Kelly Look-alike Meter

I saw this on Michelle's blog and had to do it! :-)

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Last night and belly pics...

Last night was Jonathan's company Christmas Party. I was a little nervous going to another event with doctors and their wives. They all make so much more money than we do and, well, I shouldn't have even worried about it, but I did. I was afraid I wouldn't fit in. But then I realized I am who I am and I am who God has created me to be. That's all that matters! We had a fabulous time and I even liked some of the wives! ;-) Here is a picture of Jonathan and I on our way out the door. You'll be happy to know we were both very appropriately dressed.

And here are 2 shots of just me (for all those who've asked to see my preggo belly).

Shopping trip makes me think...

about a trip to Dallas, TX I took with my mom, her friend Judy and her daughter Amy. It was when Jonathan and I lived in Texas. It was a mother/daughter trip. Amy was 7 months pregnant (approximately 28-30 weeks along). We shopped literally ALL day long. We probably walked 7 or more miles that day. After the trip (months later) my mom couldn't believe that we drug Amy around Dallas as big pregnant as she was. You can't fully understand the impact until you've been pregnant yourself. Tonight I was reminded how tired one gets (and how quickly) when pregnant. As I was walking around the mall tonight trying to find a dress to wear to Jonathan's company Christmas party (and yes, I think they even call it a Christmas party), I too can't believe we drug Amy all over Dallas shopping. She must have been EXHAUSTED! I couldn't have walked to one more store tonight and I was only there for 2 hours!! I am trying to justify my tiredness, however. I mean after all...I am 32 weeks (8 months) pregnant...like that somehow makes that much difference...

BTW...I did find a dress. I'm not in love with it, but it's the best I found and since the party is Thursday, I've got to take what I can find! Maybe Jonathan and I can get a picture together on our way out the door and I'll post it.

And the saga continues...

Emma seems to be doing really well at night in her big girl bed. Here are a few pictures of her actually sleeping in her bed.

Naps, however, have been a different story. She did finally go to sleep yesterday and slept for 3 hours. But this was after being disciplined for jumping on the bed, playing with the blinds and attempting to get out of her bed. Today, she's already been disciplined twice. The picture below is what I found the first time I went in, only she was sitting right in the middle of it, wiping her face with one of the wipes. I'm sure she wiped her face with each one before wadding it up and throwing it on the floor. Every wipe from the bag were on the floor. *eyes rolling*

(BTW...this picture is a recreation of what I found. I didn't want her to see me taking a picture of the mess, because then she would think I thought it was cute and that it was alright that she had 1) gotten out of her bed when told not to and 2) taken all the wipes out of the bag and thrown them on the floor.)

UPDATE: Emma was put in her crib to nap. She could not be trusted to stay in her bed...we'll try again tomorrow.

Big girl bed update...

Last night was a success!!! Praise the Lord! We put Emma down in her big girl bed a little after her normal bedtime (it took us a little longer to get the bed rail on than expected). When I put her down, it was clear she did not want to sleep in this new bed. I left her room with her crying. I decided I would let her cry for 5 minutes and go back in to reassure her. After five minutes, I went in and told her she was OK. I laid her back down on her pillow and told her that this was where she was going to sleep and that Mommy and Daddy loved her. This time I walked out and she was quiet. She didn't go to sleep right away, but she wasn't crying. She fell asleep about 30 minutes later. We didn't hear a sound from her until 7:20 this morning!! :-)

However, naptime today has been a little different story. We put her down and she cried for about 30 seconds. Then she started talking to herself and playing like she's been doing in her crib. I came downstairs to work on a project. The monitor got kind of quiet, so I thought she had gone to sleep. A few minutes later, I looked up and there was Emma walking gingerly down the hallway. She had climbed down off her bed, opened the door and come downstairs. It's almost as if she's found a new freedom...but the reality is, it's a new boudnry she must learn. She will have to learn self-control to keep herself in her bed until after her nap or until the morning. I promptly put the child proof door knob thingy on the inside of her door and told her she was not to get out of her bed. :-) She's in her bed now...not sleeping, but in her bed. I feel fairly certain she won't take a nap this afternoon, but I'm not entirely convinced it's the new bed and room. :-)

Here are a few pictures of her new room. I haven't put anything on the walls yet, but that will come soon enough. To be honest, I'm not sure how to decorate...haven't gotten that far. But the good news is - Emma is in her new room and we can now begin to help her adjust to the idea that a new baby will soon be sleeping her old room!

Our big girl and good friends...

