Another Week in Alabama

Colin is in his second week of school and loving it. I'm trying to work with him on how to make friends and explaining to him how to introduce himself and ask the other kid's name. He cracks me up because I ask him who he sits next to at school and he says he doesn't know. I ask if he asked their name. He says he did, but he forgot. ALWAYS. Even at the park.

He may easily forget these kids' names, but he does have a great memory. I knew they were learning the Pledge of Allegiance at school and explained that if he could say it all by himself, he'd get a trip to Chuck E Cheese. He blew my mind last night when he said it, hand over heart (or in arm pit) and all. My favorite part is at the end where instead of Liberty and Justice for all he says "Liberty and Justicy to All!"

We also spent this week working on his "All About Me" poster. I printed off some pictures and wrote in his answers. I also colored in the words for him. Daddy and I both helped with coloring the stars and circles but he actually did a lot of them. And to really make it his own, he added all these Thomas the Train stickers that Memaw sent him.

This weekend we visited the Birmingham Zoo and knew we had to go feed the Giraffes as they are Colin's favorite animal. He was so thrilled and loves looking at the photos I took.

We didn't stay too terribly long as it was hot and we were ready to find a new place for lunch, but I plan on getting a membership there pretty soon.

I'm getting really well at getting around now. I don't seem to have trouble finding anything and my driving anxiety is even doing OK with some of the crazy traffic I've run into.

We have been spending a lot of time at the apartment pool since it is really easy to get to and we won't have it for much longer. We usually go there between afternoon nap dinner.

He will miss the pool when we move to the new house, but luckily we have one at the Y we want to join. It won't be as close, but he can swim year round!

Out with the old - in with the new

Yesterday we closed on our house in Murfreesboro. It was our first house and I am going to miss it. We had finally decided we were going to stay for a while and I was starting to make it exactly what I wanted. I am mostly going to miss my double oven that I got back in November of last year. I hope the new owner takes good care of her. =)

I love comparing photos from when we moved in and when we moved out. The front of the house.

And I'm not going to post every photo of our house, but the room I used the most - the kitchen.

My kitchen changed so much (for the better!) and I am going to miss it terribly.

On moving day we had a huge semi-truck in our cul-de-sac. We had to park across the street at our friend's house so we didn't get blocked in. 4 moving men spent all day carefully packing our stuff and loading it into the truck.

We took one more picture in front of the old house and then off we went. 

It is so weird to think that house isn't mine anymore. Someone else is living there. In MY house. I hope they are good to it and love it as much as we did.

But now we get to make new memories at the new house.

I was there today during an inspection and snapped a quick picture. We close in 2 weeks and move in that weekend. I am so excited. I can't wait to make that house feel like my home.

Tummy Tuesday

How Far Along: 26 Weeks, 2 Days

How Big is Charlie: 14 inches long - an eggplant. Seems really big! My app says he weighs a little less than 2 lbs now, which is true. At my ultrasound last week he was 1 lb 15 oz. So I bet he is right at or just a smidgen above that now.

How Momma Feels: Tired and emotional. Selling the house has taken its toll on me. Moving weekend was rough on me. I had a lot of braxton hicks. They were uncomfortable and happens frequently. I chugged a lot of water and rested and feel back to normal now. Physically I'm still good. I can get up and bend over. I can paint my toe nails and shave my legs. Charlie hasn't been in the way and made it hard for me to do things yet.

He definitely feels like he sits low and always on my bladder. It constantly feels like he is pulling my belly down.

Baby Bump: I think it has rounded out!

What I'm Eating: All normal foods. No cravings.

Exercise: Not much here. I don't have a gym yet, so I've swam some in the apartment pool and taken Molly on walks around the trail near the park. I miss having a routine and hope that I get back into that in the next coming weeks, even if it isn't the same one as before.

Movement: He is a busy guy in there. I get movements all through the day, but can tell when he is sleeping b/c I will have periods of silence from him.

Prepping for Charlie: I got his cute crib sheets this week! I'm now on the hunt for a navy blue crib skirt (which is harder to find than you would think) and curtains that resemble the ones I like at PB Kids. I really want the ones there, but don't want to pay the price if I can find some that look close enough.

