Uncle John-John is engaged!!!!

Congrats Uncle John. We are very happy for you. Welcome to the family Candy.

Baking Christmas Cookies

Tonight Aunt Betsey, Adeline and I made Christmas cookies. Tomorrow we will decorate them. Adeline favorite part was wiping flour all over herself. She is a good little cook.

My new potty buddies

Aunt Betsey and Aunt Erin have come up to spend the next few days with us. We already have had a lot of fun. And....they make great potty buddies.

A sleepy Frosty...

Poor Daddy had to work at 3:30 this morning and then came home at 11:00...but then had to go back at 6:00 and work until 11:00. Needless to say he was very tired when he came home this afternoon. We were able to watch Frosty the Snowman together, well at least I was able to watch it in Daddy's lap. I appreciate him working so hard for our family....He is a wonderful Daddy.

Thanksgiving Day at Nana and Papa's..

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day today with family at Nana and Papa's house. James, Adeline and I arrived last night and stayed over so that we could enjoy every moment of the day. We left around six because Daddy has to work at 4am on black Friday. The food was great and the company was wonderful. My favorite part was watching Michael and Adeline play together. They do so well playing/sharing and really show how much they care for each other. I can't believe they are old enough now to actually have conversations with each other and communicate.

Here is Adeline reading Michael some stories. Later he brought over his own chair and they would switch who would read and who would listen.
The school bus was a huge hit. Candy did a great job entertaining the kids.

If you click the picture you will see how excited Adeline is when she catches the bus Candy just pushed over to her.

Our two curly heads.

All comfy with her blanket wrapped around her.

Adeline didn't like it when Papa would wrap the blanket around her but she had no problem with him wrapping it around Ken.

Random action shot as Michael drives the bus around the house and Adeline follows. "Michael, Michael, Michael"

Nana got Adeline her Christmas dress for this year. We tried it on to make sure it fit and she looks absolutely adorable. She really likes it too.

We tried to get a good shot of the kids. They each had to sit on their "own" bean bag. At least according to Adeline's orders. Here is a funny shot.

And here is the closest I got to the shot I was looking for.

Mommy and Addy's 30 week appt.

So today my appointment was different than most. Not only was Adeline there but so was James. With Adeline, James made it to every InVitro appointment and every pre-natal appointment. This time he has only been able to make a few.
I am doing much better this time around with my weight. At this point I am 10 pounds less than I was with Adeline. I am also carrying much higher which doesn't make me feel like such a "fattie" when looking in the mirror. Andrew definitely lets me know how high he is by always punching/kicking against my ribs. It doesn't hurt but is a little uncomfortable. I never felt Adeline against my ribs.
I used to believe the wives tales about the heart rate telling you if it were a boy vs. girl, but with Andrew his has been consistent with Adeline's. Always ranging from the 150's-140's. I thought for sure he was a she when I had my first appointment and the heart rate was 170.
The best part about my appointment today (besides hearing Andrew) was after Dr. Karnes was done checking my belly for Andrew's position and I sat up. Adeline was sitting with her Daddy and really wanted to sit on the table with me. James put her up and she immediately laid down and pulled up her shirt. She wasn't wanting a "tickle" like I thought but she wanted Dr. Karnes to check her belly too. It was so cute. Dr. Karnes played right along and checked her stomach and her baby. She was very happy to hear that everything was the way that it should be.

The many faces of Adeline Kay...

Each day with Adeline brings about different faces. Today was no exception.

I was told to "sit down...right now" to play play doh. She is starting to become pretty bossy. I hope Andrew is ready.

Thoughts of an eleven year old Jamie Bean....

"If I had three wishes, first I would wish for one billion wishes"

"If I could change my full name, I would change it to "Arnold R. Schwartz""

"I hope my "beansounds" tape rental goes well. I've already got 3 tapes done. The first tape I rented out last week, but I'm supposes to get it back today. I have a collection of about 100 different songs. What I do is I tape songs off the radio, and then pick out the songs that I want and arrange them on a tape. I computerize all the names of the songs on a tape, and then print it out. I think it's pretty neat!"

"If I won 10,000,000. dollars I would first, take all the money out of my bank account and take it home. Then I would buy a new van for my family. Then I would pay the millage penalty for my parents. Then I'd buy all the Cobra things that I could find. I'd buy my brother the G.I. Joe rolling thunder. I'd buy my brother the hurricane. I'd buy myself a stock stereo, a sub to Nintendo power. Then I would add my money at home with it. Then I'd put 9,975,000. in the bank. Then I'd give my mom and dad 1800. for bills. Then I'd get two Nintendo games. Then I'd spend 1.25 on video games. Then I'd spend .15 on some candy. Then I'd give my sisters .o4."

I got these from a journal I found while cleaning out the guest room. I just sat and cracked up. What a funny kid. I am sure you could tell it all came from James. This could be insight as to what Andrew will be like.

My favorite part was Erin and Betsey only getting 4 cents. Sorry girls.

Oh No!!!!

