Voted

Dearest Blessings~

Wow .... we got a lot of chores done this morning.  You all helped us catch up on some laundry, sweep and vacuum the downstairs, and then clean the kitchen.  There are some upstairs chores that need to be done, but we'll tackle them later.  ;-)

Afterward, we ran some errands.  First, we picked up our new microwave from Sears.  Daddy ordered it online a few days ago.  We will need to install it at some point, but we'll wait for some help.  A lady at Sears asked us if you two were twins.  We get asked that a lot since you two are so close in age.  :-)

Second, we headed to Target for some groceries.  You two ate some cookies though Joshua threw up one because he shoved it all in his mouth at once .... yuck!  We tried to do early voting after but the lines were too long. 

So, we came back home, unloaded, and ate some lunch.  I made some mac and cheese which Joshua ate.  Grace napped once home and then ate lunch when she woke.  After lunch, we went upstairs and Joshua took his nap.  Grace, you played so nicely as Joshua slept.  

Once everyone was awake, we went back out to do early voting again.  This is a presidential election year so if we didn't vote today, we still had election day on tuesday (november 6th).  We still didn't time it that well and ended up waiting in line for 1.5 hours .... but you two did well!  Daddy and I got to vote and everyone got a sticker!  You two got stickers that said 'future voter' on it.  ;-)  We'll see on tuesday who will be the next president of the United States .... Mitt Romney or Barack Obama (current president)!  :-)

Since we were out, we ate dinner around the corner at 'Big Al's' which is a BBQ place.  It was almost 7pm by the time we ate and everyone was hungry.  It was after 8pm when we got home .... we all put on pajamas and then relaxed!  Tomorrow's daylight savings so we remembered to set our clocks before going to bed.  :-)

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you both so much!

~Mommy

Good OB Visit

Dearest Precious Gifts~

Whew!  We had an early OB appointment this morning to check on baby biscuit.  Uncle James came over to watch you two as I headed out.  

The appointment went well!  We're just over 34 weeks gestation.  My blood pressure was staying steady at 110/60.  They checked my iron and it was a healthy 13.4.  My weight is now 165.4 lbs which is just a pound more than two weeks ago.  :-)  No protein was detected and our uterine height is measuring 35cm.  Baby biscuit, your fetal heart rate is 144.  :-)  It's so cool to hear your heart beat at each appointment!  We have one more two week check and then we'll be on weekly appointments.  We're getting so close and all four of us are so excited to get to meet you little biscuit!  :-)

Since the appointment went smoothly, I was home early.  I folded laundry as you all played with Uncle James.  You all had a great snack time with applesauce and yogurt.  Since you all ate so well, we went upstairs and showed Uncle James and Wii games.  You all even helped create a Wii character for him.  ;-)

We all ate lunch out and then headed to Gigi's house for diapers and naps.  Grace, you looked for Gigi as soon as you walked in the door, but she was at work.  Uncle James helped get you two down for naps and you all were snoring by 2pm.

Once awake, Gigi was home and we got to visit for a while as you two ate a snack.  Joshua, you got to see the fish and snail.  :-)

We made it back home for dinner with daddy.  Then, we played a few Wii games this evening.  I took some photographs of you all.  Daddy helped me create a spreadsheet so I could organize all future appointments until the end of the year.  We want to be prepared with emergency contacts in case baby biscuit comes early.

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you both so much!

~Mommy

More Desserts

Dearest Angels~

Grace, you were up early as we were getting ready for work.  However, you weren't grumpy like you were yesterday morning.  Joshua, you were, again, still sleeping when I left.  But, I managed to give you kisses before I left. 

You all had fun with Penny today.  You were able to get to the park and have some fun.  Quinn didn't come today since she was out of town.  Joshua, you never napped for Penny though .... you only 'rested' for her.  :-P

I got home really late this evening .... 7pm.  Oh, but I only have 9 more working days until I'm on vacation!  Woo hoo!  And by vacation, I mean maternity leave.  ;-)  I got stuck at the local railroad tracks and saw a train go by.  I also brought home a lot of cupcakes and cookies from work for you two.  :-)

We all relaxed this evening and watched the Charlie Brown special 'The Great Pumpkin' that we recorded. 

