Thanksgiving weekend

We had a very low key weekend, which was a welcome change from our usual crazy schedule! It was so nice to have a chance to catch up...around the house and on sleep and family time! Austin smoked a brisket and turkey plus we bought a ham, so we had lots of food and were able to stock the freezer a bit for baby's arrival. We started Thanksgiving morning with mass to thank God for his many blessings and then had a delicious lunch with Pawpaw and Manah complete with lots of pie (5 kinds...2 I made and 3 store bought)! We made several relaxing trips to the park over the weekend. While I would have loved to have a surprise early arrival by baby, I am super thankful for such a great weekend!
The kids dug out the holiday outfits from Lita for mass...

 Anastasia has mostly mastered the bike without training wheels. So proud!

 My two silly older kids swinging in the baby swings while the little ones dig.

 We must have worn him out with all the bike rides and park visits!

Now we will wait and see if baby girl will come in the next week or if we have to give her an eviction notice via Pitocin. I sure hope she comes on her own, as I much prefer a natural labor to induction!

Quick visit

Tia Becky came for a quick visit Saturday evening after the Aggie game. It was so great to see her, as she spent a year in Spain so it has been way too long! Sebastian took to her really well and especially loved it when she read to him. :)

And just for fun, here he is the other day trying desperately to convince me that he could take his nap at Manah's house. I know better, though!

38 weeks

Baby and I were 38 weeks along yesterday. I had an ultrasound last Friday (but no good photos due to her head being so low) and my doctor's appointment today, and all is looking well. Praise God! So hopefully we will be welcoming our newest little princess the week after Thanksgiving. I actually did a selfie belly pic, even though I have been trying desperately to avoid being in pictures throughout this pregnancy, as I have felt very un-glamorous. But for posterity sake, here we are...

This has been my wardrobe for about 95% of this pregnancy...workout clothes (unless I am at mass or somewhere else where it would be really inappropriate)! I am usually hot natured but most extremely so when pregnant, and I had to first make it through summer. Then, it has been an unusually hot fall (high of 84 today!). So I figure, if I am gonna sweat, may as well be in appropriate clothing! I am really looking forward to wearing normal clothes again. Luckily we are due for our first strong cold front this weekend.

Street resurfacing

The resurfacing of our little cul de sac street started today. Sebastian was elated and kept waving to the workers as if they were celebrities. I think they enjoyed it. ;) So I guess our bike riding days will be over for a bit, but at least we will have lots of other entertainment! I sure hope they finish before baby arrives, as I would not want to be hauling a car seat and a bunch of other kids around the corner to get to our car!

No training wheels!

It is definitely bike riding season around here! Anastasia is so capable of almost anything, that we decided we should really try and teach her to ride without training wheels. The only problem is that Sebastian just started riding the small bike, which is what we usually teach them on. So Austin started teaching her on the bigger bike. She did pretty well, but I found some sweet friends who are gonna lend us their small one so we can have one without training wheels for her to learn on!

Last Soccer Game!

Stephen had his last soccer game this morning. It was supposed to be last weekend, but it was postponed due to rain. I was pretty disappointed, as I was looking forward to the easier schedule. But I got lucky since all the practices were rained out this week. I had also made cupcakes for the team since we were in charge of snack. So I just froze them and then thawed them out last night...not as good as fresh but what can a momma do?

We are thankful for a great season. He played great and enjoyed it. I think he will miss it, but we will have to sit out this spring to avoid going absolutely crazy juggling a new baby and activities! Hopefully I can talk his soccer sister into playing with him in the yard some!

Bike Riding

The weather has been so much more tolerable this week, and it has been wonderful to see the kids out playing and riding bikes again...finally! We have been calling it NOTvember because it is so unseasonably warm. :/ Sebastian just learned to pedal this bike, and the big kids have been so sweet helping him ride and riding around with him.

Another busy weekend!

Soccer was cancelled due to some amazing rain, but we still has a full day. The oldest 3 girls had an all day 4-H Food and Nutrition workshop that a friend generously took them to with her kids. But halfway through the day I had to pick Mariana up to attend an afternoon workshop for Robotics. She is really taking to robotics. She has always been very good at fixing things/putting things together/solving mechanical type problems. I think this is really her niche, and I am happy to see her enjoying and excelling in it!