Double digits, 93 days!

Here's our little princess: 4D

                                                                          6/27/14
 She was very comfortable the whole time we were in the sonogram room and didn't move much. (Her head was nestled up against the placenta the whole time, so this is as much of her face as we got.) We brought Hudson, my mom and Cody's mom came with us. (Grandmas go crazy over sonograms!) We spent a good 45 min in the room. Hud thought it was pretty cool to see his sister on the big screen but then was over it about 10 min later. Baby Glance has these adorable stuffed animals with a little heart recorder that records the baby's heartbeat. They had a hippo, so of course we chose that one and my mom got the giraffe (for Gram) since she was obsessed with giraffes. They are too cute!
Emerson looks so much like her brother. She definitely has my nose (the Cruickshank nose) and lips. I'm sure she will look just like her daddy and her brother. My poor genes don't have a chance.We pick up her furniture this week and I have a lady making curtains and her bedding. Can't wait until it's finished and the room is complete!

I walked into Hudson's room yesterday and found him stuffing a blanket up his shirt saying he was "pregnant!" hahahahha, the stuff that comes out of his mouth.

26 weeks

We have a 4D ultrasound tomorrow at Baby Glance, the same place we found out the gender. They suggest you schedule the 4D anywhere from 25-30 weeks so that the baby looks a little plumper and no so alien like. So we'll have a room full of family for that one tomorrow and it will be the first time Hud gets to "see" his sister :) I tried explaining the sonogram to him and he keeps asking if they have to cut me open. Poor kid, I told him about having a C-Section (didn't really use those words) but said the doctor would take a little knife and make a cut and pull sister out when she's done "cooking". He'll understand one day.....
He has been the sweetest! He'll come up out of the blue and kiss my belly and ask how sister is today. He got to feel her really KICK the other day and it was the most precious thing.

I FINALLY got him registered for kindergarten! Right now he'll be going to Henderson. We are still waiting to hear about our transfer letter to Fannin but that won't come until the first of August and school starts shortly after that. That makes no sense to me MISD. This kindergarten process has been a whirlwind. We are still on two waiting lists for magnet schools but I don't have high hopes for those :-/
Luckily I know one of the kinder teachers at Henderson and have requested Hud have her as his teacher. He was so excited when we walked in to the school and saw a big tiger mural on the wall and asked why it was there and I explained that the tiger was their mascot and he'd be a Henderson Tiger like his daddy was.

This was a picture on Pinterest that first caught my eye when we found out we were having a GIRL! I love the pink and gray together and the silver stripes stuck with me. (Of course this picture was one of the ones that had no URL to follow to see the paint colors or anything else) I found the perfect matte gray and had Cody paint it. Finding that silver color was a nightmare! The lady that helped me at Lowes knew nothing about paint colors and I was in a hurry and took the first grayish color she mixed and thought it wasn't near what I wanted but maybe it would work. I had Cody measure and everything, bless his heart he has been a work horse lately. The color was NOT working. He painted two stripes and I almost burst into tears. Then my journey for silver already mixed together paint started. NOTHING in Midland and when I asked the paint experts, they all made me sound crazy for wanting metallic silver. I went online and saw the EXACT silver I wanted. Ralph Lauren, could I find it locally, NO. So I ordered it online and finally received it yesterday. BTW: Home Depot will be carrying RL and the metallic line in a few short months.....thanks a lot Home Depot, you couldn't have carried it any sooner? So painting the striped will commence this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed. Just a few short 97 days until little Emerson gets here. EEEEEEEKKKKK

                                                          I look good holding a little girl :)
This was at a friends shower. Erin holding Temple and I'm holding Nora. I love both these little ones so much!!

Boy Mom, until now

I found this hilarious and SPOT ON blog post by a woman on facebook and had to share.

http://www.fightingfrumpy.com/2014/05/ten-boy-mom-musts.html?m=1

These are all musts for sure. Except the food part for Hudson. He has always been a great eater until toddler years. He became super picky and would literally eat a gallon of ketchup with every meal. Sometimes he hardly touches his food and others he'll clear his plate. We keep a stocked pantry and fridge with mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, turkey dogs, and fish sticks and of course grilled cheese sandwiches (his go to food)
But the rest of these are genius.
We've made 2 ER trips because he thought he was a super hero.
I can't even tell you the amount of times I have bought new jeans and the next day they have rips and holes in them.
And the wiener........seriously.
And he likes to dance naked. :)

He is my big hearted brown eyed adventurous child. Lord help me if this little girl is as rowdy as he is. I'll be totally ok with her being a tom boy.

