The Captain - 32 Weeks

For those who have seen me lately...believe me...I know I look like a house right now (this isn't my paranoia coming out during pregnancy).  This is warranted and confirmed by the blantant jumping out of the hallway reactions and comparisons to watermelons that I seem to get on a daily basis.  And given that two weeks ago at my midwife appointment, I was measuring 4 weeks ahead, the Captain’s size was causing some slight concern or need to watch me more closely. Regardless of what you want to call it - we got to have an extra ultrasound yesterday to take some measurements, which was nice as you don't normally get to have one this late in the game unless you pay extra for it and we didn't elect the 3D option with Tyndell so that was an added bonus as you can see in all that cuteness above.  And as it turned out, he is only about 1 ½ weeks ahead right now and he seems to be evening out a bit b/c I didn’t gain any weight over the past two weeks (and hopefully that means I’ll feel better and be nicer to everyone who knows how impatient and grumpy I am right now).  So it was just a growth spurt...he's measuring in the 50-60 percentile so he's a good size but not too crazy as we were thinking before.   Maybe the 10-lb Jeff-like baby delivery nightmares will subside for a bit.  I'm not going to lie - this pregnancy has been much harder than with Tyndell.  I didn't have all these back aches or digs into my ribs or punches (notice the fist ready to punch in the first picture) going on all the time with her.  But I guess the Captain is just showing he's all boy already.    Had I felt like this with Tyndell, I wouldn't be pregnant right now!

Seeing his little face yesterday honestly made me feel really excited and able to mentally relax a little bit.  I haven't had much time to dedicate to thinking about him or planning for his arrival (classic 2nd child situation I believe), but I do try to sit for a few minutes just "holding him" at night after Tyndell goes to bed and try to channel some good thoughts his way (unless I pass out early haha).  It's been fun to say phrases like:  your brother, the kids, when we all four...etc, etc and Tyndell likes to tease us that he is really a girl.  Last night she wanted to know if she could give her Strawberry Shortcake ballerina outfit (hand me down from Samantha and a total favorite as anyone who comes over on the weekend knows, read:  important to her) to him.  I'm going to take this as a sign of love for her brother and hope that they are close, which I always wished I had experienced with my own brother growing up. 

Well - Captain - 2 more months....we're hoping that we can just get past DNC in early September even though the official date is later in the month on the 20th.  I just don't want to go to the hospital while all that political craziness is in town. 

Tyndell Art Update - Jellyfish and Family

I thought a Tyndell art update was in order....we've been seeing lots of changes in this arena lately!  Since we moved to Charlotte, we've been re-doing the kids rooms (well - Tyndell has been getting some new things so that we can use some of her older things for her brother's room), and Jeff suggested that we get Tyndell this cute art table for her room.  I was kinda like - "I guess" when he mentioned it, but hadn't really thought about it.  Well - was he spot on this idea!  Ever since she has had this table with little stools in her room, she has started drawing and coloring so much more than ever before and we've been working on writing letters too.  She never seemed to have a lot of interest before, but it seems she needed just the right space to inspire her!  We've been seeing lots of jellyfish and people sketches lately and these came home from school this week and I had  to share because it's super exciting.  Just the last couple of weeks we've seen her sit down and really just draw something that she says she wants to draw and come up with some really fun ideas.  And then we get to lead the conversation into letters and spelling and it's been really fun to see her progress in this way.  The last one melts my heart b/c it is officially her first family portrait of us - Jeff is the big red one, I'm the purple one, and Tyndell is the smaller red one (if I understood her explanation correctly that is).  I asked her if the other smaller red marking was her brother and she told me that it was not.  Don't you love all our eyelashes?!  Put this under another proud mama post. 

The Bush 'N' Vine

The other weekend, we went fruit pickin'!  For some reason, I just became obsessed with the idea of fresh peaches (maybe it's my rediscovered interest in Southern Living magazine) so I found this cute little farm online in York, SC and they had pick your own peaches and blueberries.  Also - I just have this sensitive issue with Tyndell understanding where food comes from - I do not ever want her to not understand local produce and sourcing - and the hard work that can be so worth it.  Ok - eco-rant over.  So Jeff, Tyndell, and I with my parents went for a couple of hours and had a great time!  And my friend from Clemson, J, and his two kids - Grace and James, joined us b/c they do not live too far from York.  So fun.  Tyndell really loved picking her own fruit and we've been enjoying it for the past week or so....peach cobbler, blueberry muffins, peach and almond waffles, blueberry waffles, and just lots of fresh fruit to enjoy.  I think we'll definitely go back to the Bush 'N' Vine for another pickin' sometime.  Oh and I've ended this post with another sleepy-eyed preggo post - I think I'm 27 weeks in this picture since I just hit the third trimester this past week....little boy will be here soon (and yes - he's been loving the fruit waffles...my obsession!). 

Tyndell and Super Jack at the Park

Ok - I am starting their wedding album!  Ok, ok...not to get ahead of myself....we met my oldest friend Cecily and her cool hubby, Seth, and two kids, Jack and Elise, at the park last week for some playtime and a picnic which was super fun (and HOT).  And yes - Jack is wearing a superhero costume which is awesome and him and Tyndell had a blast together.  This was their second meeting and Cecily and I are secretly hoping to become in-laws one day haha.  I never imagined I would live close enough to someone I grew up with to see our kids grow up together!  It's precious.