First Visit to Dentist

I took Big Sissy to her first dentist appointment today. I was nervous because it is not a pediatric dentist, but she did so great. I had prepped her A LOT, and then the hygienist worked hard to make everything seem really fun. She loved the chair that went up and down like Grandma E's chair (she has a lift chair that my grandpa used). The tickle toothbrush was really exciting, and then the fluoride with her very own new Ariel toothbrush was just super fun. She was very relaxed the whole time. Mommy was so proud!!!

Same Swollen Face + Better Hair = Better Perspective

37 Weeks

I'm starting to lose my smile. Come to think of it, I'm starting to lose my whole face...and my ankles...and my wrists. :)

My Cute Husband

Here are some pictures of my husband on our family weekend. I decided to save the wii video clip for sometime that he makes me need revenge for some reason. :) This is why I married him. He loves to participate in whatever is going on and is such a good sport. Dad enjoyed watching us all play Guitar Hero, too. My brother-in-law had brought a projector, and it was projected across the whole back wall of the living room.

The Nursery

I finally got the shelf hung in the nursery. I still have one more shelf to do for Little Guy's room, and I'm trying to figure out a way to hang the quilt that is draped over the rocking chair. Any ideas? This rocking chair was my mom's when my sister was a baby (I think), so it's at least 36 years old. It's been recovered many times. Since I don't know how to sew I'm leaving it pink, but it doesn't look as bad as I thought it might. We have had this bedding and furniture for 8 years. We used the furniture for the girls, but I'm amazed I still like the bedding. We got a little over-excited when we first started trying to get pregnant. Who knew it would take so long. We stored this furniture for 4 years before we got to use it. I still love it.

PB Cookies and My Big Orange Container

Today was a great day. My sweet cousin drove an hour to come watch the girls so Hubby and I could have some time together. I thought I was going to have a date by myself because he was having a hard time waking up, but 45 minutes after she arrived he was finally ready. I was so excited about some freedom, but then I remembered my big orange container. What big orange container, you might be wondering? Well, part of Dr. M's panic was to check me for preeclampsia (high blood pressure in pregnancy that can put the baby in danger). To check for this, I had to have blood drawn yesterday, collect ALL my urine for 24 hours in this big orange container, and then have my blood drawn again tomorrow. That meant taking the big orange container with me on my date today. Refrigeration was not a problem in the cold weather; in fact, I'd rather have it in my car than in my refrigerator...yuck. But I wasn't about to carry my collection pan and my big orange container around with me so I held it ALL DAY. (So did Big Sissy, coincidentally, since she refuses to let anyone else help her go potty but Mommy.) I was actually kind of glad to get home so I could use the big orange container. Maybe that was God's way of reminding me that kids really aren't inconvenient. No, big orange containers and collection pans are inconvenient.

We came home to very happy girls and a house that smelled of freshly-baked peanut butter cookies. Yummm.... Thanks, sweet cousin. Sorry there were no chocolate chips left for chocolate chip cookies. Did I mention the 53 pounds?

Ponder This

Why do they make lids for super glue? The first time you put the lid on it's stuck forever and you have to throw it away anyway.

Why do they make maternity bikini underwear? They should just make a strip of fabric that gets inserted directly into your rear and skip the part that no one sees anyway. And bikini swimwear for very large women...same idea.

Why do they sell toys on sticks at the circus? The stick should at least be shorter than the distance between seats so the children's neighbors don't become human pinatas.

Why do they make tea sets for small children made out of porcelain?

Why do they put comfort soles in high heels? There's nothing that's going to make them comfortable for long periods of time. (I know because I bought some for my wedding)

Why do they make diet, caffeine-free soda? They should just call it can-o'-carbonation.

Why do they make diet cookies? You just have to eat more of them.

Why do onesies for babies have to be pulled over their heads? As though they haven't just been through enough trauma. No wonder they cry every time. They're probably having flashbacks.

Just some things I've been thinking about lately... :)

Ready, Set...

And let the marathon dr. visits begin. Because of my uterine anomaly (if you want to know more about this you can ask), I am at risk for pre-term labor. With my first 2 pregnancies, I had probably had 10 ultrasounds and non-stress tests by now. At the last several visits I have asked my dr. if we are going to have more ultrasounds, to which he always responds, "We'll probably do one later. You're feeling movements, right?" I just figured I've had 2 successful pregnancies so he wasn't worried anymore.

