With a new baby joining us very soon, we won't likely be doing as much traveling as we normally would do in the summer time. So I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon and make a Summer 2012 Bucket List in honor of today being the unofficial kick-off for summer. Hopefully we'll actually get to do most of these things, but obviously much will depend on the new baby and her personality and flexibility. Some items will be much more easily accomplished than others and some will be accomplished many times over, but we'll try our best to make it through the list. So here is our family bucket list for this summer... numbered, but in no particular order whatsoever...
1. Meet up with friends at a local park.
2. Meet up with friends at the Bicentennial Park Splash Pad.
3. Go on a family hike on the Dauner-Martin trails in Fenton
4. Camp in a tent in the backyard... we'd actually really like to go camping at a campground, but I'm thinking that is pretty unlikely this summer, so we'll do some backyard camping instead.
5. Father-son camping trip... the backyard camping will be fun for all of us, but Kevin and Carson both really want to do a father-son camping trip for one night at a campground within an hour or two of our house, as well.
6. Play with bubbles in the backyard.
7. Take a short walk to get ice cream together as a family at The Twist.
8. Make and eat homemade popsicles.
9. Meet up with family from the west side of the state in the Lansing area for playtime and hanging out.
10. Draw in the driveway with sidewalk chalk.
11. Fly a kite.
12. Take a day trip to Lake Michigan (either to Grand Haven or South Haven... we seem to always migrate towards Holland, so we figure we should change it up... we've been to Grand Haven many times before, but not in the last couple of years and we've never been to South Haven.).
13. Take a day trip to Lake Huron (either to East Tawas or Port Austin... we've never been to either).
14. Walk through the forest at Hartwick Pines State Park... we'll be there to photograph a wedding in August.
15. Visit the Grand Blanc Farmers' Market for one of their kids' days.
16. Go fruit picking at a local farm/orchard.
17. Visit a local park that we have never been to.
18. Set up a playdate with Carson's friends from preschool.
19. Catch fireflies and put them in a jar.
20. Invite the neighbors over for a fire in the backyard, make s'mores, and have fun with sparklers.
21. Visit a local beach - Holly State Park, Silver Lake Beach, Clover Beach.
22. Attend a Silver Lake Ski Club ski show.
23. Do messy finger and feet painting in the backyard.
24. Swim as much as possible in our backyard pool.
25. Attend Vacation Bible School at Faith Lutheran.
26. Attend summer camp for a week in August at Faith Lutheran.
27. Visit the local library for story time and/or other activities for kids.
28. Go play miniature golf.
29. Go to an outdoor community concert in one of the local parks.
30. Visit a friend or family member we have not seen in awhile.
Ok, so that's our list for now. I may come back and add to it as I think of more things, but it's a pretty good start. Look for more blog updates soon... I need to catch up on some posts dating back to Easter!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Easter Preschool Party
Carson had an Easter party at his preschool on his last day of school before Spring Break, March 29th. Sara went in for it and again got to witness all the cuteness and silliness that are preschoolers. Carson was in rare form on this particular day. He sure had a lot of energy! You can tell from the pictures below how fast he was moving b/c the shutter speeds on the camera couldn't keep up. It was quite the humorous morning! :)
The kids started with their normal parade through the church. They do this for every party. They'll go through to say hello to the pastors and other church staff and then make their way back to their classrooms where the parents are usually waiting. You can see from Carson being caught in mid-air that he was already super excited!
Then the parents follow the children and teachers into their classroom, where the children all sit down on their assigned squares to wait quietly until the teachers give them further instruction.
Right after this picture was taken, Carson leaped up, started pumping both his fists in the air, and chanted "Par-TY, Par-TY, Par-TY!" All the other kids just looked at him for a split second, then most of the boys jumped up and joined in... while most of the girls sat quietly and covered their ears from all the ruckus. Oh my word, it was SO FUNNY!! His teacher, Mrs. Hans, started laughing before quieting the kids down and said to me "my college sons were home this week and this sounds like our house!" Then she asks "is he a frat boy in training?" LOL!! Have I mentioned that I love his teachers? :)
After the children settled down, they got to singing their songs for the parents. Carson was quite... involved... with all of the movements they do for the songs. While most of the other kids were quite reserved with their motions. Like I said, he was really in rare form on this particular day. :)
My friend, Katie, and mother of the twin girls in Carson's class had her iPhone and shot a few short videos. You can really get the effect of Carson's energy in these. :)
After the singing, the children, parents, and teachers all walked down to the fellowship hall for an Easter egg hunt and some snacks. The children had made their own chick baskets and they were each allowed to find three eggs each. They had a lot of fun!
