33 Weeks Along

Here I am at about 33 weeks along! Won't be long now...

The First of Many, I'm Sure

Because I don't think there's a place for this kind of thing in the ol' baby book, I decided to commemorate this moment on the blog...with all of you to share. Macey's first official injury!

Last night, our little tornado ran, tripped and fell right into the coffee table at my parents' house. I'm just shocked it's taken 17 months to get a cut like this! This injury came complete with a small gash, blood and not too many tears. She woke up from her morning nap pointing to her cut with a pitiful look on her face. Then she just started poking it and laughing...I think she's proud of her wound.

With the way this child plays, I anticipate many (many!) more bumps, bruises and cuts.

See how much better it looked this morning!

I'm a-ok!

Playing like a good girl at Mellow Mushroom, showing off her band-aid!

A Pineapple, Seriously?

Welcome to week 33! Only 7 weeks until Easton's due date! Yes, I still think he'll arrive earlier. If anyone saw me walking/waddling around Target this morning, they'd probably bet he was coming sooner than February 16, too!

This was a great Christmas with Miss Macey, even if she had more fun "helping" people open their presents rather than her own. Whenever she would finally slow down to open one of her own gifts, she'd say, "Ooohhh" or "woooow." It was fun! I couldn't help but think over and over again that next Christmas, we'll have two sweet babies to celebrate with!

According to BabyCenter.com:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

A pineapple?! Not only does that image seem rather large,but it seems incredibly painful. Here's hoping for a better fruit/veggie comparison next week...

Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately, the stomach bug hit our family hard this year! So hard that Christmas with my side of the family has been indefinitely postponed until everyone is sick and stomach flu-free!

Last night, we celebrated Christmas with the Joyners, and this morning Macey opened her gifts here at home with us. We'll have more photos once the Stopher family Christmas occurs, but here are some highlights thus far!

Opening her stocking on Christmas Eve!

A xylophone! (It's really for the bathtub, but it works in the living room, too!)

Hmmm...what else is in there?

At the Collierville Square...she loved the lights!

Sitting in Santa's chair while he was flying around the world delivering gifts.

Waiting to open gifts at Grandma and Grandpa Joyner's house.

"Oohhhh!" (We heard a lot of that!) :-)

Christmas morning! She loved tearing the paper into teeny, tiny pieces...

Playing a tune for the puppies.

Riding her awesome 4-wheeler! This child has no fear.

"Helping" daddy play his new Wii game.

I hate that this is blurry, but she was cracking up laughing so I had to include it!

Daddy, when you lean forward your car goes faster!

Hehehehahahaha...I'm so funny!

Heading to Granna and Pop's house for some lunch.

Santa's on His Way!

Merry Christmas Eve from the Joyners!

Sweet, sleepy girl!

This one would be my favorite if it weren't so blurry...

Silly, Silly Macey

You spin me right round baby, right round...



For your listening pleasure (or not) Greg singing Katy Perry's "Firework" while Macey gets down! You might want to turn your sound down...

A Jicama, You Say?

32 weeks along! With every passing day I become a little more convinced that Easton will arrive earlier than his expected due date. I still have no logical reason, he just seems like an anxious little fella. And I feel like he's running out of room in there...

According to BabyCenter.com:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

If you're like me and have no clue what a jicama is, here's your lesson for the day: Jicama is a sweet, root vegetable that looks like a turnip. Apparently I don't know what a turnip looks like, because that looks like a cross between a coconut and a potato to me. 

Yummy Apple Sauce

Macey feeding herself apple sauce...a.k.a. Macey getting apple sauce all over her face. (She also spends a good bit of time being distracted by the dogs playing outside.)   :-)

Works for Me!

After I wouldn't let her get down from her high chair with her markers, Macey got so mad at me that she boycotted coloring...by cleaning off her tray with a baby wipe! Works for me! :-)

17 Months Later...

Today, Macey girl turns 17 months old. WHAT?! I know, right? Just a mere 17 months ago, we welcomed her into our little world. Wow.

Lately, she's become very accustomed to hearing "Macey Diane," (in an oh-so stern voice) and "No ma'am we don't hit/throw/etc." The phrase "time out" can bring on tears quicker than you ever imagined, but as soon as her minute is up, she's happy as a lark going on about her business.

Her newest thing is to use the sign language for "more" for everything. It is so cute that I rarely turn her down, even when she's just using it to get her way. For instance, she'll randomly walk in the kitchen, point to the snack cabinet and say, "more" while signing. It's adorable...until you realize she's eaten like 4 packs of fruits snacks!

Everything is changing on a daily basis--her hair's getting longer (and wild!), her speech is getting better and her negotiation skills are better by the minute.

Remember this? Just 17 months ago...

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

When you were little how many times did you torture your parents by doing the banana/orange knock-knock joke? If you were like me, then the answer would be about a million times.

