36 Weeks!

Well, we are hopefully coming to a close of baby growing photos! Someone is ready for this to all be over =) 

We are anxiously awaiting Baby R's arrival. I dilated 3 cm at 35 weeks & was still 3 cm at my Dr. appt yesterday. My Doctors were all pretty excited at my progression & have said they think she will come early, but at this point it is just a waiting game. I was afraid even 36 weeks was a little early to be expecting her but they told me yesterday they consider her FULL TERM! YAY! Even if she comes next week, they will not try to stop labor because she is ready...I'm ready...for her that is! 

I may not be ready in the sense that we still have lots to do before family & friends come to visit. I'm trying to plan Greyson's birthday & work on Christmas at the same time! Plus, I would like some beds around for people to sleep in =) but it will get done one day at a time.

How Far Along: 36 weeks 3 days

Size of baby: 18 inches long & 6 lbs.

Weight gain so far: 14 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing some regular clothes, but mostly maternity at this point- starting to pull out clothes for cooler weather!

Gender: A Girl! So excited for her to make her arrival

Movement: Getting pretty snug in there...still feeling lots of movement but she's almost out of room!

Sleep: Actually getting a lot better! Haven't taken tylenol in quite awhile =) 

 Symptoms: Heartburn & back pain here & there- low iron so I am on iron pills until delivery- Thankfully NO swelling this time around! I think I might make it to delivery with regular sized feet!

What I miss: With so much going on, we have worked non-stop to get our house in order from moving & ready for the baby. I miss being able to do a lot of regular activities, but I have learned when I've overdone it & when I need to sit or take a break. I'm still working so that is a good excuse to prop my feet up for awhile!

Cravings: Anything sweet...homemade cinnamon rolls in the making right now!

Best Moment this week: Getting the kids rooms painted & being able to start setting up the nursery

Baby "Sprinkle"

Ever heard of a baby sprinkle? Well, it's just like a baby shower, only on a smaller scale since you don't need as many first time mom baby essentials =)

My 2 awesome friends (Skye & Emie) planned an adorable get together at Olive Garden to celebrate. 

We were "sprinkled" with so many cute little girl things from my family, friends & co-workers! 

Our food was delicious, of course, because it's my favorite restaurant. They had cupcakes decked out in pink & tiny paci's for dessert! SO CUTE!

 Most of my gifts were baby girl clothes, accessories & toys...which of course made opening everything SO FUN!

I also received a beautiful framed poem called "What is a Child?" It is so perfect for this time in our lives...it will be a constant reminder of why we have children & what our purpose is in raising them.

My wonderful hostesses & the babies!

Greyson loves seeing Jace & Kylee. They are so cute together!

 We are SO very blessed to have these friends in our lives...I have received numerous other gifts from family & friends that were not able to attend & the nursery is filling up more every day! After the sprinkle, Emily & my other friend Courtney came to my house to help put away all the gifts & organize the closet & dresser. I could not have done it all without their help! 

As it turns out, I had my 35 week check up yesterday & am progressing much faster than expected. I still may go to my due date...these things are never certain, but the doctor told me to go ahead & get my bags packed & everything in order just in case. I am already dilated to 3cm & while I know some have been dilated this early & have STILL gone a full month, she thinks I will be a couple weeks early. In a way I am very ready to have this baby...but I would like her to "cook" a little longer to be on the safe side. Also, these last few weeks with Greyson seemed to take FOREVER! but this time around, I am feeling rushed & like I don't have everything ready! I know realistically it's because of the major events we have had in our lives lately. Our family has gone through so much...most people only have 1 or 2 major things happen in a year & we have had several. From losing loved ones & traveling, to a major boost in Matt's work & job taking him out of town more often, a major transition in location moving to our new house & getting settled in...to bringing a new baby into the world...ALL within a year.

Lets just say I am ready for the last phase to take place & to celebrate Thanksgiving, Greyson's birthday & Christmas with my family. Once I get through that, I might feel like I can breath again! Obviously having 2 kids will change my world AGAIN but at least I will be able to focus on them & not on unpacking, or setting up rooms in the midst of it all. We are pretty much settled other than getting the kids rooms done & we will eventually work on the garage apartment when we get a bed in there. 

God has really given me an enormous amount of strength these last few months. I can feel it! Pray that this last month will go smoothly & that our baby girl will be happy & healthy even if she does decide to come a little early. I guess this weekend means I better start packing our bags...this time I have 4!!! 

Happy Halloween!

We like Halloween.

Our family enjoys dressing up, passing out candy & attending any & all fall parties, trunk & treats & festivals. We do not however, endorse the so-called meaning behind it. 

You can choose to celebrate fall or in its stead, focus on the negative side of Halloween being "Satan's day" with all the scary, gross, gory, demonic things that go along with it. 

As Christians, we choose to take advantage of the day in itself & use it for GOOD not focusing or "celebrating" the evil that most of our culture has made it out to be. I mean there IS some scary stuff out there...not gonna lie!

