Belly Pic Update

Okay, here is what I think will be last belly picture for all of you fans of my belly. A little over 2 weeks and baby girl will be here!





And just for fun, here is what I looked like with Samuel at about the same number of weeks...


I have every intention of posting one more time before Christmas, but in case I'm a complete loser and do not do so, Merry Christmas everyone!

Samuel brings such Joy

Samuel broke his first Christmas ornament. For some reason this is noteworthy to me, just one of many firsts. Unfortunately it was a rather new ornament, fortunately I hadn't grown any sentimental attachment to it.

I couldn't get mad at him. It was my fault he was even in the room with the Christmas tree (we finally found the most awesome baby gate that he can NOT break through, no matter how hard he tries).

Besides, when your kid has this much fun with a spatula and diapers, you just learn to appreciate the small things.

You know you're pregnant when...

-Your husband, who is usually a walking heater and gets annoyed when you stick your cold feet under him to get warm, is now curling up to you to stay warm...
-And sticking his cold feet on you - and you don't mind one bit because it feels good
-Same husband then calls you a "freak of nature" because you have the fan directly pointed at you, the covers kicked off, and it's 40 degrees outside.
-You turn the heat on in the car, then turn it to the air because it's too hot, roll down your window because the air isn't cool enough, then turn it back to heat because you got too cold all in the same 5 minute car ride.
-Think a baked potato topped with baked beans and french fried onions sounds good, and you actually eat it.
-Have a sudden craving for rice krispie treats at 9pm, make yourself some, sit on the couch with the pan and proceed to eat half of the treats...
-Then wake up around 3am and wonder why you feel so nauseous...
-Go to the bathroom 3 times in a 30 minute period
-Laugh along with your husband as he teases you about something and then the next minute start crying because he's "being so mean."
-Cry because there are too many raisins in your bowl of Raisin Bran.
-Know you're completely exhausted and need to go to bed but you don't have the energy to walk the few feet down the hall and so you just sit on the couch and start crying until your husband has compassion on you and picks you up (yep all XXX pounds of you) and carries you to bed.
-Wake up in the morning feeling like someone beat you up during the night
-Wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed...

While at the Doctor's Office today...

Doctor (while measuring my belly): "You've officially run out of room."

Does this mean I can stop growing for the next 7 weeks?

Spoiled

My husband spoils me.

Last night he took me out to dinner and surprised me with a pearl necklace.

All because he wanted to thank me for being me.

And I fell in love with him all over again...

PICTURES!!!

Finally, I have the pictures for the previous post:



Yes, he's laying on the floor because he was mad at me for making him wear that costume again and right before his nap! And once again, blogger has a mind of its own and has rotated my picture for some odd reason...



The gorgeous colors and the perfect weather has made taking walks and playing outside so pleasant and fun right now!

And last, but not least, a belly pic. Taken today at 31 weeks and 4 days.

No Camera

Equals a sad Aubrey. We can't find our camera, so while this post would be full of pictures, I unfortunately have nothing to share.

Samuel was an adorable little dog for Halloween... couldn't find my camera so no pictures. As soon as I find it though I'm dressing him up again and taking pictures.

I would update you with a belly pic - I'm soooo big. Although the doctor said I'm looking good and right on track. That's not how I feel.

We actually have Fall happening here in Oklahoma. The trees have turned amazing colors that you just don't see that often around here. The weather is amazing and has offered many beautiful walks with Samuel.

But alas, no pictures.

Okay, so the irony of ironies. My feet fell asleep on me while writing this post and while trying to massage the tingling feeling out I found the camera shoved down amid all the cords under the computer... Looks like you will be getting those pictures sooner rather than later.

Dear Journal,

I learned a valuable lesson over the weekend. I don't know if it's my pregnancy hormones causing me to be sentimental or something much stronger, but I feel I should write down my lessons in humility, weakness, and gratitude.

You see, I learned that the Lord really does know what He's doing, and that He knows me better than I know myself. You may know how fiercely independent I am as a person. My level of independence often borders pride. I work hard to accomplish my goals. I supported myself through school and when I married I supported my husband through school. I take care of myself and others and hate to depend on others. It has taken me 24 years, 7 months, one marriage to a great man, 1.5 pregnancies, a beautiful son, and many humbling experiences to understand that I never have and never will be able to do it completely on my own.

