Big Brother Class

Tuesday night, we took Maddox to a "Sibling Class" at the hospital. There was a new baby in the window of the nursery and he stared at it for several minutes and asked lots of questions. He was very interested! Then, we took a tour of the labor/delivery rooms and post partum rooms. It was a good tour for Britt and I, since Maddox was born at a different hospital. Ater our tour, we stepped back in time! Seriously! We went back to the classroom for a snack and video. The video Maddox watched was from the early 70's! I think it's time to update their video! It didn't keep his attention for very long.

After the video, the teacher took his picture with the biggest Polariod camera I've ever seen! Then, she gave him some paper and markers to make a card for Briley. Well, the markers must have been really old too because they were all dried out! Oh well, the card is still pretty cute.

The teacher then brought out a baby doll so we could practice changing its diaper, holding it, etc. Their dolls are anatomically correct, and this was a girl doll. Maddox's first question was "Where's it's wee-wee?". Ha! He has a lot to learn about having a baby sister! He didn't care much about the baby doll, which made Britt happy!

The class could have been better, but Maddox seemed to have a good time. He was happy to have a card for Briley. When we got home he kissed my belly and said "Hi Briley. I made a card for you". So sweet! He also got a little book about having a new baby, and he likes to read it every night.

He seems to really understand that we have a baby coming, but I still don't know how he's going to act when it actually happens. He is such a Mommy's boy and is becoming more and more clingy to me. We will do our best to make him feel extra special when he becomes a big brother.

As for when this will happen... I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and there are no signs of labor yet. We went ahead and scheduled an induction for May 5. My doctor likes to have it scheduled, so I appeased him! I really don't think I want to be induced, but we'll see!

Easter Eggs

We dyed Easter Eggs today! It was fun, but what a mess! He had dye pretty much from head to toe! When he was finished, I let him "wash dishes" in the kitchen sink. A little Dawn dish soap and some scrubbing got his hands mostly clean!

A Spring Day at the Beach

Last Saturday we drove over to Gulf Shores for the day. First, we enjoyed some royal reds at our favorite restaurant, Steamers. Thankfully, Maddox shares our love of seafood!
It was very, very windy and chilly by the water. Britt and I stayed covered up just about the whole time, but Maddox didn't seem to mind. He even splashed around in the water!

I told Maddox to try to catch this seagull. He got really upset when it flew away!

He helped Britt dig a big hole to play in. They dug down to water, so Maddox had a little pool. He played for 3 hours straight and crashed on the way home!
What a beach bum!



Here I am at 35 1/2 weeks preggo! Still feeling pretty good!

Our New Swingset!

Thanks to Pop and Bucky for helping Britt construct the new swing set last weekend! We are pleased with how it turned out, and Maddox loves it!

Maddox was a big helper!

Our backyard is not level, so a trench had to be dug to place part of the swing set in. Before I knew it, Maddox was covered in red mud with his nice outfit on! Such a boy!




I have visions of myself sitting on the porch holding Briley this summer while Maddox entertains himself on the swing set. We'll see how that goes!!

Potty Training Update

I thought there was no doubt that I would have Maddox potty trained by the time Briley arrived. Well, I was wrong. Now I'm thinking we will have two kids in diapers for a little while. Send diaper coupons!

The good news is, he does sit on the potty at school and occasionally at home. The bad news is, he doesn't actually use it. He just sits there! I think he actually holds it on purpose, then goes when you put the diaper or pull-up on him!

I found a Potty Chart on Chuck E. Cheese's website. I printed it off and told him he would get a sticker every time he sits on the potty and when he got 10 stickers we would go to Chuck E. Cheese. He seemed excited. So, I said "Let's go sit on the potty so you can get a sticker". He said "No"! I said, "Yes, so we can go to Chuck E. Cheese. It will be so fun!". He said, "I don't want to go to Chuck E. Cheese". Ok. So moving on to plan B...

If we are ever home all day for a few consecutive days, I plan to just put him in underwear and see what happens. The problem is, we are never home (except during nap time)! Well, we will be home a lot more after Briley is born. So, we may just wait until then.

Does anyone reading this have any advice? Has anyone potty trained a toddler while caring for a newborn?

Briley's Room

Here's what we have done so far in Briley's room. I think it turned out beautifully! My very handy hubby put up the chair rail and painted the walls. Bae had the valance made for us, which just added so much to the room. Thanks Bae! Aunt Katie is going to do some artwork for us. Thanks Aunt KK!




Yesterday, we had Carla's Sunday school baby shower at our house. Carla's husband Bucky works with Britt and we've become good friends the past year or so. Their little boy Colton will be about 6 weeks older than Briley.

Here we are showing off our bellies!

Me and my momma

Ok, I'm way behind on posting. This will be about 4 events rolled into one!

First of all, here I am 31 weeks pregnant. Everything is going great. I'm starting to slow down a little, but not too much. I'm still teaching. Getting up and down off the floor is getting a little harder, but I'm still dancing and jumping around with my preschoolers!
We're getting so excited about meeting Briley. Her room is just about ready, we just need some artwork for the walls and other decorations. We're thinking she's going to be a feisty little girl, because it seems like she's trying to bust out of my belly. I honestly feel like my belly is bruised on the inside! She puts on quite a show every evening for her daddy!

This was Maddox's first year to go to a Mardi Gras parade, and we went to two. He loves moon pies, as you can see below! At one point during the second parade, he started whining and said "They no throw me any moon pies!". I think he was tired of all the beads!



Here's Maddox dancing to Mardi Gras music! Don't know why it's sideways, but it sure is funny! It's definitely worth turning your head for a few seconds to watch it!



Lunch on Mardi Gras day consisted of corn dogs and funnel cakes. Yum!
We tried to to tour the Navy ship that was in port, but the wait was too long. Maddox was disappointed. Maybe next year!
Last weekend we celebrated Pops birthday on Friday night at San Miguel's.

And, we celebrated Bae's birthday on Saturday night at our house.



Maddox the Musician!
It has been so neat for me, as a music teacher, to watch Maddox learn how to sing. He didn't actually start singing until he was about 2. At first, his pitch was way off, but he would follow the correct melodic direction of a song. His pitch is much better now.

This song is one we sang in "This is Christmas" at church this past year.



Here he is showing off his piano and singing skills with a lovely rendition of "Close Your Eyes". This is the song I sing to him at bedtime every night!