Halloween

I had to dress the girls like clowns. I mean they do have the hair! Kate wanted to be a princess so she was officially a “clown princess.” Kate hadn’t been feeling too well but still managed to have a lot of fun Halloween night. We went by my parents for their first trick-or-treat house then went to some of their neighbors. After, we came back to our house and met up with the neighbors, Eli and Brady. I took Kate around while Jason stayed home with Abby. Abby loved running to the door and handing the kids their candy.

                

Church Halloween Party

Our church does an annual Halloween trunk-or-treat party. I helped to set up and clean up so it was a long day. There were games inside then at the end everyone goes to their car and decorates their trunk and hands out candy to the kids. The girls had a lot of fun.

Love my little clowns!

Abby was so still and patient while getting her face painted

We decided Abby was a cirque du soleil clown :)

Our girls are just so much fun!

Pre-school Parade

Kate’s pre-school had a Halloween costume parade. My parents met Abby and me there and Jason creepily came out of the woods to meet us also. ~The church Kate’s preschool is at is behind our house so you can walk through the woods to get there. I choose to drive since it’s not the easiest walk with a 19 month old. ~ Kate was so excited when she finally spotted all of us waiting to see her parade around.

After the parade the school had their fall festival. I volunteered to help out for this party. I wanted to get my volunteering out of the way before baby boy arrives. It was so fun. They had face painting, a couple bouncy houses, fishing, music/story time, and were able to decorate cookies.

I absolutely love Kate’s teachers and her school.

Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch one Saturday. I choose one that wasn’t as popular since I don’t like big crowds with kids. We went to Kinsey Farm in Gainesville. They had a hayride, pumpkins, big pretzels, animals you could feed… Our poor kids were starving since we didn’t see anywhere to stop for food on the way, but they had still had a blast!

They kids weren’t thrilled with us making them sit for a picture…

Kate loved picking out our pumpkins and pushing around the wagon.

Abby walked right up to the cow and fed him some food all by herself! She always claps for herself after accomplishing something :)

Kate was concerned about the large cow who was taking all the food. She didn’t think it was very nice of him not to share.

A fun day!

My Nursing Woes

I am looking forward to most newborn things except for the dreaded nursing.

I fortunately was able to nurse both girls until their first birthday but it was not the most pleasant experience.  Kate was not a good nurser, period. She was so sleepy but I had been told how important it was to nurse every 2hrs during the day and every 3hrs during the night to establish a good milk supply.  I would spend a minimum of an hour usually feeding Kate at the beginning. She took 45 minutes to eat then at least 15 minutes was spent keeping her awake. Which means I got an hour break during the day and about a 2 hour break during the night. That’s not much time to shower, eat, sleep, go to the store… It was so hard to leave the house because by the time I was done feeding her I had such a short window before she needed to eat again. Abby was a much faster eater. Honestly that made a world of difference. But she was a hungry baby and wanted to eat more often, so I think she was eating every 2hrs for a long time. Which still leaves you with a pretty short window for getting out and doing anything.

Then there was the pain, oh the pain. I know for a fact I was still in bad pain from nursing Kate at my 6 week checkup. I can’t remember for sure when it went away. Again, Abby only hurt for the first couple of weeks which was much nicer!

I for some reason tend to get anxiety later in my pregnancy and then while nursing. I think it has a little to do with maybe feeling claustrophobic, being stuck. When you’re nursing you can’t move or get up to help your other child and you have to wait until the baby is finished which can be as long as the baby wants.
Social Stigma. I personally think society makes it hard to nurse and turns nursing into a very isolated experience at times. Yes, this could be considered my own personal issue but I’m just not comfortable with stripping down naked in front of people. At the beginning you almost have to be topless while trying to get the hang of it which means I need to leave the room if anyone is over. Kate didn’t like to nurse with a cover so I always had to go by myself to feed her if we were around any people or in public. When Abby got a little older I could nurse with a cover but still didn’t feel comfortable if we were in a public place like a restaurant or such. Which meant there were a few nursing sessions sitting on a toilet. Fun times.

Tired! A lactation expert also told me while it’s good to give the baby a bottle once a week (starting not before 5 weeks and not after 7 weeks) I should not do that during the night feedings ever, since that’s the babies longest stretch and your supply could diminish. Which means Jason could never feed the baby during the night…

Pumping. I think I just didn’t have the best pump. After a few months I would pump every single night for about 30 minutes. That way I would have milk for a bottle and a back up supply just in case. Later I started pumping every morning so I could mix it with oatmeal/rice cereal.

