Going to the chapel

Last weekend Riley & I were in my best friend, Kelly’s wedding. I was the Matron of Honor & Riley was the Ring Bearer. I borrowed the pictures of the Rehearsal from a friend’s Facebook page since I didn’t have my camera. Thanks Christy! :0)

Wedding Day! When we first arrived for pictures that morning Riley was in the THE.WORST.MOOD.EVER. He would not let me put him down without throwing a fit. The other bridesmaids tried their hardest (bless their hearts) to play with him & at least make him crack a smile while I was changing into my dress. But he was not having it.

These pictures pretty much sum up the whole morning & I was so worried he would act like this throughout the entire day. To my surprise, he cheered up & did excellent. Even after falling & bumping his head right before we walked down the aisle!

My happy boy! Much better!

Another borrowed picture…thanks Jamie! ;0) Most of the wedding party. I think a couple Groomsmen were cut out.

TAG was definitely there, but we didn't even get a picture together! That just goes to show how busy I was keeping up with Riley behind the scenes all while performing my MOH duties!

The wedding was beautiful & went without any hiccups whatsoever. I am so happy for these two & I know God will bless their marriage throughout the years. Congratulations Kelly & Micah!

See Mom, I do eat…sometimes!

It is a rare occasion these days to get Riley to eat anything besides crackers & other snack foods. But he sure was loving this Chicken Rotel the other night! With a few raisins that he added into the mix. ;0) Looks like I’ll be cooking it on a more normal basis now!

PS. We said bye bye to the mullet last Thursday. He looks so grown up now!

Emotions

So I just looked at the calendar & counted the days instead of weeks (since February is a short month) to my two tentative C-Section dates. This baby will be here in either 21 or 23 days if not beforehand! I am definitely in the homestretch! The fact that I can now count down the days & it is less than a month is crazy! Today I am 36 weeks into this pregnancy. I have so many different emotions & thoughts going through my head right now. On one hand, I totally do not feel prepared for Averly if she were to come today. Her nursery is still not done. I have to finish making her bed skirt for the crib, paint a canvas to hang, paint her book case, wash her clothes (I haven't even started), pack her bag for the hospital, pick out fabric & get a rocker reupholstered...the list goes on & on & on. Maybe once this list (there is a million other lists I need to complete as well) is done I will feel more ready for a new baby in the house.

It just seems so overwhelming when I go to start something all while working (I plan on working up until I have her) & having an 18 month old to keep up with. I am trying so hard to really take in these last few weeks with just my baby boy before Averly is here. I feel bad for Riley because I can't play with him like I used to. He loves to climb all over me & roll around wrestling but I am just to the point where I can't due to my huge belly. Granted, that's what Dada is for, but during the day when it's just us, there's no way. I'm getting more & more worried about how he is going to handle having a baby around 24/7. I'm worried about how I can spread my attention to both of them equally while meeting the needs of both of them. This is top on my list for my anxiety. Riley is a big time Mama's boy & still loves to be held every now & then. He has to have me lay with him before nap time & bed time in order to go to sleep. He still wakes up from time to time at night (usually just once) calling me back in his room. If TAG goes in there instead, it just makes him upset because he wants me & only me until he goes back to sleep. Maybe I've spoiled him a little too much, but I won't say that I've done anything wrong. I love the fact that he still wants me instead of being completely independent. There's plenty of time for that later down the road! I wouldn't change the way I have done things with him no matter what. However, I just don't know how I'm still going to do for him & a newborn all at the same time, especially when TAG is at work or when it comes to things he can't help me do like breastfeeding. And if you have ever breastfed a baby you know that takes up a LOT of time. I know I'm not the first to have these fears & won't be the last but when it's actually about to be happening to me, it's pretty scary to think about. I know it's going to take me a while to adjust to our soon-to-be lifestyle as a family of four (wow that's weird to say!). And TAG too. But I know it's not impossible or nobody would have more than one child!

You can see from the picture how bad Riley was wanting me to hold him when TAG was trying to get a picture of my belly. I've said it before & I'll say it again...the child is spoiled rotten! :0) I guess I'm just going to have to grow another set of arms to compensate for the 2 of them!

Pictures were taken at 34 weeks & 5 days.

On the other hand, I am so ready to have my baby girl here! I just want to hold her, kiss her, smell that sweet newborn smell & rub her soft baby skin. I am so anxious to see who she will look like. Will she be the spitting image of her Daddy like her brother is? Or will she look more like me? Blonde hair or dark hair or no hair? Physically, I am definitely ready to be un-pregnant. My whole body aches & the pressure of her on my pelvic bone is really wearing on me. I feel like she could just fall out at any minute! I know I'm not getting the sleep I need right now, so I am extremely tired & dragging. My lower back is killing me with a dull constant pain. TAG still gives me the best massages ever that help relieve the pain, but as soon as he stops it starts right back up. I know it could be so much worse, so I try not to complain. I have been very blessed to have such wonderful pregnancies. But I'm tired. Just plain tired.

Plus, I'm ready to get my body back in shape. I have gained about 3 pounds more this pregnancy so far than I did with Riley total & I'm worried that it's going to be harder to shed those pounds this time. I guess that's where my husband being a Personal Trainer will come in handy! Although I really don't like working out with him because I feel like he pushes me EXTRA hard just because I'm his wife. Like maybe he's subconsciously getting back at me for nagging him about not putting his dishes in the dishwasher or something! Haha!

Saturday night we had a little scare. I started feeling queasy around 3 or 4 & was having some pretty strong contractions. They were about 15 minutes apart though so nothing to rush to the hospital for. Later on I started throwing up. We still can't figure out exactly why I was sick. I'm not sure if it was something I ate or if it was due to the pain or what. But I've never been in labor before...maybe that's part of it?? Anyway, I started coming around about 10:30 or so & got some rest once the contractions stopped. Yesterday I felt a little better. Just a scary realization that this baby is coming soon whether I am ready or not!

