24 Weeks.

24 weeeks already!  It is hard to believe how fast the last month of our lives has gone.  This is definitely my most photographed baby of the three.  Although he/she has been photographed the most, we don't really have any great pictures!  Again, baby was in a difficult position, luckily the ultrasound tech was able to get most of the pictures she needed so that I don't have to pain through yet another ultrasound!  Arin was able to come to the ultrasound with me, so her excitement deterred a lot of my anxiety this time.  Although I debated, I decided that I just didn't want to know the sex of the baby after all.  Experiencing the surprise with both Landon and Kadence was just so amazing that I didn't want to give that up.  Besides, I never was much of a planner anyhow.

Everything on the ultrasound looked normal and baby is growing appropriately.  He/she is 1lb 6 oz and in the 62nd percentile for size with a heart rate of 170.  Baby had the hiccups almost the entire ultrasound and it was neat to see what I have been feeling inside!

My baby belly continues to grow by the day, although it feels more like by the minute.  Although I know I am bigger than I was with the first two, I continue to catch grief from a lot of people for not being very big.  It is nice to hear for sure, but I still feel large and in charge!  I have been able to keep exercising on my treadmill but with the summer weather cooling off, I am missing my stress relieving runs.  I try to stay positive and remind myself that I have the rest of my life to run, but it is hard when you can't do something you love so much.  I have also been picking up some more shifts at work which has been very nice.  I love being able to share in my patient's lives at such a happy time.  It has also been enjoyable to spend time with the little newborn babies and it excites me that soon I will have my own again.

My goofy children were feeling left out, and wanted to take pictures of their "baby" belly's, too.  It is quite funny how often they both talk about the baby in my belly.  I never experienced that when I was pregnant with Kadence because Landon was still a baby himself!  They say some pretty funny things but  definitely the most said statement from both of them is, "Mommy, my baby is hungry."  They must think that if they tell me the babies in their bellies are hungry, I will let them eat whatever they want.  Hilarious.

The end is in view.

Ryan had his first interview today.  That's right, for a job-with a paycheck!  Our someday is fast approaching and we can not wait.  I am used to my guy in jeans and a t-shirt, but it sure is nice to see him all dressed up.  He cleans up so well!  It didn't seem like that long ago when he was getting all spiffed up for his CRNA school interviews.  It is hard to believe that was over 2 1/2 years ago already!

The interview was in Fargo at the hospital we both worked at when we lived there.  It is now just a waiting game as they told Ryan it would be 2-4 weeks before he heard anything.  His completion of school is still 6 months away, so he definitely has some time for further job searching if he needs it.  I am so proud of him and all of his hard work!

Family Time.

We had a much needed weekend filled with just our little family of 4.  Ryan had worked a 16 hour overnight call shift Thursday night, so we had most of Friday, and all of Saturday and Sunday to spend together.  We were blessed with some beautiful weather and some fun things to do.  We headed to the Zoo on Friday to see the week old baby giraffe that had been born.  The kids were excited to see the black bear in the tree as we had never seen that before.

After we had fed the ducks and koi fish, this peacock thought it deserved a snack as well.  The kids were not afraid to get close to him and feed him.

Here was the cute baby giraffe.  I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to get any closer, but it was neat to see anyhow.  It is funny to think of a baby weighing 155 lbs and standing 5'7''!  We love our little zoo here in Sioux Falls.  It will definitely be missed if we move when Ryan is done with school!

Saturday morning we hit up the farmer's market and Falls Park, then headed back home for lunch and naps.  When the kids woke up, we decided to take them to the Sioux Empire fair.  The weather was perfect as it was not too hot, but warm.  The kids both wanted to go on some rides (or so they thought) so we bought them some tickets and let them ride.  This was the first ride they chose and were both very excited about it...until it started.  Landon loved it, Kadence did not.

