36 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights: 

How far along: 36 weeks 3 days
Size of Baby: Weighs around 5 1/2 lb (per sono)
Medical Stuff: I had another sonogram last Friday to check my amniotic fluid levels (I have history of low fluid with Avery) as well as baby boy's size and I am happy to report that he looked great!  All his measurements were normal and he looked nice and healthy.  On the sono he is only measuring a few days bigger than expected, although when the doctor measures my belly with the measuring tape I consistently measure 4 weeks larger.  Guess he has just stretched out and made himself comfy in my belly.  Such a bossy little boy already ;-)
I asked the doctor if the fact that my belly is measuring big was correlated at all to going into labor early and thankfully she said there is not correlation.  I was checked and am dilated to a 1 right now and he is still head down and will most likely stay that way.  I am continuing to have contractions, probably about 1 every few hours, but nothing notable or consistent.  Overall, other than the normal end of pregnancy stuff, swollen feet at end of day, fatigue, trouble sleeping, etc, I am still feeling pretty good.  For some reason I am not confident that that I will make it the full 39 1/2 weeks to my scheduled c-section on the 22nd.  I never went into labor with either of the girls, but somehow this one feels different, but only time will tell!  I am getting so excited to see this little guy in just a few short weeks.
Gender: a BOY!
Movement: yes!  lots of movement, mostly at night
Symptoms: sporadic contraction, swollen feet at end of day, trouble sleeping, peeing constantly.
Best Moment of the Week: Making it to 36 weeks!
What I am Looking Forward To:  Meeting our new little one and introducing him to his adoring sisters

One Month

Exactly one month from today we will be welcoming our newest little miracle into the world. I think we are all just a little bit excited.



(This is a picture Gracyn drew of the baby. I bet it looks just like him.)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Weekend Wrap-Up

This was one of those weekends that I feel like I need another weekend right after.  Our schedule was jam packed and nobody had any naps all weekend long (mommy included!)  But we had a blast and I am glad we are making the most of every minute before baby brother gets here in just a little over a month!  Yikes time is flying!

Friday Avery had her very first school spirit assembly.  I should mention it started at 7:40 because I feel like getting both girls dressed, fed, bags packed and dressed myself as well, which is not an easy feat at 8 1/2 months pregnant, was quite the achievement.  It was really cute and verrrrrry packed.  But Gracyn and I had fun watching all the kids get acknowledged and listen to the school song and any announcements.  Hopefully we get to make it to a few more!


Then I dropped G off at school and ran a few errands before heading home.  I decided to go ahead and pull out the newborn baby clothes so I could really assess the situation- what do we have, what do we need, etc- and I gotta say it was pretty weird to see a whole basket full of clothes without one article of pink clothing in it.  Guess I better get used to it!


Saturday started a little slowly, which was a nice break from the rush-rush pace of weekdays, so we took advantage of the lower temperatures and played outside in the "Sugar Sweet" cafe, where their specialty was wooden corn, wooden cookies, and pretend Dr.Pepper.  It was delicious.


Then we headed out to the soccer fields for Avery's second soccer game.  She is having such a blast learning her new sport and her team won!  And she may have scored a goal also ;-)


As you can see Gracyn is getting used to being a soccer field cheerleader.  She basically comes for the snacks.



Then right after soccer we headed home to change clothes and meet up with Aunt Alli & Uncle Matt so we could go to a local hot air balloon festival!  I was slightly nervous to go since it was supposed to be hot and I am very pregnant, but it was really not too bad and we had such a blast!   We did all the obligatory fair-like things like ride rides, pet animals and eat corndogs.











Both girls got to ride ponies for the very first time and they loved every second of it.









And then we found a nice shade spot to sit and wait for the balloon launch.  And we waited.  And waited.


But this was all that happened.  The balloons aired up but were unable to launch because it was too windy ;-(


The girls really didn't seem to mind and they had a blast running around without shoes, playing tag and soaking up all the fun around them.  It really was such a perfect day (despite the Aggies loss to Bama, but we won't mention that.)






