BamBam Games

Ethan is playing Bam Bam Ball this year and is having a great time! We have had 2 games so far, and 5 practices, and he has the routine down and is having a blast! He has two friends on his team and they all have a great time playing and running around.

What is Bam Bam you ask? The children are all ages 3 and 4, so the games are pretty basic. The hitting team sit in the dugout waiting for their turn to hit a playground ball off of two coffee cans stacked and duck taped together with a large plastic bat.

The other team all stand in line on the pitching mound, awaiting the playground ball to come off the coffee can tee. They run and grab the ball then place it back on the tee and return to the dugout to wait for the other members of their team to field the ball one at a time.

They all get a turn to hit and then run to first base. As the others hit, they advance all around the bases until they reach home plate, then they return to the dugout to wait for their team. The final batter hits a home run.




Today, I reminded him of his game at 6:30pm and that Aunt Nicole and Lindsay might come to watch. He got really excited and said, "Yeah, they can come and cheer for me. I like when you cheer 'Go Ethan'."

I thought that was very cute and made sure that I let Derrick know so we could cheer him on at his game tonight. I love watching his face when he plays, he gets so into the game and takes it very seriously. GO ETHAN!!

3 weeks to go!

I am now at 37 weeks and things are ready for baby to arrive. I am really getting excited (if that is the right word) for delivery! I don't know if it is the hormones or pregnancy amnesia, but I am actually looking forward to giving birth!!!

I have it in my head (watch me be wrong) that things are going to go quickly and smoothly. I don't feel like I am going to panic at the end like I started to do with Ethan, as I already know that the pain will end as soon as things are over and when it starts to get that bad... things are almost finished. I WILL survive!!

Baby boy #2 is VERY active and at night will move and groove like he is prepping for a marathon. I can't wait to see what his little face looks like and if he is going to look like big brother Ethan, or more like Daddy or me. I am excited to see if he has hair or if he is going to be a baldy like the rest of the family! Will he cry, or be silent and watch like Ethan did when he heard my voice?

I am also looking forward to what Ethan thinks of the whole experience. We are planning on allowing him into the delivery room if he decides he wants to be included, as I want this to be a whole family experience of welcoming baby boy #2 to the world. We have done a lot of prepping, and have watched his own birth video (nothing graphic, just my face most of the time) a few times and we plan on watching it again later this week to discuss things further. He enjoys watching the Baby Story on TLC and I believe he understands what will go on during labor, and this should help him feel comfortable.

Derrick is also getting excited and is starting to touch the belly more and ask more questions about what we are going to do once things get started.

Pregnancy and birth are amazing, and I am so thankful that God has blessed us with one more opportunity to experience this miracle.

Happy Anniversary Romeo!!

Derrick and I celebrated 6 years of marriage yesterday! We watched a bit of our wedding video, discussed how life has changed over the last 6 years, and enjoyed a dinner alone (Ethan ended up falling asleep in the car and slept in the booth the whole time we ate) at a local italian place down the street.

I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband and couldn't ask for more!

Thank you, Derrick, for the last 6 years and I look forward to what adventures the rest of our life will hold!

Here is a video you might find entertaining... it is an image of our life right now!!!

The pressure is on

Baby boy is growing and I am feeling a lot of pressure now. My hips feel like they are pulling apart, and the round ligament pain is sometimes sharp enough to make me weak in the knees. My face is rounding out, my shoes are tight, and I think I am waddling. Walking is uncomfortable, sleeping is less than restful, and the hot flashes are getting more intense. I have been having headaches off and on over the last week (I had my first aura a few weeks ago), but today things seem to be improving. The chiropractor is one of my most treasured visits, and I am calling Monday to schedule a massage. My legs are swelling, the scale is creeping up every day it seems, and I can no longer wear my wedding ring. I think baby has dropped some (I can no longer see my belly button unless I look in the mirror) and the count down to the last month is starting!



I still think, through all this that is going on with my body, that pregnancy is one of the most amazing experiences I could ever experience and I love every day. I enjoy my belly, and watching it grow, and love to feel baby boy #2 move and grove in my tummy on a regular basis. He is getting so strong, and I am just waiting for the day he kicks me so hard that he ruptures my bag of waters (or makes me pee my pants)! LOL.

Soon the belly will be gone and we will meet baby boy #2 face to face!

