My cuties

Just some pictures of my cuties (I can't believe I'll be adding another cutie to this brood soon!) from a few days ago...

Riley loves to sit on the Little Pe0ple house and pretend it's a car or a train. He was also chewing away on a stick from my stash of sticks for making chocolate suckers.

Playing Little Pe0ple with Daddy

My pretty girl

Riley kept trying to get Jamie to take hold of the one end of his (very wet and chewed up) stick. EW! :)

Catch -Up

I haven't posted in awhile. I've just been feeling very tired the past few days! I'm praying baby comes soon, but am also trying to be content in the waiting and the trusting of God's timing over mine!

The past few days I've had contractions, and some of them have been rather uncomfortable, but, they've never come enough in succession to warrant me timing them or anything. So, we wait. But, I'm trying to soak up nights of -mostly- uninterrupted sleep and lots of playtime with Soph and Riley.

Jamie will be starting a new part-time job at the end of next week, and was also summoned to Grand Jury Duty next Friday. So... we're praying that Baby Rose might choose to come in the next couple of days so Jamie can be with us for almost a week before he starts his new job. We're also praying that he might get excused from Jury Duty this time, what with the timing of a new baby and a new job, etc... We trust the Lord will work it all out though, regardless of outcome.

Last week Riley was not sleeping well and was almost completely refusing to eat. After a couple nights of no sleep for any of us, Jamie took him to the doctor and his throat was red and raw and he had crackles in one part of his lung. So, his Doc. said he was in the beginning stages of pneumonia (strep test came back negative). We started some antibiotics and he is now almost done with those, and is feeling much better! He is still teething his last set of molars, so some nights he continues to struggle to sleep through, but he is soothed easily and falls back asleep quickly.

Our sad little guy eating a popsicle to soothe his sore throat.

***

This past Friday Jamie's parents came down for dinner and to just hang out for awhile. I think it will be the last time I entertain in awhile, but it was really fun cooking a yummy meal and having them down to share it with us. I had a lot more energy last week, so I enjoyed doing this!

Double chocolate chip cookies - one of the best cookie recipes I've ever come across! SO good!

I made French bread dough with the bread machine (SO easy), then took the dough out and braided it and baked it in my oven. Then I put some butter and a few garlic cloves in my food processor and after cutting the bread in half, lathered that baby with the garlic butter, and even put some on the top. I wrapped it in foil and popped it in the oven. This was some of the best garlic bread I've ever eaten. I may have over done the garlic, it was a bit spicy, but still really good!!!

And what goes better with garlic bread than lasagna??

The meal was great, but what with the red sauce, spices, garlic and chocolate, this pregnant mama had some major acid reflux that night - it was worth it though. :)

After dinner Sophia enjoyed some game time with Grandma Susie and Papa!

Riley mostly observed. :)

The Deck, Part 1

When we moved into our house almost three years ago, the front looked very different. All the windows had green awnings and there was a huge awning over the door, connected to cement steps with wrought iron rails and posts. There was also a huge, over-grown bush/hedge on each side of the stoop. None of this was our style, so we slowly dismantled the old to make way for the new. It's definitely a work in progress. We really need new windows and a new front door. That will make the curb appeal, well, much more appealing. :) This fall when our basement was getting worked on the excavators ripped out our old cement steps for us and hauled them away. For months now we've been entering our house by using a very temporary, not so safe, made up step system. This past weekend that ended! My Dad and Jamie worked all day Saturday to build what you see in the picture below. Once the ground thaws they will raise it to deck height and add posts and rails, etc... I love it already, and can't wait to see the finished product! The kids have loved playing on it. Sophia instantly made it a stage and Riley likes to stomp around on it. With some warmer days earlier this week, it was so nice to let them play on the new deck. So thankful for changes, even when they come slowly.

The next few shots are of Riley playing on the deck while eating Ore0s. SO cute, I just had to share them all. :) He takes his cookie-eating very seriously!

