Hard to Believe

It's hard to believe that today is August 31 - the last day of August.
It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of September - the month Charlotte will likely arrive. (Call me crazy but I'd love for her to make her appearance in October.)
It's hard to believe that this is the last August day that it will be just me, Court and Grace.
I know I've had 37 loooong weeks to wrap my head around all this but it still seems hard to believe.

Ladies Man

We had the opportunity to attend a wedding this past weekend. It was a beautiful affair in the Yakima Valley and it was great to see a lot of our friends. Since having Grace we've been...ummm...how shall I say?...not very social. It's amazing what an hours drive, a kid and a pregnancy will do to your social life! It was nice to get out. Court was in full effect - per usual! He was quite the ladies man!

Grace enjoyed showing off her endless dance moves.

At around 8:30 pm, Grace grabbed her blanket, laid it down on the ground and curled up. She didn't fall asleep but this was a huge step for Grace. Resting (or not jumping) BY CHOICE! While we probably could've let her lie there on the cold ground, we opted to be responsible and get her home to bed. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get any wedding cake. Oh the sacrifices we make for our kids, right?!
Thank you again Blackwoods for a lovely evening. Congratulations again!

29 Day Gear Up

Twenty-nine days and counting folks. Woo hoo! We are in the home stretch. Most of the preparations have been made - still working on the mental preparations but we'll cross that bridge.  One thing I could use some help with as far as baby gear preparation go... a new baby sling! Grace didn't like to be carried around in a Baby Bjorn or a sling but I'm REALLY hoping that Charlotte will. There are so many kinds on the market I'm just totally overwhelmed. So if any of you feel sorry for a nine month pregnant woman whose chasing around the toddler in the August heat, I'd appreciate any recommendations you have.

Fair Time

Our little town puts on a fair every year. It is the most perfect fair. It is small, not crowded (you can park 20 feet from the entrance and there is no line to buy your $5 ticket!!) and has all the fixin's of a gigantic, over-the-top, calling-out-all-the-creepers-type-fair. Burgers, garlic fries, corn on the cob, elephant ears, pony rides, crap for the kids to buy and crap for the adults to buy. (Ok, I'm not going to lie. There's the occasional creeper too. A woman last night was wearing a raccoon tail. Somehow it was attached to a belt and hung down off her rear end like it was HER tail. Only at the fair right?) Anyway, I'm telling you, this fair is perfect! Oh one more thing, it has a rodeo! (Cowboys. Cowboys. Horses and more cowboys!!)  Like I said - PERFECTION!
We took Grace last night. We walked through all the 4H stalls and saw all the animals. Grace LOVED them! Cows, chickens, bunnies, goats and pigs. Not sure which was her favorite...oh wait...yes I do! She loved the tractors.

She's got farming in her blood, what can I say? Looks like I better learn how to drive a stick ASAP so I'm not left in the dust - literally.

See that little speck in the bottom right corner? That's Grace. 

Gives you an idea of how serious people take their tractors around here. 

40 Days

With 40 days left, this is what it's come to...

 No, not the worn-out, haggard, far-beyond-exhausted look...

my t-shirt!

I am officially tired of answering the question, "When are you due?"

Well, I'm not tired of the question, I'm tired of the responses.

I am hoping that this will bring me a bit of relief over the next 5+ weeks. 

Fingers are crossed.

Reasons to Celebrate

I'm now going to the doctor every two weeks. At my last appointment, I only gained a 1/2 pound.

For some reason I don't think that will be the case at my next appointment.

I have no idea why.

Back Blogging

I've been a bit M.I.A lately and I plan to do a bit of "back blogging" if and when Grace goes down for a nap. So check back soon!

Pigtails

We all saw what happened when I was let loose with a pair of scissors after Grace's first hair cut. 

Not good!

Well, I'm back at it - minus the scissors. 

Behold!

My first attempt at pigtails - EVER! 

I've never put my hair in pigtails, a friend's hair in pig tails or Barbie's hair in pigtails. 

My poor daughter is literally my hair style guinea pig. 

A bit lopsided - yes - but we have pigtails!

Gardner Interrupted

Just a few days away from the garden and look what happens! 

Looks like we'll be eating zucchini muffins for the next three years!

Court's Birthday Surprise

For Court's birthday, we went and saw this guy in Sun Valley...

It was awesome! He performed with the Sun Valley Symphony so it was a bit of a different sound but if you can imagine him playing "The Thunder Rolls" with the full orchestra behind him....OMG!

Magical!

He even surprised the crowd by performing a few songs with wife Trisha Yearwood. Talk about a voice! While Tim and Faith are still my favorite country couple... I must say, I was - quite literally - the BIGGEST fan in attendance!  People kept asking me if I was going to make it through the show. You can imagine their surprise, shock and horror when they learned I was still seven weeks out! On the other hand, had Charlotte made her debut a bit early, she might have been just the ticket to meeting Garth Brooks. We'd probably have to name her Brooke if that happened. Luckily, Charlotte is still holding strong. In fact, I think she has a personal vendetta against my spine and lower back these days. 

Happy Birthday Court!