Egg Hunting: Farm Style

Yesterday, we headed out to the country to a farm for some Easter festivities!  They had a big egg hunt set up, a petting zoo, a great big playground, and all kinds of fun things!  I thought it would be something fun for us to do as a family - and it was great!  I apologize in advance for the number of pictures...and this is cutting it down by a lot in comparison to the number I actually took!

Here Katie is before we left...

 And she wanted a picture with Sadie...

 One more with the flower she picked from the planter behind her...

 Once we got there, it was hunt time!

 And it was a success!! The eggs were empty and we turned them in for a bag of goodies!

 Posing with the bunny and egg!

 After the hunt, we walked through and fed the animals.  Katie loved it!

 And feeding another...

 And then we headed to the huge playground for some fun!  Here are some of the pics of Katie playing...

And then they had tractors set up to play on - Katie loved them!  And they had a water table type thing where you pumped water to make the ducks swim down - she enjoyed that too (not as much as the tractors though!)

 And proof that I was there! Me with my girl!

 As we were headed out, we saw the Easter Bunny!  Katie loved him!  She said that was her favorite part - wow!  Hugs for the bunny!

 And then sitting in his lap!  Looks like the bunny might have fallen or something - oh well...still so cute!

 Oh, and one more egg hunt before heading to the car!

 She's definitely got it mastered now!

 Cutie pie.

 Checking to see how tall she is!  Between 3 and 3.5 feet tall!

Hope you all have a fantastic Easter weekend!  We are about to head to our neighbors' house for some egg dying, egg hunting, and Easter lunch!

Beach Trip Sneak Peek

Did you miss me? Heh...you had no idea, right?? We just got back last night from a quick beach vacation - our last trip just the three of us.  We went down to Orange Beach on Sunday and had a great time.  And we somehow managed to keep it a secret from Katie until we were in the car about to leave.  That's right!  Here she is right after we asked her if she wanted to go to the beach (she has literally been asking since November if we could go to the beach!).  I wanted to do a quick post with a few pictures - when I uploaded all the ones I took, there were 432 of them.  Over the course of 5 days.  Pretty silly, I know.  I will likely break it down day by day so as to not have a humongous post filled with 12397102 pictures.  Anyway, here we go!

Right after we confirmed we were, indeed, headed to the beach!

 Cutie pie playing in the ocean on Monday!

 The view from our condo - so nice!

 Playing on the beach on Tuesday - she loved it!

 Did a little photo shoot on the beach - I seriously love this picture...she looks so sweet!  And it has that beachy feel to it too! 

 Another one I took that same evening before dinner.

 Wednesday afternoon - after it stopped raining - we had some time on the beach before dinner

 And did another photo shoot.  She saw that Brad had come down and was waiting on us - clearly very excited to see her Daddy!

 A family pic from dinner on Wednesday night - so cute!  Except I can definitely tell my face has started the "pregnant swell"...lovely.

 One more pic with the beach behind her before we left.  And a sassy pose.  And her new little stuffed doggy, "Dottie"!

Stay tuned for more...and have a great day!

Goofball Girl

It really is amazing how such a sweet little lady....

 ...with those pretty eyes and cute smile...

 ...can be such a goofball.

Sometimes when I ask her to smile, this last picture is what I get.  Oh my.  Whatcha think?  I think she knows she's cute.  Lord help us during the teenage years.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  Hope you have had a great week so far.  Here's what I am loving today!

I'm LOVING that my flowers came back and are blooming this spring!  I was doubtful that they would actually come back like they were supposed to, but then it just shot out of the ground and has 4 beautiful blooms now!  Now if I can get motivated to pull weeds and plant some other colorful flowers (at least in planters), things will look decent out front!

I'm LOVING our Easter goodies from my mom!  She wanted us to be able to enjoy them for a bit, so she gave them to us a little early.  A cute decorative bunny with eggs, a book for Katie, and Easter pasta to enjoy!  I think we are going to color eggs and have an egg hunt with our neighbors later this week, so that sounds like the perfect time to use the pasta!

