First Day of MMO

Suzanna Grace started her first day of Mother's Morning Out today!

When we went to the grocery store Sunday afternoon, SG got to pick a breakfast treat for her first day. A chocolate donut with sprinkles is exactly what a 16M old needs for her first day...right? 

     

The donut meant that she needed her hair washed over the sink afterwards as her hair was a sticky mess and her whole face was covered in chocolate.

Roller Coaster rides before school make for a FABULOUS first day!!

I mean, have you ever seen a more precious baby. We tried a few times to get the traditional "sitting on the front steps with your backpack" picture but our girl is anything but traditional and only wanted to pose on her new roller coaster.   I hope she never changes!  On a side note, I think I may love eyelet ruffled socks with converse even more than I love her SeaWee sandals. 

After Dada left for work, Mama still had to finish getting dressed and ready for a doctors appointment.  In true SG fashion, she took the opportunity to splash (clean) potty water all over the floor and her dress, find some other sticky substance and get it in her hair, and smear shaving cream all over Mama's shirt. Needless to say she and I will both be getting dressed in the car before we get out for school from now on. 

Ms. Carol let me walk in with SG and get her settled.  She was excited to play with new toys and her friends.  I slipped out but watched for a few minutes from the window.  She needed her pacci for a little bit but her teachers said that she had a fabulous day.  They commented that she loves to hold hands. 

This sweet baby was SO tired when I picked her up.  She fell asleep on the drive home and I just had to capture how sweet my baby is when she is asleep.  Bless her...bless her...bless her.

Thoughts from today:

I think that one of the hardest things that you ever have to do as a parent is to let someone else have the privilege of taking some responsibility for your child. It's hard to relinquish that total responsibility for even a few hours. I pulled away wondering: will the teachers hug her when she looks sad or scared, will she be the same spunky and brave girl that she is when we are together, will the other kids be sweet to her and will she be sweet to them? It's a first lesson in giving up some control. I remember when I went to college my mom said that I had to "spread my wings" and that she knew that she had taught me well so she wasn't worried. I'm on board with that train of thought...but what about everyone else? Have they all been taught well? Will my precious baby have to see the "bad" in the world without me there to guide, comfort, explain, and shield? (Good heavens, it's. 3 hour MMO program...at a church...get it together Momma!)

All in all, our girlie had a great first day and I am so happy about what the year has in store for her (us).  This is such a precious season of life (I have said this about all of them...and I am sure that I will about every season going forward too.) I truly wish that I could just bottle the feelings, moments, smells, sounds, etc. that go along with her at this stage and keep them forever.

Lord, 
Thank you for Suzanna Grace and all of the teachers who will be apart of her life.  Help them to guide her in your direction and to help her become a world changer. Amen.

Suzanna Grace's "Student Inventory" for 2015:

24 Weeks

How Far Along? 24 weeks

Size? An ear of corn (8.5 in, 1.5 lbs)

Maternity Clothes? Right now I am still just wearing elastic waist band shorts.  After Jessica's party last weekend I had to officially retire my favorite black tank...and so begins the transition to maternity. 
Weight Gain? I am 130lb as of my doctors visit today. I think that's a total gain of around 8 lb.  I feel great but can certainly see my bump more at 24 week this time around than I did before.

Stretch Marks? Nope,  Burt's Bees Momma Tummy Lotion  

Gender? A precious ACTIVE baby girl, Carolina James.

Sleep?  So, so.  Lots of pillows.  I remember being able to sleep better on my side with SG but with CJ I am having to lay on my back more.

Movement? ALL the time.  I feel bigger moves earlier on this time than I did with SG.  Sissy likes to move and shake.  Kyle has felt her kick and if SG would sit still long enough she could too. 

Food Cravings? Luckily I am back to being able to eat anything.  Loving some cold fruit and anything chocolate.

Anything making you queasy or sick? No.  Thank goodness!

Labor signs? No! 

Belly button in or out?  Inny-outy.  She wants to poke out. 

Wedding rings, on or off? On and fitting just fine. 

What I Miss? Nothing. Everything in moderation this time around.  

Symptoms? Just some tight feelings when I move positions at night and being tired by the late afternoon.

Happy or Moody?   Happy...of course. 

