Bittersweet thoughts from a VERY pregnant me

Well, I'm about a month behind on just about everything in my life.  But that's what self-induced bedrest/take-it easy time is for right?  Joshua should be here in about 2 weeks so I'm trying to catch up on just about everything from, blogging, housework (much to my husbands happiness), returning phone calls, updating the photography blog, sorting thru mountains of clothing, getting the nursery/our room ready etc.

I made a list of things to get done over the next few weeks and much to my surprise, I'm plugging right along. I think the nesting stage has finally hit me.  I'm done shooting weddings, done shooting pretty much everything (oh wait-except for pictures at the marriage retreat next weekend:) so now it's time to nest I guess.

I was  driving home from my 900th NST today and it all sort of hit me.  This is it. No more babies. Ever. (Excuse me while I go grab a tissue).

No more being tired, no more pregnancy glow, no more maternity clothes (when you've been pregnant 2 years straight they AREN'T as cute as they used to be). No more uncomfortable nights, no more swelling, being hot just about everywhere, no more strangers touching my belly, no more exhaustion.

No more feeling life grow inside of me. No more laughing at the "alien invasion" as Phillip calls it, no more baby hiccups in my belly. No more feeling him kick me back when I try to push him out of my ribs. No more laying in bed at night, just feeling him move. I NEVER thought I'd hear myself say this out loud- but I'm actually going to miss it.  It makes me a little weepy when I think about it. It's like a chapter in my life is closing. Forever.  I wonder if I'll forget what it all feels like- I hope not.  

Now don't get me wrong- I'm not canceling Phillip's vasectomy (I'm not gonna miss it that much!).  I guess I'm just a little, bittersweet about it. So while I'm running around trying to finish the million and one things I have written on my list, I'll thank God every chance I get. Pregnancy is an extraordinary miracle, it's a beautiful gift and I feel honored and privileged to have gone thru it 3 times.  So goodbye pregnancy chapter. Hello chapter of 2 babies under 1 year- YES- you read that right. Two babies under the age of 1, it makes me tired just thinking about it.

Samuel's Bath Time

Today I started Samuel's baby book (bad mommy I know, the poor kid's already 10 months old), anyway, I realized I needed to get some pictures of just Samuel.  Phillip took Mikey out to his parents for awhile so I decided to seize the opportunity. 

I threw Samuel in the bath and started shooting away. I'm actually very proud of myself, for my fellow photog. friends, I shot these in full manual. I mean FULL- full manual including flash, I dabble in between AV and Manual but have gotten more and more comfortable with Manual. I'm no master by any means and equivalent exposures still get tricky, but it's a work in progress.

Anyway- I think these pictures capture so much of Samuel's personality. We joke a lot that his mouth is always open- which it is. He's usually always smiling which means he's pretty much the happiest baby ever.

I can't say enough about him- I know-I'm a little biased, but really do they get any cuter than this???

Still no Teeth!

I do believe Samuel is the only 10 month old in America who does not have teeth! This has proven to be a little bit challenging since he refused to eat baby food about 3 months ago. All he wants is whatever Mikey's eating or whatever we're having for dinner.  So I've been shredding lots of meat, which he loves, and cooking a whole lotta vegetables. 

Samuel has really grown into his personality over the last couple of months. He's a very, very happy boy. He likes the action- if Mikey is outside he wants to be outside with him. If there are people around- he's smiling and laughing. This is a real change for us, since we were very used to Mikey aka- Mr. Anti-Social. So it's fun to have a baby that smiles and enjoys being around people.

Can't wait to see the personality that Joshua comes out with!

Mikey playing "where's the baby" with Samuel, for all of you Ice Age lovers :)

Disneyland with Daddy

We finally got Daddy to get the day off to go to Disneyland.  Mikey was extra excited because not only were we taking Daddy, but Benny and Ally as well.  

We got there around lunch time and unfortunately it was VERY crowded. But thankfully it didn't really matter because we got season passes so we headed over to California Adventure for the rest of the afternoon.  

I thought it was funny that after the Pixar parade Ivan and Phillip couldn't get over how real the McQueen car and Towmater looked!  That Disney- they sure know how to make a little boys dreams come true!

We went back to the big Disneyland as Mikey calls it, rode a few more rides, got ice cream and waited for the fireworks.  We had a fun day together as a family, even Daddy enjoyed himself and wants to go back for more :)

Best Buddies

I love this series of pictures. I was in the office one afternoon and all of the sudden I hear Samuel cracking up. I peeked around the corner and Mikey was sitting behind him tickling him. This makes my heart smile :) and smile :) and smile :) 

I finally figured out that not only was Mikey tickling Samuel, he was also letting him fall backwards on his legs.  Apparently Samuel didn't mind because he just kept smiling and laughing. 

Mikey's Big Boy Bike

About a month ago (give or take a few weeks or days) Mikey started asking for a bike. A real bike for big boys.  Phillip made him a deal that if he learned how to pedal, he would buy him one. Of course- Mikey's always up for a challenge so he started going outside to practice on his tricycle, as a side note, the same tricycle I bought for Ally 4 years ago, man time flies.  Anyway- after about a week- he did it. Of course the first thing he said was, "Mommy call Daddy and tell him we got to go to Wal-Mart to get me a big boy bike".

Off to Wal-Mart we went and here he is- riding his bike.  I guess he's growing up faster than I realize.

oh dear

These past couple of weeks have been extra crazy- and I mean extra crazy.  So I will do a quick update- with not a lot of pictures- well no pictures at all. But here's the run down of what's been happening:

-Michael has learned to ride a big boy bike (I will post pictures of this because it's so stinkin' cute).

-Samuel is now army crawling ALL over the place (this too is adorable so I'll do a separate entry)

- I shot a wedding a couple of weekends ago- you can check out the blog entry on my photog. website: www.kimberlyloyaphotography.com

- Phil is his usual handsome, debonair self. Playing basketball, trying to boss me around ;) teaching Mikey how to ride a bike, hit the baseball, working hard etc.  

- We took a family trip to Disneyland a few weeks ago. Mikey was extra excited to bring Phillip along since he hadn't been with us yet.  They rod the rockets, Buzz lightyear etc.

- Ally turned 7, Zeke turned 4... {sigh}

-I went to our churches Women's Retreat, which was awesome. I have a whole lot I want to share about that-

- Dr's. appointments, playdates.

Last but not least, we slowed down this past weekend to celebrate Easter.  I enjoyed the cold weather on Good Friday and Saturday. How amazing it was that the sun was shining and soooo warm on Resurrection Day. Church was great, worship was great, I was a little overwhelmed by the amazement of what our Lord did on the cross for us. He is good.

We leave for a much needed mommy/daddy vacation on Thursday, we'll be back on Saturday. Next week slows down so hopefully I'll have a chance to sit at the computer for a good couple of hours and blog my little heart out.