Monday, October 26, 2015

Pumpkin Patches

One more thing that I was grateful to be able to check off my list before the baby arrives was a family trip to the pumpkin patch!  We had to work around soccer schedules, but made the trip out to Dixon to Uncle Buck's pumpkin patch.  There are so many to choose from within a 30 minute drive, but this was the one that Kailee went to on her field trip last year and we knew it was a good one!  



These were the only individual pictures I got of Kailee because she was on the hunt for the PERFECT pumpkin!
 Yep, she's special! :)
 

Luke and Leevi took the hayride back to the main area and we waited behind to take the family picture once they walked back.


Leevi dropped Luke's pumpkin off at the car which almost ended up being a fatal mistake, lol!  Luke only wanted HIS pumpkin for the picture and Leevi threatened him with not being able to go back into the fun corn barn if he didn't cooperate! It worked...sort of!! :)
This was a close 2nd to the other one I added in the baby update post!
 Lots of animals...goats, bunnies, chickens
A little wagon ride
The Heberlings and Kozals joined us!

 Putt-putt
 A special 9th hole with a toilet!
 Water balloon sling-shot!
 And the main attraction....the corn barn!!!!!  So fun!!!!!!!!!!!!
 My girls!!!!!  Or is there a boy sneaking in the picture in my belly??!!
 There was also a zip line that I didn't get a picture of!
Killing time before church...they actually wanted their picture taken!

And yay, another check off my list, the boys had a field trip with MOPS to a pumpkin patch a little closer to home.  The layout of this is one is PERFECT for preschoolers...tons of playground type equipment and all open so if the boys took off in different directions, I could still see them!


This is where I got the idea for the rock pit that Leevi built Luke for his birthday.  Even though we have this in our backyard, this is where the boys spent the majority of their time! Ha!
 They loved this pallet maze too!!!!!



He found this PERFECT little pumpkin and when I went to the bathroom I set it beside my backpack and a toddler must have walked off with it.  I grabbed another small one but I should have known better that he'd be sooooo observant and realize that it wasn't HIS pumpkin!  Thankfully, he was ok with saying we'll give it to the new baby and get him a new one. 

 Hayride snuggles!
 Roping the cattle!
 Such a fun morning!
 Mamas and their babies!!

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Baby showers and update!

Even though this is my FOURTH kid and I REALLY didn't need a baby shower, I was blessed enough by friends who threw TWO showers for me!  The first one I didn't get any pictures of, fail, but some ladies and I from MOPS went out for Mexican food and they showered me with diapers and such!  Such a perfect evening out!!!  And the second shower was a total surprise that I hosted and thankfully my house wasn't dirty and I wasn't in my pajamas! :)  It was the night of the MP ball and I completely bailed on Leevi...I didn't want to spend money on a maternity dress that I definitely wouldn't wear again, Amy wasn't going either, and I also didn't feel like spending money on a sitter or tickets. Leevi gave me the out so I jumped!  Amy and I had planned on getting together for a pizza dinner and to let the kids play.  She sent me a fake text saying that she was running some errands after school and would be later than her normal 4-4:30ish arrival with the girls.  When they got home, her kids and my kids rounded the corner from the foyer, but then Riley from across the street was with them, which my initial thought was, "ok, not unusual for her to stop by", but then Madison and Matthew and the other Riley popped around the corner along with their moms!  Sooooo fun and I was soooo surprised!!!!
 
Amy put together some fun games for the kids...yarn guessing/measuring of my belly.  Ethan was spot on!!!
And Pictionary with baby themed drawings...
And lastly the kids had to pick a girl and boy name for the baby and then I had to guess who picked which set....I did pretty well!  My favorite though was that Luke picked Allie for a girl name (after his future wife, Allie Green!) :)
Pizza and cupcake decorating!
Present time!  The baby is stocked on diapers and wipes and I got some gift cards for Walmart and Hobby Lobby to put to good use after the baby arrives!

The girls didn't know about the shower until their morning drive to school so as soon as Hailey got home she made a bee-line to her room to work on a project for me! :)  So sweet!!  She sewed a 'fish' blanket for the baby...
And made a chore list for how she will help out once the baby arrives!! :)  So thoughtful!!!!  I've always said it was a family decision to have a 4th...I wouldn't be able to do it without their help! 

37 weeks

Leevi and Luke finally got the crib put together!  There wasn't really a rush since I don't even have bedding yet and the baby will be in our room for a bit!
Oh that belly!!!!!  But I am so thankful that I'm still able to exercise without discomfort!!
This was one picture that I REALLY wanted to take before the baby came...our days are so busy, but the weather cooperated and we were able to have a family trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend!
The last of the belly pics....39 wks, 2 days  The baby hasn't dropped nor am I dilated, so I'm not uncomfortable at all...definitely trying to enjoy these last few days/weeks!
The sweetest, snuggliest little man in the world!!!! 
 The belly comparison pics....hmmmmmm
We kept running out of opportunities to paint my belly like a pumpkin, which the girls have talked about since we knew I was due close to Halloween, but thankfully we squeezed it in when the girls were off from school on Friday. 
 Both painted the orange part...

 And then Kailee did the eyes and nose,
 while Hailey did the mouth while they EACH micro-managed one another! :)
We didn't even call Luke in until we were done and he got to add some orange on top of the orange, ha!  He was satisfied! :)

And lastly, my great friend, Monica, put together a Baby Poll with our friends from Hawaii and their predictions on the gender and birthdate!  It'll be fun if someone is correct...I just hope it's not Monica with her Nov 5th guess...I'll take the girl but 11/5 is too long to wait! :)