Yesterday I had another doctor's appointment. Yesterday I turned 22 weeks. These things just keep coming on so quickly. The sono tech was able to see the spine just fine this time. Little baby cooperated just fine. And there were no mishaps in telling me the sex! I measured normal and heart rate was good. Don't ask what it was, I don't know. I don't worry about it unless my doctor says something. And I'm not one to obsess over the heart rate going up or down or whatever it's doing. I don't think there is much truth in heart rate and telling the sex. This baby is a mover. The baby usually moves all the time espeically when I am talking to people in person. Last night B, A and Chris were "wrasslin" in the living room. My back was hurting and had a sleepy left foot. So I stayed on the couch to laugh at my view. It was hilarious! Of course they get loud when they are trying to "wrassle" daddy to the ground. This baby was kickin all kinds of ways. I think the baby wanted to have its say in the action.

I will go back to the doctor at a normal 4 weeks from now which puts it on the last Monday in February. Can you believe February is already here? Who is January and where did it go?

Happy Birthday!

Today is Anna's 2nd birthday! WOW. i can't believe she is 2!! the little infant that kept me up all night, made my left hip pop out of socket and gave me a herniated disc in my back....she's 2! We had her party out at the family farm. Anna was surrounded by her close family and friends that love her dearly. As usual, I made the cake again. I say every year I am going to just order one, but can never do that. I did a strawberry cake with white chocolate almond icing! yum-o! If you know me well at all, I am NOT into the whole "princess" things for Anna. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and it is just something that is not my cup of tea. If you want to know more, just ask. I'd be happy to share. Anyway, it was a fairy tale theme...frogs with crowns, castle and a little princess. I did purple, pink, green and yellow for her colors. There isn't really much to do when it's a two year olds birthday and they can't really tell you what they want. All in all, it turned out great. Anna had lots of fun playing with all of her cousins. She really loved giving Antone kisses. Anna also received lots of presents. So far her favorite is a colorful chair for the beach. Tonight she was sitting in her beach chair reading a new book to her baby...or at least pretending to read to her baby. I asked her what she was doing and she said "baby cry." Yesterday Chris and I couldn't give her the present from us. I ordered it online and it was scheduled to be delivered today. About 7:15 the door bell rang! The kids just got out of the bathtub and brady runs (in his birthday suit) to get the door...i had to stop him and wrap a towel around him. LOL. Anna's present had made it. I had dreams of getting it earlier today and actually being able to wrap it up cute, but she was getting ready for bed. So we just tore open the cardboard box. She loved it! We got her a pink tote 'n go vtech laptop. They were so excited since it is similar to Brady's Thomas laptop. Both of them were sitting in their rooms playing on their little laptops. Currently, Anna is sleeping with her laptop. She did have her 2 year check up today. Chris had to take her so I don't get many details. All that matters is that she was normal and healthy!

Happy Birthday Anna!

this picture is for you Christy!

Let the remodeling begin...

This past Monday, we decided to go ahead with our remodel now instead of later. Chris isn't that busy at work and now seemed like a good time to do it. He lined the whole thing out last week so now we are just watching it all unfold. It all started with our first trip ever to Ikea in McKinney. It wasn't a bad drive at all. Ikea is a whirlwind! I could get very side tracked and spend too much money in there, but Chris was there to keep me in line. I couldn't believe the selection and prices. The whole reason we went there...knowing we needed to bunk Brady and Anna, I was on a mission to find cute uni-sex bedding. I searched high and low on the internet and couldn't find anything that wasn't too boyish or girlish or too dumb looking or just something basic to coordinate! A friend suggested Ikea and it worked! I really liked one set and wanted to check it out before I bought it. We ended up getting almost everything in the set. We went with the Barnslig group of bedding items for them. I am considering doing the nursery in this as well. It would be a nice flow of the same thing and all the colors would match.

Then, we headed to Rooms To Go Kids. We found a really neat bunk bed that is safe...it has stairs instead of a ladder and the bottom bunk is perpendicular to the top. And it has a built in closet/drawer/dresser type thing at the other end. Score! It saved us from having to buy a dresser. Instead, we bought them the matching bookcase for all of their books! We decided to go to the regular furniture side and find a chair for us to sit and read to them in their new room. We found the perfect accent chair. It's a color called paprika! I can't wait till it gets here! All of this will be delivered on seperate trucks on Friday!! Our goal is to have everything ready so we can just slap it all up and have them in their new room Friday night.

Monday this week, the remodel began! They tore out the arch and cut out the spot for the door.

Tuesday...they sheet-rocked in the arch and began prepping to put in the door.

