22 weeks down, 18 to go!

I had my 22 week visit this morning at the OBGYN. It went really well. I took the kids with me because it was so early in the morning I hated to ask anyone to watch them. It was their first time to go and they were really good. I think they told every nurse in the place their age, and they thought it was cool to be so high up (5th floor),they spent about 10 minutes looking out the window by the elevators before we left. The doctor said that I look good and that everything was on track. I am borderline anemic, but that wasn't a surprise to me because I was with both Ian and Maddie. They want to wait, however, and give me 4 more weeks to try to bring my iron levels up before they put me on an iron pill. Baby mccuiston didn't cooperate very well this time. When the nurse came in to check his heartbeat she couldn't find it at first because he wouldn't hold still. Then she pressed down hard and he kicked her (the hardest kick I've felt yet) and finally she had to hold him still with her hand (very uncomfortable) to get his heartbeat, which was 148. She said that he can hear the waves that the Doppler makes and that he probably doesn't like it. I was hoping he would kick her again because she was really rough with my belly and it wouldn't look good if I kicked her :) Next month I have my glucose test and next week I start my 6th month of pregnancy. I know that once the holidays start these last months will go by quickly, so I'm really trying to write everything down and to spend some special time with Ian and Maddie before the baby comes.

Sweet Big Brother

Today I was helping Ian clean his room and we were talking about where the baby's bed was going to go and about putting the baby's clothes in his closet. I then asked him if it was ok that he was going to share his room with the baby and he put his arm around me and said "Yeah mommy, I don't care if the baby sleeps in my room. I don't even care if he slobbers on my toys, I can wash them."

Soccer season has begun...

It's time for soccer and we are excited! Ian's playing and Ryan's coaching again this year. Maddie didn't want to play, she said it was for boys, so she is content to sit with me on the sidelines and cheer. We are also the Incredibles again, which is nice because I can wear my shirt from last year (at least for part of the season). It's going to be interesting to see how much Ian has matured in the past year. Hopefully we won't see him on the field with his shirt over his head, or standing on his head, or dancing around one end of the field while all the other kids are at the other end (although all of that was pretty funny). And maybe we'll even win two games this year :) Go Incredibles!!!

It's A Boy!!!

We had our ultrasound yesterday morning at 10am. Katie kept the kids and Ryan met me at the doctors office. It was very exciting! I had a feeling we were having a boy, but I had been wrong with both Ian and Maddie so I wasn't really trusting my feeling. The first shot of him that we saw, he had his hand resting on his face. He looked adorable! He weighed 8 ounces and his heart rate was 153. Everything about him (heart, brain, spine, etc.) checked out good. The doctor said that I am measuring correctly, 18 weeks, so my due date stayed the same (Jan 20th). Before we got in the ultrasound room, we still had not decided for sure if we wanted to find out what the sex was, but once we were in the room we had to know. I'm glad we found out because even though I said I was on board with the whole not knowing thing, I definitely would have had a hard time the next five months. I'm too much of a planner and I like to have everything ready.
We waited until Ryan was home from work to tell the kids. When we told them they were both very excited. Ian was happy he would have someone to play with and Maddie was just smiling (still a little unsure I think), then we let them watch the video and they thought that was neat. I pointed out the baby's head, body, legs and arms and then they wanted to know if we could see inside the baby's stomach. We then called our families and let the kids tell them that we were having a boy. Ryan brought cupcakes home to celebrate, so we ate those after we made the phone calls. We haven't narrowed down a name yet, but there are a couple that we like. The kids have decided against Sportacus and Ian now believes he wants to call the baby Jonah or Tire and Maddie has settled on Berry (yes, like a strawberry). However, just so everyone knows, we will not be using any of those names :)

Future Superstars!

Here are two pictures of the kids rocking out. I think they are so funny! They both love to sing and "play" the guitar. They usually end up making up their own songs, so it can get very interesting. I really should get Maddie a pink guitar so that she and Ian won't fight over who is going to get to play it first. Of course, Ian has decided that he wants a drum set for Christmas, but I am thinking no...not with the baby trying to sleep, maybe next year (still doubting it though). However, maybe I should start encouraging this talent of theirs, and they could start a band and support Ryan and me in our old age. Hmmmm...something to think about...

Baby's Moving!!!

I felt the baby (or Sportacus as Ian still calls him) move for the first time last Wednesday. It was just a couple of little flutters but it was very exciting! On Friday, he/she moved 5 times in a row and then I felt movements again this morning. I love this part of pregnancy! Even with morning sickness, backaches, going to the bathroom a hundred times a day, and all the other things that go on in a pregnancy, once you feel the baby move, it sinks in (at least for me) that this baby is real and it makes it all worthwhile.

Busy week!

We have been extremely busy this past week. On Saturday, I took Ian and Maddie to see their first play, Beauty and the Beast, at the Princess Theater in Decatur. We met my family there and I thought the kids did great! Ian was a little concerned at first but then realized it was like the movie and loved it. Maddie liked it as well, however, it was a little loud for her so she ended up watching the whole play


while holding her hands over her ears. After the play the kids got to meet the cast. Ian was enthralled with Gaston and Maddie couldn't wait to see Belle. She met Ms. Potts first and talked about Belle the whole time (poor Ms. Potts) and then she got to get her picture made with Belle. As we were going to meet the Prince she said she had to tell Belle one more thing and when she went over to Belle, she tugged on her dress and told her she was 3.
The next day we went to a family reunion in Eva. It was my Memaw's side of the family. We had a nice time but couldn't stay long. The next morning we got a call that my Dad's uncle had passed away, so we ended up staying longer in Decatur than originally planned. Monday night I went with my sister to Maywood camp to pick up Caleb. Laina went with us and we had so much fun. I haven't been able to spend much time with Laina over the last few years so it was great hanging out with her. On Tuesday we went to the funeral home for uncle Jr. Towards the end, I caught Ian dancing in front of the casket, so needless to say, they did not go to the funeral.

Maddie got her first hair cut on Wednesday. I didn't want to cut it, but there was a piece that hung from her crown down past the rest of her hair. It wouldn't curl like the rest of her hair does, so I cut that strand and it curls so much better.

Thursday before Ryan came to pick us up, I met Jessica and her kids at the Snack Shack. I'm ashamed to even say how long it has been since I've seen her and I can't believe how big her kids are. The kids were cute together, although we might should have picked a place that had a playground because they were a little restless. Next time we'll know :) It was nice visiting with them, but we will definitely have to visit longer the next time we get together.