We had our 20 week check up yesterday and finally got to see her. Her organs, heart and brain all look fantastic. Heart beat was 138. She was being a stinker AGAIN at this appointment and was completely turned where we couldn't see her face. Her legs were spread eagle this time but no face shot. Cody was on shift yesterday and showed up about 5 min late and as soon as he walked in and started talking, little miss rolled right over! It was precious. Daddy's girl already.

Diva child

Let me just tell you, little girls are DIVAS from the very beginning! This little girl wants her presence known and that's usually about 7:30 at night. I had the easiest pregnancy with Hudson. Very little nausea, no heart burn or indigestion. By the 2nd trimester I had energy back and was ready to rock and roll. Little Emerson is a different story. I was still very lucky not to have morning sickness and very little nausea with her. I was so tired the 1st trimester but I forced myself to workout and would really feel so much better after I did. I didn't do a whole lot of exercise with Hudson. I walked A LOT but never did anything else.The past 2 weeks right around 7:30 I get so uncomfortable. I can't have any pressure on my back which means I can't sit in a recliner, on the couch or anywhere. I have to lay down sideways on or chase lounge, which in turn makes me suuuuuuper sleepy and the sun is still out. I'll move from the chase to the recliner and just wiggle to the point where Cody just looks at me.My bedtime is 9:00-9:30 on weekdays, party animal right? I usually wake up around 7:15.......You're thinking 10 hours, really?? No, I toss and turn like a rambunctious toddler during the night. My hips and joints get so uncomfortable and stiff. I never had that with Hudson. I did pee every hour on the hour with him though and haven't had that with Emerson. SCORE! She feels super low and with him he was alllll up in my rib cage. I can't really complain though, it's been a great pregnancy so far and we are very very blessed our little girl is healthy and the I am too. I really thought I would have terrible thyroid issues being off my medication but it's been such a Godsend. We have our next appointment May 19th and that's when we get to check all major organs and all that fun stuff. I hope and pray every night that she is as healthy as can be.I never had cravings with Hudson but if I saw or heard of something that sounded good, I'd have to have it. Same with E but I have been craving Starbucks decaf iced white mocha. Like seriously, I have to have at least two a week and I think about them everyday. I had Starbucks maybe once or twice a month or every other month, now I should invest in some stock or ask for gift cards! Also, nacho cheese doritos. Really? Thanks a lot for all the healthy choices Emerson ;)

Today is Hudson's pre-k graduation from Wee Care! I can't believe he will be in kindergarten next year. I am so proud of the little gentlemen he has become. He's had some of the most wonderful, loving and caring teachers while he's been there. He started when he was 2. Gram kept him from birth to 2 and it was so hard telling her that we wanted him to start daycare and socialize. She knew it was best for him but it was hard on both of them!! And me. The first 3 weeks were EMOTIONAL!! He had never stayed with anyone else before and here I was dropping him off with complete strangers and his big brown eyes would just look at me like "you are leaving me?" then well up with tears. He would cry and I would cry. Finally one day he just let go of my hand and walked up to one of his friends and started playing. It's been a breeze since then. I know Gram is so very proud of our little guy. I can't even begin to describe the love she gave him and the knowledge she taught him!! So thankful for her every single day. And I know she is over the moon about our little Emerson :)))

               First day at Wee Care, 2 years old. Pre-K graduation at Wee Care, 4 years old

Baby Emerson

Today I am 17 weeks and ? Seriously. I have lost count and I have changed my Baby Bump app on my phone about 14 times. My actual due date is October 2nd. MY BIRTHDAY! But since we are scheduling a c-section, my doctor wanted to do it a week early on September 25. Our last sonogram the baby was measuring a few days bigger so for some reason I just thought I was further along. Pregnant brain is legit. Anywho, I saw my dr. last Tuesday and I just KNEW I'd have a sono done. WRONG!!! The nurse told me they won't do one until 20 weeks. Wahhh, dreams, crushed. She did bring in one of those dopplers that find the babies heartbeat. She moved it around a few places and NADA. I was terrified and I guess she could see that. She told me not to worry and that it happens all the time. She tried again with no luck. So she called the Doctor in and he said don't panic, it could be the way the baby is positioned. I'M PANICKING!! He moves it around and nothing. My heart rate rises and he detected it on the thing but no babies. He tried again and pushed harder. At this point the tears are about to roll. And of course this appointment was one of the few that Cody didn't make. So he wheels in the portable sono machine and BAM! Little Emi's heartbeat. A whopping 146 BPM. Thank you Lord. I immediately start saying a silent prayer!  I also mention that we had an early gender sono at 15 weeks and I wanted confirmation SHE actually was STILL a GIRL! He assured me that if I saw the 3 lines (which I later found out is a females labia)she was still going to be a girl but we couldn't confirm until my next visit. WHICH IS 4 WEEKS AWAY......So now we just wait another 4 weeks before we can really tell. Did I mention, I am not a patient person?!?

