Milo's Birthday

So....unless he decides to make an early appearance (and judging from my other two this is highly unlikely) Milo will be born via c-section on January 13, 2010! I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for an earlier date. I could have gone as early as the 8th but I guess I have to take what I can get. I was wishing for earlier because obviously it's less time I have to be pregnant, and also because I was hoping for a least a week between his birthday and Jackson's. Since Jackson's is January 19th it means I'll only have three days once I'm home to get ready for big #6! I'm hoping to ease the pressure (and more importantly make sure his special day doesn't get lost in the shuffle) by wrapping all his gifts when I do Christmas as well as figuring out what his theme is going to be and purchasing supplies.

I find myself getting more and more excited to meet Milo and get some newborn snuggles in. :) Since this will more than likely be my last baby I'm going to enjoy every minute! Oh yeah - let me tell you about today - I'm sure you other mothers may be able to relate. I went to the OB today b/c I was having some back pain and thought I might have a UTI. About an hour before I left was suddenly hit by a wave of panic. What if something happens and I have to stay? I had piles of laundry waiting to be washed, not a thing packed for the hospital, all the baby's clothe still in bins from the attic, unwashed. Totally unprepared! Needless to say I spent that hour frantically packing a "just in case" bag, and trying to get a couple loads washed , dried, and put away. Since I have returned (with nothing more than a prescription for antibiotics thank goodness) I have done nothing but laundry and organizing. My mother is spending the three days I'll be in the hospital here with the boys so I have to have the house ready to go. Anyway, crisis averted :) Of course now he'll remain in place until the 13th - but better to be safe than sorry - right?

P.S. Side note - on the c-section date I have to call the hospital at 4am and be there to check in at 5am! Seriously? Was 7am just too late? I'm tired just thinking about it...

First Haircut

I rushed out after school yesterday to get Jackson and Andrew haircuts. They were going to see Santa at 4:30 and I was hoping to maybe get a photo for our Christmas cards. No such luck. In fact I didn't even get one of them together. That's okay though because they had fun anyway. It's amazing how grown up Andrew looks to me without his baby curls! He did a great job sitting in the chair until another little boy beside him started playing with a Thomas train. All bets were then off and he spent the rest of the time trying to get down out of the chair and take the train. This kid has a serious Thomas addiction! Here are the results:

Two year photos....one month late

In all the craziness of Halloween and Andrew's birthday party I didn't get his two year photos taken until almost a month later. Oh well... I wanted to take them before he got his first haircut so now that they're in I might just run him to the barber chair this afternoon! I think he's an awfully cute two year old! :)

33 weeks and counting

This is apparently what baby Milo looks like now, at exactly 33 weeks gestation. Looks good, right? Like really, really good; like ready to come early! Not really, but I wish! I have to remind myself daily that though I feel (and look) big enough to have a term baby, he still has plenty of developing and growing left to do. I am feeling ready to be done with this pregnancy. Some days six more weeks sounds like an eternity, but know with Christmas less than a month away it will pass more quickly than I anticipate. Until then I'll be dreaming of the days when I can actually walk (not waddle) to lunch, eat a full meal, without heartburn, hip pain, or the need to run to the bathroom every 1/2 hour!

My Indian Chief

It's that time of year again! We went to school today to see Jackson's kindergarten class perform their Fall recital. It was so fun seeing them all dressed up!

Big Boy Bed (oh no!)

It finally happened. Andrew climbed out of his pack n play four times during his nap yesterday and first thing this morning. We figured it must be time for a big boy bed. It's so hard as a mom not to have a place where I know he's safe and not getting into anything. Now when I shower I'm going to be paranoid that he's up, bedtime is going to be nightmare, etc. Any tips are much appreciated! This is a photo of him just now taking his first nap in his big boy bed. We started a little before noon and he finally fell asleep, after many tears, about two hours later. When I heard him quiet down I went to check on him and he had fallen asleep half-laying on the bed but with his feet still on the floor. I should have taken a photo but I didn't want to wake him. Should be a fun night tonight!

Early Thanksgiving

Today Jackson's school had a Thanksgiving lunch and families were invited. Jackson was very excited to have Andrew and I come down and spend some time with him! He requested that I take some photos of him which of course I had planned on doing anyway :)

30 is NOT the new 20 when you're pregnant!

