36 Weeks and Gulf Shores Vacay Preview

35 Weeks & 5 Days Pregnant

We are 36 weeks pregnant today! Only 4 more weeks to go...OR LESS! Madison was born 2 days before her due date, so I'm wondering if Logan may arrive even earlier. Something tells me he may. I've hit a little panic mode, so I think I'll be trying to get lots done in his nursery this week.
Logan weighs almost 6 pounds and measures about 18 1/2 inches long. He is the size of a crenshaw melon- yeah, I had never heard of one either!

We just got back from our summer vacation with my family to Gulf Shores yesterday. We had a great time. I will post all about it in the next day or two. We took some great beach pics and I can't wait to share them.

On another note, we ended up driving through the night Thursday night to be with Gabe's dad Friday morning. Ed had bypass (5 bypasses) surgery Friday morning and did great. The doctors were able to take care of what they needed to. Ed's recovery will be about 7-10 days in the heart hospital in LR. He is a trooper! He got to see Madison right before his surgery and they were so cute together. They just hugged and hugged. Madison sure loves her Poppa!

I hit a few garage sales this morning. Didn't find any good ones, but found a few small things for the babies.

Happy Saturday. I hope to get a LOT done! Laundry and straightening up the house is calling my name!

The Donut Monster & 35 Weeks

Little LuLu woke up at 6 a.m. this morning! Can you believe it? What was she thinking waking up so early on a Saturday morning? Ugh! It about killed me. I guess she's trying to help prepare me for Logan's arrival, although I really would rather not have her help right now!
After dozing back to sleep on the couch several times while Madison was watching cartoons and playing with toys, I finally decided to get up and head to the donut shop. Madison LOVES donut holes and I LOVE donuts, so it's a perfect match for us! We just got a new Shipley's Donut Store in town and it's pretty good. Madison ate her whole bag of donut holes! That's right, one dozen. Well, I did sneak one...

I am 35 weeks along today! It's so exciting. I had an OB appointment yesterday. I was really proud of myself because I only gained 2 pounds since I saw her 3 weeks ago. That's really good for me! Of course, I did have to starve myself all day yesterday, but hey, it worked. The only discouraging part was she didn't even mention my weight! Talk about letdown! The one time I did good, she didn't bring it up! Oh well.

Logan has been up in my ribcage this past week. I don't know if it's his foot or hand or what, but something is getting me. He is now more than 18 inches long and weighs around 5 1/4 pounds. My OB said she thought he might be a little bigger than Madison...around 7 lbs. Madison weighed 6 lbs, 11 oz when she was born. I'm fine with a 7 pound baby. It's a 9 and 10 pounder that I might not be able to handle.

I will now see my OB every week. I will have the Strep B test in a week and then my doc will start checking me each week to see if there is any progress. It's getting so close. I'm excited, but still have so much to do and not near enough energy. One thing is for sure- NO MORE SUMMER BABIES.

Logan's baby bedding should be ready next weekend, so that's a plus. Once I get the bedding/curtains up his room will look a lot more complete. Our recliner should be here in about 2 or 3 more weeks. I need to clean out both of the closets in his room and get them organized and then we should almost be set.

We have 2 baby showers coming up the beginning of August. Gabe's employees at work are throwing him and I a shower and then some friends of mine are throwing me a shower. Those are always fun!

We are leaving for Gulf Shores with my family this weekend. I'm looking forward to a relaxing week of hopefully some sun, nap time, and book time. I've got lots to do today to get packed and ready though so I better hop off here and get busy. Have a great weekend!

Madison's 1st Haircut

Our baby girl had her 1st haircut today at The Mirage with Mrs. Brooke. She did soo good! She behaved like a big girl. Momma was so proud. It only took a peppermint to keep her happy. It's kind of funny, but Madison likes to sit in cute little chairs...chairs that she thinks are especially for her. I had a feeling she wouldn't mind sitting in the beauty chair, especially with the child booster seat added. Add a fun apron to the mix and you've got one happy little girl.

She wasn't quite sure what to think about her haircut. What is going on???

Check out this little face.

Behaving like a big girl!

Finished product- one pretty little girl!

