Wanna Play?!?!

It's almsot September 1st. That means in 3 weeks and 3 days (or less - ack!), we will meet our newest little family member. We will find out if Ethan has a baby sister or a baby brother.

What do you think?????

Who is joining our family?

Hannah Elizabeth??


or

Zachary Jerome??



sidenote: Charlie and I purposely chose different genders! He has had a few dreams about a girl. I have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE what this baby will be!!

Click below -- have fun!

5 weeks.....35 days......

Baby #2 will be joining us in just 5 short weeks. That's only 35 days for those of you who couldn't do that quick math! ACK! That's coming really really fast!!

so here's an update, since I haven't done one since 29w and I'm not just a little past 34w. These stats are from my last appt on August 10th.

Blood Pressure: 130/80...creeping up a little bit but the heat index has been 100+ for almost a month. I have increased my water to a goal of 3L per day. that's about 90 oz!!! Yeah, I pee a lot
Weight: +5, +21 total
Movement: TONS!! this baby is busy!
Heartrate: 145 -- tends to hover right around this number at all appts.
Next Appt: next Thursday - Aug 26th, and then weekly after that

We have our hospital appointment this Saturday (21st). Nothing exciting really. Just filling out all paperwork and copying of insurance cards, so we dont have to do it when we arrive. No need to tour the labor & delivery, since we have seen all possible parts already (birthing rooms, mommy&me rooms, NICU, nursery, OR, ....)

and for your amusement.....my ENORMOUS belly. Yes, my back does hurt from carrying all my weight directly in front of me. Yes, my feet are swelling like marshmallows in a microwave. Yes, it sucks to get through an entire day of teaching 6/7 year-olds. YES, I'm sure there is only one baby in there! YES, I'm very very D~O~N~E being pregnant. but NO, we are not ready to have this baby. Still too early. Baby needs to cook a little bit longer and we need to finish up the nursery!

A Picture Parade!

(and a video too!)

I have lots of pictures to share, and not a lot of words. So...here ya go!

Happy Anniversary to us! For our 4th anniversary, we got ourselves a new coffee maker :o)


My good friend Audrey (Kentiga Photography) took Ethan's 2-yr photos. They turned out great!!










Ethan got a new set of bath crayons and some fun shaving foam for his birthday!



We set up the baby swing to get Ethan used to the idea of having it in the living room. We borrowed a "creepy baby" from Ethan's friend Paige!


So far, he is only interested in squeezing baby's head. Yeah, we'll work on that!


He likes to wear Daddy's shoes



It has been so so hot here lately - heat index up/above 100 - 115. So it was nice to get back outside and play!

Bubble fun in the backyard!









He got a new t-ball set for his birthday! It was our first chance to get outside and try it out. Not bad for his first try!

Party Party! Yo Gabba Gabba style!

Today was Ethan's birthday party. He had a GREAT time playing with his friends and none of them let the 108* heat index ruin their fun!!

Some highlights......


Goody bags


Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes


Fun times at the sand/water table


Picnic lunch outside


soccer INSIDE the bouncy house!


"Happy Birthday" -- the funniest song EVER!


mmmm....cake!


Brobee on a coloring book!


ripping paper is fun!


If you would like to see all of the pictures - CLICK HERE

29w appt

Blood Pressure: good, forgot to ask the number
Weight: +4 more this appt, +16 total
Movement: TONS!! this baby is busy!
Heartrate: 145 -- although, I'm surprised it wasn't higher after the glucose sugar drink!
Next Appt: July 27th, every 2 weeks now. That means we are getting really close! ACK!!

In other news..........BABY HAS A BIRTHDAY!! After everything checked out fine, Dr. K says "Ok, let's look at this calendar. When are we going to have this baby?" I nearly had a panic attack. I mean, obviously I know I'm having a baby and I realize I'm getting pretty close. But to actually set the date, that was more than I was expecting! I think it actually hit me - RIGHT THEN - that I'm having another baby in 10 weeks. That's not very long!!

So, unless something changes between now and then - this baby will be officially joining our family on Thursday, September 23rd at 7:30am.

and for your amusement -- my gigantic round belly. I swear I'm as big now as I was when I had Ethan. I even asked Dr. K if that was true. She looked back and told me no. In fact, pound-for-pound I'm just about the exact same size. Gained pretty much the same amount so far and on track to finish out just like I did with Ethan. Crazy!!

Happy Birthday Ethan Thomas!!

It's amazing how fast time can fly......and how it seems to last forever - all at the same time.

Just two short years ago - we welcomed our son into the world. Except it seems like he has ALWAYS been a part of our lives. It can't possibly be only two years.

Happy Birthday to my little bubb....who doesn't even look like a baby anymore, he's turning into a little boy, right in front of my teary eyes.

2008




2009




2010

Second Baby Syndrome....

.....sigh.....

Poot Baby#2. Already a victim of "second baby syndrome". It just occurred to me today, at 27w2d, that I had not made a video of this baby's heartbeat. I had Ethan's heartbeat on YouTube at 16 weeks. Yeah, that's 11 weeks and 2 days late for anyone keeping track. In my defense (or just an excuse, you decide!) this baby had an anterior placenta, that only just moved it's way up about 3 or so weeks ago. So there you have it! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I'm officially in my last trimester, and since this baby will be a planned c-section I'm likely about 12 weeks away from having a second child. That little tidbit of information scares the bujeebers out me! Charlie and I were making a list of any items we might need for the new baby - we really don't need too much since we still have all of Ethan's baby gear and it was all gender neutral. Crib, crib mattress, and dresser/changing table are purchased...although still in the garage! We know we need new nipples for our baby bottles, definitely some new binkies, maybe a few crib sheets and burp clothes....but really, that's it. And then it hits me -- oh yeah, I should probably also invest in some newborn sized diapers!! Poor kid. Ethan's size 5s would eat him/her alive!!

I swear, I'm going to blink and this baby is going to be here. And all of a sudden, I'm going to remember a million things that baby's need - that I have forgotten to purchase. Good thing we live really close to a 24-hr WalMart :o)

Here are a few new pics, and baby's heartbeat. I never get tired of listening to it! :o) It really is the best sound ever!

27w2d




Heartbeat = approx. 145/minute