37 Weeks - Memorial Weekend

We had a wonderful 4 day weekend, meaning Jered was actually off for 4 days in a row! We got a lot of cleaning done in the garage on Sunday, enough so that we can probably park my car in the garage soon, which will be nice with the baby coming. I also got all of Emma's clothes put in her dresser (0-6 mos filled it up!) and the rest sorted into bags by size in the closet. We also set up the bouncy chair and the swing and got the bassinet set up in our bedroom. Will helped me go through his toys and pick out ones for the baby. He would say, "This is baby one, Mama" and drop it into her toy basket which will stay in her room.

Today we celebrated Memorial Day with a bunch of friends from church at a park in La Mesa. It was a beautiful day, about 70 degrees, cooler in the shade (I can't believe I had to wear a sweater!). The kids had tons of fun on the playground and riding their bikes. Will started to pedal his tricycle for the first time! He saw Hannah pedaling and started doing it right away. We are proud of him! Jered grilled some brats and played with Will. I mostly sat in a lounge chair in the shade because my feet were extremely swollen. I was wearing a sweater, but my feet still looked like sausages, so I guess it's not just the heat that causes swelling! Oh well, 2.5 weeks left we hope :)

We also took Will to the movies for the first time this afternoon. We saw Shrek 3 (which was really cute) and we all enjoyed it. Will watched the whole movie and stayed in his chair until the last 5-10 min, when we let him get up and stand in front of his seat. He enjoyed the movie and kept asking for "more videos" on the way home. What a great weekend!

36 Weeks

I had a OB check up today (36wks 5days). Everything is going well. Emma's head is still down and she's in a good position. They did a quick ultrasound just to verify that. Her heartbeat was in the 140s and my fundal height is still measuring just a week ahead, although she's usually 3wks ahead on her ultrasounds. Just like Will! It's still too early for them to check my dilation or effacement, but I have a follow up appointment for 2 weeks from today and now another appointment for my due date, June 19. If she hasn't come by then, they will go ahead and make an appointment for induction so she doesn't get too large (since Will was already over 8lbs at 40wks). The doctor said it's good that I've been having regular contractions every day, hopefully I will be already dilated some before real labor begins. I also had a meeting with a hospital administrator to sign and turn in my pre-admissions paperwork. Getting close now, only about 3 weeks to go, we hope! Jered is home from his latest trip, although still at work right now. He has long weekend for the holiday and Will and I are so excited!

Cute Pictures

I got some cute pictures of Will over the "weekend" (Monday and Tuesday for us) and today when we had our friends the Melchers over for lunch after My Gym class. We got Will a back pack and a soccer ball this weekend. He earned the soccer ball by going pee pee on the potty, and Mommy earned the back pack by carrying all his stuff the last 2 and 1/2 years, haha. I figured he was old enough to carry his own things like pull ups, wipes, milk and toys when I take him to day care, baby sitters, or church. The other pictures are from today of Will playing with Charlie, his friend from class, and Violet, her 6 week old sister. He loved the baby and laid down beside her and held her hand, stroking her tummy and head. He was very gentle and genuinely entralled with her. He kept covering her legs with the blanket because he said, "Uh oh baby's cold!" It was adorable, and a good sign for the near future, I hope! Will also read his first word today. I about fell out of my seat. We were watching Super Why and the word STOP was on the tv. They said, "What does that spell?" Will said, "Stop!" To test it out, this afternoon I got a toy with the word written on it (but not a stop sign, that's cheating, lol) and he read the letters, "S-T-O-P" I asked him what does that spell and he said, "Stop!" Pretty cool, so proud of my smart boy :)

35 Weeks - Date Night

We went on a belated anniversary date Friday night. My Gym (Will's gym) had a Parent's Night Out from 5-9pm, so I dropped him off at 5, then went home to get ready in peace (you mean I can do my make up without explaining what each tube and compact is?!). Jered got home around 6pm, changed clothes and we zipped off to the theater to watch Letters to Juliet. It was funny and sweet and we both enjoyed it. We ate chicken tenders, hot dogs, popcorn and candy at the theater since we didn't have time for dinner too. I won't complain about yummy popcorn and Coke, but maybe we shouldn't have eaten that whole box of Whoppers! It was really fun to go out alone and Will had a blast at the gym. When I dropped him off, he took his shoes off immediately, ran into the gym area and started riding a motorcycle scooter. I tried to say goodbye after signing him in, but all I got was a quick look and a "Vroom vroom!" When we picked him up, he cried for a minute and didn't want to leave. He asked me tonight if he could go back again, so he definitely has fun there!

Jered has been working this weekend, but he's off Monday and Tuesday. Will and I went shopping at Babies R Us today and got some items we still needed for the baby, including a double stroller. On the advice of a couple of employees, we went with a BabyTrend Double Sit N Stand, which our Graco infant seat will snap into. We were orginally going to get a Graco double stroller, but the employee helping us advised us that the sit and stand will last longer since Will is already so big. You can use it with the infant seat + regular seat, 2 regular seats, or infant seat/regular seat + child standing. As a stay at home mom it's a good purchase since they will both be going to all of our classes, playdates, library, shopping, etc. until Will is old enough for school (or we move somewhere we can afford pre-school!).

Speaking of school, I'm amazed at how much Will learns not even being in school yet. He can read (not just recite) almost every letter of the alphabet, has written the letters U, L, and K, can count up to 20 on his own, and knows his colors and shapes. Today on TV they were spelling the word "girl." They had a G-I-R on the screen and said, "what letter goes on the end?" Will said, "L!" That was very cool. He also told me today that Daddy should be home. I asked him if that was because it's Saturday. He said yes, and then I asked him what tomorrow is and he said, "Hannah and Hailey at church." We've been working on days of the week; apparently he's catching on! He's very curious about everything and if he doesn't know what something or someone is called, he asks me, "Who's that name, Mama?" He sings along with the radio in the car and tells us, "I love singing!" Of course what tickles Daddy pink is Will can identify a F-14 Tomcat and a F-18 Hornet. Ok, that's my little mommy brag. I don't think I've done it in a couple weeks at least :)

34 Weeks - Happy Mother's Day & Our 7th Anniversary!

This Sunday we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and Mother's Day! We spent a relaxing and fun day together on Saturday, shopping a little in the morning, a nap and some time at the salon in the afternoon, and dinner at a Chinese restuarant in our neighborhood. Jered got me some beautiful red roses and another dozen yellow roses - one bouquet for Mother's Day and one for anniversary.

This morning before I left the house for vocal team practice, Jered gave me a gorgeous one carat diamond necklace. It has a really neat design, and I'm proud that he picked such a pretty necklace by himself. I just love it. This evening we went to eat at Brigantine Seafood, a local steak and seafood place. A little more pricey than where we usually go out, but they had wonderful crab fondue, fried shrimp, and even brought us a complimentary creme brulee, which happens to be one of Jered's favorite desserts. We walked around the outdoor shopping center where the restuarant is, stopping at the koi and turtle pond for Will and the bookstore for mommy. Jered got me the new Francine Rivers book, which I didn't even know was out! She my favorite author, and I was really excited! Jered is off again tomorrow because he has to work next weekend, so we plan on doing some more family things then. It's been a great weekend, and I'm throughly spoiled rotten now (especially because Jered's in the kitchen right now doing the dishes!).

33 Weeks - Welcome Home Daddy

Jered came home this Friday and we were so excited! Will has had fun all weekend playing with Daddy and doing fun father-son stuff. I was so happy to be all together again, and also grateful for help with things that are getting hard to do now with my big belly. We had a great weekend and I'm glad that Jered is home!