Madison doesn't have much hair, but it was getting a little scraggly. Hopefully her little trim will make her hair grow a little and thicken up!

You've Got Mail!

Guess who got a package in the mail today?
Daddy helped Madison open her package, and she found...

a pair of bright, colorful sandals!

so cute!

trying them out...

pretty cute bottoms too!

Thank you Me Mommie and Big Daddy! They will match pretty much all of her clothes.

This afternoon we had a quick photo shoot in Madison's rocking chair.

I tried to stick a cute razorback bow in her hair...notice she is taking it out!

seems to look cute in bear's hair!

"Is this where it's supposed to go, Mama? TOO BAD! SO SAD!"

Little Rat!

17 Months Old

Madison, You turned 17 months old yesterday! You are getting to be such a big girl! I decided to quickly put a bow in your hair to take your monthly picture, but it did not stay in for long.

going...

GOING...

GONE!!!

*Your vocabulary has really expanded! You can say so many words...mama, dada, daddy, poppa, you've said grandma and grandpa once (a little distorted), cheese, shoes, socks, juice, bottle, shoo (when you have a poopy diaper), pee pee, thank you, you said please for me today, kitty cat, amen, outside, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few more words. You make animal sounds for puppy, duck, and pig. Sometimes we say different words and you will repeat them after us. You are one smart kiddo!

*You have thrown some CRAZY fits lately. I was pretty sure Satan, himself, entered your body, but maybe you were just having a really bad day! Your daddy and I are "learning" how to deal with you when you're having those "moments."

*You LOVE to go outside. We don't go out often because it's been soo hot and humid and momma just can't take it, but when we do go outside you throw a wild fit when we make you come in. I just don't know why you'd rather not stay cool and clean like your momma.

*You are a picky eater for the time being. You don't eat much of anything, unless it's something sweet. You usually eat spaghetti o's, hot dogs, cheese slices, green beans, apple sauce, and yogurt. You also seem to like fried veggies. You are your father's daughter! You are missing out on so many good foods, girlfriend! Hopefully, you'll learn to love food soon like your mama.

*You still sleep through the night and love your blankets. You carry them around the house. Every morning when we go to your room to get you, we find you standing with a blanket in each hand.

*You've been off of the bottle since 15 months, except for a bottle of milk before bedtime. Mama realized the other day that Logan will be here in 5 1/2 weeks and decided it was time to take away your bedtime bottle. For the past three nights, your bottle has been replaced with a sippie cup of milk. You don't drink much of it, but seem content without the bottle. Of course, if you saw a bottle, you'd want it. :)

*You've still been running fever. We are ready for your 2nd molar to hurry up and finish coming in. Mama gets up in the middle of the night to give you motrin. She is tired.

*Part of me loves the fact that you are becoming a big girl, but part of me wants you to stay a baby forever. You are a sweet baby when you want to be, but when you don't get your way you are a sight! When you are having a sweet moment, you come up to me and hug my legs and kiss them. You are such a loving baby and very affectionate. We love you, Madison Grace.

Love, Mama and Daddy

34 Weeks & Baby Bargains

We are 34 weeks along as of yesterday. Logan Carter weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. He is the size of a cantalope. My stomach is getting harder and I feel like he's running out of room. Maybe he'll surprise us and come a little early. I'd love that!

Madison woke up at 6:45am yesterday morning... a little early for her. Since we were both up I decided that we'd hit a few garage sales. I had just been to a consignment shop the day before and gotten some great deals 1/2 off and thought I could get even better deals on baby boy clothes at garage sales.

So, off we went. I took the DVD player, turned on "A Bug's Life," and we were set! We spent about 2 1/2 hours shopping and I got some GREAT deals! I brought home over 75 pieces of clothing and spent around $50. AWESOME! Here are some of my favorite finds...

I just love these little outfits. They are so precious. I've told Gabe that I bought some little white knee highs and he's not too crazy about me putting them on our baby boy. He just doesn't understand!
A few collared/polo shirts. Can't wait to dress our little boy up...preppy style.
Cute little overalls and shortalls. He will be one handsome fella.
Jeans, corduroys, khakis, cargos...
2 and 3-piece outfits...

