Santa Parade

I can't believe Layla is almost 3 and this was her FIRST parade. I have no excuse really other than we don't get a paper and literally have no clue when things happen around here. So yeah, no excuse...parents of the year going on 3 years in a row. Anyway, yesterday was Midland's Santa Parade. I THINK there is another one of these when Santa actually comes to the Santa House but since we live in a cave...I can't be sure.

This was a big deal because she's getting old enough to "get Santa" which is SO. MUCH. FUN. I love it! She's also into candy, which is good because she got approximately 25 pounds of it.

We found a pretty good parking spot and although we were going to try to meet up with some of our friends (sorry Elliots!) we ended up just kicking it on the curb because I couldn't bare to walk 2 blocks. Being 38 weeks pregnant in cold weather with a coat and shoes that don't fit is NOT fun. I could have been in the parade, as a blimp.

Layla didn't get it at first. Here's Grandma running her out into the road (formally known as hot lava) to see the start of the parade:

And of course she covered her ears during the sirens. She was totally into seeing the "fashion police" that pulled Daddy over though...I love her. 

The candy was thrown in MASSIVE amounts. I've never seen anything like it, but then again I haven't been to a parade in I don't know how long. She got everything from Tootsie Rolls to Snickers (SCORE!!) and was SO excited about the candy that I don't think she even saw 90% of the parade. 

More candy! 

And here it was- the moment we've all been waiting for...SANTA! Please see my HUGE belly in the background LOL. It was so cute to see her waving and smiling at Santa.

Santa is the real deal around here. They don't mess around with Santa in these parts. I can't wait to take her to the Santa house. She told us that she was going to sit on his lap...we'll see how it goes. ;o)

38 weeks...almost there!

I can't believe how fast the second pregnancy goes. As miserable as I am right now I thought time would slow down...but it only seems to go faster! Thursday early morning I woke up with lots of cramping and contractions and I was pretty convinced Jack was going to be making his debut a little early. Nope! He listened to Mommy and has decided to stay until I'm ready...Tuesday at 5:30 AM is showtime. ;o)

Tomorrow is our last day as a family of 3. I don't even know what to think about this. It feels so weird to be welcoming a new baby (normal??). Part of me feels like this isn't really even happening. The room is done, swing is out, bottles are washed and my stomach could not possibly stretch anymore...but I just don't think I'll believe it until I see him.

Layla is totally psyched. She's ready to meet Jack, tells us she wants to hold him and will kiss and hug him. I might be more anxious about seeing them for the first time together than I am about actually having a csection at this point. And for those of you that know how anxious I am about the surgery, you know this is a big deal. I hope things go smoothly, I hope she loves him at least for the first few minutes and I hope that going from a 3 person family to 4 is going to be a lot easier than I think.

We are going in on Tuesday knowing NOTHING about Jack. I have no clue what he looks like or even have a guess on weight. We haven't had an ultrasound since 18 weeks and only got a 3D at our 9 weeks...so weird compared to our weekly "meetings" at the end with Layla. I don't expect him to look anything like Layla, but then again I never expected Layla to look like Layla so maybe we'll end up with another blonde hair, blue eyed child? LOL. I hope he's happy, healthy, screams like his sister when he comes out, nurses well (PLEASE GOD) and goes easy on us.

We took my last orange shirt picture yesterday. I was so glad to fold that puppy up. I can't believe how HUGE I am. I know I'll be glad I did this in a few years but geez...it is hard to squeeze into that shirt for the last time. It's even harder to edit the pictures...no need for 100x zoom this time. LOL.

So pray we have an EASY delivery, good recovery and a happy/healthy baby to bring home to Layla on Thanksgiving. And pray for Layla as she takes on the VERY important role of big sister. And for all our family coming to visit and traveling over the next month to see us (we are SOOOO grateful!). Good bye belly, hello baby...one more day!

Happy Halloween!

I can't believe Halloween is over and it's NOVEMBER! Layla had an amazing Halloween. She was greeted in the foyer by a present from Mommy and Daddy first thing in the morning. Filled with some candy, lots of glow stuff (she's OBSESSED), a book and some of those "magic" pills you put in water that turn into animals. Talk about a big hit! 

After asking if we could go trick or treating about 100 times throughout the day, it was time to go to the doctor's office. We got so many compliments on her Halloween outfit (thanks Grandma Barton!):

After we got home it was time for some "quiet time" and then a quick dinner before busting out the costume. She was SOOOOO excited! Here she is posing with her pumpkins:

And giving Mommy some fish kisses (yes, this is how I went trick or treating...NOTHING FITS)

Then it was time to hit the pavement. I promise she was excited. She hasn't napped in over a month so our late afternoon and evenings are REALLY rough. This is as close to a smile as we were going to get but she kept telling us "I"m SO excited...I'm just SO excited!!". LOL

And off we went!

I didn't get any great pictures of her actually Trick or Treating, or of her candy stash. I was so proud of her because she said "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every single house...she was just a little quiet about it. :) 

This morning I went in to get her with a big smile on my face. I said "Layla, do you know what today is?!" and she said "Halloween?!?!". LOL. I explained to her that Halloween only happens once a year, just like the fireworks, but that today was November first. She knows that Jack is coming in "Number" and she got pretty excited. Only 19 days and our little fish will be a BIG SISTER!

