to remember.

i want to remember clint's face every time i bring up the fact that this baby is a little boy.

it's a smile that i can see when i close my eyes.  it's a big one.  one that changes his entire face.  he shows his teeth and it makes his eyes squint down.  it's the same one he gives to pratt when pratt makes him proud.

i think as a parent, you always want the best for your children.  i always knew that.  because my  mom and dad told me that over and over and over again when i was a child.  when they were on the verge of pulling their hair out with me.  but i didn't really understand it, until now.

all i thought about last night when i was trying to get to sleep was how much fun pratt and his brother would have together.  yes, there will be fighting.  duh.  i wouldn't expect anything else.

but oh, the memories they will make.  in the front yard.  looking for ladybuys.  and worms.  telling each other stories before bed.  whispering to each other and laughing.  sharing a bunk bed.  pratt passing down his old john deere cowboy boots.  and his frog raincoat.  playing in tents.  with guns and swords.

all the things that little boys do.

i think i'm most excited about seeing clint with them.  with TWO boys.  two boys who i hope grow up to be exactly like him.  with beards.  and boots.  and i hope they hunt.  (did i really just say that?!).   and i hope they let me help them cook their duck and deer and anything else brought in this kitchen.  and maybe, just maybe i'll even eat it.  i mean, my dad did eat a dish with sour cream once when i begged him and told him i had worked hard on it.  he even acted like he liked it.

pratt doesn't fully comprehend what he's getting.  i don't think he will until he's much older.  it wasn't until i had pratt that i realized what spencer means to me.

she's my very best friend.  she's my biggest fan.  and she loves pratt like she will love her own children one day.

i'll have to bookmark this post so that when i have two boys beating each other up, i'll remember why at one time, i was excited about the idea of it all :)

happy new years eve!

A conversation.

Overheard while Pratt and clint were taking a shower...

P: "I love you daddy."
C: "I love you too buddy."
P: "I love mommy and daddy."
C: "well, mommy and daddy love you too. So much."
P: "yeah, I know."

C: "I'm sure excited about you getting a little brother. Aren't you?!"
P: "yeah, I am!"

P: "hey, daddy..."
C: "yeah, pratt?"

P: "oh, nevermind."


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a little boy.

yep, it's a little boy!!

as clara said, you could have knocked me over with a feather.  i was so surprised.  i think i was convinced it was a girl because so many people said that's what it was!!!

i'm slowly losing my mind and was bee-bopping around here at 1015.  my appt was at 11.  and it takes me about 25 minutes to get there.  i planned on getting clint at his office at 1015.  nope.  i was on the interstate at 1040 and looked down to see my clock.  i nearly died!  i have no idea what i was thinking.  so i called him and told him i didn't have time to get him.  he'd have to drive.

i won't tell you how fast i drove to make it...but i was only 3 minutes late.  i drove FAST.

we got there and the ultrasound tech mentioned that she was swamped.  i told her that clint was on his way but that she could do what she needed, not to wait.  we could tell him when he got there.  she told me that she would not look..and just continue with the other measurements.

with every single organ she measured, i said a silent prayer.  that really was such a main concern for me.  i wanted to see a beating heart.  and long spine.  no problems with his palate.  etc, etc.  all looked good.  and she told me that the baby weighed 12 ounces.  and was right at 20 weeks and 2 days.  perfect.

i think she said 10 ounces is average for a 20 weeks old, so the baby is "bigger than average".  wahoo!  pratt was too.  that is until he could choose his food groups and he stopped eating all meats and went straight to fruits and veggies.

she was finishing up with the anatomy scan, we she all of a sudden said, "oops!  i know now!"  i begged her to tell me.  and so she did.  i about died!!

she was showing me the "penis and testicles" when we heard a knock at the door.  clint walked in and said, "did i just hear the word penis!!!!!?"

he was so excited that he didn't even acknowledge pratt standing at his feet yelling, "hi daddy!  hi daddy!"

we told pratt it was a baby brother and he said, "oh...okay."  like, "whatever.  whatever you two want to believe."

i asked him what he wanted to name him and he gave a few suggestions.

let's see: "max and ruby".  "chuggington".  "thomas".  "ladybug".

those all topped the list.

here is the profile shot of our little guy....

thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. i really felt such peace laying there while she did the measurements.

we are blessed to have a healthy baby.

happy new years eve, eve!

dear may baby.

