a baby boy close-up

I had an ultrasound yesterday and we got a pretty good shot of baby boy - he is SO cute! I'm 33 weeks in so we are in the final stretch. Can't wait to meet the little booger.

in every single face photo he has been snuggling his hands

what's up, doc?
(he looks like a bunny rabbit here, it was cracking us up)

That's all for today, thought I would share the neat photos of baby boy. Over. And out.

UPDATE: Tommy just returned this photo of baby boy, also known as Jimmy Ray in our circle of friends (don't ask). Please notice the cigarette and "hang loose" hand signal.

nice.

I'm putting this one in my baby book.

Another Update: Becce sent a few photos of their trip to Destin and I thought I would share. Harlan looks like a little MAN. Becce said that the other morning Harlan came up to her and said "you neva find yo keys - ha ha ha" - he hid them from her in her purse. Not the best hiding place, true. BUT the fact that he did it is funny enough.

little man harlan

beach bumz

OK, for real. I'm over and out!

i give you - my belly & old beach photos

Matt and I are not very good at taking the "belly growth" photos. In fact, this is the first one and I'm 30 weeks already. And I think I was this far along with Lottie when we took one with her. Oops. Anyway, I give you - my belly.

front and center

side view

And since my last post on the beach, I've been feeling nostalgic and found these old photos of the very first time I went to Ocean Isle Beach with the Venables. I think it was in 2006 or maybe 2005? Matt couldn't make it but Cera did, and this was pre-LS - so wayyyy back when...

cera and megan on the beach on evening

here i am (a blondie) with megan hamming it up for the camera
(megan is cute here, me - not so much)

the group photo - we all fit in one house,
unlike this year when we had two homes

me, cera and megan riding bikes on a HOT morning (safety first!)

That's all I have for you now. I am going to wait until we finish up a few things in Lottie's room before I post the photos. But I can go ahead and brag on her, she transitioned into a big-girl bed like a rock star! She's all about "her new room" and her "big-girl bed" - we are so proud of her. She will go into the nursery and point to the crib, telling us it's for "baby brother" - she's such a sweetie. She also stays in her new bed and doesn't crawl out, she waits for us to come and get her. It. Is. Awesome.

PS - I tried to take a quick shower today and Lottie Sue was hanging out in our bathroom chatting with me and reading books. By the time I was finished she was gone and upon exploring I saw that her bedroom door was closed. I opened the door and saw her sitting at her stool (that had been moved to the window for better lighting I assume) with some of my make-up. She had my eyeshadow pallet in one hand and my eyeshadow brush in the other and she was applying black eyeshadow to her eyes using the mirror.

I said her name and she popped up and panicked, she started talking enthusiastically about us reading books and was trying her darnedest to keep me away from the make-up. It was funny, she was really sweating it. I wasn't mad and was honestly impressed that she was using the correct tool to apply the eyeshadow.

she's so goth

Blog to ya later!

baby boy is ready for his close-up, megan's birthday dinner, a lake weekend & pimento cheese

This morning I went to the baby doctor to finish up his anatomy ultrasounds. The only thing they needed to still look at was his heart flow, and I am happy to report he checks out! He is on target for his size and weight. Today he is 1lb 15 oz, a big boy! See how cute he is? We just love love love him to pieces...

here he is with his mouth open and sticking his tongue out

oh, what a sweet schmoopee

Earlier this month Megan had a birthday and I'm just now getting around to posting these photos (bad friend! bad friend! the shame!). There was a family celebration and Lottie Sue and I attended (Matt was out of town). Megan's big gift was a digital camera that hopefully she won't break, it's specially made to withstand such trauma. She's somewhat known for breaking items (just ask our kitchen), but I think it's just part of her charm.

the birthday girl

Tommy grilled veggies and chicken kabobs, plus there was corn on the cob. I was cutting the corn off the cob for Lottie Sue while she picked up a piece and went to town on it. She often surprises us with the things she knows.

nom nom nom nom nom

Mary Ann made the cake for Megan, and during a phone conversation Tommy and Mary Ann encountered a miscommunication. Mary Ann asked Tommy what Megan's favorite flowers were and he told her/she heard dandelions.

Megan's favorite flowers are daisies.

abstract art de dandelions

here i am hugging lottie sue while she pushes away

lucy enjoying cake

After the cake and gift opening was over the kids ran around the yard. I grabbed a few of Lottie Sue.

lottie sue is such a cutie pie

Kim, Clay, Max and Lucy had a birthday gift for Lottie (even a homemade card!) - thanks so much guys!

lottie sue reading her card

And now for more photos from this month...Becce and Mike went to Vegas for a trip and Harlan was in Knox Vegas for a few days. We kept him one night and had such a great time. He and Lottie get along pretty well and if I had to break them up (only one time) it was because they both wanted the same toy. The day after we had Harlan I took the kids up to the lake for a pool day since Harlan was staying with BB the remainder of his vacation. When the Apples came in we spent the weekend at the lake.

driving up the kids held hands - too cute

safety first

lottie sue and moi

mike and too-cool-for-school harlan

lottie sue in matt's shades

becce about to throw harlan overboard - i mean,
becce holding on tight while harlan looks at the water

uncle matt and harlan love to boat

the kiddos, holding hands - again, too cute

once we were ashore, lottie sue spied ducks and had to say hello

we met granray and granbunny at the restaurant,
lottie and harlan "drove" their car for a minute

on the way home they both wanted to drive the boat and honk the horn
(they kept on honking it, i wonder how annoying we were boating out of the marina)

mike, harlan and becce say bye to the sun

lottie sue driving the boat
(grandaddy would literally let her drive it, lots of right turns)

harlan's turn, he was very fond of the horn
(if i had a dollar for every time...)

