The Count Down

No brightly colored paper link chains for this pregnant mama.  If you come to our house over the course of the next 6 weeks, this is how we'll be counting down:

Apple Pie

Pie.  Glorious, indulgent, pie.  Am I building it up too much?  Maybe.  But from here on out I'll be making a pie a week until the little bundle arrives.  It's kinda funny, non-pregnant Charity would never choose pie.  She would choose chocolate cake, or sour patch kids as an indulgence.  Pregnant Charity on the other hand, wants and dreams about pie.  I'm actually really excited about this as I've never really been a pie maker before!  Jason is not nearly excited as me.  This is my first week of pie making, as well as his first week of running.  Apparently, pie isn't part of the weight loss program.  I argued that this pie has apples.  How do you like them apples?  Weight loss, shmeight loss.

Adding insult to injury, I went ahead and made cookies too.  It was such a dreary day, Roman is teething up a storm (and definitely grumpy enough to create his own weather system), and I thought it would be a great distraction for the little man to have him help me make chocolate chip cookies.  What.  You're not buying it?  Fine.  So, I may have been craving cookies and used my grumpy munchkin as an excuse to go ahead and whip up a batch.  It seemed to work though...

Yes, this is a tent in our living room.  Gotta love summer in the PNW.

A stomach ache, and a handful of Tums later, cravings were satisfied and we moved onto dinner.  

Moving on to non-food related topics.  Haircuts, dirt, and the fence.  Jason was brave enough to buy a clipper set at Costco a few weeks ago.  I'm officially the house barber.  While I don't have any pictures of Jason's stunning new 'do, I did document Roman's first mom-cut.  Trust me, it's not a haircut.  Lets just say I'm in need of a little more practice:

Before 

(notice the spikey hair?  that would be food.  reason #1 for the haircut)

After

Roman approved,  and decided to lounge a little post-cut.

Dirt.  I'm assuming all kids are just drawn to it.  Or, maybe that's just wishful thinking and it's really just my kid that not only eats it, but practically rolls in it when I'm not looking.  But, honestly, I love that about him.  I've secretly always wanted a boy who loves to get dirty, isn't afraid of worms and bugs, and occasionally makes me rush him to the doctor because there may have been something that looked like a worm in his diaper.  Disgusting? Yes.  True? You betcha.

gathering the appropriate tools

Who needs flower beds.  

Somewhere under the tractor is a plant trying to grow...

Taking a short-lived break on top of the air conditioner (this boy is such a climber!)

Whoa!  What just happened?!

The fence.  Our fence is actually looking like a fence!!  I can't even begin to tell you how exciting this is for us. With almost 3 months of squinting and imagining what would be lining our property, I can now see it coming together and you know what that means?  I can take a picture and show you too.  Take that imagination.

This is on the North side of the yard, and there are now boards on the back side as well so you can't see the neighbor's yard.

Nailing the bottom of the boards

Double whammy: Prego shot and documentation that I helped

My boys

Little helper

A little Papa love

Aha!  There it is again!  I practically built this thing on my own.

This is what tired looks like after a long day of working on the fence

Love bug.  How did he get so big?  Look at those long legs in those too-short jammies! 

I think that covers it.  I'm excited to share more pictures of the fence as it continues to take shape!  In the meantime, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and have a slice of pie.  Jason would love you for it, and I would love to share a slice with someone who doesn't care about the calories.  Besides, it's almost the 4th of July. Eating pie is the most American thing you can do.  Let's do it for America.  

Happy Weekend!

Father's Day

Father's Day began like this...

(not sure if it was the matching outfits that sent Roman overboard)

and ended with this...

with a little of this in between...

I'm not sure I could be more thankful for my husband.  I know I don't tell him enough, but he is an amazing father.  Lately, the fence project and it's deadline (before the baby's born) have him working full-speed from morning until night on his days off.  He's mentioned several times that he feels like he's missing out with Roman and can't wait until this is done so that he can just play with his son.  The sacrifices he makes for his family is a testament to how much he loves us.  Watching the two of them together generally has me running for the camera to either take a million pictures or record them playing. They have a special bond that is so sweet to see.  Roman will fall asleep in Jason's arms on any given day, as well as give random kisses and hugs, while he points to me when he needs his diaper changed, wants more milk in his cup, or would like me to retrieve something that fell behind the couch.  He is 100% a daddy's boy, and I truly wouldn't have it any other way!  Thank you for all you do honey!  I love you!  xoxo

Here are a few more pictures from the day:

Bubbles or "pop!" are huge at our house right now

the bubble gun is a big hit as well!

helping dad take apart the ramp 

and put the boards away...

 Maybe not the best picture, but I love it!

And finally, dessert.  Hot Fudge Pudding Cake.

ahem...the quantities probably look the same, but it's just the camera angle.  Oh come on, I'm pregnant.  

I'm so blessed to have a wonderful husband, Dad, and father-in-law in my life!  Happy Father's Day, Dad!  I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!  

xoxo

Updates and a few cute pics

I guess that signing up for a blog means that I actually need to update it occasionally!  I'm not sure where the time has gone, but this last week and a half has flown by.  Being a stay-at-home mom has me a little out of practice as far as being on a schedule (other than my what my 3ft. munchkin typically dictates), but it sure felt good to be of use to someone other than my immediate family!  Last weekend our church hosted a community baby shower.  While we didn't have a ton of people show up, the 50 or so families that did come were incredibly grateful and blown away by the generosity provided to them through our awesome community.  So many amazing items were donated including strollers, super generous gift cards, tables of diapers, wipes, clothes, you name it and we had it.  I loved being able to help out with this project and look forward to next year!

I feel like we've finally had a little break from the rain and got a sneak peak at summer for a short while!  We're currently building a fence to contain our little explorer, and the sunshine was the ticket for bringing out helpful friends and family so that we could finally pour the concrete around the base of the fence and (insert trumpet sound) hereby completing phase one!!  Jason has been working so hard since the beginning of April and we're thrilled to finally be able to take a little break as a family and relax.  Phase 2 is a little less intense as it really just entails painting boards and putting them up as he goes.  Enough talk though, onto the pictures:

Jason putting up first stringer board

Getting ready for concrete

 Armed and ready with his tape measure

 and they're off!

I don't have an explanation...

I found this picture on the camera when I returned from the grocery store.

I have pictures of a more finished product, the form boards are off, and the yard is a little more cleaned up, but I'll save that for my next post.  For now, just know that when I sit on our patio and look out I feel nothing but contentment.  I love, love, love our home.  I love and enjoy a nice vacation, and I feel like I've traveled a little as a young adult (um...did I just age myself?), but honestly, when I sit back and think if there is anywhere in the world I'd like to be at this very moment my mind consistently comes back to our home.  It also helps when you get to see this on a daily basis:

helping dad make pancakes

oh these two...seriously, they melt my heart they love each other so much.

and because this is my blog, I get to put a picture of myself in.  He grabbed my shirt and just kept wanting to kiss the "beebee"...love.

He's also into putting on anyone's shoes at the moment

and climbing...

and anything daddy does

and of course, being super cute.

I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend (you 2 or 3 people that read this!)!  We're off on a date to see Lyle Lovett on Sunday night at the Chateau Ste Michelle Winery in Woodinville.  We went last year and it was so fun!  Looking forward to a little sunshine on Sunday as well!

Happy Weekend!