dear may baby,

tomorrow me, your daddy and your big brother will meet you...and know for the first time...if you're a girl or a boy.

your brother has insisted for quite some time that you're a girl.  he calls you his "seester".  it's the sweetest sound.  if he is wrong, well....we'll figure out what to do at that point :)

i want you to know that it matters not to me what you are.  i don't care if you have green hair and an orange nose.  i'd tease you, and nickname you "oompa", but the love i would have for you would always be the same.  it's the love i have for pratt.  the love i have for your daddy.  the love that my mommy and daddy have for me.

i apologize now for the craziness that you will witness at times.  i'm not perfect.  and sometimes i'm moody.  and sometimes i laugh so hard i wet my pants.  and sometimes i cry so hard and i cannot, for the life of me, explain why.

you aren't only being born to us, but you're being born to a family of people that already love you.  that already can't wait to know what you are.  and how you are.

we are lucky like that.  so blessed.  we have so many people who love us.

and as you grow, you will meet them.

i just want to formally introduce myself.  i'm your mommy.  and i've loved you since the first day i knew you were in my tummy.

i've made lots and lots and lots of mistakes in my life.  but you and your brother are two of the things i'm most proud of making.  with the help of our Creator, of course.  but still...i finished college...and a masters degree...and then since then, i haven't really "finished" anything else.

i pray for you nightly.  when my head hits the pillow.  i pray for your bones.  and your eyes.  and your fingers.  and your heart.  i pray that you are strong.  and that you are pulling everything you need from me. i'll be fine without it...you take whatever you need.

that's what motherhood is all about.

it's gonna be so hard for me to sleep tonight.  it's gonna be like i'm 5 and it's Christmas eve.

see you tomorrow around 11.

i love you,
mommy.

the invisible chef.

for years, i've called my mom in cooking emergencies.  or for help.

i'll be standing at the grocery store and call her.  ask her a question.  she ALWAYS knows the answer.  always.  really, always.

after she closed the restaurant, several people asked if she would ever bind her recipes into a cookbook.  she hasn't really had time to do it just yet....but i did talk her into a blog!

so, enjoy.

if you aren't familiar with the story of the invisible chef, click here...

http://www.recipesfromtheinvisiblechef.blogspot.com/p/story.html


the main blog site is here...

http://www.recipesfromtheinvisiblechef.blogspot.com


if you had a favorite food from the restaurant, feel free to leave her a comment.  she'll be happy to put any of the recipes up!

twenty weeks.

we find out Thursday if it's a girl or boy :)



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sick.

my little guy is sick.  so sick that he fell asleep at 920 am this morning in his ladybug tent.

i'm fairly confident that he hasn't fallen asleep anywhere besides his bed since he was 4 months old.  it's not that i don't like for it to happen.  it's just that he's gotten used to sleeping in his bed.  at naptime and bedtime.

i was putting up dishes and it had been a few minutes and i didn't hear him talking.  i went in and found him inside the tent.  passed out.  with his b and my favorite blanket from childhood.  he wasn't even watching tv.  just crawled inside and fell fast asleep.

we went to the doctor yesterday and he diagnosed him with a sinus infection.  put him on an antibiotic and said he should be much better by wednesday.

his fever didn't spike last night at 3 am like it has the past 3 nights.  but of course, i woke up at 302 am.  ready for him to wake up.  i went in and checked on him and he wasn't hot.  so i didn't bother trying to give him motrin.

he came to our room around 6 with a fever.  so hot that it radiated through his clothes.  his head, torso, legs, feet...everything was hot.

i hate fever.  it takes at least an hour to get it down.  i'd say it was at least 103 this morning.  i'm getting pretty good at judging it based on touch alone.

dr. s. commented yesterday that in the past 2 years, he has been a "pretty healthy child".  i about fell off my chair.  i feel like i'm constantly in that office.  like they know my name.

he's only been on 2 antibiotics since the nicu.  which according to the doctor is awesome.  this made me feel better.  i so appreciate the care we get at that office.  as clint said the other night, antibiotics are wayyy over used.  and for a doctor to say, "let's give it 10 days and see what happens"....that right there proves his confidence in what he does.  and that makes me feel better.

there was a mom in the waiting room yesterday when we arrived.  she had a newborn baby and a son that looked to be about 3.  he was screaming at her that he was not going to see that "toopid" doctor.  she was standing there holding this infant carrier, a diaper bag, a purse...all while trying to drag this child to the back.  i felt so sorry for her.

