testing

And so I have a big baby. :) 4 months old and officially 22.85 pounds. You can take a look at the picture below and check it out for yourself. I just HAD to have evidence... and I even think this pic is about 2 or 3 weeks old.

Uh, I'm trying hard not to totally grab him wrong, but it just looks awkward anyways!

We went to Dax's 4 month check up and the doctor was a little worried. (REALLY?!?!? NOW? You weren't worried when he was 17 lbs at 2 months but now you're worried.... sheesh...) My mom has been encouraging me to have some blood work drawn up on Dax. So we did. And boy did he scream.

I actually had to take him to Quest Diagnostics the next day because the nurses couldn't get his blood. So we're waiting until tomorrow or Tuesday to get the results. We're looking at his thyroid, growth hormone, some type of syndrome dealing with his kidney or liver... I forget which.

But it's all in the Lord's hands. I'm just a little disappointed because I wanted to start feeding him baby food and to see this next fun stage or development. Not wanting a 50 lb one year old.... um, we're holding off on that for awhile.

So Dax continues on. Sweet baby as he is. What a blessing he is to our family! Everyone should have a baby like him. Too bad they can't! He's mine. :)

spring training: bulldog style

Aiden and Drew have started t-ball... the first of many seasons, I'm sure. I was a bit apprehensive (an understatement.....) about the boys' involvement because of time constraints of ministry. BUT- it really has been an awesome time for the boys and the Lord has surprised me along the way. I have had opportunities to get to know other parents in the community who are unchurched. Please pray as we have opportunities to with these families in Port St. Lucie.

Drew: can I just say how I love his ears sticking out like this? Reminds me of my maternal grandfather. Plus, Drew tells us occasionally how he's an elf and helps Santa during Christmas.... HA!
Brothers. :)

dax

so i'm not so good at keeping up with this..... but i do have a newborn baby. :)

dax mattingly carroll was born on november 5th, 2009. he was 18 days early and weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. he is such a sweet, sweet baby!!! we are very blessed. the rest of this is going to be pictures to catch everyone up on this little guy.

32 weeks

And so the countdown has started, at least in my mind! Technically we have 2 months, a little less than 8 weeks. But with the "official" diagnosis of gestational diabetes, I will probably be induced in about 6 weeks.  

Many people, including my own mom, have expressed apologies over the diabetes diagnosis, but it really hasn't phased me. I did have it with Aiden and Drew plus my family history is horrible.  Big surprise that I have it again. So I'm watching my sugars, what I eat, and how much weight I gain. (Which btw, is not TOO bad! I feel like I am doing much better than my two previous pregnancies. Yay me!)

So today was day 1 of testing my sugars. I'm wasting time right now because I need to go check my blood in about 30 minutes. :) And then clean.... maybe I'm really procrastinating.

This baby is nicknamed "Big Baby" (check the Celtics player-hahaha) already because he is already measuring at 35 weeks instead of 32. My ultrasound this week showed that he weighs 6 lbs. some ozs. I didn't quite catch the ounces as I was incredulous over the weight. Oh yeah, we're going early. I told my o.b. about Heather's 9 pounder that came 3 weeks early. The doctor wasn't too interested in having the baby's shoulders become an issue. We'll watch to induce early or even a c-section. 

AND.... we are playing a little naming game. I have had the hardest time picking a name for this baby. One Saturday morning, as Dave and I laid in bed, we were discussing names when I told him that I liked a certain one but couldn't imagine naming that baby that if he had blonde hair. Everything snowballed until Dave suggested naming the baby off of his hair color. :) We were dying laughing (like we're ever serious) and so that is what we are doing. We've picked 3 different names: one for a blonde, one for a brunette, one for a red head. If there is a discrepancy over the name, the nurses and doctor take a vote. :) And that's the story.

Unless I TOTALLY change my mind and decide whatever I want. 

And I can do that. I'm the mom. :)

frogs and force fields

I just took the kids on a short trip to South Carolina as one of my cousins was married (yay Erica and Matt!!!). Great time with my parents and extended family. :) I'm trying to post a video of Drew breaking it down to some jazz. Very funny as the dancing DOES NOT reflect the type of music, but very Drew-esque nonetheless!

As I was leaving my parents to make the 2 hour trip home last night, the boys and I discovered many a small tree frog in the car. Many, ahem, "guests" travel with us from my parents. Often they are wolf spiders (gross) and now these little frogs.  I felt one jump on my foot early on in the trip and shaking my leg soon entailed. :)

So night falls, Drew sleeps. I soon found this frog jumping on my dashboard. I pulled off the road, turned on the lights and tried to trap the frog to release it. I would rather deal with a frog over those wolf spiders (again, gross) but I think I was rather squeamish for Aiden.  Here's his advice:

"Mom. You just need to pray. Pray that God will give you a force field against the frog. Just say some words like,

 'Dear Jesus. Please give me a force field around me so that the frog can not jump on me.'

That's it mom. Just pray those words."

I am trying to stifle a laugh about my kid who combines Star Wars with theology. :) Awesome.

School Rules

School has started with plenty of rules. :) Aiden came home on Friday with his folder of work completed from the week. I was a bit taken back at this following picture, asked him about it, and then died laughing. 

Apparently the students and the teacher discussed what rules they should have for the class. (I'm used to this method, being a teacher myself, which the teacher eventually simplifies all suggestions to the basic 5 or so.)

Aiden's rule: "No Punching in the wewe."

Otherwise known as "Keep your hands and objects to yourself." 

Classic.

June

AND.... we've moved.  Yes, again.  This move has been to Port St. Lucie to be closer to our church (THE rockin' Calvary Chapel  of PSL) which gives us a shorter commute and more room!  Yea for more room. 

The house is great, and we are definitely loving the space: about 3 times the size of our townhouse plus a backyard to boot! The boys are enjoying the summer and also the house... have I mentioned the yard? Haha. Fun for all.  

I love the grass too and the mowing. Seriously. One of our praise band members owns a lawn mowing company and offered to come by whenever to help out. Very sweet, but I had to let him know that it has been at least 6 years since I mowed my own lawn! I actually joked with him about applying for a position with his company. The smell, the finished product... how can you not love it? :)

Now we just have to finish a couple of things like painting the baby's room and organizing Dave's office. Dave, who usually does a knock-up job at picking paints colors, completely bombed when he chose some random peachy skin color. Uh... no. Back to square one and whenever we have free time next. Maybe in August. 

The baby: doing well and kickin'. Well, not kicking as much as the boys did, leading Dave to believe it's a girl.  Who knows but God? So I don't want to lean one way or the other until we have that ultrasound... which might be at week 40. I really does feel like the doctors are having some communication issues. 

My doctor put a script in for an ultrasound 3 WEEKS AGO. I have called back and told them that I have not received a call from the specialist yet, and then they fax the script again. 3 times. So I head off to the ob/gyn for another visit on Tuesday. Maybe they can get it right. 

Besides that, we wait. We're also praying for an opportunity to get the rest of our stuff from Cleveland. I'm trying to be patient but it has been about 2 years!!! It's really the baby stuff and maternity clothes that are killing me.  I'm not really fond of throwing more money out the window when I have perfectly good stuff sitting in storage. Currently, I have only 2 pants of maternity clothes that fit me, and then I'm using this stretchy band over my regular clothes to hold me over until I can get my good stuff. Argh. I just don't want to spend money on new maternity clothes. I'd rather buy me a new pair of shoes!

Talking of the baby, I am at week 17 (18 on Tuesday). The wait continues!