Full term!- Mama

If you've been keeping track, you know that this week officially means this baby is full term! This means that at 37 weeks, the baby is considered fully cooked and the doctor won't do anything to stop it if I go into labor. It also means that if I doesn't answer the phone, people immediately call my cell phone. And if they don't receive an answer on the cell phone, they immediately assume I'm in labor. This is also the time I intentionally stop answering the phone.

It also means I get to neglect the blog and fall weeks behind, and no one has really called to give me a hard time about it (besides Aunt Jenni). And when I do start to catch up I get to write a really long self-indulgent post about my reflections on this pregnancy. Get your reading glasses out.

Here I am at 35 weeks. Like I've said before, this pregnancy has been much different. Due mostly to the fact that I've continued working out regularly and continued taking afternoon naps (with much more regularity), I think my spirits have been much better (though papa may tell you otherwise). But now that I'm only 3 weeks away, all bets are off, and I've entered what Aunt Jenni lovingly refers to as the "Grumpy Gertie stage." So I apologize in advance to anyone who might be unintentionally inflicted by a bad mood in the next few weeks.

The biggest difference has been the fact that this kid never stops moving! Sensitive Dr. Hearn again told me that it's because my body has been stretched out so many times, I'm essentially a worn-out rubber band that can't go back to its original shape. (Big self-esteem booster!) Thus, this baby has free range of my insides. It's proven rather uncomfortable as I often get a foot stuck in my rib cage. Or worse, it feels like the baby is reaching it's hand around my side and trying to pat me on the back. GG Parsons even told me that he's seen a lot of pregnant ladies, but he's never actually seen a belly move from across the room like mine does. The good news is that the baby must be big enough that it's stopped moving quite so much in the past week. But it still does a number on me when I lay down at night. Who needs sleep anyway?

When we were up in Columbus for Soldier Day, I actually thought I was going into labor for a while. My back hurt, I couldn't breath and I thought I was having contractions. As it turns out, the baby had decided to turn over. It stayed head down but went from facing right to facing left. It was pretty uncomfortable, but once it got flipped, I felt fine and it actually felt good to have my other side kicked and punched. The next day, we went through it all again when the baby flipped back. Now it's back to abusing my internal organs on my right side. That weekend, the baby also pushed so hard with a hand or foot that Aunt Jill was able to feel all the the bones in it's fingers (or toes) through my skin. That's pretty cool (and a little weird).

.

You might remember that with Henry and June, my worst complaint was the constant gall bladder pain. Something about being pregnant (probably the little feet kicking all the time) makes my gall bladder swell up and throb mildly, but nonstop. I'm glad that this baby is carrying so low that I haven't had as much pain. There were a few weeks it hurt, but overall, nothing like the last two.

Grandma took this picture at 36 weeks. We stole the idea from our friend Juliet's blog. It was too clever not to copy.

After Henry and June were born, I remember thinking immediately, "I can't wait to have more kids." And while I do enjoy being pregnant and love me a good baby, I'm certainly not feeling the same sentiment this time around. I think three may be our limit. (And Brandon has started yelling it from the rooftops that three is him limit.)

My body is starting to tell me that it has done its job and is done carrying around babies. I'm exhausted all the time, but can't ever seem to sleep (which is why it's after 1am and I'm still up). And chasing two other kids doesn't seem to help either.

Then there's the guilt for the two other kids. I've really got to give it to Henry and June. They've hit a great age and have spent all summer being so good to me. It's so darn hot that we rarely go outside. (I actually yelled at Henry for taking too long to get the mail because I thought i was going to pass out after two minutes in the afternoon heat.) So the kids are cooped up in the house all day, trying not to go too stir crazy. June is very good about playing by herself and Henry has engaged himself in a variety of projects (there's a post coming up about that soon). They generally play together without any major arguments. Henry is very good about distracting June from whatever major car parking endeavor he's working on and June is learning to leave his toys alone when he's playing with them.

But sitting inside all day, every day does tend to get boring and kids need to burn off their energy. Brandon has been great about getting the kids out of the house or just giving me a break so they can run, scream and wrestle the energy out.

My last guilty feeling for Henry and June is that we've largely left "baby mode." It didn't feel this way when June was born, even though Henry was just a couple months younger than June is now. Now we're going to have to go back to morning naps and nursing and carrying enormous diaper bags full of supplies. I didn't realize how independent we've become in the past months. Skipping an afternoon nap isn't preferred, but both kids can survive without one. I don't know if our new baby will be that flexible.

