Neglected, but with good reason!

I'm a terrible blogger. I have neglected this baby for nearly 2 weeks and it's time for some serious catch up! Where to start........

About a week and a half ago on Monday 8/3 I had another doctor's appointment with my OB. Everything is progressing well and the baby was doing beautifully. This picture was taken that morning at 17 weeks and 2 days. I was bored and in an artsy fartsy mood so this shot was the result.

Later that evening, Ally and I got dressed up and went out to dinner to celebrate Grandma Dee's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants- 456 Fish.

Is it obvious that they're totally in love with this kid?


On that same afternoon, these handsome boys had their first appointment with our new mobile groomer! It is no longer possible or safe for me to hoist their 60 pound bodies in and out of the tub so we had to make other arrangements. I love this groomer! In addition to cleaning ears and wrinkles, cutting toenails, and giving them an anti-shed treatment, they got these dapper bandannas.... all for $75 (which is $25 less than our previous groomer!) Bonus!!


On Wednesday, one of my best friends, Michele and her two kids (Ryan (6) and Vincent (3) came to visit us for a week of fun. This fun picture was taken on the first night of our visit and we all agree, there is nothing cuter than three naked kids in the tub! Also, is it just me, or does Ally look like she's had a few too many beers??!!??

On Thursday we went to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth. We had to dodge lots of large groups of summer camp kids, but managed to have lots of fun blowing giant bubbles....

and sitting in massive arm chairs among other things.

Ally loved having some playmates in the mornings. Pajama parties are always more fun with friends!

On Friday we went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Here the kids are posing with one of the famous Norfolk mermaids!

We made a beeline for the World of Wonders (a.k.a. WOW) to visit the water park which has got to be one of Ally's favorite places in the entire world!

Ryan seemed to like it pretty well too.

Check out Ally's bum in the background of this picture! What a cutie-pie!

After sufficient play time, we shared a picnic lunch in the shade. Ally was the epitome of summer style in these Ray Bans!

The water fun didn't end at the Gardens.... it continued in our own backyard! Who knew you could fit three kids in a baby pool! Okay, so half the water sloshed out, but who cares?!

We celebrated Ally's 17 month birthday on the 8th. Ryan made her a special crown to commemorate the occasion. She wasn't too wild about it though so I had to hold her arms down for the picture.

Vincent and Michele added some much needed pizazz to our driveway one morning!

I baked m&m cookies to send to Matthew in a care package. (truth be told, quite a few of them were consumed in our kitchen!)

Ryan made this fabulous sign that is still gracing our living room wall! In case you can't read it... it says 'Party for Ally' 'Get a name tag.' I love artistic 6 year olds!

We had new counter tops scheduled to be installed on Tuesday so on Sunday night we decided to entertain the kids by letting them decorate our old crappy laminate ones.

Quite a talented bunch of artists, don't you think??

Here is the nearly finished product- we're quite pleased with the results! The installers are coming back tomorrow to finish the step up bar.

Michele and the kids left today and Ally is definitely feeling the loss of her two new BFFs. She was a total grump this afternoon but I suspect it may also have to do with the fact that she's cutting some new teeth. She has a terrible runny nose and refused to eat all together tonight.

Tomorrow is a big day- we go in for our sonogram and will hopefully find out the sex of our little baby! Appointment is at 10am- a mere 12 hours from now!! I'm so excited but I have to say I'm disappointed in all of my loyal readers (all 2 of you...) You were of no help in the poll department! The boy and girl votes were 50/50 most of the time. I think the girls are leading at the moment, but it's a narrow margin. I'm going to go ahead and go on the record with my guess. I think it's going to be a girl. I have several reasons for this prediction that vary from cravings, position of the belly, propensity to develop back fat, and a few other old wives tales. I truly will be thrilled with with either sex as long as we have a healthy baby. Expect a post sometime tomorrow afternoon with the results!

Finally, Ally and I are leaving on Saturday for our next cross country trip to San Diego. This will be Ally's first flight as a paying customer- she'll have her very own seat since the one she used to occupy on mom's lap has shrunk considerably! I'm hoping and praying that this will be an easier trip since she'll be strapped into her car seat and not floating free throughout the plane. I purposely booked an evening flight in the hopes that she'll sleep for the majority of it. Posts may be few and far between over the next few weeks, but I'll recap all the fun details soon.

Thanks for checking in!