Can you tell I'm his mama?

I've done this with pictures from when Eli and I were both tiny babies, but my mom brought over a picture of me when I was 14 months old. Eli's a bit older than that now, (19 months) but I compared a picture of him at 14 months as well. Looks like we can see what I would have looked like if I would have been a boy!

Baby "no name" update!

First off....holy moly I only have 3 weeks until my due date! YIKES! Still no name for the poor child, but he'll get one eventually right? We finally have a couple of names we are considering, but none of you will be privileged of knowing them, so don't ask, lol. You'll just have to wait and see what we choose. You've waited this long, so what's a little bit longer?

So, we had our follow up with the pediatric cardiologist this week to further look at the arrhythmia and the newly discovered sac of fluid around his heart. (Dr. Lorber is really great if anyone is ever in need, which I hope not!) The small sac of fluid is still there, and he actually called it trivial. He really thinks that all the things we have found are actually a curse of modern medicine. (My OB, the perinatologist, as well as Dr. Lorber all have said over and over again that modern medicine can be such a blessing and a curse.) At this point in time, he's not recommending any further appts with me, nor does he see it necessary to see the little man after birth. If something remains wrong once he is born, then our pediatrician will see/hear it right away and tell the on call pediatric cardiologist. I feel in my heart of hearts he will be fine and not need any of this! So, it looks like all the prayers are working...please keep them coming!

Everything is just about ready for the little trouble maker's arrival. The nursery is on hold at the moment, because our furniture has been delayed...again! This happened with Eli's nursery too, and we ordered that WAY early. I guess I have bad luck when it comes to this stuff, lol. Some of the itty bitty clothes are washed, all the nursery walls have been scrubbed, baseboards washed, carpet steam vac'd, so now we wait. Still have to install the infant seat in the car, but I'm waiting for Nader to vacuum out my car before I do this. (I asked him two weeks ago...and yet we still wait, lol! Men!)

Finally, here is my ever growing belly at 37 weeks. I'm very curious to see how much bigger I get in the next two weeks. I seemed to have a big belly growth spurt with Eli between 37-39 weeks. Oh, and since I'm full term now, this baby is more than welcome to come out at any time. I am so ready to get rid of this pelvic pain I've been having for months on end. (Sorry for the crappy pic, but there was crappy weather today and I wasn't about to get all dolled up, lol!)

A play date, a playground and more!

It's been a busy weekend, but I'm still sad to see it end! Friday we had lots of fun on our weekly play date with Bella and Lucy. Lucy is hardly ever in the pictures though because she likes to power nap during out visits! The kiddos played hard for a bit, and got a treat of some chocolate pudding after lunch!

Eli isn't too messy...but that's because I didn't let him have free reign. I wouldn't want Callista's kitchen covered in it! Notice the lovely bib he's sporting. He's very secure in his masculinity!

Miss Bella went to town! As you can see, they both did enjoy their little treat!

Both children looking at/near the camera at the same time. Of course they both aren't smiling, one is close the other is far, and Bella is in a lot of shadow, but we'll take what we can get!

Having a great time pressing buttons!

They look so innocent don't they?

Saturday we did a ton of cleaning on baby no name's room, then decided to go to the park and let Eli burn off some steam. He had a blast!

And he's off!

Riding on the hippo!

Weeee, down the slide!

He was laughing hysterically while swinging with Daddy!

And he loved swinging by himself too!

And he runs away when we tell him it's time to go!

Today was our nephew, Hayden Joseph's baptism. It was great fun for Eli, because there were kids galore to play with after church.

Eli being very well behaved in church

And a cheesy grin for mama!

After the service, Eli thought it would be a great idea to try and tip over a table!

And the man of the hour, little (BIG) Hayden! We love our little chunker nephew!

And Finally, our attempt at a family pic. The lighting stinks, Eli's scowling, but you get the idea!

I'm a slacker...

They'll be a lot info this round, since I've been meaning to update for a few days now, lol. I'll blame it on pregnancy brain since I only have 4 weeks left of that excuse!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday Nader did so much work on the yard. As Eli and I played with his water table, Nader pulled all the weeds out of the landscaping, trimmed all the bushes, (there are quite a few) put in new mulch everywhere, and raked/dug out/patched some of the many sections in our front lawn that need work. Our landscaping looks wonderful now! I was a great cheerleader during it all, lol!!

Sunday we decided to have our Memorial Day cookout, since it worked best with all of our schedules. We went to Matt's house, and Eli had a great time playing with the dogs, dirt, water, and Uncle Matt! Here is a peek at some of the events that evening...

