38.5 Weeks

This is a totally normal image in our world.  Benjamin is my little one who wants to be held.  He likes being close.  He likes being close when he's tired or hungry or happy or sad or ... he just likes to be held.  Though it doesn't look it, this is actually the most comfortable position to hold him in, since I pretty much have no hips right now!  His world is definitely going to be rocked when he has to share Mommy's arms.  My world is totally going to be rocked when he gets too big for me to hold my little man.

our Gladys Girl

It's been a hard month for our girl.  She had to have dental surgery to remove about 8 teeth.  She handled it like a champ!  But, this was her first trip to her vet while staying with us.  

Her secret is out.

Gladys is not the 5 year old that we were told she was.  Gladys is...

11.

Yes, quite wrong about her age.  

Don't worry our fur-baby, we still love you, even if you are not the young 'un we thought you were!  They also told us she has a pretty severe heart murmur.  Quite the rough month.  Her true age revealed and a heart condition.  

Well, Gladys, none of this changes that you are our sweet, patient, family-adoring dog!  

Family Fun

Knowing that baby girl is coming soon, I wanted a special day with the kids as a family of four before becoming a family of five.  A special day to stop and smell the...

buttercups!

First on the list was a trip to Marbles!

The kids were beyond excited!  

So many things to do...they started at the pet hospital.

Dad showed off the x-rays.

Then Benjamin was off.  I thought it was so cute that he gave the baby a shot.  The interest only lasted that long. 

Then he was off to the fire truck.

Meanwhile, Anna-Kate gave a check up and/or groomed every dog at the pet hospital.

Great job being thorough, Dr. AK

 Once I had a good smiling at the camera picture of both of them, I stopped taking pictures and just enjoyed hanging out with them.

After Marbles, we ate lunch in Cameron Village.  Then home for a short quiet time.  Once we all had recovered some energy, it was time to go on a walk.  

The kids enjoyed playing outside while I threw together an easy supper.  We enjoyed using our new-to-us picnic table for the first time!  (Friends moved out of the country, so we bought this from them before they left.)

We don't get to enjoy uninterrupted time together nearly often enough!!  I love this family that God has created. And, as much as I love my family of 4, I can't wait to see our family become 5!

38 Weeks

I am 38 weeks and it is real in this house....we are going to have a baby, soon!
I went for my weekly check up on Friday.  They did an ultrasound to get a better indicator of her size.  They guessed her weight on Friday to be about 8lb, 15oz.  So 2 weeks 2 days before her due date already pretty much a 9lb baby!!  Definitely tracking to be our biggest baby yet!  I am also already 2-3cm dilated, so getting ready for the big day to come.  If she doesn't come on her own, they will induce labor first of next week.  Within 8 days, I will be holding my baby!

Want to see the sneak preview....

Can.not.wait to kiss those sweet cheeks!

Old House Love - Pantry

This post is exciting for two reasons:  

#1 - I have a pantry!!  We had a corner of our bonus room, a large corner, of kitchen items that had no where to go until my food moved into the pantry and I could re-organize my kitchen cabinets.

#2 - I am so proud of my husband for the crazy amount of work this project took!  He finished this about 6 weeks ago, and I am loving it!

This is our coat closet.  (It is also a casualty of the water leak we had in that week after we moved in.  Because of what happened them, we have actually never used it as a coat closet.  Will had already had to mud, sand, and paint the hole created there.)

This was Will's main challenge.  An air return that was no longer in use.

Will cut that out.  That created a large hole in the wall and a hole in the floor.

He patched the wall with drywall, mudded, sanded, and painted.  He patched the hole in the floor.

Then he had to patch that whole corner to match the hardwoods in the rest of the closet.  Stain the patch.

Now the empty closet is one matching set, rather than the crazy pieces he started with!

Finally my shelves.  Aaahh!

Then it was my turn to take over filling them.

My pantry shelves in the deep portion of the closet on the left.

Elfa system baskets (thank you Container Store and thank you becca for bringing them with us when we moved from the town home.) on the right.  Vacuum in the middle.  Diaper bag/ Benjamin's bag hanging on the door.  (Trim and closet door to be attacked when we take on the foyer as a project.)

You know you are an adult when ...

a pantry is cause for this much excitement!

Big Girl Decisions

Anna-Kate, we need to get your hair cut.

Mom, I want my hair to be short like yours.  Can I cut my hair short like yours Mom?

Before

After

I am sold!  I love how sweet and pretty she looks!  I really love how proud she is, because she got to decide.  I love seeing her style develop!

37 Weeks

37 Weeks!  That means 3 weeks or less!  

The Excitement

3 Weeks or less and I will be holding our baby girl!!  Yay!!  I am so excited to meet this little one!  Will finished painting the nursery and getting it put back together a little over a week ago.  I then got in there and set the room up for her, washed clothes.  I need about an hour and a half and her quilt will be done.  A friend invited a few girls over and we had a "sprinkle" for me.  She is ready to go with diapers and wipes now!  

