Adjusting....

That's right everyone....I'm still alive!!! It has been an adjustment to say the least, but I think I might actually be able to do this mom-of-three thing :) After a week at home with lots of help, I took to week number two alone! I know it's only Wednesday, but so far I've managed to get Jax to school each day, on time and with all of us somewhat coherent in one car :) Cash was also on-time to school and I think I even managed to get a shower somewhere in between.

The older boys seem to be adjusting pretty well at this point. Jax is constantly helping me with feeding and entertaining, but he's not so keen on the whole diaper change bit just yet. Cash is actually very calm around the baby and has only tried to give him an occasional "love pat". All in all, the big brothers are doing great!

Cruz seems to be a pretty good baby thus far. He has no problem finishing a bottle, but he does seem to have an issue with keeping it down! Yes, he's a puker. Jax also had a bit of an upchuck problem, so we're familiar with the process of trying new formulas and such. Cruz also seems to sleep well for the most part. I've been trying to put him down around the same time as the older boys, so that means he usually gets up twice in the night to eat. We've had a few nights of fussiness, but not nearly as bad as I've had before :) He continues to change everyday and I'm so looking forward to see who he ends up looking like! I do have to say that his eyelashes and eyebrows have a tint of red, so we'll just have to see!

I am going to try and keep up writing this blog as much as possible. Just in the last two weeks, we've already had some entertaining moments! I imagine that with three boys in the house, well 4 if you count Corey, I'll have plenty of material. I want to put it all in writing so that when I'm ready to run away from home I can look here and see the humor in it all! Thanks to everyone who keeps up with us here and I hope to share some Leggett boy humor soon :)

Happy Birthday Cash!!

It is hard to believe, but our sweet Cash is 2 years old!!! This 2nd year has gone by unbelievably fast and our little boy has grown up so much. Everyday he talks a little more, understands a little more and gets into things a little bit more! We decided to have a little birthday party for him before baby #3 came. We went to Chik-fil-A with a few friends and family and we all had a blast. Cash was thrilled to have all of his friends around and he was also pretty thrilled about the cake and all the presents :)

I'm so glad we got to celebrate his special day before the chaos of a newborn came along, even though we cut it pretty close. Here are a few pics of his party. Happy Birthday Cash man!!!!

Cruz Harvil Leggett

Our newest addition is finally here!!! Baby Cruz was born November 5th at 8:33 am. He weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz and was 18.5" long. He made his appearance just an hour after we arrived at the hospital!! It was an intense labor, but after I begged him to come out for weeks I can't really blame him for making it quick :)

Big brother Jax is very excited and very eager to help. Big brother Cash is still getting used to the idea of a baby, but I think he will warm up very soon! I will make sure to post more later when everything slows down, but until then enjoy some of his first pictures!

Patience....

As most of you know I live with 3 boys. This basically means that on a daily basis my patience will be tested numerous times and a lot of those times I will fail miserably. On any given day Jax will whine extra long and loud about something, Cash will scream and throw his food, Corey will do all of the above and I will lose it by 6 p.m. Well, now it seems I have a new little person testing my patience and, even though he's the smallest of them all, he's certainly holding his own.

I went to the doctor this morning to see if my birthing hour was coming soon. Being that I've been in lots of pain for that past week, I definitely thought we were looking at a huge change in my progress and a labor that could only be hours away. I was wrong. My female doctor, who has no children, was very quick to inform me that I was no further dilated than last time and that my cervix is still pretty thick. Wow, thank you so much. I realize that my body not doing what it's supposed to is not your fault, but you're the closest person to me right now and I want to kick you in the face. Again, my patience is not so good. I proceeded to tell the doctor that I thought I was going to give birth to a newborn roughly the size of a toddler and she didn't seem to be concerned. I'm not sure if she thought I was kidding, but I assure you if this baby weighs over 9 pounds and I have to push it out with no drugs, she will know that kidding I was not.

So, basically the point of this post is to let you all know that I haven't had a baby yet. I don't seem to be any closer to having a baby at this point and they won't induce me until I go to my appointment on Monday. I am hoping that I will not make it to this appointment, because if I do you will all want to stay a good distance away from me. I will, however, make a promise to everyone that my daily dose of Zoloft is keeping me from being on the news and physical pain will only be inflicted if absolutely necessary. Rest assured ;)

The Waiting Game

I've always said that the best part of having a baby is the excitement of labor and delivery! I got very lucky with my first two boys and I was able to go into labor on my own, progress fairly quickly and make it through the whole thing virtually pain-free. I loved being able to call my friends and family with the exciting news that I was headed to the hospital and then a few hours later let everyone know that we had a new little member of the family. Oh to be able to do that again......

