One month left, 15 months, and a Jubilee

I'll admit, this pregnancy at this stage has taken a toll on my blogging.  Not to mention I have two other babies to look after while carrying a 5 pounder in my belly so that doesn't help. :)  Honestly I can't complain about this pregnancy because it's been an easy one thus far, but anytime I sit down and think about blogging all I want to do is nothing or just take a quick nap.

I know it's just a season though so I'm just resting in that.  Hopefully I'll be back at it in no time.  Ahem, ya know, after the baby starts sleeping through the night and all (cue the hormonal crying).

 
I was 35 weeks this past Wednesday and it's looking like my doctor will induce me on October 11th.  Why the induction yet again?  I've actually been induced with both of my babes thus far at 39 weeks...just because I could and it seemed easier that way with Steven's random residency schedule to plan for that date.  This time around I did want to go "natural" in my labor process, but alas, it just doesn't seem like it's going to work out that way...unless the baby comes early of course.  My doctor is actually in Mobile at the hospital where Steven works and he claims baby #3 usually comes the fastest and that I may not want to be in rapid labor crossing Mobile Bay bridge at the time.  I couldn't agree more.  I'm adventurous, but not that brave.  So, the date is set as of now.  We'll see what happens though.  She really hasn't dropped right now so I'll be interested to see what she does in the following weeks.
  Oh, I thought you may want to see me in all my 35 week glory...

Definitely not the best picture I know but there it is.  Oh, and please, please people don't be too jealous over our bathroom wallpaper.  I know you are dying to go out and buy you some of this pretty little puppy...but please refrain.  It's too beautiful for the eye to behold...

Speaking of beautiful, our beautiful little girl still doesn't officially have a name yet.  We like to take things slow around here you see.  We think we know what it will be but it's just too early for us to announce it yet just in case we change our minds.  This one has been a toughy for some reason.


Now for the current baby in the family and her 15 months of life....

We are loving this little stinker.  And I say stinker because this little thing is into EVERYTHING these days.  If you have anything remotely off the ground in your house she'll be climbing up it I can assure you.

She has been a joy to our little family.  She adores her brother and would choose to be with him over anyone I think.  They usually play so well together too which I am so thankful for-- it will come in handy when the baby comes.  Unless Isaac is super tired or grumpy he stays pretty nice to her. 

She's a tough cookie too.  She puts up with a lot of things being thrown at her (from brother) or tackles here and there.  She's gotten so many bumps and bruises over the past month with her love for climbing.  If you aren't watching she'll be on my dining room table in 10 seconds flat.

Her hair is growing.  Kind of.

She's definitely living up to her nickname, Itty Bitty. We took her to the 15 month appointment this morning (a few weeks late) and her stats are as followed.

Weight: 19.11 pounds (6%)
Height: 30.5 inches (46%)

Itty bitty, huh.

 She eats all the time too so I guess she's just going to be one petite little girl.  Nothin' wrong with that.

We love our girl and know she is going to be the best big sister in less then a month!

Well, last but not least, Steven experienced his very first Jubilee this past week!  What's a Jubilee?  So glad you asked.
Mobile Bay is one of 2-3 places in the world where this natural phenomenon occurs, and it certainly occurs here more frequently and in more robust fashion than anywhere else...and the strange thing is you never know when it will happen.  It only happens a few times a year too so it's easy to miss.  I don't understand it all, but I'll try to sum it up for you.  The Jubilee occurs when the oxygen level in the water plummets and this causes swarms of fish (crab, shrimp, flounder, eel, etc.) to flock to shallow water or dry ground.  In a nutshell, you can go to the bay when it's happening and just pick up fish right there at your feet.  Like I said, the tricky part is you never know when it will happen so you just have to rely on a text from a friend.  They usually occur in the middle of the night if it does occur, but this one that Steven experienced happened early in the morning.  If you are fascinated or just a big dork and want to know more here's a link to more information on the Jubilee.

It was perfect timing because Steven had just gotten off of a night shift moonlighting at Thomas Hospital here in Fairhope.  He arrived at home a little after 7 a.m. and wasn't home five minutes when he received a text from his friend Jonathan saying "massive Jubilee taking place on pier street."  Steven ran to change and jumped out the door.  Two hours later he was home...but only to get his tools for cleaning fish.  Steven, Jonathan, and two other guys teamed up that morning and caught a total of 60-70 flounder.  Jonathan is from here and he claimed this was the biggest flounder jubilee he had ever seen.

