Mommy and Austin

This picture was taken of Austin and I at my Christmas Party for work! Aren't we cute!

Appointment Update

I once again had my bi-weekly appointment with Dr. L yesterday. My weight gain will not be shared this time as (a) it's a little embarrassing if it's right and (b) because I don't think the nurse wrote my current weight down correctly, but I can't remember how much I actually weighed! Anyways, Dr. L managed to squeeze me in between two deliveries! He said that he had delivered 6 babies in the last two days; he's been a busy man! His nurses were teasing him that they should have gotten him roller blades so that he could get between his office and the hospital faster! He asked me how I was feeling and I told him that my midsection had been a little achy lately. He said that it was probably due to being on my feet so much and not relaxing enough. He suggested I get one of those belt things to wear around my midsection to help lift my belly and relieve some of the pressure. I don't think I'm going to that extreme, I think I'll just take it a little easier from now on! I happened to be put in the ultrasound exam room, so when it came time to listen to her heart I got to look at her instead. She indeed has positioned herself head down and I got to see her little face on the screen. Of course it's not so little anymore, but I did get to see her eyes, nose, mouth and chin! I got to see her little chest too when Dr. L was checking her heart beat. He said that everything looked great and he will see me in two weeks. After the next appointment I will start going once a week! That means that my due date is getting closer...I can't wait for this little girl to join us!

In other news...
Grandma Richards has been here since Tuesday and I think she's really enjoying herself! I think that she and Austin have managed to play with almost all of his new toys plus some. We've got big shopping plans for Saturday but other than that we've just been hanging out at home. It's been nice to have her here and I'm sure Austin will be disappointed when she has to go home. He won't have to wait too long before seeing her again as she's planning on coming back to Texas after his sister is born!

8 Months

I made it! I start my 8th month of pregnancy today! I've always thought it was funny that they say women are pregnant for 9 months. Technically a woman is pregnant for 40 weeks, isn't that 10 months?

By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

I thought that this information was interesting, considering I'm experiencing some of the symptoms!

As your baby grows, the increasing concentration of weight in your growing belly causes a change in your posture and a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, your abdominal muscles are stretching, hormones are making your ligaments more lax, and your growing uterus may even press on some nerves. All of this can contribute to low back pain and possibly to some pain in your buttocks and thighs as well.

Merry Christmas!

from our family to yours!

Santa made his stop at Austin's house and left all kinds of cool presents. Not to mention all of the other gifts that were under our tree from other people! Thanks to everyone who sent gifts for Austin and the new baby! We didn't get too many pictures with the camera because we were using the video camera, but here are some of the pictures that we did take!

Look at what Santa brought!

Checking out his new Play Doh table

Playing with his new Play Doh table

Watching a new movie

After opening presents we got ready and I started to cook our Christmas dinner. We decided that we would rather have turkey again instead of ham. We had some friends over and I made turkey and everything that goes with it! We're all exhausted! All in all we had a great Christmas. I'm hoping to get the video that we took today on the computer so that I can put a little movie of Austin's expressions when he saw what Santa brought him. He thought that Tickle Me Elmo was funny when he saw what he did! We hope that everyone had a great day! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2006

Decorating cookies for Santa!



Opening Christmas Eve presents!



A Miss Spider ornament and Christmas jammies!



Austin is now off to bed so that Santa will visit his house! He said a couple of times tonight that Santa was here when he heard the door open! Tomorrow morning should be fun...

A little comparison

I thought it might be fun to do a little comparison of pictures taken of myself pregnant at Christmas time. And because I kept my maternity clothes, I have the same shirt on as the first picture! Of course this year I had to take the picture minus Aaron, but you get the idea!

So, here I am 32 weeks pregnant with Austin and 31 weeks pregnant with the little girl whom remains un-named!

And here's Austin 3 years later! I can't believe that he is about to turn 3 years old! Time flies when you're having fun!

