Happy Halloween!

We had a wonderful weekend!  Here are some pictures to tell about it...

Friday: Sydney's daycare had a Halloween party Friday morning. All the kids dressed up, had a pizza party, and trick-or-treated around the different classrooms. This was her posing in her costume before leaving! 

 Could she BEE any cuter? (ba-dum-bum...)

Saturday: We had a fun day of running errands, getting stuff done around the house.  We went to a neighbor's Hallween Party that night, while Sydney stayed at another neighbor's house with all the kids and 4 babysitters.  There's not much a 9-months pregnant person can dress up as (except maybe a beached whale?), so I went as an angel, and Stephen was the devil.  I wore a sign that said, "The devil made me do it".  ;)

Stephen refused to wear the devil ears, because they were on a headband.  He did sport the bowtie and tail.

Sunday: We went to church this morning and then Sydney and I both took long naps.  We all played outside this afternoon.  Tonight, our neighborhood had a big hayride, so Stephen took Sydney on that to trick-or-treat while I stayed at home to pass out the candy.  Sydney dressed up as Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street and looked absolutely adorable!  She loved the costume, and cried when she had to take it off later. :)

Sydney kissing her baby sister.  35 weeks!





It was a really fun, productive weekend!  The car seat has been installed, the nursery is basically done, the bags are basically packed.  Only 15 more days of teaching left.  (Well, until sometime in February.)  That blows my mind! 

Anyways, Happy Halloween, everybody!  Hope everyone had a great one!

Sixth Sense?

So, for the last few weeks, Sydney has been extraordinarily attached to me.  Always wanting me to hold her, be with her, give her her bath, she cries out in the middle of the night, etc.  Things that she used to be completely fine with Daddy doing (in fact, a lot of times preferred!) have been all about Mommy now.  Dropping her off in the morning at daycare has been really hard, because she won't let me leave her unless one of her favorite teachers is there.  Today, her teacher told me she cried a significant amount of the morning for me.  We were at our neighbor's house Monday night, and she didn't want to play with the other kids.... she wanted me to hold her the whole time.  It's just not normal!

So, I have talked to some people about her behavior, and so many people have told me that it's probably because she knows the baby is coming soon.  Do you think a 25-month-old would have that sense?  I mean, she knows about the baby, talks about her, kisses my belly, etc., so it's not a big surprise to her that a baby will be coming, but does she know it's near?  One lady I work with almost had me in tears today, as she was telling me that Sydney probably knows that she won't be the "baby" anymore and that her life is about to be very different with a new addition.  In a way, it's sad that my baby will now be the big sister!  Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited for Baby Taylor to join our family... in fact, I can't wait!  But, it'll be so strange that Sydney will be the big girl in the family now!

Anyways, off my tangent.  I just wondered if she really has this sense and maybe that's why she's been so clingy.  I honestly don't mind that she's been this way, it's been so fun to cuddle and be with her.  Although it's been a little hard, seeing that I'm just about in my 9th month of pregnancy, and my big belly sometimes gets in the way.  LOL  I'm just starting my 35th week... 5 to go!

How can you resist this face when she asks you to pick her up?

OK, so last night, I had a dream that I went into labor.  (I also had a dream that Baby Taylor ended up being a boy!).  At work, a co-worker told me she was thinking about me last night and had a feeling my water would break this week.  Then, one of my 3rd graders today said that my water is going to break this week (totally out of the blue!  Granted, her mom just had a baby, so maybe that's on her mind)!  What the?  My water didn't even break with Sydney... in fact, I think it only breaks in about 10% of the cases. 

So needless to say, I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row...

(Thanks, Sydney!)

...and get motivated to get myself in gear.  I had the realization yesterday that I only have 3 more full weeks of school left before December 1! Ahhhh!! Luckily,  I got a lot of my sub plans done today. Whew! I'm meeting with my long-term sub tomorrow, which will make me feel even better. Goodness, December 1 is creeping up on me!

On a side note, I think I broke my toe last night!!!  I totally was walking fast and kicked my baby toe on the pedal of our stainless steel trashcan.  Ouch!  A stream of bad words flowed out of my mouth and tears rolled down my cheeks, as Stephen is running downstairs to make sure I'm not going into labor or anything. ;)  Anyways, today, I can't bend it, it's swollen, and bright red.  OK, I could be overly-dramatizing it... maybe it's just a really bad stumped toe.  Who knows.  I know there's nothing you can do anyways.  I don't think I can make it through a pregnancy without breaking something!

Anyways, we have had a great week so far.  Looking forward to a fun weekend of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating.  Will definitely post pictures soon!

