February 2016

I have been so busy getting ready for Clayton, keeping up with the other three kids, and blogging about Clayton's Updates, that it just occurred to me that I never blogged about February...so here it is!
February was another fun month.  I'm usually not fond of the winter months, and I still don't like the cold...BUT we had a few snow days this year which made things look brighter and cheerier...and best of all we got to play in the snow together and have Dawson home from school on a few snow days!

 

Here are pictures from one of our snow days...

In addition to playing in the snow, we spent a majority of February at basketball!  Dawson had practice every Tuesday with some Tuesday scrimmages which he really enjoyed.  Then every Saturday morning at 8:30 he had games.  Carter and Nora Kate were such troopers to watch every game with minimal complaining.  They got in a routine of wanting to bring a toy to show their friend Harper at each basketball game.  Here's a serious conversation court-side about my little pony! Love these girls!

February seemed to be the month where Dawson got into the groove of scoring more baskets during the game.  He, of course, loved this!

We took advantage of beautiful weather one weekend and drove up to Cades Cove.  We saw the most deer I have ever seen in one visit! They were everywhere, and the kids were thrilled!

Although we had some really cold and snowy days, we also had some days sprinkled in that we got to get outside and enjoy playing outside!

Dawson's school has a really fun program where the whole school reads a book with their family during January and February called the One Book Blitz.  This year's book was the Mouse and the Motorcycle.  Both boys were really into the book (Nora Kate would talk about Ralph the mouse but wasn't as into it).  At the end of the book the school has a big carnival one evening called Winter Blast.  There are TONS of games.  This was by far the favorite...riding down the hall on their tummies on these scooter things! We jokingly decided this is what the teachers do when the kids aren't there...Dawson thought this was hilarious!

How fun is this though? Dawson thought it was great to get to do this in the hallway!

The kids at winter blast!

Waking up to more snow!

they always want to walk down to the creek to see if it is frozen.

It's not a snow day without a fire and hot chocolate!

and snowflake sandwiches

Carter and Nora Kate got drug all over Knoxville with me one morning while I was trying to finish my shopping list for Clayton (Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby, etc.) they were so good...and they even missed their nap!  I let them pick somewhere special for lunch..I made lots of suggestions, but they were sold that we HAD to go to McDonalds.  So here they are on our lunch date!

That day after we picked Dawson up from school Nora Kate asked if we could go to the "kitty store" (aka PetSmart).  They love to go look at the cats...through the glass thankfully or I would still be sneezing!

More snow!  We woke up one morning when it wasn't really supposed to snow to see the snow coming down hard!  I confidently told Dawson it would melt very quickly.  Well, by 11:00 everything was covered.  I made the decision to go get Dawson from school at 11 so he could play in the snow. (haha, I know!) I thought it might be our last time to play in the snow for the year, and I was worried it would melt or be too slushy before he got out for the day!  Well, I'm glad I checked him out because it WAS the last snow for our winter and we had a great time playing in it.

Dawson's teacher is so great! She let the kids go out in the snow! This made Dawson's day and he still talks about getting to go our in the snow with his class!

Getting ready for Valentine's Day with these kissable kids!

Colorful Bath Fizzies have been all the rage at our house this winter (notice the green water), and bath times have gotten REALLY silly and rowdy.  You notice who is doing the spraying in this picture? She's the rowdiest one at bath time!

Basketball scrimmage!

More pleasant weather for playing outside!

Dawson's sweet friend Bailey invited him over to play one Friday evening.  He said he had THE BEST time!  They played outside and did art and "lots of other really fun stuff" was the report I got from Dawson!  These two have been such sweet little friends since 4 year old preschool!

Probably Carter's favorite lunch spot in Maryville?!  Dawson's school! I think he would go eat lunch with Dawson EVERY day if I would let him.  I wanted to get a picture of Dawson and his friend at lunch and Carter was so excited he hopped in the picture too!  Nora Kate was busy working on her yogurt beside me.

These kids LOVE doing GoNoodle on the iPad in the sunroom.  Look at those GoNoodle dance moves!

Another beautiful weekend made the perfect opportunity to visit the Maryville College woods...always a hit!

We took the drone and flew it on the practice field at the college after walking the woods.  It was a little windy, but the boys managed to keep the drone under control!

 

February was another great month! We should have pictures of our sweet Clayton with his siblings in our next monthly post of March!!! CANNOT WAIT!

