27 months

Here it is... Elise's last monthly post before she is a big sister! If you don't want to read the whole thing, skip down to the bottom. The last funny saying is hilarious and Mike and I couldn't stop laughing.

Stats: She weighs about 30 lbs and is almost 36 inches tall. She mostly wears size 3T clothes. She still wears size 8 shoes (since last summer!) but her size 9 Keens fit great. I was surprised to discover this month that she has 3 of her two year molars (and I bet the 4th is probably in by now... haven't checked).

Sleeping: After daylight savings time, we settled into 7:30-7:30 nighttime sleep schedule. I would say that she is probably asleep for 11-11.5 hours of this time. She usually talks and rolls around in her crib for a while before falling asleep (and before getting out of the crib in the morning). Thankfully, her resistance to getting in the crib was resolved a few days after I wrote about it in her 26 month post, so we are back to a very easy and pleasant nap and bed routine. She takes a 2-3 hour nap starting after lunch (anytime between 12:30 and 1). For her nap, she falls asleep almost immediately. This makes me think that she will be taking a nap for a long time :) I also think she will be sleeping in the crib for a long time, which is totally fine.

Eating: She's still a good eater. We added okra to the vegetable routine this month and she is enjoying it. I had never made okra until this month, and we all like it and have made it part of the weekly menu. We usually have to bribe her to eat meat (either with fruit or vitamins, ha), but she's generally good with everything else. I think I went into more detail on eating for her 26 month post and not much has changed since then.

Potty training: She's been in the new Bummis Easy Fit cloth diapers all month and it has been very easy to manage (even Mike likes them!). I just do one load of diapers every other evening. She does wear a disposable overnight diaper and probably will have to until she starts going to the potty right before bed. At that point, I'm sure I'll be able to just use a cloth diaper at night without worry about leaks. She will occasionally pee on the potty (this month we actually went one whole day in the same diaper because she peed on the potty several times) but we haven't found the right motivation yet to get her to go all the time. Today, the promise of an Elmo clip on YouTube did the trick. She often tells us "It is okay to pee pee and poop in a diaper, but it is better to pee pee and poop in the potty." I think we will try again in between Jack's birth and the move to Baltimore, but I don't want to risk messing up our routines before he comes, so we'll wait a while longer.

Behavior: She's generally a very happy kid, and of course we sometimes have tantrums if she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it. Earlier this month, we had a doozy at Barnes and Noble (the first and only public tantrum thus far). We played in the kid area of Barnes and Noble and she didn't want to leave. I gave her the choice of walking with me or riding in the stroller, and she ran away from me back to the kid section, so she screamed and screamed while I buckled her in the stroller, screamed all the way out the store, and then took off her shoes and threw them on the pavement as we were crossing the parking lot to get to the car. Several cars had to stop and wait for me to pick up the shoes and finish crossing the street, and at this point she was squirming like crazy to try to get out of the stroller. I'm sure they were all feeling very sorry for pregnant me and wondering why in the world I decided to have another child :) Thankfully, she's usually very good in public as long as we plan our outings around meal time and sleep time. It seems like most of her tantrums at home occur right before meal time or sleep time as well, so she is definitely affected by being hungry or tired (just like me, ha). She also HATES changing clothes and wants to wear pajamas all day long. I've tried so many things, including singing while changing clothes, giving her a choice of what to wear, not giving her a choice of what to wear, warning her ahead of time that we are going to get dressed soon, telling her that we need to get dressed to go to ___, and nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?

Playtime: When we are at home, she likes to play with her kitchen, duplos, shopping cart, and many other random toys. She loves to read books and sing songs and it is amazing how many things she has memorized. We go to a park most days and we just bought an outdoor inflatable kiddie pool that she has enjoyed. She also loves going to gymnastics.

Funny sayings: I wrote down a bunch of funny things from this month but I can't find them all. She is still talking up a storm and usually the only time I have to "correct" her speech is if she makes a tense error (like "The buckle broke, Mommy. Why did it broke?"). She is very good with the you/me, his/hers, him/her, mine/yours, he/she, etc.

Here are a few sayings:

One time we went to Dothan (the nearest "big" town...probably the same size as Temple) to run some errands, but we didn't have time to go to Barnes and Noble. Later that week, we drove to church in Dothan and on the way home from church she randomly asked "Do we have time to go to Barnes and Noble today?"

Once a week, we go to a playgroup called Toddler Time on Fort Rucker, which is just a big portable with tons of kid toys inside. I would estimate that there are usually 20 kids there. She's usually pretty clingy with large groups of people. One week, she wanted to be held quite a bit, so I told her that it wasn't time to hold me, it was time to play. The next week as we were getting ready to go, she said...

E: "Are we going to Toddler Time today?"

Me: "Yes."

E: "It's not time to hold Mommy at Toddler Time. It's time to play."

When Elise wakes up from her nap, she often asks us random questions. One day, she woke up, and as soon as I went in to get her, she asked, "Do Gram and Grandpa drink coffee?"