Playing House and Family Time

We had the best time today playing house. It laterally went on for about 3 hours and we had to break into reality and get ready for bed as it was getting too late to be playing. Ethan asked me if I would leave out the baby items he got out so we could continue tomorrow. So, I know what we will be doing tomorrow.

It started with his baby doll. Ethan has a baby that is dressed like a boy and has a bottle and real baby diaper on. He goes in spurts when he plays with this doll, and most of the time it just sleeps in a basket that we call a baby bed.

I was reading on the couch and he wanted to read a book to his baby. He brought me the book Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley and placed the baby in between us while we read the book. After the book he decided the baby was hungry. He started feeding the baby with the plastic bottle and I decided that this was a great teaching opportunity to prep for baby boy #2. I got a burp cloth and explained about putting a pillow to elevate the baby's head, and we were off on our pretend play adventure!



Next, he announced loudly that the baby was poopy and he needed his diaper changed. Ethan asked if he could undress the baby and change the diaper. I agreed that this was a great idea since the smell of the diaper was getting very strong, and explained to him where the infant diapers were as well as the wipes. You would have thought it was Christmas, watching him change the diaper of the baby doll.

In mid-diaper change, Derrick came home and watched as Ethan wiped the baby doll's bottom with the wipes and placed a new, clean diaper on.

He then changed the outfit, fed the baby again and then burped the baby... who, in his words "started puking all over the couch!". After the puking stopped he decided the baby needed a bath, so we pretended to bathe the baby and again changed outfits.

At this time, I started my sewing project and Ethan continued playing on his own, asking me to help when he needed someone to check him out at the grocery store (our pantry in the kitchen) or when he needed someone to help him with the snaps on the baby clothes. He and Derrick even put the baby down for his nap and Ethan went shopping while the baby was resting.

Before I knew it, Derrick was recruited to be 'Mommy' and I was assigned the title of 'big brother'. We were all to get ready because it was Halloween and we were going to go trick-or-treating. We all took a walk down the hallway, following Ethan's lead, and trick-or-treated in our bedroom, bathroom and master closet, receiving broken crayons as our pretend candy. He thanked every neighbor we visited with a "Thank you and Happy Halloween" before moving on to the next door.

When we returned from trick-or-treating, it was time to get ready for bed and we all were instructed to get our PJ's on and go to bed because "tomorrow is Christmas and Santa is coming". He put a few colored bead necklaces in the corner where we set up the Christmas tree along with some sticks from his Tinker Toys to make a triangle.

I sat down on the couch and said I was sleeping, but Ethan corrected me and sent me to my room to go to sleep. So we all went into his bedroom and pretended to go to sleep. We then woke up and it was Christmas morning! He passed out our gifts (the bead necklaces) and we talked about what we got and how excited we were about the gifts.

After this, the house was a disaster from all the creativity, and we focused on cleaning up and putting away so we could get ready for our 'real' bedtime.

Tomorrow, I am sure it will all start over again!

I love being a Mommy and being able to experience the joy and creativity of pretend play with a 3 year old! We had so much fun tonight and I was very impressed with Ethan's baby care skills. I know he will be a GREAT big brother!!

Thank you Lord for these gifts! We are truly blessed!

Baby Washcloths / Eco Wipes

My second sewing project is in full swing.

After Ethan outgrew the baby washcloths I purchased for him as a baby, I turned them into cloth napkins and have been using them for the last few years wiping noses, cleaning messy hands and faces, and at the kitchen table.

I am thinking of cloth diapering baby boy #2 and wanted some cloth wipes as well as some new bathing washcloths. I picked up some fabric on sale, and decided I could sew two squares together to make a wipe.

I cut all the pieces tonight, and managed to complete three washcloths. They look nice and I am stoked I to have used and succeeded at my first attempt of a zig-zag stitch.




The front is a soft cotton flannel and the back is a nice fluffy cotton terry cloth.

I have been having some problems with the sewing machine (it won't keep the tension all the time) so I ended up stopping with three and will be calling Grandpa Collins in the morning to see if he can figure out what is going on. I'm sure it is an operator error.

Baby Sewing Projects

I picked out my fabric yesterday from JoAnn Fabrics and started on my first project before the baby arrives. I found a great tutorial at Freshly Picked for a nursing cover up and started sewing.

3 hours later, after interruptions and learning new techniques, I finished. I am very happy with how it turned out and can't wait to use it when baby boy #2 arrives.





Next project... cloth baby wipes and washcloths.