how cute is this??

so i'm trying to stay ahead of the game and think of Christmas. obviously we will have a new addition before the holidays so putting off Christmas shopping isn't a good idea this year. i was thinking that we'd probably get the boys 1 "big" gift and their stocking stuff but that would be it. they are spoiled rotten by everyone else, so they won't know the difference. plus if you've seen our playroom, it aleady looks a bit like a daycare center.

anyways, this is what i was thinking (btw, thanks beth!):

its a 50's Diner and kitchen set!


how freaking cute is that? the boys are really at that age where they are pretending. pooks likes to pretend to drink out of anything that looks like a cup and bubba loves to stir and pretend to cook, then have you ''taste'' it. plus while this is technically a ''kitchen'' set, its still pretty boyish. and the booth is practical, the kids can actually sit there and eat snacks and such. i was thinking about getting this, and getting rid of some of the smaller toys and ride-ons...those things are turning into weapons! you haven't seen danger on a ride-on til you have bubba on one and pooks on the other and they are acting like they are riding bumper cars.

anyways, i thought it was cute and functional. let me know if you see anything similar or have your own ideas!

pictures of peanut!!!

well i had my 3D ultrasound today and i think it went quite well.

firstoff, we didn't get a gender shot so while most likely peanut is a boy, we have no 3D proof (there could still be hope!). secondly, this was purely an ultrasound to get pictures and see him, for entertainment. no measurements were taken, so i don't know how big he is or anything. on average, around 30wks i think babies are generally around 3lbs. and finally, i signed a release allowing them to use any pictures/video from today for 'media purposes' meaning that peanuts utero pics might end up in a brochure or something.

okay, enough jabbering....here are the pics:

he was asleep with his hands up by his face

waving "hi"
(this was bubba's favorite thing, he said ''hi baby" back while staring at my stomach)

sleeping still....

it wasn't too exciting or difficult to get good pictures of him. he was asleep so he didn't do a whole lot. he kinda picked his nose once, but otherwise he just slept with his little hands up by his face the whole time.

personally, i think he's adorable! he definitely had B's nose and my chin...i think he looks alot like bubba except chubbier, lol. nanaw thinks he is the spitting image of pooks. and B, well he can't decide!

as of now, he is still nameless but hopefully not for long. now that i have a face to go with the name, i'm hoping we can narrow it down.

nursery bedding for peanut

i think it finally 'hit me' that peanut is due in 10 weeks, and I'll probably have him in 8 weeks! we're talking like 55 days people! that is insane. while we have everything that we *have* to have, we're still working on the little stuff. we have a crib, bassinet, car seat, some clothes, bouncy seat, swing, baby book and diapers but still need to get things like cloth diapers for burp rags, binkies, baby bedding, possibly a pack n play, and some sort of dresser/clothing unit.

but today, i'm looking at bedding. i figure peanut may not have a real name, but i could at least narrow his bedding down. so let me know what you think; these are the top 3. (oh and the crib is white)

Option 1: "Scooter" featuring jeeps, trucks and airplanes
Option 2: "Pirates Cove" featuring what else, but Pirates!
Option 3: "Zoom Zoom" featuring soap box derby cars and a retro pattern.
i like all 3 for different reasons. option 1 i like the colors and think they would 'pop' on a white crib. option 2 i like the overall theme and different textures in the fabric. i think its fun and the b&w contrast the baby would be able to see very early on. option 3, i like the idea of doing a car theme and i love the retro accent colors.

what do you think? if it helps, the crib is almost identical to the crib in option 2, but its white instead of that natural wood color.

oh and here is a slideshow of how big i've gotten over the last 29 weeks! yikes!