Wednesday...Before we got home, I asked Brady if he was excited to see what they did to their new room today. When we got home he ran down the hall to see what it looked like. He went in the room, looked around and said "oh, mom! who do you think did this?" before i could answer he said "did Santa do it?" I couldn't help myself, but to say yes maybe Santa did this today. Then he asked "why didn't he paint it?" LOL. Chris had them respray the texture in the whole room just so we won't have any patch work looking stuff. Tonight it just looks white and boring. Tomorrow there are more milestones to be had.

This is such a learning experience. It's like moving, but we're not moving things out. We are moving them from room to room! Our house is a MESS! Tonight we had to take everything down in Brady's room and put in the front room. The only thing in Brady's room right now are his bed, Anna's bed and the changing table! Everything else is piled up on the guest bed in the front room. When we started the remodel Monday, Chris went ahead and moved Anna into Brady's room so we would have a place to put all the stuff. It's been interesting to say the least.

Still don't know...

Last Tuesday, Jan. 6 I went for my 18 week check and sonogram. My appointments seem to take longer and longer. When I had Brady, Dr. Webster was brand new to her group. Now, she's a veteran and super busy! They've added another doctor or two to the practice which makes for a busy place. We had the same sono tech that told us the sex of Brady and Anna. I made sure I told her as soon as I stepped in that we did not want to know the sex. But then I found myself caught up in the moment. Chris was looking over her shoulder like he was going to know the sex...yeah right honey. love ya. I started asking if she had seen "it" whatever "it" was, but she wouldn't let on to anything. I did ask what happens if at 30 weeks I am dying to know, can my doc look it up. She strongly suggested to not do that. Her experience is that if I were to see another nurse or doctor in the practice they might slip up and tell me by accident. She said it does happen and to avoid any mishaps just don't write it in the file. So I stood strong and didn't have her write it down nor did we ask anymore questions. However, Chris got excited for a second. But she ensured him it was just the thigh bone. The baby wouldn't cooperate. The tech couldn't get accurate pictures of the spine. The baby was moving all about and wouldn't sit still long enough nor move to the side she needed. So, I went to see Dr. Webster. Then I had to head back to the sono room to see if the baby had moved. But no luck! Stubborn little toot! This means that I have to go back to see the sono tech one more time to try to get spine pics. Great, however, another temptation for me to NOT find out what it is! This will all occur on Jan. 30. I will have my regular doctor check up and a sonogram for spine pics. I have to remember to tell them NOT to tell me the sex, that is if I have a different sono tech.

When I saw Dr. Webster, everything was normal...belly growth and heartbeats. The sonogram measured me exactly to my due date...18 weeks and 4 days (as of last Tuesday) so that puts me turning my weeks on Fridays which is the schedule I followed with Anna. I am still due Friday June 5th. June 4th is the last day of students and June 5th is the last day for teachers. We'll see how this goes...

a very Merry Christmas

I feel like it has been so long since I've blogged. I was starting to really like it and now I am back! Well, to me Christmas kicked off on Friday Dec. 19th when I was done with school. The following Monday I went to the doctor for my 4 month check up. Everything is fine and dandy. So far, the easiest pregnancy ever--at least for me. I go back on Jan. 6th for a sono and appt. I will be 18 weeks and will be able to find out the sex, but Chris and I have decided to NOT find out! I must admit that it is all my idea, but he sees the once in a lifetime opportunity and since this is the last baby why not wait? I picked up the kids Monday afternoon and Anna had fever. Went to the doc on Tuesday morn and she had bronchitis (sp?) and an ear infection. Lovely, Christmas should be fun. It became really cold here Tuesday night and Wednesday morning which doesn't make it easy on a sick kid. As our tradition follows, we go to Chris' parents house on the 23rd for a tamale and chili supper and open our stockings. This year Curtis read The Night Before Christmas to the kids--with their short attention spans, he did a great job! Go Papaw!! We stay the night and the next morning we have the big opening of the presents.

Here is a picture of Brady and Anna anxiously awaiting for presents that Me, Aunt Carrie and Marner were trying to pass out. But notice the open spaces before presents and then after. It wasn't an easy task.

The kids were showered with so many gifts. The favorites for Brady were the Cars race track and the talking Lightning McQueen. I would guess that Anna's favorites from this round was the baby doll, carrier, swing and grocery cart! We left Weatherford Christmas Eve early afternoon. Grandma wasn't feeling too great. Needless to say she was not herself this year. She had been sick for the past 2-3 weeks and was very weak. As we were leaving, Chris and I were concerned about her as was everyone else. We decided for Doug (Grandma's "boyfriend"), Sherry and Suzann to take her to the hospital. We headed home loaded down with all the presents from Marner, Papaw, Aunt Suzi, Grandma, Doug, Aunt Carrie, Uncle Jason and Jack.

