Bubble Baths & Baby Names

Bubble Baths

Ever since we have discovered Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath, Alexis rarely takes a bath without them. They are very gentle and have the no more tears formula so we have lots of fun with them. It was probably a good 2 or 3 weeks before she even played with any of her bath toys after we started using them. The bubbles were enough for her. It always amazes me how little it takes to please a child, and how I wish I was more like that.

The bubbles were a "big deal" and still make a hit every night, but at first it was almost a tragedy to Alexis when bath time ended. She did not like her bubbles going away. I've always let all the water drain and then rinsed her really well to get all the soap out of her hair. So, we made a little ritual of telling the bubbles bye bye. Through the tears the first night or two, Mommy told Alexis that the bubbles had to go bye bye, but they would be back tomorrow. So, now at the end of every bath, Alexis stands in the tub and helps Mommy rinse all the bubbles away, and in her sweet little voice, while waving wildly at the bubbles says, "Bye, bye bubbles, back, morrow." It is one of the highlights of my day. (That's why I have to get off of night shift, it just isn't right for Mommy to be away from her little baby at night time.)

Baby Names

Ross and I are having a terrible time coming up with names for our new baby. I guess we don't have a real sense of urgency about it since we don't know the sex of the baby. But, with Alexis we had at least 2 names chosen for each sex. So, you would think we would still have boy names since we got our girl, but for whatever reason we just haven't found any names we really like and agree on. I have a few I really like that Ross isn't so hot about and I feel the same way about some he likes. I went to a baby name website earlier and browsed some names, but nothing has just jumped off the page at me. I'm hoping this means that if we still don't have a name by delivery day that God will give us a good one. I think we both realized after having Alexis, that it is a big deal to give another person their name for life. We have agreed that the next babies name will not end in "s". Try saying Alexis's room.....it doesn't roll of the tongue very easy! :) Not to say that I have any regrets about naming her Alexis, because I have absolutely none, but sometimes I don't think we realize all the aspects of choosing a name. I can't imagine Alexis having a different name, and I'm sure we will come up with something for our new little one as well. Right now, just seem to have major brain freeze!

PS: I'm very interested to know who has voted in my poll, so leave me a comment please. So far, everyone thinks boy. Is that because of how I look? Or because we already have a girl? Let me know what you are thinking!

My 5 Senses

• Sight:
  The sight of my daughter learning and experiencing new things everyday

• Hearing:
  The sound of laughter filling my home with joy

• Smell:
  The way Alexis smells after a bath

• Taste:
  Her sweet baby kisses

• Feel:
  Her little arms wrapped tight around my neck

Pregnant Buddies

This is me and my good friend Amy Reed. She is pregnant with her first, baby girl Callie, and she is due on September 16th. I'm due with our second baby (could be a boy or it could be a girl!) on September 17th. This was taken today at her baby shower. Several people today informed me that I was having a boy. This pregnancy has been a little different from my first, but I don't know if that really means anything or not. I am getting anxious to meet my little one though!

32 Weeks

Me & my girl!

32 weeks 4 days pregnant!

Early Morning

Good Morning! It's 8 am and I'm up. A little out of schedule for me, 9 is usually a good time to roll out on Sunday.

Dad came down last night and he and Ross were up early drinking coffee and getting ready to work upstairs today. Alexis woke up a little after 7 which is typical, but she usually goes back to sleep with me til about 9 or so. We were getting all snugly and she heard Dad talk, so she listened again.......and then she said, "Papa, here!", "See him", so she vaulted off the bed to go see her Papa and we've been up ever since.

It's not a bad thing to be up early sometimes. I look forward to the day that I can be a normal person and not a night shifter. Last night at 10 o'clock I was full of energy, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, you name it, I'm ready for it at night. It makes Ross crazy sometimes, but it's what feels right for my body. I'm looking forward to maternity leave for many reasons, one of them being I get to keep a more normal schedule....well as normal as a schedule can be with a newborn!

Today, I'm going to work on the rest of the laundry and keeping the house picked up. Alexis and I are going to leave around noon to go over to Park Hills for Amy's baby shower.

Have a blessed day!

Cast your Vote

Happy Saturday to all of you. I'm feeling a little less than motivated today. I have loaded the dishwasher and kept all the toys picked up, but that's about it. I'm feeling very BLAH.

