Weekly Shots, Pre-Easter Special

Daily Shots are on hold...

We'll try Weekly Shots instead!

~Judah is 3 weeks and some change now.  He's growing growing growing!  He seems huge when I'm nursing him, but then I'll put him in his crib, and he's so tiny.... I'll miss this tiny stage when he gets bigger.  Though I won't miss the waking-up-every-few-hours bit.

~I meant to mention this earlier, but I think I forgot--Judah made eye contact for the first time when he was 1 week old.  There, I wrote it down.

~He had his first real bath on Monday on his "3 Week birthday."  He seemed to like it well enough, though he did cry towards the end.  My little man is growing up!

~The weather is getting beautiful this week.  Spring is finally here!  It's supposed to be in the 80's this weekend, and after the rough winter we had, we need it!  Looking forward to going out and enjoying some sunshine--time to fill the vitamin D gap!

~Nothing really new with Jeremiah and Jesslyn.  Still kinda "spirited" and testing Mommy's patience.  But they're sweet when they nap (and not so much when they don't,) so we're surviving.

And with that, I think I'm going to bed.  Happy Easter!

Daily Shots 2/28/2010

Well, here we are, on the last day of February.  No baby yet!  But that doesn't mean our life is at a stand still.  We've been keeping busy, regardless!  Wouldn't mind some baby action sometime soon, though!  :)

Jeremy... got his whole 'honey-do' list done while I was gone Friday night/Saturday morning!  I was very impressed.  I have to admit, when I made the list, I didn't think he'd get through it all, so when I saw everything checked off, I was pleasantly surprised!  :)  What a good hubby.

Jess... went to the Women's Conference, "Going Beyond" at Mclean over the weekend.  Mom and I stayed in a schwanky hotel (Courtyard Marriott... oooooo.... fancy, huh? ;) ate some sushi beforehand, and had a great time at the actual conference.  The speaker, Priscilla Shirer, was hilarious and very down to earth.  Everything she said had scripture to back it up, and it rang true in my life.  The worship was as equally fantastic, which made the whole experience very worthwhile, and refreshing from a spiritual perspective.  One gal asked me what I had thought of it, and I told her, "Now I know why I haven't had a baby yet--I needed this!"  :)

Jeremiah... was up in the wee hours of the morning this morning, playing.... with his Thomas trains... in bed.   Sigh.... Mommy, of course, had heard him "choo choo"-ing and went to investigate when they didn't subside.  And there he was, with his light on, pushing the trains around his bed, like it was totally normal to be up at 5 a.m., playing.  Of course, when I told him he needed to hand over "big Thomas" he pitched a fit and started screaming, which started to wake Jesslyn.  Then he ran into our room, insisting on sleeping in "Mommy's bed!"  I told Jeremy it was his problem from here on out.  His resolution?  "Come here, Jeremiah, come sleep next to Daddy."  And he did.  'Til 9:30.  At least Mommy was still able to sleep, despite the crowded bed.

Jesslyn... is quite the cutie and schmoocher!  She loves to give hugs and kisses, and is definitely a "quality time" kinda gal (along with her Mommy, though that's not my first!)  Hoping to get a few extra moments of sleep this morning, though, I had tucked a couple of books in her crib when I checked on her before I went to sleep.  This morning, before I got up, I could hear her over the monitor, sporadically "baa-ing" and "moo-ing" (one of the books was farm animals.)  She played a good hour in her crib by herself with her books, and was quite happy about that, too!  My little lady is such a sweetie.  :)

Well, we're in the home stretch now.  Thirty-nine weeks down, one to go (hopefully, unless they're like Jesslyn, then it's two weeks....)  Jeremy leaves Wednesday afternoon for the Cayman Islands, and once he does, we'll be in "freeze!" mode.  No baby action allowed.  So either the little man/miss begins his/her arrival before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, or they hold their horses until Sunday afternoon/evening.  Yikes!  We'll see, I guess.  Of course, Mommy's "done!" but that's not up to me, now is it?  So we sit and wait and see.  At the very latest, we'll have a baby by the 23rd!  But I'd rather not get there... Heck, I'd like to avoid the teens, if possible.  We'll see....... :)

Daily Shots 2/20/2010

Well, we didn't get as much done today as we were hoping, but at least we have the chest freezers now!  We ordered them a month ago, and just got around to picking them up today.  It'll be so nice to have extra space to freeze stuff--I can buy ice cream and know it will have a home!  Huzzah!  :)  And when I have parties, I can totally make EVERYTHING ahead of time and have a whole freezer devoted just to keeping it chill.  Ahhh... life made easier.  :)

And now, your daily shots.

Jeremy... spent several hours picking up and setting up the freezers.  And then was off to a bachelor party this evening with one of his old Frontline buddies (it was at Dave & Busters, so totally innocent. :)  I think he's heading home now, though I thought he'd be here already.... Hmm....  he'd better hurry up because he's got lots to do tomorrow!  :)

Jess... took both kiddies to church, solo, tonight since Jeremy was out.  That was... rough.  Around 5:30, I started getting the kids ready to go.  They were already mostly dressed, just needed socks and Jeremiah needed a shirt, so I thought I had plenty of time.  Of course, then Jesslyn was poopy.  And then Jeremiah decided he didn't want to go out and threw a temper tantrum... And then a neighbor wanted to chit chat while I was strapping them into the van (which would have been totally fine, had I not already been running late.)  The best, though, was getting to church (5 minutes late,) finding a good spot, parking, and then realizing, "Oh shoot... I'm parallel parked next to a snow bank.  That means I can't get Jesslyn out....."  Yeah...  I had to get Jeremiah out of his seat, then lean over his seat to unstrap her, and get her out.  If that sounds fun, imagine then trying to lob a 30 lb 17 month old back over her brother's seat and into her's, while keeping tabs on Jeremiah in a parking lot!  Not fun.  But I survived.  :)

