Out of necessity, we've decided to start letting Noelle take naps every other day instead of every day. Over the past week or two she's been getting harder and harder to put down for a nap on a daily basis, but great the following day. So rather than put up with the whining and tantrum throwing from Jaime (haha), we'll just let her nap M-W-F-Sa, and give her some quiet time on the off days.

So since today is a "no nap day", we decided to go shopping right after church. It also happens to be "Tax free in Tennessee" weekend. Noelle and Jaime both need new clothing because they are both outgrowing what they have. Jaime because she's over 4 months pregnant, and Noelle because she's growing like a weed.

After church we drove down to Cool Springs which is a big shopping area. We decided to eat lunch first, at Schlotsky's Deli. I've only been there a few times, but this lunch was fantastic. Their ciabatta bread sandwiches and pizza were amazing. We shopped at a few places, ended up spending about $200, then came home exhausted. Shopping is hard work.

Jaime and Noelle had a funny moment just now and I thought I'd share it. Noelle was in her room, in bed, while Jaime and I were in the living room. Noelle had pulled out her new underwear and put them on over her diaper, but then asked for "another pair". Jaime went in there to deal with her. As she was getting ready to leave the room, they had this conversational exchange:

Jaime: I'm not coming in here again.
Noelle: Okay, I call to Daddy.

That made Jaime and I both laugh because how smart is that? She realizes that she can at least attempt to play us off each other.

A few months ago I had the realization that Noelle's Parent's Day Out program does not run through the summer. I at first thought maybe I could handle it - a summer with just me and Noelle, getting together with friends, doing all sorts of fun summery things. Then Spring Break came, and I realized I am not cut out to be with a toddler 24/7 for weeks at a time. I began looking right away for a PDO Noelle could go to for the summer. Surprisingly, there really aren't many around. I'd resigned myself to a hodge podge of possibilities, one of which was acting as a sub at a PDO, hoping that parents would go on lots of vacations and want to sell me their days.

My friend Heather mentioned a school called Belmont Weekday that had a summer program, but said that they had their daughter on a wait list for some time. I decided to contact them anyway, and they actually had a spot for us! We went to check it out on Monday, and we both really liked it. Noelle actually threw a fit when it was time to leave. Later I was talking with her about it and asked if she liked it and wanted to go this summer. She said "yes, can we go?" and practically went to get her shoes on.

The teacher in her room mentioned that this summer they will do a lot of water play with sprinklers and baby pools, lots of outdoor play, and a less structured environment than during the school year. I think it will be a perfect place for Noelle. I only hope that she's willing to go back to her old school when fall comes around!

No no, don't worry...Andy&Jaime.com isn't going anywhere. But all of the coding and techy posts that I've been making over the last year or so are going to have a new home.

That's right...I purchased yet another domain name, but this one's really legit. It's my name Andy Matthews. At the moment, the only thing there is a splash page because I just bought the domain name last night, but give me a month or two and I'll have a blog there up and running.

We made pizzas tonight...but not just any pizzas...they were tortilla pizzas and they couldn't be easier.

Take a large 10" flour tortilla, spread some spaghetti sauce on it. Sprinkle cheese over the sauce, then add your favorite toppings. We used pepperoni on one, and sliced red peppers and bacon on the other. Sprinkle some dried italian herbs over the toppings, cover with more cheese, and then bake in the oven at 450 for about 12-15 minutes.

If you're lucky, the edges will get nice and crispy but the middle will still be a little soft and chewy. They were very good, and cost maybe $2 apiece.

The best part was that Noelle helped me make them! She stood on her learning tower and helped me sprinkle cheese, and put on pepperoni (ate more than she put on of course), but it was a fun time.

We are into the 12th week now, and we heard our baby's heartbeat at my appointment on Friday! It was quite a relief. It always takes so long to find the heartbeat, I was starting to get worried. After my midwife finally locked onto it, I just couldn't stop crying. She's letting me come back in two weeks to hear it again, which I am very grateful for.

Other than the anxiety, I am feeling pretty good. Not too tired yet, no morning sickness, I have a good appetite. The only thing I'm dealing with is allergies, and I am just coughing a LOT. Noelle always says, "You sure have a bad cough!" Paired with the over-sensitive gag reflex that comes with pregnancy for me, that coughing has led to a little bit of throwing up.

Yesterday morning I ran to the bathroom during a coughing fit and threw up, and of course Noelle followed me. She stood watching for a while, and then she took several steps back and said, "Don't throw up on me, Mommy." Child, if I had a dollar for every time you have thrown up on me, we could all go have a very nice dinner.

For about 15 minutes after that, every time I coughed Noelle tensed up, looked at me with a concerned face, and with a serious voice said, "Are you throw-upping?"

I haven't gained a pound yet, I'd imagine the above events probably play a role in that! Hopefully I can find some kind of remedy for all this coughing soon.