First, let me say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to our good friends, Joanne, Kelly, David and Tom. Joannne came over a few weeks ago to help me get things started on Emma's big girl room. She helped me get the room taped to be ready to be painted. I was able to get the bottom part of the room painted because of her help. That weekend Jonathan's parents came for a visit and they helped finish the painting. (Thank you Pete and Barabra!!) There were still LOTS of thing left in the room and the chair rail needed to be put up. Kelly organized her husband and Tom to come over today to help with the rest of the room. They put up the chair rail, put the furniture together and cleared out all the things that weren't Emma's (which is a lot of stuff!). Kelly also cooked us all dinner and delivered it here to the house!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Emma's room is all ready to be slept in! I even put some of her clothes in the closet and in her new dresser. After the bed rail was up, we got Emma ready for bed and I put her to bed in her big girl bed. She didn't want to go down. I left her crying in her new bed and decided to only let her cry for 5 minutes. After five minutes, I went in there and reassured her and laid her back down. I walked out and it's been quiet ever since (well, no crying anyway...she's talking and playing a little in her bed, but again, NO CRYING!!)! We'll see how the rest of the night goes. I'll update you when I can. I will also try to take some pictures.

I'm so thankful for family and good friends that love us. We've been so blessed here in Charlotte to have friends who would do things like this for us. They gave up their Saturday and time with their families to help us get a room ready for our little girl. What a blessing they are in our lives!! Thank you!! We love you guys so much!

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's opened up in our part of town on Monday. One opened in South Charlotte a few months ago, but not really knowing what TJ's is, that's a little far for me to travel for groceries. My friend Kelly has been telling me since I've known her what a great place TJ's is. I've been a little sceptical. I mean really, it's a grocery store, right?! Well, Kelly and I planned to meet there on Monday morning when they opened. She was going to show me the ropes, so to speak. On the way there, she called me and said her youngest had just thrown up in the parking lot, so she was headed home. I decided to go anyway...I mean I was already on my way, right? I bought a few thing that sounded good. Here are a few samples...

Candy Cane Joe Joe's - oreo like cookies with mint filling studded with candy cane pieces (the box is already almost gone - 4 cookies left that I'm saving for after dinner)

Dark Chocolate Belgian Carmels with Sea Salt - already gone

Red Pepper Hummus - YUMMO

Whole Wheat French Onion Pita Chips - Delish, especially with the hummus! Oh and very low fat - BONUS!!

99 cent whole wheat pizza dough - we will be trying this out for dinner tonight



So, needless to say. I'll be back! YAY for TJ's! Sorry Kelly for my skepticism!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can officially begin thinking about Christmas. I try very hard to not start thinking about it before. If I do, I forget how important Thanksgiving is. I did, however, make one provision this year.

The Monday before Thanksgiving several of us got together to start making Advent calendars. It took two nights, so we finished up this past Monday. We copied one that Kelly received as a gift. It starts December 1 and follows the history of redemption to the birth of Christ on the 25th. I have loved it since I saw it when they moved here. I mostly sewed, while the other ladies cut out the ornaments (which I'm VERY thankful for). I'm so EXCITED to start using this wonderful tool with our children!!

I also have to say that making the calendars was so much fun! I love these women!! I hope we can get together on a more regular basis!

Amber, Kelly and Shawnda working diligently. :-)

Kelly cutting pockets.

Just a small glimpse of our mess!

Shawnda, Amber and Stacey take a second to pose for the camera.

This is the second calendar I made for myself. I actually made it yesterday afternoon. Shawnda brought burgandy and darker green felt with silver trim for hers and I loved it so much that I had to have one. This picture and the next show what it looks like with all the ornaments on. This is what it will look like on Christmas Day. You only put one ornament on each day. Each ornament corresponds with the scripture for that day.

And this last picture is the first calendar I made with traditional red and green trimmed in gold.

Thanksgiving...

We traveled to Jacksonville, Florida this year for Thanksgiving. Jonathan's brother Steve lives there. He recently bought a house, so we went to check it out! I have to say, I was a little sceptical about our Thanksgiving meal! But alas, there was nothing to worry about! :-) Steve bought our meal from Honey Baked Ham and it was DELICIOUS!! And I have to say it was REALLY nice not to have to worry about getting everything ready. Ordering out is a great idea!! Steve was a great host. He certainly kept us busy...parks for Emma to play, shopping for big ticket items for his house, the zoo, putting together big ticket items for his house and going to church. We had a great time!

Emma and Uncle Steve. Emma really took to Steve. Every morning she would say "Teve?" Then she would go into his room and wake him up. Poor guy didn't get to sleep in one day!

Steve's Secretary, Beth, made him this BEAUTIFUL apple pie for his Thanksgiving meal with us. It was really good!

Steve and Emma at the zoo.

Emma looking at something...not sure what it was. :-)

LOOK AT THAT TONGUE!!!!! OH MY!!!!

Emma and Daddy riding the carousel.

Emma playing with the goats. She LOVED this part of the zoo!

A crocodile. Did you know they aren't hungry this time of year because of the cooler weather?! I had no idea!

Emma on Daddy's shoulders. :-)

Emma liked the monkeys. She kept saying "monkeeees" :-)

Steve tried to show Emma how to snap her fingers! :-)

How long is too long?

