Baby #3 Sprinkle

Last Sunday, my friends surprised me with a sprinkle for mystery baby #3. I was completely clueless all the way up to the point we pulled in the driveway and saw all the cars! I did not expect it AT ALL and missed all the signs and strange coincidences ha! 

A few had asked me about giving me a shower and I said no. Between this baby being our third, coronavirus and not knowing the gender, I just didn't want to put anyone out with it. But my sweet friends knew they could do it without my permission and it would make me happy :) I have the best friends and family a girl could ask for! 

I already had tears going at this point but it was so hot I think they evaporated fast :) Sweet friend Jess came and picked me up while Ash was busy at her house getting everything ready! They told me we were going out to dinner for a rescheduled girls night but Ash was running late so we had to go pick her up last. They are slick.

Checking out who all was here! Completely shocked and so happy!

They know I love me some Riley's so that was the spread! Lots of baby pastels of all colors for our surprise baby.

Ashley and James have a beautiful outdoor kitchen, it made for a perfect shady spot for the food area

Of course sis was my present opener and card reader. She took her job very seriously.

She read. every. word. :) What would I do without her!

She loved every gift we received! This baby is as much hers as it is mine and daddy's she thinks.

Lots of questions about some of the mommy products I received! She will get an education this pregnancy...

My favorite girl! Her and Jack knew about the sprinkle for several days and managed to keep it a secret from me. They are the best.

Of course I had no idea this was going to happen but thankfully I fixed up somewhat! Dresses are my go-to at this point in the pregnancy anyway.

The hostess who did all of this for me! I can't thank these two enough for going out of their way to make sure I felt special no matter that it was my third baby and coronavirus and all the other excuses I made :) I love them both so much!

Four generation of Porter women

Plus sis and Ruthie too! 

I love this picture of us. Sister managed to have three kids in between my second and third child! She is a champ and the best little mama.

Harrison/Flener women, I love this picture of all of us together

Embry side of the family, Auntie had to leave so she missed the pic

And my bestest friends! Juleah even came down from Louisville to be there. I cried when I seen her because I knew what a sacrifice that was. During a time when everyone has been quarantined and felt alone, this was just what I needed to remind me of how blessed I am <3 And that I have a wonderful support system that will help me get through the rest of this pregnancy and the newborn days despite the awful global pandemic!

This was the group that was suppose to be going to dinner, it turned out to be even better than dinner :) Love these three and how they take care of me selflessly!

One final gift opening pic, she was really telling something big!

This was exactly what I needed but didn't realize that I did. I hate putting anyone out or making a fuss over things. I guess they knew that and just did it for me :) A huge thanks to Ashley and Rhonda for making this happen. 

Baby #3-now we are ready for you!

Kitties, Summertime and Nashville Weekend for Georgia

I'm 35 weeks pregnant and I now understand the struggle moms talk about with summer babies. I'm as cold natured as they come and I'm hot; I can only imagine how a normal person feels. I even invested in a neck fan this week. One month to go, I can do this!

Jack and Scout. The kids have each shown ownership of the kittens; Scout is Jack's and Dolly/Lady is Georgia's. 

I saw her by Jack's boot and thought I better take a picture to remember she was once the size of Jack's little boot :)

Further confirmation that taking both of them was the right decision <3

Dolly rides in Georgia's bike basket! Why didn't we get kittens sooner?!? They are so fun.

We are overrun with zucchini from our garden. Our friend Kaylyn shared her zucchini bread recipe with us and it was a hit with the fam. 

I worked from home this day and then we made it a pool day late afternoon! These two can't get enough swimming this summer. Swimming in the deep end has really opened up lots of new games and things to do in the water.

Jack's backpack arrived this week. I have a fear that this could sit like this for a long time if we aren't able to return to school this fall. I'm not going to lie, I have cried more than once on the thought of what this year could be for our new kindergartener. We will make the most of whatever situation we have to face but I would be lying if I said this hasn't been stressful and sad for a mom. I miss our pre-covid lives!

Travel baseball is being allowed in our area so Marcus and Jack took off one day to go watch our buddy Will play in Franklin, Tennessee. Jack had a ball. We have missed watching live sports!

Our girl was asked to go on a weekend birthday trip to Nashville for our neighbor Embry's birthday. They stayed in the brand new Graduate Hotel that pays homage to Dolly. Embry's mom is a photographer so she did some photo shoots of the girls and the pictures are incredible!

Georgia had the time of her life. She was in her element!

This was the actual hotel room they stayed in-just perfect!

This is a Dolly head on the pool deck-so cool

Our little doll! This was only her second time staying away from home other than family. I worried and wasn't sure if she would be ready but she was and had the best time! We're so proud of her bravery and her behavior on the trip, which they said was perfect.