If you fast-forward through my childhood years and start with my adult years (where the independence starts to become pride), then I would say my first lesson was marriage. It was the first step I had to take to trust in someone else - a person who could pretty much be considered a complete stranger to me. Marriage was soon followed by pregnancy and I had to lean a little more on my husband. Pregnancy was soon followed by a C-section and now I not only had to trust myself to my husband, but I had to trust the life of our newborn child to him.

However, independence still raged inside me. While I was willing and able to accept my husband in my life, an inner-battle raged inside me concerning our families. How much help did I accept from them? How involved did I let them be in our lives and the lives of their grandchildren? My independence screamed "move away! move far, far away!" I encouraged my husband to look at jobs across the country, but the Lord had a different plan and we ended up one short hour away from our nearest relations. Over the past ten months I've begun to see why. Because the Lord knew how much I was going to need our families and how much I would appreciate having them nearby.

Over the past weekend, Carlin and I were battling a violent and serious case of food-poisoning that left us too weak to care after our toddler and left me in a battle of dehydration. As Saturday morning approached and we were still sharing the use of the bathrooms (oh how lucky we were to have two bathrooms) we realized it was time to call in reinforcements. Plans were canceled, schedules changed, calls made, family was willing to drive 90 miles to come to our rescue. My MIL stayed by our sides until we proved to keep liquids down and it became apparent I would not need to make a trip to the hospital. Samuel was whisked away to loving grandparents so that Carlin and I could make a full recovery. Oh how grateful I was for the outpouring of love and service that flowed from our families.

Another fear was comforted. That was my fear of having another c-section with this baby. And I will have to have another c-section. I've been so scared and I realized it's mostly because I won't be able to do it on my own. I will need help. I laughed as I realized the Lord was saying "Duh Aubrey! I've known all along, I've kept your family close by, now grow up and lean on them." So let me say the words I probably don't say often enough (but will work harder to do so) Thank you and I love you.

And Mom and Dad, since you've been in my life since day one, I owe you a special thank you. Thank you for your constant love, patience and companionship as I tried to independently find my way through life. I've come to realize over the past few months that I never was alone.

Once in a Lifetime

We had one exciting weekend. There was OSU's homecoming, which is seriously just amazing and if you live nearby you should really go at least once. We spent lots of family time. Carlin's brother Bryan and wife Bianca with son Zachary flew in for the U2 concert. We were excited to see them, it was my first time to meet them since our wedding and it was the first time the cousins met. They were instant friends and I think might have plans to start their own band...


A picture of all of us... Samuel was seriously all over the place and it was one of the decent shots we actually got in. Also, please consider this my belly pic. As you can plainly see I'm freakin' huge and really not up to taking pictures right now.

We then all headed over to the U2 concert. Yes, that's right. We went to see U2. It was only 2 short years ago that I took Carlin to U2-3D at the IMAX thinking that would be the closest I would ever get him to U2. Boy was I wrong. And man, what a concert! I'm not much of a concert person, but this was something completely its own. It made me feel like part of something international. Bono sings from the heart, using his music and talents to inspire those around him.


Me and Carlin during intermission.


The opening band Black-Eyed Peas, which I have to admit, wasn't half bad.

Carlin got creative and took these two pictures by zooming through the binoculars:

Bono.


Okay this stage was seriously cool. The screen moved up and down and split apart. The bridges moved carrying the performers around the stage and it was a giant circle so the concert was a 360 degree show.

Notice the screen nice and neat at the top of the stage. Now see the screen all split apart descending upon the performers...


Cool, hunh? We had so much fun and Carlin loved it. I think, if he has a bucket list, we fulfilled one of the top 5 things to do!

Toilets are SO Fascinating

I had just finished changing Samuel's diaper at church yesterday. While trying to shove everything back into the diaper bag the little stinker broke free.

Next thing I knew splashing noises were coming from one of the stalls. I frantically started opening stall doors at random (thankfully there are only four stalls in the bathroom) and found my son dripping wet with a bewildered look at my frantic face.

There was a pause as we both stared at each other. Apparently, Samuel decided that I wanted to see what he was doing...

Down went the hands, out went the water - all over my legs and shoes. My super-ninja-mother-reflexes finally kicked in and it was off to the paper towels with Samuel squirming to break free again.

Seriously?! The kid is only 16 months!

Nesting

As defined by mamashealth.com: Nesting is the term used to refer to an expectant mother’s instinct which gives her a surge of energy which prompts her to clean and do various chores around her home. Nesting usually arises as the mother nears her due date.