My husband so graciously made the comment that my face is not as fat! I feel as though I am carrying this baby different than Austin. At this point in my pregnancy with Austin I felt like I couldn't get a good breath because I was carrying him so high and he was compressing my lungs. With this pregnancy I feel as though I'm carrying her really low. From looking at these pictures it doesn't appear that I'm carrying her as low as I thought!

Breathing treatments

So, after about two breathing treatment sessions of holding him down and trying to get some of the medication in him, Austin decided that it would be easier if he just did it himself. We introduced the fact that the medicine was trying to tickle his nose and it has seemed to work ever since! He can now sit for an entire breathing treatment session if he handles the job himself! I guess we'll do whatever it takes!

Austin had to go back to the doctor today for a follow up appointment. She said that his lungs sounded clear, continue with the breathing treatments to help the congestion and finish out the steroid medication that she prescribed. This morning was the first time he took the steroid medicine and Daddy said that he took it like a champ! The pharmacist suggested last night that we start it this morning with breakfast as this particular steroid tends to keep kids awake after taking it! I agreed, I didn't want to stay up all night! Austin had the luxury of staying home with Daddy again all day today! I think it's off to school tomorrow so that Daddy can go to work on time and not have to wait until I get home. At some point we're going to have to get him back to his routine! It probably won't be for another week or so as he'll get to stay home all next week when Grandma Richards is here to play! Spoiled rotten I tell you!

Anyways, have I mentioned how exhausted I've felt lately? Hopefully I'll start to feel more energized once my house is finally organized! Yeah right...when is anything ever organized! Oh well, I'm off to get us ready for bed! From the tumbling that is going on inside my belly I may not be relaxing any time soon...

"I don't wanna go to pool"

It has become a daily occurrence that Austin says he doesn't want to go to school! I don't know why he says it, but he says it every day as we're going through the gate to get on post and go to school. Of course at the end of the day when I ask him if he's had a good day at school he replies with "yes!" Since we have been so busy lately with moving and everything else, we've had to wake him up in the morning. This particular morning I turned his light on but he did not want to wake up! He didn't have to go to school today as he had to stay home sick with Daddy. It seems that he has the acquired a nasty cold again. We are currently battling a fever, a runny nose, a cough and the congestion associated with it all. Michael took him to the doctor this afternoon and he was prescribed some medication and was instructed to do breathing treatments every 4 hours to help with the congestion. And of course he does so well with breathing treatments...we had to literally hold him down this evening just to get him to breathe a little of that stuff in. I'm not too sure what makes him freak out but by the time it was all said and done, his nose was really running and his head was soaked with sweat! He has now found the comfort of Daddy's shoulder and fallen fast asleep. He wanted nothing to do with me as I was the one who initiated the breathing treatment and tried to administer medication! He has to go back to the doctor on Wednesday to see how everything is going. Hopefully we can get his fever down so that he can go to school.

This week I find myself being 31 weeks pregnant. I have been exhausted lately because of the move and having to unpack everything. I'm looking forward to the long weekend ahead and spending Christmas with my guys. I have a feeling that this week at work is going to be busy! Today we had two people call in sick. And it happened to be another one of the girl's last day at work for a while. We've really gotten to be good friends and I'm going to miss her while she's on her maternity leave. I'm sure she'll be busy at home with the impending arrival of her little girl! So in the meantime, I'll try and function without her! I've taken on some of her daily tasks so I'll be sure to stay busy!

Now for your weekly pregnancy update! Here is some information about the 31st week of pregnancy!

This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. She weighs a little over 3 pounds and is headed for a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and she's beginning to accumulate a layer of fat underneath her skin in preparation for life as a newborn. As a result, her arms, legs, and body are filling out.

Oh, we also want to congratulate Uncle Ben, Aunt Angie & Riley. They are expecting a new baby next year! Looks like this will also be the last year that Riley is an only child at Christmas time! Maybe they will have a boy this time! We wish them the best and can't wait to meet the newest addition to their family!

Happy Anniversary!