Our church usually does a Trunk or Treat which gives us the chance to meet families in our neighborhood, invite them to church & get their kids in our Kings Kids program. We pass out information, candy & tracks. This can be the best kind of evangelism. So many times our pastor goes door to door inviting families to church, & the rest of us are to be out witnessing as well! But this one day a year, alllll the kids & families come to us. On PURPOSE! It's a great opportunity to share the gospel & meet several people all at one time. Plus when you participate in church events, you usually don't have to deal with the scary side & it is a much safer place to take your kids. 

Last year was Greyson's first halloween to dress up. He was the CUTEST little puppy dog EVER! I did not have a hand in picking out his costume because he got it for Christmas from my inlaws, but it was the perfect idea to use in decorating our trunk.

He had his own dog house & doggy dish of candy =)

We did have a few "scary" costumes come through but they didn't seem to phase him at all. I think he was too little to grasp what that meant. 

Even though he wasn't a year old yet, he was still able to trick or treat. MOMS- since babies that young aren't generally into chocolate candy & all that, it is GREAT to encourage baby appropriate snacks & I was happy people of thought of his age in giving to him. He got those little yogurt melts that he loved, those fruit & veggie pouches, a long with little packs of gold fish & teddy grahams. He was able to enjoy the "loot" instead of mommy & daddy getting it all...because lets face it...pretty sure whatever your kid gets...you are going to get! I was glad he got to enjoy the spoils his first year =)

This year, we did NOT have a TorT at our church. It didn't feel quite the same, but we were totally fine with that because not only was it supposed to rain (which is did) but with Greyson being a little older, & more in tune with "scary" things, we felt like taking him to a few houses of close friends & family was better & a more controlled environment. 

I'm sure next year he will be able to grasp the concept a little better & it will be easier to explain to him why people dress up in scary things, & why we don't. 

Right now, he is pretty into 2 things. Thomas the tank engine (what little boy toddler isn't) & Curious George. I'm doing Thomas for his 2nd birthday party...so Curious George was the natural choice. 

We had planned to actually make DADDY Curious George & Greyson the Man in the Yellow Hat! LOL but the costumes were just easier to "make" in the right order. Matt already had the clothes, boots & dark hair. Greyson already had a monkey hat & I was just going to dress him in brown with a red CG t-shirt. The last week before Halloween, my friend Emily happened to mention she had a monkey costume we could borrow! It was perfect! All I did was buy $2 worth of yellow fleece & made a big yellow hat out of that, black ribbon & cardboard, plus a tie with black polka dots that I colored on with a marker. Easy Peasy. Greyson's was pretty self explanatory & FREE =) 

Pretty sure I'm into the man in the yellow hat & his little monkey is cute to boot!

We went to 6 or 7 houses of family & friends- he still made out like a bandit! G-mama even got him CG snacks! =)

Of course, Mimi was expecting a little Curious George too & planned for the occasion. He loves that little George & carried him around the rest of the night...he even made sure CG had a spot in his bed.

I felt a little left out not dressing up this year, so last minute before we left the house I decided to be a pumpkin. Bet no one saw that coming...I mean what else is there unless you take actual time to plan something!! 

We had fun...more importantly Greyson had fun...& I didn't have to explain what ghosts & goblins were....this year anyway!

34 Weeks!

I've got a little over a month left...at this point it seems like time has just flown by to get me here & now it is standing still. I always felt like the last month took the longest! Even with all the holidays coming up there is so much to do & while I think we won't get it all done in time...I still wish this little one would hurry up & get here!

How Far Along: 34 weeks 2 days

Size of baby: 18 inches long & 5.8 lbs.

Weight gain so far: 9 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing some regular clothes, but mostly maternity at this point. I found 3 sweaters in the Jr. section at Belks a week or so ago because I needed "warmer" clothes. They could pass for maternity but will be great wearing during the winter months after baby comes. I am wearing one of them in the pictures!

Gender: A Girl! Daddy picked the name - He told me another girl name he thought would be cool to use for the "next one" haha It is the last name of a country singer...go figure! Maybe he will pick the girls names & I'll get to pick all the boys names =)

Movement: So much more active than Greyson ever was...she is all over the place! My mother in law could not believe how much she was wiggling around the other day 

Sleep: Still taking Tylenol at night to help with stiffness while sleeping, but doing good!

 Symptoms: Heartburn & back pain here & there- low iron so I am on iron pills until delivery

What I miss: Doing simple daily activities! It is hard to bend over & pick things up or carry laundry. I am working on Christmas presents & simple things get tiresome after awhile

Cravings: Never ending dessert! 

Best Moment this week: All our fun fall activities!

What I am looking forward to: A baby sprinkle that my friends are throwing for me at Olive Garden! 

Fall Fun!

We sure have enjoyed a lot of activities this fall! 

