3 months

Well I can't believe that James is 3 months old already. It is going by so fast! It seems like yesterday that we brought him home. We have all adjusted to each other very well and we are enjoying every minute of each other. James is now smiling and laughing...even though his Mema is the only one that can make him giggle so far. He has also started to roll over. It is so wonderful every day! James is cutting his first bottom tooth which we were not expecting this early. I have been trying to keep up with everything in his baby book but I starting to fall a little behind. I have to make some time to sit down and write down all of his milestones. He weighs in at a wopping 15 pounds and is healthy as can be! 3 month pictures to come!!!

It's been a while!

Well I just realized that it has been a long time since I wrote anything on here...so let me update things. I have gone back to work and I am teaching 3rd grade this year instead of 8th. I needed a change and with everything else going on this year (new baby, BTSA, master's program...) I felt that 3rd might be a better fit. I am really starting to enjoy it. It was a little rough to adjust to at first, but I am starting to really like it. Mike is now busy with harvest. He is home as much as he can be but we are missing him. Taylor is doing great! She was moved from the three year old classroom to the four year old room at school because she is advanced in her social skills and academics! I am a very proud mommy! She is doing great in school and in dance class as well. She also took swim lessons this summer and is now a fish! She swims all over mom and dad's pool and jumps off the edge into the deep end. She is very brave and is doing really well! James is growing like a weed. I can't believe he is almost three months old. He went to the dr for his two month check up and weighs almost 14 pounds. He is definitely healthy and growing. He is starting to talk to us now and smile. I am loving every day that I get to spend with him! I hope this finds everyone doing well. I will write more soon!

New pictures

Well Taylor and James and I went and got pictures taken for Mike for Father's Day. They were a little late but he was very surprised and loved them. Taylor was a very good girl and smiled for every picture. James woke up so we could get some pictures of his eyes!!!





Everything around here is starting to resemble normal. James has adjusted very well to being home and Taylor continues to love her little brother. Everyone is amazed at how good she is with him. She is still going to preschool 5 days a week and still enjoying dance class. We are also putting her in swimming lessons starting on August 3. We are very excited about that as well. Mike is still very busy working and I am enjoying my time off. I have been spending the last few days in my classroom though getting it ready for the new year. School starts on July 29 but I will not be going back until August 12. So I have a few more weeks off!!!

Changes

Well a lot has changed in the past few weeks. James was born on June 16th at 9:41 am. His delivery went very smoothly and we both recovered very well. We only had to stay in the hospital until the 18th so that was really nice. When we got home it was business as usual. Taylor has adjusted to having a little brother very well. She is very protective of him and wants to know where he is and what he is doing at all times. If someone other than Mike or I is holding him, she is constantly watching to make sure that person is doing it right. James is not allowed to go to anyone's house without her either! It is really cute.

Mike and I are also adjusting to having two children instead of just one. We are getting used to being up at night again and dealing with two of them up at night. Taylor normally sleeps all night but she does have her moments. James is a very good sleeper and only wakes up twice at night. He is a really good baby! He is very easy going and doesn't fuss too much.



James and Daddy



She is a proud big sister!

I will post more soon with new pictures!!!

Delivery time

Well we are off to the hospital here in a few minutes. We are very excited to welcome James today. I think I am more excited to be done with this pregnancy than anything else! We are scheduled for our c-section today. Please pray for us during surgery. When I get home and get some pictures on line, I will post them. Thank you all for your support through this pregnancy. We really appreciate it. Soon to be a family of four!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!

Mother's Day breakfast!

Well a lot has happened around here since the last time that I posted anything! Let's start at the beginning.

Jamie came to visit and that was wonderful! She was here for about a week and it was really great to spend that much time with her. My grandma also came for the weekend and that was equally wonderful. It was very nice to spend some time with them. My baby shower was last Sunday. Although it was extremely hot, it was a very nice afternoon! We ate, played games, and I opened lots of fun and useful presents. Thank you to everyone that was able to share that day with us!

I had an appointment with my doctor on Monday and she officially took me off of work. She took me off a little early since I am already dilated to 2 cm. My body is definitely getting ready for James to be born and he is getting ready also. This week I have been home trying to get things ready for his arrival and have been having contractions everyday. They are not regular at all but they still hurt. He will be here soon hopefully so we can all meet him!!! We are getting very excited. We are continuing to prep Taylor for his arrival and she is continuing to get excited about the baby. She keeps remembering "Baby Norah" and getting very excited. I just hope the excitement continues after he arrives. We shall see!

