My First Pregnancy and Beyond

Clint and I took a trip to Savannah this week - a late anniversary getaway.  It has been nice to be able to sleep until I want to get up.  We have had a lot of fun and even a near death experience.  But, I am missing my baby big time.  I really needed a break from the everyday joys and stress of motherhood, but now I want my baby back.  I had been feeling a little stressed and even a wee bit annoyed with Summer (if you can imagine that).  She talks all the time and has started to question things (over and over again).  Why she can't be happy with the first answer I give her I'll never know, but I guess she is at that age where one answer just isn't enough.  She also lets me know when she does not want to do something - over and over again.  I guess she doesn't understand that I heard her the first time and just because she doesn't want to do something doesn't mean she isn't going to do it.  She is slowly learning that she doesn't always get her way and sometimes she has to do things (or go places) she doesn't want to.  I am just hoping she learns that whining isn't going to make me change her mind.  We are on a three strike spanking system now.  When she gets up to three, then she gets them all at once.  I think it is working, but who knows.  Anyway, needless to say I get a little frustrated with her at times and I needed a break before I had a breakdown.  I wonder how many times in my life I will feel that way.  Probably more than I realize.  I mean she is only two years old.  I still have a long ways to go before she is grown.  I talked to her yesterday and she said, "I'm coming home!"  So, I know she is ready to see me too.  That makes me happy knowing she misses me like I miss her.  I can't wait to get home tomorrow and give her a big hug and a thousand kisses.  She will probably start pushing me away after the first five, but at least I will have her back in my arms.   

We did a lot of exciting things this month - Creative Discovery Museum's Playgym class every Thursday, birthday party at Playworld Downunder, trip to the zoo, trips to the playground and  many bicycle rides.  I can't wait to get back to her so we can make more memories together!

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I finally made it over to my friends house and got the pics off of my broken laptop.  Somehow Jeff managed to get the monitor half way working (as long as you don't touch it) so I could get a few folders of pictures I hadn't gone through yet.  I am so glad he did too b/c I almost lost the pics from Summer's 1st sleep over.  Anyway, here they are in addition to a few others.  Enjoy!

***found some time to add more...

How it all came about:  On July 8, I get a call from Alicia about 5 or so in the afternoon saying she is in labor and has no one to watch Liliana.  So, I met her at the hospital and picked up Liliana.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was already babysitting Amanda's little brother Ryan too (how that happened I won't even explain...lol).  I had called Jeff and Laurie to come over earlier, so they were here to watch Ryan while I went to get Liliana.  I got home with two little girls calling me Mommy instead of one.  It was odd, but I guess Liliana thought my name was Mommy since that was what Summer was called me.  It was funny.  She called me Mommy all night and the next day too (and a few times after that too). 

Anyway, the night went pretty good.  The kids played and had a good time.  Summer and Liliana watched Barney before bed (as Summer usually does).  They got up and Liliana was briefly alarmed that her Mommy wasn't there, but they were eating breakfast in no time.  Then it was back to playing again.  They even took a bath together which went pretty good as well.  I guess it is easier to take care of two kids who are the same age than two who are different ages since they do pretty much the same thing.  I guess I will find out soon enough when Amanda has Lexie if she brings her over for me to watch.  It won't be long now.  I think she has less than 8 weeks to go!  I wonder how Summer will act around her. 

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I forgot to update about our grandson, Jaycee Leelan Cobb.  He was born July 17th around 10:00 p.m. and weighed 6 lb. 6 oz. and was 21" long...at least that is what they wrote down.  There was some confusion as to whether or not that was the correct amount they initially said, but I guess it doesn't really matter anyway, does it?  Oh, and can you say drama?  Because that night was full of it. First we wrecked our car on the way to the hospital and then when we get there the two sides of the family are in a little spat.  It was CRAZY!!!  It should of been a time of happiness and joy, but it was full of DRAMA!  Go figure.  Anyway, we haven't seen him since we visited him the day after he was born in the hospital.  Maybe we will before Christmas, but you never know.  I won't hold my breath!

