Waiting On a Woman, well, a baby girl...

My Dr put me on bed rest a week before Raegan was due. I really wanted to make my one year anniversary at the VDH so I could get my maternity leave, and having already had one pre-term labor scare, and another one the week before where I was admitted overnight, I had made quite a bit of progress. All for it to stop in the middle of the night, with with Dr sending me home 3 cm dilated. All to wait. So, I stayed with my in laws over Labor Day weekend (no pun intended) and then my mom came down on that Tuesday to help out with Pyper. That was the hardest part. Not being able to play, pick up, and be an active mom with Pyper for that week. But my mom filled in great, in fact, so much so, that Pyper prefers to play her crazy games with her than with me. I want to ask Pyper where she thinks I got it from??? On Saturday, once I had reached my anniversary date, we climbed the hill to pick apples and feed the ponies.

Dad came down on Friday because he said he was lonely. It's not exciting here on our farm, but it is filled with love and lots of animals to feed apples to. Pyper took to Pop Pop as though no time had passed and forgot all about Mamaw. Where you saw Pop Pop, Pyper wasn't too far behind. Here, they pick apples for the horses, being careful to leave a few for the chickens.

Best Buddies, climbing the hill to feed the horses.

The horses love to see us all coming up the hill bearing gifts.

Picking apples for the apple pie mom made that night....mmmmm....

Mom and Pyper were pooped after a busy day of picking and playing. Pyper loves to snuggle for her naps. I know she will one day out grow this, and this makes me sooooo sad to imagine. I love these moments.

End of Summer Randomness

37 weeks and counting!

Just waiting to meet Raegan! I wonder if she'll have red hair???

Pyper likes to play in the corn like the chickens do.

Here is a bucket of apples from our apple tree. Well, the truth is, the tree is our neighbor's, but he has let us adopt it...as we collect apples every night for the horses, chickens and us! I wonder what this bucket will make. Cobbler, pie, fried apples, apple sauce...Yes please!

Bubble Time with Daddy and Pyper

Whoa! Pyper tickles us with her facial expressions.

That's a good one, Daddy!

The 3 red heads. L-R Myrtle, StewPot, and Mable

Really enjoying free ranging...

Blanche striking a pose.

This is the cradle my dad made for Pyper and now Raegan. I love how beautiful it is, and how it looks like a piece of furniture. It was such a wonderful gift from Pop Pop to the girls. Hopefully, Raegan will sleep in our room for a few months.

This is the blanket a friend, Allison, had made for Raegan. What a wonderful shower gift! It's in her cradle, waiting for her! Can't wait to use it, and swaddle her up in it!
Thanks, Allison for such a thoughtful gift!

I've Missed You!

It's been a long while since I blogged, because our MacBook died. We got a new computer, so we're cooking with gas now. Here are some things that have been happening here around the farm the last few weeks.

The horses have eaten down the grass. I'm thinking we will have to start feeding hay soon. Luckily, we had a great hay harvest this year. 190 + bales from 5.5 acres. Not too shabby!

Every evening during the week, and in the mornings on the weekends, we let the girls--and guy-out to free range. They love it. They scratch, and peck and do fun little dances. On the far left, is StewPot. He is definitely a HE! I was able to catch him crowing the other morning. It was a sad sounding crow...but I know he was trying. Practice makes perfect. He was standing down in the coop as his harem of ladies watched from the bleachers (roosts). He performs every morning for his lady friends. And they adoringly worship him. So far, it seems that it's working out.

Last Friday, we watched my friend Jenn's two boys. Steven is 4 and Hunter is 21 months. He's only 2 weeks older than Pyper. I was so nervous to have 2 additional kids in the house, being 9 months preggo, and having Pyper, who is going through this lovely stage affectionately known as the Terrible Twos! Luckily, Shannon had off as well, and we were able to handle the 3 kids. The boys are such BOYS, and much to Pyper's delight, wanted to ride on Shannon's new John Deere lawn mower. They had a great time!

Today we finished off the pot of ham and bean soup. It's my grandpa Troy's recipe, and I think he would have gotten a kick out of seeing how much we enjoyed it. A pan of corn bread accompanied it, and Pyper practically licked the bowl. It's a big hit in our house!

The other morning Pyper woke at 6 AM, so I brought her back to our bed to finish sleeping with me. Needless to say, I ran out of room, because when Pyper sleeps with you, she hogs the bed. She's everywhere on the bed. Oh, well. I ended up having to wake her up at 8:30, so we could start our day.

Baby Bumps

I said throughout my pregnancy with Pyper how much I loved it. I wasn't working, I could take naps whenever I wanted, I didn't have one day of morning sickness, I didn't have a toddler to chase around, and was able to schedule my Dr appointments around Shannon's work schedule. I think he only missed one.

This pregnancy has been very different. I'm working full time, commuting 140 miles a day, chasing around a toddler, had morning, afternoon and evening sickness, have to schedule naps whenever and wherever I can, and I think Shannon has been able to make only 2 of my Dr's appointments. It's not that he doesn't want to, but I have to schedule them around my work schedule, Pyper's schedule, and of course, the Dr's schedule. It just so happens that Shannon is working on the days that is universally available.

I must admit this pregnancy has flown by. I think it's a combination of working and taking care of Pyper. I no longer have the luxury of reading every book published on pregnancy, pondering and contemplating every move, hic-cup, and muscle strain caused by the baby. I am just too busy!