Baby biscuit, you kicked a lot again today.  I hope everything goes well for your appointment tomorrow!

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you both so much!

~Mommy

Halloween

Dearest Blessings~

Happy Halloween little ones!  I had a lot of fun at work today.  Since school was out today, our schedule was packed.  We all dressed up as characters from '101 Dalmatians' .... you all have not seen this Disney movie yet.  Our front desk girl dressed as Cruella De Villa (the villain) while all of us in the back/clinic area were the dalmatians.  The kids, and parents, loved it.  Plus, we won the costume contest put on my the organization.  We won a few years ago too!  So, at some point we're going to have a pizza party.  Yippie!  ;-)  I brought home my stuffed animal dalmatian for you all to play with.  :-)

Today we're 34 weeks gestation with baby biscuit.  So far so good, but I've been having a lot of back pain.  I believe I'm hyper extending my back when I walk.  :-P  I'll talk to the OB about it on friday, which is our next appointment.  Oh, baby biscuit, you've been passing your fetal kick count test each day.  :-)

Grace, you had a crying fit this morning as we were getting ready for work this morning.  You calmed down after I changed you and right before Penny got here.  You always wake up as we're getting ready and won't go back to sleep.  So, you stay cranky.  :-P  Joshua, you were sleeping when I left but I still kissed you!  ;-)

I didn't get home until 6:40pm.  You all greeted me with hugs and kisses.  Since it was so late, and I still needed to eat dinner (and you all were snacking) we didn't go out trick or treating.  Maybe next year.

This evening we relaxed and played some Wii games.  Daddy also calculated our end of month family goals.  Here's how we did:

Spiritual:  

Goal - church twice a month .... accomplished 100% of goal

Goal - daily Bible reading .... accomplished 100% of goal

Family:

Goal - family outing once per quarter .... accomplished 2 outings!

Goal - date night once per quarter .... accomplished (I think the next quarter starts next month?)

Mental:

Goal - photography practice 3 times a week (mommy) .... accomplished 77% (better than last month)

Goal - guitar/banjo practice 3 times a week (daddy) .... accomplished 100% of goal

Goal - read a book a month (daddy) .... accomplished 100% of goal

Physical:

Goal - exercise 3 times a week (mommy) .... accomplished 92.3% of goal

Goal - exercise 4 times a week (daddy) .... accomplished 94.4% of goal

Not too shabby!  Thanks for encouraging us!  

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you both so much!

~Mommy

Watch Fingers

Dearest Miracles~

You two had a good breakfast!  Joshua finished his Cheerios and Grace ate her waffle.  Then, we got ready for the day and as you two played I did 40 minutes on the exercise bike.  Also, I baked my potatoes for my work lunches this week. 

Snack time was great.  Joshua ate his applesauce and Grace ate her yogurt.  We were going to put a Mickey episode on as a reward, but we had none on the recorder.  So, we watched an 'I Love Lucy' show.  I enjoyed it!  ;-)

Afterward, we made a quick trip to the grocery store after the mail came.  You each ate a cookie while there.  We picked up a few things for the week like milk and waffles for Grace.  We were home by lunch and Grace cleaned her plate.  Joshua, it was a struggle for you, but you eventually ate it all.  :-P

We had a little bit of play time and then we loaded up to see Gloria for speech therapy.  You did well.  We're working with the Kauffman cards .... the same as Quinn.  You got to see Brent again. 

We made it home in time to see Quinn.  You did well for her too!  You're working on three syllables.  You always have fun with her and Grace played nicely too!  :-)  Then, you two had snacks as I cooked dinner.  Then, we played upstairs as we waited for daddy for dinner time.

Here's the bad news .... because of the errands and appointments .... no one ever napped today .... hummm.  As a result, people were a little hyper and cranky this evening.  Joshua tried to close the door on Grace's fingers this evening (I think it was an accident).  Needless to say, there was a lot of crying.  No one got really hurt, but Joshua was put in time out.

