Think Warm Thoughts!

All I can keep telling myself is...think warm thoughts! As all of you know winter is on the rise and that is my very least favorite season. Cool days and nights are on its way which only means that the stupid freezing cold weather will soon be approaching. Yuck! The low tonight is in the 30's can you believe it? Not me. I am not ready for this type of weather. I love being able to sit by a fire outside and chill, but the cold weather I can definately leave that.

I posted a photo of Josie swimming in the pool this summer, what few times we actually got to get in it since this summer was not all that hot either. I just thought it would help us all think warm thoughts to get us through the next 6 months of colder weather.

Here Fishie! Fishie!

Josie loves to go fishing with her Daddy. Most of the time she sits and plays with the fake bait, but loves the sport of watching Daddy reel in the big ones. A day does not go by, when I will come home from work and low and behold I will find the two of them quietly resting on the dock with a fishing pole at hand. She does not like to touch the fishies, but she gives them a good stare down. She has even tried to kiss a fishie before. Could you imagine kissing a fishie? How nasty would that taste. We stopped her just in the nick of time before she did that one.

Here are a few fishie photos I got in when they did not notice I was watching. Well, at least at first. Brent always says it is a way to end a perfect day.

STOMP!

Last night, Brent and I ventured out on a date if you would like to call it. Can you believe it? We never go out on a DATE with just the two of us. If we do go out, either Josie is with us or we have something like a wedding to go to. However, last night Brent and I went out and did something fun and exciting we have been dying to do for a long time now. It is nothing bad, so get your minds out of the gutter. We went and saw the performance of STOMP! Brent and I have wanted to see it for years however they have never come close to home more than a few hours away that was until yesterday. They were only 30 minutes from home, so of course we were going. I got online a few weeks ago to order tickets, however Ticketmaster wanted an extra $10 per ticket as a "convenience fee" for buying online. Come on now! Like the ticket price itself is not enough. So, I called Debbie and asked if she would be so kind to pick me up tickets one day on her way home from work since she works right by the center. Oh, course she agreed. She was able to get us 3rd row seats right in the center. Can you believe it! No, she did not pay big bucks for those seats they were the same as all of the other main floor tickets. Online the best seats that Ticketmaster stated was available was something like 18th row. I guess I learned my lesson, always go to the box office and sweet talk the worker to get the best tickets possible. Right, Debbie?!

Since Brent's birthday is coming up the end of October, she ended up giving the tickets to Brent as a early birthday present and what a present it was. The show was incredible. I have never seen anything like it in the world. It lasted and hour and 45 minutes with the same 8 performers playing every number, with no breaks. Just a continuous show. I would have been ready to pass out tired after the first number. The energy they have is incredible. Afterwords, Brent and I both stated how tired we were just from watching all the work that those 8 performers did and how much their hands had to hurt from all the clapping, drumming, etc.

They did a lot of really cool numbers. Some involved Zippo lighters, brooms, clapping, buckets, folding chairs, matches, garbage (plastic bags, empty cups with straws, newspaper, etc), tubes, and lots of other really cool stuff.

It lasted an hour and 45 minutes, but it did not feel like that long because of all of the energy pumping. Towards the end however, I was kind of praying for at least an intermission. Not because I wanted the show to be over, but because being pregnant means using the facilities more often. In fact, before the show began I went twice and then within about the first 45 minutes had to go again, but I was bond and determined to hold it since I did not want to miss the show, plus how rude is it to climb over everyone when we are sitting dead center. I made it though, thank goodness!

I am so glad they came close to home and we were able to see them. I strong encourage anyone who thinks that they would enjoy this to spend the money and go it is worth every penny.

Thanks again for the tickets Debbie! Brent (and I) really enjoyed the show and loved it. What a birthday gift to remember.

Hunting Season On The Rise!

We all know what it means when the leaves start turning, the cool air starts coming, and the days get shorter...if you guessed hunting season, you are 100% correct. All of those things only mean one thing, bye bye Daddy. During hunting season, Daddy is gone quit a bit. You know, out trying to get the monster buck that always seems to some how get away.

Well, hunting season is on the rise here at our house. With only about a week and a half until opening day we are busy getting everything ready for the big day. The clothes have been de-scented and hung on the line to get de-humanized. Meaning the people scent off of them.



