37 week update

I had my 37 week doctor appointment today. My doctor said that everything looks great! Ava's heartbeat is strong and I'm already dilated to 3cm! Last week I was at 1cm. Her positioning is at -3....still needs to get to 0 and my cervix is thinning. It seems like I'm progressing a lot quicker with Ava than I did with Andrew. We scheduled an induction for May 14th. Hoping that's her birth date but she might come sooner, you never know! My doctor thinks she is probably around 6 lbs now and will probably gain about another pound, but they thought Andrew was around 7lbs and he was born 8.6lbs! So I'm hoping she is not that big, that is why I'm being induced. Hoping to take some cute prego pics with Andrew this weekend and I will try to post those. I am definitely getting bigger and I have dropped!

Attempts at being crafty

I've been making attempts to be more crafty these days. I have a sister who is extremely crafty and several friends who are too. So here is my attempt....

I made clocks for the kid's rooms.

And fabric headbands for Ava. The pink and white to the left is for Ava, the other 2 I made for a friend who is having a baby girl 2 weeks after me.

I still have my eyes on making this for Ava's room, but I will need some help from Nate to make the actual box.

36 weeks

Today we had my 36 week appointment. Andrew went with us this time because both sets of parents are out of town so we didn't have a babysitter. He did pretty good. He really enjoyed sitting on the doctor's chair that swiveled. Of course we put "Cars" on for him to watch and keep him distracted. He kept asking what we were doing there and we told him we were there to check on baby Ava. When he heard the heartbeat he wanted to know what it was and he had a huge smile on his face....it was pretty cute. He was very excited about it! No new news. I'm still 1cm dilated and my cervix looks favorable. Hoping that I can keep her in there for at least another week until all of my family returns home from their vacations. My doctor doesn't think she'll be here this week, so that's good. But by next week, I'm hoping I make a little more progress!

Nap time conversations

Andrew is having a hard time with his nap today. Not sure why that is. He started crying an hour after I laid him down and he's been up every since. He kept telling me that he had to go to the bathroom, so we'd go and then nothing. I'd lay him back down and about 20 minutes later we'd start the process again. About the 3rd time going into his room, this was our conversation:

Me: Andrew, what's wrong?

Andrew: I want rock (his rocking chair this is now in his sister's room)

Me: Rock is in sister's room, mommy can rock you on your bed

Andrew: I want it (points to his chair in his room) downstairs

Me: That's your big boy chair and it stays in your room. We can go rock in sister's room for a minute and then come back to bed.

After rocking for a few minutes....

Andrew: I want big bed.

Me: Okay (we head into his room)

Andrew: I want Ava to be here.

Me: Ava will be here in a few weeks.

Andrew: Okay

L.O.V.E. him and his sweet conversations.

A day at the beach....

Checking out the sea lions.

Riding the turtle. He kept saying that he was scared and that it was too big!

What he did most of the time at the beach, drag his bucket of sand toys everywhere!

Andrew and Daddy flying the kite.

Building sand castles.

4.18.10-Andrew 2.5 years old

Today was beautiful so we headed to Newport to check out the aquarium. This was on my to do list with the family before Ava arrives so I was so excited that we had a chance to go today. The aquarium was fun, but a little less than what I expected. We were only there for about an hour because it was pretty small, but Andrew still had a blast. All day yesterday he kept telling everyone that he was going to go see sea lions, so he was pretty excited when he actually got to see them. He also really liked the sharks which I have to say was probably the highlight of the aquarium. He did keep asking to see Nemo and I felt so bad because there was no Nemo exhibit...oh well, we still got to see huge crabs, otters, starfish, and lots of other fish. After the aquarium we headed to Nye beach to eat at the Chowder Bowl. Growing up my family went to Newport every year and we always ate at the Chowder Bowl. I kept telling Nate that it is way better than Mo's and once he tasted the chowder, he completely agreed! We had a great lunch and then headed down to the beach. Andrew had so much fun playing in the sand and pulling his bucket and sand toys all over the place. Nate bought a Buzz Lightyear kite for Andrew but I think he enjoyed it more than Andrew did. Andrew wanted to fly it for a few minutes and then he wanted to go back to playing in the sand. We had such a fun family day together.