Dancing Queen

Sydney requested "Sydney's Song" tonight after dinner and said she wanted to dance.  I obliged.  I wonder who she gets her moves from?  Enjoy!  (My favorite part is when she first goes by the door to dance). :) 

What a Fun Fall Day!

We had a very fun, fulfilling, fantastic, fabulous fall day today!  Stephen went up to see his GT team play in Clemson, so Sydney and I headed up to my parents' house to pick them up and head to North GA!  We first went to Anna Ruby Falls in Unicoi State Park.  Sydney has really gotten into waterfalls lately (one of her favorite scenes in the movie Cars is where they drive by the waterfall), so I wanted to take her to see a real one.  We couldn't have asked for a better day!  Sunny, not too hot, not too cold.  Perfect for a hike to the falls.  Here are some picture highlights from the falls.

Sydney and D-Dad starting up the path.

Beautiful scenery.

 Grandmom and Sydney.

 We made it!



 Hanging out at the bottom of the mountain.

After we saw the waterfalls, we stopped at a picnic site and had lunch.  Mom made some yummy homemade chicken salad and homemade applesauce!  Sydney had fun running around the pavilion with all of us. 

Sydney and D-Dad running backwards.  I'll refrain from posting the pictures of her running with her shirt up.  I figure she'll thank me later for that.

When we got back in the car, Sydney had about a 10-minute meltdown.  It was an hour-and-a-half past her naptime, PLUS I forgot her two favorite dolls at my parents' house.  But, once we stopped at a couple of little towns' fall festivals, she was good to go.  Oh, and the tootsie roll pop a nice lady gave her at the first stop helped the situation out, too.  She was good to go after that!

Sydney and Grandmom by the firetruck in Batesville, GA.

Sydney and D-Dad chilling in Sautee, GA. 

Sydney and I headed home after we dropped off the grand-parental units.  She slept the whole hour home.  She kept talking about the waterfalls, the picnic, Grandmom and D-Dad all night.  I'm glad we were able to have such a great day!!!  

Interesting

I found this listed on my FB page.  It's something I did almost 2 years ago, yet it all still applies (for the most part!).  I'll update things that have changed.  It's titled "25 Random Things About Me".  Enjoy!


1. For the first 24 years of my life, my full name consisted of three first names- Brooke Elizabeth Sherry. I was constantly called Sherry Brooke.

2. I am a native Atlantan, born and raised in Fulton County.

3. I used to be the BIGGEST Atlanta Braves fan, from about the age of 12 to 18. I wouldn’t miss a single game on tv. I remember going to the Braves parade when they made it to the World Series in 1991 and I got to give Steve Avery a high 5!

4. I am a huge list person. I make lists about everything, and LOVE to scratch things off my list. Sometimes I put things I have already done on my list, just to scratch it off.

5. I absolutely love looking at beautiful scenery, especially big mountains. I can’t get enough!

6. I have been lucky to have traveled outside of the US. I have been to Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Wales, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Jamaica. I hope to go to more places! (see next entry) (I have been to Mexico in the meantime!)

7. I am dying to go to Australia!

8. My grandmother was one of the most special people in my life. I think about her every single day, and am thankful she had 100 (almost 101) wonderful years.

9. I was in a bad car accident when I was 7, and they didn’t think I would survive.

10. I broke my left ring finger last year and still can’t get my wedding bands on. So, I bought some fake bling from Target for the time being, waiting to see if my finger will shrink before I have to get them resized. (Was able to get them back on without resizing- woohoo!  But with my current pregnancy-induced swelling, the fake bling is back...)

11. I hate mayonnaise.

12. I lost my license for 6 months when I was 18 because I was driving 35 mph over the speed limit. That ticket cost me $753!

13. My all-time favorite tv show is Friends. I could watch reruns all day.

14. One of my favorite places to be is at our mountain house in South Carolina. I grew up going there every weekend in the summer, and the people up there are like family. It has such a special feel to it that I haven’t found anywhere else, and I’m lucky that we have that place to go to!

15. I feel absolutely blessed to have my wonderful husband and my beautiful daughter. I thank God every day for blessing me as much as He has. (Amen!)

16. We have two rental houses that we rent out- one in Covington and one in Snellville. I guess we are considered slumlords. :)

17. I love game shows!

18. My married last name is always a great conversation starter.

19. I could watch the movie Dumb and Dumber all day. My other favorite movie is Love Actually.

20. One of my passions is music. I love all types of music, except for heavy metal. My ipod has a crazy variety of songs, from alternative to rap to classical to oldies. My favorite song in the whole world is Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls.

