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!

Veiled

Sophia and Jamie got married tonight. There was another wedding attempt earlier, but the groom choice was one little boy that lives in our house, and well, he just wouldn't cooperate! So, Daddy was glad to oblige for a little wedding fun before bed. Soph was looking for something to use as a veil, and since Jamie and I just came across my actual veil from our wedding, I suggested she get to borrow it for the wedding ceremony. She was on cloud nine! :) And she looked so sweet. Made my "Mama's heart" skip ahead 20 or so years to when she might be wearing this veil, or another one, for an actual wedding ceremony!

hello

Just a quick hello to say we are all alive and well. :) I haven't posted much this week. Every now and again I just get in a bit of a blogging slump and life catches up with me and I guess this is one of those weeks. I've been busy trying to stay on top of keeping the house clean and working on my "To Do Before Baby Rose Comes" list. I have 6 out of 11 things marked off, so that feels good. There is only one more "essential" to do and the other four will just be icing on the cake if they get done, so I'm actually starting to feel prepared!

We've worked hard to get our little house more organized to make room for another person. With only two official bedrooms and our housemate living in our "extra" space, staying organized is important! Thankfully our house has TONS of storage and great closet space, so there are lots of places to do that organizing behind closed doors!

Tomorrow we will be attempting to visit the hospital I'll be giving birth at. We have to call the unit an hour before we want to come to see if they are busy or not. If not, we can go ahead and go for a tour. If they're busy, we'll have to try again another day. I hope it works out because I've never been there and I know it will help me mentally prepare for this birth being able to visualize the place I'll be heading!

How has your week been??

This and That

Let's see... our weekend:

Sophia was gone for TEN hours on Saturday for the Little Sib's Weekend events. I dropped her off at 8:45am and didn't pick her up until 6:45pm! I asked her babysitter, D, how it all went. She said, "Sophia is so friendly, she just talks to everyone!" I asked D if she was ready for kids and she quickly and enthusiastically said, "NO!" :) So, I think Soph may have worn her out.

Sophia came home bearing many items from the day and many stories to share. She had a large cutout cookie and a few pretzel sticks that she'd been given free-reign to decorate. And... if you know my daughter, that means she used about a truck load's worth of sprinkles. There may now be a sprinkle shortage in this part of the country, I'm just saying...

She also had "goo" she'd gotten to make during the science portion of the day. And, get this, she got to go to "exercise class," and she was excited about it! :) When does that stop being something fun and become more of something one must do to stay healthy???

At any rate, she had a fabulous day and we are forever grateful to D for extending herself like that to spoil our daughter. Sophia was pretty tired on Sunday, and even took a "sleeping rest," which for her, at 5, is VERY rare!

My parents came down Saturday to help us rearrange furniture in the kids room. Sophia was given this great bedroom set a few years ago, but it was all pretty oversized and since three kids will be in there soon, it was time for a change. We had acquired a smaller bed for Soph, along with a more reasonably sized bookshelf and dresser. So, we switched all the furniture around (and when I say "we," I mean I sat and watched/supervised. :) ) and got it all arranged. Riley was SO excited at all the changes and just danced around the room, babbling and giggling with glee. Sophia was thrilled when she got home and saw her "new" room. She has loved sleeping in there and the extra space is great! She especially loves hearing about how the new dresser was my Mom's and Aunt's when they were little. Her favorite story is how my Aunt would hide her Girl Scout cookies in the cubby portion and my Mom would sneak in to them and eat them! :)

Riley is cutting his last four baby teeth! This is major because he always has a harder time with his regular routine (i.e. eating/sleeping habits) when he's cutting teeth. It looks like we might get all those teeth out before Baby Rose is born, which would just be a huge blessing!

Riley is a very mechanical kid. He loves figuring out how things go together/come apart. Today I walked into the living room to find that he had unplugged the lamp and put a child-safe plug in it's place! Where he found the safety plug, I have no idea!

I will be 35 weeks pregnant tomorrow. I had my regular check-up today and all is well! I now will have weekly appointments until Baby comes! Yikes, that feels crazy to be able to say.

Sorry, no pictures. I'll need to get the camera out tomorrow to get some shots of the kiddos and maybe some of the 'ol Baby Belly. :)

Babies on the Brain

First, this baby, my firstborn...

Sophia is off on a grand adventure today! Our local University is hosting little siblings of students this weekend for "Little Sibs Weekend." One of Sophia's babysitters is a student and graciously invited Sophia to come be her "little sis" for the day. She will be decorating cookies in the cafeteria, eating lunch there, going swimming, playing games at the Rec Center, doing science experiments, going to the library and eating dinner. Then, her big day will be done and I'll pick her up! Whew. She has never gotten ready so easily with so little complaints than she did this morning. :)

I am so excited for Sophia to have this opportunity. What fun! I have to admit though, when she walked away from the car, with her giant pink backpack, holding D's hand, I almost started crying! I've been away from Sophia before, but almost exclusively her sitters have been my parents or Jamie's parents. When she's had non-family sitters it's always taken place at our house or where we were (like with Abby this summer in CO). So, to send her off for 8 or 9 hours to have a fun day with D - it was a little bittersweet! She's growing up, which is fabulous, but makes my heart remember her little years. The fact that I'm comfortable with her having this sort of day is proof that she's not a baby, toddler, or even pre-schooler anymore! She's a big girl! I love my Sophia and will be thinking a lot about her today and taking a bit of a journey through "yesterday" as I remember memories from when she was just my little baby.