Taylor had her first dance recital on the 15th. She performed at her preschool during the graduation. It was the cutest thing. I have never been so proud in my life. She did an amazing job and had so much fun! She loves her dance class and her teachers. She is continuing to love school and everyone there. She will stay in preschool over the summer for their summer program. It will be a very good routine for her to have once James arrives.



Taylor getting ready to dance.



"Stop! Drop! & Roll!"

Dr appt

Well I had my latest Dr appt last week and everything is right on track. James is growing well and developing right where he needs to be at this point. I am about 33 weeks which is great. I will be continuing to work through the end of the year as of right now. This pregnancy is going so much better than my pregnancy with Taylor that the doc won't take me off work until 36 weeks. So I will be at school until the end of the year. It has it's pros and cons but I am ok with it overall. I am starting to get tired again but dealing with it. James is starting to become very very active in there and moving around all of the time. It is starting to get very exciting. He will be here in just a few weeks and I don't feel like we are ready yet but we will be. I am really looking forward to my shower to see all of my friends and family!

Mike is getting busier than ever. He has been irrigating at all hours of the night. He left last night at midnight and is still gone irrigating. We are having to adjust to him not having any kind of set schedule lately. But he is really happy with what he is doing so we can't complain. Taylor is doing great and continuing to get excited about her new brother. Since Mom and Dad are in Hawaii for two weeks, she has been spending a lot of time with Mike's parents. She is loving that!

Easter and things

Yesterday was Easter and it was a fabulous day! We went Napa to visit the Richmond side of the family this year and it was a great day. The sun was out and it was almost hot. Everyone but the Shulls was able to make it. We missed the Shulls but understand they had prior commitments. Taylor and Grace ran around and played all day, Norah was one of the most easy going babies I have ever seen being passed around to everyone more than once. It was very nice to sit and visit with everyone.

Taylor has been growing like a weed and talking more clearly every day. She has started going to school 5 days a week and dance class one day. She loves it!!! She is turning into quite the little girl instead of the baby. I love every day with her...even when she drives me crazy. She has started going through a phase that I am not too thrilled with. She has started saying No. I don't like it very much but hopefully it won't last too long.

I went and had a 3D sonogram to see James. It was very cool. He is definately a boy. There is no doubt about that. It was a very fun day and I got tons of pictures. As soon as I get a baby book I can start filling it up.

Mike and I are still busy. Mike is working for his dad and I am still teaching. I think I will continue working until the first week of May. I have an appointment on the 22nd of April to schedule my due date. I will keep everyone posted when that happens. He will be here very soon!

I have also put in some pictures so you can see what has been happening with us!!!

I forgot

I forgot to mention my job situation. Everyone has undoubtedly heard about the budget cuts to education and all of the pink slips being given to teachers and how many teachers will inevitably be laid off at the end of the school year. Well, the deadline was March 15th for the pink slips to be given out. We were all on pins and needles around here since I have only been teaching two years and I am not yet permanent. Well I have good news. There was no pink slip for me!!!! I still have a job for next year and I am very excited and grateful. I was planning on looking for a job closer to home for next year, but with the education system in the state that it's in, I am just grateful to have a job for next year. Thank you to everyone who was thinking of me and sending me prayers and good vibes. It paid off! I appreciate it.

my birthday

Friday was my 27th birthday! It started like any other day with taking Taylor to school. She is loving preschool and is starting dance class tomorrow. When I was finished dropping her off, I had to go to the doctor to have my glucose tolerance test. That is my least favorite test ever but it was done and over and everything came back fine.

That night, my parents invited Mike's parents, his brother John and John's wife Christina over for dinner. It was supposed to be a small surprise but Mike spilled the beans. That was ok though. We had a very nice evening laughing and talking. Overall, my birthday was low key but very nice. On Saturday, Mike and I got to snuggle down and the couch and watch a movie after Taylor went to bed. That was some very nice time for us.

Friday was also my sister-in-law Christina's birthday, so we went to their house yesterday for a BBQ. It was really nice to spend so much time with family this weekend. We all laughed a lot and had a very nice time.

