We've been busy lil buggers

Wow.  July is totally slipping right past me!  It feels like it should still be the middle of June.  Did I miss a month somehow?  The summer goes by way to quickly!

Well, let's try to play a little catch up!  We've been traveling.  To Des Moines, Galesburg and home again and then I took a girl's trip to the Dells.  And next week Charlie and I will be heading back down to Des Moines.  Seems like we are gone more than we are home lately and that's okay b/c it means we are busy out having fun and making the most of the summer!

So what else have we been up to?  Well, in our free time we've been:

Coloring

Playing in our tunnel, popping out the end and saying "ta-da"!

Practicing our couch gymnastics

Snuggling up on Brayden

Napping

Enjoying the lake and boating

Perfecting our "tans"

Dancing

Celebrating

Playing in our new sandbox (thanks Dada!)

Making sidewalk art

And hanging w/ the neighbors

What could be better?  We've got it pretty damn good.

Cheers!
Kel

(I'll try to get back to more regular posting, but no promises.)

Happy 4th of July!

We are busy doing a lot of drinking and boating. Posts will resume later this week!

Happy independence day everyone! Stay safe and stay cool!

Xoxo~
Kel

Bittersweet

This last weekend we took a long drive down south to Arkansas. In the drive down I saw more mullets than I had in the past year of my life. We also referenced the movie "Deliverance" on more than a dozen occasions. Basically we were in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by inbreds. Could be quite scary at times. But we were down there for a good reason. (And I apologize in advance for anyone who lives down there but you've got to admit, about 75% of the people down there are quite the sight.)

As some of you may recall, my grandpa passed away a year ago in April. We had him cremated and per his request we were going to scatter his ashes over my grandma and uncle's graves down in Arkansas. However, last April I was very pregnant so we decided to wait until later this summer when Charlie was bigger to head down there and scatter his ashes.

We headed down to Des Moines last Thursday night to cut our long drive up a bit. From Des Moines to our destination it was about 9 hours, add on the 3 1/2 from Minneapolis to Des Moines and we've got one hell of a haul. We were nervous as to how well Charlie would handle being in the car for so long but luckily our nerves were unfounded. She did GREAT. We rented a 12 passenger van and all easily fit in there along w/ lots of toys and a portable DVD player so Charlie was always entertained.

Once we reached our destination we hit the pool for a bit, met up w/ my dad's cousin, Mike and his wife, Debbie and got some dinner before crashing early. What is it about long drives that totally wipe you out? I don't get it.

The next morning we headed to the cemetery w/ Pap's cremains. It was bittersweet. He was finally home with his wife and son. It felt good to do but also re-opened the feelings of loss. He was so close to getting to meet his 1st great grandchild. I know he would have loved Charlie.

Not all was sad though. We took a drive through Fairfield Bay which is where he lived for several decades and we talked about memories we had of him and being down there. We'd been driving down there to see him my whole life. That's a lot of memories! We finally ended up at Greer's Ferry Lake which is not only absolutely gorgeous but huge! We rented a pontoon boat, like we had so many other times w/ Paps and took it out on the lake for 3 hours. Charlie loved the boat and the weather was perfect for an afternoon out on the water.

It was a fun afternoon to celebrate Paps and our love for him.

We finally made it home last night and we are wiped. Charlie slept for 11 1/2 hours straight and Kobe was so tired I picked him up and he sagged like a rag doll, so no fireworks for us unfortunately. Besides the illegal ones we picked up in Hillbilly, Missouri on our drive home. :)

Charlie was not impressed w/ the gigantic sparkler. She was however impressed w/ Kara's sunglasses. Maybe next year... :)

Later~

Kellie

36 week update

Like Whoa.

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 32 pounds (um yikes?!?!)

Stretch Marks: None. Still thanking the baby Jeebus and hoping upon hope it stays this way!

Sleep: Minimal. Exhaustion has hit again. I toss and turn all night trying like crazy to find a position that is comfortable but I can’t sleep on my stomach (for obvious reasons) and I can’t sleep on my back either b/c of the pressure on one of the main arteries or whatever so it’s only on my sides. Not cutting it one bit. Even with my body pillow.

Best Moment This Week: My baby shower last Sunday in Des Moines. It was so great to get to see everyone and we got some great gifts for Nugget! Also, Wade installing the new tile floor and wainscoting in the bathroom. It looks great!

Movement: Nugget is a mover and a shaker for sure. And now that she is getting so large (approx 5 ½ pounds at this point) the jabs and pokes are starting to get painful at times. I find myself gasping at times when she really goes to town. Yikes!

Food cravings: Strawberries again. Can’t get enough of them. And pineapple and fruits in general. Also pizza. I don’t want you guys thinking I’ve become a health nut b/c I totally am not.

Labor Signs: I’ve had some Braxton Hicks contractions here and there but nothing major.

Belly Button in or out? This is weird but it depends on Nugget’s position in there. Sometimes it is out and I mean WAY out. Other times it is flat across and other times still I’ve even noticed it being in just the slightest bit. So I guess it just depends on how she’s lounging in there.

What I miss: I still miss my wine, beer, margaritas, martinis, etc. I also miss not swelling up at even the slightest bit of heat and humidity. Although it hasn’t been as horrible as some, it’s still no fun. And I definitely miss sleeping on my stomach. And my pre-pregnancy clothes/body. And normal sex (sorry TMI). And sleep. And late nights out. And my energy. Ugh. I guess I miss a lot.

What I am looking forward to: This long holiday weekend! I can’t wait to have a day off. I’ve been keeping my PTO usage to a minimum so that I can use as much as possible when Nugget is born so I haven’t had a full day off in quite sometime! We;ve got a lot that needs to be done before she gets here and I'm hopeful we can get a lot checked off that list this weekend!

Weekly Wisdom: Get up and walk around often. It helps with the swelling and keeps my tailbone from hurting more. (For some reason my tailbone kills me when I sit down. It is awful and I have no idea why.)

Milestones: We can now say I am due this month! Happy July!!! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th!

Did you say KEG???

Tonight is our 2nd annual Wessels' 4th of July kegger. Wade has been in California all this week so I've gotten the house ready and he just has to pick up the keg and ice and we'll be set. This year probably won't be as out of control as last year (unfortunately). Being on a Wednesday, a lot of people have to work tomorrow and a lot of our friends now have babies or are preggo, so I'm guessing it won't last until 4 am again! But our volleyball team will be in attendance and we are hopeful that we will have a good turn out and drink the keg dry. Luckily Wade and I both have tomorrow off work to recuperate, clean up and get working on the deck again. And then off to the Richfield Street Dance Thursday night to celebrate the upcoming holiday with Paula and John. I've been promised that it is a good time.

We are expecting Wade's friend from high school, Lance, and his girlfriend, Wendy, to visit us this long weekend and are excited to have some out of town company. We'll have plenty to do to stay busy and the weather is promising to be nothing short of spectacular.

I'll get some pics posted of the keg, deck building and our long weekend sometime next week. Until then, stay safe and have a HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!