Elynn's diaper shower

We got together with the girls a couple of weekends ago for a Halloween costume picture and for a diaper shower for Elynn. 

Take note of Jaylie on the bottom left....she's going, she's going....

And she's gone...

 Addie (who missed the shower because she was sick) got Reese a big sister necklace. That night she cried for over 30 minutes because I made her take it off at bedtime.

She also got a book and color book from MaKenna. 

 When we went to make this group picture, I asked Reese if she would hold Charli. She started rubbing her hands together like she couldn't wait to get that baby in her lap. So funny. I think this was the first time she ever got to hold a real, live baby.

 The ever so talented LaRae made this door hanger. I repeat, SHE MADE IT. As in, she fired up a power tool of some sort, cut it out, and painted it. She is one talented lady.

Halloween 2013

Since there is a possibility that we will be otherwise occupied Thursday, we decided to go ahead and Trick or Treat Sunday afternoon. (Which is exactly how I had always hoped we would spend our 6th wedding anniversary- trick or treating because there is a high likelihood that I am gigantic and would make people nervous if I showed up 4 days from now asking for candy.) Reese had already told me that she didn't want paint on her face. She quickly changed her mind when she found out that her daddy was painting his face, and she was more than happy to help him out.

In an ensemble such as this we only made 2 stops- MeeMaw and PeePaw's and Big Daddy and D.D.'s. 

 And because I can laugh at myself (and for memories sake) I got in a family photo. Yes, I know. I am "hurge." This too shall pass...or so I pray.

Many thanks to MeeMaw for making the costumes. 

About what I said yesterday....

I lied about the whole last day of work thing. Apparently I love playing with fire because I went on back to the ole school house today and I'm planning to go back tomorrow. And honestly, if I make it, I might just keep on next week.

I need to clarify what I said yesterday. Rather, be more precise. Dr. Ballard said I could go any day, but she has also had people in similar positions still have to be induced at 40 weeks. She did say that I would not make it to an induction though. So there's that. Don't you love the little mind game that having a baby plays on you? It's a lot of fun to just sit and wait- which is exactly why I came on back to work. I'd gone nuts if I had too much time on my hands to think about it. 

Personally, I don't think it is time yet. I still don't have the full blown about-to-have-a-baby-nose-spread-across-my-face look yet. Adam says she will be here between 2 and 6 on Saturday which is during the Alabama game. I'm thinking she might decide to be our anniversary present on Sunday. Or, hey we might still be waiting this time next week.

Here are a few things about Reese I don't want to forget (and if memory serves me correctly, having a newborn in the house is going to make my mind a little fuzzy so I need to get this out there now.) 

When she sings Farmer and the Dell she says, "hi-ho did ya know" instead of "hi-ho the derry-o."

She pretends to call Diego and after she listens to what he says with a very concerned look on her face she says, "to da reshue" instead of rescue.

When I pick her up everyday she wants a treat out of the treasure box. I always make her ask if she has been good that day before she can get anything. She turns to Liz and says, "I be sweet today?" Most days she picks out a pack of gummies. Since she knows her daddy is also a big fan of gummies she tries to save him one: "I save dis one for daddy." One afternoon the temptation was too much. I saw her lick the one she was saving for him while she walked around holding it. Finally she decided to put it in the refrigerator for safe keeping until he got home. When he got there, she showed him the one she saved for him, but she went ahead and ate it before he got a chance to. Little junk food junky.   

They learned the R-E-D song at Liz's. Adam and I had to google the lyrics to figure out that she was saying, "firetrucks are red, stop signs are too." It sounds just like she said, "firetrucks are red, something are too." We thought she was saying the word "something" because she didn't know the real word in the song.

When things aren't going her way, for instance if her sock isn't on correctly, she says "my sock not doin' no right."

She told us last night that she wanted Elynn to get new paci's so she could have the old ones. (Elynn did get her own brand new paci's, Reese just doesn't know that or she would try to play with them.) She also said she wants new markers and "red jama's" from Santa Clause.

Reese is officially a dance school drop out. At what age should we give the "if you quit this you'll be a quitter the rest of your life" speech? Please tell me that rule doesn't apply to 3 year olds. After a month at dance, she still wouldn't let me out of her sight so I asked her and she told me she didn't want to go back. It was that very day we hung up our ballet shoes. We'll try again next year. Minus the ballet. She was much more fond of tumbling.

