3 year old questions about the baby!

So Gavin has started to ask a lot of questions about the baby. It started with the simple, "mommy when is the baby coming?" So after explaining the baby will be here in June he says, "April, May, JUNE!!! I am sooooooo 'cited mom!" He has acquired the months and days of the weeks lately! Preschool is amazing! Whole 'nother post. Anyways, so after that discussion last night, his teacher, told me that he went around to every friend and said, "April, May, June and I see MY baby!" So funny. So tonight we are eating dinner. Mind you...because of Jon's schedule right now it is just me answering questions. Gavin asks again when the baby is coming.
He then proceeds to say,
"Mommy what is on the baby?"

Hmmm...that was a toughy.

Me-"Gav what do you mean?"

G-"What is on the baby? Like blood?"

R-"Oh...yes, there is some blood and water"

G-"Why is there water? Is the baby thirsty?"

R-"yep...that is why...ok time for bath"

G-"Mommy will the ambulance come and get you to get the baby?"

R-"no honey mommy and daddy will drive to the hospital and then you will come with me-maw and paw-paw to see the baby."

G-"Mommy how long has the baby been in your belly?"

R-"Since October" *I am starting to sweat...what is he going to ask next?*

R-"OK BATH TIME"

G-"ok"

R-"whew!"

Not sure how I made it through without the whole, "how did the baby get in your belly" question!

Work=Stress; Home=Stress

Oh the joys. I won't bore you with the details, but just know that I have been extremely stressed. Stress+pregnancy=emotional mommy! Jon is stressed as well. The grueling work schedule really weighs on our marriage. Not that we don't and won't overcome it...it just hits like a ton of bricks this time of year. If we are trite or emotional please know that in a couple weeks things will be better! I can't wait for the approaching work break and several weekends together away from home. We can see the light...even if it is still a very small dot!

28 Weeks...visit with Dranpa and Ra-Ra...Lazy Sunday

Well we have made it to 28 weeks. Things are progressing nicely. Heartburn is my worst enemy these days. I can eat a half an apple and boom there it is. I have a doctor's appt next week. So we will see how things are going. 12 weeks to go! Here is the latest and greatest in belly pics! Right after the shower...don't judge. HA HA! I swear at this stage in the game my belly always look square...so weird.






Jon's dad and step-mom came to visit this weekend. Of course, Gavin just adores them! We had a great time. We went bowling. I am most definitely PBA material! HA HA...I did bowl over 100 twice. I can't ask for much more than that. On Sunday Jon purchased a WII Fit! Talk about fun! Jon now thinks he is a yoga master! Maybe we can open a yoga studio, thoughts? Would you take a class from Yoga Masters Gierich & Gierich? The whole time we played Fit, Gavin got to do his favorite thing....play with Ra-Ra! Rhonda is such a good sport! She will get on the floor and play with him for HOURS! Not many grandma's do that! Every time she leaves Gavin talks about her non-stop for weeks! Ra-Ra and Grandpa have already spoiled the new baby! They are getting a new dresser for the baby! THANKS J & R! We really appreciate it! Your generosity doesn't go unnoticed! WOW...tons of exclamation points! LOL. When John and Rhonda left we did what we enjoy most...NOTHING! We put together a big puzzle, ate, and played a game. Here is how we like to spend our Sundays...tell us what your Sunday's consist of in a comment...




PS..Notice the PJ's at 4 o clock on Sunday afternoon!


Well back to the grind tomorrow! One more week and spring break! WOOOOHOOOO!

27 weeks!

Feeling absolutely humongous! Will post pictures later! 13 WEEKS TO GO! Can you believe it? AWWWWWWWW!

Why? Why?

So being the rock-star mom that I am I took Gav to the DREADED McDonald's playland today! We had the obligatory chicken nuggets happy meal. Gavin ate with the BRIBE that if he didn't eat all of his food no frolicking in the germ-laden playground would ensue. Isn't bribing wonderful? I like to call it a tangible reward for expected behavior...psycho-b.s. is what Jon would refer to it as! Either way...all food was eaten and fun did in fact ensue. One slight problem, when you want your child to exit the play ground it is impossible to get them out. You can't climb up the thing and they are fully aware of this. Gavin dilly and dallied for several minutes after being explicitly told to "get his heiny out of there." Being the genius that he is he took his sweet time. Saying, "I am trying," as he sat in one of the many bulbous areas of the playland not moving. So, here I am, the mom standing next to the plastic contraption willing my child down the hideous thing! As everyone looks on...other mothers with sympathizing eyes...knowing all to well soon, it too, will be them!