Anywho, I am now officially caught up on my photos - woo hoo! Once you get behind it is daunting to get caught up.

• Mike is training for his first marathon, it goes down this October in Chicago. He's raising money for Team World Vision. If you have a few bucks to spare, give him some. I know he would appreciate it.
• Food for thought, read about How the Food Makers Captured Your Brain.
• How does this sound? A trip to the grocery store for only 10 ingredients to feed you for a week. Awesome!
• Next year there will be 10 nominees in the Oscar's Best Film selection.
• Little One-of-a-Kind Design is giving away a nap set - please check it out! If you like hip and cool baby items that is...
• Oh yeah, I am on a quest to find the best pimento cheese recipe. It's my new project. The stuff you buy at the grocery store is icky and slimy if you ask me. I like homemade stuff. I've made two recipes so far and this one is my favorite to date. Matt roasted the red peppers for me instead of buying a jar of pimentos and I think I'll trade out the pickles for jalapenos next time. It's super yummy and Lottie Sue and I have enjoyed it all week. If you have a favorite recipe send it to me, I'll try it!
  

Alrighty, it's time for Shoobie Doobie Doo DANCE - I must sign off. I hope you are watching...

at the zoo, lottie sue gets pitiful & cera had cool glasses in high school (not)

Matt and I took Lottie Sue to the zoo on Friday afternoon. We made it through almost half of the zoo, then ended up getting rained out. We still had fun though! Here are a million photos for your enjoyment, it will be like you were there.

lottie sue was peeking through the grate to
spy a big pig, she oinked a few times as well

Then we went to the goat and sheep petting area, they give little ones a brush to use of the animals - they love it. One little fella was smitten with Lottie.

they never looked better after this styling

This little guy is Guava, he was all over Lottie Sue. She liked him even though he knocked her down. She recovered fast.

all better

Alrighty, here are a few more photos...

matt and lottie sue check out the rhinos

these red pandas are the cutest things ever

Here is a photo of an owl, they are so gorgeous.

if i wasn't a muggle i'd pick this owl

here we have lottie sue observing a butterfly
in the butterfly tent thingy

Lottie Sue was VERY excited to pet this bunny rabbit. She kept hopping up and down saying "hop hop hop" - adorable.

nice bunny

lottie sue directing daddy around

here's an elephant coming out to play

large and in charge

lottie sue also really likes the zebras, she calls
them "orses" and kept saying "eigh! eigh!"

That's all we saw before the downpour came. We did not have an umbrella. We got very wet.

Here are a few random photos of the past week or so, life with Lottie Sue.

unrolling the toilet paper for her toilet play

this is after matt shared a fudgesicle with her

These two are of Lottie Sue pouting after she was put in time out for slapping me. She does this a lot and when you put tell her it's not ok she closes her eyes and can hardly keep from smiling. If she can't see you then you can't see her I suppose. After the "time out" she went into the kitchen and laid down, looking all pitiful. Talk about laying it on thick.

so sad, she says

We went up the lake over the weekend to see BB and GranDaddy. It was rainy and kinda chilly but Lottie Sue had to put her toes in the pool.

splish splash

And this is a video I took of them enjoying the water.

it's the little things

And now I have a few photos I scanned in this afternoon, Daddy found these and I thought I would share with you as well.

i painted this in 1983, WAY before we even had ernie and kevin - spooky
(i love how i drew an arrow from my name to the kitty kat)

becce in kindergarten (the dress was red with
white polka dots, i remember it well)

cera in high school i think, cool glasses (not)

cera looking very happy to be at the dixie stampede

becce looking cute and me looking a little
too grown up in my underoos (yikes)

becce with the side pony

becce posing for photos in the backyard at littlebrook subdivision

this is a button i scanned in of cera when she cheered

becce in high school dressed to the nines

Those were good and not too embarassing, embarrassing ones are my favorite. Oh well...

We also had an ultrasound last week, here's a face shot and then on of his ding-ding again.

hi buddy!

More information for your brain:

• Mad Men! Mad Men! Mad Men!
• Dolly or Bust - I LOVE her! Please read this article, it's great.
  
• A piece of Antarctica ice has broken off, it's the size of New York. The state.
• I want this job.
• Here's a list of someone's top 19 most loved episodes of "This American Life" - I downloaded all of the ones I haven't heard this afternoon. Excitement!

OK, have a great week - post to ya later!