Fun with the camera

For those of you wondering what my belly looks like...here it is at 24 weeks! Scary I know, but try and look past the stretch marks! Notice my belly button has already transformed from an innie to an outie! Why is it that your belly button protrudes when you're pregnant? And why does it hurt when you attempt to push it back in where it belongs?

While my belly is getting bigger, the summersaults seem to be stronger and happening more frequently. Austin is getting more opportunities to feel her move but always gets side tracked attempting to place my belly button back where it belongs! His version of watching his sister move is when my belly button pops back out. "Look Mommy, she's moving!" I'm sure he'll have plenty more opportunities to feel her move! If he only knew what was in there...

These are self portraits taken by Austin and I! Notice how his eyes are looking towards the camera! He was kissing his baby sister while patiently waiting for me to take the picture! We couldn't stop laughing at the pictures we were taking!

A new discovery

As you can see in the post below, I, with some help, have discovered how to add video clips to the website! Make sure your volume is turned up so you can hear Austin! We also captured him singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but I'm saving that one for a later date! Enjoy...

Jumping Austin

Trick or Treat?

So, after feeling a little guilty and feeling like one of "those" parents who don't buy a costume for their kid until the day before Halloween, Austin's costume didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would. I thought he was going to look like one of those kids whose parents just threw something together and ended up looking like crap! "Here put this mask on with your t-shirt and jeans!" But he's Austin, so of course he didn't look like one of those kids...at least that's what I thought!

We started off at the Halloween Carnival and ended up at the Mall. Here's some pictures of the little guy who's costume started out as a Farmer and ended up as a Sheriff! And of course I have to post all of the pictures because I can't decide which one's are the cutest!

It's kind of hard to believe that at this time next year I will be taking two kids trick or treating on Halloween! Won't it be fun to dress up a little boy and a little girl...

Happy Halloween!

My guys!

Watching TV in bed!

Eating oranges

Yes he's not wearing a shirt because he was sweating when we got home! I haven't had the air conditioning on since we've been home from Michigan, so when the temperature was in the 80's today it got a little warm in the house!

Where did he go?

Where did Austin go Mommy?

There he is!

Another five pounds...

Yup, I have gained five pounds since my last doctor's appointment 4 weeks ago! Pretty soon I'll really be tipping the scales! Other than the weight gain, everything else looks/sounds (the baby's heartbeat) great! Next appointment: 4 weeks! I'm not exactly looking forward to my next appointment! I have to have the dreaded test for diabetes! After I drink that nasty stuff I have to wait around in the doctors office so a nurse can take my blood an hour after drinking the "juice" or whatever it is!

Have I mentioned lately that Austin likes to do the dishes with me? Doesn't he look like a great helper? With his own gloves and sponge! His favorite part is at the end when he gets to spray the bubbles down the sink after we've let all of the dish water out!

I forgot to mention the weather today! I had to wear a sweater and pants and Austin wore a fleece jogging outfit. You ask what the temperature was today? High of 70 degrees today! Yup, we were bundled up in our coats this morning as we left the house because the temperature was in the high 50's! Crazy I know! I'm sure some of you are going, "70, that's great weather" but that's only because it recently snowed where you were at!

Accident's happen...

And for Austin they seem to happen more often than not! I once again had to sign an accident report when I picked him up from school today because he had fallen on the playground and scraped his forehead and knee! Just when his knees were just about healed from the last fall, he does it again! It's becoming a miracle if we don't have to sign an accident report once a month because Austin has fallen while running on the playground! I just keep telling myself, he's just being a boy (or he's just plain clumsy)! Here are some pictures of his forehead!

Yes, we were taking pictures of ourselves! And having fun while we were doing it!

One more goofy picture!

A few pictures from the zoo

Here are some pictures from our visit to the San Antonio Zoo!

It's a girl!

Final poll results:

36% Boy

64% Girl

Majority rules; the baby is in fact a girl!

It wasn't the easiest finding out that the baby was a girl. Austin and I learned that this baby is very stubborn! She was very modest and didn't want her Mommy and big brother to know that she was a girl. Other than being a girl, she is healthy and her heartbeat is beating at 147 beats per minute! Here are some pictures of our new little girl!

