260

That is the magic number of the days I have been pregnant.. wow 260 days! That is almost 9 months. Some days it seems like those days have flown by and other days I wish we were at the finish line already :/ I am so thankful this pregnancy has been so smooth and for the most part easy. Yesterday I officially turned 37 weeks and am now considered full term so technically baby could make its arrival anytime between now and 42 weeks. Eek I don't prefer that 42 week part, I am ready now. I can't imagine going beyond the next couple of weeks. I developed a cold over the weekend which does not make me feel any better especially since there isn't much I can take for it. Also last Monday night, I experienced false labor. I had quite a few hours of some serious contractions but eventually they subsided and have just been experiencing the Braxton Hicks since. I go to the doctor on Thursday morning and hopefully I'll get some good news. I don't necessarily need to hear "today is the day" but I'd love to hear that I am progressing and it won't be too much longer. So I am crossing my fingers for something positive because now its just a waiting game!

Sunday Review

Well I thought I'd share a post on how Henry's first movie experience went today. I titled it a Sunday Review because it was kind of a big deal for a not quite 2 year old to attend a movie in an actual theater.. and we all survived to tell about it, ha! We had seen the previews for the new movie, Arthur Christmas, for a few weeks now and it looked really cute. We had talked about going to see it especially since P has been to the movies a few times before we knew she could handle it fine. However, the question was Henry and how he would fair. This four day weekend was a good chance to go see it especially with Thanksgiving holiday and decorating the house for Christmas. It seemed fitting to finish off the weekend with a feel good Christmas movie. Today ended up being a great day for it since it was cold, rainy and just plain bah outside. We decided on the earliest show they had which was 1130. This way it wouldn't interfere too much with his typical nap time. We grabbed an early, quick lunch at the Wendy's in front of the theater. I also packed some snacks in my bag to keep him occupied. We got there just a few minutes before the movie started and got settled. We picked up one of those booster seats for Henry to sit in. And to sum it up, he did really well. We had our few moments of fussiness or not wanting to sit still but all in all he was good and enjoyed it. For an almost 2 year old to sit in a theater for almost 2 hours he did great with minimal stress and we were all able to enjoy the movie. Henry is at a good age and into all the decorations of Christmas as well as vehicles he would stop and point out things in the movie he recognized as well as say "ohhh" and "wow." He finished off the majority of the snacks I had brought but it kept him in his seat so it was a win win. Needless to say, we all had a good family moment and Henry was knocked out before we even made it back to the house. As for the movie itself, I recommend Arthur Christmas. It was a very cute movie that kept us all entertained as well as had a good message behind it. It was a great way to kick off this Christmas season!! :)

Weekend Randoms

Another four day has come and gone! We love the long weekends and soak up as much family time as possible even if its just spent around the house. Here are some highlights from the past few days:

• We tackled some Black Friday shopping. It wasn't as crazy but there were few deals of items we wanted or needed.

• We are now owners of a new MacBook Pro laptop. I guess you could say that was our big Black Friday purchase. Brandon went to the PX early Friday morning and although the laptop itself was not on sale, we saved on the tax by purchasing it on Post. However, the deal was a free Apple TV with the any Apple computer. We have needed a new laptop for a while. Our old Apple was used when we got it and has seen better days. This is our family Christmas present and we love it!

• We are keeping the old MacBook for the kids to use, mainly P. Don't know that we will put it in her room but she can use it to watch Netflix or browse her sites like Disney and such. Maybe down the road (if the old computer is still ticking) it would go in a bonus room.

• The Doggette house is beginning to look like Christmas, ha! Although on the outside it has looked like it for a few weeks but now the inside matches. Friday afternoon we put up our new tree in the living room and decorated it. We had to move a bit of furniture around to give the room better flow but it works for now. The little tree is upstairs on the niche and decorated with some of the kids' ornaments. I should mention Brandon put up our old tree on the porch outside so our house has a total of 3 trees.