21. I love living in Loganville. It has everything you need, and you’re not far from anything. It still has that small-town feel, though it’s not far from the big city. Plus, the people are wonderful!

22. Stephen and I have been together since I was 18 and he was 19. It will be 10 years this March that we’ve known each other, and it will be 4 years of marriage this March. I am truly lucky to have him as my husband! He makes me laugh every single day, which I think is very important. We love and care for each other so much. (Wow, we're going on 12 years of knowing each other!)

23. My dad and my husband are probably the two funniest people I know. I think I have my dad’s sense of humor- very dry, sarcastic. I love sarcasm. (No, that’s not a sarcastic statement) ;)

24. I would love to go to all 50 states before I die. I’ve been to 31 so far. (Update: 32)

25. One of my favorite feelings in the world is when you are laughing so hard and you can’t stop!

44 Days

I officially scheduled my c-section today at my doctor's appointment!  December 1 it is!  Of course, that is assuming Baby Taylor doesn't come early.  For some reason, I keep thinking she will.  I mean, the doctors always say not to lift more than 10 or 15 pounds at a time, yada, yada, yada.  I mean, come on... having a toddler means carrying about 30 pounds of a kicking child while walking up the stairs to bath time.  If that doesn't send me into early labor, I will be surprised.  I mean, don't get me wrong... I really hope she doesn't come TOO early, but a couple weeks would be fine with me.:)

Though, I have to say... I swore that Sydney would have come early, and she was 2 days late.  So!  We shall see what will happen!
So, 44 days it is!  That doesn't sound like much time at all.  Which excites me.  I can't wait for her to be here.  But, that means 44 days of getting everything together at work.  Hmmmm.  Maybe I should get started on that!

Exhausted

Is it possible to request another weekend right after a weekend, just to be able to rest?  I feel like our weekends have been so busy that I'm almost more exhausted Sunday night than I am on weeknights!  Oh well, I guess that's life, and I am thankful for the fun times we do have.

This weekend, we woke up early and participated in our neighborhood's yard sale.  We put stuff out when it was still dark (and freezing!!) this morning.  We didn't have too many big things, but lots of little junky things.  The few big things we had didn't sell, sadly.  The old necklaces and bracelets that I had made were top sellers, funny enough.  Of course, at $1 each, they didn't bring in the big bucks.

But the GOOD news is... I purchased an awesome two-seater jogging stroller from a neighbor!!  We got it for 1/6 of the price of the one I was looking at at Babies R Us.  Score!!  It's in awesome condition and I am stoked.  So yes, we did end up spending more than we sold... LOL. 

I went to a wedding shower for a good friend this afternoon, and Sydney ventured to GA Tech with Stephen to go to the football game!  This was her first official game.  She's tailgated a few times there, but never went in the stadium.  They had a good time.  Check out some pics!

Although I'm not a fan of the hat or t-shirt, she does look mighty cute!!

Stephen said Sydney really wanted a picture with Buzz, but she wasn't so sure about him up-close.  This pic makes me laugh!

Daddy & Daughter time.

What else is new?  Everyone's been asking me how I'm feeling lately.  I must always be looking a little rough or something. :)  Work has been pretty stressful lately (for example, I had 5 IEP meetings in a matter of 2 days).  I feel like I'm about to pop, and I still have 6-1/2 weeks left!  I really don't know how much more I can stretch.  If you don't believe me, here's a picture from today (week 33):

You can see my new hair-do as well.  I got it chopped.  I really like it, though I do have to make a point to fix it everyday now (no more buns for me!)  Anyways, besides feeling like I'm about to explode,

having horrible leg cramps in the middle of the night, and starting to have swelling in my ankles, I'm doing pretty well.  Just really ready to get through these next few weeks!! 

On that note, I think I'm going to hit the hay... it's been a long day.  Fun, but long!  Oh, and Go Dawgs!!!!!!

Our Trip to Nash-Vegas

This past weekend, Sydney and I ventured up to Nashville to witness my brother reaching a new height... the age of FORTY!!  Man, he's old!  The same year I enter a new decade, he follows a couple weeks after me and enters the next one.  Anyways, Sydney, Mom and I drove up Friday morning, moseying through North GA to take the scenic route to I-75 to Nashville. 

Friday night, we ordered Chinese, took a walk around the neighborhood, and hung out.  My brother and his wife, Jen, bought a new house a few months ago.  It was the first time I got to see it.  It is AWESOME!  And let me tell you... they have this amazing playroom for kids.  Sydney would have been completely content being locked in that room all weekend.  There are toys everywhere, a kitchen, a kiddy-piano, train set, coloring tables, stickers, balls,... you name it!  They have a little girl, Olivia, who is 2-1/2 months older than Sydney.  They took to each other pretty quickly.  They don't see each other too often, but they were fast friends.  This was a really fun age for them to be together, because they can both communicate pretty decently, sing the same songs, etc. 

