"Mommies to be" in Washington D.C., Part 2

Wednesday in Washington began with brunch at a restaurant similar to Panera. Our big plan for the day was to do some much needed shopping for the babies and the fourth of July party Donna was throwing!!

 



Christina, Lara (baby David-37 weeks), Shannon (baby Reagan-34 weeks), & Kayla Grace



Donna took us to this MASSIVE grocery store called Wegmans. It was definitely a different grocery shopping experience than Walmart!

 



The inside of the store had a very warm environment.

  

The one thing that Kayla wanted to do on our vacation was swim. Luckily, the Motseks have a pool in their backyard so that makes it very convenient! This was the first time she let me put her on her back in the water.

 

Davey senior kissing Davey junior

 

Mom and Donna went a little crazy at Babies 'R Us. Babies Reagan and Davey will not be lacking anything in the clothes department! My favorite purchase of the day was the diaper bag. I LOVE it and all of its multiple compartments!!! It's an organized mommy's dream.



The morning of the fourth of July, we went to a local nursery. It was the first one I had been to in a long time and it was so nice to see all of the beautiful flowers. Especially since the majority of live plants that end up in my care die within about a month.

 



Donna and I are trying to pick the perfect flowers to place around the pool for the party.

 

Davey wanted to get some play time in with Sadie before the party started.

 

  Papa Gary was in charge of grilling the burgers.

Our afternoon on the fourth began in the pool. Kayla invented this game where she would throw the duck and then Christina or I would help her chase after it once it was in the water. Then, she would throw it again and the game would continue...

Jumping off the side of the pool NEVER gets old!

 

  What would the fourth of July be without family, food, and fellowship?

We watched fireworks from the Motsek's backyard. Their neighbors have a private party every year and spend about $2000 in fireworks. It was a great show, and the best part was we didn't have to leave the backyard or deal with D.C. traffic! 

 

 

On July fifth, after saying our goodbyes and several tears, we headed back for Little Rock. We had a flight connection in Chicago where we found this giant dinosaur skeleton. Kayla thought it was pretty cool.

 



"Mommies to be" in Washington D.C., Part 1

Over Memorial Day weekend, on the top of Pinnacle Mountain, Mom and I decided it would be a good idea to go visit my best friend, Lara. Lara and I met the first day of high school in White Hall, Arkansas. We both got lost and have been best friends ever since. Fifteen years later, at the end of November, Lara called me and told me she was pregnant with her first baby!! A couple of weeks later, Brian and I found out we were pregnant with our second. Once Lara and I were far enough along in our pregnancies to realize our due dates, we noticed our babies were almost exactly a month apart. Their son was due on July 22, and our daughter was due August 21.

Anyhow, back to the trip. Mom and I thought it would not only be a good idea to go visit Lara while we were both pregnant, but also a good idea to make it a surprise. I contacted Lara's mom, Donna, and told her our plan. She thought it was a GREAT idea and said they would all be home the week of July 4th. Since we had the "go ahead," we bought our plane tickets and planned our trip.

 

Our departing flight was scheduled to leave the Little Rock at 6:00 a.m. That meant Mom and I were up that morning at 4:00 and Kayla was up WAY before her bedtime.

 

About six hours after our flight departed Little Rock, Arkansas, we arrived in Washington D.C. Lara was under the false pretense she was coming over to have lunch with Donna. Little did she know we were waiting for her in Donna's dining room. When I came around the corner and she saw me, she immediately started crying. She said it was the first time in her life she was legitimately surprised.  

 

Food has always been a priority for Lara and I. One of our traditions is making puppy chow together. So, naturally one of the first things we did was make a trip to the grocery store so we could get all of the ingredients for our favorite dessert.

 

The Motseks and Cahans are dog people. Actually, the dogs are more like members of their families. Their names are Holly, Bentley, and Sadie. Kayla had so much fun with them!

 

The second day of our trip, we made a trip to D.C. to do some sight-seeing. Our first stop was the Pentagon where Gary (Lara's dad) works. We parked at a mall called Pentagon City and then walked over. This was the last photo we could take before entering the Pentagon. Once we got inside, Gary gave us a back stage tour that only the highest level of security clearance is allowed to see.

 

Kayla has always been a fan of trains. She thought the metro ride from the Pentagon to downtown D.C. was awesome.

 

Once we got off the train, we headed for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This is the oldest building associated with the Smithsonian.

 

The Capitol

 

Planes inside the Air and Space Museum

 

Lara and I stood on a massive scale and had our weight projected on different celestial bodies. The great news was our moon weight was only 67 pounds. The bad news was our earth weight was 395!!!

 

 They had so many cool things to see at the museum, but one of my favorites was the "Spirit of St. Louis". 