Almost there!

The Drama

My babies are big.  9lb, 12oz and 9lb.  So, "how big will she be" is the question.

This week, day 5 of 36 weeks, I measured 40!!  I am measuring 3.5 weeks ahead!  My nerve is will she be bigger than her siblings?!  If she is too big, then their advice will be c-section, which I have never done.  Trying to remain calm, while praying hard that God allows for a normal and healthy delivery.  Friday, at the end of 37 weeks, I am scheduled for my ultrasound to better guess baby girl's size.  In one week, we will have more answers.

The Particulars

My nesting desires are slowly coming to an end.  This is good, because my nesting energy is coming to an end.  I feel mostly good.  But the normal end of pregnancy woes are intensifying.  Heart burn adding to my whole-pregnancy reflux.  Back aches starting earlier in the day.  Water weight increasing again.  

I want sweets, but I Crave salt.  Popcorn is the favorite snack.  I eat for lunch too many days to admit tostitos with cheese melted on them.  Aah, salt.

I have worn the same pair of shoes for the last 4 months.  I will be excited to dive back in to the rest of my shoe choices!

Anna-Kate gets very upset that I am not being modest.  I have about 1 or 2 shirts that totally cover my belly. 

And now, the waiting!

Our Fur Baby

In honor of our sweet fur baby Gladys,

and the sad fact that she has to have some dental surgery today,

I am sharing the cutest picture we have taken of our fur baby with our big girl!

February

February in Raleigh will be characterized by winter events!  We would call it snow days except it was definitely part ice, part snow.  Two weeks in a row, the kids were out of school 4 of the 5 days.

Mornings looked like this!

We tried to get out some.  Will can work from home so easily, though, that he actually had to work through the snow days.  He took the kids out once or twice after his work day.  As much to more ice than snow plus 34 weeks pregnant doesn't really mix.  So, when we did go out during the day it was for about 10 minutes.

Luckily the kids had a great time!

Gladys had fun too!

Luckily the kids agreed that hot chocolate after snow play is one of the best parts of snow days!

 I told Will that our water cooler is way more fun than the water cooler at work!  Look at Will's work companion.  Learning the research trade early!

The first week of snow/ice days was great!  The kids had a great time playing together or by themselves.  

Anna-Kate's Barbie play has increased.  This was one of her Christmas gifts that she finally finished.  One of her gifts was a Barbie with 5 dresses that she got to design and decorate. She was very proud to show them off!

 The second week I had to a bit more creative for us not to go stir crazy!  Sugar cookies and decorating had to come out!

Benjamin lasted about one and a half cookies before he was eating the decorating icing, rather than decorating.  But, he was happy!

Anna-Kate, however, was creating masterpieces!

February, you were fun!  But, let's bring on the warmth of spring, please March!

Enthusiasm

I love the enthusiasm of a kindergartner!  

This kid loves school!  During the snow a few weeks ago, she was over it.  She wanted to be at school with her friends.  

Her excitement for school absolutely makes me smile.  

On the first day back was National Reading Day and dress up like a Dr. Seuss character day.  We parents had about 12 hour warning because of all the snow days.  Anna-Kate's response was, "We don't have to dress up, right Mom?  But, it would be fun, right.  Do you have any ideas Mom?"

I was so excited when God gave me a streak of creativity.

Look at Anna-Kate

She has a Wocket in Her Pocket!

When asked what her favorite subject is, she always says, "Writing!  I love writing!"  Her favorite special (what they call their rotation of PE, music, art, heath,...) is consistently Health and Fitness.  Her favorite days are when the Health teacher teaches them about the skeletal system or nutrition or muscles or...  She has a little bit of her mom and her dad in her with those answers!

Anna-Kate shows off her enjoyment of school in two ways.  One:  at bed time, many nights, she sets up her different stuffed animals and teaches them all kinds of things while she unwinds from the day.

Two:  she writes books!  All kinds of books.  She seldom finishes one.  We have about 8 unfinished books around the house.

 Her most recent book is one of my favorites.  It is absolutely indicative of her and her main interest - animals.  She loves animals!  Right now she is on a bird kick.  She loves how colorful and varied they are!

"Feathers on Birds"

(a peacock tops her birds-favorite list)

(Confession:  she has some perfectionist tendencies, which means she gets upset when her pictures don't look the way she wants them to.  So, she begs for me or Will to draw the picture.  I will draw some but then she knows if I draw one, she has to draw the next one.  The cardinal I drew.  The feather and rest are her.)

The Quetzal was totally her idea and her drawing.

Don't lose your enjoyment and enthusiasm for school, my sweet girl!