Hope you all have an exciting weekend ahead of you. I have no plans for today, other than trying to do some laundry and resting. Tomorrow is my friend Amy's baby shower! Very excited about that!! It's Amy's first baby, it's a girl (Callie) and Amy and I have the same due date. Amy and I have been friends since we were 19 and were very close for a couple of years there and then drifted apart. We've reconnected and it's been so nice. I don't have a lot of friends, so I'm very grateful for the ones I do have. I just wish that Amy and I lived close like we used to. Anyway, can't wait to see her tomorrow and compare belly sizes, LOL! I think I will win. People are telling me I'm HUGE!

Speaking of the HUGE thing, I don't know if I can handle another 8 weeks of people saying, "You're stilllllll pregnant?" "When are you going to have that baby?" "Are you sure there aren't 2 in there?". I mean seriously, I don't think I can take it!!!! ARGH! I just hope I don't grow that much more, because I am already pretty big.

If you haven't seen a picture of me pregnant, look at some of the older posts and you'll find one. It's from 28 weeks, but you'll get a good enough idea. And then you can cast your vote in my little poll telling me whether you think it will be a boy or girl! And then we'll find out who is right when Delivery Day gets here!

I Forgot

I completely forgot to share something in my weekend blog! Must be that baby sucking up all my brain cells!

We have an almost new stove! Ross' Uncle Jerry and Aunt Karen had an extra stove from their other home that they no longer needed and they gave it to us. Well, we gave them ours in exchange to sell at a yard sale.

It's an awesome stove! Glass top, 2 huge burners, both in the front with the small ones in the back. And I'm pretty sure, they only used it about a half a dozen times. The easiest way yet to clean your oven....just get a new stove!

We are very blessed!

Ultrasound Pictures

These are not current, but I thought some of you might like to see them anyway.

Profile
Feet

Hand

Face

This is little baby Lea! We'll soon know if it is a boy or girl! We still don't have any names set in stone yet, but you'll know when we do!

Followers

Hello to Family and Friends!!

I would love to know if you are reading my blog, please sign up as a follower or leave me a comment at some point. I'd like to think more than just my Mom, Sis and Sis-in-law are reading about our family!

Thanks,
Jess

Please let me know if you have a blog too, so I can follow you!

8 Weeks and Counting

Only 8 weeks until that blessed day arrives! I'm hoping it's going to be more like 6 weeks, but if it's not, that is okay too. I want this baby to be born when it is ready, not to suit my schedule or fit into a "plan". I'm a firm believer in letting babies come when they are ready, not when I feel like I need to be induced because I don't want to be pregnant anymore, or because I would like for the baby to have a specific birthday. If you have a legitimate medical reason to be induced or schedule a C-section then by all means do that, but otherwise, let God decide when your baby is ready to be born. It's so much easier when we do things in His timeline and not ours.

I've started getting that nesting thing happening. I'm getting a little anxious about making sure everything is ready this time around. We won't have the house ready yet by the time the baby gets here, but I will have everything washed and ready and a place for the baby to sleep. For the first few months we are going to use a bassinet. I'm looking forward to having the baby close by me that first week or so for sure. I remember the first night Alexis was home from the hospital. Her room is right next to ours and we had a monitor on her. But being a new mommy was nerve wracking and I remember being completely exhausted but getting up every 5 minutes to make sure she was still breathing, I know, I was a bit paranoid! So, it will be nice to have the new baby within arms reach for a little while.

If I remember to I'll try and take some pictures as I'm setting up the new babies things and post them on here at some point.

Good Weekend

We had a very productive weekend. Dad came down on Friday and watched Alexis while Ross and I were at work. First thing Saturday morning Ross and Dad started working upstairs. Their main focus was moving some walls and building the closets. Ross' dad also was in and out helping over the weekend with some electrical work.

Alexis and I drove up to pick Mom up Saturday morning. She has a class that she teaches on Friday nights, so she couldn't come with Dad then. Before we came home we went over to Babies R Us and picked up a few things for the new baby. I don't need a lot for this baby since we already have the basics from Alexis. And I am very particular about gender specific clothing so I don't buy any of the neutral stuff beforehand. And as most of you know, we don't know the sex of the baby until the birth! So, I buy a few outfits that are either very pink, or very blue. Whichever sex it is, I will find someone to give the other outfits to. I also have some plain white onesies to take to the hospital, some very cute boy and girl sleepers too. I bought some boy and girl onesies on Saturday to have here at the house to wash as soon as we get home from the hospital and I'll return the other ones. I'm really trying to be prepared for this baby. Alexis came a little early and we were not ready. I was grateful for the help from family getting things together before we came home, but I was upset that I didn't get to do it myself. I am determined that will not happen this time.

