Rainy Day!

Today, we finally got a break from the heat! The temps here have been in the hundreds for almost 27 straight days! There have only been two days under 100 and today was one of them. It was still in the upper 90's though! Perhaps even better than the break from the 100s though was the fact that it finally rained! It was right before Jesstine's nap, so I told her to go open the blinds by the door. She did and asked if she could walk in the rain. We found her rainboots and an umbrella, and off she went! Here is a photo of her journey down the drive way. It doesn't LOOK like it is raining, but it actually was! It stopped for a little bit and then picked back up. After she was already in bed for her nap it REALLY came down hard! Thank you God for the rain, rainboots, umbrellas and sweet little girls!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

God Thing

When Jesstine was a baby, I was blessed by the daughter-in-law of an elder at church with a HUGE bag of clothes and shoes for Jesstine. A lot of them were SUPER nice and well taken care of. They were brands like Gymobree, Pediped, Gap, Children's Place....etc. In case you don't know, these brands are pricey, but wear well, even on babies who are learning to crawl and walk! Not to mention that Jesstine's Grandmom loves to spoil her with pretty dresses as well!!! As Jesstine outgrew said clothing, I placed it in tubs according to its size. Not too long ago, I had offered it to a single mom at church who was very young and had just had a baby. After not hearing from her, I had decided to hang on to the clothing and consign it myself after Emmitt comes. Little did I know when I woke up today, that God had another plan in store! I got a call from a good friend and she reminded me that the Mulberry Bush Consignment sale was this week and today was the opening day. I have been trying to keep my eye out for inexpensive clothes to start filling out Jesstine's Fall/Winter wardrobe. I had already picked up some stuff here and there and thought this was a great opportunity. The summer sale always has more and nicer stuff than the winter sale anyway. I was looking through the girls clothing which happened to be right next to the maternity clothing! I saw a girl who was with her mother and they were looking at girl clothes as well as maternity clothing. I started chatting with them and found out that the girl's due date is a bout 10 days from mine! Through tidbits here and there, my suspicions were confirmed. The girl was a teenage mom who still has one year left of high school. I was quickly reminded of the clothing I had at home and invited her to come look at it and take what she wanted. I told her that if she felt that she HAD to pay for it, she could name the price and I wouldn't haggle. OR She could just take what she needed and that was it. I gave her mom my cell phone and home phone and we met up at the house later. They were able to take all of Jesstine's old clothes and what they weren't able to use they had already talked about giving to another teenage mother whose daughter was soon to be a year old and could also use some clothing. We of course chatted as they looked through tubs and tubs of clothing and bagged everything up. The girl's mom, Sandra (ironic as it is also my mother-in-love's name!), kept mentioning a friend of theirs who had lost a baby boy shortly after his birth. This was after I had revealed that we had lost Babe B. before she was born. She kept mentioning the girls name, Jenny. Later on the topic came up again and she mentioned that Jenny's son's name was Miles. I looked at her and said, "Gridley?" She was astonished and confirmed to me that it was indeed who she was referring to! My sister, Grace, dated a Lanny Gridley in High School and even went to his senior prom with him. Shortly after having Jesstine, I found out that he lived the next cul-de-sac over from us. I also found out that his wife was expecting and that there were several complications being discovered with that baby. So, I followed their story closely, it being near and dear to my heart after having lost Babe B. just a year earlier. Just goes to show that it is a SMALL world out there! So what did I end up getting at said consignment sale? Funny, I spent about $45. After replacing our air conditioner/furnace blower motor this week, I was told to hold off on purchasing any unneeded items for a while. Worked out okay though. The ladies who took the clothing handed me $40 as they left. So the difference was just $5 and that $5 was a toy that I allowed Jesstine to pick out because she was so patient for me while I looked through all of the clothes and talked to these ladies! The toy she picked was a little tube of small dinosaur toys, imagine that! So here is a quick photo of the items I was able to find for Jesstine at the consignment sale (minus the dinosaurs who were being played with as I took this photograph).

Left to Right: Nike seat suit with t-shirt; Columbia Snow suit; Princess zippered sweatshirt; Levi's sequin jeans; new with tags, Old Navy jean skirt with red ribbon belt and heart pockets on back; Carter's khaki pants; and two puzzles (I have searched EVERYWHERE for this style of puzzle for Jesstine! She is too advanced for the puzzles with knobs or even ones that you just find the right shape hole to put the piece in. These are more like what I grew up with; the wooden ones that were usually made by playschool or fisher price that were just a picture cut up into pieces that you had to put together. I found a school bus puzzle by this same company a few months ago at a toy store and was over the moon about my find! These were a whole two dollars cheaper and there is only one more design left to collect! Furthermore, Jesstine didn't see them, so maybe I can add them to her birthday gift pile!)