Everything was fine until Eli got a big ole' patch of dog slobber on his head!

So he tried to mind his own business and play on his own. Notice the dog and the hose in the background. (Uncle Matt is holding the hose)

Uncle Matt squirts him to get Eli to leave the grill alone. He's running for cover!
He's now all wet, but actually enjoying himself!

And Uncle Matt created a monster...

And just as quickly, Eli is over it. That's him telling his uncle to stop!

Monday we had an interesting day. We decided to finally tackle the nursery. (I told you we're slackers!) The crib will be here within the next couple of days, so we needed to have the room cleared out. Boy was that an adventure. Nader decided it would be a great idea to move everything himself. He ignored all the intelligent advice from his wonderful wife, but that's another story, lol. Long story short...the tv dropped, and everything didn't get moved! The box spring wouldn't fit up or down the stairs. Yesterday he did listen to me and called Steve over to help. It was nice because my mom and I got to cook dinner while the boys worked, and Eli got to play outside and with his two favorite dogs! Eli also got another haircut. As you can see...each time he gets a haircut, he looks so much more grown up!!

Here he is being silly!

Not quite sure what he was doing here...but he looks like such a little man!! I can't believe in less than a month he's going to be a big brother!!

And of course a serious shot!

And finally, tonight giving Elmo hugs and kisses before bed!

I'll be updating about the baby next week, after we see the cardiologist again. Say a prayer that the sac of fluid has gone away...and hopefully this darn arrhythmia will go away too!!

Baby Update!

Yesterday we went to the Pediatric Cardiologist. He was a very nice doctor, and spent just over and hour looking at our little man's heart. His main job was to verify that everything was still okay structurally. It was, so that's good news! He did see a small pocket of fluid around his heart, so we have to see him back again in two weeks. This is now the third weird thing going on with this little guy's heart, it's just insane! Luckily, the doctor seems to think it's no big deal, and he's just going to watch it. He said there is no major heart defect, and if something is wrong other than the arrhythmia, it would be a small hole/s that would be hidden during the echo-cardiogram. Even then, we're still told not to worry, because they would most likely close on their own shortly after birth.

Today, I had my OB appt and non-stress test. The arrhythmia is still there, but again, the doctors are saying not to worry. The baby was being a bugger and wasn't cooperating...and just tried sleeping through it all. He wasn't allowed to do that, so after 2 juices, a hard candy, and a sucker, he finally started moving. Go figure...this baby moves non-stop, except when we need him too, lol. I'm in serious trouble if this is all a sign of how he'll be once he's born. He's such a little stinker!!

So for now, we do nothing except wait, and continue our non-stress tests and follow up appts. 5 weeks to go...and I am more than ready to hold my precious little guy and stop worrying!

A day out with Thomas!

Yesterday we took Eli to "A day out with Thomas." For those who don't know, Thomas the Tank is a huge hit, even at the early age of 18 months! We were worried about the weather that day, since most of the event is outside and it was suppose to rain quite a bit...but even through the raindrops we all had a blast. We got there early so Eli could play a bit. As we were exiting the car, we realized my umbrella was no longer there, thank you pregnancy brain!! We were out in the middle of the valley, had no idea where the closest store was, so we set on a quick adventure. Luckily we found a CVS only about 10 minutes away, and we were back in no time! (Our little mishap did cut into Eli's play time a bit, but he didn't seem to notice!) First, there was a large area with these bounce balls that Eli loved!! He was even sharing them when other kids came by!

Eli also tested out all the other toys...the boy is a climber!

While waiting for the train, the weather was still cooperating. It was about 70 degrees and sunny. As it's time to board, a massive downpour occurs. Thank goodness we were in the front of the line! Even soggy, Eli LOVED the train ride!!

He was fascinated and looked out the window the whole time! We were right up front so he got to see the steam Thomas made too!!

With the famous train himself! (I broke my "no holding" rule for a moment...Nader seems to think I'm a horrible patient and not so good at this bed rest stuff, lol!)

With Daddy too!

A close up of Eli's Thomas tattoo. He was so still when it was applied, and acted like his whole arm was broken for quite some time afterward. He didn't know what to think about it!

My soggy boy in his over sized poncho! It started raining again, and the temp dropped a ton by the time we got off the train!

As we were leaving...he looked like he was wrapped in saran wrap. As you can tell, he was amused!

