BIG NEWS!

Well, when someone says that you think, Engaged or Pregnant. Well, since we're already married, it's that we're PREGNANT!
We're so beyond excited and now I'm even more excited because I finally get to let it out and tell people!

I'll spare you the whole story for now, but we did find out October 13th. We wanted to go to the first appt and make sure it was all okay before we told anyone! We went on Monday, and the baby looks GREAT!

This picture shows our sweet alien baby, but with a bonus. See the little white dots in the middle. That's the baby's hands...awww. On the right is the alien looking head, then the left is the tummy and I guess legs.



I thought I was about 10 weeks along according to my calculations, but when she measured, I was 11 weeks 5 days. Whoa, we've already skipped ahead 2 weeks! So today I'm 12 weeks, 4 days.

We actually went for a big ultrasound first because of some other things going on (not to worry though, everything seems fine for now!)and got this one of the baby's heartbeat...162 bpm.
In both ultrasounds, the baby was Movin', Movin'. Reminded us of someone else we know that's 2!


I'm sure these pictures made you scratch your head a little, but it's all I've got for now! Our first one with Paul David just looked like a blob, so I was pretty excited to see a head, tummy and arms...awww!

Oh, our due date is June 10th...the day after my dad's birthday. Since I'll have a scheduled C-section, it will be the week before though. I'm thinking June 4th sounds nice. Paul David's is October 4th, then all we'd have to remember is the month!

We won't be finding out what we're having again, either. I know that kills a lot of you, but we LOVE it!

What's even better is that my BFF Amanda is pregnant, too! She's due June 24th. Paul David and her son Spence are only a month apart. These two will be even closer...awww!

Maybe I'll share the WHOLE story with you later...it's pretty good!

Howdy, Pardner!

At Shay's house, you get to play "Pardner" with the cowboy hats and stick horses. It's a huge hit with the kids. Well, my mom found this little cowboy hat at some store, and Paul David came in with it on Thanksgiving night. He and Kendall played Pardner with their horses!

The funniest thing was that later that night, I went back up to Shay and J.T.'s (my grandparents) to get something we'd forgotten, and I saw through the glass doors Shay with this little hat on. I thought, "well, maybe she had her hands full and was just putting it away." No, when I went through the door, she was just standing in the kitchen with it on her head. I said, "Do you and J.T. play Pardner after we all leave?" HA! She SAYS that she forgot she had it on:)

Hugs For Shay and J.T.

The kids LOVE Shay and J.T. (my mom's parents). When they were going home on Thursday, Kendall yelled, "Ug, J.T." and she and Paul David gave him both big hugs and then gave Shay hers too. So sweet!

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great Thanksgiving at my parent's house.
The kids enjoyed playing outside, of course! We all enjoyed eating, of course!

Gobble, Gobble!

Ready for the game!

Kendall and Barry

Preston's Party at Pump It Up!

Preston had his 5th Birthday Party the night before Thanksgiving at Pump It UP! Kids LOVE this place...except for our kid...this is what he thinks of Pump It UP:

Daddy made him go down the slide:

What most kids look like on the slide:

Kendall LOVES the slide. She climbs up and goes down all by herself!

And finally the birthday boy:

Happy Birthday, Preston!
We love you!

Because I Know You're Wondering...

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, fish is STILL alive. How can this be? you ask...I HAVE NO IDEA! I totally neglect this poor creature. He gets fed once a day...sometimes I forget. I put off cleaning his water until I see him gasping for air at the top...and yet he LIVES! He's huge, too. They say they only get as big as their bowl or tank, and he'd better stop growing or he may get stuck!

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, the plumbers are now gone. We paid them yesterday, so hopefully it is OVER! There is still a huge hole in the wall in the guest room, but eventually it will be covered! It took 10 days for that whole situation to be over. I have to say that I kinda miss them being here:)

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, we're going to my parents tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and yes, my mom, sister and I will be three of the crazies out at 5 in the morning on Friday buying things that we didn't even know we needed at rock bottom prices! I can't wait!

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, Paul David is still attatched to the UT Jersey, but thankfully "The Great UT Jersey Search of 2008" is over since my mom found some at Dillard's. YAY! We were wanting a back up (you know so that I could wash it), but she also got him 2 3T's for next year. We are set!