Jeremiah... did NOT nap today.  Grr... He'd been doing so well, but something about today just said NO NAP apparently.  Then Uncle Paul showed up to get Jeremiah's old crib (now THAT was a lot more work than we thought it would be,) and there was just no going back at that point.  What can ya do... he should sleep well tonight, as a result, and then take a good nap tomorrow, which will be helpful.  If that's what happens.

Oh, and he had a GREAT time in the car, singing along to his Yo Gabba Gabba CD.  He's really singing a lot more now, and actually trying to sing ON KEY (as much as a 3 year old can, at least.)  It actually sounds a little like the song, as opposed to just the lyrics.  It's so cute to hear.   And tonight, when I was praying for both him and Jesslyn, he was reciting my prayer as I was saying it (I say mostly the same thing every night, like my Dad did for us when we were growing up.  He would leave out certain words for us to fill in.  Jeremiah decided to just fill in the whole thing for me, apparently!  :)

Jesslyn... had a tough time going to church tonight, as usual.  We got up to the nursery area, and she started sobbing/screaming/wailing.  We had to wait to get our tags, though, so I was hoping she'd calm down.  The guy that was [trying] to help us kept talking to her, trying to distract her while the computer was being difficult.  At one point, I got tired of listening to her cry, so I asked her, "Okay, Jesslyn, that's enough, are you done now?"  To which she replied, "Yes," and stopped crying immediately!  Both the guy helping us and I started laughing. It was pretty funny.  She didn't start crying again until I actually dropped her off (and then she cried, "Mommy!! Mommy!!"  Awww....)  But when I picked her up, she smiled and said, "FUN! FUN!"  :)  I guess she had a good time after all!

Daily Shots 2/19/2010

Okay, so I've been forgetting to do this lately.  Whoops.  My bad.  :)

Jeremy... is playing video games.  Umm... and he's been going to work since we haven't had anymore snow piling on us.  And.... he took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese last night while I hosted my Mom's Group's Cooking Club here at the house.  He won some 350+ tickets by himself, playing some silly bubble game.  Did I mention he likes video games?  :)

Jess... is definitely at the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy.  Can anyone convince this baby to come out already!?  No?  Okay, then... We'll just deal.  Ice cream helps.  As do donuts from The Fractured Prune.  I tried drinking a glass of wine last night, as an eviction notice of sorts, but baby didn't get it.  Oh well.  I'd better get to bed soon... you never know when they WILL decide to make an appearance, and I need to be as well rested as possible!  So let's wrap this up...

Jeremiah... is such a sweetie.  I love how much of a little person he is, how interactive he can be now.  He sings along to songs he knows (not just hums, but actually tries to sing the words,) has opinions about everything, and is generally just a sweet boy.  I love how he meets someone or goes somewhere and just says, "Me happy, Mommy!" Tonight, he tagged along when I went to bring a new Mommy a meal, and when we met her, he said, "Hi!  Me happy!"  and he kept repeating that the whole time we were there.  :)  My little man...

Jesslyn... seems like she should be much older than she is.  She tries to count things ("One.... two.... one.... two.... one.... two..." is as far as she's gotten thus far. :) and has been using a lot more sentences ("Here it is!" "Me pee-pee." etc...)  She's very cuddly, too, when she wants to be.  After they got home from Chuck E. Cheese last night, all of my Mommy friends were hanging out, talking about our recipes, and she came over and started sitting on various peoples' laps--she just kept making her way around the room, looking for someone to sit with for a moment before moving on to the next.  She was VERY fascinated with our neighbor, Tiffany's baby.  She went and sat next to Tiffany while she was trying to nurse little Leilia, and was just amazed at this little being. I can't wait to see how she reacts to her own little brother or sister!

That be all.  This weekend is going to be busy, so I need to get my beauty sleep and hope we can get everything done we need to get done--two chest freezers to pick up, 3 pieces of furniture to put together, a crib to take down, spa to put up, and several bedrooms to clean!  All that on top of a birthday party/church tomorrow night for the kids and me, bachelor party (at Dave & Buster's... very tame) for Jeremy, nursery duty on Sunday morning...... Yikes!  Okay, if baby comes this weekend, we're a little screwed.  So I'd better get to bed!  :)

Daily Shots 2/14/2010

I just typed 2008....  Placenta brain....

Anywhoo, here we are on Valentine's Day, on the eve of us being FULL TERM with baby #3!  AHH!!  Kinda hard to believe we're back here again, after doing this just a little over 17 months ago, but, here we be!

We had a pretty non-romantic, yet fun day.  Got up, had some coffee, then headed to a friends' Valentine's Day Card Making Party.  The kids decorated a few cards (with much help from Mommy and Daddy, of course,) ate some yummy food, chatted a bit, and then it was NAP TIME!

The kids slept the afternoon away, and while there, Mee Maw and Poppy showed up to help finish painting the their new room!  They also came yesterday to get the base coat painted on (the blue and green--will post pics once the room is *done!*)  It looks good and the kids are really excited!  They can't wait to get in there! Hopefully we can get their furniture assembled (Jeremiah's bunk beds and Jesslyn's "new" crib, more coming later this week!) so they can move in tomorrow!

