Photo update

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A reward for your patience

You have been very patient readers these past few weeks...putting up with my motherhood musings and political rantings. So, to reward you, especially you KJM Fan Club members (Blake B, Jeff K, and Ben B), here are a few photos and videos of Katie from the other Saturday when it was 80 degrees in Louisville!

(Unfortunately, the mic on our camera has started to act up, so you may want to mute the volume on the videos. Sadly you'll miss most of my hilarious commentary.)

Katie finally figures out how to ride her tricycle (albeit a short-lived attempt)

You can have fun imagining what we're actually saying in these:

Playing fetch with Katie (who needs a dog when you have a 3 year old?)

Baby Update

So, I'm a little overdue with a baby update. I actually started this post about a month ago but was waiting to scan the 2nd round of ultrasound photos. Now I'm less than a month away from "go time." What?!

First, the stats. I am now 36 weeks and feeling pretty large and in charge. It's amazing how much faster I got "big" the second time around! I had a second ultrasound about 6 weeks ago--she's still a girl and the time was weighing in around 3 pounds, 11 ounces. So I have about 3 1/2 weeks left with this girl rolling around in my belly... unless she decides to come (gulp) before the scheduled surgery!

Here (at last) are the latest photos of CAROLINE GRACE MCCULLOCH:

Head shot

Mouth open

And here's me at 36 weeks

(sorry about the crazy coloring, don't know what's up with that) Just to help you see how things have changed, check me out at 19 weeks.

Finally, I know you all have missed the "baby versus produce" comparison photos, so here's to my little Crenshaw Melon:

Your baby, almost 6 pounds and still packing on the pounds at a rate of about an ounce a day, is comparable to a crenshaw melon in size. (Length: more than 18 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

Bratton Reunion, 2008

Every year since well before I was born, my mom's extended family gathers at the farmily farm on the second weekend in August. These family reunions were always one of the highlights of my summer as a child, the one sure chance for this city mouse to rendezvouz as the country mouse, if you will.

This last time Adam and I were able to attend was three years ago when I was pregnant with Katie, so we were quite excited to be able to make it this year, especially because we knew that Katie would have a blast. And a blast she did have.....

Fun on the paddle boat

Feeding the goats

A cool evening walk around the farm

A beautiful Sunday morning

Family picture with crying child being forced to smile

An awesome WV breakfast

"Cowgirl Kate and her horse Cocoa"

Graduation!

"Is it going to rain?"

Adam and his brother Cole

Adam and his grandparents

Adam and his mom and dad

Adam and his Seminary Shield Cake...guess who's more excited about it....

Dancing, Cake, Bubbles and Princesses

A few weekends ago we drove to Augusta, GA to attend the wedding of a good friend of ours we had met in China. It was an awesome weekend, a refreshing time of fellowship with friends, both new and old.

It was Katie, however, who may have enjoyed the weekend the most. In the midst of tough circumstances (late nights, no naps, fast food meals), she had the time of the her life. The weekend was filled with all of her favorite things--dancing, cake, bubbles and princesses (in her mind, brides and bridesmaids are the close kin of princesses).

Here are some of the best shots from the weekend:

Update

Thanks to all of you who voted in the Brohm vs. Isaacs poll. A whopping 12 readers contributed and the results of this completely scientific and highly accurate poll revealed that the Heavy Hitter is more famous than QB Brohm in the 'Ville. That may soon be changing as Brohm was recently drafted to be a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Darryl Isaacs celebrity may fade if Brohm becomes the next Brett Favre. Only time will tell......

I must share, however, one final celebrity encounter that occurred just today as Adam and I were trying out a new restaurant that just opened near us. Once again, we dined right next to none other than Brian Brohm during Sunday lunch. A fitting end to this debate.

Because I was recently rebuked for depriving my readership of Katie photos and videos, I plan on several posts this week that will chronicle some of our recent adventures. In other words, come back often this week to see lots of Katie.

For now, here are some pictures we took last night at our impromptu cook-out. One of my best friends from college was here for the weekend and got to join us for the occassion! The event was actually inspired by Katie, who earlier this week pretended to roast marshmallows over a stump when we were outside playing one evening. She took her cues from one of her favorite books of late, Curious George Goes Camping. Clearly, she enjoyed this campfire delicacy:

Cousins

Adam, Katie, and I travelled to Maryland this past weekend to visit family. Here are the results of our attempts to get a nice picture of all the cousins:

Classic.

Huber Farm: Take One

Now that fall has finally arrived in Louisville, Adam, Katie, and I decided to travel to Starlight, Indiana this morning to take our second pilgrimage to Joe Huber's Orchard & Winery. It's a pretty popular local attraction about 30 minutes north of Louisville. You can pick your own produce or shop at their farm market (that also sells amazing breads, cookies, jellies, etc). Our stated objectives were to get a pumpkin and buy some Christmas gifts. My secret aim, however, was to take advantage of the great photo opps. We managed to accomplish our main objectives, but our photos had some pretty sad results:

Thankfully, Katie and I are going back to Huber's this Thursday with some friends from our church. Hopefully we'll have better luck with photos then. My still life photos today fared a bit better than the others:

Fall is here, and I am happy. I think I'll go eat some of the pumpkin bread I made this week and drink some cider. And maybe eat some of the apple butter we bought today. Hooray for fall!