Reminiscing

I was just looking through the first few pictures we took of Jonah, and I suddenly remembered details of our hospital stay that I had forgotten. Like, how shocked I was that Jonah was a blonde! And what a deep, hoarse, LOUD voice he had.

I also remembered how peaceful our hospital stay seemed. We were all sleepy and giddy and just so thankful for a safe delivery and a healthy baby.

The most peaceful moment, to me, happened in the middle of our 2nd night there. Michael was sleeping on a cot, and I was asleep with Jonah on my chest, both of us covered in his Nannie blanket. A lab technician came to do a blood-draw. He stopped in the doorway, and just smiled at us, like he didn't expect to see the baby sleeping with me and thought it was a sweet surprise. He did the quickest, least painful blood-draw I've ever experienced, without any talking, just smiling, and then turned off the light and left quietly. Jonah never moved and I fell instantly back to sleep. I don't know why that memory stands out in my mind. It was such a quiet moment.

I know that having Jonah in the picture will change our hospital stay with Gracie. I will miss him and be anxious to get home and start our new routine as a family of four. So, I have no idea if our next hospital stay will be as blissful, but I hope so.

Toddler Slang: Part 3

Continued from previous posts...

"Jesus Lubs Dah Liddle Jigglin'"
translation: Jesus Loves the Little Children

"To fir-bibby n' eeyon" (pronounced in a very deep voice with arms outstretched, fist clenched, and then followed by a huge leap off of some piece of furniture)
translation: To infinity and beyond

"Buzz n' Oldy"
translation: Buzz and Woody

"Wanna watch dah cloud house"
translation: I want to watch Toy Story 1, in which Andy has cloud wallpaper in his room

"Wanna watch dah star house"
translation: I want to watch Toy Story 2, in which Andy has star wallpaper in his room

"Tell Phone"
translation: Cell Phone

"Bozer Dozer"
translation: bull dozer

"show me! show me!"
translation: come see it! come see it!

"Charlie"
translation: the elliptical trainer (I have NO idea why)

Conversation I heard coming from the backseat of our car day before yesterday...
"Buzz! You not buckled. I n' gonna stop dis car! You in big trouble."

We were making cookies today and ran out of flour. I loaded Jonah in the car and drove to the grocery store. After we made our purchase, I was buckling him back into the car and leaned over for a kiss. He leaned halfway into me and then jerked back before the kiss happened. "We not kissah yet, Mama. You make cookies first." Nice.

Week 37 - Baby Report

Baby Grace -

She's officially full term! We saw peach fuzz on her head at last weeks ultrasound and I'm dying to know what color it will be! Her heartbeat was good today at the doctor's appointment, and her movement continues to be very predictable (every 3 hours).

Mama -

The doctor's office is trying to drive me insane. Dr. Zhang told me last week that we would schedule a c-section for July 10th. She is out of town this week, so I saw the OB nurse today, who gave me the paperwork stating that the c-section is actually scheduled for July 14th! Lord have mercy! I cannot wait another 4 days! The nurse told me that Dr. Zhang's "on-call day" must have been moved from the 10th to the 14th. The doctor's office is going to double check the date for me and see if it can't be moved up a few days. They must have seen the desperation on my face.

The exam today showed that I'm 1 cm dilated, which is surprising to me since I never dilated with Jonah until I was in labor. I'm curious what next week's exam will show.

Blood Pressure: 114/70
Weight: +2 lbs from last week (help me!)
Cravings: food

Other baby news -

A couple more things I'm excited about...

My lifelong friend, Lenae, sent this CP Newborn doll named, Kathryn Sidney. (Lenae and I have CP Kids that are married to each other.) I can hardly wait for Gracie to play with it!


This is another little gem from the Rowdy Girls. It says, "If the Tiara fits". Love it!

Bedtime

As mentioned before, Jonah loves his Daddy. He could take me or leave me most of the day, and that's okay! I know he's supposed to be fascinated with Michael at this stage in life.

However, the one time of day that Jonah really wants his Mama, is bedtime, and I really love that.

