baby bumps!

So, I'm 26 weeks and 1 day. And, I feel huge. Again, I know I will only get bigger, but it's still weird.

Russell decided to get artistic while taking this picture. Actually, it was because he was talking to our friend Lee (who is the baby's Godfather!!!). But I like how it turned out.

My big old belly! And, you cant tell in this picture, but I'm sick! So, I think I look pretty dang good! And, my eyes look amazing!

pics

Just some pics. Not the food from Thanksgiving, but I will get to that, I promise.

How Gavin fell asleep during his nap yesterday. Too funny.

It was really hard to get this pic, since he was facing the wall. But, it worked!
Looking all GQ and whatnot. He's such a cute boy!

Again, how cute is he????

Ugh...I didnt realize how funny my face looks...oh well. BTW, this pic, and the one above, are my Christmas cards this year.

Gavin and his daddy. Cuz they are too cute together. Sigh, my heart melts when I look at them together.

His other really cute outfit. He looks so preppy in it, but oh-so-cute!

Ok, more later!

Warning: Cute Alert

So, Gavin plays find the belly. Mostly with me and him, but sometimes with daddy, too. He has an odd fascination with my belly. My belly button is popping some, so he likes to poke that.

Anyway, last night, he was playing find the belly with me. I was laying on the couch, on my side. He lifts up my shirt, and starts poking my belly. The baby didn't like that too much, so it kicked. Hard. I took Gavin's hand and put it over the spot. He pushed down a little, and the baby kicked again! Gavin looks at me, his eyes twinkling, smiles a huge smile, and starts laughing hysterically. He then looks at me again, takes his hand off the belly, and thinks for a minute. He put BOTH hands on my belly, and lo and behold, the baby kicked again. There go the twinkling eyes, huge smile, and laughing. He got a huge hit out of it! He realized, that while mommy's belly has always been cooler than his own, it's even MORE cool now, since it MOVES too. He cracks me up. I really wish I had a camera within arms reach, too. I would have LOVED to get a picture of his face. It really was priceless.

I'm trying to talk to him about babies. I'll point out baby's on TV, in pictures, really anywhere we are. I also tell him that there's a baby in mommy's belly. I know he doesn't get it, and he really wont until after the baby is born, but I like to feel I'm doing something about it.

Also, on the cute factor, he's wearing the CUTEST outfit ever today. It's just a pair of jeans, a turtleneck and a sweater, but on him??? Oh man. I could eat him alive! I really could! And on Monday, a friend came over and took some pictures for us to use as our Christmas cards. He looks very GQ (that's all daddy saying that) in his black/white/grey pants, white button-down shirt with black stripes, and black 3 button jacket. He really is too cute for words! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can...I promise!

serious updates....

So, it's been a while since I updated...so much has been happening, that I just couldn't find time. Thanksgiving was great! Everyone was here, and it was so much fun to watch Gavin and Miles interact with each other. The food was great (I do have pictures of the food, but that will have to wait for another post). It was a lot of fun, except for Miles getting sick. He also passed on his cold to Gavin, who decided, after learning his cousin had an ear infection, to take it one step further. He decided that a double ear infection wasn't enough. No, he needed to go and develop PNEUMONIA!!! Geez...and then, on top of that, he got dehydrated from not eating or drinking a whole lot of anything for a week. What a wonderful week that was. We found out Friday about the ear infections, and Monday we spent (on Russell's day off, too) the WHOLE day in the EC. Gavin got poked 3 times by those sharp poky things, and wasn't too happy when he saw people in scrubs. Oh, and he had to have an x-ray, and mommy couldn't even be there with him. Sigh...oh the injustice. But, he is feeling better now, after being on more amoxicillan, and seems to be regaining some of his spunk. He's been running around, hiding things, and being more himself (than he has been since the Monday after Thanksgiving). Anyway, here are some pictures of things..

