Saturday project

A few years ago Robyn and I had to replace the back door on our old rental house.  With as much HGTV as we used to watch we realized that we could turn the old door into a coffee table.  So we turned this:

Into this:

We always loved the way it looked, but it was pretty wobbly because we had to put the legs on upside down so that we could attach the bottom shelf to the flat part of the legs.

Once Taylor started walking we got worried that she might either fall and hurt herself on the corners of the table, or worse, break the glass.  So we were pretty sure that we were going to take the table apart and put it in our shed, but then the Great Paint Disaster of 2008 happened which left us with a kid unfriendly table that had white splatter paint on it.  Ever since then the table has been in pieces in our shed.

Lately we’ve been wanting a coffee table for our living room and it dawned on us last week that we could just use the old red table.  I got it out of our shed and had forgotten that it had all those white spots on it.  So after a few coats of paint and flipping the legs the right way, here’s how the living room looks now:

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33 Weeks

I turn 33 weeks pregnant tomorrow and had a Dr’s appt. today.  The disappointing news is that I’m measuring behind by about 3 weeks (according to the tape measure method, which I don’t think is very accurate on me…just sayin’).  The fun news is that I get to have an ultrasound in 2 weeks and I get to see my sweet baby again. It was about this time during my pregnancy with Taylor that I began measuring a few weeks behind.  This Dr. has all my records from my pregnancy with Taylor, so she knows my history. She’s a very cautious Dr. and she knows that I really don’t want to have another C-section, but she’ll also do what’s best for the baby. So in the meantime, we’ll pray for Caroline’s growth and development and I’ll increase my protein intake. We ask that you would join us in prayer as well.

Taylor is still excited and looking forward to Caroline’s arrival. Today she said, “I think Caroline’s going to come out soon.” I told her not too soon, though, to which she replied, “Yeah, because she’d be too little.”  Tru dat.

As for how I’m feeling…because I know you’re all dying to know…I’m starting to get a bit uncomfortable. I’ve had a good bit of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I have heartburn everyday, not all day, but everyday. I haven’t had a lot of swelling and I can still wear my wedding rings. Whoop whoop! No unwed-mother-look going on…yet. I’m tired but I don’t nap everyday. I probably will start daily naps soon. Why not?  My skin is still itchy, but I think it’s gotten a little better. I’m feeling a lot of pressure in my lower abs and it feels like I’m carrying her just like I carried Taylor – low and slightly to my right – yet another reason I think the tape measure method can be less than accurate. Oh, and Caroline gets hiccups often and she’s very active just like Taylor was.

Ok, I think that’s it for now. I’ll leave you with a belly pic.

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“I have a baby in my tummy”

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Chuck E. Cheese

Taylor had been asking for a Chuck E. Cheese Birthday Party ever since she went there in December for her buddy Hudson’s party. Knowing that I might not be up to planning and hosting a big shindig at our house like we did for her 1st and 2nd B-day parties, we obliged. Because Chuck E’s ain’t cheap, it was a small party, with only a few friends from church (we would have loved to invite more), but she had a blast and I think the other kids did, too. It was definitely easy on Nick and me with no cooking and little planning to do.

How did my baby get to be 3?!

Not so sure about the Ticket Blaster

Warming up to the Ticket Blaster

Being crowned the Birthday Girl by Chuck E. Cheese

With her friend, Paige

So excited about the cake!

Some of the party guests mesmerized by the entertainment

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Family visit

We had a nice weekend seeing some family that we don’t get to see enough. Valerie, Lisa, Kayleigh and Brian came over from FL on Friday and left this morning before lunch. It was good to spend time with them and this is the first time that we’ve seen Val since we knew that she was pregnant (she’s due about a month after us). We mostly stayed around the house and watched the kids play but on Saturday morning we went to the Eastern Shore Center to let Taylor and Kayleigh play in the splash pad. It was storming when the left the house but had finished by the time we got done with lunch. The girls had a lot of fun running and playing. Brian is still too little so he hung out with the adults. I shot a ton of pictures with the Lisa’s long lens and these are some of our favorites.