We've been married for 3 years today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! We're not planning on doing anything special. We spent a couple of hours at the other house this morning getting things cleaned up. For the most part everything is now at the new house. I tried to get my husband to take us out for dinner, but I'll probably end up making Austin's favorite instead! I finally got my washing machine hooked up so I'll be doing laundry for the rest of the evening.

Hanging Ornaments

Austin and I finally got the ornaments on our Christmas tree! Of course you can tell where Austin placed all of his ornaments as they are all clumped together at his eye level. He also had the job of placing the candy canes on the tree and did a really good job at getting those all together too! I think those two things are the best things about our tree this year! I was starting to think that our tree was looking bare without any presents under it until the mail arrived today! Of course what would Christmas be if Austin wasn't spoiled by his Grandparents! And yes, that means both sets of Grandparents...I know one Grandma in particular who is getting really excited about Christmas being around the corner! She's coming to Texas the day after Christmas to spend almost a whole week! Austin better enjoy Christmas this year also, as this will be his last Christmas as an only child! He'll have to share next year and many more with his sister!

It's kind of hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. The weather today was absolutely gorgeous. While Austin and I were out and about for a couple things this afternoon I wore a short sleeve shirt with my jeans! I had to run the air conditioner in the car because it was really warm if I didn't. Oh, the perks of living in Texas in the winter!

Moving

Let me just say that this week has been interesting. We were able to start moving things into our new house on Monday, so when I go out of work we got a couple of car loads to the new house. Tuesday Michael rented a big U-Haul truck and got almost everything else moved. And after work we continued with another couple of car loads of the stuff that was left over. Wednesday evening when I got out of work I came home and decided that I was going to get my Christmas tree up. The unpacking could wait until the next day. Needless to say, my Christmas tree is up and has lights on it, but I was too exhausted to put any ornaments on! Tonight Austin and I did a load from the kitchen because neither Michael nor I have felt like packing it up or moving it! We've ate out the last three nights because of this so tomorrow I'll actually get to cook a meal here! Of course Austin and I made a much needed trip to the grocery store tonight so we actually have food that we can eat here now! Needless to say, Michael has done a great job getting everything moved this week! I can't lift much so he's been a real trooper!

I had my bi-weekly appointment with Dr. L today. I must say that I did much better at controlling the weight gain the last two weeks. Two pounds in two weeks isn't bad! Her heartbeat sounded great like always! It's always so interesting to hear their little heartbeats! I then asked Dr. L the question that has been on my mind for a while. "When do we determine how big she is and how big she's going to get!" After I explained the difficult time I had with Austin and how much he weighed, Dr. L thought that maybe we could do an ultrasound at 38 weeks to see how big she is at that point. Considering that Austin weighed 8 lbs 11 oz at 39 weeks, he could have easily been 9 lbs 11 oz at 40 weeks. Dr. L is going to keep an eye on how things progress in the next 8 weeks and if determined by himself or an ultrasound that she's going to be big like Austin, he will induce labor at 39 weeks. Isn't he great! So although I've been completely exhausted lately, I can't say the same about the baby! This girl is a mover. She is getting pretty good at sticking her butt out and making my belly look lopsided. I have determined that she has made her way into a head down position as something is constantly moving at the top of my belly! What I would give just to be able to see what she's doing in there!

So as the countdown to Christmas continues, so will the unpacking! Hopefully we’ll have everything taken care of by Christmas. I’ve decided that it’s not worth it to overwhelm myself with trying to get everything done. Having the whole weekend to get things situated will be nice! Well, I can tell that it’s time to call it a night as my typing is no longer making much sense! One more day of work and then the weekend!

Happy Birthday!

Uncle Aaron

Shaving with Daddy

Austin has a plastic pretend razor just like Daddy and likes to shave his face while Daddy does his. They decided yesterday that Austin needed shaving cream on his face just like Daddy too. Here are some cute pictures!

Gotta love that smile!

