Horton Hears a Who / Giddy-up Cricket!

Now that we're playing the waiting game, my pregnant brain comes up with a few off-the-wall ideas to occupy our time (and beat the heat) before the baby's arrival. I guess I'm also trying to fit in as much "Ava and Mommy time" as possible, knowing my days with "just Ava" are numbered. We've had a blast, so far!

Yesterday I took Ava to see her first movie in a theater: Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who. It was showing at the local $1 theater. It was a G-rated, saccharin-filled movie that she could handle, without the presence of any villains (such as the "Uh-gician" from Frosty the Snowman). Knowing the movie started at 4:50, I thought it would be a great time to go.

I packed the diaper bag full of snacks, a sippy cup and a stuffed animal (Frog) that was a gift intended for "baby brudder". She has somehow hijacked "Frog". :-) Ava woke up cranky from her nap (she still hasn't recovered completely from a cold bug this week), but we made the trek to the theater. I told her the "t.v. would be really big", and that we were going to see "Horton". :-)

When we got there, the house lights had already dimmed. She preferred to sit in my lap for the first half-hour, until she got more comfortable and figured out she wanted to sit in her own seat. I had to keep my leg on the bottom of her chair, because her little legs didn't weigh enough to keep the front of the seat weighted down. :-)

She sat GLUED to the screen. I leaned over and told her that we could leave whenever she wanted to go. She got wiggly about an hour into the movie (for a few minutes), but she sat still otherwise. She was quiet as a mouse and seemed to really enjoy the experience. She leaned over and kissed me five times during the movie, I think in an attempt to show her appreciation for such an experience. I thought that was incredibly sweet! :-) Of course Ava's recap of the movie for Doug was "the birdie was not nice..." Oh well. At least she hasn't had nightmares about the birdie, yet... :-0 Total cost: $1.25.

Not to be outdone by the Horton experience, we took Ava to a local horse stable this morning for a pony ride. We pass by this stable all the time, but have never visited. When we showed up, riding classes were finishing up. So, we waited a few minutes and Ava was able to ride the smallest of ponies, named Cricket.

I must mention, on the way to the stable, we asked Ava what color horse she wanted to ride. She emphatically said "A blue one!" Doug and I tried to tell her that there would probably be white, brown and black horses, and MAYBE a red one, but no blue horses. Lo and behold, when we arrived, we met Cricket. Horse "camp" was this past week, and Cricket's hooves were painted BLUE, and her hair / tail colored pink, white and blue at horse camp. I told Doug on the way home: "Does anything unfortunate EVER happen in Ava's world?" The kid asked for the blue horse and gets to ride a pony with blue hooves... :-) Go figure!

She watched other older girls (5-6 years old) ride the ponies and horses before she had her turn on Cricket. We watched the horses / ponies get hosed off with water, too, to cool them down. When it was time to ride Cricket, Ava was a bit apprehensive but finally agreed to sit on the "seat". We took a few rings around and Ava was done with her pony-riding excursion. Total cost: $5.

Apprehension. Notice Cricket's blue hooves?























Getting used to the idea...























Holding onto the reins























Check out the stirrups... Her legs weren't long enough. :-) Notice Cricket's pink pony tail?
















A happy rider
















A smiley gal




















Getting comfy...
















Petting "Cricket"
















Saying goodbye to Cricket
















Other horses cooling off at the stable
















All in all, it's been a fun-filled weekend so far! I wonder what is on the agenda for tomorrow? ;-)

Peace, love, the Whos and blazing saddles,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

P.S.- I will try to take some "belly shots" a 40 weeks, but since we're officially 3 days away from our due date, these should suffice for now. :-)

Let the countdown begin!

So we're officially 39 weeks and two days into this pregnancy today. And still here! Official due date is 07/01.

Truthfully, I can't complain, even being this far along. (And especially in this June heat). Heartburn continues to be killer. I can still sleep through the night like a champ, which I can't believe. Ava has been sick with a cold bug the last few days, so she has been in and out of our room at night. She seems to be getting better today, and her fever has gone away, thankfully. I took her to the doc yesterday, trying to avoid the potential of two sick kiddos.

I'm not swollen yet (although I FEEL huge!), my blood pressure and weight have been great, so far. I don't have any indicators that the end is in sight, though, which is a bit disheartening. (That, and hearing that two people I know with due dates 3+ weeks after mine had their babies last week!). I'm ready to get this show on the road.

The baby does seem to be dropping, which has been made evident with more frequent bathroom visits (he must be sitting directly on my bladder!). I have been drinking more, too, as one of the Nurse-midwives said that I "probably went so far over" my due date last time due to the lack of amniotic fluid level surrounding Ava. (Everyone has their theory, though). Although not normally a water drinker, I am chugging liquids these days.

I continue to knock small tasks off my "to do" list. After completing each one, I inevitably say "Okay, the kitchen floor is clean, I can go into labor now." "Okay, that load of laundry is done, I can go into labor now." Finishing these tasks don't seem to be doing the trick, though!