i wanted to go over to the kid and jerk him up by his shirt.  i think it would have scared him and he would have followed my directions.  sometimes i wish people would do it to pratt.  he's scared of everyone but me.  seriously.  he really is.  clint can look at him and he just flips out.  my head could pop off and he'd still be looking at me like, "so your head popped off.  i wonder when that would really happen.  but whatever mom.  what.ev.er."

i have so much i need to do, but all i can manage is sitting here surfing the net.  clint totally didn't follow our "no christmas gift" rule and he got me a desktop mac.  it's unreal.  like, seriously.

larry and stacy had it at their house and when larry brought it down christmas eve, they put it in the garage. i was busy making cake balls and didn't know.  clint came in and said, "okay.  do you want your gift tonight or tomorrow?"

i said, "you weren't supposed to get me a gift."

he said, "it's not a big deal.  something small from pratt."

i said, "tomorrow."

he then said, "okay.  well, it's in the garage with a sheet over it."

that did it.  i ran from the kitchen to the garage.  it had his favorite abc blanket over it.  i looked up at his face and he was giving me the same smile he gave me at our wedding.  that "i am so freaking excited about this" smile.

i pulled the blanket up and saw where the box said "imac" and had the apple and the biggest computer screen picture i had ever seen.

i started crying.  yes.  and i think i might have said, "shut up. shut up.  shut up."

and then maybe even went on to say, "this is better than my engagement ring."

which of course, IT'S NOT.  but i mean, freaking a.  he was NOT supposed to get me a present.  i was thinking it was an angel ornament.  but no.  it was a mac.  a desktop mac with a 27 inch screen that is so big that you literally have to turn your head to see the entire thing. it's like i'm at an imax movie.

so that's what i've been doing.  every chance i get.  the internet is so fast on here.  it's heaven.  really, it is.

okay.  i hear pratt stirring.  have wonderful tuesdays.

a preview.

i have lots of pictures to add, but this is the only one i can get on here now.  but it's probably the best.  the guitar is from his pops.  and he loves it.  now he can be just like pops and daddy.

we had a great, great Christmas...except for the fact that pratt's temperature has been hovering around 102 the ENTIRE holiday.  ugh.

hope you all had a merry day and i'll upload more soon.

Nineteen weeks.

left side: present day.  right side: pratt.  after seeing that picture, i'm starting to feel better about myself.  and my tummy.  and my um, chest.  yes. 

- i can no longer go from laying flat on my back to sitting up. There's that roll to the side, then pushing myself up.

- I'm feeling more movements. Especially at nighttime when I'm not moving as much.

- I'm no longer able to pick up clints laundry basket to take it to the laundry room. I have to slide it on the floor. This is pretty bad. It weighs more than my child. And it's telling of how often I DONT do my husbands laundry.

- I can't always see the top band of my undies. Awesome :)

Happy hump day!!

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Catch up.

So much has been going on. I'll play catch up...

Pratt before his KDO Christmas party. I must note my wonderful husbands presence at this party. He took off work for a solid hour to come party with pratt. I tear up thinking about it. The meaning wasn't lost on p as he has been super clingy to his daddy ever since. Clint never ever ever misses work. So for him to leave work for a solid hour was huge for me. And for pratt. We love daddy so much.













Cookie gave us her nativity set. We put it by the fireplace and pratt loves it. He especially likes baby Jesus and the donkey.







Anderson and his parents flew in and spent a few days with us. They got pratt a plasma car AND personalized Mickey mouse ears!!! Woo hoo!!!













We painted some ornaments for family. Pratt is the future Picasso. For sure. The choo choo is for his tree. We did angels and jingle bells for everyone else.



















And finally, pratt dancing at the courthouse. Our little town has a beautiful courthouse and they decorate it every Christmas. He danced tonight with other kiddos and had a ball. Here is his daddy's infamous shoulder move. It's why I fell in love with clint...true story.

worry.

my next appointment is on the 30th.  it's my 20 week appointment and when we will find out that this baby is, in fact...a girl.  because i know it already.  i feel differently.  and the internet says that if your butt and thighs get big, it's a girl.  of course.  of course another girl would do that to my body.  and isn't the internet always right?  yes.  it is. 

i'm honestly serious when i say that i DO NOT CARE if this is a boy or girl.  i just want to hear a heartbeat.  or see it.  and see arms and legs.  and a head.  and a neck.  and ribs.  i don't care if she's purple with orange hair.  i'm down with that.  i just want the organs to be developed normally, and to stop worrying myself to death. 