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, my husband did just get 10 pounds of lint out of the back of my dryer and replaced some accordian looking thing on it. We're hoping it helps dry better now since it was taking 2 years to dry a load of clothes and there was lint all over the laundry room. Apparently the accordian thing wasn't clamped on that well!

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, I'm printing my address labels today for my Christmas Cards! I'm so beyond excited! I can't wait for next week to see all the cards that start rolling in!

Because I know you're wondering...
Yes, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey and pie!

Pull Ups Vs. Easy Ups

I've never considered myself much of a brand snob...you know someone who will only buy a certain brand. I'm really more of a what's on sale snob. Anyway, I've found something that I'm pretty brand opinionated about: Diapers and Pull-Ups.

I know that for some babies you have to go with a certain brand or type to fit your baby or if there are allergies and such. For Paul David, he's been pretty good about fitting into whatever. This is more about what Mommy likes:) Not to say that I won't switch sides at some point, but for right now with Paul David this is my review of diapers and Pull-ups...for what it's worth to you guys who are about to need this info! Remember, this is my opinion only...I'm sure someone will whole heartily disagree!

Diapers:

for sizes NB-3: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Pampers Swaddlers. You guys don't know how sad I was when Paul David moved to size threes. They didn't have the 2-3 size they have now, so I had to cold turkey switch to the Cruisers. Those Swaddlers are SO soft. They're just like cotton or something fluffy soft like that. Oh, and they smell so...baby.

Sizes 3-5: I don't really have a huge preference for a brand in this area, but I did see a little bit of a difference in the Huggies Supreme and Pampers Cruisers vs. they're higher diaper count counterparts (I don't know what they're called). For these sizes, I just buy whichever brand CVS has on sale.

Now, when Paul David started showing interest in the potty, I decided to just keep using diapers until I ran out...but that never seemed to happen because I kept finding good deals on them. It was fine while he was still wearing shorts, and we were at home. I found when we went out and about and now that it's winter that the handy pulling it up and down is convenient. So the next time there was a sale, I bought some Pull-Ups. Then a couple of weeks ago, I bought some Easy-Ups...here's where the BIG Brand Snob comes out of me:

Pull-Ups:

1. made by Huggies, so there are much better coupons out there for them
   
2. They have open and close sides...this is HUGE...I didn't realize how huge until Paul David started wearing jeans. With the open and close sides, you can put it on like a diaper without taking off the shoes and jeans.
   
3. Come in sizes 2T/3T and 3T/4T and Paul David can wear either size...hmmm?
   

4. Have Cars on them

Easy-Ups:

1. Made by Pampers, who usually has good CVS sales
   
2. They're easy up, but easy down...can you say "plumber's butt!"
   
3. They come in 4's and 5's in girls (at CVS), but only 5's in boys (at CVS). Paul David wears a 5 in diapers, so you'd just assume that would be okay...not so much. It's really gross when he's gone poopy!
   
4. They have Diego playing baseball on them...awww!
   
5. They're soft, which reminded me of the Swaddler days, so they were almost going to be my favorite but THEN...
   
6. They don't have open and close sides...WHAT???? You have to completely undress the child to get one of them on. Sorry, Charlie, doesn't work for me! Then when you go to take it off, you really need a pair of scissors...I just tear it, but it's work...then think about when it's that messy diaper...yeah, you see my point!
   
   So, there you have it for all you moms out there getting ready to get into the Pull-Up game. I guess you can tell which ones I'll be purchasing from now on! I have a pack and a half left of the Easy Ups, but I have a routine down to get rid of them. I use the Easy-ups first thing when I change him out of his PJ's, from then on we use the Pull-Ups. I still put a diaper on him at night, though...so we still have those!
   
   Man, who knew a baby's bottom could bring out the brand snob in someone?

Cousins Do the Disco

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Classic Elf Yourself

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Country Christmas-Elf Yourself

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Lots of Words Wednesday

...but no pictures.

So much going on lately that it would be a shame if I didn't document it!

First and foremost, we're on DAY 8 of having some sort of plumber or plumbing issue at our house! UGH is all I have to say. They still have to come back tomorrow to "finish" up or find something else to fix:) We're now the proud owners of a brand new sewer line and water line...Yipee!