The kids started with their normal parade through the church. They do this for every party. They'll go through to say hello to the pastors and other church staff and then make their way back to their classrooms where the parents are usually waiting. You can see from Carson being caught in mid-air that he was already super excited!
After the children settled down, they got to singing their songs for the parents. Carson was quite... involved... with all of the movements they do for the songs. While most of the other kids were quite reserved with their motions. Like I said, he was really in rare form on this particular day. :)
My friend, Katie, and mother of the twin girls in Carson's class had her iPhone and shot a few short videos. You can really get the effect of Carson's energy in these. :)
After the singing, the children, parents, and teachers all walked down to the fellowship hall for an Easter egg hunt and some snacks. The children had made their own chick baskets and they were each allowed to find three eggs each. They had a lot of fun!
More March Fun!
We have been doing a LOT of bike riding already this spring. We've gone on quite a few family bike rides and this year Carson rides his own bike with us, rather than riding in the bike trailer. I'm sure we'll use the trailer for longer rides still, but he has some pretty great stamina and keeps up really well on his own bike. He is building up some strong little legs, too. He'll take off riding through the yard with no problems. Riding in grass is tough, especially with such short little legs. Not to mention on a heavy bike. His little 12" bike is heavier than Kevin's or Sara's mountain bikes, its kind of crazy. But Carson rides it with no problem whatsoever. And he loves every minute of it!
Our magnolia trees bloomed super early this year, too. Sadly, they didn't make it quite to full bloom before we had a hard freeze and all their flowers were killed. We did get out to snap a couple pics in front of one of the smaller magnolias out back the night before the frost came, though. They're not the greatest since we hadn't trimmed around the tree since last fall and there is still a metal cage on this one (we had those silly metal cages on probably 95% of the trees in our yard - and we have a LOT of trees - when we bought the house and we're STILL removing them... they're not the easiest things to remove when the trees have way outgrown the cages).
Then we had a short period with some cold and rainy weather. So we got the arts and crafts back out. Carson really loved painting this little wooden racecar and assembling it. He was so careful with his painting and really takes great pride in it. I'll have to up date the post later on when I upload some more pics from my camera with the finished car.
Our magnolia trees bloomed super early this year, too. Sadly, they didn't make it quite to full bloom before we had a hard freeze and all their flowers were killed. We did get out to snap a couple pics in front of one of the smaller magnolias out back the night before the frost came, though. They're not the greatest since we hadn't trimmed around the tree since last fall and there is still a metal cage on this one (we had those silly metal cages on probably 95% of the trees in our yard - and we have a LOT of trees - when we bought the house and we're STILL removing them... they're not the easiest things to remove when the trees have way outgrown the cages).
Then we had a short period with some cold and rainy weather. So we got the arts and crafts back out. Carson really loved painting this little wooden racecar and assembling it. He was so careful with his painting and really takes great pride in it. I'll have to up date the post later on when I upload some more pics from my camera with the finished car.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
That is one muddy boy!
So much for my boy who wasn't a fan of getting his hands filthy... :) We've been blessed with a beautiful early Spring this year and we've been taking full advantage of it around our place. We've worked outside whenever possible - so far, we've cut down (and cleaned up) 3 large trees in the backyard, cleaned up several debris piles in the backyard, pruned several trees, cleaned out the raspberry bed, done lots of weeding and mulching, mowed the grass a couple of times, painted the front door, and just have done a lot of miscellaneous clean up around the yard and property. Its been very nice to get a head start on all of the normal spring clean up chores, especially this year when we figure we'll have lots of company this summer.
