A Few of My Favorite Things...

...well actually a few of Cameron's favorite things.

She has been REALLY into bubbles and driving lately. And when I say REALLY, I mean REALLY. I think we've spent time playing with bubbles in the driveway and sitting in the car "driving" just about every single day the past week.

It actually works out pretty well for me because I'm able to just sit there and watch her play, which is awfully nice considering my uber preggers status right now.

It seriously cracks me up though, she's so intent on these activities. And I love how she impersonates what she sees us doing...very cute!

Adjusting the mirror...

Putting on some chap stick...

Putting the keys in...

Pasta Night

Last night was pasta night at the Volk's house. I'm not talking pasta from the box. No, no, no...I'm talking fresh, homemade pasta made from scratch! My friend Sarah has become quite the pasta expert lately. She took a cooking class awhile ago where she learned how to make it and has been working on perfecting the process ever since.

Yesterday afternoon she came over—fresh eggs and flour in one hand and her snazzy pasta maker in the other—and helped Cameron and I make fettuccine. And let me just say, it was AWESOME! I put together a chicken wine sauce and the dish was amazing. Too bad it takes so long to make the pasta or else I would be doing it a lot more often!

Painting & Pinot

Saturday night Ryan and Cameron had a father daughter date night (they went to Chick-fil-A for dinner), and I went out for a night with the girls! We went to this cute little art place in Lafayette for Painting & Pinot.

This whole Painting & Pinot thing is starting to get really popular. I'm hearing about it more and more lately. Basically, you go, drink wine, and paint. There is an art teacher there who walks you though each step of the painting process so that it actually turn out halfway decent in the end.

I, of course, couldn't partake in the Pinot portion of the evening (I opted for a chai latte instead), but the painting portion was awesome. It was fun to feel like a "real" artist mixing paints and painting on a canvas. I wouldn't say my painting was "wall hanging quality" but considering the complexity of the painting we were doing, I think it turned out ok.

I think I'll definitely do it again at some point...perhaps when I can actually drink a little wine. ;)

Broomfield Days

Cameron and I made sure to make the most of our girl time while Ryan was gone at the church men's retreat this past weekend. On Saturday, we went to Broomfield Days. There was a parade, lots of booths with crafts and other cool merchandise, and even a petting zoo. Missy and Madi met us at the parade and then my mom came and met us afterwards.

Cameron was a hoot. She loved the parade and stood up dancing, clapping and waving as all the different floats came by. She was really excited when someone gave her a sucker...and then a beaded necklace...and then a beach ball...and a flag...I guess she made out pretty well! The flag made me a little nervous. It was pretty big and she was waiving it around like crazy, thus putting the rest of us in danger of getting our eyes poked out! Luckily we all made it out unscathed.

The petting zoo was another adventure. While we were waiting in line to pay to get in, Cameron somehow managed to sneak into the animal pen all by herself without anyone noticing! Then one of the goats tried to eat her gold necklace, luckily my mom was on the ball and tossed it out of the pen before the goat completely malled her. Then some other animal (I can't remember which one) kind of cornered her near the fence with its horns, which made her a little nervous. I just wish I had a video of the whole ordeal. It really was pretty funny!

We did miss Ryan, but it was kind of fun to have some girl time too! 

A Morning With Grandma

We love when Granne comes over! She always comes with fun projects, books, etc. for us to play with. (I think that's just what happens after you've been a teacher forever like she has—the teacher mentality just follows you!) Last week she came with all the supplies to paint New Jersey sea shells! Cameron actually really got into it. I was surprised by how long the project captured her attention.

We also got to spend some time reading books while Granne was over. It's funny because I totally remember reading Go, Dog. Go! with my dad when I was little. I loved the dog party in the tree!

YAY BOO

Yay Boo Yay Boo

It's lots of fun to do.

If you like it holler yay,

If you don't, you holler boo.

My work bought me a new iPad, YAY!
I can't get it to work with my computer and Internet, BOO!

Baby Volk is due exactly one month from today, YAY!
I feel gigantic, tired and sore, BOO!

Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) started this week, YAY!
I'm already two days behind with my homework, BOO!

It's the weekend, YAY!
Ryan is gone so he can't play with us, BOO!
 

35 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 35 weeks, 3 days

Size of baby: 5.25 lbs (about the weight of a honeydew melon), 18 inches

Total weight gain: still at about 35 lbs

Maternity clothes: starting to get sick of them...

Gender: Sill a girl. A few friends and I were having a conversation yesterday about people who have had surprises in the delivery room even after having several ultrasounds confirming the baby's sex. I can't even imagine that! After all the time you put into mentally (and physically) preparing for a little baby of one sex and then having a little Bobby pop out instead of a Sally...gosh, that would be quite the little surprise!

Movements: It really seems like this little girl moves around a lot more than Cameron did. I don't know if its just been so long that I don't accurately remember the amount that Cameron moved or what, but all I have to say is this little girl has some serious power behind those limbs!

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well considering I have a beach ball as a belly right now.  

What I miss: Being able to move around easily. It's getting more and more difficult to do those everyday tasks. I was thinking about it and when I'm carrying Cameron I'm actually carrying around like 60 extra pounds when you add up the baby weight and then Cameron's weight. That's a lot! No wonder my body is getting tired.   

Cravings: Nope, nothing really.

Symptoms: The right side of my lower back, kind of in the sacrum area, has been getting really sore. I've been very thankful for the chiropractor because she's been able to get things lined up a little better so the ouchie-ness isn't quite so bad.  