On another note, Riley turned 18 months old on Saturday! My baby is a year & a half? What?? That just doesn't seem real! He is doing just great. Still learning something new every day & impressing his Mama & Dada daily! We are both so proud of our little man & love him more & more every single day! I know he will be a great big brother. He is already so helpful in putting toys or anything he gets out back where he got it. His newest favorite thing to do is to throw away "tash" in the garbage can. We really have to keep an eye on what's in the trash can though because he has gotten a little carried away before. He has thrown away a couple balls & some unopened granola bars. He's so cute though because he will usually ask us before he throws something in there now. He'll hold up a napkin or piece of paper or whatever it is & say "Tash? tash?" until we give him the green light. Oh how I love my little boy!

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope it was great for all! TAG & I are celebrating tonight since the grandparents have Riley.

Actual Snow Day!

Yesterday we had the 1st actual snow day of the year! In the past few weeks when everybody around got tons of snow, we just got ice. But yesterday we got snow! And lots of it! It was a huge surprise too. We had no idea it was even coming but we woke up to a winter wonderland. The weatherman said our area got 6-7"! I think we got about 5-6 at our house. That's a LOT for Mississippi!

This was Riley's first real snow that he was able to play in. He hated it at first & wouldn't let me put him down in it. Once he warmed up to it though, he cried when we had to go back inside. He loved stomping in it, but was still hesitant about the deep snow. He would rather play in the driveway where there wasn't quite as much. He never did like touching the snow with his hands. I did have gloves on him, but he didn't like those either & kept pulling them off. I know his little fingers were freezing!

Checking out the snow for the first time. He didn't know what to think!

When he touched it with his hands he would say "Eewwwww!" Silly boy!

Still trying to get him to touch it. Haha!

Yesterday's snow was much better than the last winter storm we got. It was all ice! Here we were playing in it right before I left for Dallas. And yes, I am wearing TAG's huge sweatpants. I wanted to be as comfortable as possible for that long car ride!

All of this snow is nice & very pretty, but I sure am ready for some warmer weather!

Just a little bit of housekeeping

In the past I have had a few people ask me to add the "Follow Me" application. I kept forgetting but recently had another request to add it & I finally remembered to! Haha! So feel free to follow me if you would like...or don't if not. :0)

Sorry I've been MIA for the past week or so. I just got back from the "Big D" & DO mean Dallas! It was a company-wide meeting that I really needed to attend, so after asking my doctor at least 3 different times & after her giving me the green light each time, I decided I would go. Almost everyone else in our office flew, but I rode with a co-worker & his pregnant wife. It was a long drive with traffic & many, many potty breaks :0) but I still feel better that I drove instead of risking the chance of going into labor on the plane. Which would be just my luck!

I am 34 weeks & 4 days today & had a dr appointment this morning as well. She checked my cervix & I am not dilated any but she said the baby's head is definitely very low. She also ensured me that all the pressure I've been feeling is completely normal with the baby's head being that low. I am getting more & more excited to meet my baby girl! Only 4.5 weeks or maybe less to go! We have gotten a little more done in her nursery, but are still not done at all. Hopefully we can still get it all done in time.

Ready, but not

First of all, thank y'all for the potty training advice. I really do feel like it's too early to really start on it, but I'm going to keep letting him sit on the toilet if he seems interested at the time. I definitely don't want to pressure him this early but hopefully it will keep being fun for him.

In Averly news, she has flipped & is now head down. (At least I sure do feel like she is!) The past couple of days I have felt a lot of pressure in my pelvic bone & even lower. It almost feels bruised. My lower back has been aching today especially. The last 2 or 3 nights I have only gotten up 3 or4 times to pee instead of every 10-15 minutes so she is definitely not on my bladder as badly as she was. When I first began feeling this way, I started to wonder if she was about to come or if it's 'normal' to feel all this heavy pressure at this time. I never felt it with Riley because he never dropped or was head down. I never dilated & was never effaced at all. Not that I have been miserable this pregnancy by any means, but I have been much more uncomfortable this time around than with Riley. With him I felt like I could stay pregnant forever, but I am physically ready this time. Mentally, maybe not so much. ;0)

Potty Training Advice Needed!

So as I mentioned in my post from yesterday, Riley has become pretty interested in the potty lately. He knows what the toilet is & where we go when it's time to pee pee. As with any 17 month old, he follows Mama & Dada everywhere & watches everything we do. Apparently the most fun thing to do recently is to go to the bathroom with us. Like I mentioned in this post, I have put him on the toilet several times to see if he would do anything, but he just laughs for a minute & then wants down. I don't really know how long I should let him sit or if I am doing any of this correctly.

Potty training has always been one of my biggest fears when it comes to raising a child. I have NO idea where to start or how to start. I am absolutely clueless when it comes to potty training & it pretty much scares me to death. Not really, but it does scare me. A lot.

So to all of you moms that have potty trained kids, when did you start the process? Do I need to go ahead & get a little potty for him? Or keep putting him on the big toilet? With boys, do you teach them to pee pee sitting or standing from the beginning (I've heard of people doing both & I guess they both have their pros & cons, but is there a 'right & wrong' way to do this?) Do you just teach them to pee pee at first, then #2 later? Am I thinking way ahead since he's only 17 months or should I roll with it since he's so interested? I'm afraid I may be just spinning my wheels if I start too early because he may not fully understand what to do.

In case you can't tell, just thinking about it stresses me out. But oh how I would love to have him out of diapers not long after Averly is born!

Any advice, tips, help, secrets would be GREATLY appreciated!