First Day of (pre) School

Addison is officially a pre-schooler. Pre-school started today and she is back where she was going this summer. She is only going three days a week - MWF - for three hours a day. We thought that was plenty as next year, I am sure, she will be going five days a week - and the following year is kindergarten. (WHAT?!?!?)

We had an open house with her teacher in her classroom on Friday. And to be honest, at this point I am trying to keep an open-mind about the teacher. I have heard some less that favorable reports on her from friends whose kids had her last year. At this point, I have no opinion on her since I haven't really had a chance to talk to her. Friday as well as this morning was a ZOO!!!

But Addison was excited about this morning. She was in our room at 7 asking to go to school, and 7 is early for her. I guess as long as Addison is happy and loving it, it probably doesn't matter if I like her teacher or not.

I will say though for as excited as she was, she told Charlie on the way there she was scared and even acted a little timid when we got to her classroom. Very odd behavior for her. But as soon as she saw the toys and the other kids, she was good to go. I am just hoping the day went ok...

Hurricane Irene

Like most of the country - the East Coast anyway - we were very interested to see what Hurricane Irene was going to end up doing and where it would go.

Forecasters kept saying all week how bad it would be. How strong it would be - even going as far as saying it would get as high as a Cat 4 at one point. At first we were worried about it coming here and since we live only a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes are a real possibility for us. However once the track changed, the forecaster's than started saying it would impact almost the entire East Coast, we now had a new reason to worry.

We still own a house from when we were stationed in Virginia. And although, Chuck's mom rents it from us, we are still - obviously - responsible for it. Because it ended up being a Cat 2 by the time it got to VA, Kathie evacuated to Chuck's sister's house in Richmond to wait out the storm. Knowing they would all be safe together, we both were very concerned about the house. The house itself sits in a low-risk flood area so while we weren't worried too much about flooding, there are a lot of trees in the yard and surrounding the house. This was one of the things that drew us to the house - even though it maybe should have detered us had we been thinking "hurricane" risk.

We were both pretty edgy of Saturday knowing the storm was sitting right over the house. Unlike Chuck, I wanted to know what was going on so I kept watching the news. Not like I was getting much information from the news, but I do have a few people that I used to work with at NNPS that live in our neighborhood who I am friends with on facebook. So I was able to (sort of) keep tabs on what was happening in the neighborhood a little bit.

Chuck's mom returned to the house yesterday (Sunday) to scope out the damage. She came home to no power and still has no power as of yet. There was a lot of debris in the front and back yard - tree limbs, branches, leaves, etc. - but we are so very lucky to report that nothing happened to the house. Phew! We are both so glad that is over with and even more anxious for 2013 to arrive so we can try and sell the house!!! We have enough things to worry about...

36 weeks

Here we are at 36 weeks and our due date is rapidly approaching. Although, I must admit time has seemed to slow down immensely over the last few weeks. I really wish it would just keep ticking away because I am ready to have this baby. I am so excited to have a little baby to love on - I just want to meet him. And not to mention not be pregnant in the miserable Florida heat anymore. (Forget the Florida heat, I am just ready to not be pregnant anymore, period.)

I am feeling very uncomfortable. Went to get a few things at Target this morning and it literally wiped me out - I seriously need a nap. I feel like all I do is sit or lay around anymore simply because too much activity makes my ankles and feet swell up like sausages and that isn't comfortable. He continues to move a lot, but mostly in the evening - especially when I lay on my right side. I can still feel his little booty under my right set of ribs so I am pretty sure his head is still down. My heartburn continues to get worse - bought my third bottle of Tums this morning, my second for the MONTH! I know the end is near so I am really trying to focus on that!

I have a doctor appointment on Friday, complete with ultrasound. Wouldn't it be fabulous if the induced me than??? Charlie has it in his mind they are going to. And I guess it isn't out of the realm of possibility as Addison was induced at 38 weeks. (By Friday, I will be almost 37 weeks along.) I have to admit it would be pretty cool to have him on Labor Day weekend since Addison came right around Memorial Day weekend.

Happy thoughts family and friends for a baby to come sooooooon!

