Okay, so maybe I had a problem too...

So I blogged a few days ago about Ben's obsession with the stuffed animals. You might also remember the blogs I posted last year about Ben's collections, if you don't you can click here for a brief recap (Star Wars figurines, knives, water bottles, blankets, stuffed animals, coins, etc). Well today, I too realized I had a bit of a collection myself. So thanks to my mom and my good friend Jen, I began on the road towards recovery. Yes, that's right girls I cleaned out my closet. I do this about once a year, but this time was like no other....I PURGED!! If you don't believe me just check on the pictures. I mean I have been fussing at Ben that he has a lot of stuff...which he does as you can see from above, but I too have a lot of clothes and shoes. Lets just say I got rid of stuff that I had dating back to high school...and that my friends was 10 years ago!! Jen walked in after I had already done the initial purge and went behind me asking if I really wanted to keep things...you know in that kind of voice that says "do you seriously think that twin set is still in style." So hopefully, Ben will have less to complain about when he gets home! And as my mom says, "it is amazing how much space a little 7 pound baby needs"...apparently so much that I needed to clean my closet out.

Look at that pile. Some fabulous finds in this pile and some not so fabulous.

I really like shoes...I do. 20 pairs down, doesn't that mean I deserve at least one new pair???

The total collection.

Seriously...the man has a problem!

Well we are now less than 15 weeks away from the arrival of the little buddy and we are getting pretty excited. While I am shopping for crib bedding and necessity items such as car seats, strollers, pack-in-plays, and the like...my husband is shopping for other things, like stuffed animals and bible puppets. Yes today, he said "honey, come in here" referring to the study. So I waddled into the study only to find him looking at a new stuffed animal website. Yes that is right, Ben is surfing for stuffed animals for the little guy. I say to him, "honey (that is apparently all we call each other), I love that you are trying to get ready for the baby, but seriously more stuffed animals?" To which he replies, "the little guy has to have a jungle!" To which I retort, "honey, you have all ready bought him a jungle's worth of stuffed animals...let me show you." So I run to the future baby room (which is still full of Ben's stuff too...could be mistaken for baby stuff though) and pull out this huge target sack full of stuffed animals that Ben has been collecting since we found out we were pregnant. Seriously, the day after we found out, Ben was at target purchasing the first of many stuffed creatures. I lay them out on the ground to prove to Ben that little buddy already has his very own menagerie, but Ben says, "is that all...I thought I had gotten more." So needless to say a few more stuffed animals are on their way.

Here is the proof...count them 16!! Yes there is a whole section for star wars stuffed animals...ridiculous!

The funniest thing though is the puppet website Ben was visiting. Seriously, he said "I've always wanted to be a puppeter, now's my chance." On this obscure website they had a whole section devoted to bible character puppets...lets just say i had no idea that John the Baptist looked like a Neanderthal. Guess I should have known with the whole camel hair and locust thing. Let's just say I don't think little buddy has any bible character puppets waiting in his future if I have anything to do with it. Check out the site http://www.thepuppetstore.com/.

John the baptist or as Ben calls him "J to the B"

25 1/2 Weeks. Little buddy is a kicker for sure. He is constantly moving and stretching. Today I thought we were going to get in a little battle as he lodged one of his appendages behind my belly button and kept pushing...seriously kid, that hurts.

Fun at the Lake

Well we headed to Oklahoma for a few days last week on Ben's 5 day break. It was an awesome break for both of us. We hung out at the lake and did very little except play with the babies. We did head into Tulsa one day to watch a movie, go to babies-r-us (disaster), and eat dinner with the family. Let's just say Ben and I cannot agree on a stroller/carseat! He didn't like the patterns I liked and I thought the ones he liked were too heavy. So we are still in negotiations. Here are a few pics from the week.

He's a looker...and an eater. He ate almost an entire bowl of guacamole at dinner. The boy loves him some avocado.

Cousins. ER and Greta. Greta is 2 days older than ER, but much more petite than the big boy. She does have a more sophisticated crawl than her cousin though. He still army crawls.

Ben hurt his neck and so Dr. Nokes (Ben's cousin in law) did a little work on it. Well Maggie decided she wanted to help too.

Who knew the chip bowl could be so fun!

Macy and me! It was so good to see her. She is getting so big.

Getting Ripe (23 Weeks)

Well things are really starting to ripen quickly around her. My belly being one and the garden being the other. People have been asking me how I feel to which my response is always "great!" And you know I am not even lying. I have been so blessed to have an easy pregnancy thus far. No morning sickness, no major back pains, etc. Truly I am very lucky. I will say though things are getting a little tougher these days. I have to hold on to something when I bend down because I frankly don't know if i would be able to get back up on my own. I still have a fairly decent energy level, other than it being freaking 105 degrees outside everyday in South Texas. So me and little buddy stay in a lot...as you can tell from the still fair skin.

We head out to visit our family in Oklahoma on Tuesday and I am so excited. We will get to see our nieces and nephews which is always fun and enjoy some good times at the lake. Plus we will be driving home our new (well new to us) family car. More to come on that one.

23 Weeks! Where will the next 17 weeks fit in there??

Some loot from the garden...the zucchini is going crazy.

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes...all boxed up and ready to go. I have been saving these for my mom who loves fresh tomatoes. If the darn birds would stop nibbling at my tomatoes we would have a ton more. Oh well, I can't complain I have had a great tomato crop this year. We will see how much longer it lasts.