Third Trimester!!

Can it be? 3rd Trimester already? Time has gone so fast, but as Vince so kindly reminded me the other day, it went fast with Eli as well UNTIL the 3rd trimester, and then it dragged! Gee, thanks for reminding me honey! Anyway, here's our third trimester update!

At this point, I'm 29 weeks and a few days. My baby ticker said I only have 77 days left - WHAT?! Craziness! I'm feeling pretty good these days - just TIRED and worn out all the time. I'm starting to show the signs of some swelling, but thankfully not to the extent I had with Eli. My "normal" rings don't fit on my right hand, but thankfully my wedding rings still do! The migraines/headaches aren't as frequent, so I'm very happy about that. My newest "complaint" is the lightheadedness/diziness/almost fainting spells I have several times a day. The doctor doesn't seem too concerned at this point, and all my levels came back fine from bloodwork, so we're just keeping an eye on it!

Here's my picture from about 2 weeks ago - feeling MONDO pregnant as Vince so lovingly refers to it!



I failed my first one-hour glucose test by 12 points - ugh! I'm convinced it was because I had a few sweet tarts on the way to the doctor's appointment (I didn't know I was going to have the glucose test that day). I then had to have the 3 hour fasting glucose test. I think that has to be one of the worse things ever! I went almost 17 hours without eating anything and just felt awful overall. I have HORRIBLE veins for bloodwork, so I left that place being stuck 5 times with needles and sore, and then days later had AWFUL bruises. Looked like I went a few rounds with Rocky! Thankfully, I passed that test no problem! See - I think it WAS the sweet tarts afterall!

About 2 weeks ago we had a fetal echo/ultrasound to see Ethan in more detail and check to see if he had any heart defects. Vince has a genetic heart valve defect, so they do this detailed ultrasound as a precaution. Well, Ethan is "fit as a fiddle" and has no apparent defects. He was perfect! The "only" thing the doctor stated was that he was FAT! Ha! He's measuring about 2 weeks big at this point. Eli did as well most of his pregnancy. AND, he came 2 weeks early, so it looks like Ethan is leaning that direction as well. He might be a January baby afterall!

We got some AMAZING pictures of Ethan with the 4D ultrasound. It's so great to see all the details already there in his face and hands and little feet. God's creation is PERFECT! Like the David said in Psalm 139:13-16, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Here's some pictures of our little man!



HIS CUTE LITTLE FOOT



ANKLES CROSSED AND A VIEW OF HIS CUTE LITTLE BUM! HE'S GOING TO LOVE THIS PICTURE SOMEDAY!



TRYING TO HAVE A SEAT - ANKLES CROSSED



MY BEAUTIFUL SON! EITHER HE'S SALUTING US OR FINALLY LIFTING UP HIS HAND AND PLAY PEEK-A-BOO WITH US!

Eli is still getting used to the fact that there is going to be another baby in the house before he knows it! Some days he'll talk to my belly and say hi to Ethan, and other days, it seems like he runs screaming from it all. Once Ethan is here in the flesh, and the dust has settled, that will be the true test. That's why there are 2 of use to watch over the boys. They will never lack attention and LOVE!

We are so thankful that God has allowed this baby to come to our lives! With all our past fertility problems and losses, God has given us SO much! We have a healthy, active (sometimes overly active) 2 year old full of life and humor. I can't wait to see what Ethan's personality will be and how he will grow up and bless our family even more than it already is!!

Eli's Tattoo

I guess Eli wants to be just like us and have a tattoo :-) I got him a bunch of these temporary tattoos as potty training rewards. This weekend, however, he was SO good as we were toting him around what seemed like all of kingdom come! He behaved so great and did such a good job. So, he got to pick out a new tattoo! (We put it up high enough to make sure our family pictures wouldn't show it this week). He just thinks it's the best thing to have his dinosaur tattoo!

PF Chang's

We went to PF Chang's for Vince's birthday a few weeks ago - I have to say that PF Chang's is one of our FAVORITE restaurants (especially Vince's!) and many special occasions are celebrated there. Well, Eli LOVES the horses that are outside the restaurant and always remembers that they are there when we pull into the area of the restaurant! So smart!


SO ESTUTE!



HAVING A SEAT



MY BOYS!

Love This Boy!

Yesterday I was really missing my boys! So, Vince took some pictures for me to get me through the day (like he usually does)! Gotta love my boys!

Happy Birthday Vince!!!

Today is my wonderful husband's 35th birthday!!! Of course he had to work last night and tonight, so he's now home sleeping for the morning, but we'll get to really celebrate this weekend.

