37 week Pregnancy check-up

Had my 37 week appointment this past Tuesday and there was no change from last week. I'm still 1cm dilated, 60-70% effaced and baby's head is still pretty high, which makes me second guess my thoughts on her coming early. :-( It really is such a guessing game and while the anticipation of the unknown should be exciting to most people, my OCD and controlling nature just doesn't allow for that! haha. If she doesn't make her grand entrance by the 24th (TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!!!), we are scheduled for an induction that day. I'm hoping she chooses her own birthday before then (and I'm definitely ready!), but I'm such a planner and do feel comfortable having something set so that I can have things more in line for Tyler, etc. Until the 24th, we'll play the guessing game.

There will be no more bare belly pictures as I've recently gotten a few stretch marks on my tummy and I'm very disappointed about them. Between that and the ton of new dark spots/freckles on my face... I'm feeling pretty blah appearance-wise. :-( Oh, the price we have to pay to bring our angels into this world. I can tell from the below pictures that it looks like I'm a little bigger now than I was with Tyler at this point, but it's a completely different story if you compare bare belly pictures. I'm SOO much bigger this time around- it's crazy! Guess the shirt conceals a lot! I'm following the exact same weight gain as I did with Tyler, so I have no idea why I'm so much bigger. And I'm definitely feeling it! I'm so tired and out of breath all the time. Sleeping is a complete j-o-k-e! I toss to each side every few minutes because the pressure on my hips is so painful. It's just a mess. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel though!!! :-)

37 week belly picture:


Comparison with Tyler at 37 weeks:

In Tyler news

I think I'm overdue for some Tyler updates...

The two biggest changes that Tyler has been dealing with (and they're pretty big!) is sleeping in his own bed and potty training. I think he's doing really well with sleeping in his bed and he still loves his new room. He has his nights where he'll get out of bed before he falls asleep and we have to put him back and that frustrates Travis, but I think it's to be expected. Once he falls asleep, he's snug all night. Travis still falls asleep on the air mattress next to Tyler's bed and then when I get ready for bed later, I take over the air mattress while Travis sleeps in our bed. I have found the air mattress to be a little more comfortable for my large belly right now (and I'll admit, I missed sleeping next to my baby as well!). I'm curious to see how we'll handle this once the baby gets here, but I imagine Tyler will have to start sleeping by himself soon (which means I have to get on the ball with setting up our home alarm system!).

Potty training is also going well. He has been wearing his 'big boy underwear' (or 'good boy underwear,' as he likes to call them) during the day for about a month and a half now and he'll sometimes wear a Pull-up when we're out and about, depending on what we're doing. He has good days and bad days and we still have to ask him/take him to go to the potty for the most part, but he's been getting better about letting us know when he needs to go. We started the sticker/reward chart this past week and he did GREAT, so I'm hoping this gives him a little incentive to tell us when he needs to go instead of us always asking and making him go.




So, what kind of reward does one get for a week full of stickers??? A trip to the yummy donut shop!! Tyler's fav: pink icing with sprinkles. :-)

A couple of things that he's REALLY looking forward to is going to the beach this summer- he talks about it ALL.THE.TIME and is constantly asking if it's "sunny days" so that we can go and he can play in the sand and catch crabs; and his birthday- he's very aware of birthday parties now and is super excited to be THREE and have a party of his own (half of the time he tells me that he's already 3). I want to do something fun for him this year since it's the first birthday party that he really understands and because we want him to have a really special day in the middle of all the fuss over baby sister. Can't believe he's almost 3!

He learned his first Spanish word, assuming from Diego or Dora. Chocolate (cho-co-LA-tay). Of course, that would be MY kid's first Spanish word, haha! And speaking of my kid, this boy LOVES massages and foot rubs. He gets in his little comfortable position and asks me to 'rub' him all the time. Once I'm done, he'll say, "Again!" Travis is completely opposite of us in this regard! That's okay though, I spend my time cuddling with Tyler and Travis spends his time wrestling with Tyler. They get pretty rough now, putting each other in head locks, etc. Tyler has even given his Daddy a fat lip with his right jab!! (I'm not a fan of this very rough play, but they're boys and it's their thing).

