Pregnancy update

I'm to that stage now where I have a doctor's appointment every 2 weeks. I had one today and I'll have another one on September 7th and 21st. Then I'll start the weekly visits - woo hoo!

Everything seems to be going well! Amelia Jayne is measuring at 32 weeks and I'll be 31 weeks on Friday. She's measuring a tad big, but nothing to worry about. My blood pressure looks good - something I've been somewhat worried about since it was high about 6 weeks ago. It's been fine ever since then, so maybe that was just a bad day. My glucose tolerance test went well and I'm not anemic - both great pieces of news!

Unfortunately, I also seem to be at that point where I'm not sleeping well due to light sleeping and not being able to get into a deep sleep, aches and pains (especially backaches), and not being able to get comfortable. Therefore, I am super-tired, especially after running after my two-year old and doing otherwise normal activities. The doctor suggested benadryl, so I may try that over the next couple of nights. I just don't want to be in that foggy "I took drugs to sleep better" state when I wake up in the mornings. We'll see how it goes. I've also had a lot of tension in my neck and back - hoping to get that prenatal massage soon. :)

Other than those minor things, life is good!

Oh! And I've scheduled a date for my c-section! Amelia Jayne will be born on October 24, 2011, assuming she cooperates and comes as scheduled. :) Exactly 2 months from today - I'm so excited!!!

As a side note - Xander is two and a half today. :) My little boy is growing up so quickly!

RE

My friend Bonnie and I call each other "Re." I can't really explain it - it's one of those inside jokes that people don't get unless they were there. Anyway, we've been calling each other this for going on 12 years - can you believe that? 12 years. Wow. Anyway, I read this blog today on a whole series of "Re" words and it made me think of her - it's very true of her anyway :).

Here's an excerpt from one of the posts:

There are many “RE” words that are packed with hope and encouragement. The word REpurpose is often used today to remind us that many things once discarded, considered useless, and put aside for the trash heap, can be brought back, become useful once again, have value, and take on new meaning.

In the Scriptures we find some wonderful “RE” words that can keep hope and encouragement alive and thriving in our hearts.

Thanks, Re, for being so encouraging and full of hope!

Preschool...sigh...

Actually I'm feeling pretty good about preschool right now! One morning a week will be good for Xander. And me. I'm tired.

So orientation is next Tuesday night! We'll go meet his teacher, see his classroom, and then have a parent meeting afterward. Yippee!

Xander will be going to First Baptist Church's preschool program. We don't go to church there, but after visiting I am so excited to take him there! He'll be going on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-1:15. There are so many things I love about this place already - they have a fish tank and that sucked Xander in right away. He can't get enough of those fish! They offer one day a week which is really what I wanted to start Xander out with. We'll up him to two days around January or February (after my maternity leave is over). They have a small classroom with maximum capacity of nine 2-year olds. Their playground is enclosed in a courtyard between the buildings - and it's awesome! They have rubber mulch, multiple slides and pieces of equipment to play on and it's partly shaded in the mornings. I'll try to get a pic when I can. The school is affordable - a necessity for us! It's only 15 minutes from our house, on David's way to work, about 2/3 of a mile from my office and 5 minutes for either me or David to get there from work - awesome! It's a Christian environment, so they'll teach him Bible stories and say prayers with him. It just seems like the perfect place!

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked. :) I visited one other preschool and was not nearly as impressed. I got such a great first impression from the director and the facility at First Baptist. Can't wait to meet the teacher and get this party started! It really is going to be good for Xander. A little socialization with other kids his age may be difficult at first, but I think he'll adjust. He's certainly adjusted to the kids at church and he sees them on a weekly basis. And I'm happy to get him adjusted to preschool before Amelia Jayne arrives. Lots of new and exciting things happening this fall!

Cute Pics

Some random pics that I found over the past couple of weeks. Figured they needed to be shared. :)

Xander looks like a driving expert, right? He sure does love cars...

Checking out that steering wheel.
He studies things more than anyone I know. Oh wait, he is a bit like his father. :)



Snuggling with Aunt B at her house earlier in the summer.



Sleeping on his cot at the lake house. That cot was totally worth the $25. He loves that thing!
And no bedtime would be complete without Scout. :)

Playing in the boat at Benjamin's Calabash Seafood Buffet when we were at Myrtle Beach this summer.



