First Grade Performance

Caleb's First Grade Program was Thursday night, just after the PTA meeting. I'm sure this was the highest attended PTA meeting this school year. The 6 classes performed 7 songs. They were all so cute. And the funniest part was one of the songs they sang (a funky version of ABC) was a song I sang in my first grade performance. Wow- some things never change. I could have been up there on stage with him and added my own choreography circa 1982. But, I stayed in the back and just quietly sang along. When the kids sang the famous 'Apples and Bananas" song Carter just roared with laughter. He found it to be extra funny when the kids all sang about bananas, benenes, bininis, bononos, and bununus. And I'm sure the 10 video cameras within hearing distance will love hearing his laughter over their own children singing. Oh well. Next time everyone will know not to sit too close to the James family because that 4 year old is one loud kid. Steve got some video of the fun evening and the first thing Caleb asked after the performance was, "Can we watch the video as soon as we get home?"

20 weeks

OK, here it is... a photo of the growing belly. I really don't want to put this on the blog because it's not fun to look at an ever expanding version of myself. Now, I love seeing everyone else pregnant, but just not me. However, I am posting this for some specific people who don't get to see the live version. So, Shanan, Emily, Stacy, Amy P, Shereda, Kathryn, Ambra, Mo, Jaime, and any one else... here it is.

On Monday I go back to my doctor for a routine check-up and then on Tuesday I have an appointment with the perinatologist for a sonogram. This will be the BIG sono where they spend lots of time measuring everything. This will also be the 3rd opportunity to find out the sex, but I will be strong and say no. Won't it be fun to hear the exciting announcement in July?

So, this baby is moving tons. It's all real low movements. I mostly feel him/her when I'm sitting down... just tiny little punches.

Caleb and Carter are still super excited about this little one. Every now and then Caleb will come to us out of the blue with an idea for the baby. He's our planner and the organized one. I think he just wants to make sure we've thought everything out. Carter recently decided that he'll move to the 3rd row of the van so the baby can have his seat. Then he went to tell me that Caleb can move to the 3rd row when we have the next baby after this one. Steve and I just looked at each other with big eyes and had to laugh.

One really neat thing about having this baby is that we are getting blessed by so many friends and family. After having Carter we got rid of everything... I mean EVERYTHING. Steve was adamant that we were not going to keep all that stuff and just store it when we could pass it on to others. So, when we decided to have another baby we just trusted that we could find people to borrow from and buy only what is necessary. So far, that plan is working out beautifully. My neighbors passed on all their maternity clothes. My parents gave me a shopping spree to get whatever else I needed. Sunni and Brad have brought us baby items from Kayli. My neighbor is giving me a high chair and loaning me her pump- which makes my SIL very happy since she has my pump. Really, this has been so fun to go from having nothing and slowly accumulating a garage full of of baby things. Now, I'm sure there will be plenty of things we'll need to buy as the time gets closer, but for now we are all about borrowing. It's very different from the preparations for my first born.

Next baby report should be followed by some sono pictures. Can't wait to see this little one next week.

4 Schedules on 1 Calendar

Life's craziness and schedules are colliding. When Steve used to travel and I had 2 little ones at home everything would revolve around what I wanted us to do... maybe go to the park, or run to the mall, or watch cartoons. Wow- things seems so different now. Besides the school calendar and commitments for both, we have lots of other things going on. And I know my life is no crazier than any of my other friends that have kids, but I find it interesting how it went from lazy cartoon filled mornings to non-stop activities. With that being said, I wouldn't change a thing. I actually love it.... except for when the schedules collide.


Steve's umpiring starts this weekend. Carter's soccer starts this weekend. Caleb's basketball is still going on this weekend. Thankfully I don't teach piano on the weekends! With the collision of the schedules we've had to turn down a birthday party invitation while I run shuttle between games while Steve is out making cash calling baseball for teenagers. The good news is we're at the end of basketball so there will only be a few weeks of overlapping games. And Steve's umpiring is a high priority for the family. With this economy any extra cash is worth the sacrifice of having him around. So, here's to a fun, action-packed weekend. Anyone else feeling craziness of colliding schedules?

