Sunflower

On the baby update, I can really more this little baby boy move around. I amazed about how quickly I went from thinking I felt something to knowing it's the baby moving. Jason was even able to feel a couple little taps today. I still think he's in disbelief that he really felt what he did.

My goal is to starting picking up my camera more often. So today I started with this picture of a sunflower. I planted these in the spring and they look beautiful now!


The wedding this past weekend went very well. Sarah and BJ know a fun group of people! The bride was beautiful and the reception was entertaining. The reception was complete with fake mustaches and tux t-shirts.

It's a...

BOY! Jason and I went to our ultrasound today. Of course I forgot the script for the procedure, so we had to wait extra long. It was worth the wait though! The sonogram tech was very nice. Although she did mess with our heads. She asked almost right away if we wanted to know what we were having. She then told us that she waits until the end to look and tell. About half was through she finally said that she would just tell us what the baby was early since it kept "popping up." She started to move down there, but of course the baby decided to do some flips, obscuring the view. I looked at her waiting for her to tell us anyway, but no, she had the chance to measure the legs, so she did that. At this point the suspense was killing me! I was saying things like, "well you did say that it was "popping up" so I think that means it's a boy." She only kept a little smirk on her face. You could tell she enjoyed torturing us! Finally she got to the goods. There it was, as plain as day, scrotum and penis. There was absolutely no doubt about it. He was spread eagle, letting the girl get a good look. The look on Jason's face was priceless. I could tell he was happy with that news.

So the real reason for the sonogram is to ensure that everything is fine. Everything is perfect! I asked her if the baby was ok size because I am not really showing all that much. She, and the doctor, ensured us that the baby was right on track. Yay! That makes me feel much better.

Here are some pictures that they took. I must admit, I think sonogram pictures are just a bit creepy, but very cool. The tech said that when the pictures of the face are taken, it's like the face is pushed against a piece of glass, so it's all smooshed. We also have a VHS tape of a little bit of the sonogram. Now the trick is getting the VHS tape converted to a DVD. Does anyone know how to do that?




My deepest apologies for not including Jess's name on the attendance list of the people who came to Idlewild with us. I am truly losing my mind slowly. Jess, it was very good to see you again!


This is a picture from Brian's wedding. Jason and Brian were chatting it up during some downtime during the ceremony. I LOVE this picture of Jason.


Jason is pickling a "peck" of cucumbers today...to make pickles. Here is the master at work. I asked Jason how he felt about the baby being a boy...look at the cheeser on his face.

Laura and Brian's Wedding

Yesterday was Brian (Jason's Brother) and Laura's wedding. It was a nice affair. Very traditional. The classic bride stuck in parkway traffic (and the dress was in a different car, stuck in even more traffic) all played out fairly well. I did the photographs for it, so I am sure there will be more to see. Due to the ceremony getting kicked off a little late, I had to beg and plead with the people setting up for 6pm mass to let me take a few formals. I thought these people were supposed to be a little more forgiving! (They were not very nice.) Did I mention how BEAUTIFUL Laura was? What a great bride to photograph!

Lazy Afternoons

We are watching Spencer, Katie's dog while they are on vacation. I think the dogs are having a good time running around all morning. Spencer loves to chase the birds around the yard. Sadie likes to hide, crouch and pounce at Spencer. I think Sadie may have a little lion in her. By 12 noon, they are ready to pass out. It is a given that Marabelle will sleep whenever she can (she takes after me). I must say it is fantastic when Spencer and Sadie are ready for their afternoon siesta.

I had Jason take a picture of the progressing baby bump yesterday. I am just about half way done. I am pretty sure I felt some kicks and rolls yesterday while we were relaxing in front of the tv. It was very cool but I can't wait until I can feel a real kick to the ribs or see the baby move from the outside. I just think that is going to be creepy/cool. We asked the neighbor girl, Olivia (2 1/2 years old), if the baby in my belly was a boy or girl. She was confident it was a boy. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to see!

Yesterday Jason cooked a delicious Brisket all day. We had Brian, Ashley, Jason's Dad, my parents, and the neighbors (Cheri, Greg, Olivia and Ryan) over for the feast. It was delicious! We love this house and entertaining in it. Just let us know when you want to come out!

Idlewild and The Zoo...All in the same week!

Last week we were fortunate enough (or crazy enough) to do Idlewild on Wednesday and The Zoo on Friday. Becky, Rick, Jillian, Rosie, Dominic, Becky B, Gloria, JESS (so very sorry) Katie and Autumn all joined in on the fun! First we went to story book forest where they ate porridge, peaked in Snow White's house, visited Gepetto's workshop and learned something in school. It was very cute and it seemed as if the kids liked it. I need to brush up on my kids stories though. I couldn't remember all the details of a lot of the scenarios. Then it rained for a bit. After the storm passed we went to what is the equivalent of Kiddie Land at Kennywood. It was lots of fun watching the kids try out different rides. Autumn was not fond of anything that lifted off the ground. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) it wasn't a thousand degrees outside, so we weren't able to check out the water park section. Maybe next time!









On Friday we were supposed to have a repeat of lots of people joining for another outing, but some stomachs felt otherwise. In the end, it was only Rosie, Dominic, Katie, Autumn and Autumn's Grandpa Dave (my Brother-in-law's Dad). It was much more crowded than I had expected it to be. Apparently the 2nd baby elephant just happened to be born the morning of the day we decided to go, so the elephants weren't out. That meant we weren't able to see the 1st baby elephant. Maybe next time! We still had fun though. Autumn felt that Dominic needed some assistance with his bottle of milk. She will make a good Mom someday. The polar bears were out of control. They kept taking flying leaps into the water. We were able to go underneath their tank and see them from a different angle. You can see the reflection of all the people looking at the bear. Very cool!



This week should be a little less hectic. The Dowiaks are out of town so we won't be tempted to drop everything and go play!

More Fun Things!

Olivia is turning out to be another one of Autumn's favorite kids. They are very cute together. Autumn tries to give Olivia hugs and hold her hand. Very cute!


Jason is already out scouting deer. The other night, it had just finished raining, and was trying to get sunny. The sunset was awesome and Jason captured a shot of it.


On Thursday we took Autumn car shopping. That was a feat in itself! It's not easy taking the carseat in and out of the car multiple times. We ended up driving out to Altoona to Blue Knob Auto to look at an '05 Saturn Vue. The only problem was, we couldn't pick it up until yesterday (Monday). Apparently the car was from out of state and the title hadn't come through yet from PennDot, so we had to wait. Anyway, Jason couldn't find Autumn's socks, so he put a pair of his on her. She thought it was funny! And so did we!


Just a picture of the dogs longing to go outside and stir up some trouble.


If you want some zuchinni, or know of anyone who does, please let us know. This pile is about half of what it was after we tried to pawn off as much as we could. This is what we are left with! If only we had this many beans. The deer have taking a liking to them!


Tomorrow is a big trip to Idlewild! I think it will be lots of fun. I'll update you with pictures from that trip soon!

Belly

For all of you that still don't think I am showing...here's the proof. You just need some comparison. And I was recently informed by some loving friends that my butt is getting bigger. At least something is growing!