37 weeks

I turned 37 weeks on Christmas Day. That means I'm officially full term! Let's just hope that the next 3 days don't put me into labor. I have contractions all of the time, but none of them are painful. Well, except for the ones that squeeze the heck out of my bladder.

This is what happens in the next 3 days, in this order:
-Monday - finish last minute stuff at our house
-movers come to pack
-doctor's appointment
-close on our new house
-cleaners go to the new house
-movers move us
-close on the sell of our house
-Cable company going to new house

Wednesday night will be the first night for us in the new house. I'm nervous about how Jack will take it, but he has been to the house a bunch of times and asks to go to the "new house" a lot, so I think he'll be fine. He even gets upset, when we leave the house.

Christmas Eve

I can't explain how happy I am creating all of our family traditions. I spent a wonderful day with Jason and Jack just hanging out at home. This evening, Jason had a talk with Jack about tomorrow being Jesus' birthday and Santa coming to bring him presents for being good. Then, Jason told Jack that Santa loved cookies and milk, so the 3 of us baked cookies for Santa. We each had a cookie and glass of milk and then set some out for Santa. I'm trying to cherish Jack's last 2 weeks as an only child. Here are some pics from our evening:




Daddy, with his "milk":


We are hoping that Jack won't wake up with a black eye. He pulled a table over on top of himself. The table pretty much landed on him and hit is face before anything else. Jason told me about the time he got stitches on Christmas. I'll always remember the Christmas, when I was sick and throwing up.

Presents

Christmas Round 1:
Two weekends ago, we celebrated Christmas with LeeLee and Big J. (And, Aunt Jennifer, even though she couldn't come.) Jack caught on to the opening of presents pretty quickly. He received lots of great toys; including a train set (from Aunt Jennifer), some DVDs, some clothes, a big Mickey Mouse and a Tonka truck.





Christmas Round 2:
Tonight, we celebrated Christmas with Kiki, Grandad, and Gran. He received a couple of trackers, some clothes, a train set (from Gran), and a portable DVD player. He also received 2 Richard Scarry books from Uncle David and Aunt Sarah. Jason missed the second half of the present opening due to the gash he received to his finger. He was trying to open the package to his present, when he looked up at Jack and pushed his index finger down on the sharp side of a pocket knife. ouch.

I have missed getting to see Uncle James, Aunt Jen, and Cousin Will, this Christmas.






I'm not sure that I'll make another post, before the baby comes. Who, by the way, also got lots of Christmas presents. Things are getting a little crazy around here. We close on our new house, next Tuesday, December 29th. That same day, I have a doctor's appointment, the movers come to pack us, and the cleaning people go out to the new house. The movers will move us next Wednesday. If I could have my way, we would move on December 30th and the baby would come January 1st. Jason disagrees because of the Auburn game. I've just about reached my limit of aches, pains, and uncomfortableness. I'm ready to hold my baby boy, in my arms.


I can't look at this picture without thinking that Dugan just saw Santa Claus:

This was the picture I caught of Jack as they were leaving the sanctuary. I don't think he knew it was me taking his picture.

Coming Soon...

This morning, Jack was in a Christmas Pageant. It was at the church, where we send him to daycare. All of the 2s, 3s, and 4s, were part of it. It's sad that while most parents were waving at their child, Jason and I were ducking and hiding so that he wouldn't see us. Just as expected, he made a huge fuss, when we left him in his classroom to get ready. Not in my wildest dreams could I picture him willingly going up there in front of one hundred or so people. But, he did. They have been practicing a lot, so I guess he was just used to it. Also, we have been singing Away in A Manger every night for the last 3 weeks getting ready for it. I'm not sure that he actually sang, but he did a couple of the motions. I did get it on video and hope to get it posted in the near future.

We kind of have a lot going on. Not only am I pushing the 9 month mark, but we sold our house and bought another one. Both closing dates are at the end of this month. I'm starting to think that we have lost our minds. But, it will be worth it, when I get to spend my maternity leave in a nice new house!

Sad Times

I'm sorry to say that Jason's grandmother passed away, a couple of days ago. I will truly miss listening to her tell stories in her true, south Alabama drawl. I know that she will be greatly missed by many people. I am sorry that I am not able to go to the funeral. My thoughts and prayers are with Jason and his family.


