Fall Break at the Zoo

The kids and I came to Kentucky for Sage's fall break.  This is the first time that we've been here since last Thanksgiving.  That's pretty sad.  I have to admit that I was terrified about coming.  Not that I was afraid to come here.  It was the pharmacy I'd have to bring with me and all the possible scenarios that could possibly take place.  I shouldn't think like that, but it's hard not to when there are things you've never done before.  I'm thankful to say that the trip went fine with all involved.  Both kids did great in the car, and the weather has gone from extreme summer to extreme fall.  I'm glad that I brought jackets and long sleeves.  I had my own personal scare the day after we got here as I had some issues that made me fear early labor.  I was almost ready for church and ended up not being able to go, but thankfully with some rest, tylenol, a heating pad and some advice from Dr Mitch, the symptoms went away.  I hope to never feel that way again until right before the anesthesiologist walks into my hospital room.  

Anyway, we knew that while we were here, we wanted to go to the zoo.  I usually want to take the kids trick-or-treating there when we come in the fall.  However, as of this moment, trick-or-treating isn't high on my list of fun things to do as I'd have to figure up carbs in each piece of candy and give insulin for it.  Sage CAN have anything, but if it has over 15 carbs, (which she only gets those snacks like that 3 times a day), she needs a shot for it.  Just take a look at any piece--PIECE or serving--of candy the next time you're out.  One small pack of Halloween gummies had 45.  Also, the trick or treating at the zoo is kind of...lame.  The lines are horrendous to see whichever character is passing out the candy, and it's (not that it matters now) one piece of nasty candy.  And you don't get to see the animals when you trick or treat.  So, I decided that just visiting the zoo would be more fun.  This was SUCH a good choice.  It wasn't crowded.  It wasn't 105 like the last time that we went (which was over a year ago), and Jaggar, in particular, was over the moon excited to see animals.  He loves to see the cows that we pass on our daily route to Sage's school.  SO...you can imagine his reactions.  He's actually already talking about going back.  Also, they had all the Halloween decorations out, which is 75% of the fun of trick-or-treating there, and they were easily accessed for pictures, unlike when you're there for trick-or-treating.  So I really feel like we got the best of both worlds.  The kids had a blast, and I did too.  It was so fun to watch them.  I will have to divide these up because I have a lot of pictures, and I don't want to leave any out.

Going in to the zoo.  Notice no other random people are ruining my shot.  Yay for no crowds.  I'd have preferred Jaggar standing closer to Sage, but he had to stand by a particular animal.  In this case, it was the alligator.

 Some of their Halloween decorations up front.  Jaggar did manage to knock a pumpkin/gourd off of a haystack as soon as we walked into the door.

 Kids and Nonni

 Jaggar would switch the animals he'd want to see next.  When we first got there, it was the "big turtles."  Unfortunately, they were inside where we couldn't see them because the ground was too cold for them.  It didn't seem to bother him at the time (okay, that's a lie...but he got over it somewhat), but later when he woke up from a dead sleep, he was screaming, "I didn't get to see the TURTLES!"  This was the best that we could do.

 Some of their Halloween decorations--a big dinosaur.

 On top of a...lizard?

 The orangutans were great this day, and I got the best photo EVER in a few.  This one was very interested in socializing.

 Jaggar was just amazed; Sage was kind of disgusted with them.  They are kind of ugly, but in a cute kind of way, I think.  I like their mannerisms.  They seem very gentle.

 And then he came right over to the glass where we were..  There is no zoom or editing on this.

 And he posed with my man.  It looks like Jaggar is hugging him.  I sent this to Travis and he said, "Um...is there glass there?"  Ha, hard to tell, but I just love this picture.  Again, Sage refused to be a part of that.  Her loss, in my opinion.

 Jaggar loved him.  More zoo pictures to come.

Jaggar ♥s his Dogs

The dogs are probably sad that we have more warmer days behind us than those that are ahead.  I'm sure of it.  The pool has almost gotten too cold for Jaggar (though he will get in for a few minutes), but he loves to spend all of his time outside playing with the dogs.  And by playing, I mean riding them, hugging them, chasing them, forcing them to sit, and trying to sit next to them/on them.  Mayer is a much better sport about it than Chanel is.  I think Chanel is just afraid that she will be injured, and that's probably valid.  But I have to give Mayer some points for enduring just about anything that Jaggar can come up with.  They are pretty cute together.

