Where has the time gone?

I realize it has been a while since my last post and even longer for a post with pictures; I apologize and hope you all can forgive me.

I still can't believe it is October, and the middle of October at that. We have done so much since my last post. Let's see, what all has happened. I have had my Pink Eye flair up three more times since the end of September. I am thinking I may have an allergy to the type of mascara I am using, so I haven't been using it. This is seems to be working, so I need to try another brand soon to rule out it out.

What else? Oh, Jonathon's birthday was last Tuesday. He had the opportunity to watch the Mavericks pre-season game on the floor, but passed it up to spend his birthday at home. Isn't he sweet? He left work early that day and picked Olivia up from Mrs. Mary's house, came home, and they baked his cake together. I know, I know, I am a horrible wife and had my husband bake his own cake. I feel terrible about it but the previous night, I was not feeling well and went to bed super early and didn't have time. Plus, he really enjoyed making it with Olivia and she had a blast, too.

We have already been to the pumpkin patch this year. Olivia loves pumpkins and calls them, "punkins" and even knows they are orange in color, and will tell you after she points out the pumpkins. She had a blast at the patch but did not want to leave the pumpkin bounce house. She could have spent all day there, and probably would have, if it hadn't been 91 degrees outside. Jonathon and I were extremely hot and ready to go after an hour and a half. The best part about this pumpkin patch is everything is completely free, except for drinks and food. They have great back drops for photo opportunities, but it helps when your child likes to stand still and you don't have an ancient digital camera, evidence is at the end of the post.

This past weekend was Drew's 2nd birthday party. Drew is Jonathon's cousin and Olivia's second cousin. Olivia is 11 weeks older than Drew and Claire will be 8 weeks older than Drew's little brother. Drew had a Halloween Costume Party and the kids had a blast. Olivia was originally supposed to go as a monkey but absolutely refused, I mean refused, to wear the costume. She freaked out when we even pulled the costume out, so we had to go another route. I figured we had to get a costume that was as close to normal clothing as possible. When I went looking for another costume, I went with the intention to find a cheerleader costume because I thought she would like the pom-poms, but fortunately, I came across a Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz movie, costume and decided to go with it. It came with the dress and bows for her hair, and I had to buy a basket and the red shoes. I stumbled across the shoes at Target and they are great! They had a basket at the costume shop for $15 but I went to Joann's, bought the basket and the red gingham print fabric to go inside of it for $2.69...much better deal. She wasn't thrilled at first with putting the costume on, but once I did her hair, put her shoes on, and gave her the basket to carry, she was a happy camper. She is absolutely adorable and received lots of compliments.

I took 31 1/2 week pictures earlier this evening, but I hated the way I looked in them, so I will be doing retakes tomorrow night and posting. For the most part, the pregnancy is going great. I am still battling heart burn so I can't wait for that to go away. My iron is a little low so I have to take an iron supplement every other day, but I take it when I remember. I am still not sleeping well at night. The first few hours are great, bu then I wake up hot, toss and turn, and do this until it is time to get up. I have tried Tylenol PM but that doesn't help either. I guess this is my body's way of preparing for no sleep with Claire arrives. Which, is in 7 1/2 weeks...this pregnancy is going by wicked fast; I can't believe it.

We are in the process of transitioning Olivia from her crib to a big girl bed. I have ordered her bedding and it should be here any day. As soon as it is here, we will get her room painted, furniture in it, and have her moved in by the beginning of November. She is ready to move, but I think I am holding off as long as possible because it means my baby isn't a baby any more; she is a big girl.

We are taking our last trip as a family of 3 at the end of October. We are driving up to Indiana for a week and a half. Don't worry, I have already gotten the ok from doctor to go. We are breaking up the trip up so I won't be too uncomfortable and Jonathon won't be too worn out. We are going to Jonesboro first to see Silas, Lauren and Ty for a day. Then, we are heading to Illinois to see Jonathon's great grandma for a day. Then, we are off to Anderson for a full week. We are planning on seeing a lot of family, relaxing, taking it easy, and Jonathon wants to cook while we are there, too. On the way back, we are stopping in Searcy to visit Jonathon's aunt and then coming home.

