Pregnancy - Week 20

Baby D - 20 weeks

I just realized, as I typed the above, that I am halfway through this pregnancy! Woo-hoo! I have not really kept up with the weeks…and even have to look at the calendar and count how many weeks along I am before I do these pregnancy blog posts. Haha!

So - 20 weeks. In the past week, I have felt Baby D fluttering around quite a bit! It’s nothing strong enough for Nik to feel - but it is pretty cool to have that movement in my belly :)

I have probably gained around 12 pounds…although I have not stepped on the scale lately (and have no desire to, after how I have eaten this week)…but I feel like I have gained way more. I know I’m not near as big as I will get - but I am really feeling the strain of carrying this baby around….it seems to take more energy to do things! Which means, I probably need to go to the gym a bit more. Ha!

So far, I am getting around with 3 pairs of maternity pants and a few actual maternity shirts. Thankfully, I have a few shirts (like in the picture above) that are long enough (and stretchy enough) that they will work for awhile. Pretty soon - I think I will have to purchase a few more clothes. But I’m trying to make due!

The exciting news is - next week we find out the gender!!!!

The more I think about it (and the more people ask me) I think I am leaning more towards having a boy. Although, a girl would be ok too :) And no…we are not keeping the gender a secret. You will know when we know!

Let’s see…what other questions have I been getting? Baby names? Still undecided. Is Jaxen excited? He really does not have a clue yet what it means to be a big brother. 

I guess that’s all for now…stay tuned this week for the gender!

Thanksgiving Week Highlights

We have had a great Thanksgiving Week! Since I haven’t blogged in awhile - I will give you some highlights...

Monday - I enjoyed a nice mid-morning break with some great friends over tea and coffee / That evening we had our interim pastor and wife over for dinner and had a great time visiting with them.

It’s fire-time!

We are enjoying our fireplace this winter.

And Jaxen loves to help daddy keep it going!

Tuesday - One of my friends (who moved away) was back for a visit and so I invited some other ladies over this morning to hang out and catch up with each other / That afternoon Jaxen had a dentist appointment (where he did great) / And then that evening we went to a friends house for swimming, pizza and hanging out (we had a blast)!

Jaxen was so cooperative at the dentist!

He was funny though - because he kept telling me “go mommy”

like he was a big boy and could do this all on his own!

Wednesday - A wonderful low-key day (I even took a nap!) / made Nik’s favorite - Deviled Eggs / Went on a date night with friends / And…Jaxen went poo poo in potty (all on his own - no prompting from me!).

Jaxen insisted on wearing a beanie, gloves and snow boots 

while we played in the house that morning!

Jaxen’s reward for going poo poo in the potty were these cool, laser-tag things.

I think he wore Nik out playing with them - non-stop!

Thursday - After sleeping in a tad, I made Nik’s other favorites - Twice Baked Potatoes and Sweet Tea to take to our Thanksgiving feast / We arrived at our friends for lunch and didn’t come home until after 8pm! / Jaxen got to go swimming and we had a great time just hanging out!

I only took one picture on this day - which was sad, because it was a great day…

But this was our host, Kristen, wearing a turkey apron getting her turkey ready!

Friday - And today we got around and out of the house by 9:30am to do a little shopping. We didn’t have any major plans but I enjoy getting out and looking at all the stores. So that’s what we did! We did purchase a few items - and had fun together as a family. Although, next year…I think I will hire a babysitter so Nik and I can go out alone. It’s just a bit more fun without a little one tagging along :)

We have spent the rest of the day relaxing. I want Nik to build me a fire tonight - but he says it’s not cold enough - haha. It’s only 55 outside right now. But it’s raining - and in my book - that means a cozy fire is needed.

Jaxen just woke up from a super-long nap. Which was so needed! He has been one tired little boy this week. He has had a few late nights and a few days of shortened naps. I hope by tomorrow he will be caught up.

I hope you had a great week. 

I love Thanksgiving! 

