Chef Girl-ardee...

Lillie got this chef outfit for her birthday from her friend Jack. She loves to cook and she love aprons like her mom. So today when she helped me cook dinner she wanted to wear her new outfit. She calls it her "cooker outfit." As soon as I got out my camera she decided to start making goofy faces. Still cute. Oh, and her checks are red because she has a cold.

31 weeks!!!!

What? 31 weeks! Can that be possible? It is like I went in a time machine at 6 weeks and came out at 31 weeks. I have this feeling of urgency to get stuff done. I'm glad that Lillie's birthday is over so now I can go through her toys and get the house organized for Lil' Dudes arrival. If I deliver at my current scheduled time (March 11th) that would mean she would be here in 6 weeks. Even Chris is starting to get excited for her arrival.

So, what's new at 31 weeks.

I think my iron pills are helping with my exhaustion. I don't get so tired, but I have also learned to take breaks before I am overly exhausted.

My last appointment was last week and I didn't ask for weight gain. I don't remember where I was at the last appointment and I saw the scale this time but I didn't do the math. Also, I think the nurse didn't see the scale go up two pounds while I was still on it. I think she wrote down my weight before it was done.

My blood pressure has been a little higher than my normal but it is still normal. Not sure if this is a sign that it is going to continue to go up before birth.

My heartburn is better.

I have to pee more than ever.

My back and ribs have been hurting more than ever. I have a hard time getting comfortable.

I have learned that sleeping with a pillow between my legs does make a difference.

My right hip hurts so bad! I have a hard time getting up from bed.

Lil' Dude is really busy. She sleeps and plays and I feel like I'm getting to know her. We even play games. I can push her and make her move or tap on my tummy and get her active. She can really make my belly change shapes now.

I think that is it for now. Now appointments this week. I have one next Monday with Dr. H and then one early February with Dr. M for another ultrasound. I say at my 33 week appointment Lil' Dude will be almost 5 pounds.

lillie's Birthday Take three...

Sorry Lillie. It is over. And mommy and daddy are thrilled!

Her third and final party was at Oklahoma Gold Gymnastics. This is the same place she takes tumble lessons. She had lots of friends show up, got lots of awesome gifts, and had lots of pizza and cake. I told her that her birthday was over and Lil' Dude's birthday was next. She wasn't happy about that.

Lillie's Birthday Take two...

Today was the real deal. Lillie Marie is officially 3!

Chris and I have played the "where you 3 years ago game" a lot over the past 24 hours. What a crazy time in our lives, but we made it through. If anything, our Lillie scare brought us closer together. We are just so thankful that she is here with us today. Not only is she here, she is the most AMAZING Lil' Girl. I have never met a kid with such confidence and determination. One of Lillie's most commonly spoken phrases is "My do that." To interrupt... "I can do that." This girl won't even let you open the door for her, put her in her car seat, stir her mac mac cheese because "My do that." She rarely asks for help and only does ask if she has already tried to figure it out herself. I could go on and on about how smart, beautiful, and talented my daughter is but this would be a painfully long post.

So I spare you and move on to pictures of her birthday! We didn't plan on having any company today but after an unexpected snow day we changed plans. Lillie had some of her neighbor friends, Hazel and Auntie Lo come over and play and join us for dinner. We made Buttcakes and played most of the day. Then we had a Lillie Birthday Dinner with hot dogs, broccoli and Mac Mac Cheese. After that we ate the butt cakes and opened presents.

Lillie had the best day ever!

Of course this is Lillie's BirthMONTH so it's not over yet. I'm sure this won't be the last birthday post...

Lillie Marie turns 3!

Here's a little video montage of Lillie growing up over the past year.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Lake house...

Ahhh... A three day weekend.
We left on Friday and headed to Bernice Oklahoma. First we stopped in Vinita to eat dinner at a restaurant we have been wanting to try. It's a Lebanese Steakhouse called the Broiler House. Chris really liked it. I had a crappy hamburger.

Our first night at the lake house. Looks like fun, huh?!

The boys stayed with us Friday night then went to Papa's house for the rest of the weekend. We spent most of our time working and shopping and the boys spent their time sleeping, playing video games and watching TV. On Saturday we took the scenic route to Joplin Missouri. It was a beautiful drive and we had lots of fun with Papa. Lillie loves spending time with her Papa.

