Winter vs. Summer

Here are some reasons why being pregnant during the winter months is better than being pregnant during the summer months.

• Number one reason: not having to wear a maternity swimsuit!!!!!
• No swelling. I was able to wear my wedding rings to the hospital to deliver Nora. I had to take them off yesterday because I was losing circulation to "ring man" on my left hand.
• No waking up in the middle of night sweating. I, however, am the only one sweating. We have one of those nifty atomic clocks that also lets us know the temperature inside our house. When I woke up at 2:30 am, sweating, I looked to see if the temp. inside was near 85 degrees. Nope, it said 69.5 degrees. I realize this is extremely cool and you are probably afraid for our electricity bill (thank you for your concern...I assure you, we are a bit concerned too). I looked over at Matthew only to find him buried underneath extra blankets. At least someone is cool. (On a side note, when I was pregnant during the winter months with Nora, our gas bill was very low. Matthew would sit around in a toboggan and gloves, but we saved money that winter!)
• No annoying ice cream man driving up an down the street to remind you of your ever-present sweet tooth. He is to blame for my weight gain...I'm sure of it!
• No shorts to wear. No, you get to wear long pants to hide your swollen legs! Also, you can wear a coat (if you are brave enough to chance a heat stroke) to cover up an extra "bulges" you might have grown during the past few months.

And now, some perks on being pregnant during the summer:

• tank tops!
• Hopefully losing enough of the baby weight so that when the next summer rolls around, I won't still be breaking out the maternity swimsuits.
• Getting to wear coats and long pants this winter to cover up an "bulges" that did not go away with the delivery.
• Ice cream!!!!!!!
• Getting to sit in a swimming pool to cool off
• Fresh fruit/vegetables

These lists are not exhaustive, obviously. If you can think of others to add, please feel free to chime in. My sweet baby just woke up and I need to go and rescue her from a soaking wet diaper (which is a whole other post in itself).

18 months old!

Here she is...my 18 month old! I cannot believe how quickly time has gone!

We went to the doctor today for her "well baby" check-up. Here are her stats:

Weight: 23 pounds 3.2 ounces (25th percentile)

Height: 32 inches (55th percentile)

They didn't measure her head, although I am sure that it would have been in the 75th percentile (she takes after the Henderson side on size of head).

She has come a long ways since her 1 year old check-up when she barely made it to the 3rd percentile in weight. I guess all that whole milk and table food really do make a difference (not to mention her new found love of ice cream).

According to the doctor she is "perfect". Too bad he wasn't with us 30 minutes later in Wal-Mart when she threw a huge fit. The term "perfect" did not jump in my mind as the description for her.

We are very blessed to have such a healthy little girl! She truly is our joy. These are the things she can do at the ripe old age of 1 1/2 (probably only interesting for grandparents and aunts/uncles).