No outside plumbing, it's a girl!

Side profiles. It was really hard to get a good side profile of the baby because she kept her face pressed against the placenta the whole time. No amount of poking and prodding was going to move her away from it! The second picture is a little clearer with her ribs on the left and head on the right.

Front profiles. Ribs on the left, face on the right. The thing that sticks out the most is her nose with her eyes just above!

This is by far the cutest picture of them all! Although she was shy about letting us know that she was a girl, she was happy to show one of her little feet! Yes, those would be her toes sticking up straight in the air with her toes spread way apart on the left hand side! The line going horizontally accross is her other leg crossed over the leg showing the "big foot" (or the big fot as the ultrasound technician stated)!

All in all it was exciting finally finding out that the baby is a girl! We can now really starting telling and teaching Austin about his little sister! Daddy has been telling him that the baby is his sister all along, now we can really talk about it! Austin made his first official big brother purchase after finding out that he was going to have a little sister! His favorite part was posing for the picture!

I have a feeling that he is going to fall in love with his sister! That is, after the fact of getting used to the idea that she's not going anywhere and she is going to get some of Mommy's attention too! We'll have to wait and see!

Here are some other pictures of Austin from this weekend! We went to the Air Force base where Daddy is at school in San Antonio! Austin got to see some cool planes and we even went to the zoo! Here are some pictures of Austin and the airplanes! Look for the zoo pictures to come in a later post!

Final chance to vote

This afternoon is everyone's final chance to participate in the "Is the baby a boy or a girl" poll. Austin and I will be going to the doctor this afternoon to find out if he is going to have a brother or a sister! Check back later for the final results of the pole, the real result of the sex of the baby and pictures of our newest addition!

P.S. I'll also post some pictures of Austin from this weekend in this evenings post!

Back home

Austin and I just arrived home from our trip to Michigan. Unfortunately we had to go earlier than expected to honor the life of a wonderful man, my Papa, who unexpectedly passed away. The following link is a wonderful way of explaining who he was and why he was the greatest. He will be forever missed...

http://www.lifestorynet.com/memories/16292/

Here are some pictures from our short time in Michigan!

Wearing Grandpa Richards hat!

Huh? Me grouchy?

Austin and Grandma & Grandpa RingmanAustin and Grandma & Grandpa Richards

So, we now find ourselves back to reality. The idea of going to work and school tomorrow is not sounding very exciting, but we need to get back into our routine sooner or later! I think Austin is more excited about going back to school to see his friends than I am about going to work! Oh, and I forgot to mention back to the high 90 degree temperatures!

Our plan for next weekend is to travel to San Antonio to visit Daddy and go to the Zoo! It should be exciting! Austin asked where his Daddy was at when we got home from the airport today! I had to explain to him that Daddy had to go to school too and we will see him soon!

Watching a movie

Austin has been into watching movies lately! On this occasion he was watching a movie and eating grapes! I love how he kicks his feet up to relax and rock himself!

Being a boy

"Who takes the child by the hand takes the mother by the heart"

-German Proverb

Cleaning ears

Here's Austin's way of cleaning his ears with q-tips! I asked him to get a couple q-tips so that I could clean out his ears and he brought them to me like this!

Playing Play Doh

All of these pictures were too cute not to post! It amazes me that he has the attention span at two and a half years old to sit at the table and play with Play Doh for 45 minutes to an hour! He had a blast making shapes and worms, evident by all of his goofy faces!

A little fun...

Some of you might have seen it and some of you may not. If you look under our picture on the right you'll see a little poll that I'm conducting! Make your choice and vote! If you just want to see the results make sure boy or girl is not checked and then select the Vote tab. (That makes me feel like I'm at work...instructing people on where to go on a website to do certain things!) I know we have a few more weeks until we find out what the sex of the baby is, but I wanted to have a little fun to see what people are thinking. After you've voted, leave a comment for this post letting us know which one you picked! I don't know who has voted so far, but after you vote you'll find out which sex is in the lead...