24 Weeks

I'm just past 24 weeks which is kind of milestone in terms of viability. Now I have no reason to believe I'll deliver anytime before July, but it's exciting to get to this point.

Supposedly I'm in the "honeymoon" phase of pregnancy. I guess this is when I feel great and have all this energy and blah blah blah. And I guess this would be true if I could sleep in every morning and nap every afternoon as well. And back when I was pregnant with #2 that's kind of what it was like... no agenda, no big schedule. Life with just a 2 year old was cake compared to now. My experienced mommy friends probably understand what I'm saying. Juggling my boys' schedule as well as my teaching studio, all my activities, and Steve's job, plus umpiring multiple nights a week keeps life interesting. Don't get me wrong... I love it all, but it's not conducive to a restful pregnancy. Steve just reminds me that maybe... just maybe life will be restful in 18 years. I'm hoping my children leave the nest and go AWAY for school. I'm only signing up for washing clothes, doing homework, and cooking meals until the year 2027.

OK, enough of the poor me stuff. I do love feeling this little guy move all the time. I think our sleeping patterns are a bit off because as soon as my head hits the pillow, this little one decides to twist and punch and roll around. But luckily I'm so tired every night that I'll often fall asleep during the gymnastics routine.

I do realize that I'm not nearly as uncomfortable as I will be in the coming weeks. Even now I notice it's hard to lean over to the piano while teaching. My pointing stick has gotten lots of use lately. I'm sure it won't be long before I trade my chair for my comfy glider while teaching! At my 24 week appt yesterday I told my doctor that I think I'm bigger than I should be. He just reminded me that all women feel this way. So I was curious about the cm measurement across my belly. It only showed 25-26 cm so, yes I'm growing above what it should be (24 cm) but that's really not any different than kid 1 and kid 2. What can I say? I grow big James kids. And the lovely part of my pregnancies is that every part of me grows big. I see these tiny women who just have a slight bump and then deliver a healthy baby... how do I become one of those women? Not going to happen. So it goes... get pregnant, get fat, have baby, eventually lose the weight.

Also at my 24 week appointment I had to take the sugar test. Most of you know what this is. But for those that don't: you drink a super-sugar drink- mine was similar to Hawaiian punch and then have blood drawn an hour later. This is also done while fasting the 12 hours leading up to the test. I have no idea what my results will be. I'm praying that all comes back normal. I haven't had a history of gestational diabetes, but in the past I have failed the test in terms of anemia. That's an easy fix though, much easier than diabetes. So, I'll be waiting on that phone call later this week. Of course if the call never comes, then it's good news.

So for now I just keep growing. At my next appointment he wants to do another sono to check on size of the baby. That'll be interesting. Any chance to get a look at this kid is so fun. And, just like my previous sonos I will NOT get a peak down there. It's been fun not knowing and I hope to keep it that way. Plus, it's kind of fun to torture my friends and family. I promise... you'll all know soon enough!

Roller Skating

One of the things on my "bucket list" for Caleb was to take him roller skating. He's never gone before. Kayla has been twice before and then Emily is quite the expert. So, it's a perfect time for me, the pregnant lady, to sit back and leave it up to Aunt Emily and Cousin Kayla to teach Caleb how to do this All-American pastime.

Inter-Skate rolling rink is in Lewisville and probably hasn't changed one ounce of decor since it was built decades earlier. Just walking in takes me back to my junior high days of hanging out at the skate rink on a Friday night with all my friends. The same stale smell, neon lights, nasty carpet, old snack bar, and a DJ booming the latest and greatest music on his 14 sub-woofers trying to bass it up and bring the ultra-cool factor. There was a nice crowd for spring break, but still plenty of room for our kids to try out their skating feet.

Luckily there was a baby rink that our kids could try out first. My poor son just had no idea what he was in for. I tried to explain up front that this may not be the easiest thing. It can be deceptively hard for a first-timer.... especially for mine who seems to have wet spaghetti noodles for legs. Caleb had trouble even standing... as in not moving at all. Poor Emily was going to throw her back out. So, I decided to grab a "walker" for him from a teenager who was WAY too old to be using it.