One Proud Mama

I wanted to write this down today. A little bragging... But mainly, I write these things in my blog so I remember them years down the road. Addison is growing up so fast - as I know the next one will as well - and I don't want to forget milestones, etc. in her little life. I guess maybe that I why I keep a blog - so when she is 30 I can remember her when she was little.

On Monday, I decided to start working with Addie on her letters and their sounds. It is something that I have been meaning to do, but I was really waiting for her to get the alphabet down before we started. We started singing the alphabet with her a while ago and for the longest time she got the beginning and the end but missed a bunch in the middle. It has just been over the last few weeks she has really figured it out and can now sing the whole thing.

Today is now Friday, and I can proudly say that my little girl can not only sing the alphabet to the end, but she can also recognize MOST of the letters - large and small case - as well as most of their sounds. She doesn't have it down completely yet, but considering we only work on this for about a half hour - sometimes less - a day AND we only started 5 days ago, I am really impressed. She can also read the words dog, mom, and red.

There are two reasons I began this "project." The first reason is that she LOVES books and I noticed about a month ago when she would sit down with a book, she would make up her own words to the pictures. In talking with other moms, especially those with older kids who could read, I found that most felt that their kids did the same thing and were reading not long after. I just felt like she was ready to start the process of learning to read.

The second reason we began working with her like this is that we don't want her to be behind. Since she is our first, we weren't sure what would be expected from her when she starts pre-school next week. Our thinking was that either she would be equal to the progress of her classmates OR she would be ahead. Last night while Charlie was working with her, it occured to me to call my cousin Anne who owns a preschool at home. I told her where we were with Addison and what she has accomplished in the last few days. Anne reassured me that we are "way ahead" of the game with her.

I think the idea of getting her ahead is a good plan as we are a military family. I can't tell you how many older friends I have made along this journey who have had to move kids only to get them into a new school to find that they are "behind" where the new school thinks they should be. I know we will come across this at some point in our Air Force career, but I think it is a good practice to stay on top of her learning from an early age.

This may seem crazy to some, and let me reassure you all that I am not some crazy mom about this. She HONESTLY loves this... Now when we play she brings me her flash cards and wants to play the "alphabet" game. How can I ever say no to that? And we only work for about 15 minutes to a half hour - she often looses interest after that and I am not going to push the issue.

But, I do have to say, I am ONE PROUD MAMA!!!! She has done so much better than I could ever imagine she would.

Waterpark season ends

Panama City Beach has a regular waterpark - it's crowded and over priced. We don't go there.

However, they also have an "aquatic" center at one of the city parks. This aquatic center not only has an Olympic sized (outdoor) swimming pool, but also a great kids activity area that is GREAT for little ones. It has smaller slides, water guns, water falls, etc. and the water only gets to be about two feet. One of the greatest things about this little kiddie waterpark is that even if I am not with Addison, I can see her whereever she is. So I don't necessarily need to be in the water with her at all times - but with the heat, I am usually in the water not far from where she is.

Unfortunatley, this waterpark is only open a short period of time during the summer. It stays open longer on the weekends - which are chaotic, but is only open during the week while school is out here. (About mid-May through mid-August.) Bay County Schools start again this coming Monday, August 22nd so needless to say, this is the last week that the waterpark will be open weekdays. We are so going to miss going out there - we were trying to go at least once a week all summer. It is inexpensive and a great way for Addie to be outside and not have a heatstroke here. WE LOVE IT!!!!

Yesterday we headed out there for our last trip of the summer. We got there as it opened which is always the best time to get there. We met some friends out there so it was even more fun for us. Addie played for about an hour and half in the water before needing a break - a cookie and some water. And of course, and reapplication of sunblock. Sadly, this is where our fun ended...

