36 Weeks and other updates

I haven't done a pregnancy update for 6 weeks now, but there really hasn't been much to talk about. But now we are so close, I can practically feel that bitty baby on my chest :)
How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 36 oddly enough

Sleep: A little better, or else I'm just getting use to not sleeping. I'm obviously uncomfortable and get up to potty a lot, but I still get some decent sleep. My hips have started to get achey sometimes. Prego problems!

Best moment this week: I had a shower at work! They did a dipes/wipes/bath shower for me. I got some good stuff! They are just too sweet :)

Movement: I feel him moving a lot, but I can tell when he is sleeping and when he is awake now. There are definite periods of non-movement and other times of total kung fu action. Also, he gets hiccups ALL THE TIME. Also, it feels like he has moved to a head-down position. Ready and waiting!

Symptoms: Nothing other than the ordinary, really. I did have a couple times that I was in some pain in my lower abdomen and my back. Dr. B said these were probably contractions but just not enough to do anything yet.

Food cravings: The biggest thing is sweet tea. It was my fav splurge with J, too. I just can't get enough!

Belly Button in or out? Out

What I miss: Having the energy and the body to wrestle with J. I feel bad sometimes, like he doesn't understand why Mommy is so tired all the time. I guess that's part of the process. We try to have special time, though. Doing art projects, reading, sometimes a bath. Whatever works.

What I am looking forward to: My next appt on Tuesday to check for progress. At my appt last week, I was thinned, but not dilated. I'm not rushing Fisher Cole, but I'm just ready for the process to begin, just to feel like I'm getting somewhere. It's getting really crowded in there!

Now for an update on my Baby J :) He's just so big! I've been keeping a list of my favorite little things he does. Here it is...

• When a commercial comes on Disney with a teapot, he says "pea-tot" again and again. We got him to say is perfectly when we broke it apart. Saying it fast always comes out "pea-tot"
• Still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! He will now point at the TV and yell "pub-how", meaning clubhouse. He also will put his hand over his mouth and yell "oh-toodle"!!! He plays along with Mickey and will sometimes answer his questions :)
• Says "All aboard, choo choo"!
• He and Daddy play "2-3" which is J's way of saying throw me up in the air! When Derek throws him up, J yells "whoa Daddy" over and over. It's hilarious!

• His favorite books are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which he reads along with, and this Under the Sea book that Nonny actually found at Publix, I think. He could read them over and over again. 
• He loves to watch movies. His favorites are Nemo and Pooh. Favorite shows are still Doc and Mickey Mouse.
• In a true boy fashion, he loves "BIG TRUCKS" and sticks. 
• He will run and hide when it's time for a diaper change or a nap.

• Favorite foods are blueberries, nutri-grain bars, graham crackers, and any snacks like puffs or little crunchies. He is a milk nut, too!
• Buddy takes a ride with us pretty much wherever we go. He loves to play with his tags and stick his fingers in them. We had to get a backup to keep on hand for when/if he gets a little worn out.

• He also has a calculator that stays in his car seat that he thinks is a phone. He calls it his "eyo"
• He says his ABCs, literally...A...B...C...and he sounds so cute when he does it!
• He can spit out his colors real quick. He will point to random things and tell us the color. His favorite color seems to be blue. He loves for his bath water to be blue (color tabs). He also says Nonny anytime we mention the color red, because Nonny has a red car :)
• He loves to take things in and out of other things. Mr. Potato head never has a face. J just takes the pieces in and out of the empty potato. Same thing with a water bucket and colored links. 

• He's still a great sleeper at night, but is trying to transition to one nap a day. He mostly skips one of them if I try to make him take 2 naps a day. He will just jump in the corner of his bed and yell for Mommy. 
• Helps Daddy make coffee by opening the lid, putting in the Kcup, closing the lid, putting the cup under the dispenser, and pushing the button. He gets so proud when the "cockee" comes out
• When he's going somewhere and wants company, he will say "hum on" for come on and wave his hand. You can't say no to that!
• Lastly, we say a prayer every night before bed. I lay him down, he reaches up his hand and we say..."Jesus, thank you for this day, and for Mommy, Daddy, and Fisher. I love you. Amen." 

That was a longer list than I planned on, but he's just so cute, I can't pick just a few favorite things. I'm obsessed with that angel boy. He will get in snuggly moods when he just wants to hug and kiss me. Good heavens, I pray that day never ends. I love you Jonah Brandon!

Winter Gridlock 2014

So last week was very interesting around here. It was forecast that we would only get a dusting of snow with no travel issues. South Alabama was suppose to really get hammered. Well, in Spann's words...it was a busted forecast. The worst one since 1982 apparently. It started snowing that morning and didn't stop for a few hours. By the time the forecast was changed and people realized what was going on, it was too late. The snow fell, partially melted on roads, refroze immediately, and resulted in about an inch of pure ice covering the roads.

