halloween

My kids love dressing in theme costumes. 

The little one was just begging me to be the 

Cheshire cat and I can't say no to her. 

Truth be told, it's me. I LOVE theme costumes and

my kids have been so great in indulging me.

The older two were actually going to be Alice and the Mad Hatter last year,

but then I got pregnant and wanted to do nothing but sleep.

But I'm glad we waited because it would not have been the same

without our Goose as the cutest Cheshire kitty ever.

They were a lot of work, but totally worth it. 

Yes, I know I'm crazy.

We defiantly had a fun filled Halloween day.

With preschool parades, cool Halloween lunch at Dreamworks and 

treat-or-treating we were so tired.

And we were loaded with sugar, but that's what Halloween is for.

 

Big Sis was playing with an online photo program yesterday and had some

fun creating some goulish characters.

   

I think I prefer the original versions! Yikes. 

ps-Lil Red requested the blood.

the art of deception

Lil' Red started catching imaginary fish in the bathtub a few months ago.
It was great fun and he would release them and catch new ones every bath time.
We got some plastic fish at a birthday party and he had fun with those too.
The other day he tells me he wants some REAL fish.
I tell him I will buy him TWO fish, if he can keep dry at night for 25 days.
Keeping dry at night has been a challenge for him that I try to deal with with only positive
reinforcements. The deal has always been that if you wake up dry you get ice cream for breakfast.
My ice cream has mainly been consumed by me, not him.
So the first night he wakes up dry. Yay!! He asks for his fish.
 I tell him he still has a bunch of night left and he's not happy about that.
The second morning he comes in and tells me he's dry again. I give him high fives and tell him I'm so proud of him. As I'm going about my morning routine of making his bed I notice a slightly wet Pull up shoved behind his dresser. The stinker changed and hid the evidence. I scold him for being dishonest and try to leave it at that.
Next morning, dry again. I'm a little skeptical but I don't see anything to prove otherwise.
So last night I made sure to count the Pull ups in the drawer (only 2 left) before I head to bed.
This morning he's dry again, he tells me while I'm still slightly unconscious.
I get up and check his drawer and sure enough, only 1 is there.
He finally admits to his dirty tricks and shows me where the last 2 nights of  wet ones are.
Ummm, I'm pretty sure those would be stinking up my whole house soon.
So tonight he says he doesn't want Pull ups, just undies.
Fingers crossed, but I'm pretty sure I'll be doing some laundry tomorrow.

Goose

3 months old.
There is no way we could love Goose any more than we do already.
She spends her days putting up with us kissing her nonstop.
We just can't stop, but she doesn't seem to mind.
Her fussiness is gone and in its place came smiles and coos.
She likes a binky now, but only when she's tired.
She still has to be swaddled to sleep even though she's getting to big for her blankets.
Goose sleeps with Big Sis now, who brings her to me when she wakes.
Her favorite pastime is "swimming" which includes a tub, 3 inches of water and our whole family watching and laughing and she kicks and splashes all over.
To celebrate her 3 month birthday she even rolled over for the first time.
Three times, in fact.
Just to make sure we knew it wasn't a fluke.

just because she's cute

1 month

 
Hard to believe, but true.
She is already a month old. 
We've spent the last month trying to enjoy every moment,
but they still seem to be passing by way too fast.
We can't seem to keep our lips off those sweet cheeks.

her birthday story

May 1st
I had a scheduled induction set for May 1st. I would be 39 weeks then and already dilated, so my Dr agreed to the induction since I've never gone into labor on my own and I don't have the patience to wait it out.
After a very long and busy day the day before, I went to bed too late and was woken up at 4 am with mild contractions. I have never had spontaneous contractions before so I started freaking out a little. After a half an hour I decided sleep was out of the question now and got up to shower and get ready for my big day. I was  so happy when contractions stopped after I was in the shower.
We head to the hospital and arrived just after 7 am. By the time all the paper work and blood work were done its about 8:45 and we can finally start the induction. I get my Pitocin going and the Dr comes in shortly after to break my water.
Just after 9 am my mom stops by after taking lil 'red to preschool with the sad news that my Grandpa had passed away that morning. It's news that I didn't want to hear that day, but I hope he got to meet our little one in Heaven before her spirit joined us.



