The Growing Caldwell Family

I am behind on posting all of our doings.  Weekend before last, my manager hosted all of us at his house for a pool party and cookout.  Sarah Graves loves the water and fell in love with this bumper boat.    You can steer it and there is a motorized water gun that you can aim.  She had a great time and all of their landscaping received a healthy dose of pool water!  Fearless as always, she tested out jumping off the side of the pool too. As usual, we forgot to take pictures of anyone but Sarah Graves.  It was a fun afternoon and nice to hang out with people outside of work.  

Sarah Graves is really coming up with things that make me want to laugh, but they aren't intended to be funny. . . .   Me: Sarah Graves, it's almost bedtime and I think you need to eat something.  Come eat the mashed potatoes I warmed up for you. Sarah Graves: I no want mashed toes; I want something good.

I think we have an Annie fan at our house.  This was my favorite movie as a kid and I LOVE that she is now enjoying watching it and singing along with the songs.  She tries to sing "Dumb Dog" to Lucy, which totally cracks me up.  The scene where all the orphans are cleaning up and singing, "It's A Hard Knock Life" is probably her favorite.  I see her trying to imitate some of their dancing and just glued to that part.  It reminds me of when my cousin, Nikki, and I would try to act out our favorite scenes from that movie. I must admit too that it is a wonderful diversion from Elmo constantly!

Music Together ended for Summer and she was asking for her music class, so when I saw that Ms. Jennifer was putting on a music time at a Barnes & Noble, I knew we needed to be there.    She was so thrilled when she saw Ms. Jennifer!  She got shy, but she kept watching her and asking me about Ms. Jennifer.  Ms. Jennifer even led her favorite, "Trot Ole Joe!" They took some group photos at the end and we got in on the fun with Ms. Katie. She was so excited and keeps talking about her music class!

Tuesday was Aaron's birthday and we decided to celebrate by going to the Smyrna Food Truck Tuesday event.  We had never been before and it was something to behold.  The crowd took us a little off guard, but the food was tasty.   SG enjoyed some gourmet grits.  I had some mac'n cheese with bacon.  Mom and Jeanne' tried several things, empanada, barbecue slider, and coconut chicken.   Aaron was excited to find a food truck that had Korean tacos that he had before.    Excited to be in out of the brutal heat, we came home to sing "Happy Birthday" and enjoy some of the German chocolate cake that Mom made for Aaron.

Chubby and I had a check-up this morning.  It appears that all is well.  My blood pressure is low and Chubby's heartbeat is strong.  I measured at 38 cm again this week, so he may have had a bit of a growth spurt last week.  She checked his position and he is head down, but he felt a bit like he was posterior or face up.  It's not really a problem for him to be posterior, but if he stays that way, labor will probably be a little harder with more back labor.  I have been doing some of the exercises on spinning babies  and have been really mindful of my posture throught this pregnancy, but he seems to have a mind of his own.  He is stilll pretty high, but that isn't a concern since he may not drop until labor.  I was a little concerned because I have noticed some swelling in my feet that I haven't had before.  She took a look and felt it wasn't a concern, especially since it goes down over night.  I am supposed to drink lots of wate...

I set out to make sure that our freezer was stocked with frozen meals for when Chubby arrives. I have slowly been building up a stock pile and am finally finished. Here is what I made: Chicken and Rice casserole ( Talk About Good ) Chicken Tortellini casserole ( Warm Welcomes ) Pork Chop and Rice casserole (similar to a recipe in Talk About Good, but Aaron found it online) Baked Ziti Sour Cream Noodle Bake (The Pioneer Woman) Beef Enchiladas King Ranch Chicken Chicken and Noodle casserole (someone at our church made this when SG was born and it was perfect comfort food) Strata (recipe from years ago from the Fredrick House Bed and Breakfast) Stromboli (recipe from a neighbor of ours in Texas) Emeril's mac'n cheese Then, Jeanne' thoughtfully made us several meals - chicken enchiladas, hash brown casserole, and a chicken and ranch pasta dish. Because some casseroles make a lot, I divided some to give us more variety and not have to eat the same thing for days! Hopeful...

