My Funny Family

Here are a few things that my family did that made me laugh:

Anagrace has a new friend. She has formed some sort of a bond with a jelly packet from Bojangles. She calls it "wormy". She carries it around everywhere and talks to it. I am afraid that wormy is going to explode into a sticky mess on the carpet because of her affection.

Anderson has learned to flex his arm muscles. He enjoys flexing while eating and he can do it on command when you say "show me your muscles"! His arms tremble and he makes a grunting noise when showing his strength. We actually had a flexing contest during dinner last night...the whole family!

Justin sang old Michael Jackson tunes at the top of his lungs while we were alone in the van. There was head-bobbing, face-contorting and lots of "whoos" and "hee hees" involved.

I love my funny family!

A Roomy Womb

I finally felt the baby kick 2 nights ago. I love that feeling, the feeling of my baby growing and moving inside me. I was not overly-concerned, but I was wondering why I hadn't felt movement before now.
Anagrace was the first resident of my uterus. She probably lived in pretty tight quarters, so I felt her move sooner. There was almost a 3 year vacancy period before Anderson, so I'm sure his home was quite cozy. I felt him move early on, too. But, this baby took up residence 5 months after Anderson vacated the premises. He is probably living in a much roomier womb than the previous 2 occupants. I picture him legs stretched out, hands behind his head, just chillin' saying "Ah, home sweet home" or maybe "Womb sweet womb"!
(I actually got to see him on a 4D ultrasound (it was so cool) and he was not stretched out as I pictured. I'm going to post some of those pictures as soon as I can figure out why my scanner is not working.)

A Busy Few Days

It has been a busy few days for me. Here's what has been going on:

Tuesday, February 19th~Ultrasound. Surprised once again by the baby inside me. I thought for sure I was carrying a girl. It took me days to wrap my brain around having another boy. (But not near as long as it took when I discovered I was pregnant...now that was a shock!)

Wednesday, February 20th~Left for Charleston for the SC Speech-Language and Hearing Convention. I enjoyed the ride in my "new" Odyssey!

Thursday-Saturday, February 21-23~Spent hours in sessions about various speech-language topics such as swallowing disorders, stuttering, autism, functional therapy techniques.,etc. Although all of that was "fun", the best part of my trip was spending time with my former co-workers from Fort Mill School District and my college roommate, Kristen, who lives in Charleston.

Saturday, February 23~I returned home. It is so wonderful coming home after a few days away. I missed my husband and kids so much, even thought I was only gone a few days. The smiles on the kids' faces and my husband's sweet words (he now understands and appreciates my daily routines) made a wonderful homecoming!

Sunday, February 24~ Went to our awesome church. We went to the later service, because I could not pull myself out of the bed. Actually, we all slept in. Once home, we began trying to tidy up the mess that had accumulated while mommy was away!

Monday, February 25~ I am writing this post during my lunch break. I am substituting for a speech therapist at a local elementary school. I did not get the job that I interviewed for last month. I was really disappointed at first, but now I realize it is for the best. If I had been hired, the clients on my caseload would have to be placed back on a waiting list when I have the baby. That would not be fair to them. So, I inquired about helping out with the school system until the end of the school year. The school year will end right before baby #3 arrives. It works out perfectly; I will be a "permanant substitute" that rotates through the therapists in the various schools in the district to help them with paperwork, testing and therapy until the end of the year. It will be a 1 to 2 day a week position. So, here I am....back in the working world (kind of).

Well, my lunch break is about over. Just wanted to let you in on the busyness of my life... and give my excuse for not blogging in a while.

It's a Boy!

Awesome Graphics at pYzam.com

Last Day to Vote!

Today is the last day to cast your vote whether you think Baby Prevette #3 is a girl or a boy. The ultrasound is tomorrow! I will post the big announcement then.

Teething Bites

Anderson is apparently teething again. He has been a little fussier than usual and everything he picks up goes straight to his mouth. Some things he particularly enjoys chewing on and he will seek those items out around the house. He was digging through a drawer with various items that I use in the bathroom....hair dryer, make-up, contact solution, lotions, etc. and found a new item to teethe on. It has a wonderful crackly wrapper and is the perfect shape to hold and chew . Of course, one day he is going to hate that I documented this in writing and by photo......

He's Off the Hook!

Justin got off the hook this Valentine's Day. We bought a 2005 Honda Odyssey on February 11th. We have been planning to buy a van and searching for a few weeks now, so it was inevitable that we were going to buy one. Three children would not fit in the Highlander. It just so happened that we found the van we wanted a few days before V-day. Just after the purchase Justin said "Happy Valentine's Day!", which meant that he would not be buying me a present. It was fine with me. I have been longing for a minivan for quite some time now. (I never thought I'd hear myself say that!) I did get a card, but he had to work late yesterday. So my Valentine's Dinner was spent with my 2 children at Chick-fil-a. Not the romantic evening I had hoped for. I have come to accept the fact that my husband is not romantic.

