New Years Eve and 39 Weeks

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  2013 has been a great year and we're so excited for 2014!  We've had a relaxing day just enjoying spending time together....getting a few projects done, playing dress up, taking naps, and waiting for Claire!  Bert's cooking a big dinner for his girls tonight and we're looking forward to that!:)  

I was 39 weeks yesterday and had a great check-up!  Claire is head down and has dropped lower, I'm 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  We're making progress, which is good because I'm SO ready!  Ready to hold my baby in my arms! I'm trying to be patient, but I've been caught asking Bert several times if he thinks she will ever come!?:)  

Claire Bear, you're welcome to come any time!  Our bags are packed and ready to go!

I think this New Year's Eve ranks up there as the most exciting one I've ever had...not because we're taking some exciting trip, seeing the ball drop, or going to a fun NYE get-together.  It's exciting because I can't help but think Claire might come tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day!  And I'm so excited!  There really isn't anything like the anticipation of waiting for one of your children to be born!  

We're almost in the year, month and week when our Claire will be born!  The Watts are welcoming 2014 and Claire with open arms!  We love you, sweet girl!  

Christmas with the Roberts

On Christmas morning we headed over to Toccoa and got there about 11.  It was the first time in my 30 years that I haven't woken up at my parents house on Christmas morning.  I missed them, but definitely enjoyed waking up in our own house.  I love making new traditions/memories with Bert and the girls!  

When we got there Mimi and the kiddo's started passing out presents.  Jacob and Hannah kept taking the presents to the person that they go to instead of putting them in the person's present pile...it was a little confusing to them at first.:)  

Jacob got this fun power wheel truck from his parents and grandparents and they brought it over to Mimi and Papa's so that Hannah and Emily could play with it too!  Emily drove, Jacob rode shotgun, and we loaded Hannah up in the back.  

After a little while Hannah had had enough fun so Uncle Brett got her out.  In her defense there was a lot of starting and stopping as Emily was figuring out how to keep her foot on the gas pedal....not exactly a smooth ride!:)  

Emily was having sooo much fun though!  I took this picture as she was driving by me.  I know it's a little blurry, but I liked it!  

A picture of our cuties...

We started singing "If you're happy and you know it" which got them all a little more excited!  

We enjoyed an amazing lunch, afternoon naps for the kids, a maze game competition for the guys, and just enjoyed being together.  I'm very thankful we were able to go to Toccoa (just an hour from the hospital) this year.  We so enjoyed being with everyone!

It's now the day after Christmas and all of our Christmas decorations were packed up before lunch.  It is definitely the quickest we've ever had our decorations down!  I have a week and a half until my due date...SO excited about meeting our sweet girl!  I can't wait to hold our Claire in my arms.  Getting very ready!:)

Christmas with the Watts

This year we needed to stay close by Greenville during the Christmas holidays since we're just 2 weeks away from Claire's due date.  Thankfully, Grandmama, Pawpaw, Aunt Carrie, Aunt Alison, Uncle Stephen and Rosemary came to us this year!!  They had all been in Jackson and on Christmas Eve Eve, on their way to Wake Forest (where Alison and Stephen live), they stopped by Greenville for a day!  It was a fun day!  

Emily loves playing on Grandmama's ipad!  Grandmama has put lots of fun games on there for her and Emily gets so excited about sitting in her lap playing them.

Hannah was not to be left out of the ipad action so Aunt Carrie let Hannah play on hers.  Hannah kept saying "I did it!!!" with a big smile on her face.  She was quite proud of herself...it was cute! 

Rosemary, Emily and Hannah baking some cookies with Grandmama.  Hannah snuck a bite of raw cookie dough before anyone could stop her.  She didn't understand why we wouldn't let her have more.:)  

Look at these cuties...

Please just ignore the fact that they're posing in front of the trashcan.:)  

Jeff treated everyone to dinner at Mutt's BBQ.  He didn't want me to have to worry about cooking at all.  So thoughtful!!  It was yummy as always!   

At the restaurant, Pawpaw took Emily to get an ice cream sandwich and she was pretty excited about it!  

After dinner we came back to our house and opened presents.  We are so thankful for all the sweet and thoughtful gifts everyone blessed our family with.  The girls were sooo excited...it took poor Emily about an hour and a half to fall asleep after we finally got her in the bed.

Christmas Eve morning we had a relaxing morning!  

The girls working on some nativity sticker pictures....all with their princess attire on.  

Bert started a fire in his fire pit and we bundled the kids up so that they could go out and enjoy it!  

Swinging with Pawpaw...

Aunt Carrie wanted a picture with her nieces before they left (she loves them soooo much and definitely spoils them rotten).  

The picture below just makes me laugh.  Just before I took this picture Emily said "I'm not very happy right now!"  She has a pout on her face and her arms crossed...Ha!  I'm not even sure exactly what she was upset about. 

