Friends (aka: Bellies & Big Boys)

Two Old Friends, Two Babies in the Bellies, & Two Big Boys

(all credit goes to Jennifer for the fun label of "bellies & big boys." :) I copy with her permission!)

Every summer, our friends from Central Texas, Jennifer & Mason, have come to visit us when we are at my parents' house. Mason is about 6ish weeks younger than Will and it is so fun to watch them grow up together and become buddies. R & Michael have known each other since high school - thanks to Laity Lodge Youth Camp and were college roommates at one point. Jennifer and I rapidly became #5 friends (it's complicated to explain what a #5 friend is - especially since neither of us is particularly good with numbers!) We have such a history in our friendship - weddings, funerals, babies, trips, and life.

Thanks for making the trip, Taylors!

Our boys are about 6ish weeks apart... and our girls will be about 3 months apart!

To escape the heat, we took the boys to the Discovery Science Place - ranked in the top 25 kids' discovery museums in the country! Will loves it there and we try to go every time we visit my parents.

The boys really enjoyed grocery shopping and we got a kick out of what they put in their baskets first - oatmeal for Mason (who eats oatmeal for breakfast every day) & black olives for Will (who has loved black olives ever since he was a baby in my belly!)

Will incorporated the firetruck into his grocery shopping. We typically see firemen at the grocery store when we go so he pretended to be a fireman and loaded all his cans of olives on the back of his firetruck.

Will took this portrait of Jennifer & I. I thought I was all "skinny pregnant" until I saw this picture. (Don't ask.... I have a weird perception of myself when I am pregnant - I think it is because my belly obscures my problem areas from my view so therefore I think I am looking skinnier... it's one of the many reasons I so love being pregnant & feel so good about myself!

...and then I am forced to face reality.)

This was Will's first sleepover. The boys were precious sleeping in the same room on their big boy beds. So cute!!!

We read pirate stories - surprise, surprise.

The boys enjoyed their first push-ups in the bath tub.

Until I saw this picture a minute ago, I had forgotten about the pushups. I just had one and oh my goodness, the yumminess.

I have nine days to enjoy the free excuse to eat push ups. I'm practicing great restraint at not getting another out right this second. Perhaps I should glance back at the photo taken by Will.

We took them to a nearby park to run off extra energy before bed. In the old days, we would have walked. Jennifer & I used to walk every day together back when we lived 8 houses down from each other. (They also helped me survive my husband's graduate school program - I can't tell you how many times in those three years that I carried my dinner down to their house to eat just so I could have some company besides my faithful golden retriever at dinnertime!)

We thought briefly about walking to the park.

But then we reconsidered when we remembered that we would have to push two children in strollers, there are hills, we are 7 months & 9 months pregnant, it's 104 degrees here, and the humidity is around 1,697%. And have I mentioned it's hot and I'm 9 months pregnant?

So, we drove.

Air conditioning is a blessing.

Thanks for coming, friends! We had a great time with you!!!