Perry the Elf

We are starting a new Christmas tradition at our house this year.  It is called Elf on the Shelf.

Here is the story:

"At holiday time

Santa sends me to you.

I watch and report on all that you do.

My job's an assignment

from Santa himself.

I am his helper,

a friendly scout elf."

"The first time I come to the place you call home

you quickly must give me a name of my own.

Once you are finished my mission can start."

After much deliberation, our elf was given the name Perry.

This morning, Perry arrived at our house for the first time.  Austyn was so excited when she came to the table for breakfast and realized he was here!

Gannon couldn't wait to read the book and start the search for Perry.



"Each night while you're sleeping

to Santa I'll fly

to the North Pole

right through the dark sky.

Of course Christmas magic

helps me to be quick.

I laugh with my friends

and report to Saint Nick."

"I tell him if you have been good or been bad.

The news of the day makes him happy or sad.

A push or a shove I'll report to 'the Boss,'

but small acts of kindness will not be a loss."

"I'll be back at your home before you awake,

and then you must find the new spot I will take.

You'll jump out of ed and come running to see:

who'll be the first to spy little old me?"

It took a little bit of searching, but Gannon finally spotted Perry...

Austyn was right behind him :)

"There's only one rule that you have to follow

so I will come back and be here tomorrow:

Please do not touch me.  My magic might go,

and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know.

I won't get to tell him that you've said your prayers,

or helped to bake cookies,

or cleaned off the stairs.

How will he know how good you have been?

He might start to think you forgot about him.

I can't speak to you, so says Santa Claus.

All of us elves have to follow his laws.

I'll listen to you.  Tell me your wishes.

Would you like a game or some tiny toy dishes?

The gleam in my eye and my bright little smile

shows you I'm listening and noting your file.

The final decision with Santa now rests.

What do you think?

Will you get your request?
The night before Christmas my job's at an end.

The rest of the year with Santa I'll spend.So blow me a kiss and bid me farewell. 

I'll fly away when I hear Santa's bell.

Of course, I will miss you,

but wait 'til next year.

When the holidays come I'll again reappear."

Bryan and I are very excited about this new tradition for our kids.  We have some big plans for Perry, so stay tuned!



22 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: Twenty-two weeks

Size of baby: Baby M is 11 inches inches long and weighs in right at a pound-- the size of a spaghetti squash.

Movement: Baby M kicks and wiggles at fairly predictable times of the day, now. I can feel a few thumps in the morning when I wake up, but not much. Baby M is most active between 10 and 2--thump-thump-kick-wiggle-squirm. I can also feel little kicks when I lay down to go to bed, but not much.
-At some point in the near future, I am supposed to start doing "kick counts". I should be able to feel Baby M move at least ten times during any given hour.


-Baby M isn't nearly as active as Gannon was. I never had to count kicks with him. He moved constantly. I would reach ten within the first 10-15 minutes any time I stopped to count.


-Austyn, on the other hand, was super laid back. She moved so little that towards the pregnancy, she started to worry Mommy and the doctors. She even had to be observed a few times.
-This little Peanut seems to be taking more after big sister than big brother in this department.

Heartbeat: 168--woah!  Jumped back up this week!

Fetal Development:

"At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and right at 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily." -babycenter.com

"Now that he's got more developed eyes and lips, he's looking even more like a newborn.  He's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day (hint: they're probably those times you're not feeling any kicks!)." -thebump.com

Cravings: Crazy cravings!  I eat all.the.time!  And it is still just about all junk.  Ice cream, Oreos, chips... I have been eating strawberries, but I dipped them in chocolate first ;)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +4 pounds

MaternityClothes: I am still wearing mostly regular clothes, although I have no clue how.  I have two pairs of maternity jeans--one, I hate..and the other falls off.  I am mostly wearing regular shirts that are longer in length--that way they are long enough to cover this belly!

**I am carrying this baby high, which may be the reason I can still button my regular jeans.  Apparently, Austyn was low...I could no longer force the button on my jeans together for her pregnancy at only nine weeks!

Gender: We are not going to find out!

Gut feeling: I really do still feel like it is a boy. But others disagree:

Bryan says, "That baby's a girl!"

Austyn cracks me up when she talks about this baby.  A few days ago, she informed me that there were two babies in my belly.  Their names are Mia and Molly.
--I don't know where she comes up with this stuff!

So, the story goes that when you are pregnant, you can determine the baby's sex by holding another baby:
-if the two babies are opposite sexes, they are supposed to be at peace with each other.
-if they are the same sex, your baby is supposed to "fight" with the baby you are holding.

Well, at Gannon's birthday party, I held two precious little angels, both boys.  I never felt even a single movement the whole time!  Hmmmmm...??

Sleep: Sleep has actually gotten better...for the moment :)

What I miss: Nothing really... I am falling into the "I love everything about my pregnancy" stage :)

Symptoms:

-Morning sickness is still here, but she only visits in the morning. I know better than to try to eat breakfast...I just make up for it the rest of the day!

-Clumsy!! Boy, am I clumsy! I drop everything, I trip over my own feet, and I knock over any glass in my reach. Sheesh! I ran into a tent pole at Academy the other night, and at Subway, I turned to leave the register and ran into the post that makes the line...Oy. I was like this with Gannon, too, but had no sense of recovery. This time, I am able to save at least most of my spills.

-Vivid dreams! I know I have talked about these before, so I won't go into detail about all of them, just let me tell you...Wooo-eeee, there have been some doozies! Ha!

-Allergies! Ick! It is pretty much confined to a nagging cough now, so that's good!

