Ladybug, Ladybug oh so sweet!

The Cake

Thanks to Jamie and Donna for throwing me a sweet girly babyshower! It was wonderful to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our little girl with friends and cute pink ladybugs!

Making coffee before everyone arrives

Posing with Jamie

Opening presents

Brave Boy!

Caden had two tubes of blood drawn for some allergy testing this week. Jake and I were pretty nervous as to how he would react to the blood draw, but the kiddo was tough stuff and didn't even shed a tear!

He was very proud of his bandage... and we were very proud of our sweet little boy!

Micah's First Soccer Game

Micah recently started a summer soccer program with AYSO. The boys named their team the Night Tigers (which we think is pretty snazzy). He is loving it though he definitely has some practicing to do :-).

Been Bloggin'

Take a peek at our latest July blog posts. I did a whole bunch and in somewhat random order. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Good News at 29 Weeks

I am 29 weeks pregnant today, and marked that occasion by visiting my OB and having a follow-up ultrasound done to check for Placenta Previa. The visit was good on all accounts. No previa was spotted, and in fact, any concern for such an issue completely reversed itself. The ultrasound tech mentioned that they normally look for about 3 centimeters between the base of the placenta and the cervix, at least. The distance for me measured out to be about 6 centimeters. My OB was happy with this as it indicates that my placenta has attached well at the top, which is a much more muscular area of the uterus and provides for solid contractions during labors (rather than attaching near the bottom which is highly fibrous and much less muscular). Maybe this is why I tend to have strong powerful contractions and quick labors??? So, the good news here means a c-section has most likely been avoided and I should be able to deliver normally just as with the boys. Oh, and the ultrasound tech did confirm that the baby is still a girl (yay!). We also got a good look at her face, especially her lips and mouth, and her hands as she likes to keep them up around her face.

Profile - Now that she is getting so big it was harder to get a really good image, but you can see her mouth and nose in the middle of the shot.

My belly measured right-on-the-money for 29 weeks, baby's heartbeat was still good, and my OB mentioned being very pleased with my weight-gain... only being around 10 pounds thus far (my calculations are slightly higher, but not by much). He thinks baby is looking very healthy and happy. All of this has made for a pretty good day!

Fishing at Lake Mary

We spent some time fishing at Lake Mary as a part of our long 4th of July weekend. The weather was just beautiful and the boys enjoyed fishing lessons from Grandaddy and Nana. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything - but we still had fun! The boys liked playing with the bait just as much as the fishing itself, I think.

Calcium

I received the following list on foods containing calcium from my naturopath a few years ago. For those that believe the only major source of calcium comes from cow milk, I think this list may surprise you. Definitely worth sharing.

CALCIUM
Milligrams (mg) per 100 grams edible portion (100 grams, 3.5 ounces)

1093 Kelp
925 Swiss Cheese
750 Cheddar Cheese
352 Carob Flour (carob is often used as a chocolate substitute)
296 Dulse
250 Collard Leaves
246 Turnip Greens
245 Barbados Molasses
234 Almonds
210 Brewer's Yeast
203 Parsley
200 Corn Tortillas (lime added)
187 Dandelion Greens
186 Brazil Nuts
151 Watercress
129 Goat Milk
128 Tofu
126 Dried Figs
121 Buttermilk
120 Sunflower Seeds
120 Yogurt
119 Beet Greens
118 Whole Milk (My naturopath made a note about this saying that she believes it is closer to 126 mg.)
114 Buckwheat, raw
110 Sesame Seeds, hulled
106 Ripe Olives
103 Broccoli
99 English Walnut
94 Cottage Cheese
93 Spinach
73 Soybeans, cooked
73 Pecans
72 Wheat Germ
69 Peanuts
68 Miso
68 Romaine Lettuce
67 Dried Apricots
66 Rutabaga
62 Raisins
60 Black Currant
59 Dates
56 Green Snap Beans
51 Globe Artichoke
51 Dried Prunes
51 Pumpkin & Squash Seeds
50 Cooked Dry Beans
49 Common Cabbage
48 Soybean Sprouts
46 Hard Winter Wheat
41 Orange
39 Celery
38 Cashews
38 Rye Grain
37 Carrot
34 Barley
32 Sweet Potato
32 Brown Rice
29 Garlic
28 Summer Squash
27 Onion
26 Lemon
26 Fresh Green Peas
25 Cauliflower
25 Lentils, cooked
22 Sweet Cherry
22 Asparagus
22 Winter Squash
21 Strawberry
20 Millet
19 Mung Bean Sprouts
17 Pineapple
16 Grapes
16 Beets
14 Cantaloupe
14 Jerusalem Artichoke
13 Tomato
12 Eggplant
12 Chicken
11 Orange Juice
10 Avocado
10 Beef
8 Banana
7 Apple
3 Sweet Corn

A Private Party

Due to a whole bunch of sickness to hit our house over the past week or so, we ended up having a small family birthday party with Caden rather than exposing all of our friends to a bunch of germs. Caden still seemed to love our small party and the extra attention. Here are a few shots from his three year-old shindig.

Flagstaff 4th of July Parade

Though under the weather, we braved the Flagstaff 4th of July Parade, which ironically was held on the 3rd this year. Micah and Jake were signed up to walk in the parade for Micah's preschool and Micah's heart was set on it. It was a beautiful morning and lots of fun!

You can see Jake behind the banner. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a good picture of Micah marching along. He was a trooper and did a good job!

Caden watching patriotically from the sidelines...

...and on Grandaddy's lap.