Take Your Parent to School Day

The other day was Take Your Parent to School day for Ethan and Katelee.  Ethan's teacher was going to be out of town on the "real" day, so she had all of her parents come the day before.  I was able to go with Ethan for the first half of the day.  Ms Miller had coffee and bagels for the parents and Ethan thought it was funny that Ms Miller thought I drank coffee.  I tried to explain that many people drink coffee in the morning, he just kept laughing...  I was able to see how they do their phonic and what a typical morning looks like for Ethan.  He is a smart kid, but even with me sitting right there he was getting bored and messing around with stuff in his desk and not paying the best attention to what was going on.  I got to sit in an Ethan size chair for 2-3 hours and that proved to be quite uncomfy in the end.  I got to do station with him, and see him interact with the kids in his class.  Then I got to go to recess with him as well.  I was a little bummed that I'm 8 month pregnant and not able to run around with him while he played soccer, but it was fun to watch.  He was moving the entire recess and I was tired just watching him.  Then I got to have lunch with him.  I considered buying school lunch with him until we walked in and found out it was sack lunches.  No thank you to the Bologna and cheese sandwich...  Good thing it was only 10:30 and I wasn't too hungry!  After lunch I headed back to work, but had so much fun with him.  I know he was excited I was there and we talked about it when I got home from work that night too.  I have worked in his class in the afternoon before, so I pretty much know what all day looks like for him now.  I don't blame him for getting bored, I get bored while I'm there sometimes too...  I love visiting the school and letting the kids see how important education is to us and also showing them that we care about what they are doing at school. 


Katelee's day to take a parent was the next day and Chris was able to go with her.  She really wanted both of us to go, but we thought it might be a little crowded and I had just helped in her class the week or two before, so I let Daddy do this one.  Chris had fun seeing Katelee at school.  She is such a sweet, quiet girl at school.  She is the ideal student, raising her hand, answering questions when called on, knowing the right answers and being a big helper.  It's so interesting to see the differences between Kate and Ethan when it comes to school.  Katelee was able to show her dad the daily routines, calendar, recess, centers and more.  Since it was a Friday he was also able to see her take a spelling test and even go to the computer lab.  (The picture is from the computer lab)  Kate was so excited to have Chris there and he enjoyed himself as well.  I was able to hear all about it from Kate when I got home from work that day!  You could see the excitement in her eyes as she told me what they did and that she enjoyed having Chris there. 

I'm so thankful that the kids' school has days like this where the kids and the parents are able to enjoy one another and show the parents what they do all day.  A day for the kids to feel special and be the center of their parents attention.  I know that I take for granted that my kids are at school every weekday and that this is a major part of their growing and development.  It's great to see them interact with their classmates and teachers.  To see them get bored and truly enjoy learning and being educated.  I'm so glad we were able to work our schedules to be able to enjoy this one on one time with our kids! 

Another Tooth Bites the Dust

 Ethan has lost yet another tooth.  This makes a total of 5, front four (two upper and two lower) and now a side tooth.  He has been messing with this tooth for a little while, last time I checked it I didn't think it felt too loose, but the other day my mother looked over and Ethan had the thing practically laying flat.  So she wiggled it a bit and then my dad looked at it.  Ethan didn't want anyone pulling it out, but finally my dad was able to bribe him into letting him touch it and the next thing I know it's out.  It didn't hurt Ethan at all and he was able to get a dollar from the tooth fairy for it. 

Side note, Ethan is very attached to his teeth.  The last tooth he lost he wouldn't put it out for the tooth fairy.  He left her a note saying that he just wanted to keep it and he didn't need any money for it.  The tooth fairy let him know that she really would like it and she would take very goo care of it.  He finally gave in, but was very sad when he saw that she had actually taken it.  This time he left a cute little note for the tooth fairy again, saying he was really going to miss this tooth and to take good care of it.  She promised to take very good care of it, and he still hasn't gotten the dollar out of the container she left it in.

Our little guy just keeps getting older and older and there is nothing I can do about it!!!  His top front teeth have already started coming in so he doesn't look too crazy, but his mouth is changing without my permission!  

It's a bit hard to see but look to the right of his center teeth.   

