Rachel & Dad's Birthday Parties

This past weekend my sister and dad celebrated their birthdays.  We have always had a week long of birthday events in June because their birthdays are three days apart.  On my sisters birthday we had a FULL day.  We met my sister, Elliott, Jerrytt, and my parents at a local mexican restaurant for lunch.Then we hit the opening day of Cars 2.  Elliott is still talking about how we went to see the movie on his mama's birthday.

After the movie we went to the boys Tee Ball games where they actually looked like a "REAL" team.  We were all impressed with how well the boys did. Z played the pitcher positition (even though he didn't pitch) and E was 3rd base.  We only have 2 games left....it's kinda sad because the team is really starting to "get it".  After that game we went to a Cardinals game with the entire Lemon's family.  We rent out a box of seats and get all you can eat every year for my Freddy's Father's Day present.

It just so happens that it was on my sisters birthday.  Following the game there was fireworks so it was a very fun night.  Needless to say we were all exhausted when we got into bed.  Z was out in the car which rarely ever happens.  It was a fun DAY celebrating my wonderful sister!  Then on Monday was my dad's birthday.  My sister & nephews picked up balloons and a Sonic drink for my dad. We met them at his work to take him a little surprise. I'm not sure who loved it more.  My dad or the boys?

     Later that night my parents came to the boys karate practice and then we enjoyed a birthday dinner at Q.doba.  It was a full weekend of birthdays but Oh so much fun celebrating my sister and Pops! 

28 weeks

28 Weeks:   Will is currently 199 days old and I am 71.1% of the way through the pregnancy.  Only 81 days until Will's due date....Sept. 18th

This week Will is the size of a butternut squash.  By the end of this week, Will Collins will weigh approximately 2 lbs 9 oz to 3 lbs 11 oz. I think he favors on the bigger size because Zachary was a big baby and because I am becoming a BIG mama!

 This week Zachary said that "WILL" could stand by himself and that Big Brother did not have to hold him.  TOO FUNNY! 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 20 lbs. I go back to the OB Tomorrow so I will have a better idea about my weight gain. 
Maternity Clothes: Besides shirts and dresses...all I wear is maternity clothes. I feel like I am getting big, fast!

Gender: He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!

Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. We can constantly see his little body moving all the time. Zachary was the same way....praying that I have enough energy to handle play with both of my boys when Will arrives.

What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary. I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me AND SLEEPING!  I wake up a lot in the night because I am hot or uncomfortable.  My body automatically wakes at 6 am.  I just pop up ready to go for the day. Usually I will hit the treadmill for a walk or drink a cup of coffee with my daily devotion before the rest of the house wakes up. To be honest...I love this time.  However by 9 pm I am EXHAUSTED! 

Cravings: This week all I have wanted to eat is Strawberries and I crave sweets (Wives tales says that this is totally sign that the baby is a girl....so anyone who is pregnant and does not know what they are having please disregard this wives tale. It is true for boys too.)

Symptoms: This week I did a lot better with dehydration and the braxton hix contrations.  I am really focusing on drinking a ton of water.  However the heart burn has come back. My biggest issue is charlie horses and leg/foot cramping. 

Exciting things this week:  We FINALLY purchased Will's crib for his nursery.  I really put this off because of the recent crib recalls but I had to finally had to make a decision because most of the cribs take 5-16 weeks to come in and I only have approx. 11 weeks left.  I have my blood glucose test tomorrow at the OB. I'm praying I pass it this time. With Zachary I failed it by 6 points and have to take the 3 hour test.  Pray for me! 

Father's Day 2011

For Father's Day we all got together at a local water park for some water fun. Following a fun afternoon we went to dinner together.  Unfortunately, Uncle Matt was unable to celebrate with all of us because of his work.  I just have to say that I love all these guys in this photo.

Pops, Jerrytt, PaPaw, Kevin, Zachary, and Elliott

Happy Father's Day!

Pennsylvania Family Reunion....

I apologize for just getting back to our Pennsyvania families visit but I had to gather some pictures for the final post. Our week was filled with meals, water park fun, theme park fun, family pictures with 18 people, and time with our cousins.

Unfortunately I still don't have pictures from our family dinner out to the seafood buffet, etc but I am afraid if I don't get those post done it will never get done. I am so behind. So here are some final pics from our visit together.