• Points to her eye, ear, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, arms, toes, tummy
• Can make the animal sounds for pig, dog, duck, horse, cow, sheep, monkey, kitten
• Points to herself in pictures and the mirror and says "Nona" (which is also what my mom is called...confusing!)
• Can say many words: mama, daddy, Nora, baby, ball, water, milk, snack, book, yuck, light, please, thank you, no (her favorite), Tyson (her favorite boy), all done, outside, blanket, night night, love you, bye bye, hi, Jesus, Bible, Papa, teeth, eye, bear, shoes, bow, boys, bite (as in, "Can I have a bite?"), banana, hot, cold...I'm sure there are more, but that is what comes to mind immediately. She is constantly mimicking what we say...I don't know if she understands, but she tries.
• She "talks" all the time!!!! She wakes up talking and goes to bed talking. When she talks to us, she is very serious and knows exactly what she is saying. If only we did too.
• She loves to eat! We haven't found many foods that she does not like
• She loves to be with other children!!!! Especially kids her own size.
• She likes going to Bible class
• She really knows how to throw a fit. She is super at this!!!
• She only uses her paci in her bed now (sometimes she gets in her bed for a paci fix).
• She loves her pink blankets
• She sleeps about 12 1/2 to 13 hours at night, but only takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap.
• She has no idea that she is about to be a big sister, however, she will come up to my stomach and say "Hi"
• When we are leaving somewhere (Wal-Mart, doctor's office, the house, ANY place), she will make sure she says "bye" to everyone she comes across. She wants them to know that she is leaving, I guess.
• She LOVES the Backyardagains and will stop whatever she is doing when she hears the theme song to come and stare at the TV and dance
• Speaking of dancing, she has NO skill in this department. She cocks her arm to the side and turns around in circles...another Henderson trait, I suppose
• She loves to wear my necklaces and bracelets
• She loves the water and would spend hours in her little pool if it wasn't so hot outside
• She also loves her sandbox
• She recognizes people she sees a lot (like the Brown family...she lights up when she sees one of them and yells, "HI".)
• She loves to give kisses (1/2 are open mouthed and 1/2 are closed mouthed)
• She would sit beside me and read books for ever!!!! She loves to be read to.
• She tries to feed herself...but it is a disaster area around her high chair when she is done.

Okay, I could go on and on, but I have about a million other things to do right now. Mostly, she is an average little girl who has captured our hearts in an above average way. We are excited about seeing how she will adjust to her new life next month with a baby brother or baby sister.

We love you Nora Elizabeth Henderson!

The pursuit of education

Last night, my husband began his journey towards his Ph.D.!!!! He attended his first class...the first of many! I am so proud of him!

His goal? A Ph.D. in Educational Foundations (basically, 3 years of educational statistics and research methods...sounds fun, huh...oh, and then a dissertation).

He goes tomorrow night for round two.

He is going to be a very busy man! He is still teaching full-time with the occasional after school tutoring session; he is going to be watching Nora on Tuesday evenings while I teach my class for Harding; he is welcoming a new baby in early October and all that comes with that (sleepless nights, emotional wife, active toddler, etc.); driving to Fayetteville 2 nights a week; studying for his classes and writing papers; life in general.

I am confident that he will succeed! I am proud of him and his desire to become DR. Henderson!

Red and White Game

Tonight, Matthew, Nora, and I went to the Razorback scrimmage a.k.a. the Red and White Game. The weather was great, parking was easy, we had great seats, and it was FREE. We couldn't have asked for a nicer outing. Go HOGS!

Tired girls

With Matthew back at school, Nora and I are having a great deal of "mommy/daughter" time. It is great!!!! BUT, I am worn out at the end of each day. It might have to do with the fact that I am trying to get over this pesky cold (only one more day on my medication!), or that I have 6.5 weeks left before I deliver a second baby, or that I am trying to spend as much time with Nora playing as I can before her world is completely rocked.

I must be exhausting her because she has been sleeping 13 hours each night!!!! Normally, that would be fantastic, I would be getting a ton of extra shut-eye, but my body is not letting me sleep in.

So, here we are, tired. Both of us with big bellies:

Yuck

Today I walked into Nora's room and she had taken all of the diapers out of her dresser (we have one of those changing table/dresser combo things where all the diapers fit in the side drawer).

First of all, I wasn't completely aware that she could open the drawer herself...surprise number one.

Secondly, she has been letting us know that she has a dirty diaper by coming up to us and saying "Yuck!". So, when I went in her room and saw her pulling out the diapers, she looked at me and said "yuck"...surprise number two.

I'm assuming this is one of the first signs of potty training?????? I don't know! All I know is that I am not ready to begin that process! She will be 18 months old next week (I can't believe time is flying by so quickly!) and we are about to welcome a new baby in our midst. I don't think she knows that she is about to go to potty, but she definitely knows when the "deed has been done".

Sigh...she is growing up so fast!

Back to the grindstone!

