Something Funny! :)

I am officially at 36 weeks and feeling Baby Houston daily as he kicks, punches, and simply moves around in an area that probably appears to be getting smaller by the moment as he continues to grow.  This week has been a hard week as I have been in charge of testing at my school and on my feet A LOT!  I am hoping to take some time off my feet on Sunday afternoon after church. :)  And.... spring break is just around the corner!  Just for comic relief..... I am including pictures from 18 weeks pregnant and 36 weeks pregnant..... wearing essentially the same outfit.  Try not to laugh! ;)  I think my favorite part about these pictures is that I actually thought I looked pregnant at 18 weeks and had no idea how big I could get (or can continue to grow!).

A few funny stories from kids this week.....
1.)  A student in a kindergarten class looked at my belly and then at my feet and asked, "Mrs. Houston, how do you put on your shoes?"
2.)  Another kindergarten student asked, "When is your baby coming out?"  I replied, "Sometime in April".  She followed it up by saying, "Let's take him out now". 
3.)  Another student was walking to his bus as he touches my belly and states, "He still hasn't come out yet!"

I can't wait to see what Thunderbolt has to say.... I have a feeling that he will entertain me daily with his thoughts and comments as the students at my school do. :) 

Today I was able to go to a 4th birthday party for one of my best friend's sons.  It was so adorable to see all the young children who were so inquisitive at the science center.  There were animals to touch and everyone was so well behaved!  I also had a baby shower hosted by some amazing ladies from our church.  It was so much fun to spend the afternoon with them and hear stories about when their children were young or things I should be prepared for as Baby Houston arrives.  I appreciate all their advice and their love and support as we are starting this new family dynamic.  Here are a few pictures from the shower! I can't wait to look at all the gifts again and find a special place for each one in Thunderbolt's nursery. :)

The Food! :)  Everything tasted AMAZING!!

An adorable outfit!

Grammy

A clothesline full of advice and encouragement for the Houstons

Some of the ladies! :)

Bri, one of the hosts and one of my closest friends!

Pate decided he wanted to look like me after the shower ended..... this just makes me LAUGH! :)

Zack also celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday.  We were able to eat dinner at Don Juan's with some friends and eat a Coldstone cake with cake batter ice cream in the center.  We enjoyed the last birthday for the Houstons before Thunderbolt arrives.  We were able to catch some of the basketball games and play Ultimate Uno!

SURPRISE!!

I walked into youth sunday school yesterday morning anticipating a parent-youth breakfast and heard the word "SURPRISE!!"  I was very shocked to realize the breakfast I had been excited to take part in was actually a baby shower for Baby Houston (Zack was at work so he missed all the fun!:( ).  We had such a great time in sunday school eating a delicious breakfast (I ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut, cinnamon roll, quiche, bagel with cream cheese and other yummy casseroles!)  Then, I opened up all the amazing gifts from the youth and their parents.  It is such a blessing to celebrate in this time with them.  We have been helping out with the youth for six years now so we have seen a lot of them grow up right in front of us.  I pray that our child will be as sweet and compassionate as the young adults in this picture.  We have an amazing group of kids to work with and their parents are so supportive!  We love our church family!

 Notice that even the guys participated in the opening of presents.  They were good to "oooh" and "awww" after each gift.

Olivia, one of our seniors, helped me keep track of all the presents so I would remember who gave Baby Houston each of the special gifts.

Check out this lion cake/tower!  It has washcloths, hooded towels, a blanket, and wipes were underneath it all!

Also, I am including a few pictures from Liz's baby shower for Baby Baden.  We had a great time in Morganton on Saturday celebrating the upcoming arrival of a precious baby boy!

                                             

My mom, sister, and mother in law helped throw the shower for Liz.  Barbara brought delicious cupcakes and mom helped with the sandwiches and the punch.  Lindsey was a huge help with getting things organized and figuring out where everything should go in the parlor.  Also, in this picture are Baby Baden's grandma and two great grandmothers.

Yesterday, I started to pack a bag for the hospital.  I know I still have plenty of time before Baby Houston's arrival but it was something on the "to-do" list that I wanted to check off.  When I started packing, I realized I added more items to the list than actual items in the bag.  This is a work in progress.  Zack is going to put the car seat in the car by the end of the week (just in case).  Since last week, I have been able to purchase the baby monitor and breast pump thanks to gift cards from the showers we have had.  Things are really coming together, and we are eagerly anticipating Thunderbolt's arrival. 

