The Polar Express!

This weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to go on the Texas State Railroad's Polar Express ride.  We wanted to try and go before Christmas, but unfortunately our schedules didn't work out so we got to go the day after Christmas (which was just as great).  The ride up was great, I got some quality time with my mom and sister.  Noah kept himself busy in the backseat--looking at all of the scenery--while Macie and Hannah kept themselves occupied watching movies and playing with girly toys in the third row seats (thank goodness for 3rd row!).

We arrived in Palestine at about 3:00, got checked in at the hotel, then took our bags to our room.  Noah needed a nap so my mom, Hannah, Macie, and myself went down and checked out the indoor pool area then went to the lounge area for a little hot chocolate and coffee.  Hannah really wanted to go swimming before our train ride, but I just didn't think it was a good idea to get them all wet and yucky knowing they would end up needing a bath before we left.  She's a very sweet, understanding little girl and settled for coming back that evening for a swim--I don't think Macie cared either way.

Sweet little guy napping.

So, 5:00 rolled around and we headed up to the Railroad station.  We got our tickets at will call then had about an hour to spare, so we got a funnel cake to share.  That thing was demolished in about 3 minutes flat.  Macie only wanted the powered sugar and Hannah could have probably eaten another one by herself.  Those things are so stinkin' yummy!

We decided we better get in line considering the capacity of people that were rolling in, so we headed to the platform.  Luckily, we had climate controlled seating.  I think my fingers just about froze while waiting in the cold!  We then heard the train whistle and the kids got pretty excited.  I wish we were able to go a few weeks ago when it wasn't so cold because I think they would have had a lot more fun, but I do think they had fun once we got onto the train.

Here are a few pictures:

Happy girl!

Lindsey with her little guy.

Sister, Mom, Nephew

She just doesn't like to take pictures with me. :(

This was as good as it was going to get with Nana and her grandbabies.

Macie is always happy with her Hannah!

COLD!  Waiting on the platform.

Noah was keeping warm under the blanket.

Finally on the train!  YAY!!!

SANTA!

Having fun with his treat.

 We had an all around great time--even though it was cold!  We didn't even set an alarm to wake up the next morning.  When we eventually woke up, we just took our time getting ready and the kids ATE CHEX MIX IN THE BED and watched cartoons together.  It was really nice getting to spend some quality time together!

So sweet!

Noah playing at breakfast.

 So, we set out for our 2 1/2 hour ride back to Clifton to drop off Lindsey and the kids.  Made a stop in Corsicana to take our potty breaks and get some beef jerky.  Finally we got to Lindsey's house, unloaded, I rearranged all of Macie's stuff in the car, and we set off to Meridian to drop off my mom.  Not even 10 yards out of the driveway, my car starts dinging at me--"LOW OIL PRESSURE, TURN OFF ENGINE IMMEDIATELY".  So I turned it off, started it back up and it did the same thing.  I called my dad to see if he knew anything and he told me to stay there and he'd come look at it (I'm so thankful for my "Jack of all trades" dad).  When he got there, he took a look and told me to call a wrecker to get it to a repair shop immediately.  So now we are short one vehicle and we're just waiting to see how much damage the repair work will be.  I'm so thankful that it didn't break down on the side of the road, but man, this came at the WRONG TIME!  That's just life, I guess.

I'm still thankful for the wonderful weekend with my sweet, sweet family and I hope we will do things like that more often!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

A little holiday greeting from the Morton/Pike kids!

God has a plan...

...and right now his plan is not for us to have Baby Pike #2.

I know everything happens for a reason and things could be a lot worse, but I am still sad.  There is nothing I could have done differently because I did everything right.  My only regret is telling everyone so early--I was just so stinkin' excited.  I think the hardest part was telling people after it happened, but it was also the most help in my healing (I think).  I talked about it so much over and over, breaking the bad news to family and friends, and I think that was the best thing I did (instead of keeping it inside to build).

I have such an amazing family and was very lucky to have my mom come and stay with me.  She's such a big help in my life and I can't express in words how thankful I am that I have her.  It was a rough day, but with my mom around it made everything seem so much better.  

