31 Weeks

31 weeks as of last Friday! It is getting so close. Andrew is over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds. It is like carrying 4 navel oranges. He is moving more and more each day. He loves hanging out on my right side and getting up in my ribs.  We have been working a little more on his room. We began letters that spell his name for his room. We also got his bouncer in the mail.

You can tell Andrew is taking up more room now. Baxter can no longer lay beside me... so he solved the problem. Why not lay on TOP of me?!?! 

Sewing

Sewing has been another thing I have been up to last week. James and I got Hannah a pretend dog for Christmas. Well, with a pretend dog a girl must have accessories, but real dog accessories were a  little much. (I knew I should have waited until James was at work. ha!) Sooo, I decided to make a dog bed and bandanas for Hannah to tie on her dog. James caved and let me buy a leash and collar. Below are my creations... I can't wait to see her little face! I hope she LOVES it!

I also tried my  hand at making a burp cloth for Andrew. When I sent a picture to James, he texted back, Why football??? Well, it was the only boy fabric I had. I wanted to make sure I could make them before I spend money on "appropriate" fabric. LOL So it has been another project added to the list :-)

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, my mom and stepdad, Serge, came to visit us. I was very thankful so I wouldn't be by myself on Christmas morning. When they arrived, we headed to Candlelight Service at First Baptist of Tyler South Campus. We decided to try this church since they were having candlelight. Christmas Eve service just didn't seem the same without candlelight. Then we came home and I finished making dinner. It was nice being able to cook for my mom since she usually does all the cooking.  After a yummy dinner (in my opinion) we opened gifts. It was a small Christmas since James and I got our big gift, new bedroom furniture.  My parents surprised us with a new lawnmower. We are super excited. Hopefully, we won't manage to break this one. It seems every lawnmower we get our hands on breaks.... :-/ Thanks Mom and Serge!

 It was very nice spending the evening with them! We are excited to see the Tyler side of the family this weekend!

Baking

James and I finished making Christmas ball last week for all our church and work friends. This has become a fun tradition. I even made the insides by myself while James was on his way home. :-)

Last week, Baxter and I baked homemade doggie biscuits. We tried two different recipes. Then, we package them to deliver to our doggy friends.

Andrew's Nursery

James has been hard at work adding wall art and a verse to the wall over Andrew's dresser. The verse is Joshua 1:9 and says "Be strong and courageous... For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go". We decided on this verse because it has a special place in our hearts. A few summers ago, I taught VBS at Second and this verse was changed into a song. That year we would listen to the CD and became written on our hearts especially as we made a huge change to come to Tyler. 

This is what our sweet puppy dog was doing while we were working on the wall. Yes, he is sleeping on not one but THREE blankets.  I had JUST washed all the blankets.  Good thing he is cute!

Two of our Favorites

As many of you know from talking to us, we absolutely ADORE Hannah and Ethan. Both bring us so much joy. I look forward to the breaks from school so I can spend more time with them. James and I watched Ethan last night. Watching James with Ethan truly warms my heart! James is going to be a wonderful daddy!

Yesterday morning, Hannah came to help me make sugar cookies! Her face was priceless when we cut the cookies using cookie cutters. And she loved helping spread the flour. 

 While the cookies were baking, we made a Santa Claus.

Then, we decorated the cookies.  This was not as much fun as the cookie cutters, and a little too messy for her. She only made one cookie.

But it turned out beautiful! Look at ALL those SPRINKLES!

Tasting our hard work! 

After cookie decorating , we colored on our NEW pink desk. 

Hannah has gotten SOOO good at pretend play. We played with her babies, and her new favorite game is take people to school. So I learned how to be dropped off at school. Let's just say I have a lot to learn about playing pretend! Ha!  :-)

We are so thankful to live so close to Hannah and Ethan. We are blessed beyond measure to watch them grow up and be a part of their little lives. Nothing melts my heart more than a hug from one of these sweeties! Thanks Wes and Shelly for sharing your precious ones with us. You have  done  a fabulous job raising them!!!

Thirty Weeks

Wow! Time has flown by! It is hard to believe only 66 more days until we meet our sweet baby boy. Andrew is about 15.7 inches long and 3 pounds (the same weight as a head of a cabbage). It is hard to believe he can be that big and fit! My doctor said he is sleeping on a double bed right now. :-) James and I are sooo excited to meet him and for this season of parenthood to begin. We definitely know it will be challenging and then we remember we have a brother and sister in law down the road who will be there to help us!!! James and I spend time in the evening wondering what he will be like, who will he look like, and what he will love to do. Most importantly, we pray that Andrew will be a man who deeply loves the Lord and will come to know Him at a young age. We hope that we can be the Godly parents he needs and daily show him our love for God.

I was truly blessed by my students of Friday. One of my team teachers had all the parents surprise me with a baby shower. Several of the children  brought in a baby item. She assembled them into a huge basket. During the Christmas pajama party, the students carried it in. What a huge surprise!

 

My Birthday

My sweet husband surprised me at work on Friday with BEAUTIFUL flowers! I was definitely shocked because usually I tell him not to spend the money. However, I must say how much I LOVED them! 

On Sunday, I was woken up by my mom's birthday text... which I was waiting for. (I actually looked for it at 6:30 but it wasn't there yet. :-) ) After church, James took me to Texas Roadhouse for birthday lunch. Surprisingly, I actually ate the ribs. Then, we took our usual Sunday nap. (We are enjoying them while we still can!!!) After that , we went to Wes and Shelly's for dinner. It is a tradition to go looking at Christmas lights on my birthday, so we took Hannah to a Drive Thru park. I am truly blessed and turning 30 wasn't so bad after all! (Thanks to all my sweet family!)

An early Christmas present for Hannah.

 The beautiful flowers James sent me.

My birthday gift from Wes and Shelly!

Birthday Cheesecake 

Babymoon

James and I decided to take a Babymoon before Andrew arrives. It was a wonderful time together. I truly enjoyed escaping the many projects around the house and just hanging out with my sweet husband. We went to Hot Springs and stayed at a beautiful home, The Williams House.  That evening, we walked the main avenue and had Mexican food. On Saturday, we had the best massage ever and show an evening show. Then James took me out for fancy dinner. Ironically, it was not steak, which would have been my first choice if I wasn't pregnant. Italian is what Andrew loves. Sunday we had breakfast in bed and drove back to Tyler. We had a FABULOUS time, but we were not so great about taking pictures. Here are a couple that we took.

Like Father, Like Sons

Can you tell we like argyle?

An Older Pic

I wanted to add this picture because I know I was 26 weeks. We took it over Thanksgiving at Aunt Val and Uncle Lew's home. I have decided precious Andrew loves church. The most ever feel him is at church. I don't know whether it is the music or the great sermons, but he loves to run his elbows or heel across my stomach. This has happened the past two Sundays we have been at church. I was sad James wasn't at church today so he could feel him!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

We have decked the halls! This year we bought a 9 foot tree.... We thing it is actually 10 feet. We love Christmas! Poor Baxter pouted on the couch while we decorated.