Spring Break Fun

Going to the dentist may not be your idea of a fun outing on Spring Break, but this boy LOVED it! I do not think I have ever been more proud as a parent than I was that day with him! This was his first dentist visit and he did AWESOME! The dental hygenist, Ms. Jennifer, was great! She showed him all the tools before he even sat in the chair. He got to squirt water in a cup with the water tool and suck it out with thestraw suction tool (not sure what the technical names are!). She showed him the tooth camera that she would use to take pictures of his teeth. Then when it was time to get in the chair, he was so excited for her to get to use the tools on him. Did I say I was proud? She gave him a flosser, toothbrush, and toothpaste. Before we left, this stinker tried to talk her out of another toothbrush! She compromised and gave him another flosser....What a negotiater!

Look at that big boy!

Ms. Jennifer and Dalton

What a small world. While visiting with Ms. Jennifer, we figured out that we are both from Eastern AR. She is from Wynne and we grew up with some of the same families.

Dr. Jolly and Dalton

We got a great report from the dentist too! All 20 teeth look great and they said keep up the great work at home. He was so excited, he brushed his teeth several times that night with his new toothbrush and toothpaste.

We left the dentist office and headed straight for Gran and Pop's house in Colt. Per my request, my mom made a huge pot of homemade vegetable soup, corn bread, and garden salad sandwiches. She had all this ready for supper when we got there...YUM!

The next day, we took Dalton to Memphis to the Children's Museum of Memphis. It was GREAT! I highly recommend this place...so much fun for everyone!

Theya had an entire room designated to the Wizard of Oz. They taught so many things through this movie. As you can see in the picture above, the kids got to try on costumes and act out scenes from the movie. This looks like great bribery material to me! They had different questions for the kids to think about and answer throughout the room. One of the questions I read to Dalton was, "Dorothy's home was very special to her. What makes your home special to you?" Without any hesitation, he answers, "You!" Seriously, can this boy get any sweeter?

He was the policeman and I was the prisoner.

He and Dad piloting the plane.

Loved this picture!

We have really had a great time this week together. I have tried to soak up every moment of our family of 3. I am excited about our family of 4 coming soon, but I know these are sweet days too! We have enjoyed this beautiful weather for sure! Enjoyed several outings to the park and even had a lunch picnic today at Lake Willastein. John and I are getting to celebrate our 10th anniversary tomorrow by having an all-day date. I am so excited to spend some sweet time with John too!

10 years and 33 weeks!

John and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary today! On one hand, I think, "Only 10 years?" and on the other hand, I think, "Wow 10 years, already?" Really, it has been a wonderful 10 years. I tell John all the time, "I love our life!" I would not change anything about it! I know I definitely "married up"! I started praying for my future husband in the 10th grade. I prayed that he would be growing in his walk with the Lord and that God would be preparing him to be my husband. I love to hear what God was doing in his life at that time and how my prayers were answered. My sister sang a song in our wedding called, "How could I Ask for More?" by Cindy Morgan. My favorite line in the song talks about how that heartaches are often "blessings in disguise". Thank you Lord, how could I ask for more?

10 years later and 1 and a half kids later! Here I am at 33 weeks. Everything is going great. The room is almost ready. We went to the doctor on Monday and had our 5th ultrasound. At the 4th ultrasound, my doctor told me that I had a "low lying placenta". This means that if it did not move, I would have to be scheduled for a C-section. I understand that women have these everyday, but that is not how I delivered Dalton, and really did not want that for this one either. It would also put a little more stress on the rest of the pregnancy because evidently, it could be kinda dangerous for the mother if it ruptures! YIKES! So, we prayed about it and really an overwhelming peace came over me that week. I knew that this baby was growing and healthy and in God's hands. But, when we went on Monday, everything had moved up and she is head down and turned face down, which is different than her brother. He wanted to be face up when he entered the world, which made for a little bit of a harder delivery. She also said that Macey is already over 5 lbs and is on track to be a 9 lb baby!!!!WHAT? She said she did not think I wanted to deliver this baby full term at 9 lbs so she would talk in the later appts about inducing by week 39, if she does not come before then! I knew she felt big! I am just so thankful for a healthy baby! I am still sleeping well and eating alot. Acid reflux was an issue a few weeks ago, but it has subsided for now. Dalton went with us the ultrasound Monday and since she was already turned face down, we could not see her face, but he requested to hear the heartbeat again! We are all very excited about her arrival!

Big Brother Class

Big Brother Dalton

The teacher let them each pick out a baby and take it back to their seat. She taught them how to hold the baby. Can you tell we don't play much with babies at our house? I have a feeling that will change, soon! We went on a tour of the maternity floor of the hospital, and he was insistent on taking the baby with us. He said he did not want to leave her there by herself. Already showing signs of a good Big Brother!

The teacher had a baby that she passed around to let the kids feel how heavy their baby might be. When Dalton got his turn to hold the baby, I thought he was going to kiss it. No, he was smelling it! Evidently, the doll smelled like baby powder! Ha!