I continue to say big prayers that I will (a) go into labor on my own SOON or (b) I will be dilated enough that they will induce me. I want to at least give natural childbirth a go, if doctors say it is okay. The docs agree the baby won't be over 8 lbs when he's born, but we'll see about that! :-) They will let me go to 42 weeks, after which time they will decide if I am "favorable" to induce. Pray they at least give me that chance.

I have to share a cute story about Ava.... She KNOWS she is sick. She has woken up from naps saying "I don't feel good," or "I not sleep good," "I sick. I need may-cin" (medicine). It's been amazing to see how well she has been communicating, lately. I was rocking her before her nap the other day and told her it was time for her nap. She was laying her head on my chest. She said "No, I rock. I wee-wax. I cumba-bull." When I said "What? Grandpa Bill?" She repeated what she said again. I FINALLY figured out that she was trying to tell me that she wanted to RELAX (wee-wax) because she was so COMFORTABLE (cumba-bull). I chuckled out-loud at that one. Such a big word for such a little girl! :-)

Another of Ava's word pronunciations that is absolutely hilarious is "watermelon". We need to be sure to catch her saying that one on video soon! ("Thermometer" is a close second).

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray this little guy makes his grand entrance soon!

With love,
Shelly

Poolside

Doing what we can to beat the heat around here! 

Sharing some blueberries and Cheerios. 

Peace, love and chillin' out,
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Lately

Bubbles

Father's Day 2008

Doug had a great Father's Day this year! He started the weekend celebration early by leaving work early on Friday, after a LONG week at work. (He definitely put his hours in before leaving early Friday...) We went to the pool for a little bit and then went to Red Lobster to spend a giftcard.

Ava enjoying a snack at the pool























Ava and Doug at the pool, eating blueberries
















Ava was so wiped out from the pool that she fell asleep on the way to Red Lobster. She laid her head on Daddy's lap, sleeping through the entire dinner. Doug and I indulged in a calamari appetizer, as I've heard this encourages labor (no luck yet!). After finishing a relaxing dinner and great conversation (we were actually able to finish sentences!), Ava woke up. :-) She quietly ate her dinner out of her "take-out" container and we ventured off to Barnes & Noble, where I spent another giftcard from Christmas! ;-0

On Saturday, we went to the chiropractor for Doug's back to be adjusted. We then went to "Relish", per Doug's request. It is a local restaurant with very yummy Southern food, where we also went for Mother's Day lunch. We later played with Ava's new bubble machine and got some much-needed things done around the house. Ava also helped make a Funfetti cake for Daddy and even frosted it and adorned it with sprinkles! She really seems to enjoy working in the kitchen, and often tells me she is going to wash dishes or cook ("I cook"... is my cooking really that bad? :-)). She will pull a kitchen chair up to the sink / counter, climbs it and starts "washing" dishes. :-)

Fun with a bubble-blowing machine















































Playing with our neighbor Matthew



















Ava and Doug take a bubble break



















Making a Funfetti cake for Daddy before bedtime...
















Her finished creation
















Sunday at church, Ava's Sunday school teacher sent the kids home with a cute bag of goodies for their Daddies. I also had Ava's profile done as a gift to Doug for Father's Day. He opened it, along with cards and a Daddy coupon book. We then visited Barrington Hall (another request of Doug's). Barrington Hall is a historic house on the Roswell Square, built in 1842. The house is gorgeous. It didn't have running water or electricity until 2001. Can you believe that? In Georgia? It was privately-owned until 2001 by members of the King family (no relation to MLKJ). The interior is immaculate. The house was done in Greek Revival temple architecture and has beautiful proportions. Most rooms in the house are 18 X 18 with 11 or 12 foot ceilings. A huge porch. Most sides of this house could be the front facade, which I thought was pretty cool. It's absolutely beautiful. http://www.barrington-hall.org/

I told Doug that if I could ever design and build a house, it would look EXACTLY like Barrington Hall. The staff treated us to ice cream sundaes at the end of our tour. We ventured out to see their formal English gardens and fruit tree orchard. I showed Ava a peach growing on a tree, but unfortunately we also stepped in a pile of fire ants and she was bitten all over her legs... I received a few fire-ant bites on my hands. Ava seemed to take it in stride, as I told her that "ants don't normally bite, but those ants by the peach tree weren't very nice and bit us..." As we were leaving, she told us she wasn't scared of the ants, thankfully! ("I not scared of the ants, Mommy".)

Ava had a late nap, so we didn't get to the pool yesterday as originally planned, which was fine by us. Instead, we took a walk to the nearest church park with Ava in her little red wagon. She enjoyed going down the slides and playing, as you can see in these pictures!

At the park on Father's Day









































































Have you ever seen a happier girl? :-)













































































































































It was too cute... When I told Ava that it was Doug's special day and that we should tell him "Happy Father's Day, Daddy!", she turned to Doug and said: "Happy Father's Day, Dad!" Her newest thing seems to be calling us Mom or Dad. I don't remember if I've said this in other posts, but she now knows our first names and sometimes calls us "Doug" or "Shelly"! I'm trying to steer her back to Mommy and Daddy, though. :-)

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava