So, before Evan was born....Part 1: Labor Day weekend

Before Evan was born, I stopped blogging.  We actually did some stuff between August 22 (my last blog post) and October 10.  I was going to give one big rundown in one post and it's just too much. 

On Labor Day weekend (and our 7th anniversary!) We went to the Jersey shore for John's cousin Kelly's wedding.   We had an awesome little vacation and would love to go back someday. 

In the airport using Jack's trunki.  Awesome little suitcase that he can ride!   Get yours at Modern Natural Baby.  Haha.  Oh and we are aware he has really bad haircut.   It's December and we are still dealing with this super short hair cut.  It's now turned into a mullet.

First time on an airplane!

The airplane ride was short thankfully.  He did not want to be buckled in at all.  Not sure how we are going to handle longer plane rides...

Once we got there, we immediately went to CVS, got some sand toys and went to the beach!  We wanted to get as much beach time as we could! 

I'm about 34 weeks pregnant in these photos:

The waves were pretty big, like big enough for surfers!   Jack was a little scared of the water because of that.  This is about as close as he was willing to get...

But then, this happened.

And, he was done with the water for that day:

He spent the rest of the time in the sand.

John and I both LOVE waves, but with Jack, we can't go out together, so we had to go separately, which is unfortunate when you are 34 weeks pregnant.  Waves are little scarier than if you are not pregnant. 

This is a pretty good shot of what happened:

And that wave did a lot more than that.  I was completely wiped out and I'm sure Evan was wondering what in the heck was happening out there.  It honestly was a little scary, and I'm a darn strong swimmer.  I got lectured by my mother in law, and while she was lecturing me, she was nearly knocked over by a wave and she was dressed!  It was kind of humerous.  Ok, it was hilarious, actually. 

The next day, we spent at the beach again, until it was time for the wedding.  

Grandpa and Jack took a long walk collecting shells. Jack loved loved loved collecting shells!

That wore Jack out. 

Jack and me relaxing...

a long day in the sun and waves...

Then it was time for the wedding.  Jack wore John's old suit from when he was a toddler.   He looked pretty cool.  This is him with his cousin Noah.  They were good buddies this weekend.

Daddy and Jack

And me and John.  

The wedding was beautiful, unfortunately I missed it all, because Jack was unbearable.   I had to take him out.  Akari and Noah and his sister Emika joined us.  Then, kids were not allowed at the wedding, but they had nannies available to watch them.  Jack seemed ok, for a while, but we had to leave because he couldn't handle it anymore without us. You could see the dance floor from the room they were in and that is what he couldn't handle.  He wanted to be with us.   We made it through dinner and got to dance once.  Early night for us!

Next day!  More of the beach!  And more family to join us!

Grandpa wanted to be buried, so Noah, Jack and Marcel worked on that.

Grandpa took the boys to the water.  They all had to have a bucket.

Christine and Emika (Noah's sister)

Katie and Greg

All the boys playing the sand

to accomplish this:

Us:

The boys walking to lunch:

And it was something like St. Gregory's Day, so all the "Gregs" had to be in a picture.  From Left to right we have:  Greg, John Gregory Sr, Uncle Greg, John Gregory Jr, and Jack Gregory. 

The next day we were alone at a different hotel that had a pool.  This was just the morning before we went home, so it was a quick trip to the beach and a really quick dip in the pool. 

5 years, and Urgent Care

So we have been married for 5 years!!  We can't decide if it's gone by really fast, or if it feels like we've been married forever.   Weird.

We decided to go away for the weekend (with Jack, until I'm done breastfeeding, it will always be with Jack!).  We went to Port Austin, at the tip of the thumb.  There isn't anything there but Lake Huron.  Oh, and a putt-putt.  2, actually. And a couple of restaurants and hotels.  It was a really nice place to go with a baby to relax.  

Here are some pictures from our anniversary dinner:

Jack LOVED the beach.  He loved the sand.   He could crawl in it, on his hands and knees.   And he loved the lake even more.  SPLASHING!!  He crawled and splashed all down the shoreline. 

I have more pictures of him actually IN the lake, but they are on film, not digital, so I haven't even seen them yet. 

Monday we were going to go to the State Fair, neither of us have been before, and it may be the last year.  Jack though, decided to slam his face onto a toy piano, causing a large cut above his eye.  We were panicked and the doctor told us to go to Urgent care, in case he needed stitches.  They decided to glue it, but my poor little man may have a scar. 

34 weeks

At 34 weeks, the baby is about the size of a cantaloupe, between 4 3/4 and 5 lbs. The baby's fat layers — which will help regulate body temperature once he/she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. The baby's skin is also smoother than ever. The central nervous system is maturing and the lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. That's kind of scary that I really could have my baby at any time. I'm counting on at least 2 more weeks though!

6 weeks left....and with the possibilty of 2 weeks left, we have 2 diapers. Looks like I need to place an order!

John and I took a last minute trip to Palm Springs, California this week. We decided on Thursday night we were going and left Sunday morning, and came back Wednesday night. John was there on business and I went just for fun. We are really glad we went, it was a nice vacation before the baby comes! Palm Springs is in the middle of the desert, so it was hot hot hot! But, dry, so it was very comfortable! I pretty much just laid around the pool while John was busy. We met up with my cousin Katie on Tuesday and it was great to see her! I took most of my pictures on my underwater camera, and it's film, so I don't have those to post.

We saw windmills everywhere in the desert on our drive from the airport to the hotel.


Here is our view from our hotel room!


Here are some photos of the pools at the resort and views from the pool area.








And here's my belly.