20 Weeks {Baby #3}

 Breaking the blog silence for a pregnancy update...

Now that I am almost 22 weeks I thought I better do a pregnancy update.

How far along: 20 weeks
Total weight gain: 15 lbs.
Maternity clothes: Pants yes, shirts most of the time
Sleep:pretty good despite frequent bathroom breaks

Best moment this week: Seeing a healthy, growing, active baby on the ultrasound

Movement: Yes, especially when I lay down at night or I will feel a few strong jabs with Nora is climbing on my lap
Food cravings: my appetite is back, but no specific cravings
What I'm missing: sleeping through the night

What I'm looking forward to: Thanksgiving with family

At the 20 week appointment we started with the anatomy ultrasound. Everything checked out just fine and we are so thankful for a healthy, active growing baby. They estimated the baby's weight was 10 oz. The heart beat was 156 bpm. The baby was moving around quite a bit making it difficult for the ultrasound tech to get all of her measurements so it was a long scan, but eventually she finished. We asked her to keep the gender a secret and we turned our heads when she reached that part of the scan. I can confirm we know the gender, but I'll be back in another post with that information. After the ultrasound we went back for my monthly appointment. It took all of 5 minutes to get my blood pressure, confirm the baby was healthy and schedule my next appointment.

Final Football Game

This weekend was the final football game of the season. MU took on #8 ranked ODU. There were some positive plays, but in the end ODU won 40-13. Not the best way to end the season on the field, but after the game it was uplifting to hear all the players encouraging one another and paying tribute to the seniors.

Does she look ornery?

but oh so cute!

It was a cloudy day, but considering it is mid-November the weather was quite warm. We sat outside and let the kids run relatively free. Nora colored most of the time. Sawyer ran his cars along the bleachers, jumped around, cheered for the team and of course made bead bracelets (@ one point I found it ironic that all the son's of the coaches were making bracelets during a football game :)

During the game Sawyer really wanted to say "hi" to Daddy, which really isn't possible during the game so I suggested after the game he could give him a big hug. So that is exactly what he did. As Sawyer diligently watched the clock reach 0:00 he ran to the field and jumped into Daddy's arms for a big hug. It was too sweet and I'm sure it helped lift Kyle's spirit.

smothering Daddy with love

And following every home game my children act like they own the field as they run around like crazy...mind you this is the hallowed Hall of Fame field that my children treat as their own personal play ground

Another season in the books, now on to recruiting...

And an FYI: I'm going to take a little blogging break. With the holidays coming up and my Etsy shop blowing up (in a good way :) I haven't had much time for blogging. Plus we'll see all the grandparents at Thanksgiving time, so they won't have to wait too long to see the kids faces in person :) So, I'll be back after Thanksgiving to share all the fun/craziness of the holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

5 on Friday

Linking up with the Good Life blog and others:

1) Last weekend, after a particularly difficult loss, Kyle talked me into going out to eat (it wasn't a hard sell). Financially we probably should not have gone to a restaurant, but neither of us felt like cooking so we went. As we were eating our meal the patrons at the table next to use paid and got up to leave. The woman approached our table and told us they had a gift card with money remaining and they wanted to give it to us! That "leftover" money paid for my meal and the kid's meal. It was such a surprise blessing and a good reminder of how great it is to bless others! It just might make their day!

2) This week I worked my last contract job of the year. Those jobs are such a blessing, but it will be nice to have a break from "work" and be able to focus on my priorities and the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

3) This week we also had our 1st snow! The kids awoke to a few inches on the ground and it continued to snow throughout the morning. They LOVED looking out the window as the snow fell. Finally when Daddy came home for lunch Sawyer couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He HAD to go play in the snow.  Thankfully, Kyle was a good sport and they all suited up and headed outside for some snowman building and snow ball throwing. Not only did they both have a blast, but it resulted in a prolonged nap, which made it a win-win for all parties :)

I was worried Sawyer wouldn't like his full body snowsuit, but immediately when he saw it he declared it was a Spiderman suit and I could barely get it on him fast enough :)

4)I've been sewing like a mad woman, which means 'tis the season for Christmas gifts. If you are in need of teacher, hostess or neighbor gifts check out my Etsy shop, Fresh Regard. You may find the perfect gift!

5)I haven't been very good at keeping up with football updates. Not sure when I did the last one....This weekend is the final game of the season. Football season is always fun, but by the final game we are all ready for it to be over. This year is no exception. It will be nice to have some Saturday's as a family :) Here are a few pictures from last week's game. We had some press box fun.


 

Eleanora's 1st...

dentist appointment.

excited and all ready to go with her purse

Nora had her 1st dentist appointment earlier this month. She had been to the dentist a couple of times when she tagged along for Sawyer's cleanings, so she understood the concept. But this was the 1st time she got to ride in the chair.

literally smelling the roses before we went in

As we approached the building she said I want a pink toothbrush. Then as we checked in she asked the receptionist for a pink toothbrush. Then when the hygienist came to get us she asked for a pink toothbrush :) Thankfully, her smile and charm worked as she was not only given a regular pink toothbrush they also gave her a pink Spinbrush that she can decorate with stickers. She was a happy camper before we even made it to the dental chair.

Nora got suited up with the bib and sunglasses. She took a ride in the chair. Then the hygeniest polished and flossed her teeth. Then the dentist came in and checked her bite and teeth. Everything checked out well and Nora did a wonderful job keeping her mouth open and she never got scared. I would say that was a successful 1st dentist appointment!