Emily came around and we got a good one...

Grandmama and Pawpaw with three of their grandkids!  

It was a very fun afternoon/night/morning!  We're thankful for our loving family during this Christmas Season!  

Austin and Angela

My friend, Angela, got married last Saturday!  It was a beautiful wedding and I was thankful to be able to go.  Angela and I met our freshman year at Clemson.  She lives just up the road (in TR) from me and we don't see each other nearly enough:)  We'll have to do better.  Angela and Austin are both high school teachers at the same school.  I just met Austin as I was leaving their reception, but I've heard great things, and I'm so excited for them and all that the Lord is going to do in and through them!

We took a Clemson girls' picture while we were waiting for the wedding party to arrive....

My friend, Kristin, on the far right of the picture above is due Jan 3rd (3 days before I'm due).  We rode together to the wedding and reception (my sweet husband was keeping our girls) and thankfully we didn't have to make a stop by Greenville Memorial...Claire and Charlotte were calm, cool and collected for the night.  

Angela and her mom did such a great job decorating.  The reception was absolutely beautiful and at such a fun location.

After the wedding party arrived we had to get a Clemson girls' picture with Angela, Katie, Kelley, and Kristen.

It was a fun night!  I'm thankful for good friends!  

37 1/2 Weeks - Claire

So we've made it to 37 1/2 weeks....2 1/2 weeks until my due date!  She really could come any time.  I had a check up earlier in the week and it went well.  BP 110/60, Claire's heart rate was in the upper 130's, and I got some GREAT news...I tested Group B Strep NEGATIVE for this pregnancy!  My jaw dropped when she told me I was negative because the doctors had told me that since I was GBS positive with Hannah (neg with Em) that I more than likely would be positive for this pregnancy.  Being Group B Strep positive means that it's really important for the mom to have 2 rounds of antibiotics before delivering.  The rounds have to be four hours apart.  I usually progress quickly once I hit active labor (went from 4 to 10 in just over an hour with Hannah) so I was a little nervous about getting to the hospital in time to get all the necessary antibiotics before I delivered.  SO excited and thankful that I don't even have to think about it this time around!!:)  

I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks, but just recently I've started having some painful contractions that definitely get my attention.  A few nights ago I started having some more painful contractions that had me a little nervous.  I had packed Claire's bag, but that's it.  I didn't have the first thing packed for us...plus about a million other things I wanted to get done before we headed to the hospital.  The contractions started a little before 10pm and were coming every 5-10 minutes, but not lasting long at all.  They started in my back and wrapped around to my sides.  I laid down and by about 11:30 they had pretty much stopped.  The good news is that Bert and I both have our bags packed now!:)  I talked to my doctor about these painful contractions and she said that is SO common for a 3rd pregnancy.  She said especially after you've had multiple pregnancies the last couple of weeks can be very painful.  The tricky part is that you can't just try to ignore the contractions...you have to pay attention (I basically can't focus on anything else) to them to find out if they're going to stop (Braxton Hicks) or keep going (labor).  I definitely didn't have any of these painful contractions prior to labor with Em or Hannah.  I have a feeling it's going to keep me on my toes over the next couple weeks!:)  

I'd really love for Claire to wait to arrive until after Christmas...just 6 more days!!  I'm planning on all my Christmas decorations coming down on the 26th and we will officially be in waiting mode for our sweet girl!  We'll be sooo excited and ready to meet her anytime, but if I had a choice I'd probably pick after Christmas just so that her birthday is after the busy the Christmas season.  God has a perfect plan for our girl though and we're thankful for that! 

My doctors office usually starts checking for dilation at 38 weeks.  That appointment will be on Christmas Eve Eve for me.  I talked to them about holding off on checking me until 39 weeks, just so that we didn't unintentionally get things stirred up.:)  The doctors thought it was a great plan to wait until 39 weeks.  I actually really like knowing how far dilated I am (it helps this Type-A-planner), but I'm going to wait patiently until 39 weeks!:)

I'm so thankful for such an easy, smooth pregnancy so far!  Praying for a safe delivery and healthy baby girl! 

Claire, someone jokingly asked Emily at church last night if you could go home with them after you arrived.  She quickly shook her head and told them "no."  She said "We need another little girl!"  Your sisters are excited about meeting you (they love feeling you kick, telling you bye any time I walk out the door, showing you toys, etc), your Mommy and Daddy can hardly wait too...you are one loved little girl!:)  We're so so excited to hold you in our arms!  Our bags are packed and we're ready to go!:)  We love you so much and we're so thankful for you!  

Christmas With Emily's Class

Emily's preschool class had their Christmas performance/class party on Tuesday morning.  She's been soooo excited about it!  She asked her Daddy several weeks before the performance if he would come to watch it.  He said he wouldn't miss it!

