BW3

I hope it's not a sign of what is to come that my first post about Baby Wade #3 is coming at 26.5 weeks of gestation. There have been a few things going on, but it's time this little kicker got some blog time.

Here is the baby's profile at the 20 week ultrasound. It's little hand is up just above the nose. Knee is resting on it's belly/legs curled up. We did not find out the gender, but the ultrasound tech looked. It is one gender & it's healthy. (She said she always looks after TLC aired the show on hermaphrodites).

 

Here's a 24 week shot- accompanied by loving hands. I'm now 2.5 weeks farther along and (I think) considerably... bigger ;)

 

I stole this little pregnancy prompt from another friend's blog. I'll try to be a little better about filling in the details over the next 13 weeks or so.



How far along? 26.5 weeks

Total weight gain: 10 pounds (but I haven't weighed in 3 weeks...)

 Maternity clothes? Oh yes.
 Stretch marks? Nope

 Sleep: It's not BW3 keeping me up. It's Owen's restless legs, the dog's puke, and Amelia's constant waking up before 6am.
Best moment this week: Finalizing the contract on our house.

 Miss Anything? ALCOHOL. At this point, I would take it in any fashion. It's been a stressful few weeks...
Movement: Yes! For the first time this week, I felt the baby at the top & bottom of my belly at the same time. It's about ~13 inches.
Food cravings: Salad (with BreadCo Greek dressing) & Rice Krispie Treats.  

 Anything making you queasy or sick: I had a patient with a nasty foot fungus today. That did not sit well with my belly.
Gender: I don't know....my hunch changes every day. Grandmas and siblings seem to be leaning toward girl.
Labor Signs: Nada. Thank goodness. Small contractions when I over do it (...which is probably too often).
Symptoms: Mild heartburn, mild back pain.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On

 Happy or Moody most of the time: For the last few weeks....moody.

Looking forward to: 13 more healthy weeks of gestation & finalizing name choices!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Day (s)

I'm going to try to finish the Christmas posting in one fell swoop here. So bear with the onslaught of pictures, please!

I splurged on this plate during some Christmas shopping. How could I not?!

Twas' the night before Christmas and all through the house...

Only Santa was stirring (and probably Oskee, too).

Amelia was way more 'in' to Christmas morning this year. There is a definite magic involved in Christmas morning. She was thrilled with this $5 shovel from Target.

Color changing cars! (Santa couldn't find 22...)

Would love to capture this moment forever in my heart. A sweet (almost) 4 year old boy, cuddling his lovey, in front of the glow of the Christmas tree.

Shovels and books. Day=made.

 

We had time to play at our house on Christmas morning this year. It.was.wonderful!

O pulled out his color changers first, of course!

 

Millie decorated herself with new accessories and then played with her dolls.

We have a tradition of eating red & green French toast on Christmas morning.

We went to Mima & Papa Coopers' around noon for more presents, of course.

The Transformer won the award for taking the most time to figure out!

Playtime jackpot!

Papa showing off his apron & new golf glove.

Transfomer: completed.

Love his sweet smile!

 

Dec 26 we spent the day with the Wade & Nieders clan at Papa & Mima Wade's.

Love her innocent little smile!

This picture is included so you can get the full effect of Millie's tights.

The 3 little kids played play-doh for at least 30 minutes. We all know that's an amazing amount of time for a 2,3,&4 year old!

 

Mima's lap is usually full of girls. (Ava, Amelia, Tippy, Oskee... if she could get up there!)

 

Later in the weekend we were able to celebrate as a (whole) Cooper family. It's hard to coordinate holidays when 2 of the 3 Cooper kids work retail and restaurants. Anyway, we got it together to play our White Elephant game, and it did not disappoint. Here's Millie getting in some cuddles with Uncle Steven & Alaska.

Cousin Eddie getting prepped in his game gear. Goofy hat, black dickie, and home made egg nog in a moose cup.

My mom scored a Christmas tie. Just what she always wanted!

Alaska got a bubble but. It farts and blows out bubbles. Great intro to our family tradition.

More great gifts.

 

 The real winners of the night were those who went home with some shitty spices. Featured: Special Shit, Aw Shit, Bull Shit, & Good Shit. We went home with the Bull Shit. I laughed so hard I think I peed in my pants.

 

And that's a wrap for the holidays 2014. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Pre-Christmas Holiday Festivities

Perhaps there is a benefit of blogging about Christmas 6 weeks later... I've long forgotten the stress of the holidays, and my scrooge is tucked inside until next Dec 1. 

The difference between my 2 children was clear on visit Santa day. Amelia ran for the hills (actually crawled because she probably thought she could get away faster). 

Owen sat, hands in his lap, and posed perfectly. 

Then he asked for 22 color changing hot wheels cars & a Paw Patrol play set. 

Can you imagine how sweet this picture would have been if it included Amelia?!

The Nieders kids were all cooperative. 

Later in December we attempted to build a gingerbread house so thoughtfully gifted by our neighbor. The kids were thrilled, of course. 

Our master engineer constructed the house.... 

...but we were all too excited to really let it dry. 

So we decorated panels. I had high hopes of reassembling the sides during nap time, but Oskee had other plans. She had two sides gone by the time I was done reading books. Damn dog. 

On the 20th of December we had a surprise 60th gathering for Mima Wade. Her real birthday (as you all know) is on Christmas Day.. we figured a few days ahead would be ok! Here's her Hawaiian themed cake with Plumerias. 

The 'usual suspects' as we so call them, were all in attendance. 

The view from the other side. 

Here's my bony finger (inside joke). 

Three lovely ladies!

...and a handsome man to boot. 

O thoroughly enjoyed the cake. Why wouldn't he?! 

The timing of the party was perfect because Mima came down with the real flu the next day. Why did God put Christmas in the middle of cold & flu season?! 

I love all of the build up to the holidays, the trees, Christmas lights, baking, etc. It's fun to watch the kids start to anticipate the season with joy and tradition as well. I hope that in the midst of my to-dos I can still take time out to focus on the real reason for Christmas. I'm writing it down so you all can keep me accountable next year!