December already

While we have been busy, busy, busy with the holidays, time still seems to be standing still. It might be because every move I make right now is incredibly difficult. I really think this has to be the hardest pregnancy of the three. Or, God is so good and just helped me to forget that this all happened the last two times.
Some observations about this pregnancy:
I get tired really quickly

I sleep in hour and a half increments (just like a newborn)

I have two things that keep me awake: I can't breathe or my back hurts

My shoe size has gone up a half size (this is a first), and my feet are not swollen.

I love to eat crunchy things like ice, pickles, and celery. I also have some other strange cravings but Kenny told me not to tell people because they are too strange.

I am extremely forgetful right now.

I can get myself worked up very easily....this really isn't a new thing, just a little more exaggerated right now.

I feel the need to be prepared, so most of my Christmas shopping is finished. I am usually starting right about now.

I am carrying this baby straight out and really high. This is the first pregnancy where I have had many people comment (usually strangers) that I look like I am either carrying twins or a huge baby (luckily only 9 or 10 lbs by their estimates). Whenever I tell them my due date they insist that I won't go that long (I hope they are right....if they are I will forgive them for making the comments about how HUGE I am).

I am even more excited when Kenny gets home. I do appreciate his help more than he will ever know, but I also like spending time together with just the four of us while we have the chance.

As with the other pregnancies I am usually done with moving around the house at about 8:30, so we have become a little more serious with our TV watching lately. I have managed to find two new shows, The Good Wife and Glee, and Kenny is the best because he will watch them with me.

Thankfully, we have made it to this point. Kenny figured out last night that if this baby decides to come early like Grace then it will come this weekend...of course, I am assuming that this one will just keep holding onto my rib cage until one of my ribs finally breaks off due to the babies enormous size (I'm kidding, hopefully). In all seriousness, I know it's timing will be perfect, and I can't wait to see if it's a boy or girl. We still haven't decided on a name, it looks like Kenny is going to let me see the baby first so that we can decide "together" what it's name should be. So, until our precious baby makes an appearance we will be filling our days with play dates, preschool, a Christmas performance, a few parties, family time, and whatever invitations come our way. We did make a trip to Kansas over thanksgiving. It was quick, but I'm so glad we decided to make the drive. Trey and Grace love to see Halie. They basically spend the entire time in my parents basement watching Care Bears or Cinderella and finding things to get into that are not toys.

Well, I need to tackle some of the laundry that never seems to go away. The ever present reminder that I have a family that needs me!

Baby Talk

Trey: "Mommy, let me pick that up, you're baby might fall out."
Grace: (in reference to covering up my exposed tummy), "shut the door, it might come out".
Trey: "you're going to the dr., are they going to take the baby out yet?"
Grace: She loves to carry around her own baby (which she loves for us to wrap up in her blankie like an "angel"....I don't know where she came up with the angel part, but she will ask for her baby to look like an angel), The other day she asked for me to put her baby in her jacket so it would look like mine. The babies feet were sticking out, and Trey commented that she didn't look like me because my babies feet were still inside, thank goodness.
Trey: "I just want baby caroline (who is our friends baby) to come home with us". To which I respond, don't you want our baby to come home with us? "No, just caroline, she is really cute".

Frightening Festivities

Phew, we made it through the first of the holidays....now we just have thanksgiving and Christmas and then we will be able to see this sweet baby who keeps kicking me in the ribs. Trey finally decided that he wanted to be wolverine for halloween (he has no idea who he is, he just liked the look of his fangs) and Grace was content being a princess. Her dress was really raggedy and I really wanted to buy her a different one for trick or treating but Kenny said it would be fine....always the voice of reason (good thing he wasn't with me when I went shopping the other day). Kenny and I also dressed up. I wore a t-shirt with a bun on it and Kenny dressed as a baker....get it. He requested that instead of just writing "the baker" on his name tag, he had me put "big daddy baker".

We had so much fun this past week being with friends and enjoying all sorts of family activities. On Wednesday I took the kids to the Pumpkin Park, I actually meant to go to the pumpkin patch but I got confused and ended up parking at the pumpkin park. There were only a few people at the pumpkin park so it ended up being fun because they let us do everything for free and the kids never had to wait in line. It was really cold and muddy, but Trey and Grace are still talking about how much fun the slides, bounce houses, pumpkins, and rides were.

On Thursday the preschool had a Harvest Party and they brought home more pumpkins and kept talking about how they got to eat frosty's and cookies. They love the sugar aspect of halloween. That night Kenny took them to trunk or treat at the Y.

On Friday we went to the Lake Highlands football game with Swede. I actually got cold for the first time in 7 months, so I am guessing everyone else was freezing. Trey and Grace love to watch the half time show and pretend to conduct the band, which always impresses Kenny.

