Bragging Rights

Well since this is a blog about my kids I feel I have the right to brag about them! :o)



We received a "Birth to Three Years Final Report" from Parents as Teachers in the mail this weekend. Our parent educator has only seen Carter 5 times since we moved into a new district. Each time she came she did some sort of screening (vision, hearing, developemental, language) to see where Carter measured up. He either passed them or was above his age level (and usually by 1+ years!). I also want to share what she wrote at the bottom of the report:

"Strengths of Child: During our home visits I observed Carter's strong expressive and receptive language skills. He has a strong memory and learns concepts like shapes and colors easily. He can pedal a bike, use scissors and stack blocks. Carter is willing to participate in new activities and uses manners and social greetings. Carter's development is reflective of his home environment."

(I promise I didn't add that last sentence myself!!) Needless to say, Brad and I are awfully proud of our little guy!

Another thing we were proud of happened this weekend. Brad needed to go to the Lake of the Ozarks to do some work so Carter and I tagged along. We knew that Brad would be occuppied most of the time so we made sure we had a hotel with a pool. We went swimming a month or two ago and he clung to my neck the entire time. I made sure I grabbed his one piece suit that has a built in life vest this time. After he learned to trust the suit he took off! He did lap after lap after lap in the pool! He had a blast! I am so happy to see him comfortable with the water as I do not feel comfortable in deep water. Check out the video of our little fish! :o)

31 weeks & 3-D sonogram

Well I'm already falling behind on my blogging! It will be really bad when I have a new little one taking up a lot of my time! Anyways, here is a quick recap of the week.....

Monday was my bi-monthly doctor's appointment. All is well! I'm measuring right on target, which I thought I might be a little behind since I feel so much smaller!

Tuesday we had to go back for our 3-D/4-D sonogram! These are the coolest things ever! We did one with Carter since I had such great insurance so of course we had to do it again! We took Carter along with us so he could "meet" his baby sister. He was excited to see his sister on TV :o) I was babysitting Addison so she got to tag along too. Brad didn't get to enjoy the sonogram as much this time around because of juggling Carter and Addison, but at least we got a DVD of it all so he can watch it again. Baby Girl did a beautiful job performing for us! She had her hands and one knee up by her face at first but then she moved to let us see her adorable face! She even let out a BIG yawn at one point :o) She definately is a mover and a shaker so we saw lots of movement. I was just happy to confirm once again that she is indeed a she and I didn't make a mistake by giving/selling all of Carter's baby clothes away!

31 weeks - self portrait

3-Hour Glucose Test

The nurse called me last week and told me I passed my 1 hour glucose test but only by 4 points. They wanted me to take the 3 hour test since it was so close. I went this past Monday for it. Thankfully Brad stayed home with Carter and Addison (girl I babysit) was sick so I was able to go by myself. Good thing! I got there at 8:30 and they did my first blood draw. The guy could tell right away that he was going to have "fun" with my veins! After he finally got some blood I had to drink the sugary orange drink and wait for another hour. I did well for 15 mins or so and then I got very weak and faint. Fasting + very sugary drink + drawing blood = not so fun feeling! I had three more blood draws (7 total pricks with the needle!) and was able to leave at 11:30. I came home and ate and ate and ate......

They said I would have the results on Wednesday. Well, Wednesday came and went and still no news. She finally called this morning and told me I passed!! Phew! I would find it strange to have gestastional diabetes this time around since I am so much smaller than I was with Carter!

30 weeks - 9 more to go!

Catching Up

So I've been guilted in (by myself and others) to do another blog, highlighting our upcoming addition to the family. I did fairly well updating Carter's site until he hit the 1 year mark and then it slowly dwendled. Facebook is nice and quick as far as little updates and pictures but you can't give all the details. So, here ya go. I will do my best to keep it up-to-date but I'm not promising much :o)

Let me start at the beginning.....well not "THE" beginning (lol)......but when we found out we were expecting... We moved into our new house on November 22nd (I think). Brad had to work so it was just Carter and I and 2 PODS to start unloading. I had a sneaking suspision that I should take a pregnancy test, so Carter and I headed to Walgreens. Since I was pretty sure it was going to be positive, I wanted to make it a nice housewarming gift for Brad! I bought a little tin box that was the perfect size for the stick and went back home to take my test. Sure enough! When Brad got home that night I handed the box to him and said I got him a little surprise. He was sure surprised (and maybe a little scared since we had just bought a more expensive house)!!

My first OB appointment was Dec. 16th. We found out the due date was July 20th - Carter's 3rd birthday!!! I knew it was going to be close but not THAT close! I really want them to have their own special day so I am having a c-section (also because I had one with Carter and there are some risks of having a vaginal birth after a c-section).

Carter had said from the very beginning that it was a girl. I wasn't going to get my hopes up. I REALLY wanted a girl because I wasn't sure I wanted more than 2 kids and this would complete the set :o) We had our big sonogram at the beginning of March and, sure enough, it is a girl!!! I started crying when the tech told us and even when I called my mom and told her :o)

So now we are preparing for Baby Girl's arrival! I bought a "sophisticated" bedding set for her nursery but that is as far as we have gotten. Brad needs to install a ceiling fan in the room before we start painting. I swapped some of Carter's baby clothes for girl clothes with a friend who just had a baby boy. We still have to pick out a name too. Carter calls her Ella, but daddy isn't completely sold on it yet. Ashlyn is also on the list (that is what Carter would have been named if he were a girl). This pregnancy has been easier than with Carter. I was working full time when I was pregnant with him and always on my feet. I retained a ton of water with him. I haven't swelled up at all this time and look a lot smaller (strangers still don't realize I'm pregnant)!! Maybe that means a smaller baby! We will see on July 13th (scheduled date for c-section)!