 In the children's section of the museum, the kids actually got the chance to sit in the cockpit of a Cessna and play with the control panel. Kayla was a natural!

 

They also had a model of the lunar module.

 

 

Once we got back to the house after our big day out, we kicked up our swollen ankles up and felt each other's babies turn cartwheels.

 

It was a great second day at the Motsek home.

 

Playing Catch Up

I haven't blogged in about three months, and just wanted to put a couple of old pictures in here to get caught up.



Kayla wore her Cinderella pajamas for PJ day. She was a "Friendly Frog" in Ms. Lisa's class.

Ready to feed the ducks!

 We have to stand on the tables so the ducks don't bite our legs.

 

In May, Kayla was invited to a fourth birthday party for Chloe -a girl in her class from daycare. The party was at a place in Fayetteville called the Glitterbox and she had a blast!!! The girls got mani/pedis and were pampered like crazy. It was a great party!

 



I thought the statement on the wall was very appropriate!! If you can't read it, it says, "It's not easy being a PRINCESS, but somebody's gotta do it!"

I got to hang out with my sister, Rhyan, and her beau, Sam, on Mother's Day weekend in Little Rock. It was a great time for family!! And we got to climb Pinnacle Mountain which is about a mile hike up a really large hill. Since I was six months pregnant at the time, I got quite a few looks on the way up!

 

The Rogers Aquatic Center openned up this summer. I took Kayla the second or third weekend it was open. She had a blast, but pretty much spent the whole time jumping to me from the side of the pool.

One of our favorite mommy/daughter things to do is go to Auntie Anne's pretzel store at Pinnacle Hills Promenade and get a coke icee and pretzel. Then we walk down to the water fountain so Kayla can put her feet in the water and throw five or six coins in the fountain.

 

 

Kayla went to vacation bible school this summer for the first time. The theme was "Stand Strong for God". She LOVED it! One of her favorite parts of attending VBS was getting to ride the shuttle that ran from our church to Highlands United Methodist where the camp was held.

 

This is a photo of her and a friend she made there.

Since Kayla has been about one and a half years old, she has loved throwing rocks in water. We modified our rock-throwing a little bit this summer, and converted it into Barbie throwing...and swimming. Her dolls' first outing was to Lake Windsor.

 

 

For the past three years, Dad has lived in Clarendon working on getting his retirement, while Mom has been in Little Rock. Occasionally, they meet in Fort Smith on the weekends instead of making the full drive to one another's houses. Sometimes, I drive Kayla down to Fort Smith so she can spend the weekend with them. Mom took this picture of her while swimming in the Aspen hotel swimming pool.

Kayla got about 5 inches cut off of her hair the week before her fourth birthday party. It made her look so grown up!!

 

 

 

 

My First Half Marathon

In October of 2011, my friend Sarah and I decided we would do a training program to prepare us for a 5K race they hold in Bentonville every spring called the Bentonville Running Festival. We ran our first race in 33 minutes which wasn't too bad for our first 5K. That was also the race where I really got hooked on running. I know for all of you skeptics out there, you're saying, "Yeah right!! No one REALLY enjoys running!" Don't judge until you try. There is nothing quite like it!

This year, Sarah and I got even more ambitious and trained for the half marathon for the same running festival that was held on April 6.

The Saturday morning of the race, I woke up at 5:15 a.m. I put on my orange running festival shirt, safety-pinned my number to the front, put on my favorite Junk headband, my $100 running shoes (which we had put 11 miles on two weeks before our race), and waited by the door for Sarah to come pick me up.

On our way to the race, a giant squirrel flew into Sarah's windshield and I spilled my coffee down the front of my pants. It was pretty uncomfortable, but since I've been pregnant, I've been used to peeing on myself so it was nothing too out of the ordinary to have a wet crotch. We arrived at the square around 6:30 and the race was supposed to start at 7:00. We stretched and found our spots near the starting point.

When the gun went off for the race to begin, I felt the suddent urge to pee. I literally ran into the Casey's general store on the corner of Central and "J" street and went on my merry way. If you've never run a race before, it is the coolest environment because there are all of these supporters who cheer you along on your way. They are complete strangers, but they yell and clap for you, and hold up signs. One of the yards we passed had a band playing in the front yard and a girl who was holding a live chicken. Another one of the yards was decorated with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme.

There are also folks who stand along the race route holding signs. One of my favorites was around mile 9 and said, "You think you're tired. My arms are sore from holding this sign." When we had about 3 miles to go, there was this sweet lady that was yelling for us. As we passed, she said, "You only have a 5K to go!!" I was pretty exhausted at this point and simply responded with, "Easy for you to say!!" I didn't say it in a rude way, but in a "we already ran 10 miles lady. I think 3 more might kill me." There is also this BEAST of a hill -the Crystal Bridges hill- at the end of the route that even the most experienced runners walk up. It also happened to be positioned within the last mile of the race. Right before the hill, there was a sign that said, "What hill?" It was so cool though because when we got to it, SEVERAL of my current students were standing there giving us high fives and cheering us on. They were yelling, "Good job Mrs. Wicker!" and "You've got this Mrs. Wicker!" It was the extra boost that I needed to get me through the rest of the race.