I never experienced this with Samuel. My Mom kept asking me if I was "nesting" yet, if I had set up the cradle, etc. Honestly, she seemed more excited about it than myself. I didn't know what to expect with a newborn and the obsessive-compulsive nature was dormant while pregnant with Samuel. My motto was definitely, "C'est la vie." I left for the hospital with my apartment in complete disarray - I'm not sure if we even had the cradle ready. We did at least have the car seat set up in the car. Luckily I had some lovely friends from church come over and set everything up for us - when we got home from the hospital we had a diaper changing station, a swing, and the cradle set up and ready to lay down our little newborn.

Well, if pregnancies are any indications of personalities then these two sibling are going to be polar opposites! I have been obsessed with getting the house clean, I start new projects before I've finished old ones. The only thing slowing me down is the lack of energy and morning sickness that comes with pregnancy. Oh and Samuel. As I get nearer to my due date I start to freak out a little bit more. There are papers to organize, rooms to completely refurbish, boxes that need to be packed, boxes that need to be unpacked, items to give away, sale, replace, or put away. We need to dust, vaccuum, wash, scrub, launder, sweep, and mop everything. I've also compulsively researched car seats, strollers, cradles, and the list goes on.

Carlin doesn't quite understand this behavior (of course, according to him the house is always clean), but has been very supportive. Especially when he finds that I've tried to move big furniture items by myself. Ah - the joys of pregnancy...

The Fair

Yesterday was $2 Tuesday at the fair, so Carlin and I thought we would take the evening and go check it out. We walked through a couple of the Expos and treated ourselves to fair food. Funnel Cake... yummm.

We went through the trade show which was fun. So many knick-knacks you don't really need but the vendors try to talk you into buying. Then we went to Agtropolis. This was so much fun, especially for Samuel. He loved it.




Samuel thought the chicks were so funny. I didn't let him pet the chicks but he did get to pet a bunny rabbit, which was just as good.


He also thought the sheep and goats were great and kept saying, "baaaa, aaaaa."


A view of the fair from our car. Overall we had a great time. We didn't do too much since we went in the evening and Samuel was tuckered out after a couple of hours.

Carlin said that it was basically all the same stuff year-to-year so we will just hit it up again next year. Maybe I will enter a pie in the pie-baking contest and a chance to win $200, next year!

Random Life Updates

So, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I got my hair cut. It was looking particularly cute one night so I had Carlin take a couple of pictures. Here is my new, layered look:


And the back...


We were up in Stillwater celebrating my brother, Dallin and wife Samantha's birthdays a couple of weeks ago and decided to go to the County Fair. We saw a HUGE watermelon and had to take pictures to prove it:

Yep, that says 110 pounds! Seriously, the biggest watermelon I've ever seen.

The pregnancy is going well. I was reprimanded at my last doctor's visit to drink more liquids and eat more protein, so, I'm drinking 3 liters of water (at least) a day and eating protein with every meal and snack. I'm kind of getting all proteined out. Other than that our little girl is moving and kicking and healthy. No names yet, but I would love to hear suggestions.

Carlin and I have decided that we have officially been initiated into parenthood having recently taken our first trip to the emergency room. We were getting ready to leave our friend's baby shower (yay for Nichole!) when Samuel decided to trip into a brick fireplace. Right before the Georgia v. OSU game too. There was blood everywhere and Samuel was crying - although I think he was more mad at us that we were pinning his arms to his side to attend to the wound. By the time we got to the ER he had calmed down and was flirting with the nurses... until they glued his wound shut. Yep, they used glue, not stitches, with which we were just fine. He showed no signs of a concussion or any kind of serious head trauma. In fact, we were chasing him around the ER room trying to keep him out of stuff while waiting to be discharged. We did make it to the last half of the game after getting Samuel settled at my parent's house.


Samuel's bump. (Sorry, blogger keeps uploading it sideways and I've just given up trying to fix it - just tilt your head.)


Us at the game. We have season tickets and are super excited. The Cowboys are already ranked 5th in the national standings! Woohoo!

And to prove that Samuel is fine and back to his normal mischievousness:

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

That's what little boys are made of.

Sugar and spice and everything nice
That's what our baby girl is made of...

Awesome New Dance Moves!

Samuel LOVES dancing - especially when Daddy provides the music!

Pregnancy Update

Update No. 1: My due date has changed from January 13 to January 7. This is the official-no-more-moving-schedule-date-for-c-section due date. (They've moved my due date about 3 times...)

No. 2: We find out what we are having next week. I've set up a poll to get your opinion as to what it is, please let me know.

