17 weeks

 These pictures were actually taken at 16 and 2 days but you get the picture.

I am stealing this little pregnancy quiz from "On Golden Pond" who also stole it from another blog but thought it would give you a good synopsis of how things are going so far...

How far along are you? 17 weeks today.  Sunday is my "flip" day just as it was with Brice.

How big is baby?  According to babycenter.com about as big as a turnip (5 inches head to rump)

Maternity clothes?  It's official today I have both maternity pants and a shirt on.  Last Sat. I started wearing maternity shirts with a bigger pair of jeans I had bought post-partum with Anna and then today is my first pair of pants.  I was trying to hold out because as we all know we get soooo tired of maternity clothes by the end!

Weight Loss or Gain?  I have never lost weight in my pregnancies.  I believe I have gained about seven pounds but go to the doctor on Tues.

Stretch Marks?  Yes.  Brice's pregnancy blessed me with about four or five just over my belly button when I hit 38 weeks.  Anna's pregnancy added a few more in the same spot so I'll expect a few more "souvenirs" from this pregnancy as well.

Sleep?  I have always slept well during my pregnancies.  I love sleep.

Any movement?  Yes!  Started feeling flutters about two weeks ago.  Very reassuring.

Food Cravings?  As with all my pregnancies, cheese. Oh, and Cool Ranch Doritos

Food Aversions?  Just depends on the day.  At the beginning of this pregnancy, I would think I would want something, make it and take one bite and want to run to the toilet.  This pregnancy has been the oddest so far as far as my tastes go.

Gender?  Hmmmmmm........first 10 weeks would have put money on boy.  Week 11 hit and I switched gears to girl....now I am more back to boy but the Chinese calendar says girl and it has been right with my other two.

Belly button..in or out?  Right now it is kind of half way in between.

What do you miss?  adult beverages, there are some nights, I would love to just take the edge off!

What are you looking forward to?  finding out the gender March 24th!  And, decorating Anna's new room as well as some spring/summer clothes shopping for the kids.

What was the BEST part of this week?  Getting the dryer fixed!  Sad, but true.  I need my dryer and washer when I have a little girl potty training and a runny nose.

What was the WORST part of this week?  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were stressful with a combination of things going on...broken dryer, Anna peeing in her pants all morning for Justin while I was at a class, a little bit of spotting (which has now resolved, thankfully), and Anna coming down with yet another cold.

Weekly Wisdom?  this is kind of a big question but I guess like Justin always tells me, "it's your attitude that makes the difference.  Is it going to be a great day?  Maybe not but if you say it is going to be one, then it just might turn out better than you expect."  All of these stresses are little stresses in life and I would pick my "baggage" over others any day of the week!

Milestones?  Can't think of any for me but Anna pooped in the potty for the first time today and THAT my friends is huge!!!!  Some of you may know what we went through with Brice and this situation so I am praying that we have accomplished something major here and she will not turn back.

Disney World Surprise

Last week after Brice's party, we quickly called him inside for the biggest surprise of his life.  Justin sat him down at the bar stools and told him they had to hurry because in about twenty minutes they needed to leave for the airport to go to Disney World.  Justin is always kidding around with Brice and saying, "Hey Brice, wanna go to the beach right now?"  And of course, Brice has now caught on to this act so when Justin told him about the Disney World Surprise, he didn't believe him.  He told us he really believed us when he got on the plane!!!  I videoed the entire thing which didn't turn out quite like I had imagined.  Brice was a little underwhelmed in it and also very tired from running around with his buddies.  Brice quickly showered and then they were off to the airport for a one day trip with Mickey Mouse.  They had an awesome time together and I hope that we are always able to do one-on-one time with each of our children.  Not that we need to go all the way to Orlando for this time, but...

Here are some pictures, taken with Justin's blackberry so some of the quality isn't that great but I am so glad to have documentation of his special day.  I am already wanting to take Anna!

 In the "comfiest bed ever"

 awesome picture!

 he wore this all around Magic Kingdom and was wished Happy Birthday numerous times.

 eating a Mickey waffle

 in the famous teacups and probably my favorite picture

 driving the spaceship in Tomorrow Land

on the plane ride home with a Disney map, birthday pin and co-pilot's wings!  What a way to end his birthday week!