• I love Christmas, just love it! Its my favorite holiday and I love this time of year. So excited for all that's in store this next month :)

• The kids both got new stocking this year. Henry needed one and of course to be fair to P she should get one as well. Hobby Lobby had cute ones and they were 50% off. Henry's is blue with a train and P picked out a Disney Princess one. Can't wait to fill them up with goodies on Christmas Eve for them.

• Football Saturday did not bring the same excitement and shake up as last weekend BUT South Carolina played a great game against Clemson! YAY :) They finished up with a 10-2 season with 6-2 in SEC. Looking forward to their bowl game!!

• This weather has been crazy lately. I am not a fan. It was barely a high of 50 on Wednesday and by Saturday back in the 70's. Luckily, rain today will bring in some much cooler temps that are going to stick around. Highs for the week range from mid 40's to low 50's. Definitely more my speed especially considering Thursday marks the first of December.

• I love how Thanksgiving leftovers stretch out for so many days and are still good. I haven't had to really "cook" since Thursday. We've had leftovers, ate out once, and had pizza last night. Yesterday for lunch, Brandon made turkey salad with some of the leftover meat from the turkey we had saved. It was really good, yum!

• We finished our Christmas shopping for the kids this past week as well as all the wrapping. I did a little shopping for Brandon and need to wrap that stuff one day this week while P is at preschool. It feels so nice not to only be mostly done but also to have the majority of it wrapped. Its going to make the few weeks leading up to Christmastime less stressful :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend as well! Brandon reminded me that this week coming up will be a full work week and no more long weekends until Christmas Max Leave starts around the 16th. Maybe we will get lucky and paternity leave will start before then, ha!

Happy Turkey Day!!

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!!!!

Hope everyone is having a great day celebrating and giving thanks!!

I personally have much to be thankful for this year and am blessed beyond measure!!

Brandon and I enjoyed spending the morning together cooking and preparing dinner. The house smelled fantastic! We all watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.. the kids enjoyed that! Henry unfortnuately could not stay awake for our meal and laid down for his nap. We sat down to a late lunch and everything was yummy! We were both full fast, even P enjoyed some of it. I cleaned up the kitchen then it was nap time for all of us :) We are looking forward to going to see the Christmas lights down on the Cumberland River Walk tonight!

Turkey Day Menu

Can you believe it tomorrow is Thanksgiving?!?! The start of the holiday season begins!!! :) I am so excited this year. I am beyond thankful for having Brandon home this year and able to celebrate with us. We decided to do Thanksgiving with just our family, the four of us. And we are looking forward to it! I have already been cooking/baking today trying to prepare some of my dishes today and have less to cook tomorrow especially since we will be eating a late lunch. I baked my pumpkin bread this morning, just need to ice it tomorrow. I also went ahead and prepared my sweet potato casserole as well as the broccoli casserole. Both just need their respective toppings and baked in the oven. This gives me a little less to cook tomorrow. Can't wait! Here is what will be on our table tomorrow:

Oven Roasted Turkey

Dressing

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole

Broccoli Casserole

Green Beans

Cranberry Sauce

Rolls

Deviled Eggs

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Bread

Weekend Recap

I can not believe how fast November is flying by.. the month is already half way over with and Thanksgiving is this week! Craziness! Bring on December :) We had a good weekend. It was not as long as the previous weekend, but we are looking to another four day this week with the Thanksgiving Holiday. Short work week and long weekends are a favorite in this house!

