Eternal Summer

I'm in the midst of what I like to call the eternal summer.  School has not started here in MI yet, so it still is very much summer here (nevermind the chilly-ish weather sometimes).  But schools have started up in Iowa already, and I can't tell you how strange it was to see all the "1st day of school" pics on FB and not actually be there for them..... SO weird.  I didn't set up my classroom this year OR sit through beginning of the year meetings for the first time in.....12 years?!?!?  Yes, it is definitely strange.  But yet, since school has not started here in MI yet, it just feels like I get to have an extra long summer this year!  Like a REEEAAALLLLY extra long summer.  Maybe once the weather cools down it will hit me that I'm not going back to school this year?  I don't know.  But it's just strange, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.  "Teacher" has been part (a HUGE part) of my identity for 12 years..... to not be doing that this year just really feels" off."  I am sure the transition from working-mom to stay-at-home mom will take some time to adjust, and in the midst of that transition we'll be adding our little lady to the family..... crazy!  One year ago, I would NOT have ever thought we'd be where we are today.  Just goes to show that our plans are not necessarily God's plans!  But anyway, since this summer just goes on and on and on and on...... we have been doing fun things and keeping busy!

Sorting all his cars by color!  Totally his idea.

Apartment-living is getting old, and we are always eager to get OUT of the apartment to do things!  We spent one day at my Uncle Carl and  Aunt Cora Mae's house, where Jeremiah got to ride the train.  It was such a fun day for Jeremiah!!!!

Riding the train with Juan, Esther, Peter, and Miriam.

Pretty sure J was asking a question here.  He asked a LOT of questions!

My cousin (2nd cousin actually?) James was the train engineer, and he was SO good about explaining everything to the kids and answering questions!

Checking out the steam engine..... again, asking a question.

We also spent the afternoon with my cousins Laura and Betsy and J had SUCH FUN playing with Laura's kids, Brad and Megan!  He had so much fun that I left and ran some errands and he hardly knew I was gone. :)

We spent another day with Betsy, Laura, Brad, and Megan-- this time we went to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park.  What an awesome place that is!  All kinds of wild animals out in the country of West Michigan-- who would have thought?

A highlight for J-- feeding the giraffe!  He did NOT like the long, slimy tongue though.

There were many more animals than giraffes.... not sure why I don't have more pictures of the others!  We saw and fed alligators, saw lemurs, kangaroos, snakes, bats, lizards (shudder), zebras, and many many more.  We also got to ride on a safari bus and saw some of the animals out in the fields.  Really, a very cool place!  All the kids came home with a new stuffed animal souvenir, too.  Surprisingly J did NOT pick another giraffe to add to his collection.  He picked a snake!  Yuck.

Oh, and on the way home from the animal park, we just HAD to stop at the Ice Cream Caboose!

We also went and enjoyed some of the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven.  We were not super eager to mingle with the crazy crowds on the weekends, so we went on a week-night to go see the Coast Guard ships that were docked in Grand Haven for the week.  They give free tours each evening!  And yes, I had a death grip on my son's hand the entire time we were on those huge ships!  Oh, my brother Matt was in town for a class at Calvin, so he came along and enjoyed the ships and the frigid weather with us.

Of course J was in his glory being on these huge ships and checking out all the machinery!



 

Jeremiah has been doing swimming lessons at the Holland Aquatic Center for the last few weeks, as well.

Lesson 1= Good.

Lesson 2 = Bad.

The first day, they spent most of their time in the little kiddie pool where J is very comfortable.  They practiced kicking, blowing bubbles, climbing along the wall (that was the hardest part, according to J), etc.  The next time, though, they brought the class into a different part of the aquatic center where there are just 3 huge lap pools.  This was very intimidating to J (and others, actually)!  He spent the entire time crying.... although he still did what his teachers asked.  He just did everything while wailing.  Lovely.  It hasn't gotten much better since, because they continue to go to the big pool that J hates.  He is literally counting down until he is done ("First we had 3 swimming lessons left, then 2 left, now we only have 1 MORE LEFT!!").  Little does he know, we'll be signing him up again because he needs to practice and improve his skills.

Silly silly boy.

I have really been enjoying my days with 1 kiddo.  I've probably said it before, but J is at such a great age-- up for doing things and going places, and pretty low maintenance (as long as I occasionally provide food and drink).  It is hard to believe that in a few short months, running errands is going to become a whole lot more challenging!

Let's see, what else.  J has been accompanying me to my Dr. appts, and I am now going every 2 weeks (I am 31 weeks already-- eeek!!).

I got to enjoy this a couple weeks ago:

No gestational diabetes for me!  Woo hoo!!

We celebrated with coffee, scones, and super sweet muffins after my appointment.

The baby bump is getting bigger, and Molly finds it to be quite a nice headrest.

And my awesome Craigslist find:

Pottery Barn crib bedding!  Score!

I can not wait to get out of this apartment and into a place with more room and a bedroom for the baby!  I am feeling the need to start nesting, and there is only so much I can do in this tiny space!!  For now, I'm making piles of baby stuff.... and trying to rack my brain for what all we have for baby in storage.

So that's about it!  We are looking forward to a trip "home" to see our friends in Iowa over Labor Day weekend!  Probably our last easy roadtrip with 1 child.  Wow.  We can't wait!!!!