Another Post Sponsored by AA

Hi. my name is Erin. It's been two weeks since my last post. {The crowd greets me with, "Hi Erin".} I know it has been too long. The funny thing is, I have thought to myself at least 2000 times, "hey, I should blog about this!". I never do, clearly.

Since I last posted, I have had another baby appointment. It was my last of the two week appointments. The next one I attend, starts weekly appointments. The scary part of that is, I only attended two one week appointments and our precious Noah made his arrival. Some days, I would be super with that idea; for her to come early, just like her brother. Other days, I think we have lost our minds... what are we going to do with two children??! I am so excited to meet her. I remember, being at this point with Noah... that I just wanted to meet him, hug him once, and stick him back in me to cook a while longer. I am so ready to meet her, to dress her in cute frilly outfits, but I am not sure we are ready to be a family of four.

On other news, my cousins on my dad's side threw a surprise baby shower for me last weekend. It was purely a ribbons, bows, and very cute clothes shower. ZERO necessities, minus the tower of diapers from my parents. {Cullen couldn't have appreciated that more!} She has more shoes than Cullen already. I love that about her.

Here are a few cute Noah stories:

He has been sick the last few days with a little stomach bug. He told me his tummy hurts, and that he doesn't feel very good. That part of it is not that cute... but then he looked at me out of the blue and said, "I not sick anymore!!"

One of my MOST favorite things he does, is quickly make new friends. We went to the park after he announced he is "not sick anymore!!" At the park there was this little girl. He immediately went up to her said, "Hi. You my friend!" and they played for a solid 3o minutes together. It was adorable. I love how big his heart is.

Cullen is also not feeling well. He checked on Cullen a hundred different times today. "You tummy hurt, Daddy?" He is so loving.

I picked him up from school yesterday to go to a PTA carnival at my school. He said immediately, "I want to see elepants!" Sadly, I had to break it to him that there would not be any elephants at the school carnival.

He says things like: "Too bright!" when we turn the lights on in the morning.

He will say good morning and good night to my belly every day. Unprompted. He lifts up my shirt just to say hi to Avery. He asks about her, often. I love that about him. I think he is going be the most wonderful big brother.

He says to us, "Be happy!" If we are sick, or not feeling well, or if I had a bad day at work, he notices. He will say to me, "be happy," or "get happy, Mommy". All of these statements make me very happy.

Life is really good right now. I have a camera full of pictures that need to be uploaded. I will do that next. :)

It's Getting Closer...

As promised, two posts in one week. This last Tuesday started my two-week appointments with the OB. Dr. Furman had a difficult time finding Little Miss' heartbeat because she was squirming so much. We got though. 141 beats p/ hour; just where it should be. She said I'm measuring just where I should and we mapped out the rest of my pregnancy. We discussed my recent sonogram and the fact that my little darlin is still a girl... A big girl at that. She was weighing in at 2 lbs, 15 ounces two weeks ago (slightly bigger than a fetus should be). That means one if a couple things: A) she {more than likely} will come early like her brother. B) could come on her due date and BE A NINE PLUS POUND BABY. Or C) we can talk about inducing on the 19th.

In other Little Miss updates, her room still isn't done. BUT we do now have a plan of action. We are going to tape off her room this week and paint over the next two weekends. Chair rails will go up the weekend of the 13th and we'll put the final decorations up over the next several weekends. Phew. All in time for Halloween and her birth month to arrive.

This weekend, we went to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. On the way there, we stopped for dinner. At dinner, I got embarrassingly teary. I realized this trip would be our last trip as Cullen, Erin and Noah. It made the trip all the more significant. We did any and everything Noah wanted to do and had a great time doing it. We spent HOURS at the indoor water park. We just had a fantastic time. While I am so excited to create wonderful memories that include Little Miss, it is bittersweet knowing our world of three will soon no longer be.

We are super busy between now and Little Miss' arrival. Cheers to a busy, activity filled 7 weeks (or less).

Pregnancy Facts and Other Tid-Bits

First of all... I am going to put it out there. I will have two {yes, two} blog posts this week. This one counts, and I go to the doctor tomorrow. I will have a baby update then. WOW, two in a week. I am lucky if I can get one done every two weeks as of recent!

So, Here are some pregnancy facts and other Mills' tid-bits in number format.

