July 4th and Class Reunion

We had a great 4th weekend! We came to Lubbock Thursday for my last doctor's appointment and just stayed here for the weekend. I go into the hospital TONIGHT for cervidil and they will start pitocin tomorrow morning. Ryan Samuel will be here tomorrow...yay!!! We've had a great weekend with family and friends. Taylor got to hold her first sparkler last night and loved it! She also "swam" (floated) on her own in a big pool! I was so proud of her!

We also had our 10 year high school reunion this weekend. It was great to see so many people I hadn't seen in a while! Everyone met at Fox and Hound Friday night, then met up again Saturday at the Slaton Park. It was great fun. Here's proof from the fun weekend...

Taylor "swimming"

She loved the sparklers! So does her mommy!

Sidewalk chalk at Gammy and Pa-pa's house

One last belly shot...39 1/2 weeks!
At the park...Lori, Justin and Dustin

Brooke, Me, and Melody

Mike and Dustin being goofy
Me and Shannon

Me, Annetta and Ashleigh

Group Picture

Dustin and I before the reunion Friday night

Taylor is SO EXCITED...

...Because she is going to have a BABY BROTHER!!!! We found out Wednesday that we will be having a BOY!!! I am seriously so shocked and thrilled!! We have picked out the name Ryan Samuel. Everything looked great on the sonogram. We even got some awesome footage of him moving on DVD. Ryan's brain, spinal cord, and heart checked out wonderfully. He estimated Ryan to be about 12 oz (which is in the 74th percentile). Check out the belly pics of me below and you can see he's growing and so am I!!!

On Tuesday, I got a bit crazy and decided to cut my hair. I've been growing it FOREVER to have it cut off for Locks of Love. You have to cut at least 10 inches. The hair will be used for a wig (or wigs) for cancer patients. Check out how much I cut off!!! It's actually a little more than 11 inches when held straight!

No More Paci

We've been done with the paci for about 4 or 5 weeks now, but I haven't had the chance to blog about it! I really never thought this day would come. We (actually Dustin) finally cut the paci down so much that there was nothing left for Taylor to suck on. It was a really rough few days (and nights) at first, but it quickly got better. One funny thing did start happening though, after we took the paci away. We would wake up in the morning to find Taylor in really weird places. In the corner of the room asleep on the floor, asleep on the floor in front of her door or on the couch. I think in one week, we found her on the couch 7 days in a row! One morning, I woke up and rolled over to get out of bed, only to find Taylor standing next to the bed. She said, "Hi mom. I've got my blanket. My pull-ups wet, I need panties. I have a bracelet on. Do you like it?" I looked at her and thought, my gosh, how long have you been awake??? Freaky!! I am glad to report that she is now sleeping IN HER BED all night again, with no problems.

We are still working on potty training. Gosh, when is this going to end??? She will have great days and then bad ones. One day last week, she wore panties all day, even in Lubbock, with NO accidents. Then, if we're at home all day, sometimes she will have 3 accidents in one day. Potty training has been really tough for me!

I am now 11 1/2 weeks pregnant and already in maternity clothes...what??? It's been so much faster the second time! I can still wear some of my low-rise jeans, but most of my tops are just too tight! We got to see the little peanut a few weeks ago at my 8 week sonogram. It literally looked like a little peanut with a heartbeat. It was such a relief to see the baby! We go again Monday for my 12 week appt and will get another sonogram...can't wait!! I've also been feeling the baby move, which is a lot sooner than with Taylor! It's great! Monday I laid down to take a nap and the little peanut was squirming like crazy. So awesome! I don't have any pics to post, but I promise some Christmas ones soon!

Taylor's New Shirt

Did you read the t-shirt??? That's right...Taylor is going to be a big sister! It is still very early, but I am due July 11. All of my levels are great (although they were a bit low the first week). If you read my sisters blog, you will see she is expecting, too. In fact, she is due ONE DAY after me. Crazy, huh?! We are super-excited and feel very blessed!


It's been a while since I blogged, so I thought I would catch up on a few other things. I went on a fabulous ladies retreat last weekend with some women from my church. We went to Ruidoso. We had awesome times of devo, praise/worship, eating and of course, shopping! It was a great weekend of laughter, tears, and spiritual renewal!

In other news, Taylor got a trampoline a couple of weeks ago. She LOVES it!!! She jumps on it everyday (yes, even today when it was 45 degrees outside). She is getting a lot more coordinated. Here are a couple of pictures I snapped of her on the trampoline.

Another funny story I wanted to share...a few weeks ago, I was getting cupcakes ready for the fall festival at our church, and Taylor was eating lunch. I was busy, so I was not paying much attention to her. All of a sudden she says, "Look mom, a spider." I look over at her and this is what she had created. I thought it was pretty creative!!

And last, I had to post pictures of Taylor in this adorable outfit my friend Melody got her for her birthday. If you can't see it well, the skirt is like a ballerina skirt. It is adorable on and so cute in person. Thanks Melody...we LOVE it!!