I would just like to be able to know what kind of time period we're looking at here. No, I don't want to be induced, but I would like to know if I'm going to be pregnant for another few weeks or just a few days. I know, I know you can't complain about being pregnant longer when you refuse induction, but guess what? I am!!! I don't think my skin can stretch any farther and I'm pretty sure I'm carrying a baby the size of a small 2-year old and I don't really want to know what that feels like in the midst of my first (and last) attempted natural birth. I just wish that I could focus on something other than the human growing inside my body, so that I could get some sleep and relax enough to know that this will not last forever!!! Is this really so much to ask??

Hopefully, I will be writing on this blog very soon that we have welcomed a new addition and that everyone can relax knowing that the crazy pregnant Brittany has left the building for good. In the meantime, you can find me walking around malls and schools as a reminder to young adults to use large amounts of birth control.

Halloween, here we come!!!

I must admit that ever since I had kids holidays have become a lot more fun. It's so much fun to go back to my childhood and enjoy the simple things that holidays like Halloween have to offer. Lucky for me, I have a very enthusiastic 4 year old that indulges me by being thrilled at the idea of picking out pumpkins and dressing up as his favorite superhero!

This year the buildup to Halloween has been a little slower than normal. Since I'm due right around the 31st I haven't had a chance to decorate the house or think about our trick-or-treating arrangements much. It occurred to me this past weekend that we were officially still pumpkin less, so I suggested we remedy that situation immediately! We decided to drive to Cartersville to visit a pumpkin patch and hopefully get into the spirit of Halloween just a bit. Unfortunately we picked the coldest and windiest day ever, but we were still able to do some fun stuff. Not only did we get to pick out the best pumpkins, but we also got to visit with some of the animals on the farm! The farm had most of your run of the mill animals: pigs, sheep, goats and chickens; however, they also had Cash's favorite animal......a camel!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know you're probably thinking, why is Cash's favorite animal a camel?? Well, we have a zoo book that we read 400 times a day that has a camel in it and Cash thinks it's the coolest :) Anyways, after yelling "camel" for a good 20 minutes, we were able to wrestle both kids back in the car and head home before we all froze to death!

Now that we've gotten the necessary elements for a proper Halloween, we can start planning which neighborhoods to hit up for the best candy. Jax has gotten his costume and worn it to bed, to break it in of course, and Cash has made sure to let me know that he's not going to wear his costume without a fight. So all in all I'd say we are ready for a very happy Halloween!!

The Baby's Room!!!!

After months of procrastinating, the nursery is finally done!!! Sure there are a few things missing, but all in all it is pretty much baby ready. My mom was a HUGE part of getting this ready and I couldn't have done it without her. She used her artistic talents by painting grass around the entire room, tracing a mural on the wall and of course making the most amazing window treatments and bedding in the world!!! I can't begin to tell you how lucky I am to have a mom and a family that are always willing to help me out even when they have so much going on in their own lives. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, without further ado, here is our brand new nursery!!!

The RED glider will go in this corner!!!

Bring on the Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it's this time again, but my pregnancy is winding down!!!! Now that I'm considered "full term", I'm going to the doctor weekly and being checked for "progress"! I'm definitely ready to be un-pregnant, but the fact that it's getting so close is very overwhelming!! In just a few short weeks I'll be the mother of three....AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Anyhow, I went for my weekly doctor visit today. I met with a new doctor and she was GREAT! I've been seeing the same few Dr's every time I go, but I thought it would be a good idea to see this one just in case she's on call during my labor. She did my glorious strep test, which has come back positive for my other 2, and told me I could expect the results next visit. Then she checked my cervix and gave me the great news that I'm 1 cm dilated!!!!! I know it's not much, but I've never dilated this early with the other two and just to know that my body is doing something is very exciting.

I go back to the Dr. next Wednesday, so I'll let you all know if anything changes! Bring on the baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Fair to Remember....

I've lived in Georgia my whole life and I've become quite accustomed to the way things are done in the South. We talk a little different, dress a little different and even parent a little different, but all in all I wouldn't trade my way of life for anything in the world. However, attending the North GA State Fair makes me realize exactly where the South stereotypes come from!

Last week Corey and I took the boys to the fair. We had free tickets and free ride passes, so we figured it would be a good place to let them run wild and enjoy some cheap fun. As I suspected not only did the boys have a blast, but Corey and I also had a great time people watching. Between the booths selling various apparel and gifts branded with the ever popular rebel flag logo and the clothing and hair choices made by several families, we were in heaven. Even though it wasn't the cleanest or classiest place on earth, we still had fun and the boys will be begging to do it again next year!! Here are a few pics from the evening...

The "blue nemo" was Jax's prize, but Cash pretty much took it over :)

The Great Flood!