Brent and Josie have been practicing very hard to get their aim just right, that way the big one can not get away this year. You know, how he seems to every year. Brent has been shooting a few nights a week and when he does little Miss Josie has to do so also. She will get out her "boom" as she calls it and practice right along side of Daddy. Uncle Bryant and Jessica got her a cute little bow and arrow for her birthday and she loves being able to use it right along side of Daddy. Oh, course she is still a little young to know how to properly use it, but Daddy has been showing her, so she will have it down in no time.

Brent will shoot his bow and arrow, then they both race to the target to see how well he had shot. They come back up and then it is Josie's turn and vice versa. It is so cute just to sit back, relax, and watch them bond doing outdoor things. Josie loves being outside and what a better way then learning some new outdoor sports.

Here are some photos of Josie shooting her bow and arrow. Her arrows have suctions cups that stick to the windows, so they sometimes like to make little rings on my clean door. How nice I know!

Ouch! Hot!

Josie got the worst owie so far last night. I had just gotten out of a hot oven homemade enchiladas for dinner. I placed the extremely hot pan of yummy enchiladas on the table and the first thing little one did was just right up in Daddy's chair for dinner. I told her that they were really really hot and she had to get down, so that that she did not get hurt. She listened to Mommy's request and got down. I then went on to get her drink, the plates, etc. To turn around to Josie, leaning over the very hot pan rubbing her chin and then start to scream hysterically. I knew right then what she had done. She had touched the hot pan. I immediately put ice on her chin. What she was doing was blowing on the enchiladas to get them cool is my guess. That is what we have taught her to do when our food is hot is to blow on it before putting it in your mouth. She was just trying to cool down dinner and in return got hurt. Pour little girl. It was not until later on during dinner when she leaned her head back that I noticed that she did not touch her upper chin like she was rubbing, but on the under side of her chin. Which when that evidence came about confirmed my notion of her blowing on the pan. She was leaned over the pan and bent down to close to it and touched the underside of her chin. She has a strip under her chin about a little over an inch long where she got burned. It looks like it kills. She only cried for a few minutes, but still OUCH!

Black is Slimming

Why is the color black so slimming? That is a question that has always pondered me. Is it because it is such a dark color and hides things well? I don't know. But let me tell you it does its job wonderfully.

It has been brought to my attention that I have yet to post photos of my pregnant self. What was I thinking I know not to share these photos. We take photos each time we head off to the doctors office for our monthly visits that way we can see how large and in charge I am getting from a month to month basis.

I have only been to the doctors for regular checks twice and am already 15 weeks along. Sounds funny, I know. My doctor does not see you for your first visit until you are 8 weeks pregnant. This has changed from when I was pregnant with Josie and he saw me at 6 weeks. He is a very busy man, so I completely understand. Plus they get better readings and photos from the sono machine the longer you wait.

Enjoy the photos and remember black is slimming.


First Pregnancy photo for baby #2 - 9 weeks along


9 weeks along


Didn't I say black was slimming or what! I am in maternity clothes now and still look this good in black. None (well 95%) of my regular pants do not fit. I have several pairs of pants that are just a larger size because the day after Josie was born I refused to wear my maternity clothes anymore since I was not pregnant and purchased a few pairs of bottoms just in a larger size to make myself feel better.


15 weeks along


15 weeks along

Doctor Day! 15 Weeks Pregnant

I only had to work a half day today until 11:30! That was because I had a doctors appointment and the only available time that they had was in the afternoon, so I had to take time off of work. They canceled my appointment last week and had to move it to this week. I hated having to take yet another day off of work, but it is for the baby, so that is OK. Brent did not go to the doctors with me this time, which was a little different. He went to every doctors appointment when I was pregnant with Josie, however with Josie around it is hard to keep her under control in a doctors office with no kids or toys for a long period of time for a quick in and out appointment.

Everything is going good. The babies heartbeat was going super fast according to the Doppler machine. I told the nurse, man that is fast it has to be a boy or else we missed something and there is 2 in there. Then I asked the question again. There is only 1 right? She laughed at me and said yes there was only one and it had a strong heartbeat. Nothing to worry about with it being so fast. I could not even count the beats it was going so fast.

I gained weight this time. A lot actually. I am averaging about a pound a week. My god, I know. I could not believe it. I have not been feeling all that well and my appetite is not very good, so it must be water weight. I gained a total of 5 pounds in 6 weeks. I did not think that was to bad. Which puts my 15 week pregnancy weight to 102 pounds! I know some of you are like you have to be kidding me, but I am not. I have a very high metabolism, just like my mother did.

When I looked back and compared to when I was pregnant with Josie, at this point I had already gained 10 pounds with her. And by my delivery of her 2 1/2 weeks early I had already packed on around 60+ pounds. I just hope that this time around that is not the case. I believe it will be harder to shed off the pounds this time around.