This past week, we made it back to our play group for a mini baby "sprinkle" for Amanda & I. She is having a boy in January & our girl will be here in December...both 2nd time moms, both with the opposite gender. We had fun sharing clothes & enjoying play date with all our kids =)

Over the weekend, we went on our annual trip to the Old Baker Farm Pumpkin Patch! It has become tradition to go with our friends, the Powell's. This year, Matt had a registered horse show in Tennessee on the same weekend, so he had to miss it. I invited my friend Courtney along instead in Matt's absence. 

We started taking Lexi to the PP when she was just a baby...since then we have added the 2 boys! We have done matching shirts the last 2 yrs in a row. Emily did CUTE little pumpkin/initial shirts this year & I loved them! Next year we will add at least one baby (if not more) to the group since Courtney & her husband are expecting as well. Who knows...they might continue the tradition & come with us too!

 TRACTOR TIME

They got to see lots of animals, play in the hay, pick cotton...etc. It was the festival so there were tons of vendors to shop from, food to eat, live music & the cival war reenactment was also taking place. We didn't do the hay & corn maze or pony rides (we get those anyway) but it is a great set up with lots of fun things to do there.

Love this little man! He is so precious...& I'm so glad we have been able to do all these fun things together...just me & him before baby comes =)

Hay ride to the patch!

He found the perfect size =) 

 After getting our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, we made our way to Courtney's house for a fun fall party with the youth from our church. We roasted hotdogs around the fire & ate a good supper. Then we carved our pumpkins. 

It was a long day but well worth all the fun =)

32 Weeks!

Because of the moving, traveling & sickness in our family...I took a long a 6 wk break from pregnancy photos. Looking from 26-32 weeks is quite the change! 

Greyson was not very happy at the timing of his photo...he even asked where the sign was to hold, but lack of a nap turned him into a Mr. Cranky Pants & this was the best sign photo we had =P

How Far Along: 32 weeks 3 days

Size of baby: 17inches long & 4 lbs.

Weight gain so far: 5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing some regular clothes, but mostly maternity at this point

Gender: A Girl! Daddy picked a name awhile ago but wants to wait until she is born to announce it

Movement: Very aggressive! She is much more active than Greyson ever was...I am carrying differently this time around, so everything is out front making it a lot more noticeable. Sometimes I think she will kick her way out!

Sleep: Pretty good considering! I get stiff if I lay for long periods of time, so getting up in the night is pretty sore, but taking Tylenol seems to help every now & then

 Symptoms: Heartburn here & there

What I miss: I am now big enough that every day activities are harder for me but I'm in the nesting phase & am on my feet a lot!

Cravings: Never ending dessert! 

Best Moment this week: Spending some quality time with my little boy in our new house, seeing my mother in law get out of the hospital & Greyson getting a pony yesterday!

What I am looking forward to: Setting up the nursery & attending a couple baby showers that my friends are having for me & Baby R =)

"I just want to go to bed already!" -Greyson

Thank You Nana!!

We are ALL MOVED IN!!!

 While we were in PA, my mother in law was put in the hospital with a rare form of pneumonia. Since she is also battling cancer, she ended up staying in the hospital more than 2 weeks! My mom knew there was no way that Lela would be able to help us set up our new house & we have wanted her to take it easy anyway, so during our move, we relied mostly on our friends to help us.

The next phase was unpacking & getting everything set up & organized. I offered to pay my mom's way to Alabama so she could help us for awhile. It worked out perfectly for us to fly back together & she stayed a week & worked non-stop! 

 She was able to get lots more loving in with Greyson, but I cannot tell you the amount of work we accomplished with her here in that short time. She did countless loads of laundry & unpacking. She had a place for everything & we were able to go through every box & reorganize it all. Greyson liked to "help" her every now & then, but it was nice when Uncle "B" would come over & entertain him so we could keep working. =)

We had 3 garages to go through...I figured we'd do what we could & there would still be a ton left to do. Wonder Woman Nana left with only a few decorations to put up & things to hang on the walls. We still have to paint the kids rooms, get them set up & I have a few projects to work on, but everything else is pretty much done. In addition to her help, she even cooked, cleaned & bought all kinds of items that we needed to help us get organized. 

At the airport, Greyson seemed to think Nana's suitcase was pretty heavy! 

I don't know what I would do without parents like this to be there for us when we need them. We never imagined my mother in law would be so sick at the same time we would move & that we would have so much going on with the family we have close to us. It is wonderful that we are now living a few hundred yards from my in-laws & that we can help & be here to help her recover. 

In the mean time, my parents that live so far away, are still there for us. I can always count on them...even if I can help out with a few of the traveling costs here & there, they make the time to show us they care, love us & will do anything for us in our time of need. 

I am excited to be able to share a couple more weeks with them in December when our baby girl arrives. It might be a shorter trip considering this trip was not planned, but a girl always wants her mom around with a new baby...& who knows what Greyson will be up to during that time! 

A huge Thank You goes to my mom...our Nana! We couldn't have done it without you! & Thank you to Papa for letting her come & fending for himself all week =)

As an update: My mother in law got out of the hospital this past monday. She is doing remarkably well but still has a long way to go. I appreciate all the prayers, kind words & cards that were sent! 

Thank you!