Pee-pees!

Oh lord help me! This evening Gavin and I were at Arby's. (It is definitely a pregnancy favorite.) We are sitting and having a good ol' time. However, if any of you have a three year old you know that they have three volumes whisper (that is rarely used), loud, and sonic boom! Normal conversations are heard by all when in public, because conversational volume lands at the "loud" level. This leads to very interesting interactions with the general public. Needless to say this evening was NO different. Gavin out of no where says, "mommy is my pee-pee getting bigger?!!!!" Now, let me say that he asks about all of his body parts getting bigger! A little grandmother snickered at the next table and Gavin looked at me like "what?"

I will be holding on to this story for years to come! I can't wait to tell him this when he is a teenager!

Sunday Snoozes!

Well as promised...this is the 26 week belly pic! Gavin took this weeks masterpiece. Not the best quality but you get the point! It is a weird angle!



Uncle Michael and Beth visited yesterday. We had a good time seeing them. Gavin LOVES Beth! Her and Tamika are pretty much his cup of tea! If you ask Gavin who his favorite people are he says, "Keaton and Kyle" everytime. Today when we asked him...he said, "Keaton, Kyle and Beth!" Also, he says he only likes girls. Jon is thankful for that one! ;)

Here are a few pics from the weekend.



Gavin and our "Cootie Bugs"



Gavin and soon-to-be Aunt Beth



Gavin Loves Uncle Michael too!


PS...Michael says he wears these jeans on Sunday...they are his "Holy Jeans". Nice, huh?

26 weeks!

We have made it to 26 weeks! Whoohoo! Things are going well. Baby is literally pummeling me! I think we may have another sports fanatic or some type of prima ballerina (twisting and turning)on our hands. Overall, feeling great...sleep is getting more and more difficult! I am sleeping with four...yes, FOUR pillows now! I would say in another week or so sleep will be very hard to come by. Heartburn is raring its ugly head these days as well! I just don't understand how people deal with it on a day-to-day basis!

Paw-paw (Rachel's dad) came down this morning. He fixed our roof for us. It looks brand new and we know that he did a better job than any contractor would do (or us for that matter)! Gavin just adores his paw-paw! He was a little disappointed that paw-paw didn't get to "play" with him. But, he was a big helper by picking up the shingles that paw-paw threw off the roof. He had to leave when he finished and couldn't stay around, but had lunch with us! When paw-paw left Gavin said, "mom, I REALLY like paw-paw!" I said, "me too, buddy." TOO CUTE! THANKS AGAIN PAW-PAW! Uncle Michael and Beth are coming down tonight. Fun stuff. I will post pictures of the belly later today and some of their visit soon! Happy Saturday Everyone!

Back to work....shingles, excommunication...oh my!

Well...fully mended. Amoxicillin does a body good. In my school district if you work as a psycho (term of endearment, I promise ;)) your spring is usually filled with days upon days of meetings! Oh joy. I swear that I rarely see any children during this time. So, today was no different, two early morning meetings and then a full day meeting/committee/training/in-service. Not sure what to call it. Trust me this is not the reason I went into this profession. If you think I spend the day in an office with a couch psychoanalyzing you are sadly mistaken. My job is special ed. eligibility, behavior plans, meetings, and meetings deciding about new ways to determine special education eligibility! I JUST WANT TO HELP SOME KIDS!! UGH!

Anyways, over the weekend we had some of our roof shingles come off. Complete plywood showing. A guy calls to give an estimate...175$...ok, not bad, right? Well this particular yahoo doesn't even come and look at it...sees it from the distance and shoots out a figure. Jackass! So, looks as though Juan Don Diego will be braving the roof to nail the loose shingles back up. Hopefully, they are all salvageable! Ok, enough boring talk about shingles!

