An Unexpected Beginning: The ramblings of a mind on vacation...

Just a warning...I am going to try to keep my thoughts organized, but it has been rare these days! My brain seems to be taking a vacation, and my poor husband is growing too used to having to try to follow my train of thought in every conversation we have. Then, I just typed my entire post and deleted it instead of copying it, so here we go again...

First, I have to say that my day was made today because I got to visit with a dear friend who is currently fighting breast cancer after fighting thyroid cancer the past few years. She is just one of those people whose faith, joyfulness, and enthusiasm about everything is contagious. She has such steadfast knowledge that her life is not in her own hands, and she has such trust in that. It is amazing to hear her story, to watch her heal, and to learn from her. We all need someone like her in our lives! So blessed!

Yesterday was Father's Day and my parents, my sister, my sister-in-law, and of course the little boys celebrated over here. Matt is officially getting a Father's Day redo one day soon! I woke up yesterday morning with the worst headache I have ever had, and I proved to be rather useless most of the day (called the doc this morning just in case, and she thinks it was a sinus headache, which explains why it wasn't affected by water, Tylenol, or anything else I tried). Matt took over doing branch pick-up from last weeks storms, cleaning inside, building a shelf for LJ's new room, and manning the grill for dinner. I think he definitely earned his day and one day we will make it up...maybe in 18 years :) Either way, it is always nice to hang out with the family, especially now that LJ and Sam are finally getting big enough to acknowledge each other when they are together!

Pregnancy

So far, so good I suppose! I am 26 weeks this week. Last time my water broke in my 27th week, so we are quickly approaching the day, and while I have been very confident that things will be better this time, I have been wavering more the closer we get! I tend to panic over little random things. For example, yesterday's headache. It was a doozie...horrible, but now I know it was a sinus headache (One in which is not helped by drinking massive amounts of water as I discovered. Water with a sinus headache will only prove to double your already frequent trips to the bathroom while not wanting to move too quickly because your headache has not gotten any better). Plain and simple headache...to the logical mind. To my brain, it wasn't just a headache, but a sign that baby girl is determined to come now. Headache=baby. Irrational, yes. But, don't tell that to me in the moment. Heaven forbid I stub my toe tomorrow. I would hate for that to be the next cause of my impending labor! :)

I will have one more ultrasound at my 28 week appointment because I didn't make it to that appointment last time, so it will be like a celebration of a milestone! Once that is over, besides my weekly injections, the plan for the rest of the pregnancy is normal. Note the use of the word plan and the reality that many things in life don't go according to one.

We (and by "we" I mean mostly Matt) have been working hard to turn the office/guest bedroom into LJ's new "big boy" room. The project has somehow gone on longer than we thought, but while I had some of the ideas, Matt has been working hard to make them happen! He has painted, put up bead board, made a framed chalkboard on a wall, installed fans, moved fans, built shelves in the closet, and built a bookshelf for the wall. There is an end in sight, and by this weekend, LJ will give it a go. We wanted to make his new room special because we wanted him to be excited about moving into it. We didn't do much to his nursery at this house because we had decorated the room at the old house and never got that far to do it again here. I think it may work...he loves going into the room and practicing laying in his bed with his head on the pillow. We will see!

At the same time, we have been working on getting baby girl's room together too...we are leaving the paint the same (a light green) but adding some girly flair. I will post some pictures of both rooms once we get them completed...I am super excited to show them off! Matt does some great work!

We went back to the zoo a couple of weeks ago for the Northside NICU reunion. We weren't sure what to expect, if it would be a madhouse, worth the drive, etc. LJ actually seemed to enjoy it more than he did when we were there a month ago, and I was super excited to see one of LJ's nurses and practitioners. The nurse practitioner that took care of him most days was off the day that he was discharged, and since discharges aren't planned well in advance, we never got to see her to thank her for all of the comfort and kindness she gave LJ, who she always called her boyfriend, while he was in the NICU. I also told her that I don't plan on seeing her again anytime soon unless it was to just stop in and say hi.

Last weekend we took LJ to the local splash pad as something a little different and free to do. LJ had a blast! I took comfort knowing that he could run around and play in the water without fear of drowning, and I think he liked having the freedom to explore on his own. While we were right behind him, of course, he loved playing with the sprinklers and got brave enough to run through them. It was a little far for what it was, but it will definitely be on the to-do list for this summer when we need a little free fun!

Last Thursday, LJ and I got to spend our first quality time in the hallway during a tornado warning. We get tornado warnings regularly this time of year, but our county is so big that usually the storm is no where near us, so I watch the radar and if it gets anywhere close, we pack it up. The other night though, the sirens went off, the power went out, the puppies were crazy, and I knew it was time to get LJ up. He had a blast hanging out in the hallway with a bunch of pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and a crib mattress that he never wanted to go back to bed. I got a couple of pictures, but they aren't great because my camera wasn't handy! Our house is fine, but there was a tornado that passed about 1/2 mile north of us...close enough for me!

LJ has been going to gymnastics classes once a week. I have been going to gymnastics classes once a week. It has been fun, but I do know that at some point if he wants to keep going, his daddy is going to have to take over until baby is born! I get to do all of the lifting and flipping, which is fine now, but it won't be for long! He loves it though. He is actually young for the class, but they let him start anyway. He doesn't always to what he is supposed to do in class, but he will start doing it when we get home, so I know he is learning and paying attention. For example, they were practicing walking on their toes a couple of weeks ago, and LJ kept just walking like a heavy footed little boy while in class. The next day, I randomly asked if he could walk on his tip toes, and he immediately tip toed around the house! They do another thing where they put their hands on the floor that climb the wall with their feet. He wouldn't cooperate with that either, but I know that he can actually do it very well in the privacy of his own room. We have a video monitor, and I watch him walking up the side of the crib when he is supposed to be sleeping! All in all, I think it is a good experience. He is learning, he is following directions, he is learning new words, and getting some exercise. I can't complain!

LJ really has become a mime! He says some funny things....of course now I can't think of half of them. I need to start writing things down! He did say "Love you" yesterday to both Matt and I, so that is all that matters!

When we walk in the door, he tells the puppies and he shakes he hand at them, "Back, back, back puppies!"

He will eat anything if you call it a cookie.

LJ's cousin is Sam, and he just figured out how to say Sam. Last night, he started calling his jammies his "sammies." Sam should be honored.

He is a typical boy and has started chanting about toots and poops regularly.

He says "Happy, happy, happy" like Phil on Duck Dynasty.

He thinks it is funny to wake Matt up in the morning by tickling his toes.

We had plans to meet my mom for lunch last week and he said he was going on a date...I have no clue where that one came from but Matt and I both heard it.