Thanksgiving Show

Ashley has been a busy lady! The pre K classes put on a performance last night at the Village Chapel in Pinehurst. They performed with the "big" school, the K-8 grades. It was cute, but the church was very crowded and we were sitting in the back, so it was hard to see.

This morning, her individual pre K class put on their own Thanksgiving show at their classroom. It was so cute! They were all dressed as Indians or Pilgrims. Ashley was a sweet Pilgrim girl. They sang a few songs and recited a few Thanksgiving poems. After, they had a "feast" which consisted of all sorts of yummy foods (pretzels, chips, cookies, sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chicken nuggets and pumpkin bread). Here are some pictures of my cute Pilgrim.

Ashley did very well during the performance and sang or spoke everything very quietly. She was very still as well, I don't think she was used to having something under her neck. Her teacher told me when they got her dressed, she was very still and stiff and it was really cute, like she was afraid to hurt her costume. Love her!

Santa

We love the Festival of Trees. It is held each year at the Pinehurst Resort in the Carolina Hotel and it benefits the Sandhills Childrens' Center. The trees are amazing and Ashley and Peyton love to walk around and look at them. This year, Santa was there and they had the chance to meet him and sit on his lap. Ashley was very excited to meet him, but Santa had to bribe Peyton. Peyton would not go near him, but Santa told him he could use the remote control for the trains and that was enough to get him to sit on Santa's lap. Here are some pictures:

Another Haircut!

Peyton had his third haircut on Monday morning. His hair grows pretty fast and I have been resistant to letting Ryan take him to a barber. I love his long, thick hair and I know a barber will cut it super short. But it had gotten a little out of control and was constantly in his eyes. I could tell it was bothering him because he was always pushing it out of his face. So I gave in and had it cut shorter than it has ever been. It still has some length and he still has his cute curls in the back.

And here is a super cute picture of Peyton from last week (pre haircut) wearing my sunglasses.

Halloween 2012

Halloween was on a Wednesday this year. It was pretty cold and dreary that day. We decided to take Ashley and Peyton to a local church's trunk or treat instead of trick or treating in the neighborhood. We have gone here the past couple years too. We met up with a few friends and Ashley and Peyton had a great time. After, we went to Outback because kids ate free and we did not go out for Ryan's birthday. When we got home, we went to two neighbors' houses to trick or treat and then we called it a night.

I Want To Remember This.............

Just wanted to jot this down so I don't forget it. This morning, Ashley woke up very early and came in our room. It is usually a struggle to get her up at 8am for school and this morning, she was in our room at 7am.

She got in bed with me and asked if she could feel the baby. She put her hands on my belly. Then she said "Mommy, me and Peyton are going to take care of baby sister". So sweet! Then she said, "And me, Peyton and baby sister are going to take care of you!!". What a sweet girl!

Then a few minutes later, she said "I need you to do three things. One, change the channel. Two, put on a kids channel. Three, make me pancakes". I could not help but laugh. Guess I know where all the sweetness was really coming from, lol!

Ashley had asked me to take some pictures of her the other day :-)

I also wanted to add that Ashley's teacher gave me her progress report this morning, there were several things she could be graded on. There were three grades, inconsistent, developing and consistent. Ashley got consistent for every single item! What a difference one year makes! Some of the items are "interacts easily with one or more children/adults, develops relationships with others, recognizes feelings of others and responds appropriately". These are all things Ashley's teacher from last year said she struggled with and was ready to slap a label on her. Her teacher's comments are " Ashley is such a joy to have in class. She is so much fun and has such an eagerness to learn". So proud of my baby girl!

Peyton's Halloween Party

Peyton had his first preschool party of the year today, his Halloween party! I offered to help and went in a little early to set things up. I was really excited to see him at school, he was so cute! When I got there, he was working on an art project with Miss Sonja and did not see me. When he finished, he saw me and came running to give me a hug. Then he had story time while we set things up. I loved seeing all his classmates come in to get their special treats, 2 year olds are so cute! After their snack, we sang some songs and Peyton wanted me to stay in the room with him and sit on my lap. So sweet! Here are some pictures from his party:

School

I know I have said this before, but I love Ashley's school this year! Putting her in the pre K program at Sandhills Classical Christian School's Little Friends is the best decision I have made in a long time. It came from some very stressful circumstances, but again, has taught me that when things seem like they are turned upside down and your plans fall apart, God has an even bigger and better plan in mind!

Ashley's teacher, Mrs. Lawson, sends us a weekly email detailing exactly what they are working on that week. She includes a lot of pictures, which I love! Last Thursday, her school had a Walk-A-Thon fundraiser. I went to help out. It was a lot of fun and wonderful to see Ashley interact with her school friends. She was the line leader and when the walk-a-thon started, she ran! All four laps, she even lapped me twice and came in first. I was so proud of her. Maybe running is in her future! Here are some pictures from school and from her walk-a-thon.