Living in Georgia my whole life has been pretty uneventful when it comes to natural disasters. We don't get much snow, we don't have earthquakes and we most certainly don't have torrential rains.....until now. After a pretty wet month we found ourselves praying for the rain to stop, which is a huge deal when you live in a state that is constantly in a draught. It seems that our prayers wouldn't be answered until we had one good day of what can only be described as hellacious rain!!! It started late Sunday night and wouldn't stop POURING until Monday night. Thank God, we put a pipe under our yard several years ago that diverted our rain to the side of our house or else we would've been camping out on our roof!!! Unfortunately, Paulding county was hit very hard and several people's houses were completely under water and ruined. We are considering ourselves very lucky and hoping that the rain will hold off so that our county and the others affected can be repaired!! To document the occasion I took some pictures of the river rapids that came our way :)

A long time coming....

A lot has happened since my last update, which is not surprising being that it was almost 2 months ago :) I want to start off by telling you about Jax's new school!!!! He started 4 year old Pre-K this year, which means he basically has the same schedule as a kindergartner, but instead of going to an elementary school he goes to a daycare facility. We are working very hard to get him there on time everyday and he is working very hard on being content to stay there until 2:30!!!! At first he was a little irritated that I wasn't coming to get him everyday after lunch, but once he did it for about a week he was over it! As you all know Jax is a bit outgoing, so finding new friends and sucking up to the teachers was not a problem. He tells me about his new "guy" friends, as he now calls them, and he even found himself a new girlfriend!!! I was worried when the school year started and he didn't like any of the girls in his class, but low and behold little Miss Carly came along a week later :) All relationships aside, Jax is doing great and learning so much everyday. He is using words like "completely" and "definitely" and he can write all his letters, upper and lowercase, and his numbers!!! I can't believe how big he's getting and I am amazed by him daily.

Speaking of new school, Cash man started preschool this year too!!! He's not going all day everyday like Jax, but he's going to a 3 hour class Monday and Wednesdays without me!!! I tend to produce children that have very few issues with new people, so Cash jumped right in head first with no problem. He has been busy making his teachers fall in love with him and hitting all of his friends, in a very loving non-violent way of course. He continues to expand his vocabulary daily and even throws in a few short sentences every now and then. He is such a content, laid-back child and we're glad to foster that behavior after having Jax who is....not.

I guess now, after hearing about the kids, you might like to know what the adults are up to! If not, you are allowed to skip this paragraph and head straight for the pictures :) September was a big month for Corey, because he turned the big 3-0!! Since his wife is a bit whale-like right now, he was forced to take a trip to Destin without her :) He had his first (and last!) ever all guys golfing marathon at the beach for the weekend. I'm pretty sure Destin was left restocking the bar when they left, but I know he had a blast and hit a milestone with a bang!! We were glad to have him home safe, especially since I was about to go crazy with 2.5 kids and a flooded yard!!!

As for the pregnant lady, I'm doing just fine. It is official that every pregnancy drags on longer and becomes more uncomfortable, but I just keep reminding myself that it will be over soon. Baby Leggett is growing well, and without cysts!!! Our perinatologist informed us that he is perfectly healthy and measuring almost 10 days ahead!! I'm trying not to get my hopes up for an October baby, but lets face it I already have :) I go back to the doctor next week and every week after that until deliver, so I will be sure to update on any progress as soon as I can. And now, please enjoy pictures from the last month!!!!

My big boy on his first day!!!

Such a big boy!!!

Mr. Cash on his first day!!

Brotherly love...for a second :)

My poor baby after his first wasp sting...OUCH!!!

Big Mama at 34 Weeks.

Birthday Bliss!!!!

Last week was very special for me; it was my 26th birthday!!!! Being a mom, and all the things that go with it, I don't get much time to really enjoy things that interest me :) My parents know that I go a little crazy with kids, so they were gracious enough to offer babysitting services as a gift to me!! Gigi and Pops took the kids Wednesday night to the cabin, and Pawpaw and Meemaw took over on Friday!

While the kids were away I got to spend some time with my friends. Brooke and I took the day on Thursday (my actual birthday) and got a pedicure and did some shopping!! It was nice to have conversations that involved things other than dirty diapers and 4-year old attitudes :) On Friday night Corey told me that we were going to dinner "just the two of us" at my favorite Japanese steakhouse, Kobe's. However, when we got there I was surprised to see a group of friends!! I had no idea he was planning this and the fact that they all came was very special. After dinner we all went to our favorite karaoke bar and partied it up :) Aside from the smoke and obnoxious drunks, it was a blast! I'm pretty sure this birthday will be hard to top.

Now even though my birthday was spent mostly kid-free, Corey surprised me again with a very kid friendly present. He went a few weeks ago and had pictures taken of he and the boys at Marietta Country Club! They were all matching and decked out in their golf wear, and the pictures are beautiful! I will post some of them here so that you can enjoy them as much as I have :) I would like to say thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special. I love you all so much!!!!!!

28 Weeks, HUGE!!!!!!!