Kindergarten!

Today was Maycee's first day of Kindergarten!  It was a quick morning and suddenly we were dropping her off at her class line to follow her teacher and classmates into class.  It was exciting to take her and the preparation for this day has been taking place for quite some time. I'm so proud of her!  She was so happy and looked so ready!  I began crying when she lined up with her classmates.  Am I that mom?  Apparently.  So many emotions!  My best friend is a Kindergartner.  She has been my best bud all these 5 years.  I love her so much and hope she has the best first day!  Her teacher is awesome and I hope she can recognize what a sweet and loving girl Maycee is.  :)

All the kids in Mrs. Smith's class had to wear blue beads so other teachers knew where they belonged.
This is Maycee blowing a kiss to mom and dad just before walking into school!

One last goodbye :)  

HAVE THE BEST FIRST DAY, MY LITTLE MOO!

When is he arriving, you ask?

Based on my bump size, I get comments ALL the time, "Is baby coming anytime?"  or "Wow, are you having twins?".  I try not to be offended by these remarks.  This is how I carry children.  With Maycee, my belly was so large toward the end that it really did look like twins in there!  And she was not a big baby, 7lbs 12oz.  It is common for women who are short and have short torsos to look the way I do.  Stop calling me big, ok?  Please be respectful.

These are my maternity pictures.  My due date is 9/26, this is me at 31 weeks, you can see why I chose to have pictures taken so early.  I've got lots of cute baby in my belly!

Picture taken by Elizabeth Lawlor Photography at Red Mountain Park in Mesa
Dress from Pink Blush Maternity

31 weeks:

It has been a complicated pregnancy.  I have experienced complications that I never had with Maycee.  I have recently been ordered by my doctor to have restrictions at work and to not work nights.  While this is a blessing for my body to be able to recover and keep baby boy inside until at least 36 weeks, it is so hard for me to give up patient care.  I miss the rush of the first half of my shift and getting lost in caring for my patients.  This change has also forced me to give up training a new employee, which is one of my favorite things to do at work!  I love teaching and learning too!  Until this little one arrives in September, I have to take it easy.  It is so great to work for a company that is accommodating for my unique situation.

Since having this change in work, I have felt a change in my body.  I am much more relaxed and contractions are less.  I sleep better, eat better, and feel better.  I also feel him move much more.  His tiny feet like to scale my belly and kick my ribs.  

Updates on Shem:

Shem has been working for Honeywell this summer as an intern and the only aerospace engineering student a part of the program.  I know he stands out as he is also a hard worker and puts in overtime every week.  He is happy and excited about what he is doing.  School starts on August 20th and he will be completing his LAST semester.  In just a few months we will be celebrating big time!!

Updates on Maycee:

This crazy 5 year old is a dream.  I love everything about her.  She finds ways to serve me and its constantly on the lookout to remind me to drink enough water and take time to rest.  She has a nurturing side that I'm excited to see come out even more when the baby arrives.  This summer has gone by fast.  She starts school in a week and a half as a Kindergartner.  She really looks like she's going into 1st grade.  She's so tall and mature.  I can't wait to meet her teacher and see how she adjusts to all day school.  I hope she takes it well, I know she will make lots of friends at least. :)

Updats on pets:

We have our cute two tortoises: named Gadget and Gizmo!

And we recently added a new member, his name is Lou.  He is a dutch blue lovebird and is still a baby.  Jax is funny with him.  Some days Jax loves him and other days he doesn't want anything to do with him.  It's fun having two birds.  A bit more messy, but they sure are cute!

All graduated from Kid's Korner!

Maycee graduated preschool a month ago.  A month already?!  Crazy!  She had so much fun at Kid's Korner with Miss Kris.  She was such a wonderful and patient teacher.  And the graduation ceremony was really cute.  Maycee is beyond ready to start Kindergarten in less than two months.  So exciting!

And just a month after school starts, baby brother will be arriving!

It's a.....

We found out what we are having on April 28th and I have not blogged about it!  Goodness gracious I've been busy!  The grandmas revealed gender.  Hmmm...Boy or Girl???

BOY!!!!!!!

Expecting

On January 21st, we found out we're expecting!  I knew I was pregnant the day before when I literally slept ALL day and was exhausted and still went to bed and slept 9 hours that night.  The next morning when I woke up, I went straight for the dollar store pregnancy test we had stashed in our bathroom.  When the double line was slightly faint, I thought, "ok, Andrea, time to buy the expensive test to confirm."  I drove down to walgreens, in my pajamas, and picked up the test.  When I came home, Shem was very suspicious of my behavior.  He knew I was suspecting I might be, but had no idea I took the cheap test when I woke up.  When I took the 2 step test and both confirmed positive, I couldn't keep my mouth shut.  I yelled for Shem to come inside from doing yard work to show the two tests.  He was ecstatic.  We jumped up and down and he got a little teary eyed.  It warmed my heart.  I love that man.  We waited to tell Maycee until her birthday when all the family was with us. Many family members have been waiting for this for years!  Maycee is already 5 and it's about dang time she had a sibling!

This sweet little bundle is expected to arrive late September.  Not only are we excited, but Maycee is thrilled!  Can't wait to see if it's a boy or girl.  I'm thinking boy, but we will see! We find out gender on April 28th.