36 weeks

The time is flying by!! We have been B.U.S.Y. trying to get Gus's room together. We bought a gently loved dresser/changing table that I painted 'blissful blue'...and I'm now painting GUS letters and a shelf the same color, and maybe a lamp. After that we need to get the full size mattresses out of there (we are storing our guest bed) and the rocker moved in. Not sure how Luci is going to feel about the rocker leaving her room, but hopefully it won't be too traumatic.

He now has a wardrobe large enough to clothe 2 babies for months (thanks to Asher & Wally), his own boyish crib sheets, a new mattress (Luce did a lot of jumping on hers and I decided I'd sleep better knowing that he was sleeping on a firm, safe, mattress), and a new to him changing pad with new covers. The room is a brownish color with blue (dresser & wall items) & green accents (rocker). I wish I'd gone with a bit deeper of a blue, but hopefully I'll like it when it all comes together.

Clay has 2 more trips and 1 more Navy stint before he starts his Family Medical Leave on 12/18, and then he's off until 1/8 given a well timed week of vacation starting 1/1. Grandma Pierse is coming down this weekend to help me out while Dad works too many days in a row for Mom to energetically handle on her own. Thank you, Grandma Pierse. Both Luci & I are very excited to have you.

I've gotten lots of things checked off the list...I washed the car seat cover (although now it is emitting this creepy icky chemical odor) & got the newborn insert all set up, washed the bouncy seat cover, and all of the burp cloths, etc. On the list of to-dos include finishing a blanket I'm making for him, quite a bit more laundry, and then some method of organization for his huge wardrobe with clothes sized from newborn to 9 months. Luci never really wore the newborn size, and I'm guessing that he won't either....

Why, you ask? Cause the ultrasound I had done last week estimated his weight at 7lbs, 1oz. At 35.5 weeks!!! Where do these giant babies come from?!?!??! My cervix is soft (it's getting ready), but I was not at all dilated as of today. Although my fundal height did shrink from 35.5 to 34, so that means at least he's moving in the right direction (down & out!!)

So, given all that I'm hoping Gus comes on his own 12/18. I'll be 39 weeks at that point. And if he decides to hang out forever like his big sis did, we'll evict him on 12/28 so that Clay has almost 2 weeks at home with us. I really want to give Gus a chance to share a super special birthday with The Big Guy so we won't kick him out before then. But...please big lil boy...be a good listener...come play on the 18th!!

christmas card photo favorites

Professional photography session? $300+.

A talented bff willing to take time out of her busy day (on her husband's day off, no less) using love & talent to [seemingly] effortlessly capture the spirit of our family at this moment in time? Priceless.

Of course I can't reveal the big winner...but here are some of my favorites.


Photos by Amanda...

Want to see more? Click here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends & family! Luci & I are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade & I wish I could record her little commentary. So far my favorite has been, "dancing! instruments! costumes! like I do! (she's wearing her Halloween costume, of course)"...which was followed by "I want more costumes! More dancing!"

Clay just left for work but he'll be home tomorrow after naps (or mid-afternoon in non-Luci speak). He found out that the scheduled hotel is booked full so he's staying on cruise ship tonight! It's a first! I'm hoping they at least feed him a good old fashioned Thanksgiving meal (although I'll have leftovers waiting for him regardless!).

It's hard to live so far away from family everyday, but especially on days like today. I wish Luci could be playing with all of her cousins & grandmas & grandpas today. Miss you, family.

That said, this afternoon Luci & I will head out to celebrate Thanksgiving with three other families for the third year in a row. I am so grateful that although we can't be with our far away family that we have a local family of friends to celebrate with. Thank you, friends.

Happy Thanksgiving.

luci phrases

goofin off after church... yes...still in skirts & flip flops in late November...

she's a big fan of Dad's bike pump...

more goofin.

an action shot...

she has so many these days, I want to jot them down before they are gone forever...

