A night in at Aha and Mick's

Owen and I went to a halloween party Saturday night and Andrew hung out with Aha and Mick. He went over there for dinner, played, had a bath and then feel asleep on their couch. I think he had a great time.





Owen and I had a good time as well being "tourist" at the Halloween party. We thought we had an original idea, but there were 3 sets of tourists. But we came up with our idea at 2 pm the day of the party. We weren't originally going to dress up b/c we planned to go out to eat first and then to the party. We didn't want to be dressed up at a restaurant. However a couple of our friends told us that EVERYONE dresses up and we would be out of place if we didn't. So we revamped our plan and became tourists. :)



Our "story" was that we are American Tourists going to Aruba b/c we wanted a scary element to the to costume. No one got it...so then it wasn't funny when you have to explain it - you know b/c if you are an American going to Aruba - somebody isn't coming home...Anyways, I am still laughing at this but do think it is less funny when written down.

Happy Halloween!

Phase 1 of Sam's room

We are in the beginning phases of getting Sam's room ready. We still have to decorate it. We ordered 2 Walter Anderson prints for him already but need to find an end table, mirror and lamp.

Fall Festival

Sunday we went to Canebrake's Fall Festival. Andrew loved it! He got to wear his costume, make smores, jump in the jump-jump, pet farm animals, ride a donkey and run around! He didn't want to leave. Here are some pictures to the start of our Halloween/fall festivities!


Andrew playing with his school friend, Emma


Looking at a pet rabbit


Jumping in the jump jump

Lastly, here is a video of Andrew riding a donkey. He had no fear and didn't even want me to walk next to him.



It was a fun weekend! Grandmom and Granddad came to visit and we had lunch with Aha and Mick as well on Sunday!

Perfect fall weekend.

30 weeks and emotional

I can't remember if I was this emotional while being pregnant with Andrew. I am sure I must have been but I don't remember.

I called the hospital about Andrew getting a sibling tour. I know he is just 2 but he is observant and remembers so much. So I want his first time on the hospital floor to be with both Owen and me. I get so emotional thinking about the hospital and going in there as a family of 3 and leaving as a family of 4.

Today I was out running errands and looked at how dirty the inside of my car is...I thought I need to get this cleaned before we go to the hospital - the moment the thought crossed my mind I was crying.

At breakfast this morning I told Owen I wanted to get a new pair of jeans at lunch. He looked at me funny and I insisted that the other ones I have hurt b/c they are too tight and I still have three months left. His response was I don't know how many weeks you think there are in a month? I said there are 4 weeks in a month and then it hit me...I have two months left - not three! Then I panicked.

I am really overwhelmed right now and I know in my heart of hearts that we will be fine and we will adapt to a family of four - but I am so nervous. I am nervous and excited to see what our new normal will be like.

With all of the emotions...there are happy ones...I get to bring home another little boy who is going to be perfect and I can't wait to see his face on Dec 27th.

Bears

Andrew loves his bears. He sleeps with three of them and has recently added a monkey to the mix. He likes to play with them as well. Lately his entertainment is putting all the bears onto his airplane so they can ride/fly together. He is so funny about this and a little bossy when it comes to where they sit. He also needs help fitting them on the plane and asks for "help" frequently. Watching him play with these bears and plane is very entertaining. He gets so proud of himself when they sit like he asks of them.

Birthday party fun

Last Sunday our sweet friend Brantley had her 2nd birthday. There were so many fun activities for the kids to do and one of them was PUMPKIN PAINTING. Andrew knew just what do to with his paint, paint brush and pumpkin. Here is a video of him painting.

Football Fun at STATE

This past weekend we went to STATE to watch football! It was an 11:00 game which means that Andrew stayed all 4 quarters. He was such a trooper. He played, he ate, he watched the jumbo screen and he cheered. It was a great game (despite the fact that we lost).

Andrew also got to jump in the jump jump before they closed it down. And he had more fun with Emma and Ella.

We plan to go to one more game before the season ends!

MS Children's Museum

On Saturday October 8, 2011 we went to Jackson to get my car serviced and to visit Aunt Abby. Aha and Mick (AKA Grandy and Gramps) came too so we had a fun family day. Abby's birthday is the 4th so we wanted to take her to lunch and she wanted to have a fun day with Andrew. So the six of us went to the Children's Museum. I was unsure how it would go with Andrew b/c I didn't think they would have anything for his age group. But you can touch anything in the museum so even though he didn't understand alot of it he had the best time exploring. It was such a great place and a place that will grow with Andrew so we will definitely be back!

28 & 29 Weeks Pregnant with Sam

I am in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy! WOW!! On one hand I feel like I have been pregnant forever and then on the other hand I feel like we just told our families. I think having Andrew's birthday so close to Sam's that my mind can't process all of the new changes.

Updates so far with Sam are:
* My sciatic nerve is MUCH better. I have been seeing a massage therapist who I think has helped me. Also Sam is bigger now so maybe he moved away from that nerve. I still have back pain, but normal pregnancy pain - not I want to purchase a hove around and never walk again pain.
* His room is slowly (and I mean slowly) coming along. I don't love his bedding but am trying not to think about it. I picked the wrong website to order from. I am hoping with the room decorations that the bedding won't bother me as much. We are still going with a nautical theme.
* He moves all of the time - I LOVE it!

