(Soon to be) Big Sis Ali says hello!

I know my past few posts have just been my thoughts and who really cares about that, right? Pictures are much more fun - so here are some of my little bff getting ready to leave for school this morning. Isn't she cute??




This is the reason I smile and laugh every day - and the reason I actually look forward to getting up early in the morning (even though I am always up before this sleepyhead!) - my little Ali! This morning, we were sitting at the table eating cheerios together and I was reading the MDJ. I told Ali that we were in an economic crisis and I told her to tell her daddy so, when Ryan peeped in, she told him - it was sooo cute to hear her say "economic crisis" (or her version of it) and she cracked up afterwards! She is our little light during these not so fun times for our country! We're getting realllly excited that her baby sister will be here very soon!! Hopefully we will know more details tomorrow! Have a great Tuesday!

38 Weeks!

I am happy to say we made it through the weekend. I was a little nervous about it when Ryan left for the game (Oh, how happy I was that I was not there! Watching it on TV was horrible enough!) but tried not to let him know too much b/c I wanted him to have a good time and chances were slim that anything would happen - but, still, there is always that chance! It was the one day that my doc specifically told me not to go into labor :) b/c of her daughter's birthday party, so that also made me positive that something could happen. Just because - that's my luck! But, we made it through and I am happily still pregnant. :) Yesterday, Ryan and I talked about when we thought the baby would come and both felt like it would not be until I am induced (and when will that be?? I would love to know!), but today I think there is a chance it could be different. I have been nauseous all day which is weird b/c I haven't really been nauseous my entire pregnancy. (maybe a little bit in the first trimester) I have also had some back pains on and off during the day that made me nervous - but, other than that, no change. One of the worst things about being this close (even though I actually have 13 days until my due date!) is that every where I go now, I get the questions "Is the baby here yet?" or "You're still around?" and at first it is cute, but time after time, I start to feel like such a let down! :) This is no comparison to last time since Ali was not here until I was 41 weeks - a whole week late - but the questions have started and I can't wait to answer them with a baby in my arms. :) Probably one of the main reasons people even ask this is b/c I have been so optimistic that baby sister would get here early (this changes daily at this point) and told everyone, so they, therefore, expect her to be here by now. At least we know at this point, that we will have a new baby girl in less than 2 weeks!! I told Ryan that yesterday, when I was playing with Ali, I looked at her and the thought went through my mind - how do I already have an almost 2 year old little person??? Where did time go??? Then, I looked at my belly and was like and how on earth did I get to be 9 months preggo?? Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

37 Weeks and 3 Days

Today I had a pretty uneventful appointment with the doctor. I woke up and told Ryan that my gut told me that nothing had changed and, at this point today, I do not feel like this baby is coming until it's time. It's weird how you can go from one day or panicking and thinking the baby will be here at any moment b/c of pains, a little progress at the doctor, or just b/c you've convinced yourself - and then the next day, you can wake up and think you were crazy for ever thinking the baby was coming early! Anyway, we went on to my appointment to find my gut instinct was correct - no progress! Is it bad that this one statement is the first time I felt relieved that she is not going to be here too early and I can still get a few final things done before life changes forever?? It doesn't mean I am not so excited to meet her - I just know that God will bring her into this world when the time is perfect and I have been worrying over nothing that that time would come before I was 100% ready. Now that I heard those words, I feel less panicked and am already more relaxed and calm about her arrival! Other than that, my blood pressure was still in the 130s but not that is good - just high normal. I also lost a pound which is always nice (although I think it's just b/c I was on a different office scale today and probably just stayed the same!) Our doctor gave Ryan the go ahead to go the UGA/Alabama game on Saturday. Saturday is also her daughter's 3rd birthday so she is hoping I do not delivery anyway and then when we found out there was no change since last week - she said he would probably be fine to go. If I had been one more centimeter dilated though, she said she would have told him to stay. I was actually kind of hoping she would say this b/c I have felt bad that he has had to miss games lately - one home game to go to my reunion and has had to stop watching some on tv due to weddings, etc. And he is SOOO excited that it is a blackout AND that gameday is there! Plus, if any of you know about his crazy experience last year in Tuscaloosa when we got a bus to the game - I'm hoping he actually gets to stay for the whole game this year. :) My only negative thought is that just b/c he is going to the game - it will just so happen that I go into labor and cell phones work terrible in AThens on game day - let's just pray nothing happens and it is really still early (I will be 2 weeks from my due date on Sunday) that I am pretty confident all should be fine! I just want him to get to go also b/c I don't know how many more we can make it to with baby #2's arrival and a wedding - and I'm glad to get to put our season tickets/parking pass to good use!