As I've mentioned before, Tyler is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his baby sister. I feel bad for him because he has no concept of time and I'm sure it feels like we've been talking about her for forever. He's so kind and generous and has given her all of his baby toys, baby books and some stuffed animals. I went through everything and asked him first if she could have it and aside from a few items that he wanted to keep, he was happy to pass it on. He's my sweet boy! :-)

He has such an imagination now and loves role playing. He pretends that he's a doctor and does routine check-ups on me and baby sister. He pretends that he's a cop, putting people in jail or taking their money (HA). He pretends to be a hair dresser and styles my hair complete with a pretend hair wash, hair cut and blow dry. He pretends to be a puppy and plays fetch with us. He has imaginary baby reindeer that he takes care of. He has pretend trucks that he's always fixing up. He has random conversations with cartoon characters on his phone. He puts on imaginary clothes and costumes and pretends to be superheros (Iron Man). He turned his closet into the beach. He pretends to drive his car or fly an airplane to 'airport city.' This list could go on and on. It's really impressive and entertaining to sit and watch him play and I just love that he's so animated.

So, that's just a small summary of what's going on with our Little Dude these days. As always, we're enjoying him like crazy!

My goofball:




From our recent picnic at the neighborhood park:

36 week Pregnancy check-up

Okay, I feel like we're officially on a countdown here!!! I have started my weekly doctor appointments which include the not-so-fun pelvic exams, but even that's okay because it means we're almost done! Hooray!! I had my 36 week appointment this past Monday and to my surprise, I was 1cm dilated and 60% effaced. Well, I half-way say 'to my surprise.' I have been feeling some pressure and pains, so I was thinking that there may be a little progress, but I was still surprised considering I never had any progress with Tyler. Even three hours after my water broke with him, there was no progress! I was quickly reminded by my doctor to not get excited about this because I could stay like this for the next several weeks and I know that, but it's hard to not be a little excited. It's 1cm down and only 9 to go! ;-) Despite all the pressure I have been feeling, baby's head is not engaged yet, but she is in the head down position and getting ready! Her heart rate slowed back down to the 140s and everything else seems good.

We're now at the point of just sitting and waiting. I feel like everything is done and I'm ready to bring her home! It feels so surreal that within the next few weeks, we'll have another baby. It's sometimes hard to grasp how things will be so different. How our whole family dynamic and routine will change again. When we were pregnant with Tyler, I never worried about the change. It was a change that Travis and I were long overdue for and one that I desperately wanted. And while I'm very excited about this new change, I find myself getting a little sad when I realize that it won't just be Tyler and myself anymore. That I will have to share my time now and I don't know how Tyler will handle that (or how I will for that matter). I know that he and I will lose a little of our closeness as him and Travis probably spend more time together while I tend more to the baby. His entire little world is about to change and I just want it to be a really easy transition for him.

And the truth is, I'm probably worrying more than I should about this. Tyler really does seem excited about his baby sister and is always telling me about all the things he will do for her (rock her, change her diaper, give her a bottle, etc). I know he's going to be a great big brother! Tyler definitely loves his loveys, so I let him pick out the first one for baby sister. He chose this cute kitty and plans to bring it with him to the hospital to give to her. :-)






And when he wasn't around, I got matching giraffes for both of them... so cute! :-)

What a 4 year old needs to know...

I have seen this article several times and I love it, so I'm sharing it! It pretty much sums up mine and Travis' thoughts... why we don't place a lot pressure on Tyler to do/know certain things right now and why we make family time a priority. Kids are growing up so fast these days and I'm happy to let Tyler enjoy being a kid... playing with toys, eating candy and ice cream, watching Saturday morning cartoons, being carefree... all the things we enjoyed as kids. Now, that's not to say that we don't say ABC's or count objects (and of course, we think our little dude is sooo smart), but soon enough, he'll be off to school, learning and coming home with piles of home work to do and until then... we're spending our time having fun!

