Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July weekend. It’s hard to believe we’re almost half way through with summer and even harder to believe that Nugget’s due date is one month away from yesterday!

The countdown is on and the celebration of “independence” got me thinking. Jared and I are in the last few weeks of our independence as a family of two. In one month, we’ll no longer have the independence we currently have. We are so excited about the arrival of the Nugget but it’s also a little overwhelming to think that our lives will be completely different - our time, our priorities, our peace of mind! Current member of the parenting club keep telling me that no matter what we do, it’ll be totally different from what we anticipate so we celebrated our last “independent" 4th of July as a couple and are getting ready for a lifetime of parenting. We had a fairly low key weekend but enjoyed all of the rain we got from the aftermath of the hurricane.

We had a great time at Lake LBJ with the Boswells last weekend. The weather was perfect and I love being on the lake during the summers. You can see some of the pictures from the weekend and everyone got in some good belly rubs to feel the Nugget shifting around. We are blessed to be part of such an amazing family.


Floating

Brooke and Brent

Jared, Sam, Will and Bobby

Jared on the rope swing

Dylan caught a catfish

Lynn and Steve

Evelyn with great-grandbaby #8

Lily talking to the Nugget

Elena feeling her cousin move

Jared putting sunscreen on his daughter

As for baby updates, we met with our perinatologist this morning for a quick check on our little girl. All is stable and there aren’t any changes with the status of her heart so that’s all good news. We’ll have measurement checks next week but we’re still looking to be on track for Wednesday, August 4. She’s now become the queen of hiccups. This little girl has started getting the hiccups 3 times a day! I’m not sure if it’s the spicy food I eat but they’re almost becoming as regular as her sleeping patterns. She's also a mover and a shaker. You can see the belly shifting as she shimmies from side to side.

As for mom and dad updates, my back is much better but in its place, I’ve developed TMJ. I called Jared after a visit to the doctor and his response was, “so you’re telling me my wife has lock jaw???” Well, not exactly but I think with all we’ve had going on recently, I’ve started clenching my jaw at night…so that’s fun. I also discovered that Nugget is not a fan of Sudafed. I came down with a cold last week and am allowed to take Sudafed but quickly discovered, I’d prefer let this cold take its course. Hello kickboxing! The medicine had this poor child WIRED! I’ve had such a painless pregnancy from a physical standpoint that I guess its only fair I have a few road bumps as we near the end. I'm still relatively comfortable and walking most mornings. Jared’s trying to get as much work wrapped up in the next few weeks since August will be a little hectic. I will say he’s becoming the king of yard work though, especially since our neighborhood has a “Yard of the Month” competition. Give the guy a prize to shoot for and the competitive streak comes out!

I’d like to wish a very happy birthday to Mary Hodges Wamberg who was born on Friday morning at 8:33am. Andrew and Angeline are our friends in Atlanta and Angeline and I were due the same week but Mary Hodges decided to make a little bit of an early appearance. Welcome to the world Mary Hodges! I’d also like to ask for your prayers for Field Johnson who went in for his first heart surgery this morning at 7:30am. This is the first of three surgeries to begin repairing his heart. He is having a band placed around his pulmonary artery so help control the blood flow and we hope he’ll be back home on Wednesday.

Thank you for your continued love, support and prayers.

All my best,

Brooke