Trip to Whitt

We have been wanting to get out of the city for a while and decided it was a good time to go visit Carla's parents' (Vaughan and Corliss) new land out in Whitt. It is about 15 miles north of Weatherford so it was a nice haul over there - an hour and 20 minutes to be exact. We stopped in Weatherford to eat at a Mexican place called La Playa Maya, which I highly recommend. I especially liked the town because it reminded me of back home in Greensburg. After stuffing ourselves with chips, tortillas, beans, fajitas, quesadillas, and more beans, we took off to Whitt. Vaughan and Corliss are close to owning (not official) approximately 84 acres out there. The scenery out in that area is beautiful, looking very similar to the hill country. Vaughan brought his Polaris along on his trailer, which is kind of like an all-terrain vehicle that you can load up dog boxes in the back and a place to carry your guns up front when hunting. All seven of us decided to take a ride around the property minus the dog boxes and the guns. We had Carla drive since we all thought it would be wise for the pregnant lady to choose how fast, how far and where to go. We were all impressed with her driving, she avoided the barbed wire, mesquites and oaks, and almost all the dried cow patties. Jack seemed to enjoy his mommy's driving too riding on his daddy's lap in the front seat. Vaughan and Corliss have big plans for this property. Just to name a couple of things, they plan to dig out more from the water hole/tank and make a larger pond/lake as well as build a cabin/small house for getaways. I like to make forward slashes when I write as you can see.

It was a nice time to get away, especially before Joe comes. We wish we could've stayed a longer time but you know it was a long trip to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas from there in case anything happened. I tell you, both Carla and I are ready for our baby to come.

The Ft. Worth Zoo

Today we went to the zoo which is home to a few of Jack's favorite things, animals! After a weekend of watching basketball and working in the yard, we had some spare time to visit the zoo. We needed something to cheer Jack up from Xavier and IUs losses on Saturday. He had a great time and really enjoyed seeing the elephants, rhinos, monkeys, lions and to our surprise all the different birds. The first smile of the day came when he saw these beautiful blue parrots. We did not realize he was so interested in birds. He insisted on carrying his lion figure around that he brought from home and he kept making "rrrrrrrr" growling sounds. We had a great lunch - great for Jack since he got to eat french fries and he sat in a regular chair at the table with us instead of in his stroller or in a high chair. Big boy! Next we went to the carousel so he could ride a horse. He last rode this ride when he was about 16 months old and was scared to death only staying on if mommy held him. This time he stayed on the horse but was shaking a bit with apprehension. He did great. He started to get tired so we quick ran over to the bird sanctuary where he got to feed birds from a stick and he tried to reach out and touch them numerous times. He crashed pretty quickly after the bird sanctuary cuddling his water cup and toy lion. Brent and I seized the moment to partake in some ice cream cones. I got a double dip in a waffle cone and it was so big that one of the attendants at the ice cream parlor gave it a "wide eyes open" expression. I don't care, I'm VERY pregnant and entitled to a splurge now and then right? We had planned on taking the train back to the entrance but there was no waking the little prince from his nap. It was a great family day and we can't wait until Joe can join us.

Carla and Brent

"Bye-Bye"

Yay! The last two days in a row Jack has said "bye-bye". We were at the store on Wed after therapy and we saw a friend of mine. When she was walking off, I said to Jack, "Say bye-bye" (which I have always said to him every time we are leaving or someone else is leaving, to which I get no response) and he said, "bye-bye"!!!!!! I was so surprised and excited. It wasn't a fluke because he said it again during an OT therapy session on Thursday. I know it sounds crazy to get so excited over two simple little words but we've waited SO long and sometimes it seems like he will never talk to us. I know I will have the same startled, excited emotion for every word he utters from now on because it such a huge accomplishment for him. It's only been two weeks in OT therapy and already we see results. He is a much more confident climber, more coordinated, better motor planning skills and he is tons more "chatty". He really likes his therapist, Bianca a lot. He never fusses when she takes him back for a session and leaves momma in the waiting room. He just walks off with her like a big boy and never looks back. She even brought him out mid-session yesterday so I could change his diaper and he went on back to the gym with her again, no problems. Amazing. I guess it doesn't hurt that she's a pretty brunette. He seems to favor brunettes ever since he fell in love with Melanie on the Sprout channel. And both of his beloved grandmothers are brunettes. :)