Obviously, that's me. That was done on Sat, when I was 24 weeks, 1 day. Now, I am almost 25 weeks. Anyway, I'm HUGE! I know I'll get bigger, but still....it's crazy. Oh, and that's our lovely fake tree behind me. The bottom 1/3 of it is devoid of ornaments, and they are scattered all over the floor.
This is from Thanksgiving. Mandy said something about wanting to get a toy box so it could eat her son, too. Good thing I have one, and they were here! He wasn't happy about it. So, I took the picture fast and Mandy soothed Miles' frayed nerves.

Miles and Gavin, trying very hard to NOT look like they are playing together. They did, though.

This was taken, actually, Monday. We were getting ready to head out for my Dr's appt, and Gavin just looked so darn cute with the mittens and hat. Of course, we left my appt and went to the EC (they didn't have any openings in his clinic for an appt) and stayed there til 4. My appt was at 9:40am. It was a long day with no food or water in my pregnant belly.

This is the best picture Russ took of the outside of the house. He had just finished putting up the lights, and they look so pretty! The picture doesn't do them justice. Of course, he also forgot to turn on the lights in the wreath, but oh well.

I have more pictures from Thanksgiving, but again, that will be another post. Hopefully I'll post it before Christmas. Haha.

another long/great week

So, finally got the fabric for my new shirt. And, I LOVE the fabric. I had to order the fabric for the main part of my shirt, and then once it came, I went and bought the fabric for the contrast and underlay piece. I think the shirt came out great! I had a few rough patches, but this is the biggest piece that I have made without the constant help from Mom. OH, and I'm also 22 weeks now! Yay!

This is the front...I do kind of look like I have an extra chin, though.

The side, and my big ol' belly. I'm wearing it with my black leggings.
Ok, so this isnt from this week, but it's still cute. Gavin was eating homemade chicken noodle soup. We had discovered he LOVED it the night before. He also discovered, that he really liked flinging food...I do believe there was chicken on the wall behind the high chair.

Another shot of chicken noodle boy. He was in SUCH a good mood that day!

So, this week is Thanksgiving. Mike and Mandy are coming up Wed night, and Mom, Dad and The Girls will be here Tues. I'm soo excited! I actually made the shirt for Thanksgiving. You know, give me something to wear that day that I can wear to church and whatnot. Ok, enough rambling now. Later!

What a week....

So, it has been quite a week. Gavin has learned to climb up onto things, and is very happy about it. My friend April came back up here, since her hubby is going to be back from his deployment next week. My belly seems to have gotten huge. Oh, and I'm 20 weeks now!!! I'm halfway through this pregnancy!! Yay!!

Here is my belly at 20 weeks. Looks big, doesnt it? Someone at church told me I look further along than I am, and she doesnt see me going past March 15th. I'm ok with that.

Gavin is very pleased with himself. He climbed, all by hisself, onto the suitcases. He's been attempting that for a really long time (since we got home from Indiana..I know, I'm bad). That face is also almost his anime face. But, I had to take 4 pics to get this one. He finally decided to pose.
Yup...on the suitcase again. He was certainly proud of himself.

He also discovered a love of rocking. He tried climing onto the chair, it didnt work, so daddy put him on the chair. He loved it!

I'm also getting ready for family at Thanksgiving. I'm soo excited, since Mom, Dad, Molly, Laura, Mike, Mandy and Miles will all be here. YAY! And, Miles is walking now, so things will be fun, watching Gavin and Miles play fairly with eachother. Woot!

Ultrasound!

So, today I had my "real" ultrasound. Of course, it hurt, cuz I had to pee very badly, but that's ok. The baby was not cooperative at all, it was curled up into a ball. It's ok, though. That does mean, that if Russ had been there (he had to stay home and watch Gavin) that he wouldn't have been able to find out what we were having. Though, it did make it difficult for the tech to get the pics and measurements of all the organs that she needed. She let me go pee, and that was the only way that she was able to get a pic of the heart. With all 4 chambers. Anyway, here are the pics!