1. It is official. My wedding ring does not fit any longer. I would like to blame it on highly salted Chinese food yesterday, but sadly, I have been struggling to put it on daily for about a week. When My finger immediately turned purple this morning, and only a combination of soap, water, and lotion took my ring off, I knew it was time. The silver lining? I couldn't wear it after seven months with Noah. At least I made it to eight months with Little Girl. 
2. I have this dear friend, {I will call her Krista (name changed to protect the innocent)}, who is just a few weeks behind me in her pregnancy. Until recently, she and I had gained pound for pound the same amount of weight. I went to the doctor, doubled my weight. She went to the doctor - didn't gain a pound. While I should be so very grateful to have only gained 19 pounds this entire pregnancy so far, hearing her measly little 9 pounds made me a not happy girl. :) I told *Krista that we were no longer friends until she caught up with my weight gain. She and I both have appointments this week. 
3. Speaking of appointments, tomorrow's appointment starts the first of my two-week appointments. I remember thinking when I was pregnant with Noah that two-week appointments would NEVER get here. It meant we were at the beginning of the end. From here, pregnancy goes warp speed. I feel like I just told Cullen I was pregnancy with this one; now we are counting down. I am in single digit weeks until Miss. Priss gets here. Good Lord. AND, 
4. As my not-friend *Krista pointed out in a recent conversation, IF Miss. Priss delivers on her due date, I have 8 working weekends until she gets here. Let's not forget, this coming weekend, we are busy. The following weekend we are busy. One weekend in October is completely booked. They way I see it, we have FIVE working weekends. By working weekends, I mean, WE NEED TO FINISH HER ROOM. Good news is, 
5. Cullen has the crib put together (Thanks, Durbin family, for letting us rent Bobby temporarily). Miss. Priss has a changing table in her room. Her sheets are in the washer. We bought paint for her walls. AND, while the room isn't painted, at least we have committed to colors and purchased them... no turning back now. 
6. NON-PREGNANCY REMARKS: Noah is melting my heart daily. He is growing so fast. His brain is so smart. He continually impresses me with just how smart he is. I know most of you know this, but on the off chance I forget, Here are a few recent Noahisms: 
7. After I asked if he wanted to walk or drive to the mail box, he responded with, "Let me check my schedule." 
8. He cannot say certain words correctly. I love them, and as long as they are not academically cause for concern, I will not correct him. Words like: church - he says chirps; Brodie - he says Broer; He calls Millie Millie-dirl. He calls my friend Taylor, Terr. He calls his CoCo, ToTo. While I know that is just learning how to speak appropriately, I think it is too sweet. He calls pizza- issas. He calls milk, nilp. 
9. If you ask him what he wants for dinner, 7 out of 7 days, he will tell you issas. THAT is my child. Now if I could just convince him that the only edible pizza in the world is Mr. Gattis and we had one closer than Belton, I would be a very happy girl. 
10. Cullen and I celebrated our 5-year marriage mark this past week. He gave me a beautiful necklace and earrings that match. I gave him a bread maker. He had his gift WAITING on me Saturday morning. Never in our almost ten years together has he had a gift PRIOR to our event (birthday, anniversary, etc). NEVER in our almost ten years together have I NOT had a gift waiting for him. Well.... his gift arrived 5 days late. I am the worst. I feel terrible. I just wasn't with it this year. I would like to say there is a reason for it... but there wasn't. I was just behind the ball!! 

That is it for me. Happy Monday. I will post again tomorrow after Miss. Priss' appointment! 

30 weeks, 2 days

30 weeks??! What? 30 WEEKS?? Que the dramatic music please... I cannot believe in 10 {OR LESS} SHORT WEEKS, our little girl will be rocking in my arms, not in my belly. Here is a picture from tonight, and a short catch up on baby girl's stats.

Avery Anne and Momma 30 weeks, 2 days.

How far along? 30 weeks, 2 days!
 
Total weight gain: Holy HUGE; I've gained 19 pounds total. I know it is a part of it, but I am ready to just die.
 
Maternity clothes? Yes please. I really love and appreciate maternity clothes. I am just so comfortable in them, and that is what is MOST important right now. ;)
 
Stretch marks? No new ones! ;) PRAISE JESUS.
 
Sleep: In my THIRD trimester and sleeping through the night...I MAY wake up once to potty. I cannot complain about that. I know it will get MUCH worse before it gets better!!
 
Best moment this week: Hearing our nugget's heartbeat today.
 
Miss anything? No. Well, I miss not craving sweets. This little girl has turned me into a sweets monster. Prior to this pregnancy, I could not eat sweets for AGES and be fine!! Now, it is daily, all day.
 
Movement: All day, every day. She isn't a kicker. She is a roller. I swear, she does gymnastics all day in my tummy. She also uses my bladder as a spring board.
 
Food cravings: NONE. That is the problem. NOTHING sounds good, ever. I am the worst friend (daughter, wife, friend, ... whatever hat I am wearing) to help make decisions about what to eat for lunch or dinner. 
 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing.
 
Gender: Yes!!!!! It is a GIRL. This news was so wonderful to hear. Her name will be Miss. Avery Anne Mills.
 
Labor Signs: None, thank goodness!!
 
Symptoms: None right now. Positively glowing.... and peeing all the time.
 
Belly Button in or out? Flat. Not an innie or an outie. It will stay like this until the end. It will not become an outie!!
 
Wedding rings on or off? On, but barely. The mornings are tough to get it on, the evenings are tough to get them off!
 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Blissfully Happy! But, so tired!
 
Looking forward to: Noah meeting his baby sister. He loves her in the womb. I hope he loves her as much out of the womb. He is so protective and has such a HUGE heart. I absolutely cannot wait to see him as a big brother.

A Thought...

I remember being so good at blogging before kids. Anyone remember that too?? So, here I am. Two or three weeks have passed since I last blogged. I often start blogs and stop halfway through because I figure what I am writing about is not important to anyone outside of our moms and maybe my best friend.

BUT, I had a thought, a major thought yesterday. I was driving home {alone} in my car when Walking In A Winter Wonderland started to play on the radio. While there are SO MANY things wrong with that idea, I will stick to my original post.

That song made me think... When Walking In A Winter Wonderland is playing on the radio LEGITIMATELY, I will be a mother of two. I will have two small children I am responsible for in this world. That scares the lights out of me. I know we planned this 'second baby" thing. I know that I love her more than the world is big already, but, to have TWO kids is a whole 'nother ball game!

Speaking of being a mother of two...

We chose her crib... we returned it. We ordered a new crib and love it. We chose her bedding. We chose her glider. We have her paintings. We know what we want to do with the walls. My goodness, we MAY just have a baby's room after all! I am so excited to see it all come together.

Our little sugar (the living one) has turned into a super hero. For the last couple of days {maybe a week}, he runs around our house with one hand in the air and the other near his hip screaming "Super Noah!"

I love our kids. Both of them. The one I know and have loved for the last two years and the one I only know from the inside. I love my life and everything that life has in store for us in the next few months.

There you go. There is my blog.

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!!