Wrapping up the day, we dined on gourmet delivery Chinese food, tucked the kids into bed, and are now sitting around, watching some Olympics and just chillin'.  Jeremy's off from work tomorrow (though it felt like he was off all of last week!) and we'll officially be full-term!  I don't expect Baby J to show up anytime in the next 2-3 weeks, but you never know!  I'm hoping, obviously, for a sooner rather than later birth, but my hopes are not high in that regard--my babies like to be fully cooked!

And with that... your daily shots.

Jeremy... chatted it up with the one guy (at any given time... I think there was a 5 minute overlap where there were 2 guys) that was at the party today.  Ummm.... that's all I've got for Jeremy today.  Nothing much going on with him.

Jess... has nothing.  :)  Umm... I need to hit the mall this week, to do all of our Christmas returns.  But that's it.  :)

Jeremiah... had a tough time adjusting at the party today (still not a fan of crowds and noise, I guess...) but he said he had a lot of fun!  His latest bit of cuteness would have to be his recital of a "Baman Piderman" cartoon from beginning to end.  I have yet to try to catch it on film, but hope to, as it is SO CUTE!  He does both roles, and even narrates ("here he comes..." when Baman is running along.)  To finish, he pauses and then, "tah-dah....." before cracking up laughing!  It's so cute!

Oh, and the other night, he had a "dream" about a yellow bus with green eyes.  This was the first time he actually told us he had a dream and then went on to explain what the dream was about!  And of course, he had to tell Mee Maw about it, so she put it in his room (well, his side of the room.)  The next day, though, he had a dream that "der wa a monster under Kookie's crib..." (it's his old crib, which is still set up in his room, but he sleeps on the floor on his new mattress until we get his bunk beds set up.)  She wasn't there, though, since I don't think either of them would sleep if they were in the same room.  So maybe she keeps them monsters away.  :)

Jesslyn... is really excited about her new room.  Mee Maw painted some flowers and butterflies for her, but the first thing she noticed was the bus that Mee Maw had painted for Jeremiah!  Ha!  We then sent her downstairs to hang out with Daddy, so Mee Maw could finish.  She went into the family room, found the remote, handed it to Jeremy and said, "Puppy?? Puppy?"  because she wanted to watch "Bolt."  :)  Obsessed, much?? :)

That's about it!

Daily Shots 2/10/2010

While I'm waiting for our tacos and taquitos to bake, I thought I'd get in our 'daily shots'.    Not much going on lately, other than SNOW SNOW SNOW!  Really, I'm getting sick of the snow.  I've gotten out twice since last Thursday.  Since Friday, we've had over 40" of snow fall on us.  Ugh.  And it's not going anywhere anytime soon.  The plows are doing what they can to clear the roads, but I would hardly call them "clear".  Some of the main roads are okay, but our neighborhood is basically a giant sheet of ice.  No street parking for a while, that's for sure!  Until we're not threatened to get stuck driving up and down our pipestem, I'll be keeping put.  Thankfully, Jeremy has been home and able to do all the chauffeuring for us.

Jeremy... has been doing all the shoveling and snow clearing, since I don't want to jump start labor anytime soon (I helped during the last storm, in December, but now that we're so close, I figured I'd better just take it easy until next week.)  He went into work on Tuesday for a little bit, but that's it--been home every day this week!  And will probably work from home again on Thursday.  Heck, even the Federal government has been closed everyday this week.... That's some $100,000,000/day in lost opportunities and productivity, they say. Yikes.

Jess... has been taking it easy, and cooking and baking.  We had Uncle Ben & Auntie Emilia over last night for a huge pan o' chili, and then some 1 vs. 100 on XB Live.  It was a lot of fun.  It's nice having them back.

Baby-wise, this kid is a mover and a shaker!  They just won't stop!  Slow down a bit, yes, but not stop.  It's crazy!  Tomorrow (Thur) is our 36 week visit, where we'll pick up my chart, the oxygen tank, some prescription-only supplies, etc etc.  I'm looking forward to it, and dreading it at the same time.  It's kinda hard to believe that baby could be here NEXT WEEK!  AHHHH!  I did buy paint at Costco for the kids' new room, but we haven't cleaned it out yet, and prepped it, so not sure when that's going to happen.  Hopefully soon.  Maybe we'll move Jesslyn into Jeremiah's room for now, since his crib is still set up.   I guess we can see how that goes, for now.

Jeremiah... started singing along to songs the other day.  He's always "sang" songs, but usually he'll hum along, or just throw a word out here and there.  But yesterday, we were watching Bolt, and they have this one musical number in it, and out of nowhere, he started singing the words during the chorus!  It was really cute.  Then tonight, he was singing a "good night" song to his truck.  Aww.... he's so sweet.

Jesslyn... is becoming less annoying.  :)  I know, that's a terrible thing to say, but for a while there, she was really driving me batty.  Now, the sweetness outweighs the whiny-ness which is a nice change.  :)  Seriously, though, she's always had a sweet side, but when she's clingy and whiny and just wants you to carry her around all day, it's hard to be loving and patient.  So I'm proud of my big girl!  :)  She's still addicted to Mommy (Daddy isn't allowed to put her in her crib at night--Mommy has to do it, or she'll cry,) but she definitely seems to be "growing" lately.  Does that make sense?

