Cuteness

Just a couple of pictures from after church this morning. :)

I wish this was a better picture, but I just had to include it! Tommy is finally getting brave enough to walk around holding just one hand. He still hasn't tried to take any steps on his own--and isn't even just standing unassisted at this point--but he *loves* to be walked around. Seeing him walk into the house with Lance was too cute. :)

And, of course, Maddy was very excited to be wearing a dress and stockings. This was the first time she's worn this one. She got it for Christmas (thanks, Grandma Rapacz!), but we were lacking the stockings until just recently.

Who Knew?

So I finally got around to taking care of my Glucose junk yesterday--just the typical 24 to 28 week check they do. I got to go in, drink a bunch of nasty near-syrup consistency drink and have my blood drawn. I've had this routine stuff with the last two, but the difference was that this time I had a choice of flavor! I didn't know that the nasty stuff came in any other option but "orange." This time, I had the joy of downing 50g of Lemon-Lime glucose drink within that 5 minute window. It was a nice change-up. I could already taste the orange stuff in my mouth before I even walked into the office...and it was priming me to feel pretty ooky. So, yeah, the difference in flavor was a welcome surprise.

Other than that, there really isn't much to tell. This was just at a Quest Lab office. I go back in for my next appt (28 weeks) on March 7. Time is flying!

Valentine's Day Recap

I should have taken some pictures before we left that morning as her hair was all cutely braided. Of course, it never remains that way for very long...it's not uncommon for Maddy to pull pony-tails or braids out before we even make it to school. Oh well! Anyways, here are some pictures from Monday afternoon once we got home and she was able to share her V-Day goodies with me. :)

This was her V-Day out fit. We found these cute stockings on clearance just the week before--they have cupcakes and hearts on them. :) OH--and I forget if I've mentioned it in previous posts, but stockings and dresses are her new obsession. She has never liked or asked to wear dresses until now...which means we have only a few. I'm excited about getting her new clothes for spring/summer because that means we can include dresses now! She's becoming such a little girl :)

Showing off all the stickers on her bag

So excited!

One of her Valentine's included temporary tattoos. We had to put them on her wrist because that's where Grandma Tegen has hers :) Oh, and further evidence of her growing girliness: They were Iron Man tattoos, but she kept calling them Spiderman :)

Just a cute picture of the kids playing together...a more typical picture would show one child trying to rip the toy from the other's hands...lol :)

Have a great weekend---and if you're in FL, get outdoors and enjoy this GORGEOUS 70-80 degree weather!!!

"School"

This morning at the breakfast table...

Maddy: "Mommy, I want to go to school!"

Me: "Well, finish your cereal so we can get dressed, get Tommy up, and get ready to go!"

Maddy: "Okay!"

We call daycare "school" around here, and Maddy *loves* it. Today, as I do most Fridays and Mondays, I walked Maddy and Tommy into the building. On Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays, I take advantage of car drop-off as I'm usually trying to hurry off to work. But Mondays and Fridays, I park and we walk in together, which the kids like much better. I like it, too, because I get to see Maddy greet her friends and teachers. The kids get "breakfast part 2" there, which is nice--for all of us. :) Tommy can't get enough and Maddy likes to snack. Maddy walks in, says hi to whoever is in there at the time eating, tells her teacher if she wants cereal or oatmeal, then walks over to the sink to wash her hands. Now, we didn't magically start here with her--the first few months were full of tearful goodbyes, fussy mornings, and hit-and-miss days. But now...she loves it. Tommy gets placed in his chair and will demand food, stat. They know to feed him ASAP or else they'll hear about it! He's been a pretty easy kid for them; maybe because he started there so much sooner--at 8 months. At any rate, I was really reflecting on this as I left this this morning because I wonder what life will be like this summer when the baby comes. Lance and I have already talked about trying to budget for Maddy to be involved in some kind of 2 or 3 day a week preschool program in the fall--just because we think she'd like it. As I think about it more and more, I really hope that we're able to do that. --And especially if we find a more structured program with additional stimulation--I think she will LOVE it even more. I mean, she does things now, but it's a typical 2-year old daycare classroom--not exactly meant to have a pre-academic/curricular focus. And, I'm not gonna lie, it will help with managing a toddler and new baby. :)

"Here, Mom! I'm all done with my tissue!"