Paul David has started trying to say his ABC's and counting...only he sounds like someone who's being given field sobriety test because you can't really understand much of it. It is cute though because there is definately the tune there to the ABC's just not all the letters and some get repeated over and over. Then when he counts he skips seven and ends at nine. I didn't even know he could do that until he just did it!

We were watching UT Basketball last night and there was a big HEB advertisement on the sidelines. We were trying to get him to notice that it was Longhorns, but instead he said, "HEB, HEB!" Surprisingly, I don't go there that much! Once he did figure out it was the Longhorns, he started in on the "football watch," which means he wants to watch football. Unfortunately for him, Tuesday (and Wednesday) are the only nights right now that there is no football on. Fortunately for him, we have a couple of games Tivoed (how do you spell that?)

When Sarah and I went to drop off Paul David at Mom's Day Out on Monday, he actually reached for Mrs. Anne and was smiling. AAWWW! He's starting to like it. They said that he went to get Lovey once, gave him a hug, then handed him to Mrs. Joan and went off to play. They said he was too cute...we knew, but it's so good to know someone else thinks so as well.

I'm not much of a reality show junkie, but there is this one that I do enjoy watching...The Biggest Loser...and this season it is making my blood pressure rise each week...it's crazy how involved I've gotten in it this time. So here's the deal...Vicky is so MEAN, and Amy C. voted off Vicky's husband last week, and they're all on the Blue Team. I was like "Go Amy C." So this week Amy had the opportunity to vote off Vicky (who had been impossibly mean to her this week) and she didn't. UGH...I think the show must have made her do that for the ratings that I'm sure Vicky brings. Amy C. is the biggest Loser in the house so far, though, so take that Vicky!

And finally, it's getting close to my favorite time of the year...receiving Christmas Cards! Starting next Friday, I will be straining my ears to listen for the mail truck to run so I can get out there to see how many I got for the day! Oh, I'm getting so excited just thinking about it! I've gotten one batch of my cards made and ordered the second batch this morning. I've updated my address list and put them in alphabetical order. My next step is to print my labels, buy more envelopes, and then I'm going to address them and stamp them on our way to my parent's for Thanksgiving! I wanted to be the first card everyone gets, but since I just ordered some this morning, that may not happen. Let me know if I'm your first card!

I have this cute Christmas Card Point Game I'm going to share with everyone soon. I saw it in the Real Simple magazine this month and thought it would be fun to do this year. Can you see my love for this yet! I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas Cards!

I think that's all for now.

Some Deep Thoughts...

I've had this weighing on my mind for two days now. I just need to write this to myself so that I can go back and read it again and again to remind myself of this.

On the radio yesterday, I heard someone talking about taking one day at a time with our children. ONE DAY...without looking to tomorrow, or next week, or next year. This is sooo hard for me. I always catch myself thinking, "Oh, when he's 3, he'll do this. When he's 5, he'll be doing this. It will be so good then." Candice, it's so good, NOW!

Then last night, we were watching the CMA awards, and Trace Adkins came on and sang "You're Gonna Miss This." Heavens, the tears started flowing. Here are the lyrics to the last verse and chorus if you've never heard the song:

Five years later there's a plumber
workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'

He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

Oh, it just spoke to me like nothing else. I'm going to miss these days so much.

I'm going to miss how he crawls into my lap.
I'm going to miss how he wants me to hold him all the time.
I'm going to miss his little hand reaching up to hold mine when he's walking.
I'm going to miss "Night, night Mommy."
I'm going to miss our One Last Kiss through the baby bed rails.
I'm going to miss those sweet curls.
I'm going to miss "Ook, Mommy."
I'm going to miss him going with me on my walks.
I'm even going to miss that UT Jersey when he eventually moves on to another shirt.

I know I'm going to miss all this stuff, but I don't want to miss being in the here and now because I'm looking too far ahead. All the things I often get so frustrated about or times when I wish he were older, I'm know that I'm going to miss whatever it was he was doing one day.

I just needed to remind myself of that. Before I know it, he'll be gone, and I'm going to miss HIM!

We All Scream For Ice Cream CONES!

