Little Fish

Let's pick up with our trip to Aiken. We had a quick, but good trip to Aiken two weekends ago. Matt got to see a civil war reenactment with his dad, I got to get out to see a horse show, and Alden got to play with he Grandma and Grandpa. They had gotten some fun toys for their house, which were a huge hit. And saves us having to lug another bag for next time. Matt and I got to have a dinner out by ourselves at his old place of employ, Ruby Tuesday, which had been completely redone inside. There was only one other guy Matt recognized, but as we reflected on it, it has been almost 2 YEARS since we were there! Wow! The event I went to was great - got to see some famous event people, and was encouraged by the number of older (read: older than 50) people competing. As much as I am missing riding now, it is encouraging to think that if I am still riding at 50 that is 20 years from now. I can learn a lot in that amount of time!

We had to come back early from Aiken for Matt to work at the Hilton on Sunday night, and I think that God knew I needed some company. Nana called and took Alden and I to dinner, and spent the evening with us doing the bath routine and watching the Oscars. It was great to spend time with her, especially after I had been dreading spending the evening alone with Alden.

This past week was busy, filled with our usual playgroups, library, and Y time. Alden is starting to say "Y", and is getting better about going. She had her last swim lesson for the month on Friday, and did a great job with her reaching, kicking and bubbles. Miss Tracy said she was doing great, and we will look forward to starting lessons again in April. Matt had gone with us earlier in the week and could see a big difference in what she has learned, climbing in and out of the pool, monkeying down the side with her hands, and holding a kickboard. She will float on her back with a duck balancing on her tummy sometimes, although please don't think she can do any not-touching-the-wall things without support. She is not a fish yet, but was really proud of her certificate of completion that she received from Miss Tracy.

Friday afternoon, we made an impromptu stop at the doctor's office after Alden had some crusty eye stuff that day. Turns out, she had pink eye, athlete's foot, and a paci rash, which all together makes for a crusty, infectious little girl. She got some medicine, and although she doesn't like having her eyedrops administered, she seems to get a kick out of putting them in our eyes, her animals, etc. She talks a lot about the doctor, and was really good for Dr. Courtney to check out all her boo-boos.

Alden is a big jumper lately...and somersaulter. She loves to dance and sing songs, and jumps up and down a lot. Today, as we were leaving Bible Study, she jumped over all the cracks in the sidewalk. This did mean that it took about 15 minutes to walk 30 yards to the car, but I was feeling gracious.

Last Friday, I got to shop early at the Y's consignment sale, and found some great little boy outfits for Hudson. It was sad to not look at little baby girl clothes, because they are so much cuter, but I need to accept that it will be fun to buy blue things, too. I found a few things for Alden and a really cute sundress for myself. Saturday morning I was up uncharacteristically early to volunteer for said consignment sale, and ended up having a great time. Besides the free Krispy Kremes, I met a neat lday named Bobbi who has 4 horses and 3 kids, and invited me to ride anytime after Husdon is born, or to come and see her 2 miniature horses with Alden before then. Hopefully, we won't be here then, but we really hit it off and I am always looking for a chance to ride!

Speaking of not being here long, Alden and I had lunch with our realtor Pam on Friday, too, and lowered the price of our house. Things are not moving at all in our neighborhood, and we are prayerful and hopeful that things will pick up this spring. We are also trying to be patient and enjoy Charlotte, and where we are, and looking for the purpose in our time here. Who knows, God's plans could be much different than what we are thinking, and probably are.

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.

Alden's Latest Tricks

I needed to blog soon so I wouldn't forget some of Alden's latest things...

- She is really interested in the picture album of her first 4 months (and the onlly album I have actually printed pictures off for) She likes to look at all our family and even finds the picture of Dr. Christie, and says "Doctor"...except any word with the "k" sound in it, ends up with a pause...like "da - pause- er".

- The past week she has been going to get a diaper and coming to me and laying down to be changed. Most of the time, she wants to be changed in the corner of her room between the crib and the window. Strange.

- She has really enjoyed "dancing" her babies around to the ABC song on the leapfrog fridge thing. And today on our walk, she was dancing the baby to the "Diaper Dance" song from Baby Signs. The only thing that distiguished it from Alden's other "songs" was the "whooo" at the end. The last part of the song goes "jump it, bump it, dump it, whoo". She has been doing the whoo all by herself lately.

- The other night, she had a bottle of saline nose drops and would act like she was putting some on her hands, rub them together, and then rub them on her face. We thought maybe she was putting on aftershave like Matt, or maybe washing her face like me. Who knows???