She's talking more and more, too.  Lots of sentences, which Jeremiah just started doing in the late summer/fall.  Tonight, she said, "Me done!" after dinner, and when I was looking for the remote earlier today, she handed it to me and said, "Here it is!" (well, it was more like, "here ii is!" but I knew what she meant.)  It's so fascinating to see how alike/different her and Jeremiah are.

And that's it.  My tacos/taquitos are done.  Time to dig in!

Daily Shots 2/7/2010

I'm currently waiting for butter to soften so I can make homemade frosting for Jeremy's homemade birthday cake!  Shhh... don't tell him, though!  :)  The kids are napping so I thought I'd write a bit, since I've been forgetting late at night. (Side note: this has been a GREAT week for naps from those two, surprisingly! Don't know if it's from all the activity, or because they've both been fighting colds, or what, but I'll take it!)

Jeremy... is outside helping dig out a neighbor's van.  He was out late last night trying to clear our pipestem with a borrowed snow blower.  And he was out most of yesterday morning/early afternoon trying to shovel/dig out his car!  Needless to say, he's been doing much snow moving lately.

Jess... has been perfectly happy being stuck indoors.  :)  Been chillin', cooking, baking, napping, etc... And I still think I overdid it!  Last night was a really uncomfortable/painful night.  But it went away, so no early babies!  :)  However, I'm taking this as a sign to take it a bit more easy in the future.  Not that I did anything physically taxing yesterday, but obviously something I did wasn't jiving with baby and body.  But it's all good now.  :)  We're almost 36 weeks!  AHH!!  It's now sinking in how much we still have left to do!  Jeremy needs to get our spa set up in Jesslyn's room, which means Jesslyn has to move OUT, which means we need to get the playroom emptied and painted!  AHHHHH!  Yeah... and I need to find some random supplies, like a heating pad (it's around here somewhere....) and some Gatorade, etc.  Need to set up the pack and play somewhere, get out newborn clothes (OH MY GOSH!! NEWBORN CLOTHES!!!) And so on and so forth.  I think I need to get my Mom over here to help me out!!!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Jeremiah... is napping, noisily, in his crib.  :(  Apparently, he no longer likes his new bed, and wants us to bring it back, yet again.  Guess we'll just be making him quit cold turkey!  What's he going to do, then?  Sleep on the floor?  I'm sure that'd get old really quickly.

Jesslyn... is quite the talker, as I've said before.  She'll repeat almost ANYTHING you say!  Today, she repeated me when I said, "Miss Leslie" and "superbowl" etc..  It's really cute hearing big words come out of such a little mouth.  :)  She thinks her mouth is much bigger than it really is, though--often, when she eats, she'll try to shove large amounts of food in her mouth, instead of taking bites.  It's really annoying, because then she starts to gag, and spits it all out.  Yuck.  Oh well.  I guess we'll just have to cut everything up really tiny for her, and only give her a little at a time, instead of letting her have a free for all.  Sigh... you're not a baby anymore, Jesslyn!  You're almost 17 months!  Time to eat like a big girl!  Oh well.

Off to frost my cake!  :)

Daily Shots 2/4/2010

Another 16"-26" of snow forecasted to start tomorrow.  Let the chaos begin....

Jeremy.... is currently at Harris Teeter, getting me a few last minute snow storm "essentials."  Many items are out of stock (sour cream?!?!) and he's probably the 30-40th person in line.  Yikes.  This after spending most of the afternoon driving us all around for an ultrasound of the baby, and then to our midwife appointment (which had a LONG wait, as there was only one or two midwifes on duty.)

Jess.... is tired, and wants to go to bed, but can't because I'm the one who sent Jeremy to the store in the first place.  Wouldn't be right for me to turn in now.  :)  But we did get to see the baby today!  Measuring right on track to be in the same runnings as his/her older siblings.  And super cute face, at least from what we could see through the distortion.  Jeremiah and Jesslyn (well, mostly Jeremiah...) was being a pill, so the sonographer sped things up and didn't give us any 3D pics.  : p  That's the LAST time we take the kids with us!  Wasn't our original plan, but Mee Maw got sick and Uncle James had his own appointment to attend, so that's how it happened.  Oh well.

Jeremiah.... was not a good boy today.  I can't really blame him--he was tired and didn't want to be out at nap time, and the afternoon dragged on and on... Man o' man, though, he was a tough one to control.  Nothing worked--bribing, begging/pleading, threat of punishment, nothing!  Hopefully he's in better spirits tomorrow.

Oh, this was cute, though.  We were driving home, and I was doing something to bug him (can't remember what... I don't think I was doing it intentionally, I think I just kept asking him to relax and take a nap, or something.)  He said, "Mommy, stop."  Then he paused and said, "Please stop, Mommy, please."  As a statement, though, not a question, which is what I say to them when they're acting up, and I'm just about to lose it.  So yeah, you really do need to watch what you say around these kiddies... They soak it up and throw it right back at ya!

Jesslyn.... did not really get her nap today, due to our great adventures, but was a pretty good girl despite that, which was surprising.  She did catch a few Zzz's in the van on the way home, which, for some reason, caused her to spend two hours playing tonight at bedtime, instead of sleeping.  I don't get it.  I expect good naps from both of them tomorrow!

And with that, we wait for the blizzard!  Okay, it's not really a blizzard, just a "winter storm" with accumulations in the double digits and temps below freezing to keep everything put.  Awesome.  And from what I hear, there's more on the way next week.  So much for mild VA winters!