Is this the sweetest thing or what?

On the tour of the maternity floor, they let the kids play with the bed and see how it works. They showed them the place where they put the baby after she's born to dry them off and clean them up and also showed them the bassinet where the baby sleeps. He got to see a real baby in the nursery and thought that was really neat!

We got to make a bag for him to take stuff to the hospital for him and little sister. We also ate snacks and watched a movie about being a Big Brother or Sister. The movie was so sweet and silly and introduced the topics of being a sibling so well. I could see that I must be extremely hormonal, because there were so many times during it that I was having to fight back the tears, like when they talked about how your baby would love it's older brother or sister, I was thinking, "Okay Alisha, get it together!" I don't think they were expecting to have to pass out tissues to a crying mommy!

I think he will make a great Big Brother! I love watching him get excited about her coming and seeing already that he loves her so much. He loves to kiss my belly and talks to her so sweet. At times, I worry that he will be jealous when we get something new for her room or talk about her, but he is showing that he is just as excited as we are about her arrival....this is so a God thing....that natural connection between 2 siblings. I love it! I have a feeling it's only just begun!

Big Brother Dalton

We are trying our best to make Dalton feel very much a part of getting ready for Baby Macey's arrival. Dad painted Baby Macey's room last weekend and he and Dalton put up her crib and bedding.

What a great Big Brother!

I remember the first time we put this crib up for him and here he is helping do it again....CRAZY!

It's been 1 year since my grandmother, "Mamaw Clark", passed away. Before Dalton was born, my Mom got her rocking chair that she sat in ALL the time recovered. We used it in his nursery and then moved it in the living room. We all love sitting in the chair....including Dalton! Kinda funny the things that remind me of her...the smell of tomatoes in a can (she made tomato dumplins and all the grandkids LOVED them and nobody makes them like Mamaw), fresh apple cake (she made this cake and it was DELICIOUS), the soap opera "Days of our Lives" (she watched her "story" everyday) and donuts from Wal-Mart (she at a donut from there every morning for breakfast with her coffee and still lived to be 97!) She was a wonderful lady that we all miss very much, but I know she is loving life in heaven!

29 weeks and Valentines Day Project

29 weeks and all is well! We had our 29 week OB appt on Valentine's Day and it went great. My doctor did another ultrasound and baby girl is growing like a weed! She is already 3 1/2 pounds which the doctor said is in the 70th percentile. Looks like we have another big one on the way! And, it's still a GIRL! I have dreamed that some how, she changed to a boy. Since the last pregnancy update, we have started cleaning out her room, got her bedding, and bought paint for the room. We have also got a name for this sweet baby.......Macey Grae. We have had several names rolling around, but I think we have finally settled on this. I am very happy with it and it just feels "comfy". We were at IHOP last week and Dalton asked me to write sister's name on it. He said, "Write: Dear Macey, I...... hope..... you..... are...... good." I second that, Macey Grae! Dalton is getting more and more excited about the "big brother" thing. We were all riding in the truck the other night and Dalton reached over and started rubbing my belly. Sweetness! He loves feeling her move and wants to talk more and more about what she will be like. He is determined to be called "bubba". For the first time, the other night, I rolled over in bed and she did not like the way I was laying and starting punching and did not stop until I shifted and changed positions. Is this a sign of a persistent child? I have officially reached the 30 pound mark.....Oh my! Everyone tells me how small I am.....where is the weight going?

We had our first at home project for school. Dalton had to make a Valentine box for his Valentine party at school. We decided to make a monster Valentine box. I found this patten on-line. I think it turned out pretty cute and Dalton loved it. We cut out a slit for his mouth and the kids "fed" the monster Valentine cards. We also made chocolate covered strawberries for his teachers and made Valentine cards for his friends.



He is holding hands with the monster...super cute, I think!

Old friends "aka"...Lifelong friends!

L to R: me, Amanda Byers, Arlyn Howard, Lisa Speer, and Kristin Griffin.

I love these girls! I have known Lisa the longest. We met when I was in the 10th grade through GMA's, a girls program in the church I grew up in. Lisa is from Beebe and was good friends with Kristin. When we graduated high school Lisa and I roomed together at Central Baptist College where we met Amanda. After CBC, Lisa and I transferred to UCA and went to Central Baptist Church in Conway where we met Arlyn. Arlyn is a nurse and lived in a great house in Conway and asked if we would like to live with her....what a God-send for two poor college girls! Arlyn is a SUPER lady that we have always looked up to. We always called her, "The Proverbs 31 Woman" because she truly lives the life of a virtuous woman. She is 37 and has met her MAN and fallen in love. We got together for breakfast today at Mimi's to hear about her "new love" in her life. We are so excited for her and I am sure that those around our table were tired of all our giddy laughter and squeals as she told us the details of her love life. It's such a great reminder that no matter how long it's been since you've seen each other, true friends pick right back up where they left off and laugh like college girls! Can't wait to hear what God has in store for Arlyn!