Wordless Wednesday...still no baby

Happy Boy!

Our weekend & Luke's birthday week

Today is the start of Luke's birthday week! Luke will turn 2 years old this Sunday, September 4th! It is so hard to believe our sweet little Luke is going to be 2! He is growing leaps and bounds! His personality is that of a social butterfly and nothing he does surprises us. We are finding ourselves walking or turning away laughing at some of the crazy, silly things he does! We received his 1st year album that I made, over the weekend and we greatly enjoyed looking through it together Saturday afternoon while Luke took a nap. We were in awe of how time has flown by, and yet so thankful to have captured such great memories!

Luke Michale Merrick (hours old)

September 4, 2009

This was my 37 week bump picture exactly two years ago today! Little did we know Luke would be arriving shortly after this picture this taken:)

I am still pregnant...!!!! We had a very nice, low key weekend hanging out around the house and getting some things done. Friday night Sean took Luke to his 1st high school football game, West Branch vs West Liberty. Luke must not have been as impressed as he was with the hawkeye's practice, because he didn't sit too well for his daddy at the football game. While the boys were gone I took advantage of the time and went to get a pedicure, hoping they could work some magic with pressure points and send me into labor...obviously it didn't work:) Saturday Luke and I went for a walk down to the local convenient store to get a donut, feed the ducks, and enjoy a beautiful morning that felt like Fall. Sean got some things done around the house while we were out and about, he is working on a few projects! Saturday night we headed over to our friends, the Eastvolds, for dinner and let the kids run wild! Luke has so much fun playing with all the little kids. We had originally planned to just keep it simple and order pizza, but Katie went ahead and made spicy enchiladas...again to help get me to go into labor! They were absolutely delicious, but not labor:)

Sunday Luke and I went to church, date at Starbucks, and play time at the elementary school playground while Sean worked on his wood rack. He is building a wood rack to place all our firewood on for our wood burning fire place this winter! Last night we carried on with our Sunday night pizza tradition with one of our local favs, Wig and Pen, and enjoyed the great company of my dear college friend Sarah. She came into town to visit her parents and spent the night with us. It was an absolute beautiful night to sit outside on the screened in porch and visit until the late hours of the night! I love catching up with my girlfriends:)

I love spending weekends at home with my boys and just hanging out around the house and neighborhood. It was a beautiful weekend and greatly enjoyable! I hope you all have a great week and I hope that our week leads us to some exciting news!

TGIF Random thoughts...

I never thought Friday would get here...its been a very long week of severe anticipation. Last night at dinner Sean was talking about how the week just flew by...I beg to differ, I feel like this week lasted eternity! I have a feeling these next couple of weeks are going to last forever with my anxiousness and impatience. I am trying to keep myself busy, and spending quality time having little dates with both of my boys~Sean and I went out Sunday AND Wednesday night! I took Luke out for a "nack" to Panera, rode the cars in the mall, then went to City Park to ride the "bish" and airplane. We also had a little date last night to get some yogurt at our favorite local yogurt shop down the street. We are enjoying the evenings greatly, as the weather is absolutely perfect! Luke's bedtime has pushed back a bit these past few nights because we love spending time outside playing with the neighbors. Luke gets heartbroken every time he has to say good bye to the big kids! He doesn't miss a beat...he just goes right along with the older kids on the street mimicking everything they do! He absolutely loves playing with other kids, and has quite the social personality. So many parents comment to us about how social he is, and truly he is! I am looking forward to the weekend of doing a whole lot of nothing...(hint hint-Baby Merrick, perfect time for arrival!)

Luke's friends & baby update

Luke with his friends Ella, Clara, and Grace Slattery

Last week my dear friend Carly stopped by for a visit on her way to her parents from Chicago. This is the best way to get a group picture, lay them all out! Luke was being "gentle" with Baby Grace! We will see how gentle he is with his new sibling (hopefully arriving soon!)

On the baby front...nothing new to report, unfortunately. I had an appointment on Monday and I haven't had much progress since my appointment two weeks ago which was a total bummer. I have had to completely reset my expectations and my mindset, this baby will come when he/she is ready and not any sooner or later! This is the most pregnant I have ever been...almost 38 weeks! I had Luke via c section at 37 weeks so everyday is one more day of being pregnant. I am feeling ok, just very uncomfortable and not sleeping much at all. I have been walking a couple of times a day, which feels good to get some fresh air and stretch out. They did an ultrasound on Monday to confirm head down and yes indeed, this baby's head is down resting nicely on my left side, so it has to make its way straight down. It was a very quick ultrasound so I didn't get to see too much of our little one. There isn't a food that even sounds good to eat right now, as I have zero room left...when I do eat it leads to misery so I am trying my hardest to eat many small meals but that is hard to do when nothing sounds good.

