Wait, I need those eight weeks back!

Want a sure fire way to make a pregnant lady's heart skip a beat? Just casually mention [as she's getting on the scale] that since she's 38 weeks today the doctor will need to do an exam.

Wait, what? I'm only 30 weeks.

So she checks the computer and says, "oh, yeah," I'm so sorry about that.

I was just relieved to have my eight weeks back. If this baby comes in two weeks, I'm in big trouble!

Another year, another pair of ballet shoes

I was so bummed to realize that I had forgotten my camera for Ella's first day of ballet. Then, I remembered that I had our point and shoot from the wedding this weekend still in my purse. I was so glad I was able to at least get a couple of shots.

She was beside herself she was so excited!



When we got in the studio, most of the other girls went to sit next to their moms. Ella boogied right over to the barre so she would be ready as soon as possible. She loved it, and the countdown to next week has already begun.

There has also been much discussion about the recital at the end of the year and what her new costume will look like :) What a joy it is to watch her dance!!

A first!

Nine years of marriage and this past weekend was a first for us. We went out of town for fun without the kids! How about a moment to let that sink in. The only other time we actually went out of town we left our [singular] 15 month old with my mom while we went to look at houses for four days. Not exactly a relaxing four days away!

We've had a few nights here and there where we've left the kids with grandparents or a babysitter, but we've always been right around the corner. Saturday morning, we left the kids with J's parents and drove up to Nashville for a wedding. It probably sounds crazy but having a four hour drive all to ourselves was almost as big a treat as a night away! We talked and laughed and managed to make it to Nashville in time to make a quick stop at the hotel to change.

Then, it was off to the wedding. It was so much fun! We ate. We danced. We talked to old friends and met a few new couples as well. We laughed. a lot.

We decided to stay at a really cool historic hotel in Nashville. We always talked about how cool it was when we lived there so this seemed like the right opportunity to try it out.

We had time for a leisurely breakfast and a slow drive past our old house before we headed to church. We both commented on the fact that in some ways it seems like we never lived there and in other ways it seems like we never moved.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to take a trip for an entire weekend or even [gasp] a week!! I feel certain it would be fabulous and it is on the list of things to do...soon!

Basement Bugs

Even though the basement in this house is finished, we don't have a whole lot down there because, well, we just don't really have anything to put down there! It didn't make sense to buy a bunch of furniture to fill up some spaces that we may not have in the future, so we opted to leave it empty. We have used it for storage and as I get more and more pregnant it's become home to the growing pile of stuff for goodwill as I nest away upstairs :)

As I was hauling some things down the other day, I saw an interesting looking bug and asked Bo if he wanted to come check it out. He was so excited. I asked him not to touch it and he informed me that he would be sure to study it first to make sure it was safe.

If it's not a biting bug, I may touch it, mom.

Well, yes, but how will you know?

Oh, don't worry, I can figure it out.

And he went right to work figuring it out.

He was telling me all about it in no time flat.

We ultimately decided to come upstairs and do some research on google. We decided it was most likely a cave cricket [also known as a camel cricket]. Generally harmless, but they really look like spiders that jump. high.

No worries, the bug guy came and sprayed last week, but I haven't told Bo that quite yet. I know he'll be disappointed to know his "friends" will be living outside for a while.

I haven't cried, yet...

For those of you who read the blog but don't interact with us on a regular basis, this may seem surprising or even crazy! I figured I would give a little back story so that maybe it would make a little more sense.

You all know Sadie. Sadie with her long, flowing head of hair. I love all that hair! I took these pictures back in April.



Girl was rocking some amazing locks!



It was right at the end of April that we noticed we were finding lots of stray hairs in Sadie's car seat and crib. The hairs right around her left ear began to thin a bit, but we didn't think much of it.



Then, as May progressed, there was more and more hair missing. It still didn't seem like a huge deal, but I had to change the way her hair parted to keep the growing bald patches covered up.



Then, it got thinner and thinner and thinner on the left side of her head.



We talked with the pediatrician and he assured us there was nothing extraordinary about the habit. He said some kids suck their thumbs and some kids pull out hair. No biggie.


Except, by the beginning of June, Sadie had almost no hair on the left side of her head. We did some online research and weren't too pleased with the solutions other parents had come up with:
1. Cut her hair. [AHHHH, but I love her hair!]
2. Put vaseline in the hair so it's too slick to pull out. [Do you know how nasty that would be with as much hair as she has?? AND how long would we have to leave it in there before she "forgot" about her little habit?]
3. Wait it out.

