Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving week!  I've been out of the blogging world for a few days... I don't really have anything exciting to say, but I thought I would write anyways!  I don't even have any very recent pictures to add.  Seeing as our hospital bags are packed, I've left the camera in that and keep forgetting to take it with me to any picture-worthy places.

On a side note, do you like the blog facelift?  I thought I'd go ahead and decorate it for Christmas!

So, what's new?  Friday was my last day of work.  Surreal!  We have this whole week off, and I'm going to take next Monday and Tuesday as personal days.  I figured it would be best to give my sub an entire week to get acclimated.  I actually feel really good, like I tied up all loose ends.  I'm not stressed like I'll have to be running over to the schools to get things in shape.  So, that is quite a relief!

We had a fun/busy weekend.  It involved going out to dinner, Stephen going to the GT game, me going to my mom's church holiday bazaar in North GA, attending our friends' annual Thanksgiving get-together, and going to Woodstock to visit our good friends and their new baby.  Plus, you can throw in a big shopping trip to Target.  Between the showers at my two schools and one for Stephen at his work, we were blessed with so many Target gift cards that we now have everything we should need for baby #2.  Thank you, everybody!

This week, again, I am trying to finalize everything that needs to be done.  I'm dry-cleaning/washing/ironing all the maternity clothes I borrowed and packing those up.  I'm washing up my after-baby/not back to my normal size clothes.  Trying to get all my Christmas shopping done (gotta love shopping on the internet!).  Taking care of my sick little girl.  Decorating the house for Christmas.  We got the tree up and decorated, and presents are wrapped.  Now I need to do the rest of the house.  I ordered an "Elf on the Shelf" and Sydney is totally into it.  You hide this little elf doll every day in a different spot and the child is supposed to find it.  Then, on Christmas, Santa comes and takes the elf back to the North Pole until the next year.  Just a little something fun.  Sydney calls him "Mr. Elf" and we're on day 3 of hiding him.  Oh, and Sydney took a little sneak peak into one of her presents and saw that it was Dora.  She had a bit of a meltdown, wanting it then.  It's hard to explain to a 2-year old that she'll have to wait another month!

Anyways, that is an update from our end.  I'm doing well, just in a lot of pain, and it's hard to walk normal these days!  I never got like this with Sydney, so I'm thinking it's just the baby has dropped a lot.  I have a check-up tomorrow, so we'll see what they say!

Happy Turkey Day, everybody! 

 Celebrating Turkey week as a... squirrel?

 Are you ready for some football??

Loving this weather!

Rejuvenated

Alright, I am MUCH better tonight than I was last night.  I was seriously so tired last night, I crashed really hard on the couch a little after 10.  I'm happy to say I got a pretty good night's sleep.  Which was good, because today was a busy day!!
We woke up before 7 AM, ate breakfast, and headed to GT.  Our friend invited us to his company-sponsored tailgate, which began at 10.  We hung out with Stephen's fraternity brothers for a little while, went to see the GT players come through (and Sydney's favorite, Buzz), and then went to the tailgate.  We had a good lunch, and had a great time hanging out with friends.  And I must say, the weather couldn't have been more perfect!  It was my first GT tailgate of the season, and I picked a really great one to go to.

Stephen stayed for the game, and Sydney and I headed home.  Sydney took a 3+ hour nap, and while I contemplated the idea of taking one myself, I instead decided to get stuff done around the house.  I got all of the presents put up, organized, washed, etc.  I did my lesson plans for this week.  I wrote out some cards to a couple people.  I uploaded pics to Snapfish and ordered a bunch.  Cleaned up a little around the house.  I even got our Christmas decorations out! (no worries, none have actually gone up yet... just pulled out.  I plan to be all decorated next week when I'm off!)  Oh, and 5 loads of laundry washed.  Pretty productive, I must say. 

There was a surprise party for my neighbor who turned 40 this week tonight.  I completely dropped the ball and forgot to get a babysitter (I'll blame the pregnancy for this, I'm going to use this excuse while I can!), so Stephen and I took shifts.  I took the first shift and got to see the surprise (which was awesome!  She had no idea!!!) and Stephen took the later shift.  I thought I'd be really exhausted after our day, but I'm actually okay!  Going to work off some of the items on my to-do list before sitting down.  One thing I have noticed is my right ankle is SO swollen.  It could be all the walking I did today, which was a bunch.  My right side has been swollen the last few days, and not my left... doc didn't seem very concerned and my BP was low, so that's good.  Anyways, it looks FABULOUS, let me tell you. :) :)

So, enjoy some pictures from our day!! 

 Listening to the drumline while waiting for the players.

 Sydney and her buddy, Buzz.

 She got 2 stickers today.  She is currently asleep for the night and still has both of them on. :)

 Surprise!!!!

So much fun!