Mayer is actually on my lap here.  I don't know if he thought the few points he'd earned with me had earned him that right, but I couldn't breathe or get him off easily.  Jaggar thought that it was great.

Jaggar prefers to be free when he's outside.  This picture of him and Chanel is so awesome, but because of internet freaks, I felt it wiser to edit somewhat even though it's adorable.  There was one like this with Mayer on the other side, and Jaggar had his arms around each dog, but I missed that photo opp.  Chrissie said that I could do an instagram series on only Jaggar, and she's probably right.

Completely unrelated but worth noting, Jaggar still falls to the nearest surface when he doesn't get his way.  This instance was when he couldn't eat cake for breakfast. He will lay there indefinitely.  One of my friends said it perfectly when she said that cake is only acceptable for breakfast as an adult.  So true.

Savvy Sage

Sage is wise beyond her years.  I could tell you a million things that she says and does that are beyond a normal 7 year old (in my opinion).  She's just SMART.  The school sent home a paper saying that they were having a book character parade.  I was like, "Hmmm...Let's ask Daddy and he can help you with that."  I'm not the creative one when it comes to things like that, but she said, "Oh, I've got the perfect idea."  She went over to her book case and got her book that was about her 6th birthday at American Girl.  It's a real hardback book with a recount of the whole day with pictures included.  It has always been special to her.  She said, "I'll be me.  I'll wear the outfit from the book and bring my doll."  DONE.  I fixed their hair alike, and she was so excited.  She also got to be a grand marshal of the parade because she did her summer reading, which I wasn't aware was optional.  Anyway, she woke up bright and early and had a great time.  And she was VERY careful with her doll while there.

 Matching 'dos.  When she got in the car this afternoon, I asked her who her favorite character was from the day.  Her answer:  Me.  That's my child.

 Another thing this one has started doing?  WORKING for the money.  That's right.  I decided to introduce an allowance.  It has been wonderful.  We're doing $2 a week for now, and she can earn more or be deducted.  I've been able to teach her about tithing, giving and saving.  She is THRILLED to do it.  It started when she saw me sell a dresser on Craigslist.  By the next weekend, she had the fireplace full of things SHE wanted to sell to buy a new American Girl doll.  She has a dilemma.  American Girls are VERY expensive.  Asking for 2 for Christmas, even from Santa, could be too much, and there are 2 that she just can't decide between.  She has laid awake at night contemplating WHICH ONE to ask for.  So tough.  So her plan is to ask for one and save for the other.  Seriously, when she got $4, she said, "I only need $101 MORE!"  She asks me almost every day, "Is there anything you need me to do?"  She folded an entire load of towels all on her own tonight and did an excellent job.  God knows I appreciated that since it's getting harder for me to get down in the floor and get back up.  I think it's important to teach kids how to earn money and have responsibility at this age and not when they are 18 after you've done everything for them up until that point.  Children WANT to do things.  LET THEM.  We are very proud of Sage in more ways than I could say on here.

Hello, 3rd Trimester: 6 1/2 months of pregnancy in photos

It's true.  I am 28  1/2 weeks pregnant.  That is 6 1/2 months.  That is just a few days shy of 11 weeks until giving birth.  I had my last 4 week appointment last Monday, and when Dr Collins told me that he'd see me in 2 weeks, I said, "What?!  Seriously?"  I can't believe I'll be going that often now.  The 4 week appointments felt like they were getting closer together.  I can't imagine what 2 weeks will feel like.  They're pretty uneventful and involve him asking me if people even know I'm pregnant and betting that everyone hates me. It's a cross I've had to bear for a long time, Dr C.  Then he tells me how gorgeous I look, etc etc.  ;)  I passed my glucose test for gestational diabetes with flying colors.  Diabetes in any way, shape or form isn't sticking with us.  I even ate a cinnamon raisin English muffin before the test.  Bam.  Let's see, I've gained 13 pounds so far.  I gained 3 of that in the last 4 weeks...not that it matters, but I was hoping to keep it on the lower end of 1-2 in the four week spans, or none at all.  But, he said that I'm one of the very few patients that he has that he doesn't worry about weight at all and even encourages weight gain.  He actually checks to make sure that I am gaining.  I have been frequenting Lamar's and Starbucks (it's pumpkin spice time) and keeping them pretty busy.  I told him that, and he laughed and said, "You can do that, no problem."

