unloading pumpkins at The Pumpkin Church

the alphabet song

My cousin gave Julianna a Jumpstart Preschool PC game last year for Christmas and she has thoroughly enjoyed playing with it for the last few months.  She went from playing Level 1 with relative ease to being bored playing Level 3 and now I think she's ready for a new game.  Before she forgot one of the songs she learned from playing the game, I made a point to get her recorded singing it.  Now, I present Julianna and the Jumpstart Preschool Alphabet Song:

A is for apple
B is for bone
C is for cookie
D is for donkey
E is for elephant
F is for frog
G is for gorilla
H is for hog
I is for ice cream
J is for jam
K is for kangaroo
L is for lamb
M is for monkey
N is for nose
O is for owl
P is for potato (with sour cream and lots of butter)
Q is for queen
R is for rabbit
S is for shoe
T is for tomato
U is for umbrella
V is for violin
W is for window (that looks out on the world)
X is for x-ray
Y is for yellow
Z is for zebra (that you see in the zoo)
Whoo-hooo!
Oh let's all sing the alphabet thing
Make a word with every letter



Untitled from c525600 on Vimeo.

pregnancy update

Two Saturdays ago I started having contractions all throughout the day.  They were not really strong and definitely not regular, but I could tell that something was going on.  We had a really busy weekend that weekend, with something like a zillion places to be.  Everyone joked that I would miss my baby shower on Sunday, but fortunately I didn't.

The contractions continued pretty frequently throughout Saturday and Sunday, even getting as close as every 15 or 20 minutes.  I could feel my belly tighten and when I touched it it would be as hard as a rock.  Then the back of my neck would get warm sometimes.  By Monday and Tuesday the contractions had slowed down a lot.  Yesterday and today I haven't had any that I know of.

When I went to the doctor last Wednesday I had to get the group B strep test done so they just went ahead and checked me as well.  I was 2 cm dialated and 50% effaced.  Of course, that means that I could go into labor at any time or I could still be walking around pregnant past my due date.  Who knows?  My belly was still measuring pretty normal size-wise and my blood pressure was fine.  I will admit though, that it was exciting to hear that the contractions had caused some progress.  When I described the contractions to the doctor she confirmed that they were just false labor contractions, but I never felt Braxton Hicks at all with Jules so it's all new to me.

I go again on Wednesday.  I have about three weeks left and I am ready.  I am beyond ready.  I have no desire to cook a thing.  I am so ready for fall weather I can hardly stand it.  I couldn't take one more second of my long hair being down my neck so I had it all chopped off.  I would love to be able to see my feet again and not feel like a double-wide trailer walking around.  I can definitely tell that being on my feet all day at school makes a difference in how many contractions I have and how badly my body aches that night.  Needless to say, I am enjoying the flexibility of being a substitute so that's one good thing.

Anyway, that's about it.  More news after my appointment tomorrow and every week until we have a new baby to coo over.

Philippians 4:13

Here is a short clip of Julianna saying her Bible verse for this month. And it happens to be my favorite scripture verse. Moving up to the three year old class at church has been a very good thing for her and I'm so proud of her for learning it.



Untitled from c525600 on Vimeo.

an open letter

Dear Tums,

I love you. You work like magic.  I am thoroughly amazed at how quickly and effectively you stop the stomach acid from rising into my throat and granted, you don't work for extended periods of time, but you do bring instant relief and for that I am grateful.  Whoever invented you is considered a genius in my book and my hugely pregnant body thanks you.

Yours for at least another 3 weeks,
Courtney

three point five

Three and a half is

• using big words like "concocted" and "multicolored"
• independence shown in fun-for-mommy ways like, "I'm never gonna drink that milk"
• writing letters all by herself and drawing pictures that are beginning to resemble real objects instead of just scribbles
• adventure seeking

• wearing 5T clothes and STILL growing like a weed
• imagination and creativity - making up and telling lots and lots of stories to yourself each day
• lots of pretend play - doctor and house
• embarrassing your parents by saying things like, "Let's go over there and see that old, old, old man."
• obsession and fascination with the unusual (i.e. bloody, scary faces and masks out for Halloween)
• prancing, posing, and eye-lash fluttering for attention
• able to type on the computer and change the font color and style, plus play kindergarten and first grade level games with ease
• still ornery without a nap and ten hours of sleep at night
• old enough to dress herself

• mean as a snake
• pre-reading (making the first letter sounds of each word as she sees it and then declaring proudly what other words begin with that letter)
• still has trouble sharing, but certainly has the concept down
• full of love and the desire to please others

Happy Half-Birthday, Jules!

waiting for the preschool doors to open

Happy Friday everyone!