i'm not sleeping.  and it's wayyy too early for that.  i wake around 230 or 3 and i'm up for good.  until everyone else wakes up.  stephanie plum and ranger keep me company.  and i watch a lot of trashy tv.  but i don't clean.  and i don't pick up around here.  because why would i do that?  that means getting out of the warm bed.  i will, however, get out of the bed to make myself a cheese and mayo sandwhich.  with pickles.  and sometimes olives. 

i'm so tired of worrying.  i'm so tired of preparing myself for the worst.  i haven't felt this baby move since right before thanksgiving and i'm now worried about that.  i didn't feel pratt until he was around 22 weeks.  but now i know what i should be feeling...so i think i should be feeling it, and i'm not. 

i really am losing my mind.  i'm not just saying that.  i keep telling myself that i'll be okay.  that i have pratt and clint and yoda and ace and scout.  and i'll be fine.  and i will.  but i don't think it's normal to be this stressed out.  i mean, i can't control anything by being worried.  or fretting.  so why? 

idk.  but if you are pregnant and not worried, be thankful for that.  be thankful you aren't crazy like me. 

and yes, i know, i need to pray.  i have been.  i do daily.  trust me.  i'm a walking prayer.  sometimes it eases the pain, sometimes i still feel it.  right in the pit of my stomach.  or lately, it's right in the center of my chest. 

ugh.  ugh, ugh, ugh.

on a positive note, i discovered a place called "kris & sam's cookies" in little rock.  i found them because of their christmas cake balls.  if you're in the area, go in there stat and get a dozen.  or two.  they will rock your face off. 

and no, that's NOT why my butt is big.  swear.

the website.

clint's office website is up and running!

and it's totally awesome!

check it out....

http://www.fulksfamilydentistry.com/

dear pratt.

(a warning...there is a picture of my belly here.  like a bare belly.  and i don't normally do bare belly.  but this isn't facebook.  it's my blog.  and it's pratt's virtual "box"...so i'm sorry.  i promise it's the last time you'll ever see it :)

dear pratt,

tom petty comes to mind....

some days are diamonds. 

some days are rocks. 

some doors are open. 

some roads are blocked.
these past two days have been rocks.  for sure.  idk what it's about.  someone told me a change in weather can spark it.  maybe that's it.  because at night, the temps have been dropping to low 20's. 

you've started to "test" me as cookie says, more than ever before.  maybe it's because you're a couple months shy of that 2.5 point.  whatever it is, it's hard. 

but just as the song says, some days are diamonds.  there doesn't seem to be any in between lately.  it's either good or bad.  easy or rough.  i'm either eating strawberries and grapes as an afternoon snack or i'm breaking into the cookie dough for 8 fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. 

i don't have any picures of the rock days...because usually i'm so fed up, if i had my phone i'd be calling a psychiatrist...but i do have a diamond picture. 

it was taken the other night.  saturday night, i think.  we were all on "mom's couch" and you wanted to talk to sister.  i could feel him/her moving, so you wanted to feel too.  and you wanted to tell her hi. 

you can be such a sweet little guy.  but as i've said before, i love you regardless.  b.a.d., sweet, tired, loving, and on and on and on....

love you.  mommy.

the dsm.

This morning pratt woke up late. 850 am. I was getting dressed and had the monitor up loud in the bathroom with me.

All of a sudden, I heard some grunting. And then I heard, "ok flat, you stay there. B, big b, pwiwhoa pet...I got you."

I could barely open his door for all the pillows and stuffed animals he had pulled off his bed...in an attempt to carry them all with him downstairs.







He looks just like my dad with those tired eyes.

If you look carefully, you can see a grey sock on his left hand. Apparently he played sock puppet before bed last night and kept it on his hand all night. Idk. This falls under "Stacy Harris" :)

Here he is on "moms couch" aka my bed. With all his animals. Oh, and note to sock puppet...







But for real...at what age do I start to worry he really is a hoarder?!


