Pumpkin Carving

Clint also got me a birthday cake for my party. We never cut it at the party so we celebrated it as a family. Melanie loved it!

We carved our pumpkin last night. Melanie dove right in. She held her interest for over an hour! She got to pick out a pumpkin from school also which she decorated with markers. She loved using her "safety knife" and helping Clint carve.

Lots Going On

And the winners are.... Brad and Crystal- Oompa Loompas (spelling?)


Jeremy and Elizabeth- Gone with the Wind


Matt- Top Gun


Joey and Erin- June and Johnny Cash


Ruth and John- The gopher and Billy Murrary


Rachel and John- Fionna and Shrek


Chris and Aileen- the Nightmare Before Christmas


Leslie and Clint- From Harry Potter...boy do I look preggers now!


Brotherly love


TJ and Becca- the foks from Dodge Ball


Brian (Uncle/Cousin- I am not sure- Eddy, and) Dawn- The Girl from Matrix

I also had my yearly Halloween/Birthday Party. The theme this year was "Movie Characters." Everyone was awesome! Though the moral of the story that I learned is that I need to get out and see more movies. I only knew the Disney characters :)





First off you will see the pics from the Loganville Festival. Notice the chocolate all over her face. She loved getting her face painted.

Then guess what happened last Tuesday...Baby Petunia woke up! Clint hates that I am calling it Petunia in thought that it might be a boy- but it will survive. Clint wants to call it Peanut- but that was Melanie's fetus name. So Clint is voting for Cashew- ummmm-NO! I was sitting at work on Tuesday and felt a small tap tap- and WAHOOO!! The baby is moving! It doesn't move much and nobody else can feel it yet but it is moving. Last night I got up to let Shelby out to go to the bathroom (and me also) and then the baby decided to move from 1:00 am- 2:00 am. I couldn't fall asleep b/c the moving is so new. I know I will get over it and and will wish it to stay still so I can sleep but right now I love it!!! I guess I am practicing for staying up with baby #2 :)

Well, would you like to know the name and sex of the baby?

I think Melanie believes you go to a fall festival every other day. We went to Loganville's Fall Festival on Saturday and if I thought Lilburn Daze was bad I didn't even know what was in store for me. It was AWFUL! It was very congested down one road and had 0 things for kiddos to do. It was a lot of churches and local business trying to gain publicity and not even many crafts. We watched some kids tap dancing and Melanie got a pumpkin painted on her face from a church. We also got free cookies from a church which Melanie (without our knowing) managed to smear all over her face. We laughed so hard when we went to get her out of the stroller. I'll post the pics soon.

Her latest almost 2 year old skill- telling us to "stop it." We are trying to nip this little game in the bud as fast as we can but she is quick to tell any grown up doing anything not to her liking to "Stop It." Good grief silly girl.

Now what you've all been waiting for:
Her latest funny story...
Mommy: Melanie, am I having a girl or a boy?
Melanie: A girl (and no, we do not know- nor are we finding out)
Mommy: Really? A girl? What is her name going to be?
Melanie: 'Atunia (Petunia)
Mommy: Really, Petunia. Who do you know named Petunia?
Melanie: Nanna and Pawpaw's house- baby Petunia.
Mommy: Oh, like the baby at Nanna and Pawpaw's house. Do you like the name Petunia?
Melanie: Yes, 'Atunia.

Of course we would never do that to a baby but Melanie sure is going to be sad when she realizes the baby is NOT named Petunia!

I think I MAY have felt some flutterings this past week. (Maybe that is what the pains were for- getting some space to move around.) I am not sure. They are not the "tap tap" or kicks that I remember from Melanie but something is going on- it is more just like possible movements. The baby is SO LOW. I also do not remember Melanie being this low but I'm sure she was. It is way below my belly button. But no pains and happy flutterings so I can't complain.

Hooray for the baby and for silly Melanie!

Quick Funny Story

Melanie has become VERY excited about Halloween (or Hallowing as she calls it). She loves to talk about it and all of the decorations she sees out and about. We have done a lot of role playing about what you do on Halloween. She knows that her costume is a cat (or in her version a "tat"). So at dinner on Wednesday night she was telling TJ's girlfriend Becca all about it....
What are you going to be for Halloween?
A tat!
What do you say when you go out in your costume and knock on the doors?
Trick or treat.
What do they give you?
Candy!
Then I pipe in...what do you say when you get candy?
Yeah (not what we practiced...so I ask again)
What do you say when you get candy?
Melanie pumps her fist in the air and says "WAHOOO!"
So funny. The answer I was hoping for was "Thank you." But obviously Melanie is quite excited about the candy!