I don't know when we will try again, but I do know that it will be a very cautious time, so I think we will keep it to ourselves for a while.  No matter how excited I get!

I love my little Macie girl and I am so thankful that I have her.  I can't imagine trying the first time and this happening.  I am lucky to have this sweet angel that I get to cuddle with, laugh with, and hug & kiss every day!  She is for sure our little blessing.

    

7 Week Pictures

I kept a pretty good record of my belly stages with Macie, but I didn't start until about the 16th week.  This time, I'm going to try and take a picture every week.  I feel bad that I didn't start earlier with Macie, but I didn't even know where to start whenever I first found out I was pregnant.  So this time, I am sad to say, I'm doing everything I wish I had done the first time.  I think it's usually the other way around--parents usually do less with a second baby--this time, though, I wasn't in complete and utter shock finding out we were expecting.  I was EXPECTING it!  This time around I do have a happy little helper, named Macie, that just loves taking belly pictures with me.  Right now I have no "baby belly" just a bloated belly (I guess I will call it a baby belly to make myself feel better).  I'm wondering what Macie is going to think whenever it starts getting bigger?  I keep telling her that there's a baby growing in my tummy and she says that I ate a baby and it's in my tummy.

My Belly at 7 Weeks

Macie's Belly at 7 Weeks :)

She's been in the mindset since day one that she doesn't want a baby brother or a baby sister, she wants a baby girl.  I know there is no way to tell this early, but for some reason I keep thinking it's going to be a boy (I won't be disappointed with a girl or boy, I'm happy with either).  I feel completely different than with Macie.  I was horribly sick (like deathly ill) with Macie and with this one I am just fine.  The week I found out and up until a few days ago, I was eating so much and always felt hungry--and GAINED around 5 pounds!  Now, thankfully, I have finally tapered off of the "eating for two times two" habits and am eating like a normal person.  I wake up really hungry in the mornings and can't go to class without something in my tummy-- :( I will get sick.

Change of Subject:
I really think that I could probably make some really cute holiday shirts for Macie, but with school I haven't had time to get together any supplies.  There's a really cute blog with crafty tutorials that I'm (hopefully) going to get to try over my Christmas break. Here's a link to it: DressingHeidiSage.  Anyway, instead of being the crafty lady that I know is inside of me, I ordered Macie a really cute Thanksgiving tshirt from etsy.com.  We just got it in the mail today and it's just precious!  As soon as I took it out of the box Macie said, "Oh, I just love it!"  She's so dramatic and I LOVE it :) !  Well, here is a picture of her ta-da-ing for me while modeling her new shirt:

     

I'm Almost Embarrassed To Post This... : /

Maybe I shouldn't, but here it goes:

This morning I had the sudden urge to FINALLY tackle the "forbidden closet" in the spare bedroom (soon to be baby #2's nursery).  If you know me, you know I'm not the best at keeping tidy and if the house is tidy chances are there's a cluttered closet.  Well, our spare bedroom closet became the "catch all" and, well, it got a little out of hand (to say the least!).  Okay, here it is:

I'm a horrible hoarder!  It's sickening.

Yes, that is a closet in my house.  It hit rock bottom the other day when I was looking for something in there and all of that spillage you see fell.  I'm hoping that maybe if I post this, other people can see my "dirty little (big) secret" and I will start keeping up with it a little better.  So if you're EVER at my house, ask to see my closets--hopefully they will be clean so that I can actually show you!  I promise I'm not filthy, I'm just lazy and stack things until there's nowhere else to stack.  My kitchen is normally pretty clean, clothes are always washed, I shower daily.  I just have a bit of "hoarder" inside of me, I guess.  I get it from my mom and both of my grandmas--I blame it all on them!  :)  I will take the hoarding habits in a heartbeat for any other traits I get from those amazing ladies.

Anywho, here is a picture of the close to after.  I'm almost finished.  Now I have to figure out when to have a garage sale to get rid of everything that was in there so it doesn't stay in my garage too long!

There's the baby bed that we have to put BACK together AGAIN!

