Lighting of the AR State Capitol!!!

December 4th was the parade and the official lighting of our State Capitol. Isn't it shocking that this was my VERY first time to experience the lighting of the Capitol...having lived in LR my whole life?!
Sad, but true!!!
 

This was the before.

And, the after. Isn't she gorgeous!!!

There was a huge parade before we got there. There were tons of people there. We got there right in time to witness the lighting. It did not disappoint! This is something I would definitely love to do every year from now on. In case you didn't know, I have a slight obsession with the Capitol. I just think it is such a neat building and holds so much of our State's history. I had the honor of working at the Capitol for several years :)

Max was excited about the Capitol lighting ceremony! He loves when people clap, so he was really loving the huge crowd and all of the lights and sounds. We were curious to see how he would do with the fireworks because he has never seen/heard them before. But, he did great! He just looked up in amazement.

My two guys.

We rushed inside right after the fireworks to get warm...and to try and find Santa! The crowd inside was insane! There was NO WAY we were waiting in that line to see jolly St. Nick! Maybe next year!

Max was in awe of all the people. And, he really liked the women's choir that sang in the Rotunda. It's really neat in there because the music/singing just echos around so that no matter where you are standing, you can hear the choir very clearly. Great experience! 

This was right before we were leaving. Isn't the toy soldier the cutest?!

Note to self: this would make a CUTE Christmas card picture :)

If you are looking for something to do with the kiddos, a visit to the AR State Capitol would be something fun, festive, and FREE!

 

36 Weeks!!!

Here are my Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 weeks on Dec. 11th  (Only 4 Weeks to go!!!)

Size of Baby: She weighs about 6 lbs.!!! She measures about 18 1/2 inches from head to heel. About the size of a crenshaw melon (whatever that is).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have gained 21 lbs. (5 lbs. since 34 weeks. I probably enjoyed Thanksgiving a little too much!)

Maternity Clothes: Mostly all maternity. Some dresses in my regular clothes :)

Gender: It's a GIRL! Her name is HADLEY BOYD!!!

Movement: Wow!!! This girl is a kicker! She really likes to move in the morning & in the evening. Dr. Garner said that she is in the head-down position and is facing the right direction. So, hopefully NO back labor this time!

What I Miss: I miss running! I love to run and I am not able to do that anymore :( Only brisk walking at this point.

Sleep: I have been pretty restless lately. I attribute some of that to the decrease in the amount of exercise I get, but I am sure that pregnancy is the main culprit for my restless nights. I am getting up 17 times a night to pee too. Fun times!

Appetite: Like I mentioned in the "Movement" category, this girl is all over the place! I feel like she is up in my ribs, but I also feel her in my lower abdomen. This makes it difficult to eat very much at one time. (Maybe that is a good thing being that the Holidays are here!!!)

Energy Level: I have for sure hit the Nesting phase and I have a ton of energy most days. This is so, despite the fact that I have restless nights.

Symptoms: The usuals...frequent urination, heartburn, restlessness, nesting.

What I am Looking Forward To: The Holidays! It will be our last Christmas as a family of 3!!! Unless Hadley decides to come a couple of weeks early :)



Max is 15 Months!!!

All About Max at 15 Months:

Dr.'s Appointment: Weight: 22lbs. 11oz. (16%); Length: 31 in. (47%); and Head Circumference: 19 in. (79%). Max has gained a little over 2 lbs. and grown 2 1/4 in. since his 12-month check-up. Dr. Thompson says that everything checks out great. Although you are a little low on the percentile in the weight category, you are still right in line with your curve. Also, he would like you to drink more milk. At least 18 ozs. a day.

Eating: You eat 3 meals a day and have a sippy cup of milk with each meal. For breakfast you usually eat blueberry mini-waffles or oatmeal with either yogurt or a banana. I am so happy that you like oatmeal and yogurt because I sure don't! For lunch you usually eat a sandwich of some sort: grilled cheese, hot ham/turkey and cheese, or peanut butter and apple sauce or grapes. You love to feed yourself and you do pretty good with the spoon/fork. For dinner you eat whatever we eat. You LOVE casserole-type dishes, such as poppy seed chicken, chicken spaghetti, regular spaghetti, & chicken and rice. This is really the only way we can get you to eat any veggies besides potatoes. But, we are working on that! You also get a snack in the morning and usually a snack in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. You are obsessed with cereal bars (a.k.a Nutri-Grain Bars)!!! You get so excited when you see that shiny metallic package that you can't hardly wait for us to get it open. I wonder what you will do once you have your first candy bar. Hmmm... 

Sleeping: You go to bed around 7:30 or 8 and get up around 7:30. Woohoo! We are excited about your later bedtime!!! That way you get to see Daddy on the days that he has to work late. You take a nap around 11 a.m. after your morning snack and you usually sleep anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. You are still a great sleeper. (Let's just hope your baby sister is the same for every one's sake!!!)

