Almost there... 39 weeks and 3 days!

Since my due date is fast approaching (this Saturday...eeeek!) I thought it was time for a pregnancy post! To be completely honest, I've kind of reached the point of feeling huge and pretty uncomfortable! This pregnancy in general has been a bit more challenging. For the first few months I battled pretty bad nausea, which decided to return (not quite as bad) the last couple of months. I've also dealt with a lot of hip/pelvic/back pain (and swelling) these last couple of months. Anytime I mention this to a doctor I'm pretty much told the same thing: "Well, with a third baby your muscles are pretty much shot at this point." Hmmm....okay. I also get told frequently that I'm older now, so pregnancy is just more challenging. Conclusion: I'm old (at 34) and have no muscles anymore. Ha! Ironically, I will turn 35 next week (on July 2nd), which is when you are considered to be of "advanced age" in regard to pregnancy. :)

 

Here is the most recent belly picture (38 weeks I think!)....cropped! This was taken after I had just eaten one of Grady's birthday cupcakes (that had black Batman icing). Consequently, I didn't realize at the time I had black lips and teeth! Figured I'd crop that part out...

 

 

While pregnancy is hard in a lot of ways, it's also one of the best (if not the best!) experiences! To feel your little one squirming around and kicking you from the inside is just something undescribable. While I have to say I am relieved in many ways I am at the end, it's also bittersweet to let him go. I know he's not going off to kindergarten or college yet, but in many ways it's the same concept! :)

 

I also couldn't write this post without mentioning the fact that we have another very special member of our family that many people don't know about. We unfortunately lost a baby just about one year ago (on June 5, 2012) when I was 11 weeks pregnant. It is something I thought about writing on the blog for a while, but just never did. Grady and Landon knew about the baby at the time, so it was something we had to talk about with them (many times). While this was really difficult and emotional, they honestly were wonderful, and I really feel like we were all able to heal together as a family. Children have an amazing way of somehow making really hard situations okay with their innocence. Both of them decided they thought we were having a girl, so we all decided together on a name for her - Rosie. They are excited to meet their sister one day in heaven (often times referencing that she is playing with our cat Dirkins, who passed away a couple of years ago), and she is always included in their prayers and a definite part of our family. I know she will be with us when this little guy makes his arrival!    

Grady's 6th Birthday...Take Two!

On Grady's actual birthday (June 15th) we had a nice family party for him! Mimi, Popeye, Ma, Granny, Gramps and Uncle Scott all came to help him celebrate! As always, we are so lucky that we have family that will go out of their way to make our boys feel special no matter what!

 

Grady wasn't a fan of our birthday singing! Ha! I don't know if I can blame him!

As you all know, Grady is very into Batman and Robin right now. Since I already did Batman cupcakes for his friend party, I had to get creative this time around! He specifically asked that Robin be on the cake, so I figured a big "R" with a lego Robin would do, and he seemed happy with it! :)

He got a Batman/Joker lego set that he desperately wanted from Mimi and Popeye!

He also got two beanbag chairs from Granny and Gramps, which he loved! They have spent countless hours laying on these and running and jumping on them. (Landon is pictured here as "Clark Kent." He likes to put this tie on several times throughout the day - along with black glasses - to turn into Clark. he he....)

We got him a basketball goal! We figure we'll get good use out of this with three boys!

He also got the game Life from Aunt Carleen, Uncle Kevin and Elle (which he really wanted!), a lacrosse set from Ma, a butterfly house and book from Aunt Kelly, Uncle Louis, Hannah and Griffin and a butterfly bush from Uncle Scott. Grady has been asking for a butterfly bush for a really long time. He always told me that he would see butterflies on the playground at school and would try to catch them, but they'd always fly away. He decided that if he had a butterfly bush at home maybe they would land on his finger. :)  And it was perfect because Kelly and Louis got him a little butterfly house!

 

Sometimes it's hard to believe Grady is 6! While it can be sad thinking about how fast time goes, it's also really neat to watch him as he grows and turns more and more into a little man. He really is a sweet little soul....all boy (and crazy at times!), but so sensitive and caring. Recently, he was helping me fold baby clothes, and he said, "I'm going to have to fold a lot of clothes like this when I'm a daddy one day! It's going to be hard work!" :)

 

Grady's 6th Birthday (Part 1)!

Grady will turn 6 on June 15th, but this year we decided to have a party with his friends a week early, and then a family party on his actual birthday (this coming up weekend). This was mostly because I am very pregnant, and 1) I was nervous I might go early and wanted to make sure he got a party, and 2) I just don't have the energy to do both in the same day or weekend. So, last weekend we had a party for him at a local gymnastics place. It was perfect because most of the details (aside from the food/cake, etc.) were taken care of, and it was inside!! Yay for A/C!

