More pumpkins and a squirmy baby!

On Sunday, Greg finally had a day off. A whole day off. Imagine that. We went out for breakfast, did a little shopping for Mijo, and then took Belly to the pumpkin patch so we could grab a few more pumpkins. It was a beautiful day out- temps in the upper 60s, no clouds in the sky, and nice and blustery.

I can't say it often enough-- I love fall weather.

fall leaves in the metro area.

pumpkin bowling at the patch

Fall day at the pumpkin patch.

Enjoying a day off together.

Bel and Greg, 10/26

Belly, 10/26

orange orbs

Today, we finally had a chance for another ultrasound. 30 weeks down, 10 or so to go! Mijo is healthy, has a heartrate of about 149 bpm, and is growing like a weed. He was very squirmy today and it made it pretty difficult to get a good picture of his profile (actually- they were never able to get a good shot) so the best she could do were these 2 shots below. They are face front shots and since he was such a squirmer, you can't really make them out very well. The sonographer did point out this little guy already has some chubby cheeks!

We will probably end up getting another ultrasound or 2 in the next 10 weeks so check back for hopefully better pictures.

our little guy at 30 weeks or so

things to do in fall

1. bake a pie
2. go to the pumpkin patch with a bunch of silly kindergartners
3. watch the world series and be thankful that the hated Red Sox failed to make the series
4. enjoy the changing of the leaves
5. feel the crispness in the night air
6. get excited that in about 10 weeks we will have our new bundle of joy hanging at home with us!

Some pictures from our things to do list.... (out of order thanks to blogger for some reason, bah!)

Apple pie filling...mmm

Belly, official apple dumper 2008

"how do you them apples?"

Greg missed the class in culinary school about not making a mess with peelings

The inspiration

The finished product

Pie, ready to go into the heat chamber

Greg, preparing the crust

sweet, delicious appley goodness

The M girls, 10/25/08

Kindergartners all lined up for a tractor ride

Playing at the patch

Belly and some of her classmates

1st school bus trip and 1st field trip.

Belly showing off her pumpkin to her teacher

Belly, 10/25/08

B and her pumpkin sack

teamwork!

Selection of the perfect pumpkin

Leaving the farm

About ready to get back on the tractor

The class of 2021

Debuting #4. :)

time for an update

Hi!

Time has been flying by and I guess it's time for a post. What's new? Not so much really.

We were supposed to fly to Indiana/Chicago this past weekend for a friend's wedding. We purchased plane tickets in August and secured (or so we thought) vacation time at work for the days off and were looking forward to both the wedding and seeing the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We have wanted to go for a few years but never actually got around to making actual plans. We had some minor concerns about whether or not we would have clearance to go with the pregnancy even though to this point its been pretty easy going. What we didn't expect was a change in plans thanks to work. Bah! Greg's GM "recently" decided (probably months ago but who knows...) that she was going to go back to school and pursue a different career path. Super for her. Except, guess when she decided to go? Yep- you guessed it. This month. Better still, she gave about 10 days notice or so and ended up quitting work about 3 weeks ago. So, for the second time this year Greg filled in as interim GM while the new one transferred over. So my friends, what do you think the likelihood of that vacation approval was when he asked for it? hmmmmm... no, the answer was no. Actually the answer was really more like, "so... you want vacation time when you are the only manager and in this time of transition?". Well, I guess not. We were only out $650 or so in plane tickets and what was supposed to be a 6 day vacation for Greg turned out to be like a 12 day in a row work week and only 1 day off the week prior. Nice.

I say this in the most sarcastic manner.... 'thanks, old GM".

That aside, I guess we should be thankful that in this crappola economy Greg still has a job with a company that is still enjoying success and profits. Despite the ups and downs of salaried work and a variable schedule, Greg really loves his job and the focus is still on uptraining so that Greg can eventually assume his own store on a permanent basis.

As far as the old 911 goes, it has definitely slowed down at work. Thank God. Juvenile delinquents have returned to school (or at the very least have settled down a bit) so there are a few less fights to deal with. I've been coaching my trainee since April and just last week she became a certified dispatcher which is fantastic. Training someone to do a job that can have permanent negative consequences if they make an ill timed mistake while dispatching can be a little stressful at times (its hard to sit back and let someone learn at their own pace) but my trainee was pretty great and so for the most part I just had a chance to sit back and let her take the reigns. In another week I get another newbie to work with which is good and bad since as the weeks go by I find myself working with a little less patience.

Since I know you want to know... Baby is coming along quite nicely. Just 10 weeks (give or take 1) to go! Yahoo!!! I'll get a picture added soon. He is growing like a weed, it seems as though I suddenly just started to show overnight. He is a squirmy little guy but like Isabella was, lazy during the day and busy at night. Fortunately, since I'm mostly at work at night this doesn't impede sleep too much. We have had a couple of office visits and the heartbeat continues to be strong and growth right on target. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for a 2008 appearance (we need the tax break!!). We have an ultrasound next week and hopefully we will have some new pictures to share with all of you.

As for Belly... she is loving kindergarten! We had our first parent/teacher conference last week and she got rave reviews. :) She is also very excited about the impending arrival and has been helping us with shopping and organizing. This Friday, the kindergartners are loading up on a bus and going to the pumpkin patch. We are looking forward to it. Check back later in the week for those pictures.

Chris has finally returned from 1/2 way around the world safe and sound. He returned late last month and has been back in Santa Maria since then. Hopefully he will come up here for a visit before #4 arrives (hint, hint...). Belated happy birthday to Nana Debbie and a post congratulations to Kerry on her wedding (you know- the one we missed last weekend, bah!).

belly working hard on her homework

the finished product!

fall boots!

suprise flowers courtesy of Greg. xoxo

the pink carnations were special for Belly from Daddy. :)

A super sacrifice for Greg. He sucked it up and took me to a concert on 10/16 at the Rose Garden to see Celine Dion. I've been wanting to go to her concert forever. It didn't disappoint! It's good to be loved.