Of course, even though we've had warm weather, we can't get away from the spring showers... and mud. Carson is a big fan of the mud this year. In years past, he wasn't too crazy about getting himself all muddy - he'd want to have his hands cleaned off pretty quickly. Not so much this year. On this particular day, he was literally covered in mud from head to toe. And its kind of difficult to even tell how bad it was in the pictures since most of it had dried and lightened up in color. He has it all down his legs, inside his boots, all over his clothes, his arms are covered, and he even has some splatters all over his face and hat. And he got even muddier after I took these pictures... I should have taken more at the end of the day, but I didn't... we just took him straight to the bath. All I can say is... boys will be boys! :)
Of course, even though we've had warm weather, we can't get away from the spring showers... and mud. Carson is a big fan of the mud this year. In years past, he wasn't too crazy about getting himself all muddy - he'd want to have his hands cleaned off pretty quickly. Not so much this year. On this particular day, he was literally covered in mud from head to toe. And its kind of difficult to even tell how bad it was in the pictures since most of it had dried and lightened up in color. He has it all down his legs, inside his boots, all over his clothes, his arms are covered, and he even has some splatters all over his face and hat. And he got even muddier after I took these pictures... I should have taken more at the end of the day, but I didn't... we just took him straight to the bath. All I can say is... boys will be boys! :)
St. Patty's Day in St. Clair Shores
On St. Patrick's Day, we made plans to visit our friends, the Kozaks, down at their house in St. Clair Shores. We always have a ton of fun with the Kozaks and St. Patty's was no exception. Carson had so much fun playing with Seth (5) and Carter (almost 4). We all hung out at their house for a few hours. The weather was absolutely beautiful! Nearly 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We brought Carson's bike with us and the boys all had tons of fun riding their bikes in the driveway and up and down the wheelchair ramp in the back. Kevin also brought his bike so that he and Paul could go riding. We decided to head to Metro Beach Metropark after awhile to let the kids play at the park. So Kevin and Paul took off on their bikes to make the 7-mile ride there. Justine and I loaded up the kids after giving them a head start and headed to the park, too. The kids all had a ton of fun playing together and the lake was beautiful! There was quite the breeze off the lake and there were quite a few people out flying kites, which were fun to watch, too. After the park, we all headed out to dinner at an Irish restaurant for a yummy St. Patrick's Day meal. Then it was time to take off for us. We stopped at a baby store in Utica on our way home to pick out and order a chair for the nursery, finally. We can't wait to go pick it up soon!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Happy 3rd Birthday, Mackenzey!
Last Saturday, we made a trip up to Essexville/Bay City for Mackenzey's 3rd birthday party. Her theme this year was Rock 'n Roll! Her invitations were absolutely adorable with her rocking out with her guitar. Carson and Mac had a lot of fun playing together and Carson had fun checking out all of Mac's toys... even though most of them are pretty girly. He still enjoyed playing with the dollhouse and other things, though. Mackenzey does have a nice train table and some boy toys, though, which they had fun playing with. By the end of the night, though, Carson was wearing a purple tutu, playing dress-up with Mackenzey. :) They had a lot of fun rocking out, too. Carson rocked out by singing Jesus Loves Me and Jingle Bells. Mackenzey lip-synched Born to be Wild. It was really cute. Carson now wants a microphone with an amplifier so he can rock out at home. :) The night ended with the last remaining stragglers playing Just Dance on the Xbox, which was fun, too. We all had a great time!
A Trip to Impression 5
Back on March 3rd, we made a trip to Lansing. We first visited Impression 5 Science Center with Aunt Mary, Uncle Justin, Rebecca, and Abram. Aunt Julie and her family were planning to join us, but unfortunately had to stay home due to some sickness. We were all sad to hear that, since it's been since Christmas that all of the cousins have been together with all the sickness that has been going around this winter. Hopefully all the cousins will have a chance to play together soon.
Carson and Rebecca had a lot of fun together checking out all of the exhibits. The museum has a Magic School Bus exhibit right now, which Carson was quite excited about. The Magic School Bus books are some of his favorites since he learns about science with them. I think Carson and Rebecca pretty much had fun at every station and exhibit. They're both little sponges and so eager to learn. And learning through play is so powerful.