But I just wanted to say how much that I love Vince and how much that he means to me. He is my best friend and my support system. He has stuck by me through all the rough patches in life and has been such an amazing person. He is so patient and kind and deals with all my "moments" :-) I am so thankful that God brought us together, albeit a very unconventional way! He is such a fantastic father to Eli and will be to Ethan when he's born as well! Eli is so much like his father, it's scary, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

I love you Vince! I hope that you have a wonderful birthday! You deserve all the best baby!!!

Celebrate Good Times!

Friday night was Melanie and Jack's wedding. Melanie is our Sister-In-Law's niece. Vince grew up around Terry's family, and they have been a big part of our life. It's sometimes weird trying to explain the connection, but we just say we're all family! Anyway, Friday was Melanie's wedding. Vince had to work, so Eli was my handsome date! I wasn't too sure how Eli would do at the wedding. Sitting still for any length of time is pretty unheard of for a 2-year-old, especially at a wedding. BUT, it was a good Baptist wedding - short and sweet and to the point - gotta love those! Eli did really well, and I only had to take him to the foyer once. Our newphew Wesley sat with us, so that definitely helped.

Then it was off to the reception. I didn't know a lot of people that were there (besides the family, but they were all in reserved seating), so we sat at an empty table way to the side and did our thing. As soon as the meal was over, we made our way to the dance floor; well, I should say that ELI made his way to the dance floor! This kid LOVES music and loves dancing around the house.

He was SOOOOOO cute and had a blast out there. He danced with everyone (except me who has no rhythm, and was too pregant to get out there, and much prefered to take the pictures!!) The wedding was beautiful and the music at the reception was GREAT! Jack plays in a band, and the music was swing style-old school great music (and when the live music wasn't playing, they had Michael Buble' playing on CD - can't beat that!).

Here's some pictures from the reception.



COLORING AT THE TABLE



ME AND MY HANDSOME DATE



MELANIE AND JACK



OUR NIECE MICHAELA AND ELI



ELI AND MICHAELA DANCING AWAY



ELI AND HIS AUNT T DANCING






TEARING UP THE DANCE FLOOR!



RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARTY!



DANCING AWAY WITH OUR NEPHEW WESLEY

Elijah and the Big Boy Bed

Well, we knew it would happen eventually. We just weren't prepared for it to happen this quickly! We knew the time would come for Eli to transition out of his crib and into the big boy bed. We were hoping we could scrape by for a little while yet, but Eli decided differently!

The other day I was home and was upstairs with Eli. I was doing some things in our bedroom and bathroom (all the rooms are connected upstairs), so Eli was playing in his bedroom. Well, it got quiet (never a good sign) and I noticed that Eli had gotten hold of a packet of "It's A Boy" confetti that we got in one of our cards when he was born. Well, he tore into it and it was everywhere! So, I put him in his crib, popped in a DVD, and went to cleaning up the mess.

As I was vacuuming, I noticed that he was perching himself up on the edge of the crib. I thought to myself, "Oh no - is he really going to climb out?" So, I quickly got him back into the crib. No more than 3 seconds later, he did it again, and he was out! He had climbed out of the crib, and actually made a pretty soft landing (that was impressive!). So, I knew at this point, there was no turning back. That night we would put him in the big boy bed!

The crib we have transitions to a Toddler Bed, but I figured, what's the point? He would have to transition to the toddler bed, and then transition again soon after to his full-size bed after Ethan was born. So, for this case, we just went gung-ho and put him in the full size bed. I repositioned the bed so it was up against the wall on 2 sides, put up the safety gate on the bed, pulled out the Nemo comforter for the bed (still too small for the bed, but it works for now until he gets his REAL big boy bedding at Christmas).

I was on my own for 3 nights to get him used to sleeping in his big boy bed. Vince had to work, and I was off for a 3-day weekend, so I thought, sure, why not! So, we built it up to Eli and really were excited for him (I actually was at the time until I knew what was ahead of me!).

The first night, he was pretty excited, and I think a little too excited! He didn't know what to do with himself or the big boy bed! There was so much room to go from a crib to a full-size bed! But, it only took about an hour, and he was fast asleep! YAY! He slept through the night and didn't get up once during the night. I got up about 4 times and checked on him each time, and he was in a different position every time - it was so cute. I put the gate up between our rooms, but realized he probably didn't need it (for now).

Then came nap time the next day - OY VAY! That was a different story! It took over 2 hours, and many discipline sessions before he finally tired himself out and got about an hour and a half nap. He had been up for so long, and was overtired. I think the combination of that, and the newness of the big boy bed, and seeing that it was still light out (note to self - get new shades and light blocking curtains for his room) made for a tough time.

That night we were out realllllly late at a wedding reception, and I think within 10 minutes he was asleep. That was more like it!

The next day he didn't take a nap since he slept in until 10! That night, it took less than 45 minutes and he was fast asleep.

