28 Weeks and Our 5th Anniversary!

Today I am 28 weeks pregnant with sweet Audrey Grace.  I have to say that I am still feeling good for the most part...but I am steadily feeling worse by the end of every day.  My back and hips are KILLING me.  I was literally in tears yesterday telling Paul that I hate that this is our last pregnancy and I'm not able to enjoy it as much as I did with Emily because I am hurting so badly by the evening/ late afternoon every day.  It is really, really hard being pregnant and having a toddler too.  I don't know how people do it who have lots of children....I am not sure my body could handle another pregnancy after this one!

I had my glucose screening on Tuesday and a doctor's appointment.  I haven't heard anything from the office about my test results but they said it would be about a week or so before I did.  I really hope I passed because if I didn't, I will have to do the 3 hour screening one morning, and I really don't have any mornings free (because of teaching Summer School starting Monday) until the 1st week of August, and I feel that's a little late.  So, cross your fingers that I passed!  Dr R was glad to hear my Braxton Hicks contractions are still infrequent and set me up for an ultrasound on July 21.  I will have a cervical length measurement taken.  It was 3.5cm long at my 20 week appointment so I am crossing everything that it hasn't thinned down yet.  (For comparison's sake, when I was 30 weeks with Emily it went to 1.5cm, and then the following week at 31 weeks it measured 4mm..yes, millimeters!)  I am so hopeful that things will be different this time, especially since I don't think there's any way Audrey is engaged in my pelvis yet...she moves around way too freely, I think, to be head-down yet.  Emily was engaged by about 26 weeks and was putting a lot of pressure on me.  I am scared a little because even if I had to do bedrest this time, that would really only keep me from being at work....I still have a house, a husband, and a busy toddler to care for at home, so there would be little "resting" going on.  I am just thinking positively and hoping for good news on July 21. 

Today is our 5th wedding anniversary!  It seems so crazy to think that we have been married for five full years.  I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband like Paul who is not only so good to me but an amazing Daddy too.  Our girls are so, so fortunate.  To celebrate this milestone we're heading back to WV today to our old town-- going to hang out with some friends, eat dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (we haven't picked it yet) and look at some potential houses with one of the realtors I used to work with.  I am so excited!  My in-laws are gracious enough to come care for Emily this weekend so Paul and I will have 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep and hopefully no waking up at 6am (or 4:45, as was the case this morning, haha).  I will miss our sweet girl but she would not enjoy this trip at all.  She is so excited for her Granny and Grandaddy to come to pick her up from school today....she ran right in and told her teacher all about it this morning. 

Have a great weekend!  I'll post some more pictures next week.

Brilliant!

Emily has really started to take off with some academic skills that I didn't expect to see this early.  Here's what my smart little girl is doing:

- She is developing number correspondence (the understanding that X toys is that NUMBER of toys...for instance, when she is counting a set of objects, she gets the right number and doesn't just SAY all the numbers she knows).  Anyway, yesterday she counted objects up to NINE...which is pretty impressive considering a week ago she was only doing it to 3 or 4 correctly.

- She is becoming very aware of the world around us.  Whenever she hears a noise it's, "What was that sound, Mommy?"  and I have to explain it to her.  Or in the car she is constantly yelling out about what she sees- right now she loves all kinds of vehicles- especially dump trucks and semi trucks.  She goes REALLY wild for school buses.  She is also counting what she sees-- she'll tell me, "Look Mommy-- 2 dump trucks!"  She gets so excited and wants me to notice every single thing with her.

- She is starting to show some interest in learning to write letters....so, we're teaching her.  The thing about Emily, though, is that you only have to show her once or twice and whatever you taught is LOCKED in.  For example, she has learned to write the letters E, I, and H (trying to teach "easier" letters without curves since her fine motor control isn't perfect).  She will gladly draw these letters for you whenever you ask...and we only demonstrated how to draw them a few times! 

- Also related to drawing, she is drawing happy faces everywhere now.  She loves it!  Yesterday she drew one (and then erased it before I could take a picture!) that had eyes, a nose, ears, colored-in cheeks, and arms!  ARMS!  I was so impressed.  This is definitely more of a 3 year old skill and she's still 4 months away from that so I was pretty proud of her!

Anyway, I wanted to be sure I wrote all this down so we have an idea about how she is developing.  We are so excited to see her learning all these new things!

I Think I am Gonna Be Sick.

Yesterday after school we had this conversation:


Emily: "I'm going to have a little sister."
Me: "That's right!! You are- little Baby Audrey!"
Paul: "Emily, how does that make you feel, to have a little sister?"
Emily: "I think I'm gonna be sick."

GREAT. 

Vacation 2010!

We are back! We had an excellent time at the beach this year! We stayed a little North of where we have stayed in the past and it was a great choice- we had an oceanfront condo with a lazy river, kiddie pool, and regular pool...Emily was in Heaven! She greatly enjoyed getting to choose where to swim every day.

Our trip started off on Saturday the 19th. Except for 2 potty breaks/ pit stop which took an UNBEARABLY long time (there are very few stops along the route to the beach, despite the HUNDREDS of people heading that way and back every weekend in the summer), our trip was uneventful. Emily was an ANGEL in the car- played with her toys, watched her DVD player, sang songs to us. It was wonderful! We finally arrived, checked in, and were down at the pool within an hour of parking the car!

