Schools out! YAY!!!

WOW!! Where do I start? We have had a pretty busy last week or so.
Last Wednesday was Grant's last day of school and they had a really cute program! It was so fun to watchit, it almost made me cry!

Here he is doing his speaking part with his friend Mellanie!

Here he is being all cheesy! (I think it was his teacher who put his hat on all crazy like that. Oh well)

CLASS OF 2022!!!

He looks so big! I cant believ my baby is going into 1st grade!

Some of Grant's friends, Savannah, Mellanie, and Sage. You can see Grant, Brock, and Jared in the background!

Mrs. Broderick was so amazing! She is such a sweetheart and you could just tell she really loves her job and all the kids in her class!

I dont even remember what day, but I think it was Friday, Grant and I wanted to go to the park. Grant always has more fun with a friend, so we went and got Brody and took him with us. Brody is a little boy my mom tends. My mom was sweet enough to make us a picnic lunch and we had so much fun!

Brody was way too busy to be bothered with pictures!

My son seems to think his fingers are guns lately. I know boys will be boys, but this drives me CrAzY! (Although he is soooo cute I just want to eat him up)

Brody went home with a new trick that night because by the time we took him back to my mom he thought his fingers were guns too!

23 weeks

•Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat.

•Bones located in the middle ear harden.
•Your baby is able to hear. (Dads, did you know: low-frequency sounds mimicking a male voice penetrate the abdomen and uterine wall better than the higher frequencies of the female voice?)
•The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation.
•The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. She has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
•If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day.
•The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.

Little update!

Ok so it's been a little while since I have posted. I have been kind of busy planning two birthday parties for a very special little boy who is turning six next Monday! Also I just haven't really felt up to it. I promise I will try to continue the weekly updates(at least for my own sake) I am doing pretty well right now. Feeling much better than I have. Still very tired and not much motivation but I am hoping sometime soon the nesting will kick in. Baby boy is moving like crazy! He is of course very active at night when I want to go to sleep but I love to lay in bed and just feel him! He is head up for the most part and I can definitely feel his feet down low for the most part. The bigger this little guy gets the more presure there is on my bladder. I pee constantly. I have had quite a few contractions already, at least a couple everyday for about the last two weeks. It seems that if I do much walking at all they start up, but nothing regular yet. I told Jared when it is time for him to come out I am just going to walk him right out. I haven't had a migraine for about 2 weeks now! YAY! I feel so blessed with this pregnancy! I just can't wait to have my new little boy in my arms!

Randomness

One night we were watching Sara and Jon's kids for them. I thought this was so cute, I had to share!

Grant fell asleep on the couch, sitting up, with flashlight in hand! Silly boy!

I was horrible this year about getting pictures on mothers day. But I thought this was pretty funny. When we go to my mom and dad's Grant is very spoiled and gets just about anything he wants, within reason. We hadnt even started making dinner and Grant was whining about being hungry, so my awesome mom got up and cut him a cucumber. One of his favorite snacks! He lounged on the couch like this and ate his cucumber the whole time we were making dinner!

Grant playing football with his second cousin Landon. The older kids wouldnt let these two play with them so they just had a blast by themselves!

On Monday the weather was really nice and Grant was out of school, so I took the boys (BJ, Grant, and Bentley) to the Tracey Aviary. We had a lot of fun!

This big fat bird ate right out of Brock's hand.

Grant and Bentley! Grant had so much fun with Bentley. He wanted to do it all, he fed him and pushed him around in the stroller, everytime Bentley would even fuss a little Grant was right by his side!

The sign said, "DO NOT FEED" and what are they doing? Feeding the birds! I just love these boys so so so much!

A couple weeks ago we went to the races out at RMR with Monica, Ian, Talon, and Kyrie. We had a lot of fun and boy does my little Grant love Kyrie! They could just play together for hours and hours!

The kids got to ride in the pace car and they thought that was so cool!

Here they are in the pace car . /\  And here they are when they got out! \/ Grant thought it was so cool, he couldnt wait to get out of the car and tell me all about it!