- Alden's favorite Christmas presents are definitely her books. She loves the alphabet books from Grandma and Grandpa, and is always asking to read. She also really likes the book about the New Baby, and the Sesame Street book about heroes. I am about ready to hide the hero book. I think we read it 6 times today.

- Just the past week, she has been reaching for our hands to hold. Walking in the hall at the Y, coming down the stairs, leading us into another room (most likely towards her books). It is really cute and melts our hearts.

- During my shower today, she sat on her potty (completely clothed) the whole time and read books out loud to herself.

We joined the Y this past week, which is a great Christmas present from the Wyatts. Alden and I went swimming the first day, and she did not want to get out, even though her lips were purple. It is an indoor pool, but it was a little chilly. Maybe because it was 26 degrees outside! What is up? However, our subsequent visits have been short, due to Alden's screaming hysterically in the child care room. The other night, the girl with the white board came to find Matt, and tonight, I ended up getting her during break from Zumba class. She better get used to staying there pretty soon, because Matt and I are really pumped about getting to work out!

This past Friday night, we had dinner at Nana's house with Kitty Scott and Dickie. Alden has been scared of Uncle Dickie for some reason, but finally warmed up to him. By the end of the night, they were big buddies.

The weekend went by fast. We enjoyed getting to be outside now that the weather has turned to a more appropriate 70 degrees, and even got Cold Stone as a treat on Sunday.

Today, Alden and I went to the mall. She was so good, and I had a great time with her. I know I have said this, but since Christmas, she seems so much older. I am trying to really be intentional about enjoying this time with her before the baby comes, knowing it will never be just us again. She is starting to feel more like a friend than a responsibility, which is fun. Although, I think we may be starting to get a glimpse of the terrible twos.

And did I mention?

That we are expecting another child? I keep meaning to make a special post for that announcement, and I never do it. Knowing my blogging history, I know you are not surprised.

Our first visit to the doctor was right before Thanksgiving, and we were able to tell our families. Alden sported an "I'm the Big Sister" T-shirt when my family showed up on Wednesday night, and it took them about 10 minutes, and finally some prompting from us, to get it. They were thrilled, of course. Ashley and Nana showed up a little later, and Ashley said "So what does that mean? I don't get it." And here we thought we had spelled it out pretty clearly.

We had to email Matt's parents the picture since they were visiting Leigh and Eric in Phoenix. They, too, were excited, but a little puzzled at first. We didn't realize it was going to be such a shock and surprise!

It sounds like the due date is July 19, which sounds unbelievably far off, and very close all at the same time. It is really hard for us to think about repeating another first year, but, ultimately, we didn't want Alden to be an only child.

My second doctor's visit was December 20th and I had to sit and talk with the nurse about health history, what to eat, not eat, etc, and I got my blood drawn. Alden was so good during the long visit, and even did the "hurt" sign when she saw me get my blood drawn. That night, when I was telling Matt how good she had been at the doctor, she did the sign again, and signed "mom". I told her it didn't hurt anymore, and she seemed satisfied with that.

Luckily, I am being spared from morning sickness again, but have still been pretty tired. However, I am almost 12 weeks now, so hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, that will go away...at least for a few months.

Our next visit is in a couple weeks, and we are anxiously awaiting getting to hear the heartbeat. We should be able to find out the sex sometime in February, hopefully around Valentine's Day. It will be fun to have an identity for "Number 2" and to have time to think of some girls names, if necessary. We didn't really have any back-ups after "Alden".

New Year's Resolution...

... TO POST ON BLOG MORE OFTEN SO I AM NOT TRYING TO RECAP A MONTH AT A TIME.

That said, I am starting where I left off, which was us heading to Aiken for the weekend to spend with Matt's parents. It was great to be down there again, and to see Grandma and Grandpa, since it had been a while. We got to hike in the woods, walk around the bay/dried up pond, and enjoy relaxing. A highlight was getting to visit with our good friends, The Bagby's, who are on YL staff in Aiken, and were so kind to us during our time there. Alden had a great time playing with their 4 kids, and harassing their cat. Other highlights from the weekend include Alden climbing in and out of her booster seat like it was the coolest thing in the world, eating at Fatz...YUM, Lily bounding out of the house to greet next door neighbor Jan, her husband, and their dog Sunny, reading books with Grandma, and turning the lights in Grandma and Grandpa's room on and off, on and off.

