pink or blue...

y'all. we're getting CLOSE. down to the WIRE. my little countdown on my handy dandy iphone says we only have 2 weeks left until d-day. ha-le-lujah.

that means i have 2 weeks left to finish the stack of ironing that i STILL haven't touched. what is my problem?

we had our check up on friday and all looked good. we had progressed to an "almost 3" and she decided to "stir things up" while she was doing the check. translated: ouchy-wha-wha. nothing major really became of the "sweep", but it did give me a few days of some pretty good & intense contractions. it was actually nice to feel like my body was at least thinking about having a baby some day soon.

the ultrasound revealed a very cozy, happy baby that was not small and which has long legs and big cheeks. i can only assume they are big cheeks like big brother's big cheeks. i LOVE LOVE LOVED owen's cheeks when he was born, so when the ultrasound girl commented on the cheeks, it made my heart smile. when i asked her how the head looked, she said, "it looks good! it's not too much above the norm." um...great?

and so, they estimated a 7 pounder as of last week. dr. s said she'd really like me to go into labor early, but on my own. hence, the stirring up. my guess is that she'll try that again on friday, and if nothing comes of that, then we'll start talking induction. she is planning to let us try going au natural. not to be confused with sans epidural. because mama loves her some epidural.

in the mean time, this kid has been keeping me going a million miles an hour. literally. he's faster than me...even with only one shoe on.

the other day while i was making dinner, i looked over and found him rummaging through the pantry. he had grabbed a handful of cat food from the container and had started sampling. i went over, explained that was harley's food and sent him back to the dining room to play with his toys. when i turned around to get the dustpan to clean up the cat food, he must have snatched a snack on the way out of the kitchen. how do i know? it got awfully quiet and when i went looking for him, i followed a trail of potato chips only to find this waiting for me in the hallway.

 caught. greasy handed.

he was NOT pleased when i swept them up and into the trashcan. believe it or not, he is a VERY healthy eater...but homeboy loves potato chips too. and apparently cat food. and men's deodorant.

i told him that potato chips go straight to your thighs.

see? proof. 

just kidding. but he IS quite the climber and gets such a sense of accomplishment when he gets to where he's trying to go. i love seeing his little face light up when he is proud of himself.

the other day, mike was working in the yard and owen was DYING to be out there with him. he would have walked step for step the whole time mike was mowing if we would have let him. he is such a daddy's boy and wants to be wherever mike is. since he couldn't help daddy, he did the next best thing: watch. he posted up at the window and watched & cheered for mike the entire time. i love how much this kid loves his daddy...and vice versa!

a friend of mine here is a photography major and is working on building her portfolio. she asked if she could snap some preggy pictures of me before baby petti made the great escape. i told her she was BRAVE and just requested that we NOT do beach pictures because that would make the whole "beached whale" feeling a little too real. we met downtown and snapped some on saturday. she grabbed a few of our little family of  3 and sent me some raw/unedited ones to tide me over. i loved this one...mainly because i love owen's little pose. he was quite the lover of the camera on saturday.

 i hope that whenever she does edit, she can edit out my nasty man-calloused feet. holy smokes. barefoot and pregnant much?

   a few weekends ago, some of my mom friends surprised me with a fun little sprinkle and it was SUCH a treat. delicious breakfast food, yummy coffee, the ability to start AND finish conversations with one another...and generous spoiling rotten goodies!

since we went gender neutral with owen and since he was just born practically a few minutes ago, we really and truly have just about everything we could need for another baby. the girls were so sweet to stock us up with wipes GALORE, a few fun surprises AND this fantastically darling diaper "nest." cloth diapers {with some more goodies stashed underneath} and the "eggs" are wool dryer balls. cutest idea ever? YES. i tell ya, my friends are not only super moms, they're super cute AND creative.

 i took more pictures of the darling decor, fun set up and a group shot with my other camera. but it's hiding somewhere at the minute, so i'll have to show them to you some other time. just take my word for it: it was super cute and wonderfully fun.

and so one of my projects this week is to prep all of our new diapers and get them ready for baby bottom #2. as i started pulling them out of drawers and such, i was reminded again that we have an embarrassment of riches and are SO blessed by our sweet friends.

and yes, there are pink ones in there. if this baby is a boy, he might be sleeping in a pink zinnia diaper.

and last but not least.

check it.

it's true. and i don't totally know how i feel about it quite yet. i'm hoping that by blogging about it, it will sink in a bit more. mike and i have been talking about what we were going to do about a car ever since we found out we were pregnant with #2. it's no secret that it was going to be a TIGHT FIT with two rear facing car seats in ruby the hondizzle. not to mention, our fabulous double stroller DOES fit in the trunk...but that's all that can fit. nary a bag of groceries nor a cheerio could fit in there with it.

i had suggested looking for an expedition or a tahoe...i'm an "SUV" girl. we grew up driving them...loving them. mike kept lovingly reminding me that because of our plan to adopt, whatever car we bought now would likely have even two MORE little bodies in it within the next 2 years or so. there's also the fact that we have a debt free approach to car shopping, so whatever we drive, has to be paid in full...and let's face it: mini vans are cheaper than suburbans and we were going to be able to get much more for our money this way.

drat. there was no way around it. we prayed that God would make this process clear, easy and black & white. and He did JUST that. and that's how i know that this must be the car for me. bottom line: i'm thankful.

my dad actually found the little gem tucked away on a car lot in san antonio and pounced on it for us like a rat on a cheeto. he did all of the leg work & investigating for us! our mechanic even looked it over and gave his blessing.

pros: the doors open on their own. so when i have my hands full of babies and diaper bags and matchbox cars, they'll open with the push of a button. do i love that idea? it's true. i do.

my stroller will fit in the back...along with a small circus if i so desire.

two rear facing car seats...and i still have leg room and don't have the steering wheel 2 inches from my chest. my long legs are dioing a little dance for joy just thinking about it.

it's silver...like lightning. which means i can race around town to playdates and pediatrician appointments at the speed of light.

...just to name a few.

cons: it's a mini-van.

we've decided to rename ruby the accord. her new name? "the illiad". so now we have "the illiad" and "the odyssey."

the deal isn't SIGNED, sealed and delivered quite yet. we're waiting for them to finish a few repairs and the detailing. but assuming all goes well, mike will drive to san antonio this week to complete the transaction & pick it up. i am pumped just by the thought of big mike driving the mini down i-37 all by himself. look out, ladies.

the rest of this week will consist of laundry, ironing {why do i hate it so much?} and last minute projects and such. just when i think i can't, i find something else to clean or organize. my sweet friend jessica, mother of TWO darling little dolly girls retired her baby girl clothing and sent them our way in the event that baby petti is team pink. mike and i sifted through some of it this weekend and oh my. little girl clothes are SO different than little boy clothes. there wasn't a single construction truck, monster or dinosaur in the whole batch.

just ANOTHER way we've been blessed beyond measure by the generosity of our friends and family.

happy september.

i'm hanging my fall wreath on my front door today. are YOU?!