Up until a few weeks ago, we've barely done anything to prepare for the baby. I do have some diapers and the car seat is out in the garage. Last week I cleaned out the kid side of the attic and washed all the baby clothes that work for a South Carolina summer. Not surprisingly, most of our tiny baby stuff is fleece and corduroy, not our top choice for 100 degree days. But we've got enough little t shirts to get us through until we find out if we need boy or girl clothes. We also pulled down bouncy seats, bath tubs, and our massive collection of bibs and receiving blankets, though June has claimed everything as a toy for her baby dolls. The supplies often get pulled out of their temporary storage place in the guest bedroom for playtime. And since June is still in her crib (I'd like to keep her there until she starts to climb out-hopefully forever), this kid is sentenced to sleeping in a bassinet in our room until a bed opens up.

My doctor says that he expects labor to go fast with this baby (hooray for my old, worn-out body!). With a 35 minute drive to the closest hospital, that should make things exciting, especially because we've going to have to take the time to pawn the kids off on our friends. (Luckily, we're up to 4 families that have offered their babysitting services. You better not all be busy on the night I go into labor!) Don't worry though, I don't expect this baby is coming anytime soon, as much as I'd like it to. I'm expecting this baby will go right up to its due date, if not over, just like its older brother and sister.

More fun with Grandma- June.

Since we had all this fresh fruit, we had to do something with it!

On Sunday morning, mama and Henry got up early to make blueberry muffins.

Henry poured all the ingredients into the bowl and even cracked the eggs on his own. (A skill he's worked very hard on.)

What's the best part of baking? Licking the spoons afterward. Henry spends the entire time asking if he can lick the spoon. Mama says he can when it's done and if he asks one more time, she's going to lick it herself.

That's usually when he quits asking.

We had some friends over to watch the final World Cup game because Mister Mark was the only one we could find who was interested in soccer. He brought James over and eventually Andy came over too. I slept through it all, of course, which is really saying something for 3 boys who tend to get crazy around each other. They actually played so wonderfully and quietly together while the grown-ups watched their match. They were all working on puzzles when a spontaneous concert erupted.

Grandma and Henry had a special afternoon when they drove to Anderson to go see Toy Story 3. It was a big deal not only because they were both excited to see a movie (with popcorn!), but Henry also got to skip his nap. It must have been good, because Henry was so tired afterward he fell asleep and even stayed asleep when Grandma parked the van in the garage (another Turner first!). Thanks for the movie date, Grandma!

On Monday night, Aunt Linda drove down to spend the night with us before she and Grandma headed north again. We decided to go for a walk and a bike ride. Henry made it about 4 houses down before he started getting whiny. He eventually had to be taken home and put to bed early for being such a grump.

I made friends with all the neighborhood cats. "What a pretty kitty! Bye bye kitty! Go see the doggies!" It was still really hot, so it didn't take long for me to decide I didn't want to walk either. So mama had to carry me back and throw me in bed with the other grump.

What was Grandma's favorite part of her trip? All the crepe myrtles that are flowering all over the Carolinas.

Grandma got one more chance to spoil me before she left. I was sitting up in my bed well past 10pm, so papa decided to rescue me and brought me downstairs for a movie and a cuddle. Needless to say, this isn't something he and mama agree on, but Grandma seemed happy to give me one last squeeze.

One last extra big thank you to Grandma for coming down to visit. Her trip wasn't solely recreational. While she was here, she refashioned our old Wisconsin bedroom curtains for bedroom. And she spent the greater part of a morning helping mama wash all the woodwork and light fixtures in the house. (Why did we get a house with chair rails, crown molding, and 1,000 six panel doors?) Thanks a ton, Grandma. The work was a lot more enjoyable with someone else helping.

Blueberry picking with Grandma!- Henry.

We were so excited when Grandma Seibert decided to come down to see us for a long weekend. She and Aunt Linda decided to drive down to Charlotte to see our cousins Andy and Miss Christina. We hope that since they have a new baby coming, Grandma and Aunt Linda make the trip more often.

We picked Grandma up on Friday night and brought her back down here to show her what we Southerners do in the summer.

It was supposed to be cool on Saturday, so we decided to head out to the blueberry farm. Our neighbors had the same idea and we got to see our friends James and Andy!

Andy and I had a great time riding the bear.

The blackberries were just getting ripe and the blueberries were literally "dripping from the bushes," as the farmer told us.

Of course, I was a big help and filled up my tupperware with the biggest berries I could find. And when the sun started getting too hot for Grandma, I found the best spot so she and mama could sit under the blueberry bushes and pick. Really, all you had to do was give a branch a shake and they'd fall right into your bowl. By the time we finished, we'd picked over 12 pounds of berries.

June was not interested in picking. She was mad that the blackberries were on the side of a hill and didn't like all the condensation on the grass. Plus, we think her ankle was still bothering her. So she ended up leaving with Papa because we realized we hadn't brought any money and they had to go find a cash machine.