I learned one day at Jason's Deli that Paul David would rather just have the ice cream cone than any of the ice cream. Hmm...weird, I know. So the other day I found some cones in the clearance section of Kroger for 40 cents. I bought them, and Paul David has had the best time with them. He had 3 yesterday. He calls them "cakes" which is just too cute! Whatever makes you happy, dude!

Is anyone wishing I hadn't wished for rain yet? I've loved it...except I think it's caused us some major plumbing problems. Yes, today will be our second day with our plumber friends...YUCK!

Sweet Boy!

I went to pick up my sweet boy from MDO today, and he was still sleeping. Of course, I hadn't brought my camera in because he's usually in Mrs. Ann's arms waiting for me. It was the sweetest thing to see him on his blanket sound asleep...I even touched him and he slept on. It was good though because I got to talk to the teachers some. Mrs. Ann said that he has transitioned so well. He plays so hard all day and has had the best two days these last two weeks. He even brings them Lovey to hold while he goes and plays...AWWW! Anyway, it made me feel so good because when I said, "Today is school...you're going to play with Mrs. Ann and Mrs. Joan today!" this morning, he started whining, got Lovey and sat on the couch. I know he has a good time...come on, playing outside, ALL those toys, the two sweetest teachers that I'm sure just coddle them and pizza for lunch...who wouldn't LOVE that place!

In other news, I got a wish granted today...and maybe the rest of the week. I wished Sunday that it would rain all week because I was so tired of the bright, glaring sun! Well, turns out, it's been raining off and on all day, it's pouring now, and we have a 60% chance most of the week. YAY! I do love me some rainy days!

And finally, I just wanted to update you on Paul's sleep record. Three minutes is still holding steady! I had originally thought that it was a man thing, then I thought maybe he learned it in his EMS days. You know, having to get up, go on a call, then coming back to go back to sleep in the middle of the night before your next call. Come to find out, though, he inherited it...from his mom! When Mike read my post, he said that Paul got that from Sarah. He said she's asleep before her head even hits the pillow! HA! Lucky me that I get 3 minutes!

That's all for now...sorry no pictures, but they all look the same...cute little boy with curls in a UT jersey!

Is there Such A Thing As...

Sun Poisoning????

If there is such a thing, I think Paul David had it this weekend. If there's not such a thing, well,
then I'm making it up to describe his mysterious illness.

Let me tell you the story (it's going to be long)...

We headed out Friday afternoon to Austin for our last Longhorn game. Luck would have it that the sun was BEATING down on us the whole way there. Poor Paul David was right in the sun's path at every turn. Around Chappel Hill, we pulled over and hung a shirt in the window to try to block some of it out. At this point, I noticed that Paul David was a bit whiney.

Then, we made it on into Austin and went to the University Coop (their bookstore where you can buy anything imaginable with Texas or a longhorn on it). As I was putting him in the stroller, I thought, man he's still really warm (the sun had long since gone down). He was quiet through the store, and then we headed to Mangia's Chicago Stuffed Pizzaria...YUM! We got a booth and our pizza very quickly (we had preordered), and Paul David, who LOVES pizza, LAID DOWN IN THE BOOTH, PUT HIS HEAD ON MY LAP and WENT TO SLEEP! Our child does not do this...I would never have even imagined in a million years that I would ever be witness to Paul David doing this. This child was SICK!

After a stop at Target for some Tylenol (which killed me to buy since you know I have like 5 bottles here that I paid NOTHING for...thanks CVS!), we finally got to the hotel. I laid him down to change his diaper and into his PJ's, and after I was finished, he just laid there...in that same spot. He didn't start bouncing off the walls like he normally does in hotel rooms. We like to say that there must be kid catnip in hotels because he usually goes bonkers in them. We cuddled, and he fell asleep. We had an okay night...he slept most of it...I didn't.

So this morning, we get up, and our old Paul David is back. He starts going crazy in the room, climbing on the bed, climbing on the luggage cart, etc. He seems great, except he won't eat...HMMM!

We head off to the game. I'm telling you though that he seemed NORMAL until we got in our seats.

Let me describe this Longhorn game. The last game was HOT, this one was HOt (yes, hot with a little t...a little bit better than the last, but still felt like I was in a tanning bed. This time the fan was a little bit bigger (meaning there was more wind) and at least 5 degrees cooler...if you can use the word cooler on a day like today. It was an 11 o'clock game, so I was excited about that...not during nap time...or so I thought).

