Fourth of July

 I'm not sure why, but this Fourth of July was my most favorite that I can remember (that we've spent in town).  We kicked off the celebrations Wednesday night with dinner at the Howell house and then fireworks at the pool.

Saty with Rogers and George in their Pint Size Press tees!  

 Saty and Frannie excited to celebrate the Fourth!

 Rogers, Ruthie and George waiting on the fireworks to start.  It was probably 8:30pm at this point, and George was hanging in there with the best of them.  He loved watching the fireworks, but I think he loved playing with the big kids almost more!

 Our crew...and Katie.  Notice the only other adult anywhere near them was me, behind the camera.

 Clay and George watching the fireworks!  George was enthralled with the fireworks, but he wasn't leaving Clay's lap.  Clay felt his heart at one point, and it was about to beat out of his chest.

Family pic just before the big finale!  

Notice George is not taking his eyes off the show.

 On the morning of July 4th, George slept until 9am!  Maybe that was because we kept him up until about 10pm the night before, but I'd say it was worth it.  It was really rainy and sort of cold, so Clay came up with the brilliant idea of going to take the dogs (we had our neighbors' dog, Max) down to the Cahaba River by our house.  George (and really all of us!) had the BEST time!!

 George jumped right in and loved that he could walk around and explore.

 Clay and George walked out to a rock and just watched the dogs jumping in over and over and swimming all over the place.

 Here was the object of the day: throw sticks in the river and have the dogs jump in and fetch them.  Repeat as many times as necessary until the dogs are completely worn out.

 SUCCESS!

 George finally figured out the point of the game, and he was obsessed with finding sticks and throwing them for the dogs.  Seriously, he had the best day.

 I can't tell who is happier here...George or Clay.  

Not that it matters- it was one of my favorite family days I can remember.

One pic with Mom just to prove I was there!

That night we had a group of people over from our church to cook out.  

We had about four sparklers left over from our wedding (over 5 years ago!), and the kids had so much fun with them.  We didn't stay up for fireworks, so we figured this was the next best thing.  Especially since these sparklers were the 3-5 minute sparklers that would last long enough for Clay and I to run through.  

Love this girl!

Saturday we headed out to Springville to celebrate the Fourth with the Cochran family.  This was my only good picture from the day, but I'd say it turned out pretty cute.  Just about the entire Cochran side of the family was able to get together, so it was great to get to see everyone.  

Between the laid-back family gatherings, fun times with friends, and our day at the river, this Fourth of July was the most fun I've had in a long time.  George was totally into the fireworks, Clay and I got to enjoy time with our little family outside (I'm not much for being outside unless in a pool these days), and we got to see all of our families in one weekend without it feeling rushed.  It was the perfect summer celebration- and now, we're just waiting on Nan!

How to Talk to a Pregnant Lady

There's a point in every pregnancy when the question from strangers moves from a polite and excited, "When are you due?" to (an almost disgusted) "OH MY WORD...how much LONGER do you have?!?"  I think it's safe to say we've reached the second phase of this pregnancy.

Being at UAB is definitely a different experience, and Clay and I have learned who to avoid.  Clay has this keen sense when he sees someone who might say something that borders on being rude.  When the elevator doors open, he surveys the people already inside, and if there looks to be a possible offender, he politely holds me back, and we wait for the next one.  A few times, he's even changed our course of direction just to avoid someone who was B-Lining it to talk to me.  I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it is like a moth to a flame with me and these people passing by wherever we are.

Between the two of us, I am much more of the spitfire, and Clay the peace-maker.  But in recent months, Clay has been blown away by the things people will say to a complete stranger, and has jumped to my rescue in my defense every chance he gets.

On a side note, Clay and I have really gotten into this little internet series that Jerry Seinfeld is doing called "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee".  The show doesn't really need an explanation, because the title is exactly what the show is.  In one of the recent episodes, Jerry goes to get coffee with Sarah Silverman, and they start talking about the things strangers say to them.  Jerry said [to the stranger] something along the lines of, "I'm about to change your life for the better.  You can't talk to people like that."  He said he felt like, in order to make the world a better place, he should tell these strangers that the way they address fellow human beings isn't nice or polite.  This got me thinking, that maybe I should enlighten these people who comment on my (evidently) ginormous state.

Here is a list of things that have actually been said to my face:

"Are you having twins?"

"YOU'RE HUGE!"

"Oh my word.  You are about to pop."

"Are you sure you're not having twins?"

[passing by someone I hear] "ooooo...she big!" 

"You look miserable."

"You know I gained 75 pounds with my first one."

"When my wife was pregnant she got really big too."

[from someone who truly did not believe that I wasn't having twins] "Oh, I know what it is.  You're carrying one baby in the front, and one in the back."

These are just a sampling.  And the thing is, I'm not that huge.  I am an average size for someone who is 34+ weeks pregnant.  I've learned to laugh at the audacity of strangers, and write it off as a good story to get to tell Clay when he gets home.  There haven't been too many moments of uninhibited laughter in the last few months, so I'm actually thankful that Clay and I can laugh at these.  

So, in an effort to improve the world for pregnant ladies everywhere...here is a list of GREAT things to say to someone who is pregnant:

"You look great/fantastic/cute/[ANYTHING positive]!"

"You definitely have that pregnancy glow."

"You are all baby!"

...or you don't have to say anything at all!

So I'm down to the home stretch, and Clay and I are getting more and more excited everyday to meet Nan.  Her room is almost done, and George's big boy room is just lacking a dresser.  We've purged all of our closets, and are ready for a new baby to join our little family.  I'll do another post soon with George pics!