We ended up calling the doctor about June's ankle. They told us that it would take a long time for a sprain to heal because kids tend not to take it easy. They did tell us to start giving her some ibuprofen and try to ice her ankle. We've been doing it for a week and it's starting to get better. Do bad June dropped a bottle of applesauce on her same foot and now has a big bruise to cover up the swelling.

It must have been very axhausting for June because while we were eating lunch, June fell asleep on the couch. Never has this happened to a Turner kid. June is seriously the laxiest kid of all time.

After naps, we went for a swim down at James and Andy's house. June insisted on being wrapped like a burrito in her Dora towel.

On our way home, we came across the biggest bug ever.

Seriously, what is this thing?

The rest of the 4th of July- June.

It just killed mama not to have her camera when we were down at the ocean. But papa took pictures with his cell phone that actually turned out.

We hung out at the house all weekend and jsut had a good time playing in the pool and riding around on golf carts and bikes. On our way out of town, mama and papa felt guilty that they never took us to the ocean, so we decided on a detour to the beach.

We were supposed to spend a day at the beach, but there was a shark attack nearby and we figured the beaches might be closed. Were we wrong. There were thousands of people at the beach. Obviously, they are braver than we are. (Sounds like the beginning of Jaws!)

The entire weekend was unseasonably cool with highs only around 85 degrees. The coast is known for being much hotter than Clemson, so we were pleasantly surprised by the tolerable weather. On Monday at the beach, it did go over 90, but the breeze made it very nice and mama started voicing her intentions of a beach vacation next summer.

We started out looking for shells. Mama found one in the shape of South Carolina, but lost it somewhere in the car on the way home.

I did not want anything to do with the water, so I contented myself by playing in the sand farther up on the beach.

Watch out! It's a beached whale!

If mama knew how much fun we'd have, she might have put on our bathing suits.

Because soon after, Henry started running into the water fully clothed. (Who is this kid?)

He was soaked clear through.

I wasn't going to get any where near that crazy bunch for fear of being thrown in.

Unfortunately, I still haven't learned the lesson "Don't wipe your eyes if you've been playing in the sand." Papa had to take me back up to the lighthouse to stick my head under a spigot to get it all out. Then we all had to change our clothes before mama would let us back in the van.

4th of July from my camera- Henry.

Yeah, we're finally into July! We had an awesome 4th of July weekend. Miss Susan's parents let us all use their beach house down by Hilton Head. Thank you, thank you, thank you Miss Becky and Mister Craig.

Unfortunately, we packed everything we needed but left the camera sitting right beside the door at home. Mama did remember to pack my toy camera, so we got a few shots of all the fun things we did.

The most exciting thing we did was go shrimping off the back dock into the marshes! On the first day, we tried casting the nets at high tide. We caught this one little guy. A few hours later, we caught 6 more and were pretty proud of ourselves.

Little did we know, the best shrimping is done at low tide.

The men of the house took charge and caught our families a mighty meal.

Papa cast the net and dropped the shrimp into a bucket and I was in charge of picking up the extras off the dock. I actually picked up live shrimp and fish. Impressive. Especially if you've ever seen a live shrimp.

It's a little early for big shrimp and the 70 we caught had to be iced, beheaded, eviscerated and peeled. Mister Paul and Miss Susan had to do the bulk of this job, because mama didn't want anything to do with it. I think papa might have cut a few heads off.

In the end, we got about a cup and a half of teeny, tiny shrimp. Soaked in butter, they were absolutely delicious and even mama ate some.

The rest of the weekend was also awesome. The island's pool was a nice golf cart ride away. We went every day.
Outside the pool was a big sand pit.
While the grown-ups were in the pool, we played down in the sand.

On the evening of the 4th, we were going to head to Parris Island to watch fireworks, but decided we didn't want to fight the crowds. Instead we headed down to the docks and could see 7 different fireworks displays at once. We could get used to this!

Videos- Mama.

Henry had some great ideas for building train tracks into space. And he insisted that everyone make a clubhouse under a blanket so he could brainstorm. There's also a brief interlude of Junie's cute little legs running around.



These videos aren't much to watch, but cute to listen to.



Papa says they'll use these videos when Henry is a great inventor and they need footage for the documentary they'll make after he wins the Nobel Prize.

Hey Cincinnati- Go Reds!- Henry.

As our final celebration for PawPaw's homecoming, we headed down to the 'Nati to see the Reds take on the Phillies. PawPaw has never been to Great American Ballpark and we're always looking for an excuse to see a good game.

Unkie Adam came along to see how a real team plays. He even wore a red shirt, despite being an Indians fan (though you can't really call yourself an Indians fan if they fail to produce a real team- oh snap!)