This picture was taken on July 21, 2007:

So Much To Say

It sure has been an interesting few days. The beginning of the week was full of errands and accomplishing goals. On Wednesday, we loaded up and headed down to Andalusia. For Thanksgiving, we went to Enterprise to celebrate with Jason's family. After being invited to an Iron Bowl party, we decided to leave Jack with LeeLee and Big J and head back to Bham, just the two of us. Friday morning, involved spending $150 having a new thermostat installed, since our heat had been out, since Tuesday.

Finally, we felt home free and did a little house hunting on the way to Ross Bridge to watch, what we were hoping, would not be a blow out. As it turned out, the game was so exciting, it sent Jason and I to the hospital. haha. About 10 minutes after the game, I noticed some pregnancy related problems. The nurse said I needed to go to the hospital.

So, about 5:30pm, we headed to St. Vincent's. I was having contractions every 5 minutes or so. They were not painful, but I definitely knew when they were happening. The ultrasound looked great (he weighs around 5lbs) and I was not dehydrated, so they gave me a shot of medicine to stop the contractions. We waited about 1.5 hours and I was still having contractions. Then, came shot number 2. We waited another 1.5 hours and I was still having contractions, even though I couldn't feel them at that point. But, we could see them on the monitor. So, I had a third shot. At this point, we knew we had another hour or so, so we decided to sleep. I couldn't because that shot made my heart race and I was really shaky. Finally, around 1:30am, they made sure I wasn't dilated and sent us home. Unfortunately, when we got home, the heat had quit working, again. So, it was about 59 degrees , in the house. Brrr.

We seem to be doing good, this morning. I'm looking forward to seeing Jack and trying to convince my mom that it is okay for them to go on their cruise, next week.

Lovin' Life

I am thoroughly enjoying my week off and it has only been 2 days! The teachers and the students were in dire need of a break. We haven't had a day off since Labor Day. I have accomplished so much. I have run a ton of errands, which I am way too tired to do after work and picking up Jack. (It wears me out getting him in and out of the car) I have completed 99% of my Christmas shopping! And, I have already wrapped most of them. Also, I purchased a couple of needed things for the nursery.

My big goal was to finish the nursery and Christmas shopping during Thanksgiving Break, so I could breeze through December. I have 3 more weeks of work and then a couple of weeks at home, waiting on baby brother to show up. At worst, I'll have 4 days (with students) of work, after Christmas Break. Jack was 2 weeks early, so I plan to be very prepared for his arrival sometime after the New Year. I have no desire to return to work at 38 weeks.

Here is a picture of the 1 and only reason we don't look forward to the Fall:



Jack had a good time, though. Kiki taught him how to slide down our hill:





Oh, how he loves to blow bubbles:



We are having issues with our heater. Sam and Dugan love the alternative:

Cat in the Hat

This is what I get for being an elementary school librarian. Today, I orchestrated a Storybook Character Dress Up Day. Have you ever seen an almost 8 months pregnant Cat in the Hat? Our custodian says it looks like I ate too many mice. Tomorrow is pajama day and I don't have any that fit me, correctly.

Turkey Time

I wanted to post a quick picture of the cute shirt Aunt Jennifer sent Jack. I pleaded with him to look at the camera, but he was way more interested in his sandbox. The funny thing about cute shirts like this... I won't let Jack wear them to school. He comes home very dirty everyday. I'm not just talking about food stains. All kinds of markers and other art project stuff. I should have let him wear it, today, because they had Thanksgiving lunch, but I didn't remember that until I was walking him in to daycare. I packed a lunch for nothing.

Thanks, Aunt Jennifer.

FAST

Jason ran the Vulcan 10K, today, in 50 minutes. Congratulations!


And, I can barely walk up the stairs without stopping for breath. A lot of times I'll be in the middle of talking to one of my classes, when I have to stop and sit down because I get winded and out of breath. They probably think I'm crazy.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween. My parents, who currently spend more time away from home than there, came down for a short visit to see Jack. We had a neighborhood Halloween Party and they headed home a little before we left for that. The street next to ours, grilled burgers and hotdogs. They also had a moonbounce for the kids. Just like at his daycare, he didn't want to get in the moonbounce. Oh, well. He was way more interested in walking around it and showing us all the pieces that make it work.