So tonight while bringing Adeline upstairs for bedtime I heard a little crunch. Sure enough I looked down and she was biting her fingernail. Oh no!!!! She totally picked up my bad habit.

James doesn't know yet....I am in big trouble:-)

It's Potty Time....

(This was after a dry night...first thing in the morning...she told me "no smiles")


Before my surgery we were making some pretty good progress in the potty area. After my surgery and a week of being away from Adeline we were back at square one. We then stayed at square one for the last two months. I needed to heal and get to a place where I knew if I started this I could finish it.

So....for the last two weeks we have been hard at work. No "real" panties but pull-ups. (Diego not Dora) I am not ready for the pee on the furniture and I want her to start to recognize going a little more before we truly transition. The first week she went about once to twice a day. The second week pretty much the same thing . On Saturday, 5 times....on Sunday, 6 times (including poo-poo without a "turtle head" start)....on Monday, 7 times (a poo-poo, and only one accident)...and this morning she woke up with a dry diaper and went right on the potty and things are going the same as every other day. I know that this is just a couple of days but this is excellent progress and has me very motivated.

For now we have a potty timer going off every 30min. to 1 hour. We always read while on the potty and sometimes Barbie and Ken join us. Her first Potty chart filled up right away and the second one is almost done. Our first bag of M&M's is empty and we just went to the store to buy a "big" bag.

We are very proud.....can you tell?

Very different the second time around....

This is the final stretch. It already seems to have gone by so fast and I know that these next few months will go by even faster. (especially with the holidays) The nursery is coming along and most of all the baby stuff is clean and ready. It is so nice to already have so much, that I am not worrying about what we have and what we still need. Thankfully some generous friends are lending us their boy clothes and crib. (Thanks Rob and Kim) It has already helped us out so much with Adeline getting her clothes from friends (Morse's, Olthoff's, Diller's)....we are VERY thankful.

Last pregnancy I was able to enjoy every kick and movement. This time I feel guilty having gone all day not paying attention to Andrew. (something about a two year old running around) I want him to know how loved he already is and how excited we are to meet him. I am so thankful that we have insurance that paid for almost everything. If that were not the case I don't think we would have been able to have any more kids.

How will I do with two kids? How will I make sure to be intentional with Adeline with my time so that she doesn't feel left out? How will I soak up every moment as if it were my last with each of them? These questions seem to fill my mind constantly.

I want to meet Andrew desperately. But...I really want this time with Adeline. I want her to know and never doubt how much I love her. How special she is. How beautiful she is. Children are a blessing. And I feel VERY blessed with our children. Thank you Lord for giving me the privilege to be a Mommy. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me. (besides my wonderful husband of course)

"I miss you Mommy....so much"

This was said to me once I stepped out of the shower. Adeline was playing in her room and came running in once she heard the water stop.

Other recent sayings:

"okay!"

"where you at ________?(insert toy here)"

"see ya later, alligator"

"daddy come get you"

"sleep, sleep, Mommy...okay"

"yup"

"I can do it"

"I can't" (normally said when on the potty)

"stop do that"

"I'm a big girl"

"I love you Daddy"

"let's do that"

As she throws her Woody character off the swing...she grabs her Jessie character and says...
"save me Jessie"

"it's okay baby" while cradling her dolls and singing Rock-a-bye

"we did it"

"please, please"

"let's go"

Throughout the day I receive many demands like:

"sit down Mommy"

"read this Mommy"

"eat Mommy"

"Mommy...drink water"

"come here Mommy"

"do this Mommy"

"___________(insert anything here)...... (followed by a very demanding) Right Now!"

She also has been very into her Aladdin book. She now has it pretty much memorized. You start a sentence or paragraph and she'll finish it.

Someone was naughty.....

Thank goodness we have TV cleaner. I promise we do have her wash her hands. Apparently not enough though.

"no ruff ruff"

The other night our little lady woke up very sad in the middle of the night. What do I do when it is 3am and I can't seem to get her to go back to bed? I bring her in with Mommy and Daddy. After sleeping for a couple more hours we noticed Adeline was letting out a sad cry in her sleep. James cradled her to calm her while she was waking up. Then as he left for church to set up she was falling back asleep and while that was happening she cries out "no ruff ruff" in a really sad little girl voice.


My conclusion:
The other night while Trick-or-treating we saw many dogs. Our little Ewok was very scared and would refuse to walk any closer to the house until the dog was put back inside. Even though we don't have pets (and probably never will), we have always encouraged her to be friendly and pet the animals. Most of these dogs we came in contact with were large in size. I feel really bad that she was so scared she had bad dreams. I am nervous about the next time we see a big dog.

A day with Grandpa

Grandpa Forte came and spent the whole day with Mommy and Addy. Unfortunately Daddy had to work but we all had some time together this morning and then again on his dinner break. Adeline spent the whole day coloring, running, jumping, laughing, reading, playing, all with her Grandpa Forte. They had such a wonderful time together.

Adeline also noticed that Grandpa Forte found it funny when she passed some gas. So.....for the rest of the night she continued to try and push more out. Let's just say we had 3 poopy pants. She was stinky, but entertaining.