-"words, words, words" when she looks at words in a book, on a container, or at the prayer on her wall
-when you ask her a question & she doesn't know the answer she responds, "uh?"
-"no i like a dark" when we turn the light out
-last week while at Chick-fil-a ordering a water, she shouts out "DECAF! Mama need a DECAF!"
-"no push (or kick) mom, no push dad, no push a peoples, no push a ANYone"; usually said after pushing
-"poops, poops, in dad's hair, poops, poops, in mom's hair, poops poops in dad's CAKE!"
-"no I like a loud"...she hates it when I flush in a public restroom...it is too loud for her I guess?
-"no I [insert any number of activities or things here]" "YES I [often insert same activity...10 seconds later]"
-"let's go outta here, mama! fore dat mouse comes!" in reference to an episode of the Little Einsteins when the bad mouse comes to take the prince's winder-upper (yes, they really call it that).
-"whew. dat a close one!"
-"Whozat, mama", "Whazat, mama"
-"Nameiz?" she wants to know the name of every character or picture of a person or animal in every book or pretty much everywhere in general.
-she references things all the time. She disassembled her doll pack-n-play structure and turned the supports into drumsticks "like Quincy does. like Marina does." (reference to Little Einsteins & The Fresh Beat Band). She references her activities to shows, books, and things Mom & Dad do...ALL THE TIME.
-She quotes movie lines as a joke. When saying Thank You sometimes she'll break into The Sneetches "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You"
-She even mimics the intonation of movie lines. "A CaaAAAT, in a HaaAAAT"
-A non show/book reference: we pray for all family members every night. Including Uncle Ben & Aunt Chelsi, and baby Austyn. I ordered some sweet fabric to make Austyn a baby blanket. I showed it to Luce, and explained it was for Uncle Ben & Aunt Chelsi's baby. I then asked if she remember their baby's name. "Uh?" she said. I said, "baby Austyn". "Like prayers!!" she said.
-she takes pretend trips a thousand times a day. for forever she's been going to Grandma's house. then she started going to see Rocket (of the Little Einsteins, again). Now she sees Rocket on the way TO Grandma's house!

-let's go make a tower daddy, make a tower (they make pillow towers)

-daddy fix it (in reference to a boo boo), daddy make a all better.

-"FRIENDS! I like friends!" whenever we go somewhere with a bunch of tots...regardless of whether or not we know them ;)

Saying good-bye to the paci is still happening...she regularly asks for her baa during the sleep time routine. She usually cries for 30-50 minutes before falling asleep now, and during naps she just can't settle herself down when she wakes up after a short time. She used to almost always nap 2+ hours and we've been lucky to get to 45 minutes this week. It's been fun times. Live & learn...lil Gus will be saying good-bye to his paci at a much younger age...

Good-bye Baa, Hello Dobby!!

Meet Dobby. And yes, that is Luci's Halloween costume. We wear it pretty much all day, every day. The 5-in-1 carrier...

Sportin her new "butterfly slippers" from Aunt Brooke....thanks Aunt Brooke!

One of the five ways to carry...on the back!

You can also sort of change her diaper...

We had planned to potty train before Gus's arrival, but given that I can barely get myself to the bathroom in time these days we've decided to hold off on that...and decided instead to do away with her beloved paci!

Soooo...drum roll please....last night our Luci slept through the night WITHOUT HER PACI!!! We've been talking up the transition now for about a week. We saw a neighbor baby (baby Maren) last week at the park & I jumped at the chance to explain to Luci that baas (pacis) are only for babies. Then I asked her who the baby was...baby Maren she said....and who the big girl was...Woo-ci she said (that's how she says Luci). And everyday since then we've been talking about how soon we were going to give our baas to baby Maren because she is a baby & needs them, and Luci is a big girl and doesn't. We talked about our big girl friends Clara & Caroline and how they don't have baas either, because they are big girls. We also talked about how Gus will have a baa, because he'll be a baby.

Our original plan was for tonight (Saturday), but Clay got home early (the 1x per year allotment of when delays mean early to home instead of late) yesterday instead of today, so we decided no reason to wait. We talked it up in the morning and told her at nap time it would be her last sleep time with baas in her bed...because baby Maren needed them...and she did not. After nap we put her 2 baas in a little gift bag with pink paper & she carried it around until we headed over to baby Maren's house. She was a very big girl and gave them quite willingly to Maren. We kept telling her how proud of her we were and she kept repeating, "Mom so proud of you." And then we were off for her very first trip to the toy store to pick out a new baby doll (aka a distraction). Or a 'daughter' as she called it. Cause she's a big girl now see, so clearly she's ready for a daughter!!