Yet I still nurse and will try to nurse this baby. It’s not all bad. Looking back I do think the alone time, whether forced or not, really was a bonding time between me and my girls. Plus, it does get easier and better.  Around 3 months is a changing point then by 6 months it’s a breeze. Jason has to go into work every day programming and working with numbers then come home and take over by playing/bathing/putting the kids to bed so I probably wouldn’t make him get up during the night anyway. My girls had no trouble with eating oatmeal since it was practically straight milk at first. I have a husband who supports and encourages me and helps in anyway possible. Ironically some of my favorite times were sitting in the rocking chair in the middle of the night holding my baby while she eats knowing this was something only I could do. They grow up so fast and I need to be forced to slow down and fully appreciate them as little babies. There are of course the other basic reasons you always hear about too.

So, who knows what will happen with this baby. Hopefully, I’ll be able to nurse, but if not I know I will be able to tell myself I tried. I also know that if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be sad and disappointed, but okay. I may obsess about nursing but know it’s not the most important thing in my child’s life!

We’re Having A…

BOY

Biggest Cow I’ve Ever Seen!

The girls had so much fun at the pumpkin patch and loved seeing the animals. Kate was happier watching the cows while Abby had no problem letting them eat from her hands! Kate was also very concerned by the bully cow who pushed away the other cows and wouldn’t let them have any food. :)

Irony and a Rant

I used to love Glee, watched it all the time. Then it slowly started to change. I completely banned it after the sex education episode where they claim kids who choose abstinence in high school must be frigid and lame. Then those in the celibacy club are of course so dumb and naïve that when it’s their turn to promote abstinence they choose “Afternoon Delight” to sing.

However, I decided to give it another chance the other night because honestly, I kinda missed it.  Well what do you have? Singing a girl power song while dressed like a stripper. Anyone see the irony? Thanks Glee for getting the message across… You know that girls are only fun to watch and useful when they’re scantly clad and dancing like a stripper. I mean, it definitely can’t be their minds or their message, that would just be crazy. I find it quite frustrating how few decent female characters there are on tv and in movies. Team Emma Watson all the way!



I should explain that my problem isn’t that all tv shows should be old fashioned wholesome cheesy shows. I mean we watch Dexter! My problem is when a show claims to be a family show and its target audience is children/teenagers and then is completely inappropriate. Ever watched the Family Channel? Then you know exactly what I’m talking about!

Pregnancy Update

We are beyond excited for baby number 3! My due date is March 19th, 2012.

I thought I was pregnant before even testing due to the creeping nauseous feeling I was having. Unfortunately, I’ve been pretty sick this pregnancy, like my others, but this one has felt harder. It seemed to start earlier and more intense. There have definitely been moments when I didn’t know if I would be able to handle it anymore.

I secretly take some comfort in the sickness, hoping that means things are going well with the baby, but logically knowing that means nothing. We’ve been blessed to hear the heartbeat three times. The first was when I was was around 7 weeks, with an ultrasound. The second time, at 10 weeks, was a little scary because the Dr could not find the heartbeat after many attempts. She was about to send me for an ultrasound when she finally found it! The third time, at 14 weeks, she had no trouble and even commented on how active the baby already was :)

I’m 16 weeks now and still feeling sick but nearly as bad as earlier. I just keep eating a ton hoping that will help!

The Girls Trip with the Grandparents

While Jason and I were at GNP, Kate and Abby stayed with my parents then Jason’s parents and sister came up to watch them. We figured it would be too much for one person to watch them the whole time. We have very active children! Here are some pictures my Mom took on her phone to send us so I didn’t get too homesick

Kate loved her sign so much she made my Mom take her picture again. I think Kate looks like Jennifer here; Jennifer used to make the same smile when she was little.

Love these girls!

My Dad is known for filling up our Christmas stockings with items from the Dollar Store. He stocked up with treats from his favorite stores for each day they had the girls. It was like Christmas for them!

Abby makes us laugh ALL the time!

This is a random old picture I found on my phone. My Dad is very serious about catching squirrels but one day he caught an opossum instead. He sent a picture to Kate since she was disappointed my Dad was freeing the nasty thing before she could come over.

Kate’s 1st Day of Pre-School

While Jason and I were out of town Kate had her first day of pre-school. Not the best planning on our part. My parents said she was so excited to get ready and take her school bag and lunch bag. She had a great first day and couldn’t wait to go back!

She’s going to Johns Creek Presbyterian Church, right by our house, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-1:00PM.

I had a hard time deciding all the pre-school logistics… what time, which school??? I LOVE the school we choose. They’re smaller, have amazing teachers and I can literally walk there. I also only wanted Kate to go for 2 days a week and not for a long day. I know she loves going, but she is going to be in school for the rest of her life! This is the only time I get her at home all day (away from outside influences), plus I think this is a great bonding time for her and Abby.