The promised pictures

Here are some of the pictures I promised last time...although, no ultrasound ones, as we can't find a scanner...they are kind of grainy and ultrasoundy anyways...

We have had another busy week. Last Friday night we had a fun day-after-Valentines dinner with Nana, Elizabeth, Scottie, Kitty Scott and Dicky. Alden thought wearing Nana's stacking basket as a fez was the coolest. Go figure. She had her second swim lesson that morning and got to float on a noodle, and push a kickboard around to collect little animals. We have hit the pool a couple more times this week, and she is having a great time practicing her kicking and reaching.

We went to the park on Saturday, and enjoyed the lovely warm weather. Lily had an impromptu dunking in the creek, when she jumped in off the bank and the water was a little deeper than she expected. It was really funny to see her running back and forth on the other side trying to figure out how to get across. We walked down a little ways, and found a good fording spot for her, since she is "not that strong a swimmer". It was not funny to have to give her an impromptu bath when we got home. Oh well.

Sunday, I was able to get away to the barn for a few hours to watch a clinic. It was sooooo good to be away from the house, and back around the horses. Another girl is taking over with Misty, so I am happy to know that she is getting ridden. I miss it though, and look forward to getting back in the saddle after this FINAL pregnancy.

Speaking of FINAL, as if we didn't have any question about it to begin with, the lack of sleep with this pregnancy is enough to keep me from doing it again. I am trying to be good and sleep on my side, and as a result, toss and turn all night and wake up with a sore back. I have been able to feel Hudson moving quite a bit, although Matt can't feel him very reliably. Alden is really sweet about the baby and wants to listen to my belly with her stethescope and make "shh, shh" sounds like his heartbeat.

We have decided that she is in for a shock with a new baby coming. She is entering the "That-is-mine-and-I-am-not-sharing" phase, which seems to be going around our playgroup, and extends to not sharing the tortillas chips with Mom and Dad. She is pretty bossy, and obviously, gets a lot of attention from Matt and I. Move over, Big Sister.

Alden has been into singing lately. She will let you know which song, through signs and "words", and is especially fond of "If you're happy and you know it" and "Little Bunny Foo-Foo". She likes to "sing" on her own, too, and is quite the dancer. This afternoon, we were watching the Dancing with the Stars people on Oprah, and she wanted me to get up and dance with her. It was really cute.

And the baby is...

...A BOY!!!!

We had our doctor's appointment today, and our ultrasound which left little doubt that Number 2 is a little boy. We are excited and thankful that he looks healthy and that we have lots of new boy things to figure out. I have to be honest and say we are a little intimidated, too. Having another girl seemed like it would be a little easier...

This past week has gone by quickly. Last weekend, we went to Raleigh to enjoy some time with my family, and a little R&R as we turned Alden over to Grammy and Auntie Amber. I extended my stay through yesterday, which helped pass the time before our much awaited appointment.

Alden is wild and will probably do really well with a little brother to knock around. She is starting to assert her almost 2 year old temper, and is not afraid to tell us no ("mo") or to yell at Lily when she gets too close to her snack. She is also starting to bite some, which sometimes seems like a game for her to bite, then kiss us and say she is sorry. I would appreciate any advice about the biting...she has already gotten some spankings.

Some of her other antics lately include riding her bike at Grammy's and wanting to run up and down the street while someone else pushes her bike. Amber and I made a lot of laps up to our neighbor, "Mr. Hollywood's" boat that was parked outside his house this past weekend. She is slowly starting to say some more words, including: bo-oat, moon, Amber, and lemonade (na-nade). She got a book called "Tails" this weekend, and is terrified of the skunk page. We have been trying to tell her that skunks are usually friendly, especially the smiley one in the book, and she is slowly warming up to it. She loves to hold our hands when we walk, counting "nie, nie, nie" to be swung in the air, and is always reminding us to pray before meals.

The other morning she got up and asked where Matt was and I told her he was at work. She wanted to pray for him, since we usually do that before he leaves in the morning. It was really sweet, and amazing that she picks up on that.

Two weekends ago, we went to a super bowl party at our friends Ben and Kristen's house. We experimented with putting Alden down in a pack and play at their house, which worked out really nicely. We've also had a fun night with Matt's work friends and their wives, as well as a night babysitting for Bill and Ashley's daughter Ella.

Another one of Alden's latest things is wanting to lay down and have someone cover her with a blanket so she can "sleep" for 5 seconds and then pop up again. She has also made it to the potty a couple more times, and one night didn't quite make it to the potty, and peed on the floor. The visits to the potty are still sporadic, but when she wants to try, we figure we might as well indulge her.

We have had one swim lesson and go back tomorrow for our second. Alden loves the water and has since remembered how to reach and kick, and likes to talk about the ducks she got to play with. She learned how to get out of the pool by herself, and how to wait until Mom counts to three to get in off of the side.

I will post some pictures to complement this shortly. Maybe we can even find a place to scan some ultrasound photos...

January Recap

So much for resolutions...Here I am at the beginning of February having to rack my brain to remember what has happened the past few weeks.

We had a quick visit from Matt's parents; they just came up Saturday and left Sunday the weekend after my last post. It was good to see them, and Matt fixed the most AMAZING pork loin on the grill. YUM!

The next week, my mom was in town for work, and she and her friend Carol graciously agreed to babysit Alden so Matt and I could go out with our friends Ben and Kristen. It was SO good to get out and have adult conversation, and to eat without cutting up someone else's food, or picking said food up off the floor. We had a great dinner at Macaroni Grill, and kept the party going at the Starbucks nearby. It was really hard to come home. We hadn't had a night out in a while!

I just noticed that I seem to be talking about food a lot...maybe that is because instead of morning sickness, all I can think about is eating pizza and Mexican food. Like a Meat Lovers Pizza, and an enchilada combo. MMMM.

We had dinner at Nana's with Mom and Carol the next night, and then Thursday, they drove Alden and I back to Raleigh with them. Char/Meck schools cancelled class that day because of some possible ice (which I know will make our friends in Colorado laugh) and Mom and Carol didn't end up having their last day of class!

That morning, Matt and Alden and I got to go to the doctor and finally hear the baby's heartbeat. At first Alden was a little nervous about the nurse using the doppler thing on mom's belly, but she eventually could even make the shh-shh sound of the heartbeat herself. It was reassuring to know the baby was ok, especially after my mom and Amber with all of their worst case scenario thoughts.

Our time in Raleigh was SO good and SO relaxing. Matt ended up joining us on Saturday since he had a walk that morning, and we got to do a lot of kicking back, and watching TV. We got to see Jess and her kids at the Duprees on Saturday night, which was a highlight. I have my fingers crossed for them to hurry up and move to Charlotte!

Our friends Courtney and Tom welcomed their little baby boy Colton to the world on the 23rd. I don't think Court will mind me saying this, but she is a STUD and delivered him, all 9 punds 8 ounces without any drugs. WOW. We went to see them the next night, althought our best intentions of bringing Chik-Fil-A were squashed when the one on the hospital campus closed at 3, and we had to settle for Sbarra from the cafeteria. Alden had a great time playing with Avery, their 2 year old daughter, and we enjoyed holding Cole. It is hard to believe we will be in their shoes in a few more months!

Two weekends ago, we enjoyed a long weekend with Matt, who had Friday off, and were so thankful to have a break in the cold to get outside. I think I was starting to get cabin fever from all the cold, rainy days.

And that brings us to last week...our big news is that Alden went Pee on the potty on Thursday! This is an isolated incident, and not something that has happened since, but we were pumped! She came in and wanted her overalls and diaper off, and was reading a book. I had to run and get socks out of the dryer, because we were in a hurry to get to the Y, and I hear this "Da-da-da-da!" from the potty. I thought maybe she just stepped in it, but lo and behold, she had peed! She was really excited and wanted to tell Daddy, Grammy, and Auntie Amber about it. Like I said, it may not happen again for a while, and Lord knows I am not ready to pursue full-time potty training, but at least she has the idea!

This weekend was great. I got to watch a clinic at the barn on Saturday, and finally get a horse fix again, and Sunday we had a great time enjoying the 70 degree temps at the park. The south is a great place in that respect...I may have another opinion in August.

I am going to go ahead and post this...Will promise to update more soon. Seriously promise.