Bella's Special Day

Today is Bella's last day as an only child. It's a little bittersweet. On one hand, I'm unbelieveably excited about adding Austin to our family. I can't wait to see his face. I wonder who he'll look like- will he be a boy version of Bella, or will Scott's genes show up more? Will he be laid back, or high-maintenance, like his big sister? On the other hand, part of me feels almost a little guilty for the way Bella's life is about to change. Jeez- just writing that makes me feel ridiculous. I know she'll be so excited to be a big sister. She's already looking forward to it. The other day she was resting her head on my belly and when she felt Austin move, she looked up at me and exclaimed "I think he likes me!"


In honor of her last day as the absolute center of our world, we decided to celebrate with her. Well, celebrate as best a 9 month very pregnant momma can :) Scott took the day off work to come along.



Bella and I started the day making rice krispie treats for a snack later in the day. Bella loves to help in the kitchen and she was very eager to help me make our snack. She even agreed to only eat 1 marshmallow before pouring them in the pan to melt. She's a good little helper!

After we got ready, we headed to the Wilmington zoo. It's a very small zoo, but that made for an easier day on me. We did the whole zoo in 2 hours. Another good thing about a small zoo was a small crowd and we could get so close to the animals. Some animals were a little too close for my comfort, but of course, Bella was fearless. She stood within a few feet of an alligator. At least she stood that close until I got too nervous and made her move, even though I'm sure the fence separating them would have certainly prevented the alligator from attacking :)

Here is one of the male lions we saw. We were that close- I took this picture without using zoom. I wasn't too comfortable being close to him, and I guess he sensed it. I actually got roared at.

Family shot. I can't believe I'm posting this picture online. I'm so freaking HUGE!!! Oh, and that's "Jack" the giraffe in the background.

One of the two bears. We bought peanuts and corn to feed to various animals throughout the zoo. This big guy was really fond of the peanuts.

Bella and daddy.

Bella and a sheep.

This zebra had a lot of facial hair. I don't know if that's normal or not since I've never been this close to a zebra before. Regardless, it looked kind of strange.

After the zoo, we had lunch at Chick-fil-a then headed home for a much needed nap- both for Bella and me. Even though we had made the rice krispie treats earlier, Bella opted for an ice cream cone for her snack.

We head to the hospital tomorrow morning. We have to be there at 9:30 and our c-section is scheduled for 11:30. I cried a little when I put Bella to bed tonight. She's so excited about meeting her brother tomorrow and so am I. She is looking forward to taking him the present she picked out for him. She doesn't know it, but Austin picked her out a little present as well :) I'm not sure when he had a chance to go shopping. Hopefully, things will be calm enough for me to have time to post about Austin's arrival soon.

Even though Bella is about to have to share the spotlight, I have a feeling that she'll still rule the house. Somehow I don't see her giving that up.

A quick post...

I just wanted to type a quick post while I had a moment. If I haven't mentioned it lately, I think Bella is hilarious. She says the funniest things and keeps me very amused. Just now, we were reading a book and getting ready for her nap. After our book, we were rocking in her chair and she looks up at me and says "I want my penguin".
Me: "You don't have a penguin."
Bella: "Okay, den I'll have a cupcake."

For some reason, just before her nap, Bella had stripped down to just her pull-up. I was trying to coax her into at least putting on a t-shirt for her nap, but she wasn't having it. She said "I no want dat t-shirt, I just wanna wear my belly." You can't make this stuff up.

Things are really moving...

Literally. I will be 24 weeks pregnant tomorrow. I remember with Bella's pregnancy I was just beginning to feel her move at this point. This little guy is a wild man though. I can see him move, and he is moving all the time. Last night Scott and I sat on the couch and watched as a tiny arm or leg clearly moved back and forth under my skin. Even though this is my second pregnancy, and most of the time I feel like I have a "been there, done that" attitude, feeling him move is no less amazing. Weird, but amazing. Scott asked me last night what it felt like, and I didn't really have an answer. How do you describe to a man the feeling of a little person moving around inside you??? I didn't know what else to say other than, "it just feels kind of weird."
Bella likes to sit with her hand on my belly sometimes. It's so sweet. Most of the time she just looks at me and smiles when she feels him move. Today he moved and she kissed my belly. I think she's going to be a terrific big sister. I know there will be many times when she gets tired of him, but I can't wait to see the two of them interact.