Photo Shoot

Austin and I had a mini photo shoot on Saturday for a picture that I could place in our Christmas cards. Although we didn't use this one, I thought it was cute. And yes, that's drool on his shirt! He's almost three and constantly needs to be reminded to swallow because he forgets and drools on himself. One of these days he'll grow up, probably faster than I'd like...

News

Well, we've managed to find a house to rent! We sign the lease on Monday morning and can then start to move things in. Of course I have to get the water and electricity connected on Monday, but I'm hoping to set it up for first thing in the morning. Michael has enlisted the help of a couple of his buddies and they will be moving the big things on Tuesday. As my condition puts me in a state where I can not help move the big things, I will be going to work and hoping that all of my stuff makes it to the new house in one piece. Well, makes it there in the first place is more like it! Someone has a habit of not knowing where things end up if they move them without my help, I won't mention their name but I'm sure you all have a good idea about who I'm talking about...

I will be sending out a mass email with our new address. If you do not receive the email and wish to know what our new address is, you can email me at an8di@yahoo.com. For our security, I will not be posting the new address on the website! We will be picking up the keys for our mail on Monday, so I would assume that it would be safe to start sending to the new address next week.

I am so excited that I'm going to be able to set up my Christmas tree and decorations by this time next week! Austin is going to be so excited that we finally get to put up our Christmas tree. Every time we go to the grocery store we have to go look at the Christmas trees!

Week 29 is here! Only 11 more weeks to go if I go until my due date. Here's some information about what's going on inside her world:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to accommodate her brain -- which is busy developing billions of neurons. With her rapid growth, it’s no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester. To keep yourself and her well nourished, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron and calcium. (About 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton -- which is now hardening -- every day.)

Watching a movie

When Austin saw this picture on the computer he stated that he was "Watching Potty Time with Bear." I can't imagine how he would know that, he watches that movie at least once a day! Now if he would only pay attention to what the movie was trying to teach him, we might be a little further along with the whole potty training thing...

Another appointment update

Let me just say that I think this little girl is on the same path her brother was, she’s going to be a big one! Once again I was amazed at what the scale read when the nurse finally stopped moving it higher and higher! It’s only been two weeks, but I’ve seemed to pack on another 5 pounds! I have managed to push myself over the 150 pound mark. I tried to convince myself, and hopefully my doctor, that my gain was due to the Thanksgiving holiday! We shall see what the next read is in two weeks. Like I said before, I got the “Everything looks great, we’ll see you in two weeks” instructions from Dr. L.

Random topics

Where do I begin! A couple of things have happened in the last couple of days. To begin with, we almost made it a whole month without an accident report from school! Michael had to sign an accident report yesterday because another child in Austin's class had scratched his cheek and nose. They look nasty but Austin is enjoying getting to put antibiotic cream on his face. He thinks he needs to apply it to his whole cheek every 15 minutes.

Austin had an appointment with his Ear, Nose & Throat specialist today. Dr. R has stated that both of his tubes are still in his ears and will need to be surgically removed. Dr. R would like him to get through the winter with the tubes so our next appointment will be at the end of February. At his appointment in February Dr. R will evaluate his tubes again and more than likely we’ll set a surgery date. During the surgery Dr. R will remove the tubes and reconstruct the holes from where the tubes were located. Austin’s appointment is 8 days after my due date so hopefully our little girl will make her arrival early or on time! Ideally I’d like Austin to have surgery when I’m on maternity leave. I'm sure it's not going to be as extensive as when the tubes were placed in his ears but you never know.

Tomorrow is my turn to go to the doctor. Considering that my husband has made a comment in regards to me looking like I have a bowling ball in my stomach, I’m interested to see how things are going! I’m sure Dr. L will tell me the same exact thing he’s told me every time I’ve gone in for a check up, “Everything looks great, I’ll see you in two weeks.”