Best moment of the week: I think Ryan and I finally decided on the baby's name! Don't get too excited though, we're still going to keep it a secret until she's here. (Oh it's so much fun to drive you all crazy!) ;) Also found out at my doctor's appointment this week that I'm 1cm dilated. Not that it really means that much (a lot of people start progressing early like this, especially after their first pregnancy) BUT what it does mean is we're getting close! I can't believe that NEXT MONTH we're going to be a family of four!

Kirk & Annie's Shower

Kirk is one of Ryan's best childhood friends. They lived right down the street from each other when they were little and have tons of crazy memories from growing up together.

Well, Kirk and his wife Annie are expecting their first little baby in December and today was their baby shower. They live out of state now so we don't get to see them all that often, which is a huge bummer, but we were so excited to get to see them for awhile this afternoon. Annie looks absolutely beautiful. They are going to be such great parents, we can't wait until we get to meet their little babe!  

Getting ready for the shower...

The momma and poppa to be (they don't know if they're having a girl or a boy so if you thought they are going to have a boy, you got cake from Kirk and if you thought they are going to have a girl you got cake from Annie)...

Playing at the shower (Cameron had a blast with all the kids and fun play equipment!)...

Since Cameron has pretty much moved into her "big girl room" we decided to get a little painting prep work done in the new baby's room when we got home from the shower. Ryan had some fun with the paint when he was done...

Operation Big Girl Bed

We're finally doing it...we're moving Cameron into her big girl bed! It makes me a little sad. I can't believe she's big enough for this already. But baby's going to be here soon and I don't want Cameron to think that her baby sister is booting her out of her bed (even though she kind of is). So this week I decided to toughen up (I was positive I was going to cry when we made this switch) and move her out of the crib and into the toddler bed. Good news is, I haven't cried yet!

I decided it would probably be best to ease into it, so on Wednesday afternoon Cameron took her nap in the big girl bed. She was a rock star! She went right to sleep and stayed in her bed for the whole nap time. Same thing Thursday and today. So with several successful naps under our belt, Ryan and I decided to take the plunge and put her in her big girl bed for the entire night tonight.

So far so good, although she's not asleep yet she's still rolling around and singing to herself (which I can tell by looking at our awesome new video monitor that I'll tell you more about in a minute). But she is still in the bed and she's twirling her hair, so I figure those are good signs. Keep your fingers crossed!

I really wanted to get a video monitor for when we moved Cameron into her new room and her big girl bed. I figure it would be really helpful because we would be able to see what's she's doing without actually going into the room and distracting her. Plus, they have video monitors where you can get a second camera and monitor several rooms at the same time. Perfect for the new baby and Cameron, right?

Well Papa and Mimi and Uncle Nick and Aunt Annie decided to get us the Rolls-Royce of video monitors as our gift for baby #2...and it's awesome! It has a touch screen color monitor, the ability to scan around the room and an intercom so we can talk into the room without actually going in. It is so neat to watch and see what Cameron is actually doing while she's falling asleep and waking up...and what crazy positions she falls asleep in!

Of course after she fell asleep the first time I snuck in to take some pictures of Toots in her big girl bed. This is a momentous occasion, so it definitely had to be documented! And then today she fell asleep with a Berenstain Bears book over her which was so cute, so I had to take some more pictures.

 First time napping in the big girl bed

 Fell asleep with a book on her, teacher Granne would be so proud!

This is how I found her after her nap today.

Labor Day Weekend

Three day weekends are so nice! I wish we could have more of them. We love having Ryan home for an extra day. :) This weekend he wasn't feeling a 100% though, which was a bummer, but we still had fun.

Saturday we got to watch Ryan's cousin, Nichole's, two little kiddos for a few hours. I was so glad they we're able to come over and hang out with us! We had a great time. Cameron loves playing with other kids, although we quickly learned that sharing her stuff isn't always her favorite thing to do (she threw a few little fits because she wanted what the other kiddos were playing with, like she doesn't have enough toys!).

It has obviously been awhile since we saw Nichole and her family, because the first thing Brady said when he got out of the car and saw us was, "Mom, Cameron can talk!" HAHA.

Ryan with all the kiddos, Brady (3 years old), Kinsley (11 months) and Miss Cameron

Cheese!

 We got this bouncy chair at a garage sale for $5, Brady and Cameron thought it was pretty cool.

It's a good thing she doesn't weigh too much, because she loves testing out this little chair!

After watching the three kiddos we were a little wiped out (I can't believe people actually have that many kids that close together...we would never survive!), and with Ryan not feeling completely well, we all just decided we would take it easy for the afternoon. Cameron and Ryan took naps and I worked on my blog book (yes you read that right, I'm turning my blog into a book! Yay, I'm really excited, although it's taking me awhile to get it all put together!)

Later that evening, Ryan decided to wash his car...and of course, Cameron was wanting to help him! Needless to say, we went though a few extra buckets of water, but she was a good little helper.

Sunday we spent the afternoon with my dad's brother and his family. They were here from Kansas. Cameron had a blast playing with Brett (8th grade) and Braden (5th grade). They were both really good with her.

 I decorated this birthday cake for Braden...BEAUTIFUL, I know! I had a little difficulty getting the sprinkles to stick to the side. 

Monday Ryan played golf and Cameron and I went to hang out with some friends for the morning. Good times were had by all.

Ryan and I also got Cameron's big girl room mostly put together! I think it's looking pretty cute. Next step, sleeping in the Big Girl Bed. Yikes, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.