Bump Watch... The Final Countdown!

Since it's now after midnight, I'm officially 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant.  Officially "full term" with only 15 days until my due date.  Wow!  I'm trying to get everything all ready for Rhett's arrival, and am slowly checking things off my list.  (If you know me at all, you know I have an actual list with check marks on it... and it feels soooo good.)   :)  I had Knox at 39 weeks and 5 days, so I still probably have some time before Rhett gets here, but it's still fun to wonder when I wake up every morning, "is this the day??"

My weekly doctor's appointments have been going well!  Rhett hasn't had any more episodes of SVT since my last hospital stay in June!  Praying he continues to be SVT free.  We found out that he will definitely have to be admitted to the NICU after he's born for 48 hours of observation on the monitors and so they can start him on his oral med to keep the SVT in check.  I'm disappointed about the NICU stay, but ultimately thankful that it's only for monitoring and not because they're concerned about his health.  I've also been a busy little bee the last few weeks talking with all the different departments involved in his care (NICU doctors and NICU directors, OB, Fetal Cardiologist, and Labor and Delivery director) to make sure that Logan and I get to hold Rhett after he's born, and I get to do skin to skin time and nurse him.  Typically NICU admits are whisked away immediately after they're born, and the parents have to wait a while before seeing them.  This was not okay with me.  So after a few weeks of coordinating with everyone, I got a phone call this week confirming that we are all on the same page, and as long as Rhett is stable when he's born, Logan and I can have our initial bonding time with him.  Yay for answered prayers!! 

And now for the bump pictures!

 

Daddy and Knox Time

We are loving this Fall weather!  Yesterday Logan took Knox outside to play while I caught up on thank you notes, and when I peeked outside I saw them having so much fun that I had to grab some sweet pictures. 

Coloring with sidewalk chalk!

Knox always wants to be "just like Daddy", so he's trying to lay in the grass.  He decided he didn't like it so much, so it didn't last long!  (I think he's really "just like Mommy!")

Sitting just like Daddy.  :)

Asking if he can color on Daddy's car with chalk...

Daddy said yes.  (He's the fun parent.)  ;)

On my way inside, I looked back one more time and saw the sweetest picture.  I sure do love my boys.  Two peas in a pod.  :)

Rhett's Baby Shower!

This past weekend, my sweet friends Whitney, Lori, and Rachel threw me a shower for Baby Rhett.  (Have I mentioned that's officially his name??)  I feel so incredibly blessed to have such loving people in my life, and so thankful for their friendship. 

Everything was so cute!

Yummy brunch food! 

Fun flowers!  (I love flowers.) 

Lori and Rachel

My mom and I. 

With all the Lowry ladies!



With the hostesses, Whitney, Lori and Rachel.



A new baby monitor from Logan's parents!



Sweet baby clothes.



A cute shirt for big brother Knox!

Yummy (and adorable) popcorn party favors.

A couple of pictures...

I've been such a slacker in taking pictures lately, so here are just a couple that I took recently. 

Beautiful Boy

Completely enthralled with Toy Story 3.  By far his favorite movie these days.  

Our next door neighbor, Mr. Gary, mows every Sunday morning, providing at least 45 minutes of solid entertainment for Knox.  This particular day the weather was so nice we had opened the windows, which gave Knox the full mowing experience - sight, sound and smell!  Here he is trying not to let Mr. Gary out of his sight!  (Pardon the lack of pants...)

Bump Watch!

A few updated bump pictures!  I'm still going for my weekly fetal cardiology and perinatologist appointments for sonograms to check on the little guy, and so far so good!  We haven't heard any SVT since my last hospital admission mid-June, so that's been a huge blessing.  At 29 weeks, he was already measuring 3 lbs 2 ounces, so he seems to be growing just fine!  I think Logan and I are also getting very close to nailing down a name for this one, FINALLY!!  But I'll save that for another post when we're 100% decided.  :)  Now for the pictures...