Daily Shots 2/2/2010

So I hear the stupid groundhog saw his shadow.... and promptly asked Mother Nature to drop more snow on us, just when the "dusting" from the weekend was starting to melt.  Oh, and there's promise of more to come this weekend!  Awesome!  <~ Sarcasm...

Ah well.

Jeremy... got to wake up early (or stay up really late...) and let his brother Ben and his wife Emilia in from the cold to catch a few hours snooze time after travelling all day from Poland.  It's kinda weird having them back, as they've been gone a year.  Jeremiah was very excited, though--all day, he's been asking, "Where's Uncle Ben??!" after seeing them this morning.  I guess he remembers them, since he went right up to 'em and gave 'em a hug. :)  Aww....

Jess... doesn't appreciate having a cold while preggers.  So not cool not being able to breath through your nose.  This has made sleeping more of an annoyance than anything else.  Ugh.  Oh well.  Yup, that's all for me today.  Oh, I made cookies.  Doesn't help me breath any better, but they sure did taste good.  :)

Jeremiah... somehow hurt his arm this morning, and it bothered him all day.  Made him very whiny and cranky.  Yeah, we're in pretty rough shape today!  The good news is that I *think* his arm is all better (not really sure what was wrong with it in the first place.... but he wouldn't use it and kept saying, "Mommy, me boo boo ouchies..." so it was obviously bothering him... for some reason.)  Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

Jesslyn... was also whiny and cranky today, as she, too, is fighting a cold.  Sigh... But, surprisingly, she also warmed up quickly to Uncle Ben & Emilia.  They left when she was just about 4 months old, so she really didn't know them at all.  I guess she just "knows."

LOST started tonight, after being off the air since last May.  It's the final season!  I have no decided if I'm going to do my commentary again... I'm thinking probably not, since that's a lot more work than I'll probably be able to make time for.  But if I find any interesting analyses, I'll will definitely post them.  Darkufo.blogspot.com is always a good place to stop, though!  :)

Daily Shots 2/1/2010

It's late, so we'll make this quick...

Jeremy... is currently waiting for a phone call or email or something from his brother Ben--he and 'Auntie' Emilia are scheduled to arrive in DC sometime between 12 and 3 a.m., I believe.  I *think* the plan is that Jeremy gets to go pick 'em up and they'll spend the night here before settling back into their house, but Jeremy can't remember.  Sooooooooooooo we'll see what happens!

Jess... seems to have caught Jeremiah's cold (which has now moved to Jesslyn, as well.)  This makes for doubly miserable days, since it feels as if Baby J has quadrupled in size in the past week!  Well, maybe not quadrupled, but definitely heavier!  But alas... it's all part of the fun, right?

Jeremiah... enjoyed watching Bolt and Thomas all day long, because Mommy was too tired and blah to take him outside.  It was a compromise I was willing to make.  :)  Then at bedtime, I went to lay down for a moment, and he came in to "tuck" me in.  Then he said, "Nighty night, Mommy!" and shut my door.  :)  Eventually, I was able to get him in his room and tucked into his own bed.  Daddy prayed with him, and one of the things Jeremiah wanted to pray for was to thank God, "for me new light from Mommy."  He's been having a tough time with the whole night light issue--the one he has isn't bright enough, so we've been having to leave his door open and the hall light on.  Not ideal, since our doors aren't super tight, and let some of that light in.  So I found the light I used in college, when I was up late while my roommate was trying to sleep.  He LOVES it!  And it's only 40W, compared to however many the hall would use (though those are CFL bulbs, and this was a regular one...)  Well, at least the light is perfectly contained in his room, and it's just the right brightness, so everyone's happy!

Jesslyn... wouldn't let me nap very long.  She went down for her nap (late...) and then woke up about an hour later, crying.  :(  Not sure why she was upset, but I figured she'd get over it, so I left her alone and tried to go back to sleep myself.  She did quiet down and I'm assuming went back to sleep, for at least a little while.  But that wasn't enough for her, and she started crying again.  I got her up and she played happily in our bathroom while I got my shower in.  The highlight of her night was probably covering her head with peanut butter at dinner time.  I guess she wanted to take another bath tonight!  They do love bath time...

Off to bed for me!

Daily Shots 1/31/2010

Wow.  First month of 2010 is OVER!  Crazy....

The last couple of days of the month have brought us a winter "dusting" that dropped about 5-6 inches of snow.  "Oh, it's nothing to worry about, just a dusting, more of a problem to the south," is what the weatherman said.  You.  Were.  Wrong!  So once again, this season, the snow has caused church to be cancelled, which gave us a pretty quiet weekend.

Jeremy... spent a lot of time outside this weekend--yesterday, he was shoveling snow and putting down salt to keep things safe for us.  Today, it was play time outside with the kids!  A good time was had by all.  :)

Jess... didn't change out of PJ's today until 9 p.m. (to shower and change into NEW PJ's.)  I've had to switch to using Jeremy's undershirts as sleep shirts, since none of mine are big enough to cover my belly anymore.  I think I spend as much time pulling my shirt down in my sleep as I do during the day.  We've got a sonogram this week, so it'll be interesting to see how big baby J is at this point.  I think he/she's gonna be big like Jesslyn (Jeremiah seemed so small compared to her... Only next to his siblings will his 10 lbs 11 oz birth weight be considered 'small'!)  I can't sit on ANYTHING and not feel like I've been sitting on a bike seat instead.  It's crazy!  I remember feeling this way with Jesslyn, but not really with Jeremiah, so yeah, I'm going with the whole 11 lb+ baby.  We'll see......

