Great pillow apparently

...although she eventually kicked him off.

Ry survived!

What a difference a year makes.  My little man has been through quite a week.  No Daddy, not feeling great, new babysitters galore, and no complaining.  When J and I had his Christmas party last Friday, Rylan had a brand new babysitter that we had never met before.  It happens to be the daughter of his teacher, Ms. Ellen, and Bethany could not get to our house when we had to leave.  Therefore, Ms. Ellen actually came over for about 20 minutes before Bethany got there.  Rylan did a great job with both of them and did not even mind transitioning between the two.  Then there was yoga on Tuesday with me.  He did an awesome job being quiet and occupied for an entire hour!  Finally, last night I had to find another last minute babysitter because my plans fell through for him again.  I ended up finding someone from St. Peter's that yet again, we have never met.  Her mom works in the nursery and knows us well.  Her name was Michelle and she is a college student that works on top of school.  She could not be at the house until 6:30 so I had Mollie, my 6th grade neighbor, come over until she got there.  Once again, he did great with both of them and the transition. Now today brings a boring couple of hours at the car dealership and tomorrow an appointment with Dr. Harry to make sure this cold is just that and nothing more before we head to Michigan on Monday.  Whew!  What a week!  How can I be so lucky with #2?  I pray to God that she is as sweet, loving, kind-spirited, and well-behaved as my sweet little Rylan.  My heart is so filled with his spirit, I can't imagine what it will be like to have another precious child from God in our family.  Time is flying by and she will be here before we know it.  I am excited and yet so nervous all at the same time...

Thursday

Waiting patiently at the car dealership for a recall/oil change. He's such a good boy! Brought our breakfast and now playing cars while Mommy does some work on her computer. He just told me his van had GPS. Really? Where does he get this stuff?

Yoga

So Ry watching this week has been difficult.  I couldn't find anyone tonight to watch him for yoga and I may not be able to go to my Council Christmas party tomorrow because of last minute changes.  However, I decided to take Rylan with me to yoga.  He did great!  He was such a good boy as always and probably tried to do about 20 minutes worth of yoga.  On the way home I asked him what he thought.  Silence.  Then, "well, my legs don't hurt anymore."  Hilarious!  He bruised up one of his entire legs last week being crazy in the dining room.  J or I didn't see it, but heard it, and he was bruised up and down his whole leg.  Needless to say, he has been complaining about it, cause I am sure he was sore.  I found that answer to be awesome!  Couldn't help but laugh!

How quickly things change!

So first of all, I passed my gestational diabetes test! Yeah! Cookies and pie for Christmas! Thank goodness! But I am anemic, so iron supplements and red meat for me I guess.

Secondly, another funny comment. Papa asked Ry tonight what he was doing and he told him, "I'm eating dinner with my sweet Mommy." Then, when I was putting him to bed, I picked something up for him and he said, "you are the best Mommy." Wow how things can change in a matter of hours!

~sarah~

Sent from my iPhone

A little man.

Rylan is definitely not a baby/toddler anymore.  He is truly a little boy/man.  We have had a day today for sure.  Neither of us slept very well last night and had an early morning.  Needless to say, I am overtired with no patience and Ry is whiny and clingy.  We had to run to a couple of stores after school today and I asked him about 5 times to not step on my feet because he kept doing it.  It not only hurt, but I also got a pedicure today which he has managed to already screw up.  Anyhow, the last time I had enough and I was very firm with him.  He did not like it and simply got very quiet with sad eyes.  I explained why I was so frustrated and he pretty much ignored me.  On the way home he comes out with, "Mommy, you hurt my feelings."  I apologized but said that he owed me one as well...nothing.  A couple of minutes later, I get, "Mommy, but I am not very happy with you."  Really?  When did he become so grown-up?

The Holidays are here!

As always, time seems to be ticking away so quickly.  We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with the Toups family.  It was such a different day, because the boys, Rylan, Casey, and Andrew, were basically nonexistent while the adults and new baby Justin enjoyed each others company.  The only time we saw the boys was when it was time to eat.  Then they went right back upstairs to playing!

Jason has been really busy with work, travel, school, and finals.  He hasn't been around the house much but I feel like we have made up for it this past week.  He has gotten a lot of small projects accomplished, and we have been able to do some family things as well as having some couple time. 

