Uncle Jason's Big B-Day and Fun at Home

Happy 4th of July! We're going to play catch up on last weekend before our next post covering this week's patriotic and fun activities!

Last Friday, Michael departed for Chicago to celebrate his brother, Jason's, 30th birthday. Cassie threw him a surprise party at a rooftop for Saturday's Cubs game - how fun!! Good food, cold beverages, a baseball game at Wrigley Field, and a whole slew of friends all add up to a great day.

Feras, Michael, Jason, and Jesse - this crew was all in our wedding (+ Ryan and Mitch)

Aunt Jen even made the trip from Raleigh, NC. A new decade calls for a big celebration among siblings!

Meanwhile, Katelyn and I held down the fort at home and Gramma Kathy and Papa came up for a visit and to assist this pregnant mama with all kinds of tasks - so thankful for the extra hands!

We accomplished a lot over the course of the weekend including playing golf, playing in the pool, swinging at the park, mowing the lawn (thanks, Dad!), pretending stickers are band-aids, and - hold onto your hats - Katelyn going #2 in her little potty! (Apologies if that snuck up on you, but hey, it's a first!)

Kate has so many "little curlies" as we call them that frame her face and sometimes get in her eyes. This butterfly headband from Uncle Jason and Aunt Cassie has been a great way to manage those unruly curlies!

Michael arrived home on Sunday and we were all happy to see him! We've realized he has traveled - mostly for work - 6 out of the last 8 weeks. Sure makes us appreciate him when he's here (as well as the fact that work travel is done until much later in the year!) Michael is making up for it though - he took this whole week off work and we pulled Katelyn out of school for the week for some Daddy/Daughter days (plus Mommy on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Hope you're enjoying the holiday week too!

34 Weeks Along

Sooo, this pregnancy is 85% complete. 85%! It's weird to think of it like that, but it's another way of saying I'm 34 (and a half) weeks along at this point. It's gone so fast! All of a sudden I had the realization that I don't even remember when my last pregnancy post was - 24 weeks maybe? Regardless, I have much to make note of, so without further ado...

The baby continues to move, wiggle, and at times perform wild acrobatics within the confines of the womb and at all hours of the day (and night)! Sometimes I'll have my arms crossed resting on top of my belly and one nudge from the baby will literally cause my arms to bounce up and down. It's happened during meetings at work - a great conversation piece ;) 

Within the last couple weeks, I've really noticed the baby's frequent hiccups. They usually come around once or twice (or more, on occasion) every day. The steady, consistent beat is a giveaway that it's hiccups and not just normal fetal movement patterns.

So far, I've gained 27 pounds and will probably gain a pound a week or more for the duration of the pregnancy. Sometimes it feels a lot more than that - oh wait, that's probably when I'm carrying 31-pound Katelyn in addition to the melon belly. No wonder I'm out of breath so often! Oh, and I'm outgrowing some of my maternity clothes. How is that even possible?! Tops are the main culprit as they don't fully cover my belly. One word: cruel.

Physically, I feel pretty good. Compared to some pregnancies that women suffer through, I really have no room to complain! I'm still seeing my chiropractor and those visits are helping with the low back pain and tailbone tension I've experienced. My joints are shifting and expanding which brings some discomfort and general slowness when getting up from a seated position, but overall I feel fine. 

The baby's heartbeat has been on the lower end of the spectrum for my last several appointments ranging from 142 - 138 (at my most recent visit). I think the old wive's tale is that anything under 140 means a boy and anything above 140 is a girl. So, there you have it - even that little predictor doesn't give us a sign. It's a toss-up at its finest!

It's been pretty fun to be surprised by the gender this time around. So many people have asked me if it's a boy or a girl and when I say we didn't find out, it usually prompts one of two responses. 1) "Oh really?! Good for you! There aren't many "good" surprises these days and this is a great one!" 2) "Oh really?! I don't know how you do that. I'm too much of a planner; I would just have to know!" I think Michael and I have actually surprised ourselves at how comfortable we've been with not knowing.

Another common question from people is, "do you have a boy and a girl name picked out?" The answer to that is no, we don't. We have SO much work to do in this department! We have a top 5 or 6 for both boys and girls, but have not been able to make any progress on either list in terms of narrowing down. And this is only first names, folks! We haven't even started on middles yet. We may or may not have the child named before we leave the hospital...

Lately, Katelyn seems to have more of an interest in the possibility of having a brother. For the longest time, she would say the baby is going to be a baby sister, but more recently, she's randomly said (out of the clear blue sky), "I would like a baby brother." She might be on to something, but at the same time of her shift to a boy, I've had some feelings shifting toward a girl - so it might be considered a wash!