Other than all of that, things are great at the Patrick household. I am in the midst of trying to figure out when to throw Ali a little family "Big Sister" party which excites me to plan. We also just got our 2nd video camera for our monitor delivered a few minutes ago - to go in Baby Sister's room - and it is kind of sad how excited I am about that! (Have I said how much I LOVE our video monitor - it keeps me sane and also makes me laugh a lot of times!) Also, I'm not sure if I wrote this on here or not but last week Ali had a rough sleeping week - she went one day without a nap and some others with short naps and was terrible to get to sleep at night - but, I am thanking the Lord now b/c my little sleeper is back!! I was terrified when I saw her sleeping habits go bad last week - perfect timing! Now, all is well though and she has been sleeping like an angel this week. Yesterday she napped for 4 hours and slept from 8pm - 9 am last night! Whew! What relief!! All is well and we are looking forward to another great week as we wait in anticipation for little sister's arrival! Have a great week!

My Only Child

As of today (although, who knows for how much longer?), Ali is our only child. I think she loves it to a certain extent but she will love having a sister - Baxter can only do so much! I want to record some of the things Ali is doing now at 22.5 months that melt our hearts and make us laugh!

We pretty much think she is a genius - on Sunday, she got in the car to see her baby sister's carseat sitting next to her and she pointed at it and immediately goes "It's backwards!". Ryan and I were amazed that she knew that! She then went on to tell us that it was baby sister's seat. I'm hoping this is a good sign!

She loves to say "I love you" and usually ends it with "so much" or "forever" - both of them make me smile! She also always says "Thank you" when we give her something - it is the cutest thing to hear your 22 month old say "Thank you, Mama" and if you are not listening, she will repeat it until you acknowledge it with an excited "You're welcome!". I really think that she knows what she is doing when she does little things like this that impress us or make us laugh and she wants credit for it! :)

She LOVES her music class. We have been in it since she was 2.5 months and I just got a cd from it and brought out some sticks that we play with in class and she will run around the kitchen in circles and make us sing it/act it out over and over again! It is too cute! (But exhausting for her mama! :)) I think the little girl would spend 24/7 dancing and singing if she could. She is quite the singer (Favorites currently include "Twinkle, Twinkle" - usually leaving out the "Up above the world" line, ABCs, and, of course, Old McDonald - or as she calls it EIO!) She also loves when we sing a song from her music class called "Dance any way you want to" and she will start dancing like a madwoman when she hears it.

The only way we can get her out of bath time is by letting her wear her princess hooded towel. Then she runs around the house saying "I'm a princess, Mommy!" - and that she is! :)

Her preschool teachers were so impressed when I picked her up from preschool (which she also loves!! and loves her friends in there!) b/c she could spell her name. They said that they were changing her diaper and she saw her name on her diaper and goes "A-L-I, Ali!" Luckily, she has a short, easy little name, but it made me a proud mama when they told me about it! :)

She loves her family with her whole heart and gets so excited to see any of us - from her parents to her grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc! She is a ball of energy with tons of

One day I am going to figure out how to put videos on here and put some of these things on here! I think they are a lot cuter/funnier in person than just by me writing about them.

