Reader's Digest Version of July

:: Robb turned 27,

got some birthday love,

and helped me make his birthday cake

(Sinfully Sinless Tiramisu or in other words, tiramisu without alcohol or coffee) 

Colby helped him open presents after dinner and I think I nailed it with the Lego set

:: I took Colby to the splash pad in Provo for Mothers' Group. He refused to go down until he saw his friend, Braxton, calmly splashing around. He cautiously stood up, swatted the water, and he was sold. I had to drag him away.

:: Robb planned date night and took us miniature golfing, black light style. 

Colby tolerated the experience and stole my ball after the first hole (so we took turns using Robb's)

I dominated.

:: We celebrated Colombian Independence Day with our neighbors, the Gonzales family

The food was amazing (and who knew guacamole and potatoes would be such a great combination?)

Lilly made sure Colby got enough to eat

and gave him several hugs and kisses on the way to the park

:: Hays Family Reunion: Robb's aunt and uncle rented three cabins down in Heber Valley for three days (although we opted out of sleeping there due to Colby's recent habit of waking up around 3:00 and my need for easy nighttime access to the bathroom). We made ice cream, chased butterflies, hiked, canoed around the lake, played minute to win it, heard wonderful devotionals, and ate some really spectacular food. I am so blessed to be a part of this family.

:: Colby used markers for the first and final time (at least for awhile) when I learned that "washable" didn't exactly apply to our kitchen table.

:: Our lone tomato plant is huge and has dozens of green tomatoes that will hopefully ripen before we leave.

:: And we're having a girl! Everything looked good on the ultrasound and we're still on track to meet her December 10th. Now we have to decide on a name...

12 on 12 in July

01. Pajama shirt was the victim of a water glass
02. Breakfast: Life cereal and a banana
03. My personal assistant
04. Prenatal workout
05. Another Colby self portrait
06. Date night inspiration
07. Lunch: Leftover Beef Stroganoff
08. Grocery Shopping
09. Some well deserved fruit snacks
10. Dinner: Chicken Fajitas with Cilantro-Lime Rice
11. Trip to the Library
12. Smoothies for our at home spa date (tasty, but a little crunchy--Colby threw a peach pit into the blender when we weren't looking and consequently there were lots of little brown chunks you had to spit out before swallowing)

Fourth of July and How I Shaved a Month Off My Pregnancy

:: For the 4th of July Provo sends off a bunch of hot air balloons as part of the Freedom Festival and this year Robb and I wanted to be there for takeoff.  So as soon as Colby made a peep, we dragged our barely coherent son off to the Bulldog field (with portable breakfast)...only to find it cancelled on account of weather.

So we rushed back home and staked out a place for the Parade. We arrived around 7:00am, but the really dedicated ones camped out over night (illegally, as we weren't technically allowed to set up until 5:00am).

Friends made the time pass quickly.

Lilly and the Gonzales family

Kaitlin, our next door neighbor, and her daughter, Rylie

Jake and Sanita

Highlights of the Parade:

That night we went to Red Robin in honor of our first date five years ago.

Colby discovered the escalator.

We may have ridden it up and down continuously for 15 minutes.

Then we broke out our stash of free fireworks (Robb helped a guy set up his stand) and let them off in the park with the Kunz family. Colby and Rylie loved it, but not as much as Robb and Garen. There's something about males and fire that makes them act like excited 12 year olds and I don't think it ever goes away :)

:: Saturday I discovered the joys of pregnant sleeping with a body pillow and Colby endured a shopping trip.

:: Sunday was an epic Rigby/Ebert waffle night. Second to last...

:: Monday we spent the afternoon with Robb's parents who are in town and then joined them at Brett and Megan's for dinner. Before it took Colby a couple of hours to get reacquainted with Grandma and Grandpa Hays, but we started Skyping with them every week and this time he knew and loved them immediately. We also stopped by a local animal farm (Colbs enjoyed the pigs).

:: Tuesday Robb chatted with our relocation person. We now have a moving date, August 23rd, and suddenly Tucson is feeling much closer.  

:: I've felt overly large this pregnancy. I was showing at 11 weeks, wearing maternity clothes at 12, and this is me at 13.5 weeks:

I knew you popped out a little faster with the second pregnancy, but I felt this was a little ridiculous and was starting to feel a little self-conscious as person after person asked if I knew the gender yet and were shocked to learn I wasn't even in my second trimester.

And then I went in for an ultrasound. Turns out we had our dates wrong. I'm actually 18 weeks along, not 14. I'm still trying to figure how I messed that up and all I can come up with was my last "period" probably wasn't period at all, but a little ectopic bleeding. Anyway, I'm feeling completely justified in my size and a little relieved there weren't twins.

Baby Hays will be making her (or his, baby wasn't being cooperative at the ultrasound) way here around December 10th and we are so excited!

And then there were four...

Or at least there will be in January :)

We heard the heartbeat (all 147 of them) at my 10 week appointment and now that I can visibly see (and every once in awhile, feel) proof of a baby, it's all starting to feel a little more real. I wish I could really explain all of this to Colby, that we could prepare him in some way.  It's going to change his world and there will be challenges, but every time I start to worry I remind myself how wonderful it was to grow up with Jordan and how much I want Colby to experience that kind of relationship...and then I find peace. 

 :: Colby likes to sneak off with my phone and take massive amounts of pictures (we're talking 80+, people). Some are self portraits and others are identical views of the couch or a section of carpet.

:: Tuesday I helped prep for a church activity where we made 12 freezer meals for future sick members of our ward.
:: Wednesday, Colby spiked a fever two hours after playgroup (I really hope he didn't get anyone sick). We spent the evening and most of the next morning snuggling, until the Ibuprofen kicked in and he wanted to mop floors.

:: Friday, we all went on a tour of Historic Provo. The city makes guidebooks every year around the 4th of July and we decided to finally brave the heat and go. Most sites were homes owned at one point by significant individuals that demonstrated a unique type of architecture. Robb was an excellent tour guide and it was fun to see how many of our favorite homes made the list. We ended the night with a quick stop to the Malt Shoppe for peach cobbler ice cream.

:: Saturday I worked a 15.5 hour shift (one of the night nurses didn't show up and it took awhile for the on-call nurse to make it in), but in gratitude they gave me Sunday off.
:: Colby realized if he brought us a shoe we would take him outside. Now he asks multiple times a day and I have to suffer through tantrums when he's denied.

:: Monday I gave Colby a haircut. He hates haircuts. He screams the entire time and wriggles around, so when I grabbed the electric clipper my only thought was to be as efficient as possible and I took my first swipe down the center of his head (I usually only use the clipper on the sides and use scissors for the top). I immediately realized my mistake, but at that point I had to keep going. And I might have cried a little afterwards (I blame pregnancy hormones). *EDITOR'S NOTE: She most definitely cried. Like a baby.