Well, I better go read up on my magazines, my free reading book, the baby name books :)

A Biker Girl with Pretty Pink Nails

Wait. Whaaa is this all about? →→→→→→→→→

A couple observations about our wonderful little boy/girl poll (which, by the way, has been so fun to follow :)

1) As of Monday night, it's split 50/50 for boy/girl. For awhile, boy was in the lead; then girl took over; and now it's a tie. It's anybody's guess and in less than 2 months we'll know for sure! That brings me to my next point....

2) The time is absolutely FLYING. When I set up the poll, I remember choosing August 10 as the date that it would "close for voting" (wishful thinking that I don't go into labor too late :) Since then, I've watched the "days left to vote" go from the 120's to the 90's to now all of a sudden the 60's, 50's, oh my we're into the 40's, people. Cray-zee!

~~~

I realize I'm way overdue for a pregnancy update - that will come soon. Hopefully before the "He/She's here!" post, but at this rate, no promises. Eek! For now, here's a look into what we were up to last week...

Katelyn had her regular 6 month check-up on her bottom, front tooth and they ended up doing a cleaning and exam this time too (her first "official" one). She did great! With Elmo in hand, she opened wide and especially liked the pink flower sunglasses and special chair that moved up and down. And of course the best part was the new Disney princess toothbrush, two stickers, and no cavities :)

After the teeth cleaning, we continued with our "glam-o-rama day" which included an outfit with built-in, blingy necklaces...

pink toesies...

and even pink fingernails! 

Katelyn was so excited to show everyone (Daddy, teachers and friends at school, even Malone!) her "pretty pink fingers and toes." Have you ever heard of Piggy Paint? It's brilliant actually. Little kids finger nail polish that's - as they say - "as natural as mud." I have a feeling purple and blue might be in our future in addition to pink. And so it begins... :)

On Wednesday a college friend of mine, Lacey, was up from Iowa for a work conference. Katie and I met her out for dinner and we had a blast catching up. The three of us not only were in the same pledge class at Gamma Phi, but we also studied abroad together in Wales nearly 11 years ago (wow, how times have changed!)

Lacey is due with her second baby around July 11, so here's a belly bump picture at 7.5 months and 8.5 months. Neither of us know what's a'cookin inside so we both have surprises ahead! I'm lucky to have such wonderful friends to journey alongside as we navigate motherhood.

On Sunday, we got out the Radio Flyer and worked on some tricycle riding skills. And I have to say, this little biker's good! She maneuvers forward and backward with ease, but sometimes gets stumped on how to start going forward after going backward for several "pedals."

Following in the footsteps of Daddy and Gramma Kathy, RAGBRAI might be in her future!

And a few recent Kate quotes to wrap up this post...

- "This is the 'sfine, Mommy. The s-f-ine." (Pointing to the spine of a book.)

- Katelyn: "The baby coming out in AUG-ust?"

Me: "Yes, hopefully in August, when he or she is ready to be born."

Katelyn: "How my dooDAT?" (Her way of saying, "how do I do that?")

Oh, here we go!

- Lots of our conversations go on for a loooong time and they're all strung together with one simple word: "WHY?" and sometimes two: "BUT WHY?" and sometimes this phrase: "BUT HOW MY DOODAT?"

- "I'm going to write my name riiight here. Right in da co-no of da paper." And she proceeds to "write" her name in the very corner of the page - as I'm sure she's seen the teachers do at school several times a day. 

- Probably a result of many people asking her if the baby is going to be a boy or a girl, but several times a day, she'll ask if certain people are a boy or a girl. "Is Malone a boy? He's a big boy." "Is Miss Cheryl a boy?" "Is Kennedy a girl?" "Is Miller a boy?" "Is Emerson a girl?" "Is Ben a girl?"

Katelyn definitely keeps us laughing and engaged through our conversations and observations. This really is such a fun age!

#1 Daddy

Hands-on. Active. Engaged. 

Loving. Encouraging. Tender.

Playful. Protective. Steadfast.

These are just a few of the scratch-the-surface words I would use to describe Michael as a dad. He is amazing. 

It's been incredible to watch him learn, grow, and embrace the fatherhood role over the last two years and I see everyday how much Katelyn simply adores him and lights up when they're together. In turn, he has taught me so much about parenting, patience, and living in the present. ♥ 

Father's Day was a great opportunity to celebrate this wonderful man (and our own dads too!)

And is there anything better than special smooches for Daddy on Father's Day? ... I didn't think so ;)

A quick disclaimer: Considering the large watermelon I'm toting around these days, it's really hard to bring myself to haul around an extra few pounds of photography gear as well (camera, lenses, flash, etc.). So lately, all of our pictures have been taken on our i-Phones. Apologies for the not-always-great quality, but the convenience factor is hands-down always great :)

On Saturday, we went to the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul. It was a rainy morning and the museum is featuring a Curious George exhibit this summer so it was a great opportunity to check it out. Katelyn was enamored by the little statue of George himself...

