Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with my family...I couldn't have asked for a more loving, beautiful, and charismatic daughter, and I am so thankful I get to be her mommy! She certainly made my weekend special, with all her laughs, smiles, hugs, and kisses, and a personality that just doesn't stop. Brian got the boat somewhat cleaned up, and we went on a ride Saturday afternoon with the Boughmans. Raegan and Payton both left their lifejackets on without complaint, which was way more than Cheryl or I expected. We found the boat has a gas leak, and will be getting that fixed soon. In the meantime, a good friend, Greg, let us take his boat out on Mother's Day. There was an abundance of sun and warm weather, and Cheryl and I have bright red skin to prove it! Don't worry....the girls were completely protected, under a bimini top, and slathered in sunscreen. The girls wouldn't nap on the boat, so we headed home, where they were both happy to crawl in bed. We were able to relax some at the pool, and take a "break" on our mommy's day.

I had Payton in the pool for a short bit on Saturday. The water is COLD. She was literally jumping in off the sides, and I was dunking her. She was all laughs and just wanted to do it over and over again. My back paid for it later, (I was not in the water, but dunking her from the side) but it was all totally worth it to see that happy face of hers :) We'll have to be especially careful this summer, as she has NO brakes, or fear, when it comes to the side of the pool.

The previous weekend we went to a crawfish boil/birthday party. Payton LOVED crawfish! I was actually surprised at this....the food was quite spicy, yet she chowed down on some corn on the cob, and ate numerous crawfish. That's my girl! I'll have to record this baby eating corn on the cob. It's pretty hillarious. She gets "crazy eyes" as she chomps down.

Payton is starting to try and repeat things we say...time to watch out all you potty-mouthers! She shakes her head yes and no, depending on what she wants or doesn't want to do, and she points a lot. When we pull up to the house in the afternoons, Callie usually starts barking...Payton has learned how to "shush" her by placing her finger over her mouth and saying "shhhhh." She's running around and playing like a big girl. She likes to help clean up, she, of course, LOVES her bathtime, and is getting pretty good at following directions. She's starting to ask for a nighttime story, but it can't be too long, because she is quickly read for her bed! She still sleeps about 14 hours at night, if we let her, and takes 1-2 naps, depending on what time we wake her in the mornings.

Pregnancy update: I'm 26 weeks along now, (6 1/2 months) and still feeling pretty amazing! I'm still managing to get multiple runs in each week, and ran close to 50 miles last month. Over the past week, I've noticed that my lower back is starting to ache at night, a pinching sensation, my bedtime is getting a little later (which is fabulous that I can actually stay up until dark), and I've noticed an increase in my appetite. Other than that, and the fact my belly is getting bigger and bigger by the day, everything is still going quite well. No swelling, no carpal tunnel, no sciatic pain, or any of the other complaints I had with Payton. I had a regular check up yesterday. My blood pressure was 102/58, and I've gained only 9 pounds, which I'm very proud of! Baby's heart rate was 152, and measuring on time. My iron is a little low (anemic) so I have to start eating like Popeye, I guess....I'm sure not touching liver! EW! Tentatively, I'm going to have a csection on August 9th!! I'm already at appointments every 2 weeks, until 36 weeks along, when they become weekly appointments. Next up I have my Rhogam shot (because I'm A-) and my glucose test (testing for gestational diabetes). Just THIRTEEN more weeks to go! Brian's "rule" is that we aren't even allowed to discuss baby names until after the 4th of July, so I'm hoping this baby has a name before the delivery!! As you know, we aren't finding out the sex, so we'll have to come up with 2 names....oh, and agree on them :) My third trimester begins next week, so stay tuned for my 2nd trimester "belly shots." I wanted to post them all at one time, to show the progression of growth over these past 13 weeks.