Fall

We are having a super busy fall in the Douglas household! Ashley has been to at least one birthday party per weekend for the past three weekends and has one this weekend too. Her favorite part about parties are the goody bags, it is all she talks about. So cute! We have also been to the pumpkin patch and went to two fall festivals last weekend. It is amazing to me how much fun holidays are when you have children. It just puts a new perspective on everything and gives me a fresh outlook, it allows me to see things through my children's eyes.

Here are some pictures from our visit to the pumpkin patch in Sanford (Gross Farms). We had family pictures taken here last year and we may have to make visiting this pumpkin patch an annual Douglas family tradition.

Potty Training 101

We have been spending a lot of time in the bathroom at our house and discussing peeing and pooping a lot. Oh fun times! When Ashley was Peyton's age, potty training was not even on my radar yet. In fact, I had not been planning on training Peyton until he turned 2.5. Well, having a new baby in March changed my mind about that! If I could avoid having two in diapers, I am going to try!

Peyton's first day in underwear was Friday, October 12th. He did AMAZING! We even took him to the park and out to dinner in his "big boy underwear" (Cars, of course). We got home and told him he was going to use the potty. Then we went inside and everyone got distracted, he started playing, I started doing other things and he had his first accident. I blame myself for that one.

We continued to keep him in underwear and he had an accident at the nanny's on Monday afternoon. Not a big deal and not bad for someone who just started training. I sent him to school and NO ACCIDENTS!! I think he pretty much has this potty thing down, we have traveled out of town, eaten out for dinner, gone shopping, etc and he has done great. He has had 3 poop accidents, but other than his two pee accidents in the beginning, he is good. I know the pooping will come eventually.

I have had a lot of trouble keeping underwear on him though, he loves to be naked! He has gotten better, but still prefers to run around naked when he is home. And he touches himself a lot, I guess that is a natural thing for boys ;-) Ashley has been very helpful and encouraging, we will give Peyton a jelly bean after he goes potty (most times) and she gets one too, so that may be a motivator for all her help! However, one day last week, she got herself completely ready for school (I normally have to supervise). After school, I took her to the nanny's. I got a text a little while later from the nanny asking me if I knew Ash did not have any panties on. Great!! She went to school in a SKIRT with no panties! Luckily, when I asked her teachers about it the next day, they said they did not see anything. I must do a panty check every time we leave the house now. 

Anyway, I am so proud of my little man and I guess once he gets the pooping down, it will be time to try no diapers at naps and bedtime. Yay!

Official Announcement

Here it is......................

This was how I announced our third pregnancy on Facebook. I love Ashley and Peyton's shirts. And the look on P's face and the fact he is playing with his belly button. So typical Peyton!

And to add to the good news, we found out last Thursday we are having a baby girl!! And everything looks great. All my blood work came back negative or low risk and the doctor said she looked great on the ultrasound. Yay!

I did not want the doctor to tell us the sex during the ultrasound, so he wrote down the sex on the back our our ultrasound pictures and circled the "parts". Ryan and I had dinner at Bonefish to do the big "reveal". Ryan looked first and then showed me the picture and told me to guess. It was super obvious it was a girl. I turned over the picture and it said "You go girl, it's a girl". I sort of wish we had done that with Ashley and Peyton, it was a really special way to find out. 

Ashley has been telling everyone she is having a baby sister, so I am glad she is not going to be disappointed. I am thrilled to be having another girl. Ryan said now we have to pay for two weddings and he worries more about girls than boys. It would be nice for Peyton to have a brother so close in age, but I am sure he will love his little sister. And I get to re-use Ashley's crib bedding, which I love!

Now to come up with a name.........................

Disney World

Where to even begin? Last year, Ryan and I decided we wanted to go to Disney World in the fall of 2012 with Ashley and Peyton. We invited his parents and my parents because his parents have never been and we thought it would be fun for them to all experience Disney with Ashley and Peyton. Everyone was on board and excited and then in January, my mother had a bad afternoon with Ashley and declared she was not going to Disney World with her, that Ryan's parents could go since "they were used to dealing with bad kids". Nice, huh?? I was a little disappointed because we are not close with Ryan's parents and do not spend a lot of time with them, so I thought it would be nice for my parents to be there too. But Ryan's cousin Mike and his family decided to come with us, so it all worked out.

When we planned this trip earlier this year, I repeatedly said "I do not want to be pregnant in Disney". The last time we went, in March of 2010, I was pregnant with Peyton. It was a lot of fun, but there were many rides I could not go on. Plus, with Ryan's parents going with us, I knew I would need to drink, possibly heavily, during the trip. I guess God had other plans because I found myself pregnant, at Disney, yet again. I will be honest, it was a tough trip at times. Ryan's parents rode with us there and back. It is hard enough to be in the car that long with your husband and kids, let alone your in-laws. I had to excuse myself one of the first mornings to have an "attitude adjustment". But once we got to Disney and all checked in our separate hotels, it was fine, for the most part.