Our normal bedtime routine is to sit on his bed, read a couple of books, turn out the lights, pray, sing, and then hug and kiss goodnight. As Jonah gets older, the routine has become more complex. Particularly the singing part. He loves to sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children". Since we've been home from TX, it's become, "Jesus Loves the Little Mama's, and Daddy's, and Jonah's, and babies, and Buzz's, and Woody Cowboys". I have to sing this list of characters every night in place of the word, "children". Jonah loves it so much, though, it's worth it. He gets the hugest smile on his face and giggles the whole time.

He also recently started asking me to sing "Baby Mine" at night, and for some amazing reason, he wants to cuddle up, be still, and listen (instead of singing along at the top of his lungs) to this particular song. I've been singing "Baby Mine" to him since he was born, and it's also the last song on the CD we play for him at night, but I stopped singing it nightly once we quit rocking him to sleep almost two years ago.

For that reason, it seemed totally random the first time he asked me to sing it. And the first few times he requested it, I had a hard time singing the song without tearing up! I mean, that song has such memories attached to it. Rocking him, nursing him, praying and singing for him as a tiny baby. Now he's my motor-mouth, squirmy, no-attention-span, rough and tumble little boy! It's hard to believe that he could possibly recall hearing that lullaby as such a tiny baby, but the fact that he wants to be still and listen....It's like, somehow, he remembers that this is "his lullaby". Amazing! And such a sweet, unexpected, blessing!

How to putt (when you're 2 years old)

Week 36 - Baby Report

Baby Grace -

We just got back from having a 3rd trimester ultrasound, and they estimated her weight at 6 1/2 lbs. If the c-section goes as planned on July 10th, she should weigh around 8 lbs. I'm surprised she's that big!

She's also turned head down finally! Whoo hoo! The technician and doctor saw all good things. There was good blood flow through the umbilical chord and in the heart, we watched her lungs practice breathing, triple checked the gender (yes, it's definitely a girl), and got some great snapshots of her face...



Mama -

I'm officially sleep deprived, and I can't WAIT until I can sleep on my stomach again. It's so easy for me to fall asleep that way. I miss it! Right now, if I sleep on my left side, Gracie goes berserk. If I roll to my right side, I get really bad heart burn, and if I sleep on my back, I have trouble breathing. What are my options?!? No sleep.

Blood Pressure: 118/72
Weight: + 1 lb since last appt.
Cravings: milk

Other baby news -

We're almost finished with the nursery! I've painted an old side table antique white, the ceiling fan has been replaced, we hung a little shelf and some small canvas paintings on the wall, and I've washed all the baby clothes and bedding in dye/fragrance-free detergent. Not much left!

I came home from TX with some sweet baby gifts from family. I LOVE this dress my mom smocked. It is the teeny tiniest thing you've every seen. I can't wait to dress the baby in it!

Counting Down...

The days are moving SO SLOWLY now that our c-section date is set. Gracie will be here 3 weeks from this Thursday. I'm trying to fill the days with tasks I know need to be crossed off our to-do list and fun things to help the time pass. But, oh! The minutes are creeping by.

Over the weekend my thoughts and prayers were with my family in Texas. They were dealing with viewings at the funeral home, a graveside service, and memorial service. I'm sick that I couldn't be there with them this week. Unfortunately, I've been grounded from travel at this late stage in my pregnancy.

We did, however, have a wonderful Father's Day weekend with Michael's parents here in Arizona. That definitely helped lift the sadness off the weekend. Michael opened a home-made gift from Jonah, and after church we met Papaw and Meemaw at Papadeaux's for lunch. (Their crawfish platter is really yummy.) We managed to get some semi-decent snapshots in the courtyard on the way out (open your eyes, Michael!).
We also celebrated Bob's (Papaw) birthday this evening with some cupcakes and putting practice. Janice (Meemaw) threw him a surprise party with a 50's diner theme while we were in Texas last week, but today was his actual birthday. Jonah was happy to celebrate it.

Special Fathers

Thinking about all the special Dads in my life today...

My sweet Michael with my baby, Jonah. I never expected how watching Michael parent our child would multiply how much I already loved him.

