31.5 Week Prenatal Appointment

I had my 31.5 week prenatal appointment on Monday. Although my blood pressure looked better, they discovered that I am now anemic. So, I'll start taking iron supplements. I have been super tired lately, but just attributed that to the pregnancy.

We're making progress on Aden's new room. We have chair rail up. James and Aden's nana painted the bottom portion of the wall. Toddler furniture is in and assembled. All that is left is to arrange the furniture how we want it and finish the nautical decor. I hope to have pictures to post soon!

My first shower is this weekend and I am really looking forward to it!

Friends & Family Coupon - 30% off Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic

Get 30% your in-store purchase now until Sunday, March 15th!

Click on the Title of this post to get the coupon.

Aden desperately needs some new spring clothes, so I'm go on a shopping trip to Old Navy this weekend. I so wish we had a babygap here! =( I don't think I have the time or the energy to drive to Fayetteville. Tomorrow James and I are going to be working on finishing Aden's new room, so that we can get the nursery ready.

Shopping problem

I always knew that this would be an issue if/when I had a baby girl! I haven't even had any showers, and yet I continue. I will say that I have bought clothes mostly and I like to pick them out myself anyway!

Well, I found this diaper bag on sale at www.pureandhonestkids.com for only $38 (originally $90). I love damask, so I decided that I had to have it. I will have it monogrammed in light pink if we ever decide on a name.

Lovin' this weather...

And so sad that it is about to come to an end. We've been spending some time outdoors lately. Aden *loves* to play outside. Here are a few pictures from the last few days:

Having Fun


The playhouse that mimi bought Aden

Getting Cleaned Up

We have a few outdoor projects planned at the house. We are going to double the size of our little backyard patio, have the backyard sodded, and buy Aden a swingset. After much research, I'm leaning toward the Step2 Brand Plastic Set. I love the look of the wooden sets, but the maintenance & set up seem a bit much. Then there is also the issue of splinters. Here's is a picture of the set I'm leaning towards:

29.5 Week OB Appointment

Yesterday we went for my 29.5 week appointment with Dr. Rainwater. I have gained 26 lbs. thus far. Ugh! And still have 7.5 to 10.5 weeks remaining. The measurements and heartbeat were good. My blood pressure has started to rise a little, although Dr. Rainwater says that it is still within the normal range. I'm really concerned that I may be getting preeclampsia once again. With Aden, I was diagnosed with pre-e and put on bed rest at around 35 weeks. Due to the severe swelling, difficulty breathing, etc., I knew that something was wrong some time before the official diagnosis.

Anyways, I will begin seeing my OB every 2 weeks now, instead of four. I will keep you posted with pregnancy updates.

Ultrasound Comparisons & K-Mart Double Coupon Days

I was looking back at Aden's 4-D ultrasound pictures to compare new baby's pics. You can look back at my previous post to see our recent ultrasound pics for baby girl. It seems Aden's face is a lot chubbier in his pictures. Baby girl's facial structures seem to be more defined and her nose appears to be more like mine. Anyway, Aden's pictures are below. Technology is just amazing, isn't it?





I also wanted to mention the double coupon days this week at K-Mart. They are doubling coupons up to $2.00. I was excited to see this as I have several $2.00 off diaper coupons, so it will be $4.00 off per package. I know that the Fort Smith K-mart is a participating store, but you can always call your local store to see if they are participating as well. Just thought I would share!

4-D Ultrasound of Our Baby Girl

So, last Monday we had our 4-D ultrasound of baby girl. We are 28 weeks now! Only 9 to 12 more weeks to go and so much to do before then...


Smiling


Feet are crossed


And my favorite picture. She kind of looks like Aden did in this one.




Aden developed a double eye infection and ear infection over the weekend. James took him to the walk-in-clinic today, so that Aden could get started on some meds. Although it is obvious that he doesn't feel great, he has still been his busy little self playing around the house. We were supposed to go to a Chuck E Cheese party yesterday, but had to stay home because Aden was sick. I felt so bad as he has been talking about "going to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday" all week. =( We'll have to make it up to him when he gets better!

