Christmas morning

Will and I have said that this is the first season we really feel like parents at Christmas time. We have a kid who is anticipating Christmas day. She doesn't really get it all, but there is definitely lots of anticipation there. She is slowly learning the Christmas story of Jesus and His Birth. And she is still trying to figure out all the details of Santa. To try to make even Santa be a reminder of Jesus, we said Santa would bring her 3 presents, just like the Wise Men brought Jesus three presents. The above is what our tree looked like Christmas morning. Anna-Kate saw that Santa ate her cookies and then said, "Santa want more?" She has asked me that a few more times since then too! We showed her the full stockings and presents. She said, "Ooohhh!" Then walked away, like she didn't realize she could open them right away.

We carried everything over to the couch so this pregnant, excited momma could be more comfortable.

This was the face that Will got when asked how excited she was about Santa's presents.

Anna-Kate reached into her stocking and first pulled out a candy cane, and said, "Wow!" Gotta love the enthusiasm over the small things!

She definitely enjoyed opening her presents, but...

...this was our reminder to not go overboard with presents for a 2 year old (and she only had 7 total to open). She opened all but the last 2 presents from mommy and daddy, and decided she was ready to play with her presents instead of keep opening new ones.

Will felt like this was a rite of passage too: Daddy getting out the pocket knife to help open and put together his kid's new toy!

After about 10 minutes of playing, we were able to convince AK to open her last two presents.

Then it was back to playing with her toys. I was excited about this gift. She has seen us take pictures for her life, so lately she's started saying, "I need my own camera." This is a Fisher Price we stumbled upon that looks like a camera but has a view finder with 24 different pictures of real animals. We wondered if she would get it. Uumm, this picture says not really.

But, she surprised us and figured it out!

"Daddy, do you see the toucans?!"

I admit; I loved all the excitement this season!! I loved taking AK to the Christmas Eve service at church and watch her try to sing along to carols like "Away in a Manger" and "Joy to the World." I loved hiding presents. I loved shopping for things that I thought she would enjoy. I loved seeing her excitement and wonder in those first moments of Christmas morning. I loved hearing her say "Happy Birthday Jesus!"

And, I loved that when she has been asked, "what did Santa bring you?" Her answer has consistently been, "I got a new cat." Yes, a $1, 1-inch tall, wind up toy that was randomly bought for her stocking.

a Simmons Christmas

We had a Miller Christmas the weekend before. We had a Simmons Christmas the weekend of. Once again I get no pictures of the food. Amazing food! (probably better to hide the evidence so no ob in my life can see what I ate!) 2 days of eating: turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, broccoli, bread, and lots of desserts. So good!

2 days of hanging out; the grandkids eating up the attention from their Oma and Opa! Evelyn is taking the seat that was always AK's favorite at that age.
I love the way our nephews eat up attention from Uncle Will! Balancing a book, coffee and 2 toddlers - that's talent!

Oma and Opa spoiling all of us!

By now, AK has opened presents with my family and Santa's. She is quite the expert at showing excitement for the sweet gifts she received!

Simmons, I loved our weekend together!! Can't wait to do it again!

our Christmas card to you

Merry Christmas!

We hope you are enjoying this season of fun sights, yummy treats, and songs of Christ!!

Remembering the reason for the season

And
the angel
said to them,
"Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news
of great joy that will be
for all the people. Today
in the town of David a Savior
has been born to you; he is Christ
the Lord!"
Luke 2:10-11

a Student Quote

With my pregnancy with Anna-Kate, I taught until 8 days before my due date. One of the most fun parts of the pregnancy were the student quotes. Like, these. Since Anna-Kate was born, I have tutored one or two nights a week. This school year, I tutor 2 nights a week, 2 hours each night, 5 boys total. Tonight I got my first student quotable quote of the year.

"Mrs. Simmons, are you due over our break?"
No. I am due Jan 30. I should be able to work with you through your first test after the new year.
"Whoa! Can you really get any bigger?"
Yes, I will get even bigger than this.

Don't you love the candor of 17 year olds?! I do chuckle at these comments (including even the basketball comments of last week :).

P.S. I need to mark this on my calendar. 34 weeks means Cankles are here! Swollen legs begin and end my day. Luckily they are only sore at the end of the day.

a Christmas story and a basketball

Anna-Kate has enjoyed the books that only come out at Christmas time. We have read them so much to her that now she can "read" them to us quite well! Since Will and I are both readers, we love seeing her love of books!
"Grinch doesn't like Christmas.... I like Christmas!!" But, typical toddler, she does not always like eating her supper. This night the Grinch won over supper.