On Sunday it was time to cheer on the Dolphins who WON!!!!!!  And the Cardinals WON too!!!!


Touchdown!!!!


And then we drove about a hour to celebrate my sweet grandma's birthday.  For some reason I didn't catch any pictures with the birthday girl but we had a nice Sunday eating fried chicken and birthday cake and watching football surrounded by family.  Doesn't get much better than that!


Phew!  Such a busy, fun-filled weekend!  I'm pooped!  Is it Friday yet?

The Good Stuff

At 8 months pregnant its easy to get lost in the aches and pains that come at this point in pregnancy so I thought it would help to focus on all the amazing things about pregnancy that I will miss in just a little over this month when this little guy makes his appearance.

I love feeling him kick and move around.

I love how bonded I already feel to him.

I love thinking about what he will look like.

I love thinking about how much his sisters are going to love him.

I do actually love shopping for BLUE things!

I love thinking about holding my newest little miracle.

I love rubbing the Buddha belly.

I love the amazing naps that I can only get when I'm pregnant.

I love when the girls kiss my belly




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Is it Fall Yet?

Gracyn has been doing amazing at school!  I don't want to jinx it but there have not been any tears!  She just walks right in and never looks back.  And of course her teachers seem to love her :-)  They are full of compliments like "she is so smart"  "she loves to participate"  "she is such a great listener"  every time I pick her up.  That's like music to this Mommy's ears.
She is going three days a week this year and I really struggled deciding if she should go 2 or 3 days and I am so glad we put her in 3.  She is having the best time and I know she will be much more entertained at school than home with Mommy and a newborn!
Keep up the good work G!  We are so proud of you!


The official football season has started and the Dolphins won the opener!  Hopefully that is a sign of great things to come this season!  Football season gets a little confusing around our house since we cheer for the Aggies, Dolphins, and now the Cardinals.  The poor girls can't keep it all straight and usually just revert to cheering for the Aggies no matter what game we are watching ;-)









Avery has been doing beyond amazing at school!  She really has transitioned without any issue at all and seems to love every second of going to school.  It's so neat to hear about her day and all the new friends she is making.


Gracyn and I even got to join her for lunch one day this week and take a little sneak peak into her normal school day.  It was great for her to point out all her friends and for her to show us all the fun things they do during lunch!

Girls Got Game!

Avery decided to take a break from dance this year and give soccer a try and last Saturday was her first game.  We have only had one practice so I wasn't really sure how the game would go but she did great.  Luckily everyone on our team are first-timers too, and we are playing only other new teams, so it helps to have everyone pretty evenly matched.
Her team is called the Ponies and they formed the teams by elementary schools, so Avery has loved seeing all her soccer friends at school too!

We are still learning the basics but Avery scored TWO goals in her very first soccer game ever! She was so excited and couldn't wait to call Daddy to tell him all about it.

And thanks to Nana & Papa for coming out to cheer for the Ponies- hopefully the next game won't be so hot!

This was just the first game of many this season so we are eager to see how the season goes, and have fun learning more about soccer.  Go Ponies!

Just Like Barbie

"Uncle Eric is famous because he's on TV. He is just like Barbie!"

Yep I agree, he is exactly like Barbie ;-)

Good job last night Uncle E! We love you.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Normal

It's been about a week since we began our "new normal."  Our new normal includes public school drop-off, pick up, carpool, and frequent after-school meetings.  I can't say it has gone completely smoothly and there have already been plenty of times that I felt like I had no idea what was going on, but we are slowly figuring it all out.  Its been pretty interesting transitioning from private school where we got daily reports, loads of papers sent home every day, and daily contact with teachers to 5 seconds of interaction at carpool pick-up with her teacher and no papers sent home at all.  I know this is our "new normal" and my control-freak personality is slowly adjusting.  Luckily Avery handles change better than her momma so she has eased right into Kinder like an old pro.  She has been rewarded for the past two days for good behavior (aka being clipped up to a color greater than green) and has been pretty good about explaining all the fun activities she does all day to her inquiring mother, and she has been meeting all sorts of new friends every day.  I am sure I am biased but I bet she is a teacher's dream come true :-)




