Summer Fun (Why Daddy is her favorite!)

I've said it tons but its true... Rhyan loves her Daddy. Not that I blame her... he is pretty cute, after all! But I have a feeling that the fact that he gives her squirts of straight up hershey's chocolate from the fridge has something to do with it :-)

Or maybe its the fact that he takes her mattress out of her bed, strips it down and lets her use it like a trampoline?!
Or maybe that when the "trampoline" gets old, she can use him as a chair makes him her fav?

I'm thinking that it might have something to do with the fact that the mattress also becomes a slide in "Daddy Daycare" :-)

Who knows the reason, but she definitely has fun with him!

She's also LOVING water this summer! Mommie bought her a sprinkler that is SO much fun! One evening after I got home from work, Mommie called and said I needed to bring Rhyan over and to bring a change of clothes. I happened to already have her in a bathing suit (trying one on to make sure it fit so she could take it to Tracy's with her...) so we just went in that... it worked perfectly!

She had a BLAST! And has enjoyed it a couple of times, since!

And then there is the sprinkler that Shlaine gave her for her birthday. (For those of you who wonder, "Shlaine" is a family name and is pronounced like "Lane" with a "shhhh" on the front... "shhhhh-lane"). She loved it for all of about 2 seconds this particular night but it wasnt that there was a problem with the water... it was an issue of me not putting water shoes on her and it being tragic that her feet were "dirty". Geez... Diva!

She got so mad at me, in fact, that she just hopped on her 4 wheeler and drove away. HA!

I love how much she loves the outdoors!!!

Memorial Day

Was it just me or was it hot this year on memorial day?!

We wanted to take in the Dacula parade and so we headed on up there around 9:20am. The parade was scheduled to start at 10am at Hebron. We got a spot on the sidewalk and waited for it to begin. In the meanwhile, Mama took Rhyan all around and let her explore a bit, grabbing a balloon before coming back!

We sat right under this sign by the railroad tracks

This was by far the most moving part of the parade...

The parade was good. They shortened it this year but you couldnt really tell because of the poor spacing between sections. It took, at times, 5 minutes from the end of one section till the beginning of the next! It as way too hot for that! So at one point towards the end, I walked with Rhyan down the street to see the "jumpy's" (which were way overpriced!) and so instead we settled on a hotdog and coke from Daybreak Church. What can i say, we were a sucker for their air conditioning!

After some great afternoon naps, we headed over to Mommie's house for a cookout. Rhyan had a fabulous time (as you can see from the pics) playing in the pool Mama bought her and the sprinkler Mommie got her!

But even 2 year olds who love the water can be lured away for some watermelon!

She loves cantaloupe as much as her Grandmother does!

And what better way to clean off after taking a bath in fruit juice than to strip down and get back in the pool!? I mean, doesnt that just scream "Memorial Day!"?!?!

And when you get thirsty, why not take off your croc and use it as a cup? I mean, what's wrong with that?! Not a THING!

Oh, Lord, I'm huge. But i still take time to play some ring around the rosies with our baby doll!

Hope your Memorial Day was as great as ours!

Kunis Rehersal Dinner and Wedding

The Kunis's have been lifelong friends to the Ford's. "Uncle" Bob and Andy (my father-in-law) worked together at Lucent Technologies until they both retired in 2001 and the Kunis's and Ford's lived across the street from each other for years. Jeff and Robbie spent most summers together at the Kunis lake house at Lake Hartwell and that is where Jeff became a lake lover :-) (he now insists that we buy a lake house for our kids to grow up having memories of... and preferably he wants to move there at some point full time). So to be able to see Robbie get married (finally! haha) was such a treat!

Although we werent in the wedding party (baby Mack made that a little difficult), they were kind and asked us to join them at the rehearsal dinner Saturday evening. It was held at Little Mulberry park and was great.The weather was fabulous! The food was catered in from on the boarder and the kids really enjoyed the park!

Look at these fellas... and jeff says that women are like "hen's clucking"... haha! I spy some roosters, then!

Rhyan had a FABULOUS time with her Uncle Jason and Liz who took her to play on the playground and then followed her around wherever she wanted to wander :-)

The rehearsal dinner also fell on Uncle Bob's fathers birthday! So we had a great time celebrating... I think he turned 84?! He's as charming as ever :-)

Then, on Sunday the couple exchanged vows on some beautiful pasture land off of Double Springs Road in Monroe. It was super hot! But we enjoyed the sweet time with friends!

The Kunis's were busy getting things ready to go (there was a mishap of someone forgetting the marriage license and wedding rings and they were trying to talk the bride into going through with the ceremony w/o it... we'll all laugh about it later! right?!) we snapped a great pic of more of the Ford's lifelong friends: The Stutts, The Hayes and Fords :-)

An attempt at a family pic

Here comes the bride! (escorted by her brother)

Mr. and Mrs. Robert George Kunis IV !!!!!

Thanks so much for letting us share your special day with you!

Baby Mack's Room! {the debut}

I am really proud of the nursery we've made for Mack. I did not want to invest a lot of money into a full bedding set like we had for Rhyan because I've found out that I just dont use it. But i like for stuff to match, so I had a delimma. I couldnt find stuff that went well together (bedskirt, curtains and changing table cover) so I ended up doing the only thing I could think to do... the UNTHINKABLE!... I made it myself.

You should 1st off know that I am very open about the fact that i'm NOT creative nor am I "crafty". I hate scrapbooking with a passion (which is why i love that i'm able to keep up with this blog and turn it into a book!) and pretty much think its worth the money to pay for already done projects. I just couldnt find anything that suited me this time!

So off to hobby lobby I went in search of 2 things: 1. Fabric and 2. Wall art.

