for the record...

since this isn't my first time, but almost certainly my last...i think it is important to take a moment and reflect on being pregnant. it is amazing to me how god allows us to forget so much about pregnancy. i am sure there is a reason for this, but i must confess...not unlike a lot of what is written on this blog, an idea came to me during a 3am moment of insomnia...and unfolded as the following:

dear somer,
please note that you do not LOVE being pregnant. that you are NOT one of those amazing glowing women, who look like they swallowed a cantaloupe. alas, you are the woman who looks like she swallowed a pound of bacon, and a bag of doritos (ok, so what if i did?!). so for posterity i feel it necessary to document the following reasons for not becoming the next duggar family.
#1. emesis. puke. vomit. ralph. you & toilet, bff.
#2. the ever expanding nose. (think michael jackson's formative years.)
#3. miscellaneous ailments: geographic tongue, spotted skin, nose bleeds, etc.
#4. hypersensitive sniffer. already known as the "bloodhound" amongst friends, heaven forbid, one of the kids should ever try to drink a beer or smoke a cigarette and lie about it....they would be busted before they hit the driveway! but being pregnant exacerbates this wonderful gift...into a frenzy of smells....ooooh, i can't even talk about it (the vomit cometh). let's just say the grocery store is OFF limits!
#5. laziness, sleep deprivation, narcolepsy. i like a nice eight hours at night. pregnancy does NOT like this pattern! pregnant somer likes a 3pm nap, a 3am wake up, and sheer laziness throughout the rest of the day! i do not like lazy, and i like to have a list and check it off. being overly hormonal, constantly dehydrated, and well....fat....impedes this list significantly.
so please somer, before you look at the following pictures, and at the cute little brown eyed, blonde haired angels wrecking total havoc on the playroom at this very moment....remember this list! and stay strong...three is the FINAL number!
lovingly,
your uterus and associated female hormones.

now...on to the much anticipated (and delayed, did i mention the puke?) ultrasound pics.

peanut's first pictures. little arm and leg buds, and of course i think i spot a griffin nose!

backside and measuring length. yep, definitely a day baby, head circumference very near belly circumference. ;)

a quick (vivian's was 145-ish, bauer was 160-ish) heartbeat. and possibly the most beautiful sound in the WORLD! i cried, no joke. somehow, knowing what it means to be a parent, just HOW much you can love someone else....makes it all the more special every time!!

and finally, close up. yep, definitely a griffin nose! ahhh what a blessing!! god is so GOOD and great! what was the beginning of this post about, again?! duggar you better watch out! :)

umm yeah....

puhleeease....you KNEW it was coming! his nickname isn't "monkey-see-monkey-do" for no reason!!

who knew?

apparently there really are people (besides su and cathy) that read this blog. and apparently, they thought we were in need of some new (and slightly more masculine) dress up attire.

popa and dotdot got bauer this awesome pirate costume...which he happily shares with sister.

and sweet spiderman can morph into superman, buzz lightyear, woody, or a knight at any time!

oh....well...we did add one more girly item to the repertoire. can you guess who this is? it's daphne* or course!! both kiddos LOVE scooby, and incidentally it was also one of clif's favorites as a kid....how perfect!

*as a side note, when i went to take vivian's picture for this post, she had very specific instructions for me. "mommy, take one for daddy and then take a second one for gege, this will crack her booty up!" indeed, miss v, indeed!!

essence of vivian

some would say i am obsessed with my camera. i carry it with me ALWAYS, download pictures nightly (or at least try to), and on average take around 200 pictures a month.

sometimes, however, other people use my camera.

apparently vivian felt i really hadn't been capturing her"essence" in the last few posts.

so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

strangely....i think she did quite a good job of capturing EXACTLY what a four year old is all about!! ;)

vivian's BIRFday #4!

or at least that is what miss v says. last night we had the pleasure of having trip AND ruby spend the night in honor of vivian's big day. the boys were great, the girls....well....they were sweet but they giggled ALOT and finally had to be separated so they would sleep.

after a fun morning of blueberry waffles and playing, we went to drop ruby and trip off and grab a bit of lunch. then it was on with the party!! miss vivian asked if we could go bowling, and wouldn't you know it? she BEAT ME! it must have been those snazzy bowling shoes....

or maybe it was her cheerleaders....

or possibly the victory dance itself?!

after a brief nap, we spent a little mawmaw money (thanks so much!) and got the brand new three musketeers barbie...and her pony princess tiny friend, too!!

then we are headed to the lee's for even more celebrating! woohoo!! happy birthday little miss, we love you!! :)

heifer

we had a visitor today, mr. c came over for the morning to hang out. AND our gege was still in town....sooooo what better day to try a new adventure? the heifer village opened not too long ago and is FREE to the public until the end of the year. as you can see the kiddos REALLY enjoyed the mosquito netting.

and the exhibits of what foods are good for you. luckily there were four flaps, what would we have done if there were only three? ;)

dance.

this fall we were signed up for our first season of soccer. clif had volunteered to coach, i had volunteered to provide snacks, and several of our friends were going to be playing. alas, not only the neurosurgeon, but also a very timid mommy and daddy, decided balls flying were probably not such a great idea (and neither was tumbling at gymnastics) so we have decided to start dance!

i am quite aware the pictures are CRAZY!! someone was so excited she couldn't stand still!! and that didn't stop when class started. she did listen well, and pay attention during the entire hour of ballet, tap and jazz...

and even said "can we come back tomorrow?" i think that qualifies as a success!!

gege time at the zoo

gege is in town and we decided (due in part to the lovely and unseasonably cool weather) that a zoo trip was in order.

the carousel was running and gege (since i can hardly stand it when i'm not pregnant) offered to ride! weeeeee!!!!

and our favorite friends the porcupines were enjoying the beautiful day as well, by taking a little afternoon nap! it is hard to tell, but there are two...and vivian commented later how she was SURE they were big sister and little brother...just like her!! ;)

school

it's that time again.....the first day of school. vivian was ready to go monday morning...and big b,

well....let's just say he was a bit less excited. hence mommy having to be IN the picture. thanks big sister vivian for your great photo work!! :)