Hot Diggity Dog!

It sounds like Summer will still reign as princess! Paul was so proud today when we got an ultra sound of the baby. We took a look a couple days ago and saw what might be boy parts, but were still pretty undecided. When we went in today the tech scanned my belly, gave Paul a friendly shove and said, "Are you kidding me? That's a BOY! Look at that thing, it can't be a labia!" Of course Paul was beaming with a "that's my boy" expression on his face :) We looked around a little more and could see the baby opening and closing his mouth, moving his hands, sucking his thumb... it was unbelievable! We are so excited to experience raising a boy. It will be completely different, but so much fun.

We shared the news with our families....

Lola: "What?!?! Yay!! We're gonna have a batotoy!!" (Don't ask...she has her own way of expressing things) :)

Lisa: "Oh mi goodness.. I'm gonna be an uncle!" (Wait a minute...??)

Lolo: "Whoa that's big, it looks like he has an erection!" (Would you expect any other comment from my dad?)

Paul's parents were a little confused at first...

Lora: "Hi...Paul wanted me to call you because he was too embarrassed to to tell you the news himself...."

Grandma R: "awwww...it's a GIRL!....well, maybe next time..." :)

We finally came out and told them they were having a grandson and they shared in the excitement, too!

So this is a shot where you can ("clearly") see (per the radiology resident) that this is a boy with an image of the bladder and two ("obvious") testicle sacs:

I'm no radiologist, but there IS something pointing up between those two legs, right? :)

Summer Says....

The summer came and left in a hurry this year, but you won't hear a peep from us! There's a few things we are looking forward to a little more than the nice weather we enjoyed this year...like the end of Paul's weekend call, an exciting Disney vacation, a Vegas escape, and finally the addition of another baby to our growing family :) Of course this is a favorite time of year for us since we've been in Michigan because of the cider mills, beef stew & cornbread muffins, crisp nights, holidays... well....you get the picture.

Summer is growing up SO fast! She is our little angel and we know she will make the best big sister ever. A few developments over the past few months:

• She is a HUGE fan of Caillou and has almost every line of any episode she's ever watched memorized. Sometimes she likes to incorporate the lines into her own life: "ewww! that doesn't taste very good." (with eyes closed and looking away) "mommy! daddy! there's a scratchy monster..," "no daddy, I want some water applejuice."
• She has recently developed a love for the musical Annie and watches it over and over and over again. She sings "it's a hard knock life..for us, it's a hard knock life..for us" all day long and says "we love you Miss Hannigan," too!
• Summer is our little Miss Independent and likes to do everything "by myself"
• It's so cute when says "on your 'march', get set, GO" and "mommy, you're a geel" instead of "girl" :)
• When she makes a mess, she announces "ay ay ay, I made a MESS!" with her arms out to her side showing just how big of a mess she made.
• She still loves the merry-go-round, but has recently feared the real ponies (?) silly girl
• I think Summer has a bright future helping me with things around the house, especially sorting laundry, cooking, and baking. She beats everyone when it comes time to lick the frosting off the spoon!
• She is a master of the potty....except for #2 (no matter what we use to bribe her, she still insists on pooping in a diaper)
• Other loves: bubbles, computer games, stamps, coloring, markers, painting, playing doctor, reading books, finding "treasure," "baby Paul," little Lady, being barefoot, singing, Just Dance on the Wii, watching videos of herself, climbing and hanging on the monkey bars, riding her "bicycle" (the chariot attached to our bike), running on the treadmill, tumbling, mornings, dressing herself, sprinklers, eating, Talking TomCat game ..
• Dislikes: other kids getting too close to her (esp boys), not getting attention, getting her face wet, taking off her poopy diaper, dirty feet (she has a little OCPD in her)
  
  However she DOES love splashing in the rain:
  
  
  
  
  She is a character during bathtime!
  

Especially if her daddy is in charge...


Spent the first Saturday of September at Yates Cider Mill. The weather was perfect, the donuts & apple cider were delicious, and we even took a small jar of apple butter home to enjoy for later!


That was a fun morning!


Nothing beats autumn in the midwest


Came back for round 2 to attempt the ponies and feed the goats again..

Destination Desert 2011

Click here to view this photo book larger

Summer's Second Birthday, Brought To You By the Letter S and the Number 2

I can't believe Summer is 2!! Where did the time go? We've been excited to plan her second birthday party to capture the excitement and joy of our little toddler. Lola flew in just in time for the party...and just before we got 5 inches of snow :)

We had to wake our sleeping princess (who was still asleep at 9a after staying up late to go to the airport) to get ready for her own party. When we finally arrived at the Kiddie Klub, she took off! Not only did she enjoy the indoor playground, lego table, kitchen, shopping carts and all the cool toys she could play w/her friends, but especially the sweet messy treats. "There's no better way to spend the day than to play!"

Where do you think you're going?!?!

"See-a-later mommy!"

We decided on a Sesame Street theme since she fell in love w/all the characters when we vacationed at Turks & Caicos. Here is my modified attempt at cupcakes- store bought, but home decorated :)

Yummy!! Cupcakes!!

Discovered the next morning that red frosting=pink poop in the diaper (hahaha) but that was no concern for this birthday girl!

Time to clean up, "I'm messy lola...wash the hands"

We made "Thank-You" bags for each of the kids w/their first initial on the front in bright colors, a tag w/painting done exclusively by Summer, big blue cookies for the guests, and soft socks and chapsticks for the ladies:

Summer LOVED all her presents and we LOVED watching her open 'em! What a spoiled baby :) Our family is blessed to have wonderful friends and family to celebrate these special occasions and make them so super FUN!!

Thanks to some of the ladies in my life who help SO much in keeping life balanced and sane when really truly it's not :) Don't know how I could pull off being a mom and resident w/o your help!