4th of July Camping Trip

Have I said before how much we love to camp?  Well, we LOVE to camp and the 4th of July is no exception!  We book 6 months in advance and choose a different State Park each year.  This year we ended up at North Higgens Lake State Park and had 5 sites in a row filled with family - 23 people in total and we had such a great time!  It was almost like a mini family reunion!  Even though the weather was super hot for being as far Up North as we were (think high 90's all week) it was still so worth the sweat to be able to spend quality time with our family - we had amazing food (mostly cooked over the fire all week thanks to my cousin Jeff's new cooking contraption - way better than a tri-pod cooker), we spent a lot of time swimming and boating on Higgens Lake, biking around the park and just hanging out.  Here are a few pics to recap our week.

32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks

Baby’s Size: Baby is about the size of a large jicama - so aboutu 3.75lbs and 16+ inches long.  I was measuring 32.5 weeks at todays appointment.

Total Weight Gain: 24lbs - Today at my 32 week OB appointment I weighed EXACTLY the same with #2 as I did at 32 weeks with Aiden - talk about crazy!

Bellybutton: It looks like a turkey timer that popped saying its done, lol. 

Stretchmarks: None- yay!

Maternity Clothes: Oh, yeah!

 

Gender: Team Green!

Movement: Yes! Especially at night when I am trying to fall asleep - baby thinks bed time is play time and turns into a little party animal!

Sleep: Still doing OK - sleeping mostly on my side now as back sleeping is starting to get a bit uncomfortable, still miss being able to sleep on my tummy.

Symptoms: Just rockin' the baby bump.

Food Cravings: As has been the norm for this pregnancy - no one stand-out craving.

Best Moments this week: Spending the 4th of July week camping at N. Higgens Lake SP with the family (23 of us all in total).

What I miss: Being able to reach and paint my own toes...it was quite an acrobatic feat for me to slap some paint on my toes last night and I am thinking from here on out I may just have to go have a pedi done instead.

What I am Looking forward to: Checking a few more items of our house "to do" list and going camping with friends at Interlochen at the end of July - should be so much fun!

28 Weeks

How far along? 28 weeks (12 weeks / 84 days to go)

Baby’s Size: Baby is about the size of a Chinese cabbage - roughly 2.25lbs and 14.8" long.

Total Weight Gain: About 19lbs so far (according to the scale at my doctors office today for my 28wk check-up).  Right on track with how much I gained while pregnant with Aiden.  Hopefully it comes off just as quickly this time as it did last time!

Bellybutton: Still looking silly....stretched out, but with the center popped.

Stretchmarks: None- yay!

Maternity Clothes: Oh, yeah!

Gender: Team Green!
Movement: All.The.Time!  Recently the baby has decided that kicking my ribs is a great past time and I am constantly pushing at tiny feet trying to get the baby to shift into a different spot.
Sleep: Yes, please!  We have been pretty busy recently, so by bed time I am more than ready for sleep.  Getting up once or twice a night for potty breaks and randomly waking up to shift positions trying to find a comfortable spot to lay.
Symptoms: Just rockin' the baby bump.
Food Cravings: As has been the norm for this pregnancy - no one stand-out craving.
Best Moments this week: Aiden trying to "feed" the baby chocolate milk through my belly button - he was so serious about it, too!  It was adorable!! 
What I miss: Not having heartburn and strawberry daiquiris (the adult kind, that is).  With this warm weather a daiquiri sure has sounded good!
What I am Looking forward to: Spending the weekend at my parents and seeing family on Saturday when we get together to celebrate my cousin Liz's graduation from high school.

It's Camping Time!

This spring my dad and Scott did quite a bit of work on our pop-up camper to get it ready for this camping season...but as of May however, we only had one camping trip booked for the whole summer - camping at North Higgens Lake State Park for the 4th of July!  Since the camper turned out so nice, I was really itching to take it out and get in a few more trips this summer.

Scott and I started tossing around ideas and ended up booking a quick weekend away at Silver Lake State Park for the very fist weekend in June and the Sherd's decided to join in on our fun!  Up until the night(ish) before we left the forecast looked great for the weekend, but a cold front blew in and people were telling us we were crazy to keep our reservations.  We stuck with it though and ended up having a great time!  Friday night was a bit windy & chilly, but that didn't stop us from sitting out next to a rip-roaring bon fire and eating s'mores until after midnight.  Saturday ended up being a great day and the sun made a nice appearance while we took a walk around both loops of the park - it actually got so warm we all stripped off our layers and sweatshirts!  Aiden had so much fun playing with Liam and we can't wait for our next trip with them to Interlochen State Park at the end of July!

Then, the very next weekend we ended up going camping with my mom & dad at Brighton State Park!  Scott had to be in Auburn Hills for work on Friday, so I took the day off so we could drive in together Thursday night.  We spent Thursday night at mom and dad's house and pulled the camper out to the park Friday afternoon.   The weather this last weekend was picture perfect, if not a big too hot - it was 92 on Saturday!  We took advantage of the warm weather and spent some time at the beach on Saturday afternoon and Aiden had a blast swimming in Bishop Lake!



Fire Trucks!

Aiden was in little boy heaven today! My brother, James, is a firefighter in Hartland and took us on a tour of the fire station and showed Aiden all of the fire trucks - the new engine, the ladder truck, another engine and the rescue truck.  Aiden was a bit intimidated at first by how BIG the fire trucks were but he soon warmed up to being in the garage and had SO much fun running from truck to truck checking them out and sitting in the cabs!  Thanks for making Aiden's day, Uncle James!! Aiden talked about visiting the fire station the whole car ride home this afternoon and is telling everyone what he got to see this morning!

24 Weeks

How far along? 24 weeks (only 16 weeks to go)
Baby’s Size: Baby is about the size of a large ear of corn - about a foot long and a few ounces over a pound.
Total Weight Gain: Well I just ran up stairs and jumped on the scale and according to that I have gained about 14 pounds!  I guess I will get an "official" weight at my next doctors appointment.
Bellybutton: Same as last week - very stretched and the center is starting to pop a bit.  Aiden thinks it's so funny looking..and I kind of have to agree!
Stretchmarks: Nope
Maternity Clothes: Yes - all the time.
Gender: It's a surprise!
Movement: I am baking a very energetic little baby...this kid loves to move and groove all the time.
Sleep: This last week its been pretty interrupted *sigh* I am starting to wake up more and more because I either have to use the bathroom or just can not get comfortable. 
Symptoms: Just rockin' the baby bump.
Food Cravings: As has been the norm for this pregnancy - no one stand-out craving.
Best Moments this week: Spending Mothers Day evening at the beach with Scott & Aiden.
What I miss: Sleeping and sunbathing on my tummy.
What I am Looking forward to: Visiting my parents & brother this weekend and seeing my Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles and cousins on Saturday.  Also looking forward to my OB appointment next Tuesday - I love hearing baby's little heartbeat! <3

Evening at the beach

On Sunday, Scott asked what I wanted to do for Mothers Day and I replied "Go to the beach." Which is one of my favorite things to do when the weather is warm. So we packed up Aiden, grabbed some sweat shirts and a few beach toys and headed out to Holland State Park.  We ate dinner by the channel watching a few sail boats go by and then decided to play in the sand. The sky was a beautiful clear blue and the sun was shining, but the breeze was still chilly out on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Here are a few pictures we snapped while we enjoyed the sun set.