Jaxen’s New Room

So the big news around here is that Jaxen has moved into a new room with a “big boy bed”! Yes, our child is 3. And yes, he has been in his crib his entire life. I know that is super late in life for most people, but for us - it worked out well! He never climbed out and he was content and happy in his crib :)

But with the arrival of Baby D, I knew we needed to transition him out of his crib (and I decided a new room would work better for him) - and I knew we needed to do it sooner rather than later so he didn’t feel “kicked out” of his space. So this past week was the week!

I don’t have the “bedding” I want yet (it’s plaid) and I don’t have decorations up on the wall -

but here is his new room!

Thursday night was the first night of the big move. And honestly, it went super smooth! I expected a lot worse. Not sure why - I guess I was preparing myself, just in case.

For a few days beforehand, I would take him to go play in his new room and talk about going night-night in there. Then Thursday afternoon (after I moved all his stuff in the room), I took him in one last time and showed him his cd player, bedtime book and bed. He seemed really excited about it and we talked about it the rest of the evening.

When it came time for night-night, Nik and I took him upstairs, read him a story while he laid in bed, said prayers, turned on his music and told him night-night. He did get up at one point and started playing with his toys, but we put an end to that and he didn’t get up again. It took him awhile to fall asleep - but like I stated before - it went super smooth!

The rest of the nights have gone well. Not as smooth as the first night - but not terrible. Actually, on Saturday night he was asleep within 15 minutes! There are still a few times when I sit in the hall outside of his room for a few minutes - just to make sure he stays in his bed. And he has waken up in the middle of the night every night with some issue - but each time, falls right back asleep. It’s new and I knew it would take a little time to get used to it. But overall - it’s been great! I’m so glad we did it, and am so glad we did it in the time frame we did.

Another aspect of him moving to a new room and new bed is him napping there each day. Up until this point, I usually lay down with him in our bed until he falls asleep for his nap. I don’t even know how we got into that habit - but we did and it has worked pretty well for us. But I knew it was time for him to start napping on his own. So Friday (the day after his first night in his bed) we started that transition. 

Again, overall, it has gone well. Today he cried and would not settle down for about 30 minutes - but that has probably been the worst of it. I just sit in the hallway and make sure he does not get out of bed and start playing. The thing that works for us right now, is that I turn off his music if he does not obey. Once he realizes he does not get to listen to his music, he normally settles down and then I turn it back on. 

So that’s what’s new with us!

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We have a fun-filled Thanksgiving week ahead! We had a great, relaxing weekend and I’m excited about the next few days. Hope your week is great as well!

Parent Teacher Conference

Today we had Parent-Teacher Conference at Jaxen’s school. I had no idea they did that at his age, but I was really glad they did! It was good to get a report on how he is doing in school.

From my perspective - Jaxen loves school! He always asks if it’s a school day and gets really excited when I answer yes! He goes into the school great and always walks away happy. So, in my book…he is doing well. But it was nice to get the teacher’s perspective as well.

So this afternoon I met with his 2 teachers and they gave me a “report card” (of sorts). The categories on the card are: Reading Foundations Skills, Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, Language, Mathematic Concepts, Social Development / Work Habits, and Fine Motor / Gross Motor. In each category, there are different skills that he is graded on.

The Grading Key is 1 (Does not yet demonstrate an understanding of concept/skills) to 4 (Exceeds expectations for understanding concepts/skills).

Overall, Jaxen’s scores were 1’s and 2’s. He did have two 3’s: Extends help to others with simple tasks when needed and Demonstrates large/gross motor movement such as running, skipping, jumping and climbing.

Even though his score seemed low - it is pretty normal. This is his first experience being in this environment, and they are really teaching some hard concepts! Did you know they work on the following: recognizing upper and lower case letters in and out of sequence, identifies and retells the beginning, middle and end of a story, writing their name, speaking in complete sentences, recognizing names and colors, write numbers 0-10, taking turns, cutting using scissors….and more. Some of the stuff seems normal to me…but some of it seems very advanced for 3! I guess I’m not really in the loop of “school” and didn’t know what all to expect!

