Two Birthday Parties One Day

Whew, what a day! Taking Natalie to two birthday parties in one day was quite a feat. These things always happen while Woody is working, too! But, she had a great time, although missed her nap. She is catching up right now as I type. Little girl was as exhausted as her mommy, I guess!
The first party of the day was Lillah's birthday party. It was a princess party, so the little girls all dressed up in princess dresses. Natalie chose Sleeping Beauty for her dress (we have Cinderella & Sleeping Beauty). I didn't know what to expect because we hadn't been to a princess party before. But, there were indoor toys to play with as well as outdoor ones such as bubble blowing.

Outdoors at the bubble blowing table
Princess carriage by Radio Flyer
It was a cute princess cake, with Lillah getting ready to blow out the candles. Happy Birthday, Lillah!
Off to party #2, which was for 3 sisters to celebrate together. They were having a good time, and had an inflatable bouncy that Natalie enjoyed jumping on. It was hot, though, and Mommy just was dreaming of sitting in the A/C with a cool drink. But, it was fun to be outside even in the heat seeing the kids enjoy their time.
Natalie is here playing pin the tail on the donkey for the first time in her life. She didn't understand at first why the mask didn't have eye holes and kept trying to take it off. But, she then got into the spirit of the game and was actually the closest one on her first try. She ended up winning a prize!

Happy Birthday to Taylor, Kaitlin, and Brianna!

No known parties for a while. I think I need a break!

First Feast for Me

Natalie is watching Dora, so I thought I would take some time and copy Jo Ellen's blog's questions. If you never have seen this, this is just a way to get to know better through random questions, organized as a meal feast categories.

Feast One Hundred & Eighty Four
Appetizer Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

I like the convenience of the city, but I have gotten used not to having neighbors right next to me living in the forest. So, I guess I would have to live out a little ways in the country!

Soup Who is the cutest kid you know?

Natalie of course, right now!

Salad Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

Gas was almost $4/gallon?? That's the first thing I thought of as I don't really keep up with news stories except natural disasters.

Main Course If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Motherhood.com outfits right now, I guess! I could make some money with this tummy!

Dessert What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

Prenatal vitamins. I do really like these Precare Elite OneADay's this time. Although, not the cost of them.

Another Good Report

Today, we went for another ultrasound. Everything looks good. The baby is 3 lb 12 oz per estimate. And, it appears to still be a girl. I had been having some fears after cleaning all the baby dresses and hanging them up that this time would have a different view on the baby and a surprise! The baby is still head down, praise the Lord! Everything is progressing well and the diabetes is doing as well as it can. I am still thinking a chocolate milkshake would be wonderful, but still waiting on actually getting one. I have broken down and drank a couple of diet drinks since just water gets a little bland after a while.
We're still working on getting the room the way it needs to be for the baby. Woody & I will have to take a trip to Babies R Us to get a few essentials before the special day. There are some items that I found out are improvements since the last time and there are some new items that would make things a lot easier (plus pick up the diapers & wipes). Not a lot, but some things that would seem to help! But, we don't need any clothing that we can think of right now as we saved so much. So, that is a major blessing.

Before the Baby

I have been really remiss in thanking God on this blog for the blessings of the past week... for safe travel, health, family, food to eat, and places to go. Just for the ability to still get up and go some days!
And, there are some things that would be really blessings to have Natalie reach the milestones before the baby comes. Of course, it is a major blessing that Natalie is potty trained. And, also able to do some things for herself (when she wants to do them, that is!). But, here is a list of things that would be wonderful blessings if she would:
1. Stay in bed once put there. This has been a major issue for several months. We were really spoiled by about a year of putting her to bed & never hearing from her again. Lately, it has been a lot better, but there are still times when we need to have several times to the potty, the CD player started, toys aren't in the right place, not enough blankets, wanting one more hug or tuck in, etc.
2. Eat without being coerced. Her appetite for regular food is down but she always can eat snacks it seems. While it is a major blessing that she can eat most by herself, she usually won't eat what I want her to eat (her meal!). Hopefully, this is a stage as she used to be a great eater of many different foods.
3. Communicate when frustrated instead of yell or cry. This one has reached some ground today when she started asking for things instead of just yelling. Maybe I just need to be more stubborn about not listening to yelling or whining.
4. Consistency about needing help. Although she cried at lunch to have me help her with potty although she can do it herself, she flew into a public restroom wanting to do it all by herself this afternoon (as I am grimacing with my germaphobe tendencies). I know this is a learning stage, and God must be teaching me about patience through it all. She buckles and is stubborn about the strangest things. Maybe this will come out to be independence once the baby is here, I hope!