Xander's bedroom at the beach. His cot fit perfectly in the closet...where it was dark and less noisy.
Please make note of Scout's presence...he sure loves that dog. :)



Visit from Granddaddy & Nana

This week Granddaddy and Nana came to visit. We had a great time! We met up with Erin, Nathan, Kaitlyn and Patrick for dinner on Monday night which was nice - it's always good to see them. Tuesday we decided to go to Shelby and look around - at the lake, the downtown, etc. It was fun! An absolutely gorgeous day - I think the high was 86 with low humidity. We ate lunch outside at a cute little "burger joint" called Newts - I loosely call it a burger joint because, although it has tons of burger choices, they really have something for everyone! Karen and I both had the portobello mushroom sandwich and dad had the black bean burger. They had homemade potato chips and sweet potato fries, and for dessert Xander and I shared an awesome milkshake! I think I really liked that place as this post is becoming more about that than anything else. :) We really enjoyed walking around downtown, too. Lots of little boutiques, specialty shops and cafes. Very cute place. The weather helped me enjoy it even more - oh how I'm looking forward to a nice string of cooler days...I really can't complain - it's been fairly nice for the past week and looks to be nice for the rest of this one.

It was a quick trip, as they typically tend to be, but full of fun and visiting. Xander really enjoys having his Granddaddy and Nana around. Granddaddy and Xander enjoyed having sneezing wars (don't ask) and laughing hysterically. There was a lot of playing with cars and tractors, and running around chasing each other. Those guys really do love each other. :)

God Made It All - First Attempt

I'm going to try and get a better video - he wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as he normally is, but this is a little preview. :)

Visit from Granddaddy

We got a quick overnight visit from Granddaddy last week. Xander had such a great time with him!
Here are some pics of Granddaddy stretching while Xander jumped on him joined in the fun.

Here's a video of them playing together. :)

My heart is overflowing.

Tuesday was an amazing day. I smiled so much and felt so much joy that I almost cried multiple times! Here are a few things that happened that day.

Xander and I visited a potential preschool. Yes, I said it. Preschool. Let's say that together, slower this time. Preeeschoool. Wow. Anyway, more about that in a later post.
Xander was such an angel! We met the director, toured the facility, and went into the classroom that would potentially be his while I talked to her for a bit. Xander just contentedly played with the toys and allowed us to chat. When it was time to go, he politely put all the toys back (with prompting from me, of course, but no tantrums about it!) and we headed out! After a visit to the fish aquarium again. :)

We went to the store after the preschool visit. (There's that "P" word again!) He was such a big helper! He helped me push the cart, picked out items on the shelf when I asked (and some that I didn't ask for! Ha!) and put them in the cart. When we were ready to check out, he asked me to sing his favorite song, "God Made it All." I started singing it to him softly and then he started belting it out. I mean, really belting it out! But he was doing such a good job with it that people just stopped and smiled, listened to him and clapped when he was finished! It was adorable! (I'm working on getting it on video, I promise :))

We came home, ate lunch, sat on the potty (did I mention we're working on the potty training thing?) and then he went down for a 3-hour nap! Awesome!

When David got home, he ran to him (like he usually does), gave him a big hug and they went upstairs so Daddy could change clothes, all the while Xander was telling Daddy about his day. So precious!! They came down and we had dinner together. Afterwards we took a walk out in the pleasantness (been awhile since I could say that about the weather!) of the evening.

It was such a great day! They don't always go that well, but I'm so incredibly thankful when they do! What a blessing my family is to me!!

Fun websites for Friday!

Here are some websites you might enjoy if you have time to peruse them today or over the weekend -

http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/ - shared with me by some colleagues. This is mainly for librarian/teacher friends, but anyone with kids might like it! Thanks, Catherine and Amrita!

http://www.wowbrary.org/index.aspx - we have this at Charlotte Mecklenburg library. I love it! You might have it at your local library, too. It gives great updates on new books, music and DVDs that your library has currently purchased. This is how I find all my new children's books for programs and to bring home to Xander.

http://pbskids.org/ - PBS is awesome! We don't have cable at our house, so Xander doesn't have a lot of TV choices (okay by me since PBS is educational and I limit his TV viewing anyway).Xander's really into Sesame Street and Curious George. We checked out the website recently and he enjoyed some of the videos and interactive games.

http://www.bored.com/ - I haven't actually played on this site (when am I bored! Ha!) but it looks like it would be fun if you have some free time on your hands.