Dr. Visit Update: Today was my first visit without a sonogram.  The nurse measured me and I am right at 24 weeks.  She also found Carolina James' heartbeat and commented that she was moving all over the place as she tried to get the beats/minute.  Lord help us, we've got another "on the go" girlie on our hands!  I met a new midwife, Anna, today and really loved her enthusiasm and spirit.  I love going to this practice because they just make you feel like you're doing everything "right" and that the birth is going to be perfect.  I like it when people agree with me...

Best Moment of the Week: 

-Hearing that sweet heartbeat never gets old.
-Getting a little more caught up on the blog so that I can start focusing on documenting Carolina James...poor second baby.
-Having more energy and beginning to work on the nursery!!  Daddy picked up CJ's dresser and moved it into her room.

 Big Sissy got a little tired of shopping so she found her a nice spot to stop for a snack.  Can you spot Suzanna Grace?

DaDa and SG's 1st Weekend Alone

Since finding out about baby #2 I have been thinking that it would be a good idea for sweet ole Kyle to have a solid 48 hour stretch alone with big sissy.  Of course he has been alone with her for a few hours at a time and together we have left her for the weekend with grandparents, BUT he has never had to be Parent #1 for a full weekend. And, I'll be honest, I wanted to make sure that before he got ideas of going on a boy's ski trip or golf weekend after Carolina James comes that he had a point of reference for how it feels to be a single parent for a weekend.  Bless him, he did a wonderful job and Lord knows that his little girl had an absolute BLAST!  On Saturday alone she went through four outfit changes complete with matching bows.  In very picture and video I could see the pure joy radiating from both of their faces.  When I returned, I could tell that Kyle had a new found appreciation for this SAHM and even snuck a peek at a text to his own mom that read, "We've had so much fun together this weekend but I do not know how you did this everyday with three kids..."  HAHA!

I left SG on Friday with our sweet sitter, Michelle and headed off to Jessica Lange's bachelorette party in Nashville.  DaDa came home around 5:30 and had time to eat with SG and give her a bath.

 I am not sure why she required an outfit change as this is not what I left her in.

Nothing like a good bath and snuggle with DaDa.

 This picture, for whatever reason, cracks me up.  Thanks DaDa for getting me play with this pinwheel that I have had for months and have never noticed.

Saturday DaDa and SG woke up and went on our usually walk downtown to get a chocolate croissant.  Surprisingly the outfit was not covered in said breakfast pastry as I suspected upon returning home.

I LOVED being able to spend time with my Chicago girls.  These ladies were some of my very first friends in Chicago and I am blessed to have seen their families grow and lives change.  We have nearly 12 kids between the 5 of us! 

DaDa took SG to the pool after their morning walk and breakfast.  Harry Hood and Bailey were there and played for a while. 

As Harry's mother texted, "It's like herding cats..."

                                                    

And then there was the pool poop.  I would have given ANYTHING to be a fly on the wall to see Kyle's face and reaction.  Needless to say the pool date was over shortly there after. 

Later in the day, after naps, SG and DaDa went to the Botanical Gardens for a hike. 

DaDa says that she especially liked the water feature and the rocks.  

After their hike, SG needed to freshen up before her date with ole Harry Hood. DaDa said this was her "I just ate bubbles..." face. 

The perfect match...Harry likes to ride and SG likes to push. 

SG was glad to have Jack around to clean up all the food she threw on the ground.  Hooray for Grove baby high chairs as well. 

MaMa and Carolina James (23 weeks) had a big time listening to music and eating yummy food too but we think this may be our first and last bachelorette weekend together. 

On Sunday the dynamic duo even made it to church...20 minutes late.  DaDa was happy to run in to several of MaMa's friends who applauded him for SGs outfit selection and bow.  

Dada and SG had a big time but this Momma sure did miss them.  What a fun weekend with friends for Momma as well as a weekend of learning (and fun) for DaDa.  Now let's see how he does alone with TWO!

22 Weeks

How Far Along? 22/23 weeks

Size? 8inches and 1 pound...about the size of a small babydoll

Maternity Clothes? Not so much maternity but lots of elastic waist band pants and flowy shirts. Thank heavens for JCrew stretchy pants!! 

Weight Gain?  At my last appointment I was 124.5 which is a totally gain of around 5lbs which my Midwife said was just perfect.

Stretch Marks? Nope,  Burt's Bees Momma Tummy Lotion  

Gender? A sweet baby girl, Carolina James!! 

