Week up to August 6

Well, this past week and a half has been pretty uneventful. Natalie and I came down with the summer plague, so we took it easy for most of the week. Grammy was in Ireland for just about two weeks, and on the 31st we celebrated Grandad's birthday with dinner at Bill Batemans. It went o.k., though I was completely miserable with my stuffy nose! This past Saturday we went to Baby Allison's birthday party. It was in Greenwood, Delaware this year. The party was a blast, but it took us twice the amount of time to get there (nearly 3 hours to the hour and fifteen it should have). Natalie had a blast in the little blow up jumper there, and of course the pool. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures from the party itself. I am going to try to take some pictures of Natalie swimming today. She has become very comfortable with the arm swimmies, and really enjoys doggy paddling around on her own. Yesterday we went to Grammy and Grandad's for dinner to welcome Grammy home from her trip to Ireland. It was a very nice visit. The dinner was great, and the kids had a fun time running away from "Goggle Man." While we were there, Grammy handed out the souveniers. The girls received cute little Irish dolls, and Alex received a double decker bus. He was even interested in the box! He asked Natalie if she wanted to look at the pictures, and during this time she leaned over, gave him a hug, and exclaimed, "Alex, you're the best!" Natalie likes to listen to her kids songs when we drive in the car. One of the songs is "Make New Friends." A few times she became a little sad and said, "I don't have any new friends." So, we talked about all the "old" friends she has, like Ray, Zack, and Baby Allison. We also talked a little about some of the "newer" friends she has through our playgroup and other places. She then said, "Alex and Chloe are my friends." I told her that was true, and then she said with such enthusiasm, "And they're my cousins!" Now, whenever she hears this song, she likes to name off the friends she has. She even asked about some of our friends' and family pets, and if they have friends.

The other big news for this week is that we had our ultrasound this morning!!! I haven't received the official report on how everything is, but nothing glaring was mentioned, so there doesn't seem to be any cause for concern. My next appt. is September 12th. We also didn't think we would be able to find out the sex, since the baby was being very stubborn!!!! But, in the end after a few trips back to that area, the technician seemed very positive of her declaration! For those of you that thought Natalie would be having a baby sister...WRONG. She will in fact have a baby brother sometime around the New Year! They told me at the ultrasound the due date is December 29th...just a few days before my doctor's date of January 1st. We'll see how it goes, we have nothing but time!!!! Natalie, Mom-mom, and Grammy were able to join us for a few minutes at the end of the ultrasound. Natalie was very intrigued by seeing the baby on the monitor. She exclaimed, "Look, the baby is moving." When the technician said it was a boy, Natalie got so excited and looked at Dan and said, "I am going to have a brother???" When Dan confirmed this, she announced to the room, "I am going to have a brother!!!!!" We were very excited that she was so excited. Just last night, she told us she thought the baby would be a girl! We were concerned that she would be disappointed if she didn't get what she ordered so to speak!!! Here are some pics!!!