Baby Elise Claire update.

Well I went to my 28 week checkup and she is doing great. She is still in breech position so I'm hoping soon she will move. I am carrying her very low so different than my other pregnancies. I started buying a few items for her. And now every time I go shopping I find I am starting to get excited about checking out the baby stuff!:) I'm not buying a lot yet but we need so much for her. First off we have to buy a bigger vehicle so that is the priority now. Then a new car seat, clothes, blankets, etc. I can't believe how fast time is going and we are now in the 3rd trimester. So I know Oct. 27th will be here soon. :)

More Swimming fun!

On the last day of swimming lessons we were allowed to take pictures. Emma getting her feet wet!

Emma in the water talking to her friend on the ledge. It is wonderful to watch them laugh and make friends. I have realized our kids love meeting new people. :)

Ethan hanging out with his friends and getting ready to jump in pool.

Emma getting out of pool. They are both so much more confident about the water! The teachers or life guards were wonderful. They are in the pool with the kids in the matching red bathing suits.

Ethan is in the blue swim trunks playing in the water with his friends. Just a few weeks ago Ethan wouldn't leave my side in the water. It is great to see he has overcome his fear of the water. He is still very cautious which I think comes from being the oldest. He has always been cautious with everything he does. Emma on the other hand is a free spirit. Last week during the afternoon we met some friends at a different pool to play and practice swimming which was fun. I wore my new maternity swimming suit, AH! Anyways Baby Elise moved around a lot in my tummy so she must have been wondering what we were doing! But Emma being the "free spirit" that she is said, "Mommy I want to get out of the pool and just sit on the ledge," so I helped her out of the pool and then turned around for a sec to make sure Ethan and his friend were ok and then turned back around to find Emma had jumped into 3 feet water and was completely submerged under water. It really scared me. When I grabbed her out of the water she was smiling BIG and she said, "Mommy I did it I jumped in the water and water didn't get in my nose!" She was laughing so proud of herself. I told her she had scared me but she was too excited over her accomplishment! WOW talk about my heart beating. It was scary turning around and seeing her under water for the first time! We actually left the pool after that! I told her that Mommy was too tired after that experience! But she was so proud of herself! She still talks about!

Swimming Lesson Fun!

Every morning for the last 2 weeks after a good breakfast we walked over to the park just behind our house for swimming lessons. It was a lot of fun. A great memory for the kids. After our swimming lesson we would then play in the park until it was time for lunch. I have to say I am really going to miss our fun. The kids passed Level 1! So they are both very proud of their hard work. Next year we will have to take level 2. The kids both made friends too. And we conquered Ethan's fear of the water! Mario earned 4 free movie tickets at work so to celebrate we took the kids to see the Pixar movie UP, which was great! Mario and I really enjoyed it too.

Summer Fun!

In our sunroom our Hibiscus plant has bloomed and it really is pretty! We bought it at Walmart and I am impressed at how well it is doing!
Mario and the kids on the 4th. I had bought a small package of sparkles and snakes last year after the 4th on clearance at Target and never used them so we tried the snakes out. The kids loved to watch!

We are really enjoying our swimming lessons this week! We are going every morning until next Friday. We are taking lessons at the pool in the park just behind our house so we just walk over to the pool. I was excited because a mom I had met a few weeks ago at the park that lives in our neighborhood was there with her 3 boys so it worked out really well. We have officially started our 6th month! And we have a name for our baby girl! Elise Claire. Elise means consecrated to God. It comes from a french origin an abbreviation of Elizabeth. So we will keep the "E" trend. Ethan, Emma, and Elise. Our weather has been very cool. I feel sorry for all my friends in the Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona area! I know they are cooking! Have a good week. :) ~Amy

Our friend's Birthday party.

The kids love a reason to visit their friends and birthday parties are always a favorite. Ethan (in the solid blue shirt) and Emma ( yellow dress with pink headband) watching their friend open his presents. And then the boys listening to the instructions of a game. I thought this was a cute picture because the boys all look about the same height! Ethan lost 2 more teeth this weekend! A total of 4, his smile looks so different! He has no front teeth! I thought this seemed a little fast but I found my 1st grade picture and I looked the same all front teeth missing. :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

Our flags going down our street for the 4th.
Happy 4th of July! We are doing sparklers and going to see some fireworks tonight. We hope everyone enjoys the day with family! :) Our baby girl is doing great, moving all the time. We got to take another sneak peak at her this week and she was opening her mouth as if she was trying to entertain herself. She looks so sweet, in one picture she actually looks like she is smiling. Her legs and feet look long and slender. She kept her legs crossed during most of the ultrasound. These 4-D ultrasounds are amazing. So different from when I had Ethan and Emma. Even Emma was excited because she could see her baby sister so clear and point to all the body parts. Ethan has not brought up the 20% chance it could be a boy in a few weeks. I think he is getting really excited about her. He is asking me what she is doing in my tummy all the time and pats my tummy! Mario was so kind to clean and assemble our crib this week. We bought it from Pottery Barn Kids 6 years ago and it has lasted us going on 3 babies and still looks great. Well worth the investment. I feel like we have so much to do. We also got our garage cleaned and organized! Mario thinks I have started the nesting stage of this pregnancy. I have been re-organizing everything! But I just want to feel ready because I know come Oct. I will be very busy. :) Have a safe weekend. ~Amy

July 4th fun!

Emma waiting for our friends to come over to eat hamburgers.
The kids are saying Happy 4th of July to their grandparents in OKC.
Ethan being silly and jumped in this shot of Emma.
They are now riding their "big" bikes (with training wheels) so I snapped this shot of the kids on what they call "baby" bikes together. This might be the last time they ride them! :( This tractor was Ethan's favorite for years.
The kids enjoying some good music in our park behind our house.

Our House

Mario and I are enjoying Iowa's beautiful weather. I took a picture of our urns and landscaping. It has come a long way from when we bought our "fixer upper" 3 years ago. But it has given us a better appreciation of what "sweat equity" really means. We still need to paint the sides of our garage. Mario and I laugh because by the time we do completely finish painting we will probably need to start touching up the front of the house which we painted shortly after we bought our home. Our Kentucky Blue grass has come along way from where it started with mostly crab grass. It was a clean canvas for us to create what we wanted which was a lot of fun for us. I planted Rosemary, which I love the smell, in our front urns with ivy and blue pansies. Ethan picked them out. I am not usually a big blue person but I think he did good I think it looks very relaxing.