As time has gone on and I am respecting my dr. less and less, I've wondered if he even remembers about this anomaly. So today after all the normal stuff, I asked about it. All of a sudden, he was in panic mode. It was clear he did NOT remember (as I suspected). He asked if I was feeling movements, to which I replied, "yes, some--maybe not as much as I used to." He got really stern and said, "I need you to tell me the last time you felt movement." The next thing I know I'm waiting in line to get an ultrasound, then I'm hooked up to all the machines for a non-stress test, then I'm on my way to the lab to get bloodwork to check for preeclampsia. It was a little humorous, but it actually stressed me out a little!!! I left for my appointment at 10:30 a.m. and got home at about 3:15 p.m. Poor Hubby hardly got any sleep and had to keep the girls all day.

The good news: Everything seems fine. Baby is growing and moving and reactive. Estimated weight as of today is 7 pounds. I also got to spend some time reading while I waited.

The bad news: I don't think we're moving up the date for the scheduled c-section. I'm actually more OK with this than I thought I would be. I feel comforted to know everything is fine, and I still have tons to do before he arrives. So we have one more marathon appointment, then if nothing changes he'll be here in 12 days!!! Oh, one more piece of bad news....I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. on D Day. Yikes... Oh, one more piece of bad news...I've gained 53 pounds. No wonder my back hurts!

Our Family Weekend

Usually in January my family goes out of town for a relaxing, focused family weekend. We normally play games, have yummy snacks, and shop at outlet malls. Because of our cruise last February, we did our family weekend at my parents' house this weekend. It was tons of fun. I was spoiled enough to get a "real bed" since I am 8 months pregnant. Everyone else slept on air mattresses all over the house. I almost liked it better this way. We definitely had better snacks because they were all homemade. The only bad part is that my mom had to do way more work than everyone else. She made the meals, etc. Here are some highlights from the weekend:

*Our nasty soda tasting contest. My dad had been to a pantry ministry where some Jones sodas had been donated, and they gave him some. The flavors were Christmas Tree, ham, egg nog, and sugar plum. OK...can you imagine giving these to a homeless person? Sorry you don't have a real meal, but here's a ham soda. Just be thankful for what you've got. Let me just tell you...it was GROSS!!!! The egg nog was actually the best one. It tasted like a cream soda.

*Our shopping trip. It was short and sweet, but it's always fun to shop. Big Sissy went with us, and she felt like such a big girl. We ended at Babies 'R Us, and I got some fun things for Little Buddy, like a baby book, a memory box, and some boppy covers that aren't pink. I'm getting really excited. I'll post pictures of the nursery soon.

*Playing Guitar Hero on my niece and nephew's wii. I've never played anything on a wii before, and I was TERRIBLE, but it was lots of fun. The funniest part was watching my very conservative husband get into it. If I ever get a camera that's not screwed up, maybe I'll post a video clip of that. Honorable mention goes to my brother, who truly does rock.

*Did I mention good food? Yummy pumpkin muffins, homemade salsa, chocolate yum yum--just to name a few of the good snacks. Then there were the meals: clam chowder, lasagna soup (this was a first and very tasty), breakfast buffet of biscuits and gravy, ham, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs; and roast with mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls. I'm sure Dr. M will be very happy with my weight gain progress.

*I'm mentioning this last, but the best part was just hanging out with family. I felt bad that I couldn't help as much as I would like, but I got so much help with the girls, and it was fun watching them enjoy Nana and Papa, aunts and auncles, and cousins. I am so sad for families who don't enjoy spending time together. I loved it!! Here is a picture of story time with Nana.

Sure Signs It's Not My First Pregnancy

I was thinking last night about so many things that are different this time around being pregnant and comparing it to my first pregnancy. Here are just a few:

* Last night I painted a shelf for the baby's room and sprayed it with a finish. The first time around Hubby made me open the windows just to paint my fingernails.

*I had an x-ray at the dentist's office the other day (double shielded over the belly, of course). The first time around I wouldn't even stand near the microwave to wait for my hot tea.

*I have to clean my own house, bend over to give the girls baths, carry laundry downstairs, etc. The first time around I wasn't allowed to smell fumes from cleaning products, lift anything heavy, or push a vacuum.

*I haven't read a single pregnancy book. The first time I went through a whole stack of them, then I kept them handy for reference.

*"Take it easy" from the doctor now means, "Don't move the refrigerator by yourself." The first time around it meant, "Lay on the couch all morning, then scrapbook until Dr. Phil comes on."

*I thought of a few things I needed, and I had to just go buy them rather than registering for them.

*I currently can't find Little Buddy's ultrasound pictures. The first time around they were already in an album; some of them were framed.

*I choose cookies for a snack rather than hummus on a wheat pita.

*I have only 3 weeks to go, and I'm not even freaking out.

OK, so it's not so bad to have been there a few times before. He may not be the center of my world, but he will be loved and delighted in and welcomed into our not-so-perfect, not-as-clean-as-I-would-like, not-as nutritious-as-we-should-be home. We're ready for you, little guy!

First Night in Twin Bed

We finally got the twin bed up today. Tonight is Little Sissy's first night in it, and so far it's going really well. I think this is much better than the mattress on the floor. First of all, she always wants to do whatever "big girl" thing Big Sissy is doing, so she likes having matching beds and comforters. Second, there is a headboard, a footboard, a rail on the side by the wall, and a baby rail on the outside. She can crawl out if she wants to, but I think she feels pretty secure with all the rails and the big comforter. She cried for a few minutes, but I stood next to her and sang to her, and she calmed down pretty quickly. I didn't even have to lay down with her, which is a good thing because I don't know how I would have gotton over the rail gracefully.

On a medical note, I took her to the pediatric opthamologist today--the one who diagnosed her with ptosis (droopy eyelid) 9 months ago. He seems pleased that it's not very noticeable and hasn't affected her vision. Hopefully there will be no need for surgery or other intervention unless it gets remarkably worse, which isn't likely. She won't have to go back until she's 3. Yeah!!! The baby vision test at Children's Hospital 9 months ago was traumatic, so I'm glad we don't have to repeat that. It involved lots of electrodes and a patch over her eye and holding her down, etc. Ughhhh. I shudder at the memory. Praise God for good news.

First Day in Big Girl Bed

The first day in the big girl bed didn't turn out great, but it could have been worse. I forgot to get mentally prepared for naptime, so I wasn't expecting all the crying and freaking out. I'm so used to Little Sissy just going to bed without a peep...that was weird. After 2 times of coming out of her room crying hysterically, I decided to just lie down with her. She fell asleep quickly, but after about 30 minutes she rolled off of the crib mattress and woke up again. Darn it!!! I lied down with her again, but she didn't sleep long. At night time I went ahead and crawled in bed with her in the beginning (imagine 2 of us on a crib mattress--one of us being, well....me). After 20 minutes she rolled off and woke up. Darn it!!!! This time I got smart and wedged my body pillow between her mattress and the hamper that is next to it. Unfortunately, she scooted down to the end of the mattress and the next time I checked on her, her head and arms were still on the mattress but the rest of her was on the floor. I scooted her up and the rest of the night went fine...until 6:00 a.m. when I heard a quiet little "mama, mama....baaa." She had woken up looking for lamby and come into my room. So again I put her back in, and she slept until "normal wake up time."

My idea for transitioning to a big girl bed isn't quite what I had hoped. I actually think she'd be better off in a big girl bed than just on a mattress. At least it has a headboard and a footboard, and one side would be against the wall. I can put a rail on one side, so I THINK she'd have to work pretty hard to fall out. Any experienced mommies want to comment on this?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! 2007 brought us lots of changes: new house, new church, new job, new pregnancy. It went by so fast! I'm looking forward to what 2008 will bring. Hopefully we'll be a bit more settled in this year, even with a new baby coming.

We had a very kid-friendly New Year's Eve with friends from church. We didn't make it past 10:30, so Hubby and I finished 2007 with a movie while the kids slept soundly in their beds. This year has already brought changes. Today we started painting the nursery, which used to be Big Sissy's room. Our house is still total chaos, but from now on the girls will be sharing a room. This is going to mean all kinds of changes since Little Sissy normally goes to bed at least an hour before Big Sissy. I wanted to get through this transition before Little Man arrives. We'll see how it goes...

Finally Some Christmas Pics

Big Sissy loving the candy cane!

Sweet Little Sissy

Belly at 33 Weeks