Jack's Room is DONE!

Whew! Who knew that even though we had all the furniture that Jack's room would be so hard to do? L's room was easy- pink and frilly. But since Jack has a much smaller room than L did, I wanted to make sure his room was very bright but still boyish. It was between cars and bugs. Can you believe I went with the bugs?! I'm considering this his future training as our household "bug killer" while Daddy is at work. We all know Mommy doesn't do real bugs.

We only have a few finishing touches left. A few pictures of him will go in the frames above his dresser...obviously we'll have to wait until Nov 20th (and Mommy feeling up to doing pics) for those. We also need to find some kind of a smallish/tallish table to go by the chair. Too bad Dr. Seuss didn't design and sell furniture. 

A BIG FAT thank you to Grandma Barton for doing the crib and window treatments. She is so talented! And to my Grandma Lucky who painted the letters, helped with with his pillow and tiebacks and did an adorable (and really good smelling) quilt that I forgot to put back on the chair for these pics. Grandma what fabric softener do you use? LOL. And of course Grandpa for his OCD picture hanging skills. The kids are SO lucky to have their rooms 100% their "own" with their Grandma and Great Grandma's help.

I hope Jack loves his room! If not, he'll have a new one in 2 - 3 years when he moves into his "big boy" room aka- the current guest room. Will the house projects ever stop?! ;o)

Pumpkin Patch 2012

Halloween is just around the corner EEEEEKKK!! I'm so glad that we got to do at least one pumpkin patch this year. My goal is at least 3 next year when I don't have an extra 100 lbs to lug around. The highlight of this trip for Layla was getting her face painted...she was ALL about it! She also really loved the hayride, something Mommy should have skipped. I think I'm still sore from it! Here are some of our favorite pics from last weekend's adventure:

Layla and Daddy have the exact same expressions on their face in EVERY picture I take of them. Cracks me up!

Layla has only seen the mommy and baby turkeys in our neighborhood so she was pretty excited to see this big guy. 

And here she is getting her face painted. She picked out what she wanted (for the record there were MUCH simpler designs but she insisted on this one) let this lady put her in the seat and listened very carefully to her instructions. She was so patient with no whining...it was amazing! 

Here she is getting her first look

Checking herself out in the mirror, she just couldn't get enough!

Then we came home and carved our pumpkins. I was a little heartbroken I couldn't get on the floor and dig out the guts, and even more heartbroken that L didn't want to dig in. That's my favorite part!! But I knew she wouldn't...there is always next year (and Jack haha). 

Again...SAME smile haha

Layla comforting Oscar. Apparently our dogs are afraid of leaf blowers...that were being used 5 houses down. Ridiculous! 

The cutest fish in the...forest?

It is almost here...the most wonderful, joyful and exciting holiday there is...HALLOWEEN!! Layla and I LOVE Halloween. She's totally into it this year...right down to the ghosts and pumpkins.  I had to get a few shots of her in her costume today before Bryan picked up all the leaves. Isn't she the most gorgeous fish you've ever seen in the ocean...errr...forest?

34 weeks!

So I'm running behind AGAIN! I really thought I was going to be good at this but all motivation has come to a halt...all I want to do is lay on the couch, drink ice cold water and concentrate on breathing.

I'm fairly miserable. And by fairly I mean I feel like I'm overdue. Even with my blood pressure issues I was never this exhausted with Layla. Everything hurts, my tummy is as big as I was at 38 weeks with Layla. I took Layla to the grocery store on Friday and it was all I could do to get through it...let alone the rest of the day. Being pregnant with #2 is SO much harder than the first time around. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm chasing L, but I just feel like Jack is bigger and stronger than she was in my belly. He has to weight 15 lbs...at least. And he kicks and punches like a true champion black belt. I feel him all the way from my ribs to my hips at the same time! I'm also having lots of contractions and my swelling is getting worse. I'm praying for 3 things now- a happy/healthy baby boy, no bedrest and for him to come as planned. Too much?

Layla is doing FANTASTIC with the whole big sister thing for the moment. You can see my comments in my picture but she really does seem to "get" it now. We are going to do a hospital tour sometime in the next few weeks and then take her out for ice cream. I'm sure she'll enjoy both...it is such hard work being a big Sis! She knows Jack is coming out of my belly soon, she even looked at me the other day and told me "the doctor is going to pull him out of your belly where I came out". Wow, yes he is. I'm trying to prepare her for my recovery, the baby crying and feedings...etc. I think we might be slightly obsessed with talking about all this and she's sick of it but I really want her to be as ready as possible.

I can't believe we only have 4 more weekends as a family of 3. I am a crazy ball of emotions about this. I can't wait to have Jack here and have our family complete, but I'm scared to death that I won't be able to juggle 2, that Layla will hate me or I won't give Jack as much as I was able to give her. I hate pregnancy hormones and I know it is only going to get worse before it gets better! Nothing a bowl of ice cream won't fix though.

So here we are with a special guest appearance by little miss Layla for week 34: