November 21-27

We definitely moved away from our broken record this week. Aubrey and I stayed so busy all week. Monday we braved Concord Mills to get some serious Christmas shopping done. I managed to get most of my gifts purchased which was an awesome feeling to have before Thanksgiving. Tuesday was a little more shopping followed by some serious early Thanksgiving cooking. Tuesday evening was our church community group Thanksgiving feast, a meal we have truly come to look forward to all year. Its potluck so no one is stuck with all the cooking and we get to eat some different foods that aren't at our family Thanksgiving meal.

Thursday morning we loaded up Aubrey and the dogs for the 3 hour trip to Raleigh. Since I can't see his family for Christmas this year (since Christmas is 2 weeks from my due date) and Mason could technically arrive by then we decided to go up for Thanksgiving. I was sad not to see my family on Thanksgiving, but that's part of compromising holidays when you're married. Aubrey had a blast playing with all of her cousins and running around the family farm. It was a little tough for me because we had a big air mattress fail which led to me sleeping poorly the entire time, but I survived. The food definitely made up for it as we stuffed ourselves silly for 2 days. I did manage to squeeze in a little Black Friday shopping while I was there, but didn't get any of the deals I was hoping to score while I was out.

We drove back home on Saturday and had decided before we left we would pick our Christmas tree up on our way home. Our usual seller was not in his usual place, which made us sad because we always got a great tree from him. So, we decided to try a new place but when we got there it was busy and the dogs were still in the car so we decided to come back after Aubrey's nap. Going back later turned out to be so much better because we were the only ones there and we could roam much easier without the dogs. We picked out a great tree and had it loaded up before we realized we didn't bring the cash Todd had handed me earlier. Luckily, the sellers were really nice and let Todd bring the cash back after we dropped the tree off at home. We got most of the inside decorating finished on Saturday night and it was so much fun watching Aubrey help with the decorating. I also cleaned out some of Aubrey's old toys from the playroom to make room for the tree and wouldn't you know she decided to start playing with those toys once I threatened to put them away. They are still going to be put up for the time being, but it was fun to watch her play with some of those toys again.

We finished the outdoor decorating on Sunday before heading to Mooresville to help decorate Todd's parents' house and visit with his sister and her boyfriend before eating even more food. By Sunday night we were over all the eating and decorating and glad to be able to sit back and enjoy our efforts.

So, we definitely enjoyed our Thanksgiving holiday but sort of glad to get back to the routine of the week. Only a few weeks until the craziness of Christmas and then Mason's birth so we are going to enjoy our quiet and normalcy until then.

I finally handed over the camera to get a picture of Aubrey and myself on Thanksgiving. 

Todd and Aubrey

Aubrey playing with Todd's dad.

And helping Todd's mom with the iPhone.

Playing in the leaves.

Playing with the sit and play.

Helping Todd find a tree.

Putting the star on the tree.

Todd's sister helping her put the angel on her tree at Todd's parents' house.

33-week check-up

Nothing exciting at all about this check-up. Dr. Little said everything looks great and it appears that he is head down. His heart rate was 141 and he actually cooperated on the CMA's first try. Either that, or he is just running out of room to move away from the doppler! Dr. Little did tell me that I won't have to do the Group B strep swab test at 37-weeks since I've already tested positive for it. I'll just go straight for the antibiotics once I get to the hospital. I actually had a question this time about how the circumcision would be handled and she explained that the pediatrician's office would take care of it, usually about 24 hours after birth. I've done my research and Todd and I are set on a circumcision, but it still makes me cringe a little bit to think what will be done to him. I was so relieved with Aubrey to not have to deal with that, but no avoiding it this time around. After my one puny question, I was sent on my merry way to schedule a visit at 35 weeks. Aubrey promptly chose that time to start throwing a tantrum because I took the iPhone away from her, so it was great fun to walk through their office with a screaming 2-year old. I think I am going to start asking my mom to watch her while I go to my future appointments, especially when I start getting internal exams. She is already a handful when I have simple appointments so I'm sure she would be loads of fun sitting through that. Hopefully only 5-6 visits to go!

November 12-18

I sound like a broken record, but this week was another quiet week for us. It almost feels like I've gone into hibernation mode because I really haven't been motivated to go anywhere or do anything. We did venture out of the house on Thursday to get Aubrey's hair cut. This was only the 3rd official cut she's gotten, but she moved up in the ranks by getting a blow dry with her cut. She was not fond of the blow dryer in her ear at all. She is really getting to the point she doesn't like loud noises, period. Every time she goes in a bathroom stall she immediately covers her ears until after the toilet is flushed. Very strange. But, anyway. She did great with the hair cut and had a cute little hair style to go with it. Made me feel pretty bad because I am not a great hair styler. Partly because her hair is so fine and soft, but also because I just don't know what to do with it. After her hair cut, we made a trip to Barnes and Noble and Aubrey was in heaven. She loved the train set they have set up, but wasn't so fond of sharing with another little girl who came over. So, she walked over the the books and pulled about 20 different ones off the shelf and parked it on a bench to look at them. I love that she loves to look at books and that she makes up stories to go along with the pictures. It is so sweet to watch.

Friday was Christmas picture day and it was interesting. Aubrey is getting a bit more cooperative as far as posing and being still for pictures, but she's also entered the fake smiling stage so getting a good grin out of her took some work. I also designed and ordered the Christmas cards after many hours of  changing my mind and screaming at Photoshop because I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. I enjoy creating cards in Photoshop and like that it forces me to learn more about the program, but its also very overwhelming and frustrating at the same time. I also finished Aubrey's birthday invites, minus the party specifics and I'm almost finished with Mason's birth announcement, obviously minus his birth-specific details and picture. I'm trying to get as much done as possible as early as possible so when the time comes to order them I can upload them and call it a day.

Saturday, I actually managed to get motivated and go out for some girl time. A friend and I have made it our tradition to go to the Southern Christmas Show every year and I was determined to go this year, waddling or not. It was a lot of fun to see all the vendors and decorations, but I paid for it towards the end because my feet and back were screaming in pain. But, instead of taking the night to relax like I should, I dragged Todd to Ikea to finish buying Aubrey's new furniture. The place was super packed and we ended up being there a lot longer than we planned, but I was glad to get it over with. However, I started to assemble her new bookcase and realized Todd accidentally picked up the same bookcase I had just returned, so I have to return it again to get the right one. So, I'll be going back in another week or so to take care of that.

Sunday, Todd and I managed to get out of the house for a date night. We haven't had one in forever and we had a Living Social coupon burning a hole in out pocket, so we called the in-laws in to watch Aubrey and went off to stuff ourselves silly at the Crepe Cellar and then Amelie's Bakery in NoDa. It is the first of many good meals of the week and I am loving it.

I am really looking forward to this week. We have a a lot planned and I am excited to see how it all goes. I hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Playing with the train set at Barnes and Noble.

This was an outtake from the Christmas shoot and the last one I took. Aubrey was so excited to be finished with the shoot and let me know.

31 week check-up

Silly pregnancy brain. I just realized today that I forgot to add an entry for my 31 week check-up. From last Tuesday. Mason is proving to be even more uncooperative as time goes on. He refused to be still for the CMA who was trying to get his heart rate. As soon as she would get in on the doppler he would move. She  never could get it on doppler for the full 10 seconds or so, but her best guess was the heart rate was around 145. This visit was a little annoying because all of the Presbyterian Healthcare practices have switched to a new medical record and I overheard the doctors talking in the hall about how slow they were going with it. My appointment was at 9:15 and I didn't see Dr. Vuong until almost 10:10. Not fun waiting that long when it is kept ridiculously hot in the office and you are trying to entertain a 2-year old. Dr. Vuong said I am measuring right on track and everything looks great. I officially passed my gestational diabetes screening and the blood work they drew last visit looked awesome. I could tell she was a bit rushed in her visit so I didn't get a picture of her with Aubrey like I hoped, but I didn't want to hold her up anymore. Now, I  start going every other week for visits which should be loads of fun. I should only have about 5-6 more appointments though and that is great. We're getting so close!

November 7-13

The further I get in my pregnancy, the lazier I am becoming. When we decided that I would stay home with Aubrey I came up with all these grand ideas for things we would do together. Somehow I seemed to block out the memories of how huge and miserable I would be getting over time when I was thinking of these great ideas. Aubrey and I spent most of the week hanging out at the house due to my lack of energy and motivation to go out and I was pretty content with that until about Thursday afternoon. Cabin fever started setting in about that time so Friday morning I decided to surprise Aubrey with a trip to Monkey Joe's. She has never met an inflatable bouncer that she didn't like and Monkey Joe's was no exception. Girl has zero fear and wanted to go up in all of the impossibly high slides and jumps. I couldn't really get in there and help her so I just had to watch as she scaled these crazy things. It was pretty crowded since the schools were closed for Veteran's Day and it was hard to see her all the time so it made for a nerve wracking experience for me, but she had a blast and that's what was important. I had to drag her out of there crying so we could go eat, but promised we would come back and that seemed to help. We had a great lunch at McAlister's on the way home where she amazed me by asking for a salad for lunch. I don't know where I struck the goldmine of having a child that loves vegetables, but I am so glad I did. She inhaled her salad like it was pizza and I just watched in amazement. I won't argue with her veggie love and just hope that it sticks over time.

We enjoyed the gorgeous weather outside one afternoon and it looked like she was getting some yoga practice in.

