Life.Is.Good.: 2 1/2 years old...and 3 weeks to go!

We are hitting two big milestones this week:
1. We hit 36 weeks yesterday! That's just 3 weeks shy of our scheduled due delivery date of Monday, 10/1!
2. Kinsley is turning 2 1/2 tomorrow!
So much to be thankful for!

We are making final preparations for the arrival of our sweet boy: moving Kinsley's carseat from the middle to behind the drivers seat and installing Carter's carseat behind the passenger seat, washing baby clothes/blankets/sheets/you-name-it, getting the baby swing/pack n play/bouncers out of storage and ready to be used once again, and "nesting" in general - and trying to get ahead of the curve when it comes to a clean house! Other than feeling the general aches, pains and exhaustion of late pregnancy, I am feeling and doing good, as is Carter - all doctor's appointments are showing signs of a healthy mama and healthy baby at this point! My weight gain, blood pressure, placenta, and fluid levels all look good, except for a slightly low iron level. The doctor's orders? Red meat and leafy greens. So Philip took care of that last night by grilling me one of the best filet's I have ever had. I ate every delicious bite while watching the UGA/Mizzou football game (which caused me intense heartburn during the first half - jeez)...and judging by the immense amount of fetal movement post-dinner, I would say that Carter enjoyed the steak as well! :) At our last high risk appt on Friday, they measured many of his body parts and estimated him to weigh 6 lbs 14 oz (which is in the 61st percentile) with 3 weeks to go!

Carter - the best shot of him we could get at the last appt - being bashful for the "camera" with his hands over his face. (I prefer to think that he was just waving to his mama!)

And speaking of 3 weeks to go, big sister Kinsley is getting very excited...she will hold up her 3 fingers and say "3 weeks!" when you ask her how much longer until we get to meet baby Carter! We got the double stroller out this past week and she climbed right into "her spot" and put her baby doll where Carter will sit. She's getting very good at counting and holding up the correct fingers! She can count to 13, but leaving out 4 and 5...all the time...I don't know what she has against those two numbers? But she just loves to skip from 3 to 6. And she loves counting with her hands over her eyes when it comes time for her favorite game: Hide & Seek. Here are some other things that she loves doing at 2 1/2:

singing her ABC's (omitting letters here and there, of course)
singing, in general...she tends to know the ending words to verses of various songs and makes up the words in between
her favorite songs to sing right now: If Your Happy and You Know It (she's got the "clap your hands / stomp your feet / say Amen" part down to a science!); Ring Around the Rosie; the intro song to Curious George; the "Time For Your Check-up" song from Doc McStuffins; and a "night-night babyyyy, sweep-tight babyyyy" lullabye that she made-up for her baby dolls
Painting and playing with play-doh
Having tea parties
Playing pretend that she is shopping for, cooking, or serving food
Taking care of her baby dolls...although she has been known to hurl them across the floor at times...yikes!
Playing with soccer balls, her softball / softball glove, or her cheerleading pom-poms
Riding her rah-rah or bicycle (tricycle) - which she is now pedaling!
Anything at a park - swinging, sliding, climbing, etc.
Swimming at the pool or at the lake - where she also loves riding on the boat. (On Labor Day weekend, she swam in the beautiful pool at the Kelleher's lakehouse for THREE hours! With one snack break! She was a little fish!)
Going to school
Running through the sprinklers in the yard - while fully-clothed
Watching Curious George - he is still holding the #1 spot as "favorite"
Helping mommy around the house - cook, water plants, "fold" laundry, and empty the dishwasher
Being tickled :)
Playing with phones...home phones and cell phones...anything except for her plastic "toddler" play-phones, of course :)
Touching her index finger to her chin when she is hungry for a snack and saying "Mommy, I want something else"
Saying "please" and "thank you" consistently
Giving "big hugs" or "group hugs"
Asking "mommy, hold you" or "mommy cuddle"...and seriouly, how can I say no when she asks?

Believe me, she still has her "toddler moments" and occasional meltdowns, but we are very lucky that she does not go to time-out very often...we are blessed to have a very sweet and caring little girl who just wants nothing more than to play and share most of the time!

"College Game Day" Spirit Wear day at school last week - Kinsley and mommy in our UGA shirts!

Daddy - come on, I am ready to drive! (Don't worry, her life jacket was right next to her - she had just eaten lunch and we were in parked)...

Post-boat-nap sleepy face...and resting on mommy's tummy.

Happy in the driver's seat with daddy!

Sound asleep on the way to the lake for Labor Day weekend!

Kinsley and daddy on the mule, just 4-wheelin' it around the lake!

I walked into the family room to find that she had climbed on top of the couch and into "her seat" in the double stroller...just giving it a test ride.