Our big surprise for PawPaw was that we got him up on the scoreboard! No, that's not him on the KissCam. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see that the red marquee under the upper deck says "Welcome home, Col. Tris Cooper."

He was pretty surprised.

It was a great night for baseball. The Great American Ballpark sits right on the banks of the Ohio River and it was a nice cool night.

Papa tried out PawPaw's new fancy binoculars.

The best part of the night? June and I were totally well behaved!!! GG and GG brought me a Cars activity book with one of those special markers that makes pictures appear. And the whole book involved me coloring in about 40 tiny squares on every page to solve a puzzle. I was so excited about the book, I sat still in my seat for 3 hours and didn't give anyone a problem. (Thank you, thank you, thank you GG and GG!!!)

I did make it a point to look up when my favorite player- Joey Votto- was up to bat. Nice swing Joey!

And I stopped to point out when barges floated by.

Here's the stinker we were really worried about. 3 hours after bedtime and we didn't get her her own seat? No worries though! Thanks to the last minute decision to bring her nukie and blankie, June spent the entire evening cuddling Grams, Pawps, and Unkie while munching on peanuts. All in all, a great night for 2 kids up really late past their bedtimes!

Here we are after the 7-3 victory. Even though I forgot about my usual baseball bribe- a blowpop- Mama let me have it on the walk home for being such a good boy.

After this picture, someone told mama that she was a real trooper coming out to the game 22 months pregnant. Mama thought that she didn't look so bad, but apparently she's hit that point in her pregnancy, because a lot of people are starting to saw things like that to her.

We took off from Cincinnati to try and get a few hours of driving in before we stopped. It was a very big night, because we actually paid for a hotel room- something that rarely happens to the Turners. Since we got there after 1am, mama and papa told Junie she could sleep in the big bed with me. But at 6 am we woke them up with the surprise that we had both wet the bed. (Pretty impressive for a girl who just had her diaper changed at 1 am. But almost guaranteed for me when I'm up late.) Good job on a great mattress pad, Comfort Inn. But it also meant that mama and papa's bed got two more for the next 3 hours. Not quite the way we wanted our special hotel stay to go. At least they had a waffle maker at breakfast.

Marion County Fair- June.

It's no secret that mama loves a good fair. So when she found out that the Marion County Fair was running all week, she started lobbying for a trip. No one really wanted to go, but mama did some research and found out that admission was free on Monday if you brought a canned good. There weren't any more excuses, so we packed up Grams and PawPaw and headed down.

The first stop was the horse barn. There were a lot of great 4-H'ers that were willing to show off their animals. We hit the jackpot when we found this pony pulling a little cart. We even got to hold the reigns. (Don't worry, it was tied up.)

We visited all the animal barns. Henry didn't hardly look at any of the animals, but had a good time planning out our course so we could walk down every aisle and not run into any mud, as it had been raining for about 12 hours straight before we got there. (But what's a county fair without flooding and having to hose everything down outside the pig barns?)

Mama said it was fun to finally have someone who liked animals to go to the fair with. And did I ever like the animals. Here's my best duck impression.

Henry did take the time to pick out his favorite bunnies and had a good time telling us which animals he saw pee. The rabbits were a goldmine because it was full of sweet little 10 year-old girls that would see us coming, grab their rabbits, and follow us around asking if we wanted to pet them. I was very gentle.

Last up was the pig barn. We went through those fast because Grams thinks pigs are gross and stinky. PawPaw told us that you could tell how old a pig was by counting the number of notches cut in its ear.

Good news for the Seibert calender! We actually convinced Henry to sit on a Cub Cadet this year. Before, he's always refused because he was afraid they would drive away.

Now we just need to find a fair with really big tractors so we can get our pictures taken inside a wheel.

Of course, I had no fear and tried out all of the tractors.

Henry and PawPaw picked out this standup tractor that could mow our yard in about 15 minutes. Mama said she didn't think it would be able to mow the hill without tipping over, so we had to leave it at the fair.

We skipped the old-timey village because we had some driving to do that afternoon, but not before we picked up some free balloons.

While mama and PawPaw were deciding what to eat that the Pork Producers booth (a fair must), Grams surprised us with blue slushies and fresh made mini donuts!!!

We ate the mini donuts much to quickly to get a picture.

I loved my slushie, but I don't think I've inherited the Seibert sweet tooth. I drank about half of it then was finished. The slushies ended up being a great purchase because we had to walk past the kids' midway to get back to the car. Henry had been talking about which $5 ride he wanted to ride, but in the end, decided to forgo any rides because he didn't want to stop drinking his slushie. Now that's the power of the Seibert sweet tooth.