Cousins 2007

32 Weeks or 8/10 Months

I had my 32 week appointment last week. Same routine exam as always. I am starting to go every 2 weeks until mid January and then it's every week until the bebe is born. My iron levels are still too low so the doctor upped my iron supplement to 2-a-days instead of one. I am feeling no better and no worse taking it, but we'll see on the 27th if the levels have changed. I had my second ultrasound done also. Bebe looks good and most importantly the placenta has moved out of the way, just as predicted by me, and I am in the clear to deliver this bebe "normally". Same thing that happened with Parker.

I have Bear take this belly evolution picture each month of the pregnancy to lay them all out together to see the changes. As you may have noticed I have been wearing the same outfit for these pictures. Parker has realized when we are doing this and says his famous line "i do" or "i doed (dude)" and wants to get in the shot with me. He naturally sees me touch the belly (or should I say baby Ella, which is what Parker has decided to name the baby and insists it's a girl) and follows right along.

Here are the 2 pictures from the ultrasound. One is of the bebe with it's mouth open and hand/thumb inserted. The dark spot by the fingers is the actual open mouth. The other is a side profile of chest, chin, lips, nose and head.

Ginkle Balls

This year's Christmas picture~and yes, the bubbles are real. We love to make beards in the tub!

Hey Santa-I like your "ginkle balls" but I am NOT going to sit on your lap! Oh and I'll take whatever candy you give me!

So we made the trip out to the mall and attempted to take those famous Santa pictures with Parker. Last year he sat on his lap but wasn't too sure what to think. This year-noooo waaay! We saw Santa walking up the mall corridor to his big chair and Parker ran to him. Santa got down to Parker's level and let him take candy canes out of his bag. Parker would shake his head yes and no when asked questions but mostly just stared at Santa. Then he watched a few other kids sit on Santa's lap, most screaming their heads off while their parents did stupid things to get them to stop screaming and look and the camera and what, smile? Not me. I let Parker walk up to Santa and touch his furry coat sleeves, steal his candy and attempt to rip the ginkle balls off his bag! No harm done, Santa was much happier with that, then me forcing my kid to sit with a total stranger.

Here is last year's picture with Jillian-both not quite sure who this big guy is. Plus last year Santa had white scary face paint on!

Did you lick the beaters as a kid?

I am realizing this holiday season that I am more and more like my wonderful mother! As Parker gets older I find myself recreating the holiday traditions that my mom did for me and my sisters. Something as simple as letting me lick the beaters after some holiday treat she was making. This has become a favorite of Parker's. He wants to redip his beater for more though. We also made sugar cookie cutouts from my Grandmother's recipe. This year they actually turned out perfectly. Decorating was a blast, he again wanted to lick the frosting off the decorating knife and then continue decorating. Other than more than a few sprinkles on the floor, it was pretty easy. He catches on to everything we show him. Other things I find myself doing this time of year is sitting in the dark with the Christmas tree plugged in, all by myself, smiling at the lights! That is totally my mother!

Dancing

Here is a little taste of what our life was like a year ago. And he is still dancing!