One day, Mike came home from work while Elise was napping, changed into his golf clothes, and went to the golf course. When he came home in his golf clothes, the conversation went like this (and we hadn't talked about the fact that he had gone to play golf)...

E: "Daddy, did you go to work today?"

Mike: "Yes."

E: "No you didn't, Daddy. You went to play golf!"

Another time when Mike came home from work, the conversation went like this...

E: "Daddy, did you go to work today?"

Mike: "Yes, did you go to work today?"

E: "Yes!"

Mike: "Oh! Where do you work?"

E: "I work at home with Mommy."

She often takes notice of my belly and pulls my shirt up or down to take Baby Jack out. When she takes him out of my belly, she pinches her pointer finger and thumb together and "picks" him up out of my belly button. Quite funny! We need to get it on video. Anyway, my shirt was pulled up over my belly because I was hot, and she walked up to me, pulled my shirt down and said...

E: "Close your belly. Close your belly. Bye bye Baby Jack. I will see you later!"

And for the funniest one that I wrote down...

We've been talking for a few weeks about the fact that Baby Jack will get milk from Mommy when he comes in May. So, tonight after Elise took a bath, she was looking down at her chest and discovered her nipples. She pointed to one of them and...

E: "What is this?"

Me: "That is your nipple."

E: (looks at the other one) "I have two nipples!"

E: (thinks for a few seconds) "What are they for?"

Me: "When you get older, they will make milk for your baby."

E: (big smile) "Then I will have BIG ones!! I will have BIG ones for Baby Jack's milk!"

Here are some pictures from Easter. We went to church in the morning and then after her nap, we grilled and "swam" in the backyard.

Notice the beach bag that she "packed" to go "swimming"...

We've been trying to get her to smile on command and she always does the little head lean thing.

One reason why she's not ready for a toddler bed... she is a crazy sleeper at night! Here she is with one foot sticking through the crib slats and resting several inches up on the wall. The foot stayed like this for hours.

In Christ Alone

First, a quick update... at my 37 week appointment on Friday, my amniotic fluid had risen back up to the normal range (up to 10 cm from 7 cm the week before), so there is nothing to worry about. My fundal height is still measuring about 4 cm small, but I don't think they will check the fluid again unless I go past my due date. I opted not to do the cervical check at this appointment, but I think I will have the doctor do it this week just to see if any progress is being made. I'm definitely not getting my hopes up for an early arrival... my gut feeling is that he will be late like his big sister.

In celebration of Easter and Jesus's resurrection, I just wanted to post the lyrics to one of my all-time favorite songs, In Christ Alone. Love this!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

8 years ago today...

I went to visit Mike in New York for Easter 2003 and came home wearing an engagement ring! I love you, babe!

36 weeks and random thoughts

Hopefully this means that we have less than a month until Jack arrives! I've been feeling so-so the last few weeks. I still get lightheaded/shaky though the frequency seems to be tapering off. It has certainly been easier to manage while staying at home compared with teaching. It was really bad last Sunday at church and then again on Thursday while I was (ironically) at the doctor's office. I often have dull, achy cramps that last for several hours at a time. It usually helps to take a hot shower or bath. Too bad we left our Jacuzzi tub in Texas! The military housing people definitely don't budget for nice bathtubs. Today I have been feeling great, so hopefully that will continue.

I had an appointment on Thursday. My fundal height is still measuring small so the doctor ordered another ultrasound. I wasn't feeling good at the office and during the ultrasound, I almost passed out, so they weren't able to get all of the measurements. This is right after I had eaten a snack and finished a bottle of water... so frustrating that it isn't a simple low blood sugar problem. That would be so much easier to deal with! Anyway, I was really out of it, so I'm not sure exactly what the results were, but they asked me to wait until the doctor looked at the report before I went home. I wasn't in a condition to drive anyway so I waited with some crackers and a Sprite. I think the bottom line is that the baby looks great but the amniotic fluid level is getting low. They made an appointment for me to get another ultrasound right before my appointment on Friday, so we will know more at that time.

I'm at about +13 in the weight department. I haven't gained much in the last month. I feel like I am eating all the time, but my stomach just can't hold as much food at once. I often end up coming back to finish my lunch or dinner because I can't make it all fit in one sitting. I don't have trouble finishing a bowl of ice cream :) I ended up at +16 with Elise and I bet that I'll end up pretty close to the same number this time. I forgot to mention a few weeks ago that my belly button for sure popped out. It never did with Elise... it basically just got flat, but this time it is very obvious! You can see it in the picture above.

I actually had some contractions yesterday for the first time (and a few that woke me up last night). I never felt any before I went into labor with Elise. The sleeping is getting a little better but the heartburn is still very present. I bought a bunch of cheap maternity tank tops this week and I think they will get me through the next month. I CAN'T WAIT to wear my normal clothes again! I've been so tempted to get my summer clothes out of the garage and put them in my drawers and I will definitely do it before he comes. There are so few things that I wear now that I have a lot of room in my dresser.