Last weekend we we went to a work holiday party while Rylan stayed with Cata and Shu and Sunday we drove up to north Texas for the Polar Express train ride.  Rylan had so much fun!  I think his favorite parts were drinking hot chocolate, reading the story during the ride, seeing the North Pole, and receiving the bell from Santa.  The expression on his face while looking at the bell speaks for itself.

Rylan's school had Christmas Family Chapel on Wednesday, and Jason and I were able to go together to participate with Rylan.  The Christmas Story was read and songs were sung.  It was very cute and Rylan appreciated us being there.

Today was our appointment with Dr. Cole.  We all went together and then had lunch afterward.  I think we may be headed to Katy Mills after Rylan's nap to visit with Santa.  Rylan needs to tell him that the wants "Mater's Tall Tales (a DVD) and roller skates."  We have no idea where the roller skates idea came from and hope he is not too disappointed at Christmas ;).

So overall, it has been a very pleasant and much needed week of Mommy, Daddy, and Rylan.  I know Jason works really hard for our family, but it has been difficult not having him around much.  I know that it will not be getting any easier, especially with a new baby arriving soon, so I appreciate the time we do have together.  J leaves Saturday for 10 days in Turkey, the international portion of his MBA program, before meeting us in Detroit for Christmas on the 20th.  We will miss him, especially during this time of year, but we have a busy week ahead to keep us occupied.

Baby Girl Update!

Things are moving right a long.  Sometimes I almost think they are moving too quickly!  It seems like this pregnancy has flown by and not much time is left to prepare for another life changing event.  I'm sure we will manage, but I am definitely getting nervous.

Our little girl's room is basically finished.  The walls are done, carpeting is in, and most of the furniture has been set up.  The only things that will need to be done in January are to get everything washed and cleaned up, items sorted from the attack, and everything in its place.

We had a great appointment today for our 28 week check up.  I had to have another ultrasound to make sure that the placenta previa I had at 20 weeks was gone, and it was.  Thank God!  The best part about having another ultrasound was being able to see our little girl again.  I was thankful that it was still a girl ;) and the tech kept commenting at how beautiful her heart was.  I pray to God that means both physically and emotionally.  I am sure she will be a very loving little girl.  We were debating about doing the 4D ultrasound, but the tech said we may not get good shots because she is so close to my uterus.  However, at the last minute, she did flick that button and give us that one perfect little shot of her face.  That is really all I wanted, so I am glad she was so sweet to do that.

She is still a very active little baby and seems to be on a decent wake/sleep cycle so far.  Her active times are usually around 10-noon, 4-7, and 10-11:30 pm.  Pretty funny how they do that even in the womb.  I am sure it will take her awhile to adjust to life outside the womb when she arrives, but I pray that this time I have a clue as to what I am supposed to be doing!  I guess we will find out soon enough!

Baby Girl at 28 weeks...2 lbs. 11 oz.

Waiting patiently with their tech gadgets!

Rylan :)

Lately, Ry's story telling ends with "and that's my story."He goes on and on about something and then ends with that. Pretty fuunny!

~sarah~

Sent from my iPhone

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Baby girl.

I usually am napping during this time of day.  However, I feel pretty energized and excited today, so I am actually enjoying some peace and quiet during the day.  The excitement stems from a meeting this morning with a woman that is going to paint a mural in our baby girl's rooms.  Debi is going to incorporate the tree and patterns from the bedding into the room.  She had such great ideas and it sounds like things will move pretty quickly once we give her the okay.  We picked out a very pretty green for the walls and a blue for the ceiling so that it will look like the sky, with some clouds.  She has a painter contact that will come and do the base coat as early as this Thursday or Friday if we so please!  (We are planning on having him complete some other small jobs around the house as well, since he will be here anyways.)  Debi said she would then probably be able to do the mural in the next couple of weeks.  How exciting!  Things are really coming along!  We sold big gym that was in that room and Purple Heart came today to remove a huge pile of give away "stuff" from our porch.  I'm already in that purge and give away mood, not that I ever get out of it :).  Our carpet contact is coming to measure tomorrow as well.  Before long, she will have her own room! 