And, I include the next picture, because last week was the week for "you carrying a basketball or a baby," as well as, "looks like your basketball is about to fall out," or ... fill in the blank with any other basketball-belly comment. When I saw this picture, I had to give in. Okay, that is one stinkin' round belly!

a Miller Christmas

What a great weekend with my family! We did our Miller Christmas for the first time in Raleigh this year, and it was a blast! Of course, look at this crew...
...how could we not have fun?! I love my family!

My brother worked the first part of the day, so my parents, sister, and my family of 3 went to the Science Museum. It was a nice, different way to spend a few hours. We all had a great time! Anna-Kate loved it! (Though my camera did a really bad job of pictures, so won't post those.) Will was the popular one, though, when a butterfly landed on his head and stayed there for a couple minutes!

I should have taken a picture of our Christmas dinner. It was soooo yummy! My sister-in-law and I treated my mom to not cooking. So, she and I double-teamed supper. A roast with a tomato-parsley sauce, mashed gruyere potatoes, roasted green beans, baked apples with cranberry, and baklava for dessert! I am hungry again as I type this!

It was finally time to open presents! It took Anna-Kate no time at all to decide that she likes this part of Christmas!

She became quite the ham, laughing and talking about her presents as well as everyone else's. Do you see the nice little stash already building behind her?!

Thanks for spoiling us, family!

Anna-Kate, save some of those giggles grins; we've got round 2 next weekend!

32 Weeks

32 Weeks! We are under 8 weeks 'til this little guy's due appearance! I can not believe we are really to this point in the countdown. Here are some random facts since my last pregnancy post:

- Apparently weeks 29-32 have been the projects week. I am bound and determined that Christmas and my birthday will be enjoyed without huge get-ready-for-baby things still hanging over our head. Will installed shelves in AK's bedroom closet to help organize her closet which allows cleaning out the nursery's closet. We ordered his car seat online yesterday and bought his sheets last night. (Super cute jungle-themed sheets! Fun having a boy!) I have finally started piecing together the top for B's quilt. Maybe, maybe, hopefully, maybe it will be finished before January ends.

- B's mobility is fun right now. He likes to use my hip bones as monkey bars and push his foot under my ribs. I still have decent energy until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Then the major pregnant sway/ lumbering walk really sets in.

- I have taken seriously the borderline gestational diabetes. So, I am watching my carbs and sweets. I still eat them, but not nearly as often. I definitely miss my grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. They have been replaced with salads and soups. Lots of apples, carrots, and nuts for snacks. I ate ice cream for the first time in more than a month and oooh, it tasted good! I am hoping these dietary modifications are actually helpful and not just to drive me crazy! (I may have been indulging more than I realized. With just cutting back -not cutting out- my carbs/sweets, I have lost half a pound in 4 weeks instead of gaining. Of course, ladies, you know that means that I am now worrying that my baby is not getting big enough. Crazy pregnant woman!)

- For you Atrium girls, I have to say....I love our new doctor!! Dr. Breazeale is wonderful! Will called when the appt was over to check on his girl and baby boy, and I think the first 3 minutes I just kept saying, "I love my ob!" He helped encourage me through my fears of giving birth to Rex Hospital's next 14 pound baby. Easy bedside manner, encouraging a slightly nervous pregO woman, ... my favorite qualities in my o.b.

New Enjoyment

Anna-Kate has a new love... ...coloring!

Anna-Kate has enjoyed bringing out the coloring books. If she is on her own, she scribbles on at least 12 pages in 8 minutes. If we are coloring with her, she starts to concentrate and color (or scribble smaller) with more focus. How fun is it to watch Will concentrate on coloring a picture of Cinderella?!

Little Creek Ranch, Take 2

I have to brag again! Will, Anna-Kate, and I went back to Little Creek Ranch (remember our excursion in the hurricane) with a couple friends of ours. The meat we had from our first visit is long gone! and it was delicious! About 55 min to an hour drive from here, it was well worth the drive for that yummy, wonderful quality beef. Once again I recommend it for anyone that is looking for local, grassfed beef.

http://www.littlecreekranchnc.com/OurRanch.aspx

We are also so impressed by their hospitality while there. Here is our adventure yesterday:

We got out of the car, greeted by their two dogs. Anna-Kate said, "That's my dog!" about the black and white dog. We took care of getting the meat first. AK kept saying, "I need to see the chickens." They let AK have a fresh egg, straight from the chicken house. She did not put that egg down the rest of our adventure.

Mrs. Teague offered to take us into the pasture to see the baby calves. From Oct to Nov, more than a hundred calves were born! The five of us got in the back of her truck and rode into the pasture. Look at the grin on AK's face; can you tell she thought this was the coolest way to ride?!
We got to see Mommy cows...

...and the so-cute baby calves!

Looking at this picture, aaaahh, doesn't it make you want to do something out of the ordinary and special for your child every day?!! I can not get enough of that amazing and sincere smile!

When we got back to where our cars were parked, Anna-Kate said, "where is the daddy cow? I need to see him.......I want to pet him."

Daddy gets to help make that dream happen. Of course, once she is close to the daddy cow (ahem, large bull), she is not nearly as brave as her demands imply.

Can't wait to start cooking our beefy recipes! and always look forward to our next visit to the farm!

Just Taking a Walk

I might love this too much!

My Little Grownie and Our Weekend

Saturday, I put on a scarf. I had gotten a sweater out for Anna-Kate. Instead, she said, "Mom, I want my own scarf." ("My own" is a phrase we have been hearing a lot more lately.) I had bought some scarfs for my little cousins a couple years ago and it was such a good deal that I over-bought. I ended up keeping them instead of figuring out who to gift them too. So, I just happened to have an Anna-Kate sized scarf. She looks like such a little grown up in this picture!
Anybody also distracted by the nightlight behind AK in the above picture?! Anybody enjoy A Christmas Story as much as Will does?! Thanks to Will's parents for that amazing addition to our Christmas decor!

Anna-Kate has wanted to show everyone that we decorated for Christmas this weekend! (I really wanted Christmas to greet me when we got home from Thanksgiving with my family.) Anna-Kate was excited to see every ornament on the tree. So, she said to her daddy, "Daddy, I can't reach. I sit on your shoulders." He loved that she fixed her own problem. And, he loved that she wanted to do this because normally she flat refuses to get on his shoulders.

One final note: I feel like this year we are finally parents of a kid at Christmas. We explained to AK that Santa puts treats in our stockings; she has told that to everyone! She wanted to find Santa in the mall. "I ask him for present." But, then she refused to go anywhere near him. She is in love with the Christmas decorations. We are excited to put out cookies this year and really enjoy our kid at Christmas!!

Most importantly we have been telling her we are excited to celebrate Jesus's birthday!

First Bundle

It's beginning to look a lot like...
...winter!
I admit; I am a bit of a weanie in the cold. But, I do think this beauty is quite cute in her new winter coat! And, I am super excited to decorate the house for Christmas this weekend! For now, bring on the winter season! (until 30 degrees is the high for too many days in a row ;)

Pity Party Over

After the doctor talked to me for so long about weight gain and the size of my baby last Wed, I threw myself about a 48-hour pity party/ worry fest. She hit about every concern that I have about this pregnancy and this baby. I calmed myselfy down by Friday. No worries. AK was healthy; a healthy baby can happen again.

Then about Tuesday, I got myself worked up again. I convinced myself I was going to fail the 3 hour test. I just knew it. Wed morning I got up and endured the 3 hour glucose test. 12 hours of not eating. 4 blood draws. More than 3 hours of sitting in the same small waiting room. One super supportive husband. Overall not worth complaining about, just not fun.

I got the call today: I passed! I only had one high number among the 3. Yay! I passed.

End celebration, but no pity party. That is the same verdict I got with AK, which is probably responsible for that 9lb12oz size. So, I still have to not over-indulge (bummer to all pregnant women), not overload on carbs, not get seconds at desserts at Thanksgiving and Christmas (bummer to everyone at the holidays), ... If the goal is a normal delivery, then my part is watching my diet to not grow a bigger-than-sister baby.

So less than 11 weeks to wait and see. Thanks friends for all the encouraging words! and for enduring my pity party!

Fast Friends

"Mommy, I need to talk to her."
"Mommy, she want to sit with me." (morning cartoons; AK had been awake about 4 minutes this particular morning)

How sweet are those hands!!

You're in, Natalie!

What a cutie!

More of our Week

I started taking at least one or two pictures everyday this week, because I realized I hadn't taken many pictures of the normal, mundane happenings at the Simmons's house. Here are the rest of the week's pictures:

Wednesday evening: Making tea with daddy. AK thought it was really neat to see how the water changed color to look like tea!
(Thursday I was pouty about having to take my 3-hour glucose test, so I didn't take any pictures.)
Friday morning: AK shocked me by wanting to play with playdough before finishing her first cartoon of the morning. I had just found these shape cutters (for $1.50 at Michaels!). This was her first time playing with them. She loved it, played at the table for an hour!

I had to get a shot of her in her pajamas. I love these! She says she wants to wear her "princess pajamas," so cute and girly!

Friday evening: Anna-Kate's latest obsession is her Russian doll. She is getting better and better at taking it apart and putting it back together again. (This was a gift from her Aunt Bonnie before she was even born.)

28 Weeks

Milestones: It's the third trimester! 12 weeks to go! And, random, my belly is beginning to get in the way while driving! haha! I know that will just get worse.

Movement: Lots! I can feel him move from top to bottom of my belly now. My belly bounces now more with his movements. And, he has decided to start putting his little foot right under my ribs.

Early Glucose Test (about 9 weeks ago): Passed!