So it's a lot of the same, but one day, I'll want to remember these.  People are just starting to ask if I'm pregnant.  I like to wear the tightest clothes possible because it kind of puts that question to rest, I hope, and also...I just think it looks better.  Someone that I'm around all the time asked me if I knew what I was having yet.  I said, "Oh yeah..for quite a while now.  I'm over 28 weeks."  He was like, "Oh..I never would've guessed that."  Pardon the leftover paint and cardboard from one of our projects.  More on that...eventually.

 I think that the only bad part that I personally experience is that I get heartburn so bad that I sometimes don't think I'll make it the rest of the time that I have.  I'm also starting to get asked the infamous question:  WHAT is the name???  Linda asks me many times a week.  We don't have one.  I can tell you a lot of names that it is NOT.  Travis came up with a list of names the other day (I was shocked).  Of course, 1/4 were Bart Simpson's infamous stupid/dirty phrases when said together.  Sooo...I don't know.  I know people want to know, and I obviously don't want to name him Jack because that's not my style, but who knows.  So many people were so rude to me when I told everyone Sage's name before she was born that I probably wouldn't say what it was even if I did have a name.  I feel like some of them just want to make fun of it or see how weird it is.  I'll try not to disappoint.  ;)

 My girl.  The kids stayed home with Travis from church because he'd shot the Alabama game the night before and was pretty tired.  He'll be going out of town for a good part of the week, and I thought it was good for them to spend some time with him.  Sage was thrilled when I told her to enjoy her day at home. 

This boy is a MOVER.  I finally got some good video of his kicks.  I wish I'd turned the camera the other way like Travis is ALWAYS telling me to do, but you can definitely still see.  It is clear that he was not very fond of me disturbing his space.  Travis cannot STAND for me to push on my stomach the way that I do in this video.  3 pregnancies and it's all the same.  He thinks that I can hurt the baby like that.  Clearly, he's never paid attention to the things that the doctor does, including how they deliver them.

So we went out to Khol's the other night, and I found teeny tiny newborn sized CHRISTMAS clothes.  I'm all about seasonal clothes (my kids have been wearing all things pumpkin for a while now), and even though it will be right after his birth, nonetheless, it will be his first Christmas.  So I had to have the clothes to commemorate that.  They are so tiny, but even so, they will be big on him.  It's hard to believe.

Still Swimming

Apparently, we may need to heat the pool so that we can swim year round because Jaggar cannot NOT go swimming each day.  He will have an absolute melt down if he can't swim.  I don't mind to take him.  He stays out there for about an hour, and he'll say, "I'm done swimming now."  It's still very warm in the afternoons, but we've had some chilly nights, making the water...cold.  He doesn't mind though.  

I think this was his subtle way of telling me that he wanted to swim.  I got these goggles on clearance, and he thinks they're awesome.  He'll say, "Where's my underwater thing???" 

Happy boy...isn't he beautiful?  I'll look at him and say, "You're my baby."  And he says, "I not a baby.  I'm a boy!"

This is standard for EVERY time that we're outside.  Every.  Time.  I just give up.  It's the joys of being a boy.

 And he sleeps great at night.  On Saturday, I got him a new Halloween book and he insisted on sleeping with it.  I went into his room to check on him, and he was actually holding it while he slept.  So cute.  My baby.

Jaggar and his Toys

It is no secret that Jaggar is VERY particular about his animals, toys and figures.  He puts them in very specific places for very specific reasons.  We may not understand those reasons, but don't you dare question them or disturb them or you will pay the price.  As you can see, he still sleeps with a few friends.  They cannot fall off the bed or even be moved or, "They're not sleeping!!  They're not closing their eyes!"

 And if we vacuum or anything, he'll scream, "YOU'RE WAKING MY ANIMALS UP!!!" 

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 When we took our trip to babies r us for the stroller the other day, we saw PEPPA PIG toys.  Both kids LOVE Peppa Pig.  I can't really tell you much about it other than that theme song seems to be longer than the short episodes that play throughout the 30 minute segment of a show.  But they love it and won't move when it's on, so I love it, too.  Anyway, we got these toys.  The next morning, I asked Jaggar where they were, and he said, "Up there."  I looked up and they were strategically lined along the thermostat above the couch. 