As for Amanda, she is getting so big.  Her baby will be here in about two months.  I think they will name her Lexie.  That is what we all call her now anyway.  The middle name is still up in the air.  I remember with Summer, we weren't sure really until the last week and even then it wasn't positive.  At first I really wanted to name her Caprice, but it didn't end up that way.  I have decided though that if I were to ever have twins, I would want to name them Casanova and Caprice if they were a boy and a girl.  I doubt I would be able to get any man to agree to that though.  LOL 

I am getting excited about the next grandchild.  I went to visit my friend yesterday and she has a two year old and an almost 2 months old.  Holding the sweet little baby made me kind of want another one, but then I realized that is what grandkids are for.  I can play with them for a while and then send them home.  :)  I have been working on a blanket for Lexie and need to get on it if I am gonna get it done before she gets here.  We'll see.  I haven't been very committed to it.  I looked at the finishing directions the other day and I don't even have a clue how to put all of the 52 pieces together.  I will definitely be going to Wal-Mart for some advice from one of the fabric ladies. 

I better get off here.  I've got a million things to do before Saturday and they aren't getting done right now!

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Today is the big day.  Clint and I will officially be grandparents!!! 

I never imagined I'd be 30 with a grandchild, but here I am.  It just goes to show you can't control your kids.  You can only control the type of environment you provide for them when you are around them.  It is hard to be a parent, but even more so when you have an ex who also has their own environment to contribute to the kid.  Unfortunately today, this is all too common.  Divorce is more than likely when people enter a marriage these days.  It is a sad, sad fact of life.  I'll get off my soap box for now.  :)  I'll save all the good stuff for my book (which I'm probably never going to get around to writing). 

Summer will be an aunt today at the age of 26 months to a nephew:  Jaycee Leelan Cobb.  At least that was the name before they went into the hospital to be induced last night.  We'll see if they stick to it or not.  We've already gotten a phone call requesting we bring a baby name book with us, but I don't have one here to take.  I doubt they will change it at this point, but consistency is not really common among this bunch.  Oh I could go on and on.  But, I won't.  Not that you would want to hear about all my crazy drama anyway.  LOL

Summer is napping getting ready to go to the hospital later.  She has already told me that she would like to hold the baby, so we will see if that really happens or not.  I am going to take my camera to the hospital just in case though so I can put the pic up here for everyone to see my new grandson.  Holy crap.....I can't believe I'm a grandma!

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Time is flying by as usual.  Summer is growing like a weed.  She is using the potty like a big girl - ALL BY HERSELF!!!  Even #2!!!  Not sure how good she wipes yet, but she tries and that is what counts.  She only wears diapers to bed now so that is awesome!  She doesn't even want to wear them then, but her diaper is always at least a little wet when she gets up in the morning so I don't let her.  She still loves Barney and her thumb.  I have just started calling her Thumbelina today.  I hope it will discourage her, but it might just end up making her want to do it more.  Not that she could want to do it more b/c (like I said earlier) SHE LOVES HER THUMB!  She also twirls her hair while she sucks her thumb while she watches Barney.  She does it all the time really and I don't know if it is a good thing or bad thing.  I can't decide if I should strongly discourage it or just let it go.  I've got to decide which battles are worth picking and I am just not sure about this one.  Manners, on the other hand, aren't an option.  I am strongly for them and she does an awesome job us them.  She makes me so proud when we are out.  Most of the time anyway.  She does still have an occasional melt down, but I can't remember the last one so that is good. 

Life is so good right now.  My family is healthy and happy.  I get to spend everyday with my little girl and husband.  I've also started going to the gym almost everyday which I enjoy.  It is a time truly for me to focus on me and no one else which hasn't happened in a long time.  Once you have a husband and child, you really give up a lot of yourself and almost all of your freedom.  (They don't tell you that beforehand for some reason...LOL).  I think I am doing a pretty good job as a wife and mother.  As long as everyone in the house is happy, I'd say I'm doing great!  But, of course, everyday can't be great.  The upside that is, they can't all be bad either.  Enough of my philosophy.

We have had lots of fun this summer.  We've been hitting the playgrounds and parks.  Today we went to the zoo with my sister and her kids.  Then they went to the riverboat while Summer napped.  They just got back so I gotta go!

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Summer was a little scared of the fireworks the other day.  I had to bring her in from the balcony and we watched them from the couch.  The next day we saw a few from the window in Soddy, but we didn't really watch much.  I was more interested in the movie on TV.  It was the first time I have ever watched a Harry Potter movie, and it was pretty good.  Anyway, yesterday she woke up and wanted to watch more fireworks.  It is pretty crazy because I didn't think she really liked them, but I guess deep down she did. 

