A trip to Houston, TX

Kristen tries to put Alexis to bed

Day One- The Houston Zoo

How cute

Watching Kristen keep up with Alexis was hilarious.  Two strong wills collide. 

Alexis LOVED Kristen

Playing in the big girl room.

Face painting at the children's museum.  How fun.

She wanted to do it by herself!

Still working

The kittens

Kristen is so grown up! 

Washing hands was her favorite activity.

Tickle, Tickle, Tickle, Kitty!!  Lexie still remembers this game and plays it by herself in the backseat.

Children's Museum-The second day

My little artist

 

We had a great time visiting Houston.  When we got off the plane Kristen was sitting separate from her parents and I had to take a second look to make sure that was her!  She is so grown up.  When we arrived Kristen had some welcome projects waiting on us.  Here are two of my favorites:

I'm so glad we had the opportunity to visit.  Kristen was a huge part of my life for two years.  She taught me most of what I know about young children and helped shaped the mother I am to Alexis.  How fun it was to see who she's growing up to be.  Thanks for the fun trip!

We're Having a Boy!

Outside the hospital

how far along: 18 Weeks

how big is baby: the size of a sweet potato

weight gained so far: 12 Lbs

Belly Button in or out:  In

stretch marks: Nope

sleep: I've been getting up too early!

best moment of the week: The ultrasound for sure.  It lasted about thirty minutes.  My favorite part was seeing his little hand open and close.  The 3-D pictures were pretty neat and turned out perfect this time.  The placenta is looking healthy so far- good news!

looking forward to:Getting the 18 hour drive to North Carolina behind us.

Here are some pictures from the afternoon.  We wanted to find out as a family outside of the Dr. office.  Those 4 1/2 hours were full of anticipation for all of us!

The splash pad was a nice distraction

Alexis and I took the gender picture to the HyVee bakery, had them wrap up the correct color cookie, and hide it in the bag. 

You little SNEEK!!!!!

Almost ready

She loves to open "presents"

Excitement. 

THE most disgusting cookie I've ever eaten

Josh double checks

It's true!

This is me, 15 1/2 weeks pregnant, on our fifth wedding anniversary.  Getting bigger for sure.  I am busting out of my regular clothes. It surprises me how quickly I began showing and how big the belly is for each stage.  With Alexis the belly was that big at six months!

A little late...

how far along: 16 Weeks 3 days

how big is baby: the size of an avocado, about 3 1/2 ounces

weight gained so far: I'm guessing 10 lbs.

Belly Button in or out:  In

stretch marks: Nope

sleep:tossing and turning all night!

best moment of the week: Yesterday Josh felt the baby kick for the first time.

food cravings: nothing I need

looking forward to:  Touring the birth center and meeting the midwife (next month) and the baby doubling weight in the next couple of weeks.

What I miss:  Feet that aren't swollen

25 Weeks TO GO!!

how far along: 15 Weeks

how big is baby: size of an apple, probably a small one

weight gained so far: I think I'm the same as last week so a total of 8 lbs.

Belly Button in or out:  In

stretch marks: Nope

sleep: not much- Josh has been traveling

best moment of the week:Alexis is into pulling up my dresses to say hi to the baby.  That's fine with me at home, but if she does it in public it will become the most embarrassing moment of the week.

food cravings:  All the bad stuff I'm trying to stay away from

looking forward to:  Touring the birth center and meeting the midwife

Not looking forward to: Breaking up with the Doctor

What I miss: Happy Hour drinks and summertime Margaritas

About The Birth

Who is going to be with you? Josh, possibly a doula, a nurse, and a midwife.

Are you going to video tape it? Heck no!

Natural or medicated?: Hopefully natural.  That depends on the pitocin situation.

Do you think you will cry when you first hold your baby?: No, I'm not emotional about happy things.

Do you know what you will say to the baby when you first hold it?: Hi?

Are you scared about the labor?: Now that I know I probably won't die during child birth I'm not scared.  I am scared of the drug Pitocin. 

Do you have a name picked out?: nope, not a one

Is your baby going to be named after anyone?: no

Where was your baby conceived?: At home

Have you felt the baby move?: Yes, more with each day that passes

What was your first symptom?: Night sweats

Will you have godparents?: No, the child has plenty of aunts and uncles

What is the baby's room theme?: ABC's- the baby is moving into Lexie's nursery and she is getting a "big girl room"

Are you ready to be a mommy?:Since I already am, yes.

What do you think the baby will be a "daddys girl/boy" or a "mommys girl/boy"?: For the first year- all Mommy because that's who carries the milk.  We'll see after that.

A New Activity

Two and a half weeks ago Alexis and I began an early form of homeschooling.  I knew she was ready to start learning formally because she has responded well to other "little projects" we have done together.  I'd been looking into a couple different options, read a lot of reviews online, and finally came across this free curriculum! 

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/index.html

It is wonderfully simple!  Each week we have a theme, vocab word, letter, number, nursery rhyme and shape or color.  We sit at the table sometime after nap but before Josh gets home and "do a ittle project"  (Lexie doesn't say the "l" sound yet- it's so cute)  I love the structure it brings to the day and I really love that it keeps her mind busy and her body out of trouble.  Most of all I love teaching! 

I've also got her working on the scripture memory from church.  I had high hopes of one verse a week, then decided to stick with one every two weeks.  She knows "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty.  The whole earth is full of His glory."  There are signs that help her remember- She knows she so cute doing it and always claps at the end and says "Good Job exie!"  She doesn't get what it means right now, but I know she'll remember it when she's older. 

I didn't take pictures of the first trial week themed-Cows.  Here are some from our second week- the Jungle:

Lexie's a monkey!

Which B is big?  Which B is little?

Helps us remember what to do.

An art project and the number book we are creating together.  Lexie helps me color the dots.