22 1/2 weeks pregnant

I cannot believe I am already 22 1/2 weeks pregnant. Time is flying by. I forget all the time that I am pregnant actually. It helps that I stay busy with 2 little kids and a preschool to run :) Here's my first belly pic. I am trying so hard this time round to not gain a lot of weight. With Cambree I gained close to 50 pounds and of course with Ridge I didn't have enough time to take it off before I started to gain even more, so I am hoping to really keep my weight gain to a minimum. I am still attending my aerobics class and working out as often as I can but we'll see how much longer I can keep that up. Running is getting harder, but I must say I feel great still.

That said, I have had one of those weeks. Its been really hard to stay upbeat and positive. I know I am not the most perfect wife, mother but I am trying. I hate to cook but consistently make the effort of cooking things, just to have my kids not even want to take a bite or for the food to turn out just plain disgusting. I work hard on our fence, just to have the stink'n wind pick up enough to not allow us to finish. This house, as much as I appreciate it, is small so the tiniest of messes make this house feel like a wreck and is just overwhelming. I feel like I am always cleaning. Then to top it all off, I feel much pressure as I am trying to get my preschool ready for next semester. I posted posters all over the valley this week and hope to get my registration filled soon, but its hard to keep my hopes up when there are so many other great people doing preschools as well. My goal is to be 100% planned and set for the first 5 months of preschool due to the fact that I am due 3 weeks prior to school starting. Anyways, so I have been feeling overwhelmed and stressed to say the least. Well Curtis had to go on a scout camp out this weekend, but he could tell I was discouraged, so before he left, he had 1/2 dozed roses delivered to me. For those that know Curtis, know this is a huge deal. I really appreciate the gesture and it really helps me feel better. I just need to relax and let things happen as they will and not stress so much (easier said than done for me :) Anyways, just had to get some of this out. 

Ridge is 18 months old!!

I cannot believe Ridge is 18 months old today!! He has changed so much in a short of a time. Just creating this post with all the pictures, just overwhelms me with emotion. He's such a joy and blessing in our lives. He's definitely a crucial piece in our growing family. Just some fun things about Ridge:

He loves plans, tractors and LIVING outside

He loves his daddy and helps him put on and take off his boots everyday.

He WILL NOT talk, but communicates so well :)

He loves to copy his sister Cambree in everything she does.

He's all boy in that he gets hurt daily, loves to be dirty, and loves to outdoors.

He gets to start nursery this Sunday (I'm doing a little celebratory dance :)

I am so lucky to have a beautiful little boy. I love him so much!!! Here are some fun pics of him over the past 18 months. They are in no order but they are still fun to look through. 

Scar Face

So Ridge is really make it more and more relevant that i have a boy. These past couple days, he's added a new mark on his body once a day. 

Sunday he fell off a stool and hit his eye on the table. He split his eye back open and it has made a nasty scab on his eye. Then the very next day, he was climbing on our fence and I knew exactly what was going to happen as he was doing it. He got up on the first rung and without any pause, went right over the front. From that fall, he got a huge mark in between his eyes. I have to admit, I was laughing so hard as he did that one. I knew the outcome from the beginning.

Then today, he falls off the recliner onto the box next to it and scrapes his forehead. 

My mom jokes that I better not need to go to the ER any time soon because they will probably think of abuse. Probably true :)

Just as an added bonus story, yesterday we were playing outside. All of the sudden Cambree started to call my name and I could hear Ridge muffled. I thought at first she had pushed him down or something so I was yelling at Cambree. I saw her, and then no Ridge. So I go around my car where I could hear his cry coming from.......no Ridge. Then it hits me. I look down under the car and guess what, he was clear all the way under my car. I couldn't believe it. I thought for a second I needed to go get my camera for a picture, but he wasn't happy so I decided to just tell the story. Really funny. So Ridge has been a handful lately and I know there is more to come with my little boy getting into more things and exploring more. 

Boys and Mud

Really the pictures say it all. So enjoy....

Couple days of fun with friends

Wednesday, my old EAC roommate and best friend, Bonnie came down with her two kids to stay for a couple of days. We had a blast with her and her kids. Cambree and her oldest kid Grace, got along famously. Their personalities parallel so well. Ridge annoyed Tucker a little but I think Ridge enjoyed having an older boy around for a bit. We started off by going on a golf cart ride to show Bonnie the MANY changes around EAC. Then we took forever to get the little pool blown up just to have the kids play in it briefly. We enjoyed a night out at Casa Manana and then the kids all crashed for the night. Thursday the kids enjoyed playing on the blow up mattress for awhile and then had fun at the park and back in the pool again. To end off everything, we headed to good ol' R&R. Overall it was a really fun trip and the kids really enjoyed playing together.