THREE, the Dentist and School

Trent turned three years old on January 11.  We had a small, impromptu family celebration, and he loved it.  His favorite part was his cake.  

Our sweet friend, Lynn Adams, made the train cake.  Isn't it incredible?!

He received one of his new favorite books, My Truck is Stuck.  We read this one, The Little Engine that Could, Chugga Chugga Choo Choo, and Shhh Don't Wake the Baby, multiple times a day!

A few days after his birthday, he went to the dentist for the first time.  When he walked in and saw the train table in the lobby, he was sold.  Thankfully, he did very well and got a great report... other than he needs to stop sucking his thumb.

Finally, Trent started preschool this week.  He's been going to Miss Kim's house for the past 2.5 years, and we LOVE her and miss her so much... but we can't drive to Montgomery for childcare, so the little guy started school.  He's only going two days a week until I go back to work {I'm on maternity leave} but it's great for him to get out and make new friends and have some fun.

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last post, especially those of you who I don't even know.  We feel and appreciate the prayers.  Please keep them coming.

Christmas 2011

I have started this post so many times.  Nothing sounds right.  I'm not ready to write about Mike.  I know that he's in Heaven, perfectly healthy, and reminding myself of that fact has gotten me through the last 26 days.  We feel your prayers and have been overwhelmed with all of the love and support.  I also have an energetic 3 year old {birthday post hopefully coming soon} and a 34.5-week baby in my belly that help me stay busy, eat well, and get some sleep.  And we moved a couple of weeks ago.  

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep up this blog, but I know if I get way behind, I don't have a chance.  So, here are a few pictures from Christmas 2011.  Obviously, our Christmas was not at all what we had planned, but we did celebrate Jesus' birthday.

A Few Tidbits

I wasn't even sure if tidbits was a real word, but it's not underlined, so I'm going with it:)

• We bought a house.  All details regarding the moving date, how we're going to handle Mike's doctor stuff, where Trent and Miller are going to go once I go back to work, etc. are yet to be determined.  But, we're excited about the move and plan to be in our new home by February.  {And if you know of any home daycares, nannies or have connections to a preschool, please help!  I will be going back to work around May 1.} 
• Baby Miller and I had our glucose test yesterday, and I haven't gotten a call that I failed, so I'm taking that as a positive sign.  I'll be 30 weeks pregnant this weekend, and I can't believe we should meet her in about two months.
• Trent calls his "bottom" his "bum," and it is hilarious.  Miss Kim {his babysitter, who I will miss like crazy when we move} has always said bum, and now I do too.
• Castles and Crowns is having a HUGE sale on their website.  Everything is 60% off!!  
• Vineyard Vines is giving an additional 30% off everything already on sale with the code ELF.
• If you're looking for something to listen to in the car with your children, buy this CD.  It's Steve Green's "Hide Em In Your Heart," and it's 20 scripture verses put to music.  Our whole family enjoys it.  It would make a great stocking stuffer!
• If you can't tell from the previous bullets, I've done about 80% of my Christmas shopping online this year, and it's been fabulous!!  I have gotten great deals, and it's been relatively stress-free {I bought a TV on one of Amazon.com's Black Friday Lightning deals, so that one was a little tense.}
• We went to a cookie party a couple of weeks ago, and Santa made an appearance.  Trent liked him from afar, but when I put him in the big guy's lap..

First Surgery

Trent had his tonsils and adenoids removed Monday morning.  While I know it's a very minor surgery, I was very nervous about it.  Thankfully, everything went very well.  His doctor recommended keeping him overnight in order to make sure he got plenty of fluids, so he and I spent the night in the hospital Monday night.  He insisted I sleep in the bed with him, which coupled with being woken up every hour, made for a rough night of sleep.  Thank goodness we got to come home Tuesday morning, and he's been acting and sleeping great.  His diet is pretty much limited to ice cream, pudding, yogurt and an occasional Gerber meal, and he doesn't want much to drink.  But overall, he's doing much better than I expected, and I pray it continues.

Teddy went back to surgery too.  He had his tonsils out too:)

Popsicle after surgery

What did we do before the days of technology?!

He went for a ride in the wagon Monday night.  He wasn't really in the mood for a picture.  And yes, somebody's mama forgot to schedule a haircut before surgery and Thanksgiving.

only 15 more weeks??

First, our baby girl has a name:  Miller Alese Reed.  It took us a long time to decide, but we're very happy with it!  I monogrammed her first item last weekend, and I'm sure there will be many more to follow.

She also has a lot of clothes.  Between consignment sales, sweet friends passing down stuff, and my online shopping addiction, she has some super cute outfits.  

Next up: she needs a room!  You might remember that we sold our house this summer, and we we are currently renting a house.  It's a great three-bedroom house, and we decided that since we wouldn't be here very long, {at least that's what we thought 3+ months ago} we would just leave the office and guest bedroom boxed up and keep the boxes in the 3rd bedroom.  It's worked out well... except for our guests that are limited to couches or air mattresses.  

Anyway, baby Miller does not have a room.  I started looking at furniture this weekend, but it's hard to justify ordering furniture when you don't have anywhere to put it.  Just for fun, I looked back at the blog to see where we were at this point in my pregnancy with Trent.  I laughed when I read that we already had his furniture and bedding and were painting his room at this point.  Thankfully, I know now that babies don't require cute nurseries upon birth:)  And we are still hoping to move before she gets here.

This pregnancy has flown by, and for the most part it's been very similar to my pregnancy with Trent.  Here are a few differences I want to document:  Miller moves around SO much more than Trent.  I think Trent just sucked his thumb and hung out in there;  Miller is always on the move! ...  I don't feel the "glow" this time.  I didn't feel cute with Trent, but this time I feel like I'm getting wider and less attractive each day.  Is it a girl thing? ...  I had my first, only and prayerfully my last migraine Friday.  It was horrible.  I literally spent all day in bed, most of it with a pillow over my face.  I feel so badly for migraine sufferers.  That is so not a headache.  I've had some weird vision issues, possibly ocular migraines, with both pregnancies. ...  I like being pregnant in the fall/winter months.  I'm rarely cold, even when it's 50 degrees outside, and I'm hoping I won't have to worry about swelling.  So, that's a baby Miller update:)  

Trent's Wall Art

I was less than three feet away when this happened, but I didn't know it transpired until he said, "Look Mama, I color with black."  I think he could tell by my reaction that I was not proud.  He knows better, and he felt very bad about it.  {At least he acted like he felt bad about it.}

Apparently the standing and thumb-sucking wasn't dramatic enough.  He had to get on the floor and cover his face when I called Mike in the room to show him.

Thank goodness for Google!  I would have never known that a hairdryer and dish soap would get crayon {at least almost all of the crayon} off the wall.

Super T {Superman}

After much bribery with candy of all kinds, our child who loved Halloween last year, finally agreed to put on his Superman costume without losing his mind being very upset about it.

Sweet Superman

Serious Superman

"I want my candy NOW" Superman

Happy After Candy Superman