We came home from shopping and I got right to work. I washed 4 loads of baby boy clothes and hung them all up in his closet according to size. There is still lots of organizing that needs to be done in Logan's room. Everything from one closet needs to be moved to another closet. I just haven't gotten the spurt of energy to do that one quite just yet. It will all come along. It's funny how I'm a little slower this time.

Molars :(

Madison has been cutting a top molar for over a week now...and she has ran fever every day! She cut her 1st molar while we were on vacation in Branson. She ran fever for a week and a half. We couldn't ever figure out what was going on until I later found her molar fully grown in her mouth about 2 weeks later. So, when she started running fever last Tuesday I immediately checked for a new tooth. Sure enough. She's got another coming through.

We are so ready for her to quit running fever. Poor thing. She just doesn't feel good. She's also got a runny little nose. Hopefully she'll start feeling better in the next day or so! I've been getting up in the middle of the night to give her Tylenol, so Momma is ready for some good sleep. Maybe she's preparing me for when Logan arrives. Although, I'll have to get up much more than once at night.

On another note, we ordered a recliner today! Yay! We've been looking around for a week or two and finally decided on the one we want. It's leather and will go great with our living room furniture some day. For now, it's going in the baby's room. I've been up the past couple of nights with Madison, rocking her in her glider, and have really wished we already had our new recliner. I can't wait to fall asleep in that thing!


Tommorow I'll be 34 weeks along. Check back for stats.

And His Name Shall Be Called...

Yes, we have finally picked out a name for our baby boy...Logan Carter. We've thought about this name for quite some time now, but just hadn't nailed anything down. Well, we've now nailed it down! We've taught Madison how to say "bubba," so I guess now we should start teaching her to say "Logan." I think Madison will be quite fond of her baby brother, once she gets over the jealousy part. I'm afraid she may think SHE is the mother. Oh dear!

Logan's Nursery...

*Please ignore all of the "stuff" outside and inside the crib. I went through Madison's closet and pulled out a lot of things that I never needed and am planning on putting them in the Rhea Lana's consignment sale coming up the end of August.

Yesterday, we hung half of Logan's nursery decor up, and today Gabe spent several hours working on connecting these two Louisville slugger baseball bats together. What a great dad! Logan's room looks great and is really coming along.

We (okay, I'm) going with a rustic/vintage sports theme for Logan's nursery. I picked out sports decor that can be used in a big boy's room as well as a nursery. I did the same thing when decorating Madison's room.
We are still going with this fabric for the bedding. It is in the process of being made. Hopefully I will have it around the beginning of August. It will complete the room!
I haven't posted a pregnancy pic in forever, pretty much just because I haven't taken one. This pic was taken on July 3rd at 32 weeks.

Oh, and an update on my foot. I think I'm going to make it after all. ;) No stress fracture, but could have possibly torn a ligament. I've been encouraged to wear tennis shoes anytime I'm on my feet and have pretty much diligently done so every day for the past week and a half. I even joked that I wore my water shoes in the shower. Ha! Just Kidding. I did wear sandals to church this morning, because, well...it's church! My foot feels a lot better, but every pregnant woman knows that sometimes you've just gotta get off your feet!

So since my foot is starting to feel better, I'm now dealing with my back. I'm just falling apart! Gabe ordered me a pregnancy back brace. It kind of gives your belly a lift. Not sure if I feel relief from it, but I guess it sure doesn't hurt to wear it! Let me just say that I'm soo ready to have this baby-mainly to feel normal again. (but of course, also to meet my sweet little boy!) I had back pain during my last pregnancy, but not NEAR like I have during this one. Wow!

Hope you all have a great weekend. Ours was fast and busy. Seems like it went by way too quick!

33 Weeks

Yes, we are 33 weeks along today. Our baby boy is the size of a pineapple. He weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. My next appointment with my OB is at 35 weeks. I will then start seeing my OB every 2 weeks, and then every week. It's getting closer and we cannot wait.

Hanging nursery decor is on our to-do list today, along with going shopping for a recliner. We are going to put the recliner in the nursery in place of a glider. (We'll move it to the living room once we're done having babies.) Falling asleep with our babies on our chests sounds so much more restful in a recliner! It's an awful feeling to finally get your baby to sleep only to have them wake up again as soon as you place them in their crib!