So, we have already done a lot and we have so much more planned. I hope I can keep up and we are able to do everything we have planned. For some of you, I will be seeing you real soon, 12 days I believe. Below are the pictures I promised and be on the look out later this week for 32 week shots; I hope I like them enough to post :)

Emma Update

Yesterday, I had my 24-week appointment with an Ultrasound. If you remember, four weeks ago, when we found out the sex of the baby, she was like a little Mexican Jumping Bean and they were not able to get a good look at her face, so this was a continuation of that Ultrasound. I am happy to report, so far so good. She was very cooperative this appointment, I think she was sleeping, and the Tech was able to look at everything without much prodding. Her heartbeat is 160, which it has been around that number the whole pregnancy, and she weighs 1 pound 11 ounces. I'm not sure if she is bigger than she is supposed to be, but I do know she has gained a whole pound in 4 weeks :) We were able to get a couple of 3-D images, but due to lack of a scanner, I cannot get show them to you. It was funny to look at her because she was laying with one leg up by her face the whole entire time; I think we have a future gymnast on our hands. While talking to my doctor, I mentioned that I have been having a lot of heartburn (the other day I took 6 Tums throughout the day to try and relieve the pain) and he told me to start taking Pepcid AC and if I didn't see an improvement, we would have to go another way. So, I am hoping the Pepcid works because heartburn sucks :(

I don't know how many of you watch the TV Show, "Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood" but I watch it every week. Anyway, a couple of episodes ago, Tori gave birth to their baby girl via C-Section. As a gift, her husband, Dean, gave her a Designer Hospital Gown and I have wanted one since I saw that episode. I immediately found the company that Dean used, and others too, and showed it to Jonathon. We talked, and he said I could get a couple for when I am in the hospital recovering from my C-Section on December 4th. So, anyway, I asked my doctor yesterday if he thought that would be ok, and he asked me if I watched Tori and Dean's show and I said, "Yes", and then asked him, "Do you?" and he said, "Oh yeah!" Jonathon and I started laughing because when he said he closed his eyes and had this look on his face like, "of course, doesn't everybody". My doctor said when he schedules my C-Section he will ask the Charge Nurse if it would be ok, but he didn't see a problem with it. Then he said he was going to go home and tell his wife :).

After my appointment, Jonathon and I got lunch together and enjoyed spending some alone time before he had to go to work. My Sister-In-Law, Alison, was very kind and volunteered to take Olivia to the Fort Worth Zoo yesterday so I could have a day to myself. I was giddy, but didn't know what to do. My appointment was at 9:45 and by the time we finished, got lunch and came back home, it was 11:30. So, after Jonathon left, I watched a couple of shows I had recorded, and then went and ran some errands. I went to the bank, Kohls-to get Jonathon some new jeans, and then went to get a manicure. When I walked in the door, they asked me what I would like and told them and then the lady took one look at my toe nails and said, "Do you want a pedicure too?" I said, "Oh, why not." It was great. This was only my second pedicure ever and like fourth manicure and it was great. I got a pedicure that was specifically for tired, achy, swollen feet and it was great. They put a peppermint scrub on my lower legs and it felt so good. The peppermint felt incredible. It felt like I had a constant cooling sensation on my lower legs the rest of the afternoon.

Last night, Alison watched Olivia for Jonathon and I so we could have a date night. We went to the local movie theater to watch Cirque Du Soleil show Delirium on the big screen. While it wasn't my favorite Cirque show, it was good. This particular show featured a lot more singing and less acrobats than I like. Afterwards, we went and got dinner and were home before 10.

Jonathon and I have a busy weekend planned: tonight he is working on both cars, changing the Transmission fluid in the Expedition and changing the oil in both cars. Tomorrow, I am going to attend a breastfeeding class in the morning and then go and do my Fantasy Football Draft tomorrow afternoon for my pool at work. Then, we are having some friends over for dinner, which will be great. Tamra is pregnant too and due mid-September so it will be great to talk about pregnancy related stuff :) Sunday, we have church and then another Fantasy Football Draft in the early afternoon. I am on a mission to find a football shaped cupcake pan this afternoon. We will also be taking 24-week belly shots, so be on the look out for those sometime this weekend.

It's a ...