Within our last mile, once we'd made it to the top of the hill and we were almost done, there was a lady in front of us wearing a sign on her back that said she was running the race in honor of her dad. I started to think about the countless hours of training, foot blisters, leg and foot cramps, long Saturday and Sunday runs, and I got really emotional and started crying. We had made it to the end. We ran the 13.1 mile route and crossed the finish line. We made it in 2 hours and 39 minutes. Our goal was to finish in under 3 hours. There was another pregnant woman who ran the race and ended up crossing the line about five minutes after us. I told Sarah that I was happy I beat the other preggo. She was just happy we finished the race period. It was an incredible experience and I can't wait to do it again!

 

Shannon and Sarah post race.

 

 

All About Baby

On Tuesday, April 2, we found out if we were having a boy or a girl. It was an incredibly LONG day!!! Brian and I decided to take Kayla with us to the appointment so that she could see her sibling for the first time and be a part of the "big reveal."

After much anticipation, we found out...IT'S A GIRL!!!

 

I cried a single tear when we found out. I was (am) so happy! Kayla and Brian are both ecstatic as well. We LOVE little girls, and are so happy Kayla will have a little sister and best friend for life.

Baby Wicker looks pretty flexible in there. Her feet are up by her head.

 



 

This foot will get many kisses in about 15 weeks...

 

We had our 25 week appointment yesterday. Dr. Sarver said I'm looking healthy and my measurements are right where they should be, despite the fact I weighed in at 162.5 pounds which was slightly devastating for me. Dr. Sarver also said that it would be best for my recovery and for the baby if we have a c-section this time around. I'm actually excited about knowing when our baby will be born. We're looking at Friday, August 23 which will fall during our first week of school and will give me enough time to meet all of my students before I go on maternity leave. 

All About Kayla

There's been so much focus on the baby lately, I wanted to take some time to talk about Kayla and what she's been up to...

Kayla Grace is officially 3 years, 8 months, and 3 days old today. Here are some of her current FAVORITES:

RESTAURANT: Olive Garden (she doesn't really eat the food, just the Andes mints)
FOODS: Lucky Charms (the red cereal is what she calls them), Mac 'n Cheese, Sour cream enchiladas, avocado, purple grapes, sliced tomato (with salt on it)
SONG: Jingle Bell Rock and "Aunt Rhy's Rhy's song" - AKA You Are
BOOK: Cinderella
MOVIES: "Cinderella," "Rise of the Guardians," "Wreck it Ralph," and "How to Train Your Dragon"
BOARD GAMES: Mousetrap, Candyland, Memory
TOYS: Princess barbies, miniature princesses from Candyland, her princess yo-yo, and generally speaking anything else having to do with Disney Princesses

Here are some more Kayla facts...
1. She lines up her toys in single file lines on the floor, in the bathtub, and anywhere else she is playing at the time.
2. She operates the iPad better than I do...which may not be saying much since I'm not the most tech-savvy person. :)
3. She doesn't like to wear PJ's anymore.
4. She prays with mommy every night.
5. She wants to wear her hair down every day so it will "blow in the wind".
6. She picks her boogers and eats them.
7. She can spell her first name.
8. She recognizes the first letter of her friends' names. For example, she'll see an "M" in a book or on a sign and she'll say, "Mommy, that's an "M" for Miles" or "Mommy, that's an "A" for Alexys".
9. She loves getting toys out of the treasure box at school. The kids at her school get stars for good behavior at school. If they collect 10 stars, they get to pick something out of the treasure box. Her favorite thing to get are these sticker dolls that she can dress with different stickers.
10. She LOVES to chew gum.
11. She wants to eat either candy or puppy chow after dinner every night.
12. She loves to throw rocks at any random body of water.

13. She enjoys taking walks after dinner.
14. She loves to blow bubbles.
15. She loves to get her nails painted, but hates having them clipped.
16. She asks on a regular basis, "When do we get to go to NeNe's house?"



17. She thinks a good name for her baby sister would be Maximus.

18. She kisses my belly - her baby sister - every night before she goes to bed.

19. She wants Brian to stay in her room every night until she goes to sleep.

20. She likes to pick flowers for Brian, me, and her friends at school.

 

 

The pictures in this post are all courtesy of Kate Burris. She's a great friend and graciously agreed to take some pictures of us a few weeks ago at Tanyard Creek in Bella Vista.