Nap time yesterday was pretty good - about 45 minutes again, and he slept for about 2 hours. And last night, it took about 45 minutes for him to get to sleep.

Each time he's slept straight through and didn't get up out of bed once. He's a great sleeper once he gets to sleep (10-12 hours through the night, 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon). So, I think once we get through this hurdle, life will be great - just in time to stir it up again once Ethan gets here!

So, we've survived the first 4 nights of the big boy bed! YAY US!! Last night, Eli didn't even want to rock before bed (that made me sad!). He wanted to crawl right up into his big boy bed! I guess there's a time for everything - and Eli growing up to the big boy bed is here!


ONE OF HIS MANY POSITIONS IN THE BIG BOY BED!

More Elijah-Isms

This boy never ceases to amaze me!

Last night while we were on our way to Meijer to get groceries, we were singing songs with Eli. Well, of course Old MacDonald was on the list. As we were going through whatever animals Eli suggested, he surprised us with the next one: And on his farm he had a: "BABY! EIEIO! With a 'WAH WAH' here and a 'WAH WAH' there (etc etc)." It was SO funny. We were laughing so hard, and then Eli started laughing and said, "I'm Funny!" You better believe it kiddo!

Then we were singing the ABC's. And we got to the part he knows best - L-M-N-O-P. You should hear how fast he sings this - it's so cute!

**********

Last night, Eli was getting High Fives from us. He was so cute when he walked up to Vince and said, "FIVE MAN!" HA! Probably because we kept saying, "Give me 5 Man!"

**********

The other night Eli was playing with all of his play food. He would pull something out of the bag, and ask Vince what it was, and Vince would tell him. Eli would then repeat it, and follow it with a "yeah". So, it went something like this:
ELI - "What's This?"
VINCE - "Broccoli"
ELI - "Broccoli, Yeah"
ELI - "What's This?"
VINCE - "Pizza"
ELI - "Pizza, Yeah"

It went on like this for a while. It was so funny!

**********

Eli has now started to do the "UM'S". When I ask him a question, and he doesn't know the answer right away, he just keeps saying, "UM, UH, UM". So cute!

**********

During our night time routine, I'm the one that puts Eli to bed. We rock for a little bit, say our prayers and sing some songs (although, now that he's in the big boy bed, he prefers not to rock anymore - so sad - anyway, that's for another post!). So, the other night we were praying, and usually I'll say some things and he'll repeat them, but he decided to pray on his own. TWICE he prayed for Jesus to help the baby! It was so sweet and just melted my heart!

**********

While we were driving the other day, just me and Eli, all of a sudden Eli said, "Nanna." Well, that's nothing out of the ordinary since he talks about her a lot, but then he said, "Nanna sit here." I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked him what he meant. Then I looked back, and he was pointing to the seat next to him in the car, and said again, "Nanna sits here." Well, that's right buddy! When Nanna comes to visit, she sits in the seat next to you in the car! So smart!

**********

This child definitely keeps us on our toes! Never a dull moment in the Turner household! And of course, I couldn't have a post without a picture of the little man! Enjoy!

COLORING - ONE OF HIS FAVORITE THINGS TO DO! HE'S SO INTENSE!

Your Next Installment of PICTURES OF THE DAY!

I LOVE when Vince sends me pictures of Eli when he's home with him during the day and I'm working! It just makes me smile! These ones were especially great!

Fun With A Balloon

CHECK OUT THE STATIC! ELI HAD FUN WITH THIS ONE!

Snuggle Time

Trick or Treat 2009

Trick or Treating this year was SO much fun! I think Eli was starting to figure out what was going on, and that's what made it so fun. We prepped him at home and told him that he has to say, "Trick or Treat" each time he went to someone for candy, and then he had to say "Thank You." We wouldn't leave until he said thank you (which is more to say for most of the kids out there - anyway, I digress). He did so well saying it and everyone thought he was just the cutest little lion out there (of course I had to agree)! We were out for about an hour and a half, and then could tell that Eli was getting sluggish (he walked the whole time) and it was getting pretty dark out, so we headed home (with Eli on Daddy's shoulders of course). What a fun time, and Eli made out great with all the candy!!





DADDY AND THE LION



MOMMY AND THE LION



THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH A HAUNTED HOUSE TO GET THEIR CANDY



ELI DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE!



ON THE WAY HOME



OUR FAMILY OF 3 (SOON TO BE 4!)



ELI ENJOYING SOME CHOCOLATE (HIS FAVORITE - HE WAKES UP ASKING FOR CHOCHOLATE!)



THE STASH!



HE GOT ANIMAL CRACKERS TOO - LET'S SEE HOW MANY WE CAN SHOVE IN OUR FACE AT ONCE!!