Jeremiah... is sleeping in his big boy bed for the 4th night in a row!  There's still the whole, "me no like it, me sleep in me crib.... take it back, Mommy, take back me bed," from time to time, but for the most part, he's enjoying it and sleeping really well!  Yesterday, he slept 'til 9 a.m.!  He's even napped in it a few times, so I'm pretty sure the transition will be fine.  The crib is still up in his room, for now, since we have a little while longer to take it down, so at the moment, he's just sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor.  But the bunk beds are in their boxes, ready to be set up, whenever we get around to figuring out where we're going to actually set them up!  Sigh...

Jesslyn... was fascinated by some Blackberry "Baby GO!" app Jeremy had installed on his phone... So much so, I was able to attempt to french braid her hair!  Her bangs are just so long, and she won't leave any clip in long enough to do anything about it, so I'm trying to come up with other ways to manage her hair.  French braiding, however, is not the solution.  Her hair, like mine, is just so fine and feathery, it just slipped right out.  So I put up her left part towards the front into a little pony, then tied that one up into another pony a little further back, and put the right side up as usual (her normal style is two little pigtails using just the front of her hair, since she has too much to put all up with the little elastics that can actually hold her hair in place.)  And that was a really boring note about her hair.  But I'll want to remember that someday, so you'll have to deal. ;)

One final thing... Last week, my Mom and I did a Haiti fundraiser to send funds to Christ In Action, who is trying to help the people of Haiti by building new houses.  The homes (look like sheds) are prefabricated right here in Ashburn, VA!  Then, they'll be stacked, shipped down to a port in Miami and then put on a boat to go to Haiti.  They cost about $600 each, and our goal was to come up with enough money to buy one house (with some help from my parents' life group.)  We fried and sold malassadas by the dozen to a bunch of my friends, and raised.............. $415!!!  Both my Mom and I put in about 20 hours of labor, total, and while it was exhausting, it was also very gratifying, and we were excited about the response.  Yay!!  Thank you to all who bought malassadas, and double thank you to everyone who gave extra!  Such a blessing!

And with that, I'm glad to have a quiet week to which to look forward.  Uncle Ben and Auntie Emilia are coming back from Poland late LATE tomorrow night, and Jeremiah's very excited to see them.  :)  Otherwise, I'm looking forward to getting out to the mall to do all of my Christmas returns before the period expires.  Hope it's not too late...

Night night!

Daily Shots 1/27/2010

Jeremy... is such a softie when it comes to his kids.  He can't just "give them a bath and put them to bed." He has to play some music for them, allow them to cover him with soap suds during bath time, tickle them while he gets them dressed, read story after story, pray long prayers that thank God for fans, doors, and Thomas the Train, AND THEN, put them in bed.  :)  And, unlike Mommy (who knows better and doesn't want to start a trend...) he'll pick them up and take them into our room to comfort them when they wake up afraid or upset.  What a sweetie.  :)

Jess... is thoroughly pooped after helping Mee Maw cook up 5 batches of malassadas (about 16 dozen) and then deliver them to a bunch of gal friends, mostly from my Mom's group.  We're doing it to help build homes in Haiti--100% of the money raised from the malassadas sold go to the reconstruction effort!  So far, we've got $205 with at least another $100 coming in on Friday!  Only $295 to go to build a whole house for a family of 6!

Jeremiah... like most young boys his age, was excited to be running around the house, naked, after his bath time.  It was the only thing that actually motivated him to get out of the tub.  Thankfully, there's a gate at the top of the steps, so he couldn't get very far.

Jesslyn... is quite the eater.  Anything and everything is fair game.  At least one of our kids isn't picky.  :)  She was in a very cuddly mood today, too, but unfortunately, wanted to do so while eating her messy dinner.  Sorry, sweetie, Mommy loves you, but you're going to have to wait until you're a little more clean for a hug.  :)

That's all I can give ya today, folks!  Long day, I'm tired, I'm going to bed!  :)  Nighty night!

Daily Shots 1/26/2010

Jeremy... had his first day back in the office in over a week.  The kids were sad to see him go, but we were on our way out ourselves, so they got over it.  Both were thrilled to see him when he got home, though--even Jeremiah wanted to be carried around, and for a while, he had to hold both kids because neither wanted to let go.  Awww....  :)

Jess... had a crazy morning with trying to get the kids out the door for church (CBS) while trying not to leave before the cleaning crew could show up (they finally did, late, but surprisingly, traffic was non-existent, so we were only a few minutes late to church after all!  I took it as a sign from God that we WERE supposed to go to church, since I had been trying to justify NOT going!)  We then had to rush home because in my haste, I forgot to leave a check for them.  After all that, I was definitely in need of a nap!  Thankfully, the kids agreed and eventually, both were asleep, so Mommy got the rest most desperately needed!

