Mason & Taylor

I realized it's been awhile since I really updated on Mason & Taylor. So here we go:

Mason:
He is thriving in Preschool! He gives me a timeline of events when I pick him up each Tuesday & Thursday and seldom ever leaves anything out. Every Tuesday, he comes home with homework, which usually involves handwriting activities. I wouldn't say his handwriting is great, but we are getting there. He loves to do his homework and tells everyone he has to work hard so he can go to college. It makes me smile every time he says it. Sometimes he would rather not do his homework or only partially do it, but we are working on that.

The other day, I had a garage sale and he found his old plastic t-ball set. I had planned to sell it, but he got a hold of it before hand and I gave in. He has a new t-ball set, but we haven't had much practice with it lately because of our steaming hot summer and the fact that we have no trees to provide shade in the back of the house. So that morning, Adam & Mason headed out to the backyard to play t-ball. Apparently, he hits the ball really well and very hard. As we were cleaning up in the garage Mason made this comment, "You know who the best baseball player is?" I had no idea what to expect and then he responded, "Me!" Adam & I cracked up laughing.

Mason & Taylor are playing together more and more. It's not always peaceful, but when it is, they have so much fun together. They really do love each other and like spending time together. He is a great older brother and I know it's going to be wonderful to watch him with Peyton.

Taylor:
She is our little spitfire! The girl has so much personality and is a blast to be around. She isn't afraid to speak her mind but can be very sensitive. This is both good and bad. We don't want to quiet her spirit, but we want to make sure that she is aware of her behavior. She is very independent and can do most things by herself and also do it right. She is my little helper. This week we made spice bread and she was right by my side wanting to help with everything. Mason does the same thing, but Taylor is constantly asking to help. I give her little projects to work on. I love her servant heart.

She no longer wears pull ups during nap time or at bed time. The night time potty training is complete. I know most people like to couple this together, but we have always been successful separating them.

She is also thriving at school. Both of her teachers always comment on how well mannered she is and what a great attitude she has. The days of her crying when I dropped her off or picked her up are far gone. She loves school and wants to go everyday.

Taylor often hosts tea parties in the afternoon. It's become a daily ritual in our house. Anything involving cooking in her play kitchen, or pretending to have her own restaurant are probably her favorite pretend activities. She is very much into Tinker Bell, Strawberry Shortcake, and baby dolls. She also likes to play beauty shop. We have a girly girl on our hands.

39 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 39 Weeks

Size of Baby: Over 7lbs and 19.5 inches long

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained a total of 33lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: She is still very active. I can tell that she likes to nap during the day and she is most active in the evenings, especially when I'm trying to go to sleep.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I also miss being able to roll over with ease. It's very uncomfortable and sometimes I will avoid switching sides, even when I really want to, so that I don't deal with the process of rolling over.

 

Cravings: Nothing really. I haven't really over eaten anything or had anything that really stands out with this pregnancy. 

Symptoms: My heartburn has still held off thanks to the OTC heartburn medicines. Constant bathroom breaks day and night. The pressure down there is intense and I can barely move my legs at times because it hurts to walk or get up from my seat. 

Best Moment of the Week: This is my last week of pregnancy and this past weekend was a very bittersweet weekend. We tried to do as much as we could with the kids, because all too soon Peyton will be here. 

I am such a mix of emotions and I'm sure it will only intensify as the week progresses. Yes, I'm extremely excited to be able to hold our little girl and to finally see what she looks like. I can't wait to see how the kids interact with her. But I'm also very emotional.

This is most likely my last pregnancy. Despite the little annoyances, I love being pregnant. The feeling of a baby fluttering around and knowing that God created something so beautiful out of the love I share with my husband is overwhelming. We are pretty certain that our family will feel complete with Peyton's arrival.

Mason & Taylor are very excited to finally meet their sister. Every morning, Mason wakes up and asks if Peyton is here yet. Mason was so young when Taylor was born, he doesn't really remember like without his little sister. So it will be a shocker for both of them when Peyton comes home. He did great and it really wasn't a bad transition, but I have a feeling Taylor will have a harder time adjusting to life with a newborn and someone else taking attention away from her.If any mom's of three have any suggestions on making the transition easier, let me know. We are going to make this a special week and I'm going to eat up every minute I have with the kids.

Garage Sale

This morning I hosted my second ever garage sale. This is what it looked like in front of my house at 7am this morning. Back in June, I started going through all of the kids clothes, once I realized our third child would be a little girl. I had saved almost all of the kids clothes and decided I needed to go through them to decide what I wanted to keep for Peyton and everything else could be given away or sold in a garage sale.

We have been very blessed over the past four years with a ton of baby & toddler clothes, toys, blankets, and the list goes on. I made sure to keep the important things and I was ready to let everything else go. Our neighborhood only allows garage sales twice a year on designated weekends. So I packed everything up and it was all in Peyton's room until this weekend.

I wasn't sure how the turnout would be, especially since I did little advertising and didn't even post any signs. The great thing about neighborhood garage sales is that other people do the advertising for you. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as the turn out goes, but we consistently had people all morning. I sold almost everything. There was hardly any cleanup when it was over. I load whatever was leftover in the back of the car and took it to Goodwill.

Now I can relax and enjoy my last weekend before Peyton's arrival.

Baby Update

Yesterday I went to see my doctor for my checkup. Unfortunately for me, things are the same. I haven't changed since I was 36 weeks. We spoke about my options and decided to give it a little more time but to go ahead and schedule an induction. By my previous pregnancy standards, I'm overdue. Mason was 9 days early and Taylor was 11 days early. I'm open to giving Peyton a little more time before scheduling an induction too early, with hopes that I can go into labor on my own.

My doctor gave me two dates to choose from. The first date wouldn't work for me because the kids have school pictures that day. The second date happened to be a very important day to me and I thought it would be fitting. So if Peyton doesn't arrive before then, I'm scheduled to be induced Friday October 14th at 5am. This is also a special day because it is my dad's 50th birthday.

So for the next week, we will be waiting. Tomorrow I have a garage sale planned to get rid of a ton of the kids stuff that I have been holding onto for way too long. It will be nice not to have the boxes in my house any more.

Baby Blankets

With two children already, there is no shortage of clothes or other necessities for Peyton. I kept all of Taylor's old clothes just in case and thankfully, Peyton has a full closet and stocked drawers full of clothes. So when people started asking me what Peyton needed, I was at a loss.

My mom has been asking me for awhile to give her a list of things for Peyton, but I put it off because honestly I didn't know. Then I realized that Peyton didn't have a baby blanket. Sure I have a ton of receiving blankets and other blankets, but nothing specifically for her. So I started searching on Etsy.com. I came across this vintage fabric and instantly fell in love with it. It doesn't really match the color scheme of Peyton's room, but that didn't bother me. I love the bright colors. So I called my mom and sent her the info. A couple of days ago, the blanket arrived in the mail. It was personalized with Peyton's name and I love it.

Ten on Tuesday 100th Celebration

Happy 100th Ten on Tuesday Chelsea at RootsAndRings! So glad you started this. It makes Tuesdays that much more interesting and fun.

1. How do you take your coffee?
With a little cream only or black. I'm not into sweet coffee.

2. Do you prefer soft or crispy chocolate chip cookies?
Soft.

3. Do you wear a belt everyday?
Only when I wear jeans.

4. What is your favorite color combination?
Black & White. My favorite store is White House Black Market.

5. Do you like sour candy?
If I'm in the mood. Usually I go for something sweet.

6. How often do you do laundry?
Atleast once a week, soon it will be more with a newborn in the house again.

7. Did you ever wear braces?
Yes, from middle of the 5th grade until the summer before 8th grade.

8. Are you good at Roman Numerals?
Yes.

9. What is your favorite form of social media?
It's a tie between twitter and facebook. I'm still getting used to facebooks new layout.

10. How do you feel about chin dimples?
No particular feelings.

38 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 38 Weeks
Size of Baby: Over 19.5 inches long & weighs a little over 7 lbs

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained a total of 32lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything. 

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Constantly kicking. 

What I miss: Laying on my stomach at night. Even laying on my side is uncomfortable and I use pillows. I can't even role over from side to side without waking up. Being able to move around with ease. 

Cravings:  Nothing in particular. My appetite has remained about the same.

Symptoms: Heartburn is under control due to OTC medicine. Sleepless nights that are preparing me for Peyton's arrival. Constant bathroom breaks. Tired due to my sleepless nights and not having much energy.

Best Moment of the week: Realizing that I can try everything to get her to arrive, but it's ultimately God's timing and not my own. 

One evening this past week, we ended up at the hospital. Earlier that afternoon, I started having contractions and they were consistent and eventually started getting a little closer together. This lasted for about 4 hours before we decided to go ahead and head to the hospital. My doctor told me that if I thought I had signs of labor, to go ahead and head into the hospital.

Upon arrival, I knew the drill. They asked me a ton of questions and checked me and then monitored my contractions for the next hour. My contractions were still happening about every 5 minutes but I hadn't dilated any further. I had such a mix of emotions. I was frustrated, sad, and embarrassed. I was sent home and told to keep monitoring the contractions.Around 1:30am that night, they finally started to slow down.

My next appointment is Thursday morning. I'm hoping I've made a little more progress. Once I'm 39 weeks, they will discuss if I want an elective induction. At this point, I'm not really sure how I feel. Honestly, it would be easier to have it scheduled, especially given that our family is in Houston and it would make arrangements with Mason & Taylor much easier. I was induced with Mason based on his size and it went extremely well.  Part of me really wants to go to labor all on my own. Only time will tell.