I am feeling more and more anxious to meet our sweet little one, but at the same time have some sadness that our days with just Luke are numbered. We are both trying hard to do more with him and really savor these last days of the "three of us". I know Luke will do great and will love having a baby brother or sister around the house, but I am a little nervous in the same breath. I have some anxiety about sharing my attention and love. After having Luke I never imagined how much love I could have for one little person, now I will have two...is it even possible? I know it is, but those are thoughts that overcome me. Each day we will savor our precious time with Luke and Sweet Baby will grow that much more.

Luke's 2nd birthday party (a couple of weeks early)

This weekend we had the great joy of celebrating our Little Luke's 2nd birthday with his grandparents and many wonderful friends! Luke turns two September 4th, but we decided to have his party a two weeks early for a couple of reasons! First, we will be celebrating my brother and sister in law's wedding in Waukon September 3rd, and secondly...we wanted to make sure Luke had fun with his friends and had a great birthday bash prior to Baby #2's arrival. We had a "barnyard bash" to celebrate his 2nd birthday, as Luke's latest obsession (aside from baseball, football, and basketball) is his Bop and Nannie's farm and everything that goes along with it...cows, tractors, animals, etc! Both sets of Luke's grandparents were able to share in this special celebration and spend the weekend with us, lots of his little friends and their parents joined us, and of course Miss Judi, Bob, and Rox were here to celebrate. It was so fun to watch all the kids have so much fun playing together, there were 10 kids, all four and under, with the youngest being 8 weeks old! We are so thankful for having such great friends (with kids Luke's age) to enjoy these great times together, and most importantly have so much fun with one another. This year Luke wasn't really into opening presents, he wasn't sure what to think when everyone sang to him, but if there was one thing for sure, he was so excited when his friends began arrive! Enjoy photos from our weekend celebration!

Luke's barnyard birthday cake from no other than "Yummy's"
I made cupcakes and little animal sticks for all the kiddos!

Farm animal cupcakes

My mom decorated the dining room with animals, farm balloons, and Luke's sign

sweet treats for some very sweet kiddos!

Enjoying the frosting and sprinkles! Luke ate all the frosting off his cupcake and signed for more...didn't even touch the cupcake!

Luke making sure his birthday hat was still on while we all sang to him!

watching daddy light his birthday candle

Luke is pretty proud of everyone singing to him!

The Haluska Family

Due with Baby #2 at the end of October

Luke with his babysitter, Miss Judi!

Ryder and Maddox enjoying their cupcakes!

Little Miss Avery enjoying her sucker

I'm pretty sure he loved all the attention!

Playing the drums with Maddox

In the bounce house with Avery and Jerzey

(this was Luke's birthday present from us)

Luke and Jack bouncing away!

Enough bouncing and cake...time for the pool!

...playing trucks in the sand

Opening gifts...Luke got a John Deere tractor from his good friends Kyle & Ryan

Toy Story books!! Luke has really taken a liking to Buzz and Woody from Toy Story!

Opening presents with daddy

Luke & Kyle playing with some new toys

Mommy & Daddy had so much fun celebrating your birthday party with you!

all decked out in your tractor hat & shirt

"ok, enough with the hat!"

Luke and Nannie doing "oh my goodness!"

"oh no, kisses from Bop!"

Luke with his Bop and Nannie

Luke with his Grandpa and Grandma Merrick

Enjoying his "barnyard cake" Sunday for lunch

Sunday morning the guys went golfing while we went to church and made a stop at Starbucks for a snack because Luke was an amazingly good boy in church. I may have to start bringing my mom to church with us every Sunday! We played outside with his new bat and baseball tee, then enjoyed some lunch and cut into his birthday cake when the guys got home year ago Luke devoured his cake with his bare hands, this year he was a little more eloquent, using a fork! We had so much fun celebrating Luke's 2nd year and look forward to celebrating with him again on September 4th when he turns two!

Wordless Wednesday

mowing the lawn can be dangerous...
Luke taking proper precautions to keep himself safe!

