36 Weeks

Comments I've received:

"Wow... any day now, right?"  (I actually started getting comments like this in January.  Then people give me wide-eyed stares when I tell them that the baby isn't due until April 7th!)

"Are you sure there's only 1 baby in there?"  (Answer: YES)

"You know, some babies get so big that they can't come out."  (Well, I've never heard of someone being permanently pregnant... so one way or another this baby is going to come out!  Besides, I have a short torso and I know Audra looked like she was a big baby when she was inside me, too.  I'm not worried.)

I've got 4 weeks until my due date, but if the baby wants to come a little early, that's fine with me!

More Winter Photos

Here's some more pictures of Audra enjoying the snow this winter!

Best Buddies

These two love hanging out together!  Notice in the picture below that Audra even decided to use her "Ba ba" (lamb from Aunt Jayne) to cover Sophie.

In this one Audra crawled under the coffee table to snuggle with Sophie before bedtime.

It's always a fun car ride when Sophie joins us!  Sometime Sophie will lay down with her head resting on the side of Audra's carseat.

Celebrating a 2-Year-Old!

Tomorrow (Jan. 28th) our little girl will be turning 2!  Oh, how the past couple years have flown.

This past weekend we celebrated by taking her to Sahara Sam's, a nearby indoor water park.  We enjoyed having Mom and Dad Cundey, Marney, Julian, (Big) Josh, Ave and (Tiny) Josh join us there. The water park had a great section for toddlers and Audra and Tiny Josh had a good time riding on the water slides and hanging in the swings.

Everyone except for Mom and I (she was helping me watch the little ones) enjoyed the water slides for the "big kids".  I hear that they were a lot of fun!  So I guess we'll have to come again when I'm able to ride on the slides.

After the water park closed we went to Marney's house for dinner together and Audra received some very nice toys and clothes!  It was a great afternoon spent with family!

Dancing Baby

Why I Love Living in the North, in Pictures

I love my younger brother, but I could never embrace the state of Florida as he has done over the last 8 years.  I would miss the change of seasons, and especially the winter snow, way too much!

Today was one of those beautiful winter days.  It was quite chilly, but with 3-4 layers on we all enjoyed almost an hour of fun outside.  And once again, Audra had a blast!  She didn't complain at all, despite the fact that her mittens fell off a few times and at least a half dozen times she also ended up with snow on her face.  She is definitely an outdoorsy girl!

26 Weeks

This pregnancy is flying by!  Here were are with only 14 weeks left to go.  

Thankfully I'm continuing to feel well, though it is getting much more difficult to sleep.  (Seems like this baby usually wants to dance every night when I want to fall asleep!) 

I recently had a friend ask if we are "doing the same thing" with this birth as we did with Audra's birth. (She's an older lady who never had any children of her own, so I know she thinks I'm a little nuts to plan a natural, drug-free birth!)  So for her, and anybody else who is wondering, the answer is definitely yes!  Despite the 15 hours of active labor with a baby in a posterior position (read: major back pain) I am excited that I have the opportunity to birth another baby.  It really is an amazing experience!

First Snow

Not only did we experience our first snowfall of the year this past weekend, but Audra also had the opportunity to play in the snow for the first time in her life.  (We only got a slight dusting of snow in the winters of 2012 and 2013, and this is the first time since the winter 2010-2011that the ground has been completely covered.)  Audra was completely thrilled with the experience, despite the fact that she'd had a cold all week and was generally miserable from cutting her 2-year-molars.

Sophie, of course, was delighted by the opportunity to play in the snow, too!

Since I'm still an Upstate NYer at heart, I was excited to see this much snow in early December.  Hopefully it's a sign that Audra and I will have many more opportunities to play in the snow this winter!

Christmas Tree

We went to get our Christmas tree this past weekend.  The weather was quite cold, but at least it wasn't raining.  

It was a delight to continue our family tradition of going to Stimpson's Tree Farm in Monroeville, NJ to search for the perfect tree, especially since Audra is at such a fun age these days.  She is very focused on the details in life, so she made sure to point out the holes in the ground that we came across, and asked to step in them about 5 times.

Audra seemed to think it was a bit strange that we were cutting down a tree to put it in our living room, but she enjoyed the new sights and the hayride with Daddy.

Back at the house we got prepared for Christmas by listening to Christmas music and setting up the decorations.  Audra had fun "helping" (and has continued to "help" by taking the decorations off the tree since then!).  And the next day we gathered near the tree for some pictures.

 I love the holiday traditions of our little family!

Tired Dog

After seeing how tired Sophie was when our guests left, Audra brought a blanket and two pillows from the couch.  She then proceeded to snuggle on the floor with "Doodle".

Sophie seemed to enjoy the special treatment!