Circus

On Friday, A.J. and I went into Phoenix to see the Ringling Bros. Barnam & Bailey Circus (Andy couldn't make it this time). A.J. seemed to have a great time...he especially liked the elephants and tigers!

Some fireworks during the show

The elephants

The tigers

There was confetti at the end of the show (A.J. loved this)!!!

Enjoying his hotdog

Baby Update

We went to the doctor today for my 19.5 week ultrasound. The doctor said everything is looking good, and that the baby is developing normally!!! What a relief! A.J. was so excited to finally see a picture of the baby...he got so bright-eyed when he heard the heartbeat as well (which was, by the way, 150 bpm). I have been feeling the baby kick since about 15 weeks, and last week (at 18 weeks) Andy got to feel the baby for the first time. This is pretty early to feel the baby externally...I told Andy it would probably be another bruiser!!! The doctor seemed to confirm this, as she said the baby was measuring about a week ahead already!!! I feel pretty good though and can't complain too much, although I'm starting to get huge! Here we go again!

This is a profile of the baby's face

This is the baby looking directly at you

Goodbye

Our guests left Wednesday morning after a week of visiting. Although the boys were the best of friends and the worst of friends (depending on the moment), I think they will miss each other. Here's some final pictures of them playing together at Chik-fil-a. We also had some pop-up storms come through Wednesday night. Lightning sparked a brush fire in Avondale, which is across the valley from us. It is now burning over 1000 acres (hard for you in IL to believe, since you've been getting so much rain)!!!

A.J. going down the slide

A.J. and Keegan on the slide

Crawling through the tunnel...

and making silly faces

The smoke from the fire could be seen miles away

More fun!!!

Andy offered to keep the boys on Saturday afternoon so Gretchen and I could go have some girls time (he's such a great husband)...of course, we went to the mall! When we got home, this is what we found...obviously, the boys had a great time building a fort with Daddy/Andy! Then, we took the boys to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. They both had a really great time. We sat next to the elephants, and both boys were enthralled with them the whole dinner.

A.J. sitting in front of the fort

The boys got to meet the tree frog at Rainforest Cafe

Both boys really like the alligator...they kept trying to throw money in his mouth!

Looking at the fish

A.J. was such a cuddlebug that night...it was terrible ;) As long as he wants to cuddle, I'm going to let him!!!

Having fun

A.J.'s buddy Keegan is in town for the week and the boys are having a blast! We have gone to toddler time at the library, played at the mall, and have swam A LOT!!!

Keegan and A.J. riding the fire truck

Playing with bubbles at Toddler Time

Waving at the camera in the pool

"Wanna buy some tickets to the gun show?"

Playing with the water fountain at the mall

Visitors

One of my good friends and her son are here to visit us for the week. The boys are having a great time so far, as are we. They are only about 2 weeks apart in age, so they get along pretty well. I'll try to post pictures of them throughout the week.

Keegan and A.J. making silly faces

The boys being boys (nothing better than wrestling)

Neither one could wait to jump in the pool (they both stripped down into their skivvies)!

Happy Father's Day!

Andy had a great Father's Day. A.J. and I took him to P.F. Chang's Chinese Restaurant for lunch. Then we came back to the house and had ice cream cake (nothing better than ice cream when it's 113 out)! Happy Father's Day to the world's greatest Dad!!!

Scenery

So, I haven't posted in a while...things are crazy busy around here (nothing in particular, just accumulations of everyday life). The one thing that never gets old about living in Phoenix is the views (much better than corn fields...or bean fields...or corn fields...or bean fields...you get the picture).

Updates

This past weekend, we took A.J. to Amazing Jake's. It is kind of like a Chuck E. Cheese, but the food is better (they have a buffet), and there are more games and rides. It seems to be geared a little more towards older kids, with laser tag, bowling, a race track, etc., etc., but A.J. still seemed to have a good time. They do have some kiddie-sized games, and A.J. took full advantage of them. His favorite was the Dance Revolution machine...he liked to shake his booty! We have also been taking advantage of the warm weather and are getting a lot of use out of the pool. It seems really strange to go for a swim when it is 105 out and then shiver when you get out of the pool! We have to stand in the sun just to warm up! Andy got A.J. a motorized bumper boat. Needless to say, he loves it!!! We have to be careful, though, as the waves tend to rock the boat and almost put A.J. to sleep! As for other updates, Andy mowed our lawn for the first time since we have been here (the backyard has been tore up, with pool construction and all). The grass is now finally starting to grow, so I decided to time how long it would take to mow...3 minutes! We just laughed (most of our yard is rock). As for baby news, I went to the doctor last week for a check-up. At 15 weeks, the heartbeat was 159, and I had gained 2.5 pounds. I stepped on the scales today at a little over 16 weeks and about started to cry...I was up another 3 pounds! Here we go...working our way to a 20-pound baby!!! I've been sporadically feeling the baby kick for about a week now, but today, it is going crazy, kicking up a storm! We still have not decided if we are going to find out the sex of the baby. We didn't with the first, but I have a closet full of boy's clothes that I would like to go through. If we do find out, we will probably try to keep it a secret :)

Of course, the yellow construction truck was the first thing that caught A.J.'s attention!

A.J. "driving" the car...he kept stepping on the handle that moves the seat forward and back, thinking it was the gas pedal!

Cutting a rug

Kiddie ski-ball

Kiddie hoops

Driving the bumper boat