Wilson County Fair

Man have we been trying to pack in so many activities before life gets even crazier. We are so thankful we are able to do so many things as a family and with friends. 

This past Saturday we headed to the Wilson County Fair with some good friends of ours we have gotten to know through our church and life group. I grew up going to fairs my entire life because I showed livestock at the County and State Fairs. I was so excited to go and I had written down all the exhibits I wanted to see. ha! Jess kept laughing at me the night before as I was laying in bed writing down everything about the fair and I couldn't stop talking about what all we were going to see :) 

We got there around 11 a.m. and stayed until 5:30 p.m. We had a great day seeing all the animals, eating great food, and seeing all the different exhibits. We saw lots of different animals; rabbits, chickens, racing pigs, monkeys riding on dogs, a goat show, a horse show, and all the different farm animals at one of the petting zoos. Canon played in corn, rode a pony, rode his first roller coaster, sat on tractors, and won a prize playing a game. It was really a nice fair and we had a great time as a family and with our friends. 

Canon riding a pony. 

He was hilarious. He was yelling "Yee Haw" and "I'm the pony man." They let Canon and Presley ride for a really long time, maybe because Canon was so entertaining. :)

Canon riding his first roller coaster with Jess. Brad and Presley sat behind them. I was ready for Canon to freak out, but he did really well. They got to the first hill and the ride just stopped. A belt had slipped loose on the ride. This momma was starting to freak out a little.

Canon feeding the goats carrots. He took this job seriously. 

I have noticed Canon being more willing to try new things and becoming more confident the older he gets. 

Watching the goat show.

Barbara and I were laughing at Brad and Jess because it reminded of us of the movie "What to Expect When Expecting". At one point Brad was carrying both of his children, one in the carrier and one in his arms. ha!

Canon and Presley

This was during the last hour of our time at the fair and these two were over it. There were a few melt downs on our way out, but they really did great the entire time we were there.

Canon trying out the tractors on our way out. 

I think we will be making a tradition out of going to the fair every year. I want my children to have a taste of how I grew up and who knows maybe one day they will show something at the fair. 

Toddler Bed

On August 11th we finally transitioned Canon to a toddler bed. Yes, I know that seems a little late since he will be three in October, but he had never tried to crawl out and it was working for us. We decided since Harper was coming soon we should transition him before there are lots of changes in Canon's world. I have never really considered myself a sappy person until I had a child and then I have gotten even worse since we lost Will, so while Jess was switching his bed I was a little emotional. ha! I was also a little worried if Canon would stay in his bed, but he has done excellent. He has been taking great naps and sleeping well at night. It has taken a little longer to get him to go to sleep, but we are working on that. I think the biggest transition for Canon through all of this is that we took the rocking chair out of his room. We weren't rocking him to sleep, but we would rock him for a while before putting him in his bed, but it was becoming a crutch for him. We now have his rocking chair in our room, so we still read books, pray, and sing in the rocking chair before bed. 

Here is the last picture of Canon in his crib.

And now in his toddler bed

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. He is getting so big!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

We took Canon to his first baseball game a few weeks ago, the Nashville Sounds. One of our friends had some extra tickets and she was generous enough to share them with us. We showed up a little early because there was a concert going on, but that didn't last long as there were lots of mascots roaming around and Canon is not a fan of mascots right now. So we ended up taken him into the stadium to get away from the scariness. :) When we walked in we just stood there for a few minutes to find out where our seats were. There was a worker standing there and I told him it was Canon's first baseball game ever and he pulled out a real practice ball and handed it to C. That was neat for Canon to get a "real" baseball at his first game. 

We found our seats and they were in the second row in between home plate and first base. We got some yummy ball park snacks and enjoyed the game. Canon was engaged in the game and loved the umpire at home plate. Every time the umpire would call a strike, he said it right in Canon's direction, so Canon got a kick out of that. Now Canon goes around yelling "Strike" along with the hand motions. 

Excited about heading to his first baseball game!

A week later some other friends of ours asked us to go to another game because they had some extra tickets, so we headed back again. We had another great evening at the ball game! 

Baby Update and Surprise Shower

On Monday we had our 31 (31 1/2 to be exact) week appointment. We were also due for our every 4 week ultrasound, so we got to see our baby girl. She wasn't as cooperative this time around as she was last month, but nonetheless she is growing and continues to look super healthy! Praise Jesus! Her heart beat was 138 and she now weights 3 pounds 15 ounces. She had both of her hands over her face the entire ultrasound. I don't ever remember my boys doing that in their ultrasounds as much as she does. 

We also scheduled our c-section and even know what time we will be having her. It seems more real now that it is scheduled.
This past weekend we also worked on her room and that makes it more real too. We have slowly been taking out the furniture in the guest room, but this weekend we finished taking furniture out and putting up the crib, glider, and the curtains. Now we just need to paint and get things on the walls and figure out our dresser situation (long story). I can't wait to show off the curtains in her room when it is complete. For those few people that talked fabric and went shopping with me know that I was not easy to please when it came to choosing a fabric for the curtains. I am totally happy with my choice and I love them!

Also, on Monday we had our every 6 week social with our Life Group and I was surprised with a baby shower (Jess knew about it)! I guess when it is your third baby and you've lost your last baby some people don't know how to react to this pregnancy, so it was so nice that our Life Group did this. It really touched me and I am so thankful for each one of them and how they minister to us and to each other on a continual basis. We had a great evening of eating potluck style, playing family feud, and having fellowship.

