livin' on a prayer

WHOOOOOAAAAAA..we're half way there!!
WHOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAA!
Yes, most days I am livin' on a prayer..but wow here we are at 21 weeks and counting. This pregnancy has gone by pretty fast so far and I am feeling good. I can't keep the Bon Jovi song from playing in my head when I think about it for some reason..but I do love that song!
Once we found out we were having a boy, I felt I could move on to more fun things like the nursery, names and stressing about which child would sleep where.
I haven't taken any pics of myself throughout this pregnancy like I did with the girls so I thought I would do some while I had it on my mind. I really just started to show and am feeling larger..this 5.5 month stretch is when I gained the bulk of my weight during Georgia's pregnancy, so I am hoping I can contain myself in some way and not show up at the dr. in June with a surprising number! Let's not get into all those details, though!Some things on my mind that keep me up at night right now:
-the name of our 1st (and possibly/probably only son)
-where the kids will sleep, will the girls share a room, etc.
-what theme, colors to do in the nursery
-will I get gestational diabetes again and if so will it all play out as well as it did last time
-Emma's speech lessons, are they working, are we where we should be
-what I am going to do all summer with the girls in no scheduled activities (MDO)

One thing we did today was head to Landa Park. I love going to Landa Park. I always think it is too far there and such, but it really doesn't take that long and it is so worth it every single time I go. We went with 4 moms and 8 kids. We did it all and then some..We started out at the playground, swings and picnic tables. We had lunch and then headed to ride the train, which I think was a highlight for everyone. The conductor was so cute and took our picture, he asked if we "were a school or did they all belong to us?" and he would slow down to toss the expecting squirrels a nut..for real!Then, we headed to feed the ducks. The kids liked this, of course, but were getting all muddy and almost falling or walking into the water. It was cute to hear them all "quacking" (the kids not the ducks). Finally, we decided to venture over to the wading/swimming area. The moms had to get into the water with the kids mainly because of the under 2 year olds, but it was ok because it was on the hot side. This was my favorite part. I love the natural river water and the rock bottom. The girls loved it and didn't seem to mind how cold it was. Emma was practicing her swim lesson moves and Georgia would pick up handfuls of rocks and chunk them.
I can't wait to go back and hopefully get more pics. I was too afraid to drop my camera in the water, but G is something cute in her bathing suit!

Mother's Day gifts

Today I received some early Mother's Day gifts!!

Not only did my parents send me a gift card for an hour massage, but I also am getting a hair cut and highlights, which I desperately need!! They sent me a sweet box with a beautiful picture frame and a cute top! Love it!!
I am waiting to see what 'Emma and Georgia' sent me (it was in the same box but labeled from them)!

Another gift I received was an ultrasound of my 3rd little baby who is rolling around in my belly! We had our big u/s today and got to see if more Pink or Blue would be in our future!! It's A BOY!!

We are so excited to be able to say that. I really can't believe (and think Daniel would agree with me) that we are finally having a boy. I don't know how I got this lucky and blessed! What else can a girl ask for?? Well, maybe a sit 'n' stand stroller, but that is for another post..

So far our baby boy :) looks healthy and is measuring 1 week ahead of schedule..so that puts us right at Georgia's 2nd birthday, Sept. 12. They won't change my due date but that is where we are at right now!Our sweet friends watched the girls for us and then we all went out to lunch to celebrate and enjoy a cake that I picked up for the occasion!

The u/s tech said "there it is just laying on his leg!" I thought, great, we will never hear the end of that..Daniel was the wrong person to say something like that too. Then we were looking at a different angle and Daniel asked, "Are you sure that isn't a hidden hand ?" She said, "It is way too big to be a thumb!" So there you have it! It's definitely a boy and Daniel is finally convinced!
YEA! Now we can talk names! We have a few possibilities, but are still totally undecided and taking any suggestions. Daniel's middle name and 8th generation family name is Andrew, so we may use some form of that.. Phillip & Emma eating cake!