Here we are at another restaurant we've been wanting to try. It's called Red and Fred's and it was GOOD! There's basically two things on the menu, tamales or spaghetti, both topped with chili (they did have hot dogs and hamburgers on the menu but that is not what you eat there unless your a 3 yr old little girl.)


On Sunday I talked Chris in to staying one more night and getting some more work done. I was really excited for him to finish painting so we could try out our new rug and curtains we bought in Joplin.

Our new purchases. Lillie loved the rug!
I forgot... We also bought a light for the living room. Next visit we hope to bring up new living room furniture and a smaller fridge so we can have more room in our kitchen.

We just love going to the lake. No phones, no computers, no cable TV just family hanging out together. Of course we did have a dvd player. Lillie watched Tinkerbell about 6 times and Chris and I watched Easy A and Dinner with Schmucks. And of course the boys played games and watched all of Papa's 200+ channels on TV.

Lillie watching Tinkerbell with Tuckerbell.
Lillie had a few accidents this weekend. One time she fell off the top bunk! I really thought she broke something. Luckily it was nothing a band aide couldn't fix.

But... on Monday the boys played outside and cut stuff with their knives. Boy stuff. And of course Lillie followed the boys.
When we finally left on Monday afternoon everyone was so sad to go.
But as always...
We are glad to be home.

Lillie's Birthday Take One...

The festivities began today!
Lillie has been anxiously awaiting her birthday since Bubba's birthday back in August. Every time someone has a birthday she asks "is my birthday next?" Finally it's here. Of course, in our family you don't have a birthDAY you have a birthMONTH. Today was the first of many parties that are still to come.
Chris' sister is going out of town with her family next week so they wanted to do something tonight for her. We had a wonderful dinner of chicken, broccoli, carrots, and rice. All of Lillie's favorite. The table was set with all pink and a beautiful pink flower cake. And of course there were gifts! Lots of pretty gifts! She got some of her favorite things, clothes shoes and dolls!
Lillie already has her babies up in her room tucked in their new cradle. She says they are sick so she needs to take care of them before she goes to bed. She's such a good mommy.

I can do that...

So we all know Lillie loves to dance but it seems like gymnastics might be a better fit for her. As you've seen from previous post and videos, the girl isn't graceful.

After visiting the gym where Lillie is having her birthday party Chris came up with a great idea. They offer a tumble/ballet class. We know she loves to dance and loves to tumble so it was a win-win. Her first class is Wednesday and I wanted to make sure she knew what Ballet was. I showed her a video of a 5 year old Ballerina and her reply was...

"I can do that."

I took a video of her doing ballet but it won't let me post it on here. Check it out on facebook. It will be interesting to see what happens on Wednesday. Hopefully her confidence will get her far in life. She may not be coordinated but she is always confident.

After her dancing debut she informed me she needed tights and a crown. This is what she came up with...
And if you notice in the photos she has her "ballet shoes" on the wrong feet.

29 weeks...

Let's see... What's going on?

A whole lotta nothing.

The symptoms are all about the same.

My back and hips ache.

Heartburn (but it's getting better).

Out of breath. I started taking my iron last week but haven't seen much improvement.

Called Dr. H last week about having painful cramps when exercising. I was told to stop. I'm actually disappointed. I was hoping she would just let me slow it down. I really like going to the gym and showing off my big baby belly. I don't see why I can at least workout my arms.

I've had a little swelling off and on but nothing major.

Lil' Dude can really get my belly moving. She wakes me up in the middle of the night.

I have a cold. Again.

To me this feels like a "normal" pregnancy.

I have a doc appointment with Dr. M on Wednesday. I can't wait to hear how big she is! I'm voting for 3 pounds! My mom is going with me and hopefully Chris can go too. Should be a good one!

I finally went over to Auntie Lo's house this week to go through all the baby clothes. I can't believe that Lil' Dude will be the 4th girl to wear these clothes. I can't believe they've lasted that long. I definitely need to get her some new stuff too. Since this is my 3rd child I feel like I don't need to do much. You always just kinda figure it out when they get here. You just can't be prepared. With Draven I bought all girl stuff. I thought I was prepared until I found out the ultrasound was wrong. I didn't know I was having a boy until he was born. With Lillie I had all newborn baby stuff for the winter and she couldn't fit in to any of it until summer. And of course she was a month early so we didn't even have all of her furniture bought yet. So with this baby I figure it is just best to wait and figure it out when she gets here. All I need before she is born is a car seat and a bassinet.