And my personal favorite.  I've recently (okay, about 3 weeks ago) gotten our Halloween decorations out.  School seems like such a downer once it starts, so I'm always ready to prepare for any and all holidays on the countdown to Christmas.  So, the kids love this little house.  It opens in the back for tealights, but they put people and dolls in it...or baby Jesus.  I saw Jaggar had laid baby Jesus on the front porch of this house, and I thought it was awesome.  Ya just never know...

Get Your Skate On

I mentioned that missing the skating party caused for a very upset Sage on Saturday.  So Travis promised her that he'd take her on Monday night, and he did.  Of course, Jaggar heard that and said, "Can I skate too???"  So we ALL ended up going, which was fun.  I didn't mind; I wanted to go.  Sage was SO excited, and when she got up for school that day, she put on all white to prepare for the black lights.  It was pretty funny because she did stand out in that.  Jaggar didn't hesitate to put his "skate boots" on, as he called them.  He, of course, had no fear and in holding him up, it was like holding up jello.  He was going every way possible, and I thought he'd break my feet a few times as he rammed them with the wheels.  I was definitely NOT on skates.  

The lighting in there is beyond terrible, so my pictures aren't good but you get the deal.

Look at Jaggar on skates!  How funny is that!

Helping Jaggar skate.  He really wanted Travis to help him because he was on skates, too, and I guess he didn't feel like he was skating with me.  He kept asking me if I was going to get my skate boots on.  Then he'd say, "Are I'm skating??"  Sage was pretty shaky at first.  It'd been a while for her, but she got the hang of it really quickly, and was 100x better towards the end from when we arrived.

Notice her glowing

Shiny white teeth

I don't know what happened to Jaggar at the end here, but he was mad.  He started off loving it, and then he said that he never skated and that he didn't like skating.  Right here we were sitting, and he started jumping off the edge.  Watch him here.  This was still fun for him. 

Notice the look on his face suggests frustration.  Sage was having a blast.  Watch her skate here.And then we went to this.  This is Jaggar in his finest form.  If he doesn't get his way, a lot of times, he'll say, "You know what???  I'm gonna go to my room!"  But his room wasn't here, so this was the next best option.

Getting ready to leave.

This is how Jaggar left.

All in all, we had a great time, and we will probably head back to the rink so that Sage can get even better.

Baby's New Ride

For the past several weeks, Babies R Us has been running a promotion called "The Great Trade In." It's basically to promote safety in possible recalled products for babies. You could bring your car seat, stroller, pack n play, exersaucer or high chair (as many as you'd like in all of these) and get 25% off of a new one for each item that you brought. I used Sage's infant seat with Jaggar, too, but it's 8 years old at this point. I read that after 10 years they expire, and it's good to have one less than 5. SO...not needing everything from the ground up in terms of baby (and knowing what is useless to start with...ie: wipe warmers), I figured I'd need a new seat. Mom just got Jaggar a new Britax seat (you know, the cow) last year, and he's still in it. This baby will be able to use that when he's bigger as Jaggar will be out, and that's great, but I wanted a new infant seat.

With this promotion, it was a good time to get it so I could rid myself of the old one and save money. You can't consign car seats because they have no way of knowing recalls and if its been in a wreck. SO, all that said, Jaggar and I headed to Birmingham last Friday. I took my entire travel system because I didn't know exactly what I was doing...if I got an entire new travel system, just one item would be sufficient, but if I did a stroller and seat separately, I'd need both. It took me all of about 20 minutes to decide on what I wanted: the Graco Snugride 30. It's light weight, as is the stroller that coordinated with it, so it's good that I brought both items because I got 25% off of each, saving $55. The "travel system" stroller is awful in terms of heavy, so I'm very pleased with what I got. I also didn't want to go crazy in terms of strollers because that implies I'll actually be going places. Thank you, mom and dad, for this gift!

So, Babies R Us and TOYS R Us are in the same building...so guess who thought that they were on their own personal shopping spree? He grabbed a Halloween bucket and was filling it with everything he could find. "We gotta take this to our house!" he'd say. I couldn't help but laugh at him. This busy day is why he didn't get to nap and why he slept the entire time at Ikea.

I assembled the stroller myself, and guess who put it to their own personal use pretty quickly? I just never know where or how I'll find things around here. Oh, when I was finished putting it together, Jaggar came in there and saw it and said, "OH! Thank you so much, everybody!!!"