The doctor strongly suggested that I get the Flu shot this year for several reasons. 1. I work with children who get sick often. 2. I will be pregnant through the entire cold and flu season. 3. It is much easier for me to get sick being pregnant and if I would get sick, I would really be sick. 4. The whole Swine Flu thing. I have it on my list to contact my local doctor to see when the shots will be available and get on a list. I hate taking shots and am not one to normally get the flu shot, I even think this whole Swine Flu shot thing is weird, but if my OB suggests it he knows best. I love my OB and fully trust him.

I asked about the hormonal headaches and he said I can take Tylenol up until New Years and then I can not take anything. That is because I will be so far along and if I would go into labor the whole blood clotting thing. I am going to try to take them only when I feel that it is going into the migraine stage, but for the last 2 days the headaches have been very manageable and good.

My next doctors appointment is in 5 weeks and we will have a Sono on that day. Brent and Josie will both go to that appointment, that way we can all see the baby together! They do lots of measurements of the baby then, because I will be half way done. Can you believe it already?

Hormonal Headaches...YUCK!

They say every pregnancy is different and boy are they right. Some say if the first one was a breeze watch out or vice versa is the first one was torture the second one will be a breeze. I am learning this for myself. With Josie, I loved being pregnant. I love being pregnant now also, but you know when you don't feel good you just feel like crap. So, how is baby #2's pregnancy so far different from Josie's...well let me tell you.

1. Well, I have already been to the emergency room for passing out in front of my class from a blood pressure and blood sugar situation. I did go to the emergency room with Josie, but it was for a severe migraine that caused me to start throwing up blood it hurt so bad. The blood was from broken blood vessels that occurred while throwing up. However, Josie's trip to the ER was much later than this time.

2. Morning sickness, thank god I am finally past that now. Round 2, I have to say was better than with Josie. With Josie it only lasted 3 weeks, but it was a long hard 3 weeks. I could only thank god during those 3 weeks that I did not have to be at work until after 1 o'clock. This time around it was much easier. I just felt a little sick to my stomach and would get sick occasionally. Well, about every other day. It was not just in the morning however, but linger on all day long, but worse in the AM hours. This time however it lasted 9 weeks instead of 3. Bummer, I know.

3. The varicose veins that appeared with Josie are already starting to appear. It is way to early for those bad boys to come out and play already.

4. The major difference so far is the hormonal headaches. God, I hate headaches. With Josie, I just had that one really bad headache that turned into a migraine and sent me flying to the ER. This time around I am fighting hormonal headaches daily and they suck. I have had a constant headache now for going on a little over a week. It gets better and then worse at different times of the day.

I am finally over the being sick in the morning and am now fighting the hormonal headaches. I go to the doctors on Tuesday afternoon, so I will ask him what can I do to help ease the stupid things. It just stinks being at work and having a headache and all I want to do is lay down and try to get rid of the darn thing. I know you can take Tylenol, but I try to stay away from any meds unless it is a deep need. I have taken Tylenol now twice, just because the headaches were going into that migraine state and I knew that if I did not do something fast I would be back at the ER and throwing up. I mean I tried the nap and it did not work, in fact it made matters worse.

Brent has been a trooper through all of my pain so far. He lets me take naps and get as much rest as I can for the most part. Having a little one running around who wants to play with you when you don't feel well and all you want to do is lay down is challenging. And I am sad to say that it is more than likely only get worse. You know the equation...2 children + tired Mommy = NO SLEEP!

Mornings

What are your mornings like around your house? Well, here like any other house is rush rush in the morning. Josie and I are not morning people by far. So, I get up in the morning and get myself all ready, then when Brent get home from work we gently go in to wake up the monkey. Every morning is the same. A look of death, followed by a stretch, rolling over on the other side, then when you keep calling her to wake up she eventually sits up and wants up rubbing her little eyes. However, on days when Daddy is home all day it is a different story. She gets to sleep in and then what she loves to do, sit in front of the TV on her tumbling mat with a pillow and watch her favorite show, Sesame Street. She just loves Elmo. She wishes Elmo was on more often. So, she eats a yummy breakfast, watches Elmo and then is ready for a nap. What a morning life that would be! Josie can Mommy change morning routines with you?

Happy Grandparents Day Y'all!

For those of you who do not know, today is National Grandparents Day! So, Happy Grandparents Day to all of you Grandparents out there. Josie would like to share all of her love to her grandparents on this very special day.