Spring has Sprung (@ least for a few days)

This week we have had some gloriously sunny and warm (in the 50s!) days. Now, where we live, early March, springish days like this, are well, usually just a big tease, and I fully anticipate another snowstorm or two before Spring truly comes, but hey, we'll take what breaks we can get!!! Most of the mountains and mountains of snow have melted (never mind the insane mud that is left behind) and we have been afforded a few days of no coats, playing outside and general sunny joy! The kids LOVE it and it sure has made this Mama long for summer.

Always finding some sort of treasure!

"Me? Ornery?"

In all my Full-Term Glory

So, I've mentioned before, that this week I am full-term. That's a little different from my due date, for those of you who may not know. My due date is March 30th, but that is just an average of the five weeks where it is safe for Baby Rose to be born. This week started those five "safe" weeks. Any baby born before 37 weeks is considered pre-term, and babies born after 42 weeks are considered post-term, though most care providers don't let Mom's go past 42 weeks. So, I am feeling quite good, but very pregnant! :) So, I wanted to document my big 'ol pregnant, full-term self, so I made Jamie take pictures of me. You'll have to bear with us, we got a little silly. :)

Today is one of my dearest friend's birthday, and she just had her first baby a little over 2 weeks ago. These pictures might bring back memories of how she was feeling just a few short weeks ago. :) Happy Birthday Danielle! Love you!

You Know It's About Time...

... to have your baby that is, when:

1. You only have a few shirts that still provide full-length coverage for your growing mid-section...

2. Your "To Do Before Baby Comes" list is complete!

3. You have a car seat in your car, but no baby yet to put in it.

4. You have suitcases sitting out, slowly getting filled, in preparation for the hospital trip and the other kids going to Grammy's.

5. You get asked, at least once a day, "When is your due date?"

Well, my due date is March 30th, and as of today I am officially full-term (meaning Baby can safely be born any time now!). So... now we wait. :) Can't wait to meet my new Baby!!!

I got the car seat all washed and cleaned in preparation of Baby's arrival. Riley must have thought it was a new seat for him, because he crawled on into it. :) I told him no, but first I had to take a few pictures because he looked so cute.

Dinner with friends

Last night our dear friend and housemate, Shirmy, made us a huge Chinese meal. Two of our mutual friends, Sara and Karen, joined us for dinner. It was so yummy and the company was wonderful! I love not having to cook too! :)

Shirmy, putting the finishing touches on one of the dishes she made.

Jamie was behind the camera... L-R: Sophia, Sara, Shirmy, Riley, Karen and me

Soph and I had to rush off to her ballet class after we ate, but the girls were all still there when we returned. Sophia greatly enjoyed some game playing before she had to head to bed.

Tid bits

Sophia has decided that it is worth taking an actual "sleeping" rest on Sunday afternoons because than she gets to stay up late. Jamie and I think this is wonderful! For the past two weeks we've both been able to take a great Sunday afternoon nap, together, since both children are actually asleep. Ahhhh, sweet bliss. So, we have had an unusually free and restful Sunday. After naps we ate dinner and have since been playing games with the kids. I let Sophia take a "special" bubble bath with some of my bubble bath and even a candle lit like when Mommy takes a bath! :) She was the self-declared Mermaid Queen of Bubble Kingdom. I went in to wash her hair and she asked me if I'd like to play ice-cream shop with her. I agreed and told her I'd be the customer. The following interchange took place.

Me: I'd like 3 scoops of razzle-dazzle blueberry ice-cream.

Sophia: Well... actually it's more of a punch shop than an ice-cream shop. Actually, it's all punch, we're out of ice-cream.

Me: Okay... :) Could I have some razzle-dazzle blueberry punch?

Sophia: It's up to the turtles.

- Thankfully the turtles complied with my request, and may I say, the punch was delicious! :)

***

Sophia has been loving playing games lately, and she's matured SO much in her game playing attention span, ability to follow rules, and her ability to both win and lose graciously, and it has been SO fun. We've been playing card games, tic-tac-toe (and she's getting good!), and a whole slew of games off our shelves. I love this age.