Around the middle of the 2nd quarter, Paul David was sitting so nicely in his chair, and I began to notice his head kept tilting to the side, then jerking back. He was going to sleep. I finally laid him down in his chair, and we tried to cover every inch of him. He had on sunscreen, but it just seems like the sun is baking a hole in you...so I thought it might be better to cover him up. Plus, some of the napkins were wet...but not for long. God love him, he slept like this:



for a good 45 minutes. Poor Baby.

He did wake up in a little better mood. We shared a snow cone and took lots of breaks to
go down in the tunnel and concourse where it was wonderfully cool.

Here the game is almost over...Horns WON!

So, we decide to walk the ramps down to the bottom, and Paul David is going to ride on Paul's shoulders down. I wish I had gotten a picture of that, but it wasn't going to happen. Paul David was not excited about this. He screamed the first couple ramps, then it went to mere crying and saying, "Mommy" in his most pitiful voice about a 100 times. It was really sad, but kind of funny. I think he's really afraid of heights or something.

We get back to the car, and he asks for "fishies" which are Goldfish. He starts eating them, and so I ask him if he wants a cheeseburger. He gets so excited. We got the cheeseburger and went to Rudy's to eat us some BBQ. He mowed down that burger! I gave him a little more tylenol just to be on the safe side, but on the way home, he was watching "Nemo" and was laughing so hard at the part where the fish says, "Nemo touched the butt!" He was a mess most of the way and then when we got home, too.

So, do you think he had Sun Poisoning? It seems that way to me!

I guess we should see how tomorrow goes first, though.

The "Minute" His Head Hits the Pillow...

Before I get to the title of the post, I have a few Paul David stories and pictures to share.

Saturday, my parents came for the weekend. At some point, Paul David was in his bedroom and came out with these orange pants. The next thing I knew, he's tried to take off his jeans and was coming at me like this:

Poor thing, I laughed and grabbed camera...then I changed his pants. The sight was just too funny!

Next, we have this Piggy Bank sitting around that was Paul's when he was a kid. Well, my dad gave Paul David some change to put in the pig. He loved it. We all emptied our wallets and pockets of change for him. He now has a nice bowl of it. Anyway, he stands there and drops the change in it until it is all gone, brings it all to me (pig and bowl), and says, "more change!"

Then, snuggling with Nana. AWW, aren't they sweet?

Now, "The Minute his head hits the pillow" is referring to my husband. Night before last, we turned the TV off and rolled over to our respective sides to go to sleep. I always look at the clock before I close my eyes, don't know why I do that. Anyway, it was 10:12 (yes, we're early birds!) So, I've closed my eyes and started writing all kinds of wonderfully eloquent blog posts in my head (they do make it onto the computer, but they always sound SO much better in my head at 10:12 at night rather than when I've actually written them!) when I hear a snore. I think, did I drift off to sleep and it's been about 30 minutes...NO, the clock says it's 10:16! Paul had gone to sleep in 4 minutes...WHAT! I was so jealous. I wish so badly that I could just close my eyes and POOF, I'm asleep! So last night, I timed him thinking maybe I was off with my starting time. He turned the TV off at 10:16, and by 10:19 there was a steady sound of sleep breathing coming from him...YES, 3 minutes. I told him that this morning, and he said, "I just don't know if I can beat that!"

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween was interesting...not your typical Halloween celebration. We did the trick-or-treat thing on my in-law's street because, well, their neighbors are really nice and know Paul David...we mostly try to avoid our neighbors. Anyway, they're all so sweet to him and gave him candy and all. Paul David really didn't want to have much to do with the whole thing, though.

You can see him here trying to take off his fish costume:



And here's the look, "Why, why do you keep putting this on me???":

Ok, candy, that makes it a little better:

After we tortured him by going to THREE houses, we left and all went to Chuck E Cheese, yes not the typical hangout. There were quite a few people there when we arrived, and it got busier as the night went on. Paul David had a blast just running around and throwing balls. You really don't even need tokens for him...he just sees it as a big playground.

Happy Halloween everyone!