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-29-weeks_1118.bc - Update on what Amelia Jayne is up to and looks like these days. I'm 29 weeks pregnant today - only 10 more weeks to go! Woo hoo!

Registering...again?

My co-workers cornered me recently to say they want to throw a baby shower for me and Amelia Jayne! How kind of them! I was not at all expecting that and didn't even plan to register for anything considering my sisters, sisters-in-law, David's grandmother, and our mothers have all already begun to spoil sweet Amelia Jayne with clothing, bibs, blankets, towels, etc.

It started the weekend after the fourth of July. David's grandmother came to visit and she had a black garbage bag full of clothes, bibs, blankets and towels! Once she found out we were having a girl nothing could hold her back from shopping. I laughed and told her that I was planning on using a lot of the receiving blankets, gowns, and some onesies that were Xander's - nobody really cares, right? Wrong! She cares! She told me that she wanted to make sure her first great-granddaughter was cute, fashionable and girly. :) Amelia Jayne is already so spoiled (and loved) by her!

A week later when we went to the beach with the Walker family, my wonderful sisters and moms decided to throw a surprise baby shower for me. My mom, Ame, Becky, Erin, Robyn, and Jill all went shopping together at the outlet stores for cute baby girl clothes. Since they all went shopping together they coordinated the outfits, made sure to spread the love over the whole first year of Amelia Jayne's life (meaning I have clothes from 0-12months!!), and honestly, I think that was the best part of the trip for them! After the shower they talked and talked about how much fun they had shopping together. :) They are so kind and I am so blessed by them!

Now we'll be having a shower at work at the end of this month. Because of that, I told David I better register - and soon. We went to Target last weekend. It was a completely different experience than the first time, but I'm so glad we did it! We don't need nearly as much stuff, but I found a few new things that would be nice to have and, of course, I had to register for some girly stuff. :) Xander was with us, so that was also an experience. David was so helpful in watching and entertaining him while I picked stuff out. Overall it was a fun time!

Pancake post

Xander loves pancakes! Here are some pics of him eating his favorites - chocolate chip banana pancakes. Yum!

Two & a half...where does the time go?

Xander turns two and a half on the 24th of this month! How crazy is that?? Some of my long-distance friends and folks that don't see Xander often will ask me what he's up to these days. Sometimes I have to think about it because he does so many new things each day I can't keep up! I've started writing them down so I remember. Here's what I've collected over the past few weeks:

He knows all his letters, capital and lower case.

He can count to 30 with a little help. He can count to 21 all by himself.

He can spell his name along with some "at" words (cat, hat, bat, sat, fat, mat).

His vocabulary astounds me - he probably learns on average at least 2 words per day.

He loves to play basketball and is very accurate with his shots.

He eats a good breakfast and lunch but usually skimps out at suppertime.

He typically sleeps about 2-3 hours at a time for his naps. About once or twice a week he doesn't take a nap - his choice, not mine.

He LOVES m&m's.

He now has a new sentence he uses often - "Let me talk." When I'm on the phone and he wants to get a word in (to me or the other person on the phone), that's what he'll say. Then he rambles on and on, filling his time with laughter, random words and often actually saying what he's done that day.

He can tell the story of "The 3 Little Pigs" and "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears" fairly verbatim to the way I tell him those stories.

He's really into reading a book called "I'm a Big Brother" by Joanna Cole. He wants to read it when he wakes up, when he goes to sleep, when he takes a nap and pretty much anytime he sees the book. He loves it! I often hear him tell himself that story. I'll hear phrases like, "Mommy loves me. Daddy loves me. I'm the only me in the whole wide world" and "Babies are too little to talk, too little to walk, too little to eat pizza and apples and ice cream" and "I can keep our baby warm and cozy. I'm a big brother now!" It's so cute! He can go through the whole thing saying the exact words on each page. I'm working on getting it on video. :)

He's discovered Curious George and loves reading the books we have (about 5 of them) and sometimes watching the cartoon on TV.

He can say his sister's name - he calls her Melia Jayne :)

Fun videos

Xander loves watching Cars 2 clips on youtube! Here are two of his favorites, plus a music video.



Xander goes around saying, "Francesco is triple speed!" - accent included :). He also says, "Xander is triple speed!" Ha!