I'm not too busy to enjoy this pregnancy though. Although it has been significantly different, I still love feeling Raegan move inside me, a feeling that I don't think I'll ever get sick of. It's truly a remarkable sensation. There are times that I wish Shannon could share this sensation, but I also really like the exclusivity of being in this club. Her hic-cups tickle me, both figuratively and literally. I love pushing down on her booty, and feeling her push back. I love watching her make my tummy roll like a sequence of waves when I'm relaxing at night watching TV. I'm not a fan of the heartburn, or the fact that I can no longer bend over from the waist. I don't like how my lower back aches 24/7, regardless of exertion. I don't like the interrupted sleep every night, because rolling over seems to be more of an Olympic sport instead of an unconscious maneuver. I've only gained 10 pounds at almost 35 weeks, and love that the Dr gave me a green light to eat whatever I want. Most of all, I'm really looking forward to meeting this little bundle that we've made from scratch. I wonder if she'll look like Pyper, with a black mohawk and crooked little butt crack. The ultrasound tech said she saw lots of hair, so now, it's just wondering what color that hair will be.

Please keep us in your prayers as we've already been to the hospital to stop contractions once. I'm already 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, which doesn't seem to concern the Dr's much at all. They said it's pretty normal with me having already had a baby. What they are concerned about is doing too much, too much stress, and picking Pyper up all the time. The Dr on Friday suggested bed rest. I personally have made my mind up against this, as I would be more stressed staying at home watching Pyper and taking care of the house than working at my desk at work. So, I've been actively making it a point to relax, and unwind, letting Shannon pick up the slack as much as he can around the house. Yesterday, I went to my friend, Jenn's house, and the kids played, I ate a delicious dinner I didn't have to make, and I was actually able to put my feet up and relax. It's friends like Jenn that make relaxing feasible. Instead of picking Pyper up so much, I let her run into my arms, or savor her little arms around my legs hugging as tight as she can, snuggling up to me as we nap, or me just bending over and smothering her little round face with kisses. I'll never run out of those for her.

The Dickenson Dozen...

Every year, we try to have a Dickenson family vacation. This is when all the Dickenson brothers and their families come together with Nana and PaPa and we do something fun. There are 12 of us, total...well, until Raegan gets here. This year, we went to Shawn, his wife Sandra and their two girls in Nashville. Shawn is Shannon's identical twin brother, pictured on the far left, Shannon in the center, and their older brother, Todd on the right. Todd and his wife, Kerry live in Montpelier, Va.

These pictures were at our wedding, 2 years ago...they haven't changed all that much. Well, Shannon's gained about 20 lbs, but that's a good thing!

Here are the kids at the Nashville Zoo. Pyper, on the left is ours, holding her is Hannah, Shawn's oldest, she's 13. Then sweet Willow, she's 3 and is Todd's, and then little Emma on the right, she's Shawn's youngest and is 9.

Pyper watching the monkeys, Hannah holding a monkey, and Emma looking at all the monkeys.

Todd and Willow looking at the monkeys.

Pyper on the trolley at the Zoo...

Todd giving a crazy face, I guess because he was the chaperone on the trolley with the kids.

Pyper watching the Bangle Tigers. Sandra, Shawn's wife, loves the kids and her enthusiasm was contagious.

A sweet picture of Pyper and I. The flamingos were my favorite. Pyper's hiding my 8 month preggo belly!

Their coloring was spectacular...pictures can't do them justice.

I really liked the elephants. They are so majestic.

Pyper was pooped after 4 hours at the zoo in 97 degree heat. The heat index on this day was 115. Whew!

The next day, we went to the Build A Bear workshop. Pyper picked out her bear, and here, she's watching the stuffing twirl around....

Watching the worker fill up her bear, Peeper, with just enough love and cuddles.

Pyper kisses Peeper's heart...

Puts it in Peeper for safe keeping. Then sews up Peeper really tight...

Trying to find an outfit for Peeper proves to be too much thinking and hard work. Pyper can't take the shopping stress... Peeper is adorned with hair bows. Build A Bear was a great experience. We had a great time the next day at the pool, where Pyper learned to go down the water slide. We didn't get pics of that because Shannon forgot the camera. Coming back, was uneventful, but certainly sad, as it was a fun trip.

Once we got home, Pyper spiked a fever. Then on Tuesday morning, as I was getting her ready to go to Nana's, I noticed she was burning up. She had a temperature of 101.7! I called the Dr, and was tested for Strep. It wasn't step, but instead, viral pharyngitis.

Even sick, my girl is still happy. Here she is at the Dr's office, enjoying a sucker...

In this picture, she's dancing for joy that she doesn't have Strep. Just some stinkin' virus, but she's tough...

She's already feeling much better! Getting ready for Mamom to come visit all next week!

Green Goodness

This is what our garden looks like so far. I'm pretty impressed! The potatoes aren't as great as last year, but we still have some time...

The corn is looking really good. Except for Goldie and Ida Mae being in there...

And there they are in the tomatoes, too! Those sneaky snakes!

Tassels already...

I can't wait to eat these tomatoes! I could go ahead and fry some of these up...

Cherry Tomatoes

This is a volunteer random squash. We have NO idea how it ended up in our garden, as we didn't plant anything like this last year! Anyone know what it is?

We've already harvested a few of these yellow squash. I have a new squash/potato au gratin recipe I'm looking forward to making with this one...

This will be our 4th zucchinni so far. I've made zucchinni bread and stir fry so far. YUMMY GARDEN GOODNESS!

As a side note, we are totally organic...no pestacides, herbacides, or any chemicals. Many people scoff at this idea, and it IS more more work...weeding, picking off bugs, etc. However, I feel the benefits outweigh the cons. I don't want to eat stuff layered in chemicals.