Well, it was a fantastic summer for the Henderson's! Today, however, it all ended. Matthew actually had to set his alarm this morning (that didn't happen a lot around here the past few months). He started back to school with Teacher Inservice meetings. His students come next Monday...school has officially started again!


We had a great summer, enjoying our little family of 3. We did a ton of traveling and I declared to Matthew Saturday, on our way back from the beach, that I was done traveling until this baby is born! My feet are starting to swell, I can't breathe very well, and finding a comfortable position to sit in is nearly impossible.


I went to the doctor today and everything is looking great. I'm at the point in my pregnancy where I no longer know how much I weigh. My belly hits the scale, so I have to turn around to be weighed and I don't ask the nurse what the magic number is either. It is good to be at this stage! I did catch a little cold on our trip and my doctor put me on a medication so I don't get pneumonia! Nice.


The baby is still measuring ahead of schedule (just a week) and my c-section date is still scheduled for October 1st. Hopefully we will make it to that date! Nora was 10 days early and if I make it to the first of Oct. that will be 6 days before my due date.


I start teaching my graduate class again next week. I am planning on taking 2 weeks off when the baby arrives. I know, not much time, but really, it's just for 2 hours one night a week. I think I'll be okay. I just have to sit there and talk. In a room full of women, I am sure that I will get a little sympathy and understanding!


I have uploaded most of our beach pictures. I still have some to get from our friends who traveled with us (the Browns). We loved Orange Beach, but it was HOT. The water wasn't the greatest either...lots of seaweed and jelly fish. Oh well, at least we were at the beach! The condo we stayed at had a great pool and Nora spent a lot of time splashing in it. Below are a few pics. For those who want to see the rest, click here.

Playing in the sand with her daddy...a definite favorite!

Another fave...playing in the baby pool filled up with ocean water.

This girl LOVES her corn on the cob!

Nora with her favorite boys...Ethan, Griffin, and Tyson

Beach cutie

We are leaving the beach tomorrow and heading home. We have had a great time!!!!! Nora has slept a ton during the day and at nights, we are all a little bit browner and a little bit more rested. We are sad to leave because reality will hit us once we get home. I'll have a lot of pictures to share when we get home.

We are here!

And look at how much fun Nora has been having so far...she sure worked hard to get those Brown boys buried!!!!

One day down-four more to go!

0 to 1; 1 to 2

No, the title of this post is not my current clothing size...(I'm laughing out loud right now). This post is all about numbers of kids.

While in Nashville this past weekend, my friends who have more than one child were asking, "Was it harder to go from no kids to one kid or from one kid to two kids?". They all agreed that it was more difficult going from one to two. (Except for the one girl who has 3, then she said going from 2 to 3 was hardest of all.)

WHAT!!!!!!??????

Already I am anxious about becoming a mother of TWO in 8.5 short weeks (and they are very, very short!!!! The time is flying by!). My sweet "angel" has been having fun at my expense lately. She thinks it is very fun to throw herself down onto the floor if she does not get what she wants immediately. Grrrrrrrr. Each time this happens (and it is several times a day), I either: ignore the action, remove her to her bed, swat her hand and firmly tell her no, or redirect her to something else. Sometimes it is a combo of all four. But, each time it happens, I think to myself, "And I am about to add a poor infant into this craziness!". I do realize she is simply being a toddler and this stage will pass, but it still leaves me a little weary thinking about the upcoming months.

So, to all of you experienced mothers (or fathers) who have more than one child, tell me some secrets to sanity. The only "secret" I am familiar with is praying. Also, tell me, is it really more difficult going from 1 to 2? If so, why????

Thanks! I am not afraid to ask for help/advice! Anything to make me a better mommy.

This picture has nothing to do with the post, but it is sweet. Tonight at dinner, Nora really wanted to hold my hand. She held it and would rub her face up to it for about 10 minutes. Do you think she realizes that our time just to be together is coming to an end? I love my little girl!