and baby makes five...

It's a girl...

Mia Grace

July 26, 2010

3:35 pm

8 lbs. 11 oz.

21 1/4 in.

and she is perfect in every way.

unbelievable

Avery lost her first tooth on Saturday...

Unbelievable. We were in the kitchen about to leave and she ran back into the living room to get "little brown puppy" (a stuffed animal). It was inside of a toy bin. She pulled the lid off and apparently it hit her in the mouth. She came running to us in the kitchen crying and holding her mouth. We had no idea what was happening. I just saw blood in her mouth and almost freaked out. I held myself together. My family would be so proud. I asked her to open her mouth again and turned around to say to Jason in a very calm tone, "She is missing a tooth". What??? She is not even 4 1/2 and we didn't even know she had a loose tooth. She just ate an apple earlier in the day. It was the craziest thing.

So Jason went to the toy bin and found her little tooth in there. Once we all realized what had happened I said, "Avery, you just lost your first tooth". She immediately started laughing and was so excited. She ran upstairs to look in the big mirror. I was in complete shock.

She put her tooth in an envelope, sealed it up...

and placed it under her pillow ever so carefully...

And in true Avery spirit, she included a handmade picture for the tooth fairy...

I got out all of the tooth books I had from my classroom and that is what we read before bed. She was so excited and into them. It was so fun.

She woke up at 3:00 am and came to our bed and told me that the envelope was gone and there was just a paper under her pillow. She was pretty out of it so I just took her back to bed and told her we would check again in the morning. She fell right back to sleep thankfully. She is famous for getting so excited about stuff that she can't sleep so I was a little nervous.

Then at a normal wake up time on Sunday morning, she found a note and $1.00 under her pillow. She came running downstairs to show me and asked me to read the note. As I read it she said, "I didn't know she knew my name". But her best quote through this whole experience was when I finished reading the note as she held the dollar bill in her hand and said, "I knew that picture for the tooth fairy would do the trick". Ha. LOVE this girl!

So, I went through my teaching stash to find my tooth cut-outs and made her a little tooth pin to wear to church Sunday morning. She was so excited about that and couldn't wait to show her friends the new hole in her mouth!

I can't believe how big she has been acting lately. And now she looks bigger. Things seem to be moving at such a high speed with her and Tyson lately. It's a lot for a Momma to handle. I was not quite ready for this milestone yet. I thought I had at least until kindergarten.

I looked through her baby book to check dates and found out that she did lose the first one that she got. Her first tooth appeared on her 4 month birthday which was July 30, 2006. So, she ended up losing it only 6 days shy of 4 years to the date.

Everyone always thought she was older because she had a mouth full of teeth so early. She had 16 teeth at 11 months old and all 20 before she turned 2. I had been told that when they get them early, they will also lose them early but I didn't really believe that. Crazy stuff.

What a big girl!

baby blocks

I am crazy excited about these baby blocks. I wanted to make something for the baby really bad but hesitated to do so since we don't know the sex.

However, making these blocks is one of my favorite things to do so I figured I could just make a boy and girl set and add the name later to the appropriate set.

I am seriously giddy over these blocks. Does that make me a dork? Yes, and I am perfectly fine with that. Picking out the papers to put on these blocks was the highlight for me. Seriously fabric and patterned paper are serious loves of mine. The papers I used on both sets of blocks make me smile every time. Ahhhh, so fun! I could make a set of these just about every other day and love it!

There is one plain colored square on each block where the letters of the name can be placed. I can't wait to find out which name gets put on which set.

Here are the girl blocks...

And here are the boy blocks...

I am going to end up keeping them both no matter what. The original plan was to give them away but I don't think I can part with them at this point. I'm too in love...

dear baby...

Dear Baby,

You are wanted and loved by so many already. We are all so anxious for your arrival. Your big brother was born 2 weeks early so we thought you might be too. You have other ideas and that is okay. The wait is just hard.

Each time I call family or a friend, they get excited. They aren't excited to hear from me but hoping to get news about you!

Am I feeding you too well? Is it the donuts and ice cream keeping you in for the long haul?

I promise to continue to feed you good stuff after you come out.

Your Daddy and I can barely go to sleep at night because we are just too excited thinking about you.

