Happy Birthday Jackson

Today is my sweet baby's birthday! Jackson is still my baby for now. He'll have a rude awakening when Bryson arrives and he is no longer my little baby. But for now he holds the position! Jackson is turning 5 years old today. I can't believe he's already 5! I can still remember when he came home for the first time. I picked him out online from a home breeder. He was the cutest one and I'm not being biased. ;] I sent him a blanket that he could love on before he made the long journey to Alabama. Jackson is from Texas, so my Dad drove with him 8 hours in the car. He's a pro car rider! I woke up to his furry self with a red bow on him! He's my baby!

Little Jackson

His 1st birthday. He hated the outfit if you can't tell.. I told him I wouldn't make him wear it again.

Riding in the jeep with Daddy:

He loves riding on the four wheeler:

I could post a 100 pictures of him because I think he's so cute, but I'll stop for everyone's sake. Jackson is sweet, feisty, loving, a cuddler, and playful. He loves going for walks, car rides, and playing ball. He has no idea that he's a small dog and keeps up with Delta. He has anxiety about jumping on couches and beds and has to be picked up or coaxed to jump. He's always in my lap or close to my side. He likes being the center of attention and gets his feelings hurt easily. He may not be the baby of the family soon, but he'll always be my fur baby!
Happy 5th Birthday Jackson!

Bryson's Room

Bryson's room is finally finished. We are 100% ready for his arrival! Everything is washed and put away. His hospital bag is packed. Now we just need him here! One month till his due date! Here are the pictures I promised!

Crib:

Dresser/Changing table:

Glider:

Closet:

35 weeks pregnant:

Brownies

I had to take a quick moment and recap what just happened in the Pritchard household. We decided we wanted to make brownies, but Josh wanted a special kind of brownie. We melt caramel and put it on top of the brownies after they've cooked almost all the way and then add chocolate chips. The oven went off and I told Josh to go get it started because he's the one that use to make these type of brownies, so I was going to let him do the honors. He put the caramel in the microwave and I got up to make sure the brownies were done. The microwave beeped, letting us know it was done. I opened the door and look at the mess Josh created. Caramel everywhere... all over the spinning plate.. down the sides of the container and just a tiny bit left that's useable. On top of that the plastic container is bending in towards the middle. So half a bag of caramel is wasted and we had to throw away the container... Josh tries to save the little bit of caramel that was left in the container and ends up getting caramel all over the counter because it was dripping. We (or rather I) get the rest of the caramel melted and put on the brownies. I then ask Josh if he wants the chocolate chips still and he says, Yes! Let me do it. He grabs the bag and ends up dropping chocolate chips all over the counter and floor. At this point, he says here! You do it! I'll stick to washing the dishes! :] It was oh so funny.

Update: The brownies really didn't turn out. Josh forgot you have to add whipping cream to the caramel to make it creamy. haha Maybe next time!

5 more weeks

5, yes FIVE, more weeks until Bryson's due date!! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by... of course some days feel longer than others, but over all I have to say it's gone quickly. It's been a fairly easy pregnancy minus some head colds, stomach bugs, and heartburn. At least all that hasn't been constant! His room is ready and waiting on him. We got his pack & play this past weekend. It has a special "newborn napper" where he will spend the first few weeks of his life sleeping. It will be in our room and make it easy to get use to a new baby and the sleepless nights. I won't have to make countless trips to the other side of the house. It has a changing station also, so I won't have to leave the room. Everything I'll need will be right there, so hopefully our nights will go as smoothly as possible. I had a doctor appointment this afternoon and everything is looking good. I now will go every week! Bryson will be here so soon!! :]

September 10th, I had a baby shower hosted by my best friends in Mobile. They did a great job! It was super cute! I think just from that shower Bryson got more clothes than he will know what to do with! ;] I had a lot of laundry to do for him, but I got it all done. We got some big items at that shower as well. We got his stroller, car seat, monitor, and glider. (Thank you grandparents and great grandparents) I'll post pictures of his finished room soon. There's still a few things that need to be done to the walls. If I was capable of doing it, than it would all be done, BUT that's Josh's job...... so that's why it's still not 100% complete. ;]

Me with my friends that hosted the shower!