We try to take Jack to the park daily to swing and practice climbing. Swinging and climbing are actually part of his therapy and I was so proud to see him finally climbing stairs to the slide at the park today holding onto the railing with one hand instead of crawling up them on all fours like he usually does. There just isn't enough time in the day for the swinging which goes on for 30-40 minutes sometimes and he likes to go VERY HIGH! It does our hearts good to see him so happy and enjoying something so much. He sure is a cutey pie but I guess we are a bit biased.

Carla

Carla's 35 Week Checkup and Other Ramblings

It's my turn to chime in on this thing. :) I had my 35 week OB checkup today and it went well, very routine. My tummy is measuring normal, I won't mention my weight gain, normal blood pressure, and baby's heartbeat was good. Little Joe has assumed the right position for delivery. For those of you who don't know, I had a condition that was being monitored, my placenta was low and this can be very dangerous to both mom and baby. Well, it finally moved and all is good for a normal delivery. The exact same thing happened with Jack. I also went past my due date with Jack and I am kind of anticipating the same this time. So far this little guy is estimated to be about 5 ozs bigger than Jack at this stage. Joe is about 5 lbs right now and should do a lot more growing in the next 4 weeks. I tell Joe he needs to stay in there as long as possible because Mommy is very busy chauffeuring big brother Jack around to all his therapy sessions and school. I also have to fit in a weekly OB appt. for myself now. There is not enough time and not enough of me to accomplish all that needs to be done. Brent is awesome to relieve me the second he walks in the door from work. He plays pretty intensively with Jack for a couple of hours, gives him a long entertaining bath, reads to him and puts him to bed EVERY night. He also gets up with Jack when and if Jack wakes up in the middle of the night. I am a lucky woman to have two (almost three) such wonderful guys in my life. Jack has his second OT session tomorrow which we are looking forward to, he LOVES playing in their gym!!!! He's been very vocal and chatty the last few days and it seems he's made so much progress in such an amazingly short amount of time.

He's FINALLY saying "mama" which I waited a very long time to hear and it of course melts myheart. He constantly gives me big wet kisses on the mouth and often without me even asking him too. We are beyond pleased with him and so proud. He is one of the sweetest boys in the world and he is constantly smiling and laughing. He has this awesome infectious giggle. He is talking a lot, you just can't understand him yet. He also "talks" a lot with his expressions, it is very entertaining. He points at everything and still loves books beyond anything else. Animals are his second favorite thing and he has taken to carrying around a duck sponge from the bathtub or a horse figurine. Daddy taught him to make it gallop. He is sleeping much better, waking up only occasionally once a night and going back to sleep on his own with no problems. We couldn't ask for a more wonderful son and we can't wait to see how he likes being a big brother. We are very excited to meet Joe and find out all about him. Stay tuned for more on our precious boys. Carla

Waiting for the Son

Finally, we are getting around to starting this thing. Thanks go out to my brother Greg and a couple of other friends for giving us this idea (yes, Greg we are copying you). I warn you sitting in front of a computer during my spare time is not my favorite thing to do since I have to do that for 5+ days a week, so I'll make things short and sweet for this blog. Carla will probably do most of the writing to spare you guys. She is doing great, especially with Jack keeping her busy. I can't see how she does it.

Well, the due date is approximately 4 and a half weeks away (due date April 17th). It could be any time now, but we are expecting him to come right on time or a little late since Jack was late. We both cannot wait to have another boy running around the house, although I do not think Carla is looking forward to cleaning up after three messy boys.

Jack is doing well. He is currently going to school (mother's day out) once a week, speech & OT twice a week, and the Little Gym on Saturdays. What a busy guy which makes momma busy too.

By the way, just want to warn you about my little titles (some may be clever, some may be stupid- you make the call). For those who don't know, "Waiting for the Sun" - The Doors