Even Abram had a lot of fun. He seemed to really enjoy the new First Impression room. He's started taking a few steps, so it was neat to see him take a step or two. It will be extra fun to see him the next time, too... he'll be running by then, I bet! :) I think he just can't wait to keep up with the big kids!
After our trip to Impression 5, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Grandma's birthday by having dinner at Cheddar's. We had a nice time chatting and visiting and had a nice dinner. We had given Grandma most of her gift from already (her actual birthday is Feb. 22nd), but she opened a nice gift from Poiriers, Voogts, and us at dinner. She was quite surprised by it and seemed to really love it. We're all excited to see her new hair cut and style at some point! After a little more chatting and getting kids in jammies, it was time to head home. It had started to snow while we were at dinner, but our drive wasn't bad. Justin, Mary, and the kids had an entirely different experience, unfortuntely. It sounds like it was a white knuckle drive home for them. We are very glad everyone made it home safely, though. And we all had a fun afternoon and evening in Lansing!
Carson and Rebecca had a lot of fun together checking out all of the exhibits. The museum has a Magic School Bus exhibit right now, which Carson was quite excited about. The Magic School Bus books are some of his favorites since he learns about science with them. I think Carson and Rebecca pretty much had fun at every station and exhibit. They're both little sponges and so eager to learn. And learning through play is so powerful.
Even Abram had a lot of fun. He seemed to really enjoy the new First Impression room. He's started taking a few steps, so it was neat to see him take a step or two. It will be extra fun to see him the next time, too... he'll be running by then, I bet! :) I think he just can't wait to keep up with the big kids!
After our trip to Impression 5, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Grandma's birthday by having dinner at Cheddar's. We had a nice time chatting and visiting and had a nice dinner. We had given Grandma most of her gift from already (her actual birthday is Feb. 22nd), but she opened a nice gift from Poiriers, Voogts, and us at dinner. She was quite surprised by it and seemed to really love it. We're all excited to see her new hair cut and style at some point! After a little more chatting and getting kids in jammies, it was time to head home. It had started to snow while we were at dinner, but our drive wasn't bad. Justin, Mary, and the kids had an entirely different experience, unfortuntely. It sounds like it was a white knuckle drive home for them. We are very glad everyone made it home safely, though. And we all had a fun afternoon and evening in Lansing!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Carson and his Skeleton
Carson asked me to blog about the skeleton that he put together and loves to learn with. :) He has always loved learning about the human body and just soaks so much right in as he's reading or learning. That kind of stuff always interested Sara, too... and some days she wishes she'd have gone into the medical field afterall. Maybe Carson will go into the medical field some day. Only time will tell.
Carson picked this skeleton from his last book order from school. Remember those Scholastic book orders we used to get in elementary? They still do them! So we ordered it for him. He put it together correctly on the first try. And has since loved learning the names of different bones in the body. He can point out the skull, scapulas, ribs, backbone and vertebrae, femur, tibia, fibula, pelvis, and the clavicle. We've still got a lot to learn, but we think that's a pretty good start for a 4-year old!
Carson picked this skeleton from his last book order from school. Remember those Scholastic book orders we used to get in elementary? They still do them! So we ordered it for him. He put it together correctly on the first try. And has since loved learning the names of different bones in the body. He can point out the skull, scapulas, ribs, backbone and vertebrae, femur, tibia, fibula, pelvis, and the clavicle. We've still got a lot to learn, but we think that's a pretty good start for a 4-year old!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Our First Parent-Teacher Conference for Carson
Last week, Sara went to our first parent-teacher conference for Carson. It feels crazy to have a child old enough for conferences already! While we didn't expect to hear anything bad, per se, the anticipation of a parent-teacher conference is kind of nerve-racking! LOL.
Mrs. Hans had lots of wonderful things to say about Carson and did not really say anything that was a surprise to us. He is doing extremely well in preschool - socially, academically, and physically. She said several times that she wishes she could have a classroom full of kids like Carson. :) A couple weeks back, she had mentioned that Carson was one of the smartest kids in class, if not the smartest. She mentioned that again during the conference. She is so impressed with his maturity level and his knowledge and skill, as well as with his eagerness to learn even more. She said she can always count on Carson and that he is very mature for his age. The kids all have different jobs in class and she says she always gives Carson the most difficult task because she knows he'll get it done correctly and quickly.