I am excited about my appointment tomorrow to find out if anything has changed since last week!! For some reason, I do not have a feeling that much has changed and in my head I think that baby sister may make her appearance next week (not that that means anything -just my gut feeling as of today!). I am so looking forward to holding her, introducing her to her sister, kissing her sweet head, and seeing what she looks like! I dream about it and it makes my heart so happy!! Ryan does not know what he is about to be in for with THREE girls in this house - drama rama! :) I wonder if these little girls will grow up to be as dramatic, sensitive, crazy as their mama! :) (just some of my not so flattering qualities - I promise I have plenty of good ones too! :))

Aside from meeting this little baby girl, I am soo looking forward to being able to:
-Sleeping on my stomach/back!!!!!! (This is HUGE - I am NOT a side sleeper and the thought of lying on my stomach or back sounds like Heaven!)
-Being able to turn from one side to the other (when sleeping) without feeling like a whale turning over!
-Dieting! :) (will see if that really happens, though!)
-La Parilla with a margarita!!
-Cherry cokes without any guilt! :) (although I will be nursing so these will both still be really limited)
-Being able to see my toes (and not trip over Baxter!), paint my toes, and shave my legs with ease
-Being able to get up from a squatted position without asking for help or feeling like I am 250 years old
-Normal clothes & shopping for normal clothes!
-Any of my favorite cheeses: Goat, Feta, Blue, etc! Yum!!
-Energy to play with Ali (well, as much energy that one can have to play with a toddler with a newborn to take care of, nurse, etc. I pray this baby girl is a sleeper - although I am not too optimistic about this)
-Being able to suck in my stomach to squeeze through a crowd! :)

All of that being said, I have to admit, I really do LOVE being pregnant and have had a relatively easy pregnancy (knock on wood) and am incredibly grateful for that. Yes, I do miss the things above every once in awhile but, for this cause in my belly right now, I could give those things up forever to insure she is a healthy little girl!

Again, another rambling post today - but this is just really for me to record my sporatic thoughts these final weeks/days of pregnancy so I don't forget how I'm feeling! And, who knows, I could have this baby tonight (not very likely!) and I would be sad if I didn't record it all. I will update tomorrow after my appointment as to any changes - keep your fingers crossed all goes well!

37 weeks pregnant with a 22.5 month old!

As of yesterday, I was 37 weeks pregnant (aka Full Term!) and am now in my 38th week of pregnancy! My little baby girl is 22 months and a half today and I am blown away at how fast time flies. This pregnancy has FLOWN by and I have tried to cherish every moment but I know I have had plenty of times where my thoughts were more like "I can't wait for this to be over!". I have always been the type of person that does NOT like change and that looks to the past and wishes I could go back. I hate being that way but I am incredibly sentimental and I just want to make sure that I live every moment to the fullest and don't take a single second for granted. Sometimes I find myself looking at Ali and wanting to cry knowing that she does not know, in that sweet little heart of hers, how much life is about to change. It will no longer be just the two of us on a day to day basis and I get sad for her when I think of that but now I look at that thought and kind of smile/laugh at the fact that that is a completely negative way to look at this. yes, things are about to change in a big way - but what a big, amazing, exciting way it is! Ali is about to gain a best friend for life - one that will be there for her and share with her in the moments that a Mom can not and I am so excited for her and fun she will have (once the initial sharing Mama & Daddy sets in) and the constant love and best friend she will always have. A little bit jealous, maybe, too b/c I never had that with a sister. :) I watch the little things Ali does like how she tries to play chase with Baxter or walk him and order him around and how happy it makes her - and how much more fun that will be with an actual little person that will look up to her/share clothes & friends with her/play dress up with her/tell jokes and secrets with her/and on and on! What a selfish and negative way I had been looking at things like Ali will be devastated to not have me all to herself. I think we will always be the best of friends - just like I feel like I am with my Mom (even though we want to shoot eachother plenty!) - but there will be nothing like having a sister to talk about boys with, etc.!

I am so anxious to meet our second little baby girl and open my heart up to even more love. I feel her kicking my belly all the time and I just pat my belly and tell her that I will see her very soon!! It's kind of surreal! Somewhere in the next two weeks (hopefully!) I will get to meet this sweet baby girl and see what she looks like, if she looks like her big sis or is a total opposite. If she will be tall like Ali or maybe on the shorter side like her Mama. If she will have any hair and, if she does, will it be blonde like Ali's or dark? So many questions that will be answered so soon! Will she love music like her big sister? Like sleep as much as the rest of us? :) Will she be a healthy little baby? So much goes through my mind and it's all so crazy that I have no idea what she will be like, when she will get here, even though I know that when the time does come, our lives will be changed forever and I can't wait!

