We spent the holiday weekend (plus Tuesday!) up at Pearl Lake. The weather was gorgeously hot, so we spent much of our time in the water, which was great (especially for me, since my belly is fairly weightless in the water!). Lots of good food, family time, boating, and attention for Thomas. Hope he enjoyed it...next time we're all together, he'll have to share the limelight with his new brother or sister!
An updated photo of the 7 of us
Water volleyball games every day. I even played twice, though I only hit balls that came to me--no jumping or diving--but it was better than not playing! And I still have a good serve, belly and all.
Thomas and Uncle Sam. Check out the difference between this year's picture and two years ago, below.
Watching fireworks on the pontoon boat. The fireworks at the lake are always great--people set them off from their beaches all around, so you can take a boat out into the middle and watch fireworks on all sides. This year my Uncle Mark and his trusty crew of helpers: Corey, Niki and Eric really outdid themselves. They covered the entire raft (8 sq ft) in boxes of fireworks and linked all the fuses together. Then they towed the raft into the middle of the lake (not the same middle of the lake where the boats were!), lit the fuse, and hit the gas to get away. The resulting show was probably 15 minutes long and awesome! Awesome in a scary way was another nearby boat, setting decent-sized fireworks off the front of their pontoon boat. NOT smart.
Thomas LOVED the fireworks. We had him saying "ooh, ahh" every time they went off. He was mesmerized.
The four of us on a booze cruise
Each day when we hooked up the three pontoon boats and took a booze cruise during slow time, we'd stop to swim and cool off. Thomas was not a fan the first day or two but then discovered how cool it was to swim under the boat, between pontoons. Then we couldn't get him back in the boat!
Standing on Ed, who is floating in the water, and holding onto me. No room on my lap for him! Check out Ed's cool visor.
Tubing with Aunt Jenn Jenn and Boppa. He liked it better last year.
Driving the pontoon boat
T was fascinated with the Regenfuss' dogs. He called Daisy (golden lab in the background) the "momma dog" and Bella (the little dog Abby is holding) the "baby dog." Corey called Bella a "one-bite dog," which I found extremely funny.
Squirt guns!
Uncle Pat is trying to share T's popsicle.
Jenn and I are floating to stay cool. The hole in the middle of the tube I'm on was perfect for my belly.
This shot looks better than it really is--Ed was willingly dismounting. Earlier, Pat launched him off with a good spin move, but I didn't get a photo of that.
T riding in the truck, something he slowly warmed to...
...after Abby showed him how much fun it was.
Such a cute picture! Dad and T in the model A
Thomas inhaling a donut in the special chair that mom painted for him. He liked it so much that it occasionally distracted him from eating. He didn't have that problem when it was a donut offered--just normal meals.
Practicing his swing
The other day I encountered the scene above. He wanted to put a diaper on the "baby" bear.
So I helped him. He's also started telling me (and other people): "There's a baby coming to live at our house..." I think we're on the right track!
Wearing sunglasses on the boat
A Sunday morning ski for Kathy
Thomas really got into swimming this weekend. He swam back and forth between the three of us without anyone holding onto him, and he willingly floated on his back and even kicked to swim while on his back! Still not a fan of putting his head under though.
Keeping cool in the lake
When Thomas wasn't in the water, he was in the cooler. Frequently demanding "Close it up!" (hence the frown on his face in the picture above--I delayed in closing it up while taking the photo!) When it's closed, you need to knock on the side of the cooler, and then he'll kick it open with his feet.
Ed rented a skid steer to move some earth at the property. T, of course, loved it. He is an expert on different construction vehicles and frequently corrects me when I name them wrong. We went to visit daddy and watch him work. 
Sitting with daddy on the skid steer
Gorgeous double orange lilies
Pink hydrangea
Black-eyes Susans
Ed and Thomas went to the grocery store one night while I was at yoga. As if that wasn't a gift enough itself, they also bought me flowers--stargazer lilies and sunflowers. I supplemented both with some blooms from our garden for two fabulous bouquets. Thanks, boys!
This was the best we could do for a "moms and kids" picture.
A kids' table for dinner...a first at our house. We all loved it--the adults because dinner was a bit quieter, and the kids because they got to sit at a table their size, and without being strapped into seats. Can't wait to do this many times again in the future!
Jacob the chunker, posing with a pita (for the photo only--he's still a milk-only baby!).
with Thomas
I can't remember what I did to earn this look, but I'm definitely getting chastised for something!
Sunday we went over to the Lawrences' to go swimming. They've finally stopped calling T "baby Thomas," just in time for the new baby to come and take over the nickname. Here's Coop blowing water through a noodle.
Molly and her water wings
Thomas is trying on one of the kids' goggles. 
Two pregnant ladies--me at 34 weeks and Maureen at 18 (I think).
Thomas had a great time running around the backyard with them all evening. He even shared his hats.
Saturday morning Micah, Ed, Thomas and I went to the zoo. It was HOT. Most of my pictures from the zoo are either of animals by themselves or of the back of T's head as he watches the animals, so not very exciting. But he had a great time, pointing out all the animals and making their noises. The monkey (chimp? orangutan?) house was definitely the highlight--for us adults because it was air conditioned and for T because the monkeys were just so much fun to watch. 
Giant turtles!
Watching the lion (I think) with daddy.
Watching fireworks on the pontoon boat. The fireworks at the lake are always great--people set them off from their beaches all around, so you can take a boat out into the middle and watch fireworks on all sides. This year my Uncle Mark and his trusty crew of helpers: Corey, Niki and Eric really outdid themselves. They covered the entire raft (8 sq ft) in boxes of fireworks and linked all the fuses together. Then they towed the raft into the middle of the lake (not the same middle of the lake where the boats were!), lit the fuse, and hit the gas to get away. The resulting show was probably 15 minutes long and awesome! Awesome in a scary way was another nearby boat, setting decent-sized fireworks off the front of their pontoon boat. NOT smart. 
The four of us on a booze cruise
Tubing with Aunt Jenn Jenn and Boppa. He liked it better last year.
Squirt guns!
T riding in the truck, something he slowly warmed to...
Such a cute picture! Dad and T in the model A
Thomas inhaling a donut in the special chair that mom painted for him. He liked it so much that it occasionally distracted him from eating. He didn't have that problem when it was a donut offered--just normal meals.
Practicing his swing
baby #2
My belly made a great back support for T as he watched animals.