Another last

Tonight was the last night we will spend at home as a family of four. A weird feeling. Although the induction is not scheduled until Monday, since we have to report to the hospital at 5 am, the girls will be spending the night at a friend's home tomorrow. So I should have really enjoyed every moment. I tried. I'm just so dang exhausted that by 8 in the evening, I'm only taking pleasure in laying in bed!!

I wonder if any of us are prepared for the massive changes that are about to be thrust upon us. When Maddy was born, Cady was still in diapers. Now, we've been out of diapers all summer, although Mad still wears a pull-up at night. Cady starts kindergarten one week after the baby is born and whoa, that a whole lotta change for a 5-year old in a very short time span.

But I know that it will bring us all closer. Maddy is SOOOO very excited to finally become a BIG sister, not just be the little sister and I know she'll be a great one. I need to enjoy every moment with this new little one, since it'll be the last!

Little Fishies

The girls completed swim lessons last week and they have both learned so much this summer, as far as swimming. The biggest hurdle was just getting over being fearful! They both have pushed themselves and we've tried to get as much swimming practice as possible.

Yesterday we went to a friend's home from church and the girls had so much fun!! Well, once Cady got over goggle trauma (refer to picture # 1, when she refused to look at the camera because the "stupid goggles" didn't fit), they had fun! Cady abandoned the goggles and was jumping off the side and swimming back with no help ... HUGE strides from last summer!

Maddy still uses a "noodle" but is really practicing paddling and kicking to get around. Our friend M. pointed out to Maddy that if she swam with her mouth closed, the water wouldn't get in her mouth and Maddy promptly put that advice into practice (refer to picture #2 ). I, of course, am not pictured because I look like a big polka-dotted whale in my swimsuit at this point, but I was there and it felt lovely to float around and feel LIGHTER!

Wild Wings vs. Chik-Fil-A

Last night, we all went out to dinner for a last pre-baby outing with no diaper worries or high chairs or other baby trappings. We went to the Wild Wings downtown and as we were waiting for the food to arrive, Cady and Maddy had a most interesting conversation. It went something like this ...

Maddy: This has been the best day EVER!!!!
Cady: Yeah, I love Wild Wings!
Maddy: Yeah, me too!
Cady: Look at all the TV's!
Maddy: But I like Chik-Fil-A too ...
Cady: Yeah, Chik-Fil-A has a slide!

Now that's a tough choice: TV's or a slide??? Which would you choose?

On the countdown to our little #3

Having been so lax with the blogging, it perhaps has not been stated clearly that I AM EXPECTING another little girl!! She is due on August 4th and lately I have been wondering why in the world I insisted that we not have another "winter baby". My main reason was not wanting to be so housebound, which winter necessitates and a newborn exacerbates. I thought that I would have more freedom, having a baby in the summer.

Well, that may be the case (still don't know -- check back in a few weeks!) but for now, there sure is a whole lot of HOT-NESS!!! It has been an exceptionally hot summer so far and being pregnant, whew, I don't think I've stopped perspiring for the last 2 months!! All I can say is that I sure am ready to have this little girl ... although she'd better wait a little longer because we still haven't picked out a name. There are a few on the table but none that, at this point, we are jumping up and down about.

Cady's lemonade stand

Cady has recently grasped the concept that to buy things, one needs money, as well as the accompanying concept that Mommy won't always just give her a dollar for the dollar store! She has seriously uttered the words "I need some money!" several times recently. (Amen, sister!)

So while we were up in Maryland last month, Cady took advantage of the opportunity to hone her entrepreneurial skills and set up a lemonade stand at one of Mom and Pat's newly constructed produce stands. She set up on two different days and she had a great time. Maddy's contribution was to hound each and every customer with repeated "Want some lemonade?" until they succumbed to her winning smile. Cady would then carefully pour, add ice and of course take the MONEY. We did take a moment to snap a picture of Cady with her very first dollar! And in the spirit of true generosity, Cady shared her dollar with her sister so they could both go to the dollar store and get a treat!

Happy Birthday, USA!

I'm going with the notion that "late is better than never" so here goes with our July 4th celebration ...

We actually celebrated on July 3rd this year because our little hamlet here in SC doesn't do Sunday fireworks. We had some good friends over for a delicious BBQ, complete with potato salad, hot dogs, corn on the cob and lots of FLIES (sheesh). We all had fun hanging out but the highlight of the night was definitely the fireworks!! Ray had bought some "little" fireworks for the kids so they had a blast with the Sparklers. But let's be honest here, the person who loves the fireworks the most is RAY!!! He lights up like a little kid, or MORE than a little kid. Bottle rockets, sparklers, and the ones that are like artillery shells (I'm not sure what they're all called). After the fun in the front yard, everyone except me (almost 9 months pregnant ... I was pooped!) headed over to the nearby park for the city's fireworks display. The girls had never witnessed anything like it before and they came home THRILLED!!