I had been worried since my last appointment about my blood pressure, but, under doctor's orders, I went and got my blood pressure checked at the pharmacy on Friday and today and everything was normal. Phew! I am so interested to see when I go back in two days if we have made any progress. I keep thinking Miss Priss will get here early and probably need to get that out of my head, but, now that we have made it to 37 weeks, I am ready for her whenever she is ready to come out and make her grand entrance into this world!

I pray that God blesses my two sweet little girls (and any siblings after) with long lives, amazing friendships and that they always know how much we love them. I have always heard this but I don't think you can truly grasp it until you are a parent - there is nothing in the world comparable to how you will love your children. Ali loves to say "I love you SOO much" or "I love you forever" (her forever is shortened to "ever" though) and it melts my heart! I need to get it on tape so I will always remember her sweet little voice saying it at such a young age!

I know I am rambling but I just thought I would record my thoughts today while I am thinking them!

Patrick Family Fun!

Ryan and I took Ali to the zoo for the first time yesterday and had a ball! We were there for about 2.5 hours and it was such a nice Fallish morning, so most of the animals were out. I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish/do before baby sister gets here and one of my top priorities was for Patrick family fun days with Ali so we are making every effort to do fun things like the zoo or just to play more at home! Here are some pictures of Ali enjoying the zoo in her game day attire! :)
Checking out the lion...

Being silly with Mama....

A better picture - of just Ali!

Ali really loved the Meerkats!

Telling Daddy about the Zebras and Giraffes


I think Ali's favorite were the Kangaroos (what she is looking at here)! She loved the way they jumped when they walked - just like she loves to jump!


Now that we have seen the most important animal, the elephant (that Ali had been talking about all week when we told her about the zoo! Especially the night before!), where should we go next?

Trying to stall some time and tell us where to go - not quite as ready to go as her Mama and Daddy!

I hope to get back to the zoo again soon! We had a blast and Ali loved it all!

Take a guess!

For all of you blog stalkers out there (well, especially those related to us that I don't feel bad nagging to participate so I don't feel stupid!), I added this expectnet game to the blog to play! I am getting really excited about baby #2's arrival so I thought it would be fun to take a poll to see when everyone thinks she may get here. Just click on the box to the right of this post and take your guess! :)

Week 37!

I am 36 weeks and 3 days today and about halfway into my 37th week! I have to admit that since my last appointment I have kind of been freaking out that baby #2 may be here sooner than later and a little panicked about getting everything finished. I heard there was a Full Moon and that got me really nervous. I am happy to say though, at this point, we pretty much have everything ready to go - I even packed my hospital bag yesterday!! The nursery is complete (and I love it!), bags are packed, toys/gadgets/clothes cleaned, and now we are just waiting for baby! I am enjoying every second of the next few days/weeks with my little Ali before baby sister comes and rocks her sweet world! I am treasuring every moment and trying to sit down as much as I can in between! (I swear, just chasing Ali may send me into labor! I don't feel like I ever have a second to take a breath until Ryan gets home!)

Today, we had another check up on baby #2! Everything seemed great - except my blood pressure was high and my doctor wants me to go to the drug store on Friday and Monday to check it and call her immediately if it is over 140/90 - I am pretty sure it was just my nerves today though. For some reason, today I got really nervous going in there. Just the obgyn jitters! Anyway, we have made some progress this last week. I was dilated to what she described as a tight 2 cm (meaning barely or almost 2) and 50% effaced. I stayed at 1 cm for about a month before Ali made her appearnace in this world, so this was huge to me - even though it doesn't necessarily mean anything. As long as this little baby girl waits until after I am 37 weeks and before I am 41 weeks - I will be happy! :)

Ali and I had a fun rest of the morning after my appointment. We went to gymnastics (probably one of the last ones I will make it too - I was exhausted!!) and she had a blast. Then, we headed to Atlanta to have lunch with Aunt Anna Margaret at her house. It was fun to get to see her and Ali fell in love with her dog, Lulu! I can't believe that the next time we do lunch, there will probably be four of us girls! It seems like just yesterday I was taking Ali as a little baby to go look at bridesmaid dresses & wedding dresses with Anna Margaret!! Time flies - and this pregnancy has gone by so fast!

