The end is near...

Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the home stretch! Doesn't it feel like I just announced this pregnancy? It sure feels that way to me! With 66 days or less to go until ___'s guess date, we are just around the corner from becoming a family of FIVE! Yesterday Lexi crawled on the bed with me and said "Mom. Is ___ coming out of your tummy yet?". To hear her address him by his name like he'd already been here forever put time into perspective for me. She is so excited to meet him and completely understands that he has to stay in my belly until he is big and strong enough to be on the outside. It's so fun going through this process with her for a second time, now where she can really grasp what's happening.

 

Yep, I'm as big as ever! Lol. My torn muscle is giving me HELL! You can actually see in the picture where the muscle is disconnected compared to the other side. I have absolutely no support on the top right side of my belly and at times it feels like that muscle is literally on fire. I did get a pregnancy support belt, but it really isn't helping since ___ made his way into the head down position. It has helped ease a lot of pressure off of my hips though, and I'm grateful for that! I will take whatever I can get at this point. I know that once he drops into position it's really going to be pulled, so I'm trying to grin-n-bare it as much as I can now. Lots of rubs with the coconut oil every night to relieve some of the tension!

I was supposed to have a 3D ultrasound at 29 weeks, but had to reschedule because Jimmy couldn't make it. So when we get back from Tough Mudder we'll be heading into Santa Maria to look at our little man one last time before he makes his debut! I will be 32 weeks, so I'm hoping we get some great pictures! I just cannot believe it's REALLY almost time.

We have a few trips planned before he gets here, and I'm really anxious to sneak in some family time before things get crazy with a newborn again. We are taking the kids to Squaw Valley next weekend to watch Jimmy compete in the Tough Mudder competition. Lexi is going to leave Saturday with my mom and spend some one on one time with Nana and Popi while Jimmy and I get some one on one time with our (potty-trained!!!) big boy! It will be nice to get away, even if it's just for the weekend.

We're going back down to Sacramento for my baby shower at the end of the month. I am so, so, so, SO excited! I was not even planning on having a baby shower this time around and I am just so happy that Elyse talked me into it. I can't wait to see all my friends and family and celebrate this amazingly joyous time with them all. While we are there for that event, we are also going to take the kids to Apple Hill!! I can't believe we've been back in California for nearly two years and have yet to take them!

Then we are going to make a day trip and take the kids to Monterey to play at the famous Dennis the Menace park and have fun exploring the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I also promised Jimmy that we'd have lunch at Bubba Gumps, which is always fun, and he has never been!

Then we will head home one last time before our new addition arrives, at the end of October. We'll be heading down to let the kids trick-or-treat with their cousins and spend a little more time with everyone before things get REALLY crazy with holidays/baby/moving to Alaska. I will be 37 weeks, so here's hoping I do NOT go into labor! Haha. That will be a LONG 5 hr drive trying to make it back home otherwise.

I still have bought hardly anything for ___. I am trying, as best I can, to wait until AFTER our shower to do that. Last week I paid my rental fee for the birthing tub (eek!) and last night the elliptical was removed from the bedroom! We now have a big empty space just waiting for the birthing pool, ___'s bed, changing table, and ___, of course! The emptiness makes it all so real, I truly cannot wrap my head around how fast this pregnancy has gone by. Not to mention, it has been textbook! A far cry from my last two. I am so grateful for the breeze this baby has given me (we'll go ahead and forgive him for that horrible MS he put me through in the beginning) I'm hoping this doesn't mean that labor will be hell....

Lexi has been in school for nearly a month now. She is going everyday from 815-245. It took her a little adjusting to the schedule, but she really is doing great now. I am so happy with our choice to move her from the other school she was in. She is learning SO much and we are just so happy watching her grow and have confidence in everything she's learning. She has made several new friends, all of which live extremely close! I walk her to school every morning and then walk to pick her up, which is special for us to have those few minutes together...plus it keeps my butt in gear! Although I'll admit, this last week, walking to pick her up in 100+ degree temperatures while almost 8 months pregnant...not really my fondest memories. I'm definitely keeping my body in check though, lol. This school has really been a blessing. I only wish she was going to be here to finish out the school year :(

Lukas is potty-trained! All we're working on now is making it through the night without an accident. He is so psyched about wearing superhero underwear, and Lexi always says "Lukas has cool panties" haha. He was SO much easier to potty train then Lexi was--wow! I am so proud of him, and he is so proud of himself! Knowing we'll still only be diapering ONE when the baby comes is a big weight off my shoulders. 

There isn't much news other then that. Our orders came down a while ago and now we are working on getting everyone through the EFMP process so we can get command sponsorship and get them amended. We have already booked temp housing for when we arrive! How crazy is that! Alaska seems so far away still. I think once ___ is here, it will really hit me that we're moving, again....to Alaska!

I hope everyone is doing well. We are all running around crazy busy here, as always! We cant wait to see many of you when we come home!