39 Weeks

My 39 week visit today was an important one! I have progressed enough that the doctor doesn't think I will make it through the weekend. However, he will be out of town this weekend. So that he doesn't miss the delivery and so that I don't have a stranger delivering the baby (there are 2 OBs in our town and they don't practice together!), we are inducing tomorrow afternoon! He asked if I were ready to do it today after the appointment and that answer was a quick "NO!" I could definitely wait until next week, but I suppose I will show up tomorrow and see what happens! My mom is on her way up to help take care of big sister. It is hard being in a town/state with no family around. I will definitely be missing family and friends visiting at the hospital! After delivering Sipsey in Birmingham, we had a steady stream of visitors the whole time we were there. But no matter who visits, we are super excited to meet Wheeler!!!


A few recent pictures:

Ben is 4 inches shy of 7 feet tall so Sipsey is about to take flight!




It's been quite hot this summer!




We walk to this field almost every afternoon to look for bunnies. Then Sipsey runs after them screaming at the top of her lungs and they high-tail it through the fence behind her.




Hmmmmm...

Sipsey still LOVES her loveys. The addition of baby brother has intensified the addiction.

38 Weeks

I have not progressed any more than I was last week as of my appointment this morning. I have another appointment next Wednesday. If Wheeler hasn't come by then (I'll be 39 weeks and 1 day), then we will schedule an induction. Sipsey starts a new preschool next week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it will be her first time back to school since she left daycare last October. I hope it won't be as big of an adjustment as I'm imagining, but it would be nice if Wheeler lets us get Sipsey settled into school first before he arrives and changes the way we do everything around here!

What? This crib mattress is for a new baby?

Oh ok. I'll just keeping being silly!

Memphis Mini Vacation Part 1

Because of my pregnant self, we weren't able to take a long vacation (i.e. go to the beach) this summer. My pelvis can't handle long car trips these days (it's at least 12 hours to the beach), so we took a little mini vacation to Memphis, which is about 1.5 hours away. We left on Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend just in time to eat an early lunch at Central BBQ. It was yummy! Then we went right down the road to The Children's Museum of Memphis, the main event for the day. It was everyone's favorite part of the trip! We all had so much fun. It helped that the summer exhibit was The Wizard of Oz, which Sipsey is obsessed with. I took way too many pictures and narrowed it down to 20-something. So the rest of the Memphis vacation will have to wait until Part 2.

Learning about twisters.



Putting the scarecrow back together.



Learning about the Tinman's heart.



Posing with the Cowardly Lion.



Clicking her heels. The ruby red slippers must be copyrighted, so these were silver. Sipsey didn't seem to mind.



Dorothy's house in black and white.



The movie was playing on repeat outside the exhibit.



After pulling her away from Dorothy, we learned about waterways and dams and bridges. The Mississippi River was flooded this weekend, so this learning experience seemed appropriate.



Bees!



Shopping at Kroger.



It was hilarious to see what food choices Sipsey made. I think she did pretty well! Notice the whole fish. Ben has her trained. We just have to make sure they are American fish!



Scanning her goods. I think a mini grocery store is every kid's dream.



Had to get some wipes for baby brother.



She was able to use pretend money and get a real receipt!



Watching herself on the monitor for the green screen.



We hit up Arts and Crafts time and made a crown.



Check out those cheeks!



Sipsey the firefighter. They played in a police car too.



Rock star.



Being the dentist. She unfortunately has lots of experience at the dentist's office.



In the cockpit of a real FedEx jet inside the museum. Ben was more excited than Sipsey to be there!



We had to go back inside the Wizard of Oz room. She found Toto, and we almost had to bring him home with us.



We finally had to leave to check in to the Peabody for the night. More on that later!

37 Weeks

I just returned from my 37 week doctor's appointment. I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. So my body is getting ready! I am feeling great. I've been having some painful contractions that can come on a semi-regular basis. They are still "false labor" contractions, but that means I'm preparing to bring this baby into the world. I am also busy finishing the nursery (curtains), getting Sipsey's supplies for school and dance, and preparing items for another big consignment sale in the middle of September. I have Sipsey's clothes and baby stuff in one now, and I'm officially obsessed. To know that I am not only cleaning out clutter, but also making money for it is quite addicting!

These images are from my 32 week ultrasound back in June. Their 3D/4D technology seemed far inferior to UAB's, but I'll take what I can get.

This had a nice profile image and the 3D one is pretty good if you can make it out the little face! At 32 weeks, babies still look a little funny. His hands were by his face the whole time just like Sipsey's were. The ultrasound technician said that 99% of all boys have their hands between their legs! Apparently it was rare for him to have his hands by his face. :)




Sweet little hand. That may be his face behind the hand. I want to document that this little guy has the hiccups A LOT. Well, they are either hiccups or he can kick in perfect rhythm. It's a funny feeling!

And now, some pictures of big-sister-to-be swimming at a friend's house. She keeps us on our toes!

Pretending to have a snorkel.

Swimming lessons

Sipsey took swimming lessons this year and she did great! She had been in a pool or lake maybe 5 times in her life, so I wasn't expecting much. It amazes me how many more things she has been able to experience in a small town versus the urban jungle. Nothing was convenient in Birmingham (where we lived, in my opinion). Plus, swimming lessons, dance, and preschool there cost a whole lot more than they do here!

Her teacher wanted her to swim with her Puddle Jumper on this summer to learn the basics. Next year, we'll conquer swimming unassisted. Sipsey learned to jump off the side while holding the teacher's hands, paddle like a 'doggy getting his bones,' kick, and make a monkey face to go under water! This is quite an improvement from clinging to me or Ben the entire time she had been in the water before. We practiced more at the city pool and she now likes for me to push her under until she can touch the bottom (5 ft of water), to throw her as far as I can, and to be as far away as possible while she jumps off the side and goes under, all with her Puddle Jumper on. I have a feeling she'll be swimming unassisted pretty quickly next year.

Monkey face!



She had a breakthrough on the last day and realized she could put her face under water AND kick at the same time!