In no time at all he was racing around leaning on the walker. I know, it's not the best way to teach form and all that... but my goal was just to limit the falling. Pre-walker skating was one fall after another. And even with the walker he had plenty of falls, but everytime he fell he quickly looked at me and said, "I'm ok!" He would hop up and start at it again. I don't remember laughing so hard in such a long time. Yes, I laughed at my child. I could sit here a say I laughed with him, but honestly it was just so comical that I couldn't help myself. And thankfully he enjoyed every minute of it.

We had such a great time. Look at those sweaty heads. And, we stayed for less than an hour. I just wanted him to get a taste of it. I didn't want to overstay to where he was in tears. All mommies know when their child has hit his limits and I was feeling that he had had enough for the day. Always better to leave with them wanting more, right?

Below is a video of his experience in the baby rink. And, if you feel like laughing aloud it's ok. He really did have the best time!

American Girl

On Friday of Spring Break, Emily and I took the 2 older cousins to the American Girl store. Kayla learned she was going back in December and has been super-excited ever since. Caleb found out he was going the night before.
One of the main reasons Emily came to town was to have the American Girl experience with Kayla. She's been collecting the catalogs and contemplating what all she wanted to buy. Knowing the huge price tags she picked up several "jobs" from her grandparents in Oklahoma. After months of saving, today was the big day to go shopping. One of the things she had her eyes on was this kit with crutches and casts and band aids. I guess it might be fun to have an injured doll. :-) Anyway, she was super excited when she found the set on display.

Caleb hung in there for about 15 minutes. Then we spent a lot of time like this while the girls continued to browse. Steve would be proud.

We went up and down the escalator a few times during our shopping trip. So many things to choose from!

Here's my son striking a "bored" pose. At least there wasn't too much complaining. Again, Steve would be proud.

Here's a collection of all the things she finally decided she must buy. With the help of Christmas money from me and some extra money from Nanny she was able to buy more than enough things for her American Girl dolls- including adding Molly to her collection.

And then a stop at the bistro for a fun lunch.

Now, this is my girl. Full shopping bags in hand. A true Gorham. I've taught her well.

Staycation Dining Out

Once we got home from Georgia on Tuesday our "staycation" officially started. I had Kayla and Caleb on Thursday and then Emily flew in on Thursday night to join the fun. Here are the places we ate at on on staycation.

Barbec's- just down from the Dallas Arboretum... good old country eating.

Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine where we HAD to indulge in the famous "VOLCANO" dessert

Dinner wasn't over until 10pm. My boy was way past his bedtime and barely staying awake (and I was pretty much the same way)

Kayla and Emily at Rainforest Cafe

Lunch at the American Girl Bistro (I'll do a whole post on this later)

And, no... that's not Caleb's doll... Kayla brought 2. :-)

Only on vacation is it ok to let these kids splurge on milkshakes for lunch.

Plus, Nanny was buying... and I'm SURE she would have wanted them to have the milkshakes.

This kid was loving his vanilla shake!

We had to take Emily and Kayla to Babes out in Roanoke.

The kids loved the fun chairs outside.

And then we ended the week with our only local dining out experience. We stopped at our new IHOP for breakfast before the girls headed north to Oklahoma.

I don't think we've eaten out this much in a long time. It certainly was a splurge and helped make our spring break really fun!

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! 7 years ago I went to the hospital 10 days before my due date. The doctor was concerned with his size... as in, he's getting too big. Steve rushed home from Ohio the night before and my parents drove up from Waco. Lots of family and friends came to the hospital that day and enjoyed the huge spread of food Shereda provided. They ate on "Happy Birthday" plates with "Happy Birthday" napkins. They took over the waiting room and enjoyed watching March Madness. In fact UT was playing in the Sweet 16. It was apparently a lovely time for all. Now, I know all these details because I've seen the photos. Also, I vividly remember Steve walking in my room wiping his mouth clean from all the lunch crumbs while I was suffering intense contractions. Let's just say I didn't give him the nicest look.

And, when it was time for Caleb to be born we had to find Steve. He had snuck off to Chick-Fil-A for a quick dinner. We were apparently told that it was going to be quite a while. But anyone who knows L&D knows it very unpredictable.

So, at 8:22pm Caleb Aubrey James was born weighing in at 8 pounds 11 ounces. It was certainly a good decision to deliver early!