Quick Visit, Big Stats

Brice had his six year check-up today.  He now stands tall-er at 48.75 inches and weighs 55.8 lbs.  This puts him at the 95th and 90th percentiles, respectively.  Yes, he is over four feet tall which means he will be taller than me when he is in second grade, I swear.  After debating whether or not I should cancel his appointment and make it for later in the spring when the flu is somewhat gone (all of this debating was going on in my head at 4:30am), I decided to just deal and go and tell the kids not to touch anything.  As luck would have it, our backsides did not even touch the waiting room seats and I used my own pen to sign in.  I was relieved.  I do believe it was the Quickest Visit at the doctor's office we have ever been to and with those Big Stats, we were given a clean bill of health and a "see you when you're SEVEN".  Was she trying to make me cry?

Birthday Post-Part II

Brice turned 6 on February 16th which most of you know since reading my post on that day about his arrival into the world.  On that Wednesday, Justin and I both got up with him before school (usually it is just one of us) and made him cinnamon rolls.  We then took him to school where he was on the announcements.  Did you know that now they have televised announcements, not just those big speakers in the corners of the room?  I am behind the times obviously!  Anyway, Anna and I went to school and had lunch with Brice and then took cupcakes back to his classroom.  Anna plopped right down in a chair next to Brice while the kids swooned over how cute she was.  Brice said, "I know, everyone always says that.", in a rather annoyed voice.  I didn't have the heart to break it to him that this is going to go on for the rest of his life.  After that, I checked him out early in hopes that he would rest when he got home.  He and Justin then went to the Georgia/Vanderbilt basketball game.  They had a good time despite the Dawgs losing.

Saturday, was party day for Brice.  This was his first party with friends.  He and I planned the party together and then God worked his magic and gave us the most glorious February weekend a mom could ask for with five boys coming over.  I had originally planned the party for our garage thinking it would be either rainy, cold, or windy or some combination of the three.  When I knew the sun was going to be out, the boys got kicked out too!  I had family come over a little early to do their gifts and then after the boys got here, the chaos began.

 Here he is opening one of our gifts to him...a week long camp at the Georgia Aquarium over Spring Break.  The other gift will have a post of it's own!

 Opening his putter and driver/iron from Grandma and Grandad.

And, Jonathan gave him a putting green to go with the clubs.  It is currently set up in his room!  He received numerous other gifts including Transformers, a magazine subscription, Wii accessories all of which he wants opened NOW!  I am trying to convince him to wait a couple months and then have new things to open.  Thank you to all of the family who came early and all of the gifts!  And, now on to party pictures.  Brice wanted a football theme so I googled games for the boys to play, Brice had to approve them and all but one went according to plan.

 Relay race/warm-ups

 Grandad and Anna

 Jack and Greg

 "Tire-Run" through hula hoops.

 Nanny, Kelly and Jack

 Winding Brice up for "Dizzy Kicker"

 Hello Aunt Blaire...Anna wanted her to take this picture.

 The game that didn't work out was "Injured Player Wrap-Up".  Really needed an actual ace bandage rather than toilet paper that kept breaking off...oh well.

Brice had an awesome time which I was so happy about because this was stressful to me.  He then got the surprise of his life when Justin told him to pack his bags they were going to Disney World!!!!  This will be the next birthday post, I am waiting for Justin to email the pictures from his Blackberry.  Justin and Brice headed to the airport while I packed Anna for a sleep over with Nana and Pa and then I headed down to Alpharetta for a birthday dinner with my mom and sister.  Mom's birthday was the day of the party.  Happy Birthday to Brice, Jack, and Mom!!!  We love February!!!

Birthday Post-Part I

Now that we have two boys in the family with birthdays a day apart we will be celebrating birthday WEEK every year in February.  From February 13th until this past Sunday, the 20th, we have been going non-stop.  I am going to try and give everyone their own little post so here goes...

February 13th was Jack's First Birthday Party.  He was so cute during the whole afternoon even sporting his hat.  Kelly did a Cat in The Hat theme which made for very colorful decorations.

