On Sunday I officially hit 36 weeks or full term! I remember when I made this milestone with Grayson how relieved I felt knowing that he could safely come at any point and have a greater chance of being healthy when he arrived. After so many years of thinking we would not be able to start a family, it's sometimes hard for me to imagine we are about to welcome another little boy into our lives. I feel blessed everyday for what God has given me over the years!
I went to the doctor yesterday for my weekly check up and it doesn't look like Beckett will be coming too early. I'm not dilated at all so the waiting game continues. On Monday I began having some bad cramps and more intense braxton hicks contractions so I came into work for a couple of hours, went home to lie down and work in bed, then back to work for a park board meeting that night. Things were better yesterday so I guess I just need to be prepared for some good, and some bad, days over the next few weeks.
Unfortunately I have no new photos of Grayson to share. This past weekend he did attend his first birthday party for a boy in his class at school. We always see them playing together on the cameras so it was nice of his family to invite Grayson to their home. I think he had a great time playing with some of the other kids that were there. His favorite part was most likely the truck full of goldfish they left on the table for the kids to devour. Our chunky monkey probably ate 3/4 of it. Not to mention all of the grapes out of the fruit salad.
Like I said, we continue to wait. My hospital bag is packed just in case, but I have a feeling we should be well into October before we get to meet Beckett. That's ok for this momma because it gives me more time to clean the house and get prepared to add yet another man to my life! :)
Only one more week and I will be full term! Although given the size of my stomach, I already feel full term. I get the feeling Beckett feels the same way as he is still regularly attempting to find ways to get comfortable and hurting me in the process.
I had an appointment last week and everything looks right on track. I go back next Tuesday and begin weekly appointments at that point. Each week we may get a better idea of how much longer I will be able to go since my doctor will be checking to see if I have dilated at all. My goal is to keep him in until atleast October 10, as I have a special event at work on October 9 that I need to get through. This will also give me the next few weeks to prepare for my absence from work. My current plan is to periodically monitor my emails while I am on maternity leave, then begin working 10-20 hours a week from home after about 6 weeks (emails, phone calls, etc) with a few visits to the office for meetings from time to time. There are a number of council directed projects that I am responsible for overseeing and my division is currently part of a process called Managed Competition which requires my attention. After Christmas break I plan to go back full time and put Beckett in daycare with Grayson at Kids R Kids.
Grayson is still great as always and continuing to develop each day. He seems to pick things up so easily and retains so much information. The biggest milestone is he went pee pee in the potty for me on Sunday! He had already done it at school a couple of months ago (and a couple of times since then) but never for us at home. We aren't pushing it too much since we know the arrival of Beckett could only set him back, but we are letting him use the potty when he asks and encouraging him when we can.
Shane and I had the "guilt" discussion the other night at dinner in that we wish we could have more alone time with Gray before Beckett arrives. All of my friends have told me this is normal and that the guilt feeling will immediately disappear once Beckett arrives. I haven't had the feeling as much because of the discussions I have had with my friends, but Shane is starting to experience it. The best advice I could give him is that we are giving Grayson the greatest thing in the world, a little brother. I am so excited to see how they will interact and grow together. Our family is going to go through a big change, but all in a positive way! For now we will enjoy these last few weekends as a family of 3 and continue to enjoy each minute we have with Gray.
This kid still loves his glasses.
I love the "attitude" he's giving me in this photo.
Snuggle puppy needed the glasses on this car trip.
A couple of weeks ago I started to let Gray pick out
his own clothes in the morning. I had just bought
him a new A&M jersey to get him through this season and
he picked it when getting dressed a couple of mornings!
Obviously I still need to pick Shane's clothes out for him as he seems
to have poor taste! :)
Aspen and Grayson have really bonded over the
last couple of weeks.
Someone loves his bubbles!
Gymboree bubbles are by far the best brand
we have found. We will find bubbles on our furniture
days after we played with them.
That's a serious bubble blowing face.
This brings a tear to my eye...Grayson
is cleaning! We had just made cupcakes and
I was wiping down the counter. He loves to say
"I try" and then imitate you. So I handed him the
sponge and let him finish up while I washed dishes.
Dusting the furniture.