Ashley and Peyton had a great time! I was nervous about Peyton because he got hysterical when we got on the bus from our hotel to go to Magic Kingdom and then he cried hysterically when we first got to Magic Kingdom. But then he was great! No more tears! He rode everything we did and really seemed to enjoy everything. Ashley did great, but was very scared of anything that had fire and gun shots. I was so impressed with Ashley and Peyton's behavior, especially since they were running on fumes, both kids love to sleep and they did not get even close to their normal amounts. So sweet and well behaved, I guess that was the best way to show Grandmom what she was missing ;-)

I will upload more pictures, but here are a few from my phone.

Enjoying dinner at Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Citywalk

Ashley and Cinderella at the princess lunch in Norway

Finally, the big news!

It may be obvious what the big news is, but we are expecting baby #3! It was not planned, but we are very excited about it. I suffered a miscarriage in December (the week before Christmas), which was a complete and total shock to me. That pregnancy had a been a surprise too, so to experience the miscarriage was even more of a surprise, especially since I had no issues with my two previous pregnancies.

In July, I had planned my first kids/spouse free weekend since before Ashley was born. I was going to Charleston to visit my friend Tiffany. Before I was pregnant with Ashley, I would visit Tiffany at least 2-3 times a year. We would have low key weekends, mostly just chatting, eating out, going to the beach, shopping, chatting :-) I have decided spending time with friends is so important and something I need to make more of a priority.

Anyway, I was expecting my period the week before my trip. It never showed up. I was not going to test because I wanted to be able to enjoy a few drinks on my kid free weekend. Of course, the closer I got to leaving for Charleston, the more I knew I would have to test before I left. Of course, it was a big old positive! Such shock!

I am 14.5 weeks now and feeling pretty good. I have been exhausted and nauseous, but nothing like how I felt with Peyton, so I have been counting my blessings. I go to the doctor next week for blood work and then we have our big anatomy scan on October 18th. Because I will be 35 when I deliver, I am considered "advanced maternal age" and will meet with a specialist after hours to perform the ultrasound. I am saying many many prayers that everything comes back good with my blood work and the anatomy scan.

So on or around March 23rd, we will be adding a new baby to our household. Let the craziness begin!

Princesses and Parties!

Ashley loves everything girly. She loves the color pink, Barbies, Disney princesses, My Little Ponies, dressing up, I could go on and on. On Sunday, she was invited to a princess birthday party. Before the party, a few of the girls were going to a new nail salon in town for princess manicures. They invited Ashley to come along and of course I said yes! She loves to have her nails painted and she had never been to a real salon before. All the girls dressed up like princesses and they were treated like royalty as they had their nails done. Ashley loved every second of it and of course, picked out hot pink polish and sparkles to go on top.

After the girls had their nails done, we headed to the party. It was at a local drop in child care center. Ashley had so much fun but I think the highlight was when Rapunzel came! She read stories to the girls, painted their faces and posed for pictures. I think this might be Ashley's favorite birthday party to date.

Hanging Out

Ashley, Peyton and I had several days last week without Ryan. He traveled to Indianapolis for work and was gone all day from Wednesday-Saturday. During the weekday, I normally handle things myself, so that was not too rough. But dinner time and bed time was a different story! He normally helps with dinner clean up, baths or getting kiddos ready for bed. I was exhausted by the end of the week and hate to say I did not even change out of my pjs until 4:30 on Saturday. I run around like a crazy person during the week driving all over Moore County between school drop off and pick up, getting to the office and taking Ashley and Peyton to the nanny's, so it is really  nice to have some time at home. Here are a couple pictures from the past week.

Bed head!

Eating waffles

Peyton had his first dentist appointment on Friday. I did not take Ashley this young, but I recently got dental insurance through work, so I figured why not? He saw a pediatric dentist, which was great, because he was not happy to have his teeth looked at! He cried when the dentist examined him and brushed his teeth, but overall, I was pleased with how he did. The dentist did mention he chipped one of his front teeth. I am sure it happened when he fell and cut his lip. But luckily it was just a bit of the enamel, so no permanent damage. Peyton picked out a little yellow truck as his prize, which he has sitting on his plate in the picture above. Ashley and Peyton both go back in six months, we will see how he does then!

Another First Day of School

Today was Peyton's first day of preschool. He is attending the same preschool Ashley did for the 2s and 3s. I really loved the Learning Tree and moving her to a new school for the 4s was a difficult decision. It is funny that things seem to come full circle. I had fully intended to keep Peyton at the same school they were at last year, but everything fell in place for him to come here. I am so happy with our decision and I know he will have a great year. He repeated "I excited" the whole car ride to Ashley's school and to his, but as soon as we walked inside, he became shy. He clung to my legs and started crying when I left. I know he was fine as soon as I left, he is such an adapter. But he is a mama's boy too! Here are some pictures from this morning. I love taking Ashley and Peyton's pictures in the same exact place on our front porch. I have pictures of Ashley's first day of school at the Learning Tree, taken exactly three years ago in exactly the same place.

My big boy!

Cheese!!

Ashley's first day of preschool 2009