Planet Mom

I had my 1st MOPS  (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting of the year yesterday.  I attend at St. Andrews Baptist and am blessed with a wonderful group of women.  They are amazing and we always have great discussions and time with God.  This year it's about living on Planet Mom as that is what all of our lives are centered around.  Most of us are stay at home moms, so we are with our kids 24-7.  We have great topics this year, everything from Planet God to Planet Body.  Yesterday, we were asked to say what planet we're currently living on.  I said I was living on Planet take it one thing at a time and make the most of each day.  That is where we are in our life right now, not knowing what God has in store for us but making the most of each moment.  And, I must add that I love living on Planet Mom.  It's hard, but it's the most rewarding chapter in my life. 

So, update on the kids. I'll start with the youngest this time.  I have to make sure they all get their "claim to fame" and time in the limelight.:-) I must say that it's so amazing the amount of love that I have for each of our children.  To think that you can love each one as much as the other is amazing! Baby "Daisy" is doing well.  We had our 1st trimester screening yesterday; it included meeting with a genetic counselor, bloodwork, and an ultrasound.  We'll get the results from the bloodwork early next wek.  The counselor said she didn't see any reason to be concerned, and the ultrasound looked good.  It's amazing how much ultrasound technology has improved since I was pregnant with Bradley 4 years ago.  We saw things, yesterday, that I didn't se with Bradley until 20 weeks.  They even did a brief 3D ultrasound.  Of course, it's too early to tell the sex of the baby.  The baby reminded us of Lexi with it's movements.  It was moving constantly and dancing a lot.  I'm having my cerclage placed next Thurday, the 17th.. 

Baby Wicker Profile

11 weeks 1 day

Baby Wicker's Heartbeat

(in the low 170's; very active baby)

Austin is doing well.  He is sitting unassisted for long periods now (and can even correct himself if he begins to fall) and even standing some, on his own, if he has a good grip on something.  When on his stomach, he is trying to pull his legs up underneath his body to get on his hand and knees.  His EI and PT had to make new goals for him today when we met with the EI.  He has met all of the goals and more since the last time they did a plan of action.  So, his new goals include getting to and from sitting on his own from lying down, crawling, pulling to standing, and cruising. They gave him 6 months to reach these goals, but said he may reach them faster than that since he is doing so well.  If so, they will rewrite his plan then.  He is approximately 16.5lbs and 27-28 inches.  He legs have gotten especially chubby lately; it's precious.  Austin enjoys eating his baby foods and seems to prefer vegetables.  He is eating solids twice a day; breakfast and supper.  We continue to give him 5 bottles a day to get in the amount of milk he needs.  I think I've finally gotten him on a schedule and most days he is taking 2 decent naps.  He does really well with the morning nap, but sometimes wakes up and fusses during his afternoon nap.  Austin is a great baby and sleeps through the night most nights; he is usually happy and smiling. 

Big Boy!

Look at that sweet face. . .

I can multitask with the best of them; playing with my toy and watching big brother play soccer.

Last, but not least, Bradley has been busy!  He started preschool this week and did so well.  He has only been 1 day so far, but is excited about going back.  The teachers said there were no tears!  Bradley was excited about playing with all the toys and his new friends that he met at orientation.  He didn't tell me much when I picked him up except that he had cheese crackers and cookies for snack.  And, he told me about a few toys that he enjoyed.  Tonight was his first soccer practice.  They practiced for almost an hour and he thoroughly enjoyed it.  Chris has volunteered to help coach as the head coach has no help.  We don't know how Chris' schedule will work with it, but he is going to try to be there as much as possible.  I know Bradley enjoyed having his Daddy on the field.  They did different drills and some scrimaging.  It was precious seeing those 3 and some 4 year olds running around.  They really impressed me as they all seemed to get the point of the game.  Bradley can't wait to go to practice next week.  His 1st game is September 20th, but we still don't know the time yet.  We're hoping for 1:30, so it won't interfere with naptime.  We don't want him passing out on the field.

Ready for his 1st day of school

Wearing his name tag and getting ready to go in the classroom

On his way to soccer practice

Aren't those little Umbro shorts precious?

We've thoroughly enjoyed Chris being on vacation.  I can't believe he has to go back to work tomorrow!  We've spent a lot of family time together, and it has been great! Now to end this long post with a short story.  Today Chris corrected Bradley about something and Bradley got very quiet.  Then he said, "Daddy you hurt my feelings, and I don't apprecitate it."  It cracked us up!  ha ha :-)