***

We recently started playing "Ring around the rosie" with Riley, and he loves it!!! He grabs our hands and runs around in a circle as we sing and especially loves the "all fall down" part. He continues to love "playing" the guitar, and even had a baby doll in his arms the other day strumming away at her toes. :)

***

Well, our last attempt to get which hospital we'll be delivering at settled didn't quite work out. So, we were at square one again last week and after my midwife appointment have once again chosen a hospital and we are certain (ha! we'll see!) this will be the place. Well, if it's not one thing, it's another. I called tonight to see if we could go for a tour. "Sure," they said! "Oh, wait, you're not bringing children are you?" "Well, yes, we are." "Oh, what with the Swine Flu no kids under 18 are allowed." "Oh... okay. I guess we'll have to come for a tour later this week..."

So, I didn't think to ask at the moment, but I'm guessing this is not just a "tour" policy and I'm guessing the kids won't be able to come to the hospital once Baby Rose is born. :( This makes me very sad, but if it is indeed the case, we'll just have to go with the flow and make the best of it. I'm feeling very thankful that we can at least email lots of pictures and videos for Soph and Riley to see while they wait for us to leave the hospital.

***

Lastly, I'd like to share with you that some bloggers are on a Compassion International blogging trip right now in Kenya. I've blogged about past trips like this. These trips are designed to raise awareness of the work of Compassion International as the bloggers blog about their experiences during and after the trip. It's always great to see a lot of readers come on board with this organization and sponsor children!!! Well, one blogger's blog I read every day, My Charming Kids, by MckMama (Stellan's mom), is on this Kenya trip right now with her husband. Her posts have been really great, and if you are at all interested in the work of Compassion or the children and needs in Kenya, I encourage you to stop by her blog and read about her time in Kenya. Her pictures of the people there are gorgeous and her words are really inspiring. If you've never sponsored a child through Compassion, or some other organization like it, I encourage you to pray about doing so! We've loved getting to know "our" boy, Kannan, who lives in India.

A little break

My Mom graciously took the kids yesterday through today to give Jamie and I a little break, an opportunity at some much needed rest (especially on Jamie's part), and a chance for the two of us to just be "us" for a bit before Baby makes 5!

We met my Mom at my midwife's office yesterday morning and she took Soph and Riley. Jamie and I got to enjoy some peace and quiet while we waited for our appointment. All is well with Baby and me and though we love including our kids in on most of these appointments, it was nice to just do this one the two of us. I will be full-term next week, so Baby is (almost) free to come anytime! :)

After our appointment we headed out to have a late lunch at Panera's (a treat for us, which we thoroughly savored!) then went to T@rget to do a little shopping for two little ladies in our life. One, would be the new baby of our dear friends. They live way far away, so a package of baby gifts was in order!!! The other little lady who needed some special items would be none other than my niece, Cora! She will be turning ONE at the end of this month and since I have no idea if Baby's arrival will permit or forbid us to participate in the birthday fun, Jamie and I thought it would be good to get her gift all in order. I love this kind of shopping!!! And, T@rget is always easier without two children... :)

We ended our outing with a stop at the local Christian Bookstore. We have been reading Bible stories to Sophia out of a variety of Children's Bibles since she was about two, every night before bed. We have worked our way through almost three of them, and it was time to get her a new Bible that was more for her age. She's not reading well enough yet to have just the actual Bible, but we found a great "in-between" one to work our way through with her until sometime next year when she's a more advanced reader. We also found a great little girl's devotional to do with her each day. We wanted something that would challenge her to start applying all these Bible stories she's been hearing for years! I just love new books, and books like this... that will feed my child's soul - the best kind!

We headed home and just relaxed for a bit before Jamie had to head to work for the evening. This morning was the best part - sleeping in and not having to jump out of bed to change a poopy diaper or feed small mouths!!! Glorious! :)

After we drug ourselves out of bed we started some cleaning around the house. I just need to finish sweeping/vacuuming all the floors and my chores for the day will be done. Funny how much easier it is to clean without two little ones dancing all about me. :)

We will be picking up our kids later today and enjoying supper with my Mom. I'm so thankful that she was able to do this for us, as it was a much needed little "kid break" for Jamie and me. I've mentioned many times in this post how nice it was to do "usual" things without the kids along. The thing is though, I just needed a little break, and now I'm biting at the bit, ready to see, hug, kiss and play with my kids! I'm ready to have them back where they belong and I'm re motivated to once again do all the "usual" things - with them along! It might be more challenging at times, but it is usually more special and rewarding. I have greatly enjoyed my little respite, but am ready for my babies to be back. :)

Have a great weekend!

