24 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 24 Weeks
Size of baby: 8.5 inches, 1.5 pounds (size of an ear of corn)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 9 lbs
Maternity Clothes: I am in pretty much all maternity clothes...other than the t-shirts
Gender: It's a girl!!! Anna Claire Fryar
Movement: AC is very active except while I'm teaching... I guess I bore her!
Sleep: I sleep great and never wake up!
What I miss: Being able to eat sushi!
Cravings: No cravings this week...
Symptoms: Really bad lower back pain, pain around my pubic bone...

Best Moment this week: Going to the doctor and hearing baby girl's heartbeat (and getting to show Katie off at the appointment)

A Valentine's Day Post...

This has been a terrible Valentine's Day... Matt and I are sick with strep throat. We went away for the weekend for a romantic getaway for us only to get sick. We haven't seen our precious baby since Friday afternoon, and I had to go to Willow Creek ER because of how sick I was. YUCK!

However, upon reflection, I realized that there are many things that I LOVE and are constant in my life whether I am sick or not...

Jesus Christ

My sweet husband
My precious Kathryn Elizabeth


My unborn Anna Claire
My WONDERFUL family (I don't have a picture)

My beautiful home

And... Diet Dr. Pepper

So, Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Katie's Transition to "Big Girl" Room

When we found out I was pregnant, we knew that we'd have to move Katie from the nursery to the guest room. It has been emotionally draining for us because this just means that our baby is growing up. We decided to suck it up and get her moved. We hired a friend of ours to paint the room (along with a few other rooms in the house) because we just really don't like to do it! After he painted the room, we ordered the furniture. We wanted to buy her all new furniture and let Anna use the furniture in the nursery. So, we went with white! We thought it was very girly :o) Just what we wanted for our princess! Since she's going to be in a crib for a while, we decided to let her keep her custom made bedding and buy Anna new stuff. So, here is Katie's big girl room...

We've yet to start in Anna's room, however, we have bought her bedding. We have a general idea of how we want it to look, but it will all come together with the help of a VERY TALENTED younger cousin of mine... Hannah!

10....

So, I am definitely stealing this idea from my friend Renee's blog! Thanks, Renee!

This is a post for my beautiful princess, Kathryn Elizabeth...



10 prayers I pray for you...
1. I pray that you will learn to know and love God. I want you to have a personal relationship with him and love him first and foremost.
2. I pray that you will always be a healthy child.
3. I pray that you will go to school and love to learn. I want you to love school and succeed in your academics.
4. I pray that you will always have a sweet spirit and be nice to others.
5. I pray that you will always be a leader and lead others in the right direction. If you do not have the personality to be a leader, then I pray that you will always lead yourself in the right direction and not follow what other people are doing.
6. I pray that you will respect yourself and your body.
7. I pray that you will find a man that loves you unconditionally and will treat you with respect. I pray that the two of you will form a relationship that is centered around Christ.
8. I pray that you will always find the positive side of things. When things don't go your way, look for the bright light!
9. I pray that you will be committed to whatever you decide to do in life. I want you to find something that makes you happy and never want to give it up!
10. I pray that you will always learn from your mistakes. I know you will make them because you are human, but I hope you learn from them and let them mold you into a better person!

9 things you do that make me smile...
1. Your inquisitiveness... I love how you are so curious about everything. When you discover something new, I just smile!
2. I smile everytime you find something yummy because you smack your lips together!
3. The way kiss always brings a smile to my face. You are very into kissing right now and have to have your mouth fully open and make this "Aaahhh" sound as you are doing it!
4. You love to read books. I smile everytime I see you sitting with a book or carrying one to Daddy to read. I find it rather humorous when you get stuck on a book (i.e. Brown Bear, Brown Bear) and won't read anything else!
5. You love to climb in the corner kitchen cabinet. You've actually taken over the cabinet and made us move all the pans out of there! You go in there and shut the door behind you! I guess you need some alone time :o)
6. You love to tickle people. You will walk up to someone's feet or belly and say "Ti-le, Ti-le."
7. Your precious, gap-toothed, smile!
8. Your adoration for your daddy... He is truly your favorite person!
9. The way you dance everytime you hear a good tune! Your favorites are definitely the Clubhouse songs!

8 things that make you happy...
1. Your blanket.. You drag it everywhere with you!
2. Dog.. This little brown stuffed animal that goes just about everywhere that you and blanket do.
3. Diet Mountain Dew.. Your daddy introduced you to it at a young age, and you are quite obsessed - Thanks, Daddy!
4. Gerber Cheetos
5. Rough housing with your daddy
6. Kissing people
7. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - most definitely your favorite t.v. show
8. Going to school.. You are such a busy body and love to be at school with other kids!