I ride out my contractions on my own a little longer than I normally do and was really ready for my epidural when it came at about 11 am. They also check me and I'm already 6 cm. The nurse starts getting everything out for the delivery because she thinks things are going really fast.
The nurses tell me that they will check me again at 1pm to see my progress. It's 12:30 and I know I'm almost there so they check  again and I'm right. By 1pm we are all ready to deliver. After a few small pushes they notice the baby's heart rate drops so they put me on oxygen. We have to wait a few minutes for my friend, who came to take pictures, to come back because she starting feeling awful. As soon as she returns it takes just a few good pushes and her head is out. I hear the Dr counting to three and realize that's how many times her cord was wrapped around her little neck. As the rest of her slides out, the Dr tells me me to reach down and grab her.




It is a surreal moment as I reach for her and pull her to my chest. Her poor face is bright purple from the cord choking her, so my moment with her is short.



As they quickly check her out they find her breathing is labored and call for a respitory  therapist to see her.
He decides she needs to go to the nursery for a breathing treatment to see if that will help her. As she leaves with her daddy by her side I am left praying that she will be okay.




After about a half an hour I get word back that she is doing fine now and my prayers were answered.
When she returns to my room I can finally hold her and really see her for the first time.

 
We spend the next hour bonding skin to skin. I couldn't believe she was in my arms finally!
We are so grateful that our little one is here safely and is strong and healthy. She is such a sweet blessing to our family.

and then there were three

 She's here!

Lucy Jane

7 lbs 10 oz

20.5 inches

Born May 1st @1:23pm.

We both are doing fine.

More to follow after some rest.

the end is near

Three more sleeps. (AKA-Tuesday)

That's it until my baby girl is here.

I'm excited. 

I'm nervous (about labor).

And even a little sad.

  
 I'm a little sad to be losing my baby belly.
I know its dumb, but I love having her with me all
the time. My constant companion.
I love feeling all the hiccups, kicks, and wiggles.
I love when she starts doing karate moves at 2 am.
Its like my own personal secret party that I don't
have to share with anybody. Its just me and her.
This is probably my last time to have this experience and that makes me a little sad too.

   

 But I also cannot wait to meet this little girl that we love so much already.  

She is an absolute miracle and blessing to our family.

We have talked so much about what she will look like. 

Will she have red hair? Or dark like her Daddy's? 

Blue eyes or hazel? 

Its surreal to me that  I will be able to hold her and kiss her so soon. 

It seems like I've been waiting forever for her.

   

I will miss:

laying in bed watching my belly do crazy unnatural things

having lil' red rub, kiss and talk to his baby sister (he's been SO sweet to my belly lately)

people telling me to eat more because I'm pregnant

foot rubs from the Hubby

people being nicer to me because I'm pregnant

I will not miss:

my huge swollen legs and feet

peeing 4 times a night (at least)

sleeping on my sides- I'm a back sleeper

my aching hips that won't keep up with me

peeing in a cup! Hate it.

my puffy face

nesting- I'm a little crazy right now.

 

Thank you so much Dejah for you pictures and patience!

closer

My iPhone app told me today that I have 49 days left before this baby comes.
Is that really possible? Time use to pass so slow, and now it's going way too fast.
Injured or not, the preparations must still go on. They just happen at a MUCH
slower pace. I might have been close to being done my "to do" list by now if my ankle
hadn't decided to make my life miserable. But the show must go on.

We've been priming and painting, sanding and cleaning, organizing and donating.
It takes a lot of work to find room for a new little one in an already full little house!

The bedding has been purchased.



The crib....still trying to decide whether to leave it natural or give a coat of white.

We've been collecting fun girly things.
Its been fun to shop the other side of BabyGap again.



A girl can't have enough cute shoes.

And speaking of the little one,
she is......



growing.

house arrest

 I have been pretty absent from this blog lately. I always have things in my mind I want to post, but they never seem to make it here. 2 birthdays, Christmas, Valentines Day have all passed without mention and I feel incredibly guilty to say the least. I was trying to finish some big projects that I was working on for the kids rooms so I could post something, but   instead I have spent the last 11 days stuck on my couch. I was stupid and thought it was an ok idea to play volleyball while sporting a 7 month prego belly. I ended with a third degree sprained ankle and have been regretting that decision ever since.
I was just thinking how fortunate I  was this pregnancy that I've been able to remain so active this time around because I had more trouble with Lil' Red. But now I am stopped dead in my tracks and am praying that my mobility returns soon....because I think I am slowly losing my mind.