Our weekend was spent watching football and organizing Bryson's closet. It was a great weekend of football in our opinion. A win for Alabama (Roll Tide!!) and a lose for Auburn! Ha! Their luck streak is over! :] Bryson's closet is completely organized. It looks great. I'll include a picture of it when I post pics of his finished room.

Josh passed that test I posted about last time. YAY for him! He has another test he has to take that is even harder with more questions to study. He wants to take it before Bryson arrives, so keep him in your prayers that he can get it done. If not, I'd rather him study more even when B is here, so he knows he can pass it. He finished his graduate class at Penn State. He was ready to be done with this semester. He will have a break until next year, so he can help me more with Bryson.

Tonight we have breathing and relaxation class. I hope they teach me some miracle tricks! haha ;] I know I'll be needing all the relaxations tips I can get!

Beginning of September

I am happy to report that the stomach bug is gone... my stomach stayed pretty sore for a couple days, but I am able to eat and keep it down. My new problem is heartburn. I only thought I had heartburn before this week started. This is a whole new ballpark. Tums do not help, milk does not help... The most I can do is stay upright and hope it passes. Monday night, I barely slept because I literally was sitting up in the bed propped up against pillows. If I even moved to the side, the fire in my chest started. It made me really nauseous. I woke up and still had heartburn and it lasted most of the day. Luckily Tuesday night it wasn't quite as bad. In subsided somewhere in the middle of the night, so I was able to lay on my side comfortably. It has affected my appetite and I haven't been eating as much. I'm kinda back to my appetite pre-pregnancy, which isn't a bad thing. Bryson better have a head of hair when he comes out!

The tropical storm brought us some cooler weather. I wish it would stick around, but it's Alabama and we know that the hot weather is no where near being done. For now, I will enjoy it. I've kept the backdoor open the past two days because the temperature hasn't gone above 72. Last night we slept with the windows up because the low was 58. It felt amazing. It was nice and cold all night long. The lows are suppose to be around that temp all week, so we will continue to keep the windows up! I think the change in the weather is affecting my allergies. I can control everything with an allergy pill except my eyes. Today Josh came home and horror washed over his face as he said, "What is wrong with your eye!? It is swollen! Can you see?" The past 3 days my left eye has been really itchy and red, but I didn't have any eye drops. I was hoping it wouldn't get that bad, but I should know better because it happens every year. Josh went to CVS this evening and got me some allergy eye drops and my eyes feel so much better.

Josh has a very important test for work tomorrow at 3:15pm. Keep him in your prayers. He needs it! He found out he would be taking this test 2 weeks a go and was handed a study guide and that's all. I've been helping him study and this is not easy material. It's stuff you should take a class on before you take a test. He needs to pass it or else we will have to pay for him to take the test again out of our own pocket.

We are going to Mobile on Friday because I have a baby shower on Saturday. We haven't been to Mobile in 2 months, so I am excited!

Sleeping Beauty

* If you havent read my previous post than this won't make much sense..

I woke Sleeping Beauty up. He tried to pretend he hadn't been asleep. Next time I know to take a picture for proof! I know for a fact he was asleep 2 hours.. but the previous hours I was asleep myself, so it could've been longer. I don't know how people, who aren't sick, take such long naps. I would be up all night if I napped during the day. Anyway, after he finally got up and came back to see me, he got me a drink. I had to fix my supper, but he at least brought it too me. I decided on oatmeal.. I don't know if this was a good decision or bad, but I was craving it and after looking online, it said to go with what your body was craving. (As long as it wasn't like fried chicken) Bryson was having a conniption right before I ate... the boy likes to eat. He's finally settled down now that I have ate a little. I just hope it stays down! As I type this, I can hear the vacuum running. We had a little talk about things he could've been doing instead of sleeping.... So far the kitchen has been cleaned and the now the vacuum cleaner is on. Sometimes the most frustrating thing about boys is the fact that you have to specifically tell them what you want them to do. Instead of just figuring it out himself, I have to tell him verbatim what I want. Why must most men be like this?? Use your brains!

