Dove Conference in Baltimore

The last week of July Tyson went to a conference in Lexington, KY and the boys and I were alone for a few days until I left for Baltimore for a Dove Chocolate Discoveries conference. We had so many awesome people watch the boys for us and I was SO glad I got to go. I had the time of my life! This is the few from my room, so high and so pretty. I woke up one morning to the sun rising and just layed there and watched it. Right next to our hotel they had these cute little dragon paddle boats. The boys would have loved it.

I learned a lot, got really motivated, but I made some awesome friends too. This is me and Liz the night of the banquet. She is awesome!

Everyone was freaking out because I was dancing so much. I can't help it, I LOVE to dance! They all thought I was going to go into labor or something. Hehe

The whole dreamnchocolate team. Me and Bertina (right of me) are both pregnant and due the same day, crazy huh?

Learning

Eating... (the far left is Bekah, she is my upline and AWESOME!)

This is Allyson, and she was the one that took most of these pictures. If not for her, I would have the one from my hotel room and that is about it. I am so bad about taking pictures.

General Session. It was more like a pep rally the whole time, with tons of music and prizes. It was SO much fun! Plus we got to try all the new products. Toffee, sugar-free chocolate covered caramels, white chocolate pear cider, cinnamon rolls, pretty much the best stuff ever!Walking around after dinner the first night we were there.

Betty Palm, DCD president.

Chef Mark, he comes up with a lot of the new products and ways to use them. Not to mention he is hilarious.

Me, Billi Jo and Betty, two other ladies on my team. They are so funny, especially Billi Jo, man she has attitude. :)

Then this is when they were telling us where we are going for our incentive trip this coming year. The joked about ice fishing trips, out west, scuba diving, stuff like that (it explains their outfits), but then they told us it is DOMINICAN REPUBLIC at this super awesome resort. I am so excited! So that is what I am working towards now, getting there and taking my fabulous Tyson with me (and probably the baby too as he will still be so small). So we will see...but I am so excited and I love chocolate!

Big Mama being a Big Baby

It is a funny thing being pregnant, it kind of consumes me and everything I do. For most of the pregnancy I have tried to avoid really thinking about it, that way kind of hoping it would go by faster. But then he started moving, and moving a ton. It would freak me out because why is my stomach wigging out? Oh yeah, because there is a parasite growing in there. :)

Then I started running into things and tripping over things because I can't see. The worst was running into the side mirror of the van right in front of the post office, I went flying backwards being bounced from my belly like it was rubber or something. This lady was like "Oh wow, are you okay?" I think I said "Oh yeah, happens all the time." Caleb and Josh just stared at me on the sidewalk. I wonder if they have hit the point where they think I am weird sometimes, I hope not. I hope that doesn't come for a long time. I like being the most amazing person in the world to them.

So yeah, and then today, Josh couldn't fit between me and the wall when I was sitting at the table. He asked me to scoot in, sad news, I really couldn't. It is hard explaining to your kid you no longer can hold him, or set him on your lap, or do a whole lot of things because you are just "too big" in the belly area. Poor little boys of mine.

But they are both really excited for their new brother. Josh asks if the baby is kicking and wants to feel it, which is really cute. They both are so anxious for the baby to come. Josh asked me if my belly button is the button to push to get the baby out. I wish it was that easy. Part of me is really scared to have another kid, I mean, how will I function with even less sleep? How will I handle Josh's endless questions that are sure to come about breastfeeding and where the baby came out and all kinds of other lovely things that he is sure to ask that I never dreamed of.

The other part of me can't wait for the little guy to get out of me. It has been a much more taxing pregnancy than with my other two, part of that is age I am sure. I am not as young as I was and this isn't my first. All kinds of things are stretched and weak that weren't before. Plus, I am not in any kind of good shape, my muscles are weak and that doesn't help. I find myself feeling like there are constant knots in my back and that my hip bones are slowly being rubbed down by the bowling ball that is resting on them. My legs "pop" out of place all the time, at least that is what it feels like. I assume that is just all the loose everything to get ready for the birth, but it isn't pleasant whatever it is.