I am a card person. I could spend hours reading them. Justin has set up a "card limit" when he is with me. I have to make a choice by the 15th card. If not, #15 is it. I hate that rule. I like to pick out the perfect card for the recipient in mind. He does not understand this concept. For example, the anniversary card he gave me last year had a beautiful scripture verse about love and pictures of roses on the front, but on the inside it said "Wishing you many more years of happiness". The card was intended for the anniversary couple from someone else...not from husband to wife! He apparently did not read 15 cards to arrive at that choice!

Another thing about my husband is that he is thrifty...frugal...cheap. Whatever you want to call it! So, he was happy to hear that the Saturday after Valentine's we had plans to attend a family ministry event at our church. A catered, free-to-family-minstry-volunteers event. Which to him equals a date!

So my hubby got off the hook for Valentine's Day with a present and a date!

Now, I don't want to seem like I am an unhappy wife. Quite the contrary! I am so happy to be married to my wonderful husband. He works so hard to provide for our family. He wants me to be at home with the children because he feels it is what is best for them and knows that is my heart's desire. He tries to make me happy in every way he can...in the little and the big things. Big things like a minivan with all the options (dual powing sliding doors...loooove it!) and in little things like helping with bathtime, laundry and dirty dishes. He can make me laugh like no one else, even when I'm crying. He is so darn good-looking! He always kisses me and tells me he loves me before going to sleep and going to work. He is a wonderful father. I love to watch him play with our kids, and I love to watch their eyes light up when he walks in the door. He takes all the duties of fatherhood in stride. I love the way I feel when I am with him and I miss him when he's away for even a little bit. I just love that man!

So, this Valentine's day I am a happy woman! My husband is "off the hook" and I mean that in the good rapper way!

Boy or Girl?

The suspense is killing me! I can't believe that I waited the entire pregnancy to find out "boy or girl" when I was pregnant with Anagrace. It is now only a week away from the big day. So, I thought it would be fun to find out what other people think I am having...boy or girl? I added a poll to the side, so please vote.

I googled old wives' tales to determine what the baby's sex will be and here is what I found at http://www.pregnancy-info.net/wives_tales_and_myths.html

And here are my results:

Heartbeats (above 140 beats per minute=girl) : Around 150-160 bpm

Cravings (sweet stuff=girl): Oreo McFlurry, egg salad, chocolate candy bars/doughnuts, wonton soup, BoBerry biscuit

Weight Gain (husband gains weight=girl): Justin has been complaining about his waistline lately.

My Face(round and rosy=girl): Round and Full

Mirror test(left breast larger=girl): They look the same to me!

Ring Test(ring on string moves in circular motion=girl): It moved back and forth over my belly in a head to toe motion.

Skin (acne=girl): Yes, pimples are appearing :(

Key Test (picking up thinner part=girl): I picked up the bottom, rounder part.

So, what do you think...Boy or Girl?

Cravings

I've had some cravings lately. Most of them seem to be for sweets, which made me think the baby may be a girl. With Anagrace the main craving I can remember is for sugary-sweet cereals, mainly Fruit Loops. I ate Fruit Loops so frequently that the roof of my mouth hurt. Why do some cereals do that? With Anderson it was beef, preferably in the form of steak or hamburgers. I would actually sneak away late afternoon for a Sonic cheeseburger snack. Embarassing!
Well today I had a strange craving for egg salad. Not sure what that means? I made myself some for lunch and it was yummy. But now that the smell of hard boiled eggs is lingering in my house, I am wishing I had not given in to that craving. Why couldn't it have been for another Oreo McFlurry? Mmmmm...Oreo McFlurry. I think I feel another craving coming on!

It Won't Be Long

Anderson is on his way to learning how to walk and talk! He has been pulling up to a standing position and cruising down the couch and between the couch and coffee table for a while. But now he has started practicing going back and forth in our living room using a little push toy. The push toy and a walker that my friend Amy let us borrow (thanks Amy!) is adding a whole new diminsion to his mobility. He doesn't bend his knees yet, so he walks rather stiffly.

He's also been babbling a lot lately. He only says "babababa" for now. But the "b" sound is made the same way as an "m" sound, they are both bilabial sounds except the "b" is a plosive. Probably only Erin understands that speech lingo, but the point is it should not take Anderson long to learn to say Mama instead of baba.