Emily's 3rd birthday & 35 weeks

Ok, time for an update! Since I last wrote, we have made some major moves! First, we went back home to Richmond for the Monument Ave 10K and Emily's 3rd birthday party! The party was a rousing success; I'm so grateful for all of our family and friends who were able to make it out to help us celebrate.

We had an amazing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bouncy house. It was a big hit. I'm not sure Emily left it but to have her birthday cupcake. We also had an outdoor fire going to make s'mores, because, apparently, the weather decided to be somewhat cold in mid-April. But here are a bunch of pictures from the bouncy house...

Bouncing with her cousin, Wes.

Bouncing with her great grandmother, Nanny.

Running from Nanny.

Just a girl and her bouncy house.

I wasn't sure how she would like her bouncy house, but she loved it.

Riley and Wesley.

Wes is a pro at bouncy houses.

Emily got to see Miss Harper again, who turned 1 about a week later.

Emily orchestrated this whole ring-around-the-rosie type thing.

We were able to drag her out of the bouncy house just long enough to sing "Happy Birthday" and have cupcakes and ice cream. 

Blowing out her birthday candles.

Happy 3rd birthday, Emily Raylynn!

While perhaps not quite as exciting as a 3rd birthday, but still pretty big, I officially signed my offer letter for a faculty position at Coastal Carolina University. So, it looks like we're finally headed back south!

The weekend of Emily's (and my) birthday, we went down to SC to look for a place to live and explore the area a bit. A very little bit because our weekend was jam-packed. We looked at about a dozen houses and a few daycares. We should be all set for our move in July! *Fingers crossed!*

A couple of birthday girls sharing a virgin strawberry daiquiri!

Emily LOVES the beach. She falls in line with a long line of women who could spend all day at the beach and never grow tired of it. On her birthday morning, we headed out to Myrtle Beach so we could run around a bit. She kept saying she didn't want to leave. Good news, kid, we're moving here. Plenty of beach time in your future.

It was in the 50's that morning, so far from warm, but Emily insisted on putting her toes in the water, so of course, Daddy obliged.

Something tells me she's going to like living at the beach. :)

I am now a little over 35 weeks along, so if you're keeping track, I've got about a month left until my due date. That's not terrifying at all. I somewhat accidentally set a goal for this pregnancy to run a race every trimester. It started out when I ran in the Philadelphia Half Marathon at 12 weeks 5 days, so technically the very end of my first trimester. Then, I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon at 25 weeks 5 days, so again, the end of my second trimester. I finally ran the Monument Ave 10K (I know, I'm slacking, not running another half) at 32 weeks 4 days, so my third trimester. My pace was a bit slower than last year, but I guess that's to be expected.

The four (five?) of us before the race! Mom, Lindsay, Micah, and me (and RA).

3rd trimester, 3rd race!

I'm still running, but no plans to compete in any more races. I think I should probably just focus on getting ready for this little guy's arrival. Running is actually becoming really difficult; I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to do.

I continue to eat ice cream pretty much every night. (This is why I have to run multiple races.) But, lucky for me, my belly has become the perfect little table for my nightly indulgence.

I'm not even mad. This thing is handy.

I went back to the doctor today. I've gained somewhere around 35-38 pounds. Last we checked, little RA was sitting breech. At my last appointment, my doctor discussed the option of doing a version (external cephalic version), where they literally try to flip him around from the outside. They wouldn't do that until 39 weeks, so hopefully it's not necessary. The other day I felt a lot of movement, that was somewhat painful at times, so I was hoping he turned. Today, the doctor seemed to think he had, though he's not quite vertical, yet, he seems to be on his way! 

This was taken after Emily went to bed, so it's just me this time.

I'm getting to the point where I should probably start considering having a few things ready to go to the hospital if needed. I just haven't felt the urge to do so, yet. Maybe I'll start by getting all of his clothes washed this week. That could take a while...

We had some family/maternity pictures taken this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to share those with the next post!