Little Nuggets in My Head...

My cousin writes an extremely comical, often very serious blog. I love her writing, and she is one of the most frequent blogs I check for updated reading material. Go check her out; tell her I sent you. Bond's Mindless Wanderings. Her most recent post was little nuggets in her head. I loved it; it gave her opportunity to empty her mind. I need to do so as well. Here are MY little nuggets in my head.

• I started school back, full time, yesterday. It was only professional development, no kids yet. However, I spent a good amount of time on my feet, hanging things, walking around, and working. Good Lord, I came home and my feet looked like little sausages. Entering month seven of this pregnancy at the peak of "standing on my feet" season is going to be rough. I can hear it now, "this little piggy went to market. This little piggy went home. This little piggy stayed on her feet waaaaayyy tooo long." 
• Little Noah helped his daddy edge the yard and blow off the cut grass in his pull-up in the front yard tonight... yep. We are that family. 

• I have had an incredible seven months of pregnancy. I have only gained 10 pounds. I have been happy and healthy. I have LOVED the moments I spend with Noah, especially when, out of the blue, he asks to "see" or "talk" to Avery. He will lift up my shirt and pet me, or talk to my belly. I hope he loves her as much out of the womb as he does in the womb.
• I again, spent too much extra time at school today preparing my classroom. I came home, played with Noah, ate dinner and was out the door at 7:30. At 10:00 my fat piggy feet cried until I got off of them! 
• One last nugget - I had a dream last night {Oh, how I love pregnancy dreams} that I had a 6-7 inch Boston Terrier tattoo on my left hip. Cullen and I went to New Orleans on a vacation and it was there that I decided I didn't want my tattoo any more... So, I found a shop that would tattoo over it. Want to know what I traded my Boston Terrier tattoo for??? A FELIX THE CAT face.  Get out of here! A) I hate cats. B) Felix the Cat?? Really? C) I love Boston Terriers... why would I get rid of mine? D) WHY AM I DREAMING ABOUT THIS????? 
• In the last two or three days, I have run into an extraordinary amount of stupid people. I hate bumped "stupid people" to the top of my pet-peeve list. I hate, hate, HATE, stupidity. :)

Those are the nuggets in my head tonight. Yes, now, I can sleep with clear space in my head.

I'm A Big Kid Now...

I was reminiscing with Cullen the other day about Noah growing up right in front of us. Every day, it seems like he is bigger and {emotionally} more grown up than the day before.

This summer has been HUGE for our little Noah. He is potty training, and doing so well. He has transitioned from a toddler bed to a big boy bed AND goes to bed without crying at all. It is so nice, yet I miss rocking him to sleep.

This last weekend, Cullen and I got up and got ready for church. {Side Note: Church is always stressful. Noah cries and has cried every time we drop him off at church nursery.} This time, Cullen drops him off at his room with me standing behind them. Noah walks in his room and turns to Cullen. Instead of crying, he says to Cullen, "where my diaper bag?". I quickly responded that he didn't need it, that he is a big boy, going in the big potty. He thought about it, and it made since. He shrugged and turned in and walked away. NO TEARS.

Instead, I wanted to cry.

I know it is our plan to grow our kids into wonderful small adults. I wanted Noah to be more independent - that was my goal this summer. However, I hate it. I hate that he doesn't NEED us to do certain things. When our little baby gets here, I know it will be nice to have a big helper, but I sure do miss my little baby Noah. I miss him NEEDING to crawl into my lap, needing me to hold him and rock him.

I guess it is all a part of it... right?

Eat Your Heart Out, Michael Phelps!

Yesterday, we took Noah over to our friend's house for an afternoon of swimming and fun. Unbeknownst to us, our friends have a diving board. 

Naturally, No-Fear-Noah enjoyed every minute of this experience. He belly flopped every time, and popped out of the water happy as can be. 

25 week Comparison

I was just looking through pictures of my pregnancy with Noah. I found my 25 week picture. I am officially 25 weeks and 3 days. Here is a side-by-side of Noah's pregnancy (green shirt) and this one (floral shirt). Overall, I'd say I am doing pretty swell. 

I have an OB appointment on Tuesday. After that appointment, I will have another installment of "___ Weeks."

My Name is Erin, and I am BAD Blogger...

Yes, I do realize it has been far too long since I last blogged. (Grant me the Serenity...) 

I have family on Cullen's side, (Hi Nicky Paul), who when I see him, reminds me to blog frequently, as it is his best way of keeping up with our little family. When I don't, I start to get the I'm-disappointing-my-mom pain. :)

So, without further ado, let's catch up on life. To make it simple, I will give you a bullet list. AND, because blogs are far more interesting with pictures, I will add some more of our gender reveal pictures. Enjoy:

• Summer has been wonderful. I spent all of July with my handsome little man. Day care was closed, so we just created our own fun at home - out of the heat. One morning, I had to take him to an OB appointment. Thinking my doctor would be annoyed, I brought an arsenal of toys, books, games and suckers. Instead, the doctor had him climb on top of me and squirt the goo on my belly. He then helped her use the heartbeat monitor to listen to the baby. It put a huge smile on his face and a perfect memory in my mind. It also calmed my nerves while I was there AND showed me once again that I have the world's BEST OB/doctor.  
• 
• August 1st, I turned 28. I spent the week celebrating with friends and family. Coco kept Noah overnight; Cullen took me on a date. I was richly spoiled with gifts and time with the ones I love. 
• 
• We have spent the summer watching me grow. I am no longer able to fit into regular tops. They are too short. I haven't been to the doctor in three weeks, BUT, at the last appointment, I had only gained a total of 7 pounds this whole pregnancy. I feel so lucky. Cullen can feel Baby Girl regularly. Noah has felt her once or twice but doesn't really get it. :) 
• 
• Here is a story I never want to forget. Noah has been wild about this pregnancy. He loves being around babies already, and I think he is going to be a WONDERFUL big brother without a HUGE, life-shattering, transition. In the evenings, before bed time, we have a four-part ritual. We give hugs, tisses (kisses), Lub-yous (love you - he will squeeze your index finger) and noggins (rubbing foreheads). One evening, Out of the blue, completely unprompted, he lifted up my shirt, and did the whole ritual with my belly, ending with, "Lub you Abery". Melt my heart. 
• 
• July 22nd, Cullen and I celebrated our two years of home-ownership. While this isn't our first home to own, it is certainly our favorite and our "long-term" home. It is the home that we will bring our second child home to, where we will watch our kids grow and create a million more memories. 
• 
• I wrote in my last blog that we are doing a new routine with Noah at bedtime. We needed to get him to a spot that he could go to bed without us rocking him to sleep and/or screaming/crying  when we put him down. We have been doing our new bedtime routine since middle of June. It has NOT been getting any better/easier. They kid SCREAMS at night for a solid 20 minutes. I mean SCREAMS. Houston, we have had a breakthrough. For the last three nights, we have been able to lay him down, talk to him for two or three minutes and walk out without any fuss at all. No tears, no whining, NOTHING. He lays down, gives us "lub-yous" and night night time. On one hand, it is so nice. On the other hand, it is so sad to know he is growing up so much. Without question, the 5-10 minutes we spend snuggling in his bed, talking and praying before I leave his room at night is my favorite 5-10 minutes of my day. (No offense Cullen...I love you!) 

I could think of a few more, but I really need to go to bed. :) I promise I will come up with a quicker blog later. I really mean it this time, Nicky Paul!!