And then, there is this fabulous little man, my second-born...
Riley is almost 18 months old! I cannot even believe it. Today will be fun because he and I will have the opportunity to have a lot of one-on-one time. Until Sophia was almost four, it was just her with Jamie and me. Riley has always had to share us. :) He doesn't seem to mind, as he adores his big sister, and well, he knows no different! But, while Sophia is off having her adventure, I'm looking forward to just playing with and enjoying my little boy, who is also no longer my little baby. He has left infancy far behind, and as the days go on he becomes less and less baby and more and more toddler. Memories of his infancy are still very fresh in my mind, as they were not so long ago, and I'll be relishing in those memories today and enjoying making some new ones!

And lastly... Baby #3

What will she look like? Or, will "she" surprise us and be a "he?" I have so much to look forward to, and as I spend the day thinking back on the "baby days" of Soph and Riley, I will be looking forward to what is to come for the baby days of Baby Rose. I'm organizing all my baby clothes today and doing some rearranging of furniture, so nesting is in full force and "babies on the brain" just may be an understatement!

Do you have a special kiddo in your life who is no longer a baby, but, really, will always be your baby??? See, as bittersweet as it is to see the special kids in our life grow-up, I'm reminded of my Mom. Even at my current age of 29 1/2, she still often reminds me that I'll "always be her baby." So, that makes these days much more sweet than bitter!!!

Have a great day!

Some Updates

Riley: We took Riley for his follow-up appointment with the pediatric GI doctor this past Monday. Based on all the tests and evidence we've gathered, it appears as though Riley has a non-allergic immune response to milk protein. There are two (at least, maybe there are more?) types of immune responses, one is allergic - meaning it could result in anaphylactic shock/death and one is non-allergic - meaning it results in negative symptoms, but these symptoms, in and of themselves, are not life-threatening.

So, the plan of action is to withhold all food/drink with milk protein for a time (say a month or two), then slowly reintroduce it to see if Riley still reacts. If not, yippee, he's outgrown it! If so, then we cut it out again for another period of time and start all over. The hope/prayer/expectation, is that he will, in time outgrow this. Only time will tell!

A couple of weeks ago we did reintroduce some dairy, and he definitely has NOT outgrown it at this point.

Sophia: Well, Sophia is just doing great! Healthy and loving life - though maybe a bit stir-crazy from the snowy/cold weather! Jamie took the kids to an International Club event on campus Wednesday and Sophia won a candy bar. Later that evening she announced to me, all on her own volition, that she wanted to share what was left of the candy bar with me. So... awhile later I asked if I could have my bite. Her response:

"Sure! Okay. Mama? I love you. But...

I still want the bigger half. Okay?"

:)

Jamie: Jamie is doing great. Burning the candle at both ends most days, but God is sustaining him. He's such a needed and wonderful support to me as my pregnancy continues on and as I find myself needing more and more help with things. I'm just so thankful for my husband!

Me: I was able to see my primary care physician this past Monday. I am now on a regimen of an allergy pill once a day, a preventative inhaler 3x/day and a new rescue inhaler for when I have an asthma attack. I still have my moments most days where I'm very short of breath, but overall my asthma has improved and I feel confident I can make it to delivery day without any major issues! Praise the Lord!

Wednesday was a day full of contractions for me, some of them very painful! The amount and intensity of them was unusual for me, so I went in to my midwife on Thursday to be checked out. All is well thankfully. I have guidelines to follow for how many contractions are too many and when it would be necessary to go in to be monitored. So far I'm below what would warrant being seen, so it seems like I just need to deal with it. It adds another uncomfortable measure to my days, but at least we're near the end and so I know it won't be forever! I am 34 weeks now, so this sweet baby could make her appearance in as few as 3 weeks - when I'll be considered full-term, or in as many as 8 weeks. I'd love to meet her in about 4 weeks, if I could have my way. :) But, I'll leave that timing up to God, since I know He knows best!

Have a great day!

Creepy Church Sign

What feelings of God does this sign create in your spirit when you read it??

I find it, aside from being totally corny, a bit creepy.

How do you feel about "church signs?"

Valentine's Day

A couple of years ago Jamie and I decided to start a new tradition in our family. We decided we would make Valentine's Day a special family day. We love to spoil each other with little gifts and a special breakfast. It's so fun to have a great excuse to celebrate the love we have for each other. I think it's also beneficial for our kids to see their Mommy and Daddy loving on each other - gives them a lot of security! And who doesn't like to have a reason to spoil their kiddos?? So, this year we started the day out with a breakfast of donuts and OJ and a little exchange of gifts and cards. Jamie, of course, spoiled us girls the most - and he would say, "As it should be!" Here are some pictures of the kiddos enjoying our special morning.

Sophia, smiling ear-to-ear. She received pink roses from Daddy and a fun straw-cup from Mommy, among other little treats.

Riley got a new book from Daddy, a race-car from his sister and a play cell phone from Mommy. His new favorite word is "Wow!" and that was his exclamation upon finding gifts at the breakfast table!

Jamie knew just what kind of donut Sophia would love. Pink and sprinkles!

Chowing down!

"Hey Mom, where is my donut??"

"Ah! Yum, thank you dear Mother!" :)

He's a happy boy!

All decked out in pink and matching her doll, Natalie - waiting to leave for church.

"Yes, Mom, I know I look super dapper, but are all these pictures necessary?"

This picture is a bit blurry, but I just love how they are sitting together so nicely, and even holding hands! Melted my heart.

It was a fun day and we all ate too many sweets, but that's part of the joy. :)