Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. We know it's late but Lil Duck insisted we get the blog updated, so here we go......

Hi everyone - Lil Duck here!!! We had a great Week 13 & 14... I had my first road trip to Florida and man it was so fun!!! I had to talk the 'rents into coming home just so I could get some rest... Vacations are exhausting!!

We left Thursday after Mom & Dad got off work - around 1:00 - and hit the road! Grabbed some munchies - they're pretty much a must at all times now - and we were off and running... at least until Mom had to stop and pee - AGAIN!! The trip down wasn't too bad, but MAN Florida is a long way away.... I hope people come up here to visit us from time to time!! ;o)

Thursday night we got in kinda late but stopped by Yaya's house to say hi. She hugged Dad & Mom so tight I thought I just might pop out!! Kidding!! But it was good to finally meet her... she seems really sweet - I think she likes me and might spoil me a little!!! :o)

We spent the night at Gamma & Gaga's house - Auntie Carol was there too.... And all the doggies too... Oh they just sooooo love us!! hehehe... Gamma & Gaga are great, but I kinda knew that they would be - I've heard alot about them. Friday morning we went over to Uncle Danny & Aunt Holly's house for breakfast. My cousins Emma & Cole live there too!! We hung out for a little while and then Mom & I went shopping with Yaya for a little bit. Later we went to get lunch and some Gator gear, then back to the house. Mom wears out still pretty easily nowadays so she needed a break! Dad stayed in Macclenny with the rest of the family and hung out in the pool. Mom and I did finally make it in the pool later Friday night and that was way fun!!! We had a huge dinner of steak, potatoes, salad w/all the fixin's and ice cream!!! It was sooo yummy!

Emma is sooo fun to swim with!! She likes to splash around and make alot of noise and that's way fun for me!!! Mom likes to be lazy in the pool sometimes, but she loves her some "Emma time" too and we had a blast!! Emma even got to spend the night Friday night - she's a great sleepover buddy!!

Saturday - 4th of July - EVERYONE (it seemed like) was at Gamma & Gaga's!!! First we got up and had bacon & eggs - we eat that alot for breakfast in FLA... Gaga even made mom her very own 1/2 pot of coffee - now she thinks she's special! :o) Later that morning, Uncle Danny, Aunt Holly & Cole came over to start our "Day O' Fun!" Emma & Gaga (with Uncle Danny's help) changed the flag on the flagpole in the front yard. We all gathered around and watched and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we watched as Uncle Danny & Gaga refolded the old flag! That was really cool!!

Mom was missing my Uncle Clayton that day too... (For those that don't know, Uncle Clayton is actually a cousin, but he's one of "the guys" with Dad & Uncle Danny & Uncle Adam so that's why he's 'earned' his title. He's in the Army and right now is in AIT at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.) Mom said that saying the Pledge made her remember that Clayton wasn't there, and it made her a little weepy. But she perked up as the day went along, remembering how special he is to her and Dad!!

Emma & Cole were ready to get in the pool, so we all changed and jumped in!! It was starting to get really HOT so it was time for a cool dip! A little while later, Uncle Ronnie & Aunt Leslie & the group (my other cousins - Chase, Danielle, Victoria & Courtney) came to eat, swim and hang out. I really like them - they're all loads of fun!! We had lots of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, cookies, cokes, watermelon & ice cream... it's easy to get full over there!!

Dad, Uncle Danny & Uncle Ronnie went to Uncle Ronnie's house later to get the 4-wheelers (they have 2!!!) and brought them over to Gamma & Gaga's so that we could all ride around the circle. Dad almost freaked out when Mom said that she would ride one with him. (Side note, 2 things Mom does NOT do - ride Jet-ski's and ride 4 wheelers. She says that it's not so much that she's scared of them, but she's intimidated by them!! They're big, loud, moving machines!!!!) Auntie Carol made Mom promise to wear a helmet, but she threw caution to the wind. Actually Daddy said that he wouldn't do anything silly that might get them hurt, and she trusted him, so she decided not to wear one this time. We rode around for a little bit and MUCH to Dad's surprise, Mom even learned how to drive one!! Uncle Ronnie rode with her and showed her how & she was pretty good at it! She had so much fun & she said she would definitely ride one again!! Everyone rode 4 wheelers until it started to get dark, and by then we were all winding down.

Uncle Wade & Aunt Joetta showed up a little later after we were winding down from 4 wheeling... Aunt Joetta made a homemade Key Lime Pie that was out of this world yummy!! Saturday night, after we put up the 4 wheelers, we ate some more, and then hung out playing cornhole and swimming again and waiting for fireworks to start. We lit some sparklers and played with the kiddos for a while. Then it was time for Aunt Holly to take Cole home to get some shut-eye. Emma spent the night with us again and she's was so good... she's so fun!