Inaugural trip to Kinnick Stadium

Saturday Luke was initiated to Kinnick Stadium and to say he enjoyed it would be an understatement. For those of you who know Luke and my dad, know that we could have had a problem. Luke being the busy body that he is, I assumed he wouldn't sit still and would want to run wild through the stadium. And for those of you who know my dad, know that he would want to capitalize on the entire two hour practice scouting out the hawkeyes. Well, believe it or not, Luke sat through the entire practice mesmerized by the players, the football, and the field. He would clap when the crowd roared and he would slap his knee when the crowd went "UGH"! He thoroughly enjoyed his first experience in Kinnick Stadium and may be joining his daddy and Bop for a football game much sooner than I anticipated. Saturday they hosted Kids Day at Kinnick, opening up the stadium for an open two hour practice, they had kid zone set up with activities and photo opportunities with Herky, and at the end of practice the players lined up for autographs. We, unfortunately, didn't stick around for the autographs because it was a complete zoo, but did get a chance to meet Herky. Luke loved Herky from afar, but when it came time to get his picture taken he wanted his mama with him. As a parent of a small child I really appreciated the opportunity to attend Kid's Day and give Luke the experience of Kinnick Stadium and Iowa football without having to take him to an official game. Unfortunately Sean couldn't make it, he participated in a Golf Benefit for a friend in Oswego, IL with some of his buddies from Pekin, so my parents came down to join us, and help keep an eye on Luke for me. It was a beautiful afternoon and got me really excited for football season, even if I don't get to any games this Fall, we hope to get down and tailgate for a few of the early games while the weather is still nice. We will see if I am still singing the same tune once Baby #2 arrives

Luke and Bop enjoying Iowa Football
watching football and eating popcorn...does it get any better?

Yay for Herky

Getting a tattoo at the Kids Zone

Luke with Bop and Nanny by Nile Kinnick statue

36 weeks down...4 to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited to be coming down the home stretch?!?! I have a feeling these next four weeks are going to seem as long as the last 36! I will admit, now that the weather is nicer, it certainly has made be super pregnant much more pleasant. This summer really has taken a toll on me, like many others I know, but we are certainly enjoying the past couple of weeks and look to a few more just like it! I had an appointment last Wednesday and she felt very confident baby's head was down so they did not do an ultrasound. I was a little bummed because I was so anxious to get a peek at our sweet little one. I have been measuring a week and a half ahead for the past five appointments, however I was measuring spot on and she felt it was because I was starting to drop a little. I definitely feel like I am carrying lower that I have been, but this baby likes to remind me with frequent kicks into my rib cage that he/she is still jumping around! I have another appointment this Wednesday and look forward to see if there is any progress. I was a centimeter dilated last Wednesday, which doesn't get me too excited, but its progress in the right direction. I was a centimeter dilated with Luke at 36 weeks as well and then he arrived via emergency c-section at 37 weeks. I will admit that I am a little anxious and would be very excited to welcome this baby at 37 weeks like we did Luke but I need to reset my expectations that full term is actually 40 weeks!!!

36 week bump tracker
Luke wanted his picture with mama and the baby bump!

A day in the park

I don't know about you, but we are lovin' this weather!!! Where has this been all summer long?!?! I never knew 80 degrees could feel so mild, so wonderful! We took full advantage of this weeks mild temps to enjoy the things we have been missing out all summer long, playing outside later than normal, walks, and our city park! Wednesday night we met up with some friends at the Iowa City park for the kids to enjoy the rides and then enjoyed a little picnic. It was perfect, the weather was gorgeous, the kids had a blast, and great company! I never knew these rides existed in our city park all the years I was here, so it was great to discover this little amusement park! We will definitely be visiting more often! It was fun to pack a little picnic and hang out with some good friends enjoying a beautiful summer night!

Pilot Luke
He had so much fun riding the airplane

Luke walked all around the merry go round and picked out the little blue elephant to ride

daddy took a ride too!

This might have been Luke's favorite! It was hilarious, this was the first ride he went on and when it started up he looked a little scared. I thought we were going to have to stop the ride, but soon enough he was clapping and had a big smile plastered to his fast!

Sean showing Luke how to hold on!

So this was a tie for first...a train ride around the park! He kept saying "choo-choo"

...and this is Luke hamming it up this morning before Miss Judi came over!

Beautiful flowers from my lovely husband for our anniversary! Sean surprised me with this lovely bouquet of flowers to go in the Tiffany vase he bought me as a wedding gift. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner downtown Iowa City last night at one of our favorites, Chef's Table!