35 weeks and counting!

Last Thursday I had my 35 week doctor appointment. He says everything looks great. Her heartbeat is strong, her head is down, I'm already dilated to 1cm and my cervix looks favorable. There is a very good chance that I will be induced at week 39 or that she might come earlier. We'll see. If you are easily grossed out, you might not want to read this.....but my doctor swept my membranes at this appointment and I'm guessing he will continue to do this until she is born. This will help make my cervix more favorable for labor and in some cases can cause people to go into labor. I'm starting to have a lot of cramping/contractions because of it and I'm starting to feel very uncomfortable. My doctor says that the contractions/cramping is normal and nothing to be concerned about. I am really hoping that she waits a bit longer to arrive though. Both my parents and in-laws are going out of town this week....so Ava needs to wait at least a week and a half to arrive. Plus, I still haven't finished her nursery! We hung a few things on the walls this weekend, but I am being very indecisive. I'm hoping to have her room completed by next weekend though!

4.18.2010- 35.5 weeks pregnant with Ava

Cuddles

Most mornings I am up and ready to go by the time Andrew wakes up, or at least close to ready or in the process of getting ready while he watches cartoons in our bed. I'm not one for laying around in bed. Once I'm up, I want to get ready for the day. But today was different. I decided to take advantage of a leisurely morning and cuddle with my family in bed. Andrew snuggled up to me while we watched Handy Manny. He was so sweet. He kept telling me that he loved me and then would kiss my tummy and say that he loved Ava. He kissed my tummy at least 10 times and just put his hand on my tummy and rubbed it. He is such a sweet little boy. Lately he has been very clingy to me. He is always asking for mommy or wanting mommy...I think he realizes that he is soon going to have to share mommy with his baby sister. It's amazing to me how much a 2 1/2 year old can grasp the concept of a new baby coming into the family. He really does love his sister and I think he is going to be such a great, loving, and protective big brother!

It's a Zoo in there...

With only a month left until Ava arrives we are trying to do a lot of fun family outings with just Andrew. Today we went to the zoo. We haven't been to the zoo in a long time and Andrew really enjoyed it. Even though it was sunny outside, it was really cold. The wind was crazy, but we still had a fun time. Since it was cold out, all of the animals were out which is rare. I think it's the first time we saw the black bears! Andrew really like the elephant, bears, tiger, and lions. Such a fun Saturday as a family!

Checking out the lions.

For some reason he started blinking his eyes, smiling and laughing. He thought he was so funny....it was so cute!

Driving the jeep at the lion exhibit!

4.10.10-2.5 years old

April (Baby) Showers, Bring May Flowers!

Last night was my baby shower at my friend Erin's house. She graciously hosted my shower for Ava and my mom was so sweet to help her. It was such a fun night and both Ava and I were extremely spoiled by all of the nice gifts from friends and family. I only wish I was able to spend more time talking to every one, but most of the night was spent opening all my gifts! A little over (or maybe under) 5 weeks until we get to meet Ava!

Such a cute cake. There was another one that matched that said "Baby."

My mother-in-law bought this cute little keepsake for Ava's room. I just love it!

My friend Erin, the hostess.

34 (and 2 days) pregnant with Ava!

4.9.10

Birthday Party

Last Thursday was my Mom's birthday. She is an amazing mom, grandma, wife and friend and I am so blessed to have her in my life. We spent the morning having coffee and hanging out. Andrew was so excited that it was Pama's birthday. He kept saying happy birthday to her and singing to her. It was adorable. Wish I would have got his singing on video. He really understands birthdays now which is so much fun. Right before his nap I told him that he needed to sleep good so we could go to Pama's birthday party. As soon as he woke up he said, "Pama's birthday party!!!" with so much excitement! It was so cute. We had dinner and then they came over for cake & ice cream. Andrew helped Pama open her gifts but he was really excited to help her blow out her birthday candles! He is still talking about Pama's birthday party.

Even though he doesn't look excited, he was. He just doesn't like to pose for pictures.