Glucose Test (taken Wednesday): High :( Bummer! I have to take the 3 hour test next week.


Latest Doctor Appt: (with Dr. Beatty for you Atrium girls) The doctor pretty much spent the entire time talking to me about the baby's size and my weight gain. My weight gain is -sympathetic head tilt- too much! 7 pounds in the last 5 weeks, 22 lbs total. According to the doctor, way too much! Concern for the baby's size due to my weight gain is her biggest concern. So, while sympathetic to not feeling great, gone was the "don't worry; eat what feels good." Now, it is less carbs and sweets, and eat lots more vegetables and lean meats. A little sympathy mixed with a lot of "Watch that weight gain girl!" (Ladies, am I allowed to admit that it doesn't feel good to spend the entire time talking about my need to weigh less? It's for the good of the baby, but still doesn't feel good to hear it! I could admit here that I may have shed a few -ahem, maybe more than a few- pregO irrational tears after this appt.)

My belly is measuring about a week ahead of schedule. The doctor reiterated that they would probably do an ultrasound to determine more accurately baby's size around 38-39 weeks. If the baby is already getting to 10 lbs, then... Uuummm, doctors shouldn't end their sentences with dot.dot.dots.

Can you tell that my nerves about having a huge baby are back? Well, ladies, if you are in the mood for a salad, call me. It seems that is what I should be eating lots more of!

Project: Bedroom

A big girl bed!

Our last month was super busy. One of the reasons was that we were trying to get Anna-Kate's big girl room ready. We had to clean out our guest room and make room for Anna-Kate and her things. We kept it simple so it wasn't too large of a project, just a little crazy finding room for all the things previously in there.

Last Monday we finished it! Anna-Kate was excited about her big girl bed! On Tuesday afternoon she slept in it, as her room, for the first time (not her first nap time slept there). Tuesday night she refused to sleep her night there. For the next 5 days, she would sleep her nap but not bed time there, or she would not sleep nap but would sleep bed time there. We have finally had 3 days in a row of both nap and bed time slept in her big girl room. Pillows, covers, a bed with no sides, ... a lot of new to get used to. For now, she is most comfortable sleeping on top of the covers instead of under them.

Here is her new big girl room! Not pictured is the wall with the closet; nothing decorated or special there (and don't tell, but the inside of the closet is the piece that remains to be finished). Humor me. So much of this room is made up of gifts that, as much for my records, I am going to describe where a lot of it came from.

When deciding how to decorate AK's room, I saw this pillow at Target. I immediately was obsessed! The navy comforter was what we were already using, so a navy/pink theme quickly was decided upon!

I made the quilt for Anna-Kate as a baby gift to my new daughter before she was born. The monogram on the wall was a baby shower gift that hung in her nursery. The picture was a surprise Christmas gift from my brother and sister-in-law. Everything on the shelf we already had; most of them were gifts to AK over the last two years. The basket of stuffed animals is how we kept them contained in her nursery as well.

The bulletin board was mine from growing up. I covered it with a pink and white fabric and sheer navy ribbon. I made her a simple bow holder that incorporated the colors we are using. The furniture was our guest room furniture. It was Will's bedroom furniture while growing up, and it was his mom's furniture while growing up before that! And, both pieces were used by family members before her! How nice to have such family history for AK's bedroom furniture!

I think this lowest shelf is Anna-Kate's favorite part of the room. She can reach her books now!! She is so proud of that! Of course, that means when left alone at least half of them are on her bed, "I reading them." The neatest story from this shelf is the doll in the top corner. When I was a baby and Cabbage Patch dolls were super popular, my amazingly talented Great Aunt Bell made these dolls. My parents, feeling sentimental with their first daughter, saw this blonde hair, blue-eyed doll and had to buy it for their new baby girl. This baby doll is handmade, almsot 30 years old (just like AK's momma)!

AK's room has a bathroom attached. Again, we left most of the already-there decor. We simply added a few touches to make it feel a little more welcoming to AK: the stool (Home Goods), the monogrammed towels (a gift from the woman who helped me monogram AK's quilt), Dora soap, a mommy-made picture for the wall.

If you are still reading, wow, thanks for be a dedicated blog follower! :) That was longer than I thought it would be. I love seeing inside your homes; hopefully you enjoyed this peak into ours as well!

Tuesday afternoon

"I'll help you get baby Natalie."
Anna-Kate is really sweet to our new friend Natalie. Her favorite thing to tell me, or demand of me, is "Put her down here [pointing to floor]. I need to talk to her." Then she will lay down beside her for a couple minutes up to ten minutes. Love seeing Anna-Kate's nurturing side come out!

Monday evening

A classic little girl pose...

...walking around with mommy's shoes!

I do admit that I look forward to seeing her cute little feet in my high heels!
(Can you tell that stickers have been a major part of our days lately?)