I had a little helper too:

Never seen very far from her juice box.

I had to keep sitting down to rest and Macie was my entertainment while catching my breath.  She stuck her arm inside of her shirt and kept saying, "Mommy where is my arm?"  I would tell her I don't see it and she would pop it out really fast and say, "Oh, here it is!"  What a goober!  I'm so lucky to have her to keep me entertained!

Where is my arm?

Oh, there it is!

I'll be working on my organization now,

Lazy Sunday

It's always nice to have a relaxing Sunday.  Today Chris made a big, fun fort for Macie.  She had a blast!  Here are some pictures of her in her very own house:

Peeking.

Hey Mom!

Get outta here!

We Have Big News!

Yesterday I discovered some exciting news for our little family.  We're adding to the Pike crew!!!

They're very light, but definitely a YES! :)

I've been feeling a little "different" for the past week or so and I knew that I could possibly have a little bun in the oven so I had taken a few tests--that all said negative.  Well, yesterday morning I had one test left so I decided to just take it and see.  I had a big ol' fat plus sign (that just happened to be fairly light).  Before picking up the phone and sharing with the world I thought I better head down to Walmart to buy more tests--just for good measure.  Sure enough I took three pregnancy tests and all of them were POSITIVE!  Chris was working and I had called him after the first test, but said that I didn't know if it could have been a false positive.  I think he's more in shock that it actually happened, but I think he's pretty happy.  I, on the other hand, am ecstatic and couldn't wait to tell EVERYONE.  So, I did just that.  Our families are super happy.  Macie doesn't really know what to think.  All she says is, "I want a little girl."  I guess that means she doesn't want a brother, but we'll see what happens.

I know it's really soon to tell everyone, but I couldn't hold it in!  I had an idea that I probably was this month, so I've been very antsy.  When I thought I wasn't, I was a little bummed.  So, according to my calculations, I'm almost 5 weeks along right now and we have our first doctor's appointment November 24.  I am working on my list of questions--because it HAS been over 3 years since finding out I was pregnant with Macie.  Things are different this time because I was EXPECTING it to happen, unlike with our little surprise Miss Macie.

Here we go: 4 Weeks

Macie wanted a belly picture too! :)

 I had already done all of the basics when we decided to start trying--taking prenatals, quit drinking caffeine, no more ibuprofen.  Now I just have to work on my diet.  I'm hoping morning sickness isn't as bad this time.  I started eating like a horse about a week ago and I'm afraid that my body is preparing itself for the sickness.  Fingers crossed!

Be expecting many posts on the progress!

My little helper

The other day I was folding laundry and stepped out of the room for a minute and returned to find Macie very proud of herself for folding a towel (I know the towels look gross, they're the old).  She has mad folding skills:

Maybe with a little practice, I will have a handy helper! :)

Then today, I was busy picking up around the house and heard rumbling in the kitchen.  I walked in and found this:

She said, "I'M CLEANING MOMMY!"

What a little sweetie!  I hope she always wants to help me because I'm a terrible housekeeper!

A True Confession - My Crazy Unorganized Life

So, if you know me - you know I'm a full-time student and stay at home mommy :).  I really HATE the fact that I have to leave Macie 3 days a week to go to school (luckily she has a very sweet babysitter).  Not only do I have to leave her, but I also have to come home to homework, housework, cooking, you name it - I (sometimes) do it! 

Well, I'm a major slacker...which becomes a problem by the end of the week when all of my online assignments are due.  Instead of doing homework, Macie and I might go to the park or run around outside for a little while.  Trust me, with a 2 year old and a husband that doesn't get home until 7:30 (the earliest most nights), my homework is definitely lowest on the totem pole.  Right now, I have a paper due by the end of the day and I'm doing this instead.  Yes, I'm a horrible student and a major procrastinator.  I always say, though, that I work best under pressure.  So I'll give myself a couple of hours to write. 

