Cute picture

I was looking through some old pictures and found this one of Lainey all bundled up in her little poncho. I think she must have been close to 6 months old because it was taken when we were in Colorado in October of 2008. Cute baby!

A little mommy

As I've said before, Lainey is a very loving mommy to her babies. I finally got some pictures of her in action. About 100 times a day, she puts her babies night-night and takes such great care to cover them and make sure they are comfortable - in a crib, on a chair, on the couch, on the ground, in a stroller. She really does love taking care of her babies and calmly strolling them and rocking them and reading to them. I know that when we have a real baby in the house things will be different, but I'm happy to see that she's so nurturing. Each day we do spend some time in the new baby's nursery because she enjoys playing in there. It used to be off-limits to her, but I've sort of slacked on that...it provides lots of playtime opportunities. :) To help get us prepared for the new baby, I've started taking out some of the baby things that we've had stored away for what seems like forever. Lainey has particularly taken to the bouncy seat, the one she so loved as a baby...

Lainey, about a week old (awww...a tiny little thing)

Night-night baby, sleep tight, I hope you don't mind a blanket covering your face (this happens almost every time).

Um, not so much.

For some reason, this evening she really wanted to say "cheese" for the camera. This is a waning "cheese" smile.

standing on a stool to play in her new baby brother's crib
(She finally has stopped asking to get in there!)

a happier "cheese" smile

Lainey's baby is going night-night in the crib. She puts them face-down, covers them, and then pats them night-night. We might have a small problem when there's a real baby in there. We think Santa might be bringing her a crib for her babies for Christmas...

Look at all of my teeth!

reading some of the new baby's books

32 weeks!

Here we are at 32 weeks!

For comparison's sake, these next two pictures show what I looked like at 32 weeks when I was pregnant with Lainey.

I would like to point out a few things about this pregnancy...

1. I think I am bigger with this baby than with Lainey. I think he sticks out further than she did! I am not sure if it's because it's my second pregnancy or because he's a boy and I'm carrying differently or because he's just bigger. Either way, I'm finding that I don't have too many clothes that are fitting comfortably these days. I have a hard time finding shirts that cover my stomach completely! And believe me, they need to cover that stomach completely.

2. I am definitely more uncomfortable with this pregnancy than I was the first time. The latest bullet point on "because I'm pregnant" list is shin splints. Seriously? They hurt! And believe me, I have not been running. With Lainey I had horrible pain in my heels, but with this one, it's shin splints. I'm also suffering from heartburn and those of you who know me well know that I've been on Nexium for years and can't function well without it. (I've tried.) I've been fortunate enough to be allowed to take it throughout both pregnancies and up until this past week, it's done a great job keeping the heartburn at bay. Not any longer. Maybe it's just a phase!

3. This baby is a constant mover and shaker. I mean I can literally watch him move throughout the day. It's that obvious! I think it's a boy thing...? Sometimes he stops me in my tracks. I have to stop what I'm doing so that he can twist and move and get comfortable.

4. Our baby does not have a name yet.

5. We are working on the nursery. His new glider arrives on January 2nd so after that's in place, we'll be able to arrange the room!

Carriage ride

Tonight we went to my parents' neighborhood in Dallas for a horse-drawn carriage ride. Lainey did okay for most of the ride; she got a little antsy there at times and just really, really wanted to be able to see the horses the entire time which just isn't possible. Overall, though, she did pretty well!

wondering why we can't go through the gates to the playground

Mittens! (She actually kept them on the whole time. She kept clapping her hands; I think she liked them!)

a rare smile for the camera

nice horsie (or "essie" as Lainey says)

Caught watching Elmo...

Totally mesmerized. A good thing or a bad thing...?

I can see both sides to this one.

Breakfast with Santa

This morning, we had Breakfast with Santa at our church! Lainey enjoyed some pancakes and orange juice in the gym before heading up to see Santa. Santa has quite a set up when he visits the church! We waited downstairs until our number was called, then we headed upstairs where we were greeted by so many elves. The elves then ushered us into playrooms where the kids could play with toys until Santa was ready to see them. While we were in there, the elves recorded the Christmas lists of the kids. :) After about five minutes, we were called to go see Santa! Unfortunately, Lainey was not thrilled about seeing Santa. She didn't want to sit on his lap, but she did allow me to hold her while we posed for a picture next to him.

playing with toys in the playroom, waiting our turn

She might have taken a lion and a hippo from the playroom to keep her company while waiting for Santa.

looking slightly apprehensive

our picture with Santa

After seeing Santa, we headed back downstairs to play some games in the gym. We saw Yiyia and Bud there, along with cousins Cally, Collin, and Ella.

Look Ella, I won a ring! So fancy!

playing the bean bag toss game

Cally and Ella

Reading in bed

We read books before naptime and bedtime, but lately Lainey's been requesting "mo" books to be read to her. I've started giving her one to read (and consequently sleep with) in her crib. This method seems to satisfy her need for "mo" books, so I'm happy to oblige! Otherwise we might be in her room reading all day...and not napping. Before this picture was taken (a scene which inspired me to get my camera in the first place) she was laying down on her tummy, knees bent, feet in the air, flipping through the book. Of course, she was sitting up when I came back in the room! :)

not totally thrilled that I was taking her picture

Sick week

This week has been somewhat unpleasant at our house. Lainey has had a tummy virus since Saturday and has been home from school and refraining from all other activities. We've seen the doctor a couple of times, and we're just waiting for this thing to run its course! We've been hanging around the house a lot playing with Play-Doh, reading books, playing with babies, watching Elmo...I pray that she starts to feel better soon.

pointing out Alphonse, the giant creature in her new favorite book The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg

again, pointing out Alphonse's giant eyeball

settling down for some serious reading

Look what we woke up to this morning!

Snow! What a surprise! I knew it was going to be cold and rainy, but it never occurred to me that it might snow. Maybe it's because my local evening news has been preempted by Elmo... If Elmo's not reporting it, then I may not get the news. Lainey must have known something, however, because she did choose to wear her snowman pajamas to bed last night!

Lainey is actually facing the camera, but you can't tell because her hair is everywhere!

taking a tentative step...

Lainey wasn't a fan of walking in the snow. She walked to the fence and back, but I couldn't get her to go out there for more. She also was not a fan of wearing her hood. Cold baby! She didn't seem to mind, though - I think she would have stayed out there for a while if it weren't for me...I was freezing!

"Ice, ice, ice!" Apparently she thought Reagan wanted to play with her blue squeaky toy out in the snow. She was mistaken.