We are supposed to be getting some unusual weather for Texas tomorrow. Our high is supposed to be 44 degrees. The Weather Channel is predicting periods of rain and freezing rain in the morning and then it will become partly cloudy. They have also summed it up in one word. Cold. After turning the heat off, we may have to turn it back on again in the morning. It’s kind of strange how it’s going to go from in the 70’s today to 40’s tomorrow. And of course since we’re in Texas and people drive like idiots when it rains out, just imagine what it’s going to be like if there is freezing rain. I better leave for work an hour early tomorrow! Here are some pictures of Austin from last week; he’s really going to need his hat tomorrow! Can you tell that he was trying to finish watching the rest of Little Einstein's before we had to leave for school!

Has it been a year already?

We have been in Texas a whole year! It seems like yesterday that Austin and I were in the car headed down here anxiously anticipating Michael’s return! So, being here a year also means that our lease is coming to an end at the end of the month. And, because it’s Michael and I, we have decided once again to move into a different house! There are several reasons why we have chosen to move again. The three of us don’t really fit in our current house, we’d like to get away from two floors and we would like to not have neighbors who share the same dwelling. The duplex scene is not for us any more and we’re really excited about getting a “house.” Well, renting a house. We’re hoping to have a house picked out by the middle of the month so that we are all moved and settled by Christmas. I’m really anxious to get my Christmas tree up, but I’m holding off until we move. There is no sense in putting it up, having to take it down, move it and put it back up again. So we’ll keep you updated on our moving status!

Another Pregnancy Update

Week 28 is here! Only 12 more to go! Hopefully this baby will decide to come early like her brother did! Austin's arrival a week early was better than being overdue! Of course if she decides to be stubborn like she was for all of her ultrasounds I could be in trouble! It would be my luck that she would be overdue! I’ll be visiting my doctor again on Thursday afternoon for yet another check up and step on the dreaded scale! I’m assuming that my blood work for gestational diabetes was normal as I have not received a phone call from the doctor’s office. I’ll be sure to post an update after my appointment. There might not be a weight gain update, but an update on everything else will be provided! But anyways, here is some more information on the 28th week of pregnancy!

By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open her eyes -- which now sport lashes -- and she'll turn her head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form, too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb.

And of course you can’t get an update on one without the other. Here are some cute pictures of Austin in his new bath robe!

Christmas Wish List

After questions about what Austin would like for Christmas, I have made him a wish list at Wal-Mart. Austin doesn't really need anything, but we have chosen some things he might like! Click here for his list. I have also added the link to his list in the "Links" section in the right hand column for future reference!

I got him!

TMX Elmo will be under our Christmas tree this year! It took some leaps and bounds to get him, but I finally was able to purchase one online today! I know a little boy who is going to be very excited on Christmas morning…

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We're planning to just stay at home today and relax! Today will be my first attempt at cooking a turkey dinner! The turkey is already in the oven and I'm interested to see how everything else is going to turn out! We should be just about ready to eat when the Lions game comes on TV!

Who's going shopping tomorrow? It certainly won't be me; I'll be stuck at work! I can't imagine that we're going to be extremely busy, but you never know. So while I get to go to work, Austin and Daddy are planning on hanging out at home!

While we're far away from family today, know that we're thinking about everyone and wish them a great Thanksgiving! Make sure you check out the Thanksgiving greetings from Austin in the post below!

Update!

Our turkey dinner turned out great! If Austin's 4 helpings of turkey were any indication, he thought it was good too! He was very impatient while waiting for everything to be finished up after we took the turkey out of the oven. He thought that since the turkey was out of the oven that it was time to eat. Needless to say, he got his plate about 10 minutes before Mommy and Daddy did! We all stuffed ourselves and then took a nap! I hope Austin didn't get too much turkey earlier, he'll be eating it for dinner tonight! Here's some pictures of our Thanksgiving Feast:

Happy Turkey Day from Texas

27 Weeks

I have made it to week 27 out of 40! Here is some more information about what is going on with the baby this week!

Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close her eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning -- with assistance -- if she were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to her, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what she's thinking?

Today she had the hiccups on multiple occasions!

How is your day going to be?

