Thursday, August 30, 2012

Baby Olivia at 30 weeks

We had our 30 week ultrasound this morning, and Olivia is right on track for her gestational age.  My due date is still set for November 8th.  Right now Olivia weighs approximately 3 lbs 7 oz.  We go back in 4 weeks for one more follow up to ensure her growth is still on track.  In the meantime here are a few pictures of our littlest princess.

Sweet little face.


Perfect profile.

 
Foot.  She was trying to suck on her toes. 


The best 3D shot they could get of her.


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Autumn, the TV Star

Last week we were interviewed by ABC 13's Christi Myers for a story on pediatric anaesthesia.  Last night they aired the story and Autumn got to see herself on TV.

Autumn, the TV Star

I think the fame went to her head, because she was a little bit of a diva at dinner last night.  She screamed, bit and hit Mommy.  Maybe she was just worn out from a long first day of school. 

Anyways, hope y'all enjoy seeing our little princess on TV.

Friday, August 24, 2012

What's going on these days . . .

Less than a month until it is officially fall.  I can't wait!  I've already broken out my Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Bubble Bath.  Autumn even took a bath with it last night. 

Love this stuff!

I've also started burning my fall candles.  I absolutely love fall.  It is my favorite time of year.  Now, if the weather will just cool down sometime in the next month :-)  My goal is to be able to legitimately wear my boots before this pregnancy is over.  Can't wear boots when the highs are still in the 90's.

We only have 10 weeks and 6 days (not that I'm counting) until Olivia's due date.  You may have noticed that I don't post any pregnancy pics on here (or facebook).  I'm just not one of those people who takes pictures of my ever expanding waistline.  I do promise to put up at least one good belly picture before Olivia gets here.  For now though I am happy to say that my weight gain has been right on track for the "normal" range (about 20 lbs at 29 weeks).  This is a huge deal to me since I gained a lot (45 lbs) with Autumn and wanted to avoid that this time around.  At this time last pregnancy I had already gained over 30 lbs.  I was pretty happy when I bought a new dress this week in a Small from the regular women's section at Old Navy (not maternity).  I haven't been working out the last two weeks or so though, so I need to get back to it soon.  I've just been too tired in the evenings to do anything at all.  Once I get Autumn in bed I head to bed myself.



My size Small dress.  Just imagine it with a big bump.
I feel like I have so much to do over the next 10+ weeks and I am just not very motivated to do it.  I need to finish planning Autumn's 2nd birthday party, organize/clean up our spare room, organize/clean up the study, which is supposed to become Olivia's room, and just generally declutter our house to make room for another little person.  Andrew has much more work to do, but that's another story.

Autumn's birthday invitation, to be mailed soon.

I bought supplies to try to make these for Autumn's party. 
I am not very crafty, so wish me luck!
Andrew is working a lot these days.  Usually August through September 15th I can expect to see him for dinner only on Friday - Sunday nights.  The rest of the week he gets home well past midnight.  Autumn and I have been calling him when she goes to bed, so she can say "night night Dada".  She still calls him Dada, not Daddy. 


I think Autumn and I need a couple of these shirts.
We generally spend our evenings with my Mom or both of my parents.  They take really great care of Autumn and I during Andrew's busy seasons.  On Monday, Autumn and I had dinner, frozen yogurt and playtime with Papa.  Autumn even fell in the fountain at the Town Square.  She loved it!

Autumn loves playing in the Town Square.
Autumn is starting to talk so much these days.  Some new words include: wipes, bug (she saw a bug  crawling across her floor last night and pointed it out to me), and bow.  I think she is starting to string some words together, but I still have a tough time deciphering all she says.  Her favorite words are still Mommy and Minnie, although bow and baby are said pretty frequently these days too. 

On Tuesday night we had "meet the teacher night" at Autumn's school.  I really like her school.  Her teachers are all great.  She has loved Ms. Sonia and Ms. Trini this past year and I'm sure she will miss them a lot, although she will only be next door.  Currently there are only 8 kids in her classroom with 2 teachers.  I think 2 more kids may be enrolling before Monday, but still I am very happy with that ratio of kids to teachers.

Autumn's old classroom.
On Wednesday night my Mom and I took Autumn to Pottery Barn Kids.  My Mom was looking for a highchair for Autumn's baby doll and she found one there.  Autumn played in the store for probably an hour.  She loved the play kitchen and the jogging stroller for the baby dolls.  She kept stacking the plastic cups on the table and then putting them in the shopping cart and back again.  I ended up buying her the shopping cart for her birthday.  Shhh, don't tell her it's coming.  My Mom already gave her the highchair for her baby doll this week and she LOVES it.  She puts "baby" in the chair and then pretends to feed her.  "Baby" also has to sit next to her when she eats.  Too cute!
Autumn's birthday present.