Emily sang the songs, did the hand motions, rang her bells and smiled the whole time!  It was so much fun to watch her....we were proud of our sweet girl!:)  You never know (with 3 year olds) what you're going to get, but we were glad she decided to perform!  

Emily's class is pretty small this year...just 5 kids.  I love that it's smaller...they get more one on one time with the Mrs. Morgan!  Almost every day I hear about one of these sweet kiddo's from Emily.  

Bryant's mom (Bryant is the little boy to Emily's right) said that he comes home most every Monday saying that Emily's baby is almost here!  He also told her that she'll be here in about 89 weeks.  Ha!  Mrs. Morgan said that Emily talks about baby Claire all the time!  She asked her class to sing really loud so that Claire could hear all their songs too!  I'm glad she's so excited about her baby sister!  

Emily and Bobby.  This wasn't his idea of a good time.:)  

In the picture below they're eating their snacks with Mrs. Morgan!  Emily and I made cookies for the party.  They certainly wouldn't have won any awards, but Emily was soooo proud of them!  

We're so thankful for Mrs. Morgan!  She's doing such a great job teaching Emily this year and Emily loves going to preschool!  

This is Emily with her good friend Blakely!  Their two younger siblings....Hannah and Maddox got to join in the fun!  

It was a fun morning!  It was fun to see Emily in her classroom with all her friends!:)  

These Days

So it's the middle of December and I haven't written one post this month.  It's flying by and it's been a fun, busy month so far!  I thought I would try catch up on everything we've been doing in one post.  So here goes...

We started out the month with another baby shower for sweet Claire.  This was a diaper and wipes baby shower given by some ladies at our church.  I just can't tell you what a huge blessing this was!  We got so many diapers and wipes and other fun things.  We are SO thankful!!  I was so disappointed that I forgot my camera for the shower!  I always have my camera.  Oh well, you can just imagine a cute cake and lots of sweet ladies!:)  

A couple weeks ago (early Dec) Hannah and Emily both got sick, which earned them tickets to the pediatrician.  They both had croup and Hannah had an ear infection.  After a round of steroids and antibiotics, we got them cleared up.  Thankful to have that behind us and praying we don't see it again this winter.  

I've started weekly appointments with my OB.  They've been going well!  I can't believe we're already to that point...not long now!  I'm going to put up a 37 week post in the next day or so with more info on baby Claire!:)  

Emily had her Christmas performance with her Preschool Choir at church.  They sang three songs and did such a great job!!  Emily's on the far left of the front row of the picture below.  Thank you so much to Kristen and Niki and for loving on Emily each Sunday night!  You both do such a great job and she LOVES "Praise and Play!"  

Funny story:  Just before the kids were about to start their performance someone realized that there was a mix up and there wasn't a microphone set up for the kids.  Bert grabbed a microphone and kind of laid in the floor, holding the mic up to them so that you could hear them, but he would still be out of the way.  You can see his hand and the microphone in the picture above.  

Several times during their performance I saw Emily lean down to tell her Daddy something.  I couldn't tell what she was saying. She kept telling him that "I want a turn, Daddy." He thought she was saying that she wanted to hold the microphone, so he just kept telling her to keep singing.  After church that day we were headed out to lunch with some friends and Emily just started crying.  We asked her why she was upset and through her tears she said "Daddy, you kept letting Shaelynn have a turn with the microphone, but you wouldn't let me have a turn. I wanted a turn!"  Emily's friend Shaelynn was standing beside her during their performance and she just happened to be more in the middle of the group so Bert kept the microphone in front of her.  Haha!  We tried to explain it to her, but finally gave up and just let her cry....she was tired, hungry and three years old, so she had several thins working against her.:)  

Our 6 year anniversary was December 15th!  This year it fell on a Sunday and we knew it would be a busy day, so we went out to dinner to celebrate one night the week before!  Mimi came up to keep the girls for us.  It was so sweet of her to come and it allowed us to have a fun relaxing night!  

I'm just so thankful for my husband!  He just loves me and encourages me and serves me so well.  He's my best friend and favorite person in the world!:)  So thankful for our marriage!  

We've had the opportunity to go to several Christmas parties over the last few weeks:  Sunday school party, Women's Ministry Christmas Party (Steph), Youth Christmas Party, and a Beautiful Ornament Swap Party (Steph)!  We've had lots of fun at the different parties.  We're thankful for our church family, laughter, yummy party food, games and just good friends!  

The picture below was taken during the youth Christmas party.  We were playing the Christmas version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"  Except for the winner won a gift card to Chick-fil-A instead of a million dollars...:)  It was fun!  

Group picture at the tacky sweater youth Christmas party!  This is an awesome group of students!!  

When you add in buying last minute baby items, organizing, washing, and just getting ready for Claire,  a birthing center tour, haircuts, dinners with friends, buying a few remaining gifts, wrapping presents, plus the above activities...I think you'll agree it's been a fun, busy month!:)  

Merry Christmas from the Watts!!