Baby Clayton 40 Weeks

Today is Clayton's official due date, March 16, 2016.  I never expected him to actually come on this date since none of the other kids came on their exact due date either.  This lack of expectation takes some of the pressure off.  I've planned little activities for the kids' to do all week so that I don't just feel like I'm simply waiting on Clayton.  Although I will admit, I'm getting really excited to meet him knowing that it could be any day now!
At my doctor's appointment for this week, Clayton and I were still doing great.  Nothing exciting to report.  Although I've only gone to a couple of appointments alone this pregnancy (I usually always have the kids with me), John hasn't been able to come to many due to the distance between the hospital and his office.  Since we were thinking this week's appointment would possibly be the last appointment (unless Clayton's REALLY late), John made it a point to come to this appointment which I really appreciated! :)
Clayton's heart rate was in the 130's which is great.  The doctor said of course Clayton could be born at any time now, but I could also still be pregnant this time next week.  I'm scheduled to have a nonstress test next week just since I'll be 41 weeks, just to make sure Clayton is still doing well.  I was scheduled for one of these with Carter too, but I ended up going into labor before week 41 rolled around so I didn't end up having to do it. I'm hoping this will happen as I really don't want to have to go in for another appointment and the nonstress test. 
Now I'm just going to take advantage of playing with my THREE kids, enjoying the beautiful Spring weather, and waiting on Clayton knowing he could be born any day now! So exciting.
Just for fun, since I didn't have a lot to report for 40 weeks...

Here I am at 39 weeks 2 days pregnant with Dawson which was the day I had Dawson!

Here I am at 40 weeks with Carter.  He was born 4 days later.

Here I am at 40 weeks with Nora Kate.  She was born 2 days later.

 

 

 

And here I am at 40 weeks with Clayton.

 

Now just because I'm enjoying looking at all these old pictures and because I'm REALLY curious to see who Clayton looks like...

 

Baby Dawson

birth weight 7 pounds 13 ounces

Baby Dawson

(look how young we look too!)

Baby Carter

birth weight 7 pounds 13 ounces

Baby Carter

Baby Nora Kate

birth weight 7 pounds 0 ounces

Baby Nora Kate

 

Baby Clayton 39 Weeks

Today is the last day of my 39th week with Baby Clayton!  I am still feeling great! The kids and I have been going for lots of long walks in this beautiful weather, but I don't really think that is going to force Clayton to make his appearance (even though I pull Carter and Nora Kate in the wagon on all the hills in our neighborhood as we walk!).  I'm fine for him to stay put, but it's nice to be out enjoying this wonderful weather.  When we found out our due date was mid-March I remember saying that March can be beautiful and warm or yucky, cold, and rainy and how I hoped this was a beautiful March...looks like I got what I asked for! 
Dawson is on Spring Break, so it's nice to have all three kids home every day!  I feel like this is a little added bonus to Clayton coming late...that I get to enjoy a little bit more time with each of them just those three together. 
We are all getting excited to meet Clayton.  Nora Kate randomly will say things like, "I want to take Clayton to Dollywood so he can ride the Dollywood train! He will think that's great!"  Then yesterday she said, "I want Clayton to get out of your tummy so he can swing on the glider swing with me!" This lead us to a conversation we have had many, many times of what Clayton will actually be like and be able to do (or not do) when he is born...one of which is swinging on the glider swing in the backyard haha!  I love that she's thinking about him though.  Carter told he me wanted Clayton to come out so he could hear him laugh.  SO sweet! Carter loves to make everyone laugh so I loved that he thought of this.  Dawson came home from school on Tuesday and reported that he had told a teacher that Clayton might be born in 4 days (that would put him being born on Saturday), I told Dawson he could be right that you never knew!  I thought it was sweet that he was thinking about Clayton at school though!  One thing is for sure, Clayton will have no shortage of siblings who love him!
As a random thing to write down to remember, the other day I asked Nora Kate how many brothers she had.  I wanted to see if she would say 2 or if she would think of Clayton and say 3.  Her response: "A LOT!" complete with attitude when answering the question! Haha!  I'm guessing that was counting Clayton then!  She's so funny!
John and I keep looking at the calendar trying to guess when Clayton will be born.  We have done this with each baby, and we aren't very good guessers but it's still fun.  John's official guess is St. Patrick's day March 17.  My guess is March 19. 
We pretty much have everything ready for Clayton.  We plan to put his carseat in the van this week (I haven't been ready to sacrifice the space too early for an empty carseat, but it's time now).  And I've just been trying to stay on top of the not so fun chores like cleaning house and laundry so that when I do go into labor things will hopefully be totally caught up!  And really we have just been trying to do fun things with Dawson, Carter, and Nora Kate before Clayton is born! 
That about wraps it up.  Here's the 39 week picture.  :) Photo credit to Dawson-Dawson is on Spring Break right now, so he took this week's picture instead of Carter.

Baby Clayton's Nursery and 38 Week Update

**I wrote this on 3/8 when it was actually the last day of my 38th week, but I had technical difficulty and didn't get it posted until today.**