Jeremiah... had a rough time at drop off this morning, at church.  Usually, he's the good one, but today, he just didn't want Mommy to leave.  Eventually, I talked him into it, and he was good to go.  When I picked him up, and on the way home, he told me over and over again how happy he was that he went on to tell me everything they did in class!  :)

Jesslyn... is a little instigator.  Jeremiah was playing with his new Cars cars, and as soon as his hand was off Lightning McQueen, she swooped in, grabbed the car and took off, yelling, "Mine! Mine! Mine!"  Jeremiah yelled at her and started trying to get it back.  She then threw herself on the floor, tossed the car over her head and then tried to run away.  After all that drama, Jeremiah tried to share his cars with her after all (albeit, it was one he didn't really want in the first place, but still...)  She wasn't happy with that, though and replied, "No!"  She then repeated the entire above event a few minutes later, much to Jeremiah's chagrin....  Who taught her the word, "Mine!" anyway?!?!

Tomorrow is doughnut day!  Or rather.... MALASSADA DAY!  :)  My Mom had this great idea to make and sell malassadas to our friends, in order to raise money to help Haiti.  We have about 22 orders at $10--$220 going to help build houses as part of the reconstruction effort!  YAY!  I know Jeremiah is excited--he's a big fan of "Mee Maw's doughnuts!"  :)  We're working on his pronunciation of 'malasadas' but I admit, that's a bit for such a little guy to spit out at once.  :)

We're back!

Jeremy and I returned today from our Babymoon today!  We went to NYC for 3 nights, sans kids (thanks to Mee Maw and Poppy!) and had a blast!  Didn't do a whole lot, other than eat really well and hang out with some family.  Did a lot of riding on the subway and in cabs, even a bus or two!  I got a preggers massage, which was lovely, and we had an awesome dinner at Craft, one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants--oh my goodness, was it AWESOME!  Best food we ever tasted!  Well worth the [many] monies spent.

And now we're home... Jeremiah and Jesslyn were thrilled to see us, and happy to come home themselves, though they also had at blast at my parents' house.  We're all (including my parents and the kids) thoroughly exhausted, but no rest for the weary!  Tomorrow, the kids and I have church (CBS, to be exact, or Community Bible Study) and Jeremy's back to work.  But lots of fun was had by all, and it was a great time away before #3 shows up and throws a wrench in what currently defines 'normal' in our house.  ;)  Only 6 more weeks (3 if they're kind, 8 if not...)

Onto your Daily Shots of the Quadruple Threat!

Jeremy... is so happy to be back in his own bed!  After sleeping in hotels since last Tuesday, he's thrilled to be home with our awesome bed (it's the same one the Crown Plaza uses.)  Oh, and of course, he's happy to be back home with his kiddies, but missing them wasn't nearly as physically painful as missing our bed.  ;)

Jess... dumped out the stockings, still hanging on the mantle, in order to raid the candy still held within.  So sue me, I had a craving.  ;)  Out of sight, out of mind is so true!  But I got my fix, and now the kids will have lots of yummy snacks to choose from at lunch time tomorrow.  Oh, and did I mention we're 34 weeks!!  Yikes!

Jeremiah... got a new train today, courtesy of Mommy and Daddy missing their babies, and wanting to spoil them with something other than some cheap souvenir, just because it says "NY" on it.  So he got a Diesel 10 train, and was SO HAPPY!  Maybe that's why he couldn't wait to come home--he wanted to try him out on his train tracks downstairs!  Hasn't had a chance yet, as he hadn't had a bath since Wednesday, so that's what we did when we got home and then right to bed!  I promise, though... tomorrow.  ;)

Jesslyn... got a huge stuffed teddy from Mommy and Daddy, and was trying to carry it, along with their giant, stuffed penguin, around at the same time.  That's a bit of a handful, though, so that didn't work so well.  But she was also beyond thrilled to have Mommy and Daddy home.  She laughed when we walked in and she saw us, she was so happy!  Melts your heart....  =D

Baby #3... has a name!  Well... sorta.  We're pretty confident as to what the first letter will be, and have a possible boy's name (maybe girl's, also.)   That's all you get.  :)

Daily Shots 1/21/2010

Jeremy... is in Boston, still, living it up with his Canadian co-workers.  Will see him tomorrow!!

Jess... had a fine prenatal appointment, and is home alone.... Weird.  Baby's good, Mama's good, so all is good.  Gonna try to leave the house at 6 a.m., so I'm gonna wrap this up...

Jeremiah... is living it up at Mee Maw and Poppy's house this weekend, with Jesslyn.  He didn't seem very sad to say goodbye to me, so I'm guessing he'll do just fine.  :)

Jesslyn... was asleep when I left, so I dunno how she's doing.  But I have a feeling she's better off than if I'd left AFTER she woke up.  :)

And that's it!  Off to NYC!  The bus leaves at 10:30, but with the unpredictability this icy weather is giving us, I plan on leaving really early, and hoping for the best.  Wish me luck, and we'll "see" ya when we get back!

Daily Shots 1/19/2010

Jeremy... flew to Boston this morning.  I haven't heard from him since--this just now gives me pause.  But I'm sure he's at some pub (Cheer's, maybe??) having a grand ole' time with his co-workers, while his uncomfortably pregnant wife sits at home and wonders if he got in okay....  :)  [Update... just heard from Jeremy.  He is alive.  Yay! ;) ]

Jess... got both kiddies ready and to church by 9 a.m. for CBS, all by myself!  Go me!  :)  We skipped lunch there, though, as it's become more trouble than it's worth.  Instead, we went to Harris Teeter so I could get stuff for Cooking Club (thank you, Uncle James, who watched my sweet kiddies for me so I wouldn't have to miss it!)  And now I'm uncomfortably full, tired, and planning on going to bed as soon as this is published!  :)

Jeremiah... asked at lunch, "Mommy... where's me fish?" Remember our betta?  The 2nd one?  Kicked the bucket on Christmas morning.  We just kinda moved him away, and didn't think Jeremiah would notice.  He just did.  ;)  "Oh, sweetie, your fishy died--he was really sick, and there are no fish doctors to help him get better, so he died and went to fishy heaven."  Pause as he lets this sink in... "Mommy?  Me get another fish?  Me get a black one!  Me get another fish, Mommy???"  :)  "Of course, sweetie, we can go next week after you come back from Mee Maw's house, okay?"  "O-tay, Mommy.  Me get 'nother fish.  Me get 'nother fish later?"  And to think I didn't think he'd ever remember he had one in the first place!  Guess I need to clean out that tank....