I told Steven as he was running out the door that morning to be sure and take a few phone pictures.

Baby catfish swimming to shore...

 

A man and his string of flounder...

 

 

                            Cleaning their catch...

The men with their prize...

Steven was so excited to be able to experience a Jubilee as only few people have heard of such a unique phenomenon, and even fewer people have ever been fortunate enough to actually participate in such a testimony of God's unique creation.  We are looking forward to many other new adventures in our new town.  First up, baby number three...

Lately and more beach

Hello all!!

No really, he's super excited to see you I promise.

We are back in Fairhope after quite a week of traveling.  Last weekend we headed to the beach with my family and then me and the kids (or is it the kids and I?) headed to my parent's house in Auburn to avoid Isaac.  No not my Isaac (which is A LOT crazier I assure you) but hurricane Isaac.  Thankfully it didn't touch the Eastern Shore as the weather channel orginally suspected and we managed to just get a lot of rain with no power outages.

Before I get to the beach pics, however, I've got a few extras from a random afternoon at our new house in Fairhope.  We decided to pull out our old fashioned ice cream maker (after getting it as a wedding gift 8 years ago mind you) and use it for the first time.  I think the kids enjoyed the process jsut as much as the eating part.

The only problem was, Savannah couldn't keep her fingers out of the freshly salted ice.

And one little boy was growing crazier and crazier by the minute waiting on the sugary goodness to freeze.

It finally did freeze and wouldn't you know it, by the time it was ready I had already put up my camera and was too busy scooping ice cream in bowls (ahem, and eating it) that I didn't take one picture.  Oh well, there's always next time.  And there will be a next time.

Now to the beach pics.  It's definitely easier to photograph this little pumpkin these days as her brother is running around like a hoodlum.

 

We got out to the beach one morning around 9a.m.  It was the earliest I've been out on the beach in a long time and I must say, the lighting is beautiful at this hour for picture taking.

Daddy and Isaac braved the cool water.

While itty bitty played in the sand.

We enjoyed having Coco around too!

Daddy built a nice "river" in the sand just as Isaac requested.

After we had enough sand and surf the next step was swimming in the pool.

This little girl loves swimming in a pool.

Of course while in the beach house we were sure to keep a watch on the future hurricane and it's path.

 

The trip ended with Steven going on his first sailing experience with Pop Pop.  And what an experience it was.

 

 

 

It's funnier if he relays the story but in a nutshell, Steven almost died.  Okay, okay, maybe that's a little extreme but he very well could have been swept out to sea.  My dad decided to sail his catamaran in the ocean the day before the hurricane arrived (with winds incredibly strong mind you) and they traveled two miles out (not meaning to) and couldn't get back...the waves were super high when they got out that far...Steven falls out of the boat but thankfully hangs on to a rope for dear life...and the rest is history.  He asked my dad what would have happened if he had fallen out of the boat for good and if my dad could have come back and gotten him...and Pop Pop's response was "hmmm...I would have tried but there was probably no way I could have."  

Welcome to the Crosby family Steven.  This is nothing unusual.

 

 

After Steven's near death experience he traveled back to Mobile for work while the rest of us headed to my parents house.  We enjoyed a few days of fun with my sister Katie, Coco, PopPop, and Camille waiting out what would become of Isaac.

 

Watching trains on youtube is always a favorite past time of one little boy.

 

 

And that's about it for now.  We are doing good here.  The kiddos are growing, baby #3 is getting bigger, mommy's belly is getting MUCH bigger, we are enjoying Fairhope, the roaches are staying at bay (somewhat), and thankfully Steven has only stepped on three dead ones. ;)  Funny story...Steven put his shoes on for church this past Sunday and thought his sock was all bunched up by his toes...turns out it was a dead roach in his shoe.  Disgusting?  Just a wee bit.  But I tried to warn him weeks ago by telling him to check his shoes before he puts them on.  Lord knows I do. :)

 

About 5 more weeks until we meet baby! 

Crazy.