The biggest blessing to me is that no matter how much time passes between our visits my time with my cousins, Adrienne, Jenn, and Megan, we always reconnect like we have always been together. I have so many fond memories as a child at my Pappy's house in PA where all of us girls would run, skip, skin our knees & drop our mylar balloon that Pappy bought us at the parade on the walk way of Merrill Street. As we have grown up we still have so many things in common....amazing husbands, wonderful boys, the love of cooking, and many other commonalities. I must say that I think it is totally awesome that we have found husbands that all get a long, support us and help out with our busy boys, and who "get" the Wood/Peacock cousin stories. As we were standing in the heat in matching white and khaki clothing taking the family picture I couldn't help but thank God for the blessings of these men. Not a lot of husbands would have put up with the circus of family pics, matchy clothes, and the wait lets take one more picture. Meanwhile Kevin said that he would 100% be friends with my cousins husbands....even if he didn't have too. HA! He totally enjoyed their visit too. What a blessing!

This photo is compliments of http://www.owensportfolio.com/ our wonderful friend and photographer took amazing pictures of all of us.  Here are the boys in their "Pappy's Dream Team" Jerseys that my cousin Megan had made.  My only regret is that the boys are in backwards order.  It was so chaotic getting all the boys to sit still long enough for a photo that we just set them down where they were.  However it is adorable.
In birth order:  Elliott (1st great-grandson), Zachary (2), Duke (3), Jerrytt (4), Evan (5), and soon to be Baby Will (6). 

Pappy's Dream Team in my Pappy's rocking chair that he sat in as a young boy.  Let me just say that my Pappy & Grandma Rachel were looking down on us this morning. It was a miracle that we got smiles from all of these little guys. It just so happened that June 10th was my grandparents 68th wedding anniversary and we had group pictures on this day.  No one planned it that way. My mom just realized it after the photos were taken. I am sure my grandparents in heaven were thrilled that we were all together on their special day. 

Our group photo again compliments of Owens Photography.

Kevin knawing a turkey leg at a theme park

Doug knawing his turkey leg

The water riders drying out in a dryer after a very wet ride

Grams loving on Baby Evan before he went back to the airport.  My mom couldn't get enough of all of these little boys.

Zachary, Evan, and Elliott with Grams

We had a wonderful visit!  We can't wait for our next visit!

OCD nesting!

Recently I have been biten by an OCD bug or could it be that I am prematurely nesting?  We have several little places in our house that are complete messes.  It's not that we like to be clutter bugs...in fact I throw so much away because I don't want to be a pack rat. It's just that we get so busy that we throw things into places that they belong but we don't take the time to put them back properly.  During Memorial Day weekend I had several little projects I wanted to tackle. As I got things crossed off my list I started to find more and more places I wanted to organize and clean. 

Heres a picture of our kitchen "junk" drawer. I wish I would have taken a pic of the drawer before I started taking things out.  Seriously, how many pens & sharpies does one family need?

 Here's the empty drawer with more junk around it. 

A better looking drawer

 After I tackle the junk drawer. I went in for our "pantry". I use the term pantry very loosely because we do not have a pantry in this house.  Instead its a cabinet.  Here is all the expired items from the pantry in our trash can. It got so full that Zachary brought me his trash can from his room. LOL!

 Here's all the stuff that was not expired. I could not believe some of the items that I did not use that expired in 2009.  I think they just got tucked away in the back so I did not know I even had them. Opps!

 And the AFTER photo....much better!  My goal is to really stay on top of the items so that we don't let any go to waste.  We'll see if that happens!

I've since moved on to another part in our home.  The one thing I do like about pregnancy is that it gets me motivated to get things organized and cleaned out!

Swimming Lession #1

Zachary returned to Swimming Lessons with Coach D this year. Here are some pictures from his first lesson. I was a little nervous that he forgot everything from last summer but after about 5 minutes in the water it looked like it was coming back to him. Since these pictures were taken 2 weeks ago I have seen a GREAT improvement. He is to the point where I can confidently watch him swim in the 4 ft and under without worrying that he is going to choke or drowned. It took him forever to realize and learn how to hold his breath. Now he's got it and won't get out of the water. I'm still leary of him in the deep end but Coach is working on this and I am hoping by the end of summer we have mastered the beginning stages of swimming without a life jacket or floaties. He still has a way to go on his "Michael Phelps" swimming form but I am just thankful that he is getting the basics.

  

27 weeks!

27WEEKS!