I had my 32nd birthday last week and was spoiled rotten by my whole family.  I got a whole date night with my own Momma who treated me to a pedicure and dinner at my favorite spot, The Cheesecake Factory.  It was a blast and I loved getting to spend one-on-one time with her.  Then the very next night my sister Allison took me to Studio Movie Grill- another one of my favorites.  Then I got treated to sweet cards and a day full of fun with my own kiddos and sweet hubby.  Thanks to everyone for all birthday wishes!  It was a great day and I know 32 is going to be another amazing year!





We have been lucky enough to have Aunt Alli and Uncle Matt staying with us for the past week.  Lucky for us, not so sure it's lucky for them because their AC has been out at their new house.  But I know we have loved having them here and the girls are so excited for them to get home every day!



Another thing I have loved is getting some special one-on-one time with my almost-middle child.  We have had some fun spending time with friends and playing with our newest little buddies.....




As well as special date-days where we run errands, go shopping, and eat an impromptu lunch while sitting together on the same side of the booth and reading Sophia the First books.  Truly perfect days where I get to put all my attention on my special girl.  I know these times are fleeting so we are soaking up every second before baby brother gets here!

I know our "new normal" is going to continue evolving as the year progresses- with a new baby and his ever evolving schedule plus two busy girls with their school and activities- but I am loving this phase that we are in and look forward to everything that is coming our way!

First Day Recap

Gracyn's First Day Preschool 2's

Today was Gracyn's first day of Preschool 2's class!  We had meet the teacher the other night so she already got to meet her teachers Mrs. Lori and Mrs. Trudy.  I wasn't sure how she would handle drop-off this morning since she sometimes still gets a little teary at drop-off but she did great!  She hung up her backpack and walked right in like a big girl!  Go Gracyn!

Here's to hoping that both my girls have amazing years at school!

32 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights: 

How far along: 32 weeks 4 days
Size of Baby: Weighs around 4 lb
Medical Stuff: I had another doctor appointment last Friday for a normal 32 week check-up as well as another sono to see how big this little guy is getting.  Sonogram went great and baby boy is measuring just about a week ahead on sonogram.  All his measurements and everything look great and he was moving around a lot!  My uterus is still measuring 4 weeks big when Dr.Bailey measures with the measuring tape so I guess he has made himself pretty comfy in my tummy.  I really feel like my uterus height is higher than it should be at this stage, which explains the 4 week difference, and sitting for long periods of time is getting tough just because he is already sitting so high.  He is still in head down position and I'm guess he will stay that way.  I got a little overheated on Thursday night and wasn't drinking enough water so I had lots of Braxton Hicks and a very tight belly all through the night on Thursday so I was a little worried about that but my doctor just said I raised my body heat too high and told me to take it easy all day Friday and luckily Matt was off on Friday to help me out and after just a few hours of rest I felt much, much better and have't had any problems since.  Lesson learned and I have been trying to rest a little more and take a big jug of water with me wherever I go.
Gender: a BOY!
Movement: yes!  lots of movement, mostly at night
Symptoms: Other than the little episode with overheating on Thursday I have been feeling pretty good. Of course I am feeling hot and big but really have been fortunate in avoiding any of the terrible symptoms that I could be getting.
Best Moment of the Week: Seeing him on the sonogram Friday and it was even more special because Matt and Gracyn got to be there with me.
What I am Looking Forward To:  Gracyn starts school this week going 3x/wk and with Avery going to Kindergarden every day, I will for the very first time in my life have a little time to myself while the girls are in school (last year I worked while they were in school).  I know its only for a little while until little guy gets here and the 5 hours, 3x/wk will fly by but I really feel like I could use the rest a little bit at this stage of pregnancy and will be glad to get it, even for just a month!


But I am getting more and more eager to see this little guy in just 7 weeks!