Birth Order of Children

My sister-in-law sent this to me in an e-mail and rather than bore everyone with yet another forwarded e-mail, I thought I'd post it on my blog, so that if you want to read it you can. I thought it was just hilarious! Any of us with children (and any # of children) will understand, and since I'm going to have baby #2, we'll just see if it will come true! I hope you laugh as much as I did! Enjoy!



Birth Order of Children:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing. 3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays 2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Our New Miracle!

Yesterday was my first OB visit! And boy was it exciting!! My OB is the sweetest lady and she's really great! I love her! She delivered Jeremiah, so I'm siked that she will also deliver our second child! I think that's really cool! Rich and Jeremiah went with me, so that made it even more special! My Dr. did and ultrasound (don't ya just love those!!) and it was the neatest thing! It's comforting to see what is making me sick all day! haha! This visit I was a little farther along then I was with my first visit with Jeremiah, so the baby didn't look like a peanut! You could actually see the arms and legs, just a moving and kicking! How sweet! I love it!! Jeremiah was fascinated with seeing the baby on the screen! He kept saying, "Baby, WOW!" I'm excited to see how he will be once the baby gets here! I just love seeing the miracle of a baby being developed! How can anyone say it's NOT a miracle! Children are defiantly a blessing! Maybe we don't think so when they get into the pantry and dump the huge bag of craisins on the floor! But, God blesses us through that huge smile when they look up at you after dumping it all over thinking they've just scored the jack pot! :) How can you not love that face! (Wish I had a picture of that day!) I will leave you with our new baby's first picture! Enjoy!

That's Right!!

You got it!! The Army of 3 will soon be the Army of 4!!!! We will be adding a new little Bates into our family sometime in October!! We are very excited!! One thing I'm not so excited about is the morning sickness, well for me, it's been ALL DAY sickness!! I don't remember being this sick when I was pregnant with Jeremiah, although my Mom and Rich say that I was! It's a yucky feeling!! My Mom tells me all the time, 'Just think about the end result, it will all be worth it then!' Yes, Mom, I agree, and there is no greater feeling than seeing your baby for the first time!! I must give some thanks for the WONDERFUL hubby that I have!! These past few days when I've seen more of my insides than I really ever wanted to, he's been a saint!! He takes care of Jeremiah (not to mention has changed EVERY poopy diaper since I've been pregnant!! I can't handle the smell or....yeah, you guessed it!!), does the dishes, laundry, etc. Poor guy, now he knows what it's like to be a stay-at-home mom!! haha!! He really has been great, and I really appreciate all that he's done for me!! I don't know who's more excited about the baby, me or him! :) Jeremiah is such a sweetheart! When I wake up in the mornings and am hunched over the trash can, he comes up to me and says, "Mommy, U OK??" Aaaww, isn't he just cute! I guess the next big challenge we will have with him is getting him adjusted to being a Big Brother! We tell him everyday, but I guess he won't understand until the baby gets here. Please keep us in your prayers as we venture through this journey. Please also continue to pray for my dear hubby, he still has not found a full time job (he looks and applies all day!!) . He was doing some contract work with a company in Matthews, however, they do not have enough work to keep him there full-time. So, in the mean time I am working my 2 part-time jobs to help make ends meet. Rich is also picking up a few hours working with my parents, so I know that will help. I know that God will provide for the needs of our family as He has shown me several times in the past! How Great Is Our God!

Big Boy Bed!!

Jeremiah has graduated to a 'Big Boy Bed'!! He slept in it for the first time last night!! He did GREAT!!! We had converted his crib into a 'toddler bed' a few nights ago, and he did fine. We thought we'd go ahead and put together the bed I got at Pier 1 Kids when they went out of business! Speaking of which, those crazy people, they sold me bunk beds and we didn't get the top bunk!!! AAARRRGGG!!! It's labeled right on the beds--BUNK-- I contacted them to see what they can do, hey even if they can't do anything we got and awesome, really sweet bed for $40!!!!! Jeremiah layed right down in his bed last night and didn't try to get out. We explained to him that he wasn't to get out until Mommy and/or Daddy came to get him in the morning! And when we woke up this morning, he was standing there crying (like he always does). He didn't even try to get out of the bed, even thought he knows how!! I was worried about the whole transition thing, but he seems to be doing just fine! He loves it! Even our cat, Tig, takes naps on it! :) Here are some pictures we took of the bed and of him sleeping! Enjoy!




