Birthday Time

We have officially begun birthday season and our busiest birthday week of the year. It started yesterday with Josh's birthday. He is 33, but often people think he is MUCH younger than he is...despite a few grays. He gets better by the year! Lucky for him, he can still eat like there is no tomorrow and no one would really know. Well, he is pretty active. He doesn't belong to a gym, but work is his gym/workout. When he isn't there he stays pretty busy at home with projects/tasks. I love him more than I can ever express and he is the most wonderful, amazing, loving husband that one could dream of--you know the kind you read about in fairytales or see in a wonderfully romantic movie.

To start off his birthday, we had a dr. appt. Since we have been having appointments that take forever either because we have to wait forever or whatever, we dropped the girls by my grandma's house. This appt was our first appt close to home and only about 20 minutes away. We got right in actually and I was seeing the doc who delivered Keirah. Since the doc who delivered Aliyah no longer delivers babies, I am hoping to get Dr. M. Anyway, after my pig-out, constant hunger weeks since the last appointment, I lost 2 pounds. Don't even ask me how that worked. I have no clue. I feel like I've been eating more than I ever ever eat. Blood pressure started out a little high to which I chuckled and the nurse had me lay on my side. It went promptly down to 110/78. Yes, I get that white-coat syndrome thing going on each time I guess. Baby's heart rate was 152 and she measures right on target. It appears she is staying put for the time being, but really only 2-4 weeks left!! We were in out and in the car within 30 minutes--yay! We picked up the girls to head over to pick up food for the big party.

We had a lot to pick up, but Josh and I snagged some breakfast at the local grocery store. Sounds weird, but it is SUPER food! After our gathering of party food and stuff, off we went again to bring it all home. We didn't stay home long and headed out for more fun. We had plans of going to the pool, but time was short and we wanted to catch dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
Dinner was yummy as always and Josh got to sit in the saddle and hear the big YEE HAW. He got strawberry cheesecake which was beyond wonderful and his meal was free--thanks to our friend that runs TR.

Tomorrow, our first born turns a whopping 8 years old!! She doesn't look it because she is pretty tiny. Most people guess 5 years old. She gets to graduate from her carseat finally! In Illinois, they have to ride in a seat until 8 years or 80 lbs. At this rate, she will be 80 lbs by high school. She is mid-40's right now lol! She is beyond excited and has been counting the days. Aliyah gets REALLY excited about birthdays. It doesn't matter if it is hers or anyone else's--she loves it and she loves parties. Her big request was to have a big party this year. Since baby girl is due around Keirah's birthday, we are having a combined party this weekend. They picked out really cute cakes and we have a couple of fun games for the kids to play as well as goodies for them to take home. It has been fun to plan and she gets right into the planning and helping as well. My major concern at this point is weather. Will it rain--hopefully not until it is over. The heat has been stifling, so I'm hoping for any kind of breeze and lower temps. I think I will put out a pool of water for the kids to splash themselves. We have drinks galore and food as well. Gotta keep them all hydrated!!

Anyway, back to Aliyah...she is a sweet little energetic girl who loves animals, her family, Jesus, books, and stuffed animals. Each night she loves to come upstairs and have what she calls "meetings" with me. It is cute and many times, she prays for various things during "meeting time". I love her zest for life and her ability to make people feel special. She is one of those kids who could see the world's most homely child and sincerely have something kind to say about how sweet and cute it is. She is the same way about animals. I love her heart! I remember falling in love with her the minute she was born--overwhelmingly! Sometimes, I think she is too smart for her own good. She knows things that Josh nor I knew at her age due to her constant fact gathering and un-ending reading.

Well, what else...baby girl's room is set up and waiting. It is funny that I constantly run across things that we need to get for her. I am content to let her grow for a few more weeks because there is still plenty to get done! The very end of August or very early Sept. sounds good to me! That is when Josh is on vacation. After that, there is a closed vacation period where he can't take vacation days if she is born then. He can be off, but no pay. So, we are kind of hoping it works out well in that aspect.

I'm worn out and tired. It has been so hot, but we went on a walk tonight to keep me in some sort of shape. I know one thing...during flower watering I was sweating something fierce! The girls did school tonight. We have been slowly easing into school so that come Sept. if we need to take a few days off, it isn't any big deal. Off to rest!