Last Ride

According to the doctor today is the last day I am 'allowed' to ride my bikes until after the baby is born! I can't make any guarantees -- but I surely won't be mountain biking again until I am a true biker momma.

We took advantage of the awesome Missouri fall weather for a low key mountain bike ride today. We went west of St. Louis to Weldon Spring Conservation Area for a beautiful 8.5 mile ride.

The baby enjoyed the ride bouncing along on top of my bladder and constricting my lungs when I leaned forward to power up a hill. It was a joyful last ride, although a bit humbling (15 extra pounds, a big belly, and out of shape legs)!


Rowdy loves to come along on bike rides! We are able to keep him off leash and he is such a good dog. He chased squirrels and birds, pointed 2 wild turkeys, swam across a stream, never wandred off, and kept up with us the whole way. He's right in front of me in the picture below.

Baby Flatau's Room

Baby Flatau has as much of a nursery as it'll ever have in St. Louis. It took a lot of work and help from Aaron to move beds and furniture around but I think we have a good set-up. It's a cozy room and will work for the few months we'll be here with the baby.

The following pictures are of the baby's bed, clothes, blankets, books, decorations and other items in the room. Hopefully it'll give you an idea of what is taking shape in preparation for the little one!

24 Weeks and Waddling?

Not waddling yet but things are no longer deniable. People are no longer afraid to ask. I am clearly pregnant with or without clothing coverage! Below you will notice a lovely comparison shot at 5 weeks with 24 weeks (taken today).




OK Flatau's -- this ones for you..... I know y'all love it when I put pictures of my naked belly on the internet so here it is! If you think this one is gross, they're only going to get worse. Enjoy!

What's Been Goin' On

Craig's Home!

The most important thing that has happened lately is that my brother-in-law (Jill's husband) is home from Iraq -- safe and sound! He's been home a little over a week. The picture below is when Jill picked him up after their plane landed. We're glad Craig is home and I'm hoping we'll get to see them soon!

Outward Expansion

I've been continuing to make room for the little one that is getting bigger by the day. The picture below is my belly and NO, I'm not sticking it out! That's just the way it is.... for now.

Fall Foliage

The weather in St. Louis has been cooling off and the trees are awesome right now. Aaron took this picture in the park at the Seminary.

That Rowdy Dog

Aaron has been busy working with Rowdy taking him into the fields and teaching him how to be a hunter. Hopefully it works! Maci doesn't get to go with (unless I'm there) for a few reasons:

#1 She is WAY gun shy (literally freaks out if a gun is fired)
#2 She tends to run back to her 'safe zones' if she is off leash (she would sprint three miles back to the car because it's safe there)
#3 She's not a hunter!

But today we will take the dogs out and she will come with because I'm going along so I can take her on leash. Also we will not be bringing any firearms so she shouldn't get scared!

Sweet

I've hit the mother load! So I had a bad day yesterday and the hormones were running rampant. I talked to my mom and sister on the phone and proceeded to um, sorta cry and stuff. I guess it was worth it because I had a large pot of candy delivered to me at work today!

Sadie was also very excited about it when I unloaded the goods. She posed pretty after she sniffed everything. As you can see I won't be needing to purchase any chocolate anytime soon.

THANK YOU!!

More Cats!

Last week we went out to grab a bite to eat and came home to find this.......
.....happily exploring the roof of our back porch. Sadie was also out but she ran back inside before we could get her picture.

Apparently Aaron left the window open in the attic (I'm not allowed to say WHY he often has the window open up there -- and NO it doesn't involve any bodily function). Fortunately they were not able to get up on the roof of the house or down to the ground -- so I guess they were safe?

All I could say was.... "Way to go Aaron!"



Sadie was resting so cute on our bed that we had to have a little photo shoot with her. What a nice girl!