The toy store went about as I thought at would...excitement soon turned into overload and "mine, mine, I want this" started to apply to everything. Pleasant version: I worked very hard to keep her on task & we were out of there in about 5 minutes with a new baby that came in a 5-in-1 carrier type thing & a bottle. More accurate version: I rushed to pay while Clay scooped her out of there screaming & crying as we left behind a xylophone she wanted...

Once in the car with the doll out of the package she was delighted. We asked her what her new baby's name was and she said "Dobby". Which is her favorite random word that we've never known the meaning of. (Mom, say dobby, Mom say dobby...okay, dobby!?!) So Dobby it is. Dobby came to our very special dinner of "chips & ice cream" aka Chuy's Mexican where we eat chips & dessert is a push-up. Once home we played with Dobby until bedtime.

Overall her mood was VERY volatile all afternoon...giggling one minute, having a major angry meltdown the next. She totally knew what was happening & I think it was all a bit overwhelming for her. But once in bed she only cried out a few times and we didn't ever have to even go into her room before she fell asleep....and stayed asleep until 6:30a...and then played happily in bed with Dobby until 7a.

Nap time today was quite a different story...she cried on & off (mostly on) for about an hour before finally giving in. I went and 'nuggled' (snuggled)with her but she was so bonkers I decided I wasn't helping matters. She just kept flailing about like a fish out of water, crying "I need my baa". Once finally asleep she did fine for about an hour, but then couldn't settle back down as she normally would when she wakes up mid-nap (they are usually about 2 hours). I was napping too, and since neither of us were ready to get up (she was crying but not saying any words...like a 1/2 asleep cry) I crawled into bed with her and we slept another 45 minutes until my cough woke her up. At that point she realized I was in bed with her and said, "BLESS you, Mama!"

She was well behaved this afternoon post nap, but tonight she's having a hard time falling asleep again. She's been up there about 30 minutes and I've already gone up once, but usually it takes her about 45-60 minutes to fall asleep so we'll see how the next half an hour goes. At least she's not crying a ton like at nap time...at least...not yet!

Regardless, we know how hard this is for her, and we are SO proud of her!!

update....she's up there now sucking on Dobby's bottle...is that allowed?!?!!?

Welcome Austyn Sage Rosonke!!

Please welcome Luci's newest cousin...baby girl Austyn Sage Rosonke!

She arrived last night & weighed in at 7lbs, 15oz, stretching 19.5 inches long.

Proud parents Ben & Chelsi are doing well & enjoying their sweet baby girl...CONGRATS!!

Please excuse the cell phone quality of the photos!

don't worry mama.

scene: heading up the stairs to bed tonight. luci is carrying one of her favorite play blankets (her KKG blankey...hours of princess fun while wearing it as a cape thanks to Miss Kelly) upstairs, to have a "new bed blanket". she puts the blanket OVER her head while walking up the stairs.

mama: (right beside her), Luci, we don't put blankets over our head when we are walking around or going up or down the stairs. It's dangerous because you can't see, and so you could bump into something and get hurt.

luci: don't worry mama.

WHAT?!?!! usually she'd just repeat what I said, saying something about getting a boo boo. WHEN DID SHE GET SO BIG? articulating thoughts of her own? i think we are in trouble. the first, but I am certain NOT the last time i'll hear "don't worry mama."

almost 34 weeks! And 4 years!

Holy cow....does that mean just over 6 weeks to go?!?!?!? WHATTTT!!!!