I am officially into the THIRD TRIMESTER!

By the end of this week, Will Collins will weigh approximately two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He is the size of a cabbage.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 20 lbs. This time during my last pregnancy I had only gained 14. My OB assures me that its because of the heat, it being my 2nd pregnancy, and the fact that my body was in starvation mode during the first 15 weeks.

Maternity Clothes: Besides shirts and dresses...all I wear is maternity clothes. I feel like I am getting big, fast!

Gender: He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!



Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. We can constantly see his little body moving all the time. Zachary was the same way....praying that I have enough energy to handle play with both of my boys when Will arrives.

What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary. I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me

Cravings: This week all I have wanted to eat is Strawberries.
Symptoms: Heartburn, massive swelling of the fingers and ankles, and Braxton Hicks contractions. I have even had some issues with dehydration which causes me to see black little flashes in my eyes. I was concerned it was high blood pressure however my blood pressure is still super low at 88/56. I just have to slow down and drink more water. My dehydration symptoms are improving because I am constantly drinking water. I am also making a point to SLOW down on our daily activities. Otherwise I am miserable.

Day 2, 3, 4

On Monday the girls went to a local tea room for lunch to celebrate my Aunt Ann's birthday.  Unfortunately my camera was dead so I don't have any pictures. That night we went to my parents for hamburgers & hot dogs followed by several card games and more birthday cake.  Of course Z & E wanted to be in the pictures and blow out her candles. 

On Tuesday, we went to White Water.  I only have one picture from the day because we were all to busy playing in the water to take pictures. 

 Then on Wednesday we went to play mini-golf!  It was a lot of fun. I have to brag a little because I am usually the worst mini-golfer ever....but my sister and I tied! I couldn't believe it!  That night we went back to my parents to see my cousin Adrienne, Doug, and the newest baby of our family Evan.  They were exhausted from flying and driving all day.  Baby Evan was such a trooper! 

The boys instantly fell in love with my cousin Adrienne's husband, Doug.  Zachary has not stopped talking about him since he arrived. 

On Thursday we lounged around my parents house and waited for Jen, Jack, & Duke to arrive.  Then we went to the seafood buffet at Hemingways.  Thankfully my mom made reservations for all 18 of us so we had the entire room to ourselves.  We filled up on crab legs and yet again another birthday cake.  I'm going to add more pics later...I just ran out of time :)

Aunt Ann, Uncle Wayne & Megan arrive!

A week ago Saturday (June 4th) my Aunt Ann, Uncle Wayne, and cousin  Megan arrived for a week long visit.  We were all super excited because it had been at since 2007 that we had seen them.  We were supposed to head to Pennsyvania last summer after Jerrytt arrived however the week we planned to go my sister had to have emergency gall bladder surgery. 

My mom had been working on getting her house ready for 9 extra house guest, plan the weeks social events, and the meals for the past month.  My other cousins Adrienne, Doug, & Evan (3 months) were to arrive on Wednesday and then Jennifer, Jack, & Duke (18months) were to arrive on Thursday.  It had been a long awaited visit! 


As soon as my mom & brother-in-law, Matt returned from the airport we headed over to my parents house for dinner to to reconnect.  Jerrytt was thrilled to finally meet Uncle Wayne. Both of my sisters children look very similar to how my uncle looked when he was a little boy.

My sweet cousin Megan brought gifts for Zachary & Will.  You might remember this blog post I did back in November or my cousin Megan's blog post about our "Pappy's Dream Team Jerseys".  Well she was so thoughtful and brought Baby Will one of the "team shirts".  While everyone was in town we had family pictures taken so we put the boys 1-5 into their shirts. We put Will's (#6) shirt on a bear and took it to the pictures. They came out perfect....that's an entire blog post in itself.

 On the next evening we went to a local establishment that "throws rolls". It was my Aunt Ann's personal request because she had not been there for years and she loves their rolls. It's always a fun time and a great place to take company.   While we were waiting for our table my mom and her brother got a pic together.

 While we were waiting for our food I jumped up on top of another tables bench to take a group shot.  Meanwhile someone at our table grabbed my camera to get a shot of me taking the group pic. I must admit it was kinda funny having a pregnant lady standing up taking the pic.  Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the group shot...I must have forgotten to take one on my camera.

 My Aunt Ann wanted Ribs....check these puppies out!

 Let's just say we all had A LOT of leftovers!