By the way my stomach has felt MUCH better the past two days- no pain. I feel like I did when I was pregnant with Melanie (which was SUPER!).

Another not fun Monday

Yesterday I woke up and my stomach was hurting pretty bad again. I was able to rest and the pains pretty much went away. I took Melanie to gymnastics and about 15 minutes in I realized that was not the best of ideas. My stomach was starting to hurt pretty bad but I was trying to tough it out. However about 5 minutes before the class was over I was sweating and thought I might faint. So, I took Melanie and went out front and called my dad (not home) and then Clint's parents. Thankfully Clint's parents were home and were able to come pick Melanie and I up. There was no way I was driving. I got to their house and was able to rest and have them take Melanie. After about 1 hour or so it felt much better and we were able to go about our day with just minor annoying pain. Then, I woke up this morning and I was getting ready for work and they started up again. I don't know if they are a product of the hernia or the stretching of the ligaments. Whatever they are, they SUCK! I feel like typically I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and this is no fun! They come on pretty strong last an hour or two and then they are gone. Hopefully this will not last my entire pregnancy b/c believe me...I already have a countdown. I was whining to Clint this morning when my stomach hurt so bad that I have 23 more weeks of this- AAAHHH!!!! But, I DO NOT want the baby to come early so I will deal with it. Out of paranoia from the last dr. appt. I ordered a dr. grade doppler machine to listen to the baby's heartbeat. I can rent it by the month so hopefully I will only need it for a month or so and then the baby will be moving. Every time my stomach hurts I listen for a heartbeat. My stomach kind of feels like a tightening (or like I pulled every ab muscle I ever had) and I get scared that it is squeezing the baby. But, I've been able to find a heartbeat every day so I guess all is good. My big dr. appt. is in 3 weeks where we have the in depth ultrasound. I am so ready for that appt. and for them to assure me that everything is okay! But that is all of my latest drama.

Quick Game, Interesting Festival

Like father, like daughter...how cute are they!

Friday night Parkview had it's annual homecoming game and alumni cheerleaders were invited back for a reception. Well we got all cute however no one came. Yes NO ONE. There was one person that I saw later on, but at the reception it was me, Clint, Melanie, and the booster club women that put it on. Oh well. But, I did see one girl that cheered with and her two kiddos so that was nice. However, Melanie only made it to the 2nd quarter and she was FINISHED! She was antsy and did not want to sit still any longer.

Saturday morning Clint had to work so my mom and I went to Lilburn Daze. Well...not quite what I expected. They should have called it "Crafts a la Lilburn." It was mostly a craft festival. There was a pony ride and a hay ride and Melanie got to play on the playgroun but all in all not too much for the kiddos. It was nice to get out and about and the weather was beautiful but it did not rank up there with the most exciting things I've ever done.

Also this weekend Melanie has created a new game and it is pretty amazing to watch and is wonderful because it frees up Clint and I to do whatever we want (Sat night watch the GA Game). She sets up her high chair (on the lowest setting) the baby crib, the baby stroller, a bowl, spoon, sippy cup, 2 bottles, and a blanket with her million babies and acts out all of these sceniarios. It is so cute and fun to watch. She played for over an hour and Clint and I didn't have to do anything!

Curious George

Today we went to see Curious George at the library. Melanie does not know too much about Curious George other than seeing the cartoon a few times. However she seemed quite excited. When Clint put her down to sleep last night he told her when she woke up she could see Curious George. So this morning I go in to get her and the first thing she says is "Curious George Library." So off we went. She like him a lot from a far- not up close as you will see in the pic. I had to hold her...me with NO makeup and dirty hair- lovely!

