Maternity Pics and I am an AUNT

I've become a terrible blogger due to returning to work and the last thing I want to do is dig out my camera and upload pics, so this will be a picture less post. Pictures will come soon!

The past few weeks have been crazy busy with great highs and some sad lows.
On a happy note, I wanted to share my maternity pics with you. My oh so creative, incredibly talented, best friend Paige did them and I could not be happier. I was seriously obsessed the first few days and looked at them all the time. That is big for me because it takes a lot for me to be happy with a photograph. I usually hate the way I look, wish I 'd picked a different outfit, dislike my smile, or wish Caroline had a different expression or something. These I genuinely loved. Paige has a gift of being able to capture you at your best. You can check them out at www.paigewalkerphotography.com/blog. OH, and I think we've finally decided on a name...Carter Mason! I've always loved Carter, it was going to be Caroline's name if she was a boy.

Onto other very important news, I am now an AUNT. My SIL Andrea had her baby girl Monday, August 29th. She is precious and perfect in every little way and I am dying to get my hands on her. Caroline and Justin went down for one night this week, but I just can't miss work right now. I am having to save every last day for maternity leave. Caroline apparently loved baby Madelyn and never showed much jealousy, this eases my fears of bringing our new one home in October.

As we all know but often forget, life here on Earth is precious and can be fleeting. Would you please pray for my SIL Andrea, her best friend Megan passed away Tuesday afternoon. Some of you may remember Megan from Arlington High and remember what a beautiful, strong, happy, sweet, faithful girl she was. Words really don't do her justice. She battled cystic fibrosis her entire life on Earth, but now is completely healed in heaven. Please lift Megan's family and dear friends up in prayer. Thank you.

Back to School

Tomorrow I welcome a room full of kiddos....a room full of kids who know me well, some that I will be teaching for the 3rd year. I think this will be the last year that I teach kids I have taught in multiple grade levels. However, who knows, maybe I'll pop up to junior high and catch them all again. Haha, I think that would be their worst nightmare. Teaching kids multiple years definitely comes with advantages and disadvantages.

I think it will be funny to see their faces as they walk in and realize I'm pregnant, not just a little pregnant, but PREGNANT. I managed to scoot out last summer without many aware of my pregnancy. Last week I moved my classroom, got all organized, and excited about teaching solely 6th grade. I must of forgotten what hard work was because by the end of the week I was beat. Maybe that does have to do with the fact that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Caroline, I had the end to rest up and prepare, this year I will be working up until I pop.
Here I am 32 week pregnant. I would love to go past my due date to maximize my time off and maybe take off until Christmas, but who knows what will happen. I have a feeling since I am wanting to go late, I will go three weeks early or something like that. I do have a great sub though, so I know she can handle whatever happens.
We finally got started on the nursery. Here is where it stood at the beginning of the week. It currently has a few stripes on the wall and is coming together. I can't wait to see the final product.

To all you teachers, students, and parents...Good Luck this week!

Childhood Memories

I can remember enjoying batter countless times as a child, sometimes even fighting with my siblings over who would get the bowl or the beater. Of course today, it seems we have to worry about the raw eggs and all that stuff that never crossed my mind as a child.
We gave Caroline just a few licks a couple of days ago, and I would say it was a hit with her as well. I'm not sure which is better...the batter or the cake. What do you think?


And again as a side note, yes I do brush her hair. You see, her hair is the weirdest texture ever and after a summer filled with sun and chlorine, it is even worse and never stays done for more than an hour at a time. She already dislikes having it fixed and if I did redo it every waking hour we would not have very pleasant days. Hopefully her hair is on the mend though, I just invested in some deep conditioning treatment my hair dresser recommended.

Pregnancy Update

Last Wednesday I went for a sonogram to check on baby boy. The doctor wanted to do a sono at the beginning of my third trimester to check on the cyst they found in his brain. According to all the research I had done and the doctor, they usually disappear by the third trimester. I was never nervous about this and had peace from day one, but having a sono is always a bit scary. Our sono tech was not friendly at all and just got to the point. She is not allowed to tell us anything, so judging from her demeanor alone I was afraid the cyst was still there. However, when Dr. K walked in the room, he immediately said baby looked perfect and there was NO CYST. Hooray!

Baby measured in at 3.4 lbs and 15 inches. That is heavier but shorter than average. I can't imagine him being a short guy. His little profile looked exactly like Caroline's at birth so I won't be surprised if they look alike.

The only issue now is that he is breech. I am more worried about this than anything. I DO NOT want C section. I have plenty of water and he can still move around, but I am still reading everything and doing all sorts of exercises to get him to flip. I am terrified of being cut open!

As far as me, I am feeling great other than a bit of heartburn/indigestion, still trying to exercise, and have gained 20 lbs according to me last appointment. I would love to only gain around 10 more...we'll see how that goes. I gained a ton in my last trimester with Caroline.

We are finally getting around to his room. The trim carpenter is coming out next week and that will be the start of this project. I have picked out several fabrics and found a cute owl as inspiration for his room. His room will be all different blues, a limish green, brown, and white. Justin's mom, who is so talented, has kindly offered to make his bumper and I know it will be perfect.

Today I am extremely frustrated and am beginning to think 3rd trimester hormones are getting to me. My computer has some sort of nasty virus so I can't do anything on it, my pictures won't transfer from my camera to computer, I have tons of laundry, a messy house, home projects to finish before returning to work, and three year old who is busy as can be. Now that I wrote it all out it seems kind of silly to be so uptight about all this but I am finding myself on the verge of tears. I think the end of summer is getting to me too, it's always hard to return and leave Caroline and the freedom summer brings.