We of course had to go through the massive tent of Thomas memorabilia, and we didn't do too bad. Just a place mat, a tee shirt, and a whistle for one of his friends and we were off! This will be an even we will be doing yearly. Eli had such a blast and will get a lot more out of it next year! We ended the evening by stopped at Friday's to eat. Just one last picture of the little man, and just what is my son doing? Flirting with the waitress of course!! Boy am I in trouble x2!!

On the baby front...nothing to report until after my appts. this week. We see the cardiologist tomorrow, and I have my regular appt and non-stress test on Tuesday. Say a prayer for our baby boy!

What happens when Grammy watches Eli!

I had another non stress test on Tuesday, so my wonderful mom came over to watch Eli as she always does. They always have such a wonderful time, and Eli just adores his Grammy. One thing I have noticed though...whether my mom or Nader watches Eli, I know one of two things will happen: Eli will be nearly naked, or his clothing will have food all over it. Luckily between the two of them, I have become a stain removal master! So, I come home from my appt, and low and behold, my nearly naked son is waiting for me! Notice the lovely outfit he's sporting. That's a monkey backpack (aka: child leash, yes, I have one...you try and let that boy run free in a mall, lol) a stylish diaper with Sesame Street characters, and of course, his Crocs. The boy LOVES his Crocs. (Ignore the prints ALL over the window...I promise you, it does get cleaned frequently, lol)

So then we're off to visit Ghea. We thought we'd bring her some spaghetti sauce we made the night before. Eli was playing in her back yard, and picked me a flower all by himself!

Then Grammy taught him how to blow on Dandelions, and he did well, only having a few stick to his big ole' lips!

Sitting with his Ghea. He decided he needed to eat her Taco Bell, along with some pickles. He also had his Ghea make him a grilled cheese. The boy can eat!!

Then back home! He woke up after his nap and needed a shirt change. He was hamming it up for the camera!

After all this...I had to run to the store. Nader stayed home with Eli. When I got home, I found him in the same attire as in the first picture, minus the Crocs! Nader and my mom must be conspiring, lol!

Baby update!

We're getting closer!! Today I had my appt. with the perinatologist for a level 2 ultra-sound (more in depth) and a fetal echo-cardiogram. I got to see my little man moving around on screen for just over an hour. Of course he wouldn't stop moving, so that's why it took so long, lol.

Good news: He's measuring right on track. He looks like he's going to be tall like his brother, as his femur is measuring much longer than the rest of him. His measurements are almost identical to Eli's, as is the way he looks. The resemblance in just amazing! He's already up to 5lbs 4oz, he's practicing his breathing, and he even got the hiccups while they were scanning me. It was so cute!! He got rather grumpy though, as you'll see in the photo, and he kept sticking his tongue out at us!

Bad news: arrhythmia is still there, so I now have to go see a pediatric cardiologist. He will do an echo-cardiogram, and discuss a plan of action. The perinatologist believes he'll just want us to continue to monitor it, but we shall see. This little man is making his mommy worry like crazy!! I see the pediatric cardiologist next Monday, the 18th, so hopefully we'll have some more answers. Until then, I still have my weekly appts and non-stress tests. And here is a pic of the little trouble maker himself, (who still doesn't have a name!) The second picture was an u/s of Eli around the same gestational age. I can't get over how similar they look! Same wide nose and big ole' lips, lol!!

Baby "no name" (33wks 4 days)

Eli (34wks)

And last but not least, here is my ever growing belly at 33wks, 4days.

Mommy, Grammy, and Ghea!

We've been very busy the last few days, so this will be a two post deal, lol. First, on Saturday we went to my Grandma's house to celebrate her 78th birthday!! She is such a wonderful woman and I'm so lucky to have her, and I am sooo happy my boys are blessed with a Great Grandmother!!

Mr. Ham himself, sitting in Ghea's (Gee-ah) chair! (notice how nicely his lip has healed!)

Goofing off with his cousins Paige and Zach!

Eli and his Ghea, although neither of them would look at me!

Eli and his Grammy...see what happens when they're left alone!

Then comes Sunday! Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!! My mom and I made brunch, and enjoyed the day with Matt, Devon, and Mr. Peej as well. (No, his name isn't really Peej, but that is what his Auntie calls him! His real name is Paul Matthew Jr.) The boys are so sweet together!!

The boys plotting something...not quite sure what just yet though!


Such handsome little guys!


And since I'm a complete moron lately and didn't even get one single picture with my son on Mother's day, here we are today after bath time!


I love my Eli kisses!!

Baby update and a belly shot to follow!