We've started on the nursery. And by started I mean the headboard & foot board of our guest bed are now up in the garage attic. How Clay managed that one on his own I'll never know & I don't think I want to (there are no stairs...so somehow he hoisted it up there by himself?!?!?!)! Clay has painted a corner of the room...just enough so we know we like the color. [UPDATE: PAINTING IS COMPLETE!!] Which we knew already because it is all over the first floor of our house. Um, yeah. So we've started. Oh, and we have 1 blue crib sheet thanks to Aunt Brooke. I tried to find where we were with the nursery with Luce...and I found that at 35 weeks we had EVERYTHING done. Like clothes washed & diapers ready & that sort of thing. HOLY COW. Gus's wardrobe to date...largely courtesy of Asher...is still in the box that Aunt Brooke sent it in. It stayed in the dining room for weeks, only to make it up to Gus's room last week. Um, yeah. And newborn diapers? Not a one to be found...[UPDATE: JUST GOT ONE IN THE MAIL FROM HUGGIES ;]

And just for kicks, here is a fun photo of us at this barely 34 weeks point with Luce. Could we look any more fresh faced? This time around Amanda is again throwing a shower for us in a few weeks, but just girls this time. I'm quite certain a photo from that event will reveal a much wiser face of motherhood...one that lacks the glow and has added a few wrinkles. Interestingly enough it feels hard earned & I'm okay with it!

I'm sleeping well for the most part...like a rock actually. 2 hours during nap time, then to bed around 10p or 11p if Clay is home, up every 2 hours to pee, then up for good around 7a. I've had a few crazy dreams but nothing like with Luci. Clay says I'm snoring...and he's waking me up every few hours to tell me to knock it off...which just makes me mad apparently and then I promptly fall right back to sleep (I don't remember these interactions very well so I'm left to go on his accounting of the matter). My back feels okay most of the time, but his poky little elbows, knees & feet definitely get up in my ribs & hurt my mid section many, many times a day. He's quite the mover & I'm pretty sure he gets a kick out of dancing on my bladder much of the day. If I'm hydrated I am literally visiting the bathroom every 3-5 minutes...no joke. Luci says, "No mom potty AGAIN!" I second that, kiddo.

I've been having some contractions now for a few weeks...I'd say they are not insignificant!??! A few weeks ago they were every 5 minutes for about an hour & a half. I chugged water (being dehydrated can cause contractions & pre-term labor) and rested on my left side (the place to be when you are pregnant and need to rest) and they were largely gone by the time I went to bed. It's been a bit unnerving given that I never really had this with Luci until about 40 weeks. The biggest difference is just the pressure this time...I literally feel every little pound of him - and then some - weighing low on my insides. I really don't remember that particular sensation much with Luci. And it has been going on for months! I thought it was the style of pant I was wearing (demi panel), but it turns out it's just that big boy squishing me from the inside out!

My appointment this week with my favorite doctor ended up being an appointment with my favorite nurse. Dr. J had to rush out to deliver two babies so given I didn't have any major concerns it worked out just fine. I've gained as much weight to date with this pregnancy as I did in my entire pregnancy with Luci. Fun times. I'm measuring right on track though, at 33 1/2 weeks, so that is good news. Favorite Nurse & I looked at Gus on the ultrasound and got a GREAT view of his little face...he has big cheeks and is, of course, super cute :). This also indicates he's posterior (sunny side or face up) just like his big sister was. Which means a more difficult labor with back labor and more pushing. And here I've been telling myself for months that the labor, delivery & recovery COULDN'T POSSIBLY be as difficult as it was with Luci. Or maybe it could, I guess...ah, SUPER fun times...

Oh, and did I mention today marks 4 years of wedded bliss? Happy Anniversary my love.

Happy Birthday to my favorite Veteran...

working on Dad's cake...' licking the beater' is what we called it growing up...it was a new concept to Luce but I think she got the hang of it...

You're only 2 once, right?

Singing Happy Birthday to Dad the night before his b-day...

blowing out his candle...Luci said he wished for cake...and it came true!!

Today is Clay's birthday...a BIG birthday...but I won't tell you which one (born in 1969...)

The celebration began last night...that happens when your 2 year old is SO excited the day before her dad's birthday that she doesn't nap! Yes, Luce stayed awake in her bed for almost 3 hours yesterday singing Happy Birthday to Daddy and proclaiming that Daddy's birthday was TODAY, not tomorrow. She was VERY much looking forward to the purple cake that she had plans to give him. For the last few weeks I asked her almost daily what she wanted to get Dad...and it was always a cake. A purple cake. Sometimes a purple AND a green cake. So being the clever mama I am, we made cupcakes, put cream cheese frosting on them (cause food coloring does horrible things to her skin), and then bought $5 worth of sprinkle dots in different colors...so Dad did indeed get a purple cake, and a green one, and a yellow one. What a lucky dad, no? Oh, did I fail to mention the man doesn't even like cake!!?!?!? What a trooper...he put on a good show of thanksgiving :)

Today we started bright & early with gift opening before we even brushed our teeth. I thought Luci would be excited to help me wrap, but no...she's not quite ready for that. Finally after a bit of drama Dad opened his gifts. He received a fall cord blazer from Luci & me, a few books, a magazine subscription, and a Cubs hat from his 'rents. Overall a pretty good b-day, I hope.

