Summer Recap!

Dan and I wanted to make sure we made Cameron feel extra special and very important before the arrival of baby- so we made sure to do lots of fun adventures this summer around town.

We have a zoo membership- best thing ever we could do for our family- Cameron loves it, and it is educational!!

I felt like this bear when we went this day! It was hot and I was so pregnant!!! 

We also love playing in the water- so we have spent loads of time at the splash pad, pool, and in our back yard getting wet and cooling off!!!
We had a trip to get some staples one of the times we went to the rec center pool- Cameron is in the thick of being a 3 year old- and listening is one of our greatest challenges! He and I had a trip to the pool one evening while Dan went home teaching. Cameron was jumping off the side of the pool and I was catching him- and he got a little too brave and jumped too soon and was too far from the edge, so as he came down in the water, he hit his head on the side of the pool. Every mom's worst nightmare! I am grateful for my training and keeping calm in those situations. I kept cameron from seeing any blood and we got him fixed right up at the doctor. He was so brave! And thankfully, not scared to go back to the pool!!

In June, we went and rode the Heber Valley Railroad - they did a special event with Dinosaurs! Cameron was pretty excited about riding the dinosaur train!

We did tons of work on the house- I can't believe I haven't taken any pictures, but we put new carpet in, and repainted! It feels much brighter and it was a good change to make! Cameron loves orange, so we let him have some orange in his room and he loves it! He touches his orange stripe and says- "I love my orange wall Mom!" Nearly every night!

One family night, we got dinner and went to the park to fly kites! That was a big hit! Cameron loved it! I think we will take more advantage of the wind in the spring next year!

We played dress up plenty- in fact I am shopping the day after halloween this year- this kid is way into dress up right now!! He even has a giraffe costume- because giraffes are totally his favorite. And he is pretty much the most adorable giraffe ever.

Isn't this face choice?! Always taking pictures mom and dad.

Cameron's first snow cone experience- that was a hit and we got a punch card!!

One of my particularly bad bed rest days, my good friend Kristin and and her kiddos came and picked us up to play at their house and make cookies! That was a lot of fun- Gavin and Cameron are cute friends.

Cameron says some funny things- and sometimes they are so good, we have to indulge him. One day, he exclaimed to me- "MOM!! I NEED to go to the mountains! I HAVE to go there Mom!" We decided to drive through the canyon one evening and as we were driving up, Cameron says- "Can we go fly at the top?" We had a good giggle, and I don't know where it came from, but we definitely got out and played around for a bit!

We have made sure to give Cam some quality time, and we practiced taking care of babies!!

Nothing too far or fancy, but we have had a fun summer waiting for baby Will to come!!

This is a whiney pregnancy post. And wheeler farm with cute Cam

Bed Rest. I can't even begin to tell you exactly how frustrating it is. I have things that have to be done- and I don't really have anyone around that I am comfortable enough with to ask- I mean- Dan is helpful- but a lot of times he just adds to my stress level. Not always on purpose either, so I try really hard to handle- but the only word is: frustrating. I am a freak, and I know it- so I try SO HARD to just bite my tongue or be grateful when I have help. It's harder when Dan is helping, because I seriously expect him to do things to my standard, how I want it done. He doesn't care... hahaha... and he gets overwhelmed with my list of things to tackle on top of his own work and lists of things to do. So, you see, we all get frustrated. 

This baby is stealing all my vitamins and nutrients, so I have to take extra and it makes me feel yucky. I have my thyroid to deal with, and sometimes that has to be changed also. Then there is the past blood clots- pregnancy puts you at an even higher risk of those recurring, so my stomach is black and blue from blood thinner shots, and I have to wear the sexy compression socks. And the issue that seems to be rocking the boat the most is my blood pressure. It doesn't matter if I am a normal weight, or overweight, or pregnant or not, I have high blood pressure. Thanks genetics! So, pregnancy makes that worse. I have had a heck of a time with this pregnancy keeping it under control- I mean- it isn't something you can just mentally force to be normal and check it off the list. I am just grateful that so far, William- aka Will- is healthy and growing!  I am so lucky and blessed that I have had 2 boys- 2 pregnancies- 2 opportunities to be a Mother- but I also don't physically do pregnancy very well. It is a trial. One with the sweetest reward.

So bed rest. I can't do anything. I can barely do the minimum to keep Cameron alive and happy. When I have good days, I try to take him or do something fun that isn't super taxing- This past week we went and walked around Wheeler Farm and saw all the farm animals for an hour or so. Then I sat down on a park bench and Cameron played on the playground for a while. We picked up some lunch and came home. He absolutely loved the farm. He is my little animal lover, farm boy. 

CHEESE!!!!!!!

I think kids and animals can sense when you aren't well- mine seem to anyway. My cats especially won't leave me alone- they pretty much guard me! It's kind of funny. I was bed resting while Cameron was at school this week and my giant Iliad has to lay with me- and he has to be touching me.

Weekend Road Trip- National Dinosaur Monument, Vernal Utah

We never really go anywhere- Dan and I both get travel anxiety. We thought it would be fun to do a little weekend something and took Cameron to see the dinosaur monument and museum in Vernal. Vernal is tiny, so that is about all there was to do there- which was okay because Cam has never spent so much time in the car before; so we took our sweet time and played in the pool and walked around a few shops too.
Grandpa and Grandma came for one night and had some fun with us too.
We learned that as paleontologists do more research, the names and types of dinosaurs are ever changing. What I grew up knowing as a Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus, was actually Diplodocus- well- there are fossils for all 3 types of dinosaurs, but the ones with fossils here in Utah are the Diplodocus.
Scientists are also now finding or theorizing that many dinosaurs were feathered!
We had fun. We decided we will have to do the trip again- but camp near the green river and add fishing to our agenda! It was so pretty! And it wasn't busy at all- school hadn't quite got out yet so it was fun to really let Cameron explore around without having to hover over his every move!

This dinosaur almost ate me. The triceratops came to my rescue.

We had to discuss fossil teeth. 

Sorry guy who had just cleaned all the glass...... I promise he is learning!

 Digging for fossils!!!

There were no live digs going on this year, but we learned a lot about one that had happened last summer!! Kind of exciting to learn that scientists are still finding new fossils right where we live!!!