Thirty Six Weeks

THIRTY-SIX WEEKS

Friday marked my 36 weeks of being pregnant with this little lady.  The last month of this pregnancy have been quite full of fun times, proving that every pregnancy is different.  Ashlee came down with the stomach bug on Saturday night.  She started throwing up around 6 and didn't stop until about 2:30am.  I made her sleep with me and Chris, and that meant I didn't get much sleep.  Every little move she made I grabbed the bucket to make sure she threw up in that and to check on her a million times that night.  Ashlee and I stayed home from church that day, she watched TV like nothing happened at all and I tried to catch up on the sleep I missed out on.  Ashlee was fine from there on out...  The resilience of a three year old is AMAZING!  I had a doctors appointment Monday morning.  I was a bit hot in the office, but that is nothing new for me.  I picked up lunch on my way into work, ate and then had a conference call in my co-workers office.  During the meeting I started feeling a bit woozy, but thought it was just because it was getting warm in there.  I excused myself and grabbed some water and came to my office to sit in front of my fan for a bit to cool down.  Next thing I know, I'm kneeling down on the floor pucking up lunch into my garbage can under my desk....  Afterwards I felt pretty good but was pretty sure that was not going to be the last of it...  I called Chris and asked him to come get me since I was scared to drive home and not get pulled over fast enough if I needed to.  He picked the kids up from school when they got out and then they came to get me.  In the mean time I yacked again and was just ready to get home.  He picked me up and then we headed to get Ashlee from my parent's house and then home.  I made it home with only yacking two times in the car...  The rest of the day is a day I have been trying to forget since it happened.  I went straight to my room when we got home and didn't leave there the rest of the day.  Until midnight I was up yacking, there was a point where for two solid hours I vomited every 10 minutes or less.  I was amazed that I had anything left in me, even stomach acid.  I couldn't keep down anything including water.  Around midnight I was finally able to sleep.  The next day I worked from my bed, still not feeling well enough to really do anything normal.  I tried my best to rehydrate, knowing that my little baby needed me to.  I had to sip anything I drank, feeling nauseous all over again if I drank too much at one time.  I went into work the next day and was feeling better.  The next day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed again.  I felt horrible all over again, and actually called into work around 6am and then went back to sleep until 1:30pm.  After that I forced myself to get out of bed and shower.  Friday was ok, but Saturday I was back to feeling yucky again.  We had a lot to do that day, so I just dealt with it, but it was horrible.  Sunday I started feeling a bit better and then Monday I was better still.  Finally around Wednesday of the following week I was finally back to pretty normal.  My strength was finally back and I could start eating more normal foods again.  I had another doctor appointment the next Monday.  I was feeling great and even lost 6lbs.  I thought I had gained some of it back, but apparently I hadn't quite gotten back to even with everything I lost from this whole ordeal...  But everything is good now, and honestly I had the 6lbs to lose. 

I'm still having major heartburn and indigestion, from the most random things.  This usually only strikes at night and has made for many nights of sleeping sitting up.  This little lady is very active, moving around constantly and with quite the force behind her kicks.  I have been diagnosed with Polyhydramnios, which is excess amniotic fluid.  I have been measuring about 4 weeks larger than average and had an ultrasound twice to verify fluid levels.  They are still high, but the baby looks fine and there isn't really a concern.  The only real concern is that with excess fluid the baby has more room to move around, including flipping to a breach position, however she has been head down for quite a while now...  At the 32 week ultrasound the estimated size of Brynlee was 5lbs...  (these figures can be off by a pound or so...)  This put her in the 67th percentile for size, and she did have some cute cheeks...  The other concern with having excess fluid is that I have a higher chance of going into labor earlier...  I'll believe that one when I see it.  Friday I will officially be 37 weeks so I think we are doing pretty good!

The kids are still very excited about Brynlee, all of them pay special attention to my tummy and are always trying to feel her move.  Usually whenever they put their hands on my belly they can get a kick or shove from Brynlee, already such a great little sister, showing her siblings love!  I get multiple kisses on my belly a day and especially from Ashlee as she cuddles with me in the early mornings!  She will give me a kiss and then kiss my belly and talk to Brynlee.  It's the cutest thing!  She has the makings for being a really great big sister already!   We are all getting excited for her arrival, some excitement is more filled with anxiety and the feelings of not being prepared enough, but most the time it's just excitement of welcoming another sweet spirit into our family! 

Friday the NSB Operations group threw me a surprise baby shower.  It was so unexpected, I felt so loved.  I got showered with gifts and love, and yummy treats!  They tricked me with a scheduled two hour meeting to discuss Policy and Procedure.  I was not looking forward to two hours of that, so the shower was even more special!  All in all things are going good.  I'm more sore and have experienced more pain during this pregnancy than any other, but I attribute that to me being older this time and it being baby number 4...  Right?  I have eaten more TUMs in the last few months than I think I have in my entire life.  But I already know that little Brynlee Hazel is well worth that!  We are all so excited for her entrance into this world and introduction to this earthly family!