Friday was a lazy day for the kids and I while Brandon was at work. I did some catching up around the house with laundry and cleaning. Brandon got off work semi early and was home around 3. Henry got up from his nap around 330 and we all got ready to head out. We needed to go back to the mall and go to Sears. The tree we bought last weekend was on sale even further this past Monday and Sears does a price match we just needed to bring in the receipt. So we did that as well as roam the mall some. I found the most adorable sweater vest for Henry for Christmas at Belk. Its from J Kahki and its forrest green with a holiday train appliqued. And it was 55% off so not a bad deal. Plus its not overly Christmas so he can wear it throughout the winter season. He will look so cute in it with his kaki cords and white button up shirt underneath :) P has two cute Christmas dresses also from J Kahki that she received last year for Christmas that still fit as well as a Rosalina smocked dress. Francis Scott has a few adorable Christmas outfits to wear as well. It was soon time to head to Old Chicago to meet a whole group from Brandon's work. Two of the Chief Warrant Officers and the 1SG and their families as well as us all met up for dinner. A total of 15 with all the kids! Thankfully the waiting wasn't too terrible.. we were seated at 630ish. It was a lot of fun and the food was yummy as always! The kids were very well behaved which made it more enjoyable. Henry did really good thanks in part to his long nap as well as I bought him and P a new little toy while we were at the mall to keep them occupy. Henry got a truck and he played with it for a good portion of dinner. All in all, it was a nice time :) We left there a little after 8 and headed home. We got the kids ready for bed and both were in bed shortly after 9. Brandon and I weren't too far behind them!

Saturday morning, the munchkins slept in a little.. both were up around 740. I got up with them and let Brandon sleep in a bit more since he had gotten up every morning this week at 4. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We relaxed some then outside to enjoy some play time as well as do some chores around here. Brandon finished up some of the Christmas decorating outside while P and Henry played out front. I did some checking off the list in the baby department. I brought the bouncer, bath tub, and play mat down from the attic. I cleaned up all 3 and put them upstairs for now. I also washed up another load of baby clothes. So everything is ready for him to wear even down to his socks, bibs, and hats. I still have one more load to do with his bassinet bedding and some blankets. We had some leftover pizza for lunch. I cleaned up the kitchen. Henry and P watched a show on Netflix before Henry's nap time. While he laid down, P played up in her room, Brandon watched some football and I read my book. Way to go SC Gamecocks on another win this week! Only a few more weeks left of football season then the Bowl games begin! I also finally got ready for the day while Henry was napping. Some days it takes me longer than others, ha! That afternoon we headed over to the Battalion XO's house, MAJ Mitchell. He hosted a Battalion XO get together. We had a great time over there. Luckily, we all but one couple have kids so there were lots of little friends for P and Henry to play with. Plus the Mitchells had a bonus room for them to play in as well as a backyard full of activities. There was lots of yummy food too! The guys had plenty of football to watch and the ladies chatted. It was a nice affair! We left after 7 and came home to get the kids ready for bed. Another later than usual night for them but luckily they sleep in and adjust well. Brandon and I watched some college football. And oh my what a weekend for it! There were definitely some good games to watch :)

Sunday morning Henry woke me up around 730 and the weather was already dreary and rainy. It was a slow morning for us. We decided to go out for lunch and do some roaming in town. We ended up at Cracker Barrel but because it was Sunday we wait almost 40 minutes for our table. Our meal was good and we enjoyed it but it did take almost 2 hours out of the day. Next stop was Walmart. I needed to pick up some more wrapping paper and supplies so I could finish up the kids' presents. We walked around the store a bit then headed back home. Henry was getting tired and the weather wasn't getting any better. He was asleep before we even made it home and finished his nap at the house. Brandon put the bassinet together and I did up another load of baby's laundry. I believe we are now officially ready for his arrival :) After nap was over, the weather finally cleared up some (at least for a little while) and we decided to take advantage of it and took a walk around the neighborhood then the kids played in the garage some before dinner. We just ate leftovers since we had a big lunch out. P and Henry went upstairs to play in their rooms while I cleaned up the kitchen area. I read a few stories before giving them both their bath and getting them ready for bed. They watched one show on Netflix and Henry was in bed by 8 with Peighton not too far after that. I wrapped up some more Christmas presents while we watched football. Another weekend came and went but it was productive and fun and we enjoyed ourselves! Looking forward to the holiday week ahead :)

