Baby B#3's Pedal Tractor

You might recall that Pa bought each of the kiddos a pedal tractor before they were born, and so it continues with Baby B!  We chose a different color this time...Red!

The pedal arrived at Pa and Gram's house before Thanksgiving, so while there, the men decided to put it together.  The kiddos loved helping put it together as well.

Final touches - the decals

All done!  A new Farmall 560 - just waiting on new baby to arrive.

Until next time...

Gossett Thanksgiving

Today, after a fun day out shopping with my sisters, my mom's side of the family came down for dinner.  I do believe it was the first time all the "great" grandkids had been together since Christmas 2010!

L-R: Hailee (3 yr 2 mo), Sariah (4 yr 11 mo), Brinley (3 yr 2 mo), Reba (4 yr), Dallas (5 yr 8 mo)

I actually got a decent picture of my two kiddos!

GG with her greats as of Thanksgiving - she has since added Julianne, and she is to get another boy in May!

 Lastly, we got a nice family picture in my mom's new kitchen!

Until next time...

Big Splash Adventure Waterpark

After riding the train to the North Pole, we spent the night in French Lick at the Big Splash Adventure Waterpark.  Ma-maw, Pa-paw, and Aunt Lisa also stayed with us; along with my cousins and their families.  I didn't carry my camera around the first half of our play time, but I did get it out at the end to capture a few smiles from the kiddos!

Once Daddy took Reba down this slide, we couldn't keep her off of it!

Dallas loved this water gun contraption...

You can see the three of big kid slides in this picture, Dallas was tall enough to go down two of them with Daddy (on a tube), and let me tell you...he couldn't get enough of them!

Here's a look at them coming out one of the slides...

Like I said, we couldn't keep Little Miss off this slide...

This little girl sure does love her Daddy (and getting her picture taken!)

Back up the steps to go down the slide...

Then, the kiddos and Daddy got back on the "Lazy River", but they were more "Crazy"!

Daddy tried his best to steer them under the dumping buckets

Another look at Daddy and Dallas going under one of the "waterfalls" on the Lazy River

Until next time...

Polar Express 2013

We once again took the kiddos to ride the Polar Express.  We left from French Lick and made our way to the North Pole on November 8th.  We were very lucky and had great weather!  We arrived early enough to snap a few photos before boarding the train.

Ma-maw and Pa-paw (and Aunt Lisa) joined us once again this year.

As well as Gram, Pa and Aunt Josie!

Patiently waiting for the train to leave the station...

Sometimes they will act as though they really do love one another!

In addition to the grandparents, my cousins and their families joined us!  In all, we had 25 people in our party.

L-R: my cousin Jerry, his son Austin, and his niece Vivian,
and nephews George Martin and James, and their grandpa Jim

Reba and Dallas having their tickets punched

More of our party

My Aunt Joyce and three of her eight grandbabies.
L-R: Grace (Jerry's daughter), Vivian and James (Kathleen's youngest two)

Listening to the story "The Polar Express"

Love the cookies!

And the hot chocolate!

After the story is over, the children are encouraged to get up and dance in aisle.  Grace and Reba only joined in once I got up to dance.

Arriving at the North Pole and waving to Santa...

This was the best picture I was able to get of the kiddos with the Jolly Big Guy.

Once we arrived back in French Lick, we piled all the kiddos into one seat for a picture...you can only imagine what it was like to get 8 kiddos age 5 and under to look and smile
(side note: there might be a little "photo shop" altering to the following group pictures)

L-R: Mattox (8 months), George Martin (4 years), James (7 months),
Dallas (5 years), Grace (3 years), Austin (5 years), Vivian (2 years), Reba (3.9 years)

Little Miss couldn't get enough of the babies!

Daddy and his little girl

Another group photo opt...

L-R: Grace, Vivian, Austin, Dallas, George Martin and Reba

Our little family of 4...soon to be 5! (Dallas may or may not have been "over" pictures by this point)

Until next time...
You can see our previous trips here (2012) and here (2011).

One BIG Egg

A few weeks ago we collected one huge egg, so large it took up Dallas' entire hand!

When we placed it in the egg carton, we couldn't even close the lid...

When we finally cracked it for breakfast one morning, we were blessed with a skillet full!

Until next time...

Fun Friday Flick

I was finally able to get Reba to sit still long enough to answer some questions about her favorite things.  Enjoy the video!

I would have answered a few of the questions differently had I just filled out what Little Miss' favorites things were.  For instance...
Favorite Toy: Her baby dolls
Favorite Lunch: Ham "Samwich"
Favorite Thing to Wear: Necklaces and/or Earrings
Favorite Game: Memory Cards or Hide and Seek
Favorite Animal: Giraffe or Zebra or Cats
Favorite Song: Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker
Favorite Supper: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Favorite Thing to do Outside: Swing
Favorite Thing to do Inside: Color or Play-doh
Favorite Thing at School: Painting with her hands

I took her this morning for her 4-year-old check up.  Here is how our little girl measures up...
Height: 37.5 inches (this is up 2 inches from a year ago); 10th percentile
Weight: 33 lbs (this is up 3 lbs from a year ago); 33rd percentile

Overall, our Little Miss may be petite in size, but she is excelling in her developmental abilities.  Some of the questions Dr. Alex asked included:
Does she sleep well? Yes
Does she eat well and a variety of foods? Yes
Can she pedal a tricycle? Yes - and fast!
Is she potty trained? Yes - for 2 years now
Can she dress herself? Yes - he must not know how independent Little Miss is...
Can she draw a circle? Yes
Can she make a fist? Yes
Can she name at least two of her friends? Yes - remember she named 4 of them in her video interview!
Can she wash her hands? Yes
Can she brush her teeth? Yes
Can she play simple board games (i.e. Candyland)? Yes
Can she sing the alphabet? Yes and write the letters in her name
Can she count to 10? Yes and beyond
Can she trace lines? Yes
Does she know colors? Yes
Does she know basic shapes? Yes
Does she know at least two adjectives? Yes
Can she stack blocks? Yes
Can she hop on one foot? Yes

Until next time...