Mrs. Hans is quite impressed with his logical way of thinking and playing. She said he'll definitely have a future in the science or math field if he keeps it up and she asked if there were engineers in the family. :) She mentioned that he really excels when they learn about patterns, math, science, and anything with order - like the calendar. And she is quite impressed with his handwriting and recognition of letters and numbers.
One thing Kevin and I have wondered about is how Carson was doing socially. He has what I'd call a sensitive personality at times and can be a little reserved in some situations. Although he usually gets comfortable quickly nowadays and is much quicker to become very social, we still wondered how he was in school. Carson always looks forward to going to school and is never sad when we leave, but he does get a little down at times when we're saying goodbye. Mrs. Hans has noticed this, too, and she believes he's playing us... which is what we suspected, as well. :) She said its worse with Kevin, which I can also believe. But as soon as we are gone, he's just a normal kid that loves school. He interacts very well with all of the other kids and has formed quite a few good friendships among his classmates, moreso than most other kids in his class from what she can tell. Carson plays very well, gets involved, and shares extremely well. Mrs. Hans said he is probably one of the best sharers in the class, which she found surprising since he's been an only-child up to this point.
Mrs. Hans confirmed that Carson is very much a rule-follower, he definitely knows right from wrong and what is expected of him, and he is eager to please and do well. But he also is influenced by other kids that may be having a little too much fun at times. This was no surprise to us at all, as we've noticed this time and time again. He has a hard time resisting joining in when other kids are getting a little wild. And it can be a little challenging to get him to calm down once he gets going.
It was a great parent-teacher conference. As parents, we know we can be a little biased about Carson's abilities, so it was so nice to hear confirmation of things that we already have thought for awhile. :) Mrs. Hans recommended Carson for the 4-year old class next year. She believes he'd do well in either the 3-day or 5-day class - that he's definitely mature enough for the 5-day class at this point if we choose that route. We haven't made a decision yet - a lot will depend on our work situations post-baby #2. For now, we'll just enjoy the remainder of this school year, be thankful for having such a smart little guy, and we believe the right path forward will be made clear to us.
Mrs. Hans had lots of wonderful things to say about Carson and did not really say anything that was a surprise to us. He is doing extremely well in preschool - socially, academically, and physically. She said several times that she wishes she could have a classroom full of kids like Carson. :) A couple weeks back, she had mentioned that Carson was one of the smartest kids in class, if not the smartest. She mentioned that again during the conference. She is so impressed with his maturity level and his knowledge and skill, as well as with his eagerness to learn even more. She said she can always count on Carson and that he is very mature for his age. The kids all have different jobs in class and she says she always gives Carson the most difficult task because she knows he'll get it done correctly and quickly.
Mrs. Hans is quite impressed with his logical way of thinking and playing. She said he'll definitely have a future in the science or math field if he keeps it up and she asked if there were engineers in the family. :) She mentioned that he really excels when they learn about patterns, math, science, and anything with order - like the calendar. And she is quite impressed with his handwriting and recognition of letters and numbers.
One thing Kevin and I have wondered about is how Carson was doing socially. He has what I'd call a sensitive personality at times and can be a little reserved in some situations. Although he usually gets comfortable quickly nowadays and is much quicker to become very social, we still wondered how he was in school. Carson always looks forward to going to school and is never sad when we leave, but he does get a little down at times when we're saying goodbye. Mrs. Hans has noticed this, too, and she believes he's playing us... which is what we suspected, as well. :) She said its worse with Kevin, which I can also believe. But as soon as we are gone, he's just a normal kid that loves school. He interacts very well with all of the other kids and has formed quite a few good friendships among his classmates, moreso than most other kids in his class from what she can tell. Carson plays very well, gets involved, and shares extremely well. Mrs. Hans said he is probably one of the best sharers in the class, which she found surprising since he's been an only-child up to this point.
