Christmas fun

I think I have said it before, but Christmas is my favorite.  I love the time with family, the songs, advent, the food, and all of the wonderful giving that occurs.  I also love that I have an excuse to sugar load the kids I work with and have 6 or 7 "Christmas parties" a day.  This year I had my kids decorate a sugar cookie by answering my therapeutic questions so it was technically still therapy, but also super fun.  I should have taken some pictures of the cookies because they were something...kindergartners plus a bottle of sprinkles...just picture it :) 

My cat also loves Christmas.  We just happened to catch her about to climb the tree when we were taking some pictures...crazy cat

Speaking of my kids at work, they continue to make me laugh about the whole pregnancy thing.  One of my 3rd grade clients has created a song that she sings to the baby and gets whom ever is around to join in.  It goes something like, "Mrs. Alexis is having a baby, Mrs. Alexis is having a baby, Mrs. Alexis is having a baby..." You get the idea.  I have realized that the baby (more like my large and ever growing stomach) gets many more hugs during the day than I do.  Another client asked if my baby could be his best friend and go to his house to play with his dog.  I questioned if dogs and babies are safe together and he informed me that in fact they are because all his dog likes to do is lick babies.  Probably my favorite, and most embarrassing moment, so far though has been when I went to the cafeteria to find my client to have lunch with and he wanted to feel the baby kick.  The baby wasn't kicking at the time so he grabbed my stomach with both hands and shook my stomach, literally, stating, "wake up baby."  I didn't know my stomach could do that!  Being the therapist that I am, I decided to use this as a 'teaching moment', and grabbed his shoulders and (lightly) shook him and told him to wake up.  Lesson learned ;)    However, if anyone is in need of a Santa for a Christmas party I am for hire, my stomach does shake like a bowl of jelly.  I have also had a couple of super sweet moments too where my clients and moms have shared with me that they believe my baby is the "luckiest kid ever" to have me as their mom. 

Ridiculous candid picture, but the only one that shows the shakeable belly

More on the baby news, I have officially hit the third trimester.  My only complaint still is that this kid rarely stays still.  I asked my doctor last week if this is normal and she informed me that I probably feel much more because of my size...and that they are going to get stronger...awesome.  Marcus came to bed one night and asked if it was me or the baby kicking.  It wasn't me, the baby was kicking so hard he could feel it through the mattress.  Marcus then had the nerve to call it "annoying" after experiencing the kicks for about 5 minutes.  I live with this all the time, thanks honey.  Don't get me wrong, it is definitely one of the coolest things to feel the baby move and be able to bond with them this way.  I just sometimes wish it didn't hurt or stop me mid sentence during therapy sessions.  I have posted a video of me trying to sleep one night and the baby not being ready for bed (something I should probably get used to huh).

Another thing about this Christmas that I am really looking forward to is going to New York City with my mom to visit my sister.  I have never been before and it is going to be decorated in wonderful Christmas splendor.  After the trip we then rush into family Christmas craziness with 1-2 gatherings a day with various family.  The Monday after Christmas, Marcus and I are going to Kansas City with Derek and Alexia to hang out and have a relaxing, fun vacation before I am restricted from traveling.  I would love suggestions of fun things to do in either place!

Hope you have a wonderful week before Christmas without stress or too many visits to Walmart.

-Alexis

A Letter for you

Precious Child,

I have been thinking about this letter for awhile now.  I want to let you know how wonderfully special you are.  When I first found out I was pregnant with you I was so surprised.  It took me a bit to wrap my mind around being a mom.  It’s not that I didn’t want to be your mom, but I had never really felt like I would be that good at being a mom.  I prayed a lot about you being healthy and for our future as a family.  I began to see how God was going to use you to help grow Marcus and me in our marriage and in our selflessness.  Through these things I became assured that you were going to bless my life.

You have already done so much more than that.  Not many people can say they know their purpose in life.  I believe that God creates us each with a specific purpose and plan and yours, or one of yours, became evident this fall.  You have saved a life!  I already feel like you have given me more than I could ever give to you.  It is my job as your mother to provide for, care, protect, and love you, but I feel as if no matter what I do I will never be able to repay what you have done.

My mom, your grandma, was having some back pain.  She had had this pain for a long time but didn’t want to see a doctor about it.  However, when she found about her first grand baby, she could only think about holding you.  She went to the doctor to figure out how to heal her back so she could be there for you.  It was through this that we learned about her cancer.  Something you need to understand about Grandma, or G’mama, is that she is strong and a fighter but stubborn.  Even knowing about her cancer, she was resistant to going through treatment.  That is until she would think about you, meeting you, kissing you, holding you.   You were, and are, her motivation to heal.  You gave me my mom, my best friend. 