4 Year Pictures and then some

We had Colin's 4 year pictures taken before we moved (like just a few days before we moved) and I also tried to get a few of my Charlie bump. Ideally, I would have liked to wait until my belly was a little bigger (I was only 24 weeks, 4 days), but it worked our fine for the shot that I really wanted.

And I love how the shots of Colin turned out. I can't wait to get in our house and order some prints to display!

Settling In

We've been in Birmingham 4 days now are getting settled in. We are in a temporary furnished apartment. All of our stuff is in storage, with the exception of thins we needed right now like clothing. I miss all my stuff! And I don't want to join a gym yet, so I've been planing to use the apartment workout facility, which is terrible. So today I swam laps in their pool. Tuesday I took Molly to a nice park and we walked their paths. I miss my Body Pump classes though.

We are set to close on our M'boro house on Monday, so prayer that it would go smoothly would be greatly appreciated! Then we get ready to close on our house in Birmingham.

Colin started Preschool this week. I wish I could find my camera cord so I could post pictures! We went Monday afternoon and met his teacher and saw his class room since we couldn't come to meet the teacher night the week before. When I enrolled him I assumed it was a laid back mother's day out program, kind of like what we did in Murfreesboro. This is for real preschool. I don't even walk him in! I drop him off in the car pool lane and he finds his class room on his own (with help from hall monitors if needed). I also pick him back up in a car pool line.

He has done so well and loves it so far!

I met with my new OB yesterday and LOVE her. She is so friendly and really made me feel comfortable with switching doctors at this stage in my pregnancy. I even got a quick ultrasound and got to see Charlie again. He is weighing in at just under 2 lbs and she could even see a little hair on his head!

It has been nice being under the same roof as Andrew for an extended period and getting to cook real meals again. Now I am looking forward to a (hopefully smooth) transition into a permanent residence.

Tummy Tuesday

How Far Along: 24 Weeks, 2 Days

How Big is Charlie: 11.8 inches, about the size of a cantaloupe (which sounds huge!)

How Momma Feels: Still tired from all the house stuff, but otherwise I'm OK! I did tweak my back pushing a box with my foot and it is kind of painful. I got it adjusted at the Chiropractor today, and I'm hoping it feels normal tomorrow.

Baby Bump: Colin noticed my belly getting bigger. He poked it and said "whoa, it's getting bigger!!" I turned and asked if my booty was bigger and he said no. Training him well. =)

What I'm Eating: Whatever we have right now. We move on Sunday so I am trying to use everything up in the pantry and freezer so I don't waste it. It is a bunch of random meals.

Exercise: Last week was crazy because I took a quick unplanned trip to Birmingham. I did manage to cut the grass, go for a walk, and get in 2 Body Pump classes.

Movement: He stays pretty busy in there. I've been able to see movement from the outside for a while, but it is getting pretty crazy to see now that he is getting stronger.

Prepping for Charlie: We brought all our stuff down from the attic for the movers and that includes Colin's old crib - Charlie's new crib! I'm using all Colin's old furniture. It's not my favorite now, but I don't really care. It isn't used that long and I do not want to buy new nursery furniture. I do think I found some cute crib sheets for him though. That I won't reuse. His old crib sheets are faded from all the use and washing. I'm reusing so much of Colin's stuff, it will be nice for Charlie to have something new.

24 Weeks with Colin

Tummy Tuesday

How Far Along: 23 Weeks, 2 Days

How Big is Charlie: 11.5 inches - the size of a pomegranate

How Momma Feels: Tired. We've started showing the house and it is cutting into my afternoon nap time, along with Colin's (not complaining, very grateful to have showings!!). Other than that just a little bit heavier belly. I don't really feel pregnant, aside from the kicks and punches. I sleep well, I have no trouble getting in and out of bed or from a sitting position, I can move the same and no waddling.

Baby Bump: Looks about the same as last week. I don't realize how big it looks until I see my pictures.

