Easter

The Easter bunny visited our house last night...he left WAY more candy than we could ever need and a new John Deere tractor DVD. How does he know our Thomas so well? The giant roll of Pez was probably his favorite since that is his most favorite candy. We were popping Pez all during church to make it through the whole service without a meltdown. Major sugar high by lunchtime!

 

Hunting all of the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid. We had to wait for the sun to come up before we went outside. Early risers over at the Walker house.

 

All dressed and ready to go to church. For some reason, Lion came with us today. Thomas usually only sleeps with him, but I think visions of another Easter bunny made him run back and grab him from his bed.

 

I'm afraid this is my last time to dress Thomas in lace, or even a button-on for that matter. Patrick is tired of them and after I tried his outfit on him last night, Thomas told his Daddy that "Mommy tried on my dress"....Nail.in.the.lace.coffin! Oh well, he was precious while it lasted and at least I have another little one on the way who can wear lace for 3 more years. :)

 

My two guys at lunch at the MCC!

 

Me and my little man. This is the first picture I've seen in a while where he actually looks a little bit like me. Normally he is a clone for Patrick.

 

Staying close to Daddy while the Easter Bunny was nearby. He kept his eyes on that bunny until he was gone!

 

Bunny gone....now we can hunt some eggs!

 

Probably our last picture as a family of three.

 

Thomas with Mimi and Tino! He was being so silly at this point from all of the sugar. We gave up even trying.

 

Mimi and Thomas. He was showing her all of his eggs!

Easter Happenings

Well, I am writing this post from a familiar place...one that I was beginning to think I wouldn't see this pregnancy - my bed. Yes, my appointment this week showed my fluid levels had dropped to 6 in a week, so we are in the "cautious zone." While Dr. Kennedy did not put me on full bed rest, he said that I needed to rest as much as I could and come back on Monday. If the levels drop below 5, he said he will take the baby. I will be 36 weeks on Wednesday so the hope is that I can make it to at least 37 weeks.

Of course this happened Easter weekend when we had so many fun things planned. I made a deal with Patrick that I could do one thing a day and would rest the remainder of the day. Avoiding the NICU is important to all of us!

Luckily, everyone has been so willing to help with Thomas, so I feel very lucky. Mimi picked Thomas up from school on Thursday and they played until Patrick got home. They got into Mimi's dress up clothes and stuffed animals. How cute are these pictures?

 

Yesterday was the Pidgeon Estates neighborhood Easter egg hunt. They go all out - a petting zoo, train ride and Easter Bunny. BooBoo was in town so she came with me to help chase after Thomas.

 

 

I had forgotten how much I like little bunny rabbits. Seeing this one ALMOST made me want to go out and get one. Almost...I haven't lost my mind completely...yet.

 

 

Ever heard of a Zeebu? Me neither. They had a baby one there and everyone was intrigued. It is similar to a cow.

 

 

BooBoo was such a sport and rode the train with Thomas.

 

He was having a blast until the dern Easter Bunny walked up behind him and the child literally scaled me all by himself and had a death grip on my neck. He was so traumatized that he could hardly hunt for eggs. He kept looking over his shoulder or around me to make sure the bunny was still far, far away.

 

We came home and looked at pictures together from past Easters of Thomas and the Easter bunny so I could prove to him that the Easter bunny was his friend and wouldn't hurt him. I know he will see him at least two more times before the weekend is over, so hopefully this will prevent any more meltdowns. Reasoning with a two year old is very often pointless, but I still try.

After naptime, Patrick took Thomas to the golf course. He was so excited to go with Daddy. He wanted to wear a hat like his Daddy. I get happy and sad all at the same time when I see how big Thomas is getting. I know that he will seem even older once Henry is here.

 

Patrick and Thomas are headed to the 2PC Egg hunt this morning. We are lucky to have such a good Daddy/husband!

 

Spring Days

We made a complete 180 degree change in swimming lessons last week. Maybe it was the encouraging talks we had or the threats we made, but I'm pretty certain it was this giant chocolate lollipop that I bribed him with. He did a great job on all of the exercises and even went under water and jumped off the side. Look at this happy boy on the car ride home...he was very proud of himself!

On Friday, Thomas was playing dress up in his knight costume and construction safety glasses. He was running around the yard chasing dragons. I love the imagination he has these days. He is always dreaming up adventures and gives us each parts to play.

LuLu brought Thomas some binoculars and a frog hat for doing such a good job at his swimming lessons. He had fun looking for bugs and worms in the yard, even though he won't touch either. Patrick blames me for making him "soft".....I love my son but I am not touching worms even for him!!

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon at the Bowie's for a Masters watch party. Look at all these cute kiddos! Only missing two of the babies...I can't believe we got this many kids to sit still long enough for a picture!

We are excited for this week...lots of Easter egg hunts, Virginia's birthday party, Red Birds game and the Easter Bunny!

1 month to go for baby Henry. Last week, my fluid levels had dropped pretty dramatically so I go back this week to check things out. Worse case, they can take him at 37 weeks so that would mean we would meet him very soon!!! 

Time Flies....

These last few weeks have been a blur....we are on the final countdown for baby Henry..5 weeks to go and with all of the fun that spring brings, it will be here in the blink of an eye!

Last weekend, Patrick went to Augusta for a friend's wedding. Thomas and I had a great weekend together since I am not allowed to travel. Both of us are going through a stage of sleepless nights, so we were at Gibson's before 7:00 on Saturday! Little man loved his yummy sprinkled donut.

 

LuLu gave Thomas his first pair of blue jeans a few weeks ago. He has been rocking them these last few weekends as we played and worked in the yard. He has also gotten very good at riding his balance bike.