His teachers were very positive when it came to talking about how Jaxen does in school. He is more social in small settings versus a large group, is very helpful to others and listens/follow directions well. They love having him in class and were very open to the possibility of Jaxen going to school 3 days next semester instead of two. That is not a decision we have made yet - but we are discussing it.

Here is a picture of Jaxen in his classroom that was posted on Facebook awhile back -

He is such a cheeser :)

And here are a few pics from today. They had a guest speaker showing them some "historical" toys! 

We are very happy with the decision to enroll him in this school and very happy with how he is doing and how good his teachers are with him!

A Day in the Life

I have been having a hard time lately knowing what to blog about…so I decided to do a “Day in the Life Post”. I love it when other bloggers do this, so I hope you enjoy seeing a glimpse into our little world today (Tuesday).

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7:20am - Alarm goes off and I make my way downstairs. The very first thing I do is open all the blinds, and turn the heater up (we keep our house cold at night, but I like it to be cozy and warm first thing in the morning).

Nik is up about this time as well, and he starts getting ready for work. I make myself some breakfast. Today was 2 scrambled eggs in a tortilla. I ate my breakfast, drank water, took my vitamins and had a little quiet time before Jaxen wakes up. Sometimes this time is interrupted. Not today, though! He was still not awake afterward - so I finished loading the dishwasher and got it started. 

Around 8am - Jaxen decided to finally wake up! So I got him ready for school: dressed, his teeth brushed and hair combed. He never eats breakfast, but I fixed him a glass of milk.

8:20am - On this particular morning, Nik took Jaxen to school - which Jaxen loves it when his daddy takes him. And after I put in a load of laundry I headed out the door to work (clean house for someone) for a few hours.

I was done cleaning by 11am and ran a quick errand before picking Jaxen up from school at 11:30.

Normally, Jaxen is super happy to see me and gives me a big hug. Today - all he wanted was daddy picking him up and cried when he wasn’t there. I finally talked him into going outside with mommy after he asked to stay at school (haha) and we headed home!

Once we were in the car his first question (every day) is “drink mommy?” And the next question “eat mommy?” My kid is used to drinking all day, and snacking at least twice before lunch - but when he is at school, that does not happen. So I always make sure to have a drink in the car and sometimes even a snack for the 4 whole minutes of our drive home. And most of the time - it is gone by the time we pull in. Haha!

11:40am - After school and before lunch I try to engage with Jaxen with some one-on-one time, no distractions. So we normally work on an activity together at the table (coloring, legos…etc). Today he decided he wanted to paint. We did finger-painting because I am out of paint brushed (oops) and then later moved to Q-tip-painting. It worked!

12:15pm - Lunch! On this particular day Jaxen had a hamburger patty, cheese, pickles and a yogurt. I had a baked potato and salad.

12:40 - I cleaned up from lunch, went over my to do list and switched laundry, while Jaxen played on his iPad, sitting in his favorite spot - in front of the heater.

At 1:20 we went upstairs and laid down for a nap. After much talking, he finally settled down and was asleep by 2. I sometimes nap with him as well, but knew that I needed to do a few other things today.

By 2:15 I decided I better hop in the shower! And then I studied for the Bible Study that I facilitate on Wednesdays (with a cup of hot tea) until Jaxen woke from his nap around 3:30. 

After a few minutes of some nice cuddle time we played legos, colored and read books.

While I prepped dinner and put dishes away - Jaxen ate pretzels and applesauce.

It was here that I stopped taking pictures and stopped documenting our day….but know it consisted of dinner, playtime with daddy and then bed!

It is now almost 9pm - and I’m ready to relax and call it a day! Good night!

Pregnancy - Week 18 and 19

I forgot to mention on the blog, in my last update, that we will find out the gender of Baby D on December 3rd. It’s just a few more weeks - but I’m getting so excited!