So, I am not sure if you have heard about the little girl from Brazil. Quick story, she is nine years old, she was being molested by her step-father since she was six. Mom took her to the hospital because she was complaining of stomach pains. Come to find out she was four months pregnant with twins. In Brazil abortions are illegal except in cases of rape etc. Mom and doctors proceed with an abortion. Brazil being ultra-catholic the local bishop excommunicates the mother and doctors from the catholic church. The Vatican supports the bishops decision. They do not excommunicate the step-father. Basically, stating that aborting the fetuses was worse than raping the nine year old for three years. Now, I am not anywhere near Catholic, but I just don't understand! The step-father will face criminal charges, but basically these doctors and the mother have lost all of there religious support. I can't imagine losing all of the support and love of your church community during such a difficult time. If anyone can clarify why "aborters" are excommunicated from the Catholic church and child sexual predators are not please fill me in? Also, why are a bunch of old men (The Vatican and Catholic Bishops), who have never been married, had children, and possibly never been with a woman, making decisions on the righteousness of what a women/girl does with her body? Especially, when said body has been violated so horribly?

Ok, enough of this for one day. I will return to the pregnancy news and Gavin anecdotes next time...soon enough you will be sick of hearing about weight gain, cervical dilation, and pregnancy pains...in the mean time thanks for reading and any comments are appreciated on the excommunication!

On the mend! Our local tragedy!

Feeling a little better today. I may actually make it out of the bedroom for more than a few minutes today! As soon as I can eat regularly I will feel like a brand new woman! Baby has done good through the last couple of days of illness. He/She is moving around like crazy!


Not sure if you have heard, but a local pastor was shot and killed during his sermon this Sunday. Fred Winters was the pastor at First Baptist Church in Maryville. He has two little girls that are a students at our schools. It is hard for me to fathom sitting in church singing, praising god and then having a shooter come in and start firing. The church and its members have done really well with the media coverage. They are still singing the praises of god and forgiveness for this man. It is amazing what true faith can do during tragedy! I wonder if it were me in the same position would I feel the same way as these parishioners? Being exposed to such violence can have a real effect on individuals' psyches. I hope they get the help they need. In the meantime pray for the church and Rev. Winters' wife and children.

First Post!

Well I thought with a new little one on the way and a three year old it would be a good idea to start a blog to keep everyone up to date on our little family! It is hard for us to find time to call and fill everyone in on the happenings of our lives!

Currently, I (Rachel) am home with strep throat! UGH! Achy, sore throat, fever, the works. I will be home today and tomorrow. I swear this year I have had the hardest time making it to work for a full week. Jon had strep about 2 months ago. So we have done this once. I should have known it was coming when Gavin's daycare sent the letter last week that they had 3 confirmed cases of strep and 3 cases of the flu. Strange thing is Gav has been really resilient this year. He had a low grade fever for several days last week but nothing full fledged! KNOCK ON WOOD!

As for the pregnancy, things are going really well. I am 25 weeks and 4 days pregnant....6 months for those of you that don't like the weeks! Just 14 more weeks to go. Can you believe it? I am amazed at how quickly it is going. Gavin's pregnancy seemed to drag on and on. The baby is growing well and likes to kick mom all the time. We are working on nursery ideas. Sage green and chocolate seems to be in the lead. Gender neutral! Everyone has been asking about names lately. We are in talks...we have a narrowed down list of each gender but have decided to keep it a secret. So two surprises this time around! We would like to have a Baby-BBQ/diaper party when this little arrives. Thinking sometime in July...put it on your calendar. That way we can show him/her off!

Jon is still really busy at work...we should have him back towards the end of the month. This is always the most difficult time of year for us. However, this year wasn't as bad as the last two! Gavin sure does miss his dad when he isn't home! Jon and Gavin were able to play together a lot this weekend. We had beautiful weather. The played hockey, baseball, and catch outside! I love when the weather changes.

We have many big events coming up in the next few months...check back often for those. They include: A visit from Granpa and RaRa, Steph's wedding in Nashville, Christy O's wedding events, Uncle Jake's HS graduation, Christy's wedding, and the arrival of baby number two! We are going to be busy!

I will leave you with a few recent pictures:


23 weeks pregnant


Gavin--February 2009 (He wanted a belly picture too! LOL)


My dear friend Steph and me at her bridal shower! (Nashville, TN)


My BFF Trin and her ADORABLE son Tegan! (Nashville, TN February 09)