On Saturday we went to our neighborhood party and then to a party hosted by our small group. Once it was dark we took the kids trick or treating in big groups. Trey and Kenny went with a couple older kids and Grace and I went with the younger kids. Kenny told me that Trey and his friends would not say trick or treat at first, but eventually they caught on. Grace knew exactly what to do, it was like she had been practicing all year. She would wait until all the kids had gone, march up to the door, hold out her bag, say trick or treat and then wait for them to give her multiple pieces of candy. If they tried to give her just one she would stand there holding her bag open and smiling until they dropped something else in. I am thinking she will be a great sales women, she is so persistent.

What a week, October went by so fast. I am torn because I want to enjoy the next couple months as a family of 4, but I am also getting excited to meet this baby that we have known about for so long! From the minute we found out we were pregnant I have been feeling him or her, whether it was morning sickness, rapid weight gain, or the powerful kicks (never a flutter) we have know that you are with us. Yesterday Grace asked to see the baby, so I showed her my stomach and she whispered to it for awhile. When she saw it kick she told me to shut the door (put down my shirt), she gets really creeped out when she sees my belly move. Trey keeps telling me that he thinks it is time for the baby to come out and see us. Hopefully they will be just as interested when he or she is here. I am interested to see what type of baby this will be, with so much "womb action" I can only imagine what he or she will be like when they make it out of the confines of my belly. Well, I'm off to eat some more of the kid's candy. For some reason they completely forgot about their candy stash, I had planned on giving it to Kenny to take to work, but I might hold on to it for a little bit longer....I think the baby likes twix the most.

finally...a prize

I was changing Gracie's diaper today and when I opened it a bunch of change fell out. It's about time that something good came out of a diaper change....of course the diaper was dirty so I'm not sure about keeping the prize money.

Happy 33rd Birthday Kenny

Happy birthday to you! Kenny is celebrating his 33rd year by not being with us....I totally understand. He asked if he could go to the Cowboys game for his birthday gift. Of course he didn't want to spring for a seat, I am very lucky to be married to a VERY frugal man. He decided he would get a party pass and go on his own. Well, the game starts at 3:15, guess what time he left to get a spot...11:00. Apparently you have to get there about 3 hours early to find a spot and then never leave to use the bathroom or get food/drink for the entire duration of the game, and you get to stand, but he says it is worth it. He really is a true fan, I told him he should paint his face, but he said his jersey would be enough. We "celebrated" yesterday by making birthday brownies and then Kenny's parents watched the kids all evening so we could go out. Since I'm about to turn into a giant pumpkin we only made it to dinner, but it was fun to be by ourselves. We then rented an uplifting movie, Sunshine Cleaning (it's about some women who clean up after crime scenes), and enjoyed a night where the only person that could wake us up during the night would be the baby inside me...which meant Kenny slept really well and I just don't really sleep anymore.

Kenny you are so special to us, we love you!

The pictures...the kids had just taken a bath and someone forgot to brush their hair and Kenny and I were still walking around in pj's at that point so lucky for everyone I'm not in the pictures.

Princess Grace

Anyone who knows Grace knows that she is the girliest girl around. She has loved dressing up in her princess costume this year, so much that I had to hide the costume for awhile to preserve it for all of her upcoming costume party events. I impressed myself by repairing the hole ripped on the seam of the waistline. I had to glue and sew it shut....they just don't make princess dresses like they used to.

The picture of Grace and Kenny was taken right before Anna Kate's princess party. Kenny took her as his date, he was the only dad dressed in a tuxedo. Trey and I took a picture in our normal clothes as well...I looked and looked but I couldn't find a pregnant princess dress.

A Fair to Remember

It's that time again.....the State Fair of Texas. Aside from Trey's birthday it was one of the number one topics of conversation around the Henry House this year. We put a great deal of importance on events that glorify fried foods. This years attraction was the fried butter. Kenny couldn't do it, but Swede and his beautiful girlfriend gave it a try and said it tasted like a fried biscuit (I think that's right). Oprah also joined us last Sunday and she too loved the fried butter. A funny story, Swede and Brooke were waiting in line to purchase the butter (they had been patiently waiting their turn for about 15 minutes) and they got up to the front and the guy said that they would be needing to shut the stand down since Oprah was about to come over. Swede wouldn't take no for an answer and finally got his fried butter. I'm sure if Oprah had known people were being denied fried butter she would have waited her turn, yeah right.

A few other things we tried this year: corny dogs (of course), fried oreos, fried snickers, a fried caramel apple, and Trey's one request, cotton candy. Grace really liked the oreos and Trey liked the caramel apple, he actually took all of the breading off and just ate the apple....which was kind of healthy. They both really liked the cotton candy. They also rode rides together this year and LOVED them. We also went to the dog show, petting zoo, car show, and bird show. A full day that left us all wiped out. We can't wait to go again next year, oh wait Kenny is taking them again tomorrow beccause he didn't get enough.....I plan on putting my feet up and enjoying the silence for a change.