Eventful Week

As I type this blog entry, I feel like I could doze any minute... so please excuse any typos, poor sentence structure, lack of humor, etc.  :)  I just uploaded my pics and thought I'd go ahead and post some, while it was fresh on my brain.

So, one more week down, and really only one more to go before we have a week off for Turkey Day, and then the big day is the next week!  This week actually went by pretty slowly.  I had a busy week at work, plus lots of after-work activities (doctor's appointment, neighbor's 1 year old birthday party, dinner with friends, etc.).  Here are a few of the pics from the birthday par-tay.

                         Who needs a fork?                

  I have to tell her, "hands up!" so she won't touch anything :)

Friday was an exciting day, as my two schools were coming together to throw a big shower for me.  When I woke up Friday AM, I had some pre-term labor symptoms (I will spare you of the details) and the doc wanted to see me today.  I went in this morning and he confirmed it was the start of labor, but that it could still be days or even a couple weeks away.  Seeing that I'm having a c-section, they aren't really concerned unless I'm in active labor. 

So, I headed back to school and made it to the shower.  It was an all-day drop in, and people had prepared such yummy food.  The conference room was decorated so nicely, and there were so many gifts and cards.  People are so unbelievable.  I have only known these people for 3-1/2 months, and I'm only part-time at each school, so it's not like I work all day long with anybody.  The people I work with were SO thoughtful and generous, it is really touching. 

One thing that really touched me was- one lady I work with got Sydney a gift, too.  The card said, "Sweet Special Sister Sydney".  Inside were all sorts of Dora things (Sydney's new favorite!) including a talking book, pajamas, an umbrella, forks/spoons, bowl/plate/cup, sippy cups, a Dora doll, etc.!  It was so sweet!  Sydney loved it and wouldn't put down her "Dora Doll" all night.

Another sweet thing was that my co-teacher and all the kids in my co-teaching class made me cards.  They were so sweet.  Here are some pics:

Getting some colorful bibs!!

The yummy food...

An adorable gift... see that it's a bunny on a bike?

Sydney kissing her "Dora Doll"

It was a great week.  I'm just exhausted.  I think my mood is catching up to my uncomfortability (is that a word?).  I feel like I've been a little more short, patience-wise, the last few days.  Hmmm, hopefully this will pass soon.  We have a fun weekend ahead of us, I'm sure I'll post another update soon!

24 more days!

Alright, just a little update on the baby-doings.  First of all, check out my whopper of a belly:

week 36

Sydney wanted to "kiss the belly" again. :)

We had a really great weekend.  Again, very productive- went to the gym (which I think I need to stop doing, by the way), shopping, organizing the house, etc..  Late Saturday afternoon we went over to our friends' house... they live in East Cobb and we hadn't seen their new house yet.  We watched football, stayed for dinner, and had a great time!  And... Sydney was actually okay around their dog!  Amazing!  We got back after 10, so Sydney had a late night, but she ended up sleeping in a little bit today.  That was nice, considering it was daylight savings. 

We hung around the house most of the day, after going to church, running some errands, and going to Panera Bread for lunch (Fuji Apple Chicken Salad... yummmm).  I was upstairs for a while, and when I came downstairs, this is what I found:

Silly Sydney... or maybe I should say her daddy is the silly one.



So, tonight I knew my neighbors were taking me out for dinner to celebrate the upcoming new arrival.  Little did I know it would be a full out shower/dinner at Macaroni Grill!  It was SO nice!  They surely did surprise me.  And let me tell you, if I had 5% of the creativity my neighbors have, I would be doing well.  They thought of every little detail... candles on the table, flowers in vases, balloons, nametags, party favors, and way more.  And look at the banner one of my neighbors made:

Here are some more pictures from the night:

So cute!  So, I was showered with wonderful, adorable presents for our sweet new addition.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors and friends.  :-)

On that note, I am off to hit the hay and start up another week.  Only 2 more full weeks of school!  Countdown- 24 more days until the 1st.  I just pray my little girl stays healthy and safe until she comes out to meet us!

You be the judge!

You know how some children are spitting images of one of their parents?  I don't feel like Sydney "screams" either me or Stephen.  Some swear she looks just like one of us, but sometimes they say it's Stephen and sometimes it's me.  (more so, Stephen).  Stephen and I can't tell.  Well, I just got back her latest pictures and decided to compare it to me at the same age.  See what you think!  (I'll give you my take below).

OK, here's what I think.  The eyes, eyebrows, and face shape are definitely Stephen.  (Thank goodness!  I have quite a long face.  Please don't insert that horse joke here.)  I think the nose and mouth are more like me.  Definitely the cheeks match up, but both Stephen and I had really chubby cheeks as babies/toddlers, so she gets that from both sides.  The hair?  It looks like mine was actually curlier (hard to believe!) and lighter. 

I need to see if I can find a pic of Stephen at the same age to compare.  Isn't it so funny a person can literally be half one person and half another?  I can't wait to see what Taylor looks like!!

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!