, Today is Aaron's birthday, but Saturday night we took Daddy out for a special dinner in honor of his birthday.  Normally, we would go out the tonight, but at 2 1/2 we are a little unpredictable and sometimes we just can't make it up for a full restaurant meal.  We intended to go to Pappadeaux's, but when we pulled up at 5:30 the parking lot was crazy full and people were standing outside waiting, so we decided that was more than we were willing to do.   We headed to South City Kitchen instead and had a lovely meal.  Sarah Graves was a great eater and a pleasure to be with.  She received several compliments from our waiter on how well she did and we actually enjoyed an appetizer, entrees, and dessert.  We have been so in the habit of thinking of places that are friendly for two year olds, as in they often involve hearing a number called to tell you your food is ready, that it felt like a real treat to eat somewhere that has tablecloths and real napkins! ...

Jeanne' is our personal photographer and we are so grateful for that.  No other photographer would have the patience that she does with Sarah Graves and be able to do pictures on a whim because a two-year-old is in a pretty good mood.  We supply the camera and she has the ideas. She recently came and took some pregnancy pictures for us as a family.  We captured Sarah Graves' pregnancy in some beautiful pictures and I wanted to do the same for him, especially including his big sister in the action. Thanks, Jeanne'!  We will love these pictures in years to come.

Friday night we had a fun time having dinner with my family and Jeanne' painted my belly!   Mom and Dad cooked for all of us and we had a nice time hanging out together.  Sarah Graves was exhausted from school and not her usual self, but she was glad to see Aunt Nay and Pops as they are often busy with work. My beach ball!

Being two is tough and it is full of angst and struggle, but there are also tender moments that melt my heart. Yesterday on our way home this was the conversation: SG: Momma, I like Jesus. Me: that's wonderful because He loves you! SG: YES, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so! Later when we were home, I told her I was going to let Lucy out. She came running to me and said, "BaBa, I'm scared!" I picked her up and asked why she was scared and her response was, "I scared you leave me." That just broke my heart! Those moments more than make up for all the crying and frustration.

She loves to play outside and this sprinkler toy made for great fun!  I love how prissy she is!  Such a girly girly! We had a fun time playing together!

Now that I am in the last few weeks of pregnancy, I have appointments every week.  Yesterday we had a great check-up.  My blood pressure is still good.  Chubby measures at 38 cm, which is still within the acceptable range for 36 weeks.  His heart rate was right at 140 and he is positioned head down. I found out that my iron levels are in the appropriate range, so I will continue taking the iron supplement once a day.  The results of my beta strep test came back negative, which is great because I won't need IV antibiotics when I get to the hospital!  Needing the antibiotics isn't the end of the world, but you have to get to the hospital earlier and it means you have the IV from the start. All in all, things are looking good right now!  Just another few weeks to go!

Your baby is gaining about  an ounce a day . She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like  a crenshaw melon ) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, your baby will be considered full-term. Most likely she's in a  head-down position , but if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an external cephalic version, where she'll try to turn your baby by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

We have had a crazy week!  It got started when Sarah Graves' school called me Monday before lunch to say she had an upset stomach and I should come get her.  That wasn't too much of a problem, so I walked over and took her home (love the convenience of that!)  She seemed fine, she took a good nap and Lovie was back from her trip just in time to sit with her while I went to my dentist appointment that evening.  She was thrilled to be back with Lovie! Tuesday should have been a day like any other, but by lunch time I wasn't feeling too good and by evening I was feeling plain awful.  I had muscle and joint aches, fever and chills, and an upset stomach.  Just how I wanted to start the ninth month of pregnancy!  I spent most of Wednesday in bed and by the late afternoon I felt a lot better, but still pretty tired on Thursday.  So here we are at Friday and I am just starting to get it together!  

