34 Weeks

As soon as Rhonald took this picture he said "Man, you sure are pregnant!" Um..thanks, I think!We have made it to 34 weeks (well, I am a little behind...I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow) and things are going wonderfully! Lily Kate has stopped kicking so much and is now the queen of squirming. She loves, and I do mean loves, to push her bottom as far into my rib cage as she possibly can. While that was sweet at first it now gets uncomfortable enough to wake me up at night. She also has been getting the hiccups a lot lately which is cute! Going up the staitrs make me totally out of breath but I am ok other than that. Cole has started to feel Lily Kate kicking - not sure he understands what it is but as he sees people touch my belly he wants to as well. My blood sugars have been fine and I am still controlling them with my diet. I have had moments where I long for a slush from sonic ... you know, when it is 105 degrees, but for the most part it hasn't been so bad. Her room is all finished and I love it. It is very girly and very sweet...full of flowers and pink and yellow and green (pictures to come soon). We are so very anxious to meet our sweet daughter and get to know her even better. I told Rhonald that I feel like things are really coming together now...I even have my diaper bag (not packed) and some new nursing bras. What more could a mama need???

More Than Meets The Eye

Potty training is going well...for the most part. Cole is a champ at peeing in the potty! Pooping is another thing...still. We are working on it but so far no progress. One of the many things that we have done is promise Cole a present when he poops on the potty. Cole loves presents so we discuss it all of the time. About a week and a half ago he asked me what present Daddy got when he learned to poop on the potty. On a whim, and knowing my husband, I said "a transformer." And that started the obsession. Right away Cole wanted to know what a transformer was and what they did. Rhonald found some old transformer cartoons on U tube and they have watched one every evening since. Cole sings the Transformer theme song, he knows every transformer by name, what they transform in to and if they are good or bad. Last night when Rhonald and Cole were watching their cartoon I found a box of Rhonald's old transformers. I have never seen anyone as excited as Cole was when he saw the box!!! Oh how they played! It was so cute and so funny - Rhonald was pretty excited about it too. Cole kept saying "you have cool transformers Daddy!" So...we told Cole if he poops in the potty he can pick out his own transformer! Let's hope it works!

Big Brother In Training

A few days ago we had "the boys" (Ben and Jackson) over to play. Jackson's mommy, Keisha, recently had another baby boy, Ethan, who came along to play as well. Cole is very interested in babies lately...all babies but especially babies that we know. When they arrived Cole had to check baby Ethan out and talk with him. He did eventually go play with his buddies...until he heard that it was time for Ethan to eat. Oh boy did he get excited! And Keisha was kind enough to let him help her not only feed but also burp baby Ethan! Keisha has no idea how much that meant to sweet Cole. He talked about that for days!!! Cole is even more excited to see his baby sister now and help Rhonald and I with her. He kept telling me that he would be a good helper because he knows how to make a baby burp! What sweet moments...I cannot wait to see him with Lily Kate!!!

"Pee Pee In The Potty"

I guess you can tell what we have been working on for the past week! I have had several goals for Cole over this summer...the 2 big ones being that he would sleep in a big boy bed and that he would be potty trained before Lily Kate was born. Moving to a big boy bed...easy! Potty training...not quite as easy. We started last Thursday following the 3 day potty training method as much as we could. We did not leave the house (even to play in the backyard) for 3 days...well, 4 really. I will say by day 3 there were no more "pee pee" accidents at our house. yeah! Cole started off on day one with many accidents and not telling us when he needed to go potty and very quickly learned to tell us and stopped having accidents. Rhonald and I have been so proud of him! He has no problem going in public...in fact he is fascinated with all of the different kinds of potties there are out there. Our only hold up is pooping. He stands to pee...that boy wants to be just like Daddy and refuses to sit which is just fine but he is very leery of sitting to poop. We have had a few poop accidents since we started this and are trying to bribe him into trying it on the potty just once to see that it is not a big deal. I know it will come. I know it is common. I know it is a learning process but boy do I wish he would start pooping in the potty! Yesterday he had an accident and told me his "body was upset." When I asked why he pointed to his bottom and said he was sorry. I couldn't help but hug that sweet boy! I mean, at least he is starting to realize that he shouldn't be doing that right? For now I am just going to be proud of the progress we have made and encourage him each and every day...they all learn sometime right?

A Saturday In NWA

We have always enjoyed going to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings and it has become even more important to us now that we are eating so many more veggies (thanks to my new diet). This is the first summer that Cole has really gotten into going to the market. He loves to pick things out - his usual picks are corn on the cob, whatever fruit is in season and flowers for his mama (gotta love that boy!). A few weeks ago there were actual belly dancers at the market and my son ran over to them, sat down in the middle of the sidewalk and said "Mama, I want to see this!" After quite awhile I had to drag him away to finish our shopping but he kept looking over his shoulder at them. So cute. I guess he really is a ladies man!!!!

My LIttle Chef

Cole and I have been doing quite a bit of cooking lately. It is really so super hot outside that we are both trying to find things to do inside. He loves to cook...LOVES it so it is easy to keep him busy if I just mention making something together. One thing I had been meaning to try for awhile now is making our own Popsicles. It is not a surprise that Cole adores Popsicles so I was wanting to find a "healthier" alternative. Cole and I spent a few hours the other morning making all different kinds of Popsicles to try. His favorite...and mine too...were the strawberry lemonade Popsicles. I bought organic strawberry lemonade and added chopped up strawberries to the mix. They were so yummy! One nice thing is that the homemade Popsicles are bigger than the store bought kind so he would be totally full after just one (he only ever gets one by the way but he usually asks for more than that). It was so sweet to see him enjoying his treat and hearing him tell Rhonald how he made it. He was so very proud and that made the whole experience worth it!

30 Weeks

30 weeks and counting...I will admit that part of me is freaking out that our sweet Lily Kate will be here in 10 weeks and the other part is so excited that I can hardly stand it. We are getting ready slowly but surely. It is so much fun to see so much pink in our house...a house that has been overrun with blue for almost 3 years now. Cole is really getting in to the idea that pink is for his "baby sis" (that is what he has been calling her lately) and blue is for him. I am still feeling very well. The heat ... oh, the heat... is really getting to me as I have mentioned. I mean, 100 degrees, really?! It turns out that I do have gestational diabetes. Very borderline but still I am watching my diet very closely. To date my blood sugars have been excellent and Lily Kate is growing at a very normal rate so things are looking A-Ok. I did not have any trouble with Cole so we were a little shocked that I failed my glucose test but I know that every pregnancy is different. The diet, although annoying at times, has really not been too bad. I am seeing my doctor every 2 weeks now and love getting to hear my sweet girl's heart beat. Our friends, Keisha and Ryan, welcomed their second baby boy (Ethan) into the world last week and it was so fun to hold him and dream about holding my baby. I remember that with Cole too - the day dreaming and planning. As I was holding Ethan and talking with Keisha it hit me...hard...I am next!!!! Wow - I think I am starting to panic a little bit again :)