After Jack took the first few licks of the icing, he was all about it!  Not sure why Publix put black icing on a smash cake but Jack looked like a Shapie had exploded in his mouth.  Jack is such a sweet boy and doing awesome despite his early arrival last year.  I think Kelly is finally convinced that he is going to be okay!  I tried to tell her this last year but she had to see to believe.  Jack's actual birthday was February 17th.  Happy First Birthday, Jack!

My Brice

At 2:37 a.m. I woke up and had to use the bathroom.  Nothing new being in my due date week.  I headed to the bathroom with my eyes half closed.  I was so tired after only working half a day but it was a busy half a day, especially being 39/2 weeks pregnant.  I was also scheduled to work my last full day early in the morning.  I couldn't wait to go back to sleep.  I laid back down and wet my pants.  What is this? I thought.  I headed back to the bathroom which guaranteed Justin's radar to go off.

What I found was textbook.  Clear, white flecks, my water had broke but I was in denial.  After two weeks of begging my body to into labor I was denying it.  I did, after all, have one more day of work before the baby came.  I think in my mind I had given up on the fact that he would come before his due date.  I had made a new plan to work the 16th, take a few days of rest and be induced by the 21st if he still hadn't come.  I brought a towel with me to bed and laid it underneath me.  I pulled the covers up and Justin asked what I was doing.  "Going back to sleep", I said.  "I have to work in the morning."

"Then, what's with the towel and two bathroom trips?", knowing full well what was going on and that his wife might officially be insane.  I told him if it happened again, then we'd get up.

About 45 seconds later, it happened again.  I knew if I laid down Brice's head would float up a little bit and the "cork" would be removed allowing more fluid out if that was indeed what it was.  When it happened the second time, it was for sure.  "There it is again.", I said.  Justin jumped up and asked if he had time to shower.  I wish I had showered.  I had no idea how long it would be until I had another shower.

By the time we left the house, the contractions were very mild but I was pretty sure that they had started.  By the time they hooked me up to the monitor at Northside, they were 90 seconds apart.  Fun.  And to top it all off, I was a tenth of the way there.  Yes, 1cm out of 10cm.  Holy Moly.  I wasn't going to make it.  I didn't want the epidural yet, my goal had been to make it half way there and then get the epidural.  After some deliberating with Justin and the nurse, I was convinced it would be okay.  She told me that it wouldn't slow me down which was my fear.  She said the way I was contracting, it would probably speed things up.  That was all I needed to hear.  In came the anesthesiologist and I was a happy girl while Justin was a happy man!

I laid there all morning with periodic checks from the nurse and around noon they told me the pushing was to start.  "He should be here in about thirty minutes", the nurse told us.  "You've done so well and your body knows exactly what it should do."  Well, my body might have known but Brice's body was comfy.  He was long for my size and I'm not sure which came first the chicken or the egg.  Not sure if Brice's length forced him into my right hip, cock-eyed, before the pushing began or if I pushed him into that position.  Either way, we'll never know, and it resulted in me trying to push that kid out for three hours.  Three-thirty rolled around and still no Brice.

I had felt this enormous pressure because we had quite the entourage out in the waiting room.  My sister had even drove in from Augusta EARLY that morning.  Here we were 13 hours later, and I still had nothing to show for all this work.  The decision was made that a C-section was now the safest way to deliver for me and for Brice.  I wasn't willing to use "tools", aka vacuum or forceps and Brice had tolerated every bit of the labor beautifully, I wasn't going to mess anything up at that point.  At 4:45 pm on February 16, 2005, out he came with the most beautiful cry I have ever heard.  I was exhausted and all I wanted was to hear my baby cry and know that he was okay.  Justin brought him around the OR table for me to see and I was in love.  I couldn't believe that such a cute little baby just came out of me.

I had no idea how rough the recovery was going to be.  The first couple days I couldn't reach my head without being in pain.  And then the pain became emotional.  They send you home with your delivery record and on it they mark the reason for the C-section.

FTP= Failure to progress.  Failure?  I was a failure?  But I did progress.  I progressed the whole way and did the whole thing except he didn't come that way.  It took me a year to get over the fact that I had had a C-section.  Really, it did.  I read online that this is true for some women.  That they do in fact feel like a failure, that they didn't get to experience the baby "leaving their body".  And that was it, that was what I was looking for.  All I got to see was the big blue OR sheet in front of my face.  God took care of that problem when he sent Anna.  For that I am thankful.  I saw and felt it all!