You are truly a gift from God who is destined to do great things.  God has used you do bless and heal so many already, and I can only imagine the wonders He has planned for you.  Know that every day I am thankful for you.  I am thankful that you were gifted to me.  I am thankful that you have blessed my family.  I am thankful for the joy and love that I know you are going to bring.

Love, Mom

Jeremiah 1:5 (The Message)

⁵"Before I shaped you in the womb,
   I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
   I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
   that's what I had in mind for you."

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.” (Psalm 127:3)

Romans 8:28 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for this year.  When I think back to last year at this time and how much has changed, it is crazy.  Here is my "thankful for top 10" list for this last year:

1.) My Mom!!!!

2.) Her continued healing

3.) Marcus

4.) My dad and sister too of course

5.) God giving us the blessing of a child

6.) Grace

7.) Forgiveness

8.) Friends - you guys are so wonderful

9.) My job

10.) The extreme kindness and support of others

11.) plus many more things...

This weekend has been pretty busy.  Friday we hung out at the house and had some friends over.  Marcus and his brother Derek finished putting together the furniture for the nursery.  Afterwards, the boys played X-Box while the girls helped me decorate the nursery.  I am grateful for their help because there is no way I could have done it on my own.  We arranged the furniture and put the tree mural on the wall.  I think it is starting to come together.

Saturday, Marcus and I were able to go to a charity event for the Circle of Life Hospice Voyage "Celebrating through the Decades."  We were invited to this because our friend Cortney won a limo ride and free tickets for her volunteer work and selling the most tickets to the event.  It was a ton of fun and a great event.  Marcus and I dressed up like the 1950's, think sock-hop, while Cortney and Kelly dressed up from the 70's.  Christy and Aaron Wilson also came and dressed up like the 1980's.  Everyone looked great and our outfits were a big hit.  I am also excited because I bid and won on an auction item for a baby photo shoot and print package. 

Marcus and Me in the limo



Christy, Cortney, Me (24.5 weeks)



Marcus, Kelly, Aaron

Aaron and Christy



Christy and Me posing with a car from the 50's



Marcus and Me

Sunday, my mom and Jetty (my second mom) came over to help me get my Christmas decorations up.  I love that I have people in my life that are so wonderful.  This year I added another tree to the mix so I am super excited about it.  I didn't really have any trouble putting the decorations up, but I am guessing that I will struggle a little more in January when it is time to take them down...it is worth it though.  Here are some pictures of a few of the decorations and trees. 

Finally, some good news

As you know from my previous blog, these past couple of weeks have been hard.  However, on Friday we had a doctor's appointment for my mom.  I say 'we' because I tagged along.  The doctor informed all of us (there were 5 of us in the room) that her cancer is only in her breast and bones, not in her lungs, liver, or brain.  This was great news.  He also said that the best treatment option for her will be hormone replacement therapy, which is one pill a day.  That means no surgery and no chemotherapy.  I guess we were expecting the worst, because this news felt like we had just won the lottery.  We still have a long road ahead of us, but my mom can't wait to ride her motorcycle now that she has received good news. 
Here is a website that you can check for her updates, etc. http://www.mylifeline.org/JeanPharr/?page=sharing.cfm 

I had planned my Friday around receiving bad news at the doctor's office, but since that didn't happen I was able to go see some kiddos for work and then hang with some friends that night.  Scott and Brenna returned from their honeymoon on Thursday and came over to hang out.  Brenna even brought me an owl from Mexico for the baby's room.  It is super cute.  We grilled, hung out, and talked.  I love just relaxing with friends after a long week.  Kelly and Cortney Carlson also stopped by to discuss a charity event for next weekend.  We have to dress up as a decade.  Any suggestions on what a 6 month pregnant girl can be would be great...

Saturday, I attempted some sewing.  I made a blanket for the baby.  It came out kinda straight, but is really soft.  I wish I had one in my size :) 

 Later, Marcus and I went to the Razorback game.  It was freezing!  Luckily, my husband is pretty resourceful and thought to bring his grill, not to cook with but as a fire pit.  We all sat around this before and after the game tailgating.  It was great, except I still smell like smoke.  The best part about Saturday was driving home from the game.  We pulled into our neighborhood and noticed that some people already had their Christmas lights on.  Marcus (who calls himself the Grinch)

made some snide comment about these people.  We turned onto our street and see that our neighbors have their lights up.  We all laughed and made some comments.  We pulled up closer and realized that nope, it wasn't our neighbor's, but our house with lights up and on.  I started laughing really hard and Marcus, with a huge smile on his face, was so confused about how this happened.  I knew right away to text our friends Kelly and Cortney and thank them for helping Marcus be less "Grinch-like" this year.  It was a great surprise, but now I am super antsy to get out the rest of the decorations...maybe next weekend

