Young Party of Four

Baby’s Size: Coconut (I’m really starting to wonder about the people that came up with this fruit system… I think they are confused…) How far along:  35 Weeks Total weight gain: 21 pounds. Another pound gained this week. Sleep:  I don’t think anything is going to randomly get better about this area of my life any time soon. For now, I get up quite often to pee. In no more than about 6 weeks (plus perhaps a couple of days at most), I will be up likely every two hours to nurse a baby, if not more. Maybe having to go to the bathroom so often at night towards the end is nature’s way of preparing you for the lack of sleep you will get once baby is here. No…. nothing could prepare you. I can’t stay on one side too long still so I rotate a lot (which also contributes to my wakefulness). I have also been waking up soaked in sweat lately. I get so very hot at night despite the fact that the house is cool and I am not using any sort of covers. Maternity Clothes:  Yep...

You would think having done this (to a point) before, I would be extremely prepared when it comes to packing a hospital bag. Truth be told... I'm not. The first time it was a strange experience for me. I didn't have to worry about a "labor bag" and only had to carry in a suitcase with a few things in it. I didn't use most of what I brought. I used all those lists online to plan my bag out and let's just suffice it to say... some people go WAY overboard. I'm sure I do too... but if I am saying it about those lists... yeah, it's just too much. At least for me. Maybe others feel they need all of it or maybe they actually use it all, but it was just too much for me. I'm sure I am overpacking again, but I am at least less than before. I thought I would give a glimpse in to what a labor bag and hospital bag are for me on this go round. Let's start with my "labor bag" which I really just want to refer to as my "triage bag". See, ...

When people ask me how far along I am, I always have to think about it a second and then I realize that "Oh my goodness! It is getting close!" In light of that, we are trying to spend as much time doing things as a family of 3 before we become a family of 4 (plus Jack, of course.) Kenzie seems to be starting to understand that Will is in my tummy, but we know she doesn't necessarily understand that in about 6 weeks he will be here for sure and not leaving. It's important to us to give her some one-one-one (or two-on-one) time as much as possible. We have spent a lot of time at the pool this summer. Kenzie loves to ride the "daddy train" through the water. She even adds her own side effects and yells out "choo choo!" as often as she can. It is hilarious. We have hit up the beach a couple of times (though not as often as we would have liked). Kenzie loves the beach and I think those times spent with her are pretty special. She loves to go to ...

This week we spent a lot of time playing music. For Kenzie's birthday we got her a music set made by Melissa and Doug (I think I have mentioned before how much I LOVE their products) and we have spent quite a bit of time singing all the songs we usually sing in storytime while being accompanied by various instruments. The kid definitely has the rhythm in her. I broke out my yoga ball this week. I have tried to spend at least 20 minutes or so a night sitting on it, doing hip circles and what not. I can't help it that I also seem to require ice cream while I do that... I was able to work this past Saturday. I worked with a little girl that drew me a picture before she left. I seriously love what I do. I get to be a stay at home mom but still get to use all that schooling and work experience I have and work with some cute kids. This made my day. (And yes... my hair is purposely two different colors as I explained to her that I haven't dyed it in months. Also, my name...

Baby’s Size: Cantaloupe How far along:  34 Weeks Total weight gain: 20 pounds. Those two pounds that came on last week decided to stay with me. At least they chose not to bring any of their friends. Still gaining roughly 1 pound a week.  So, if I keep it up and go full term I am looking at about 26 pounds total. One less than with Kenzie and she was delivered at 37 weeks, 1 day. Sleep:  Still not too great, but at least I am able to get SOME each night. I just spend so much time getting up and down to go the bathroom or resituating myself. I’m at that point when I have to actually sit up and lay down again to change from one side to another. (You should watch me try to actually get up to go to the bathroom too. It involves a lot of grunting and using my body weight to swing me out of bed. I’m actually really surprised Steven doesn’t comment on it every time I do it… 6 or so times a night.)  I do still randomly wake up laying on my back too. I figure it’...

This past weekend college football returned! While we weren't exactly happy with the outcome of the UCF vs Penn State game from Ireland, it was still fun to cheer on our Knights with some of our fellow Knight friends. Kenzie had a blast. Maybe just because there were other people around to play with her but I also think she liked getting excited about UCF touchdowns. She loved wearing her UCF shirt and has since taken to chanting U-C-F at times. I would also like to point out that Kenzie is using her brother as a chair.... poor little guy. He has no idea what he is in for. Speaking of using Will as a chair... I have started to use him as a table. I promise to stop when he is born. =) These are some of my favorite moments with Kenzie. Just sitting and chatting while she colors. Sometimes she even lets me help color some. Usually she just moves my hand out of the way though and colors over whatever I was trying to color. I have pulled out the book I was given at my ...

I can't believe the time has come that we are putting together a big sister gift for Kenzie. Holy cow! We decided that when Will arrives we will leave her with a new shirt that she will open with Grandma and Grandaddy (who will be watching her while that whole delivery thing is taking place) that says she is a Big Sister! She already has one shirt but we wanted to get her something new from us to wear to the hospital when she comes to meet Will. I have read a lot online about introducing children to their new sibling. I know, I know... reading about it online isn't the same as living it, but any advice I can get is very appreciated. I think what we have decided is to go with the focus on the older sibling, introduce new sibling, then focus on the older sibling again route. This means that when Grandma, Grandaddy and the new big sis arrive at the hospital we will have Will brought to the nursery for just a bit. It is already going to be a weird experience for Kenzie to be in t...