changes.

yesterday pratt and i went to the doctor for my 12 week appointment.

i have to brag on my child for just a minute.  if pratt is rested, and interested...he can be the best child in the entire world.  behavior wise.  if he's not rested.  and not interested....forget about it.  he's like dennis the menace.

he was rested and interested yesterday.  so he was an angel.  he visited with nurse linda while i had to tinkle.  i heard him out there telling her about his dogs, his cat.  how he was a robot for halloween.  how it was called his "b".  how he had a sister in his mom's belly.  etc, etc. 

when i walked out, she said, "how old is he?!  he is SUCH a talker!".  i said yes.  that he was.  that he gets it from his father.  because everyone knows that i didn't talk until i was like 5. 

after she left, i sat him up in the chair beside the table.  and gave him my iphone.  about that time, dr. s walked in.  he got out the doppler to listen for the heartbeat.  this entire time, my 2 year old son just sat as still as a rock in that chair.  never moving.  never talking.  nothing.  just sat there.  watching.  trying to figure out what in the world we were doing. 

about a minute in, dr. s. told me that it's sometimes hard to hear 12 week olds heartbeats because they are so small.  he told me that because i had been through so much emotionally, if we weren't able to hear it, he would get the ultrasound machine and we'd see it.  he's the best obgyn ever.  seriously.  wonderful man.

so that's what we did.  pratt got to see too!  and that's pretty much the first thing he said, "mom!  baby!!  baby, mom!"  he was so excited.  and the baby was excited too.  he/she waved at us and moved around alot.  we got to see the strong heartbeat and everything.  i'll go back at the beginning of december.  and i don't think we will have another ultrasound until around 24 weeks.  at least, that's how it was with pratt. 

thank you for all your comments and prayers and sweet emails and text messages regarding my post about feeling peace.  i cannot begin to thank all of you enough.  feeling alone is a horrible feeling.  i'm very close to clint.  and at night, when it's dark in our room, i tend to open up about my feelings.  and as good as he is to me, and as kind hearted as he can be, i know that there are just some things he doesn't understand.  worrying about a baby growing inside him  is one of those things :)

so hearing your concerns and your worries has been something i needed.  something i really, really needed.  it's so nice to feel normal. 

i'm not sure if i've said anything on here or not, but pratt has had some big things going too. 

he's pretty much all potty trained. down to not even going potty at night.  he wakes with a dry diaper.  and during the day he wears big boy undies.  i guess it's been a week now.  a week today.  i'm so proud of him.  i was talking to allie about it the other day and was telling her that it's so nice to see him grow.  and know that he's healthy.  and happy.  and able to do these things for himself. 

it's not anything i did, really.  i realized he was ready because he was fully aware when he needed to go to the bathroom, so i started praising him when he'd go.  then we slowly moved to big boy undies.  then i promised him a big boy bed if he continued doing so well.  this was big for me because my book stresses not moving them to a big bed until they are closer to 3. 

he continued doing well, and loves being praised.  he gets 2 to 3 stickers every time he goes to the potty.  we put them on our shirts.  on our hands.  on the wall.  on our foreheads.  whatever works really.

we moved him to a twin bed last friday night.  i have a twin bed that was my mothers and mine and spencer's so that's what he's sleeping in.  well, will be in.  right now we just have a box springs and mattress on the floor.  with a rail up. 

he's done really well with it.  naptime hasn't been any problem.  friday and saturday night were perfect.  sunday night i put him to bed and about 3 minutes later, he comes strutting in our room.  says, "look mom!  i got out.  i'm not tired.  i not go to sweep, okay?"

so we started dr. weissbluth's sleep rules.  we made a poster together and decorated it.  and it hangs in his room.  and we talk about every night.  well, we talked about it last night for the first time.  these are his rules:

1. stay in bed.
2. be quiet.
3. close your eyes.
4. go to sleep.

we talked about how sometimes it's harder to fall asleep.  i told him that it's totally okay to play in his bed.  he understood because last night i heard him talking to his stuffed animals.  i told him that i can hear him in my room and that if he needs something to yell for me.  it seems to be working.  of course, we're only one night in, but last night around 330 am, he called for me.  i woke up to, "mom!  mom, help mom!  my b!  my b, mom!" 

i ran in to find him sitting in the middle of his bed with his pillowcase in hand, but couldn't find his pillow.  it was on the floor.  i fixed it. and that took care of that problem.  i think he couldn't fall back asleep until he found his b.  idk. 

but he's done really well.  i'm sure that eventually it will be "if you give a mouse a cookie" over here.  but so far, so good.  just remind me that i had a few good days when i'm complaining and threatening to put him back in his crib when he's 5.  ha.

i guess that's about it.  we play all day.  and at the end of the day, i'm trying to get the house in order so clint doesn't think that i'm the laziest person on the planet.  before this second baby gets here, i need to learn to stop putting things off.  i've got to start finishing things once i start them. 

(somewhere my parents, and my husband just wet their pants....)

that's how we do it...

living in the country is good for several reasons.

hearing the crickets chirp. having a completely uninterrupted view of the stars.

and of course...having an outhouse. of sorts...

or really just having a front porch.



