Sydney's 4th Birthday Party!

We had Sydney's birthday party this afternoon!  We had it at The Little Gym, which is a fun place where the kids can do fun gym-like activities, as well as play on gym equipment (balance beam, uneven bars, etc.)  Sydney had so much fun!  Here are some pics from the day:

Now, I think I'm going to hit the hay... (I can't imagine how I'd feel if the b-day party had been at our house this year!)

What a week!

This week was quite the whirlwind of events, mainly at work.  It was followed up by a busy weekend, leading into another busy week.  Whew.  Will I ever catch my breath?  (These days, probably not!)

Work has been crazy, and I haven't been getting home until close to 6 most nights.  There is so much I could and should be doing at night for work, but I am pretty much useless after 8 PM.

But, on top of work and life and my weekly doctor's appointment, I had two fun events... two showers!  I tried to discourage any showers this go-round... I really feel bad, that this is my third child, and feeling like I don't deserve any celebrations because of that.  I realize this is the first boy, but still.  Anyways, my work crew is so fantastic that they didn't seem to care, and were so generous to want to do something special for me and the baby.

On Thursday, I was running late to a "working lunch" with my Learning Support co-workers at O'Charley's.  I felt so bad, texting them to say I'd be 10 minutes late.  I ran in with my binder/notebook in hand, ready to get to work... only to find out it was a surprise shower for me.  It was so sweet.  Wish I had taken pictures of the event!

Then, on Friday, my home school (where I used to teach) threw me a big shower.  There were so many edible goodies- sandwiches, queso dip, meatballs, cookies, brownies, fudge, and more.  I think I had 5 servings of it all.  We got so many wonderful things- mainly diapers and wipes, which are mostly needed. 

My sweet co-worker struck again!  Do you remember, back when I was pregnant with Taylor, that one of my co-workers not only got me and the baby some presents, but got Sydney all kinds of goodies?  Well, she did it again, this time showering both Sydney and Taylor with all sorts of fun presents!  She is just the most selfless person.  Here are some pics from the school shower, and the girls enjoying their gifts.

Can you tell these gifts were kind of a hit in our household?



Belly shot

18 days to go!

Eek!  36.5 weeks

Fall... is that you??

I have to admit, lately I'm feeling terrible.  I'm not sleeping well, which I think is affecting everything I do.  I know it's just the last couple of weeks of being pregnant, so I'm trying my best to stay positive... but lately, I feel like Debbie Downer!  No one wants to hear someone whine about their aches and pains all the time, so I'll move on. 

Thankfully, today was such a lovely day!  It was a little warm in the sun, but when that breeze blew, it was SO nice.  Stephen and I and the girls had a very nice unproductive day.  We went to church, the girls and I took naps, we played outside for hours, went on a walk, went to visit some neighbors, made dinner, and got ready for bed. 

Since I have been feeling so yucky, I decided to join in the fun by taking some pics of the girls... something I haven't done in a while!

Stephen, showing off his mad skills.

Sweet Taylor.

Sweet Sydney.

Big sis pushing little sis.

Stephen was trying to scare them.

Sweet...

Still sweet...

...Scary!!

Taylor loves her daddy.

24 more days!

This blog has served a good purpose for me.  I like being able to look back and find out when things exactly happened, what things were like for us at certain points in time, etc.  I am thankful to be a boring blogger.  Many people I know blog when something terrible is going on with them/their family, and I'm glad to just be able to blog about the day-to-days.

I wanted to post today, because back in 2010, I had a blog named the same title... 24 more days!  Check here if you want a little comparison.

35.5 weeks

I think my belly is bigger with Parker than it was with Taylor.  Is he going to be an 11-pounder??  Taylor wouldn't cooperate for the kiss picture... I don't think she quite gets that Parker is in my belly.  She'll rub her own belly and say "Baby Parker".  Also, my hair looks a lot better in 2010.  I wasn't quite as lazy... or should I say, I didn't choose other alternatives over straightening my hair like I do now (ahem, sitting on the couch and watching TV).

For all of you people wanting to have kids, my best advice is... aim to have the baby in March or April!!  The summer months are b-r-u-t-a-l.  I am usually so cold natured, but I wake up now absolutely sweating.  In the AM, it can be hard just putting on make-up.  It makes me feel for anyone going through hot flashes.  And there's no relief- you step outside, already sweaty from your air-conditioned house, just to be hit by a brick wall of 90+ degree weather.  Fall, where are you??? I bought a pumpkin spice candle in honor of you (hopefully) coming soon.

So, 24 days it is... so much to do at work, so these next... 16 work days will be insane.  Things around the house are basically done, which makes me feel better.  I don't know if "nesting" is really a natural phenomenon or not, or if it's just the freak-out period before the baby comes.  I tend to act the same way before I go back to school from summer break.  I'm realizing 24 days means 3 more weekends, which are pretty busy already.

