More Doctors

Today we had another doctor appointment. Just a routine appointment, except this time I wasn't very happy because we waited in the waiting room for an hour and a half. It wouldn't have been as big of a deal if we didn't have Riley with us. When setting up this appointment I had left just enough time for a small wait (just in case), the appointment and drive home to put Riley down just in time for her afternoon nap. Well, that time came and went. She was really good, but was getting pretty antsy after waiting so long and being SO tired. I was getting pretty antsy, myself, and I wasn't tired...she was a trooper. To make a long story short after we left the appointment she fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. Poor little thing, she was so sleepy.

This appointment I came out of really disappointed, I mean, I know I've still got a week until my actual due date but Dr. Winter did an exam and I wasn't dilated at all. I also put on 4 lbs. since last week (oops) and I just feel like I'm never going to have this baby!! Maybe I feel like he should already be here because that's all I've heard my WHOLE pregnancy. People have always said "You'll never make it to your due date (probably because I am so big)"...I guess once I started hearing that enough I starting believing it too. Oh well, I can't stay preggo forever...right?? :)

So I've got another appointment set up for next week, I just hope I won't have to go to it! I hope I'll be at home resting with my precious baby boy!

On a side note, I talked to my friend Sarah who is due to have her second baby and they found out today they are having another GIRL! YEAH! I am so excited for them...

"Milestones"

1. Riley's new favorite thing to do is pray. We always pray before we eat and pray with her before bedtime, but now she loves to pray ALL the time. We will sit down to eat dinner and she folds her hands, to "remind us" to pray for the meal, then she'll take a couple of bites and folds her hands again and will refuse to eat until we pray again. This usually happens at least 3 or 4 times a meal. Then she loves putting her babies to bed in their "crib" at least 5 times a day and she folds her hands again and will wait until I pray for her baby too! It's so cute to see her growing up and I always hope that Ty and I can be Godly examples for her. It's hard to believe that kiddos pick up what we do and how we act so quickly, what a reminder.

2. She has figured out how to open all the doors now, so we've had to put "childproof locks" on all of the doors (except hers) otherwise she ransacks our room and plays in the toilet when we're not looking.

3. She can show you all her body parts, from her head to her toes and knows all of her animals and the sounds they make.

4. She doesn't talk much (at all) but can do about 25-30 sign language signs. It will be exciting when she can actually communicate with us by talking.

5. Babies are her favorite "toys". She rocks them, holds them, feeds them, burbs them, gives them pacifiers, dresses them, etc. She's not very interested in other toys. Maybe she'll be my little helper when the "real thing" comes along very soon!!

6. She's getting her own personality and attitude already! She can be so defiant, but she's also so sweet and loving (and all at the SAME TIME). She loves climbing on the coffee table (which we don't allow). I tell her I'm going to count to five and if she doesn't get down she's getting a time-out. I'll count to five, she'll be looking at me the whole time, then when she doesn't get off I will go get her and when I pick her up she'll give me a big hug and a kiss just so I won't put her in time-out. How manipulative she is already :)!

7. She loves to help me cook. But she hates the blender and the mixer--they scare her.

8. She loves playing in my purse and wallet, but she especially likes taking out my credit cards and putting them down the vents in the apartment. No wonder I can never find them...

9. She will tell me when she has to go potty so we run to the "potty room", take off her pants and diaper and sit on the potty. Then (after she won't go) she'll stand up walk a foot away from me and pee on the bathroom floor...this happens almost every time, it never fails!! Thank goodness for tile floors.

10. She loves playing with our cell phones and calls Uncle Corey usually at least once a week, most of the time when it's 6 am (their time) and wakes him up.

11. Riley doesn't like it when Ty shaves--his "shaving cream face" scares her. She always shakes her head "no" when she sees him.