Whoa. Sick.

I had to post this while the dry humor was still there... it wouldn't of been as good tomorrow. Today, I woke up sick. No, not a head cold... it couldn't be easy like that. A stomach virus. Thank you 3 year old germ pits. I woke up at 4am and felt what I thought was indigestion, but it was just my stomach getting ready to get rid of everything I ate yesterday. My stomach was burning so intensely, it basically kept me awake from 4am - 8:30am. I finally decided to get up and take some Tums and drink some milk. At this point, I am still thinking it's indigestion and I am threatening Bryson that he must come out with hair because this hurts too bad. I get back in bed and lay there because at this point I start feeling progressively worse fast. 9:30 begins the bathroom trips. I finally realize this is a stomach bug and I'm gonna be out for the day. I ask Josh to go get me Gatorade, so that Bryson and I don't dehydrate. I don't think Bryson appreciated me skipping breakfast... the kicks and punches begin. Let me just tell you, when you're stomach is sore you really don't want to feel someone beating you from the inside. He continues his beatings through lunch.. when I finally decide I must have a few saltine crackers just for Bryson's sake. They didn't stay down, so I just continued to drink my Gatorade. Josh comes in talking about sausage patties and how I need to eat. I mean really? I hate sausage and the last thing I want to hear is about some sausage patties! Nasty. By the way, the only reason he is talking about the sausage is because I had to text him and tell him he must eat lunch. He would've sat in the living room all day, not eating, if I hadn't reminded him of his food options. Men are ridiculous. My stomach and body was aching pretty bad around 1:30, so I decided I wanted to take a nap, so I couldn't feel the pain. Pretty sure the second I fell asleep, I had that creepy feeling and opened my eyes to Josh's face inches from my face. "What are you doing?", he asks. Oh I don't know.. I'm playing a football game, running a marathon, reading the back of my eyes.. what does it look like I am doing?? I am sleeping! He leaves and back to sleep I go... I managed to sleep a total of 2 hours. I was awakened several times because I can't roll over on my own anymore. I have to physically move myself. So when a position got uncomfortable, I woke up to move. Then an event happened that I believe is foreshadowing the future. The dogs woke me up. Why? They were hungry. Where is Josh? Why isn't he handling this? I discover Sleeping Beauty on the couch. Those dogs decided to wake me up instead of Josh. I see the future flash in front of me. The dogs come to me because I am their mom and they know I do everything for them and Dad only does it when he has too. Delta knows Josh is a lost cause to wake up, so she came to me. It's just like when my Mom would not feel good and tell my Dad to watch me and my brother, while she took a nap. I am pretty sure we woke her up every time. So here I am, awake, sore, but I have two lazy, fed dogs laying beside me, while Josh is asleep on the couch. He's going to have his world rocked when Bryson arrives! There was so much he could've done, while I was sick. Like the kitchen... destroyed by his cooking, could have been cleaned. The dog toys strewed across the living room could've been picked up. The shower I have been asking him to clean for the past 3 months could've been done because I'm not allowed to use shower cleaner while pregnant. Butttttt alas... none of this was done. I hope he wakes up reaaaaaaaallll refreshed! And he didn't give Delta her ear medicine this morning because "he needs my help". I guess I have to wake him up or he would probably sleep until tomorrow. I hope this bug is done or close to being done. My stomach has had enough. You haven't experienced anything until you've experienced a stomach virus 8 months pregnant. Not. Fun.