Now, fast forward 7 years...
I couldn't ask for a sweeter child. I am so lucky to be his mother. He's often described as being a good kid making good choices, but he certainly gives us trials and stresses like any other little boy. He is very teachable and such a good big brother. He's already talking about turning 8 years old... just can't stand it!

Momma's Boy

Or maybe Daddy's boy?

I think he has us both won over.

Cousins at the Arboretum

After Disney on Ice my dad took Carter and Caroline back to the farm and I kept the 2 older cousins. I planned many fun activities for the 2 of them. Our first stop was at the Dallas Arboretum. We met up with some "old friends" of mine and their babies. These 2 are so easy going and very cooperative when it comes to taking photos. Sunni is a member of the Arboretum and got us all in for FREE- gotta love that! During Dallas Blooms they had a special set up of 15 "houses" based on children's books. So, once we entered the park each of the kids got a map and we let them lead us through all of the houses. After finishing the scavenger hunt of homes we just enjoyed the park and took photos.

Kayla and Caleb are 5 months apart and both in 1st grade.

Here's the "house" for Dr. Seuss's book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I don't think you're suppose to climb on it, but what little boy can resist this structure?

The flowers were amazing- as usual!

Caleb refused to put down his map, so I often had him hide it behind his back. See, he's on one mission and I'm on another.

Lots of running around!

The grass is so beautiful. I don't understand how it stays so green with countless strollers and people going on it daily.

This is just outside the bamboo house- can't remember the book title.

Here's my friends babies- Sophie on the left and Kayli between the big kids.

This girl knows how to pose for me!

I wanted to get a good shot of his missing tooth. There's something so cute about this age.

Disney on Ice

Steve, Papa (my dad), and I took Caleb, Carter, Kayla, and Caroline to see Disney on Ice at the AAC on Wednesday night. Since it was opening night we got our tickets for $10 each. Now, by saving on the seat cost allowed Papa to overspend in the souvenir and food department. But that's what grandparents do, right? The 3 oldest chose snow cones while Caroline shared cotton candy with her Aunt Jenny. We both seem to have a real sweet tooth when it comes to cotton candy. Steve was content on finishing each child's snow cone while Papa just sipped on bottled water. Caleb and Carter each got a Peter Pan sword while the girls got stuffed animals from the Lion King.

The show was divided into several segments where the main Disney cast- Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy revisited 4 Disney movies... Peter Pan, Lilo & Stitch, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King. There was even a short Mary Poppins number in there too. It was really entertaining. The children were completely captivated the entire time. Certainly a fun evening for all ages!

Peter Pan

Lilo & Stitch

The Little Mermaid

The Lion King

Our Nephews

Well, it might have been after the new baby was 5 months old, but we FINALLY made it to Augusta, Georgia! Steve and I used the first part of spring break for a trip to visit The Shans- as we like to affectionately call them. Yes, Steve's sister is Shanan who is married to Shannon. Guy Shannon is a GI doc in Augusta finishing his fellowship. GI is gastroenterology where the motto is "if you have an opening... I got a scope". So now you can all picture what he does on a daily basis! :-) In another 15 months they'll be moving back to Texas and living in New Braunfels. Since they moved out of Texas back in 2004 they've had 3 boys! That makes 5 grandsons for my in-laws in the past 6 1/2 years. Although many people think we need a girl in the family it's been so much fun just having a house full of boys when we're all together. You can only imagine the fun these kids are going to have as they get older and spend summers at the lake.

Steve and I made the trip alone with our boys juggled between both sets of grandparents. We flew into Columbia, SC and drove to Augusta- just 45 minutes away. The Shans live just outside Augusta in a town called Evans. It was overcast, cool, and rainy the entire time we were there. So, we did lots of napping, lounging, and just hanging out. On Sunday the Shans got a sitter and we went to see Slumdog Millionaire and out for dessert. We also spent time just hanging out with Cole, Mason, and baby Grant. They all have such distinct little personalities and are just so sweet and loving. On Monday the boys had school, so we had a tour of Augusta. It's a small town with a lot of charm. They don't have spring break until The Masters golf tournament in April. Basically the entire town shuts down and many locals leave and rent out their house for lots of money. The Shans took us by Augusta National (where the Masters is played) but you can't see anything besides the tall shrubs surrounding the course. So, yes... I've seen where the Masters is played, but I really didn't see anything.

