Six Months Down

Today marks 6 months pregnant. Tomorrow I'm officially in my third trimester. Wait...what? I've only got 13 weeks (or less, if he's anything like his brother) until I'm the mother of two? Pretty scary. We've been so busy this summer that I feel like I blinked and suddenly I've only got three months left. Nolan, by my account, seems to be doing just fine. He's really amped up his movements (to the point I can feel him kick when I'm standing instead of just when I'm sitting down), and we can almost see my tummy move as he gets stronger. Aiden likes to put his hand on my belly, but he's not patient enough to leave it there long enough to actually feel anything. I have my hour-long sugar test at the OB next Monday, so cross your fingers for me that I pass with flying colors; I'd rather not have to do the three-hour test. At the beginning of September, I start the bi-weekly appointments, and then in October it'll be once a week. Oh good lord. I have so much to do! But I won't think about that today; I'll think about that tomorrow. :)

A Bear for his Brother

Today is the last day of my four-day weekend. I had wanted to take Aiden back to the zoo or to the Dublin splash park, just the two of us. However, the weather was calling for strong storms (though truth be told, the sun is still shining brightly outside--GRRRR), so I decided to take him to Build-A-Bear to make Nolan's first teddy bear. Mike & I did the same when we were expecting Aiden, and I was really excited about him having hand in something his little brother would really love. That & I told him he could also make one for himself. :)

He was a bit apprehensive about actually stuffing the bear since it made a loud noise, but he warmed up quickly and then didn't want to pulled OFF the pedal. We also picked out a cute outfit for Nolan's bear, which we appropriately named "Buckeye." The "bear" Aiden chose for himself wasn't actually a bear, but a very nice Brutus Buckeye. I was a little annoyed that he managed to pick the most expensive creature in the store, but he made up for it later this afternoon--Aiden did a No. 2 in the potty for the first time ever! I never thought I would be so proud to see a turd in the toilet. Maybe we really will be lucky enough to have one kid in diapers at a time--crossing my fingers on that one...

The Autograph

So this morning I got to meet one of my favorite people--Jim Tressel, head coach of THE Ohio State Buckeyes. A co-worker of mine let me know a few weeks ago that he would be speaking at her church on a Monday (!) morning, so it was hard for me the pass up the opportunity to meet him. I arrived at the church this morning around 7:15 (which was quite a feat, considering I'd been up since 3:30 due to a certain two-year-old's inability to sleep), and almost freaked out when I realized I was only standing 10 feet from J.T. There was a small autograph line that had already formed, so I was thanking myself for grabbing one of Aiden's foam footballs right before I left the house.

It wasn't long before it was my turn. I shook hands with him, told him what an honor it was to meet him (especially as an OSU alum), and then asked him to sign the football for Aiden. J.T. asked where I was from, so I told him, and then he said one of his coaches was from that area. WE HAVE A CONNECTION! Seriously, we could probably play Six Degrees of Jim Tressel. Anyways, I wanted to ask for a photo, too, but as I was there by myself, it felt awkward to ask someone else to use my camera--that & I didn't want to hold up the line. :)

Afterward, we had breakfast & listened to him & a few others (including current corner back Chimde Checkwa) speak. This is the second time I've seen J.T. speak, and I could honestly listen to him read the phone book. I apologize for the poor picture quality--I was sitting a bit far back & only had my camera that I throw in my purse. Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning. :)

And Now for Some Old-Time Baseball

In his quest to do all things baseball this summer, Mike has joined the Ohio Village Muffins, the oldest vintage-style baseball club in the country. The club plays ball according to 1860s rules, even dressing in the uniform style of the day (as you can see in the photos, Mike looks especially darling in his pillbox hat & cute red necktie). He had his first game on July 4th, but Aiden & I didn't attend due the heat & humidity. Last night, though, he played in his second game--at some kind of country festival up the road in Plain City--and we let Aiden stay overnight with Mimi so I could watch him play & then we could go out to dinner afterward.

Though we got there just as the game was starting at 7:30, and the sun was still beating mercilessly down, it was a beautiful night for a game. I felt sorry for both teams being in those hot-looking costumes, but Mike told me afterward they weren't actually that bad. There was a great family atmosphere during the game; there was even a gentleman in period dress standing next to the bleachers, giving the crowd a sort of play-by-play since 1860s rules are quite different from the baseball we understand today.

If you're in Ohio and looking for something to do this summer, I highly encourage you to visit the link to the Muffins' Web site above. They'll actually be playing a double-header at the Ohio Reformatory next weekend (very close to my hometown), so if you're interested, you might see us there. Until then, "Huzzah!"

Our Four-Day Fourth

That was a long, hot four days. And no fireworks for us, thankyouverymuch, unless you count Mike & I watching Red, White, & BOOM from the comfort of our couch. Maybe next year one of us can take Aiden while the other stays with Nolan. But to get back to the here & now, here's a recap of a fun long weekend:

SATURDAY, JULY 3: We actually set this day aside to do some cleaning so we wouldn't have to keep up with it for the rest of the long weekend. I weeded, cleaned up the inside of the house, and did laundry, while Mike trimmed the bushes, sprayed those annoying weeds, and got a lot of stuff out of the garage. Aiden wasn't really into the cleaning, so we sent him to MiMi's to play in the pool with Christopher. That evening, we went to El Vaquero to celebrate Lawrene's birthday. Yummy dinner & good friends are always a fun time.

SUNDAY, JULY 4: AHHHH, we got to sleep in! :) A little more cleaning & our weekly grocery trip, and then Mike went to go play in an old-time baseball game. I would have gone, too, & brought Aiden, but the hot & humid weather really would not have worked. Instead, we ended up back at MiMi's to play in the pool. It wasn't all that refreshing since the water had been in the sun all day, but Aiden didn't seem to mind. He played with the neighbor kids a bit, and then it was inside for a steak dinner. A relatively quiet holiday. :)

MONDAY, JULY 5: This was the first of 5 days in a row with 90-degree-plus heat. We took Aiden & Christopher to the park, but we didn't get to stay as long as we had hoped due to the discomfort of the heat & humidity. The boys had fun while they could, though; then it was over to Wendy's for some lunch (and AC!), and home for naps. That evening, we all went to Buca di Beppo to celebrate Sara's birthday, then it was back to Mimi's for some family photos and chocolate lava cake. YUMMO.

TUESDAY, JULY 6: Another hot one. But we braved the heat to head to the Zoo, and I'm glad we did; the boys were such troopers! Aiden really seemed to "get" the idea of seeing the animals this year. He also ASKED me if he could pee in the potty--in public!--for the first time, AND he was successful!!! I'm STILL proud. :) After about four hours, it was time for naps, and then the boys played out in MiMi's pool for a few hours. Jeff, Sara, Abby, Sean, John, Mike & I then headed down to Huntington Park for a Clippers game. They lost pretty badly, and it was still steamy, but we had a great time.

Today was back to work, but it wasn't so bad considering it was already Wednesday. I had an OB appointment today, where they confirmed that Nolan is looking good & measuring right where he should be. They also said there shouldn't be a problem with me going to the OSU vs. Marshall game that I so luckily scored tickets to, even thought I'll be about 33 weeks at the time. Looking forward to both that game & some cooler weather!