36 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
Symptoms: the usual, tired and backache
Total Weight Gain: about 22 pounds, I've gotten in "trouble" the last few doctor's appointments for not gaining hardly any weight the last 6 weeks but I'm trying and I feel huge.  I can still wear some regular clothing and I don't think there is much difference in the way I look for the last several weeks although doctor says my tummy is measuring fine.  This baby is so low I feel like I look very different than I did when I was pregnant with Madelyn
Things I miss: being able to keep up with my five year old, wine and fun holiday cocktails
Things I am looking forward to: indulging in all of the holiday sweets and yummy foods without watching my weight carefully and finishing all of our home projects before baby's arrival
Best moment recently:  enjoying Madelyn feel my belly and her expressions when the baby's movement is VERY large, and getting to feel baby's hiccups lots lately

I can't believe this is our last Christmas as a family of three!  Happy holidays to Everyone!

This is what happens when...

This is what happens when you give vague directions to your hubby and 5 year old.  I told them what to move and to bring it upstairs.  Imagine my surprise when I found this stuff stacked everywhere!  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that I didn't have to bring it up from the basement but lordy, who would have thought this is the mess I would have found.  After a small heart attack I quickly recovered and found homes for all of this stuff!  Just another step in the bedroom switch and basement finishing projects!

Ultrasound

We had our last trimester ultrasound today and all looks fabulous with baby!!  Estimated weight is 5 lbs. 8 oz. and all organs look good.  The heartbeat was 141 bpm at the ultrasound and 154 at my doctors appointment following.  Baby wasn't cooperative at all for pictures despite about 15 minutes of poking, prodding, and some kind of buzzer-tazor thingy the tech tried in attempt to get baby to move the hand.  Oh well, we have lots of pictures from earlier in the pregnancy.  We decided to continue to be surprised with the gender even though Big Sister begged to find out on the drive to the appointment.  She is hoping for a boy because Matt would have someone on his "team" then and that way she wouldn't have to share all her girly toys!  Just under four short weeks to go till we meet our newest addition, YAY!!

Race to the Finish!

My to-do list mounts as the race to finish all the holiday stuff before Christmas!!  Let's see there are holiday cards not printed yet, let alone addressed and mailed, and there are a few holiday craft decorations not yet made (maybe I should give up on those and pack them away to do next year), and the holiday baking not yet started, and not a single gift wrapped under our tree, and a few gifts left to purchase.  The list is endless and I am tired just thinking about it.  I'm sure it will all get done because that's how I roll, even if it means staying up until well past midnight a few nights which I've already done a few times.  Thanks to my hubby for completing my honey-do lists and trying to ease the holiday stress.

Just think, after the to-do list is complete, I can enjoy snuggling with my family, cheezy holiday movies, wearing my pajamas, and indulging in all the sweet treats sitting around my house!  I cannot wait!

All I Want For Christmas...

Is My TWO Front Teeth!!  Yep, the bottom two teeth are gone.  The first tooth came out during our big Thanksgiving Dinner while chomping into a tomato!  And the second one came out the next day as I put my hand gently, I promise is was gently, on Madelyn cheeks to tell her not to put her mouth on the shopping cart.  She made the strangest face, half happy and half crying, and then she pulled out tooth number two.  She now loves to tell the story about how her mom knocked out her teeth! Both adult teeth are already poking through the surface.

Oh, and I'm certain she wants more than teeth for Christmas!

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at what has consumed our lives lately - a Big Bedroom Switch!!

More photos to come when rooms are completed, but it has been fun to stand back and look into our KIDS rooms!

A Little Behind...

I find it comical that my last post is entitled Finishing Up Fall and yet it is just a few short days until Christmas!!  Bottom line, I have lots to post about, lots of pictures, lots of stories, but not nearly enough energy!  I am going to attempt to post something everyday to get caught up before the New Year. 

For today, I'll leave you with a short example of my awesome parenting skills :)

We recently took professional maternity photos as a way to capture this time in our family.  The morning of of the photos it became apparent that in order to make it through the day and have good photos, I was going to need a bribe.  And not just any bribe, the mother of all bribes.  So what does my 5 year old darling want??  To get her American Girl Doll's ears pierced!  I carefully set up the discussion with Miss Madelyn about what was going to happen at the pictures and how she needed to behavior and smile pretty.  Then I went for it - "And if you can do all of those things we will take Kit with us and go get her ears pierced."  The little darlings eyes lit up beautifully and I could tell I had been victorious.  Now all I had to do was tell Matt what I had done and hope he wouldn't mind being drug to the mall!

Needless to say the photography session went very well and we ended up at the mall afterward. 

Moral to the story:  I'm not above bribery.