What in the world have we been doing?!

Time slips away from the Baker family these days! Charlotte is on the go - Wes is on the go - and Mary-Margaret is READY to go! We thought summer was our busy time? Well - looks like Fall will be a doozy! Charlotte starts dance again in two weeks. She is so excited. What a great time she had last year, I cant wait to see her back at it again! Fall means football and Wes and MM are both in fantasy leagues -- wish us luck! Wes has been steady busy with work and it only looks to be getting busier! Busy is good -- so we will take it. MM is busy with work too and in her spare time, is battling constant nesting. Because, oh. Yeah. We are having a baby in two weeks!! The baby clothes have been washed (just not put away), the nursery is functional (just not decorated), and the baby is no longer breech (just not giving relief since it already dropped)! Whoa... I just had a minor panic attack thinking of the things I want to get done before d-day. Oh well, a baby is worth is all - room decor or not.

Yes -- you read it right, the baby is no longer breech! Little did I know, the baby flipped before my most recent appointment and since I go once a week, the exam confirmed it! I have a c-section scheduled, so its no big deal for if it had stayed flipped, but the docs hoped the baby would turn for my comfort, if anything. Well, as she told me that the baby was in correct position, she noted that unfortunately, I would not get much relief since the baby has dropped and is read to go! Oh well! I can do anything for 2 weeks, right?

We recently went to a LRU alumni day at Discovery Place - super fun! We had a blast! Enjoy some pics -- as well as photos of what else has been going on.

A big fan of the "Fresh Beat Band"
Super Alex and Nick
Pull Charlotte!!
little architect
to the top with a little help from Daddy

getting ready for baby #2!
What Wes spends his days doing...

Hold on tight! Looks like we are in for some big times! We can't wait!

Silly Monkey.

Saturday we went to visit MM's grandmother (Mama J) in Concord with Magi, Poppo, Alan, and the boys. What a nice, fun-filled, tiring day it turned out to be! We met that morning and made way to Concord. Once in Mama J's condo, the kids had a blast playing hide n go seek and looking at all the baby pictures on the walls. Then it was of to Gary's BBQ for a yummy Kannapolis lunch. BBQ, hot dogs, fries, slaw, hush puppies -- and topped it off with banana pudding!!! We caught word of our cousin Dana coming in to town for an overnight visit - and was arriving by train shortly after lunch! So - off we went to the train station to meet Uncle Steve and Aunt Verna. The kids had a blast playing with the whistles and jr. conductor hats Amtrak gave them while waiting. Then the train came! There was Dana and her daughter Hanna! Talk about family reunion! We visited for a while then all went our separate ways...

Charlotte was already exhausted by then - but we had more in store! After driving around Kannapolis to see the updated area and Poppo's old high school, we dropped Mama J off and we were heading to Monkey Joes!! Monkey Joes is a fabulous kids "center" full of inflatable slides and bouncy things! They have parent areas you can sit and watch or an arcade for the bigger kids as well. What a blast! I was worried Charlotte wouldn't be able to go down some of the slides (b/c she couldn't climb to the top) but she had the help of her trusty cousins Nick and Alex! After they showed her how to do it once, she mastered it! You couldn't stop her... she went up (and down) every item in there! I highly recommend Monkey Joes for a fun-filled, easy to do, tire the kids out afternoon! Here are a few pics from the day!

playing catch up

Seems like I am always playing catch up these days. Truth be told, I am moving a good bit slower, so catching up to me is really not that hard. Me catching up to anything else proves to be a challenge. More on that in a minute...

Things have been nice and routine for the Bakers lately. Work, school, and play! Work for mommy and daddy - school and play for Charlotte! Charlotte went recently with daddy to play disc golf - she loves anything with daddy. As you can see - on the disc golf course, no one cares what you are wearing and sometimes the sillier the better.

Charlotte also gone to some summer birthday parties



But, mostly, mommy tries to stay cool in the air conditioning. I'm 34 weeks pregnant and the baby is still breech and still being a pain... not a kid that's a pain - just causing me pain! Its not the best feeling... however, i am sadly getting used to it. The doc has been monitoring me quietly to make sure I am staying healthy - as I have been steady losing weight each visit. The baby is measuring perfect and on target - but my appetite is just not up to par. No one is concerned, but I wish the baby would listen to mommy already! "FLIP!!!"