Today I took Sarah Graves for her first visit to the dentist. I picked a pediadontist mostly because I have such fond memories of my childhood dentist, Dr. Ellard, and his gentle way of doing things. This dentist is close to us and came and spoke to her class at school. The staff was very friendly and spent a long time discussing good oral hygiene habits with us. A diet low in sugar was high on the list, but they were pretty understanding when I explained that was a goal I had for her too but she has other ideas. She was a little nervous when it was time for him to look at her teeth. We read about the Berenstain bears going to the dentist so that was an example for her. She didn't even have to get in the chair, she sat in my lap and leaned back on his knees for him to look in her mouth. He checked all of her teeth and she really didn't resist. He said that overall her teeth look good, but we should start flossing the front ones. He said the paci isn't interfering...

Chubby and I had a check-up yesterday and all seems to be going well.  My blood pressure remains good and Chubby is doing well.  His heartbeat was nice and strong.  He is still high, but she checked his position and he is head down.  She showed me where to put my hands so that I could feel his head, which was pretty neat.  I asked if it felt like there was plenty of fluid and she said it's hard to tell, but nothing felt like there was a low level of fluid.  I'll take that.  I was worried about his position because Sunday night he was thrashing around and Monday morning I could feel him hiccuping up high on my right side.  I could also feel some strong kicks down low, so I got worried that he was likely breech.  Monday night I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees trying hard to get him to turn and with a few thrashing moves he must have.  I was pretty sure he was back head down yesterday when I felt his hiccups down low and more mov...

Silly Sister is Sarah Graves' latest nickname and it fits her pretty well.  She is very excited about Chubby, but still gets a little confused on the fact that she is going to be a sister and Chubby will be her brother!  I don't think she cares if the baby is a boy or a girl, as long as he gets here NOW. We started our Saturday off with a big breakfast with Lovie, Pops, and Aunt Nay.  She enjoyed a pancake, grits, and even a slice of bacon!  That was after having a series of snacks before we left the house!  She was in a playful mood and loved being with her favorite people.   We made plans to go to the library after her nap and she was very excited to go.  I had grand visions of the fun we would have looking for books that might become treasured favorites.  Before Aaron could even get all the paperwork for the library card completed, she asked to go to the potty with no success, and before the library card was even ready, she had an accident. ...

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe ) and is almost 18 inches long. Her   fat layers   – which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born – are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her   lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Being two is a lot of fun and also hard.  I don't think anyone realizes how hard except maybe the momma who seems to bear the brunt of the frustrations.  I have posted before about our efforts to use unconditional parenting and I recently came across this post on a website related to child care and thought that it very nicely described a lot of the things that she is going through. If toddlers could share their thoughts on discipline, here’s what I think they’d say… 1.  Make me your ally . Don’t think in terms of “getting me to do” something. Don’t trick, bribe, shame or punish me. “You against me” is scary when I desperately need you on my side. So, please tell me politely or show me what you want. And stop me kindly (but definitively) from doing things you  don’t  want, way before you get mad.  Your calm demeanor and the positive options you give me (“I see you’re playing, so would you like to come in to change your diaper now or after you play for ...

We had a relaxing fourth of July.  Sarah Graves is becoming quite the fish and loves to be in the water.  It feels good for me and Chubby too! I love the look of joy on her face!  Such a sweet child. We have learned to bring a few pool toys, but mostly she likes to splash around.  She was particularly enthralled to watch an older girl having a private lesson to work on her stroke technique.  Daddy being silly wearing her toucan float as a hat! After the pool, we headed back to Lovie and Pops' house for a delicious lunch of grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob.  Soon after SG was ready for what became her marathon 4 hour nap and Aaron and I headed off to do a little shopping to get things we needed for Chubby.  Not long after we came back Jeanne' came, SG woke up, and we spent the evening out on their deck with SG doing all sorts of little crafts while Pops grilled some delicious chicken!  It felt more like a Saturda...