Am I missing anything ladies?

Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, I will be at the Lakeside birthing center when our Logan is born. I am so looking forward to NOT being in a hospital this time. my last birth experience wasn't so great, and I am hoping this will be better! Don't worry, I'm not expecting it to miraculously not hurt or something, just be more calm and less hospital nurse telling me what to do. So today I was thinking about what we took to the hospital with us for KayLynn. And, truthfully I can't really remember what we took and what was helpful. I do remember that we didn't bring diapers, and thankfully the hospital provided everything she needed till we left, but probably this time I am going to have to think about such things! in some ways it's a lot less prep going to the birthday center because I'm just going there to have her...not to stay! So, what I am thinking is that I will need a clean change of clothes, and Logan will need the typical diaper bag stuff (diapers, wipes, clothes to go home in)...I will also have to install the infant car seat at some point, but am I missing anything? It seems like so little prep for such a huge addition...like I should be doing something else... I just read this article and thought this quote so perfect for how I have been feeling... "When my first child was born, everything about my daily life was different. It felt like I had knocked the house down to its foundation and rebuilt it. When my second child was born, it was like we’d rearranged the furniture. Yes, there were added logistical challenges with two, but the feeling of being in uncharted territory was gone." That's kinda how I feel. I feel like this child should take more planning and getting ready for than he does!

Oh yes, it's a boy!

I have been trying to get up the energy to actually write a blog post for a long time. however, it seems like something is always in the way...not least of which is that this pregnancy is kicking my butt! I can't believe how tired I am all the time, and the back pains and side pains and muscle pains and, well, you get it! Ugh... Anyway, yes, we are having a boy. as of today we think his name will be Logan James, but who know, Max changes his mind all the time, so nothing is set in stone. Though we were so shocked to find out that our second is a son, we are ecstatic to have our little Norman Rockwell family. I am nervous about how this will be different but also excited. Keep having visions of little dress shirts and khakis, mini ties and tuxedoes... I a thankful that not only do I have my wonderful girl-side kick, but now I too will have a mans heart to train for God. it's funny that my two will be the same distance in ages as Michael and I are!

So, I have gone through the pink, and gotten rid of clothes and pink dolls and all sorts of things I thought I would pass on, and am preparing for the blue.

When the doc told us that this baby is a boy, KayLynn shouted at him, "No, I wanted a girl." but then later she calmly said, "I'm just really frustrated because I wanted the baby to be a girl.". gotta love my articulate little three year old.

There's so much more of you to love

Well, it has been a while...again! For starters things are going fairly well. kayLynn is per usual is a joy to have in our home. Sometimes that joy is hard earned and other times just freely given! Like tonight, we were getting some food and she had to be taken to the car. however, just minutes after she s smiling even more happily and just loving on mommy and daddy. Though it is not always the case I love it when discipline so clearly is shown as a good thing, meaning that when we discipline her, she loves us more!

Though very verbally skilled, KayLynn is often playing catchup with her fine motor skills. lately we have been working on them a lot, playing with pennies, changing doll dresses on her own and to night she did a paint by number(except instead of numbers it was shapes) It was so good for her to sit there and focus on drawing in the lines and following directions. I have noticed a te improvement in her ability to sit and focus on things since Christmas. now we can sit and read stories by the hour, and color together with little fuss. she even wants to just sit and hold my hand while I read to myself sometimes, which is a feat for her! I am so proud of how hard she has been working on all of this-of course, she sees it as play, so that is great.

Her ability to be still has been a great blessing to me as I am exhausted all the time. Generally I get up and get as much as I can done before the fatigue hits me. The nausea has Abated to a degree and is now mostly caused by food smells. max has graciously allowed me to mostly have cold foods in the house like sandwiches and easy to warm soups. After that last meatloaf, I had to take a break. our next appointment is next week and I am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat, as is KayLynn... I have reached the point of pregnancy where I look and feel bloated (although have only gained 1 pound, thank you Lord). Nothing fits right, maternity or not and I feel so totally unattractive most of the time. my husband says he loves my curves bless his heart trying to make me feel lovely. I have a good man.

well, I will leave off for now since I have written a novel already...