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Blood Test Results…

Negative. So I’m just itchy. Thanks for the prayers and concerns!

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Taylor’s 3 Year Check-up

Taylor had her 3 year check up today and the Dr. said she looks great!  Her stats are:

Height:  35.5 inches (20th%)

Weight:  34.4 lbs (60th%)

When I shared these numbers with Nick he wittily replied, “Shawty, swing my way!”  I cracked up.  That was one of my favorite songs back in the day.  You could catch me cruisin’ around town in my blue Volvo with that blaring on my factory radio.  For those of you who didn’t listen to WABB in or around 1998, “shawty” means “shorty” – ‘nuf said.  He also said, “Destined for a life sitting on the front row of the class picture.”  I can totally relate to that!  We think she’s perfect! And I will say that I’ve been thinking lately that’s looks taller and slimmer. Nick says he thinks it’s just an optical illusion. 

She got one vaccination that was optional – pneumococcal, I believe. It was actually just a booster because although she’s had the pneumococcal vaccine before, they’ve made a new one that has 14 serotypes as opposed to 7 serotypes in the old one. Don’t ask me to explain it, but my very basic understanding is that is protects you from a wider range of bacteria.  Feel free to google it for yourself.  There I go googling again.

I guess that’s about all I have to report. I’ll leave you with a picture that was not from today, but is fairly recent and shows her doing one of her favorite things…sporting her Trump comb over, that is. What did you think I meant playing with blocks? 😉

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31 Weeks Pregnant

Whaaaaat?!  Did I say 31 weeks? As in 9 weeks until my due date, and a maximum of 10 more weeks pregnant because my Dr. will let me go 1 week past my due date. Yep, 31 weeks. It’s quite surreal. I think my heart rate just increased. 🙂

I went to the Dr. on Friday and this is how it went:

– I gained 1 lb. since last visit

– My belly measured 29 weeks (29 cm.), but she’s not worried right now

– I had blood drawn to test my liver (more on that in a minute)

– Caroline’s HR was about 145 bpm

– My iron was a little low based on a previous blood sample (this Dr. doesn’t prick your finger to test your iron every visit, but I wish she did)

– I go back in 2 weeks for another check-up

So back to the part about having blood drawn to test my liver. I’ve been itchy all over for a week or 2, so I googled “itchy skin during pregnancy” because that’s what I do. I Google. Pretty much anytime I have a question or want to know more about something, I Google. Yes, that’s a verb in this context. And no, I don’t think everything I read on the internet is absolute truth. 🙂  Anyway, I learned about this very rare disease called Intrahepatic Cholestasis in Pregnancy (ICP) or Obstetric Cholestasis (OC) which is not harmful to the Mother, but can be fatal to the baby. I probably don’t have it, but I’m glad my blood is being tested just in case. I’ll keep you posted.

As for measuring 2 weeks behind, my Dr. doesn’t mind if there’s a 2 week +/- difference in how my belly measures. Plus, she knows from my history that I measure small. I feel certain that if I continue to fall behind on my measurements that she’ll schedule an ultrasound and watch me closely. We’ll see.

I think that’s about it. I don’t have an updated belly pic, but I assure you I’m growing…and starting to get just a little uncomfortable. And I have heartburn/acid reflux, but I had that with Taylor and expected it this time around. Speaking of Taylor, she still loves to talk about “Baby Caroline” and feel her kick, and kiss my belly and talk/sing to her, and ask me questions like, “Can I feed  Baby Caroline?” or “Maybe Baby Caroline will want to swing on my swing wis (with) me.”  She also says that Caroline is going to have blonde hair and blue eyes, and “Maybe she will be a girl?!” to which I assure her she will. Taylor seems like she’s going to be a great big sister. I can’t wait to see them together and watch Taylor love on her and hold her. It’s going to be so sweet!

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