It's crazy how much bigger I look at 30 weeks than in my 27 week picture!  Oh, and I've realized in all my bump pictures I'm always wearing the same 3 outfits.  I promise I have other clothes I wear - and the funny thing is I choose the outfits for the bump pictures thinking "I haven't worn this in a while".  Guess I need to mix it up some more!  :)

New Sensory Activities

So lately I've been trying to come up with new ideas for ways to entertain Knox that allow him to both learn, and use his imagination.  I don't want him just propped in front of the TV all the time, and I didn't want to spend a fortune on more toys with lights and sounds (that annoy me) and do the "imagining" for him.  So I did some research and kept finding articles about Sensory Play for toddlers.  Basically, the reason toddlers are always getting into things is because everything is a new experience for them, and their "exploring" and getting into things is how they learn.  So sensory play provides lots of colors and textures and activities that safely let them explore how things work.  The problem I'd had with sensory play in the past was that all of the activities seemed messy - like having your child "clean" your cabinets with foam - and that just doesn't work for me.  Doesn't sound like much fun for me to have to clean up a giant mess afterwards.  So I found some sensory activities that are "Lorin Approved" (read: clean and fun!). 

My supplies!  To list a few: finger paint that we will put in a zip lock baggie and let him smoosh  around, sensory bottles filled with different things (like glitter and water, oil and colored water, soap and colored water, etc.), pipe cleaners to stick through the holes of a collander, dried black eyed peas to feel and measure with the measuring cups, puff balls and jingle bells to measure and sort in a muffin tin, contact paper to stick pre-cut construction paper shapes on, and velcro popsicle sticks to stick and un-stick.  Lots of things to keep a toddler busy!

I also made colored rice to put in another sensory bottle for him to shake. 

Just woke up from his nap... and not quite sure what to think about all the new "toys".  (He's like me and needs about 15 minutes to wake up before you start talking to him.)

Playing with the "slime bag"!  (Hair gel and food coloring in a zip lock, taped to the window.)  I thought he'd love the smooshy texture, but he didn't really care for it!

Checking out the sensory bottles...

Pretending to take a drink!  (No worries - I hot glued all the lids on.)

Sorting puff balls into the muffin tin.  He could have done this all day!

Overall, I think Knox really enjoys all of his new "toys".  I've been trying to keep them seperate from his other toys so that it seems like a treat when I pull these out.  So far it's working!  To be honest, I think I had as much fun feeling crafty while making these toys as he's had playing with them.  :) 

Introducing: Mr. and Mrs. Curry!

Logan's youngest sister Leah got married to her sweet fiance Tyler over the weekend.  They had a small ceremony at sunset on a boat in Lake Ray Hubbard, and it was perfect.  Just their style. 

The beautiful bride!

All three of the Lowry girls - Lyndsie, Leah and Lacie.



Leah and me before the wedding.

The hubby and me.  Love that guy.  :)  This was my favorite part of the night... as we got onto the boat to find our seats, they served us Blue Bell ice cream to keep us cool.  Genius! 



Mr. Len walking her down the aisle.  Love how excited she is!

The vows.

Introducing:  Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Curry!!  (LOVE how he's looking at Leah.)

After the ceremony, we had dinner on the first level of the boat, followed by a fireworks show and dancing!  Congratulations Leah and Tyler!  We are so happy for you, and thrilled to have Tyler officially join the family.  We love you guys!

 

Cutie Pie!!

After I finished taking my weekly bump picture yesterday, Knox really wanted to play with the chalkboard.  I got some really great pictures of him in the process!  It's so hard to get him to sit still for a picture (or anything, really) these days, so I was very happy with how these turned out!

My new favorite picture of us! 

So proud of himself for erasing the chalkboard... with his hands.

His serious model face.  :)

So handsome!

LOVE that smile!

Best thing I've ever done.  :)