These next pictures were orchestrated by Jack. I have this weird, small tripod. Jack insisted I put the camera on it and then take his picture....





My parents went to visit Uncle David and Aunt Sarah, in Durham, last week. They were getting rid of this, so my parents brought it to us for Jack to play on. This picture makes me laugh because it looks like Jack is plugged in. By the way, this is how I feel every day, by the time Jack and I make it home and up the stairs...

Basketball and Pumpkins

Jason's current basketball league is at Hunterstreet Baptist. He finally had a game early enough for me to take Jack. Jack loved it. We got there early enough to watch the guys warm up. Jack laughed loudly every time someone would shoot the ball. Once the game started, he would keep asking me when the players would come back to our end of the court. Of course, that was every 30 seconds or less. There was only one other spectator. It was a girl who would clap quietly when the other team would make a basket. Well, Jack would clap with her, which was funny because it was for the other team. Just like any typical kid, about halfway through the game Jack could be found playing under the bleachers.

I'm happy to report that Jason' team won. I told him that I figured out the key to winning a basketball game between a bunch of grown men.... the team that could come back after half time and still run down the length of the court.

Tonight, we carved a pumpkin. I complained because Jason insisted on carving an Auburn pumpkin. Our nice little family activity turned into a major project. I will admit that it turned out good.

Time To Rest

We all survived the week. I can't believe it is finally over. This week was my Fall Book Fair. Book Fairs are exhausting without being 7 month pregnant. They require lots of library rearranging, lots of planning, lots of walking to teachers classrooms, and lots of convincing 5 year olds that they can't buy 5 things with $2.00. All of this, including a faculty meeting Monday and a Tech Rep meeting (downtown) Tuesday, and we are all a little worn out. Jason was on "Jack duty" for the most of the week. Jack, had to spend a couple of evenings at daycare until almost 5:30pm.

I did get to come home to a great surprise, though. Jason hired someone to come and clean our house, today. They washed sheets, vacuumed, dusted, mopped, cleaned bathrooms, and other things that surprised me. I don't think anything was left on the floor. I'm pretty sure that they even cleaned out the microwave. Also, I'm fairly sure I heard Jason mention something about this being his present to me, until the baby gets here. Yay! I don't seem to have the ability to rest, when there are chores that need to be done. My mind just doesn't work that way.

I am adding a video "treat" to this post. We never set a bedtime routine for Jack, but one has naturally taken over. Jason and I trade off who puts Jack to bed. We both do the same thing... 1)read a couple of books 2)say prayers 3)sing a song 4)say good night. The only thing different is that I sing "Hush Little Baby" and Jason sings an old bible hymn (that he got because the Greatful Dead used to sing it). Anyway, he has actually sung this song to Jack, since he was born. Well, about a week ago, Jack belted the tune out with Jason from beginning to end. It shocked us both because he has never sang a word of it. I was so glad that I was in our bedroom with the baby monitor on. Now, he always sings it with Jason.

A Cold Saturday

We spent last weekend in Andalusia visiting with family. On Saturday, the Lee's had their annual family party at the lake. It was very cold. I didn't take many pictures because we hung out inside most of the time. Check out Jack's green shoes. It was very muddy, so we stopped by Walmart on the way out to the lake and Jack and I bought some "mud" shoes...

Pitiful

Have you ever seen the face of a sick cat?





Sam was very sick for about 3 days. Now that she seems back to 100%, Dugan appears to have caught the bug. He didn't eat for 2 days!! He, also, has been sneezing, since last night.

Kids are too sweet

First Grader: "Mrs. Lee, have you had your baby yet?" (that's a ridiculous question, when you see my stomach)

Second Grader: points at my protruding belly button and says, "Is that the baby's finger?"

Second Grader: "Mrs. Lee, if you ever need to pick something off of the ground just come and get me"

Our new Auburn Jersey

There are a number of reasons why I don't get many pictures posted nowadays. I would imagine that some of them are obvious. However, one of the biggest reasons is because Jack runs from me when I get my camera out. It takes way too much effort for me to get him to look at the camera and give me a decent face. I was determined, today. We got some good shots.