairly early in order for him to get ready to leave again. I think it was during the 3^rd inning that we made our way out and got on the road. 

free balloons and face (arm) painting in the hotel lobby

had to get Fred Bird of course

there's Jeff and his wife in the white jerseys

worn out! he slept the whole way home

We are looking forward to our next game in July. It is scheduled to be a Run the Bases game for kids, so stay tuned for pics of Drew and Griffin scoring 2 for the home team.