Go dawgs!

Two posts today! :)

What a difference a year makes! I realized the other day that it has been a year since I became a blognerd! :) I started off with pictures of our little princess at 10 months dressed to impress to pull for the dawgs before the UGA/South Carolina game 2007. We took some pictures of Ali this morning dressed in this year's cheerleading outfit, hoping to pull the dawgs to a victory this year against South Carolina!! I can't believe how much my little girl has grown and that it has been a whole year - she is such a little person now and no longer a baby :( - but so much fun!! Here are some pictures of our little bulldawg! Go dawgs!

Then - September 8, 2007 (10 months old)



Now - September 13, 2008 (22 months old!)

Baby Einstein

Here are just some funny picturs I found of Ali on my camera from this. Playing around with some glasses she found in the playroom (I think they're Mimi's?) They made me laugh so I wanted to share!

Light at the end of the tunnel....

I had a great week 36 appointment this morning and have been giddy ever since! It started off with an ultrasound and I got to see our precious little girl again and everything looked great! The ultrasound tech said she gives her an A+ and she was doing great! Her sweet little head was down and she was very active throughout the ultrasound. I wish I could remember all of the details but I know the machine said she weighed 6 lbs 3 oz already!! Yay!! I am pretty sure that her head was in the high 90s percentile (we tend to have large headed aka big brained babies!:)), height was in the 50 percentile range and chunky weight was in the 70 range! She is thriving and just getting ready for her big debut! :)

Then, we went on to our appointment to see that I am 1 cm dilated! (Not that this is huge news b/c I am pretty sure I was 1 cm for WEEKS before Ali and I got soo excited the first week and thought she was coming really early - boy, was I wrong!) The doctor said we can look into inducing around the 39th week/40th week - she said end of September/ early October - but then narrowed it down to October 3rd or after!!! That is SOO exciting to me b/c I was just praying it was not going to be another 41 week pregnancy! I am so ready to meet this little princess - I can't believe how close we are getting. I go back in a week for my next appointment - we're down to appointments every week!! Family of 4 - here we come! :)

Ali had a fun morning with her Grandmama who was so sweet to take her to her gymnastics class. I am so obsessed with making sure Ali's life stays as normal as possible and that she still gets to do the fun things she loves so I am so glad it worked out! I know she had a great time!

It has been a fun last few days! I wanted to also say thank you to all of my fabulous friends that took me out to dinner last night for a little baby #2 celebration. Seeing as in the last 3 years, I have gotten married, had a baby a year later, and am about to have another one almost 2 years later, my friends have been so gracious to celebrate with me on all of these big occassions! I did not want a big deal made this time b/c I feel guilty (but can't wait to pay each and everyone of them back for all of their celebrations to come!) and last night was perfect! We had a fun dinner at La Paz and I was blown away when they surprised me with our double stroller! It was the perfect way too celebrate and I am incredibly grateful for amazing friends to celebrate this exciting time in my life with! I am also SOO excited about our new stroller b/c it is the one thing we really needed and were going to go buy and now we are set! I can't wait for Ryan to put it together so I can try it out! :)

I feel incredibly blessed today after a fun night last night and an exciting morning today!

Like a bird...

Well, my nesting phase has officially begun! Actually, I feel like I have been in it at least since week 30, if not before. I just want to make sure I get everything I can possibly get done now while things are calm (well, as calm as they can be with a 22 month old!) and pretty easy! I washed all of Ali's old clothes a month or two ago and have been holding out on bringing all of the other toys/gadgets out until closer to baby sister's due date! Now that I am in week 36 (ahhhhhh!), I couldn't wait any longer. Ryan went up in the attic last night and brought down all of the baby necessities (swing, bouncy seat, bassinets, car seat, etc) so they could air out and I could wash/clean it all! Little did we know that we would have a little assistant to help make sure that everything still works!! Ali thought it was Christmas when she saw her daddy bringing everything down - she went crazy! It was soo cute! Any time we would leave the room, we would return to find her trying it out or figuring out a different use for all of the gadgets. She was hilarious! Here are just some pictures of what we would find when we left her alone for a minute (if even that!). I am sure this is not the last time we will catch her "testing out" all of baby sister's things!