In like a Lion....... Out like a Lamb

A phrase I always remember from when I was a child is March comes "in like a lion and out like a lamb".  Usually, they are speaking about the weather but I am thinking that this year it has to do with the preparations and celebrations for Baby Houston's arrival.  I have been blessed to have two baby showers since the month of March began.  My sister hosted one last weekend at her house, and my school threw me a shower yesterday afternoon.  I am so humbled by their generosity and how so many teachers and other staff members stayed after school to celebrate this new adventure I am about to begin.  As you can see from the decorations and food, they went all out!!  I think that at this point, we are ready for Baby Houston (at least with all the shower presents we received).  We got a Diaper Genie and Jump n Jive so bring on the dirty diapers and lets get Baby Houston mobile from the beginning! :)  We also got some of the cutest clothes, cups, bowls, utensils, towels, washcloths, etc.  My principal's mom made Thunderbolt a handmade quilt.This kid is SPOILED already!

Anna made a diaper cake!

Kari made these beautiful cupcakes and cake.  She is the same person who made the reveal cake back in November.

All the yummy food...... can you tell I am pregnant?! I had to take a picture of the food!

The invitations :)

My principal, Mrs. Warren

Some of the staff members

Opening some gifts :)

I am officially at 34 weeks!  That means 6 weeks until the due date! People have been coming up to me and saying.... "I had my child at 35 weeks" or "I had my child at 40 weeks and 6 days"...... so I am starting to wrap my mind around the fact that it might happen sooner or it might be a little later.  I think in the next couple weeks, we will start to pack a bag for the hospital (just in case) and install the car seat. 

Tomorrow, I am throwing one of my very best friends a baby shower! I can't wait to celebrate with her! I will post some pictures of the two pregos afterwards. 

Next week, Zack and I start childbirth classes.  They last for four weeks.  It will be interesting to see how many people in our class on the first night have their babies before the final night of class.  Will it be us?!..... We will see........





Kernersville Shower

First, a story from work this week........ I was teaching a lesson in a 1st grade class one morning this week.  That afternoon, as I was helping out with buses, one of the students that I saw that morning said to me, "Mrs. Houston, what happened to your belly?!"  I responded, "I am having a baby".  Then she proceeded to say "OHHHHHHHHH".  The funny thing about this is that it appears she did not notice my pregnancy earlier in the day but in the afternoon light as the buses were being loaded, it became clear that my stomach had grown.  My assistant principal followed up the incident by saying, "I have been told that black is slimming" (since I had on black that day).  I am still baffled at how I could hide the 33 week old baby bump from a first grader only to have her notice this growing belly later the same day!  There is NEVER a dull moment in an elementary school! 

 

Moving on...... we have the crib set up in the nursery with the mattress and fitted sheet in its place.  For some reason, this one item on our "to do" list has made me feel like we are getting ready for Baby Houston's arrival, and he is coming VERY soon.  We decided to have our beagle, Burke, test out the new crib.....as you can tell from the picture, he is not a fan!  But.... he was a good sport about the whole thing!

 

 

This Saturday, Zack and I went to a breastfeeding class.  For those of you that are reading this and don't have children yet, I would advise letting the husband stay home for this "training".  I think that these were three hours that Zack wishes he could have back!  I learned a great deal at the class, but still feel like nothing will prepare me for this new adventure.  I have to wait for Thunderbolt to arrive, and we will have to take it from there!

 

After the morning we had, it was definitely fun to have a baby shower planned for the afternoon.  My sister wanted to host a shower at her house so I invited some of my dearest friends and family members to join in the fun.  My sister did an awesome job with the hostess responsibilities.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was PERFECT!  Liz made the most delicious cake pops to go with the yummy spread!  We got so many wonderful things for the baby, and it was just a perfectly wonderful afternoon with some amazing ladies (and a handsome almost four-year-old and super cute one-year-old).  While I was hanging out with the girls, Zack needed some "guy time".  So, he took Dan, Boomer, Chris, and Scott to the skeet shooting range nearby.  They had a great time shooting a shot gun and all that other fun manly stuff!  Scott's wife, Liz, is one of my very best friends who happens to be pregnant as well and due in May.  We had to remind the guys that the soon-to-be dads needed to come back in one piece! :)  I appreciate Dan, Boomer, and Chris for making sure that happened.  Zack had such a great time that he wants to go again soon...... I had to remind him we might be busy in the near future. ;)  Here are some pictures from the shower......

The cake matched the invitations! :)

Baby Houston with Mommy, Grannie, Grammy, and his two favorite aunts!

Grannie and Grammy

The Ladies

 The Aunts

Baby Houston and Baby Baden meeting again! :) We can't wait until they are actually able to meet and we can take pictures of them together! :)