And of course after such a monumental event we had to have a celebratory treat :) She (and I) got to enjoy a DQ mini-cake.

Planes {First Movie Experience}

While daddy was away on a weekend football trip the kiddos and I were going a little stir crazy, so I decided going to the movie theater would be a fun activity. Planes in 3-D was showing at our $1 theater and I thought that would be the perfect introduction to cinema entertainment for my kiddos.

When I told them what we were doing they didn't quite get it. Sawyer thought we were getting a redbox movie :) once we got inside the theater and he saw all the food he decide the theater wasn't such a bad place. We ordered our popcorn and headed to our seats. I made the decision to arrive right as the movie started because I didn't want the kids to get squirmy while waiting however because we got there so late the only seats available were in the front.

I said a quick prayer and we headed to the front. I handed out their glasses. As soon as Sawyer put his on a preview with a large T-Rex came on the screen in 3-D all the kids in the theater screamed and Sawyer ripped off his glasses and refused to put them back on :) Sawyer loved the whole experience, the candy, popcorn and the actual show. Nora was a little more of a handful. She wanted to talk and walk around. She cried twice because I wouldn't let her leave our row of seats. She didn't really fit in the seats so they kept folding up on her and she would get stuck. But if she sat on my lap and I kept the food coming she did pretty well.



I didn't really get to enjoy the show as I was on high Nora alert, but the fact that they both loved it made it well worth the effort. Daddy got home late that night and when Sawyer saw him in the morning the 1st thing he said is "my name's Dusty! You have to call me Dusty." For days everyone he saw he insisted they call him Dusty :) I think he like it!

Fall Walks

The weather in October was unseasonably warm and we were not complaining. The nice weather meant extended outdoor playing this year and we took advantage. When the sun was shining you could find us outside trying to soak of the last bit of sun before winter.

Typically we take a walk/bike ride. Sawyer is becoming quite adept at biking so he will speed ahead of us while Nora either walks or rides in the stroller. On this particular evening Daddy got to join us!

At some point Sawyer always gets too far ahead, so he stops and runs back to us. This time Nora had just fallen and since she wasn't getting much sympathy from her parents Sawyer happily obliged.

a hug to subside the pain

a little hand holding while Nora explains what happened

Then Dr. Sawyer went into action to check out the damage...his diagnosis was 2 band-aids

Pumpkin Painting

I'm super in late in posting this, but after halloween I kind of forgot about our pumpkin adventures. These are the 2 pumpkins each kid picked at the patch. We were going to carve them, but Sawyer kept asking to paint them so we obliged (FYI: it was a lot less messy).

They were VERY serious about their pumpkin painting. And they had to make sure to cover every inch.

look at that intensity

very excited about painting

Sawyer's finished product

the finished pumpkins dried the next morning

Comparing 1, 2, & 3

1st ultrasound at 10 weeks

 It's always fun to speculate on the baby's gender, so I thought I would do a little comparison to see if I can deduce the gender based on my past pregnancies.

Heart beat
#1 15 weeks 169 bpm
#2 12 weeks 169 bpm but her heart rate went down considerably throughout the pregnancy at 16 weeks it was 142 bpm and at 36 weeks it was 139 bpm
#3 12 weeks 180 bpm (high heart rate could be caused by thyroid issue)

Sickness
#1 Never sick, nausous with some smells, chicken was repulsive
#2 Nauseous until week 12, extreme exhaustion until week 14, chicken was repulsive
#3 Nauseous until week 12, extreme exhaustion continues

Cravings
#1 Red meat, ice cream, cereal, s'mores
#2 jello, apple sauce, red meat, fruity candy (not chocolate)
#3 Red meat, cereal, chocolate

Weight Gain
#1 no weight gain until 20 weeks
#2 week 12 no weight gain, week 16 up 10 lbs.
#3 week 12 up 5 lbs, week 16 up 10 lbs.

Carrying
#1 Carried him very low the whole pregnancy, never felt a dropping experience b/c he was so low
#2 Carried fairly high, distinctly remember when she dropped at 37 weeks
#3 kind of hard to tell this early, but I have already been experiencing a difficulty taking deep breaths when I am sitting which to me indicates I am carrying this baby high

can you tell? All I can make out are the arms and legs

After this analysis I am leaning towards it being a girl. Considering my past history only the heart rate and food cravings favor a male gender. All the rest of the indicators are similar to Nora's pregnancy. Only time will tell...

Trick-or-Treat Take 2

And for our second trick-or-treat experience we visited the dorms at Malone. 

Woody and the butterfly running to the dorms

Daddy even got in on a little costume action, or maybe he was holding Woody's back-up hat

The students do a wonderful job of decorating their halls. The 1st hall was Neverland complete with the Lost Boys, Peter Pan and Captain Hook. This particular room had a fight between Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Sawyer was mesmerized and had to get in on the action.

He fought valiantly and in the end defeated Captain Hook

Nora got to meet Princess Belle

There was also an Olympics themed hall. Nora practiced her basketball skills and Sawyer showed serious soccer skills making a goal on his 1st attempt.

They collected candy and had fun meeting all the characters!

Sawyer also got some fake rotted teeth as one of his "treats" He thinks it's pretty funny...such a boy