We finally got Ali out of baby sister's room and heard her in the kitchen singing "Bye, Bye, Baby" (her favorite lullaby that she has been singing in her music class ever since she was 2.5 months old!). Ryan called me in there to find her here.... In the basket beneath a bassinet playing!! What a nut!



Bringing out all of Ali's old things made me so sentimental to my little girl growing up. I seriously got teary eyed when I accidentally knocked the switch on Ali's old bouncy/vibrating chair and the music started playing. It felt like I hadn't heard it in so long and it took me back to life less than 2 years ago and how small Ali was and all of the emotions/feelings I was feeling at the time. Although I can not believe my little girl has grown up - it made me realize how long it seems like it has been since those days! I can not wait to go through them again with baby #2!!! I am so excited for her to get here!!

Monkeying around!

This weekend was my 10 year high school reunion! To start off the day yesterday, there was supposed to be a free picnic up at the park by our house (Laurel Park) and we were going to take Ali. We got there about 45 minutes late and did a little drive by only to find no one there! :) After Ali saw the playground, though, (and we had talked about it all morning b/c, like any toddler, Ali LOVES playgrounds!) I knew we had to take her somewhere fun (and I prefered air conditioning) so we headed on over to Monkey Joes for a few hours of fun! Ryan and I have been wanting to have little Family Fun Days :) before baby sister gets here with just Ali and so we thought this would be a good way to spend one - and she LOVED it. She did not stop moving for a solid hour and a half and somehow we got her to leave to go home and nap! (I was a little worried we would never get her to leave!) Here are just a few pictures from our little monkey on Saturday!

Pictures that make me smile

I just found these pictures on my camera and thought I would share. It seems whenever I see Ali home with her daddy - I come home to find pictures of her acting silly on my camera. These were taken about two weeks ago - just of Ali playing in her playroom. (Thanks to Aunt Kate for her cash register!) She loves to play and prefers to play with us - but I am catching her more and more these days playing on her own! Here are just a few pictures of my favorite little girl (soon to be sharing that title with her little sis!)





When we bought our house - we did not happen to notice that a window pane was missing on the door to the playroom (the door is always wide open and you can only really notice it when it is closed.) We thought about replacing it but thank goodness we didn't b/c it is the perfect height for Ali to stick her head out and talk to us and just the perfect spot for her grab ahold of the door to shut it. (She is VERY into shutting doors lately!) Here are some more pictures Ryan took of Ali playing in her little peephole and being goofy with her daddy! This first picture reminds me so much of a goofy Ryan face!




And making faces on the door.... (By the way, she is our little comedian and she KNOWS she is being funny! She keeps us in stitches and knows it!)

Mama's little helper

Last night, while I was making dinner - all Ali wanted to do was to be right there under my feet/on the counter/helping me out! I tried to keep her occupied many different ways but nothing seemed to work. Finally, I just poured her a bowl of water and got her to stir it like I was stirring the taco meat and she loved it! I gave her some salt and pepper and she loved making her own soup and being just like her mama! Unfortunately, I need a better step stool (with a railing) to do this again b/c I was worried having her up there but she was in Heaven so we stood side by side cooking our own little meals. I know she is going to be a big helper when she gets a little older! I adore my little assistant!




While I'm at it - I am trying to figure out what to do with Ali's hair. Any suggestions? As you can tell by these photos, it is in an awkward, mullet-type state and needs some work. I love for her to wear it in pigtails and even ponytails (this was a ponytail at one point but she woke up from her nap and the rubberband was hanging on by a thread!) but some days she will let me and some days, there is no way I am getting a rubberband on that head of hers! I'm thinking about giving her her first trim but it kills me after waiting all of this time for hair to have to cut it! If only it would grow a little more on top to keep up with the business in the back! Oh well, we are just so happy to finally have hair - especially now that she is going on two! :)