Completely crappy point and shoot picture. But I had no desire to drag my super heavy camera around with me so this is the best I was able to get.

Proof that she was working hard on her salad.

I am really trying to enjoy these last few weeks of just Aubrey and me hanging out. I still don't think the reality has quite set in that we are adding a newborn to our mix soon. I love that Aubrey and I can go out and do so much or just hang out at the house and enjoy each other's company. I didn't enjoy my maternity leave with her like I should have because I was so exhausted and at loss of what to do with an infant. But, now I have this independent, helpful little girl that is so full of energy and I love it. I am sure we will adjust just fine once Mason is here, but I know I'll miss all the one-on-one time I've had with Aubrey recently. Only 8-ish weeks (or 5 if he would like to come as soon as he hits full term!)

Hope everyone has a great week!

October 31-November 6

Besides Halloween, this week was really low key. We got good news on Tuesday that the insurance company of the guy that hit Todd a few weeks ago had decided on a settlement for the truck and had a check ready for us. Todd picked the check up Wednesday afternoon and by 6:45 that evening we were pulling out of the dealership with a new Hyundai Elantra. The bittersweet part of the ordeal was on the way to the dealership, we passed Todd's truck loaded up on the back of a roll back pulling out the business park where the body shop is. Todd and I were both a sad to see it go. That was the first vehicle we purchased together and Todd really liked that truck. But, we've got a brand new car that is much more gas efficient so hopefully we can save some money in the long run and not have to worry about any serious maintenance for a while.

We finally purchased a membership to Discovery Place Kids after talking about it since Aubrey's birthday so I decided to put it to use on Thursday. Aubrey was a little overwhelmed at first, but she was having a blast by the time we had to leave. I thought it would be a little less crowded than a Saturday, but I was so wrong. There were several school groups there as well as a bunch of other preschoolers and it was super busy. But, we had a good time and Aubrey was so upset to leave. I decided a pizza lunch was necessary to brighten her sad little face and it worked like a charm. Between her busy play time and full belly, she napped like a champ so I was pretty happy all around.

Saturday, we made the drive back to Concord to see how Mason would cooperate with another 3D ultrasound. He did give us about 4 minutes of cooperation, which we will take after last weekend's complete refusal to show his face. He is all about having his hands at his face and we saw him sucking his thumb several times. He even smiled and stuck his tongue out to us for a second, which was pretty cute to see. I am a little sad that the pictures didn't turn out as clear as Aubrey's 3D ultrasound, but we got to see him 2 times in a little over a week so that's what was important. Right now, Todd and I think he looks a lot like Aubrey, but we'll have to see how that turns out. Its hard to believe we will be seeing that cute little face for real in around 9 weeks or so. Scary but exciting at the same time.

In other Mason developments, this week I started feeling the big rolling movements going on my uterus more than punches and kicks. I don't remember feeling this much movement with Aubrey. I'm not sure if having an anterior placenta blocked the movement with her or if she just stayed more in one place. But, not this little guy. He is all over my uterus and sometimes its pretty funny to watch. Other times its a little painful because he stretches out my belly with all the movement. Todd is thrilled to be able to see the big movements and had a grand ol' time thumping my belly to see Mason punch/kick back. And Mason makes it even more fun by waiting until I am ready to go to sleep to get cranked up. His most active time is definitely at night, including the 4:00 AM hour when I usually wake up to go to the bathroom. We are going to have to do some serious work on his sleeping and waking hours when he gets here because this late night party will not be so fun at that point. But, for now I am just trying to enjoy and appreciate what I can.

Its hard to see, but he was smiling and sticking his tongue out here.

One of the better shots of his face

Hope everyone has a great week!

Halloween

We were pretty excited about Halloween this year because Aubrey was starting to catch on to the idea of what Halloween is. Halloween started with our trip to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. Following that trip, we put the pumpkins on the counter until we could carve/decorate them. Every time Aubrey would see the pumpkin she would ask us when we could decorate them. So when the time came for us to get them down and get to work, she was ecstatic.

She wasn't so sure about Todd pulling out the pumpkin guts, but watched him intently.

She loved coloring on her pumpkin.



The final products


On Sunday was started making Halloween cookies and Aubrey loved helping to cut them out.


She was so excited to put her costume on and go outside.


The excitement stopped when she got the first door and her shyness took over. This was as close the first door as she would get. And forget about saying trick-or-treat. So glad our neighbor was understanding.


Then we met up with our next door neighbor's daughter who showed Aubrey how its done.


By the next house, Aubrey was running to hit the doorbell.


After she finished trick-o-treating, she hung out with me and helped with handing out candy. I really believe she enjoyed that more than anything.

So, I will say I have a renewed love of Halloween. Its so much more fun with a toddler who understands it a little bit and gets so excited.