Even though I would think about Brice's delivery every day during that year, HE never made me feel like a failure.  He has everyday given me no reason to doubt that I am not a failure and that I have not failed him.  He is a true mix of Justin and I, physically, emotionally, and in his personality.  Although he looks more like Justin than me on the outside there are characteristics of mine that I see more and more of.  He is a true first born, cautious, responsible, loving, organized.  I know every year I will remember that full day I spent trying to bring him into this world.  And each year at 4:45pm, we will celebrate another year of success, my first born, My Brice.  Happy 6th Birthday, Brice, We Love You!!!

Valentine's Day

I have no pictures to go with this post, so feel free to click that little box in the upper right-hand corner now.  I just thought I would share what we did yesterday along with some of my memories of Valentine's Day.

Justin and I don't celebrate Valentine's in the sense of get dressed up, pay a million for flowers and sprinkle rose petals on the bed.  I am just not that type of person.  And, ever since a sweet boy entered my life almost six years ago (tomorrow) I would just rather the month be about him.  Not to mention there are about six other birthdays in our families this month (Mom, Justin's Grandma, two of Justin's cousins, and of course Jack!).  I mean, we probably celebrate during the month of February more than Hallmark does for all holidays combined.

So, yesterday, Brice woke up super excited for school and the first words out of his mouth according to Justin were, "I have to make mom a Valentine, I forgot".  So cute that he remembered but by the time he got around to it, I had to retrieve the paper, and draw the heart myself.  I think I just made my own!  Anyway, he had a fun time at school, passing out his cards and eating candy and sneaking around since they weren't supposed to be having a celebration.  After he got home, we went through his cards and candy and ate some which gave me a major blood sugar drop about two hours later, not good.  Justin did bring me a Chick-fil-A biscuit for breakfast which being in my state, was pretty romantic if you ask me!  Then at dinner, Justin said, "I do kind of wish that I had some Russell Stover candy".

I told him to just wait until today and that it would be on sale and we could get some.  No, it had to be last night.  He said, "I can't go or I will get laughed at or punished by the cashier that I am just now out buying candy on Valentine's Day."  I told him I would go if he would help put the kids to bed.  Which, now that I am typing this, shouldn't he be doing that every night?!

Off to Walgreen's I went and found three remaining heart-shaped boxes of Russell Stover candy.  I bought one for each of us  Yum.  I brought it home, we had a glass of milk with our candy.  I only had three for fear of another sugar crash.  And we watched Couples Retreat with Vince Vaughn.  Funny in parts, not so good in others.

Like I said, I am just not the cheesy Valentine kind of person.  Justin is very romantic however so one year he did take me to Lake Lanier Islands for the weekend where upon arrival they showed up with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.  Cheese.  Weekend was fun, but not all the cheese.

Another Valentine I remember I must have been about 12 or 13 years old.  I came downstairs to see a darling stuffed animal dalmatian and another package.  The other package was for me.  The dog was for Blaire.  I opened the box to find a pair of "sexy" underwear.  Really?  I wanted the dog and never wore the underwear.  I just can't get into this holiday!!!

The last Valentine's Day I remember really well was six years ago when I was oh so over being pregnant with Brice.  This child was occupying each and every available space of my insides.  I could have sworn that his toes could be seen by looking up my nose.  Justin knew how miserable I was and we were trying every trick in the book to get him out-except I DID NOT want him to come on Valentine's Day.  How miserable to be a boy and have to celebrate YOUR day with all the girly-girl decorations!  I worked that day and when I came home Justin had made what he now calls "Justin's Italian surprise".  He researched why Eggplant Parmesean made women go into labor and found it must be the spices.  So, he spiced up some spaghetti for me.  He still thinks that this is what caused me to into labor within 48 hours.  I think I was just "due". 

All in all, Justin and I are sweet to each other most days, Valentine's being no exception. And so the day will continue for me to mark two days before Brice's birthday and a day that kids get to have fun decorating boxes, sharing cards and remembering to love one another.  Hope I am not being a love-slasher and that all of you felt the love in your own desired way.  And, if you have nothing else going on in February then celebrate the heck out of Valentine's Day!!