Halfway there!! 20 weeks

Twenty weeks is the halfway point to holding your baby in your arms. Are you ready yet? Your baby is working on getting ready. While his rapid growth stage is almost over, the next stage is imperative for his survival outside of the womb.
Your baby is now about 6 ½ inches long from crown to rump and weighs 10 ½ ounces, almost a pound! She is about 10 inches long from head to toe. This week, your baby’s heart grows stronger. If you lie down flat on your back, locate your pulse, and put your hand over your belly, you may be able to hear her pulse as well.
His body becomes well covered in vernix (the white cheese-like coating which protects her skin from the amniotic fluid), giving him skin that baby-soft feel after she’s born and bathed.
He is practicing swallowing every day, and has a good amount of meconium stored up in his bowels. Meconium is a black gooey substance that will make up your baby’s first bowel movement when he’s born.
His immunities are beginning to develop, as your body transfers antibodies to his. These antibodies will also be transferred to your baby with breastfeeding, keeping him out of harm’s way from viruses and infections.
Your baby’s senses are developing, and he can begin to taste, smell, hear, see, and touch. Nerve cells are continuing to make new connections every day in preparation for his big day. He already knows your voice, familiar music and other familiar voices, like Dad or Grandma, or big brother!

I am tired and for the most part emotionless the past couple days. This too shall pass.

Baby senses

I thought this was kind of interesting and thought I would share it with any of you who may be interested as well!

Touch

Touch is the first sense she’ll develop - studies have shown embryos respond to a gentle touch on the cheek as early as eight weeks. By 11 weeks, she can feel touch on her palms, by 12 weeks on her soles and by 17 weeks, most parts of her abdomen and buttocks are sensitive to touch.
By 32 weeks nearly every part of her body can feel pain and temperature, and your baby is exploring the world around her by using touch. She may also explore her own hands and face, and suck her thumb to see what it feels like.
Smell
The first of her smell receptors appear between five and 11 weeks after conception. Her nose, which develops between 11 and 15 weeks, is continually filled with amniotic fluid, which can carry the smells of your food.
Research has shown premature babies born as early as 26 weeks respond to different smells. It is her sense of smell that helps guide your baby to your breast for her first feed after birth.
Taste
Your baby’s taste buds begin to develop in weeks 12 and 13. By 30 weeks the surface of her tongue is full of hills and clefts containing taste buds. Scans have shown unborn babies can stick their tongue out to taste the amniotic fluid that surrounds them.
It carries the flavour of strong foods that you’ve eaten and will give her an early taste for dietary preferences later in life. Just like smell, her sense of taste will encourage her to take her first sips of breast milk once she’s born.
Sound
Your baby’s ears will be structurally complete by 24 weeks and the first sounds she’ll hear will be the gurgles made by your body. She’ll also be able to hear sounds from outside the womb, such as conversations, and loud music, but they will be distorted and muffled.
She’ll learn to recognise your voice as this will travel through your body directly to her and research shows that she is calmed by hearing you speaking.
Sight
Your baby’s eyes are fully formed halfway through your pregnancy (20 weeks), but sight is the last sense to develop. Her eyes will remain closed until 26 weeks, and after this she starts opening and closing them to develop her blinking reflex.
By 28 weeks her eyes are sensitive to light and she may be able to detect a slight glow from very bright sunlight shining on your bump, but her ability to focus and perception of colours won’t develop completely until after she has entered her new world.
At birth she can focus from eight to 12 inches, which is about the distance to your face when you’re breastfeeding her.

Reading is fun!!

