9 Months!!

We are in the home stretch!! 36 weeks down, probably less than 3 to go! I finally feel like we are prepared for Deacon's arrival. The nursery is completed, car seat purchased, and clothes hung...now we just need a baby!

Deacon showed us in the last ultrasound that he is positioned heads down & we watched him practice breathing the entire time. He is about 18 1/2 inches long now, and weighs close to 7 lbs. (the size of a small watermelon):

With this being my 9th month of pregnancy, I am constantly surprised how easy and comfortable it has been. My legs haven't really been swelling too much, and my back rarely hurts. The only complaint I have is just being a little more tired and out of breath than normal.

How far along? 36 weeks

Weight gained: 32 lbs.

Mood: tired, but good

Maternity clothes? is it bad to say that I really am going to miss them??

Sleep: it is getting harder to find a comfortable position, but I am still sleeping pretty well, even though my dreams are CRAZY!
Energy Level: rapidly declining...would love to have a little nesting energy going on

Best moments in the last month: Carson giving my belly kisses, the latest ultrasound, baby shower

Movement? I can feel EVERYTHING he does now, my belly shakes when he gets the hiccups

Cravings: Sonic Ice!! It is just so yummy to crunch on

Belly button in or out: O-U-T

Baby purchases this month: coming home outfit, car seat, mobile

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach

What I am looking forward to: holding our newest family member!

My next monthly pictures will be of baby Deacon growing, instead of my belly! We can't wait to meet him!

35 Week Ultrasound

I had my last ultrasound today, and as you can see from the picture above, Deacon is becoming a little smushed in his home. They took about 15 images for us, and this is the only one that even slightly resembles a baby. If you turn your head to the right he is facing forward.

I have been thinking these last few weeks that Deacon is going to be a big boy, just by how crammed and heavy he feels. My feelings were confirmed at today's ultrasound when the doctor told us that at 35 weeks, he is estimated to already weigh 6 lbs. 14 oz., putting him in the 90th percentile! I was only 5 lbs. 15 oz when I was born, so my son is outweighing me a month before his due date... She thinks he will be between 8-9 lbs. when born! I am nervous.

On a positive note, I lost a pound since my last visit! So while he is gaining, I am losing. :)

Doctor visits are now weekly from this point on.

Operation: Carson Sleep Alone - Phase 2

We have reclaimed our bedroom!!!


I haven't updated since we first moved Carson into his own bed in our room back in October. He has done SO well with wanting to sleep by himself and refused to allow anyone else to even sit on his bed unless we were reading a story to him. The "big boy fairy" also helped out by leaving small rewards (ie. Gormiti's) under his pillow every few weeks as a reminder for how big he is getting. We figured we would give him about a month or so to get accustomed to sleeping alone before moving him into his own room.

Over the holidays we put a lot of thought into what we could do to make the transition easier. We decided to get him walkie-talkies for Christmas and Brian's parents bought him a tv for his room.

On New Year's Eve, while everyone else was out partying, we played musical furniture in our house, exchanging dressers and beds from each room and hanging Carson's tv.

We thought it would be best to have the guest bed in his room at first, so that one of us could sleep in there until he felt comfortable sleeping alone. Brian was nominated as that person, and I enjoyed hogging our whole bed in the room by myself.

By his second night, Carson decided that NO ONE needed to be sleeping in his room, except for him. So when Meme & Pops came to visit, they had to use the blow-up mattress in Deacon's room. We didn't even try to force the issue; if he is ready to be independent, we were not about to stand in his way. We are going to leave the extra bed in his room until after Deacon arrives, just in case he regresses any.

The only issues we are having now, is getting him to go to bed at a decent hour without putting up a fight and once put to bed, not coming out 20 times. On the positive, once finally asleep in his bed, he doesn't come back out!

Today we made a purchase to help us tackle our final bedtime obstacle of staying put:

This is a reward chart, where Carson can earn stars for doing chores and such around the house, one of the items being:

We have once again bribed him with opportunities to earn Gormiti's (hey, don't judge...). Based on how many stars he earns during the week, he receives money for his allowance, which can then be used to purchase his beloved toys.

I'll let you know how it goes...

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Since I posted pictures of the other bedrooms, I figured I would go ahead and show you the final product of Deacon's nursery with curtains as well:

Carson's UN-Birthday

So over Christmas break, my friend Brandi called to see what we had planned for the following week. We didn't have anything going on, so she wanted to know if we would like to meet her and Jason and some of their cousins, nieces, and nephews at Incredible Pizza and then go see the new "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie. Sounded good, seeing as Carson LOVES Incredible Pizza, and we were planning to go see that movie soon. She told me "Well good, because it was cheaper just to book a party room and get the package, than to pay for all the kids to get in and play games. So we told them it was Carson's birthday."

ONLY Brandi. lol

On the day of the "party" we called Brandi to confirm the time and she then tells us that she just remembered she accidentally entered Carson's birth year wrong on the website, so they are expecting a 9 year old birthday boy. (Umm, Carson is FOUR, but okay...) Luckily Brian was with us so we didn't have to arrive to Carson's "birthday" celebrations alone.

As we pull into the parking lot, I call Brandi again to see where they are, and she tells me they are running about 15 minutes late... Which makes the three of us the only guests at first and I now have to walk to the front to find out where our son's party room will be. They ask if I am the birthday boys mother. Yes. And then tell Carson "Happy Birthday." His birthday was only a couple of weeks prior, so he is still basking in the "birthday" glory, and thankfully doesn't call us out for the big, fat liars we are. The employees also don't call us out for having NO presents, NO cake, and NO decorations. Thank goodness!