Sydney and Olivia coloring in the playroom.

 Walking around the neighborhood.

 The lake in my brother's neighborhood.

The next morning, we went to a nearby playground and the girls got to run around, swing, climb, and have a grand ol' time. 



My sister, her two girls, and my dad drove up Saturday and arrived a little after lunchtime.  That night, my brother thought only a couple of friends were coming over to celebrate his birthday, and was totally surprised when 20+ people showed up!  Surprise!!  Good job, Jen!  Here was his cake:

 We had to be obnoxious and actually put 40 candles on the cake.  Looks like a fire hazard, huh?



My dad, Sydney, and I left the next morning after a yummy brunch made by my mom.  It was a really fun weekend of celebration with family! 

On a final note, enjoy this video of the two-year-old dancing princesses.  (It's a little dark, but you'll get the idea!)

Updates in General

Since I am SOOOO thrilled that fall is finally here, I gave the blog a little fall facelift.  My front door is decorated, I bought Sydney's Halloween costume (she's going to be Abby-Cadabby from Sesame Street), I have been thrilled to wear my warmer maternity clothes.  Yay for fall!  Thanks to my neighbor who let me borrow four whole bins of maternity clothes.  She had both her babies in the winter (whereas I had Sydney in September) so she has tons of adorable winter clothes.  Did I mention she's awesome?

Anyways, in honor of the blog update, I thought I'd update you on the latest Sydney-doings.  By the way, she has grown leaps and bounds since her 18 month check-up.  At her appointment the other day, she's grown 2" in 6 months (up to 34", putting her about 75%) and has gained a couple of pounds (up to 29.5 pounds, putting her about 85%).  She used to be the runt (well, in terms of height!) but I've noticed she seems to be taller than a lot of kids in her class lately. 

Today was official home potty-training day #1.  I'll give her a C+, which isn't so bad for her first true day!  We nixed the diapers while we were home this afternoon and put her in her "big-girl panties".  We put a diaper on her while she napped (which was 4 hours today!!).  Anyways, while we were home, in a span of about 4 hours, she had 2 potty successes and 2 accidents.  So, 50/50!  I am off all next week, so I figured this might be a good time to try at home.  She's been going at school, but until we do it at home regularly, it won't stick.  Here is Sydney on the potty and in her new underwear.

Can I just tell you how funny this picture was?  I told her I wanted to take a picture of her underwear and she walked away from me, turned her tush towards me, and smiled.  It was hilarious.

Oh, and Sydney is ALL about some Dora now.  Or, as she says, "Do-wuh".  I also thought of Dora as a 3+ show, but maybe not.  She just seems so grown up!  No more are the days of watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street!  So, needless to say, her "big-girl panties" have Dora all over them. :)

As for an update on me, I am feeling and doing much better.  I did have to take the day off on Friday, because my pinkeye was contagious.  The doc had prescribed drops for me, saying they were okay for pregnant women to take.  When I had the prescription filled, I saw the outside of the box says, "Do not take if you are pregnant or think that you might be pregnant".  Well, after doing some research, I find out it's a Category C drug, which means that they just really don't know it's effect in humans.  There were some problems with fetuses in rat studies, although I'm sure they gave them tons of this medicine before there were any problems.  Anyways, it was a risk I wasn't willing to take, so I'm fighting this off alone, and will unfortunately be contagious until it's gone.  (Thank goodness Publix let me return the drops... plus, they were $75!!  what the??)  Luckily, this is day... 4, and it's doing much better.  OK, and this is random, but I thought I would share.  3 people (including the pharmacist) told me that rubbing some baby shampoo on your eyeball actually helps pinkeye.  Crazy, I know.  That's what I've been doing, and I believe that's what has helped it!  The pharmacist said I'd be looking at 2-3 weeks before it would clear up, and this is day 4 and it's so much better already.  Just a little home remedy for you!  My strep throat seems completely better, though I'm still taking the antibiotics!

Thank goodness for fall break next week! I feel like school has been so chaotic the last couple of weeks, between testing, Sydney being sick, me being sick, etc., so it'll be nice to have a full week off to get stuff done around the house, get some long-term sub plans together, relax, etc.  Oh, and just for fun, here's a good comparison (with matching outfits!) for how much both myself and the baby have grown in just 8 weeks!

 week 23                                                 week 31