Housework - where do I start?  I've never been the tidiest of people, it's just not my thing.  I'm extremely unorganized, I have a lot of stuff, and the vacuum cleaner and mop and myself all have a hate-hate relationship.  Yes, I said hate-hate.  My floors definitely hate me.  My dishes should like me, I do keep those clean.  Those and the clothes (most of the time).  I think housework does like homework - I would rather clean my house than do homework any day.  Sometimes when I have something due, my entire home will be spotless by the end of the day.  I'm crazy...I know!

Congrats to my sweet Grandad!!!

I just have to slip in a little brag on my wonderful Grandad.  This week, he was presented with the 50 Year Mason Award!  I didn't get to make it to the ceremony :( but my mom sent me a picture.  He's such a quiet guy, so I think he was a little nervous.  My mom said he did very well though.  Here's a picture:

In the picture are from l-r: My mom, Dad, Granma, Grandad, Uncle Don, Wesley, and Chrissy (Wesley and Chrissy are expecting!)

"The Boo-Boo Healer"

Around our house, a Dora band-aid has healing powers - I'm assuming.  I haven't personally tried one.  The other day, Macie was playing when she suddenly hit her knee on a chair.  I know Macie is not a weenie, so it was a big deal when she was so upset and crying.  We all know how painful hitting our knee can be.  When she has a boo-boo, she always asks for a Dora "banaid".  It works every time:

The healing power begins.

Getting better.

Happy girl!

All better now!!!

I'm so glad that Dora band-aids have this magical healing power.  Mommy kisses only go so far - sometimes I just need a little back-up. 

Potty Training MACIE Style

So I have been working on potty training Macie every since she turned two.  I have had little luck with the whole process until now.  The past couple of weeks Macie has been very good about going "tee-tee" in the potty, but she told me that she's too scared to "poo-poo".  Well, I broke down and got a big plastic see through box with "poo-poo prizes" (thanks to my friend Cassie's parents' idea) and set it right beside the potty.  Now, every time she goes "tee-tee" she gets to long for one of the "poo-poo prizes".  Yesterday, she finally did it!  She was so excited too.  She kept screaming, "I DID IT, MOMMY, I DID IT!!!"  So stinkin' funny.  She got her cheap Dollar Tree prize and was super duper happy (sadly it broke 5 min. later, of course).

Well, today she left the room for a while then all of the sudden she runs into the living room screaming, "I DID IT, MOMMY, I DID IT!!!"  I walked back into my bedroom bathroom and she sure did "do IT"...in her little potty and took it upon herself to take on the clean up responsibility as well.  GROSS!  "IT" was everywhere...all over the little potty, HER HANDS, the big toilet.  She was so proud of herself, so I couldn't be mad.  I started the bath water, put her in there, and started to clean "IT" up.  Again, she got her "poo-poo prize".

I'm so glad that my 2 1/2 year old is finally potty training, but I hope this little adventure never repeats itself.  I didn't take pictures of "IT"--too nasty--but I did take some pictures of the "poo-poo prize" box and then Macie wanted to model for me:

"Prissy Pants"

"Poo-Poo Prize" Box

Wow...Has it really been 4 months?!

I knew it had been a while since I last blogged, but I didn't realize it had been 4 months!  We always seem to stay busy, but it also seems like we haven't really done a lot since February.  We've taken a couple of trips to the zoo, Macie attended her first wedding (where she was absolutely terrible, by the way, but that's understandable), and Chris and I have just watched Macie grow right in front of our eyes.  

She has changed so much in the past few months.  She's expressing herself through words a whole lot more.  She speaks in sentences and will have conversations with Chris or myself.  The words she uses (and actually knows the meaning) make me laugh.  Especially words like disgusting and delicious. 

Macie has developed quite the appetite for, of all things, hard boiled eggs.  She's a very particular and picky eater and likes a variety in each meal, so it has been difficult figuring out what to feed the child.  Mainly she will only eat cheese, lunch meat, sometimes corn, loves pickles, and hard boiled eggs (no yolks).

Here are a few pictures from the past few months:

 

 

Pictures from the Zoo:

 

Lori's Baby Shower Pictures:

 

Macie with Chris' best friend's little girl, Brittan.

With Hannah at the Circus.