And that's all I can remember, so now I'm going to sit my big self down and wait it out. You'll be the first to know if something happens.

Elynn update

I had several posts I was hoping to write before "baby sisor's" arrival, and I still might get it done but it's looking pretty iffy at this point.

At last weeks appointment I was 2cm and 50% thinned. 

Yesterdays appointment....4cm and 90% thinned. I'm pretty much a ticking time bomb. 

Dr. Ballard said it could be any day which is why today is possibly my last day of work. The last thing I need in my life is for my water to break in front of a bunch of teenagers. They tend to remember those sorts of things, yet can't seem to remember to bring their notebooks to class. I have no desire to be the story that gets told at their class reunions for the rest of their lives...."Hey, y'all remember when Mrs. Robertson's water broke at school that time...." 

Last week we had the standard growth sonogram done to be sure she was in the right position etc. According to their estimates she was 7lbs 1oz. Reese weighed 7.9 and was 19 1/2 inches long. I'm thinking Elynn might be somewhere around 7lbs 12oz. From the looks of it, we'll be finding out sooner rather than later. 

Y'all say a few prayers for us: 

1.This doesn't all go down at school.

2. It doesn't happen so fast that Adam  has to deliver her on the side of the road. (Worst case scenario, people.)

3. Reese handles this with all the grace and dignity that you would expect a 3 year to when her whole world is about to change. 

So...this is what I did yesterday

You can imagine Adam's delight when he called and Reese was anxiously waiting to tell him, "We's tire is flap on we's car. Mommy proally hit da bridge at MeeMaw's. It go like dis "ssssssssss." 

There are so many things you need to know. 

1. She says "flap" instead of "flat."

2. She cried about the "flap" tire even though we were safely at MeeMaw's house as opposed to being stranded on the side of the road.

3. When Adam asked how it happened I wanted so badly to respond, "The most important thing is that we have our health." 

4. Yes, we have to cross a bridge to get to MeeMaw's house.(As in, the bridge is part of their driveway.) (It's a real live version of the song "over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go.")

5. I might or might not have cut the turn a little close when driving onto said bridge which caused the tire to get caught on a random piece of metal resulting in a gash in the tire. 

6. I'm riding on a brand new set of Michelin's. (This sort of thing never happens when you already need a set of tires.)

7. While putting the spare on the car, Adam casually mentioned, "I want you to recognize that I have not gotten upset about this. I think it shows what a wise man I really am, and I want a little credit for that." And he is right. He absolutely deserves credit; however, he did make it a point to remind me the exact cost of the tires. 

His need for recognition reminded me of this....

Every time he takes out the trash or cleans up a mess he is sure to say something along the lines of "LeeLee, did you see I folded those clothes for you?" Or whatever it is that he has done. And this is exactly why I believe we have a great marriage. Ya'll, he is a real, real good man.  

The good news is that Reese got a little hands on experience with changing a tire, and really is there a price too high to pay for your daughter being independent and knowing how to change a tire on her on? I don't think so. 

Reese went on to tell everybody we have seen that, "Mommy not a good drwiver. Daddy is a berry good drwiver." 

Dad Life

Adam emailed me this morning and told me to go to youtube and watch this video. Something about how this is his life...especially with daughter #2 on the way.

Dad Life: Official Father's Day Anthem

I can't even tell you how much I have laughed because Adam probably really does think this is his life. In reality, let me tell you a couple of things:

1. No A-master I know is going to wear gas station sunglasses. He is the proud owner of his 3rd pair of Costa Del Mar's. (It is important that you know that Flipper is somewhere, as we speak, wearing his first pair after a wave crashed into him a few years ago, and (I quote) "almost knocked my head off" which caused his sunglasses to be swept away in the current. I thought he was going to have to take a Xanax before he got to the store to buy another pair. His love of a good pair of sunglasses is something I can't even begin to explain. Something about having blue eyes and they are more sensitive to the sun and blah blah blah. I'm pretty sure he would forget Reese at home before he forgot his sunglasses.  

2. He has never been subjected to any type of pants with a crease because his wife HATES to iron.

and 

3. He just WISHES he had a 60 inch zero turn lawn mover. 

Personally, my favorite part is "I got dozens of dollars, and that's right, it goes straight to my daughters and my wife." I just laugh because y'all wait till those daughters are...oh...say, 16 and how fast his dollars will go straight those daughters. And I can't even talk about when one of them turns 35 and we allow them to get married. Does anybody else hear that cash register going off? 