As you can see, once it started moving, Kadence was not happy.  She cried the entire time yelling for me.  It was heartbreaking.  Landon was such a good brother talking to her and giving her hugs trying to make her feel better.  I think they stopped the ride a little early in light of her screaming.  I don't think she will be going on another ride anytime soon.

Landon loves rides.  He would have rode them all day if we let him.  So me and Kadence hung out and watched while he enjoyed the rest of their tickets.

He finally got to go on a carousel!  The one he usually rides at the zoo has been down for a few weeks, so he has been quite disappointed.  This one was bigger and went faster though, so he was happy!

Kadence just hanging out, holding her tickets that she wasn't going to use!

Landon on his motorcycle.  He thought he was pretty cool and even cooler when the cute blonde girl jumped on the back with him!

Kadence did venture into the funhouse-holding daddy's hand.

After the rides, we saw all the animals and the kids both had an absolute riot doing that.  Then we enjoyed some healthy (yeah right) fair food.  What a great way to spend the afternoon as a family.

Sunday we just relaxed and ran some errands in the morning and headed downtown for a long walk after lunch.  The weather and weekend could not have been better.  Our summer has been so jam packed with traveling long distances that it was so enjoyable to just spend some time here together.

I want to see my Daddy.

Today is the day that Ryan finally comes home from his 6 day trip to Seattle.  He and some of his classmates ventured out west for a "mandatory" National Anesthesia Convention.  From the sounds of it, it was more of a party then a convention!  I am glad he had the opportunity to spend some time with good friends and have a good time-he deserves it.

I was fortunate in that my mom came and stayed with me for a few days so that I could take a mandatory work class and not be alone the whole time!  It was fun to spend some quality time with her and the kids loved having Grandma Debbie around.

With all that said, we are ready for Daddy to come back to us!!!!  I know both kids are missing him terribly and I know that I am missing my love even more.  Landon and Kadence are ready for daddy to come home so he can: kiss all their owies, fix all of their broken toys, snuggle, and most importantly WRESTLE.

Annabelles.

Annabelle came and stayed at our house for 6 days!  What a brave little girl coming all this way without her Mom!  We had so much fun with her here, it was great to spend some quality time with her!  Landon was in heaven with his cousin around day and night and they all played very well together.  Annabelle slept on her mattress next to Landon's bed and they slept so well.  It was so cute to hear their giggles and talking and then they would just go to sleep!  We did lots of fun things and stayed very busy.  Unfortunately, I didn't take as many pictures as I should have.  I guess having the 3 of them was busier than I expected and I get tired pretty easily nowadays anyhow!

We made it to gymnastics one morning and the kids had a great time!  Landon and Annabelle on the "big slide."

Kadence jumping!  Her favorite thing to do!

We had some really hot days and hit up a couple of different pools.  This picture is foggy because my camera had fogged up because it was so humid outside!

Annabelle taking a break at the pool.

Kadence going down the slide.

Landon's turn at the slide.

We had such a good time with Annabelle.  Hopefully she will come back and stay with us again!

Flooding.

The rain has just been constant here this summer.  This past week we had a few bad storms and many areas of the city are flooded.  There were roads closed and many people with water damage to their homes.  Thankfully, we have been dry so far.  It is amazing how much standing water there is around town in places you normally would not see it.  The river is overflowing and they have been dumping untreated wastewater into it to help with the sewage overflow.  Disgusting.  There is also an abundance of mosquitoes around with all the wet grounds.  Disgusting.  We took a trip to Falls Park because among all of the not so good things all of the rain has brought, the view at the park is a beautiful one.

I just can not believe how much water there is and how fast it is flowing.  I have also never seen as many people at Falls Park as I did last Friday when we went.

Simply beautiful.

And now, no more rain please!

Happy Birthday Aunty Arin!

We enjoyed a lovely birthday dinner with Arin and Gary and Sue on Saturday evening.  How fun to celebrate her birthday with her!  She even spent the next few days at our house which the kids of course loved!  Happy Birthday to You Arin, thanks for being such a great Aunty, sister, and friend!  Love you!