Sunday we just kind of laid around doing nothing, mostly because we were tired and sunburned from the day before. We watched tv, and played with the kiddos, and just vegged out... Gaga made a turkey that was Out-of-this-world good and stuffing and all the yummy sides!!! Man, we eat GOOD on vacation!!! Dad ate as much as Mom that night!!! hahahaa - sorry Dad....

Later that night we met up with Uncle Ronnie & Aunt Leslie at a friends house over by the river and played cornhole and rode 4 wheelers again. We had so much fun!! Mom was really pooped by the end of the day though, and had to be the bad guy and cut the night short... It's always good to see them and hang out with them... I really like them!

Monday was alot like Sunday - more laziness and hanging out! But we're on vacation, right??!! We did manage to get showers and get cleaned up and go over to Yaya's house and take her out to lunch. We went to the new seafood place in Macclenny and it was really good. Of course, Mom had NO PROBLEM finishing off her meal - but Dad needed a hand with his.... hehehe......

Tuesday was a lazy day and it was the day before we headed back home. This is usually the day that mom gets really sad because she knows we have to leave soon. We finished up some laundry and went swimming one more time. It was "float time" for me & mom, just a chance to chill out - just us - in the pool... I think we floated for about 2 hours that day - it was great!! Even Yaya came over and we chilled out for a while, but mom was tuckered out and needed a nap. We helped Gamma & Gaga clean out the fridge of leftovers - or at least we tried!! I think they probably would have had a weeks worth of leftovers if we weren't there.... It was fun to help, that's for sure!! hahaha....

Wednesday we had to say goodbye and head home. Dad drove the whole way - he's a trooper!! We didn't have to stop that much this time, just to eat, pee and get gas (for the car)... hahaha... it sure made the trip home seem faster than the trip down. It was alot of fun to finally meet everyone. Auntie Carol was awesome, and I can't wait to see her again. Uncle Danny & Aunt Holly love me already, I can just tell!!! I can't wait for our next trip to see everyone again!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - the week 13 & 14 updates... well, in week 13, I have fingerprints on my fingers now, and my body is FINALLY starting to catch up with my head - it's like a 1/3 of my body size now!! At 13 weeks I'm almost 3 inches long, about the size of a big shrimp and I weigh about an ounce. Here's my 13 week picture....



In week 14, I can make faces and squint and even suck my thumb!! My kidneys are making urine (ewww) but that's a good thing. It goes into the fluid around me. I'm about 3 1/2 inches long from head to butt and (all of a sudden) I'm the size of a lemon!!! (Can you believe that?!! so much for growing like a weed - I'm growing like produce!! hahhaa.) My arms are finally in proportion to my body, but my legs still have some catching up to do... I'm also growing that really fine baby downy hair... My feet are about a 1/2 inch long now and I'm much more flexible & active... I'm moving more, but Mom still hasn't felt anything yet.... Here's my week 14 picture...

OK, so I'm pooped now.. Mom has had to type all this, but she knows it's time to get me a snack and a little nap. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures of the fantastic time we had..... Be sure to check in for week 15 because we have a Dr's appointment that week!!!

Love you!!!
Lil Duck

Just Mom here this time!

We're trying to get back on track when it comes to updating the blog, so I apologize that we're bombarding you with LOTS of information over the last week or so.... Once we get updated on week 12, we should be back on schedule... WOW!! 12 Weeks has just flown by!! I mean, it seems like just yesterday we were calling everyone in tears with the fan-freakin-tastic news!!!

Week 12 was somewhat uneventful. I hate to say that, but not a lot has happened. Mom has been feeling good. Made it almost a full week without having to wear my seabands (they help with seasickness and motion sickness, but have been wonderful with helping in morning/all day sickness too!!). That's huge because there were days where I would dread taking them off at work, for fear of having to YAK at work! Nothing worse than that!!!

I went on a "crunch craze" this week as well. I went to the grocery store and proceeded to buy boxes of Crunch 'N Munch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Peanut Butter Captain Crunch! But it was all completely coincidental!! I have, however, learned that if you start your day immediately with a bowl of Captain Crunch, you can ward off the icky's until at least 8:00. =o) I also call it Feeding The Beast (if I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaly hungry in the A.M.)!!

Dad has been doing wonderful also. Having a rough few nights sleeping but I think that's just because it's been so late getting to bed (because of ball or umpiring EVERY night) and then so early getting up to do it all over again the next day!! Daddy needs some REST! He played in a Church State Tournament this weekend and we (Mom & Lil Duck) went to watch this time. It was still HOT, don't get me wrong, but I knew our limits this time. In the heat of the day, we watched the game from the air conditioned car parked near the outfield!! Hahaha. It was great though. They WON the tourney!! Yea!! DADDY IS A STATE CHAMP & LIL DUCK WAS THERE!!