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Mail

Don't you just LOVE it when you order something and you get to go out to the mailbox to go get it! I ordered Jesstine's birthday t-shirt a little early this year because I had trouble getting it on time last year. With her t-shirt in mind, I set my bow lady at 3AMInspirations to work making the perfect bows to match. Yesterday we went to the mailbox and her bows were there! We were super excited because I had just ordered them two days earlier! Didn't she do a fab job?!

Well, today we were pleased when her t-shirt came in the mail!!! We had just returned from a party and it was in the mailbox waiting for us. It isn't quite what I had in mind. If you look at the previous post about said t-shirt (click the highlighted word t-shirt) I had hoped for a pink shirt with a gold 3 and gold earring like the original. The only things I wanted different from the picture in the previous post were the t-shirt color (pink), the number 3, a pink bandanna, and Jesstine's name on it. I guess it is just fine though because it will match the bows pretty well! Here is the finished product:

So here's looking to a successful pirate party in a few weeks! Jesstine is super excited!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

A Few Preprations

This week I was able to make a few preparations for what is to come in the next few months. The first is getting Jesstine a backpack for her first year of preschool! I didn't know it would be so hard to find a small backpack for preschool....in JULY!! She picked one out with an owl on it. We found it in a catalog and looked it up to order it the same day and they were SOLD OUT!! It is July! UGH! So I found a smallish one that she agreed to at one of my favorite stores that just opened up a branch close by! The cool thing is that it was on sale AND I had a coupon. So I paid LESS than I would have paid on the other backpack and I was even able to put her name on it! Pretty nifty!And the second preparation I made was to get a blanket like Jesstine's "green blankie" for Emmitt. It took a little while to find the blanket (which I later found out the embroidery place carries them) and since I was getting her backpack embroidered, I did his blanket at the same time!

Hope everyone out there is staying cool! It is stinkin' hot this summer!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Emmitt Update

Well, I had a normal appointment scheduled for next week to check on Emmitt. I ended up going in today. This boy moves SO much (most of the time) and lately when he does, it HURTS! I was a little concerned, so I called and they said to go ahead and come in. The doctor says that is normal because it is my third pregnancy and because I have a toddler. There were other factors that play into it as well like the weather and dehydration. My belly is measuring about two weeks ahead. Emmitt's heart rate was roughly 155. I have gained a considerable (to me) amount of weight (which the doctor says is normal at this time). In 4 weeks I will have the gestational diabetes test where I get to drink the yummy goodness of lemon lime and then let them test my blood. In roughly 2-4 weeks, we will have the heart sonogram done on Emmitt just like we had with Jesstine to determine whether his heart is formed correctly. I am looking forward to this! It's always good to get to SEE him and hopefully to hear that he is healthy and strong. In the meantime, I am trying to stay hydrated, cool and calm. Sleep is a bit hard to come by. I think my body is getting me ready for the nighttime feedings that are to come in about four months! I seem to always wake up twice during the night and can't get back to sleep for roughly an hour or so. Such is life!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Single Parent Week

Well, I have been a single parent temporarily all week! Let's just say one pregnant mamma + an almost three year-old, without Daddy in the house at night has been a trying time for both Mamma and almost three year-old!! To give you an idea of some of the things Jesstine has tried to pull this week, I give you exhibit A that happened just this evening, thankfully the last evening of single parenthood (hopefully!). I want to preface this by saying I know some of you will think this is absolutely adorable, but after the week I have had with this little tot, that was not the first word to cross my mind. It IS adorable when it is a 13 month-old discovering toilet paper for the first time (click here for reference). It is NOT adorable when it is done by an almost 3 year-old who has already been scolded numerous times by Daddy AND Mommy for attempting it in the past (not to this extent luckily).

Despite my week being totally mentally and physically exahausting, I LOVE that I have someone to spend it with! There were SEVERAL moments of joy mixed in with the moments of frustration! I wouldn't have it any other way. I just think it is harder because I am pregnant and not able to handle as much as I could otherwise! That and it is INCREDIBLY hot here! We will all be happy when the heat subsides!

Here's to a toilet paper mess free week next week!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Babe B., 4 Years-Old!!!!

Today would be Babe B.'s 4th birthday! It is so hard to believe that we would have a 4 year-old! I guess we do, just not with us! I have been trying to dwell on the happiness of Babe B. rather than how sad it still is for us. It is a hard thing to do! I find that, like with Jesstine, I kind of have to put it in the back of my mind during pregnancy so that I don't go crazy with anxiety! So here's to Babe B. on her 4th birthday! And here is the now traditional picture of my girls on Babe B.'s birthday! This year we also did our usual tradition of putting a balloon and lilies on her grave! This year's balloon is not a helium one (it is a little bit too hot at 109 degrees to be putting one of those out). It is just a small one that we placed in her flower urn. It was a Disney Princess balloon that said, "Happy Birthday Princess!" We thought that Jesstine would like it and that if Babe B. were here, she would like it too! The lilies is a tradition that we started because we were given lilies that were in our room the day that she was born! So here are my girls:

