My ever-growing belly. This was taken about a week ago at 24 weeks (6 months) pregnant, and it has expanded even more since then. This pregnancy has just flown by--I can't believe it. When I was expecting Max it seemed like my due date was never going to come; this time I am getting a little scared that it is approaching too quickly.
What a busy, busy week we've had since my last blog. We have now been PA residents for one month--and I made it official with my very own Pennsylvania drivers' license. If I didn't miss Utah so much already, my experience with the DMV out here definitely would have sealed the deal. We were so spoiled with our nice, convenient license center in Farmington--you hardly ever had to wait in line. On the contrary here on the East Coast--I drove 40 minutes to get there (only 19 miles away) and spent my entire Saturday waiting in line (yes, I still wait in line, not on line like most East-Coasters). Anyway, I had to do it because my UT license expired on my birthday.
Speaking of my birthday, that wasn't so pleasant either--it was spent waiting in the ER. Max burned his hand after grabbing the pipe on Paul's motorcycle. Max has been so infatuated with motorcycles lately (definitely taking after his daddy), and Paul has been all too eager to nurture this fascination. The first thing Paul does when he gets home from work these days is take Max for a ride around the yard on his bike. He doesn't even change out of his suit. Well, on this day he was having trouble getting it started and must have been preoccupied because the next thing he knew Max had grabbed the pipe. Poor little guy, he was in SO much pain--he cried for 3 hours straight, and he would look at his hand and shake it and look at me and I just know he was wondering why mommy couldn't make the "ouwee" go away. He was so inconsolable even after Tylenol and ice that after a while we decided to take him to the ER.
The bad news is we have to apply some cream and a bandage twice a day--that really pisses him off. He hates having it on his hand and there is no distracting him as he tries to rip it off. The good news is they were only 2nd degree burns and his hand is going to be just fine.
Paul took Max with him to a track day to watch some of his buddies ride. Max had a great time. I think Paul did, too, except he was probably a little bummed that instead of riding his own motorcycle he was stuck spectating.
Paul taking Max for a ride around the yard.
Max's very own helmet.
Paul got a new toy this week--a fancy new riding lawn mower. The smile on his face as he was zooming around the yard cutting grass was priceless.
And after finally deciding that there was no way we could do all of the work that needed to be done outside ourselves, we broke down and hired a few guys to help out. The property had been neglected for so long by the previous owner that there was just a daunting amount of work necessary to get it looking nice. We started by having them remove this hideous tree next to the front door.
And they did a lot of shrub pruning, weeding, mulching and lawn-edging--all desperately needed as shown in the "before" photos below.
"BEFORE"
"DURING"--check out the big pile of debris (and this is after they had already made a trip to the dump). Notice how nice the front of the house looks without that big, ugly tree.
"AFTER"--it looks so good, and now it is actually manageable (at least I hope I can keep on top of the weeding).
We also had them work on our garden area. There was grass that needed to be removed, and since we didn't want to use chemicals they brought a sod cutter in to remove the lawn. Now, all we need is a fence to keep the deer out and we can finally get our vegetables planted. Our garden is going to go in very late this year, hopefully it will still grow.
We started working on the fence, but with Paul's insanely late hours it is hard to get too much done after he gets home. The goal is to get the fence up this weekend, and start planting. The only problem is that the weather forecast includes lots of rain.
If Paul doesn't get around to the fence, Max has the skills. He won't let his momma down!
Max and I are now in two different playgroups so we can usually find something fun to do everyday. This is what has been keeping me sane. On Monday we went to Longwood Gardens--which is the Pennsylvania equivalent to Red Butte. They even have outdoor concerts in the summer. It is so close to our house--only 10 minutes away--and absolutely stunning. They have a children's garden with a lot of water fountains and Max was soaking wet after only 15 minutes. I think he is a little young for this though, as he wanted to pick all of the flowers, trample through the gardens, and jump in the fountains. I may wait a while before taking him back there.
Max has so much fun with the neighbor kids when they come over--which is almost everyday. He cries when they have to go home, and tries to wander over to their house whenever I take him outside.
And he is really into balls right now. When we take him to the park these days we have to take a ball with us. Otherwise, he is running onto the basketball court trying to steal one from the teenagers. He would much rather play ball than swing.
I think we might have a little Kobe Bryant in the making.
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