Random Fall Pictures

I always try to take fall foliage pictures to capture the beauty of Tennessee. Here are some from this year.

A Beautiful Fall in Tennessee

This weekend, we made our annual fall stop for pictures at the UT Arboretum. It's becoming a tradition, as this is the third year in a row we've done it. Here are a few pictures from the past 2 years, followed by some from this year. Enjoy!

2007 (almost 1 year old)

2008 (almost 2 years old)

2009 (almost 3 years old)

It's not a Girl; it's a Boy!

This is a few weeks late, but here's how Jenna was announcing Little Bit's gender to our friends. It took a while to get it on video then get it converted for web viewing.

Chocolate Fudge!

Early Birthday Celebration Weekend

Last weekend, Mom & Dad came to visit. We had a great time, but as usual it went too quickly. They arrived Thursday night so we had some time to visit that night. Then Friday morning we all went to my doctor's appointment where we found out we're having a BOY! It was a little earlier than I expected to know, so they were very glad they'd come in time for the appointment. I was very surprised, as I'd thought the whole time it was another girl. We're very excited--no names yet. Here's a few pictures of how Little Bit looked last week.



On Friday night, I came home to work to find Mom & Dad had prepared a yummy early birthday meal--Italian Beef Bake (one of my favorites), Rice, Green Beans, Yeast Rolls, and homemade Apple Pie a la mode. It was delicious! We then enjoyed some card games--something I've been wanting to do for a while now. It was a great early celebration!

On Saturday, Mom, Jenna, and I went to the CRC Walk for Life; it was a beautiful morning and they had a great turnout. Here's a picture of the three of us:

After the walk, we went to a church children's consignment sale and racked up on little boy outfits! It's so much fun to get good deals! All in all, we had a wonderful weekend!

The Alligator Store

Last Friday, I'd been telling Jenna off and on that we'd be going to the mall the next day. Later in the night, she began asking to go to the Alligator Store. I didn't know what she was talking about, but was really trying to figure it out.

All I could picture was this:
but what Jenna was picturing was this:
I had forgotten that I'd explained that the moving stairs was called an escalator, but she heard "alligator." I got quite a kick out of that association!

So we spent much of last Saturday shopping...in the pouring rain. We'd spent the previous weekend at home while she recovered from H1N1, so my errands had been piling up. We were pretty much drenched, but Jenna had a blast. Here are a few of the pictures.

Here she is enjoying the alligator!

Here she is riding the hippo!

Ready for some fun!

I just had to post this hilarious picture of Jenna. She looked decked out and ready to go have some fun, didn't she? I love the new sunglasses with her new hat too!

Tall Girl

Doesn't Jenna look so grown up and tall in this picture?

Puzzles

We bought Jenna a puzzle last weekend, and she's really enjoying it! It's 48 pieces, and doesn't even have the picture on the wooden frame. We've taught her to find the "straight" pieces first and she's got that down pat. We help her get it started, then she'll put a lot of it together herself. I'm very impressed!

Birthday Party

Last weekend, one of Jenna's friends celebrated her 3-year birthday at one of those places filled with inflatables. I think Jenna was overwhelmed when she first arrived, and it took some coaxing to get her to go down the slide a few times.

She ended up liking it ok, but really liked playing in the plastic balls.

The 3 girls looked so cute, side by side, so I just had to get a picture--even though they were all distracted and looking different directions. : )

Jenna is not a cake eater, but she definitely loves icing! Here she is after "finishing" her cupcake. Notice she didn't even touch the cake part!

As you can tell, she thoroughly enjoyed it though!

Little Bit is Growing!

We went to the doctor this week for my 11 1/2 week checkup. Everything still looks good, and the doctor said we may be able to tell the baby's gender at the next 4 week check--if not then, 4 weeks later. Here's a few ultrasound pictures she took this time.

The first two pictures are in 2D, with the baby's head to the right and legs to the left. The last picture is in 3D, with the head at the top, and rump at the bottom. The difference between this visit and last visit is amazing!