I have never liked Halloween or November and this year is no exception

I don't like Halloween and I blame it on a traumatic experience when I was younger on Halloween eve (I'm a therapist so I am trained to diagnosis these types of things).  To make a long story short, I accidentally murdered one of my hamsters, which is a horrible thing for a second grader.  Anyway, Halloween this year was not much better.  My parents came over to help paint the baby's room (which was so much help, thanks guys), but we ended up talking about my mom and found out that she is sick.  It's a long story, but she has a long fight ahead of her.  She is the strongest woman I know, so if anyone can battle through this it is her.  However, after this news I was not in the mood for trick-or-treaters.  That left Marcus to do all of the candy-passing-out.  He ran out after about 10 kids because he was giving them like 5 pieces each, ok not really, but he was giving them too much. 
I am not a fan of November either because it is rainy, cold, you never know what to wear, and everything is dying outside.  It also prolongs my wait until Christmas.  Just imagine, if we didn't have November it would almost be Christmas, JOY!  November also seems to be the hardest month for my clients.  They all go into crisis, my world is over, mode.  But this year it is not only my clients in that mode, but my family and me.  We have had a long two weeks and these next couple are going to be stressful too.  However, soon December comes.   

Let's see though, more positive things...I do have a pretty cute story from today with a kiddo.  He is the little one who has named my baby 'Bamboo.'  I found out that this is the boy name for Bambi, which is his favorite movie.  He asked me today if my baby was still there and if it was ok.  He then asked, "when is it going to come out."  After that he told me that he wants to be friends with him and that I need to bring him to play with us.  At the end of our session he said bye to me, gave me a hug, and then placed his hand on my belly.  He looked at the belly and asked the baby to kick.  He then loudly exclaimed, "I felt his thumb!!"  I had to hold in my laughter because he was completely serious.  It was sweet.  It is those sort of moments that make me love my job. 
On other baby news, I am feeling well and obviously eating well because I went through a very large weight gain this month.  So much so, that my doctor suggested I watch my serving size and what I eat.  Yikes!  The baby is doing well though.  It moves constantly, and I mean non-stop!  I don't think it sleeps.  Today, when the doctor was looking for the heart beat, the baby would kick wherever she placed the doppler and move away.  It took her awhile to find the heartbeat because baby would not be still.  Luckily, she thought it was amusing, but in my mind I am thinking, "great, I already have an ADHD, defiant child" (just kidding, I don't really think that,well, not all the time.) 

The baby's room is coming along nicely.  My goal was to have it finished before the new year and I think it might happen.  We have it painted, the crib set up, the dresser set up, and some of the wall decor ready to be hung up.  I am procrastinating making the curtains though.  I have found the perfect fabric, but am pretty nervous about screwing it up.  I am not that confident in my sewing skills yet...but a baby won't notice an unstraight seam right ;) 

This is the tree we are going to put up by the crib.  Our crib is a dark brown.  I will post pictures of the room once we are finished. 

 

Side note

I forgot to add to my last post (inexperienced blogger alert) about a couple of funny/cute stories from work.  First, I have this little boy client who is a complete handful at school.  This week he gave me a hug good bye, which is common, and then hugged my belly and whispered bye to the baby.  I totally melted.  Another little girl spent part of her play session teaching me how to hold a baby using the baby doll.  I have also gotten plenty of suggestions for baby names.  My favorite is Bamboo for a boy...can you imagine?

KICKS!

A few things have been happening this past week.  Marcus and I have spent a lot of time cleaning out what was "The Man Room" and trying to get it ready to become a nursery...sorry hunny that you lost your man cave.  It is absurd how much stuff we have, so if you need anything just let me know and am I sure we have one or two to spare. 

We also went to the Razorback game last weekend against Ole Miss.  The first half was great, the first rain delay was still great, the walk back to the stadium from the tailgate was okay, but the second rain delay was my limit.  We went to Marcus's aunt and uncle's house to watch the rest of the game.  I was exhausted afterwards, and in true pregnancy form I was in bed by 9:30 on a Saturday night.

The most exciting part of this week however, has been the kicks going on inside of me.  I started feeling kicks at about 17 weeks and Marcus could feel them at about 19 weeks, however now that we have reached 21 weeks you can watch the kicks from a mile away...okay not that far but it is pretty obvious.  Honestly, it is pretty strange and (I know some people will think poorly of me saying this but) I sort of feel like there is an alien inside me.  Thanks mom for letting me watch that movie when I was five.  I think it scarred me because I wouldn't be that surprised if a little arm just reached out of my stomach.  Another nerdy thing I will reveal here, because I am not sure anyone even reads these :), is that I think a lot about Bella, from Twilight, and (spoil alert if you haven't read the fourth book) when she is pregnant...I am ridiculous I know.  Anyway, Marcus wants to get some video of the kicking, so maybe I will post that soon. 

P.S. I just devoured 8 oreos...I had them with milk so it is healthy, right?