I had my 29th week check up and glucose screening on Tuesday. We also had an ultrasound done. I didn't want to write or verbally talk about this part of my pregnancy with Sam b/c it just made me cry. But at our 20 week ultrasound they saw a choroid plexus cyst in his head. It was small and my OB told me NOT TO WORRY! She said the new ultrasound equipment was extremely sensitive and was picking up things that they were never able to see before. A choroid plexus cyst is related to genetic disorders, specifically trisomy 18. I cried for a week and every time I thought about it I would tear up. Luckily the internet saved me b/c I read many message boards both recent and old postings about this happening to other people and they all the same result - HEALTHY BABIES!! But we would not know for sure until the 28th week ultrasound. Apparently this when the cysts disappear if they are going to disappear. Sam had one cyst. Let me tell you that 20 week ultrasound was odd. Both Owen and I knew something was different. The tech kept looking at his brain. I thought that was odd and kept asking her if he was perfect. She finally said, "I can't tell you, the doctor will inform you if something is wrong". Then when we got back to the doctor's room she came in and was off her normal game with us. Owen said he could tell in her face she had news for us. She was great about it and gave us the do not worry speech but again I worried for 9 weeks. Nine weeks is a long time to not know if you are carrying a healthy baby or a baby that will die with in hours of being born.

So here we are at 29 weeks and our ultrasound was perfect! NO cysts. I knew the tech could not tell us if something was wrong so I made a point not to ask her. However later Owen told me I asked her 4 times if Sam was ok. Just think of how many times I would have asked if I wasn't trying to ask! Not only is he growing right on track but he weighs 2 lbs and 15 ounces which is above average for 29 weeks. Looks like he will be a big boy like his brother.

We are scheduled to give birth on Dec. 27th at 7 am. That means we have to be at the hospital at 5 am! Early morning for all of us :)

The nurse called me today and my blood sugar is fine. It is 106 and 130 is the minimum limit for gestational diabetes. So luckily I don't have to worry with that during this pregnancy. However I am anemic and need to take iron. But the bad part is I have been taking iron pills since my first trimester b/c I was anemic last time. So now I have to take two iron supplements. But I think iron helps my energy level so if taking two pills a day helps with that, I am all on board. :)

That is where we are with Sam! We start going to the doctor every two weeks now. It is go time - which means, I must finish his room :)

22 Months

Andrew is 22 Months Old! I can't believe it!!!

He is a sweet kid who loves his momma :)

He is starting to put two and three words together.

He is VERY opinionated on what he wears to sleep and for the day. This is starting to become a problem. At first it was cute b/c I liked that he had an opinion but he it is becoming difficult if the shirt he wants to wear is dirty or if he just doesn't want to wear anything.

He is throwing a little more fits lately and this is catching me off guard. I can usually distract him or Owen can but that is not happening as easily as it used to. So I am trying to learn a new approach.

At Mommy and Me we talk about transition times. For example, in 5 minutes we are going to get dressed. I started this on Wednesday and it has seemed to help. He has started to really play with his toys so the transition time is helpful b/c he knows play time is about to end.

He gets shy around new people. This isn't a new characteristic but I wanted to mention it b/c he is still like this. If he knows you he will be goofy and play, but it takes him a little while to warm up to you. I guess I have noticed this more with Mommy and me b/c there are new kids and mommies in the class and Andrew doesn't like attention on him like he used to.

He will answer questions when Owen and I ask him but if someone else asks him a question (for example, what is your name?) he doesn't answer.

The only vegetables he likes are corn and lima beans. So this has become challenging in the dinner department. I think he eats more veggies at school but is picky at home.

He has had a stuffy nose this past month and is cutting two new teeth on the bottom. After these teeth, I think all we have left is the 2 year molars.

I am still not sure how Andrew will react when Sam is here. I think he likes his family dynamic of the 3 of us plus Ralphie. I am nervous about all of this.

Overall he is a happy, playful toddler. He loves being outside and playing with Ralphie. He likes a routine and if we stray from it he lets us know through an attitude change.

We love him so much and really enjoy watching him change from a baby to a big kid.

It was beyond great

This past weekend Andrew and I went to Destin with three of my college girlfriends and their babies. All of our babies are around the same age so we wanted to get them together so they can start building relationships with each other. Of course bonding time between all of us was also on the agenda.

I can't put into words how great this weekend was for me. It was too short. It was relaxing. I got to really get to know what my friends have been up to. These are friends that are like sisters. We don't talk to each other every day or even once a month. We keep up through email and facebook but we we were so close in college. In fact most of my college memories has one of these girls if not all of them in it! They have seen me in my worst, my best and in between. So getting away for a weekend and being able to really be myself was a blessing for me.

Since we are all mommies now it was fun to see each of us parent - and you know what we are pretty good at it! I learned a positive parenting lesson from each of them and look forward to many more Destin weekends with these women and their precious children (plus a few more kids) :)

Charlie, Caroline and Lila are Andrew's new friends...here are some of my favorite pictures of them.