Baby highchair.
In other news, Autumn (and Andrew and I) will be on TV on Monday evening.  We were interviewed this week about Autumn's experience with pediatric anaesthesia when she had her tubes put in back in March.  Apparently a new study has asserted that there may be a link between language and developmental delays and pediatric anaesthesia in children under 3.  Texas Children's was interviewed about the study by ABC News (Channel 13) and they were asked to recommend a family who has had a good experience with pediatric anaesthesia to be interviewed.  Due to our family medical connections (Papa and Tio are both anaesthesiologists) we were the first family to come to mind.  Andrew and I both stated that we were comfortable with the anaesthesia in Autumn and that we would recommend other parents consulting with their pediatrician and other doctors involved before going into any surgery.  We actually both believe that Autumn would have had language delays if she had not had her tubes put in.  Her hearing test prior to the surgery was horrible!  She had so much fluid in her ears that she could barely hear.  She didn't really even start saying simple things like "Mama" and "Dada" until after her surgery.  We have since seen a huge improvement in her language skills.  Be on the lookout for her interview on Monday at 6PM on Channel 13.  You can also view it on-line after it airs.  I will try to remember to post a link to the video.

That's about all that is going on with us these days.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sweet Hugs

This morning Autumn came up to me and gave me my workout headband.  I had left it sitting on the coffee table last night and she found it and thought I needed to wear it.  After she handed it to me I put it on and she wrapped her little arms around my legs and hugged me.  Then she proceeded to pat my legs during the hug.  You know, one of those good Southern hugs where the person hugging you also pats you on your back, instead this was around my legs.  I caught her hugging "Racky", her stuffed raccoon, like this the other day.  Love it!  Autumn is such a sweetie!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

22 Months

On Sunday Autumn was 22 months old.  Only two more months until she is 2!  Time is flying by very quickly.  I absolutely love this stage with Autumn.  She is so fun.  Her personality is really starting to develop.  Here are a few things about Autumn lately:
  • Weight - around 24.5 lbs
  • Height - no idea, but she seems to be getting taller.  Her "skinny jeans" are getting way too short.
  • Shoe Size - Officially in a size 6.
  • Clothes Size - She is starting to wear a lot of 2T's, but more so in pants.  2T skirts and shirts still look big on her and I tend to buy more 18-24 month clothes, while everyone else tends to buy her more 2T clothes.  Grandma has bought her and Olivia a couple of matching outfits for the fall and winter.  I can't wait to see them together.
  • Words - Autumn is starting to talk more, but she still uses sign language and physical cues (i.e. grabbing your hand and leading you) to get what she wants a lot of the time.  She is repeating more words lately too.  This week she started yelling "Mommy" when I come home from work.  I absolutely love seeing the excitement on her face when she sees me.  I also realized this month that what I thought she was saying "shoes" was actually "juice."  She actually says both words, but they sound the same, so I have to ask her what she really wants.
  • Activities - She loves to swim, ride her rocking horse, watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (or Minnie as she calls it), sweep or clean up the house, play beauty shop (complete with pretend spraying detangler in my hair), and hug Bubba (Cooper).
  • Autumn still loves Minnie and all things Disney.  She also likes Sesame Street and Elmo and Abby.
  • Eating - Autumn has been eating really well lately.  Her school reports frequently say she ate "most" or "all" or her food rather than just "some".  She particularly loves ice cream.
  • We are starting to work on potty training.  I am taking it slow for a couple of reasons.  1. She still can't pull her own pants up or down, although she is working on it, 2. she still doesn't always tell us when she needs to go or when she does have a wet/dirty diaper (sometimes she straight up lies when we ask her about this), 3. I am not home with her to work on it, and 4. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to give up diapers.  Having to stop and go potty all of the time seems like as much work as changing diapers, if not more.  My general plan is to have her potty trained by the time I go back to work from maternity leave.  This would be sometime in December.  For now I let her wear panties some in the evenings before bed (if we're home and not out and about) and some on the weekends.  I'll frequently ask her if she needs to use the potty and she is pretty good about saying yes when she does.  Only 2 accidents so far.  Many successes too!  She is always so proud of herself when she does go to the potty.  She gets a sticker and does the potty dance afterwards :-)
  • Autumn loves to say "No!".  She rarely says yes, and when she does it is always with a nod of the head rather than the actual word.  Tio loves asking her "do you want some beer?"  She always says yes (with a nod), even though she will say "no" to almost any other question.  (Just to clarify she never actually receives any beer.)
Autumn, you are sweet, fun, caring, and loving.  I am enjoying every minute with you.  Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

Here are some pics from the last month:

Mommy and Autumn with matching shoes.


Frozen yogurt courtesy of Tio.


On her way to watch Daddy compete in his first triathlon.


Eating a family dinner at Benihana's for
cousin Cathy's nursing school graduation.


Mommy and Autumn at dinner.


Mommy and Autumn after playing beauty shop
(notice Mommy's frazzled hair).
 The next 2 months are about to be very busy for us.  Daddy will be working A LOT for the next month.  (A lot of dinners out with Grandma and Grandpa are in store)  And then after the big Sept. 15th deadline Andrew will be taking off some time from work to do a lot of work on the house to get ready for Olivia's arrival.  I'll be working with Grandma to get ready for Autumn's big birthday party.  To top it off Autumn's little cousins (Lilah and Liliana) should be here sometime in the next month or so.  Busy, busy busy!!