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morning routine.

our mornings seem so mundane, but i know that as pratt grows up, i'll wish i could remember what we did. 

so here's my reminder.

i know pratt's awake, because once he crawls out of his bed, he comes out of his bedroom and shut his door.  doesn't slam it.  just gently shuts it.  then he bends over to turn off the box fan outside his door.  (it's there for noise.  been there since he was about 3 weeks old.  well, this is fan #2.  but i'd say that's pretty good for an eleven dollar fan from dollar general.)

it's then i hear the pitter patter of his feet walking to my room.  if i'm not there, he pitter patters back to the gate at the stairs and says, "mommmmeeee".  it's in a really soft, early morning voice.  he always requests to "go downstairs".  i don't know why that is.  maybe because that's where the food is?  i don't think so.  i think it's because going up and down the stairs is really still cool to him. 
as we walk downstairs, he talks my ears off.  it usually starts off with "i had long nap, mom."  and then goes into, "you have long nap too?! and daddy too?!  yoda?  i wuv yoda.  and ace and scout.  i have two scouts.  one dog and one toy.  i wuv dem.  i wuv cake too.  birthday cake.  and candles.  and chuck e cheese.  maybe we go to chuck e cheese today?  and wibrary (library)?  is wibrary open today mom?  i go play puzzles.  and wead books.  oh yes."

and yes, all that while walking down 13 stairs.  he's a fast talker. 

once downstairs, he climbs up in the chair and requests something on tv.  these days it's "olivia".  sometimes "mickey mouse clubhouse".  he will ask me to sit with him to watch.  and as soon as i get seated, he tells me, "maybe i like chocolate milk, mommy."  on my way into the kitchen, he will say, "and cereal.  wif milk.  and fruit.  dae do (thank you)."

we will eat our cereal and drink our milk and be happy. 

isn't that what life is really about anyway?  eating frosted cheerios and drinking fatty dutch chocolate milk?

thought so...

my b.

Last night pratt said something that I don't want to forget.

We were talking. About everything. Yoda playing skeeball and winning tickets at chuck e cheese. Who frank Sinatra was. And why his version of jingle bells is the best. Etc, etc.

When out of nowhere (like everything else with him), pratt says, "i give my b to sister when she gets here. When I hold her. When she's big. I give her my b, mommy."

I cried then. And I'm crying now thinking about it.

He's the b.e.s.t. Best.










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hoarding.

My child really is an incredible sleeper. I like to think it's genetic. But it's not. It's because of Dr. Weissbluth. And the two people who recommended his book to me when pratt was only 4 months old and I was slowly losing my mind.

Anyway. He knows the sleep rules. Once in the bed, you don't get out. Unless obviously there is something wrong.

Well, just now I heard him out. Scrounging around. And here is what I see when he finally returns to his bed...

Here he is pulling his pillow pet and flatopotamus up on top of him...







They don't seem to be close enough so he's still working on it...




Laying back to see what it's looking like...




Nope. Not quite there. One more quick move...




Perfection: all hidden. Underneath 10 stuffed animals. he's such a hoarder.




Can't see him?! See his little arm? Bottom left.




In about 25 minutes, I'll go in there and pull all those off him. He's so quirky. He must get that from clint. Seeing as how I'm soooo normal....

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christmas parade.

last night we headed downtown for the christmas parade.  since the day we moved here, i have loved how many parades we have.  they may not be the coolest floats :), but pratt doesn't judge.  he just enjoys the lights and seeing all his buddies. 

we are blessed to be a part of a wonderful church family.  and we always hang out near the church...and enjoy hot chocolate.  because what would a christmas parade be without hot chocolate?!

it hit me last night as i was talking to pratt about baby Jesus and showing him mary and joseph and the barn animals...that this is the first year he sort of understood what he was looking at.  he knew the animals and kept calling Jesus, "baby". 

life goes by so fast.  i know that he will be a teenager before i know it.  i must remind myself to slow down.  and enjoy every single minute.  i forget sometimes....

here are a few pictures. 

b.

I searched for b for a solid 20 minutes. Looking under chairs and couches. In the pantry. In every room in the house.

And then I remembered...



Yep. In his Diego 3 wheeler.

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kroger.

there are lots of things that i'm going to pay for when pratt gets older. 