I'm LOVING Katie's new pair of shoes - her very own fuschia TOMS!  You may recall that I bought my first pair and love them.  I was doubting whether to get her some or not, and once I realized she picked these out and would not take them off, I went for it.  Fuschia matches lots of her summer clothes and she can wear them to MDO since the toes and heels are covered.  Done!

 ...the up close!

And now for a few Pinterest finds that I'm LOVING today! .....

Isn't that the sweetest quote?  I may have to have it printed and put it in Katie's room somewhere...

 Glow sticks in eggs for an egg hunt in the dark!  FUN!

 HA!  So true....

What are YOU loving today? Hopefully lots of things!  Link up HERE!

Local Adventure to Play

Last week we went out to see some friends' new house and visit (they live like 40 minutes from us now)!  It had been WAY too long and it was so great to visit!  Kara and I have been friends for a long, long time - and we are pregnant together!  SO fun!  Katie and her son are buddies and they played so well together!  It was great for us to lounge and visit while they played :)

Here are a few pics of the two of them together - can't believe they look so grown up!

And another...

 And we wanted to do a belly shot together - Kara is just about 29 weeks and I was just about 28 weeks here.  My belly looks unusually large there - sheesh!

 And all three kids (Katie with Kara's two) sat together on the front steps as we were leaving - adorable .... can't believe I got a picture with them all looking AND smiling!!

 And one last one of Katie and her buddy.

We had so much fun!  Katie was asleep almost immediately in the car...can't wait to get together again soon!

Daddy Date

Anytime I go out to dinner with girlfriends or have a work-related dinner, Katie and Brad always always go on a Daddy Date to their favorite restaurant (Mexican kind of food)!  They did just that last week and had a blast!  I am fairly certain they could eat Mexican food every other night - me?  Not so much.  But I love that they have that tradition!  It really is so special and is something she will remember for the rest of her life.  My dad and I used to eat breakfast at IHOP every Saturday morning before running errands (car washed, dry cleaners, etc).  I still love going to eat there with him - it isn't the nicest place, but it is our place! :)

Bump Watch: 28 Weeks

How far along: 28 weeks (hello, third trimester!)

Size of baby: The size of a Chinese cabbage - seriously...what is that?!  It says about 14.8 inches from head to heels and 2.25 lbs!  Wow!

Total weight gained: I think at my last appointment it was about 4 pounds.  I go this next week, so we shall see.  I do know I've got to start walking or doing more prenatal yoga or something - I feel like a fatty!  

Maternity clothes: Um, most definitely.

Gender: Still a boy (I hope)

Movement: Oh yes - and it seems that on Saturdays, he is the most active.  So strange.  I told Brad and he was like, "Oh great - he's already a party animal!" I have already had the sensation of a knee or elbow starting on  one side and rolling to the other side. 

What I Miss: A good night's sleep (I know, this is nothing at this point), the random glass of wine/beer, ....

Cravings: Nothing really! I just like food :)

Aversions: Nothing really.  

Symptoms: All of the same things as last time.  Plus hormonal/tired headaches.  And insomnia - the last 2 night, I have been awake staring at the ceiling for 2 hours at a time.  Very annoying.

Best moment of the week: Yesterday, we were visiting some friends and Katie - on her very own - told her friend that Baby Jack is in my belly!  I just about melted.  Oh, and earlier in the week, Katie wanted to give Baby Jack a cookie, so she held it up to my bellybutton to give to him!  And while grocery shopping, she took a sticker off the bananas and wanted to give it to Baby Jack - so she stuck it on my belly!  

And now, just for fun - the change from 24 to 28 weeks.  Boy did I grow!  The angle of the picture this week is a little different (which is a good thing - I can't imagine looking bigger than that!), but I am definitely more "out there"!

 And another little comparison...this is me 28 weeks pregnant with Katie on the left, and then 28 weeks pregnant with Jack on the right.  Last night Brad was brave enough to say he thinks I am bigger this time around.  What do you think?  I do think I am carrying him differently this time - like I feel like I am all belly and less swollen than I was with Katie.  Who knows - I've definitely got a belly going though!  And I even sometimes catch myself doing the infamous "pregnancy waddle" - can't imagine what it will be like closer to my due date!

I start pictures every 2 weeks now, so the next update will be at 30 weeks - stay tuned!