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peace.

I never worried about being pregnant with pratt. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

I wasn't aware of everything that could go wrong. Now, more than ever before, I'm aware. From first hand experience. From knowing people who have lived it.

Idk. I just find myself so worried. And so emotionally restrained. I won't get excited. I can't even begin to think about boy/girl. Etc.

We have a name. Sort of. We like it for a girl or boy. That's all I will allow myself to do.

I won't look at baby clothes. I won't think about the nursery. I won't even type letters out on here. I'm not sure that I'll be able to.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. That's all I can think about.

I find myself praying for this baby at odd times. In the shower. While making dinner. I worry God thinks I'm not being thankful and appreciative. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm just worried. And scared.

And ready to feel peace.


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cb.

as in country boy. 

as in for the first time yesterday pratt went hunting with his daddy and mitch.

here is the before. 

and well, for the after....

let me explain.  i was gone.  in little rock.  eating dinner with allie.  i left when the boys were still gone.  i got a call from clint while i was on the interstate saying that they had been successful.  that scout had treed a squirrel.  i didn't think much of it.  i mean, i NEVER thought this would happen....

so.  i get to the restaurant.  and allie and i have just sat down when i get  text message from clint.  i look at it and then pass it to allie.  i said, "oh look!  they finished hunting!  it's a picture of all of them."

i don't see pratt's hands.  because it's all camo and stuff.  but allie does.

she screams, "oh my gosh, hannah!  pratt's holding a dead squirrel!  in his bare hands!  and i think he has blood on his boot!"

we both flip out.  see for yourself....

apparently mitch stood pratt up in the truck bed and said, "here pratt.  hold the squirrel like this." 

i will kill him.  so if you see him, tell him i'm looking for him. 

and look at pratt's smile.  that's a REAL smile folks. 

i think my favorite part is that he's holding b in one hand.  and a dead, bullet holed squirrel in the other. 

welcome to say.lean county, y'all.

a big day.

My best attempt at a picture this morning to show that pratt is going to kids day out wearing his big boy undies. Mickey mouse clubhouse. Woot woot!!

I sent an extra pair of clothes (and socks, thanks Stacy ;) just in case he has an accident.

I'm crying as I blog this. My little boy is getting to be so big.

What a blessing to watch him grow and learn and love. All while being one of the happiest kids I know.




Have great humpdays!!

Oh, one more thing. Last night I was making a birthday cake. Pratt was playing with matchbox cars on the kitchen floor. He was singing songs and I heard him sing, "daddy, mommy, pratt and sister."

I asked him what he was saying and he sang it again. So sweet.

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halloween.

from around september...maybe before, pratt was confident about what he wanted to be for halloween.

a robot.  or to hear him say it,  "a whoa bot". 

clara found the cutest costume at the children's place.  me, being me, waited until the last minute to order it.  which was good.  because it went from being 30 dollars to 9 dollars.  woot woot!

thursday night we went to spook city.  saturday, pratt trick or treated with nana and papaw and then we had a hayride with the harris' and a few other kids from the neighborhood.  it was clint's idea AND dream.  he loves halloween. 

here are a few pictures.  oh, and that last picture.  well, it's what happens AFTER pratt has some candy. 

so much.

first.  most important things first.  pratt has worn big boy undies all day long with NO ACCIDENT. 

in fact, before his nap, he ran up to me and said, "mom!  i poop!!!" 

which of course you think means past tense, right?  wrong.  we're dealing with a 2 year old here.  it means future tense.  he needs to poop.  so we run to the big potty.  no luck.  he's too nervous.  i would be too.  that thing is like 5 times his size.  it'd be like me being held up by that big giant in "the princess bride" over a truck bed.  trying to poop in a truck bed.  aint gonna happen.

so we ran upstairs to his frog potty.  and abra cadabra!  we have a winner! 

last night i explained to him that he was going to wear a diaper to sleep because it was perfectly normal to need to potty in your sleep.  he went potty right before bed and woke up with a dry diaper!  i've read that that's the key.  when they learn to not pee at night.  idk.  i just know that it's been two days and we haven't had a single accident.

well...actually...we did.  we stopped at the church earlier to potty.  you don't realize which places don't have kid appropriate restrooms until you have a kid who needs to potty.  so at the church, i didn't take his pants off.  i just set him up on the potty.  mistake.  because he tried to you know...point everything the right way...and well, we kind of peed on the back of our jeans.  oh well. 

i had a change of pants in the car.  so everything was fine.

i'm so proud of him. he's becoming such a big, big boy.

on to other things...i'm feeling much better.  there are still times i'm queasy.  for example.  i REFUSE to clean out the fridge.  ugh.  the thought alone gags me.  i cannot open old containers of food.  ugh.  and i don't like to heat food up.  my mom sent gumbo the other night.  paul prudhomme gumbo.  yummy.  i wanted it so bad.  but knew that if i smelled it before it was heated up, i couldn't eat it.  so i covered my nose and heated it.  worked wonders. 

i'll be 12 weeks thursday.  my next appointment is monday. 

here is pratt today.  in his raincoat and boots.  we were prepared for the weather :)