I really have felt great this whole pregnancy. The 1st trimester was a little rough but no morning sickness at all. The 2nd trimester has been a little different with this one as opposed to being pregnant with Hudson. My hips and knees have been throbbing at night. I must flip from side to side at least 20 times a night. I have a small pillow that does help that I put in between my legs but my goodness, the pain is crazy. I feel like I have 80 year old joints.  Other than that, doing great!

We just purchased Hud's cap and gown for pre-k graduation! I may have shed a little tear. I can't believe he'll be in kindergarten this year. I am so very proud of the little guy he has become and I am so thankful for Wee Care and the knowledge and love they have shown him. And can't forget about Gram teaching him for 2 years!!

GIRL!!!!!!

Pink Pink Pink! Oh my goodness. I had a very strong feeling that it was a girl from the beginning. I had the same feeling with Hudson being a boy! Cody's friends gave him such a hard time when we first found out. They would tell him, "It's a girl and she is going to have you so wrapped around her finger." "Be prepared, it's a girl and you aren't going to know what to do." So of course he just knew we were having a girl. With all the boys on his side of the family he also thought "nah, can't be a girl, we have so many boys!"
Like I said in the last post, she was being so stubborn and had her legs crossed almost the WHOLE time. Which I guess is good, she is already acting like a little lady :)
I still have that thought in the back of my head that she may grow a little "something" between her legs. I mean, we did find out super early it seems and I've heard all kinds of crazy stories how a baby started out one gender and came out another!! Eeeek.
We go again on April 22 to Dr. Doke, so I guess we'll see then. Hudson was a little upset that he's having a baby sister. He really wanted a brother to wrestle with. I'm sure when sister gets a little older she will hold her own and put up a fight!

                                                Convinced him to blow the pink confetti

I am already looking at baby girl bedding and re-doing the nursery in pink girly colors. We started on Hud's big boy room some time ago and it feels like it's taking foreverrrrrrr. Our windows finally came in today so we'll be picking them up and hopefully installing them SOON. Cody is doing this remodel all on his own and saving us money so I'm trying not to rush him but I know Hud is ready to be in his new room and I am ready for the MESS in our front living room to be gone!!!

                                      Miss Emerson. Still undecided on a middle name right now.

I haven't really posted anything on my thyroid. I've actually felt pretty great this whole pregnancy. I've been off my medicine since February 3rd and haven't needed any of it. My levels have been normal. My last appointment with my endocrinologist was in March and my levels were a little high but he would rather have them a little high rather than low. If they get too high where I have symptoms, I'll be put on medication. It's crazy how a pregnancy can help with so many things. I'm just not looking forward to after baby and the outcome of my Graves' but I am not even worried about that right now. Focusing on keeping this little girl plump and healthy as can be. We are over the moon and feel so incredibly blessed. Can't wait to be a family of 4!

Thanks for following us on this crazy journey.

It's a................

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Our reveal party is tonight! Check back for all the details. Cody and I went yesterday to Baby Glance, a new sonogram place in town and they can determine the gender as early as 15 weeks! If baby cooperates. I drank a Dr. Pepper right before the appointment. I'm not a big soda drinker but I do love an occasional DP and I've only had 1 since being pregnant and this one was especially delicious. We walk into the room and I hop up on the table, she squirts the gel, which by the way was probably the first time I've had warm gel. It seems like every single sono with Hudson and the 2 before with this baby, the gel was freezing! PERK! I was terrified that we would get there and baby wouldn't cooperate. I kinda felt like we may be rushing things and 15 weeks was a little soon to find out but we JUST HAD to know. I felt like I'd be punished and in return the baby would not spread those legs.

Sure enough, the first 15 minutes the tech had the wand all over my belly because our little stinker had his/her legs crossed! She had me flip on my side, my other side and back on my belly. A little poking and jabbing and me laughing FINALLY did the trick. He/she tricked us at first though and would stretch one leg but leave the other right in the who-ha place. Bless Cody's heart. He was up by the screen, he was sitting, he was by the computer, he was so anxious! But FINALLY both little legs moved and BOOM. Tears, joy, excitement and laughter all filled the room! We are so excited to share our news with you!!!!! Just a few friends and family will be over tonight for the reveal. Cody thought it all up by himself and he's so proud. I even thought about not doing a reveal and he said he really wanted to use his idea. Who am I to argue??

Stay tuned.
xox