As we were heading back to the water, Addie took off running. A huge NO NO there! I made her stop and walk but as she was just about to enter the water another little boy about her age came running and smacked right into her, knocking her down. She hit the pavement and immediatly started crying - which is unusual for her. (She isn't one to cry or fuss when she gets hurt.) I picked her up and went back to the table and noticed she was bleeding. Since I had nothing to clean her up with, I went to the first aid room where they cleaned up her scratches and put a band aid on her. And she really was fine - a couple a scrapes and a little blood. Nothing big considering the way she was carrying on. We went back to our table where she continued to howl and cry until I finally put her on my lap and rocked her a little. I thought she would stop and calm down and would want to get back out there and play, especially when her friend Hailey asked her to go back out in the water. But she never did - she just cried and cried "I want to go home!" (Also very unusual for her - she is never one to leave a "party" early.) After ten or fifteen minutes of this, I decided I would take her home. So we packed up and headed home - with an icecream cone stop on the way home. Miraculously, the icecream made her all better.

This story really isn't that blog-worthy except for this point. When the little boy knocked her down, he did not apologize, he just got up and ran to his mom. She happened to be about five feet away. Here is the kicker! I am not naieve enough to think my kid is never going to get hurt or knocked down. Nor do I automatically expect a three year old to know that an apology is expected. However, this kid's mother was five feet away and saw the whole thing. Not once did she make an attempt to apologize or ask if Addie was ok. This makes me angry! What ever happened to common curtosy? Is it really acceptable to let your child run over another kid like a train and not even ask if the other child is ok? Maybe I am expecting too much from people, but seriously! I would have been so embarrassed if the situation had been reversed and I certainly would have made sure the other kid was ok. And I would have apologized for Addison - she certainly doesn't understand the concept of apologizing, even though this is something we are working on. But adults understand the concept and should use it a little more often!!!! No wonder this country is such a freaking mess. No one cares about anyone else.

Forgot to add...

I forgot to add that our next appointment is Friday, September 2. Again, it will be an ultrasound. And from here on out we will see Tammi once a week.

The end is near my friends!

34 Week Check

Another doctor appointment, another ultrasound. Our day today. Over all, I felt it was a pretty standard appointment. He continues to grow like a horse - 6 lbs, 6 oz. today - up 12 oz. from his appointment two weeks ago. (FYI, Addison was 6 lbs, 7 oz when she was born.) His kidneys are bigger than they were at the end of June, but I am not to worried about it since he is bigger as well. My fluid levels were 'normal' but they were on the low side of normal. Also not something that surprises me since Addison was induced for this very problem. My weight has only gone up one pound in two weeks. It is still ugly, but at least we are at the point where I will only gain a little at a time now.

The ultrasound was pretty cool today. We could see that his eyes were open and that he was looking around. That was amazing. The tech could also tell that he has hair on his head. (This would explain the heartburn, if you believe that old wives tale.) We also got to see his ears, and the tech was able to tell that he peed while we were watching him. The tech also turned on the 3d ultrasound and while we couldn't see his whole face - he had his eyes covered by his arm/hand - we got to see his little nose, mouth and chin.

After our appointment, we went over to the hospital and took a tour of the maternity ward. I have to be honest, being there and seeing so many little babies around, made this whole thing very real. And made me really want to have this little guy join us. Overall, I liked the hospital and we relieved to see that ALL rooms - labor/delivery and recovery rooms are all individual. We were lucky at Langley to get our own room, but there was the chance we would have had to share a room. Not that I have a lot of experience with maternity wards, but it seemed pretty standard to me.

At this point - 34 weeks in - I would be very surprised to go to 40 weeks. I just have the feeling that we are a lot closer to being done than we think we are. And that is ok with me. It is hot and miserable and I am uncomfortable. And anxious. And excited!!!!! Can't wait to have a sweet little baby to love on.

34 Weeks

Today marks the 34 week mark. Theoretically, only 6 more to go - but honestly, I am hoping he comes early!

I am fairly certain in looking at the pictures that I have grown a ton over the last two weeks. Not only in the picture can you see it, but my old stretch marks from Addison have now returned, something that I noticed yesterday. My sleeping continues to be an issue - I wake up almost every morning around 5 and am awake for at least an hour. I have also noticed that my hips hurt after being on one side for any more than a half hour or so - which leaves me tossing and turning. Chuck even woke me up last night because the snoring has also returned. I have started having contractions at random times and random strength. This also happened with Addison at about 35 weeks - she was born at 38. This leads me to HOPE that we are three to four weeks away... I also feel like he is going to fall out of me at any moment...

