Happy Birthday Mommy!

We had a very special day for Mommy's birthday today (and at this time of day I think it's safe to say baby and I won't be sharing a birthday!)

Zach took the day off of work to spend time with Carolyn and I. In the morning, Carolyn and Zach made and iced cakes for my birthday. Carolyn did her cake all by herself (including the writing). Interestingly, there isn't much difference between the cake made by Zach and the one made by Carolyn. ;)




In the afternoon, we went to a friend's house to swim. It was the first beautiful day we've had in the longest time and we really, really enjoyed the sunshine! Carolyn has become very brave in the water and loves to swim around in her life jacket!

Bike Riding and Belly!

Carolyn loves to ride her bike! We took her to the bike path Sunday afternoon, which started out really well, but ended in her being exhausted and cranky - I guess we went past her limit! She didn't want to turn around ever, but really I think she didn't understand that as far as we went out she had to come back....

39 1/2 weeks!

Sandbox!!

Carolyn got a sandbox! It was a big team project for us! Grampap (Diane's dad) designed a 4x6 sandbox with corner seats and cut all the wood, making a "kit" for Zach to put together for Carolyn.

Zach and Carolyn worked hard to put the sandbox together. Carolyn was really excited about the project and wanted to be involved in every step.



After it was built, Diane and Carolyn stained the sandbox red to help protect it outside. Carolyn was really an excellent painter and painted very carefully!

We put the sandbox outside in the backyard and loaded it up with sand this afternoon. Carolyn helped dump the sand in and rake it to even it out in the box. Then she used her little wagon to bring all of her sand toys to the back yard. We're looking forward to a lot of outside fun this summer!!

Carolyn's Butterfly Project!

Last year friends of ours raised caterpillars into butterflies and I thought Carolyn would really enjoy doing that this year. So, we bought a kit that comes with a butterfly mesh house and a voucher to send away for the butterfly larvae (small caterpillars). Carolyn was very excited about the project and we got books out of the library and learned more about butterflies than I knew there was to learn! It's been a lot of fun for Zach and I to watch Carolyn's excitement as she learns about butterflies!

First, a jar of caterpillars arrives in the mail. There are 3 caterpillars and 2 are guaranteed to make the transformation to a healthy butterfly. Our first round was a no go - the caterpillars were "sick," but the company mailed out new ones right away and we experienced success the second time around! After a few days in the jar, the caterpillars climb to the ceiling and form their chrysalises. Here they are in their chrysalises in the left jar.

After they are secure in their chrysalis, it's time to transfer them to the butterfly mesh house. Zach and Carolyn carefully transferred them in and we waited for them to emerge as butterflies!

Eight days later, the first butterfly came out of her chrysalis. Carolyn named this butterfly "Dora." At first they are very sluggish and can't even fly until their wings dry, but within a few days they were flying around like crazy.

The next morning, Carolyn's second butterfly came out and we actually got to see him coming out of his chrysalis! She named him "proboscis" which is the name for a butterfly's tongue because when he came out he was twirling and un-twirling his long tongue!

The butterflies are supposed to live for 2-4 weeks and can be released outside anytime the temperature is about 55. We are feeding them sugar water on flowers and wadded up tissues and plan to enjoy them just a few days longer before setting them free!

Some Pictures!

I can't believe how long it's been since we updated again! Oooooops! We've been busy and mom has been extra tired (37+ week belly picture coming soon!). Zach had a business trip to England and life has just been "full" for us lately..... Things are coming together for the baby's arrival (barring the fact that the poor thing still has no name!) and the to-do list is getting shorter (or staying the same length as I add things as soon as Zach crosses them off!)

Enjoy some pictures and I'll post more of an update of our last 3 weeks within the next few days - Carolyn's butterflies have hatched and she is enjoying them tremendously so we'll need to post about that!

Carolyn's Drawings

Carolyn is very into coloring, drawing, cutting and writing now. She loves to work on little projects. I was just commenting that she's so into projects, crafts, reading and playing outside that she hardly ever (literally!) even touches her toys (despite the fact that they overrun our house).

Mommy (on the left with hair), the baby growing in my tummy (the very skinny one) and Carolyn (the only one with legs)

A picture of Carolyn and Grandma
A self-portrait

A lot of very long M's - and if you search carefully you can find MOM written in several places. This was my mother's day card

Some things Carolyn cut out this week

Circus and Other Fun!

Carolyn had a great time at the circus earlier this month! Mommy and Daddy were pretty amazed too!!

Carolyn watched intently the whole show - parts of it were pretty overstimulating!


Carolyn said her favorite parts were the elephants and tigers.
The grand finale

Daddy pushes much higher and faster than mommy! :)

Carolyn still LOVES animals and was thrilled to get a pony ride!

Nothing else too exciting - I'm about 33 weeks pregnant now and feeling good, but very pregnant! Carolyn continues to be excited about being a big sister and has started to include the baby in all the drawings of our family. Zach finished his class 2 weeks ago now (which has a big relief to all of us - until the fall!) and has been busy with lots of yardwork and little projects around the house....