It will be 32 weeks at the end of this week. Natalie was here at 37 weeks, but I have been told repeatedly not to believe that will happen again.

Last Driving Trip

I set my own deadline at 30 weeks to be the last week that I would drive myself a long way, or fly in a plane. So, I set out with Natalie to see my parents in the car this past week. One of the benefits of the visit was to take Natalie with some other "cheerleaders" for a photo shoot, the last one for her before the baby comes. It worked out wonderfully, and look forward to seeing the photos when they return. Natalie did really well with Mimi & Papaw there to smile at!


We also went to a children's museum not too far away. Some of the exhibits needed updating, as you can see from this Space one that Natalie is pressing. This is even earlier than me, I think! But, she liked pushing the buttons.

The neat thing was a child sized doll house that she could play in. This was really neat, with 2 levels and several props. I think I wanted to go play too!
She enjoyed sitting in the train with Papaw. There were some really neat miniature train layouts in this exhibit that I enjoyed watching.
Then, we saw Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom. It had been a while, and it was good to see them again!
Of course, spending time with Mimi is always great! Thanks for the great visit!

A New Zoo

A couple of weeks ago (boy, I am behind on some blogging), Grandma & Grandpa took Natalie to a new zoo and had a really great experience. I had a couple of hours to do some errands myself, but I think it would have been neat to be there too. We may have to go back there sometime soon, after what I have heard! Natalie really enjoyed feeding the animals, having a tour ride, and hearing the different sounds the animals made (especially the loud lioness!).

Feeding all types of animals
Walking with Grandma, looking so grown up
Riding and seeing the animals
Having a great picnic!
The big girl out on the zoo!

Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!

Lake and Another Birthday

Whew, I have some catching up to do on blogging! This weekend we went to the lake to enjoy some time fishing, away from the house, and just enjoy each other while we were there. Natalie was all for this because it was a new location, water, she was able to wear a swimsuit, and she could help Daddy fish too. Woody had a good time and caught some fish (it was good, because that was supper!).

Enjoying being in a swimsuit, in the water
Catching supper for us
A boat ride, fun but Natalie kept saying "Big wave coming." She was afraid of the wave. Grandma & Grandpa came out to take us on a boat ride.
Safest place on the boat...in Daddy's arms

Then, on Sunday we went to Hannah's birthday party. Here's Hannah in the ball pit with Natalie behind her. It was a great time! Natalie had a blast even though she knew no other kids there but Hannah & her cousin Avery. She went from the ball pit to the inflatables, even rode a tricycle. Just constant motion for about 2 1/2 hours!
Natalie needed no help on these inflatables, as we have had on other ones. Woody went with me just in case because I am past the point of sliding down inflatables. What a trooper! Thanks, Honey for thinking of me. But, Natalie went all on her own, even having her own technique of going down the slide as seen in this video (sorry, once again, turned the sideways way).

It was a great family time weekend for us!

Stage Debut

Natalie participated in the concert for her preschool choir. She didn't sing as much as she does for practice, but it was all new to be on stage! We were just blessed that she didn't fall off the bleachers like some of the other kids. That seemed to be the thing that was happening, as at least 4 of the kids fell off at different points in the program. Natalie did do several of the hand motions in public. Once we were away, she would sing a lot and still does to these songs. The video didn't look that good because of the lighting, but it gives a good memory. Grandma & Grandpa came up to see her first performance too!

Fishing Expedition

We took a trip back out to the lake fishing again today. This time with Mommy, as last time there was just Woody & Natalie. Out in a boat wtih a 3 year old is always an adventure, and usually a short one at that! But, she does better each time we go. The first time we went out on a boat, we went out to a spot, put a couple of lines in, then went back to shore when all Natalie wanted to do was jump in the lake. Now, we get through a lot more time, up to 2 hours of fishing!

