I have a good excuse...

I am WELL aware that it's been quite some time since I blogged. Don't worry, though, I have an excuse!! Almost 2 weeks ago my computer bit the dust! Bryan and I have been sharing a computer, but let's face it, our computer hours are the same limited hours since trying to do anything on the computer while Maddy's awake is a moot point. LoL. About half of his time that he spends on the computer is studying, so that really doesn't leave much time for us to just play on ONE computer. We have our iPhones, so I've been keeping up with everything on there, but blogging kind of took a back seat. Have no fear, though, our anniversary was this past Thursday, and I got a new laptop from Bryan as a gift!! I got this little jewel from Samsung, and I LOVE IT!!! :)

I had made a little note to myself that had a list of things that I wanted to include in this blog, but most of the items were pictures. I haven't had a chance to upload any pictures to this computer yet, so those will have to wait until another day.

One thing I REALLY wanted to share with you was this site... I wish I'd known about this before Maddy was born, but I'm in luck as Amelia will be here VERY soon!! :) My bald headed children could use these. There are days that I wonder if Maddy's hair will EVER come in. HaHaHa. Speaking of, my neighbor has been watching Maddy when I have to go to my doctor's appointments (which are now weekly). While I was at the doctor this week, I got a picture text message of Maddy with pig tails!!! Shannah decided that it was time to give it a shot. They were actually 1/2 pigtails as Maddy's hair is still too short to get it all up in pigtails, but she sure looked cute!!

An update on Amelia... Amelia seems to be doing very well still. I was a little under the weather (again) at the beginning of this past week, so when I saw the doctor on Wednesday, he put me on a liquid diet for 24 hours. I still don't understand all the logic as I'd LOST 4 pounds the previous week, but I took his advice (for the most part) and tried to stick to clear liquids as much as I could. For lunch and dinner on Wednesday I had broth-y soups. That was as far as I strayed from my clear liquids only diet. I'm pleased to report that I'm feeling MUCH better now!! I'm very excited to meet Amelia!! We are at about 36 1/2 weeks. 36 weeks is technically considered full term. All that means is that from here on out if I go into labor, the doctor will not try to stop it. Amelia has developed enough that she can survive on the outside. 40 weeks is the ultimate goal (and my due date), but 36 is considered "long enough". I am still feeling pretty good. I, obviously, get a little worn out most days, but, thankfully, Maddy has been taking some pretty good naps, so I can lay down and at least rest while she's sleeping. Yesterday and today I cleaned the house. I can't honestly tell you the last time that I did all the chores in 2 consecutive days. For months I've been doing just a little here and there as it's been needed. This afternoon I plan to vacuum out my car (someone who shall remain nameless dumped an entire bag of Trix cereal on the floor) and install Amelia's car seat. For some reason the installation of the car seat seems to seal the deal for me. I don't know what it is, but that just makes it real!! I am praying (and would appreciate it if you'd join me in prayer) that Amelia will hang around until my mom gets here. Our friends, the ones who have been watching Maddy for doctor's appointments, have offered to take care of Maddy if Amelia comes before my mom gets here, but I'd much rather have Maddy at home in her own bed and all that good stuff with my mom. So, sweet, sweet Amelia... PLEASE wait until after October 22 to grace us with your presence!! Thanks! :)

Maddy's birthday is this coming week, and I'm SO excited!! Bryan and I have gotten her quite a few gifts that I'm very excited about!! We got her a set with a baby swing, bouncy seat, car seat, etc. for her baby dolls. My plan is that whenever I'm taking care of Amelia I can encourage her to do the same things with her babies as to keep her involved, but not too hands on... If you know what I mean! ;) We also got her a pink Little Tikes Cozy Coupe!!! She LOVES to play outside, and I think she's going to LOVE her Cozy Coupe!!! I also made her another book that documents the past year of her life (like the one I made last year). That's actually what I was working on ordering when my computer crashed. Thanks, Mom, for bailing me out. I was absolutely SICK when the computer crashed, as I thought I'd lost all my hard work!! I had e-mailed the book to my mom so she could look it over for typos, etc, so she had a copy and was able to order it for me!! :) I'll be sure to post some pictures after Maddy's birthday.

We're having a small get together with some of our neighbors next Saturday evening to celebrate her birthday. It'll just be a small gathering for a myriad of reasons the least of which is that I'm just so dang exhausted all the time!! :) I'm going to make these Dora the Explorer cupcakes for our guests to enjoy... I'll try to get some pictures of these to share!

Ok, well, everyone was napping, but I can hear them starting to stir, so I should end this now. If anyone has any good ideas for 2-year portraits of Maddy, please pass them my way. I need to get those done before Amelia is born, as I'll have to do some newborn and sister portraits then!! :)

Thanks for your patience while I was away!

Love you guys!!