And yet, I am so lucky. Last night I had a major meltdown, it was bound to happen sooner or later, I am just a meltdown kind of girl. I think most girls are. I cried because I hurt, because I always hurt, it hurts to walk/waddle, even getting dressed is painful. I am so sick of having to pee or peeing whether I want to or not every five minutes or every time I cough or sneeze. It is so annoying. And I hate that I get mad so easy. Usually I tend to get sad, weepy or depressed, not mad. It is a new one for me. I have to constantly tell myself to breath, that no, that person didn't mean to offend me, the doors, drawers, stools, walls, children are not purposely get in my way. I am pretty sure the computer isn't any slower or faster than usual, but jeepers it drives me crazy waiting for what seems like forever. It is worse because Kenni is not here. She was here with both of my other babies when I was this far along. Now she is not here to distract me and make it seem fun. But yeah, so I am crying and cranky and hating that I am crying and cranky. Tyson of course is perfect and just holds me.

That is when I figure I just need to be thankful. I am not on bed rest, the baby is super healthy, I can do pretty much everything I need to, somethings are just a little harder, but not too bad. 5 weeks really is not that far away, as eternal as it seems right now, it really isn't. I have my chocolatiering and my writing and my calling with the young women to keep me busy, not to mention all the blissfully endless housework and my adorable two rascals. Plus we have great air conditioning, so even though it is super hot outside, I rarely notice. How is that for a summer pregnancy? I am so lucky.

So for some reason I really wanted to write about all this. Probably because that is most of what I think about lately, getting huge with child really has been the foremost on my mind lately. And what is a blog but an online journal? So here is to the next five weeks being great ones and me being happy and enjoying it!

Summer Crazies

This is Jack, he is our buddy. Fell asleep on our kitchen floor, I thought it was the cutest thing! There really is something about the summer that makes people act different. They get so tired and so crazy. We have been having a lot of fun, especially in the rain.

And this is my personal favorite. Yes, he really was dancing and singing in the rain. Funniest thing ever!

Soccer Camp

A few weeks ago our friend Courtney had a soccer camp for 3-4 year olds every morning. So we took Josh. It was the cutest thing in the entire world! He LOVED it too. He talked about Coach Courtney and how to cut and head butt and kick the ball with certain parts of his foot. I totally am not an athletic person, so it made me really happy to see him out there. I hope he always loves sports and having fun. It was so nice to talk to all the other parents and to see little Caleb wandering around the field enjoying his alone time. SO cute! I love my little boys!

Portraits of our Cuties

We love to go visit our "Daddy Guy" at work. We go at least a few times a week and I'm sure it drives everyone else crazy, so we try to go after most people have left for the day. Well, the other day we went and Tyson was showing us the ID card machine and needed some practice for family pictures. So the boys LOVED it and the pictures were so stinking cute! Enjoy these pictures of the cutest boys in the world!

Birthdays/Celebrations

The first week of July is a crazy celebration week in our home. The 2nd is my birthday, the 4th is Tyson's, and the 8th is our anniversary. Not to mention the actual 4th of July celebrations and fireworks that go on. I think it is a tie between Christmas in excitement for me. I LOVE it! Sorry there are hardly any pictures, I haven't been great about taking them.

So first off, my birthday was a lot of fun. Tyson was super nice to make it a great day. I was super moody and grouchy for some bizarre reason, but it was a great day. The boys (Josh really) picked out these beautiful orange daisies to get me (the picture is below) and Tyson got me EL Fudges, my favorite currently. He took me and the boys to McDonald's for breakfast. It is a weird thing for me, I love the hot cake breakfast. My Mom and Dad used to take us as a special treat when we were kids. There were so many of us it was expensive so we didn't get to go very often, but I love those memories. So Tyson always takes me for special times because I still love it. Then, adorable husband that he is, threw a surprise party for me. The Davis's were awesome and were waiting in our house for us. The rest of our friends couldn't come because they were either out of town or just had a baby (which also, was a totally cool birthday present). Tyson made me a brownie cheesecake, super yummy and took him forever, it was super complicated. Then he made me homemade ice cream and we played battleship and Yahtzee that night. It was basically a party day, I loved it. Tons of people called me and wished me a happy birthday, it was so nice, everyone made me feel so loved.