Dr. Appointment

Well, I had a not so fun morning. I had my 16 week baby check up today. I took Melanie with me because we were coming straight from gymnastics. Clint told me it was a bad idea to take her and let me just say HE WAS RIGHT! I thought it would be no big deal...they would listen to the baby's heartbeat, weigh me and I would be out of there.
Well from the moment they weighed me Melanie started crying. She really hates people in scrubs. I tried my best to explain that it was not for her...no luck! So, back to the exam room. I asked about deli meat b/c all of a sudden I have been bombarded with info on how I should not be eating deli meat (which I did with Melanie). So I talked to the dr. about it and she said as long as it was from a reputable deli I should be fine...no chance of Listeria recently reported from Subway. However, there is more of a chance of Listeria from white Mexican cheeses AKA cheese dip. So, bad bit of info #1 for me- no more cheese dip. Well, without cheese dip and margaritas, what is the point of Mexican?
Next I talked to the dr. about my stomach pains which flared up pretty bad last week at work and a little bit yesterday. She assured me that it was probably just my ligaments stretching...until the exam that is. Bad news #2 I have a hernia. I knew my belly button was sticking out way further than with Melanie but I didn't know why. Well, it is because the hernia is under the belly button. The only way to repair a hernia is with surgery which I obviously don't want while I am pregnant. So unless it becomes unbearable the answer is deal with it. It won't go away after the baby is born but it may not bother me because I won't have a baby pressing against it. So moral of the story is...hopefully I can stay tough.
So after all of that finally on to hearing the heartbeat. Which I hate to say is normally pretty uneventful. The dr. puts the machine up to my belly and immediately a heartbeat. Well not today. The dr. tried finding one and thought possibly she heard one but she couldn't be sure. So she asked the nurse to go get a different type of machine. With this one she couldn't hear anything but my heart. So, I was starting to get quite nervous- meanwhile remember Melanie is hysterical beside me. So bad news #3 no heartbeat. Thank goodness the ultrasound lady was still there and didn't have any patients. So, my dr. sent me immediately to the ultrasound. I didn't have Clint there- he has been there for every ultrasound with both pregnancies and I had hysterical Melanie and I knew we couldn't find a heartbeat. I was trying to keep my emotions in check at that point. So finally the ultrasound lady has everything set up and I lay down and THANK GOODNESS!!! a heartbeat. She saw the baby and it's hands and feet. She measured it's head and listened to it's heart. Everything seems okay. But needless to say once I got out of there and had Melanie strapped into her carseat and calmed down I lost it. It was the least fun appointment I have ever had. Melanie will NEVER come back with me (yes, Clint you were totally right). I guess Mexican is out for a while and I am counting the days until my next dr.'s appointment which is my regularly scheduled ultrasound. I really need that appointment to have her carefully look at everything and reassure me that things are okay. So yuck...Monday blues!

Yet Again, Another Busy Weekend

The first pictures you see are of Melanie and her new baby "Jimmy" that she got at Mamaw's house. She has been playing with Jimmy and giving him baths.

We went to my school's Fall Festival on Saturday. This year she was able to do many of the activities and won lots of little things. We stayed about 1 1/2 and she was exhausted (as were we) and we headed home for the sad viewing of the GA game.

Today we went to the Pumpkin Farm to pick out a new pumpkin. I really wanted to experience getting a pumpkin not just find one a the grocery store. We drove around for a while but found one at Sugarloaf and 29 and it was perfect for Melanie. She rode a pony named "Trigger", petted some bunnies, took lots of pictures and picked out the perfect pumpkin (a big one for our family and a little one for her).

Busy Weekend

Melanie had a fun playdate this past Friday. We met our friends Zach and Grace at the park and then went out to lunch. It had been a while since I got to see Melanie play with them. They are in the same class at school but you can only ask a 1 1/2 year old so much about their school day. They are all so different but yet all so much like 1 1/2- 2 year olds! We then went to McDonalds for a lunch date with them and Melanie, Zach and Grace climbed to the top of this structure and Rachel and I couldn't even see them. I guess they liked it!

On Saturday Clint ended up going to the GA game with his brother and wife and our neighbor. It was educator appreciation day at the zoo and I really wanted to go so Melanie, my mom and I went to the zoo. It was a great deal- I was free, Melanie was free and my mom got $3 off. Then we got 10% in the stores and food places. It was funny at the beginning. Melanie was in some trance. I don't know if it was the number of people or what but for about 30-45 minutes she didn't say much or show much emotion. The people at the beginning really hang around the exhibits and it gets really crowded. It thins out as you make your way through the zoo. Melanie's personality came out later on. I didn't remember the zoo taking so long. We were there about 4 hours and could have easily stayed at least one more but we were all exhausted and Melanie was falling asleep. My favorite thing was the gorillas. However, we took Melanie's picture by the gorilla statue and right after the picture she busted her lip. It was pretty dramatic. She didn't know quite what to think of the petting zoo. The animals were large and there was nothing separating you from the animals. She loved the carousel with my mom. Enjoy the pics!

The funny ones are from dinner club at TJs house.