Parenting Convictions and Lies from the Devil

Not often do I get on a soapbox or share feelings on this blog, but I must say I faced one of my harder parenting days yesterday. It wasn't just a single incidence, but lots of them snowballing at once. I have a couple of friends and one funny brother who I can be completely honest with knowing that I will feel no judgement. It's interesting. Being a Christian and trying to raise my boys with morals and values also places me in a position where it's easy to feel superior that "my kids would never do that" or "my kids would never say that."

Steve and I have long had convictions that our children will be in the world- as in public school, neighbor friends, and various activities that don't necessarily center around church. I don't say this putting judgment on anyone else, it's just our plan for our children. And it's not to say that we aren't open to change. But for now we feel this is our plan.

The ironic thing is any of the times Caleb has broken a rule at school, it usually comes right back to something that was learned at home. For example, rushing to be first in line- in turn probably pushing his way there- is something he and his brother do everyday trying to get to the car. Can I blame the school for that? No way. It's behavior that happens at home just as much as it happens at school. And yesterday he missed 5 minutes of recess for saying something to a friend... what would be deemed as "bad words"... and when I read what the teacher wrote I immediately read my own voice. Yeah, he didn't learn those words from classmates. He learned them from his mom. Conviction. And conviction is a good thing. This is the point where I could lie and say "Oh, I would never cuss in front of my children." But that would be a lie. Do I cuss at them? no. Do I cuss on the phone when I don't realize they're listening? Well, obviously so. Now, this is where my fear of judgment comes in. Thinking I know many people who are straightening up in their seats insisting they would never ever say bad language in front of their children. To that I say... good for you.

I choose to be genuine and honest here. My 4 year old challenged me beyond belief yesterday. When trying to put it all together, I finally realized... he doesn't feel good and is sleep deprived. After moving him to sleep in his brother's room he now goes to bed later and wakes up earlier. This in conjunction with giving up naps has created a 4 year old monster who gave me the worst of the worst yesterday. This was the perfect opportunity for Satan to come in my mind and deliver the great news... "You are a bad mom. You have really screwed them up." Both my boys disappointed me yesterday. But is that really true? No. My older one clearly acted like his mother while the younger knew the buttons to push and continued to do so until I was pushed beyond my limits.

Although I love to always post about the wonderful things my boys do, the reality is they are human. They are sinful. And so is their mother. And all of it can be displayed in a really ugly way. We had a rough day. But we also grew more yesterday than we had in a long time. For that I'm thankful.

Kayli Turns 1

On Saturday we went to Dallas to celebrate Kayli's first birthday. It's hard to believe it's been a year since my best friend had her first baby. Sunni would like to say it will be her only baby, but seeing how cute and fun Kayli has been I'm hoping it'll change her mind.

Here's the party girl in her super sweet dress.

This girl knows how to put away a cupcake. I seriously think she ate the whole thing. She certainly ate all the icing first and then dove into the cake. I know this was her first sweet, but she sure didn't act like it!

Here are the boys with the birthday girl. They loved being the two older kids at the party. They especially loved getting to help Kayli open all of her gifts. Here's to another year of girly fun! We love you sweet Kayli!

Flutterings

I'm just over 17 weeks now and have been anticipating feeling this baby move. With Caleb it took me until 22 weeks before I realized what I was feeling. I think with Carter it was more around 18 weeks when I started feeling him. So, in the evenings I lie on the couch while watching TV and recently started feeling the flutters. It's such a cool thing and one of the great benefits to being pregnant.

Art Imitating Life

Some of the best cartoons are the Editorial Cartoons. I sent this to Jenny in an email and she asked that I post it on her blog. I guess it's easy to determine what the artist thinks of the Octo-mom and her fertility doctor.

-Steve

First Born

My friends, Amy & Emily, did this post. It is fun and quick survey about your first-born child. If you want to join the fun, just copy and paste it in a new post for yourself! Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST-BORN PLANNED? NO! Quite a big surprise actually.

2. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION? I think I was freaking out. Amy Powell may be better at telling my reaction since I called her just after the test turned positive. She then called the pregnancy test company to see if there are false positives. I think she was giddy and laughing while I was in shock.

3. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 25

4. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I had taken Steve to the airport (Monday morning) to fly out for the week. Then I went to 24 hour fitness and worked out. I picked up a smoothie after the workout and it immediately made me want to puke. I went home and took a test (after adding up the days in my head). It was just me and my dog in the house. When it showed positive I ran to Amy's house in a panic.

5. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? This is the part where I should mention Steve. BUT, in actuality he was way down the list. Amy, Corey, and their 2 kids knew. I called my college roomie, Jaime, and told her. The doctor and all the staff knew. I didn't tell Steve until that Thursday evening when he was home. I wanted to tell him in person. It was VERY hard to not tell him on the phone each of those days he was gone. Even that night after I found out the Powells took me out to dinner to celebrate. Poor Steve had no idea. It's funny now thinking back on it.

6. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? I could have gone either way, but Steve insisted.

7. DUE DATE? April 1st- yes, April Fools Day... only appropriate.

8. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Yes - it was miserable in the mornings. I snacked on Saltines, Nilla Wafers, and peanut butter.

9. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? milkshakes and anything from my childhood like spaghettios, coke floats, home cooking.

10. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? probably my 4th grade class that drained me every single day of my pregnancy. I worked up until the day before delivering.

11. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy

12. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No. I really wanted a boy for the first born.

13. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? probably 50 or more.

14. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes- 4 of them... family shower in Waco, friend shower in Waco, shower by my co-workers, shower by my 4th grade class

15. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about all but my classroom shower.

16. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? none

17. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 11 hours from the start of the induction.

18. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Steve.

19. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Steve, my doctor, nurse, my mom, my MIL

20. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural with vacuum assistance (TMI?)

21. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I first got stadol and phenergan and then later the epidural.

22. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 8lbs. 11oz.

23. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 8:22 on March 22

24. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Caleb Aubrey... we both liked the name Caleb- fit our criteria: more than one syllable that cannot be shortened. Aubrey is the 4th generation middle name for the first born boy on the James side. Got that?

25. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 6 years, 10 months, 19 days

Caleb at 17 months with a broken leg.

Caleb at 2 1/2 years with his baby brother. Caleb always smiles while Carter has mastered the scowl.

Caleb at 4 years at the Arboretum.

Caleb starting first grade this year... always my baby.

So Little

Today I had a blood draw as the 2nd step in the genetic profiling. This took maybe 5 minutes and left me 20 minutes to kill before picking up Carter at MDO. Since the blood draw was at the hospital I decided to venture to the 3rd floor and take a peek at the newborn nursery.

There was a new dad standing behind the glass taking photos of his new son. I just couldn't believe how little the baby was! I thought that he was unusually small, but then looked to the bed next to him and saw another newborn just as small. I went to the other glass room and saw more newborns. They were all so little... every single one of them. Wow- I just don't remember babies being that little! I also don't remember the last time I snuggled a brand new baby. I've seen them in car seats and all swaddled up, but to see one just wearing a teeny tiny diaper lying in heated bed... wow, they're so little.

16 Weeks

I turned 16 weeks prego on Saturday. It seems my belly has grown astronomically in the last few weeks. I found it quite surprising to get on the scale at the OB's office and find that I had gained zero pounds in the last month! Oh well, I'll take that! I am fine to not have a gain for a change. From past pregnancy experience I'll be gaining plenty more before the birthday party is here.

This was a typical super-short visit with a belly check and listening to the heartbeat. The part of the visit I wasn't prepared for was the offer to have a sono and find out the sex. I'd be lying if I didn't admit my heart skipped a beat. I had to take a deep breath before saying no. Oh, it's so much easier to stick with not finding out except when faced with the opportunity to know right now. I just wasn't prepared for the offer. Just think... I could be out shopping for blue or pink right now! But, I stayed strong and said no. This will please about 10% of my friends and family. I know the rest of you are screaming at this post right now.