For some help on the vote, I've been more tired and emotional with this pregnancy. (Which could have something to do with the one year old I chase around on a daily basis). I've had more pronounced food cravings and still struggle with morning sickness. With Samuel I had completely moved on from the morning sickness at about 12-13 weeks. Mexican food and Sonic don't do well with me and I think my heartburn is worse than last time. I couldn't stomach Chinese food with Samuel, I love Chinese food with this baby. I have a huge sweet tooth with this one and love fruit, Samuel was salty and I loved vegetables. Have I mentioned how completely exhausted I am with this one? To top it off I don't sleep as well with this one. Samuel I slept completely through the night, nothing could wake me up. This one I get up (usually to use the bathroom) at least once and wake up multiple times for no apparent reason.

No. 3: I am completely exhausted all the time.

No. 4: For Whitney, belly picture. Not my greatest picture and I swear I look bigger than I feel. Oh and I have a new haircut - I will have to post a better picture later.

Hide-and-Seek

Samuel loves to hide his toys. I find toys in odd places all over the house, my closet, his dresser, bathroom, inside other toys. I have to check the trash can on a daily basis to make sure we don't accidentally throw something away.

His most favorite place is the kitchen - so many drawers and cabinets he can place his toys. For example, the other day I pulled out a cake pan to find this:



Usually I notice these things before an accident can happen, however, all good things must come to an end. Carlin was very sweetly making dinner the other night and decided to grill some french bread (basted in butter) on his George Foreman to go with the yummy spaghetti dinner. He pulled out the George Foreman, plugged it in and prepped the bread when he smelled burning plastic...





They are magnets that go to a farm - half of a cow and half of a duck to be specific.



Sigh...

"Don't Need You to Tell Me I'm Pretty"

I was listening to the "Legally Blonde" soundtrack the other day (total girl-power music by the way) when I heard the song "Don't Need You to Tell Me I'm Pretty" by Samantha Mumba. As I was singing along to the lyrics I had subconsciously remembered over the years, I found myself actually listening to the song.

It was refreshing.

"I don't need you to
Tell me I'm pretty to make me feel beautiful
I don't need you to
Give me your strength to make me feel I'm strong
I got all of this strength that I need here
inside my own two hands
All that I want is your love and respect for who I am
What I really need
Comes from deep inside of me"

Suddenly, I remembered the girl Carlin married three years ago. I was confident in me, I didn't need his approval of my outfit for the day, or his constant reassurance I was beautiful and skinny, or a reminder that I was intelligent and motivated. While those compliments are greatly appreciated and I do need his reassurance that HE thinks I'm beautiful I should not rely on him to feel beautiful. I should feel beautiful because I think I'm beautiful.

So, here's the song, listen to it. For all my beautiful, talented friends who are now wives and mothers, remember that you are still beautiful and talented. For all my friends still looking for love, remember that all you need from your future sweetheart is their love and respect for who you are!

Carlin, I love and respect you. Thank you for being my best friend.

Swim Lessons

Samuel is a fish - not even kidding.

The kid has no fear of water, he gladly put his face in to "blow bubbles" and was kicking and swinging his arms with all his might.

He was soooo in his element.

No pictures, so just use your imagination.

Extra, Extra, Read all about it!

Oh goodness I've been quite the slacker. Let's start at the beginning of the month:

June 14: My wonderful husband turned one year older and wiser too. We had strawberry pie and opened presents. Happy Birthday dearest.

June 21: Father's Day. Carlin celebrated his second Father's Day. He got socks, a very Fatherly present if you ask me. :)

June 27: My handsome brother married one beautiful girl. Dallin and Samantha were joined together in matrimony at 6pm in the evening. The wedding was beautiful, the reception was beautiful, the bride was gorgeous, and my brother couldn't wipe the grin off his face.



I didn't have that many great pictures of everyone - but this gives you an idea.

We spent the weekend with my parents and then headed back home to pack and leave once more. This time we were on our way to Washington, D.C. The flights were rough... On our way out there I actually threw-up on the plane (I've never thrown up on a plane, I blame it on morning sickness). Our way back was a complete circus. There was mechanical failure on the plane and we missed our connecting flight in Detroit. We were rerouted on a flight to Tulsa, but our luggage is still lost. Sigh.

The trip was super-fun, not very relaxing, but super-fun. There was just so much to see - too much to see. I was excited about everything. I just love history. My favorite was probably the library of Congress. I want the reading room.