Okay, then on the 4th was Tyson's birthday. I guess I will kind of go backwards explaining it, since that is how the pictures are. We went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner which was way yummy and the boys were amazingly really well behaved. It was almost eerie. Hehe Right before that, we decided to go to VMI where there were hot air balloons and a big fair type thing with booths and food, stuff like that. Well, we get out of the car and it starts to rain a little bit. We walk just a little ways and it starts pouring. So we hung ran to shelter and the boys watched the rain. It was fun. Then when it stopped raining hard, we kept on going, only to get caught in an even harder downpour, completely soaking all of us. So we ran for shelter again but the boys loved playing in the rain. Finally when it let up, the entire fair ground was pretty much deserted with the vendors packing up. The air balloons were grounded and deflated, so poor Tyson, there wasn't much excitement left. The boys however, loved it. We got some kettle corn and the guy selling it gave the boys each their own bag which they loved eating and slowly walking around with splashing in puddles. It was really relaxing and fun.

Tyson wanted a checkerboard cake for his birthday, so I did my best. It wasn't perfect, but it turned out kind of cool and it was fun to learn how to do something new. It tasted pretty good and that's what matters right? :)

My handsome hubby.

Josh helped me make it and boy was he a great helper, as you can see!

Sadly, I have no pictures from our anniversary, but that was my favorite day. Tyson had to work, but when he got back Mary and Ben came over to watch the boys (whom they both fell in love with). We drove to Charlottesville to the Melting Pot. It was so much fun to eat there! The cheese and the chocolate fondues were so yummy and our waiter was really nice. I told Tyson I knew I was getting old, because Kenni and I used to always check out our waiters, now my first thought was "I hope my boys turn out as nice as him." Hehe. Tyson was darling and made me feel like a queen and super loved of course. He found out that the fifth anniversary is the one to give the gift of wood, whatever that means. So he bought me a Willow tree figures of a couple and the caption that came with it (the reason he got the one he did) says "For those who have found their true partner in love and life." How romantic is he huh? So cute and I love Willow tree, so I was really happy. He made me bring in the big FedEx box to restaurant to open it, so cute. When we got home I gave him a game I made, "Monogamy." A twist off of Monopoly. It was pretty funny and fun to make. So we played the game and then stayed up late watching the cheesiest chick flick ever. It was ridiculous that neither of us could fall asleep. Hehe.

But it was a great day and a great week. I love having so many fun memories together. I can't believe the summer is only half over and I feel like we have done more than we ever have. Ah, summertime...

More Summer Fun

Here are the more random pictures of the month. We went to Jesse (Tyson's boss) and his wife Andrea's lakehouse right after Tyson's birthday. It was SO much fun. It was really relaxing and we played at the lake most of the first day there. Jesse and Andrea were so nice to have us there and the boys loved it and loved them. Josh loved the canoe ride and then the boys sat on the dock with Andrea while Tyson caught fish with a butterfly net. :) A real fisherman. It was so cute and so much fun. I am barely still fitting into my maternity swimsuit, so I won't burden you with any of those shots. But let me just tell you, swimming is the most stress relieving thing being pregnant, I felt so light. Hehe So yeah, it was a great trip. They even made Tyson a cake to wish him a happy birthday, it was so nice!

I often find Caleb just by himself doing his own thing. He requires very little attention and here he is, just reading to himself. He is such a chill kid, I love it.

The boys are best friends. Caleb calls Josh "Joshie" and they rough house, play games, "shoot" each other and the other pretends to die. Kind of awful, but really funny. Here they are, "camping" on the floor in their room. I love watching them sleep.

Caleb and his daily banana. Of course wearing a top hat, because doesn't one always eat bananas with a top hat?

Josh let Caleb borrow his hat and Caleb didn't want to take it off. So cute! I thought Dad would be proud of the blue plaid shirt too. :)

Caleb's new sitting spot.

After playing in the sprinkler. I feel bad, but Josh rarely holds still for pictures and when he does he rarely smiles, so I have very few unblurry happy pictures of him. :)

Caleb's crazy hair when I rub sunscreen in it.

Caleb and Josh decorated the car, the house, the brick porch, the sidewalk, the glass door, basically anything that would hold still with chalk. We were very thankful when it rained, but it was cute seeing them be so artistic...