That's it for now!  

Holiday Weekend

We've had a really good holiday weekend, considering we really had NO plans whatsoever. 

Friday was a great day because we got to refinance our house, plus one of the rental houses!!!  Woohoo!!!  We are doing 15 year mortgages on both and the interest rate was more than half what it was before.  So, we are paying actually less for 15 years than we were for 30 years with our previous interest rate!  Woot.

Stephen went to the Braves game with some clients Friday evening, so the girls and I braved dinner out plus some grocery shopping. 

Saturday, I headed to the mall to return some things, and, of course, buy some things.  I rocked out the sales at Kohl's.  I'm seriously wondering how they make any money.  I got 22 items for $87.00, and saved almost $400 off regular prices.  Woot again.

Sunday, I was a bad girl and skipped out on church.  The girls have been getting up so early lately, that I have an energy burst between 6 AM and 1 PM, but then I'm just exhausted for the rest of the day.  So, I thought I'd take full advantage of my morning rush.  Stephen took the girls to church, so I had a couple hours of kid-free time.

So, what did I do?  Bask in the sun?  Read my book?  Paint my toes? (ha, who are we kidding.  I can hardly see my toes.)

I... washed 6 loads of laundry, got eBay lots of baby clothes together and on eBay, ironed, dusted the whole house, mopped the floor, boiled/sterilized all the bottles, replied to emails, washed and packed up maternity clothes I won't be wearing anymore, steirlized the new pump I bought, put back together our dining room table (which lately has been dumping grounds of things I need to put somewhere quickly), got all of Sydney's party stuff together... whew!  Then, later, we grilled salmon, ate a yummy dinner, and then had Stephen's early birthday party last night with the girls.  (We have plans tonight with friends, and then he's leaving town for his actual birthday!).  I thought I'd crash super early, but we actually stayed up until almost 11, watching TV.

Needless to say, I'm feeling it today.  We ran some errands this morning with one whiney almost-4 year old and one 1 year old who hates the stroller.  Not a great combination.  Today, we really don't have plans until later tonight, which I'm glad for.  A nap might be calling my name...

This is how our bed looks most mornings lately- Taylor snuggled up next to me, leaving me about 6 inches of room on the edge.  Sydney snuggled up next to Stephen, kicking him every 5 minutes.  Thank goodness we have a King sized bed... I don't know how we'd manage with anything less.

Birthday party goodies!

Ahhh, I can see the dining room table.  It is usually covered.  Plus, the girls love to take the napkings out and play with them, so those are always all over the place. 

Bottles... cleaned and ready to go!

Shiny floor.  It is rarely like this, so I had to document.

I had to put this one in.  How sassy does she look??

21 Months!

Taylor is 21 months old!!!

Taylor's accomplishments this month include:

• Totally rocking using her fork/spoon!
• Jumping and blowing her nose (not at the same time, thank goodness).
• Lots of new words: "Bless You" (after someone sneezes), she says all of her teachers' names, "Sydney" (not just "Sissy"), "Taylor", "Kitty Cat", "Pig", "Horse", "Capri Sun", "Boots" (as in Dora).  She is totally trying to talk in conversation now, it's just a little hard to understand everything. 
• We've been using the potty more this month, and she's had several successes!  I know it's still kind of a fluke each time it happens, but she gets so excited.
• She's doing great in her big-girl bed!  Her little internal alarm clock gets her up between 4:45 and 5:45 AM.  We'll hear her on the monitor shuffling out of her bed, then she'll shut the door behind her, and then we'll hear the "swish" of her diaper as she walks down the hall to our room, carrying Elmo and her little doll "Addie" in her arms.  She'll come lay/sit in our bed until about 6 when we get up. :)
• She's singing more of the alphabet!
• We're working on her counting- I'll say 1 through 4, and then she'll say, "5, 6, 7, 9!"  We'll work on that 8 and 10. 
• One night at dinner, Sydney was completely dominating the conversation when Taylor was trying to talk.  Taylor yelled, "SISSY!" and then went, "Shhhhhh!" with her finger over her lip.  It was quite humorous.
• She's learning more and more animal sounds.  Before, she'd say "mooooo" to every animal we would call out.  Now, she can make the correct sounds for dog, cat, pig, horse, duck, and yes, cow. 
• She loves to look at you and say, "Boo!"
• She is walking up the stairs on her own, and probably could walk downstairs all on her own (I'm just still freaked out and always walk down next to her).
• She has dominated our playground.  She climbs up the ladder on her own, goes down the super-fast slide all by herself. 

Here are some pics from month 21!

Waking up her sister by climbing in her bed.

Saying "Boo!" at the doctor's office.

Actually keeping the headphones on.

Weeeeeee!

Rockin' her sister's bathing suit in the backyard.

After a messy dinner out one night, this is how she rode home.

Sisters.

PS- Happy birthday to my favorite Dad!!!