My precious Dad. The perfect daddy to four girls. Loving, patient, and selfless. He taught us by example how our husbands should love us and love the Lord.

My sister, Christel's, sweet husband, Jamie. He's a rock star to the Rowdy Girls. Such a good Daddy.

My father-in-law, Bob. He's a huge reason that Michael became the man he is. I can't thank him enough for that gift.

Also, missing my Dubbie and Papaw on this Father's Day. I know my mom is missing her Daddy today, so most of all, I'm praying for her. God has blessed me so much through the fathers in my life!

Dubbie

W.L. (Dub) Allen
Dec 16, 1919 -Jun 13, 2008

My sister wrote the perfect blog post about our Dubbie. It explains exactly how I'm feeling this afternoon. Very bitter-sweet.

I'm so grateful that Jonah got to be around Dubbie. I'm so proud that Jonah spent time playing in Dubbie and Nannie's backyard, blowing dandelions, and chasing squirrels while Dubbie smiled and watched from the back porch. Grateful that Dubbie had time to talk to, to play with, to watch Jonah be rough and tumble. I'm so, so sad that Gracie will not have that opportunity.

A good investment

I decided yesterday that a backyard wading pool was just what I need. If Jonah is going to drag me outside ALL DAY LONG in the 100+ degree heat, then I'm going to sit in the shade with my feet in the cool water with a glass of iced tea.

This little gem just happened to be on sale at the Wally-Mart this morning, and the extra bells and whistles have earned me an hour and a half of contented toddler time. In my mind, the pool just paid for itself in peace (not quiet, though)...

Happy Anniversary, Christel and Jamie!

Happy belated anniversary, Christel and Jamie! On June 8th, Christel and Jamie had officially been married for 12 years! In some ways, it seems like yesterday that I was at their reception, two-steppin' the night away in the courtyard of our hometown church. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago! I mean, I don't have any pictures of their wedding on my computer because it was before the days of digital cameras. And, there were NO TODDLERS back then. What did we do with all that time?

Congrats on 12 years, CB and JB! Love you guys!

Week 35 - Baby Report

Baby Grace -

She's probably close to weighing 6 lbs and nearly 18 inches long. She's STILL breech, and packing quite a punch. Babycenter.com says her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of the basic physical development is complete and she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Mama -

This is me...
Yes. I am the one on the right. That would be TweedleDUM. I look round. I'm grumpy. And I cannot seem to remember ANYthing. Not even to put sunscreen on my son, which resulted in his first sunburn last week (oh, the guilt). I'm still having Braxton Hicks contractions, and they're the really fun ones that start in your lower back and radiate down your legs. The puffiness finally set in this week as well, so I'm officially ready for Gracie to come OUT.

I saw the doctor today, and she scheduled a c-section for July 10th, just in case. There's still a slight chance that everything will line up and I'll be allowed to try for a VBAC. For that to happen, Gracie would HAVE to be,
1) less that 7 lbs at 39 weeks
2) head down
3) clearly dropping

Blood Pressure: 100/72
Weight: +1 since last appt.
Cravings: Unsweetened ice tea

And the Auntie of the Week award goes to.....

Aunt Kathleen!!

We were in A-town for the week (see my mom's blog for details). My OB signed off on the travel, so Michael and I jumped at the opportunity to be with my Dubbie one last time. Christel also drove into town with the Rowdy Girls and brought Kathleen with her.
What a blessing Kathleen is to an 8 month pregnant mama with a rough and tumble two and half year old boy! She really gets down in the trenches and plays hard. She never fails to climb into the sandbox, or run around the backyard like her pants are on fire so the toddlers can be entertained. She even pretended to be a mental health patient in a straight jacket so Jonah could drive her to the hospital in an ambulance at the Grace Museum. Talk about above and beyond.


She was also the only one who was brave enough to suit up and play in the wading pool with the Rowdy Girls...


Bless his heart, on the 13 hour drive home to Arizona, Jonah fell asleep 3 times. Each time he woke up he asked me if we were at Kaki's house yet.

Miss you already, Kak!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Joy and Mike! We love you and miss you!