A Rainbow Explosion

Guess who I let paint my toe nails yesterday? :)

The empty wall

This past Thursday Jamie and I tackled a huge project that has been on our "To Do" for the longest time. As the time approaches for Baby Rose to be born, I was getting more frantic about getting this project done. In the entry way of our house we have a rather large closet that had somehow gotten itself all disorganized and messy. I mean, seriously, someone just kept throwing stuff in there and shutting the door. One couldn't even walk in. Every surface was a mess and the floor was knee high with "stuff." Not the best use of space. :)

So, Thursday was the day. And, we did it! I am SO happy with the results. All of our school stuff, art supplies, craft projects, seasonal story books, my scrap booking stuff, my sewing machine, and all of Riley's toys that used to live in the living room... are in the closet! My living room and dining room are now free of toys, crafts supplies and school supplies- just the way I like it!

The Empty Wall - my favorite result of our organizing project. This wall used to house a toy box, a lego table and another block toy. Now, it's just a wall in my living room!

We added a shelf unit we had in the basement to add more places for us to organize. It fit just right.

The existing shelf in the closet houses books, puzzles, and my scrap booking supplies - things that I'd rather not have the kids' have free reign at because if they have free reign at all those books and puzzles - well, can you say BIG MESS???

A cubby bookshelf is organizing all of Riley's toys. Now we can just pull out one bin, play, then put the toys back! Helps me so much to keep up with picking up.

Sophia playing in the closet. There is enough floor space for her to sit in there and she loves having a little secret spot to go and play. :)

Do you have any organization success stories or projects you'd like to soon tackle?

36 Weeks!

Today marks 36 weeks for this pregnancy. Next Tuesday I will be considered full-term, which means Baby can come safely anytime she wants to! I usually have my appointments on Mondays, but this week it is on Thursday, so we'll see how things are then. I'm sure they are fine. My asthma is SO much improved, and my projects are pretty much all accomplished, so I'm feeling pretty good and just ready. Ready to not be pregnant anymore and really ready to meet my new baby and hold her and kiss her! I'm starting to swell a bit in my hands and feet if I'm up for too long, haven't had enough water, and most mornings when I awake. Nothing major, I've experienced this with each pregnancy, but, it tells me this pregnancy is coming to an end soon!

And, just in case you are wondering... I can still see my feet. :)

(I actually took this picture last week - at 35 weeks)

18 Months!

Riley James - 18 months old!

Riley James - on his birth day - 18 months ago!

Yesterday, Riley turned 18 months old! I just cannot even believe that the little baby above has turned into the big boy in the top picture.

Riley has been growing like a weed and changing a lot these past weeks. He is finally starting to speak, a little, and is definitely showing us his spunk and his will! In crowds, or around new people, Riley tends to be a bit withdrawn, slow to warm up. He is very stingy with his smiles and affection in situations like this and tends to cling very closely to Mommy or Daddy.

But... if he is comfortable in your presence - watch out! He is likely to bust a move on the dance floor, or form tackle you while playing ball. He will probably giggle and smile like crazy, babbling away the whole time in excitement. You might even get one of his scrumptious hugs. When asked for a kiss, just like his sister used to do, he will graciously(ahem) present his cheek or forehead to you to receive a kiss! :)

Not a day goes by that Riley isn't dancing, running around in circles, playing ball, talking on anything that even closely resembles a cell phone, reading tons of books, snuggling, and eating a lot!!! He is ALL boy, and we just adore him.

Some new things he's been doing is turning random objects, such as his spoon or a dowel rod, into a gun. I have no idea where he learned how to shoot a gun and the sounds associated with such; Jamie says it's simply because he's a boy. He also loves to sword fight. Today he started turning things, like a fork and a comb, into a guitar - holding the objects just right and strumming away! He adores music. He is also very mechanical, and loves figuring out how to take things apart or put them back together.

We love you Riley! You won't be the baby much longer, but you'll always be our baby!