7 of the best days of my life...
1. The day you were born. You came a bit earlier than expected, but I was so ready to meet you!
2. The day you got to come home from the hospital, and we became a true little family at our own home!
3. The day I married your daddy.. He's the best man I could have ever married, and I'm so lucky to have him!
4. The day we found out you were going to be a big sister! Well, maybe not that day because I was so scared, but that whole new time!
5. Your first birthday! I loved taking 1/2 day off from work and giving you all the attention you deserved!
6. Christmas morning 2010... It was so special seeing you wake up at your own house and playing with the toys that Santa brought you!
7. The day we took you to the Children's Museum of Memphis. It was so much fun seeing you explore all the little things!

6 places I hope to take you to visit...
1. Puerta Vallarta, Mexico - The Vallarta Palace... You've actually been there while you were in my tummy, but Daddy and I can't wait to take you and Anna Claire when you are a little older!
2. Washington D.C. - Daddy and I truly love this city and cannot wait to share it with you!
3. Europe - Daddy and I've never been there before, but we hope to take you there.
4. Disney World - Again, Daddy and I have never been, but we can't wait to take you someday!
5. New York City - I want to take you to Broadway and let you see something magical! I also want you to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
6. Branson, MO - So, this one may not be as exciting, but it's still such a fun place.. I know you will have a blast here!

5 foods you love to eat...
1. Mashed Potatoes
2. Applesauce
3. Chicken Nuggets
4. Waffle Fries
5. Yogurt

4 of your favorite songs...
1. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme Song
2. Hot Dog (from Clubhouse)
3. Forget You from the Glee Soundtrack
4. The B-I-B-L-E

3 places you have visited...
1. Memphis, TN
2. Hot Springs, AR - Grandma and Grandpa's House
3. Greenwood, AR - Auntie Shell and Uncle Nick's House

2 places you go weekly...
1. Coleman's Children Academy - You actually go here daily since it's your school!
2. Mimi and Papa's house

1 message to you...
Katie, you are the light of my life, and I can't wait to see you in the role of big sister. You and Anna are going to be the best of friends! You are such a beautiful, sweet, and smart little girl. You learn new things every day, and you never cease to amaze me. Sometimes I wish time would just stop for a little while, but then I realize how much fun it is to experience new things with you. I love you more than you will ever know.. Actually more than I ever even knew was possible!! I hope you always know that :o)

Love, Mommy
1.

Walkin' in Memphis..

Last weekend was the Mid-Year Bar Meeting in Memphis, and we decided to take Katie with us. We figured she deserved a little getaway, too! So, we drove to Little Rock on Thursday and stayed with Tory. We had a GREAT time with her, and KK sure loved getting some snuggle time with Aunt Tor-Tor!

We woke up Friday morning and went to Babies R Us to get some stuff for Miss Anna Claire.. We bought her adorable bedding and even managed to come out with quite a few things for Katie... Go figure! Then, we went to ACH, so I could visit my sweet student, Alvin.

The drive to Memphis wasn't too bad.. Katie was extremely well-behaved and played in her carseat and slept. We got to Memphis a little early and couldn't check into the Peabody, so we drove to the mall and did a little shopping. We only bought a few things, but we bought Katie a set of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figurines from the Disney store! HUGE HIT! Then, we let her ride the carousel in the mall.. She LOVED IT!!! She kept kissing us because she was so happy. We've got to find more carousels for this girl to ride.

That night, we met up with the other lawyers for a BBQ dinner downtown. Katie did pretty well especially since she didn't really nap all day! Then we went to the rooftop of the Peabody for a huge dessert buffet. YUMMY! Katie most definitely was well-behaved for this part (she got to eat to her heart's content!!).

We woke up Saturday morning, and Katie and I ate breakfast at the Peabody - YUMMY and way too expensive! Then, we drove to the CMOM (Children's Museum of Memphis). We had so much fun showing Katie such great and fun things. Daddy had A LOT of fun, too :o)

Katie LOVED the quack quacks at the Peabody and was very content just sitting and watching them!

And of course, a trip to Memphis just wouldn't be the same without a walk down Beale Street. So, we did what any good parents would do... We took out 15 month old down Beale Street... in the daylight! She had a BLAST listening to all the music and seeing all the people. I swear if she'd had a bucket in her lap, she could've made a killing! All the drunks loved oohing and aahing over the dancing baby in the stroller!

We had a GREAT time with our princess!!