Today, I'm 31 weeks along! For those of you keeping track, that's 9 weeks away from the official due date and about 6.5 weeks away from my prediction of when he'll actually be born. Again, I have no reason for thinking he'll be born January 30 or 31, I just keep thinking he'll be a January baby!

According to BabyCenter.com:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

"He's probably moving a lot, too." Hehehehe, this child is like a freakin' ninja. If he turns out anything like his sister, they will be the fastest little whirlwinds you've ever met! I love the part about him heading into a growth spurt. Who doesn't love a chubby baby?! Macey was 7 pounds even and 20 inches long when she was born, so I wonder if he'll be bigger, smaller or about the same.

Still Growing...

I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that I still have ten weeks left to keep growing. I guess the positive view would be, "Wow! Only ten weeks left until I meet our little boy!" So, I'll go with that one. But a lot of baby/belly growth can will happen in those ten short weeks...

I have a silly and completely unfounded premonition that Easton will be born around January 30 or 31, so if that turns out to be true, then I guess we just have eight weeks left! (Seriously, no medical reason or logic behind that prediction whatsover. Feel free to point that out when I'm still totally pregnant on February 1.)

My pictures have been pretty sporadic during this pregnancy. Basically, if I'm dressed decently for a dinner date or other occasion, we'll snap a picture!

30 weeks along.

I Hope This Happens Next Time I'm at the Mall

Am I the Only One?

Am I the Only Mom Who:

• Talks way too long at the babysitter's house because I hate leaving my little girl for the day? (If you don't believe this, ask our babysitter.)
• Feels a tiny bit guilty when my child is watching Curious George rather than doing something "intellectually stimulating"?
• Worries about whether my child can eat too many bananas or drink too much milk/water/whatever? Seriously, who worries about that stuff?
• Gets scared of an ear infection the second my child touches her ear. (She's only had two in her whole life and the most recent one was a year ago...why do I think it's bound to happen every time she tugs her ear!?)
• Spends a lot of time guessing what my child might be when she grows up. My most recent guesses are veterinarian, member of an awesome dance crew or a comedian.
• Spends more time that anyone should thinking, "What if I'm actually having twins?" Ok, I guess that one's only for moms who are also currently pregnant.
• Firmly believes in the 3, 5, heck 10-second rule? If the snack on the floor is hers, I think she has every right to claim it and eat it.
• Really, really doesn't care about the "no white shoes after Labor Day rule." Seriously people, they're shoes. Who cares what color they are?
• In the same respect...who is perfectly OK if her socks doesn't totally match her outfit. Now, sometimes I do need the socks to match, but it will be OK if they don't.
• Probably laughs at inappropriate times in front my of child. Sometimes, burps are funny. It's just a fact.
• Thinks my mom is WAY smarter now that I have a child. She's always known a lot, but now she knows a lot more!
• Spent the first few months of my child's life thinking my family personally kept the pediatrician's office running around like crazy.

Loving your baby comes easy to us mommas, and I seriously cannot remember what it was like to not have her in my life. I think Greg would agree that our world is much more exciting with our little Macey girl around. In just a couple months we'll double that crazy with Easton's arrival!

Hehe, haha...playing in her old Bumbo seat that is way too small!

Reading to daddy and whichever dog will stop and listen.

Cabbage Schmabbage

30 weeks along and counting!

I hate to disappoint you, but there are really no big updates this week. Things are just moving right along, and we're both growing a little more every day. Lately I've had a few people ask if Macey is excited about being a big sister, but honestly she has no clue what's going on. I have a feeling that she'll love the baby at first; then be annoyed when he doesn't leave our house; then not really care about him very much until he can do more than eat, sleep and poop. She'll only be about 19 months old when he's born, depending on exactly when he makes his grand debut. I guess we'll just have to see!

According to BabyCenter.com this week:
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face.

It's no secret that I'm not a veggie lover, but I really hate that poor Easton is compared to a cabbage this week. I can just smell the nastiness of a cabbage when I see that word.

Weird Dreams

When I was pregnant with Macey, I don't remember having strange dreams. But this time around, I am suddenly having crazy dreams all night long.

Twice in the past week, I have dreamed that Macey was sleeping in our bed (which she wasn't) and that she fell off the bed (which she didn't.) Both times, I sat up quickly and started feeling around the bed to see if she was actually in the there.

Probably not an interesting post, huh?

29 Weeks and Counting

This update has some exciting details to report. Baby J now has a name...Easton Paul. And our sweet boy's room is coming together quite nicely. I feel like we've taken our precious time, but I think things are looking good!

At some point during our long Thanksgiving weekend, I took some small toys and books that Macey has never once played with and moved them into Easton's room. We haven't gotten him any lovies or toys just yet, so his shelves were looking a little bare. Not long later, we watched as Macey walked her little self into his room, took those particular things off the shelf and put them back in her room! This should get very interesting...

According to BabyCenter.com this week:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Trust me, I have no problem stocking this baby up on calcium. If I let myself, I could probably finish a gallon of milk in a few days all on my own!

I could have sworn we'd already had this vegetable...