So we opted to wait a little longer. Because she was only pulling it out on the left side, we figured we had some time.

Although, I will say, it was starting to look a little strange.


Her pigtails were also getting a little wonky. The one on the left moved closer and closer to the front of her head and got shorter and spikier, while the one on the right stayed long and full.



We decided it was time to do something. We decided to cut it.



Lisa was here last weekend and I asked if she would do it because her cosmetology degree makes her much more qualified than me :) This felt like a pretty huge decision for me too and the thought of taking her somewhere and just letting anyone do it was a little too much to bear.

So we cut it. On Friday night. And I am just now able to blog about it.



Sadie thought it was the coolest thing ever.





Extensions, anyone?



And just like that...



Sadie got herself a new look!



I think getting brushed off was her favorite part.



She was pleased with results, and I was so impressed! Lisa knows what she's doing, for sure!


Notice the wad of cut hair in her hand. She spent the second half of the haircut making little hairballs out of the stray pieces.
I will definitely miss the wonky ponytails,



the to-die-for action shots of the hair in motion,



and the softness of those long, wavy layers.


For now, we're rocking the mohawk and enjoying the new look.



I think she can totally rock it!

Birthdays and updates

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad [Papa]!! We were so glad he was able to come and celebrate with us for dinner and ice cream pie.

I have so many wonderful memories of my dad, and it's such a treat to watch him get to be a grandpa now.

I snapped this shot last week when my sister was here. Dad let the twins help him grind the morning coffee. That was big fun.

We had a great visit with Sarah and her kiddos. Things were crazy enough that I did a terrible job taking pictures as usual. Now that we live a little closer, I'm hoping that we'll get to see them a bit more often than we used to.

In other news...

We've been talking about new vehicle options for a while now. The van will seat all seven of us when the new baby arrives, but we won't have any room to grow. I don't think we're ready to to upgrade in size just yet, but we actually went and test drove a twelve passenger van and a fifteen passenger van last week. One of the options we're considering is called the sprinter. There's a version made by Dodge and one made by Mercedes. I laugh when I think about cruising around town in this thing:


It's not so much huge as it is tall. Seriously tall!

We kept Lisa's kids Friday night and Saturday. This was the scene in our driveway Saturday morning.



Hmmm, maybe we should reconsider the sprinter after all?

We're getting our rhythm in this second week of school. I feel like I'm exhaling a little bit and finding a groove. Going to bed earlier definitely helps too!

I failed my initial glucose test last week, so I had to go back for the three hour deal. Goodness, I would not wish that on my worst enemy. No food. Nasty glucose. Four blood draws. Three hours. I felt terrible all day! Thankfully the second round came back normal, but the nurse said they may want to test me again a little later on. Yikes! I really hope not. And seriously, when did I get so pregnant! I now have to see the doctor every two weeks. Insane. This baby will be here before I know it.

In light of some other recent news, I've been wondering quite a bit about whether we are adding a little guy or a little gal to our brood.
Sarah found out not too long ago she was going blue.
Then, last week, little Chaz joined the Nelson crew! Yay, for Andy and Em.

He is seriously cute!
And yesterday, Maggie joined team blue with her own exciting discovery.
Craziness! Just a little bit longer before we find out if we'll complete the set!

Ella had an interaction with J the other morning that I thought was pretty hysterical...

J asks Ella to do something as she is getting up from the dinner table, and she is not happy about it. She walks away muttering something under her breath.
Ella: unidentifiable
J: What did you say, Ella?
Ella: Ass as she turns to look at him with a glare in her eyes
J: Excuse me, what? stunned
Ella: Ass
J: Where did you hear that word, Ella?
Ella: No where. Ass.
J: Who told you that word?
Ella: I made it up as a silly word.
J: Do you know it's a real word?
Ella: No, I just made it up!
J proceeded to explain that it was, in fact, a real word and an unkind one at that. I think she was pretty surprised when she heard more about it.

And in not so hysterical interactions, one of the kids woke up in the night with an urgent need to use the potty. In the dark and in sleepiness, some things got mixed up, and I got to spend 40 minutes before we left for school cleaning up the evidence and the child. Not my favorite 7 AM activity for sure!

One more big update in the next post, but I think that's it for now!