Who is this little person sitting behind me??? These were the words I heard from Maddy this morning in the car. She is becoming so linguistically mature for her age. And the use of "mom"...ugh! Too grown up for a two and half year old in this mommy's opinion! :) I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. I mean, we definitely have MULTIPLE instances a day where we deal with tantrumy goodness and I am reminded how young she still is, but in those other moments when she so seriously declares, "No, Tom. Don't pull mommy and daddy's books down," I wish I could record every surprising little utterance she says. --Oh, and yes, she often calls Tommy "Tom" which cracks me up because neither Lance or I call him such and she says it with such authority.

In other news, today is Valentine's Day and Maddy has her first ever little Valentine's party at daycare. Although today is not a "work" day, it is a school work day. SO much to do. I was not an awesome over-achiever mommy who made cupcakes or even bought special treats to go with her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Valentines (she had requested Elmo ones, but we couldn't find any at the store the day we went to get them)--I figured there will be enough sugary goodness to go around. I know that daycare "parties" like this aren't exactly meant to be attended by parents--after all, it is daycare, but I do kinda wish I could be there to see her face as she collects her pile of Valentines and treats. I'm sure she'll have plenty to share when I pick her up this afternoon. The other thing that helps is knowing that I'll definitely be able to join in on future festivities once she starts PK as I won't be working at that point...of course, I'll have the other two in tow, so that will be an adventure of it's own...but that one is still a couple years off. :)

One more thing of note...yesterday, Maddy did not get a nap. It made the afternoon/evening a bit of a struggle, BUT...she did not wake up until just after 7 this morning--which was okay since we weren't in the usual T/W/R rush for me to get to work. It was amazing--she woke up in SUCH a good mood. I don't think she's had such a good night's sleep in some time. Does this mean she might be ready to kick the naps??? I don't know if I like that thought--especially as we close in on new-baby time where I will NEED those naps. I guess we'll see...

Anyways, I hope that everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day with those you love!

Here are a couple treats to close out....

We'd gotten a little doctor's kit for Maddy at Christmas. My brother, John, also got her one, which worked out great--now the kids each has their own set. Thankfully, its no big deal who gets the pink or blue one! :)

Tommy eating his lunch last weekend. He just looks like such a little boy in this picture versus a baby. He is such a little guy these days! I think he might be headed towards a first haircut... :)

We picked up some diapers and wipes from Sam's on Saturday. Not long after we got home, I walked into the front room to find that Maddy had set up shop on her "throne" of the two boxes and was happily singing one of her favorite songs from Sunday School. She almost gets all the words in: "Ho-Ho-Ho-Hosanna, Ha-Ha-Ha-lelujia, He He He has saved me, I've got the glory of the Lord!" I was surprised she let me catch her on camera, so I of course had to share!

24ish Weeks Belly Picture

Well, here it is--the growing belly. :) I can't believe that it has already been a month since I posted the last picture. According the "official" doctor due date, I am 24 weeks, 3 days. I say "official" because I think it is a couple of weeks off--later vs sooner. However, my guess seems to be potentially confirmed as this is now the second appointment that the baby has measured two weeks "ahead" of the game. Two weeks sooner than the due date would be GREAT, I think, given all we have going on in late May. However, we all know what happens when we think our plans are best, right?

At any rate, everything seems to going well with baby. Good heart rate, good fluid, everything looking as it should. I'm finally feeling like I'm coming out of this cold/cough funk, thank goodness. It's been a long week and a half. Baby has been good as far I as can tell--just as active as usual. The only other noteworthy event of the appointment was that I got my paperwork to go have the Glucose Screening Test done. Yippee. I'll probably go and take care of that on Friday. Ugh. Thankfully, I've never had issue with this in the past, so I don't anticipate failing and having to take the 3 hour one. Either way, no fun. That will probably be my next preggo post. :) Until then, have a good week and stay healthy!!!

Maddy's Sick Day

I had to pick Maddy up from daycare on Thursday because she was running a fever. Fortunately/unfortunately, I was already home sick with a nasty cold/cough (still trying to shake this nasty thing). This meant Friday she had to stay home from daycare, too (the whole 24-hours-no-fever rule). It gave us a chance to spend some time together without having little brother underfoot. :) We did a little craft project that was featured in her Highlights magazine. She had so much fun putting it together. --She was even more excited to share it with Grandma and Grandpa Tegen who came to visit the next day.

Starting the process of decorating all the hearts

This goes riiiight here!

We had to stop for a minute and make her a headband out of the ribbon :)

The glue stick was a big hit...everything needed glue. :)

All done! (I think her fever was gone about this time, too) :)

The end product: Maddy's Valentine's Day Mobile