We also met with the specialist a little over a week ago and I didn't blog about it. It was a very positive appointment. What we learned? His kidneys are still dilated, but are both the same size and have not grown since the last appointment a month ago. Because of this, the doctor told us he was still certain baby boy would have to have some sort of procedure after he is born, but that he (the doc) was comfortable not seeing us again. Mainly because from here on out at my regular doctor appointments I will be having ultrasounds and the appointments with her are now so frequent. We also learned that Mister Man is no longer sitting breech. He has turned and now has his head down. Still hoping for the same news when we go to our appointment/ultrasound this week.

The biggest thing that we learned at this appointment is that I am about to give birth to a baby moose. At 32 weeks, he was all ready weighing 5 lbs. 10 oz. Addison weighed 5 lbs, 15 oz coming home from the hospital. I could see Chuck sitting in the corner doing the math - adding a half pound a week for 8 weeks. He looked up with that deer in the headlights look and said "If he goes full term, he is going to be a ten pound baby!" Ya, buddy!!! Easy for you to say. So needless to say, I am a little nervous about the thought of having such a big baby. I am extremely curious to see what his weight is at the next appointment.

That about sums it up for now. We are getting very anxious to meet this little one. I love me some babies, but am not a fan of being pregnant.

Next appointment with ultrasound is Tuesday, August 16th at 1:30.

32 Week Check

Just getting home from my latest doctor appointment. (Our 32 week check.)

Here is the scoop:

Blood pressure continues to be good. I haven't had any issues since the one very early appointment.

Weight, while not good, hasn't changed that much in the last month or so. I didn't look at it two weeks ago because I didn't want to know. And I didn't want to know about it today either but accidentally saw it as I was leaving the room. And was actually pleasantly surprised.

My glucose test came back fine and since there was not a problem with protein in my urine, my swelling ankles are not a concern. Don't get me wrong though - the swelling is NOTHING compared to what it was like with Addison. This time around I actually have legs and not tree stumps where my legs are supposed to be. Tammi is contributing the swelling to the heat. She suggests drinking more water - although I am drinking so much now I worry at times I may float away - and elevating my feet above my heart. Oh and to cut back on the salt - so goodbye potato chips. (Or maybe just cut back on them.)

I mentioned the cramps and pains that I have been randomly having. I also mentioned that the days I have these pains are the days when I have done too much. My husband will be pleased to know that her answer to this problem was to slow down - that he is right - I am over doing it. Tammi did say to just monitor them and call them if the pains are continuous, intensifying, etc.

We talked about the hospital stay. Assuming all goes well, I can be released from the hospital after 24 hours but can stay up to 48. Apparently isurance companies are required to let give you 48 hours. Chuck and I will have to have a conversation about this. At Langley, I had Addison on Saturday morning - after being induced Friday night - and was released early afternoon on Monday. I felt like this was the perfect amount of time and was just getting to the point of being ready to be sent home. At this moment, I am inclined to stay for 48 hours, but know I could feel differently once I have had him, without nurses coming into the room every half hour. I may very well want to be home in my own bed with my girl, her new brother and their daddy. I guess it will also depend on if we have help with Addison. If my mom is here like planned, being in the hospital for two days won't be such a big deal. But I certainly don't want to leave her at a friend's house for more than one night.

When we first started seeing Tammi we told her about the low amniotic fluid with Addison and that is why we were induced. She told us at the time to remind her when the due date gets closer and she will schedule ultrasounds to check on this. I reminded her of this today and we are scheduled for a regular ultrasound appointment at our next visit - on the 16th I believe.

I think the biggest news today is that instead of measuring at 32 weeks, I am actually measuring at 33 weeks. I can't help but feel like this means he is going to come early! Maybe that is wishful thinking, but...

I was able to pre-register for the hospital this time. Now we need to set up at tour of the maternity ward at the hospital. Trying to work out a time with Chuck's schedule to do that. (I swear he is just as busy now that they aren't flying as he was when they were!)

Wow! I didn't think I had that much to report back on this time, but I guess I really did. We meet with the specialist on Thursday so check back in than!