Once a week visits after my appt this coming week. Tick tock tick tock... getting closer!

update!

I cannot believe I am 32 weeks pregnant. That means: we are on the final countdown. That means: I need to do some baby laundry. That means: this is really happening. That means: we will soon be a party of 4. That means: we need to think about names. Hmm... they told me the 2nd would fly by, and they were right!

Everything is going well - feeling good! Getting a little hot, but who isn't? I am going to the doc every two weeks and only have one more of those appointments to go before I start going once a week. This past visit I learned that the baby is breech! Little rascal is already trying to be different! I had been having some uncomfortable mornings (after being kicked all night) and evenings (after being on the go all day) and asked the doc about it. She said I appeared to be carrying a little low and then felt around and determined the baby is upside down! Not a concern right now - there is plenty of time for the baby to flip itself around. Let's just hope its sooner than later -- so I can have some relief! I had actually lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks and normally she (doc) wouldn't like this, but she said it can be common when carrying breech.

The heartbeat was 133 (lowest its been). Doc said the baby is coming into its own and now the blood is pumping through more "meat"! Sounded strong and was moving the whole time. Glucose test was great - iron has been a little low, but not too low to be concerned. Everything is measuring on target and doc is happy with everything! We are getting so excited - especially after finally completing our travels for the summer so we can be home and prepare.

I'll let you know if and when the baby decides to "straighten up"!

Beach Bummin'

Off to the beach we went... For a much needed visit to the coast with some sand between our toes - salt in our hair - and some color on our cheeks! It had been long overdue for some get-away time and we were excited! Especially Charlotte! She wanted to "go to the beach" "get her hair wet" "swim in the water" and "make a sandcastle"... in that order! And all of those things were done. She has developed quite the fins... she loves the water. She would be back and forth all day long to the water and back with her bucket to fill up the moat (in one of daddy's fine castles) or cool off our feet with a splash. She liked the waves, especially from daddy's shoulders, and adores the swimming pool! She didn't want to be held in the pool - only her floaty - and she was so proud of herself for getting across the pool by herself! *kick kick kick* We also went to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans game to celebrate the 4th of July -- and the fireworks were great. We played, we napped, we laughed, we watched movies, we had a wonderful time!! Here are just a few of the fun shots from the week.

Good Things Come in 3's.

She's 3! I can't believe it! Charlotte has been really into the beach, pool, and of course, mermaids. So, what else is should the party theme be... WATER! Seeing how when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday - all she ever said was " a new swimsuit".. how could we go wrong?! So, several friends and their parents came over to have some water play, snacks, pizza, and cookie cake! It was sunny and hot and the water was cool! She had cousins, family friends, classmates, and dance class friends all attend... Charlotte is one lucky girl (and we are lucky to have such great family and friends).

Enjoy some of the happy pics and Happy Birthday to our favorite red-head!

flowers on the beach

Wes's sister Ashley recently got married on Sunset Beach (NC) and we were all included in the wedding! What an honor! Wes was the "Man of Honor" and walked Ashley down the aisle as well. MM was a bridesmaid and Charlotte was the flower girl... and what a great job she did! She must have gotten it from Mommy who is close to holding the record for being in the most weddings. Anywho... she is a natural! She l-o-v-e-d the dress more than life itself! I tell ya, it wasn't easy either... walking on the sand and being pretty hot is tough in formal wear! Here are some shots from Ashley and Perry's big day. We are so happy to have been involved!

Oops! Catch up time!

Sorry for the delay! We have been some busy Bakers, as always, but this time - we really mean it! We have been out of town for the entire month of June weekends minus the one weekend that was Charlotte's birthday (new post to follow). Whew! It's been fun, but we are ready for a break!

MM has been busy "growing a child"... almost 30 weeks along now! We can't believe the time has flown by! We did get a good jump start on the nursery, so hopefully we will have some time to finish that up over the next month. MM has been feeling great overall -- aside from being pretty tired. Looks like keeping up with a red-headed toddler will wear you out quickly! We are all anxiously awaiting September 9th to meet the newest addition! This baby is a feisty kicker - already making a statement!