LOTS.  one of the most hilarious ones involves using the potty while reading a book.  i don't want to get too graphic here, but i think i've said before that i pretty much need to disrobe before going number 2.  and from here on out, let's call "going number 2"....sitting.  sounds much cleaner.

yes, that's odd.  i'll give you that.  but the second part to that, i never knew (until recently) was odd too. 

i read books/newspapers/magazines while sitting.  because why not?  i mean, isn't this what you do?  my dad does it.  he has like a mini bookshelf by his toilet.  specifically for his sitting books.  (did you think of george costanza?!)

it wasn't until nancy pointed it out that i realized pratt had gotten into the habit of doing the same thing.  i read to him while he sits.  i think it started because in the beginning he knew he needed to go, but he wasn't patient enough to sit there.  so we started reading books to keep him there.  and then it stuck. 

so now, (as nancy knows :), he must read while sitting.

well, enter kroger.  going potty in kroger.  today we head out to shop.  which by the way, clint and i are trying to change up the way we eat.  and i shopped the perimeter of the store.  and let me tell you...it gets expensive.  there aren't many coupons for honeycrisp apples, organic milk, chicken breasts, gluten free items, etc.  it takes some planning.  but hopefully will pay off in the end.  we shall see. 
anyway, we get to the dairy section, and pratt screams, "mom!  i need to pee!  oh, wait...pee and poop, mom!  pee and poop!".  his immediately gets the attention of all the other shoppers.  because why would they not turn to stare at a kid yelling that?  well, we get in the bathroom and i'm doing my best to convince him that he just needed to pee.  because we were in a public restroom, and no one likes to poop in public restrooms. 

i was giving it my all.  i kept talking about how we can't disrobe in kroger, and how you're basically wasting a good sit.  when you could just wait 10 minutes and be home.  on your comfortable potty.  with the national geographic (or in his case, "are you my mother") sitting right next to the toilet paper. 

he wasn't having it.  "no, mom. i poop here.  right here.  move mom.  i not touch anything, but i poop here."

literally, mid sit, he looks at me with his red eyes, points to the other stall, and grunts out, "mom. is. there. a book. over there?!"

i just lost it.  i fell out laughing and almost dropped his skinny little body in the toilet.  he then started laughing too.  i know we sounded like crazy people in there.  but i just couldn't stop.  finally, i said, "no pratt.  there aren't any books in that stall.  i'm sorry."

and he goes, "well, maybe one in your purse?  or maybe we just sing?"

and so we did.  we sang jingle bells.  and then he was finished. 
he really is one of the funniest people i know.  but it's not even intentional.  which makes it that much better.

happy monday. 

this mornings craft.

Last night pratt discovered the art of tracing. Numbers, letters, shapes...pretty much anything. He loved it!

So this morning I pulled put some books grandma had given me to find worksheets for tracing. My ADHD didn't let me get far. I found a holiday craft book. And bingo! We had our morning craft!!

Here it is. A Christmas prayer chain. Pratt told me the names of people he loved and wanted to pray for. And while I cut the strips and wrote the names, he glued the strips to one another. We did enough for tonight through christmas night.





Carrying the finished product to his room.



Here it is on his tree.




And I thought it was so sweet because the first name he said was "sister" :)





I'm not really sure what we're gonna do if this is a boy...

Have great Mondays!!

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p.

My son. The plumber.

He loves using the magnetic LED light in the disposal.

He's all boy.



Last night ace and scout were inside sleeping. Pratt pulled up to them on his 3 wheeler and goes, "wake up, kids!!"




He's funny. And quirky. And I love him.

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pratt's tree.

when i was a kid, my mom ALWAYS let me decorate my room for christmas however i wanted. 

let me preface this by saying that i am the world's worst decorator.  seriously.  worst. 

i had this white metal day bed.  with a canopy.  and i would wrap that sucker in lights.  yes.  christmas lights.  i bet i'd hook 10 strands together.  and then plug it in behind the bed.  i can remember my dad coming in to tell me goodnight and saying, "da*n it, hannah.  i feel like i'm walking into a burial service.  this is weird.  you've got to turn these lights off.  i can't handle it." 

that's where my exaggeration comes from.  my dad.  i mean, it was just some lights.  yes, it was weird.  i'm sure it looked strange.  like a vampire sleeping or something.  but i loved it. 

and of course, i had my own christmas tree.  that i got to decorate however i wanted. 

so...because i loved it so...i figured pratt would too. 

so this morning we made some felt ornaments.  a jingle bell (words of pratt), a ball, a christmas tree with white lights and a star.  i should have made an angel too.  i'll have to go back and do that. 

don't think for a second that i free handed those shapes.  no way honey.  spencer got all the creativity.  i couldn't freehand my way out of a paper sack.  grandma had a bunch of great craft books that she used when clint and colby were little, and she gave them to me at the garage sale.  so, i used the patterns in there.  and they turned out really cute.  we put some twine on them and got them ready to be hung.