Here's a pic of all the newborn-6 month hand me downs.
Here's 9 months-18 months.

A whole lot of belly going on.... (28 weeks)

They say that there is a point in your pregnancy when your belly POPS over night.

I'm pretty sure mine POPPED last night. Just in time for my doctor's appointment.

Here's all the news from todays doc visit.

First I went in for my glucose test. For those of you that have never had one I will give you a brief description. You have to down a bottle of syrupy stuff that is flavored like Hawaiian punch. At first you don't think it is so bad until you finish the bottle, then you want to puke. Next you wait an hour and get your blood drawn to check and see how your body handles the glucose. They also took a vile of blood to check my iron. I have a feeling that I am anemic. I have been getting really short of breath and that could be the cause. I was anemic with both of my previous pregnancies. No biggie. Might need to add an iron supplement.

I have gained 21 pounds since my first visit. You might think YIKES! That's a lot! But actually I am right in the middle of normal. The average weight gain at 28 weeks is 17-24 pounds. So suck on that!

My blood pressure was 128/66.

Dr. H reviewed my Dr. M ultrasound results. She said that the blood flow, umbilical cord, and placenta all looked perfect. Those were all factors in Lillie's size at birth. Of course they are checking on Lil' Dude's growth too but they want to make sure everything looks healthy. And it did!

Chris told my doctor I had a glass on champagne on his mother's birthday. Then told her I wanted to have the baby on March 15th because I wanted a Guinness on the 17th. Yes, that may be true, but don't tell my doctor! Good thing they didn't recheck my blood pressure after those comments.

So as we were discussing dates (my c-section is scheduled for the 15th) Chris brought up the fact that he wants the baby born on his birthday. My due date is the 27th, his birthday is the 26th. There are a few reasons why I thought this wouldn't work.

#1 I don't think I will make it to 40 weeks without going in to labor or having my blood pressure spike. If it does start to go up later in the pregnancy they will take the baby early.

Now the reason why it might work. So far I have had a healthy pregnancy. Who knows, I might make it to 40 weeks and have a big ol' baby!

#2 The 26th is a Saturday. Docs don't schedule c-sections on Saturday.

Now the reason why it might work. Dr. H is on call that weekend. She said it was ok.

#3 Dr. H doesn't want me to go in to hard labor since I had a c-section with the previous pregnancy.

Now the reason why it might work. She said that as long as I go straight to the hospital at the first sign of labor there wouldn't be any risk of rupture.

So, it looks like it Chris wins. But of course Lil' Dude will make the final decision.

Dr. H sent me home with a bunch of paperwork I need to look at. Mostly on preterm labor. She also sent me home with info on keeping track of babies movement. It's funny how Dr. H wants me to call her if Lil' Dude isn't moving as much as I think she should. She wants me to keep careful track. Lillie's doctor told me "don't work about it she's just mellow". Glad to know I have a better doctor this time!

On to other exciting news... I think I got my new insurance switched over. The hospital takes it and we might even get a partial refund on the portion we already paid Dr. H. I should get a call to find out soon.

That's it for now. I start seeing Dr. H every two weeks. My next ultrasound is on the 12th. I'm betting Lil' Dude will be bigger at 29 weeks than Lillie at birth. Who's with me?

How about some other predictions? I blogged with Lillie that she would be small and born on January 20th. I didn't know she would be THAT small but I got the date right on the nose. I made that prediction before I even had any complications. My dad made the first prediction. He said March 17th. I think he might be right. That is my mom's birthday. Either that or the 20th. That is Jorge's birthday. I have a feeling she will end up sharing a birthday with someone in our family. We will just have to wait and see. As far as size goes... I thought at first she was going to be 7 1/2 pounds but that was when I thought she was going to be born at 38 weeks. If I can make it closer to my due date I am going to go with 8lbs 1 ounce. How about that?

What are your predictions????

Doc appointment and glucose test...

I'll let you know how it goes after the appointment...
Wish me luck!

A pic of me downing the Hawaiian Punch Glucose concoction.

At first I didn't think this stuff tasted too bad. After I finished the bottle I realized my stomach disagreed. I'm not sure what Lil' Dude thinks of it. She is doing backflips right now.
Ugh.