I also decided a while ago that I wanted to decorate his room in "Ford" like stuff (aka: old truck's and antique ford pics). While at hobby lobby, I found these great truck picture frames and instantly LOVED them! There's one on each side of the bay window...I also loved this wooden car and knew the perfect place for it!

And finally, I found these cool letters that made a great way to decorate his room with his name!

(ps. in this pic there is a bumper pad that a sweet friend GAVE me... but its a pain in the toosh taking the mattress in and out w/ it in there so i've removed it since this pic... plus, sids hazard and all... I think we may just go without permanently.)

But I couldnt find any "Ford" items. Everything was Chevrolet, which doesnt really go seeing as how our last name IS Ford :-)

And then I remembered something: My Uncle Bobby has an old Ford truck that he's taken fabulous care of over the years. I knew then that it would be even more special if I could get some good pics of his truck, frame them and use it as the Ford art work i had been wanting!

So, you have to live and learn, youknow... I love this collection but I think i want to redo a couple of the pics so that I can have a little better lighting (with less glare) and possibly zoomed in a little less on the front of the truck. But overall, i'm loving this! The pics and the frames cost about $35 total! Not bad!

And as shown in proof above, I did sew Mack's curtains, bedskirt AND changing table cover :-) They are NOT perfect and I wouldnt want an inspection from a seamstress, but overall, they work. And the material cost me about $50 (well, my checkbook says otherwise but thats only b/c i bought WAY too much fabric... $50 worth would have easily have been enough!)

We also wanted to re-use the dry sink that Jeff''s grandfather made for a changing table (we did this with Rhyan as well, until she outgrew it). But we needed a chest of drawers for his clothes... so we refinished one that his grandfather had also made and I think it turned out beautifully!

Lastly, my cousin, Lindy, gave me this frame for an ultrasound back at Christmas. I put Mack's 12 week ultrasound in it because we couldnt get a profile pic from his 20 week (boo). Along with a cross our Pastor and his wife gave us, I think it makes a great way to come into his room!

Hope you enjoyed the tour! I have ONE collage frame I'm still on the hunt for that matches one that Rhyan has in her room for his newborn pics, but thats just going to have to wait. I'm pretty sure he's not going to notice ;-)

38 Weeks

My appointment for my 38 week check up fell on 38weeks and 2 days b/c of Memorial day.

This weekend was FILLED with great stuff (Kunis wedding rehersal, wedding, memorial day...) and I'm hoping to get that stuff posted (along with a post of McKinnon's room!) this weekend before he comes! For now, i'll update you on the baby news :-)

Total Weight Gain: 29lbs
My BP: 98/60
Baby Heart Rate: 145bpm
Fundal Height: 42cm (4cm "big")
Estimated Baby Weight: 8.5lbs (ahhhhhhhhh!)
Cervical Changes: 1.5cm dialated
50% effaced
Baby Position: Head down and "as low as he can get" :-)

Well, lets just all hope that Dr Pohl's statement last week that "the estimated baby weight can be off by up to a pound" is correct. Otherwise, we're going to be looking at a 9 pounder! Hmmm... I'm praying for closer to 8 :-)

Dr Pohl scheduled our induction for Monday, June 6th at 9pm at Gwinnett Medical.

Youknow, when we scheduled the induction with Rhyan, I felt nervous about taking care of a baby but I wasnt really nervous about labor and delivery. In fact, I felt kind of excited to experience it (does this sound crazy?). Having a baby is a part of life I wanted to experience and felt like it was kind of a rite of passage of sorts.

This time, I feel sick at my stomach when I think about giving birth again. People can say that you forget the pain, but I dont agree. I think the pain was worth it in order to have Rhyan in our lives, but I have not forgotten the pain. I know that it is short lived and that I will heal quickly and thats the part I try to focus on, but I'm not looking forward to the delivery part :-)

I AM looking forward to having pictures of Mckinnon this go round (with Rhyan, i have very few pics of her right after birth... Jeff and I were both a little freaked out and forgot to take many PLUS our family didnt take any! So I dont have any of her getting her 1st bath, being weighed, etc..). This time, my fabulous sister in law, Liz, has agreed to come in the delivery room as soon as he's born to take pics. I'm VERY grateful for that! Part of me doesnt like the idea of ANYONE being in there b/c i know its a not so flattering time for me, but I also know that my regret of not having pics of Rhyan outweighs my desire to not have anyone in there. And she'll do a great job! So, again, i'm grateful. She even already took the day off for it! HOW SWEET!

I'm also looking forward to trying to nurse again. I'm really praying it'll work this go round. That my body will make enough milk and that I'll have learned from my experience with Rhyan and not repeat the same mistakes.

I've really enjoyed today with Rhyan. She's recouping from her double ear infection and along with the infection leaving her body, the demons have as well. HA! I'm kidding (sort of). The ear infection made her soooooo disobedient and cranky and whiny. Part of me wonders if she's more whiny (in general) around me b/c she senses something is up or if i'm looking for an excuse for her? She's great around everyone else but as soon as she sees me she starts whining! So annoying. But i'm trying to be patient and lovingly remind her to use her words. But today was GREAT! We had two little incidents right when she got up from nap, but other than that, it was the best day the two of us have had alone in a while.

I cut the backyard tonight :-) I love a freshly cut yard! Rhyan played in her water table and with her gardening tools for a long time. And we treated ourselves to D.Q. for dinner since Jeff was coaching summer ball in Athens. He has 2 games tomorrow and then none Sunday (yay!). He's promised to help me tomorrow morning get the floors mopped one last time and get the carseat in place, the pack and play set up and the swing brought upstairs. THEN, i'll feel "ready".

Anyways... I'm excited to be on maternity leave and am very much looking forward to the next 10 weeks with my family!