12. The first thing Riley does in the morning when I get her out of her crib is pat my belly and says "baby"-she loves her brother already! :)

13. When Ri eats cereal for breakfast she always drinks the milk from her bowl first and then eats her cereal! :)

I could probably go on forever and ever...but these are just a few of the precious things about Ri that I never want to forget or take for granted. Even though I feel overwhelmed at times I can't imagine my life any other way. I am so thankful for our family and can't wait to see what she does next!

Dr. appointments...

This week has already been full of doctor appointments for both Riley and I. Riley had her 18 month well-baby appointment (even though she is 19 months old) and thankfully she was completely up-to-date with her shots so she didn' have to get any!! That made my life (and I'm sure her's as well) so much easier! She is now 22 lbs. (20th percentile) and 32 inches (40th percentile)...she must have had a growth spurt since her last appointment! I also had them look at her infection again and even though it is getting better each day they still prescribed more meds. to help it clear up quicker!

I had my weekly appointment on Monday and everything looks great...once you get to the bi-weekly and weekly appointments it kind of seems like they're all the same. I am now 38 weeks and I put on 1 lb. since last week but am finding that it's still way harder to get around. I'll try to post belly pictures later tonight, I am now off to clean the house and do laundry while Riley is taking a nap!

Ty says I look abnormally gigantic :)! Me at 38 weeks...

A big boy?? What do you think ;)!!?

I was scrubbing the floor the other morning and sweet little Riley had to help me off the floor because I was so exhausted and so huge...she's so funny because she'll pretend like she's helping me up and grab my hand to pull me up and then say "ugh..." when trying to help. It's really funny!

Oh yeah...I almost forgot to mention that I have officially grown out of almost all of my maternity clothes :)!

Our weekend...

This weekend was pretty eventful, at least to us it was :)! Ty actually had Friday off so he spent the day in Kalamazoo shopping and looking around with Riley. I stayed home and slept and baked cookies (and ate a lot of batter...oops:))! Then we took a tour the the Hospital where we will have the baby. Since we're new to the area we've never been to the hospital and thought that it would be a good idea to check it out, you can never be too prepared I suppose. I thought that Foote Hospital (where we had Riley) was nice, but it is no comparison to Borgess. The rooms are huge and it seems like a comfortable environment. The nurses that we met were also very nice!

Satuday, a friend of Ty's from high school stopped by because he was in the area. Ty had a great time chatting and catching up and it was the first time he met Riley. Last time we saw him I ws pregnant with Riley, he probably thinks I've been preggo forever...(although I feel like that sometimes too).

Then today, Sunday, Ty had to meet his group for one of his MBA classes in Spring Arbor so Riley and I tagged along and went shopping and to the park while Ty was working on a project. We dropped him off and then Ri and I went to Baby Gap (of course, since I'm addicated to that store!!) and then met up with some friends at the HUGE park in Jackson. We met up with Nich, Jennie and Hailey and Sarah, Ryan and Mia. Before we moved we all got together fairly often, and I miss them all since we've moved. Riley and their girls play so well together and Sarah and Ryan are expecting baby #2 in mid-September, so now our "new baby" will have a playmate too :)! We're so thankful for their friendships...it's great knowing that even after not seeing friends for a couple of months we can still pick up where we left off when we get togehter--like nothing has changed. I forgot my camera at the park, but hopefully I can get the pictures from Jennie or Sarah and post them later. (Here are a couple pics, thanks Jennie :)!)

Jennie and Hailey; Me, Riley and baby #2; Sarah, Mia and baby #2 :)

The girls in their strollers eating a snack (Riley kept feeding both of them, she's learning how to share :)!)

I told Ty that if the day at the park today doesn't put me into labor then nothing will--Riley had such a blast, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be without Ty chasing her. Thankfully our friends really pitched in and helped me a ton with Riley. I think I spent most of the afternoon explaining that "yes, I'm only having one baby", "no, I wasn't due yesterday...", and "my back doesn't hurt as bad as it looks like does...". But overall we had a blast and it was beautiful out, I LOVE this weather! Can't wait until it's here to stay.

My little...I mean BIG girl :)!