Even though Nana "my Mom" is no longer living, we celebrate this day remembering her and the other Great-Grandparents. I told Josie stories of her Nana today that way she knows who she was and how much she loves her even though she can not be here to play with her. My mom would just absolutely love Josie and I know that Josie would love her. I wish she was around to see how happy, Josie makes us. Even though she is not here to celebrate with us, we can still celebrate her memory. Josie can pick her out of pictures and knows all about her, and that's what makes today special. It is a day to we can celebrate the Grandparents that we love and adore.

We made it a point today for Josie to talk to all of her Grandparents (sorry Terry you were working all day, but Josie tried) and tell them Happy Grandparents Day. Or as she told my father "Happy Papa Day!"

Play Doh Gal

Josie absolutely loves playing with play doh. She gets all excited when you get it out and she just simply has a blast playing with it. She spends a great deal of time creating, who knows what and getting her fingers are mixed up in the doh. For her birthday, she got lots of new fun play doh stuff and is having a blast playing with all of it.

Tumbling!!

Every week, Josie gets even better at tumbling. They do different activities each week and everything they do, she absolutely loves. Last week, (which I do not know why I haven't posted about yet) they worked on their uneven bars, balance beam, and backwards roll. She does pretty well on these tasks, but still needs some practice. We only have 2 more classes of tumbling and then off we go to dance class. We will see which one she likes better and go from there. I can almost guarantee that she is going to love them both just the same. Which only makes it harder to determine which class she takes. Both classes are offered on the same day and I just think that going to two different classes in one night is to much for a 2 year old. You know the whole attention thing and all. Here are a few photos from class that Brent took. He was all excited to watch her do such a good job. From sitting on the side, he said that overall and not just because he is the Daddy, but that Josie was the most behaved out of all of the children. Meaning she waited her turn, did not run around wild, and cry when she did not get her way like the other children.

Josie's 2 Year Photos

When we had our family photos, we also to the opportunity to have Josie's 2 year photos taken. She was so tired when we were getting our pictures done. She had fought off taking a nap all morning, so when it was time to get ready and go she was asking to take a nap. Imagine that! Even though, she was a pistol, we were able to get in a few good shots for her 2 year photos.

So, what do you think of them. The "Next Top Model?" She is so very photogenic. I can take photos off her all day. The photographer said that she is so easy to snap photos of even when she was tired that she could not imagine how many good photos she would have if she wasn't.

Check Out This Good Looking Family

Right before school started, we got some family photos taken. I knew this might be the last actual time we get family photos before the baby is born. You know before to long I will be getting large and in charge and I just won't look as good in the photos, so we decided to go have some new ones taken. We went in the Spring and had some taken at a much cheaper location and you could tell 100%. I love going to the person that took these photos. She is so nice, close, and not to badly priced. However, she is a more expensive photographer. I tell Brent you pay for what you get sometimes.

Here are the new family photos of our growing family. I told Brent when they came in "Hey look I was wearing regular clothes then and not maternity like I am now.

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Our Little Girl Is All Grown Up

Today, Josie had her 2 year doctors appointment. Can you believe it? She is already 2 years old. Our little girl is all grown up. She is no longer a baby anymore.

The last time she went to the doctors is when it was her 18 month check-up. At that time her stats were:

Weight - 21 lbs 6 oz - 7%-tile
Height - 33 inches - 78%-tile
Head - 45 cm - 13%-tile

Today, they are:

Weight - 26 1/2 pounds (49%-tile)
Height - 34 1/4 inches (63%-tile)
Head - 46.3 cm - (20%-tile)

So, in a short six months time she gained 5 pounds, grew 1 1/4 inches, and gained 1.3cm in her head. Her numbers are still comparable, but the little chunky monkey went flying up in the weight department. I guess that is because she eats what we eat and obviously it is junk (goes straight to the trunk). I knew she was going through a growth spurt and that she did.

She did not have to get any shots, which is awesome in all of our opinions. I was unable to go with her to the doctors today because I had to work. I really wanted to take it off and go with her, but with me having to take 1 1/2 days the first week of school and already having to take a 1/2 in September for my own doctors appointment I just really could not do it. I only get so many sick/personal days a year and am trying to save them so I do not have to take as many doc-days when the new baby arrives this Spring. I know how selfish am I. But on the bright side, Josie goes back to the doctors in 6 months, which would put us in March when I am due, so I will make sure to schedule the appointment late in March after the baby is here and I am already off on my maternity leave.

Here are a few photos of the Birthday Girl on her birthday!