Any indication from Austin this morning - it's going to be a grouchy day! He has already stated that he doesn't want to go to "school" today, but little does he know that he has to go today and half a day tomorrow and he's done for the week! Daddy is going to pick him up early tomorrow when he gets out of his "school." They’ll be able to spend some good quality time together! Daddy has plans to pick him up, go to lunch and then come home and take a nap with Austin!

Well, let me get my tractor/truck driver ready for school! He’s trying to drive his tractor over the keyboard as I type this!

It’s a sad day at our house here in Texas…I had to turn the heat on this morning to keep from being too cold. So much for not having any form of heating/air conditioning on for over a month…

Doesn't he look grouchy!

How do you do laundry?

There is a certain way of doing laundry here at our house. It's called: "you can't start a load of laundry without Austin" method. Here's how it goes:

1. Mommy puts Austin on top of the dryer

2. Mommy turns the dial to the necessary spot

3. Austin pulls the dial out to start the water

4. Austin helps pour the soap into the cup, Mommy dumps it into the washer

5. Mommy hands to clothes to Austin, he proceeds to put them in the washer

6. Austin helps pour the fabric softener in the cup, Mommy dumps it into the washer

7. Austin gets to dump 3 cups of additional water on the clothes after the fabric softener is gone

8. Austin puts the top back on the fabric softener and screws it on

9. Mommy closes the washer, Austin steps on top of the washer and then jumps into Mommy's arms!

Of course he must help with moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer once their done washing! His favorite part about this is that he gets to clean the lint off the trap. He does not however, help me fold or hang up the clean clothes. I guess I'll have to wait a few years for that. No matter how hard I try, I can never get a load of laundry started without my little helper!

Appointment update

So, I guess I forgot to give the update regarding my doctor's appointment yesterday! I can't imagine why it slipped my mind... Anyways, I had my 26 week check up yesterday. It was the big day for my glucose test. After arriving at the doctors office, I had to drink that really sugary juice and then wait an hour. After the hour was up the nurse drew my blood. If anything should be abnormal with the test the doctors office will call me. I'm not expecting a call but we'll see. While I was waiting I saw my doctor, weighed in and had my blood pressure checked. It's hard to believe that I've almost doubled my whole pregnancy weight gain in 4 weeks! I gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks; bringing my total weight gain to 19 pounds! At the rate I'm going, this could be the last weight gain update I put on the website! I wouldn't want to embarass myself anymore! The baby's heartbeat sounded great and when my doctor asked me if she was moving, I informed him that she is constantly moving! He ended up giving me a prescription because I still have this cold/allergy thing going on. I also asked him if it was normal that my belly button should hurt when pushed back into where it's supposed to be. When it gets pushed back in it hurts! He informed me that I do in fact have a little hernia but it should be nothing to worry about. It should go down on it's own after the baby is born. Guess what that means for Austin? He's got to start walking like a big boy all the time. I'm not going to be able to pick him up anymore and picking him up all the time could be the culprit of the hernia! But anyways, I go back in 2 weeks. I can't believe that it's already time to start going every 2 weeks, that just means that I'm getting closer and closer to my due date!


One more thing...how come my child likes to sleep in on the days we have to get up in the morning and not on the weekends? In the picture below he woke up at 5 am but then crawled into bed with me (because Daddy's not home and can get away with it) and slept until I had to wake him up to get dressed for school. I hate waking him up too because he's such a bear if he's awoken from his slumber! Not to mention the fact that he just looks so darn cute when he's sleeping!

New Movie

Austin stumbled across his dinosaur costume from last Halloween and had to put it on! He then proceeded to run around saying raarrrrrrrr! I thought it was so cute that I decided to share it! It's not very long, he thought I was just taking his picture so he says "cheese" a lot!

Scary Dinosaur

Oh how they grow

Who would have thought that my child would have the attention span to sit at a table and assemble a 24 peice puzzle designed for 3-5 year olds? And not to mention, he's good at it too! (I have the right, as his mom, to brag about it right?)