A Post...Finally

It has been far too long since I have posted to our blog. I am sure that I could come up with a thousand excuses as to why but in the end, it has just gotten away from me. I really did a poor job taking pictures this summer as well and need to do a better job with that too. To recap on some of the things that have been going on with us:

July is a very busy month for me at work with all of our new students arriving on campus for the first time. We did find a weekend to sneak down to Jacksonville to help Ellie celebrate her first birthday. It was great spending time with our family and Drake loved being around Ellie.

Drake especially enjoyed taking all of Ellie's toys out of her toy box, getting in the toy box, and popping out.

Summer school was a blur and at the beginning of August, I embarked on a ten day trip to Italy with the basketball team. During the foreign tour, we visited Rome, Venice, Vincenz, Venice, and Lake Como and the team had the opportunity to play four games against Italian teams. Basketball wise, there really was no competition but I think culturally it was a great experience for everyone. I just wish that David had been able to join me on the trip. 



Overlooking Lake Como (33 weeks pregnant)

We returned from Italy late on a Sunday night and I had a doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon. While at the appointment, the baby's heart rate was significantly lower than normal (still in the normal range for babies, just not for her). I think to ease my mind, my doctor put me on the monitor for 20 minutes to get a clearer picture of what was going on. That's when we saw that I was experiencing contractions. We think the contractions were caused by dehydration and exhaustion from the trip. I did have to visit the hospital on Tuesday for a couple doses of a shot to stop the contractions, which worked for a week. I ended up back at the doctor after a week with more contractions and at that point, I was prescribed a daily smooth muscle relaxer for two weeks to keep the preterm contractions at bay. This all happened right at the start of school, which is a very stressful time as it is. Add being 33 weeks pregnant to the equation and, needless to say, I was quite overwhelmed. I was able to get to the point of being organized at work and projects fell together at home, which reduced my stress level quite a bit.
David's parents have also been a huge help since I left for Italy. They recently moved to a lake community about 35 minutes away from our house and have had Drake over to play quite a bit. For the past month, they have watched him one day each weekend, allowing us to concentrate on work we need to do around the house. I love that Drake is getting to spend do much time with his grandparents and we have also seen his cousins more since they moved here as well. Drake has learned the art of playing hide and seek, although he still likes to call out to tell you where he is hiding.

Drake has also started to wear underwear on a regular basis and we are now in week two at school and he has yet to have an accident. He does not always volunteer that he needs to go, but as long as we take regular trips to the potty, he is mastering this skill.

A couple weeks ago we had to run some errands in Greenville, so we started the morning with a trip to the zoo. We have been taking Drake to the zoo since before he could walk and I think this is the most attentive to the animals he has ever been. He was interested in all the animals and what they were doing.

It is hard to believe that October will be here in just a few days and on October 2nd our little family of three will become four. I'm not sure we are ready to live the sleep deprived life again, but we are ready to meet this little girl.

A Father's Day Hike

We celebrated Father's Day this year by heading to the woods for a hike. Thinking that Drake would enjoy running some of that two year old energy off, we optimistically chose a hike we have done before and remembered as not too steep. While not too difficult, I think our memories are beginning to fade; at least I can blame pregnancy brain.

As we got our of the car at the trail head, our plans of Drake running and hiking on his own were quickly dashed as he told us he would be riding in the backpack and not walking. Much to David's dismay, he acted as a Sherpa and carried Drake on his back until we got to a steep hill down to the river. Drake walked that portion, jumped over logs, and marveled at the bugs that he saw along the way. He actually did amazingly well given the terrain that we were asking him to climb.

Once at the river, Drake snacked and talked about all of the sharks and whales that he could see in the water. While David and I did not witness the marine animals that Drake was able to see, we did see a number of rafters and kayakers on the water.

If you look closely, the shirt that Drake has on says "David" on the back. This was actually David's shirt from when he was little. He thinks he wore it when he was five (hence the "5"), although David was a big kid also. I just can't imagine Drake at two is the same size as David at five.

On the hike out, Drake had no interest in riding in the backpack. He wanted us to carry him on our hip, but that was not happening for long. He walked some, I convinced him to ride in the backpack some (by bribing him with a snack), and we carried him some. The day capped off with a lobster dinner, which Drake was interested in looking at and wanted me to pet, but had no interest in touch (or eating) himself. Other than the six ticks that David found on his person, I think it was a great Father's Day.

The Timeout Tree

Drake has decided that it is important for me to have a timeout tree. The timeout tree is where Drake puts me when he wants to be allowed the freedom to explore the contents of the quanze hut shed; a place he knows he is not allowed to go.

When he decides to put me in timeout, he simply tells me "timeout Mamma" and walks me to the tree (slightly pushing me form behind). Once at the tree, he directs me where to stand and puts my back against the tree. He then places my hands in my lap and crosses then, just like we do with him when he is put in timeout. Drake then cautiously make his way back to the shed, occasionally looking back at me, pointing and saying, "no, Mamma, timeout".

My timeouts often continue for a couple cycles because, he really cannot be in the shed, so I take myself out of timeout to remove him from the shed. One interesting thing is that he has not figured out to turn my back to the shed or put me on the other side of the tree. The silly boys gives me a clean slight line to his mischief. At least we know that he is understanding that when you are in timeout, you are not allowed to do anything.