So I need real mommy advice. Lately Emma has flat out refused to take a nap once or twice a week. She will play in her bed for an hour and a half to two hours and then be ready to get up. I'm SO not ready for her to give up her nap and frankly...neither is she! She is a total WRECK by 4:30 or 5 on the days she doesn't nap. She's been crying in her bed for 30 minutes and I've told her she can't get up until she takes a nap, but honestly I don't think it's going to happen. Any advice would certainly be welcomed.

Been busy (and just plain tired)...

Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to the last few weeks. I've tried several times to upload pictures over the last several weeks, but Blogger doesn't seem to like me. And to be honest, I haven't had the patience to wait!! :-)

Pumpkin patch on 10/13 or so...

Mommy and Emma.

Emma and her friend Jonathan checkin' out the rabbits.

Emma picking out her pumpkin!!

This is the "big girl" furniture we bought for Emma a few weeks ago. It's all still in the boxes in various places around the house at the moment. We are in the process of getting rooms painted and getting closets and rooms cleaned out. Once all that is done, we will put all the furniture together and start transitioning Emma to her new room! We'll keep you updated!!

Our trip to VA a few weekends ago. We drove up to an Apple Butter Festival where there was a pumpkin patch and then to Crabtree Falls. The weather was beautiful and the mountains were so refreshing and beautiful. Emma has no fear! She climbed up 3/4 a mile or so of the mountain with us! She would have kept going, but we knew she still had to make it down and we didn't want to carry her!!

This last picture was taken no more than 5 minutes after we got back in the car to go home! She was so tired and didn't even know it!!

More updates to come over the next few days... Here's what you have to look forward to: Birthday party for a friend, Halloween and pictures of our newly painted room! :-)

POTTY!!

For the past several weeks, we've let Emma sit on her potty with her pants on to get her accustomed to sitting on it. The last 2 weeks or so, I've let her sit on it without a diaper when she tells me she has to go, which is usually right after she's already gone in her diaper. Last night she told he she needed to go, so I took her diaper off and sat her on the potty. I kept checking on her (she likes to just sit there for what seems like FOREVER!). I was in the kitchen and I hear Jonathan say, "Get back in there, you're not finished!" I tell him she probably is, and before I can even get it out I realize that she has actually gone poopoo!!!! She missed the potty, but we were SO proud of her for recognizing that she needed to go and for waiting until she went. It almost made it in the potty! I think it's time to get serious about this whole potty training thing! Our little girl is turning into such a big girl!!

Puzzles I'd rather not put together...

About 2 weeks ago, Jonathan came home saying that we were going to get to go to a benefit Gala at the end of October and that it was a Black Tie affair. Of course the first thing that I thought of was what is a 6 month pregnant woman supposed to wear without spending a ton of money?? So I began searching for something appropriate and affordable. Suprisingly, I found something I thought would be perfect at Motherhood. I was hesitant to buy it, not knowing exactly what others would be wearing. I put it on hold and Jonathan and I went back that evening to look at it. He approved and we purchased it, knowing we only had 10 days to return it if we happened to not be able to go to the event. Later the next week, Jonathan told me we might not be going, since the shareholders where he works (the doctors) get first choice. A few days later he was 99.9% sure we were going. (Our 10 days to return the dress were going by fast.) Over the weekend, Jonathan assured me we were going and he tore up the receipt. :-) Then this Monday he found out he has to go to a conference in Washington D.C. that weekend and we wouldn't get to go. :-( Monday was the 10th day (the last day to take back the dress). BUT the receipt was in pieces in the trash, along with several other receipts (about 10). I got all the receipt pieces out and began searching for pieces that looked like the right one. It didn't take as long as you might think. The woman at Motherhood thought I was crazy, but that's OK. :-)

Ok, I know...

It's been FOREVER since I posted anything, but as history has shown, I try to make up for it in a lot of pictures and posts to catch you up. Keep scrolling down. There are several new posts. Enjoy! Oh...be sure to check out Emma's blog. There are even more pictures there!

More Little Dot...

It's been awhile since I posted anything about the pregnancy. Things are going well! I'm feeling much better, but I'm still really tired. Who knew chasing a 2 year old and being pregnant could make you so tired?! We had our "big" ultrasound a few weeks ago. Little Dot wasn't interested in showing us his or her face...maybe next time! Everything showed a healthy baby!

She's 2!

(A month after Emma's birthday, I'm finally getting some pictures posted!)

Here is Emma at 1.





And here she is at 2.

She has changed so much over the last year! She is such a big girl. I'm amazed at all the things she is doing and saying. I shake my head everyday. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. At the YMCA yesterday, the ladies that watch her on most days in Child Watch, told me they don't know how I do it! HA! They were talking about how Emma is all over the place and into everything! They can hardly keep up with her. I said, "Why do you think I come so often? I need a break!" :-) She is an active healthy little girl! We are blessed that God would give us this gift. She brings us so much joy. God has already used her so much to sanctify us. It's almost scary to see what He has in store for us! :-) We love you so much little girl!!