Malachi's Birthday

Wednesday was Marley's cousin Malachi's birthday, so we had a party for him at Chick-fil-a. We were there for almost 2 hours and Marley had a blast! She was worn out by the time we left from all the playing with her cousins and friends (a.k.a. random kids she has never met). But she did have enough energy for cake, her favorite dessert!

Will you wrap me like a baby?

Every night when I get Marley out of her bath, I dry her off and she asks "Will you wrap me like a baby?" As hard as it is with my growing belly, I wrap her up like Asa always did after her bath and carry her to the bedroom. I enjoy our minute of remembering her as a little baby and soaking it up as much as I can.

My little manipulator

It's crazy to me how long Marley will play the same game over and over and over again. Today, it was hiding her face while I pretended I couldn't find her. Then she jumped up and I made a surprised face and she laughed her little heart out. Over and over and over again we did this. She smiled, laughed, asked for more. But, like most mommies, I eventually reached a point where I just couldn't do it anymore. And my baby's face turned to this.
So, what happened next? Yep, we played the game 20 more times.

Baking with Marley

Marley loves to help me bake! She puts on her little apron, sits in her chair, helps me measure and pour in ingredients, and is especially good at putting paper cups in the muffin pan. But I really think that the thing she loves the most is licking the spoons!I have been really nesting lately and making all kinds of things for us to eat. Joel probably wants me to stay pregnant forever, because now the kitchen is full of homemade brownies, cookies, and muffins. I am even making several batches of muffins to go in the freezer for easy and healthy breakfasts to feed Marley when the baby is occupying my mornings also. Luckily I have my helper/spoon cleaner to make all of it more fun!

More Sprinkler Fun!

Her favorite thing to do in the sprinkler is for me to tell her what to put in the water. So, I tell her to put her knee in or her hands in or her booty in. But, as you can tell by the pictures, she also LOVES to try to catch the water in her mouth!

Dear Asa,

Thank you for always loving our baby and for being such an amazing Daddy! Happy Father's Day!

Our Family!

37 Weeks Pregnant

I am 37 weeks pregnant! I can't even begin to explain how crazy that is to me! We are really getting down to the wire. I had a page-long To Do list a few weeks ago, and it is gradually getting short and shorter. I had planned to put it all off as long as I could so that I wouldn't be totally bored for the last couple of weeks, but I changed my mind. I have been so exhausted lately that I think I may just need to get it all over with so that I can rest for the last couple of weeks. I'm not always sleepy-tired, it's more is a physical-tired. The whole bedtime routine for Marley really wears me out. Kneeling by the tub to bathe her, bending over to dry her off, lifting her onto the counter to brush her teeth, getting her pajamas on her, and bending over to tuck her in are all really taxing on my body now. That is the one time of the day that I wish I could be over the pregnancy. I absolutely love being pregnant the rest of the day, but I miss all my sweet cuddle time with Marley.

Today I had my 37 week ultrasound and prenatal appointment. The ultrasound was the check the baby's growth. I'm not exactly sure why it needed to be done because my fundal measurements are always right on. But it was a chance to see the baby, so I went for it of course! Joel was a great sport and came to the appointment with me and Marley. He filmed the whole ultrasound for Asa and my mom. It turned out that the baby is measuring around 6 pounds, 13 ounces which is in the 55th percentile. So, it's doing great! When we had this ultrasound with Marley, they told me that her head measured 4 weeks bigger than it should! But this baby's head is measuring right on target! Lucky me! It was great to see the baby, and the ultrasound tech said that he or she is very active. The baby was also "kissing the placenta" just like Marley was, so there weren't any opportunities for pictures.

After the ultrasound, I had my prenatal appointment with Dr. Hill. As of my last appointment, I had not dilated at all, but my cervix was getting soft. Today she told me that my cervix was soft, about 75% effaced, and a fingertip dilated "if anything". Not exactly sure what that means... At my 37 week appointment with Marley I was already 2 centimeter dilated! I have to admit that I was a little disappointed to not be a little bit further along. But at the same time, the baby needs to stay in there for two more weeks, so there's no rush. My blood pressure was a little higher than usual, but still in a normal range. And my hands and feet are still not swollen! So, overall I am in so much better shape than I was with Marley at this point! Marley was born at 37 weeks and 6 days. That's five days from where I am! Crazy!

I have mentioned before that I really think we are having a girl. I call the baby by the girl name we chose and talk about Marley and her sister. Asa and I can't agree on a boy's name, but we always say that it's okay because this baby is not a boy. Well, I did not see what we are having today, but for some reason I am just not so sure anymore. It just kind of hit me that I have nothing to base that on other than a feeling I have. This baby really could be a boy! And here I am convincing myself that it's a girl instead of keeping an open mind about it! I really have no idea! So, I really don't know what I think it is anymore!

Now I just need to finish the things on my To Do list and enjoy my alone time with Marley before the baby gets here! I get so sad every day when I think about the fact that Asa will not be here to welcome this new baby. But I can't stay sad all the time. It's not good for me or Marley. It's just one of those things that we can't do anything about, so we just have to make the best of it. Marley, Baby #2, and I will miss him terribly until the day he comes home though.

Im Married!

I wish I could wear a shirt around every day that says "My husband is deployed! Stop looking at me like I'm white trash!"

There are so many situations where I feel self conscious about the fact that I am alone. At the grocery store the other day, the checker asked me why I wasn't on WIC if I had a kid and one on the way. When I went shopping for a glider at a furniture store last week, the salesman told me they didn't have any "cheap" gliders before I had even mentioned anything about price.

And then there are times when no one says anything, but I just want to announce my marital status just in case people are wondering. Like at gymnastics, where all of our family members have come except for my husband. Or at my prenatal appointments, when every woman is sitting with her spouse or boyfriend waiting to see the doctor. Except me.

If I lived at Fort Leonard Wood, I wouldn't even think about it. Military spouses there do things alone all the time! But for some reason, here in Nacogdoches I feel like I need to announce to everyone that my husband is in Afghanistan. I find myself trying to throw it into random conversations. When people ask me what I'm having, I make sure that I say "My husband and I decided not to find out," just so they know I'm married!

I can handle running errands with Marley and I know I will be able to handle it with two kids. Of course, I would rather have Asa here with me, but it's just not possible right now, so I just do what I have to do. I'm not the wife who resents her husband for "leaving" her alone. I am so proud of him and I know he is doing this for us! It's just hard to be alone sometimes.

So, why do I even care what other people might be thinking about me? Is this crazy?

Dressing Herself

Yes, I totally let Marley wear this out of the house today! It has a lot to do with not having the energy to help her change into something else these days. But it also has a lot to do with me thinking, "Why does it matter?" She's covered in a modest way, and dressed (mostly) appropriately for the weather. So, maybe we are at a good point in her life where she can be a little independent about what she wears! Who knows, she could be a designer one day and I am helping shape her future life goal!

Gymnastics Today

For the month of June, Marley is signed up for two gymnastics classes a week. This was her first week, and she is loving it! Monday, she was a complete pro and loved every minute of it. Today, not so much. I don't know if it was her new teacher or her short nap, but she did not want to cooperate at the beginning. She pouted, cried, and refused to participate. Luckily, her normal teacher was there and helped her get a little bit more comfortable with the class. Half way through, she was smiling and chatting with the other kids. She made new friends and ended up really loving her new teacher!She also got a new leotard from her Daddy this afternoon, and proudly told everyone where it had come from! Everyone told her how pretty it was and she responded, "It's from my Daddy!"