Once everyone calmed down, we did a new train track and played a few Wii games.  Joshua tried to play a few games but doesn't know how to correctly hold the remote .... it's so cute!  Whenever we finish a game, Joshua likes to say 'we did it' .... ha!  ;-)

Grace, you ended up falling asleep on me against my belly .... you sister, baby biscuit, kicked you!  ;-)

Sleep tight little ones! 

I love you both so much!

~Mommy

35 Years

Dearest Joshua David and Grace Elizabeth~

Today is Gigi's and Grandpa Jim's 35th wedding anniversary!  Whoa!  You'd think they'd be paroled by now!  Ha!  Seriously, it's such a blessing to you all, and daddy and I, to have both sets of grandparents with strong marriages.  Both sides are role models.

You two slept in this morning!  Whoa!  I was hoping to be running errands early but you all were little sleepyheads.  ;-)  Once everyone was ready for the day, you all played as I did 45 minutes on the exercise bike.

Brrrr .... today was a cold day!  It was also windy and rainy!  You all had a good snack time.  Joshua had his applesauce and Grace had her yogurt.  :-)

Then, we headed out and went to see Kim for speech therapy.  Grace got a little cranky in the waiting room with the other kids.  She ended up curling up on me and stopped crying.  Joshua, you got a Halloween cup from Kim with some candy in it.  You did well with the three syllable words.  We'll continue at home.  

Kim asked Grace what she was going to be for Halloween.  She said 'Gigi' and Kim thought she said 'kitty.'  So Joshua then said 'puppy' when Kim said kitty.  She then asked Joshua what he's going to say on Halloween.  He said 'Uncle James' and Kim then tried to get him to say 'trick or treat.'  Oh well!   

We ran into some rain on the way home from therapy.  Then, we had some lunch.  Since everyone ate well for snack time AND cleaned their plates for lunch, we watched one Mickey Mouse before nap time as a reward. 

We read five books for story time and then laid down for naps.  I did some laundry, took a shower, and then laid down too.  I felt a little nauseous so I ended up falling asleep with you all. 

Once awake, you two helped me make a pizza for dinner.  Grace, you were cranky while it was baking.  It got really windy outside.  This evening we played some more Wii games and read some Thomas the Train books.  I took some medications for nausea.  Hope this goes away soon. 

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you both so much!

~Mommy

Wii Games

Dearest Angels~

I didn't fell well last night and Grace got cranky.  She ended up falling asleep on daddy while he was still in Joshua's bed.  I'm surprised anyone got enough sleep.  :-P

Despite a rocky evening, we still made it to church this morning!  We saw Gigi play in the praise team.  We also saw Grandpa Jim and Uncle James.  You two drew during the sermon and ate a little .... I brought the rest of your breakfast that you all didn't finish earlier. 

We ended up back at our house for lunch with everyone.  Neither of you two ate that well for lunch though.  :-P  You two showed everyone your train track designs upstairs.  Uncle James helped make a new design.

Both of you went down for naps with relatively minimal resistance.  Joshua took a nap since Uncle James laid down with him.  Grace took a nap after Gigi read her a story and laid down next to her.  Everyone left as you two napped.  Then, Joshua woke up saying 'Uncle James' and Grace woke up saying 'Gigi.'  My oh my!  ;-)

Everyone had snack time once you two were awake.  Oh, I forgot to tell you all .... our microwave broke yesterday.  Looks like we need a new one.  :-P  We played upstairs after snack time.  You two like to watch the airplane game on the Wii.  As daddy flies the plane, Joshua points to everything that he sees.  :-)

We ate dinner with Mimi and Grandpa Mike.  Joshua didn't eat much but he at least tasted a few things at the restaurant.  I had some ginger ale with dinner and I think it actually helped my stomach. 

You all played a few more Wii games this evening.  I did some puzzles with Grace as Joshua watched daddy fly the plane more.  Then, you two had a bath.  I cut Joshua's nails too.  They were long and he scratched his belly in the tub. 

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you both dearly!

~Mommy