This is the baby's back...you can kinda see that its legs are pulled forward.

One profile picture. Again, if you look, you can see that baby's legs are crossed. You might actually be able to see the bones, and where they are crossed.
Baby moved its hand a little! I think it's saluting daddy, even though he wasn't there.

Baby has REALLY moved in this picture...lol. Legs have moved slightly, and it looks like the baby is either trying to suck it's thumb, or maybe it's just tired. Either way, it is a very very cute picture of my baby!

I have an appointment on Monday, so hopefully by then the midwife will have the ultrasound results there. She said we're supposed to go over them together, so she can see how the baby is doing, and make any adjustments to the due date (which I will fight tooth and nail). I'm just glad I was able to see the baby again. Yay!

It's a....

BABY! Haha...gotcha, didnt I? Well, at least it's only one baby. There are only 2 pictures, because they ended up rescheduling my ultrasound. Apparently, the OIC (Officer in Charge) doesnt like to do ultrasounds before 19 weeks. I'm only 18 weeks. But, since I had filled my bladder nice and full, the tech showed me some pity and showed me the baby anyway. She also printed up pics, even though she wasnt supposed to. It was soo nice to see the baby, see the heartbeat. So, we rescheduled it for Nov 1...I'll be 19 weeks and 1 day! Ha so take that!

I love this..you can see it's face, and both of it's hands were by the head. Legs are up by the body. I just keep looking at this picture in awe, cuz this being is INSIDE me. WOW!

The baby is saluting daddy! It's an odd angle of it's face, but oh well...if you look really hard, you might be able to see the second arm up there, too.

pictures of Gavin

As promised, here are the newest pictures of Gavin and his 550 cord toys. Or really, toy. That is the turtle that he got for his birthday, that he loves, and the cord that makes it by far his favorite toy.

Isnt he cute? I just love watching him walk...especially when he's soo happy about what he's doing, as he is here.

The noose that Russell put around the turtle's neck. I dont know exactly why he did it, but i know it's funny. He also has a handle on it, but I dont think you can see it on any of the pictures I put up here.
See the joy he has? I love that boy!
This was after his nap that morning. He was just laying in the corner of the crib with his feet hanging out, using his blanket as a pillow, when I went to get him up. So, of course, I snuck back out and got the camera. I wasnt able to capture that exact picture as I saw him the first time, but this is still good. He was so happy to see me!
He's just too cute.

I look preggers!

So, when I got home from visiting Joni, everyone told me I had just "popped" since I was gone. I actually looked pregnant! (one person told me I didnt look fat anymore...gee thanks!). I also got to borrow 2 maternity dresses from Joni, which I've already put to use wearing to church. I figured since I was already dressing up for church tonight, I might as well put some pics of how pregnant I look now. Keep in mind I'm only 17 weeks pregnant right now.

This is the faux wrap dress, I believe it's Liz Lange...which, if you know, is from Target. I like it. I also like how my belly protrudes from it..lol

Fortunately my face hasnt regained it's puffiness like I had with Gavin. At least not yet. I guess I need to give it time.
I have some really cute pictures of Gavin, so I'll probably post those tomorrow. Again, they show his love of pulling his toys around.

visit with Joni

Right now, Russ is off with Gavin buying something, I think donuts, so I thought it would be the perfect time to blog about my visit with Joni, and her kids. I went up on a Friday, and we went to a park. We ended up not staying for too long, since Betsy got a headache from this plastic headband she was wearing. So, we went home, got the kids to bed, and watched "Dreamgirls" and ate popcorn with m&m's. Gavin didn't want to sleep too well that night, so I slept on the couch (I was supposed to sleep in the room with him). Umm...I dont really remember everything we did, it was a long busy week. I know on Sat, we went to watch a free showing of "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything", and then went to the dedication of a playground at the mall. As Joni mentioned in her blog, Gavin, and Betsy and Amy got their caricatures done. It was fun. It was also Gavin's first movie, and he lasted a good 15-20 mins before he just wanted to eat or walk. Sunday I went to church with Joni, but Gavin was cranky, so we spent most of Sacrament Meeting in the Mothers Lounge. Then Gavin and I went home, where we both took naps. I don't remember much else about Sunday, except I'm pretty sure I colored and highlighted Joni's hair.