We went over to a friends house for a cookout on the 4th.  It was fun.  Summer and I swam in the pool.  At first she didn't like it and seemed scared.  About the 3rd time we got in, she started loosening up a bit and even sat on a few floats (which is a lot for her).  For some reason, it seems like she has always had a fear of floats.  She still does not like anyone else to be on her float, and if they try to get on, she is high-tailing it off to Mommy.  She likes to do "Ring Around the Rosies" in the water and also for me to spin her in circles with her body over the water.  She still holds my hands when she jumps off the side of the pool.  I don't usually let her go under unless I tell her first.  She usually does not want to do that again, but she doesn't get upset when I let her.  She is still pretty scared of the water which is good b/c she won't just go jumping in when no one is there to catch her or hold her.  She likes to kick on her back as long as I am holding her head close to me out of the water.  I doubt she will be swimming this year, but that was a pipe dream anyway.  I can't say that I mind though b/c I love the fact that she wants me to hold her close and protect her.  That probably won't last forever so I'm gonna enjoy it as long as she lets me. 

As you can see from a few of the pics, Summer has a big bruise on her cheek from falling off the porch at her Memaw's house.  It wasn't that big of a fall, but it did leave a bruise.  If that isn't bad enough though, a few days later she fell off of the bar stool and landed on her face - the same side.  It was awful.  She cried and cried and her lip was swollen and bleeding a little.  She let me put a wet rag with some ice in it on her face for a while.  We rocked and rocked until she felt better.  It was so sweet, but also scary.  I told her about how we used to rock when she was a baby while she was nursing.  It brought back a lot of good memories being in that rocking chair.  We stayed at our house this weekend which we haven't done in a long while and it was nice.  I think we need to go there for a few days next time.  It is such a relaxing atmosphere out there by the lake far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown.  We got to see a few of our neighbors and they were all amazed at how big Summer is now.  It was nice visiting with them until the mosquitos started biting me.  That's one thing I don't miss. 

Yesterday we had Sunday dinner at my Aunt Leisa's house to celebrate Grandad's birthday.  It was good as usual.  Lots of food and dessert too.  I actually ate dessert first yesterday.  I had two homemade oatmeal cookies and a piece of lemon cake before my meal.  I am glad I did though b/c I couldn't eat anything else when I finished my plate.  Clint got food poisoning or something though b/c he has been sick ever since then.  I don't think anybody else did though, so maybe it was something else.  It was a nice to visit with the family again.   When I was growing up, we had Sunday dinner EVERY Sunday.  But, after Memaw died, it stopped.  Now we do it maybe once every other month, sometimes twice.  Iam glad my aunt takes the initiative to plan them b/c otherwise we would only see the family at Christmas. 

I better go see what Summer is into.  It is a little too quiet in the other room. 

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So, I dropped my laptop at the airport yesterday.  The monitor is not working, so I am guessing it has seen its last operating days.  Thankfully, I had backed up all my pictures a couple of weeks ago, so I only lost a couple of weeks worth of pics at the most.  It still sucks though because now I gotta get a new computer.  Not that we don't need a few new computers around here anyway.  I feel like I have been in a computer junkyard for the past few months.  Now, I have one more piece of junk. 

Summer is doing awesome potty training.  Although she did just pee in her diaper right in front of me.  I heard her and asked her about it and she kept on peeing.  Now she has on a dirty diaper.  "dirty diaper"  And she is repeating everything I am saying. "saying"  As I type.  "type" 

I have just been informed that "bear wants to eat her chicken noodle soup."  So, I better go get her some.  :)

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By noon today, Summer had peed 4 times and pooped once - ALL IN THE POTTY!!!

She wanted to put on her big girl panties this morning after she went to the potty the first time.  She did really good with them on.  When she needed to poop, she came up to me and said "it hurts" and told me she wanted a diaper on.  So, I sat her on the potty instead and we read a couple of books.  When she got up, she had done #1 and #2.  SO EXCITING!!!  

While we were making her grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, she was sitting on the counter.  She told me her panties were wet.  I was scared she had made a big puddle on the counter, but she had caught herself when she started and it was dry.  So, off we went to the potty for her to finish.  When she was done, she was ready for a diaper so I conceded.  I mean, I can't expect it all to happen in one day so no need to pressure back into the panties.  I am seeing a lot of progress which makes me super happy!!!  Can you tell????

My mom said Summer did a pretty good job at her house this weekend too.  Peeing in the potty and grass (she would get out of the pool to go in the grass).  Hey - whatever works is fine with me.  :)

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