This past week I have been sick with allergies/head cold/something - and it has not been fun. But, what is funny is when looking back at my last pregnancy it was in week 18 that I was sick with the same thing. Weird, right?!

Anyways - here is a picture from Sunday -

Baby D - 18 weeks

Jaxen would not take a picture with me - but his nerf gun made the pic!

I don’t have much else to say about my pregnancy at this time. Everything is going really well. Every now and then I feel a bit nauseous or have heart burn, but it’s never brought on by the same thing and it comes and goes. I was able to eat a whole grilled chicken breast and salad tonight for dinner - which earlier in the pregnancy would have made me sick - so that’s improvement!

I did get up in the attic this past week and brought down some baby things that we will need. I just piled it all in our extra bedroom. I have not gone through it yet - but it’s a start!

I have had a few people ask me how my hormones are…that’s a always a tricky question :) I think they are fine….so I asked Nik - because we often view my hormones differently. Ha ha! He said they have “not been bad this week”. Exact words. Which to me, means - You are awesome!

I guess that’s all I have for now!

Random Thoughts & Pics

1. Last year we had our first “real” snow on November 14. And I was decorated for Christmas by November 15. This year? No snow in the forecast and I am no where ready to decorate. I think I was under the “everything is cold, and snowy and it feels like Christmas” spell. Considering the year before that it was still hot at the time in TX. This year I understand how long the cold lasts and am not rushing the winter months upon us! Ha ha. That being said - I may keep my decorations up through January, just because I love having my house decorated for Christmas!

My cute little boy :)

Jaxen loves to “play" cards with me!

2. We have actually had such nice days in the past week that Nik is still getting a few chances to ride his bike! It’s not winterized...yet!

The heater vent is still his favorite spot in the whole house!

It was cold the other day - so I let Jaxen bring Mater inside and ride around. He loved it!

3. Nik and I celebrated our 13 year anniversary yesterday! I usually do some type of “Anniversary Post”. Not this year. I have been sick with some kind of head cold thing and have not been feeling really well for a few days. Now, it’s moved into my chest. Yuck. But we hired a babysitter and had a wonderful night out. I came home last night and posted some pictures on Facebook of us in our first few years of marriage. I thought it was fun to look back and thought others might enjoy it as well. Come to find out…people are intrigued over the many hairstyles of Nik Davis! I have always said that he has had more hairstyles than me…and it’s true and it is so funny to read/hear the different comments people have about his hair. Ha ha!

At Staples, while Nik was checking out - Jaxen loved playing in the “tunnel”.

On one of our warm days we went to the park to play - and he loved climbing on everything!

4. It’s been awhile since I have given a “Potty Training” update on Jaxen. Here it is - He goes pee pee in the potty great! He does not poo poo in the potty. But will wait until he has a diaper on to do so. Which is only at nap time and night night. Whatever - I don’t care. He knows not to go in this undies, and actually tells me every morning “No pee pee No poo poo in undies?” Yes…that is correct! Ha ha. He only has pee pee accidents right before nap time when he gets really relaxed. Other than that - he is doing so good! I still make him sit on the potty and try to go poo poo. I have bribed him with candy and even a new toy. No go. Oh well - I’m ok with where we are at in the process.

I even gave him an iPad to see if that would help the poo poo process. Nope.

Cuddle time with mommy when I was not feeling good on Monday.

Told you - RANDOM :)

But minus me being sick - all is well over here. I hope to bounce back real soon! Have a great week!

The People of Wal-Mart

I hope you know what I am referring to when I say “the people of Wal-Mart”. If not - please Google it right now and view the images. Warning: you may see some images that will hurt your eyes.

Anyways -

I have always been on the verge of becoming one of these people. If you don’t think so - you probably don’t know me too well. If Nik is asked - he will always reference back to when we were first married: I was wearing house slippers, sweatpants, and an old t-shirt. He wanted me to go with him to run an errand so I put on one of his coats. It was an old suit jacket - tweed with elbow pads. And I probably put on a beanie for good measure. Just imagine that outfit. Nik is one lucky man, huh?! Ha ha.

