What Hannah is loving right now.

Hannah loves this song right now.  She loves the whole movie, actually (it is a great movie).

A new acquisition

Sunday  night we took a walk.  Halfway through our walk, I spotted this sitting out by the road.  

David wasn't convinced that it was out by the mailbox to be taken away but I knew it! However, David made me confirm with the people who lived there.  

As soon as they confirmed it for me, I knew it was coming home with us.  No matter if it's been loved on by some doggies.  Or that's it missing a couple of screws.  

The girls didn't seem to notice anything wrong with it!

Hannah's new hair

A couple weeks ago, she took the plunge!  She wanted to go much shorter but I suggested not going so short at first.  

She loves it!

IMAX movie

I know it's hard to see much in this photo, so I'll explain the setting and your imagination can fill in the gaps.

The weekend before last, while Aunt Debby was visiting, we drove up to Raleigh for the day.  One of the things we did was see an IMAX movie in 3D.  This is Riley, in her 3D glasses, which she kept on for all but the last 10 minutes of the movie.  She sat, quietly watching the film, like everyone around her.  

The movie was good.  It was Born To Be Wild and it is about orangutans and elephants that had been orphaned in the wild.  The orphaned animals were sent to a place, separately, where they could be raised and subsequently released back into the wild.  

Watching the babies be taken care of was neat.  And I learned some interesting things.  For example, did you know that baby elephants stand in their mothers' shadows to keep from being sunburned.  At least that's one of the reasons. Without this shadow, their big ears can become sunburned.  And baby elephants are never alone when their mother is alive.  So the caretakers for the baby elephants actually sleep with them.  So there's your random knowledge for the day.  

Time with Hannah

Last week, we played Make A Word while Riley slept. We had a busy morning at stroller strides. We, Hannah included, did lots push-ups and squats. Hannah's triceps dips looked really good!  Then all the kids from stroller strides made ice cream in a bag. So Hannah and I decided to take it easy while Riley slept.

Right after I snapped this she won. 

Mendoza park play

Mendoza park is the park we frequent most, and it's about 10 minutes from the house.  Here's Hannah, looking so Hannah.  Right after we got to the park, she slipped and fell, resulting in the mud on her butt.  

Riley, crawling up the slide.  

Riley going to get Hannah.

What kid doesn't love the swings! 

Joshua Robert Cernock

Here's our little guy: Joshua Robert.  Not Josh (per David), but Joshua.  

Due to Riley's birth defects, I was required to have a Level 2 ultrasound this go around.  It's just a more detailed ultrasound.  The photo up top is from that ultrasound, which was on July 22.  The photo below was done yesterday at Duke Pediatric Cardiology.  Both confirm boy parts.  

If you look closely, you can see the heart here.  It actually looks a little heart shaped.  It's the void to the right of the photo.  Everything looks good with Joshua's heart so far!

A nice profile shot.  He was moving a lot.  Some of the photo's from the ultrasound show blurry limbs!  And during the echocardiogram yesterday he pushed on the probe the entire time.  The technician actually laughed at his attempts to push back.  

Peek a boo!  

My thoughts on having a boy: it's something different.  Which is good for me.  I'm excited to have something different.  I think Hannah will continue to be a huge helper and an awesome big sister.  I think Riley will be a little bully and a bit jealous, but Josh should outgrow her before too long, evening the playing field out a bit.  David is thrilled.  Beyond thrilled.  This will be the last child David and I have.  Or at least plan to have. ; )  We had talked about having a third in the past but we thought we'd wait another year.  We're just getting it out of the way sooner now!  That being said, the fact that it is a boy is more reassurance that we're done.  I feel like our family is complete.  And that's a great feeling.  Next time you see our little guy will be the middle of December.  

Hannah and Ethan: Reunited

Hannah's cousin, Ethan, came out to NC over the summer to visit his dad.  While he was here, we got spend some time with him.  I was thrilled to see Ethan but I was even more thrilled to see Hannah and Ethan together.  

Leaving vacation bible school.  

Chaos in the back seat of a Passat.  

Putting some lego's together. 

This was a very interesting conversation between the two.  

It went like this.
Ethan: We don't have to follow the instructions.
Hannah: Um, I think it's better if we do.
Me: Hannah's kind of a rule follower.
Ethan: I'm a rule breaker!
Me: {Laughing} Oh, I know!  

Here are Hannah, Ethan and Riley playing Elefun.  

I was really proud of how well Hannah and Ethan played with Riley.  They didn't leave her out at all. 

Of course, sometimes this meant playing like Riley was a monster and running from her.  But Riley was having fun and laughing right along so how was I to stop it.  

They started out on the floor.  In the morning, I found them like this.  

Morning wake up time.  

There were no extra special moments.  Just regular moments between the kids.  But that's what was special.  It's been a year since the kids have seen each other.  I loved that they were able to pick up, like it had only been a week since they had seen each other.  Unfortunately, it might be another year before we see him.