I'm not going to complain if I have one more person helping
I have a very casual photo today since it was taken yesterday on my day off. This was the first Labor Day weekend I have had off in over 6 years and it was really nice to be home, rather than at the pool guarding or managing the staff. We are merely 6-7 weeks (or less) away from meeting Beckett! I had my 32 week check-up last week and all is well. His heart rate sounds great and things are progressing as normal. Beckett must be hurting for real estate in my belly because I frequently feel him trying to poke an arm or foot through my belly button or the sides of my stomach. Some of his attempts are pretty painful. With him being so active, I have been able to put Grayson's hand on my stomach a couple of times for him to feel his baby brother move around. Grayson is getting pretty good at saying Beckett's name and points to my stomach when we ask him "where's Beckett?"
Aside from purchasing diapers, we are fully prepared for Beckett to make his arrival. A week ago, my mom and I sorted Grayson's old clothes that I plan to use for Beckett and got them washed and put away in the nursery. I raised the crib back up to its highest setting and reset the car seat to accommodate a smaller size since Grayson's last use of it almost a year ago. It has been much easier preparing for #2. Almost too easy, which makes me feel as if we are missing some major element to this transition we are about to go through. If we are, I am sure we will adapt quickly, as we have to any other event in our lives.
As for our Labor Day weekend, it was pretty low key. I did do alittle baking with Grayson on Saturday afternoon. I love to bake and it has been awhile since I don't have as much free time anymore. I figured it would be a fun activity for Grayson and I do to together so we made Shane's favorite cookies, Snickerdoodles. Grayson really enjoyed standing on the stool near the counter helping mommy put all of the ingredients in the mixer. He was scared of the mixer at first, but once I showed him what it was doing, he was very excited to be part of the process. He also appears to love him some raw cookie dough, too.
Adding the dry ingredients
Watching the mixer do its magic
Mmmmm, raw cookie dough!
Our final product
Our only fun adventure was taking Grayson to the Lego Kids Fest at the Dallas Convention Center on Sunday. Over the last few months he has really taken a liking to Legos and finally figured out how to assemble them. He was free to attend so we thought it would be something fun we could do as a family. The exhibit hall was sectioned off into different areas based on the various types of Legos. One section was specific to Duplo (the bigger blocks for smaller kids) complete with a huge pile and some small side stations for little ones to build objects. They had areas for you to create art projects using Legos that would be displayed on these large walls as well as a place called "Creation Nation" where you could create a structure and have it added to a giant map of the United States. Throughout the entire exhibit hall were Lego creations such as superheroes, animals, Disney characters, etc. Gray loved walking up to them and checking them out. We rode the DART train downtown (Grayson is a pro at riding the train now), walked through the exhibit for a couple of hours, grabbed lunch in the West End and then rode the train back home. I think Grayson had a good time while we were there. Although he was still pretty young for about 75% of the exhibit, I think he enjoyed looking at everything. It's definitely something we will come back to as he gets older.
Grayson attempting to walk into the pile of Legos
In the lion's mouth
Jake is life size!
Gray loved this little monkey and his hat.
He was also obsessed with this car.
The rest of the weekend we spent some time hanging out at home. After walking around on Sunday and carrying Gray, I was having issues with my IT band yesterday so movement was fairly limited for me. I spent most of the day sitting or lying down on the couch. It's still quite sore, but most of the stretches I need to do are hindered by the massive belly I have protruding in front of me. Oh well, it's only 6-7 more weeks, right?
I will try to post updates weekly as we get closer, if I can find the time and have anything to share. September is a semi-busy month for us with Shane and I both celebrating a birthday as well as one of my nephews. I am sad that this will be the first year I am not able to celebrate my birthday with my grandfather. He was my birthday buddy for 34 years and I loved making that call to him on our special day. Shane was lucky and I gave him his birthday present early. It's a Honda mower he has been bugging me about getting for years. On Friday, I had to go talk with a vendor we regularly do business with about an event we have coming up and they sell the exact mower Shane has wanted. They struck me a deal so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I'm not exactly sure, but I think I saw Shane jumping and kicking his heels together as he mowed the lawn yesterday...
Everyone have a great September and pray for some cooler temperatures! Here are a few other photos and some videos of Grayson from the last week or two.
Grayson loves to wear sunglasses now.
Helping daddy patch a *giant* hole in our wall.
Gotta love water leaks.
Playing guitar with daddy
Mastering his foot skills at Soccer Tots
Shane and I like to make up songs and this is one we are
really proud of. I taught Grayson the last word and he always