*We sent her with money to spend at the American Girl store. She decided there wasn't anything that she really wanted so she paid for her meal at the Cheesecake Factory and the rest of her money she wants to donate to our local animal shelter. What an angel*

Nursery progress is slow but we do have a shelf full of baby books. Baby #3 greatly benefits from two older siblings in the book department! I will post more pictures once we make a little more progress, it's still a mess right now.

O isn't a dog that begs for food much but he was very much interested in our bacon, eggs and biscuit breakfast :) His poor stomach can't handle table food though. It's probably for the best but I hate not sharing with him!

My amazing friends threw me a surprise baby sprinkle this weekend-I will post those next time!

The Best Days Are Spent Outside

My blogging absence can be blamed on one main thing-I'm spending as much time outside as I can. Even doing a lot of my work from home outside on the porch with my charged laptop. Yes, it's very hot right now but I'm one month away from delivering a baby in the throes of a global pandemic. I have accepted that the months following baby's arrival will be spent at home as much as possible and that the weather will be changing sooner rather than later. I'm going to enjoy the heat and outdoors and freedom of being outside of the same four walls as much as I can :)

I've never been so uncertain about the next season of time but I am certain who is in control and He will guide and direct.

Now that that is out of the way-a massive July photo dump!

Our first red cherry tomatoes were ready to be picked on June 28th. They were delicious!

My pickings from June 28th. Our squash and zucchini have been the MVPs of our garden this year. We can't keep them picked and put up. The kids are burned out on my fried squash and zucchini already.

Lots of pool days. This girl likes to swim a while and then hang out with the adults a while. I'm raising a little adult, y'all.

She decided to try on my maternity clothes pool side. She will model anything!

She thought these were a hoot!

My sister did a combined birthday party for my niece and nephew whose birthdays are in June and July. These two are so much alike and love each other so much!

The kids received a new swing set for their birthdays so these two had to try it out

Sweet summer babies! I cannot believe two and four years have already passed.

The occasion called for a candid cousin picture. Lots of cheesin'!

Gift time-Georgia helped Lottie Kate and Jack helped Bo

Twinsies with their coordinated suits :)

We usually spend our Fourth of July at our county fair which is the Catfish Festival. Due to COVID, there was no GRCF this year so I had more time on my hands than usual for the holiday. Georgia and I decided a lattice pie needed to be baked.

We chose Paula Dean's blackberry summer pie. It ended up being a summer berry pie because we did blackberries, strawberries and blueberries. It received great reviews and has been requested to be baked again!

I'm not a napper by nature but here I am napping. Everything goes at 33 weeks gestation :)

We added the flags for a festive spark and took it to Ma and Pa's to share

My tank says "all american mama" but my all-american boobs interfered ;) 

American dad, kids and fluffy dog-what a lucky woman I am!

Family selfie game is improving, we still have some work to do but we're getting there

Owen does not enjoy having his picture made :( It's a shame and I still try ha!

Fourth of July evening at Ma and Pa's for a cookout, swimming and fireworks!

We were proud of ourselves!

Ma and Pa and their babies! What a blessing these two are to us. 

Just one of the many faces of Jack Porter. He has started doing some of his own bathing since I'm pretty incapable. Mommy and Daddy are thankful!

I'm finally starting to venture out a little bit. I've taken all of this seriously and stayed healthy at home, besides our vacation. We decided Jackson's Orchard would be a safe outing so I could get one of my biggest cravings-peaches!

Our garden has really taken off this year. I had to document its growth with my growth :) I'm 33 weeks and the garden is 10 weeks ha!

I invested in some maternity overalls this time around. I love them. I wear them weekly. They are perfect for my garden pickin'.

The kids are always willing to help pick, especially when the tomatoes are ready and can be eaten straight off the vine. This boy loves his cherry tomatoes!

This wild, mischievous child causes me to age prematurely but he also teaches me to not sweat the small stuff. Instead, let him wear tattoos for weeks after his pirate party and let shoes be optional this summer. It's Jack's world and we are just living in it.

Meet the newest members to our family! We brought home two new kittens on July 8th. They were born on May 6th which was Granddad's birthday. This is Dolly the girl.

And this is Scout the boy. They came from our cousins April and Charlie. We did not intend on taking two but these two were siblings, played together and resembled so we gave in and took both of them.

We are very glad we did because they seem so happy to have each other. We kept them in our garage the first night, then a cage on our front porch and now they are free to roam 24/7 with no issues! They will stay outside and hopefully help with our ongoing mouse problem. But we may spoil them too much and they never catch a mouse in their lives :)

More swimming and learning new water tricks!

I don't know how I managed to snag a picture with his head above water! He spends more time under than above the water.

Enjoying my shelf while I can. There are some rough parts to a pregnancy but this is a fun part!

Georgia and Dolly, we had just got home from swimming and she was headed to the neighbors for a party. 

I hope to find time to make my posts a little more regular. It's easier if I can balance my time that way. Plus I want to get as much documented as I can now because I'd say things will get a little crazier come mid-August. Ready or not, it's almost baby time!