Another thing that is so exciting is that my long time best friend, Carrie, is having her 1st baby and she is having a boy too!! She is due just 3 weeks after me! We also both live in the same town now that we moved back to Texas so it is really fun and special! I can't wait for our little boys to grow up together!

Emma's 1st swim lessons

This week we embarked on new waters...literally!
We signed Emma up for swim lessons and had our 1st go at it. At first she was a little hesitant and would tell her teacher "I don't want to right now!" (put her face in the water, blow bubbles, etc)Then, she got more comfortable, thank goodness, and was the kid who was yelling and waving to me, "Mom, I did it!", or tell her neighbor in the water, "That my baby Georgia over there!" Guess who was mad about being stuck in her stroller instead of in the water. She did kick her legs when the teacher would tell the class to!
Overall it was a success and she walked away happy and excited to go back! I wish I could say at the end of the 4 week class we will have a super swimmer, but I know better than that. I guess like most parenting things it is going to take time, effort and practice to get her where she needs to be to be safe in the water!I am glad we signed her up and are getting her more comfortable in the water. We decided not to spend the $ on Georgia's lessons just yet. I would have to be holding her in the water the whole time and I didn't think it was worth it..so we will just work on the same things that Emma is on our own time!

something borrowed, something BLUE?!?

After a quick weekend in CS, I am exhausted. I guess staying up way past my bedtime for a few nights in a row can really take its toll.
We got there late on Friday and pulled right in to Freebirds. I know there are Freebirds in other towns, but it just isn't the same. Does anyone else know what I mean?..Freebirds and Wings 'n' More are just 2 of the places that I really care to eat and crave but only when I am in CS. Saturday morning Daniel watched the girls while I headed out on the town..I had warned him before I left that Emma was under the weather a bit, with green diarrhea, but was seemingly feeling fine otherwise! He blew me off!
I got a text a few hours later (I was just a few minutes from home) saying "Emma had pooped all over the floor, literally." Then, followed by another text saying he "had got sick and thrown up twice while cleaning it up!"
I sent a message saying "ooh sorry" but I have to admit here and now I changed my course of direction and ran another errand, just so I would miss any and all of the clean up process! After a long day, including lunch at Wings 'n' More and a nap, we headed to a wedding shower for our friends, Brandon and Sara! It was great to see everyone and catch up.
We are running out of wedding showers and seem to be attending more baby showers nowadays. There were 3 pregnant friends there, lots of kids and I was later told talk of vasectomies! That made me laugh to think of where we have come from just a few years ago.
I really love that even after 11 years of being graduated from highschool we are still friends and get to make new friends with eachothers' spouses too!
We had pizza rolls at the shower, which was fun because Double Daves is where most of the guys worked at one time or another through college, including Daniel. Double Daves is basically how I met Daniel, because he worked with all my highschool friends there and they brought him to a party I was at!The girls had a lot of fun and were so worn out from the party and whole weekend. They slept basically the whole ride home which usually never happens. One of the reasons they were so tired is because Saturday night after my parents put them to bed, Emma had woken up, decided to go see Georgia and was trying to crawl in her crib. Luckily my parents heard her because she was moving a chair and it got stuck in the doorway and toppled over. When they went to check Emma was already in the crib hanging out with Georgia. My dad said they were just playing there together at 11 p.m. Then the next day we found a tube of lipstick in G's crib, that Emma had stolen out of my purse at some point and used to decorate a few things. It could have been worse, I guess.

So now I am a little leary of sleeping arrangements once the baby comes. That is consuming my thoughts and I keep going back and forth on where I want them to sleep. To keep the guest room or not, that is the question!

The other question is are we having a GIRL or BOY??? Will we need something BLUE or will we save money because we already have everything Pink you can imagine??!!
We finally get to find out this Saturday!! So stay tuned!!