My artist at work

Art day at Garrett's
My concentrating face

This technique takes skill

My Model

Striking her pose

Gym Bugs in Action

32 weeks

Another doctor appt this morning and everything is about the same as it was 2 weeks ago. Still lots of pressure, braxton hicks contractions and sore legs! Baby was active, her HR was 145, my BP is still low and weight gain normal. No dilation which is good, but still have to be cautious while traveling and take it easy once we get there. So I think that's exactly what I will do -relax and do absolutely nothing....doctors orders! :) Now if I could just blink and have our bags packed I would have it made!

Catching up

I realized when I downloaded my camera yesterday that I hadn't blogged in almost 2 weeks! So I have added several posts, lots of pics and boy have things been busy. Graduation went well and we had tons of fun celebrating with Tyler and all the fam.

Then a busy weekend of finishing the nursery, hanging curtains, and washing baby clothes. Last week was supposed to be laid back and not much going on, but I found that each day got busier and the week flew by!

I had my last Just Moved bible study class last Monday with a fun picnic lunch afterwards, Tues morning at the Zoo with my moms group, a girls night out dinner with the FBI ladies, Chris went to Charlotte for work Wed-Fri, we meet with a new pediatrician for Caroline on Thursday & then headed to the UT gardens for story hour, and then the week ended with art class, daddy coming home and a fun weekend running around Knoxville!

This week is a little less crazy as we get ready for vacation. Still lots to do before we leave...laundry, packing & errands, but worth it for a week of relaxation!!

Splash Pad

A good way to spend a hot Sunday afternoon with Daddy. I enjoyed the shade and the great sport of people watching...it's amazing what crawls out of the wood work when something is free at a local park!
and of course mermaid

Telling mama all about her adventures

and more comical story telling (don't mind the Asian man in our pics, he's apparently trying to keep an eye on his kids)

Best part of the day...ice cream on the way home!!!

Childrens Reading Festival

Knox County Library sponsored a reading day at World's Fair Park with book readings, signings, parades, characters in costume, and much more. A fun morning, but again HOT!!

Meeting Princess Pea from Super Why with Daddy
And my partner in crime, Garrett

Taking a little break and checking out the fountain

Ready to run in, but not so sure....

TGIF

Busy Friday....
Playing with Jackson while baby brother Patton was at the doctor
Painting my beach bucket in art class with Garrett. Then play time in the toy store and chicken nuggets for lunch at Chic fil A!

Dinner with daddy after his trip to Charlotte

Books & Blooms

Story hour at the UT Gardens. Very fun morning, but hot, hot hot!! We stopped for "nonuts with pinkles" (donuts) on the way and "moothies" (smoothies) on the way home!

Trip to the Zoo

Playing in the Wee Play Zoo waiting for the rain to pass. It's a great indoors play spot and we had never done it, so it was a great way to pass the time before the hike back to the car. Not sure what I was thinking at 8 months pregnant, but hey, it was a fun morning!

It's Official

We have a UT graduate!! What a fun & exciting day to celebrate and Claire couldn't stop talking about "uncle Ty Ty's party!"

Having a little picnic with Auntie J

The main feast...yummy!

30 weeks

My appt went well today, had the usual BP, wt and heart rate check and my sugar came back low and my iron level is good. She checked my cervix today and everything looked to be normal, no dilation, but the baby is sitting very low. I have had a definite increase in pressure and pain over the last 2 weeks, but that's just normal for this pregnancy due to her positioning. She is nice and cozy in the bottom right corner and she will probably be camping out there for the next little bit. I go back in 2 weeks and as long as things are still the same and no new progress, I will be all clear to enjoy a week at the beach!

We care coming along with getting things ready and I have slowly started pulling out clothes to wash up, cleaning up the furniture for her bedding, and waiting on our curtains to arrive this week. We have registered for a few things at Babies R Us, mostly things we just need double of and then things we didn't need before with just one, like a double stroller!

I can't believe things are going this fast and she will be here within the next 2 months! I know time is going to keep flying by and she will be an official part of our family soon! For now, I want her to stay in & keep growing, as we plan to enjoy every moment we have left before moving up to a family of 4!