As I was sitting here earlier, I think she may have had the hiccups.  I was feeling this definite rhythmic bounce in my belly.  It was pretty cute!  She is still movin' and shakin.'  She gave me some issues this past weekend and I think it was pretty much how she was situated.  Maybe she was moving or changing positions, but I had the most horrible pressure in my tailbone, to the point that I could barely even stand and walk.  That coupled with Braxton Hicks contractions made for a very unpleasant weekend.  However, when I woke up on Monday, that pressure was gone...and hopefully won't return.

Time is flying by as usual.  With the holidays right around the corner, I expect the remainder of this pregnancy to go by really quick.  24 weeks and counting...

Our Disney World Experience!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Another funny one...

So on the way to school this morning, I noticed that a particular set of sprinklers were on by one of the neighborhoods we drive by.  One of them was broken and watering the road, so it stood out in my mind.  On our way home, several hours later, they were still on!  That really irritates me, but that is besides the point.  I made a comment to Rylan that it was not good that so much water was being wasted.  He further went on to say, "AWWWW...how are we going to turn them off?"  I explained that there was not much we could do.  He said, "I know.  We could shoot the sprinklers so that they turn off."  As a side note, he has been into "shooting" things lately ever since we shot robots on the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney.  I told him that wouldn't work.  He was quiet for about a minute and shouts, "Mommy, I know, maybe Jesus will turn off the sprinklers so the water doesn't get wasted."  Yup!  That's my awesome 3 year old!

Fall Fun!

Our fall has been an absolute blast so far, minus a little sadness from missing our Daddy!  The past couple of weeks, Rylan and I have attended a Fall Festival at the High School down the street, Zoo Boo, Raulloween 2010 (Cata and Shu's annual party), and then trick or treating.  One of our neighbors Kerri invited all the neighborhood kiddos to her house last night before trick or treating.  She made "mummy dogs," fruit kabobs, chips, drinks, and some sweets for everyone.  The kids had a blast and Rylan became more and more excited each time he saw more trick or treaters coming our way.  He would stop whatever he was doing, point, and say, "Mommy, trick or treaters!!!  Rylan dressed up as a fireman and was a sweaty little bug by the end of the night because it was about 80 degrees.  He was already asking for candy this morning :).  It's the most wonderful time of the year in my book!  Hard to believe that one year from now, I will be taking a 4 year old and an 8 month old trick or treating!

God Bless!

Party time

Apparently, 11:30 pm is party time for little miss thing. The past several nights she likes movin' and a shakin' in my belly, so much so that I sit here and watch it move. Pretty funny!

~sarah~

Sent from my iPhone

So much fun!

Well, it didn't take long for me to make some decisions.  Thought you all might like to get a glimpse into my thoughts for the GIRL nursery!  I like a bedding set at Pottery Barn Kids that isn't too girlie and looks very precious to me.  It has lots of pale colors in it and I think it will look great with Rylan's dark espresso crib and changing table.  I am thinking of painting the walls one of the green colors in the bedding, tree mural on the wall, and pink curtains with polka dots.  There is a really cute doll house bookcase and chandelier through The Land of Nod that I think adds a very cute girlie touch :).  I think she approves because she is pushing against my laptop right now :)!

I did register at Pottery Barn Kids and The Land of Nod and put links to my registries on the right so you all can see my vision.  There are a couple of other wish-list items that I would like this time around as well and will add those when I have time.  We of course do not expect any of these things and I am actually pleasantly surprised that I just did not order them myself this evening (although I am so close to doing so since so many things are back ordered :).)  I just wanted to organize my own thoughts and share them with you all.  I think it is finally sinking it that we are having a girl :)!

We're back!

Very quick update cause I need to go make dinner!  We have had a lazy day recovering and I have had a yucky nauseous pregnancy day (probably from exhaustion :)).

Disney World was a blast of course!  I put up a slideshow of pics.  They are in no particular order cause we used two different cameras, and the end of birthday week is on there also.  Highlights of our trip definitely include staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, character lunch and breakfast with both Pooh and Mickey, Trick-or-treating, Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom, meeting McQueen, riding cars at the Speedway, Animal Kingdom...the list goes on but those were favorites!

I'll add videos later and try to put captions on the photos. 

Pregnancy update:  all is pretty well.  This little girl is going to be full of spunk!  She is all over the place all the time.  I can feel a diva coming already :)!