Hormones

These days I've been a little hormonal. I suppose it's pregnancy. For those of you who don't know, we found out a couple of weeks ago that we are expecting a baby boy this time. I am not disappointed, I am thankful that he is healthy, and looking forward to experiencing life with a little boy. But, I really thought we were having another girl. Like I said I'm not disappointed, I think it's more that I'm just getting emotional over Bella growing up. Granted, she's only 2, it's not like she's about to get married, but I just feel like it's going too fast. And part of me was hopeful that I would get to experience another baby girl all over again. After we found out this baby was a boy, I was looking in Bella's closet at some of her old clothes. I couldn't help but tear up a little at the thought of Bella in them. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was wearing them, and now I'm sure most of them wouldn't even fit over her head. Here is a pic of my baby girl in one of my favorites...

I am really excited about meeting my little boy in 4 months, and know he will change my life in ways I can only imagine now. I also know that your love doesn't divide when a new child comes, it multiplies. I'm just being a hormonal pregnant mama and feeling a little sappy over the past 2 years, 3 months and 4 days with my little girl. I wish time didn't go so fast sometimes.

Maybe you've heard this song before, but I just wanted to add this video. We've been doing floors in our house the past few weeks, and haven't had a TV in the living room, so we've been listening to a lot of radio. I've heard this song more than a few times over the past few weeks, and it pretty much sums up what I've been feeling lately... Enjoy.

Easter

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! We sure did. We started the weekend with lunch and an Easter egg hunt at Scott's parent's house on Saturday. This is the second year they have done this and it is fun! They invite my parents, as well as my brother, sister-in-law and neice. Last year Bella was the lone Easter egg hunter, but this year Layla got to participate! Bella felt it necessary to open each egg as she found them and eat the Hershey kiss hidden inside. So needless to say, the hunt lasted quite a while, but I think both girls had a good time.

Bella looking for some eggs.

I love this picture of Bella, even though there is chocolate on her face :)

I was impressed that Bella decided to share some of her beloved chocolate with her cousin Layla. For those of you that know Bella, you know what a huge sacrifice this was for her!

After the Easter egg hunt was over, Grandma got out the bubbles. Bella loves bubbles, and this little thing was great- tons of bubbles and Bella could do it herself!

Bella giving her cousin Layla some love before we left to come back to Wilmington.

Sunday morning we got up to see what the Easter bunny brought. Of all the things in her Easter basket, Bella was most excited about the candy- shocking, I know.

She had just woken up, and was excited to see what the Easter bunny had left!

Candy!!

Afterwards, we got ready to go to church. I have had Bella's Easter dress for months, and couldn't wait to see her in it. Of course, I think she looked adorable! We really enjoyed the Easter service at church. When we went to pick Bella up in her class after church, she couldn't wait to tell us what she had learned in Sunday school. Her teacher said "tell Mommy and Daddy the good news!" Bella threw her arms in the air and yelled "Desus is alive!!" She just kept saying it over and over. I loved it!

Bella in her Easter dress. Our house is a mess right now. We're putting in new hardwood floors, and have been living in a construction zone for 2 weeks! It was hard to get a picture without the mess in the backgroud.

After church, we tried to get a few more pictures outside, but Bella was pretty restless and wouldn't stand still. But here are a few action shots.

Oh, the Excitement!!!

I ventured out to Wal-Mart this morning. I have found that Wal-Mart is actually bearable if you go in the morning during the week. Forget trying to go on a Saturday afternoon- you'll never catch me at Wal-Mart then! That's when all the crazies go, and I want no part of it...

Anyway, the purpose of my trip was to pick up a few necessities, but the main thing I wanted to get was a potty for Bella. I had read or heard somewhere that it helps the potty training effort if the child gets to help pick out their own potty. So, I thought I'd give it a try. As soon as I put Bella in the cart, I started trying to get her excited about picking out her potty. I had no idea how excited she would get! We got to the potty aisle, and within a few seconds Bella yells "I want da pink one!" So, the pink one it was!

As soon as we got back to the house, I couldn't even unload all of my purchases because Bella kept asking "take my potty outta da box?" I still couldn't believe how excited she was over the new potty. She couldn't wait to try it out. So, she has spent most of the afternoon and evening sitting on her new potty. Although nothing has happened in the potty yet, I know it will soon. I just have to be patient. I may be able to avoid having 2 in diapers after all. I can't believe how fast my little girl is growing up!

A Conversation with an Elephant

So, the other morning, I woke up to my sweet girl having a conversation with her stuffed elephant that she sleeps with. I listened for a while, over the monitor. It was quite entertaining and went like this...
"Hey elphant, how you day?" (translation: Hey elephant, how are you today?)
"Daddy will get us a snack."
"You weady to get out of the cage?"
I loved it. I wish there had been a way to record it, so that I could hear it again and again. On the other hand, I'm not sure why she was referring to her bed as a "cage". She still sleeps in the crib, but I have never called her bed a "cage"... Maybe it's my clue that she's ready for a big girl bed.