made it to 30 weeks/big boy bowen

i can't believe i'm down to the last ten weeks. it's gone by so much faster than my first pregnancy. i guess that's to be expected. however, i never did reach that "Aww, i feel so good now" moment. you know, the one that's suppose to pop up in the second trimester. i still have nausea, heartburn, back pain, and brackston-hicks. not fun, and yet still so exciting! i'm anxious for that sweet baby smell right out of the bath, for the coos in the early morning hours, for the late night snuggles before he's tucked into bed and all the other joys new little babies bring!

{30 or so weeks. bowen is getting pretty good at the picture takin' wouldn't you say? he turned the camera upright all by himself so that he could get my head this time....smarty pants!}

{me and my beautiful sister-in-laws. we are all two weeks apart. and yes, despite the fact that i am the largest...i'm due last!}

bowen is getting seriously funny. ok, maybe it's just me. but i love it. i've had so many of those proud mommy moments lately! his drawing and coloring seemed to improve overnight. not only is he able to draw and scribble some letters, but he MUST do it all the time. i now have a whole counter dedicated to his drawings (not to mention whats already on the fridge...something i thought i would never succumb to) that i "can not throw away!"; bowen's orders! nor would i want to. i just have no clue what to do with all the masterpieces.

i love our moments in the car driving to and from preschool. he tells me all sorts of stories. some i remember, some i don't (dang pregnancy brain). today he said, "mom, why you name me bowen when i was in your tummy?" i never expected he would want an explanation for his name. especially at three? and quite frankly, i don't have one. i was drugged and tired and james did the naming. i woke up, thought it was cute and signed the paper. that's about it. {and the fact that every name i came up with james quickly thought of a way the kid could be made fun of didn't help} so i said a simple, "because we knew that you were our little bowen!" his response was just as simple: "i don't like it!" darn. it wouldn't be the first time we've made parental mistakes, and it certainly wont be the last..but really, you don't even like your name? so i offered him to choose a new one. i bet you can all guess exactly what it was......"Poopy-ka!" is that really that much better?

he seems so grown up lately. and people keep saying that when the baby comes he'll seem even bigger. can that be possible? i sigh every time he shows me that he can reach from one end of the tub to the other because "he's got huge legs now!" i smile when he tells me his friends still hit, "but it's okay...they're still to little to know how to play". i mean really, he was the hitter only a few months ago (it seems). and i love whenever he starts telling me all the things he's going to teach his baby brother; "to wrestle, to color, to run, to ride bikes, to play trains, to eat..." and the list goes on.

{st. patty's day with his daddy!}

to be honest, i always thought i would have lots of daughters. perhaps since i never had a sister. but i am so excited to have boys! even when bowen brought me a bug that he had slugged with his hockey stick today. i LOVE it!