Sleep?  Off and on. When I wake up in the middle of the night I have a hard time getting right back to sleep. My stomach feels right and hurts when I flip from my back to a side--almost like its stretching. I can feel her moving around when I wake up though so maybe she's just rearranging too!

Movement? All the time! Since week 20ish I've been feeling her a lot throughout the day. I've been feeling her since very early on but I can feel her when I put my hand on my tummy now too. She moves a lot throughout the day and when I am sitting down too. I kind of forgot how much I love this part of being pregnant. What a blessing.

Food Cravings?  As always, anything sweet. Kyle got me a 1 lb bag of peanut M&Ms and I think "someone" ate most of them this week...    

Anything making you queasy or sick? Luckily this part has kind of gone away. I'm pretty good with anything these days. Thank goodness DaDa is cooking for us these days too! If I eat too late then I spend a good part of the night needing to sit straight up. Also have to take all vitimins at night because they've been making me feel sick.

Labor signs? No! 

Belly button in or out?  Haha! Slowly but surely, Herb is making her way out. At least it's a flat out and not a blow hole just yet.

Wedding rings, on or off? Still on and fitting just fine.

What I Miss? Nothing...except maybe a Blue Moon...or four. 

Symptoms? None 

Happy or Moody?   So happy. I love being pregnant especially now that I am feeling better. I love how SG pats and kisses "baby sissy" in my tummy. My heart is so full! 

Dr. Visit Update: I go to the DR again  on SG's first day of MMO. This next visit will be our first appointment without a sono so I'm interested to see what the tiny measurements begin to show since last time they were always less than how pregnant I was.

Best Moment of the Week: Getting to see my Chicago girls in Nashville for Jessica's bachelorette party. This was the first time for DaDa to be "on his own" for the weekend with SG. 

Looking forward to... Going through all of SG's clothes so see what CJ will be able to wears and then buying matching sister outfits!! And of course, most of all, meeting our sweet second girlie.

20 weeks/5 Months

Sweet Baby, I am so sorry that I have not kept up with this pregnancy the way that I had hoped.  I'd like to give you a good excuse but the only one that I can come up with is that time has simply slipped away from me.  I promise that when it comes to the truly important things in your life, Mommy will always find the time.   For now, maybe a better goal is to blog about you every month???  

How Far Along? 20 weeks (I think this picture is actually 21 weeks...)

Size? 6.5 in and about 10 ounces...about the size of a small cantaloupe 

Maternity Clothes? Momma got some elastic waistband shorts to carry us through the warm months and a few flowy tops as well.  So far, I have really been able to wear stuff that I already have or will be able to wear again next summer.  
Weight Gain?  None at this appointment...still around 125lb

Stretch Marks? Nope,  Burt's Bees Momma Tummy Lotion  

Gender? GIRL!  Hip, hip, hooray!!

Sleep?  Not too bad.  Usually wake up once or twice in the night but can usually get back to sleep pretty quickly.  I cannot sleep on my tummy and when I wake up it sometimes hurts to try to sleep on my side after I've been on my back. 

Movement? Girl, you are ALL over the place.  I have been able to feel you for quite some time but just this week I feel like you are moving more and more.  Plus I can feel you move more...I am sure that Daddy and SG will be able to feel you soon too.  Sometimes when I am rocking SG and she is sitting on you, I can feel you kicking her. 

Food Cravings? My appetite came back this week :)  Especially in the mid-AM I am starving! I am craving ham and turkey sandwiches with mayo and anything sweet.  Also loving some watermelon right now.  Yum!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not right now and I am hoping that this has passed.

Labor signs? No! 

Belly button in or out?  Haha-Ole Herb is slowly but surly making her way back out.  I'd call it an "inny-outy" right now.

Wedding rings, on or off? On...even in this 100 degree weather

What I Miss? Nothing, except for a Blue Moon every once and a while. 

Symptoms? None

Happy or Moody?   Happy, of course.  I daydream about my two girls and cannot wait to hold you in my arms.  I really look forward to seeing you and SG become best friends and to see the relationship that the two of you have.  I pray that you are her "Mary Agnes."  

Dr. Visit Update: We had your "check for everything" visit and the DR says that you are just as perfect and healthy as can be.  You were moving all over the place yet you still managed to burry your head so that we could not get very good profile shots.  Maybe you won't be as much of a diva as someone else we know.