Emily LOVED the ocean and the pool both this year, which was great because they were both so close. The puddle jumper ($15 at Walmart) was FANTASTIC- she looooved the water and the fact that she could swim "alone". She also quickly learned that in the Lazy River, it was super cozy to curl up next to Daddy and ride, ride, ride. I think it made him feel like a million bucks!

We had some delicious meals out. Paul and I were fortunate enough to have the in-laws there to stay with Emily in the evenings so we took advantage and had lots of dates. We had delicious she-crab soup (my fave!) and one night we went to a Brazilian churrascaria called Rioz. It was incredible- they came around with meats on huge swords and would cut it tableside for you. Very cool!

We did a tiny bit of shopping, but not much. Audrey got an outfit from my mother in law from Carter's and Emily got everything else. :) Oh, well actually Paul bought himself a couple pairs of shoes and I bought a $10 sweater from the Nautica outlet. It is super difficult to take Emily out shopping anywhere so we mostly avoided that like the plague.

The only major complaint I have about our trip is the lack of sleep....sweet Emily was so excited about being on "baycation" that she woke up EVERY morning before 6, and 2 mornings before 5. One day started at 4am! To say I was exhausted would be a HUGE understatement...being 26 weeks pregnant and starting the days so early was really, really trying! Luckily, now that we're home she's back on her regular schedule- a 2-2.5 hour nap each day and sleeping 11 hours straight at night. Now THAT is something I can get used to again! :)

There are tons of pictures on Picasa web albums page (see link on the upper right side of the blog) under the Month 32 album. Enjoy!

Pictures, FINALLY!

Folks, it's been a SUPER long road, but I have FINALLY discovered how to link our Picasa Web Albums (where the vast majority of our photos are stored online), to our blog! If you look over to the upper right side of our blog you will see a heading that says, "Want More Pictures?" and beneath it, it says, "Click here to see our Picasa Web Albums"....well, click it! After over 15 hours of downloading photos (I told you, this was an adventure!) you are now able to see all of Emily's monthly albums, plus Christmas, some vacation albums, pregnancy and ultrasound albums, etc. On the Picasa page you will even find a tag on the right side to show you over 60 videos never before posted on the blog.

YOU. ARE. WELCOME!!! :)

Also- yes, we are back from vacation but no, I have not written about it yet. I am hoping to have a post up today. Be patient! :)

32 Months Old!

It's time for the monthly update! Emily is loving her "Monthday" this month because we are on vacation in North Myrtle Beach! She has enjoyed our time at the ocean so much but I will save all that for my big post-vacation update when we get back.

Here's what our girl is doing this month:

- She is developing her sense of humor! Right now, she thinks nothing is funnier than changing the words in a song (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have You Any Mommy is a favorite), as well as the comedic relief that comes when the unexpected occurs-- like when she pretends that she is "missing" and hides under a blanket. It's still the same game of Peek-a-Boo that we've been playing since she was an infant, but she thinks it's hilarious now and will ask us "Mommy, where'd she go?!" which is our cue to start "looking" for her. Too cute!

- She is beginning to rhyme EVERYTHING. Daddy is now Gaggy, Bathing Suit is now Nathing Nute, etc. This ties into the humor thing as well- she cracks herself up everytime!

- She is a water lover. We bought her the Stearn's Puddle Jumper from Walmart and she wears it whenever she's in a big pool. She LOVES jumping off the side and also just playing in her little pool in the back of our house. On the sad days when we have a thunderstorm and she can't swim, she begs me to fill up 'Mommy's Ocean' (my big bathtub) and she "swims" in there.
Also, at her school on Fridays they do Water Play, which she LOVES. She takes special time getting ready on Friday since she has to pick out her suit (she has 8 this year- some still work from last year), water shoes, her towel, etc. Her teachers comment on how at the end of Water Play she is one of only a few kids who are totally drenched.....and I just smile, because I wouldn't expect anything different!

- She is practicing being a big sister a lot now. She has renamed ALL 5 of her babies "Baby Audrey" and she takes care of one in particular on a daily basis. However...we might have to work on her sistering techniques a little bit...for instance, it's not customary to place one's sister on a boogie board and drag it through the house to give her a "boat ride". It also isn't customary to pile many pillows on top of one's sister and then sit on top of the pile of pillows and ask, "Where'd Baby Audrey go?" We've got some work to do!
I do have to say though, that she is being completely sweet about the idea of having a sister AND she works really hard to be a good sister- she holds the baby carefully, gives her her bottle (the baby makes sucking noises), and burps her. She also loves to say sweet things to her, like, "Hello sweet princess girl" and other things that I have said to her (Emmy). So I am sooooo hopeful that these things will help in a smooth transition!

- She loves to help me cook. She drags a chair over to the stove and loves to pour, stir, use the mixer, etc. I bought the Funfetti Stars N Stripes cake mix so we're all ready to make a 4th of July cake! I know she'll be thrilled.

Before we end the update, we have to wish sweet Derrick S. a happy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Derrick/DD is Miss Jamey's son and one of Emily's closest friends. He turned 3 on Emily's Monthday and we will go see him next week to celebrate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Special Friend!! We love you!

Birthday Party for.....No One!

Today Paul was on call and when Emily woke up from her nap she was sad and missing him. I asked her what she wanted to do and she said she wanted to have a birthday party. For herself. And make a birthday cake. So what did we do? We made a birthday cake and had a party for her in the kitchen! She must have asked me to sing Happy Birthday to her 15 times tonight. It was so precious. Our girl sure is funny!