Mrs. Hans confirmed that Carson is very much a rule-follower, he definitely knows right from wrong and what is expected of him, and he is eager to please and do well. But he also is influenced by other kids that may be having a little too much fun at times. This was no surprise to us at all, as we've noticed this time and time again. He has a hard time resisting joining in when other kids are getting a little wild. And it can be a little challenging to get him to calm down once he gets going.
It was a great parent-teacher conference. As parents, we know we can be a little biased about Carson's abilities, so it was so nice to hear confirmation of things that we already have thought for awhile. :) Mrs. Hans recommended Carson for the 4-year old class next year. She believes he'd do well in either the 3-day or 5-day class - that he's definitely mature enough for the 5-day class at this point if we choose that route. We haven't made a decision yet - a lot will depend on our work situations post-baby #2. For now, we'll just enjoy the remainder of this school year, be thankful for having such a smart little guy, and we believe the right path forward will be made clear to us.
Monday, February 27, 2012
It's (Officially) a Girl!!
Sara had an OB appointment on Friday morning. My OBs wanted me to take the glucose test early as a pre-caution (and yes, I still have to take it at 28wks, too... so not fair!), so I had to be there at 8:50 for the first blood draw and to drink the grossly sweet fruit punch drink. Kevin and Carson came along for the appointment, too, since I was having an ultrasound and I didn't think I'd be feeling too well by 11:00 when I was done with the glucose test. We ended up getting hit by a winter storm early on Friday morning, so it actually worked out quite well to have my appointment that day so Kevin and I didn't have to make our work commutes. Kevin's sister, Julie, had an appointment on Friday morning, too, and her whole family joined her since Jason didn't trust her to drive on the bad roads, I guess. It had been awhile since we'd seen them, so it was a fun little reunion in the waiting room. :)
The glucose test went ok. Better than I expected, actually. I'm still having a good deal of morning sickness, especially when my stomach is empty. I did have to fight quite a few urges to puke, but I was able to, thankfully (else I'd have to start all over another day). I was starving by the time we got out of there at 11:00, though. And the baby wasn't too happy with it, either. If she's anything like she is now when she is born, I expect her to be very impatient when she is hungry. She sure beats me up when I'm feeling hungry now. Its usually the only time I can feel her moving when I'm not lying down quietly, due to my placenta position.
Everything on the ultrasound checked out very well - she is looking very healthy. And it was confirmed that she is, in deed, a baby girl! I had an ultrasound at the end of January after having a little scare, which showed a baby girl, but Kevin has been skeptical since he wasn't there with me to see it. Plus, that ultrasound was at 18 weeks, which is a little early to tell. I was 21w4d on Friday, which is exactly what baby girl was measuring. So it looks like we are right on for the July 2nd due date still. Her heartbeat was 145 bpm and she was quite active. And she's weighing just over a pound right now. Carson thought it was pretty neat to see her moving on the tv screen and to get such clear looks at her different body parts. He was quite excited by it all and kept saying "oh she is just so cute!"
I have an anterior placenta this time, which means the placenta is on the outside of my uterus. Most of the time, women have a posterior placenta - that is what I had with Carson. I do feel some movement, but not nearly as much as I felt with Carson at this point. She has to really be kicking hard (like when she is hungry) for me to feel it. The doctors say it'll probably be like that throughout the pregnancy. The anterior placenta also makes it a little more challenging to get decent ultrasound pictures, especially the 4-D pictures. Since the pictures have to be taken through the placenta, they just show the bone structure, rather than the features. So it looks like we'll be really surprised when she is born since we won't likely get any sneak peeks like we did with Carson. :) That's ok, though.
For those that have been wondering about names, we don't have a first name picked out yet. And we probably won't until after she was born, considering Carson wasn't named until he was a day and a half old. We'll probably do what we did with Carson and go in with two or three names that we like, then choose one once we see what she looks like and what her personality is like. We have known the middle name since about a week after we found out I was pregnant. Middle names are always easy for us because they have meaning behind them. Baby girl's middle name will be Esther-Marie. Esther after my grandma that passed away a couple of years ago. Marie is my and my mom's middle name - and it is after my Auntie Marie, who was my mom's godmother and my grandma's sister. But you'll have to wait on the first name until after she is born, probably. :)
The glucose test went ok. Better than I expected, actually. I'm still having a good deal of morning sickness, especially when my stomach is empty. I did have to fight quite a few urges to puke, but I was able to, thankfully (else I'd have to start all over another day). I was starving by the time we got out of there at 11:00, though. And the baby wasn't too happy with it, either. If she's anything like she is now when she is born, I expect her to be very impatient when she is hungry. She sure beats me up when I'm feeling hungry now. Its usually the only time I can feel her moving when I'm not lying down quietly, due to my placenta position.