 

There was of course a Batman theme because that is what Grady is really into these days! Here are the Batman cupcakes I made.... it literally took an entire little bottle of black food coloring to make black icing! I also made some bat cookies, and those also took a ridiculous amount of black food coloring to make. I'm not quite sure what I'll do for his cake this coming up weekend (nothing like procrastinating!), but hopefully I'll think of something!

 

 

Here are a few pictures from the actual gymnastics....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then of course Grady blew out his candles! He requested no singing.... he is very much my child because I never liked that either when I was little.

 

 

 

Here is Grady with Eric, his best friend from school. They thoroughly enjoyed making beards and mustaches with the black icing!

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few other pictures from the past week. Grady's t-ball team had an end-of-season celebration with pizza and trophies!

 

 

 

This was a picture from the last day of school! Lately, Landon is very into picking out his outfits and dressing himself. This usually involves several layers of clothing and knee socks. :)  

 

 

Catch Up Time Again!

Last time I made a post (3 months ago!), I vowed to be better about keeping up with the blog....woops! This is my attempt to cover the last six months since things are about to get even crazier in a few weeks with the arrival of another little guy! :)

 

In January 2013, we took a spontaneous trip to Vero Beach, FL to visit Kelly, Louis, Hannah and Griffin. We managed to leave the freezing, cold weather of NC behind and enjoy a few beautiful days in the 70's! We hung out at the beach, played outside and even took a great trip to the zoo!

 

 

 

Feeding the giraffes at the zoo!

 

 

In November (2012) we found out that we were expecting baby #3! In late January we had the BIG ultrasound!

 

 

We got the best news of all....the baby is healthy!! And.....we're having another BOY! I felt immediate relief that he was perfect and healthy, which was then followed by a little bit of fear if I'm being perfectly honest! Yikes! 3 boys! Ironically, I'm one of 3 girls, and here I am with 3 boys.... it's kind of funny actually. :)  And look at this little guy! He wouldn't show his face for quite a while, but we finally got him to move his hands at the end.

Grady and Landon have been really excited about the baby! Landon said from the beginning he wanted another brother, but Grady really wanted a girl. I was a bit worried that Grady might be disappointed, but he didn't seem to mind having another brother and was actually really excited to see him in the ultrasound picture.

 

 

In February, we decided to go ahead and move Grady and Landon into a room together. We had always planned to do this, and we figured there would likely be a transition period while they both got used to sharing a room. We started off by painting!

On the 100th day of school Grady had to bring in something showing 100 things! I was pretty proud of the hat we made!

During the winter we do a lot of things inside, and artwork is one of them. It's so fun to watch how a child's drawings change as he/she gets older. Several months ago Landon all of a sudden started drawing people with round heads, facial features, etc., where before he was drawing a lot of lines and squiggles. I just love his little drawings!

 

 

In March, we celebrated Easter in Pinehurst! The boys were of course really excited to wake up Easter morning and find their Easter baskets!

 

 

We then headed to the Pinehurst Hotel for the annual Easter egg hunt. Since it was raining, the hunt was inside this year. Grady loved meeting the Easter Bunny!

 

 

Landon was a different story... He has recently developed a fear of any type of character/animal dressed up. (He hid under the table at Chick-Fil-A recently for an entire hour because the cow was walking around!)

 

 

Surprisingly, Hannah loved the Easter Bunny and the whole egg hunt!

 

 

 

 

Grady had Spring Break the week after Easter, so we decided to take advantage of it and go to Great Wolf Lodge for a few days. While it probably wasn't the most idea place for a pregnant lady since I couldn't do much, the boys had a great time (Grady especially!).

 

 

Grady also lost his first tooth while we were there! (The tooth fairy decided to wait and come once we got home though.)

 

 

Grady started playing t-ball in April and absolutely loved it! He had a great couch and team, and I have to say he was quite good! Here he is playing first base!

 

 

Elle turned 1 in April, and we all had a great time celebrating with her!

 

 

Grady loved every minute of this!

 

 

May was unseasonably cold! We participated in a neighborhood yard sale, and it was freezing!

 

 

It did get warmer as the month went on, and we made sure to fit in strawberry picking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grady's last t-ball game was in late May, which was kind of sad because he really had a great time playing! I will say that I am so thankful the season was in the Spring (vs Summer)!

 

 

 

The last day of school was June 7th, and I have to say it was quite sad. Every milestone is hard! Grady had a GREAT year, so it was kind of bittersweet to see it end. We also loved his teacher and wish he could stay with him next year! Last week we went to his kindergarten celebration, and Grady got an award for being the class peacemaker and always keeping things calm. So cute! We were so proud of him!

 

 

Carleen and Elle came to the celebration too!

 

 

 

I'm now 37 weeks pregnant, so the new little guy is getting all set for his arrival! There are still a few more things on my checklist to get done before he comes though.... Grady's birthday party being the main thing! (His birthday is June 15th!) Stay tuned.....