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Engineer Like Daddy

My mom watched Jesstine part of the time while I worked this last school year. It was a nice break for my Mother-In-Love! On one of the occasions that she watched Jesstine, she took her garage saling. I know that isn't really a word, but it works for me! At one of the garage sales, the seller had a model train set. Jesstine worked diligently to set the trains on the track and by the time my mom was ready to go, she had successfully set up the train set and had it going! The seller made a comment about her being a future engineer. I found this funny because she is in a long line of engineers in her family! Well, in our recent trip to the Colorado Railroad Museum (not on our original agenda, but Jesstine kept talking about a train museum that she wanted to go to), I found this shirt! I can't wait for her to wear it! It is going to be pretty big on her right now, but it will fit her. Hopefully if she hasn't worn it out, she can pass it down to her little brother in a few years time!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Denver Trip Part 2

Still Day 1 at the nature and science museum. They had a "Discovery Zone" for young children. There were all sorts of exploratory play items and most had to do with developmental learning but also had a scientific theme to them. We got there just in time for story time. Jesstine of course LOVED that....perhaps a little TOO much!

After the discovery zone, Stephen took us to a really cool spot where you could look out over the park behind in the museum. Then we walked through the Native American section. At this point, Jesstine and I were both wearing down. Surprisingly Jesstine really liked this section. Here she is dancing with the video in this exhibit. It was of some native dancers.

This picture was taken as we were leaving! It was taken with our babysitter and good friend, Kara, in mind! She likes platypuses.

After a quick lunch and a really nice long nap, we headed to a park to meet with my family for dinner. It was so cool to see the daily rain showers developing over the mountains.

So, I booked our room and paid in advance for a room with two queen beds because we anticipated possibly having to share a bed with Jesstine. Well, that is NOT what we got! We got a KING bed and a roll out bed. So, I stuffed the pillows on one side and this is where Jesstine slept. The first night was rough, but each time after that it worked out great! Oh, and make sure you look closely to the newest addition to her stuffed animals (the dinosaur on the far right of the line of buddies). Stephen got a few stuffed dinos at the museum so we decided to let Jesstine pick something out. She picked a stuffed dinosaur and named her "Rexie."

The next morning, we dressed up and ate a quick breakfast across the street at McDonald's. Not the most notorious meal, but it was the best she ate the whole trip.

Here was the view from the breakfast table.

Here is our hotel. Jesstine LOVED riding in the "elegators" and parking in the parking garage.

A little blurry, but a nice view of the snow capped mountains.

Downtown Denver on our way to church.

After church, we ate lunch with my cousin and her family. It was super late so we decided to switch our plans a little. We decided to forgo nap so Jesstine could see the "train museum" because she had been begging since we got there. We missed our turn and by the time we got where we needed to go, she had fallen asleep! She NEVER sleeps in the car!

So, we kept driving and took a little trip through the foot hills! This is Lookout Mountain. I visited here as a child with my grandmother. This is where Buffalo Bill's grave is located. Pretty cool hike!

We went through about 6 tunnels. Jesstine woke up about 2/3 of the way through the mountains. Her favorite part was the tunnels!

Just a cool view of the city in the valley below.

More rain showers over the mountains!

This is the Colorado Railroad Museum!

Jesstine was super excited, but I think she under estimated just how big trains really are in real life. She was a little intimidated. She would have much preferred to stay inside and play with the train tables.

Daddy and Jesstine by the train engine!

They had a whole miniature train set up outside. It wasn't running this day though!

We thought this was a gnarly looking train with the big red turbine on the front. Any guesses as to what it was for????

I hope you guessed to remove snow!

Just saw a cute photo op!

This is the Super Chief! Stephen claims it has been mentioned by Bugs Bunny in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

There was a roundhouse set up as the restoration building.

They actually got a train running. This was where Jesstine was DONE with looking at these monstrosities! It was super loud, especially when the whistle blew!

This was just a freight car that had a little space for the workers to sleep.

And seats to view out up top!

I have always wanted to climb into a real caboose. No such luck, but at least I could LOOK in one! This was a sleeper caboose.

Inside they had all sorts of model trains! Conrad would have LOVED this!

Again, this model train was not running, but we did get to put a quarter in to run the amusement park section complete with Calliope music!

On the last day just before we left, we rode the "elegator" up as far as we were allowed to go so we could look down. Jesstine was fascinated!

Resturaunt side.

Lobby Side.

At some point we had stopped and I had found yet ANOTHER toy to keep Jesstine occupied. I loved the determined look on her face as she was working this out. Just a few seconds earlier she was using the other hand.

More windmills.

And the final movie of the trip turned out to be a decent one that Stephen and I could ALSO enjoy!

THE END!!!!!