My New Big Boy Bed!!

Do you see any drool? I like my new pillow too!!

AAAWWW!! Poor Bacon got thrown to the end of the bed, and face down! Poor little guy! haha!! Have no fear Bacon, he still loves you! He won't leave the bed with out you!

NEW CAR!!! Well......

.......Not really!! I just wish it was!! I have my Mom's car!! Don't ya just love it! :) Rich, PRAISE THE LORD, has gotten to do some contract work with an architect that goes to our Church!! What a blessing! Rich's Jeep is still in Alabama, waiting to see to be sold! C'mon you Jeep buyers, where are ya!? Hehe! So, because his Jeep is not here, we only have one car, which is kind of strange in this day and age, where everybody in the house has a car! My Aunt, who is up from Florida and has finished her chemo and recently had surgery, has a doctor appointment today. Because of the surgery she can't drive, so why you ask do I have my Mom's car. My Mom fell down the stairs at her house last week, she sprained her ankle and hurt her back really bad, so she's kind of out of commision for a little while! So, I get to drvie my Mom's car while Rich is at work and be a shofer for her and/or my Aunt! :) I LOVE her car! It's new, and BIG and rides sssoooooo good!!!! Not to mention the sound system is top of the line, so I'm bringing on the KJ-52, Kutless, TFK, etc!!! Plus, the liscence plate advertises for their business!! WHOOHOO!!! (Hint! Hint! Go check it out! www.dinnerafare.com)

W.E.E School!

Well I must say that I'm pretty excited!! I dropped off my form to my Church to enroll Jeremiah in W.E.E. School (Weekday Early Education) this week. I know that Jeremiah will be glad to go! He just sokes up any information, so I try and work with him on colors and alphabet, etc sometimes. Plus, he's kind of a bully to other kids, so maybe this will help him not to be so mean to other kids! We'll see about that one! :) I was a little confused when I went to drop off the form because I have never done this before. I should have just asked someone before hand, but no, me and my independence said 'I'm going to do it myself, I'll figure it out!'. I did figure out where I needed to go (thanks to the help of another Mom that showed up about 8:00!), but the funny part is that I got to the Church at like 7:30am or so!!! YES!! That's right, 7:30AM!!!!! I thought there would be this line of people waiting at the door, because I've heard stories of people waiting in line and even spending the night in the parking lot to register their kids! So, since it was open to the Church members first I thought I would show up early in order to beat the crowd!! And boy did I!!! There was NOBODY there at that time! I guess some people weren't as ambitious as me! HAHA!! So, since I was the second person to drop off the form that day, I know that Jeremiah has a spot! :) I had debated a long time on whether or not to even put Jeremiah in W.E.E School, but I asked the Lord to provide the money. We just didn't have the 'extra' money laying around for the registration fee, so I told the Lord that if He wanted Jeremiah to go school that I would trust Him for the money. This was on like Wednesday or Thursday and I had to have the money by Monday!!! Nothing is impossible with God!! Rich sold an online computer game over the weekend, so it came out to be enough for the registration fee!! What an Awesome God! Just another reminder that God will take care of us. It was a clear to me that God had answered my prayer! I'm so excited the Lord has provided a way for Jeremiah to be inriched in His love!! I can't wait until the fall to see how he will grow in His will! Thank you Lord for providing a way for Jeremiah to learn more about how awesome you are!

My Soldier Is Home!

I know this post is a little late, but Rich IS HOME!!! We are so glad to have him home! Jeremiah is SOOO glad to see his Daddy everyday now! He cries if Rich goes outside and everything, is 'Daddy! Daddy!'. It's amazing how much you really count on your husband to help with things. While Rich was gone I did everything around the house AND take care of Jeremiah! (You stay-at-home Moms know what I mean!) But I must say that the hardest part of it all was not being able to pick up the phone and talk to Rich whenever I needed him. I would have gladly followed in that life, but God has other plans for our family! God brought Rich home to fulfill his other dream of drawing houses, and let me just say not just any house, we're talking 14,000 square feet, 1/2 million dollar (or more) houses like on Lake Norman!!!! God has blessed Rich with an amazing talent of drawing houses, and Rich is very excited to get back into this again! So, Rich has been job hunting since the day he got home, what a guy! We are both trusting that the Lord will bring him the job that is right for him. We have seen God's Mighty Hand over us the past couple of months, so we have no doubt that God will provide the right job for Rich! Please pray with us that a job will be found quickly!