And speaking of kids and their cost, my financial classes have been doing a project on the cost of college. If any of you have kids and are interested in the projected cost of them attending college, visit this website. Scroll down until you will see "Future college cost" and enter your kid's age. I had to fight the urge to curl up in the fetal position and smoke a pack of cigarettes. And I don't even smoke. They estimate that for a 3 year old, the annual cost will be roughly $52,000. I am a self proclaimed math hater, but if my calculator didn't let me down that is somewhere around $208,000 for a 4 year degree. (Breath deep, Elena. Breath deep.) 

Dear sweet, sweet Lord, 

Let them be smart and get scholarships. Please. I'm begging. 

Amen.

P.S. Last Friday night we tried to do a trial run of Reese spending the night with Jolie. She did fall asleep at Jolie's house, but within about 15 minutes she woke up and was crying for her momma. She claims "I pend da night wif Jolie when baby sisor comes," but people it is not looking good. Mostly I'm worried for Heather and her mental sanity when that night is upon us. Let us all be in prayer for her.   

She turned "free"

Well. For once the weather people were 100% accurate on the forecast. It rained the Saturday of her party. All day long. Between the virus going around and the rain, this was one party that I wasn't sure was going to happen.

The birthday weekend kicked off Friday at her daycare party where no less than 4 children under the age of 5 either talked, sang or cried at all times. For me, it validated all the reasons I've always known that I could not work with small children every day. They are precious. A bless from above. But wow. I was tired when I left 45 minutes later. (Which doesn't necessarily mean anything seeing how I wake up tired right now.)

After that, we went home to wait on her daddy to bring her prize. In case her facial expression doesn't clarify, rest assured that she loves it. 

She kept asking was she getting her prize "to-day or to-mowow?" Adam picked Reese up at daycare about a week ago and without realizing it he sat her right in the seat next to her birthday surprise that was still in the box. She said, "Oooo, what dat? I like that. I want one like dat." Adam convinced her that it was just an empty box.

Then there was Saturday. Party day. I was up at the crack of dawn peeking through the blinds checking the weather and praying for a rain-less miracle. Somewhere around the 6 AM hour the rain started falling. Once Reese got up around 7, she would ask her daddy every 5 minutes, "It stop rwainin' yet?" When he would tell her no, she would ask, "all da people comin'?" And because we have some really sweet family and friends, all the people did come despite the rain. And our girl could not have been more excited, which taught me a great motherhood lesson- it really doesn't matter what I think or have planned. As long as she is excited, I should be too. Rain or shine. (Remind me that I said that when she is a mature and sophisticated 18 and possibly making choices that I don't approve of.)

From here on out I am going to encourage her to pick party themes that are based out of the great US of A as opposed to British based cartoons. Do you know how much they charge to ship Peppa related items from Great Britain? A lot, that's how much. And do you know where most of the good Peppa party supplies are? Somewhere in the Great Britain region. So I found what I could and hoped for the best. And really, since the soaking rain lasted from 6 AM to 6 PM, the decorations were the last of my concerns. 

Before the party, she told me to "spraid my hair." So I got out the hairspray and sprayed it. She said, "Noooooo momma. SPRAID it." It took me a second, but while she was giving me the I'm-thirteen-and-my-momma-knows-nothing look I finally realized that she meant for me to BRAID her hair.

Her hair was soaking wet when she blew out the candles because, despite the rain, the bounce house wouldn't be shut down. BUT there was moment that the bounce house did almost get shut down. Jolie came running to tell me that Reese tee teed on her during all the bouncing excitement, but quite frankly with the amount of rain that was falling I don't know that it mattered. That Jolie, she is one good cousin because she ran right back to the bounce house and got in like nothing happened.

By Sunday, momma was tired and needed a day free of makeup so we went grocery shopping then spent the day playing in the bounce house. We tried to explain that the bounce house had to leave on Monday so we better play in it a lot. After about 2 hours she told us, "I frew wif it." Which were my feelings exactly. I was through with all the rain and messiness, and momma needed a nap- one which I did not get because my girl turned "free" and little people that age aren't fans of naps;) 

Happy 3rd Birthday to our girl! With her "baby sisor" on the way, three is going to be a BIG year for her:)