I have already started my list of things to pack in the suitcase to take to the hospital. I worked this weekend on organizing some more things at the house to make room for our new family member. I had all my stuff from selling jewelry still and I went through it and pitched and stored stuff. I have an empty suitcase that I will have packed completely ready to go by August 1st. We had a bunch of extra totes in the living room from upstairs and they are all nicely tucked in a closet and organized. I still need to do the closet in my room, but it shouldn't be to bad.

After Ross and Dad finished working on Saturday we went down to the creek and had a fish fry with some of Ross' family. Jaimee and Hannah and Jackson came over and went with us to the fish fry as well. It was nice to see the kids. I get to see Jaimee when I go for a check up at the doctor, but I hadn't seen the kids in awhile. Jackson looked like he had grown inches! Speaking of seeing Jaimee, I'm a little sad because she is moving to a different office. She won't be in OB/Gyn anymore. She is moving over to the Pediatrics office at the end of the month. It is kind of cool though, because instead of working for my doctor, she will now be working for Alexis and the new babies pediatrician, Dr. Rao.

Ross and Dad ran up to Lowe's to pick up a few things after we got back from the creek. Jaimee and the kids stayed for awhile and the kids had a good time playing together. After Alexis was bathed and in bed the 4 of us played some Wii bowling. It was lots of fun! We finally called it a day at 11:30.

We were all up first thing this morning ready to work some more. Ross fixed us eggs and bacon for breakfast and it was great! Ross and Dad got back to work upstairs and Mom and I played with Alexis and I worked on some smaller projects around here. We had a light lunch and then I cooked supper and we ate around 4 and then Mom and Dad headed home. Ross took a much needed break and then went out to weed eat at Mill Springs. Alexis and I have just been hanging out since then. Ross just got back home and is getting ready to shower and we'll have some nice relaxing family time before the weekend ends. So, I'm not going to waste anymore time blabbing randomly about my weekend and I'm going to enjoy the last little bit of it.

From the Past

Here is a creative writing project that I did when I was 15. Hope you enjoy it.

A Man

In a time when good and noble men are hard to find, one man stands out among the rest. He has an expressive face, full of deep character. His high forehead is sometimes etched with concern, but mostly it is smooth with a look of peace. His eyes are often filled with compassion and kindness, but when filled with command they demand obedience. He has a deep voice that is often filled with gentleness but when spoken with authority it is a voice that commands respect. There is an air about this man, full of confidence in his role in life, that comes only from a personal relationship with God.

This man has qualities that are second to none! A song is always in his heart and a cheerful tune is on his lips. He likes to make people laugh and he loves to tell stories to children. A cheerful word for someone discouraged, he is always willing to give. He is always concerned for the welfare of others.

Honest is a word to describe this man. He is fair to everyone and shows no partiality. He firmly believes in the saying that, “All things worth doing are worth doing well.” Never will you find a second rate job from this man, he always does a task to the best of his ability.

He truly is a man of great honor, integrity, and nobility. Everyone who knows him, respects him and takes pleasure in the fact that he calls them friends. When this man you meet, you know that you have met a man of God. No greater father could ever be found. I love you, Dad.

Love,

Jessica

Father’s Day 1996

Playing Dress Up!

Playing with my lipstick!
Notice the fancy shoes?!

Dressing up in Mommy's shirts!

Thankful for.......

I was laying in bed last night trying to sleep, with no luck. My mind just would not stop racing. So somehow in all my different thoughts my Mom popped in there.

I'm thankful for my Mom today! I'm one of the luckiest daughters in the world because my Mom is my best friend. I know that I can always count on her to listen and let me cry on her shoulder. She is always the one who brings me back to reason when my emotions take over and I'm making irrational statements while I'm venting to her. She is most definitely my rock when I need one. You never appreciate your mom when you are young, at least I didn't. During my later teen years she was the last person I wanted to talk to and I regret that I hurt her during that time. But, I hope that the last few years have made up for that. I've come to depend on her for so many things. Especially advice for raising a child. She always gives her opinion, but doesn't try to force me to do it her way. And I always know that she will give me sound, biblical advice.