Us in front of the capital - we had a personal, staff-led tour of the capital. It was awesome and we felt elite.


In front of the capital (other side from previous picture).


Samuel on the lucky star in the capital. Legend says if you step on the star you will have luck for the rest of the year or something.


We also went to the D.C. Temple - that place was huge and absolutely gorgeous.


We also went to Old Town Alexandria which is on the banks of the Potomac River. It was really neat looking at all the old townhouses from the original colony days. There are lots of shops and dining options. We ate at a seafood place, where else are you going to get amazing crab?!

I was completely excited to spend Independence Day in the Nation's Capital. We even braved the crowds and watched the Fireworks on the National Mall - right next to the National Monument.



While we were there we saw the Smithsonians: Museum of Natural History and Museum of Space and Air. We tried to see the Gallery of Art but it sadly closed early that day.


Carlin in front of the Supreme Court.

We also went to the National Zoo.

Samuel about to be eaten by a T-Rex!

After seeing a Dateline special behind-the-scenes with Barack Obama where Obama goes to his favorite burger joint - Five Guys, we just HAD to try it too.

They were great burgers, and we were completely stuffed.

We also went to Mount Vernon:



View from George Washington's house!


Carlin's brother Mike and wife Cathy. They graciously let us stay with them and even watched Samuel a few times so we could have some precious one-on-one time exploring D.C.

And, what would a trip to the Nation's Capital be if we didn't take pictures outside the White House?


It was such an amazing trip and we weren't able to do everything. I get chills every time I think of how I walked the same halls Abraham Lincoln and George Washington walked. Everything has historical importance. Even down to the ice cream parlor Pop's which Eleanor Roosevelt used to serve the same ice cream to her guests at the White House. So cool!

Hints...

I've been quite delinquent on posting stuff lately. I know of at least one person who took that as a hint.

I wanted Hooters for my anniversary dinner... that should have been a major hint.

I've been more emotional, tired, and lazy lately.

I was eating spaghetti last night, it had sounded soooo good. A couple of bites into it and I thought I was going to throw up.

Yes, that is a little poochy tummy in the Cha-Cha video.

Yep, if you haven't figured it out yet or heard through the grapevine baby #2 is on its way. Estimated arrival: January 13.

Have I ever mentioned...?

That I have another blog? My best friend Whitney and I decided to start a blog where we can express our opinions and encourage discussions. It's called Hot Chocolate Talk and it is where the majority of my opinionated posts have gone.

I failed to mention it earlier, partly because Whitney and I have a lot of mutual readers and she mentioned it on her blog. I realized recently I have a lot of my own readers too. :)

Anyway, please join us on Hot Chocolate Talk and let us know what you think.

Cha Cha

Last weekend Carlin and I danced the Cha-cha for a church dance festival. We worked pretty hard on it and it was a lot of fun to do. I recommend trying out ballroom dancing. Next stop: Dancing with the Stars!

Memorial Day Weekend

This year, Memorial Day = Samuel's 1st Birthday. Of course, I was super excited to get to throw my son his first birthday party. Both of our families and adopted Aunt Brandie and Uncle Nate came. It was a bubble theme. I made a triple layer cake with blue bubbles on it and we had a bubble machine (that I sort of forgot about till halfway through the party). We grilled up hamburgers and chicken patties and ate to our stomach's content. Unfortunately, I was really lame taking pictures.



Here is the all-important, eating-of-the-cake picture. I tried to make a little individual cake just for him, unfortunately it didn't turn out (which is why we ended up with a triple layer cake). At first he was unsure what to do, but once he realized he was allowed to smush and play with it, there was no stopping him.

He also got a lot of great gifts, which his Dad and Uncles had fun playing with...


Happy Birthday Dearest Samuel.

Tomorrow is our third year wedding anniversary. As a little treat, Grandma Walser had Samuel come over last Friday while Carlin and I treated ourselves to a hotel by Bricktown. We saw Night at the Museum 2, rode on the canal boats, walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk, and went to Hooters. Yep, that's right. We weren't that hungry for dinner since we had eaten at La Luna for lunch and we didn't want to go to a really nice restaurant and order just a salad, so we ended up at Hooters. It was my first time there.



Me outside Hooters.

The view from our Hotel room.


We stayed at the Colcord Hotel, it was okay, but I am in no hurry to get back.

There was one more thing we did... We bought a couch!


Happy Anniversary to me! I love you Carlin - Happy Anniversary.

P.S. The couch came with those pillows - isn't that just fabulous!