Steve and I flew home Tuesday afternoon and then my boys arrived at the house just a few hours later. My dad stayed the night and then got up Wednesday morning to drive to Oklahoma to get my nieces so we could start the 2nd half of our spring break. We have lots of fun things planned!

Baylor Chamber Banquet

We've been busy, busy around here. I made 3 trips to Waco in the past month. On Valentines weekend we went down for some Men and Women's basketball games. Then the weekend of the 28th we came back down for the Baylor Chamber 90th anniversary banquet. (I also went to Waco on March 7th and met Jaime for some BU basketball and baseball). So, it's been nonstop travels lately.

But this post is about the Chamber banquet.

Steve was a member of Baylor Chamber of Commerce while a student. These are the guys (and now girl as well) that put on all the big events on campus- Homecoming, Diadeloso, Parents Weekend, etc... as well as take care of our live mascots on campus- the Baylor Bears. They are a service fraternity with the motto "Anything for Baylor". It's a very small group with very tight bonds. So, when we got the invite to the 90th anniversary banquet we knew we had to go. There were people from all generations with speakers from graduating classes from the 40s, 70s, and 80s. We enjoyed every bit of our time there. It was great hearing the stories from people of various generations as well as seeing college friends that we hadn't seen since graduating. We met up with our Chamber friends that we still hang with to this day. After the banquet we went out to a bar and continued the fun times. Since Sarah and I are both pregnant we just enjoyed sipping coffee. It was a great time! Steve and I just loved our college experience at Baylor and wouldn't have changed a thing!

Sarah Henline, me, Megan Evans (my BFF)

Steve, Eric Henline (Steve's college roomie), Randy Evans

I take full credit for setting up Megan with Randy back in college and then got to be the matron of honor in their wedding.

And Eric is the guy that encouraged me to ask Steve out. He was sure that Steve had interest in me and would jump at the chance to date me. Oh, it's all so funny looking back on those days. We have all been such great friends since our Baylor years.

Steve with his "big brother" in Chamber- Mike Harper (this is the guys that married us almost 10 years ago)

Cowboy on a Ranch

Caleb typed up a story yesterday at school and his teacher sent it home for me to preview. She thought it was too cute not to see. They are continuing to work on the story today by adding detail, so she wanted me to see the 1st draft before it gets changed. I am retyping just as he typed it. Remember, first graders do "sound spelling" when they don't know how to spell a word... which makes it even cuter.

Cowboy on a ranch.

Once apon a time there was a cowboy on a farm all alone. He wanted a wife from the ranch. So he did. Then he got there there was lots and lots of wifes. They all had men. Eseped one. So he got the one that dosent have men and they lived happly ever after. Then the cowboy meryed the cowgirl.

The BIG Sonogram

Today was a super fun day! Steve took the morning off and we went to the perinatologist to have a detailed sonogram on this little one. This was the first time Steve saw a live sono on this baby- up until now he's only seen the sono photos. I think it suddenly became REAL to him today!

We got to the medical center just after taking Carter to MDO. The technician did a thorough sono and measurements on the baby. We saw everything... well, almost everything. It's just so amazing to see his little face, hands, spine, and all the parts. She got a good look at the heart- all 4 chambers, the blood flow from placenta to baby, and the vital measurements of the femur and spine, and all the parts of the brain. The placenta is high and towards my back, which is a great location for delivery. Baby is currently head down, which means very little to me since Carter flip flopped until the very end. In all, everything was perfect. I had her try to see if this little one has a dimple in it's chin (like my mom, brother, and me) but there's not enough fat on him to know. Halfway through the sono the little guy flipped to the back and so we could only see the back of his head and backside. No more chances to see his cute face. The baby weighs exactly 1 pound. According to measurements the estimated due date is moved from July 18 to July 12. That follows along with C & C... fully cooked at 38 1/2 weeks.

We just feel so blessed that all the genetic tests, baby measurements, and development seem to be just right. It was great to walk out of the appointment without any worries or concerns. In fact, this probably is the last time I will be visiting the perinatologist. From now on I will just have visits with my OB. I'm sure as the time draws closer I'll get some more shots of this guy since my doctor will be watching his position carefully. So from here on out we just need this kid to fatten up and keep growing!

**On a side note... when Caleb saw the sono pics this afternoon he asked when the baby will grow legs. I had to tell him that the doctor wasn't able to get his legs in the photo.