So, if you love your mom as much as I love mine, maybe you should call her today and tell her! Love you MOM! See you Saturday!

Bad Day, Part 2

My bad day has not gotten any better yet. I'm thinking it's just going to be one of those days that won't be better until it's over and I can start fresh tomorrow.

I went to work and the humidity is so high today, I just couldn't take it and I came home. I always feel so guilty when I leave work early and I tell myself I should be stronger, or that I'm just being lazy because I can't take it. And then I have to remind myself that I am 7 months pregnant and I may not be able to do everything like I think I should. And not to mention the fact that I feel bad because we really need the money right now. So, I had another good cry on the way home, and I still feel horrible.

I did want to clarify some things from my earlier blog. I realized that I probably painted Ross in a somewhat bad light. That was not my intention, just trying to get out some of my frustrations. For some of you that know me well and for those of you that don't, I just wanted to make it clear that I wasn't trying to bash Ross. It's just been one of those days for me and I'm sure you can understand that. Ross is a good husband and my best friend, but we do have our differences, and I'm pretty sure that is what makes us human. Ross is very considerate of me and tries to be understanding, but sometimes my hormones and emotions are very frustrating for him because he can't understand them. I think that may be the case today. He thought his comments were just comments and not intended to make me feel bad. And I do have a tendency to blow things out of proportion when my emotions get the best of me. So, with that being said, I would still classify it as a bad day, but not trying to blame anyone specifically. I am well aware of my many faults, especially on days like today when I can't seem to keep it together. Sometimes I feel like a gigantic failure.

So, I'm going to relax for a few hours and pray that tomorrow is a better day. Can't handle too many like this one. Poor Ross can't either. I think we are both under a lot of stress and pressure right now, and we tend to take it out on one another from time to time.

There was one bright spot in my day though. This morning when my first crying session began, Alexis looked at me and said, "Crying." For those of you that know Alexis and how she talks you can imagine what she sounded like. She gets her little deep south accent going and cocks her little head to the side and says, "crying" and then she says, "tissue." And I tell her I do need a tissue, so she runs to the bathroom to bring me one. After I blow my nose and wipe my face, she looks and me and says, "one more." I say, "Sure, I'll take one more." When she comes back with it, she looks from me to Ross and says, "talking, crying", with her little head shake to the side like she does, and I couldn't help but smile. Thank you God for my precious child who always makes it better!

Bad Day

I'm having a horrible day........It all started last night. Tuesday's are sometimes a long day for me. I usually try to schedule my doctor's appointments then because that is the easiest day for me to get up and going. Dr. Cunningham doesn't see patients on Monday's or I would do it then since I don't work. But, Tuesday seems to work out okay for the most part. It's just a very long day because we almost always work 10 hours on Tuesday. In the later stages of my pregnancy with Alexis I only worked 8 hour shifts, but this time I'm trying to go as long as possible without doing that. So, I've decided that I will take one day off every 2 weeks to get some extra rest and now I've started scheduling to leave a few hours early on some nights. Last night was one of those nights. I had asked to leave at Midnight and my boss wrote down 12:30, close enough. "Special" time as husband and wife is becoming more of a challenge as I'm sure all of you moms know. So, I had told Ross that I was getting off at 12:30 and maybe we could have that "special" time. He said that sounded great. He's a real trooper because I know my attractiveness level goes way down in the later stages of pregnancy. I feel like a whale most days. Anyway at start up my boss asked if I was still leaving at 12, he didn't say 12:30 so I said yes and left at 12:00. Ross was still in the shower when I got home so I sat down at the computer and checked email and Facebook while I waited. When he walked out of the bathroom and saw me his first words were, "What are you doing here?" Not, "Hi honey, how are you?" or "Hey Babe you got off a few minutes early tonight, good to see you." So I told him what had happened and that I left a half hour earlier than he thought I would. So he says, "What was wrong with just working 8 hours?" I said, "Nothing, but 7 1/2 works just fine too." His response again, "8 would have worked." That lit a fire in me and I very sarcastically asked if he would like me to go back to work and get that other half hour in and he said, "Sure." So, as he is walking into the kitchen and shaking his head I go to take my shower hoping that I can wash away my anger at him for something as silly as a half hour and we can still salvage that very cherished husband wife time. Like I said before, "special" time is getting harder at this point. I don't feel attractive or sexy in the least and really have no desire to do anything right now, even though I still want to. Ross doesn't seem to have any great desires right now either. But, I had really put an effort into last night and I was looking forward to it. So, when I get out of the shower, Ross is watching one of our TiVo'd shows that I had thought we were going to watch together but apparently he couldn't wait. So, I gave him a kiss and told him I was going into the bedroom. I asked how long he was going to be up and he said he was going to finish the show. So, I closed the bedroom door, because he had the volume up loud and I didn't want to hear anything because I was going to watch it later. About 15 minutes later Alexis started whimpering and then crying so I went to get her and she said she wanted to lay on the couch. When we walked into the living room Ross paused the show and waited for me to get her settled. I was sitting beside her rubbing her back and he started the show up again. I asked him to please stop since he was in the last ten minutes and I hadn't seen any of it yet. So, he told me to go ahead and go back to bed because he was going to finish it and he would take care of Alexis. Alexis wasn't happy about me walking away, so I took her and laid her down with me for a bit. Ross came to bed and she still wasn't asleep, so we all laid there, I was going to try to stay awake long enough for her to fall asleep and I would put her back in her bed, but I didn't make it. So she slept with us all night, I was still upset with Ross about the way he acted, and we didn't get any of that husband wife time I was looking forward to. And this morning I just cried about it a lot. So, I know this is a lot of detailed and personal information that I hope you don't mind me sharing, but I needed to vent somehow. And I also know that this is one very long paragraph, but I'm hoping that the more I blog the better my writing skills will get. I used to be pretty good at writing but I'm a little rusty. Thanks for letting me share.