On another note, I have taken up a new hobby...grilling! I had never grilled outside before this week, but I decided to venture out. Gabe has vaguely explained to me how to work the grill, but I've been pretty intimidated and a little scared of ruining perfectly good meat to try it out. This week barbecued chicken quarters and veggies sounded good, so I decided to go for it. I even threw some brats on the grill because Gabe loves them so much. I figured if I just started the meat on the grill, Gabe would be home soon enough from work and he could finish it up for me. Well, turns out he didn't get home until all of the food was done except for the chicken. I had him check the meat to see if it was done. It needed a little more cooking time. I grilled again last night, this time with steaks. I thought steaks would be more challenging, but they were actually easier. Didn't take nearly as long to cook as I thought they would. Again, I threw on some brats for good measure! I'm afraid I've created a monster because Gabe may never grill again. ;(

Have a great Saturday!

Queen of the Kitchen

Yes, she will one day be...Queen of the Kitchen! But for right now, she's "in training." I bought Madison this adorable apron at a little store in the mall in Fayetteville back when I was pregnant with her. It says "Queen of the Kitchen...In Training." It is so cute that it is "dry clean only!" But, great cooks don't make messes, right?! I consider it my duty to teach Madison how to be a great cook. I always knew that the true secret to win a man's heart was to feed his belly well! :)

This morning was Madison's 1st lesson in cooking. She helped make her daddy pancakes.

Dear Madison,

Step 1: Get comfortable. Put your apron on so you won't mess up your clothes and take your shoes off or put comfortable ones on if you feel the need.

Step 2: Gather your ingredients. Make sure you have everything you need before you get started. It's an awful feeling to start cooking only to realize that you're lacking one ingredient. This has sent Momma into turmoil many a times!

Step 3: Inspect your ingredients and make sure they are not expired. Then, start compiling then together according to the recipe.

Step 4: Remember, always mix dry ingredients together first. :)

Step 5: It's okay to take a little taste along the way.

Step 6: Taste okay? If so, proceed with recipe.

Step 7: Not sure if it tasted okay? Well, then taste again.

Step 8: Still tasting, huh? That unsure?

Step 9: Once the dry ingredients are mixed well together, add the wet ingredients to the mixture and whisk well!

Great Job baby girl on your first patch of pancakes. Momma only burned one!

32 Weeks & Happy 4th of July!

We are trucking right along at 32 weeks... Our baby boy is taking up more and more space and weighs as much as a large jicama -- about 3 3/4 pounds. (Length: about 16 3/4 inches, head to heel.) I know, I know. I've never heard of a jicama either, but apparently it's the only vegetable that weighs exactly 3 3/4 pounds or I'm sure the baby website would have referred to another vegetable that we've actually heard of! Ha!

It's been a busy holiday weekend. Saturday we headed to a family reunion (my mom's side) outside of Searcy. We spent the day eating and visiting and then headed over to my great grandmother's house (who passed away several years ago) to celebrate my Papa's 80th birthday. He does not look 80 to me. Probably because he is still so active for his age. He works hard, rides bikes, and flies planes!

Nathan, Phyllis, LaVonne, Dean, Deana, Sheila, & Angie

-my mother's parents and their 5 children
The Dean Cooper Family
Madison was not as excited as we were to take a family pic! Grandma tried to quickly fix the problem be giving her a cup of sweet tea, which she dumped all down the front of her dress. Yay!

Sorry, no smile for the camera...

Papa & Madison

Happy 80th Birthday, Papa! You don't look it!My great grandmother's house

Singin' Round the Porch

When you come from a musical family you don't ride horses- you ride guitars!

Yee-Haw!

And to top it all off...a brisket sandwich. Gettin' cheek deep like her momma!

Yum, Yum!

Today we had lunch with Gabe's family. Burgers and homeade ice cream. We spent the afternoon on the lake with the Tripp's. Madison had a blast riding the tube with her daddy. I think she "owns" the tube. I told Gabe it won't be long before she's kicking her him off the tube like her momma does. ;)
Hope you had a happy and safe 4th!