My little Grant is becoming such an amazing reader. From the first time he brought a reading book home at the beginning of the school year it seems that he just "got it" Of course he started just the same as any of us with short simple words and sentences, but he immediately picked up on sounding the words out and making a bunch of letters into a word. He understands the concepts of the english language, like the blending sounds (sh,th,ch, etc..) he also understands things like long vowel sounds and short vowel sounds. It is just awe inspiring to see how his little mind has grown and retained all this important information. The other thing that comes along with reading is spelling. You have to be a good speller in order to be a good reader, right? Well Grant blows me away with his spelling. They started doing spelling tests a little while back and Grant has scored 100% on every test he has had! He is an awesome speller! He gets so excited when he brings his perfect spelling tests home, because he knows daddy will take him to see Grandpa Craig and he gives him $3.00 every week for his perfect spelling tests! Jared and I used to spell certain words when we didnt want Grant to know what we were talking about but we can no longer pull that off. Grant always knows right away what we have spelled, no matter how fast we spell it! Grant is a smarty pants at all things he does and tries, but he has really excelled in reading and spelling and I am so proud of my little man!!!

19 weeks (a day early)

So I will be 19 weeks tomorrow but I went in for an ultrasound today. Instead of using generic pictures I find on the internet here are the ultrasound pictures of OUR sweet baby boy!

Your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.2 to 6 inches this week. Your baby weighs approximately 7 ounces and will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and birth!

Most women can feel their uterus about a half of an inch below their bellybutton at this point of pregnancy. If you turn to the side, you can really tell that your body is changing! Most women have gained up to 14 pounds now and only 7 ounces of that is your baby! The placenta weighs about 6 ounces and the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby weighs 11 ounces. Your breasts have increased in weight by 6 ounces each and the uterus has grown to 11 ounces! You may be gaining weight in places other than your abdomen and this may be affecting your posture and sleeping habits.
One of the most amazing aspects of your baby's growth and development is that of the fetal brain. Your baby's brain is one of the first organs to appear. Your baby's oversized head shows the brain's importance in his development. Because the nerves that connect the muscles to the brain have grown into place, your baby's movements are consciously directed. Your baby's ears stand out from the sides of the head and the buds for your baby's permanent teeth appear. Your baby's arms and legs have reached their relative proportions and his feet are approximately one inch long.

I am doing pretty good this week. Still have migraines about twice a week, at least it is not everyday like it used to be. I have some long ligament pain and some major stretching pain but nothing I cant handle. I have been a little bit moody and snapping at my boys a little. I really hate it when I get like that, and the thing that sucks is I dont even know why. Hopefully it will pass soon. I have been thinking and pondering a lot lately. Life, love, God, babies, miracles... All I know is I am one very lucky woman, daughter, wife, and mother!!! I love my life!

It's a boy!!

Yep That's right! It's a boy and we are so excited! We are almost half way through, and it seems like we have forever to go. I've gone shopping and bought some stuff for the little guy now that we know that he is a boy! It has been so much fun! Grant is also very excited now that he has gotten used to the fact that he will have a brother instead of a sister. He just wants a baby! And that is how mommy and daddy feel too! We just want a healthy baby!!!

18 weeks

This Life magazine cover (April 30, 1965) was named one of their best. It shows an 18-week old fetus in the womb photographed using an endoscope with an electronic flash by Sweden’s Linnart Nilsson. His book, A Child is Born, sold 8 million copies in the first four days after publication

Week Eighteen: Baby begins to hear
You are 18 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 16 weeks)
•The fetus is now 6 inches long and weighs 7 ounces.
•The fetus measures about 15cm and weighs almost 200 grams.
•They can hear sounds and may be startled by loud noises.
•Recognizable active and rest periods.
•The skin is building a protective wax layer (vernix).
Vernix (a white cheese like protective material) forms on baby's skin with the lanugo, a soft lightly pigmented hair covering the body and limbs, both help to protect your baby's skin during the months in water. Your baby may hear your heart beating, your stomach rumbling or blood moving through the umbilical cord. He or she may even be startled by loud noises.

Tiny air sacs called alveoli begin to form in lungs and the vocal chords are formed. Baby goes through the motions of crying but without air doesn't make a sound; yet.
Your baby may have the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. Baby will have a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods.
Your baby measures about 6 inches (15cm) crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces (200gm)