That is just one scenario of my “people of Wal-Mart outfits”.

Well -

Jaxen has now entered that category. Lucky boy - taking after his momma. Technically, we were in Sam’s, not Wal-Mart, if anyone cares :)

Want to see…?

That would be my kid - bedhead, teeth probably  not brushed, wearing reindeer pajamas with snake boots, holding a sonic tea.

Oh - and wearing a mask that he found on the ground for part of the time.

I really should be a better mom! But I was not planning on leaving the house that day. I planned on baking all day, getting ready for the Bake Sale. But I soon realized, that unless my family was going to eat out every meal this week - I better run to the store. It was one store. And super quick. Well, kind of quick. Sam’s is not quick when they insist on getting ready for Christmas - And by that I mean putting all of their biggest and best toys in the middle of every single aisle. So my child cannot go two steps without looking at, touching or trying on everything he sees.

I actually texted Nik and said “I will no longer take Jaxen to Sam’s until Christmas is over”.

On another note…. we were in the very back of the store when Jaxen said “Mommy. Pee Pee.” I don’t normally encourage my kid to run in the store. But this was an exception. I told him to run and I followed. Through the whole store and I could care less what people thought. I did not want to clean up pee pee in the middle of the aisle. We made it :)

Ok. That is plenty of rambling and embarrassing stories of Jaxen and I for one day. 
Please feel free to share your own!

I will leave you with our Sunday Selfie from last week - just to prove my kid can look good!

Pregnancy - Week 17

I have no idea why my text and pictures will not center. I cannot figure it out - sorry!

Today I had a baby appointment!

Nik was able to take off work and go with me.

Baby D is doing great - I am doing great - so it was a quick, easy appointment!

Baby D - 17 weeks

I did not get an ultrasound this time - but we did listen to the heartbeat.

And I started crying!

Not sobbing crying, just tears coming out, crying.

I’m not sure why I was so emotional this time, but I was.

In that moment, I just became so thankful and overwhelmed at the life growing inside of me.

Pregnancy 2 is so different from Pregnancy 1 - for me, anyways.

I don’t just sit around everyday thinking about this baby. Shocker, I know! Ha ha.

So in those few quiet moments at the doctor’s office - I can really take it all in.

And I love it.

Know what else I love?

A morning to myself :)

I dropped Jaxen off at school, then went to my appointment.

But after that….

I went to the grocery store to pick up about 6 things.

Drove through Sonic for a little treat :)

Made a quick return to a store - glanced around for about 15 minutes. 

 Showed up at my hair appointment 20 minutes early -

just so I could sit on the comfy couch to read and relax.

And actually getting my hair done was so very relaxing!

I came home at lunch refreshed and very happy!

And we have had the most gorgeous (unlikely) days this week.

So when Jaxen woke up from his nap we took a little stroll through the neighborhood.

Overdue Pictures

I have been in Bake-Sale-Mode since Saturday. Bake Sale ended tonight at 7:10 when I jokingly told a man that if he bought everything on the table, I could go home. Well, he did! Haha! And Hallelujah! Bake Sale over. It was fun, we made some money and I’m glad we did it!

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Now for some pictures that are long overdue - enjoy!

Jaxen has been enjoying this nice, cool fall air!

He even “helped” one day by bringing firewood from the garage to the house.

We spent the majority of one afternoon / evening rearranging our garage; 

stacking firewood, making room for 2 vehicles, 1 motorcycle and a snowblower.

While working, we had a nice little fire to enjoy!

The last one of the season.

This past weekend, we finally raked our leaves and got our yard cleaned up.

Jaxen was actually pretty helpful this year!

That is, until, some neighbor girls invited Jaxen next door to play.

He had a great time with them, though, and Nik and I were able to finish up.

That’s all I have for tonight!

Time to sleep :)