Weekend Randoms

• I heart 4 day weekends!! Its one of my favorite aspects of military life. It seems most major holiday is surrounded by 4 days off and we like that. It provides great family time :)

• I turned 35 weeks pregnant on Sunday :/ This pregnancy has really gone by quickly! Although I am very excited to meet baby and have a newborn in the house again, I also worry about how things will change for our family. I just pray for smooth adjustment and that P and Henry (especially) don't feel lost or left behind. I can't believe Francis Scott will be making his arrival within the next few weeks! :)

• I cannot wait to start celebrating Christmas this year! I hate skipping over Thanksgiving and I look forward to cooking the feast with the hubby but I also look forward to putting up the tree(s) that day as well!

• Yes that's right I said trees as in we have 2 to put this year and both are brand spanking new! We bought a classic 3 foot tree with multi colored lights for our landing upstairs. I plan on decorating it as the kids' tree. We also purchased a 7 foot GE Just Cut Grand Fir Christmas Tree with white lights. It is SO pretty! And for a bonus its got Easy Shape Technology so the limbs bounce back and there is no bending/shaping all those limbs. LOVE it, can't wait to get it up and decorated!

• The hubs wasted no time this weekend with the holiday decor. He has already put up some lights outside. He says he needs to do it in stages in order to get in all done by Thanksgiving weekend, ha! The boy loves this holiday :) We are so thankful that he is HOME this year and gets to enjoy all this season has to offer!

• I am loving this cooler weather. Thursday night the low was in the 20's! However, it will be back up to the low 70's by Monday. Boo :/ We are less than 2 weeks out from Thanksgiving, its suppose to be cold. No more warmness please! I'll take the 50's with sunny days anytime.

• I find it funny and a bit opportunistic that P's preschool has a book fair. And its in the hallway leading to her classroom meaning now way to bypass or ignore it. Now I am a huge fan of reading and books I never have a problem buying for the kiddos. I'd much rather buy a new book every week than a useless (probably forgotten about in a few days) toy. This definitely applies to P where she can get more use out of a book specifically ones that she can read or learn to read.

• The Llama Llama series are great books for preschoolers. P received her first one through the mail via the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. We both like them. They are fun reads and the words are easy enough that P is now learning to read them. P picked out the newest one at the Book Fair, Llama Llama Stays Home with Mama.. I think I've already read it a half dozen times :)

• I love football Saturdays! We are huge college football fans and enjoy watching any of the games. Hard to believe football season is coming to an end.. not too many weeks left before Bowl time. Kudos to the SC Gamecocks who pulled off another win against Florida!!! Only two games left in regular season.. Citadel and Clemson.. hopefully 2 more wins :)

• I'm not sure I like the time change. It has its pros and cons but I can see why people get the winter blues. Seems like the day ends too early and then you are stuck with all this time before bath and bed. Hence, we have been reading a lot of stories and playing upstairs.

• I was productive in getting ready for baby this weekend and washed up a huge load of his clothes. I love the smell of the baby detergent leaves behind :) I still need to wash up another load of more clothes, blankets, bassinet sheets, socks, etc. Brandon still needs to put the bassinet together, but were almost ready... just a few weeks to go!

• These windy days can leave now. I do not like 20+ mph winds and sometimes even worse. I prefer the cool, sunny days!

• It was so nice having a day date with the hubby over the long weekend. Since Brandon had off Monday as well and the kids went to Hourly Care for a couple of hours, we were able to spend some time together just the two of us. We had planned on going to lunch and the movies but decided to skip the movies in order to do some roaming/shopping. We had a very yummy lunch at Olive Garden. Its so nice to eat somewhere without having to feed, entertain, occupy little ones and then not really getting to enjoy your own meal. It was also nice too to walk around stores and the mall without pushing a stroller or again occupy children. Yes it cost a little bit more in order to pay Hourly so that we could have a day date but we both agree its worth it. It was a nice break and a nice time just to spend it together!