Today, as most of you know, I had my 20-week Ultrasound and Checkup. The Ultrasound took a little longer than expected, due to baby being very active and not cooperating for pictures. However, everything looks great and I do not have Placenta Previa! Whoo-hoo! This was my major concern; this is what I had with Olivia and caused me to deliver early. Everything looked and sounded great, although at my next appointment I have to go in for another Ultrasound and try to look at baby's face. The Technician was able to look at baby's lips, but nothing else. They want to be able to say they looked at everything and time was slipping away so we opted to look at the face next time. I am telling you, this baby was like a Mexican Jumping Bean...it was everywhere!

I have finally started to feel baby move and kick, and Jonathon has too. Olivia was a mover and shaker during the day where as this baby is a night owl. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I need a good sleeper!

Well, I wish I could post pictures from our Ultrasound, but we do not have a scanner. So, if you would like to find out the sex of the baby just scroll down and look at our homemade pictures.





Emma Claire Simmons should make her debut on December 4, 2008. Currently she weighs 12 ounces and her heart beat is 160 Beats Per Minute. Like I said earlier, the Technician said everything looks awesome, and that is what is most important to us. My doctor said that since everything looks great, I should have a pretty smooth pregnancy.

I have finally started gaining weight, but I will not mention numbers. My blood pressure is really good, actually, a little low in my opinion. I am experiencing a lot of heart burn lately and the Tums are sitting on my night table next to the bed, since it seems to hit me right before going to sleep. Other than the heart burn, I am doing really well and enjoying this pregnancy. I have to say my favorite thing so far about being pregnant is watching Olivia rub my belly, say, "baby", and then kiss my belly. I also get tickled when she goes up to Jonathon's belly, rubs it and says, "baby"...too cute. She even rubs her own belly and says, "baby". We tell her that only Mommy has a baby in her belly, but I don't think she quite grasps that concept yet.

So, we just ask that you all pray for this pregnancy to be smooth sailing and complication-free. We also ask that you pray for Emma to be strong and healthy on delivery day and pray for Olivia to handle the transition from Only Child to Big Sister smoothly.

We are very excited to add Emma Claire to our family and can't wait to meet her!

First Post

Well folks, I have decided to enter us into the world of blogging. I have a couple of friends who do this on a regular basis and thought I would try this out and see how it goes. I figure since most of our friends and family are near and far, this would be the best way to keep everyone informed of what is going on with us, but more importantly, with Olivia.
Recently, we have been busy with traveling and being sick. This crazy Texas weather does not help. The saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait 5 minutes and it will change". Boy, they aren't lying. I swear in one day it can go from 65 degrees and sunny to 45 degrees, cold and windy...no wonder we stay sick. I am recovering from Bronchitis, which I got the week of New Years, and it feels like I am getting it again, or at least a cold, lets hope for the latter.
Olivia has a nasty cough and it only seems to bother her at night, when she is sleeping. On top of the nasty cough, she is teething. Now normally teething isn't an issue with our Sweet Cheeks--her nickname given to her by Daddy and now adopted by Momma, too--she teeths like a champ. Just a couple of months ago, she cut all 4 of her molars at the same time and you would never have known it, but these incisors/fangs are kicking her little tushie. Normally when she teeths, she drools quite a bit and only needs her pacifier to soothe her, but her sleep has never been effected. However, with these fangs, not the case. Sunday night she woke up every 3 hours crying because they were hurting. Of all nights for this to happen, since I had to work the next day. Needless to say I went in her room each and every time, picked her up, hugged her, and then put her back to bed. At first I was a little disgruntled, not only because I had to get up at 5:45 a.m. to be at work by 7:00 a.m., but because I had a hard time falling asleep and know it was well past midnight before I did. But, after each time I went in to comfort her, I felt great because it made me feel good to know that all she needed from me was a hug to make her feel better.
As for Jonathon, he is doing great. He has been doing some traveling for his job recently and up until today, there was a possibility of him going to Hong Kong and Tokyo at the end of January until February 15th. Unfortunately, he was the back up plan and they didn't need him. He was bummed but at the same time relieved. The longest he has been away from us was back in November when he went to London for 10 days, and it nearly broke his heart when he came back and Olivia didn't want him to hold her as soon as he walked out of the terminal.
I will try to post something on this blog at least once a week, but please do not hold me to it. But please visit often and leave messages. I promise as soon as I become more savvy with this site, I will post pictures.
Ciao!