9 Months

I am in my ninth month of pregnancy and it's so hard to believe! I feel so good in comparison to the last month of my other pregnancies. I remember being so tired and having all kinds of aches and pains in the last few weeks with Harleigh and especially Trey. I had a really hard time with my back and was just miserable! But I am so thankful that isn't the case this time around. Don't get me wrong, I have my days! But most of the time I'm pretty energetic and feeling good. My mom stayed with us this past week and we got so much done! I am completely ready for this baby and can't believe we will be meeting her in a matter of days!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 37 weeks 4 days
Total Weight Gain: +23 lbs
Maternity Clothes: I am wearing all maternity clothes and I just got two dresses from Target that I will be living in for the next week!
Gender: It's A Girl!
Movement: The last few weeks I have been noticing that her movements have become less and less. So last week my OB did a stress test and said she is doing great! :) I guess she doesn't have as much room to roam as before!
Food Cravings: Sonic Ice! I could eat it all day everyday!
What I Miss: Can't think of anything at the moment :)
Sleep: Sleep is not so good, but I'm toughing it out!
What I'm Looking Forward To: The day that we bring our new baby home.
Big Sister & Big Brother: Harleigh & Trey are both really excited and I think they are as ready as they can be for the changes that this new baby will bring!

Little Miss Kindergarten

Today is the day. The day we have all been talking about for so long! Our 1st baby started Kindergarten. It is a very surreal feeling that will probably take all week to sink in. But I'm excited for her!

She started off the morning with a phone call from her cousin, Kenzi. Today was her first day of 1st grade, so she knows all about the big K! She was telling Harleigh what to expect and Harleigh didn't know what to think, ha!

Here she is posing in her 1st day outfit. I tried to keep it pretty simple, and sweet. I told myself and everyone else I was going to put the big bows away when she went to school, but I just can't help it. And she doesn't care so she will wear them until she does! ha! I wanted her to carry her matching lunch box, but of course she wanted the Minnie Mouse one. Pick your battles, right?

Trey wanted to take some pictures with us too! He was very sad today. He misses Harleigh and keeps saying, "Mommy, Harleigh is at school. But what's her doing? I miss her!" This is going to be a long week, but hopefully he will adjust!

Mimi came to see Harleigh off to her 1st day and it really helped me out having her here. She was able to help me with Trey so I could concentrate on Harleigh.

Her teacher gave each child's parent a heart sticker to give to their son/daughter. She said she had a book to go along with it that explains that when Mommy & Daddy aren't with you, they are always thinking about you and missing you. She said it really helps them with the seperation and adjustment of going to school. I thought this was soooo adorable! I gave Harleigh her heart this morning while I fixed her hair and told her all about how it was our special heart. Then she said, "Mommy, when you get sad today, and you miss me, you can look at some pictures of me, okay?" Sweet girl, melts my heart! :)

She was very brave this morning until it was time for me to leave and then she lost it. I calmed her down pretty quickly and she asked if I would get her special heart out of her back pack because she already missed me. sigh! This was harder than I thought, I can't wait to pick up my baby from her 1st day of school!

Tick Tock!

I swear I can hear a clock ticking in the background as I go through my day! It's just a matter of days until Harleigh starts Kindergarten! Trey is also going back to Mother's Day Out! And of course, our baby girl will be here in 3 weeks!

I am such a list person, I keep a spiral notebook with me at all times and I am always making lists. I have a list of places I need to go for errands such as bank, post office, feed store. Then, of course there is the Wal-mart list... never ending! I also have a list of things I need to do for work, and now I have added a list of things to do/buy before Lakyn arrives, and things to do/buy before Harleigh starts school! These lists are taking over my life, ha! No really, I couldn't live without my notebook. I have been crossing things off lately and it feels so good!

Yesterday, the kids and I spent the day with my Mom, their Mimi! They were so excited when we got to the mall to meet her. I wish I had taken pictures, but we stayed pretty steady all day and I never thought about it! We also met their Moose, and my cousins Adrian and Krystal for dinner, fun day!

Harleigh's school clothes shopping is finished and we have meet the teacher Friday night. I am really close to being ready for Lakyn, and the things I have left to do are really minor and unneccesary, but I'm just picky! I am really trying to concentrate on enjoying the moment and not thinking so much about what is to come. I tend to rush things, but I'm just SO anxious! :)

Baby Shower

The cake table

Some of the delicious food

Me, Leigh & Jolene

Me, Leigh and Mimi

Me, Paw Paw & Nana

Mommy & Daddy

Josh with his Mom & Sisters

Saturday was our baby shower and it was so much fun! It was at our house and everyone brought their families and we had a bbq. Josh and Kurt made bbq chicken and brisket, my Mom made her famous potatoe salad and veggie tray, Josh's Mom made her famous baked beans and a fruit tray, and My cousin, Leigh, made her now famous green beans. They were so good, y'all... loaded up with bacon and garlic and butter, yummy! LOL! We also had chips and dip and sandwiches for the kids.
Leigh did the invitations and decorations and Jolene ordered a cake from none other than Baking Buddies, our favorite gals! My SIL, Alisha, made a diaper cake and my step-mom also surprised me with one. They are both so adorable, I love diaper cakes!
The party was hot pink and zebra and every detail was FABULOUS! We got a lot of things that we needed for Lakyn and tons of diapers, yay! Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who came out to celebrate with us!

8 Months

I am entering my 8th month and Baby Lakyn is about 5 1/2 lbs and the size of a honey dew melon! I went to the doctor today and everything went great. I go back in two weeks for another routine check-up. We have been 2nd guessing ourselves on the name. We have loved the name Lakyn since I was pregnant with Harleigh, but we wound up chosing Harleigh instead. Now that we are having another girl, we went back to our favorite. So, it's final, her name will be Lakyn. But, when we first decided on the name, it was Lakyn Mae. Josh's Grannie's name is Frankie Mae, and since our other 3 kids have family names, we thought Miss Lakyn should too. But after losing Maeson, I decided that the "theme" in my life and especially this pregnancy was HOPE. So anyways... we are undecided between Mae and Hope. We will probably wait until we meet her and make the final decision! Oh, I can not wait to meet her!!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 weeks 1 day
Total Weight Gain: +20 lbs
Maternity Clothes: My cousin got me 4 new shirts and a dress the other day! I am loving having new things to wear and they are all so cute and go with anything!
Gender: It's a girl! Lakyn Hope
Movement: She is still moving a lot, but it has definitely slowed down as she has gotten bigger. I can tell she has less room and I'm feeling more wiggling and less flipping!
Food Cravings: I am constantly wanting ice cream and chocolate, and anything sweet!
What I Miss: I really miss having energy to play with the kids and go for walks.
Sleep: I went through a short period where I was sleeping really well, but it has come to an end! I feel like I'm awake more at night that asleep.
What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to our diaper party this weekend!
Big Sister & Big Brother: They are both really anxious to meet their new baby sister and neither one of them quite understand why we have to wait so long!