Activity: Wow! You are such a bright little boy!!! You amaze me every day with all of the new things that you do. As for your vocabulary, you have added (3) animal sounds: moo, baa, and woo, woo, woo when we ask you what the cow, sheep, and dog say, respectively; you say "eye" and point to your eye or my eye; you say "sh" for shoe. My most favorite is the sheep. You just sound so sweet when you say it! I just want to squeeze you!!! You sign please now and rub your belly when you hear the word "yummy." You have started running. You raise your knees up really high and take off as fast as you can. Hilarious! You love to dance...you have some pretty good moves :) You know where your eyes, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, tongue, hair, and toes are and will point to them when asked. You can stack 2-3 blocks and you can stack all of the rings or your Melissa & Doug wooden stacker. You can climb on & off of your little wooden chair. There are so many things that you are doing these days that I could write a book! You are so much fun!!!

Misc.: You still love MDO. You never cry when I take you, so I think that means that you really enjoy it. You will start going (2) days a week in January. I think you will really like that. You do great in the nursery at Church and in the nursery at Moms N More on Tuesday's. You also LOVE to read books still and really seem to enjoy when we go to Book Babies at the library on Monday's. You want us to read each book no less than 3 times. You have started being more defiant. (I know this is normal, but I can't believe my sweet baby is already at this stage!) You listen pretty good for the most part, but sometimes you will pull our hand to your mouth and act like you will bite us when we tell you no-no. You hear no-no ALOT these days! You are a curious little guy and you notice everything. You like to pull things off of the shelves now and put your toys in baskets or anywhere else you think they should go. You love the outdoors and love to look out the window at the trees and leaves blowing and falling. You also have 8 teeth and are cutting one molar.

You are such a joy to be around and always so smiley. You still smile so big at just about everyone you meet. You give your Daddy the biggest smiles though! And, you give him a pat-pat on his back when you see him. Just precious!!!

You are our sunshine Max! We love you!!! 

This picture was from a month or so ago, but I thought he looked so cute in his tie shirt that I had to share it! Our friend Ashley made him this shirt for his b-day. SO cute!!!

Thankful!!!

I just love the Thanksgiving season!!!

I love hearing what everyone else is grateful for, but more than anything I really like to reflect on all of the things that I am grateful for. One of my personal goals is to be more proactive in taking the time to reflect each and every day on the things in my life that I am grateful for.  

 

I am most definitely thankful for this little guy! I am so grateful to have a healthy, thriving baby boy. How cute was he on Thanksgiving morning in his Gobble! Gobble! PJ's?!?!
I am SO thankful to have such a wonderful, caring, and loving husband who works so hard for our little family. I can't imagine doing this thing called life without him!!!

This was Max's second Thanksgiving, but his first to eat all of the Thanksgiving grub :)

Daniel, Max, & I (and Hadley!) made it to all FOUR of our Thanksgiving celebrations with our family.

We started Thanksgiving Day at my Mom & Dad's house for an early lunch where we ate and visited with my Mom's side of the family. We had the traditional Turkey dinner and it was so yummy. That evening we went to my Aunt Terry & Uncle James' house to celebrate Turkey Day with my Dad's side of the family, where we ate some of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, but we also had some Filipino food. And, Max LOVED it! (My Aunt Terry is Filipino and such a great cook.)

       
On Friday, we made the trek to Searcy to celebrate with Daniel's Mamaw & Papaw. 
The food was yummy as always! That evening on our way out of town we stopped by to visit with Daniel's Dad. We didn't eat there, thank goodness!!! By the time we got home, we were worn out and stuffed!

        

 I just had to post these pictures of Max in his pumpkin shirt since we are about to wrap up November and all things Halloween & Thanksgiving. That smile melts my heart!!!

Tomorrow we go for Max's 15-month check-up, so I will be sure to do his 15-month post before he turns two :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were able to reflect on all of the things that you are grateful for. We are all truly blessed!!!

34 Weeks



Here are my Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 weeks (Only 6 Weeks to go!!!)

Size of Baby: She weighs about 4.75 lbs.!!! She measures about 18 inches from head to heel. About the size of a cantaloupe.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have gained 16 lbs. (1/2 lb. since 32 weeks)

Maternity Clothes: Mostly all maternity. Some shirts & dresses in my regular clothes :)

Gender: It's a GIRL! Her name is HADLEY BOYD!!!

Movement: Wow!!! This girl is a kicker! She really likes to move in the morning & in the evening. I feel like she sometimes stretches ALL of her limbs at once!!! It is crazy how strong some of her movements are.

What I Miss: I miss running! I love to run and I am not able to do that anymore :( Only brisk walking at this point.

Sleep: I have been pretty restless lately. I attribute some of that to the decrease in the amount of exercise I get, but I am sure that pregnancy is the main culprit for my restless nights.

Appetite: Like I mentioned in the "Movement" category, this girl is all over the place! I feel like she is up in my ribs, but I also feel her in my lower abdomen. This makes it difficult to eat very much at one time. (Maybe that is a good thing being that the Holidays are here!!!)

Energy Level: I think I have hit the Nesting phase and I have a ton of energy most days. This is so, despite the fact that I have restless nights.

Symptoms: The usuals...frequent urination, heartburn, restlessness, nesting.

What I am Looking Forward To: The Holidays! It will be our last Christmas as a family of 3!!! Unless Hadley decides to come a couple of weeks early :)