We quickly find our room, grab some pizza, and wait for Carson's "guests" to arrive. I am really wishing I would have taken a picture of that pitiful, huge, vacant party room we sat in.

Brandi & Jason arrived a few minutes later with their posse' in tow, again with no presents or anything resembling what you would see at a typical birthday party. She said they had gone up to the front and told them that she was the mother of the birthday boy and would like to pay for the party and pick up the game cards. They looked at her like she was crazy, but obliged.

So we ate and played video games, go-carts, and putt-putt. Here are the kids before we left:

I'm wondering if this should make it into birthday pictures for his baby book!?!

Next, we went to the movies. The kids were really well-behaved, seeing as we adults were outnumbered 4-to-7. Jason spent about 45 minutes in line buying popcorn & drinks for the kiddos, but everyone was settled and happy by the time the movie began.

We had a great day and I'm still not sure if Carson really thought that was his birthday party or not. But I do know, as always promised, never a dull moment when Brandi is involved.

Deacon's Nursery

It's FINALLY finished!!! I feel so relieved that Deacon will have a completed nursery to come home to and we have another to-do checked off the list!

Brian did a fantastic job with the hard labor that went into assembling furniture, painting, hanging chair rail and pictures, and then rearranging furniture while letting me sit back and direct.

Above the crib

View from the door

View from the closet

We need to find curtains to hang, and put batteries in his mobile and attach to the crib, but other than that we are d-o-n-e!!

Christmas Eve & Day

Better late than never, right??


We had a really wonderful Christmas this year. We started Christmas Eve off at church with a great service and Carson got to go on stage and sing a couple of Christmas carols with the children of our church. (He is in the front, center, by the kiddo w/ the "O" on their shirt):


He is such a ham, so he totally loved it:

Afterwards, we went to my grandmother's house for dinner & presents. This is Carson w/ his 2 cousins, Ethan & Austin:

When we got home we set out milk & cookies for Santa: (I was too lazy to do any photo editing, so the picture quality isn't great...)

The next morning we woke up, and saw that Santa had arrived!!

Carson has mastered the art of opening presents:

Joni & the boys came over for a tasty breakfast made by Brian. Yes, we are eating it off left over Thanksgiving plates...hey, no dishes! :)

After all the boys played with their new presents for a while, we got dressed and went to Brian's parents for dinner & more presents! Carson got a new flat-screen tv for his room!

...and Zhu-Zhu pets, which Brian spent at least an hour putting together!

We spent the rest of the evening playing bingo & white elephant, and visiting with family. Nothing better than staying local and spending time with all the family. Carson received so many toys from Christmas and his birthday we had to go out and buy him a new toy box to hold everything in! I have no idea where we will store presents next year when we have two little boys opening gifts!

"Deacon Weekend"

This weekend was dedicated to our little bun-in-the-oven, Deacon! Saturday was the baby shower; it turned out adorable, I got to see my favorite people & Deacon made out like a bandit!
The theme was "Nursery Rhymes," and looked super cute. Most of the decorations were found at Hobby Lobby, and my friend Brandi purchased baby books off of e-bay for additional decorations.

After everyone arrived, was fed, and socialized a bit, it was time for games! The first one was called "Mr. & Mrs. Right" where guest stand in a circle while a story about a baby delivery is read. When the reader says the words "left" or "right" the person holding the gift passes it in that direction. Sounds simple, but when every other word was a direction, passing moved fast!

The winner was my favorite neighbor, Melissa:

Next game was "Name the Body Part," where guests looked at a series of ultrasounds and identified what was being shown. I thought I was a pro with as many ultrasounds as I have had, but organs like stomach & kidneys kind of look alike!

Robin won the tie-breaker:

The last game was "Price is Right." Brandi displayed 5 baby items, and guests added up the cost, to come closest without going over:

Our newest momma in the group, Lindsey, won that one:

Cake was served, then it was present time! The lens on the camera got smudged, so the pictures didn't turn out very clear, but I promise EVERYTHING was FABULOUS!! We got clothes, diapers, blankets, toys, bottles, a bassinet, diaper bags, and lots of other baby necessities!

Thank you to all the guests who could make it on this holiday weekend & extra BIG thank you to Brandi, Kollette, & my mom for hosting the shower!

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Today was Carson's "Sibling Tour" of the hospital! The hospital where we will be delivering Deacon hosts a class on the weekends for big brothers/sisters so that they can learn about babies & take a tour of the hospital. I thought with one month to go, this would be the best time for Carson to get his tour, and he really ended up having fun.

When we arrived Carson was instructed to pick out a "baby," a bag, and have a seat.

Can I just say how ADORABLE he was holding the baby!?!

He must have kissed that little baby doll 50 times while we were there! The session started and the instructor introduced herself and asked the kids some questions about them and their siblings. Then we watched a cute video explaining ways to help and play with the baby and what to expect. Carson and his baby were a captive audience members:

When the video was over, Carson got to practice some of his new skills on his doll. Changing a diaper:

...holding the baby properly:

Swaddling was hard work, so I assisted when Carson got frustrated:

At the end of the classroom part of the visit, our big boy was given a t-shirt & a certificate:

We couldn't take pictures on the tour, but we were shown the delivery room and the nursery. The nursery had one newborn in it, so Carson got to see how little babies are when they first arrive!

He is really getting excited about Deacon getting here and now gives my belly hugs & kisses every day. While we were at the hospital, he asked if we could talk to the doctor to see if the baby was done "cooking" yet...next month!