for the tree....well, it sometimes comes in handy living in the woods.  we walked across the street with a hacksaw and cut a little tree down.  it was free.  the trees at kroger were 18 bucks.  whatever, kroger.  whatever. 

we propped it up with rocks.  wrapped the container in some fabric left over from pratt's 2nd bday party.  and hung the ornaments.  we need led lights and an angel.  we'll head to walmart when p wakes and finish it up. 

 but here's a quick shot of it....
 

can you tell that he loves it!?  i'll get another picture tonight when we get the rest added to it!

mom, thanks for letting me and spencer decorate too.  the only reason i halfway know what i'm doing with pratt today, is because of what you did with us.  we love you so much.

16 week visit.

yesterday pratt and i went to the doctor for our 16 week appointment. 

i packed 3 tupperware containers. one had gummy worms and candy cane hershey kisses.  one had frosted cheerios.  and the last one had grapes.  guess which one was chosen first and eaten before we ever arrived in little rock?  yep.  the grapes.  and then for 10 minutes i heard, "mommy, i have more grapes?  please. for pratt.  more grapes, mommy!" 

didn't want any part of the worms or kisses.  just more grapes.  he finally settled on frosted cheerios. 

i really love him going to the doctor with me.  he loves riding the elevator up.  pushing the buttons for floors.  yesterday he got to push 2, 4, and 5.  he loved it.  he holds my hand down the hallway and sits by my in the waiting room.  i know i brag on that clinic all the time, but seriously.  i have never waited more than 10 minutes for my appointment.  and yesterday it was at 11.  we got there at 1045 and they had me back at 1050.  we were walking out at 1103.  that's service.  there are several signs that say, "if you've waited more than 15 minutes for your appointment, please let us know."  awesome.  especially when you have a 2 year old with you.  that will only play "big cut rope" (not the free/lite version) so many times before he starts trying to hold conversations with EVERYONE in the waiting room. 
and the conversations aren't always pretty. 

"hi.  i pratt.  i poop in the potty.  i have cat named yoda.  and dog named scout and ace.  two dogs.  i have two scouts.  one a dog and one a bear.  i not eat poop.  i eat hot dogs.  and i kiss mom." 

you get the picture.  total randomness.  and not always easily understandable. 

anyway.  we got back in the room.  weight/blood pressure are good.  all normal.  just give me a little time on the weight.  eventually i'll gain like 10 pounds in one month and i'll get the spill from dr. s. :)  like, it might be next month.  because right now there is an 8 ounce container of cream cheese and a stick of butter getting to room temp so i can make a chocolate chip cheeseball for me for clint's work party tomorrow night.

dr. s. came in and visited with pratt.  who was sitting like a perfect angel in the chair.  playing on the iphone.  eating candy cane kisses.  we heard the baby's heartbeat.  he claimed it sounded like a girl, but i think he was just playing around.  when i asked about the speed relating to the gender, he said that was an old wives tale...at least, he thought so. 

we will know december 30th if it's a girl or boy.  we have names picked out for both. 

spencer texted me yesterday when we were leaving asking if i was excited.  i am.  i'm really excited.  but more than ever before, i'm anxious.  and nervous.  and still worried about something being wrong.  i know i will get a sense of relief once we see the developmental scan on the 30th...but even then, i just want him/her to be born and to go home WITH US THE FIRST TIME.  i don't want to wait.  i don't want to even see the nicu.  much less have to walk in there and hold a baby attached to wires and cords.  ugh. 

that's all for today.  i think my butter and cream cheese are ready :) 

have great thursdays!

lumiere photo artistry.

one of my best friends took pictures of us a while back.  little did i know, i was pregnant at the time.  :)

so...there are actually 4 of us in these pictures.  which is good.  maybe that means i can save up until this baby is like 3 and then get another set of pictures done.  just kidding. 

whitney is a friend from college.  but it feels like i've known her my entire life.  we are night and day.  she's very pretty.  i'm very vanilla.  she's one of those friends who no matter what, would take up for me.  and has.  every single time. 

and if you ask her, she's responsible for my being with clint.  right, whit?! 

her website is http://www.lumierephotoartistry.com/ or facebook

she captured pratt so well....

there are a few other pictures. but i'm saving those for christmas presents :)

thanks again whit for taking these of us. you are such a talented and wonderful person. i love you.