Monday thru Thurs, I watched the kids during the day. They are a handful. It was definitely hard, watching 4 kids and being pregnant. They didn't always do what I wanted them to do. We did have some nice moments. Tuesday, Gavin and I took Betsy to her dance class. She wanted to pay more attention to us, then to her teacher. Which ended up meaning I had to stay away from the windows, but Gavin, being Gavin, wanted to walk. So it worked out well. I watched shows with Joni, and pigged out. It was fun. Friday, Joni worked a half day, and then we all took Besty to school. We went to Steak-n-Shake, and then Hobby Lobby. I drooled over patterns and Christmas decorations. Definitely need to go back there. We got home just in time to get Betsy off the bus. We had dinner, and then Joni, the babies and I went to Motherhood Maternity where I bought a new pair of pants, a denim skirt of my own, and black leggings (which I STILL need to shorten). We then went to Target to get some necessities. Joni kept watching the time, which I think is funny, cuz she had a tutoring session at 9 that night. 9...for a 3rd grader...it was waayy late for that. Oh well. Sat was General Conference for their church, so we lounged and ate. I do believe I cut off the tail on Joni's hair that night, too. I think we did something else, but I cant remember. Then I left on Sunday, and drove home.

Here are all the kids together on the couch that was my bed (it's a futon, so it folds down). Gavin was being contrary.

Amy sitting pretty all by herself. I was glad I got to witness her learning to balance herself while sitting. It was cool. Part of Sat night was cutting the back off Joni's hair, and cleaning our pores. It was a fun girly night, and it makes me appreciate my sister (all of them, but at that moment, Joni) even more. I had a ton of fun. We laughed a lot.
Porter got to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume because he was a big boy and pooped in the potty. Gotta love bribery! Gavin discovered a love for pulling things by strings while we were there. So, Gavin and Betsy were playing together and pulling backpacks by the adjuster strap. They had fun doing it. Russell has now added 550 cord to Gavin's favorite toys so he can pull them around the house. Gavin is happy about that.
I don't know exactly what happened to get them to both be on the floor on the backpacks, but I know they were both laughing. So, I took the picture (don't ask questions, just snap away!), and the look of joy on Gavin's face made me post it.
Porter wanted me to take a picture of him, so he did a somersault. It was actually quite good, but I just got the part where he looks like he's standing on his head.
One of the rare times that Gavin sat nicely next to Amy. He was very jealous of her, since she was getting attention from me. There was one time when they both decided they wanted milk at the same time, so I held them both and held Gavin's milk for him, while Betsy stood over me and held Amy's milk. It makes me wonder how Gavin with react when the new baby comes.

P.S. Speaking of the baby, I have started to feel it move, cant wait til Russell can. The midwife said she's voting for a girl, based on the heartbeat, or something. I have an ultrasound on the 23rd, and I cant wait to see the baby! No, I'm not finding out what I'm having, it's going to be a surprise. The other day, I felt the baby's back, when it pressed up against the wall of my uterus. That was cool! Hey, and I have a bone to pick with those of you who have had more than 1 kid...no one told me it would hurt to be PREGNANT with your second. I have heard that the after affects of birth hurt worse the more kids you have, but no one said that pregnancy hurt. Geez...at least now I know. Thanks guys! lol

Gavins new sweater

Gavin got his birthday present from his Maw Maw today...so of course I have to post it.

This is the back...it was hard to get a good pic of the front of him...he's in a really bad mood!

Here is the only decent picture of the front. He was slightly happier than before.
The colors are almost retro/vintage Packers colors. Very nice. They look awesome on Gavin. I love the sweater, and I cant wait for it to cool down enough to put him in it!