4.8.10-Andrew 2.5 years old

Baby Bump

Here is my most recent baby bump picture at 33.5 weeks. Can't believe that I only have about 6 weeks left! Time is flying by! I had my doctors appointment last week and he said that everything looks great. Her head is down and she is probably around 4 pounds. Also, I've gained only half the amount of weight that I gained with Andrew, so I'm pretty happy about that! Within the last week I have started having what I think are braxton hicks contractions. I didn't have them with Andrew, but they are definitely some form of contractions! The more active I am during the day, the more I have them at night. Sometimes they even keep me up at night! Still lots to do before this little girl arrives, but her room is almost complete. Walls painted, crib put together and closet redone (thank you Nate & Dad). Now I just have to work on organizing everything and decorating. I will post pictures as soon as it is complete.

4.4.10 - 33.5 weeks with baby Ava

Easter Sunday

Andrew at church. He LOVES going to church! I asked him what he did today and he said that teacher read him a story about Jesus. I asked him if he loved Jesus and he said yes! So cute! We also talked about the real reason for Easter on the way to church. Even though he's a little young to understand it all, I still want him to know that Easter is about Jesus' love for us, not just about a bunny.

Easter lunch at Chart House. He was such a trooper. We were there for 2 hours! It was a long time for a little guy to sit and he did great even though it was way past his nap time.

Andrew loved looking at all his new toys in his Easter basket. 2 new sticker books, bath toys, and new book with his picture in it and new cars....what more could a kid ask for!

His favorite part of the day was looking for eggs. We went on several egg hunts!

4.4.10-2.5 years old

Easter Brunch

On Saturday morning we headed over to the Bailey's for Easter brunch, an egg hunt and to color eggs. Andrew had lots of fun opening his Easter basket from Grandpa & Grandma (thank you Grandpa & Grandma), searching for Easter eggs and playing with all of his new Easter toys. We tried coloring eggs, but I think the adults were more interested in it than Andrew. He lasted for about 5 minutes until he was back to playing with his toys!

Andrew showing everyone his bunny basket that he made at the Gymboree party. He used it on his Easter egg hunt at Grandpa & Grandmas.

Notice the Cars slippers. He loves them and requests to wear his "Cars shoes" when he is at their house :)

Andrew helping color Easter eggs. I think he only did 2 eggs. (Don't mind my face in this picture...not cute of me, but cute of Drew!)

He was so tired on the way home. He had so much fun at Grandpa & Grandmas!

4.3.10-2.5 years old

Easter Party

On Friday late afternoon we went to an Easter Egg party at Gymboree. Andrew goes to a Gymboree class once a week and loves it so we didn't want to pass up the opportunity to go to the Easter party since he will be done with Gymboree in a few months. He had so much fun! The first part of the party involved an egg hunt, hopping around like bunnies, parachute time and of course running around and playing. The second part of the party was in the art room. He made a bunny egg holder and a chicken. He had lots of fun with the glue and loved the paint. They also had story time and snack. It was a very fun party and best of all, Daddy surprised us and came to the last part of the party. Andrew was so excited to show Daddy all of the art projects he did.

He loves the monkey bars!

The bunny freeze. They hop around like bunnies to music and when the song stops they all have to freeze. Andrew loved it!

Searching for Easter eggs

He loves parachute time.

Mommy & Andrew doing an art project

4.2.10-Andrew 2.5 years old

Life's little moments

Before I forget I have to write down a few funny things that Andrew said in the last couple of days.

He picks up his toy phone and says, "hi, I Anoo," points to me, "and this is my mommy." He's done this a couple of times and I think it's adorable.

This morning when I went to get him out of bed he told me that he wanted to see Pama. I said, okay, we can call her. He said, "no, Pama working." I told him that Pama doesn't work and he said, "Papa works." He then said, "Pama shopping." I cracked up. How he knows this is beyond me, but both of his grandma's love to shop (and so do I)!

Later this morning he found the lotion that I put on my stomach. He put some on his hands and said, "mommy, abba, abba." I noticed the lotion on his hands and he wanted me to lift up my shirt so he could put the lotion on Ava. So cute :)

He seriously cracks me up every day!