We think Jenna is understanding more of this than originally thought. She referred to the guest room as the baby room today, which we haven't even done. She's such a smartie...and a big girl. She's been working on potty training this weekend and is doing great!

FHR = Fetal Heart Rate, which was 162 this time!

Kroger

We went shopping at Kroger Marketplace a few weeks ago, and Jenna wanted her own cart. Since we were only getting a few things, I let her have one. She was a little bit reckless with it, but overall she did good. I snapped a shot in the produce area. Check out her leg--she's got posing down!

Pretty Feet

Jenna sat still long enough for me paint her toes this week, and I thought they turned out really cute. She picked the color, and was very excited to see the finished product. I've painted them before, but it's just been every once in a while and the color has always been very pale. Here's the pic of what they look like this time...

Jenna's New Hat

One of my friends from work bought Jenna a new hat while on her vacation in Holden Beach. Jenna loved it, as you can see!

First Dentist Visit

Jenna went to the dentist for the first time last week. It was quite an experience! We'd been talking her about going to see the "tooth doctor" and tried to prepare her for the event. We bought this book and showed her the special chair she'd get to sit in and the mirror they'd use to look in her mouth.
She and her bear were very happy as she entered the office. She enjoyed playing with the toys and looking around at the scenery.

They then called her back to the chair. They had 4 kid-sized chairs in one big room, which is where they started her out. She was somewhat reluctant but was soon coaxed to sit in the big chair and check out the cool fish scenery throughout the room.


The hygienist was really nice, and tried to be very calming by explaining each step of the process to Jenna before she did anything. Jenna was a very good listener, as you can see.

When the she began showing Jenna the vibrating toothbrush, that's when she freaked out! She started crying and wasn't calming down. So they took her to the "Quiet Room" (so the rest of the office could be quiet, I think!) I was so glad she did. She screamed and screamed throughout the cleaning process. You can't quite get a feel for it in this picture, but, trust me, she was! The sunglasses they gave her were hiding her tears.

But she survived and even told the hygienist and dentist she'd come back to see them. By the way, they said her teeth look great, and she had NO CAVITIES! : )

Naptime

This afternoon, Jenna put all of her "friends" down for naptime in her room earlier today, and I thought I'd share a picture of it. She laid each one down individually, covered them with a blanket, then patted them for a minute to help them fall asleep. So cute!

Our Little Pizza Chef

We've recently been making semi-homemade pizzas, and Jenna's enjoying making her own using tortilla shells. As you can see, she does a great job! She really likes sampling the turkey pepperoni, and she's actually been eating the pizza which she's never done before!

Libble Dit

Jenna has started saying a very cute phrase: "libble dit" instead of "little bit." It's very cute...and timely since that is the name we've given to her soon-to-be sibling. Yes, we're expecting another little one on March 24, 2010. We're very excited!

We've been trying to prepare Jenna for this new arrival well in advance. She knows that Libble Dit lives in mommy's belly. The other morning I told Jenna to say good morning to him/her, so she said, "Good morning, Libble Dit. I love you!" We think she'll make a great big sister--she loves to play with dolls and stuffed animals and she loves to help mommy!

Here are some pictures of the little one at 7 wks, 2 days gestation. Our doctor's office is great in that they do LOTS of ultrasounds, so they'll be many more to come.

CRL=Crown to Rump Length (1.14 cm)

FHR=Fetal Heart Rate (145 bpm)

This isn't the head, but rather the yolk sac.
It will disappear before my next visit in 4 wks.

Scrapbooking with Mommy

Jenna found some glitter flower stickers in my scrapbooking supplies, so she decided to scrap her own page. I'm trying to catch up on my WAY BEHIND scrapbooks, so I definitely appreciated her interest in "helping me." I was able to get a lot done while she was preoccupied with her page. When she finished, she held it up and said, "Look at how cute!" Her expressions these days just crack me up!