We can't wait to cuddle you and kiss you all over. I can't wait to nurse you. I can't wait to see you have hiccups in person. I can't wait to dress you in clothes that your big sister and/or brother wore at one time. I can't wait to take pictures of you. I can't wait to introduce you to everyone that already is in love with you. I can't wait to know you better than anyone.

Also, your big sister and brother aren't always so loud and crazy. They will be gentle, I promise.

Your big sister asks if it is hospital day all the time. She can hardly wait to meet you. And if your big brother fully understood what was going on, I know he would be the same way. I can hardly wait for you to meet them.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of you with your big sister and brother...

So, my baby, I am ready to set you free now. Come on out anytime. We are so ready for you.

Love,

Mommy

sick

After Tyson's check-up yesterday, Avery told me her tummy was hurting. I didn't think much about it until a little while later when I noticed how warm she felt. I took her temperature and it was 100.3. Not too bad. I gave her Tylenol and she ate a tiny bit of lunch.

After lunch, I put Tyson down for his nap and Avery and I layed on the couch watching shows. I dozed off for a little while and when I woke up, she was facing the back and completely out of it. She stopped taking naps around 3 so it is a sure sign of sickness if she falls asleep on the couch watching a show. She went on to sleep for 2 hours.

Then when she woke up, she was burning hot. I took her temperature again and it was 103.0. Yikes. I gave her some water to drink and then she threw up all over the couch. Yum.

So, I got it cleaned up to make sure Tyson didn't get in it or near it and then took her up to give her a bath. Thankfully, Tyson stayed downstairs and played with his cars the whole time so I didn't have to fight him about not getting in the bath with her!

After the bath, she got more Tylenol, a towel to lay on, and a trash can next to the couch. She was set. I remembered that we had Pedialyte popsicles in the freezer. She was thrilled. She will not drink it for anything but she sure loves the freezer pops. She ate an orange and a blue one and said her tummy already felt a little better. She calls them "feel better freeze pops".

We watched shows the entire day. This happened to be a day when Jason was going straight from work to a Reds game for work. Go figure. He was not home until after 11:00. However, aside from cleaning up the throw up, it was actually an easier day than normal since Avery could barely move. We were lazy all day, which was just what we needed.

She seems much better now and nobody else is showing any signs of sickness. So far, so good. We are praying it stays that way.

two

Tyson had his 2 year doctor appointment yesterday morning. I remember when I made that appointment a few months ago wondering if I would have had the baby at that point or not. Ha. So much for that. But I am sure glad I was able to take the little man myself to his appointment.

He is still our little peanut with a large head. His stats are as follows:

weight: 26 lbs. 14 oz. - 35%

height: 33 1/4 inches - 20%

head: 21 inches - 95%

His head circumference remains at the 95th percentile. His weight percentile went up a little and his height percentile went down. Poor little guy. Dr. Evans wants to check his height again at the baby's 6 month appointment. He said his rate of growth for height has been all over the place so he just wanted to check it out before a year passes. He also assured me it has nothing to do with the fact that Tyson won't drink milk, eat yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc.

He got one shot this time and didn't even cry. He was a tough guy. And then he picked out a car sticker before we left and was so excited!

preparations, etc.

Well, we are under 2 weeks from the due date now. We have been busy preparing for this new little one in so many ways...

We have read our baby books multiple times to Avery and Tyson...

The baby cradle that I love and has been in our family for generations is up in the living room and the pack & play is in our bedroom...

All of our neutral baby clothes have been washed and hung up in Avery's closet...

The cars have been washed inside and out...

The infant seat is now in the car next to big sister and brothers' seats. It is a tight fit but it works and I love looking back to see 3 car seats close and cozy...

And the bags are mostly packed...

My hands are swollen so much that my rings were hurting me. Jason and I worked very hard yesterday to get those babies off. They were stuck good. We finally managed to free my hand and while a few tears were shed during the process, I feel much better now...

And I decided I just had to share this picture. This is what my feet look like everyday now. It is kind of miserable, to be honest. I did not swell with the other 2 pregnancies so this is a new experience for me. I am a big ol' blown up balloon. They remind me of Tyson's chubby feet and I wonder if they will ever be normal size again...

We had an amazing weekend and we are so thankful for our last days as a family of four. I am treasuring these moments...

But I am so ready to meet this baby face to face.