Today is the last day of the 38th week of my pregnancy with Clayton! It's hard to believe his due date is just a week from tomorrow! There's not much to report since last week's update...Clayton is still doing great.  His heart rate was 136 at my appointment.  He's still moving A TON which is good.  AND he's still head down (the doctor didn't think he would flip back to breech, but when I asked him he said it can occasionally happen.  So I'm thankful that he's stayed put!) 
Carter and Nora Kate came with me to my appointment again this week.  This week they convinced the nurse to weigh them...these kids are getting way to comfortable with the doctor and nurses-haha! Carter was proud to report to John later that day that he was 39.5 pounds, and Nora Kate was 36 pounds.  These two are not shy at all! Haha!
Really there wasn't much to report.  The doctor said I could have Clayton at any time and that would be perfectly fine, but at the same time I could go past my due date which would be fine too.  I'm hoping for going past my due date.  Dawson is on Spring Break this Thursday, Friday, and all next week AND the weather forecast is BEAUTIFUL!  So I'm hoping Clayton will be late, and I can get all three kids out on several outings (zoo, park, college woods, etc.) to enjoy the weather and let them enjoy each other before Clayton is born!  People are funny though, everyone keeps saying things like "I know you're probably ready to have your baby!" OR "You're probably over being pregnant at this point!" etc, but, really, I feel great and I really do enjoy being pregnant, so if he's late...I'm good with that!  I am getting excited to meet him though!

So now on to the exciting stuff! The nursery!  I've been very, very slowly working on Clayton's nursery, but I've had it completed for a week or two now.  Dawson and Carter both had nautical themed nurseries, and I wanted to continue this for Clayton.  It's funny, although they've all three had the same nursery theme all three boys have had different colored walls and different rooms (and different houses at that!) for their nurseries.  Even though we go with the same nautical theme, we've made each one different. 

So here's the crib.  I love that all four of our kids will have slept in the same crib.  There are teeth marks on the rails from three kids already, and I'm sure Clayton will add to that.  His bedding is the Nautica Sailboat bedding.  I was excited when the kids and I were out shopping and found this giant anchor for the wall!  Then I ordered his name cut out of wood.  It came unfinished and we painted it blue. 

We are also using the same rug we used in both older boys' rooms. 

I saw this rug when we lived in Huntsville and I was pregnant with Dawson, but I didn't buy it.  John surprised me when I came home from work one day and had it in Dawson's nursery a few weeks before he was born.  I'm glad we have gotten to use this rug several times now! 

Even though Clayton's crib and room are totally ready he really probably won't sleep there much for the first few months.  We kept the other kids in our room in a bassinet until they were around 3 months.  So, his bassinet is ready too!

 

 

Of course, the changing table.  The frame over the changing table will hold Clayton's newborn picture (like we did for D, C, and NK) with signatures of all the people who helped us celebrated Clayton by visiting him in the hospital or coming to the gender reveal party or the shower.  Just a reminder for him of all the people who loved him before he was born!  

 

The wipes container on the changing table! I'm so happy with how this turned out!

 

Then we added a few more nautical touches to the room and the floating shelves over the chair.  Each of the kids had the silver rattle on the shelf in their nursery, and now Clayton does too!  Each of our kids were given a special coin that was collected by their Great Grandparents and they still have it in their rooms.  Here's Clayton's framed on the shelf!

I know I will spend LOTS and lots of time holding precious Clayton in the wee hours of the night in this chair...good thing it's comfy!  And check out the adorable quilt.  Clayton's Nana and Grandad gave him that!

John and I both LOVE Clayton's room and are so pleased with how it turned out!  It's a very relaxing room to me (hopefully it will be to Clayton too)!  It looks like a room ready for a newborn!  We are getting excited!

Baby Clayton: 37 Week Update

Today is the last day of the 37th week of my pregnancy with Clayton.  It's hard to believe that his due date is just two weeks from tomorrow, but I'm convinced he will be late and that we have a little more time than just two weeks before we become a family of SIX. 
Thankfully after all the baby flipping/breech baby concern that consumed my 36th week, this week was much less eventful!!  I really don't feel like I'm 37 weeks pregnant.  I remember feeling much more uncomfortable at this point with Dawson and Carter, but I think that was due to the back paint I had with Dawson and the crazy swelling I had with Carter...thankfully I have neither of those now, and really, I feel great!
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday which went great! Clayton and I are doing exactly as we should be! 
We have continued to check items off of our "to do before Clayton" list, and I'm hoping to be able to wrap up the last items today and tomorrow so we will be finished with the list by 38 weeks! As promised, I DO have pictures of Clayton's nursery to share too, but I decided to share them in a separate post...tomorrow!
So for now, here are my 37 week pictures!

 

 

Here are some random pictures from my appointment yesterday...

Carter and Nora Kate have come with me to almost all of my appointments with Clayton.  They know the whole routine.  They look forward to certain parts...like the fact that we have to ride in two separate elevators to get to his office from where we park...this means FOUR buttons to push on the way up and on the way down.  About half way to the doctor's office they always start planning who will push the inside buttons and outside buttons on the elevators...it's the little things!

Carter taking his duty of pushing the "8" seriously!

This time our appointment took a little while since the doctor was delivering a baby (a Feb 29 baby-how neat!).  Thankfully, the kids were pretty entertained by playing the iPad and Leap Pad (in addition to chatting with the nurses who always give them a lot of attention...and a sucker at the end-another part of every appointment they look forward to).

Then this silly girl wanted to play "Doctor Nora Kate." She was so proud of herself sitting on the doctor's seat.