My parents and Oren worked together to throw me a semi-surprise 30th birthday party Sunday. What that means was that they told me a few hours before the party. I think that this is a lovely idea because otherwise I probably would have gone over in my pj's! I was very surprised when I found out and they were even arranged for Scott and Jackson to be babysat by Caleb. Naturally Andrew had no problem being the only child there - he ran through the house and ate his fill of goodies. There were several games including "Anna through the years", where we had to put the photos in order (I got a bunch wrong)! There was also "Anna Jeopardy", which naturally brought out the competitive nature of my family. :) Thanks to everyone who went out of their way to come and to my parents and Oren for being so thoughtful and generous with their time - it was fun!

Silly boy

I'm sure all mothers have those moments that by the time you realize it's too quiet, the damage has been done! A few minutes ago this is how I found Andrew....at least it's a washable marker!

Through the years...

I found out today that my Grandma passed away last night. When I told Jackson he was really sad and asked me to print out a picture of them together so he could make a card. When looking through some old albums I found some others and thought that I would post them. Grandma's are very special and I'm so lucky that I have the two BEST ones out there (sorry everyone - I lucked out) :)



One of my first visits to New York - I was maybe 4



Blowing out candles for my brother's birthday - 5



Her last visit down to Virginia to visit us, it was 2008

Mission Complete!

I actually did get off the computer and finish the job! It took about 6 hours of almost straight painting. The color isn't anything specacular but I already had it in the closet. I just love a freshly painted room - it feels so much cleaner!

Pregnancy

This is what I do to myself when I'm pregnant:





Right now my kitchen is completely torn apart and half painted. As you can deduct, I am currently on the computer pretending that my kitchen does not look like it does. It always starts out with good intentions: "I'll just throw coat of paint up on the kitchen - there's not even that much wall space". These ideas, of course, only come to me when I'm alone in the house and can't be talked out of it :) About half way though whatever project I'm doing I realize that I'm pregnant, and can't breathe, and that those lovely second trimester energy bursts are a thing of that past. So here I am. I'm going to try to muster up some more energy and finish the job - wish me luck! Hopefully I'll be posting some "after" photos soon...

Halloween 2009

We started off Halloween this year by going over my parents house and letting the boys loose on a candy corn pinata. They really had a good time and as usual Andrew had no problem keeping up with the big boys! When it started to get dark the costumes went on - Jackson was a ninja turtle, Andrew was a horse, and my nephew Scott went as a vampire. It was the first Halloween Andrew really understood the concept and it was fun watching him go up to each house and hold his basket up - he wasn't shy at all! Lollipops were his candy of choice and he ate a couple along the way :) By 7:30 Jackson said he was ready to stop so we moved on to MaMa and PaPa's. Once there we snacked, talked and sorted out candy. Jackson passed out on their couch shortly after but Andrew was still going strong - must have been all that sugar :) Hope you all had a Happy Halloween too!

Halloween Party

We had our annual Halloween party Sunday night! While it was exhausting for me, being a giant pregnant gal and all, it was lots of fun! I enjoyed that it was a bit cooler so I could eat some chili and snuggle in close to the fire. The kids really seemed to have a blast too! Oren made a maze which they spent time running through, and needless to say cake and candy are always a hit. Next year I hope I can enjoy it even more with a new addition to our family and less swelling in my feet :)

Take-Two

It's been almost a year since I gave Jackson this quiz and I decided to ask him all the questions again. His answers weren't all that different :)

1. What is your favorite after-school activity? PLAY TIME
2. Where do you go when you want to be alone? I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE
3. Do you collect anything? If so, what? YES, MARBLES AND ROCKS
4. If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? NO WAY, I LIKE TO WATCH THEM, NOT BE THEM
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? POPSICLES
6. What do you love most about your neighborhood? THAT I CAN WALK OVER TO SCOTT'S
7. What is your most treasured possession? MY MONSTER TRUCK PILLOW AND MY TRANSFORMERS PILLOWCASE
8. If you could have one superpower, what would it be? TO RUN SUPER REALLY FAST
9. What is your favorite thing to do with your family? EAT POPSICLES
10. If you could plan the next family vacation, where would you go? CAMPING

Andrew turns two!!

We were supposed to have a birthday/Halloween party but we postponed the Halloween party b/c it was supposed to rain. Instead we had some family over for cake, ice cream, and gifts. Andrew really enjoyed unwrapping his gifts and playing with his new toys. Here are a few photos from yesterday:

My likes this week

Always having yummy, easy desserts like chocolate chip rice krispy treats in my cake dome.



When Kroger has $1.99 clearance flowers - I will sometimes treat myself.



Finding cute, easy craft ideas that I steal from creative bloggers worldwide.














Realizing that as long as you're already late to school on a rainy, cold day; a surprise stop at Hardee's won't make much of a difference.