Jesslyn... forces the nursery workers to hold her constantly... of this, I'm pretty sure.  Every time I pick her up from the nursery, SOMEONE is holding her!  This is how I picture it going down: I drop her off, and she cries, so someone holds her until she calms down.  Once she does, they put her down, and she goes to find a toy to cuddle (always has to have a bear or baby or something in her arms.)  Once she finds "it" she goes up to a worker, raises her arms to be picked up and waits.  If they don't, she cries, and they do anyway.  That's my guess, at least.  Today, it was a nice older woman, who was very proud to have held her (all 29 lbs of her!) almost the entire time.   I think she reminded Jesslyn of my Mom.  :)

Daily Shots 1/18/2010

Jeremy... finally took our live Christmas tree out to be relieved of its misery.  I think there are more needles on the floor than there were on the tree itself when we got it!  It was in bad shape... Can't wait to clean that up!

Jess... is thoroughly and sufficiently stuffed after an AWESOME dinner at the Sunny & Max's house.   She made chicken fried chicken, mashed taters with white gravy, creamed spinach (which I was SO HOPING she would make!) and yummy dixie pie for dessert!  Oh man, it was so good and I can't wait to have it again!

Jeremiah... enjoyed a nice time outside this morning, with his Daddy.  He took a nice nap (3rd day in a row!  They're becoming rarer and rarer...) and then had LOTS of fun playing with Georgia and Ella.  He didn't want to go, originally (we had to bribe him, practically,) but the whole way home, kept saying how happy he was and how much fun he had!

Jesslyn... had an uneventful day.  She was clingy clingy clingy, though, which could be an issue in... 7 weeks!  AHHH!  And, yup, that's all I've got. :)

Daily Shots 1/17/2010

Jeremy... discussed names for #3 with some guys at church (for the record, he has yet to really talk about 'em with me, but he DID promise to do so during our babymoon this weekend!)

Jess... has nothing interesting going on today.  Well, I took a nap this afternoon.  Umm... yeah, that was the highlight of my day.  ;)

Jeremiah... got his hairs cut tonight!  He screamed a bit before we even did anything, but once Mommy was holding him, he calmed down and "took it like a [whiny] man!"  :)  As soon as he was in the tub, he was happy and even thanked us for cutting it.   What a sweetie!

Jesslyn... was very sympathetic when Jeremiah was upset during his cut.  She kept watching the hair falling on the floor, like it was a limb or something.  You could see the gears turning in her head--"Hmmm... Jeremiah's screaming, and his 'hat' is falling on the floor.... That can't be good!"  She didn't even trust Daddy when he tried to take her and Jeremiah upstairs for bed.  But she sure did enjoy her bath time with her favorite big brother, once she realized he was okay!  And she forgave Daddy, too.

Oh, and don't ask either of them if they like 'bridges'.   Especially Jeremiah--his response is usually, "Me no like that big bridge" except 'bridge' comes out sounding like something else...... yeah..... ;)

Daily Shots 1/16/2010

In my quest to blog more regularly, I'm going to attempt to do a "daily shots" post, which is nothing more than a series of 'status updates' for each person in our family. Some days I may write more, but I figure if I can update my status on Facebook several times a day, I can do at least that here. But don't expect more. It'll just be a nice surprise. :)

Jeremy.... got new glasses today. They're channeling Drew Carey but much more cool and hip. They look good on him. ;)

Jess.... is feeling very pregnant today. And had a dream that MeeMaw took her for a sonogram and told us we were having a boy. Thanks for spoiling it, MeeMaw! ;)

Jeremiah.... gave his new Hot Wheels car to a friend's son, though I have a feeling he was only trying to "share." (However, this friend gave us their old crib, so we're not complaining.) He then left his "Big Thomas" at church, which prompted some whining and fake crying. Miss Jill promised to look for it in the morning, though. :)

Jesslyn.... continues to try to get over her cold today, but was a peach at church--we walked her in and she didn't shed NOT ONE tear! Hallelujah! She's also beyond obsessed with stuffed animals--anything she can wrap her arm around instantly becomes her "baby." Who says gender differences aren't pre-programed?! She's going to be a great big sister (unless she tries to carry the baby the way she carries her dolls....)

Baby #3.... is only a bit over 7 weeks away! Still quite the mover and shaker, and definitely getting big! Hard to believe we'll be a family of 5 soon--we can't wait to meet you, yet we have so much to still do!! AHH!!

That's actually not a bad post, if I do say so myself. :) I think I can manage that daily. Will do my best!

(Oh, and in case you were wondering about the timestamp, yes, technically it's Sunday, but only by a few minutes... I didn't want to D.S. for Sunday since it really hasn't happened yet!)