All ready for baby!

The countdown is on! We are hoping this will be the first baby to not be induced. Things I am trying differently this time include:

1. Lots of exercise! Been averaging 90 minutes per day since 10 weeks. Lately I've increased walking as well by taking the kids to the park as much as possible.

2. Dates + Pineapple: I read a study that women who ate 6 dates per day had less a chance of induction. It's worth a shot so I started eating 6 dates but couldn't stomach them. I found that if I eat them with pineapple they are much better. So breakfast consists of 6 dates and about 1/4 a pineapple. 

3. Red raspberry leaf: I drank the tea with Jack and Lily. I am still drinking the tea this time around but I am also taking the pills

4. Evening Primrose Oil. I have never tried this before so hopefully it works magic this time around. 

Plus everything else that we tried last time around to get Lily out. If this baby doesn't come on it's own I will truly be surprised!

Since we don't know the sex of the baby it has been harder to prepare. Baby has several white and neutral color onsies and sleepers, but the majority of his/her clothes are blue since I found a huge box of Jack's baby clothes at my parents house:

Our closet is the storage place for baby stuff including diapers/wipes

Blankets, rock n' play, co-sleeper, etc.

Next to our bed we set up the pack n play

And Luke got me a gilder for the bedroom

Kids are really excited to meet baby too.

Funny Pregnancy Quotes

Gotta love the things kids say. Jack and Lily really want a puppy (maybe even more than they want a baby). When I asked Lily if she thought the baby in my belly was a boy or a girl she replied "Maybe it's a puppy... a little, tiny puppy" She has said this more than once, I hope she's not disappointed when her wish doesn't come true.

And although I've felt pretty good this pregnancy I can tell I've been complaining a bit when I hear the kids echo things I must be saying. Like when I hear Jack complaining when picking up his toys "Oh, its getting so hard for me to bend over"  haha.... 

Race weekend

This past weekend we participated in another of the kids fun runs. This one was held at the local peach festival and it was a blast!

Since Lily ran the last race all by herself Luke was ready to take both kids from the start while I waddled behind

Right before the race

Lily surprised us all again by running the entire mile without stopping. Even Jack made it this time with no complaints

Ready to cross the finish line

Almost there!

The amazing Lily

After the race the kids were rewarded with a baggie of all sorts of goodies and fun coupons

Then we headed over to the peach festival for the day and enjoyed peach ice cream, peach pie, peach beer and lots more treats.

Here we are eating peach ice cream

Later that evening Jack and I drove over to my gym to pick up his race packet for his triathlon in the morning. Jack was so excited to get a new shirt and lots of energy bars/gummies/brownies for his race.

Sunday morning we headed out for Jack's first triathlon. Here he is before his race

Jack and Lily showing off their numbers

First part of the triathlon was the swim. Here is Jack ready to jump in

Afterwards Luke helped him at the transition area to get his shirt on and get on his bike

He then rode up the pre marked trail and back again

After dropping off his bike, he headed out for the final part of the triathlon: the run. Here he is coming up to the finish line:

Our little triathlete with his medal

So proud!

Love these kids!

More summer fun

It has been really hot lately and we have been trying to make daily trips to the pool or the splash playground. We have also made a few other outings including a trip to another kids day hosted by the city. The theme this time was animals so the kids got to see lots of animals including snakes:

 And a horse ride

 Being 9 months pregnant in summer is no fun. Lily snapped this shot where you can see how big baby is getting!

 We also have some sprinkler toys in the backyard which are great for the days I can't make the walk to the park

 For our anniversary we splurged on a few much needed items including a sliding bench for the backyard and an umbrella.

This past weekend we ventured out past the park and followed the trail further down the road to a mountain bike park. The kids had a blast on the trails:

 Lily has a huge daredevil side when it comes to riding her strider. She took the hills of the bike park even faster than Jack and as she was flying down the trail I could hear here saying "Wow, WHOA, Wow, WHOA, I LOVE THIS!" It was really cute but also frightening to watch since I knew how bad it would be if she fell.

Here is a video of them at the bike park:

Just another week and a half left before Jack starts school. And less than a month left before baby is here!

1st tooth

Jack finally lost his first tooth! He has been waiting years for this day and was so excited when it finally happened. 

In the morning trying to wiggle his tooth out

Finally, during kids church he wiggled it out! First lost tooth!

Summer happenings

Summer is quickly drawing to an end and we are doing our best to squeeze in as much fun during these last few weeks before everything changes.

A couple weeks ago we met up with some friends for our second trip to 6 flags Elitch Gardens this summer

Jack and Lily with their friend Lucca

Jack moments before getting soaked by the tidal wave

The whole silly gang

Jack has been taking golf lessons this summer and for the graduation they held a family golf day on the golf course. 

With an ice cream party afterwards:

We also participated in the 2nd of the 1 mile family fun runs. 

I had anticipated sticking with Lily while Jack and Luke ran the race since Lily walked most of it last time. But this time Lily surprised all of us when she wanted to keep running with Luke and Jack and left me in her dust. She even outran Jack to the finish line.

Here we are after the race

The kids and I were able to make it to one of the local fun days hosted by our city where the kids got to ride in a train

Sit in a police car

And eat cotton candy

And we had a visit from my Aunt Eileen and her kiddos who we hadn't seen for 2 years.

The group in 2014

Here we are back in 2012

It's hard to believe that we only have less than a month before Jack starts 1st grade, Lily starts preschool and the baby is due to arrive! These next few weeks are going to be pretty slow as we wind down the summer and get ready to welcome the new changes