Traveling out on the boat
Everyone focused on fishing!
Caught one!
The true fisherman!

We then sent the fish back for another time since this was only a 2 fish day. Natalie really enjoyed helping reel in the fish. She also had a new Barbie fishing rod that she enjoyed playing with in between actual fish catchings. We had a good video but after seeing 33 MB, decided not to download this one but just post the pictures!

Mothers Day Reflection

As I reflect on Mother's day while expecting the second child, I have learned a few things. I know that you do not become a mother in order to be adored or appreciated. There are those moments, but you have many more times when you are not fully appreciated or adored. But, you have joy when you see your children reaching milestones. As in the above. This isn't the first time she has blown bubbles, but this is the first time I've captured it on video. And, the hug times are precious times, plus the unsolicited I love you's. There have been many joys that have enriched my life over the past 3 years of being a mother.

This morning I had flowers and a balloon waiting on me at the breakfast table, along with a couple of small gifts. And, two very nice cards as well. Unfortunately, Woody was working and not able to go to church as Natalie and I struggled getting there in the rain. But, it is a beautiful sunny day now to enjoy the rest of Mother's day!

Go Fly A Kite

I could not determine how to turn the video, so please look with your head sideways. It was a great day to fly a kite, and Natalie must have known it. She grabbed a kite in a store we stopped for errands and would not let go. So, we bought the kite. After a few quick lessons and a search for a missing part that fell off, she did quite well! She didn't believe Mommy that she could only run one direction and tried to run another way. But, once she believed Mommy, she did quite well. The one thing you cannot see is that Mommy is being attacked by a swarm of gnats while trying to enjoy the moment.

Good Dr Visit

We had a good doctor visit and follow up ultrasound. The baby is a little over 2 lb at this point, about 20th percentile, which isn't too low right now. All the vitals looked good, Praise the Lord! And, the technician believes it to still be a little girl although there was a foot strategically placed. My blood sugar is doing good although I'm really thinking a chocolate milk shake sounds great. I guess I'll have to wait until the baby is here! Until then, more celery please.

Woody & Natalie went as well to the doctor to see the ultrasound. We had to tell Natalie that it was the baby's shadow she was seeing as it definitely did not look like a baby to her. But, she is ready to see baby sister! We're getting closer to being ready now that the nursery is coming together!

Pink Bed

We now have the pieces in place for the new room for Natalie, although it is not quite put away enough for full room pictures. Here is our new "pink bed" in our "pink room" where she has a big bed that last night was the first night she slept in. She was so excited to have a pink room. She has pink valences and pink bedsheet. I think Woody still misses the more neutral Sesame Street colors. Now, it's all girl room, no doubt about it!

Reminds me of another milestone met when we first put the toddler bed in her room, back almost a year ago! How time flies so quickly! Now, she is a big girl, picking out her own clothes and bedroom colors!

We're also getting the nursery together. It will be Pooh again, like Natalie's room. We have the big pieces of furniture there and in Natalie's room thanks to Mimi and Papaw's help! Papaw and Woody were big furniture movers yesterday. I was the cleanup crew for the vacuuming around as well as picking up. I am glad we didn't do this even further into the pregnancy, as I definitely was worn out all day today.

Natalie really enjoys all this change. She must not get that from her Mommy!

Park Mania

On Friday, my parents were here and we went to visit a park not too far away. It has a little minature train that runs sometimes, and Natalie enjoys the ride. Here is everyone waiting in the train. We arrived there, and there were so many kids, that Natalie could not play on the regular playground. So, we went to get tickets early and grabbed seats on the train when it started!

Mimi, Papaw, Natalie, and Woody all ready to ride!
Natalie looking out of the moving train.
Even the small playground area was packed. Natalie just kind of stood there, then tried to get on the slides for a while. Then, she played in the sand pit for a while until there were too many kids there too!
So, we went to Plan B and took some bread to feed the ducks. That was fun too! We liked being a little away from the crowd.
Here, we went to a neighboring state park which had no one on the play ground equipment. That was definitely nice to enjoy!

We enjoyed the time with Mimi and Papaw!