Pregnancy Week 35 Update

Tomorrow I will officially be 35 weeks along, so only 5 more weeks to go!!! I am officially very uncomfortable, especially at night. My back hurts in the morning and the baby is starting to like to stretch out, which hurts. But, I'm thankful because last time my back starting hurting somewhere along month 5 and never stopped. The baby seems to be fine and moving around ALOT! My doctor says she's probably right along target, size-wise, but then again last time she thought Sophia was maybe 7 pounds the day before had her (she was 9 lbs). I have 3 weeks of teaching left, and I"m very excited about that. I really hope that I go to my due date just so I can have some relaxation time before the baby comes.

I've also had a cold for about a month now. It started going away, but then Sophia got sick last week and at the same time my cold started resurging. So now I"m coughing again and am pretty stuffed up. I imagine it doesn't help that I can't get a decent night's sleep. Oh well. We put Zoe's crib together and put her bedding on it, and we just about having everything we need for when she arrives! I LOVE her bedding - it's so much cuter than it looked online:

Sesame Street Live!

We took the kids to Sesame Street Live yesterday, and they had TONS of fun! They sat so well throughout the whole show, and were both clapping, singing and waving to all the characters. Elmo was the definite favorite as it seemed to be for most of the kids there - it seemed that everyone had an Elmo shirt on! The show was very well done, the singing and dancing was great, and it was alot of fun!

They sold all kinds of souvenirs, but it seemed like the cotton candy was at the top of the list for most of the kids. I am not so sure that an arena full of toddlers all hopped up on cotton candy is a good idea, but we had to succumb as well. During intermission a guy came out with about 200 Elmo balloons, so Paul took the kids down to get one thinking they wouldn't be too expensive. Well, after standing in a long line he discovered that they were TEN DOLLARS!!! For a stupid balloon!!! It really is a good strategy on their part - get the kids excited, get the parents to stand in a long line and don't tell the price, so that parents are forced to buy the severely overpriced balloon (which better be filled with Gold confetti) just to avoid a major tantrum. So, Paul made a deal with Thomas to get the $4 cotton candy instead of a balloon. Sophia still got a balloon. Luckily, we went to the 10:30am show, so Thomas had all day to burn off all that sugar! At least the balloon is mylar and we should be able to enjoy Elmo's head in our living room for awhile.

Sophia was so great throughout the show considering she'd had a fever for the past 2 days. Thankfully, it was gone the morning of the show. But, she threw a very impressive tantrum the ENTIRE way home - all 35 minutes. She was totally pooped and took a good nap. Thomas and Paul later went to the Monster truck show with some friends leaving me and Sophia to have much enjoyed girl time together!

Happier Things . . .

On a happier note, I have been getting ready for baby Zoe's arrival! I just ordered her bedding because I saw it was on sale, so I can't wait to get it!! Here's a picture:

I ordered it from The Gap, and I just LOVED the colors and the pattern. We have also cleaned out the downstairs office, which will be her temporary bedroom until I don't have to feed her in the middle of the night anymore and we are getting ready to set up the crib so everything will be ready. She will sleep in the pack-n-play bassinet in our room for awhile, but I like having things ready.

I've also washed and sorted through all of Sophia's old baby clothes and there's definitely not as much as I thought. I think I gave some away and threw away clothes that were ruined. But, that just means I get to go shopping!! I also got the little outfit and matching blanket I want to bring her home from the hospital in. It's soo cute! Here's a picture:

We've also started seriously potty training Sophia - we started on Wednesday and yesterday (Friday) she didn't have any accidents at school!!!! She had 2 when she came home, but still, she's doing awesome! And, she of course loves her new Dora and Minnie Mouse 'underpanties' (that's what she calls them - Thomas calls his 'underwears'). So, she's doing well. We are getting ready for Thomas to turn 4 next week (on the same day my 'little' brother turns the BIG 3-0!!! Both kids have been telling everyone who will listen about their new sister and all the things they will do to help. Thomas said he will bring her one of his blankets and Sophia is very excited about helping to feed a bottle to her (she may be disappointed that she won't have a bottle for awhile, but hopefully she'll be equally excited about holding her and covering her with blankets!). So, things are going well around the house. I'm slowing down significantly, but that's just what happens!!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Paul's parents came for the week and we had a great time. The kids made cookies with Grammy, did lots of playing and Paul and his Dad put together a playset that I had bought for the kids in November. I made home made raviolis, rocky road candy, sweet potato cupcakes (sounds wierd, but they were really good - kinda like spice cake). Paul made an amazing rib roast on Christmas day, and we've been eating leftovers ever since!

Santa was awfully good to us this year! Sophia asked Santa for 'pink presents' and he brought her a doll bed, doll high chair and new doll (wrapped in pink paper, of course!) , and he brought Thomas a little garage/playset for matchbox cars and a lego firestation. The kids got lots of great gifts from other people too, including an awesome bouncy castle from cousins Bella and Gianna! Paul got an x-box, and I'm hoping that I won't regret that decision and we can play some fun games without it getting out of control :-) I really wanted to get guitar hero, but ended up not doing so. Maybe next year . . .

We certainly missed being able to be with all the rest of our family, but that's just the way it goes when you live far from everyone. Other than that our Christmas vacation has been pretty mellow. I'm officially in my 3rd trimester now, and I'm feeling pretty tired and generally uncomfortable. I found out today I'm a bit anemic, so hopefully I'll feel a little better in a few days after I get some extra iron in my system.