I Need Help from my Blogger Friends

Help me please girls! I'm still new to the blogger world and haven't taken a lot of time to figure this all out yet. Why can I only put 5 pictures per post?? I know there has to be an easy answer, I just haven't found it yet.

More pictures from the 4th

Playing a hot potato game with a ball that has a timer and a water balloon inside and goes off and pops the balloon. The kids all got wet and loved it!
Alexis

Dreyden

Pictures from the 4th

Alexis
Playing the potato in the bucket game! I'm not going to say the other name I think it should be called....I think you can figure that out for yourself!

Alexis loved playing the egg toss game with Papa, thank goodness for hard shell farm eggs!

Alexis kissing on Baby Isaiah.

Alexis, Emma & Natalie holding Isaiah.

4th of July

So far, we have had a nice 4th weekend. Yesterday we went over to Bonne Terre and visited Lucille for a bit and helped her out when I went downstairs and discovered water in the basement. Glad we were there to help her, who knows how bad it may have gotten because she said she never goes downstairs. After that we went over to Donna and Cecil's for the annual 4th of July BBQ. We had a really nice time there, but the rain shower earlier in the day made the humidity ridiculous. Daniel and I won the washer tournament, I was actually throwing really well for being 7 months pregnant with a slight waddle! We watched the fireworks in Bonne Terre and it was a good show. Got to meet Daniel and Colleen's new baby boy Isaiah. He is 10 days old and so cute! He slept for the entire 4 hours they were there. Alexis just wanted to hold him and with a little help from me she did just that and she was very gentle and loving so I hope that will stay the same when our new baby gets here. I think I will have my hands full for a bit until the newness of the new baby wears off!

Today, we have had an awesome family day of doing nothing at all! We've alternated between watching movies, playing games with Alexis and all three of us playing together on the Wii. I'm feeling a little frustrated right now with the new Wii, because the one thing I thought I was good at on Wii Sport is not cooperating with me right now. I love to bowl and I just got my skill level up to pro and then it dropped in my next two games. Oh well, it's just a game, but I like to be good at things. I was planning on being super busy here at the house today, but my body told me something else. It's getting harder and harder to sleep comfortably now. I start on my left side and wake up hours later to pee and am still in the same position which is good and bad. Good, because I'm supposed to sleep on my left side, but bad because I haven't budged in hours so my whole body is achy and sore. So, after I use the restroom I switch to my right side for awhile and the same thing happens. I'm hoping that next weekend I'll have some energy to get some things done that are long overdue around here. Most of what I want to do is related to getting the house in order and making space for the new baby, so it must be done soon! I'm only working 3 days this week and I'll have a 4 day weekend, so I should make some head way.

Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday weekend! I'll post some pictures soon from yesterday.