38 weeks and holding

I went to the doctor today for my 38 week check up and an ultrasound. I have been doing everything in my power to encourage this baby to make his/her appearance sooner rather than later and was really hoping to hear that my efforts were paying off. They called me back for the ultrasound first. After measuring the baby's head, belly and thigh bone, the ultrasound tech revealed that the baby was measuring over 41 weeks and around 10 pounds. Though I was expecting the baby to be large, I was not ready for the baby to already be at the birth weight of my youngest child, with 12 days still to go! After hearing that the baby was already ten pounds, I was really hoping for some good news from the doctor that the baby was getting close! After checking all my vitals, the doctor finally came in. We discussed my options, continuing with my plans for a natural vaginal birth, induction and c-section. She felt that since I had delivered a ten pound baby in the past, I would be ok to go ahead with plans to have a natural child birth. After our discussion, she checked the baby. I measured 39-40 weeks, the heartbeat was 154 and the baby was still positioned head down. She also checked and found me to be about 1 cm dilated, but that my cervix was still really thick and baby was high in the birth canal. Of course, immediately I felt disappointment that things were not farther along. She explained that doing something to induce labor would not be very productive or worthwhile as my body is obviously not prepared at this point. If I had been dilated to a 4 or more and the baby had been lower, it would have been a completely different story. I found relief in the fact that all of that could change at any time. I signed a release that I understand the risks of delivering a large baby and we discussed that at the time of delivery if things stalled or the baby was not progressing, they would not use forceps or vaccum to force the baby out. They would take that as a sign that the baby is too large and do a c-section. Finally, I scheduled an appointment for next week, though if it were up to me, I would have the baby before then!

Just the way you are

While riding in the car tonight the song, "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars came on. Reese sang along to the song and when it was finished announced, "I love that song because it makes me remember how beautiful mommy is!" My heart instantly melted!

Ghost poop

Last night Reese called me into the bathroom to wipe her bottom. "Mommy, I'm pretty sure I pooped. I think it stinks in here but I don't see the poop. It's like camouflage, magic poopy!" It did indeed stink and all the poop had settled down into the bottom of the toilet and was not immediately visible, so I guess that it was kind of like a ghost poop!

Pre School Graduation

This past week Reese graduated from Pre School. They held a small ceremony at her school to celebrate the graduation and I can only assume that it was the pregnancy hormones that had me crying as they played the "Pomp and Circumstance". I can't believe that my little girl is ready to move on to Kindergarten alreay! She and her classmates looked adorable in their handmade graduation caps and scarves. The best part was watching them try to hold them on as they received their diplomas.

Afterward, we took a quick picture with her teacher.

We also got a picture of daddy and I with the graduate.

We got the kids some snacks and had some time to chat with the other parents. Afterward we went to Happy Joe's for a celebratory lunch! Though we have been planning and preparing for the move to Kindergarten for quite some time, I still can't believe that the time is almost upon us! I will have Reese all to myself for a few weeks this summer and then she will be getting on the bus and spending her days with teachers and friends at school. Though I am very excited, I can't help but be a little selfish and think that the last five years have gone by entirely too fast!

Fancy Dinner`

Last night as we were playing outside, Reese asked if she could set the table for a "fancy dinner?" Me: "What is a fancy dinner?" Reese: "Well, we would need a knife, fork and spoon." Me: "Oh really. And you know how to set the table for a fancy dinner?" Reese: "Yep! What are we going to have for dinner? It needs to be something that we can use a knife." Me: "I was planning to have leftovers. We have lasagna and tacos and sandwiches." Reese: "Well we could use the knife to cut the tacos." Me: "Alright, maybe I will put out some candles too." We went inside awhile later and Reese set our fancy table while I reheated the leftovers. When she was finished setting the table, she helped Aidan get dressed in his fancy dinner attire (one of her dress up dresses). He obliged for awhile and then took it off, telling me that, "I can be fancy in my pants and shirt, mommy!" Reese also assigned us all roles during dinner: Randy was the beast, Aidan was "Chip" and I was to be the teapot. Of course, Reese was Belle. Though she tried to find her Belle costume for dinner, she couldn't find it, so she settled for a few accessories. After she assigned us all our part, I could only guess that her idea for the fancy dinner came from watching Beauty and the Beast today. The kids were very impressed when we sat down to our fancy dinner of leftovers with candles! I have to say that it did make our Monday night dinner just a little bit more special!

Incognito

We recently chopped Reese's hair off in preparation for summer. Since cutting her hair, she is convinced that her friends from preschool no longer recognize her. Today when I picked her up she told me, "I told Cassie that I am still Reese."

New Shoes

We purchased a new pair of tennis shoes for Reese this weekend and she has taken every opportunity to show us how fast they make her run. While at Chick-Fil-A for lunch a lady commented on her shoes and Reese immediately asked her if she would like to see how fast they go? I immediately responded, "Not here in the restaurant!" Later when Randy was mowing the lawn, Reese approached me and exclaimed, "I can run faster than that moron!" Not sure what she was talking about and thinking that she was calling her father a moron, I asked for clarification, "What's a moron?" "That thing daddy is on."

Big Helper

While looking for socks for the kids this morning, I realized that I was going to have to fold the pile on the couch to find a mate. I started folding when Reese asked if she could help. I gave her a towel figuring it would just keep her busy while I finished the rest of the pile. While she folded she talked about how grammy has her help her fold towels and she does it just like I do. Imagine my suprise when she presented me with a very nicely folded towel and then grabbed for another one. I praised her for doing such a nice job and helped to show her how to fold the hoody towel that she was working on. When she was finished she told me that she would be my helper every time that I had towels to fold and I will gladly take her up on that offer!