Obviously her name is Harper by the sign. We haven't really publicly shared her name for some reason.
It is Harper Grace to be exact. ;)

I am sure I will at least do one more update and hopefully post pictures of her room when it finally is completed. We better get on it since she will be here in less than 5 weeks. 

Florida Vacation 2012

Here is the heavy photo blog of our vacation. ;)

We really did have a great time in Florida relaxing and not having an agenda. We slept in every morning. Canon ended up in bed with us every night which ended up being nice and sweet. We went to the beach and pool every day. Canon absolutely loved getting in the ocean and "kicking" the waves with his daddy. We took his life jacket this year (thank you Aunt Erin for suggesting that) and I am so glad we did. We still watched him like a hawk, but he was also able to have a little more freedom in the ocean. He surprisingly liked floating on his back in the ocean (can't get him to float on his back in the pool) and didn't seem to mind if the waves splashed in his face. He was a joy to watch in the ocean. Canon still isn't much of a fan of the sand. He doesn't play in it and wants his hands washed off if his hands get sandy. Canon of course loved going to the pool every day. He always seemed to find some friends to play with. 

Jess's parents met us a for a couple of days. It was good to see them and spend time with them. We again went to the beach and pool. We also went out to eat at Toucan's and did a little shopping at a few of the shops in Mexico beach. 

Jess and I watched a lot of Olympics after Canon went to bed. We always bring a card game with us to play at night, so we played a few rounds of Phase 10. We gave each other turns to go to the beach alone when Canon was napping which was very nice and relaxing. 

We hope to make a trip to the beach again next summer with two kiddos!

Eating dinner in the condo.

Enjoying the beach.

Toucan's Restaurant. While we were eating we looked out in the ocean and we were entertained by dolphins for well over 20 minutes. They just kept coming. I had prayed the day before that I would see dolphins. :) I have seen them every year we have been coming. 

We went to Port Saint Joe harbor to show Canon the boats. 

We don't get dressed in regular clothes too often while we are on vacation, so when we do we try to get a few family pictures. 

30 weeks exactly in this picture.

Kisses on the beach

Canon kicking the waves with his daddy. 

Watching daddy snorkel.

Getting ready to go out to lunch. We only went out to a restaurant twice. We cooked, ate sandwiches, or ordered take out a few times. 

So glad we were able to go before life becomes a little more hectic next month.

Beach Pictures

For the last three years I have taken pictures of Canon out at the beach. I think every year I have put him in striped pants and a white shirt, so I wasn't going to do it any different this year. 

I am totally bummed the pictures are blurry. I don't understand why, but they are super cute of Canon anyway. So here they are...

I am so smitten with this little boy!

Pre Vacation

After a few delays we went on vacation and now we are back trying to get things done before baby girl arrives in 5 1/2 weeks. 

The Friday (and weekend) before we were supposed to leave for Florida a few things happened. First, our really friends from seminary we were supposed to me meeting in Florida called and said they weren't going to be able to come anymore due to a situation out of their control. Jess and I totally understood, but were naturally bummed. 

Secondly, that evening after having a a delicious meal at Olive Garden with a good girlfriend I found myself contemplating if I should call my OB because I hadn't really been feeling good and was having consistent cramping and pressure for 24 hours. After much encouragement from my friend and my mom (Jess and C were gone to J's parents for the night to give me a night off and I couldn't get a hold of Jess) I decided to call the OB hotline. The doctor on call told me to come to the hospital to get monitored. I finally got a hold of Jess and he met me at the hospital. After four hours of being monitored and having some test run we were sent home. The monitor was showing lots of uterine irritability that can go into pre-term labor. They thought they would be able to find out why I was having so much irritation, but all the tests came back normal. So they sent me home on modified bed rest for two days. That cramped all of my plans I had to pack and get baby stuff done, but it was nice to rest on the couch and watch the Olympics. We were told upon leaving we were not allowed to go on vacation until I got clearance from my doctor on Monday after I saw her in the office. Even if our friends could have made the trip to meet us, now we couldn't. 

The cramping did go away after being on bed rest and I am very thankful for that. 

Thirdly, on Sunday evening Canon comes down with a high fever. So on Monday I headed to the OB to get evaluated while Jess took C to the pediatrician. I got clearance to go on vacation and so did C, but he was one sick little boy and had to be on an antibiotic. Poor guy. 

We decided to leave Monday early evening after doctor's appointments were finished and C woke up from his nap. Not sure it was the best decision, because that evening while driving and staying in a hotel overnight his fever spiked to 104.7. Freaked this momma out and I was now on the pediatrician's hotline at eleven at night. Finally at 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning C's fever broke and he was able to get 3 hours of solid sleep before we got ready to finish the rest of the drive. He struggled the first couple of days while we were in Florida with a fever, not feeling well, and then breaking out with a head to toe rash. He was a trooper and we did enjoy having him cuddle with us in bed at night due to him not sleeping well in his bed. 

We did have a great vacation and we are so very thankful my issues and Canon's' sickness happened before we left. 

Here is a picture of Canon while he was "helping" me pack for the trip.

These pictures make me laugh. We are slowly potty training so he doesn't wear pants around the house. He also wanted to wear his "skater shoes" and wanted to play with his Resurrection eggs. I was impressed how much he remembered from going through the Resurrection eggs during Easter. 

Next post will be full of pictures and details from our trip!