The kids and I made and decorated cookies for Santa. It was hard to get their attention. Brady just wanted to race cars on the track. Anna asked for some cereal. I gave her some in a small bowl. She put her new doll in the carrier, put it on top of the grocery cart (like real moms do) and then put the bowl of cereal in the carrier for her doll. Anna just wanted to push her baby all over the house. It was really cute!

Later the evening we received a call that Grandma wasn't doing well at all and to get prepared. Chris and I got the kids off to bed and we started doing our Santa duties. We had a whole kitchen to put together! Just as we were finishing up the kitchen after midnight, Sherry called and said Grandma may not make it through the night. Chris decided to meet up with the family at the hospital in Weatherford. Grandma passed around 4 am on Christmas Day. We will miss her dearly. Grandma (Evelyn) was such a role model for me. She is the only "grannie" that has more of a social life than an 18 year old. Grandma never let her being a widow or any other hardship get her down. She was always fun, vibrant and full of life. Her and Doug went dancing 2 to 3 nights PER week!! I know she will now eternally dance to her hearts content.

This picture is from Chris' birthday party out at the farm. His birthday is on Halloween so he will always have pumpkins and fall as a part of his birthday. Grandma and Doug showed up in matching pumpkin sweaters!

We did our Christmas morning at home with our kids! It was great. Chris made it back home about 5:30 am. Anna was up at 7:30. We woke Brady up and it was a straight run to the fireplace to see what Santa brought. He was so excited to find his big Buzz Lightyear and Mack from Cars. Anna loved her new Hello Kitty purse that Chris picked out for her. I think their favorite gift was the kitchen. It is much fancier than any kitchens we had in the 80s.

Mommy's most exciting gift of all was my new iPhone! I guess Chris can have the Husband-of-the-Year award yet again. I wasn't expecting it at all. Not one time did I say I even wanted one or would like one, nothing. I just knew that it was too much to ask for this Christmas. He always seems to surprise me in a big way somehow. His big gift was his new wedge, the golf kind--not the one in your crack. haha.

Christmas night my dad and stepmom Cindy came up to stay for 2 nights. Cindy dressed up like Santa for the kids. The tradition started maybe 2 years ago. My dad dressed up for Brady when he was 18 months. Last year when Brady was 2 1/2 and Anna was almost 1, he was sick or had some type of impairment that kept him from being able to do it. So Cindy stepped up to the plate and did it last year. This year we were expecting Santa to be my dad, but it was Cindy again. The kids just love it. Santa came to the door with a bag of some goodies for all of us. Santa talks with the kids and takes a few pictures and then heads down to another house.

More presents and cheer was had on Christmas night. Grandma and JaJa mostly gave clothes! Anna loves her new heart pants! Brady loves his new basketball goal! We ventured out to exchange a few gifts the next day. The mall was a zoo!

On Saturday we said good bye to Grandma and JaJa and hello to my mom, Mimi. Once she arrived we had our last round of gifts to be shared. Mimi also brought gifts from Uncle Michael, Aunt Stacie and Antone. Mimi also brought lots more clothes that the kids needed. Their favorite gift was the Mr. & Mrs. Potatohead set! They love it! Anna puts the glasses on her face and says "teacher, teacher..." I know she's getting it from her fave book, Brown Bear. LOL. We took Mimi out to the farm in Weatherford. The kids rode their tractor and gator and had lots of fun. I know the kids enjoyed having their Mimi out there with them.

Sunday we said good bye to Mimi and had the visitation for Grandma's funeral. I had to get a picture of the kids. Jack, Brady and Anna looked so nice all dressed up playing by one of the Christmas trees at the funeral home. I happened to have my camera and couldn't help myself. I know Grandma is proud that her 3 great-grandkids cleaned up so well.

Grandma's funeral was on Monday at 10 am in Colleyville. It was a beautiful service. We ended the day with lots of food and family out at the farm. It was a nice day.

Tuesday--took the kids to daycare and I cleaned house. I had to make room for all the new toys and to start thinking about our remodel to make room for baby #3. I cleaned out the playroom, foyer closet and half of the computer room closet and got 3 bags of trash!! So many toys that just had to go! The scarey part is that Brady's room has toys in it too that I didn't have time to sort. The good thing is that I did a major organizing overhaul. The playroom is much better, but we have a long way to go.

New Year's Eve just isn't the same when you have 2 little kids and pregnant with #3 as when you were 21 and in college. This year we headed out to the farm (once again) to pop fireworks legally. Brady and Anna loved it. Brady remembered a lot of popping them last year on New Year's. This was Anna's first experience. She jumped right in, on Daddy's hip that is. Chris left early this morning to go on a hunting trip with his brother Jason and his dad. He was very excited. This is the first time the 3 of them have gone hunting together in over 10 years! I hope they have a good hunt.

Whew....did I have a lot to catch you all up on or what? With all of that said, I hope everyone has a wonderful start to the new year! Many blessings to you my friends.