Trunk or Treat

We had our Fall Festival at PBC today. Since I decided to do some cleaning/nesting earlier today, we did not make it to the games at 3:00 because my back was aching. I finally forced myself off the couch and we made it just in time for some yummy stew and Trunk or Treating! Kamryn had a blast going from trunk to trunk saying "Trick or Treat". And you better believe if she heard someone forget to say "Trick or Treat", she would say so.

My sweet little Snow White ready to go!

Excited!

Kamryn's Fall Party

Kamryn's class had their Fall Party today. They had a blast doing crafts with stickers and stamps and eating their snacks!

Kamryn dancing

Why she ate her cupcake like this, I do not know. :)



Kamryn, Burton, Tanner, Jackson, Austin, and Caroline

Kamryn and Caroline

Decorating their bags with stickers/stamps.

Kamryn's Christmas List...

...keeps growing and growing....

We got the Toys-R-Us catalog in the mail yesterday and she had a blast looking at everything. It's so fun to have her pick out what she wants.

" ...I want this..."

"...and this..."

Pumpkin Carving

We fully intended on doing this while Jimmy was home. OK, I fully intended on Jimmy doing this while he was home :) ...but we did not get around to it. So Kamryn and I tackled the pumpkin carving yesterday. It wasn't so bad. It may not be the best pumpkin in the world, but it's our little creation and the memories are what it's all about anyway. :)

...digging out the seeds...

...she's proud of it and wanted to take that thing to school and show her friends...

...we had to wait for it to get dark so we could light it and make sure everything worked properly...JOB WELL DONE!

Countdown to Christmas!

The countdown is officially on!

2 months until Christmas! To be more accurate: 61 days!

(I've secretly been counting down for months now....and have even completed most of our Christmas shopping.)

I just LOVE Christmas!

Flu Shots

Kamryn and I went for our flu shots yesterday. I picked her up from school and told her we were going to the doctor to get some medicine in our arms. She was ok with that. When we got there she played until they called our names. She got her medicine first....she only cried for two seconds then went off to get a sucker and sticker. She came back and was really fascinated by Mama getting the medicine in her arm too. Unfortunately, she has to go back in one month to get the second round....

Kamryn playing while waiting our turn. She made a "train" out of the chairs. :)

AWANA: Crazy Hair Night

33 Weeks

~33 WEEKS~

Jack is still growing about half a pound per week and could grow up to another full inch this week. For comparison, Jack is about the size of a pineapple.

With that much baby inside my uterus, my amniotic-fluid level has maxed out, which explains why some of his pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days. (There's less fluid to cushion the blows.) Antibodies are being passed from me to Jack as he continues to develop his own fetal immune system, which will come in handy once he's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening.

Not only do I waddle and feel very breathless lately....sleep continues to elude me due to bathroom runs, leg cramps, heartburn, and my HUGE belly. I can’t stay in one position long and it takes 30 minutes to roll over (ha). I am complaining a bit, but it is all SO VERY worth every second.

We are so close to Jack’s birthday, it’s a bit scary! We have discussed the big day with Dr. Brantley and have come to the decision that if he isn’t here by December 1st, we will induce. So that gives us 6 weeks maximum. In case you didn’t catch that, I’ll say it again- AT MOST, 6 WEEKS!! Just to prove my point, here is our orange juice....

Jack will be in our arms by the time our OJ expires! (By the way, who knew OJ would last that long anyway?)

We are ready....I think. I pray the transition from a family of three to a family of four is an easy/smooth one. Kamryn and Jack have bought each other gifts to exchange at the hospital. Kamryn wrapped hers to her little brother last night and was SUPER excited. I still wonder how much of this she understands. I know she is going to be a GREAT big sister!

cool weather, hot chocolate

Finally....good hot chocolate weather!

Kamryn and I snuggled up in bed last night with "Snow White" and some yummy hot chocolate. I LOVE this cooler weather!

32 Weeks

~32 WEEKS~

In these past few weeks, it's all about practice, practice, practice as Jack hones the skills he'll need to thrive outside the womb -from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. Our little one has been able to suck his thumb for a while now. Something else to note: As more and more fat accumulates under his skin, he's becoming less transparent and more opaque.