Elise enjoys playing in Jack's room. She seems to think that she can fit in the infant carrier, ha! On a side note, I can't IMAGINE carrying it around with 30 lbs of baby in it. I know a lot of infant carriers go up to 30 lbs, but I'm glad we just got one that went up to 22 lbs and then switched to the convertible car seat (we would have ended up with one anyway in order to keep her rear facing longer than a year, even if she hadn't outgrown her infant seat at 8 months, and she was much happier after she could sit up a little higher in the car). We still love Elise's Britax Boulevard CS and she loves it too. When Jack is 6-8 months old, we plan to switch Jack to the Boulevard and then likely get a Britax Frontier 85 for Elise. The new Boulevards look really cool but I think the Frontier will be a better long-term buy because it will last until she no longer needs a car seat or booster (and she'll be about 3 at that time).

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we bought some new cloth diapers to use until Elise is potty trained (at which point, Jack will use them... they snap down in the front to accommodate smaller babies). They are so great and even Mike likes using them. We only use a disposable at night and even pack the cloth diapers for her in the church nursery and with the babysitter. These are so easy to use and I don't mind doing one extra load of laundry every other day. At least I feel like I'm not wasting more money on diapers that I am just going to throw away. These are the colors we bought (and we definitely have 4 of the blue ones since she is crazy about blue!)

35 weeks

I'm going to forego the long typed post this time since I just did one last weekend, but here are some pictures!

35 weeks with Jack

35 weeks with Elise

First trip to the beach

We took Elise to the beach for the first time yesterday and had a great time. She definitely is not a fan of walking in the sand (even with her shoes) and didn't want to touch the ocean water, but we still had fun. It was very easy to keep her contained because she didn't want to leave the "safety" of our beach towels! You can see her new Keen shoes in this picture. We decided to go with turquoise since she LOVES blue and both of her bathing suits have blue in them. Maybe Jack will be able to wear them in a few years! She'll be wearing these all summer to the park and the pool. I ordered a size 9 and they fit just right with enough room in case her feet grow this summer.

Reunion with the Majors

On Tuesday, Brian, Laura, and Braden stopped by on their way from Tennessee to Florida. We had a great time eating lunch and watching the kids play. Elise and Braden were much more interactive with each other than they were during their last reunion in December.

Cheesy pose with Jack

Laura's birthday was on Wednesday, so we had to celebrate with some chocolate cake! Braden and Elise were so busy playing that they didn't even notice that we were eating it.

For my Chi Omega friends...

You will be happy to know that I still own and wear several Chi O t-shirts (especially the long-sleeved ones!) and Elise noticed that in this video. Baby Hootie in 2027??

Elise spelling in Jack's crib from Stephanie Powell on Vimeo.

"Nursery" pics

Well, we have turned our guest room into half queen bed/half crib and dresser and it is as done as it is going to get before we move, minus a few pictures. Mike designed the letters and we painted them. I will probably order one more patterned sheet since we decided to forego the crib bedding set. Elise loves to play in "Baby Gak's room" and always spells his name for us when she goes in there.

Family Pictures

We had a mini-session done by Erin Johnson Photography (Enterprise, AL) last weekend and here are the pictures! I'm 34 weeks here and not a fan of the "cheesy" maternity pictures (like the ones where you look down and smile at the belly), though we did take one just to document the size. Yes, Mom, I have the digital files if you want to print some :)

34 weeks/flower girl pics

The last two weeks have been pretty rough in terms of the lightheaded/shaky/low blood pressure thing, but yesterday and today were significantly better so I am hoping that the trend will continue. I do remember it getting a lot better during my last month of pregnancy with Elise. I've also had a lot more cramping and heartburn in the last few weeks (oh, the joys of the third trimester). I was having a hard time sleeping, but I've been experimenting with extra pillows and it has helped immensely over the past few days. I can tell that Jack is definitely still head down. I'm still taking the opportunity to walk outside or go to the gym when I feel good. Our double stroller is fabulous and Elise and I use it almost every day.

I had an appointment on Friday and my fundal height still measures about 3 weeks small (31 cm for 34 weeks) but everything else looks great. One perk is that since I am carrying so much lower this time, I have had zero issues with Jack pushing into my rib cage, even in the car. I have a hard time believing that I am carrying differently because of the gender of the baby... I think it is more due to the muscles and ligaments being stretched for the second time. I am now up to +12 in the weight department (but +20 from my lowest point at 16 weeks) and I weigh exactly the same as I did with Elise at this point. It is still so strange to me how the weight is distributed differently. After my appointment on the 14th, I start going every week.

Sorry, no belly pic this week. I will take one this weekend to compare my 35 week picture in both pregnancies. We did a mini-session with a local photographer this weekend, so I'll post some of those pictures when I get them. I will leave you with some pictures of Elise from Bryan and Michelle's wedding (right before she turned 2). These were taken by Shauna Maness Photography in College Station. I may be biased, but I think she was an adorable flower girl! I love the yellow dress that Michelle picked out and will use it again for Elise's Easter dress in a few weeks.