Today is back to reality with taking Taylor to school and cleaning up the house. I am off to buy her dance shoes when she gets done with school. We are all very excited. Mom and I will be doing that this afternoon.

We are also getting ready for James' arrival. We have painted the nursery and gotten all of the furniture in there and put together. Taylor is starting to understand more that someone will be living in there. We have also gone through Taylor's old clothes and taken out all of the gender neutral sleepers to wash for James. Might as well get some more use out of them. He is moving around like crazy and kicking me all day and night. It is really fun. We go back to the doctor on Wednesday to check and make sure we are still on track. I will keep posting our progress!

Names

Hello all. Just to give you an update....we have decided on a name for the baby. We are naming him James Anthony Damas. We are very excited about choosing the name since it makes it a little more real. Mike and I painted the nursery this weekend and one of the teachers from work is going to paint a mural on the wall as her baby gift. I am super excited to see how it turns out. Next weekend we will bring the furniture from my mom and dad's house and start setting that up. We are trying to get as much done as possible because it feels like he will be here before we know it. I hope this finds all of you doing well. Hope to talk to you all soon!

confirmation

Well we went to the doctor on Saturday and had another sonogram. The doctor needed more pictures of the baby's spine so we had to go in again. The man doing the sonogram confirmed that yes it is a boy! We got pictures of the goods to prove it. We are very excited and are now deciding how we will decorate the little bugger's room. We still have not decided on a name but we have a list of favorites. I will keep you posted. Everything else is business as usual around here. Work and school for the Damas family! We are hoping to go visit Jamie this weekend but we will see. I hope this finds all of you doing well.

And it's a.....

Well we went and had our sonogram today. The man could not tell us 100% for sure but he said that from what he can tell...the baby is a boy! WE are very excited but a little unsure of what to do with boys. We have never had one around here. We are going to go and have our 3D sonogram in a few weeks so we will know for sure at that point. For now though the baby is looking like a boy!

I will update again when we get some more information. Hope to talk to you all soon!

She's officially a big girl!

So I was ok with the potty training. I was ok with her first hair cut. I was even ok with her getting a twin bed instead of a crib. I was not ok with today. I just dropped Taylor off for her first day of school! She was so excited about it that she didn't care that I was leaving. I kissed her goodbye and told her that I loved her and she said I love you Mom. See you later! I am glad she was so excited about it and everything...but I wasn't ready for this. She is growing up way too fast. I heard it all when she was a baby. I heard how fast it was going to go by but I didn't believe anyone. And now it has. She is officially a big girl. I know it will get easier, but today is hard!!!


Taylor helping make her lunch!


I am almost ready Mom


Now I am ready. Let's go Mom!!!

Holidays!

Well the holiday season has ended for the year and ours was quite eventful. I have been off work for two weeks for my holiday vacation and enjoying every minute of it. Christmas came and it was really fun. Taylor was very excited to open her presents this year. It was almost more than she could handle. She was screaming and laughing the whole time. We stayed at my parents house Christmas Eve and she didn't go to sleep until after midnight and was up waking Jamie up at 6:30 on Christmas morning. She was very excited. Christmas evening we went to mike's parents house and had dinner with them and opened more presents. Taylor was a little sleepy but still very excited. We are all very grateful for all of our gifts and the time that we got to spend with family.

The Richmond Family Christmas was held at my parents house on the 28th. It was a very nice day visiting with everyone. Taylor and Grace spent the entire day together and didn't stop playing once. I think the longest they stopped running was about 10 minutes to eat lunch. It was wonderful to see everyone and visit with family that I haven't gotten to see in a while.

New Year's Eve was quiet. We spent it with friends and family. I am happy to say that I did make it until midnight but we did leave shortly after that. It was the fist time that we saw midnight in a long time. We spent the evening playing games and visiting. It was a really nice evening. New Year's Day was spent with Mike's family. They ate crab while I had some ham. It was also a very nice evening.

Jamie was up here for about two weeks. I really enjoyed spending time with her. Taylor was so excited when she got here. Taylor wanted to go and see her every day! It was fun.

Mike and I are both back at work tomorrow. It is time to get back to reality and back to our regular lives. We have really enjoyed this vacation time and I hope all of your have as well. Happy New Year!!!!