What I'm Eating: With Andrew gone I'm keeping meals simple, usually no meat. Like a big batch of soup I eat off of all week, rice & beans, breakfast for dinner, and sandwiches. Colin is enjoying the occasional bowl of cereal with fruit and yogurt for dinner. I thought he'd dismiss that idea, but asked for it specifically one night! Keeping it easy and using what's left in my freezer before we move.

Exercise: Doing great!! I got in 2 days of walking, 1 spin class, 2 Body Pump classes, and I cut the grass one day (which I DO count at exercise). I am back to laying on the bench in Body Pump. I think my uterus must have moved out and up a little more because I don't get the pressure I used to when laying down. I do incline the bench, and I even added some weight to my chest track, which surprisingly made it easier.

Movement: He kind of slowed down for a while, but has picked up the pace the last day or two.

Prepping for Charlie: Picked a couple of things up here and there. I did get a thing from Target about getting a $20 gift card when you start a baby registry. I don't want to do a registry since this is baby #2 and I have most everything. What I don't have I can buy myself. So I decided to start a tiny registry to get the $20 gift card, and then just clear it out of delete it after the fact. When I brought the coupon for this up to the Guest Services Counter to ask how to do it, they just scanned it and gave me a gift card. That was it. Never had me start the registry. Works for me!

Big Brother: Colin has this GUND brand animal (that kind of reminds me of a miniature bear skin rug because the way the animal lays) that is a Lamb. I got his for him for Christmas when I was pregnant. It has become his security item and he calls it Lamby. For some reason his favorite part of Lamby has always been her tail. He chewed on it when he was younger and it is still the first part of her he looks for when he cuddles it. It is a mess and I can't find the exact same one to replace it.

Anyway, I told him he could pick out one for Charlie. So after looking at pictures online, I am off to find a Giraffe version of Lamby.

Details on Our Move

Andrew started his new position last week. He had lots of travel to Chicago and out of the first three weeks, he would actually only be in Birmingham for about a week. So we decided Colin and I would stay in Murfreesboro until he would be done doing all his traveling. There was no sense in Colin and I being all alone there.

We also had to get this house on the market. We have been ready for at least a month, but going through a relocation company has made it take longer. We complained about that, but we get so many benefits from going through them that we kind of had to suck it up. So after signing a millions things and meeting with our realtor, plus one more as required by the relo company, we finally had our house listed last Thursday evening (or Friday morning?).

I was stressed over keeping the house clean and ready and trying to leave with a pre-schooler and dog every time we got a call. God blessed us and the first day on the market we had 3 showings. Saturday we had 1 showing. And yesterday we had 4.

I've really been stressed about selling our house. I love our house, but what if no one else did? It kind of put me in a bad mood, being displaced for an hour every showing and not knowing when anything would happen. I was so grateful that there was interest, but it was hard on both Colin and I in the nap department for three days. I prayed HARD.

After our big batch of showing yesterday I dropped Colin off at Mom's for a sleepover and I headed back home to get our grass cut and looking nice for showings this week. I had to stop for a water break when I was almost done (because it isn't as easy to do while pregnant) and checked my phone. No missed calls. No texts. No emails. I started to walk away and it rang. It was our realtor with good news.

Not only did we have an offer coming in, we had TWO! I could have cried!

After looking at both offers and discussing it over the phone with Andrew (since he is in Birmingham again), we accepted one! Now we wait for the inspection and I'm praying everything looks good (as it should...but you never know).

They want to close soon, and we had planned on moving down on the 18th, but leaving our stuff until the house sold. We didn't expect it to sell in 3 days! So I think we will be having the movers come and pack our stuff up and put it into storage until we find our house there.

Please say a prayer that our inspection goes smoothly and closing isn't delayed (more for the buyers than us as I know they need to be out of where they are renting by a certain date).

I'm very excited to get down there and get in a routine. We've got Colin is a 3-day a week preschool and he starts the week we move. I'm a little worried because we won't be there to meet the teachers during orientation, but the director was so nice and offered to let us come the day before his first day and walk the halls and meet his teacher then.

I've got a busy two weeks ahead, but I think I'm going to celebrate with a nap this afternoon. =)