Leg cramps! Yuck :(

-Back/hip pain! This has actually gotten much better since I have been seeing the chiropractor. It isn't gone...but it is much better! My last appointment went great, and I am even able to stretch out my visits from two to three weeks!

Five Whole Years

Five years ago on this day...

God gave me the most beautiful gift I could ever imagine. 

Five years ago on this day, He made me a Mommy.  On November 20, 2006 at 6:37 pm, Bryan and I welcomed the most beautiful baby boy into the world.  He made our hearts whole.

Four years ago on this day, that sweet little man blew out his first birthday candle.  I can't believe how wonderful that first year was.

Three years ago on this day...

...our tractor-riding, dirt-loving, all-boy

celebrated two whole years with us!

Two years ago, on this day....

Chief Gannon sounded the alarms to let everyone know he was another year older!

One year ago....

...My handsome little hunter added a fourth candle to his birthday cake. 

Today,

...we celebrate FIVE "super" years with our favorite little super hero.  These five years have flown faster than I could have imagined, and I know the years to come will go just as quickly.  All I can do is cherish each and every moment I have with this special little boy.

Mommy loves you, Gannon-Banannon!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: Twenty-one weeks

Size of baby: Baby M is 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot— and weighs in at 12.7 ounces (about 3/4 of a pound!).

Movement: Baby M kicks and wiggles at fairly predictable times of the day, now.  I can feel a few thumps in the morning when I wake up, but not much.  Baby M is most active between 10 and 2--thump-thump-kick-wiggle-squirm.  I can also feel little kicks when I lay down to go to bed, but not much.
-At some point in the near future, I am supposed to start doing "kick counts".  I should be able to feel Baby M move at least ten times during any given hour.

-Baby M isn't nearly as active as Gannon was.   I never had to count kicks with him.  He moved constantly.  I would reach ten within the first 10-15 minutes any time I stopped to count.

-Austyn, on the other hand, was super laid back.  She moved so little that towards the pregnancy, she started to worry Mommy and the doctors.  She even had to be observed a few times.
-This little Peanut seems to be taking more after big sister than big brother in this department.

 

Heartbeat: 156

Fetal Development:

Okay, so you may notice that this is out of order...I had to move it here to preface the weight gain ;)

Cravings: So, here is where I start gaining weight!  Cravings are hitting at full-force.  This week, I want cold and sweet all. the. time!  Juice, Popsicles, ice cream, ice cream bars, etc....For work, I bought a box of Moo Bars, a box of Crunch Bars, and a box of Juice bars...I am averaging 3-4 bars/day.  Eeeek!  A craving for sopapilla cheesecake hit the other night, and I had to bake one of those, too!
-Which reminds me-- When I was pregnant for Gannon, I craved green Popsicles--you know, the Blue Bell Bullets (I think?).  I had forgotten all about that craving until it hit me Monday at school.  I NEED A GREEN POPSICLE!!  Ha!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +3

MaternityClothes: I am still wearing mostly regular clothes, although I have no clue how.  Maternity clothes are still to big, so I am just making do for now. I do have two pairs of maternity jeans that I wear on occasion, but that's it. 

 

Gender: We are not going to find out!

Gut feeling: I really do still feel like it is a boy. But others disagree:

Bryan says, "That baby's a girl!"

So you may remember the talk we had with both the kiddos about how they may not get the baby they "want", but we will love our new baby no matter what.  At this point, Gannon wanted a boy, and Austyn wanted a girl.
Well now, Austyn will only refer to her baby as Parker.  Mia has been forgotten.  Now, we are having to have that talk with her again, only backwards...."If Parker happens to be a Mia, we will still love her."  To which she responds, "NO!  My baby is PARKER.  Not Mia.  My Parker-Baby!"
Sheesh....

Sleep: Sleep has actually gotten better...for the moment :)

 

 

What I miss:  Nothing really... I am falling into the "I love everything about my pregnancy" stage :)

Aversions: None...I think I may delete this section.

Symptoms:

-Morning sickness is still here, but she only visits in the morning.  I know better than to try to eat breakfast...I just make up for it the rest of the day!

-Clumsy!! Boy, am I clumsy! I drop everything, I trip over my own feet, and I knock over any glass in my reach. Sheesh! I ran into a tent pole at Academy the other night, and at Subway, I turned to leave the register and ran into the post that makes the line...Oy. I was like this with Gannon, too, but had no sense of recovery. This time, I am able to save at least most of my spills.

-Vivid dreams! I know I have talked about these before, so I won't go into detail about all of them, just let me tell you...Wooo-eeee, there have been some doozies! Ha!

-Allergies!  Ick!  It is pretty much confined to a nagging cough now, so that's good!



Leg cramps! Yuck :(



-Back/hip pain!  This has actually gotten much better since I have been seeing the chiropractor.  It isn't gone...but it is much better!  My next appointment isn't for another week, so no new updates for now.

"Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well."
-babycenter.com

"As her digestive system preps for the outside world, she's manufacturing meconium -- the tarry black substance you'll find in her first dirty diaper (ew)!  If it's a girl, she's already got a lifetime's supply of eggs in her womb -- about six million of them!  -thebump.com

F-I-V-E

November 20, one of my favorite days of the year, is quickly approaching.  Much faster than I would like, ha!  On November 20, my baby boy will be F-I-V-E years old!  FIVE!!  Where have five years gone??  While I feel like I have always known him, and that he has always been a part of me, I still can't believe it has been almost five years since the first time I laid eyes on his perfect little face.

We aren't finished, but we snapped a few photos to commemorate this time in his life with some of his favorite things.

Hope you enjoyed these photos of my little super hero!  More to come, soon.