After the weekend, it was crazy how quickly Christmas crept up on us. We had couple play dates that week, and Jessica, Rob, Lydia and Miles dropped by for a quick visit while they were in Gastonia. Matt's parents came up to our house on Friday and graciously agreed to babysit while we headed to my friend Stacy's house for a Christmas get together. It was a blast to stand around and have adult conversations with my playgroup friends and their husbands, without being interrupted every 10 seconds, or having to run off and intervene in a toddler crisis. We filled the weekend with making Christmas cookies, visiting Matt's new model homes and neighborhoods, watching football, and just enjoying the Christmas season. It was great to get to go to our church again after a couple weekends away, and we were so thankful there ended up being a nursery for Alden. Christmas Eve service would have been pretty short for us if she had to join in. We had an incredible Christmas Eve dinner - Matt grilled out steak and salmon, and we all ate too much.

Christmas morning was a fun, as we all got up and opened presents, and had a great french toast breakfast. Alden let me down a little, because I was expecting her to just tear through her presents and be so excited...after all, one of her gifts is destruction. She opened her first present, a box of Alphabet book, and was so enraptured, that we ended up unwrapping the rest for her. She got a ton of books, which is great, and some really cute clothes from Matt's parents. After breakfast, we headed to the park to walk off some of the french toast and to let Alden play on the playground. She had a blast going up the stairs and down the slides...kind of surprising us since the swing is usually her favorite.

Christmas afternoon, we all headed to Nana's house for the festivities and craziness that take place there. It was such a good break for me to be trumped by Grammy as the go-to person for Alden. I am so thankful that she chooses my mom over me! I need it! Matt, Dillon, and Scottie played tag in the yard, and Alden had a great time with cousin Scottie. The traditional spaghetti casserole was on the menu, as well as a lot of great snacks. Yum, yum. Being together with everyone on Christmas and Thanksgiving is really what makes those days seem like holidays to me. Our time at Nana's is always so special.

The day after Christmas, we packed up the car and headed to Raleigh. We had a mini-Christmas with my family, and Alden was a little more into the present deal. I think it took her a while to get into the swing of things. She got a baby doll and stroller from Santa, and a grocery cart from Grammy's friend Marcia, which were the highlights of the day. That night, we went to my friend Kristen's house for a high-school-friend gathering. It was great to see Mendi and Colleen's new babies, and to enjoy a night out without ours!

The week at my parents was sooooo relaxing. My mom and Ashley completely took over the care and maintenance of Alden. Matt and I were able to get out and see a movie, and do some returning at the mall and REI...where, by the way, I snagged some sweet shoes at the garage sale.

Alden seemed to really grow up over Christmas, and just seems a lot older to me. She surprised us a couple times, saying "Chocolate" "Amber", "Rainbow egg", "Hot dog", among others. This is not to say she says these things all the time, but a few occasions, they just came out perfectly. She spent a lot of time running up and down the greenway, and "riding" her tricycle. She was also very interested/concerned about boo-boos. At dinner one night, my dad had a bandaid on his knuckles, and Alden was talking, talking about something. Finally, we pieced together "boo-boo" and "Pop-pop". Then, she kept bringing it up for the next couple days.

We came back late on Sunday night, since Matt had to work on Monday. On the way home, I was reaching back to get Alden something, and my seat started reclining and smashed her leg before I could stop it. She wasn't hurt, and didn't cry, but then preceded to talk/sign about for the next half hour. Like I didn't feel bad about it already. Why do I feel like we are moving into a stage of hearing the same stories over and over?

New Year's Eve, we went to my Aunt Vickie's for dinner and a bonfire. Alden had a blast seeing their animals, and it was fun to visit with them and spend time at their place. We got Alden a winter coat for Christmas, which is huge on her, and we all laughed a lot as she tried to waddle around, and would sometimes fall over and not be able to get back up. Maybe that is a little cruel, but it was hilarious. Dillon came back to our house for the night, and helped us take down Christmas decorations the next morning. It felt good to get the house somewhat back together, and all our bags unpacked. Now I have to figure out what to do about the toy situation.

New year's night we had our friends Bill and Ashley over for dinner. It was great to spend time with them and the first dinner where none of us were holding a child while we were eating. Hallelujah! Alden and Ella played so well by themselves, and the parents definitely enjoyed it!

And that brings us to today, our first day back in the groove. Alden was a super-fuss today...Like she had her paci basically all day. It really made me wish that we still had a lot of people around to pass her off to. We went to our first class at the Rea Road library, which she enjoyed after some initial skepticism, and did our grocery shopping. We read almost every book in her room, and she really made me laugh pushing my cell phone around in her stroller. She has started linking signs together, and tonight signed "Dad" "Wash" and "Pacifier" when Matt was washing hers off. Thank goodness she is finally in bed though...it is a hard adjustment for mom to go back to being solo during the day!