Jack isn’t the only one practicing....I have been having braxton hicks contractions lately. It doesn’t mean much in the way of delivery besides the practicing part. Another new thing going on with me is NO SLEEP! Don't get me wrong, I want it, I need it...but can't get it! I’ve read that third trimester insomnia strikes more than 75% of us moms and if the last few nights are any indicator of what is to come, I am in trouble. The last few nights, I have been wide awake at 2/3:00 in the morning. Not fun....especially when all day all you want to do is sleep. Another form of practice for when Jack is asleep all day and up all night I suppose. :)

We went yesterday for our 32 week sonogram. The plan was to take Kamryn since this would probably be the last sonogram. I tried my best to explain that we were going to see Baby Jack’s doctor and that they had a cool camera that could take a picture of mama’s belly to see pictures of Jack. She was really excited about it when we were talking about it. The conversation we had was worth documenting:
~~~~~~
ME: “Kamryn, you get to go to Baby Jack’s doctor with me tomorrow and they have a camera that can take a picture of Baby Jack so we can see him. Does that sound like fun?”
KAMRYN: “Is Baby Jack sick?”
ME: “No baby, we are just going to check on him and see his pretty picture.”
KAMRYN: “Does he get a sucker after he sees the doctor?”
~~~~~~
When we went back for the sonogram, Jack was really active but not cooperative. He wouldn’t show us much of his face. (I guess he is going to be just like his daddy and HATE taking pictures.) Jack now weighs 4 pounds 5ounces! And he is head down! Perfect!

Kamryn’s only concern was that SHE didn’t have to lay on “that bed”. She didn’t seem to understand the whole “picture of baby brother on the screen”....I guess because the picture of Jack didn’t look very much like the pictures she was accustomed to looking at. Oh well, she was well behaved and I couldn’t ask for more than that.

We go back in 2 weeks!

Halloween Cookies

We decorated Halloween cookies yesterday (yes, I chose to go about this activity in the super easy/lazy way and bought the kit at Wal-mart). It served its purpose and Kamryn had a blast! :)

Kamryn's Pumpkin

Since Kamryn's class is to young for a field trip to the pumpkin patch, we decided to let Kamryn get her own pumpkin to decorate. While in Jackson doing a little shopping, I came across these cute little decorations for pumpkins! So now, we have a "vampire Mr. Potato head pumpkin". After we were finished putting him all together, Kam said "We need to get Mrs. Potato Head.". Silly girl! She has been watching to much Toy Story!

Our first plan was to put him outside but Kamryn DID NOT want to leave him outside with the other pumpkins.

...so we brought him back in...

...and this is the chosen spot for "Mr. Potato Head"....right next to the pumpkin Kamryn painted at school. (It was covered with purple paint, but that has mostly peeled off.)

Happy Fall! :)

Awana: Silly Hat Night

31 weeks

A quick update at 31 weeks:

Jack now weighs in at about 3.3 pounds and about 18 inches long.

He is fast approaching his birth length, but will soon hit a big growth spurt and gain another 3-5 pounds before his birthday.

Also developing at an impressive clip: Baby Jack’s baby's brain connections (he's got to make trillions of them!). He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's moves ALL THE TIME! Sometimes his movements are awkward and uncomfortable but I love to feel them!

Kamryn is very excited and doesn’t understand why her brother can’t “come out”! :) She told me just the other day that she would change Baby Jack’s diaper when he tee-teed in it (yeah right) and that she wanted him to go to school with her. She is going to be SUCH a GREAT big sister!!

The experts say there is no need to pack a bag for the hospital yet but that to start making a list of items to bring to the hospital. Anyone who knows anything about me, knows that I am a list maker and this will surely be done sooner than later. Poor Jimmy already has a list of things that need to be done around the house and in the nursery over the next couple of weeks. (Of course, the list was made by me, who else?) It truly is crunch time! Jack’s room is nearly put together and all of his clothes have been washed and put away. I will post pictures soon. :)