 

Last week, we also finished the guest bathroom...finally! I think it turned out great.

 

 

Last week, we started our "Mommy and Me" swim lessons...yes, at 34 weeks pregnant. I have lost my mind to try this but it is very important to me that Thomas learns how to swim. We will be spending lots of time at the new pools at the MCC this summer and Thomas is even having a swimming birthday party there, so he needs to learn to swim.

 

As you can see, our friend Charlie did a great job, and I spent 95% of the class trying to coax Thomas into the water. I'd say we have lots of work to do if he's going to learn to swim since he won't even get in the water! We have talked about it a lot since then, and hopefully next Tuesday will be a better lesson. My OB was there last week watching his grandson. With all of the stress of a difficult toddler, I felt some comfort knowing that he was there in case I went into labor...

 

 

Singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider

 

At the very end of the class, he agreed to ride the giant turtle float...look at that fake pout....he was determined not to show that he was having one ounce of fun. Stubborn to a fault - wonder where he gets that?

 

There was a spring program at Thomas's school on Friday. His class sang 3 songs. Thomas has been practicing these songs for weeks. He was front and center and sang his little heart out. I really thought he might freeze once he saw the crowd, but he did great!

 

The children walked or hopped down the aisle one by one. Thomas was looking for Mommy and Daddy the whole time.

 

Look at that smile once he spotted us! Nana and Papa were in town and came with us. He was so proud to have us all there to watch him sing.

 

And he had fun showing Papa some of his art work.

 

Acting shy with Nana and Papa.

 

Being a silly boy...he stole Papa's sock and put it on over his pj's. He thought it was hysterical!

 

We had the Osiris Red and White party last night. It was a good party....We will more than likely miss the May party since Henry is due 3 days before the party, but hopefully we will be ready to go for Crown and Scepter and the other Carnival Week parties. Lisa will be a princess this year, so that should be lots of fun!

 

Hard to believe Easter is only 2 weeks away! Looking forward to nice weather and spring fun!

 

 

Spring Break

This week has been Spring Break for the schools. On Monday, we went to the Zoo with the Bowie's. It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time. These three were so cute together. It was funny watching them decide who was going to lead! 

The new elephant exhibit was open so we got a very close view of an elephant. Dorothy and Thomas were so excited they gave each other a big hug....sweet friends!

Emily definitely wins Mom of the Year award....she agreed to ride a camel with both of her girls AND baby Thomas. I offered to at least hold the baby but she had it all under control. My Thomas wasn't about to ride a camel and truthfully, I was very relieved. 

This week the landscapers came to do the majority of the work in the backyard. A new swingset area, French drain, and beds. Some of the plants/trees arrive in a few weeks once the threat of frost has passed. 

Thomas has enjoyed the 24 yards of dirt that was hauled into our yard. Papa mailed him a new John Deere grader and it went straight from the box to the dirt. This little boy loves to dig!

Annie and Booboo were in town the last part of spring break and we loved getting to see them!

A Good Report and a Great Week

On Tuesday, I had my ultrasound to check on my fluid levels and my glucose test. I was a nervous wreck about the fluid levels because I have been having the same cramping that I had with Thomas. But fortunately, God decided to answer our prayers and my fluid levels were not low...they were very high, actually! Normal is 8-20 and mine were 15! Hurray!! Dr. Kennedy was so impressed and said there was virtually no way my levels would drop below 8 in less than 4 weeks, so I got a pass on my next appointment. To top off the good news, I passed my glucose test too! Here is a glimpse of the sweet face I cannot wait to meet.

 

 

 

Dr. Kennedy gave me permission to travel within a 2 hour radius this past weekend, so we were able to sneak away to Oxford with Helene and Watson for some much needed adult-only time away (many thanks to Mimi and Tino for keeping the little man). We missed the Stines greatly but know they have an overflowing plate right now! Just means we will all have to go back again soon!

 

We walked around the square and shopped on Saturday, sat outside at the bars to enjoy the beautiful weather and ate a yummy dinner at Boure. Breakfast at Big Bad Breakfast topped off the escape and we were back in Memphis on Sunday afternoon.

 

 

I found the most adorable bonnet for Henry at one of the shops on the square. He will be by the pool way more often than Thomas ever was at that age, so I think he will get lots of wear out of this cute thing.

 

 

Before we left on Saturday, I took Thomas to the Shrine circus. he was so excited about going and froze once we got there. I think he was overwhelmed by all there was to take in. I offered cotton candy but he thought it was strange. I offered elephant rides and that was more like a "heck, no, Mama. Are you crazy?" By intermission he was ready to go and so was I! :)

 

 

 

On our drive home from Oxford yesterday, the temperature dropped from 64 to 36. We woke up to an ice storm this morning and no school! Yay! Been in our pj's all day planning and "nesting." Thomas is a very good helper and he loves to get things ready for Henry. Sweet boy keeps asking me if we can take him out yet to play. He is already assuming the big brother role in our house. He likes to tell you about all of the stories from "when he was a little boy." My little man, you are still my little boy no matter how big you may feel.

 

I saw this article on Facebook and thought it was amazing.

 

http://yourbestnestindy.com/2014/02/27/mommy-somebody-needs-you/

 

It sums up our life right now and for the next few years. It really helped put into perspective just how precious this age is and made me realize that even the tired and stressful days contain the moments that you will want to hold on to forever. Every night after we have read our books and sang our songs, Thomas gives me a hug and a kiss and says, "Mama, when I need you, I will call you!" And then I have to say, "And I will come running." And come running I do because he does need me, and how great is it to be so needed and loved?