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!