"Super Freak"

i've spent the last 2 hours putting together/working on the playlist that i will listen to during labor with peanut. with bubba and pooks, i also had my ipod and i felt like it really helped. (well in the beginning for sure) when i would get a contraction, i would turn up the music and focus on the song, anything the song made me think of, singing to myself, etc--really anything to block out the distractions in the room and the pain. surprisingly, it worked quite well. i don't think it took very long for B and nanaw to figure out that if i was turning up the ipod, it meant ''stop talking, contraction". then as soon as the wave passed, i'd turn it down and go back to conversing like normal.

but with pooks i made the mistake of putting too many slow, soothing, sappy songs on it. lullabies are great for babies....not so great for encouragement to push a baby out. while celion dion, cat stevens, michael mcdonald are all wonderful artists i found that i only wanted to listen to fast, upbeat, dancing in a club, in-your-face loud music. missi elliot anyone? how about buck cherry? justin timberlake, fergie, destinys child---nothing like a little ''bootylicious'' to distract the pain right?

it may sound crazy but it worked! so now i'm working on one for peanut. i lost 1/2 my music that was in our computer when we got that virus back in may so its like starting from scratch. so i've been going through CD's and uploading them to my iTunes. i've downloaded music (thanks Matt for that giftcard) and I'm finally coming up with a playlist.

in addition to my ''fun'' music i used with pooks, i've decided to add all my fun, upbeat, rockin 80's music. if you know me, then you know that i know the 80's like nobody's business. i couldn't tell you a single song on the mtv countdown (does mtv even play videos?) and i can't name a single jonas brother but i know all the lyrics to 'wake me up before you go-go', i know who would answer if you call "867-5309" and i've serenated someone to ''total eclipse of the heart.''

and peanut is apparently following in his mama's footsteps :)

while going through all this music, i *HAD* to download ''super freak" by rick james. after it downloads i naturally have to listen to it. would you believe that peanut went from completely asleep and having not moved in probably an hour; to moving so much that you could see it just by looking at my stomach? it was nuts. i made B come in and watch even. he was jamming out in utero.

so it looks like while all my kids love to dance, peanut may put his brothers to shame! 29 weeks and already shaking his groove thing!

the great pumpkin patch

today we took the boys to the local pumpkin patch. by local, i mean the one that is less than 5 mins from our house. they have a corn maze, bounce houses, country store and the pumpkin patch just ''opened'' yesterday.

for $7 per adult (the kiddos were free) we went on a hay-rack ride, enjoyed a petting zoo, and we each got to pick out 1 pumpkin. not to shabby when you think about it this way: $14 for a family of 4 to do all of the above, the whole ordeal took 2 hours, and we walked away with our pumpkins. the grocery store has pumpkins 3/$12 so really---we made out like bandits. and of course, we also took a TON of pictures and made memories. :)

when we first got there, we paid for the pumpkin patch tour but had to wait 40 mins for the next ride to start. so we looked around the country store, bought some fresh produce and then sat in the shade and enjoyed it. the boys had nectarines, i myself chose an apple.

after a messy snack, it was time for the pumpkin patch. bubba was VERY excited, so we ''boarded'' first--he had to sit behind the tractor. pooks however, bawled almost the entire hayrack ride...he hated that tractor. everytime it shifted gears, he cried. once we were to the patch, he was fine.

it was about a 10 minute ride to the pumpkin patch.
we had about an hour to take pics, choose our pumpkins and feed the animals. naturally, as soon as i told bubba that he could pick any pumpkin he wanted...he picked the very first one, right next to the tractor--as soon as we got off of the tractor.
pooks took a different approach. he couldn't care less about the pumpkins, he decided to strike a conversation with every scarecrow.

little ones....

and the mommy ones...

then bubba and b decided to be scarecrows. well, mostly B---bubba was just kinda frightened.
once their pumpkins were secure on the trailer, it was off to the petting zoo. bubba couldn't wait to see the ''BIG goats'' and the ''baby goats". in this picture he was saying ''big''.

they had a blast feeding all the animals. pooks mostly petted them, while bubba had to make sure that he personally fed each one. there were goats, a pony, some sheep, and a llama.

pooks loves ducks! he actually says ''duck'' too!
i love this one!

after we fed the animals, it was time to head back to the tractor/trailer. this is when pooks finally decided to notice the pumpkins---by standing on them.

somebody had a little Captain in him! LOL

hope you enjoyed our day at the pumpkin patch....we did!