Everyone was trying to leave work at once, which resulted in the now famous "Winter Gridlock 2014". Countless stories of people sitting in hours upon hours of traffic just to get half a mile, others pulling into hotels to get a room for the night or be told there were no rooms left, abandoned cars, walking miles to a warming station, sleeping in hotel lobbies/fast food booths/offices/or anywhere else that would let them in, children stuck at schools overnight because parents couldn't get to them. Thank the Lord above I didn't work that day, and Derek was working from home. Simply put...I would not have made it. It was seriously stressful just watching everything unfold on TV, much less living the nightmare. Anyways...it was quite the topic for a while, and still is. We were able to selfishly enjoy the pretty snow. Jonah went out when it was still snowing and didn't care too much for it blowing in his face. Then next day, nothing had melted, so we went out to play some more and he seemed to really enjoy himself :) We pretty much had this much snow for almost 3 days before it melted. We had a lot of fun, but were glad when we could get out and about again. Cabin fever is a real thing! 

Nothing stops Baby J from mowing

Our driveway showing what pretty much all roads looked like. Solid ice!

How beautiful is this child???? So glad he got to play in the snow, but we're not really looking for that kind of snowfall anytime soon!

Special days for a special J

Since we are getting closer to D-day (5 1/2 wks at most!) I have really been wanting to spend some extra special time with Jonah. I know our world will change (for the better) when Fisher arrives, and I just want to soak up all the Jonah B I can until the madness starts. I want him to know how special he is. Maybe he's still too young to understand all this, but it's really important to me. Derek was off for MLK so we took off for a fun filled day. We actually had a few errands to run all over town, then we ended with Davenports (YUM) and Botanical Gardens. It's just been so cold this winter that when we had a day that Derek was off plus decent temperatures plus bright sunny skies...how can you not get outside? J had fun just running around being a boy. He was picking up sticks and rocks and running wild. It such a nice place, not to mention free! We forget about it sometimes, though. Definitely worth heading over there!

That same day, he got a big boy car seat for Daddy's truck. He loves it :)

Our next adventure was to the circus!!! It was kind of a last minute decision. I just bought our tickets yesterday for the show today. I was a little worried about how J would do just sitting there watching, but it actually went better than I expected. We had some good seats on the end of the row, so we could escape if needed. We stayed through intermission for a total of 2 hours. Can't believe J sat for that long. He loved it when the elephants came out! He just clapped and said YAY!

A couple of the lions got a little testy during their performance. I got a little nervous for bit!

 

One of the many many snacks he ate. Kept him happy, though!

2 hours into the show and Jonah B couldn't take anymore. He kept nodding off in Daddy's lap. We left at this point, obviously. I would call his first Circus visit a definite success!!!

Now for some randomness...

He is my little bff! I just love being able to snuggle him so much!!!

He "helped" Daddy fix the door one day. He was just hammering away!

Jonah loves to hide under his tent :) We put this up one day and he took every single book he had under there plus a few more items. He then sat on all his books. He's such a goof!

Mommy and Daddy love Jonah B so very much!!!!

A "word" for the new year

We are now in 2014! Hard to believe, but it's true. We didn't do much for NYE, of course. We did decided to let J stay up a little bit late and head down the road to see some fireworks! Buffalo Wild Wings in Gardendale put on a NYE party and fireworks show. They even had a midnight ball drop, but we definitely didn't make it to that one. We took the truck and hopped a curb to get the perfect spot...

J loved it! He just stared and pointed. 

No makeup, greasy hair, and pj's, but I just love my little family!

In church last week, PK preached on getting a "word" for 2014. I don't make New Year's resolutions. I think it's just a waste of time and another thing to feel guilty about. I have hopes, sure. My hopes for this year are to have a healthy baby boy enter our family, spend as much time as I can with all 3 of my boys, go on a vacation or 2 and make some good memories. However, resolutions to lose weight, make more money/save more money/spend less money, and all the other usuals are just not my style. They are made to be broken, I guess. Some people may be fired up about resolutions and actually stick to them. I have found that I am not one of those people, so I just skip that tradition. I really loved PK's idea of a word for 2014. He said that we should ask God for a word to apply to our life in the upcoming year. Whatever we are going through, we should be able to go back to that one little word to get us through. As soon as he said all this, I immediately could not think of anything other than the word "FAITH". I truly believe God gave me this word sitting in church that morning. I just kept thinking about how no matter what happens I can always have faith that God will see me through. This does kinda scare me a little. It makes me wonder if this year is going to bring some hard times. There will always be hard times in this life, but I know that if I just continue to have faith in God's love and His promise, then I can get through anything. Here's to the new year!