Around here

We've been getting a lot of rain lately which meant indoor recess on the first day of preschool, but it also means lots of puddles and wet sand to play with at the park.

We ate at Braum's this weekend which is always fun. I've been trying to skip the ice cream the last few times we've gone, but this time I gave in because babies really do love ice cream - almost as much as big siblings do.

I made a very quick trip to Kansas City on Sunday to see a friend from high school who is getting married soon. The kids got to spend the day with their cousins and even got to go fishing with the big boys. They had so much fun that I'm not sure they even knew I was gone!

In baby news -- Max has changed his guess to girl, and Natalie says she likes the names Lily and Eddie. It's so much fun talking about the baby with them. They're so excited!

First Day of Preschool!

We have all been so excited for Natalie's first day of preschool, and it finally arrived! She hugged Max and me when we dropped her off, and then she marched right into her classroom. She loved it just as much as we knew she would. When we picked her up she skipped out of the building and told me, "I don't have a favorite part because I loved it all!" Max and I got the play-by-play on the drive home, and I ate up every detail.

Ms. Larisa, Natalie's teacher, keeps a blog about the happenings at preschool at hesstoncollegepreschool.blogspot.com. She already has pictures from today posted. It looks like it was a fun time!

Preschool Open House

Natalie starts preschool on Thursday, and tonight was open house. She got to meet her teacher and play with some of the many many toys. When we got home she said, "It was even better than I dreamed!"

Baby Bear

We have exciting news to share! Baby #3 is expected to arrive at the beginning of March!

We told Natalie and Max yesterday, and they were so excited. Natalie thinks it probably tickles the baby to be inside my stomach, and Max declared that he will sing "Hush little baby" when the baby cries. Max and I think we're having a boy, and Natalie and Chris think it's a girl. Time will tell!

Also, Natalie told me that today she can tell my tummy is growing. So there you have it:  I'm getting bigger by the day!

Callen's Swimming Party

Cousin Callen turned one today, and he had the best party! We swam for a while, played at a park, and ate hot dogs and cake. The kids were in heaven.

T-Ball

Underwear!

No more (daytime) diapers in our house!

Reading prizes

We stopped by Wendy's yesterday for frosties that the kids got free for completing the summer reading program at the library. One more reason to love the library!

Dining al fresco

Chipotle never disappoints.

Dillon's upgrade

Our local Dillon's grocery store is getting a face lift, and this new addition to the produce section is one of our favorites. So neat!

Max is showing off his orange. So far the kids have only chosen the oranges. I'm hoping to convince them to take a banana soon so that I can spend more time shopping and less time peeling oranges.

Bike races

And some digger watching