This is a shot of Riley's new 18 month picture. She's growing up so quickly and I can't believe she's 1 and a 1/2 already. She's such a sweet little girl, so sensitive, caring, loving, independent yet still very cuddly, nurturing, so much fun and so much more!

I took Riley to get her picture taken every month of her life until she was 1 and then I got her 18 month and then will probably go every year starting at 2. I have loved looking through all her pictures and being able to see how much she has grown and changed each month. She's always (well, almost always...) done really well smiling and being very well behaved, this time was a bit different. She was VERY well behaved, but wouldn't smile for the photographer for anything. Not one single picture was she smiling in...in fact, this was one of the very few pictures she wasn't giving the photographer "the eyebrows" (as Ty calls them--he says she got those from me). "The eyebrows" is her "dirty look". But, I still think she looks beautiful!

Writing hiatus...

UPDATE: We got Ri a prescription for "butt cream" and picked it up this afternoon--seems like it is getting better and healing already! I'm thankful, poor little thing...it would be much easier if she could have just told me what was wrong.

It's been a little while since I've written...no not because I had the baby already, Joey's mom :). (Thanks for checking in though :))! I suppose that's a good thing, although I'm getting VERY ready! Only 3 weeks to go, that's only 21 days! YIKES!! It's getting SO close!! But, to be honest I haven't written in a while mostly because it's been a boring week.

Ty has been working SO much lately and we miss having him home. This week he's working 13 or 14 hour days and then also starts his MBA again. He had the last 6 weeks off. Poor guy, he's been so busy--leaving for work at 5 am and not getting home until 8 pm, then going to bed at 9pm just to do the same thing the next day. Although tonight he has to drive to Spring Arbor for class from 5:30-10:30pm then drive an hour back and get up tomorrow at 4am, work all day and have class all night again tomorrow!

I appreciate him working so hard so I can stay home with Riley and this new little one! He is such a great husband and father, I couldn't ask for anything more!! I think more than anything, though, he misses spending time with Riley. Last night he got home after she already went to bed and he had to go into her room and hold her for a while while she slept! She misses him too, but hopefully he won't be so busy for too long!

Lets see...what else is new in the Paulk household?! Well, I'm taking Riley to the doctor today because the past 5 days she's had what I thought was diaper rash but yesterday I finally called the doctor because she's never really gotten diaper rash before and it was hanging around for longer than it should. After describing her symptoms and the rash the nurse thought that Riley may had a yeast infection (which is actually fairly common in infants and toddlers). Anyways, since she's had the rash she's been putting up such a fuss when I try to change her diaper...NO WONDER! Poor little thing...I feel horrible that I didn't call the docs. sooner, but I had no idea! So as prescribed by the nurse I've been giving her 3-4 baking soda baths a day (which, believe me, is not easy because I can barely get close enough to the bath tub to do it because my belly is so big). Also I have to change her diaper every hour or two and I can't use wipes--warm wash cloths only and I'm suppose to let her run around naked a few times a day. So yesterday I spent most of the day bathing, changing diapers every hour or two and cleaning up pee on the floor (because she was running around naked). It's been a long week already and it's only Tuesday! But whatever makes her more comfortable and helps her booty get better!!

Keep her in your prayers because she seems pretty miserable! Hopefully the doctor will prescribe something today and help her heal quickly.

Chuck E. Cheese's

We also took Riley to Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday for her little friend, Amaurion Moore's, 1st birthday party. She had a lot of fun and her and Amaurion always play really well together. We didn't know if there would be a whole lot for her to do there because it is mostly for older children but they did have a baby section that she had a blast in.

The only thing she didn't like was Chuck E. Cheese himself. As long as he stayed far enough way she was fine, but the closer he got the clingier she was. Not that we were surprised, she can be the shyest little thing. It takes her a long time to warm up to people.

Whack-A-Mole :)! This was a favorite of Ty's as a kid too.

Mom, I told you I'm tall enough for the rides...

Riding on the Clifford toy.

Riley and Amaurion in the school bus!