Our Valentine's Day Weekend...

We had a very sad Valentine's day. My grandmother, who was 85 years old, passed away Saturday evening. She was like a second mother to me. I will remember her for her strength, her witty character, and dry sense of humor. We will miss her dearly and she will always hold a special place in my heart.

On a happier note, several things occured last week that I wanted to blog about. First, I want to say Congratulations to one of my best friends, Miranda, on her recent engagement. She and her finance, Sean, have been together 4 years. I am so happy for them. Her ring is absolutely gorgeous! The picture below doesn't begin to show how pretty it is.


Friday, Aden had his Valentine's day party at Montessori. I briefly stopped by the school and snapped a few pictures. They were working on a Valentine's day craft.


Aden showing me his finished product backwards. =) Every time that Aden is aware of my picture taking, I get this same cheesy face (squinted eyes and all).


Friday evening Aden had a patriotic-themed school program. The tots only participated in one song, "Yankee Doodle", but it was just really cute. We were so proud of him marching around the stage and holding his little flag!

Aden and one of his tot teachers, Mrs. Barrie


Aden's tot class

Happy Birthday James!

Today is my hubby's 28th birthday. He had to work tonight, so we did a little mini-celebration last night with dinner at the house and a cookie cake. James wanted to go to the horse races in Hot Springs for his birthday, so we are leaving in the morning. It will be a nice little break for us and Aden will get to spend some time with his mimi and nana.







Aden has been doing very well. We received a progress report today from his toddler teacher at Montessori. Here it is:

James and Kelly;

I just wanted to update you on Aden's progress at school. He is very
social and loves being with the other kids. I just had a student add
Friday to her schedule, and he welcomed her with open arms. He is a very
loving young man. He has begun choosing his own work with more regularity,
and I very seldom have to suggest that he find a work. He is getting much
better at putting puzzles together. One of his favorite works is stringing
beads, and he LOVES books!

A few of the things I am working with Aden on is putting away his works
when he is finished with them. He has also been saying, "No," and "Can't"
quite often. I am trying to discourage those words and give him better
phrases to use instead of, "Can't" ("This is too hard for me, will you
help?").

I really enjoy Aden. He brightens my day when I see his happy little face.

Free Valentine's Day Cards...

Scrapbooks, Etc., a photo website owned by Better Homes and Gardens magazine, is offering 6 free personalized Valentine's Day Cards with free shipping. There are 10 different Valentine's Day designs to choose from.

Here's how to do it. Go to https://stories.scrapbooksetc.com/landings/valentine0209.php

Click on "Create your Valentine's now" to get started. At checkout, enter coupon code "valentine" and hit recalculate before submitting order. Once on the next page, you do not have to enter any credit card information. Just hit submit order.


Here's Aden's Valentine Card. I thought this would be great for the grandparents!

Welcome Baby Ryder!

Jenny had her baby boy on Tuesday morning and he weighed 5 lbs. and 14 ounces. They named him Ryder Maddux. What a cutie!

Freebie!!!

Look what I got today for free at Dillards! It is Lancome's Virtuose mascara
(a $23.50 value).

Several makeup/skincare companies are settling a class action lawsuit by giving away over a million dollars worth of products to consumers at participating stores. These stores include Dillard's, Macy's, Saks, among others.

Our Dillard's here in Fort Smith had several products to choose from such as bath/shower gel, mascara, anti-aging creams and other skincare products. I was told that this will be going on until they run out of the products (which won't be long).

Just wanted to share this!!!

Planning Aden's New Bedroom

Well, I have a gazillion projects going on at the house. This weekend we are getting our new laminate floors in the living room and hallway. I'm looking forward to see how it looks! I'm also in the process of organizing, clearing out the office for Aden's new "big boy" room and designing the nursery for our little princess-to-be.