Week 38

First off, I want to remind you all to go to my Baby Pole post and submit your guesses for Baby B#3!

With my recent neglecting of the blog, I missed last week's Baby B update.  Here is my bump photo from week 37...

I also have a comparison to each pregnancy from week 37...

L-R: Dallas (Buckwheat), Reba (Gertie), and Baby B#3

If you remember, I mentioned I would have another ultrasound during my appointment last week.  Doug was able to get off work, and we took the kiddos along too so they could see the baby once again.  This was the first time that I had an ultrasound at this stage in the pregnancy.  Both Doug and I thought we would be able to see the baby really well and that the kiddos would be able to see.  We were a little wrong though.  Because the baby is "larger", it didn't all fit in the ultrasound picture.  Therefore, we were really only able to see "parts" at a time; such as the belly/torso area or the head.  We did see the heart beating clearly, and we were also able to hear the heartbeat.  I think the heart rate was around 138.  The tech tried her hardest to get a picture of the baby's face, but with the baby being head down and facing my back, she couldn't get the wand in the right position.  Plus, the baby had its hand over its face!

Here are the two photos we came home with...

One of the face (I know it doesn't look much like a face; remember Baby had its balled up fist over its face)

Baby toes and the ball of its foot

The main reason for the ultrasound was to take some measurements.  The tech estimated the baby to be at 7 lbs 3 oz (the size Reba was when she was born!).  She also measured the torso and the head, and found them both to be in the "normal range" for my stage of pregnancy.

As far as my weekly appointment with the doctor, it went great.  I was up a total of 17 pounds since the start of the pregnancy, and my blood pressure was once again normal.  At week 36, I was tested for Group B Strep infection.  The results came back negative - if you are keeping track of those results, I was negative during my pregnancy with Dallas and positive with Reba.  Also, at week 36, my doctor checked me, and I was about 25% effaced and dilated to a 1.  At week 37, I had progressed to 50% effaced and dilated to a 2.

Today, I had another appointment.  It is hard to believe my due date is merely two weeks away!  My appointment was pretty routine.  Check my weight (up a half pound since last week).  Check my blood pressure (118/68).  Listen to Baby's heart beat (not sure what the rate was, this doctor never tells me).  Finally, check to see if I made any progress since last week.  I'm sad to report that I am still the same (50% effaced and 2 cm dilated).

Here is this week's photo of the bump...

The kiddos still love to feel the baby.  They find it funny that the hard bump at the top of my belly is the baby's bottom!  They also like to feel when the baby pokes out its heel, knee, or elbow.

I am still feeling well, but to be honest, I'm ready to meet this baby!  Sleep is very difficult, and yes, I realize sleep will be difficult with nursing a baby every 2-3 hours through the night.  The heart burn and indigestion is really getting annoying.  One thing I find funny at this point is that I don't have a problem eating.  I can remember getting to a point while pregnant with Dallas and Reba where I would take one bite and be full.  I'm not there yet.  I still go back for second helpings!  I'm hoping this means I can enjoy the Thanksgiving meals next week.  Lastly, I do believe Baby has "dropped" because I don't feel him/her in my ribs like I used to.

Until next time...remember to add your Baby B predictions here.

Reba's 4th Birthday Party

On Saturday, November 16th, we had our families down to help us celebrate Little Miss turning 4 years old!  Enjoy some of the photos from her party...

We had a very filling lunch of fried fish, mushrooms, french fries, cole slaw, and deviled eggs.  We then decided to open presents before diving into cake and ice cream.

Reba patiently waiting to open her presents.

The first card she opened had a punch out tiara - which she loved wearing!

A big girl bath sponge, along with some markers/crayons for the tub.

Yep, she was pretty excited when she opened this box and found...

her own set of nail polish!

A pretty new bracelet

and lots of new ribbons to tie in her hair

A glass fish scene (paper weight) that she spotted at a tractor show and fell in love with

Her own "My Little Ponies" (she found some of Momma's at Ma-maw's house and loves them!)

Barbie's (little sisters) with a sheep and pig

New shirt

Reba was kind enough to let Dallas help her open a present

A wagon for her Cozy Coupe

Pink truck, pink trailer and horses!

Testing out the new wagon

Cake time!  Each time I would ask Reba what she wanted on her cake, she would tell me flowers.  I looked up some pictures online and this was the design she picked, but she didn't want blue.  I was very pleased how it turned out.

Little Miss was pretty happy too

Showing off her newest matching outfit with Lucy

Thanks again to everyone who came to help us celebrate, and thank you to everyone who sent cards and left Facebook messages!

Until next time...