Growing Up

When I blogged a couple posts ago about all the things I wanted to get done before baby #3 arrives, I never imagined that this would be one of the first things to be checked off the list...

Anna has done so well the past week with going potty!!!  We are still a long way from completely done, and have yet to produce a #2 but Friday she stayed dry all day long.  We had a little accident this morning but she came right to me and we made it to the potty to finish her business.  And, she still resists underwear in the morning if we aren't getting her dressed right away or when she gets up from her nap but other than that I have been totally impressed with this girl.  I don't care what anyone says, potty training is stressful no matter how, where, and when you do it, boy, girl, it doesn't matter.  Anna is a strong willed child but she has accepted this so very well, I guess our little lady is Growing Up!

Heart-Beet

My Mom and Dad got me this cookbook for Christmas.  I have actually enjoyed finding recipes to try and make for the family.  And, I have used my food processor more in the past 8 weeks than ever in our 8 year marriage!  We have had quesadillas, pizza, tuna salad, chicken salad, avocado spread and the other night, I used Beets to make these Pink Pancakes.

I have never bought nor prepared beets in my life.  Justin bought these on a grocery run for me and an older lady stopped him and asked him how he was going to prepare them.  He told her he had no idea, they were just on the list.  Well, the preparation for using this cook book is key as these beets took an hour to roast in the oven and then had to be pureed.  I did this part on Superbowl afternoon when I wasn't going to have to cook later in the evening.  Then last night, Justin wasn't going to be home so I just decided to do pancakes and eggs for dinner and Brice devoured them!!  I enjoyed them as well but Anna "no yike it".  Oh well.  I got Brice to eat a beet!

And then today we started working on this...

Brice's class isn't allowed a "party" but their homework is to make a box and then Valentines for their classmates.  Rough life in kindergarten, I'll tell you what.  Anna's class is having party on Thursday so I made hers too.  I usually don't get to into Valentine's Day since Brice's birthday is just two days later.  I'd rather celebrate him and the day he was born!!  He makes my Heart-Beet. ; )

February 2, 2011

There is no other way to title this post.  I didn't realize just how much would be going on today but it has been an eventful day for each of us, in our own way, and as a family.

For Brice-This was his 100th day of school, something he has been anticipating for a while.  They made 100 Fruit Loop necklaces, counted out numerous items to bring to school to add up to 100, everything revolved around this number.  He also was excited about Groundhog Day.  They took a vote in his class to determine who thought General Lee would see his shadow and who thought he would stay out.  Brice voted that spring would be coming soon and he was right.  Let's hope Mother Nature agrees with a groundhog!  The school also just started a program called Enrichment Clusters.  The kids were able to rank different areas of interest and then each Wednesday now through March 30th, they will have an hour of their cluster.  Brice received his first choice of Scrapbook Art where the kids will come up with stories to read and then design the characters from the book using different scraps.  His other choices were Dog Lovers (where you learn how to train dogs and all the different breeds) and Puppet Mania (producing and performing a puppet show).  So, he told me that they were on a "tight schedule" today and hardly had time for free centers.  He talked my ear off from the minute he got off the bus so I know he enjoyed his February 2nd!

For Justin-Signing Day.  Can I just stop there?   No??  Alright.  Georgia signed the top recruit in the country over Auburn and Alabama.  Running back, Isaiah Crowell pulled out a Bulldog pup to announce his decision.  It was cool, I'll admit but again, football is never over in this house.

For me- Healthy baby seen on ultrasound moving around like crazy and heart beating strong.  It doesn't get much better.  I go back March 1st for a routine visit and then on March 24th, we will find out what the third and final Reynolds is going to be!!! 

 

For Anna-just being a silly girl.  She got to come see "picture of baby" with Justin during the ultrasound and then the two of them had a date at Monkey Joe's where the girl jumped, squealed and told boys to "get out" of her jumpy.  This was all while I finished up my full work-up at the doctor. She has also been sporting this hat the past two days, wore it to school and to the doctor's today...

 And, after we got home, she found some of the magazines the doctor's office gave me.  Brice won't even look at the prick mark on my arm where they drew blood, nor the picture of the baby's spine.  Anna, however, studied this picture for a good two minutes.  Do we have a future NICU nurse on our hands??  Time will tell.

And that is how we all spent February 2, 2011.