I have decided to go with a nautical theme for Aden's new room. We're skipping the toddler bed and going straight to a twin. Hopefully, that will work out okay. I wanted to do something fun for him. I found a boat bed on pottery barn kids, but it is over a grand, so we are going to order the JC Penney version. Here are a few pictures:


JCP Boat bed and coordinating nightstand and chest. I will also be ordering the nautical mirror and prints.
Lighthouse corner bookshelf
Closer look at the nautical prints

I'm debating adding a chair rail and painting half of the wall a blue color. We may just leave them neutral (tan).

Week in Review...

Well, I will start off my saying that my paternal grandmother, who is 85, was rushed to the ER this past Friday morning. She fell and hit her head sometime early Friday morning and was not found until some hours later. She lost alot of blood and was in critical condition in ICU, but is now doing much better and may even get to go to a regular room soon! Please keep her in your prayers. She is truly one of the strongest people I know. A very special thanks to Linsey, Miranda, and Aden's nana for watching him this weekend while we were away at the hospital!



Happy Belated Birthday Mackenzie!!! Our niece, Mackenzie, turned 3 on Tuesday. They grow up so fast! Tomorrow after work, we are heading to Russellville for her Minnie Mouse themed birthday party. Aden can't stop talking about going to Mackenzie's party (although he doesn't quite understand yet why every party is not at Chuck E Cheese).

Welcome Baby Owen! - My friend Sabrina from my mom's group had her baby boy yesterday. They started giving her pitocin at 9am yesterday and she delivered him at 12:49, so she had a relatively short labor. Congratulations!


And so the shopping begins!
I have already started shopping for our new baby girl. There is so much cute girl stuff! I can forsee this becoming a serious problem. I am working on designing the nursery. At this point, I have decided on light pink and cream toile. I am going to have a chair rail put up in new baby's room and we are ordering custom bedding from a lady in Greenwood. Aden is going to move into a "big boy" room that we are going to decorate in a nautical theme, complete with a boat bed. More to come on the rooms soon.

And no, we haven't decided on a name yet. We can't seem to agree on much. This is definitely harder than I thought it would be.

A few of my choices are:

-Katelynn Mackenna
-Addison Isabella or Addison Elizabeth
-Kennedy Addison

We both kind of like Adelynn Elizabeth, but I have been warned that she would be called "Addy" for a nickname and I really don't like that. James loves Ava (which I also like). I think Ava Claire is cute, but James doesn't like Claire. Ella is cute too. So, you see, it has been a lot of fun so far.

*Here are a few of my shopping finds:




That's it for now. Hope everyone is staying warm!

Jenny's Baby Shower

Yesterday, I hosted a shower for my friend Jenny. We have known each other since junior high. She is due with her first baby (a boy!) on February 5th. The shower was at the Bonneville House. I think that it is a really pretty place. Congratulations Jenny! I am so excited for you.

A few pictures are posted below...



The mommy-to-be


Tea and Water Set-up


Jenny and I


One of the guests tables


flowers


The Cake... We did a fondant R on the top because she is naming the baby Ryder


Food Table


Group Shot

I have had two 4 day weekends in a row and have really enjoyed the time off. On New Years Eve, James and I headed for Missouri for some casino fun. We went to dinner and then on to the new Downstream casino. There were so many people there that we couldn't even find a place to spend money. So, after walking around for half an hour or so, we decided to leave and try to find another casino. We ended up at a pretty small place, but we had a lot of fun playing three card poker and even won a little money. We stayed the night in Joplin and ate at Johnny Carino's (yummy) before heading home. I think we both enjoyed the short time away and spending time with each other.

Friday morning I took Aden to Chuck E Cheese for a playdate. He has been saying "go see chuck e" constantly lately. We received an invite today for a classmate's birthday party next Saturday. So, looks like we may be going again next weekend. =)

I'm so not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good week!