A Sweet Day

Well we got through the day yesterday and as hard as it was, I have to say it was one of my favorites. I spent the morning pretty sad, but when the sweetest voice in the whole world tells you, "it's ok mommy, don't cry, I will dry your tears" - how could anything compare to that comfort?!

We started off to art class & decided to stop for donuts on the way...munchins with "pinkles" are her fav! She made me an adorable mothers day frame and picture in her class. Then we went to the "baby store" (babies r us) to get a few organizers for the nursery closet and she picked out the sweetest pink blanket for her baby sister. She chose which one she liked best and carried it in her own basket to the checkout....there is where we found this-a mermaid bathing suit that we just had to have- "mommy please pay for this, I want to take it home!" Of course we had to wear it as soon as we got through the door (she really wanted to put it on in the car, but thankfully I was able to convince her to wait!). How could you ever have a sad day when this is the face you get to smile at??!!

Then after a much needed nap all around we loaded up and met daddy downtown for First Friday's and Symphony in the park on Market Square. We had a great dinner (pizza of course), got ice cream, listened to the music and someone danced and twirled her heart out!

Symphony in the Square

The Lucky One

When I woke up this morning, I laid in bed while the house was still quite trying to grasp how 3 years can go by so fast. Then while Chris was getting ready for work in the bathroom, Claire was starting to stir and talk to her baby through the monitor, my hands were wrapped around my belly as Caroline was kicking & punching to say good morning & a thought came into my mind for the first time....this day will forever be a difficult, sad, emotional and hard anniversary on the calendar, but this year I had a peace that I've not felt before. I realized that Grace may just be the lucky one while we are here with hurting hearts. As tears came down my face, I pictured in my head just how she will spend her day.

She and her Great Grandma Pete will probably start off by having breakfast (some cereal, bananas, grapefruit and juice), then will go outside to play some croquette, plant some new flowers, weed and water the old ones, maybe ride a toy up and down the sidewalk, walk to the park and playground, come home for some lunch (a turkey sandwich-the best tasting one in the world, plain potato chips, "sliced-ed" cheese and just one cookie-or one bite of one), the off for nap time with no other than a famous chip monk story, then back up to play dress up, maybe a little hide and go seek, make some chocolate pudding (and will burn the first 2 batches), empty the pantry and pretend its a boat, time to fix some dinner (chicken, green beans, corn pudding, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, probably some much requested poppy seed bread with ice cream for dessert), then downstairs to play some cards, up for bath time with lots of bubbles and of course tuck in time with another chip monk story as the grandfather clock chimes down the hall.

How could I ever compete with that day if she were here with me?!

I know she is in the best place of all, even if part of me wishes that I could have just one day with her. She will forever be the lucky one, because she will be the only one of my daughters that gets to spend everyday as a fun Great Grandma Pete day!

Spread, show and share love, compassion and GRACE somewhere in your day today in memory of my 2 angels having a beautiful day in heaven.

Perfect lesson for a hard day

This was my daily devotion for today, May 7th. How God can speak in volumes....

http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/2010/05/dailyness.html

Worlds Fair Park

It was a gorgeous hot day today so we packed up and met some friends at Worlds Fair Park downtown. The kids played on the playground, did bubbles, and then the fun started when the fountains turned on! They had a blast and it was a great day to be outside!

Catching the water with momma! (and a good 29 week bump shot!)
So much fun

Waiting for it to "get small" again so we can touch it

The kids watching in awe (Victoria, Joseph, Claire and Annie)

Yes, some got naked down to their undies! Claire checking on the babies (Hope & Charlotte)

Having a picnic lunch after our fun

Chris the tool man Lucado

So he's got 2 nurseries & one big girl room under his tool belt...pretty impressive if you ask me! It looks fantastic and I can't wait to get the furniture back in there, the curtains hung and do the finishing touches before bringing the baby home!

The before
Phase one done, the bead board

Phase two done, the chair rail

Phase three done, new paint

So proud of her baby sisters room!

Claire was an angel all weekend while we worked! She played and entertained herself most of the day Sat and pretty much all day on Sun while we finished up. She of course "helped" us paint a bit, brought us snacks that she collected on her errands, colored us pictures of our family, and played babies in her playroom. But she loves going into the new nursery and has told my belly more than once, "your Daddy did your nursery!" It's so sweet and she is so proud!