We'll be taking down Christmas decorations soon and begin preparing for Baby Zoe's arrival. We've only got 11 weeks until my due date, and that time will fly by! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

The Holiday Season is Here!

We have been extremely busy since getting back from Omaha. We bought a Christmas tree, decorated the house and outside (a little bit), and just doing that took me almost 2 weeks! I have also been frantically Christmas shopping! I had to get packages sent out to Arizona and California, and I wanted to make sure I did that before the shipping fees got too expensive. Somehow I managed to get it all done! I have a couple things left to buy, but overall I finished all major shopping! Yay1

In the mean time I had some cramping and wasn't feeling all that great. The doc said it was probably due to dehydration, so I've been drinking lots of water and trying my best to take it easy. I think I've been fighting a cold, too, so that doesn't make it any better. I've been really tired and taking 2 hour naps in the afternoon! Paul's been out of town at a meeting for a couple of days, but he'll be back tomorrow. It's increasingly difficult to chase around Thomas and Sophia as I get bigger and slower and they seem to get faster and faster!

We only have a couple of days of school left, and I'm pretty excited for Christmas break. I'll probably have a very hard time going back afterwards, but time will fly and soon I'll be on maternity leave! Well, that's what's happening here - not much! Hopefully there will be more exciting things to share after Christmas!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was great! We drove 1000 miles in the new Odyssey to Omaha, Nebraska for Thanksgiving, and we had alot of fun. I hadn't been to Omaha since we evacuated for Hurricane Ike, so I was really glad to be back. The kids did awesome in the car, and I must give many thanks to the DVD system in the car. We can put their movie on and they can listen with headphones so that we can listen to our own music in the front -it was completely awesome!!

My brother and his family also came, so Thomas and Sophia were able to play with their cousins Isabella (3) and Gianna (5 mos). We had family pictures taken, and I'll try to get those scanned and post one. I was able to visit with my friends and family and eat lots of good food! I saw my friend Heather and her new little baby Brookly, my friend Jaimie who got married in Jamaica today, ate at Runza and Big Fred's, got 5 chiropractic adjustments (Thanks Matt!!) and was able to squeeze in a little shopping, too!!

Baby Update: I'm getting bigger and bigger by the day, and it's getting increasingly uncomfortable to bend over and pick things up! The baby moves around alot and I'm definitely slowing down. I've got about 15 weeks to go, and I'm ready to be done already! I'm getting anxious to not be pregnant any more, and most especially to meet the new baby. We have most of the things we need, but there are a few things we are in need of, and if anyone is interested we have a baby registry at amazon.com. We gave away some things to a family in need awhile back before we knew for sure if we were going to try for #3, so that is why there are some things on there that we used to have. I certainly don't expect anything from anyone, but just in case anyone was interested we do have a small registry. Anyway, all is well so far.

The pictures above are: Thomas and Sophia in the Odyssey watching a movie with the headphones, my Brother Eric and his daughter Isabella, My sis-in-law Lindsay and my newest neice Gianna, and Thomas watching the Nebraska game with Isabella, Gianna and everyone else in Omaha.

The Odyssey

Here is the Odyssey! I kept meaning to take a picture of it, but it was dirty and it was rainy for so long I kept forgetting. Anyway, here it it. I LOVE it, and can't imagine not having it. I love that I can open the doors remotely and the kids just run in and get in to their seats. It's comfortable, convenient and has great features for a family with kids.

My students have been making fun of me for getting a mini van and actually told me I should get a Tahoe instead! Haha! I laughed and said we have one and are trying to sell it. So, here's the family truckster!

Halloween!

Halloween was so fun this year! We went to a friend's house who had a birthday party for her 3 year old daughter and also had amazing decorations including lights that blinked to halloween music!! Thomas was a bit scared, but Sophia loved it all. We then all went trick-or-treating together and the kids had a blast!! Sophia was Minnie Mouse and Thomas was a Lightning McQueen Racecar driver. They were sooo cute!

New Beds!

When we bought Thomas's crib, we bought a convertible one that went from crib to toddler bed to full sized bed, but we did not buy the conversion set to make it a full sized bed thinking we would buy it later. Well, I went back to buy it and it was discontinued!! So, when we changed him to a full sized bed we had to buy bed rails and Paul had to drill into the head/footboards to make it work. Well, it didn't really work and the mattress kept falling between the rails almost daily and it was a huge pain. So, since we are having another girl, we decided to get Thomas bunk beds (can be put into 2 twins on floor if we want, and hopefull will be useful in the future). We then gave Thomas's old full sized mattress to Sophia (her crib is convertable as well), and we will use her old crib mattress for the new baby and Thomas's old bed/crib for the baby's crib. So, here are Thomas and Sophia's new beds! So far they like them and Sophia slept great in her big girl bed!!

Then, we will have a few years to figure out bedroom arrangements for the girls! We will put the new baby's crib downstairs in the office for awhile until we figure out what we'll do for a more permanent situation, and also that will assure that I won't have to run up and down the stairs all the time for feedings, etc. with the new baby. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago. We ended up not staying long because there were soooooo many people and the kids were a bit cranky and tired. But, we rode the tractor hay wagon out to the pumpkins and got a couple to bring home. Kids had fun and here are a few pictures.