I also made him lasagna for dinner and apple crisp for dessert. He's putting Luci to bed now and then we'll be able to enjoy said apple crisp peacefully...with vanilla bean ice cream on the side. Yummm......

Seems like such a big milestone needed more, but he told me MONTHS ago that he really hoped that I wasn't planning anything big for this birthday. And he was genuine & adamant. So I obliged...but it feels sort of wrong...like we under-celebrated or something. Happy Birthday handsome man...I love you!

PS.

Happy Veteran's Day...please remember that this is the home of the free because of the brave!

trends

Here she is...with a sweatshirt, a hat, a lunchbox, her trick or treat bag, and a pair of socks. I asked her where she was going and she said, "get a groceries, like Mom does." I hate to admit it, but for some reason the more pregnant I get, the more I load up with a crazy amount of crap before we go anywhere! I am up to at least 2 bags per trip these days to accommodate a cup for her, cup for me, snack for her, sweatshirts for both of us, diapers, wipes, kleenex, phone, wallet, magic color markers, the magic paper, colors, coloring books, bug spray, sunscreen, and who knows what else; maybe I need to lighten my load... maybe a bit too much stuff...
And another big trend...fuzzy pjs...with flipflops & a sun hat...only deep in the heart of Texas!

Haddow-ween

Note the crazed candy smile...and waddipop bouquet...
with her buddy between houses...
checking out her loot...

this is what candy does to this kid...

loves her some waddipops.

Haddow-ween was a big hit this year. She's been wearing her costume for a month, including the hat, almost everyday...until Halloween, that is. Then? NO HAT, MAMA. She still got plenty of treats though, and did a GREAT job knocking on doors and saying "TRICK OR TREAT!", and then saying "tank you" as she turned & walked back down the path. I'm pretty sure in the beginning she did NOT do a good job taking just one...her little goodie bag got so heavy I had to empty it into my bugspray/sweater/cup bag about half way through...which lead me to wonder & be a bit more supervisory during her candy grabs going forward. We trick or treated for just over an hour before we headed home in the dark...through the "pooky (spooky) dark forest" as she calls the outside now when it's dark. I think we may have watched a few too many Nick Jr. Halloween episodes...

Since Halloween she's had a few lollipops and 1 candy bar. I put all of her candy in a grocery bag on top of the fridge and she has no idea it is there, and doesn't seem a bit concerned with where all her 'treats' went. She does, however, ask daily, 10x a day, for a waddi-pop. Yesterday we had one while waiting for Dad to get home from his 7 day stint with the Navy...anything to pass that last hour of time. I ate one too, and promptly chomped it right up (I've never been a patient how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop kinda girl) and Luce looked at me, held up one finger, and said, "Just one Mama; Just.One." Apparently she IS a good listener...

overheard

just now, while playing with her baby dolls...

"too little a food...too little a tv...too little a ice cream...too little a hide and seek...too little a sit chair...too little a cat hat costume...too little a feed milo cat food"

we've been reading lots of books to prepare for Gus's arrival - most of them talk about the things he'll be too little to do, while she, the big girl, gets to do all of these great fun things. hopefully it is preparing her in some small way?

haddow-ween (halloween) update to come...I can't upload photos until Wed so you'll all have to wait until then. so far she's enjoyed a wahddi-pop (lollipop) or two, and a crunch bar. the crunch bar was an oversight...it was accidentally left on the floor last night. she seems to have forgotten about them by now, but this morning she was all ready to 'get some more treats, mama....knock a door, TRICK OR TREAT, anader (another) house mama, the next house, mama'. my explanation that halloween was a VERY special day that only happens once a year, like a birthday, did not go over well.