We also checked out the forrest area complete with ant farm tunnels. Michael was a champ and crawled through compact passageways with Katelyn. (I most certainly would've had to be retrieved by the jaws of life in there!) And we admired a turtle, too.

There's one room that always has great hands-on activities for kids. Last time we were there, they were featuring pretend snow (made of some sort of polymer concoction) and this time the theme was outdoors so one area had grass and another had dirt with pretend worms, spiders, and bugs. Katelyn scared us with a worm!

Continuing with the family fun on Sunday, we went to church and then decided to make the trek down to Apple Valley to the Minnesota Zoo. Michael and I had been here before but it was years ago, so it was fun to experience it again with Katelyn. For a Father's Day gift, we purchased the annual family membership, so we will be making more zoo trips in the future. 

Katelyn really wanted to see some elephants, but neither of the zoos in town have them, so we settled for some other, equally impressive, animals including brown bears, tigers, sea otters, monkeys, and penguins. Oh and giant fish, as seen overhead in this picture...

A sweet image of Daddy and Daughter on Father's Day (and they're both in pink. Extra cute :)

We got up-close-and-personal with the sea otters as one swam, flipped, and seemingly flirted right in front of us in the aquarium. They sure are playful little creatures!

It really was a wonderful family weekend with lots of sights to see and plenty of good memories. Happy Father's Day to our most favorite guy! You rock!

"Ridunion 2012"

It's been over a week since I last posted - whoops! But wow, what a week it was! Michael left last Saturday for a week in Indiana for school (we both survived :) and he got back just in time on Friday for the kickoff to "Ridunion 2012" - which included our trio (+ baby), my parents, and both brothers at our house for the weekend. And did I mention Katelyn made the switch to her big girl bed on June 1? (More to come on that in a future post.) A whirlwind of activity somehow seems inadequate to describe the week and weekend. But it was oh-so-fun, as you can see... YEE HAW!!!

 Dinner out on Friday night was just the ticket to launch into the weekend. Friday also happened to be my birthday (and Aunt Cassie's :) - you mean I don't have to cook on my birthday? Okay, if you insist.
I don't even remember the last birthday that I got to spend with my whole immediate family. What a treat! This topped off an indulgent day which included a 90-minute pre-natal massage and a relaxing lunch on my own at Panera before being reunited with Michael, who surprised me with my favorite iced tea from Caribou in-hand. A perfect 10 birthday.

We did a little birthday/reunion toast and even Katelyn joined in. Do you see her two little paws holding up her chocolate milk?! Cheers!!

Katelyn was beyond thrilled about our weekend guests. All week she had been talking about "Uncle Ry and Uncle Mitch come to my home. Uncle Ry give me horsey rides. Mitch play (with) me and my soccer ball." I had to refrain from telling her exactly when they would be arriving because she has a tendency to wake up at 4:30 or 5 am that day asking if they're here yet! Since my parents and Ryan arrived on Thursday night, Friday morning was the big reveal :) Mitchell arrived mid-morning and the guys went golfing that afternoon.

Katelyn loves to play catch with or kick the soccer ball back and forth. With this sports-loving crew, she always had a partner handy.

Uncle Mitch and Papa taught Katelyn how to use the hose on Friday afternoon. In addition to watering the grass and raspberry bushes, some instructors and a student may have gotten a soaking in the process as well.

After dinner out, we all came home and relaxed. Little Katelyn was out like a light.

Following a good night's rest, there's nothing like catching up on the Saturday morning news sports with Papa on the deck...

And I just love these sweet smiles ...♥ 

On Saturday afternoon, the four guys headed downtown to Target Field to watch the Twins take on the beloved (in the eyes of the Ridnour guys anyway) Chicago Cubs. Michael was outnumbered in his hope for a Twins win, but the hometown team did ultimately triumph that afternoon.

Yes, the stands are nearly empty. That's because my dad likes to arrive early to take in the full "day at the ball park experience" - the other guys didn't mind. They were thirsty :) 

While the guys were away, the girls will play! That was our theme for the afternoon and we played bowling, did sidewalk chalk, blew bubbles, played with the water table, and more.

Princess crown on the ground :)

And what's a Ridunion without a 3-generations picture? I love these two ladies!

Sunday marked another day at Target Field, only this time it was a father/daughter day (and my dad decided to support our Twins :). My office has season tickets, so we got to enjoy the good seats. And by good, I mean in the shade, behind home plate, and near the bratwurst stand :) 

While we were at the game, the rest of the crew visited Medicine Lake near our house for some wading and playing at the park.

Then it was time for a few family pictures before everyone headed home - boo hoo :(

Who wants in on the biggest belly contest?!

All the Rid kids :)

It was nothing short of a wonderful weekend with great memories and dear family. Thanks for making the trip up here and we look forward to our next Ridunion, which will include an 8th family member!