HELP HELP I'M BEING EATEN!

The other day, I was sitting on the couch watching Gavin play. I happened to turn away for a minute, and then I hear a *thud* and then a squeal. I look up, and saw this:


No, his feet are not on the floor....too bad I didnt think to do a video, his little feet were kicking in the air, and he was not happy. Being the great mother that I am, my first thought was, 'ooohhhh! I need to take some pictures of this and post them!' Not something like, I should get him out of there. So, yeah, his new toybox was trying to eat him the other day. It was very amusing.

poor baby

So, yesterday Gavin was playing peek-a-boo with me, using the curtains to hide. He's laughing one minute, screaming and grabbing his eye the next. I figured he probably got some cat fur in it, or poked himself. So, I put him down for his nap, where he has a hard time going to sleep. When he wakes up (after only 45 mins) he was screaming worse than before his nap. I kept him from rubbing his eyes, hoping that it would get better. It didnt. He just wanted to be held, and walked. So, I call the advice nurse at hs clinic, and get put on hold for almost 45 mins!! When I finally talked to someone, I just had to leave a message. Fortunately, the advice nurse called me back relatively fast. She said that she was going to make me an appt for tomorrow (today) but she could hear Gavin screaming in the background. So, she advised me to take him to the ER, because it sounded like he might have something in it. So, we go to the ER (and got seen the fastest EVER) and they do the dye in his eye, to see if theres a scratch. Imagine my surprise when it showed not a scratch, but more a GOUGE. Gavin had taken a rectangular section off his cornea when he was playing peek-a-boo. Only my son would do something like that. But, poor baby! No wonder his eye was hurting! So, we got ointment to put on his eye, that would help soothe it, but also help prevent any infection to occur in his eye. The ER doc said that his eye should be healed in a day or so, since he's a baby and babies tend to heal faster than adults. Yeah, that's good....it takes 2 of us to put the ointment in, and we have to do it 3 times a day. We only have to do the ointment for about 3 days, so hopefully I wont have to do it at Joni's house. That would be interesting.

Anyway, Gavin's feeling somewhat better this morning. Although, he did fall and hit that same eye on the couch, so now he'll have a bruise there. Sigh. My poor baby. All I can think now, is "of course it's MY child who does something like hurt himself playing one of the calmest games babies can play. Of course!". Only Gavin.

check out my new riiiiide.....

So, the Jeep was finally on it's last legs. Russell and I talked a lot about getting a new car, but didn't think we would be able to. Fortunately, God smiled on us, and we were able to. So, here is our new ride. It's a Black 2003 Chevy Trailblazer, extended. It's got leather seats, which Russell says is good, since it makes it easier to clean up with kids. It's got 3rd row seating, so hopefully we can keep using it for a while. You know, that just depends on how our luck holds out with this car.

So, this is the outside...nothing fancy.

Front seats, the angle's not very good, but we have good leg room, and a cd player. I guess that's all that really counts...lol
Back..with 3rd row folded down. When it is, we have a HUGE trunk area. Lots of room there. Even when they are up, there is enough room for the stroller. That's all that really matters, right?
And, Russell took this picture for all you guys. It's the engine, obviously. I believe it's a V-6.

So, that's the car. Like I said, it's nothing fancy, but it's a bit newer than the Jeep was, and we have a warranty on it. We traded the Jeep in, got 1500 for it, and used that for the down payment. It worked out well. We actually bought it yesterday, but we were at the dealership so late that the tag guys left. Oh well, we picked it up this morning and saw our salesman. He said we were good luck cuz he sold us one yesterday, and he was selling another car this morning. We also found out, that if we get people to go to the dealership and buy a car, if they say Russell Brown sent us, we get a check. It's not a lot of money, but that's ok. Anything will help us. Ok...enough of my rambling. My little boy has a diaper rash and he's crying. Daddy's changing his diaper. Better go comfort him.