"It’s back to school time and children all over are starting preschool. Many parents are frantically searching the internet to find out if their little ones are “on track” and know everything they should. I wrote this article about what a four-year-old should know many years ago but it continues to be the most popular page on the Magical Childhood site. So in honor of the new school year, I’m posting it again… What should a 4 year old know? I was on a parenting bulletin board recently and read a post by a mother who was worried that her 4 1/2 year old did not know enough. “What should a 4 year old know?” she asked. Most of the answers left me not only saddened but pretty soundly annoyed. One mom posted a laundry list of all of the things her son knew. Counting to 100, planets, how to write his first and last name, and on and on. Others chimed in with how much more their children already knew, some who were only 3. A few posted URL’s to lists of what each age should know. The fewest yet said that each child develops at his own pace and not to worry. It bothered me greatly to see these mothers responding to a worried mom by adding to her concern, with lists of all the things their children could do that hers couldn’t. We are such a competitive culture that even our preschoolers have become trophies and bragging rights. Childhood shouldn’t be a race.

So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.
1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
2. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn’t feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
3. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
4. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he’ll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
5. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she’s wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it’s just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that– way more worthy.

But more important, here’s what parents need to know.
1. That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.
2. That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
3. That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children “advantages” that we’re giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.
4. That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them.
5. That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That’s not okay! Our children don’t need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US. They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they’re a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.

So, what does a 4 year old need? Much less than we realize, and much more."

Belly pics

I'm not really the maternity pictures type of gal (love them for other people, just not so much for myself), however, Tyler is the sweetest when it comes to my growing belly and always wants to kiss it, hug it, rub it, etc., so I thought it would be fun to share the picture experience with him and capture some of that sweetness. He didn't exactly cooperate as I hoped, but we still got a couple of decent pictures and I'm sure I'll look back on these belly shots down the road and appreciate that I did get them done. :-)

Wildlife Ranch

We're taking advantage of the beautiful weather and what little time we have left as a family of three and spending quality time together. We went to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch in New Braunfels yesterday and then to Landa Park for a little train ride by the water.



























Tyler took a HUGE liking to this baby goat and started calling him his 'best friend.' He even got teary-eyed as we were leaving because he didn't give the goat a hug and kiss good-bye. We had to go back. haha.








Train ride at Landa Park




It was a perfect day for this!


Lunch at the San Marcos River Pub and Grill

Just waitin'

I know I still have about six weeks to go, but I think I'm ready to get this baby show on the road! Aside from just feeling incredibly big and uncomfortable, (which is making me practically count the minutes until our little girl's due date), everything in the house is set and ready for her arrival. Nursery is complete, cradle is ready to go in our room, changing table has been reorganized to accommodate the baby and Tyler, all clothes/blankets have been washed and put away, all odds and ins have been purchased, Tyler/baby sister gifts to each other have been purchased, hospital checklist is ready, and nesting/organizing is done! We're ready!

It's pretty entertaining to think of how things were when I had six weeks left to go with Tyler. Our house was a complete disaster, we didn't have his nursery furniture yet and I was still driving my sporty Eclipse and car shopping for something more mommy-suited. We have pretty much redone every single thing in our house over the last 4 1/2 years, but these remodel photos are what was happening 5-6 weeks before Tyler's due date. It's absolutely crazy when I think back!

Our kitchen was completely updated: Travis had to do all the demo work first and then we did new counter tops, new appliances, fixtures, back splash and had our cabinets stained. It took several weeks to get this complete and throughout that time, we had no counters, no sink, stove or microwave and all of our dishes, etc. were stored in the dining room. Can you imagine not having a working kitchen for two weeks right before having a baby?! We replaced all the carpet in our house, Travis was redoing our fireplace, and we were finishing the master bath complete remodel (you can see some of the tape, etc. in the previous post of my 35 belly shot with Tyler).

Here are some of the pics I dug up:

(carpet replacement)




(fireplace before)


(fireplace remodel in progress)


(fireplace today)


(after Travis did the demo of counter tops and back splash in kitchen)






(no sink!)


(counter tops were installed, all dishes, etc. were removed and everything was taped off in preparation for cabinet staining)








(the one lonely piece of furniture we had in the living room)


(kitchen prior to move-in)


(kitchen today with all updates)




As you can see, it was a lot of chaos!! :-) It's a completely different calm this time around and I've enjoyed getting organized and actually being able to nest! One day I'll get around to posting pictures of all our remodel projects because they are pretty cool to look at. Sometimes I wonder why we didn't just build a house since we've literally redone everything inside/outside of this one.... next time, I guess. :-)