We are heading to the beach for some R&R over the 4th of July -- and absolutely can not wait! We plan to do NOTHING the whole week... true beach bums!

One of the weekends we were out of town in June was traveling to Charleston for a quick trip. Wes plays in an annual golf tournament in memory of a friend of ours and we chose to make it a family journey! We were lucky enough to stay with our friends Jake and Robyn ... you may remember Jack, Charlotte's BFF since the womb? Well - they are all grown up now and play together splendidly! The Hermans just welcomed a beautiful daughter, Lauren, who we were able to spend some time with on the visit as well. Great visit, great friends, great cause.

Twinkle Toes

Its official! Charlotte is quite the performer! This past weekend was her first dance recital! She has been taking dance from a friend of mine (Krista Whitener Dance Academy) since January - when she became old enough to start. In fact, this is what I gave her for Christmas... some ballet and tap shoes to play around in and the promise to take her to dance class for ONE semester to see how she liked it.. if she liked it at all. We told ourselves this was just something to try out and if she didn't like it - then no problem. We would just finish up in May and be done with it. Well -- looks like we won't have that issue. She will be heading back to dance in the Fall! She has loved it and is having so much fun! All in all, that is all we have ever wanted. She has made some good friends in class and really blossomed in to a little lady.

Charlotte has been really enjoying getting costumes each week as they came in to dance class and has been anxiously awaiting the day when she could really wear them! So, when Saturday came she was super excited to wear them... who knew if she cared anything about dancing? The excitement of getting her hair done and being able to wear some make up was just so exciting for her. She thought she was really something! After waiting backstage a little bit it was time! They called her group backstage and the girls all held hands and away they went. As soon as the last one was out of sight the moms all ran as fast as they could to get to the audience and watch. We sat and waited... did I mention Charlotte has to lead the class out on stage? Pressure! But, the lights were dim and the music started up. Here comes Charlotte!!! She did it! Leading the group and then started to dance! *sigh of relief* The girls all did great! When it was over, MM hurried backstage to greet her and change her for the next performance (they had 3). Backstage you could hear Charlotte saying, "Mommy! Mommy!" When I said, "Charlotte! You did so good! Did you have fun?!" She replied with, "I wanna do it again!!".

At the end of the recital all the girls received a trophy and balloons fell from the rafters (this was more exciting to Charlotte than the trophy). She was excited to receive flowers from Magi and Poppo and a Sleeping Beauty Ballerina doll from mommy and daddy. We are so glad she had fun -- the smile on her face was priceless!

Best Job In the World.

I love being a mom... and more than that, I love being Charlotte's mom. Even though she is ALL ABOUT DADDY these days -- I still adore our time together. She is funny and caring - sweet and girly - silly and clumsy - and has the best giggle! Toddlers are surely no easy age, but thank goodness for a wonderful husband who can fix anything with her! As I have said before, she sure loves her daddy. I must admit though - we do make a great team.

Mothers Day was a great day and I was surely spoiled! Wes and Charlotte got me a beautiful bracelet and a gorgeous photograph to hang on my wall at work. So creative and they did it all themselves! I am so lucky to have such caring and loving family! We topped it off with spending the day at Dan Nicholas park in Salisbury, NC with lots of family. I highly recommend this park and can't wait to go back. We have several other family members join us and celebrate moms - including my mom and grandmother! This park had a carousel, petting zoo, train ride, water area, paddle boats, putt putt, playgrounds, and a wildlife zoo! There are lots of shaded park tables and areas to grill out - as well as camping sites too! Charlotte had a wonderful time! See for yourself...






Coming soon... DANCE RECITAL!! Its this weekend! We have the costumes and she likes to dance... we'll see how she is on stage!

Also, Baby Baker #2 is doing great! 23 weeks along now and starting to feel most the effects! I love being pregnant so its still fun... but time is creeping up on me! I'm getting anxious about getting things started so we don't wait until the last minute! Luckily, we have a lot of things from Charlotte's newborn days, but there are a few odds and ends to take care of for #2. Most recent appointment had the baby's heartbeat coming in at 140 and sounds strong! The baby is kicking up a storm and I am getting used to not sleeping on my stomach again these days!

I can't wait to meet him or her!!