After dinner we went home to get ready for our next day....a tea room, BBQ, and card games!

1st Tee Ball Game 6/03/2011

Zachary & Elliott had their first ever Tee Ball game on June 3rd, 2011.  I kinda surprised myself because as the time and day drew closer I realized how excited/nervous I was about their game.  I am so going to be one of those over-the-top "soccer" moms with her mini-van packed with sporting equipment, wearing a team jersey with a huge button pin on my shirt of my boys & their numbers.  I knew it was going to be a hot, sweaty night but there was no way I was going to miss the excitement of their first game. 

Kevin and Uncle Matt are coaching on the field during games and helping at weekly practices. I think it's e every dads dream to help out with sports.  A dear friend of ours, Coach Darling is the head coach.  He called Kevin back in February to recruit Zachary for the team.  (I don't remember this phone call at all because I was so sick with the pregnancy). Months later Kevin says it was time to get fitted for the team uniform and I had no idea what he was talking about.  Coach Darling informed us we needed 2-3 more players and asked if we knew of anyone interested.  I called my sister immediately to see if Elliott was interested and within seconds Elliott was on the phone telling me he wanted to be #5.  It worked out perfectly!

Daddy giving Zachary a pep-talk before the 1st game and helping him get his cleats tied.

 Zachary's excited for his first game!

 He asked me to take a picture of his number.  When we asked Z what number he immediately said "66".  We tried to get him to pick a number 1-10 but he insisted on 66. Not quite sure where that came from but we let him pick it :)

 Before the first game the team gathered for official team pictures.  Talk about a nightmare!  If I was so hot, sweaty, pregnant, and holding about 50 things in my arms Zachary would have been taken out.  He was not good Terrible!  Kevin was already inside the gate guarding the team snacks we brought or Z would have been taken to the car.  Basically whenever the photographer got the team positioned she would return to her camera to take the shot.  Zachary would move over away from the group. See the kid on the back row....on the far right....That's Z.  The photographer would get back up to re-position him and he would move again.  I was fuming.  After that was taken care of he started tipping his hat down over his face.  See pic below...

 At this point I was ready to pull Z from the team picture and take him home. We had a "discussion" and eventually he cooperated.  Boy, was I mad. I will never forget it!

 Finally a good picture!

Elliott & Zachary are very lucky that their grandparents are super excited about their sporting events.  They help the boys practice their tee ball and come to their games.  I told my parents their social calendar is going to be very packed when all 4 grandsons are in sporting events.

 Zachary hitting the ball and running to 1st.

 Elliott was selected as the "catcher". He was so adorable in his uniform.  He did really well too!

 Here he is at the fence telling us he was ready to bat again and that he wanted to take the catchers stuff off.  It was priceless!

The boys did fantastic for their first game.  We have already had their 2nd game and they have already improved so much. It's going to be a fun summer!

26 weeks!

26 weeks pregnant:  I am officially 6.5 months along.  The baby is 182 days old and I am 65% of the way through the pregnancy.  I have 98 days until my due date. I am secretly hoping Will arrives around 39 weeks like his big brother did.  I have one more week until I enter the 3rd trimester.

 This week we have loved having my Aunt Ann, Uncle Wayne, my cousins and their families here in town.  This morning I had my Aunt Ann make a cameo appearance for the blog.  Zachary and Aunt Ann are holding "baby Will".  LOL!

 Every time my aunt went to take my picture, big brother Zachary tried to jump in. He's ornery!

Size of baby: Baby will is approximately 1.5 lb to 2.6 lbs.  Will is officially the size of a cauliflower.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 20 lbs. This time during my last pregnancy I had only gained 14.  My OB assures me that its because of the heat, it being my 2nd pregnancy, and the fact that my body was in starvation mode during the first 15 weeks.  I am going to enroll in water aerobics this week so that I can stay within a healthy weight gain range this time. 

Maternity Clothes: Besides shirts and dresses...all I wear is maternity clothes. I feel like I am getting big, fast!

Gender: He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!

Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. I am starting to have full belly movement that I can see through my shirt.
What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary. I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me.

Cravings: This week all I have wanted to eat is Strawberries.

Symptoms: Heartburn, massive swelling of the fingers and ankles, and Braxton Hicks contractions. I have even had some issues with dehydration which causes me to see black little flashes in my eyes.  I was concerned it was high blood pressure however my blood pressure is still super low at 88/56.  I just have to slow down and drink more water.