Everything on the ultrasound checked out very well - she is looking very healthy. And it was confirmed that she is, in deed, a baby girl! I had an ultrasound at the end of January after having a little scare, which showed a baby girl, but Kevin has been skeptical since he wasn't there with me to see it. Plus, that ultrasound was at 18 weeks, which is a little early to tell. I was 21w4d on Friday, which is exactly what baby girl was measuring. So it looks like we are right on for the July 2nd due date still. Her heartbeat was 145 bpm and she was quite active. And she's weighing just over a pound right now. Carson thought it was pretty neat to see her moving on the tv screen and to get such clear looks at her different body parts. He was quite excited by it all and kept saying "oh she is just so cute!"
I have an anterior placenta this time, which means the placenta is on the outside of my uterus. Most of the time, women have a posterior placenta - that is what I had with Carson. I do feel some movement, but not nearly as much as I felt with Carson at this point. She has to really be kicking hard (like when she is hungry) for me to feel it. The doctors say it'll probably be like that throughout the pregnancy. The anterior placenta also makes it a little more challenging to get decent ultrasound pictures, especially the 4-D pictures. Since the pictures have to be taken through the placenta, they just show the bone structure, rather than the features. So it looks like we'll be really surprised when she is born since we won't likely get any sneak peeks like we did with Carson. :) That's ok, though.
For those that have been wondering about names, we don't have a first name picked out yet. And we probably won't until after she was born, considering Carson wasn't named until he was a day and a half old. We'll probably do what we did with Carson and go in with two or three names that we like, then choose one once we see what she looks like and what her personality is like. We have known the middle name since about a week after we found out I was pregnant. Middle names are always easy for us because they have meaning behind them. Baby girl's middle name will be Esther-Marie. Esther after my grandma that passed away a couple of years ago. Marie is my and my mom's middle name - and it is after my Auntie Marie, who was my mom's godmother and my grandma's sister. But you'll have to wait on the first name until after she is born, probably. :)
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Making cards to show we care
Sara was off this past Monday for President's Day, which was really nice to have an extra day to re-coup from the weekend of birthday parties. Carson was excited to have Mama home again, too. We spent lots of time playing with Legos and other toys that Carson received at his parties, singing and dancing to his new CDs on his new yellow boombox, and making some cards for Daddy's birthday (Tuesday), Grandma's birthday (Wednesday), and a get well card for Grandpa since he was having surgery on Tuesday. Carson wrote so well in the cards, we took some pictures to share. He is getting so good at writing his letters!
We had a great day together and it just makes us both wish even more that we could spend more time together than we do. Hopefully someday we'll be able to if things work out and Sara can cut her hours back at work sometime later this year or next.
We had a great day together and it just makes us both wish even more that we could spend more time together than we do. Hopefully someday we'll be able to if things work out and Sara can cut her hours back at work sometime later this year or next.
Valentine's Day Preschool Party
Carson had a cute Valentine's Day party at preschool this year. Sara took the morning off so she could go to the party. The kids opened by singing some songs for all of the parents, then they got to eat some heart-shaped Jello jigglers. After that, they got to exchange Valentine's Day cards with everyone. This was Carson's first time getting a lot of Valentine's Day cards and he was pretty stoked about it. Especially since some of them had candy attached. :) The cards Carson picked out this year were Winnie the Pooh. He had to sign his name to 19 of them for his classmates, plus 3 for his teachers. So we got lots of name writing practice in over the weekend before Valentine's Day.
(Carson's crush, Gabi, is two kids to the left of Carson in this picture... she has a light pink shirt on)
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