Today, thanks to Kjerste's recommendation we met our new midwife Nancy. We loved her and she made us feel very confident. She confirmed that I am due August 17th, and that the baby is healthy and right on schedule. we got a picture which looks remarkably like a white-ish circle on a black-ish background and yet it was amazing! Something about seeing that heart beat inside you that just makes me euphorically happy. Sometimes I have a hard time getting over just how amazing it is that my child is growing inside of me-not that I want to 'get over it'.

Praise the Lord for this wonderful miracle that He allows us to witness.

Be patient, you are now an incubator...

I have to keep telling myself this! The Lord is growing a human inside of me, and it's exhausting! I can't believe how tired I am this time around. I was so busy and overwhelmed with school and work that there wasn't a whole lot of time to focus on that part, but this time?!?! Anyway, life is going on much as it always does, lots of cleaning, puking, laundry, puking, cooking, more puking and then lots of sleeping. When K goes to bed, I quickly follow. Although today I had Jack and for the first time in weeks he did not nap at the same time as KayLynn and so neither did I.

I am however proud to say that I have been able to keep up the normal duties as well as getting a lot done around the house. Poor Max did have the same pesto pasta for four days in a row, but today I made him some yummy French dips to make up for it! I made appointments to meet with two different Midwives and am excited and nervous about meeting them next week. Due to some good advice we are strongly considering a home birth should all things go well.

On another note, as of yesterday, my dog is ale to have babies and therefore has to go in and have a little surgery...poor girl! However, she is so tiny that if we let her go and she got pregnant with a neighbor dog it could kill her! So, that's on the schedule now too.

Another big project has been getting budgets set up for our kitchen remodel!!!!!!! We are going to be doing a lot by ourselves, but have to hire a few things done, so I am making appointments and looking at tiles granite and paint!

well, I think that's the update so far this month, hopefully after I go to the midwife I will have some ore details!

Oh swell...2012

Its been a while. Our Christmas was so busy that I just didn't have five seconds together to post. We enjoyed friends, family and Lots of Christmas crafts and candy! KayLynn is really blossoming and becoming such a big girl. She loves to help when I babysit and clean and always wants to be near me. She is also very empathetic, and everything that my baby makes me feel, her baby makes her feel!!

We are all looking forward to the new baby, although a few of the side affects have been a little hard to handle, I had forgotten! In a couple weeks I will see the midwife, and until then I am ok being nauseated. In the last few weeks I have consumed about 4 jars of pickles, 3 jars of artichoke hearts and am about halfway through a jar of green pickles, not to mention the kimchee! it seems my salty sour cravings are back with full force. Cooking any type of meat makes me physically ill, unfortunately my husband and daughter still like to eat! The only other thing really bothering me is that I am exhausted all the time. Due to that I have had to change my gym time to later in the morning, but I am sure I will get used to it.

As far as our goals for the years... Max and I are going to spend the next few months really focusing on making our marraige better by working harder to be more focused on The Lord. this last year seems like such a blur and we feel like we let a lot slide because we were so overwhelmed, but we are done now!

Our second goal is to gradually ease KayLynn into the big sister role! I tend to baby her and not make her do things by herself even when she is able, however I need to stop, it's not good for her and it won't work when the baby is here!

I have a few personal goals as far as health and schedules as well.

Hope the New Year brings you all blessings.

Fun Sunday Afternoon

Still no baby in hand, but fun non-the-less! Today in order not to sit around and wish to be in labor, I invited my friend Kaeley over to hang out with me. We had a very good time talking as Kaeley is 24 weeks pregnant with her first son. It was fun to share stories and give a heads up. We went to my favorite coffee shop down the street and enjoyed their comfy couch. Then we went to Target where Kaeley got me a mobile for the baby crib - it is classic pooh and just the cutest thing ever! She also talked me into buying the stuffed piglet that they had. Usually they don't have piglet, and there were only two left, so I am glad she talked me into it. Now we are ready for the baby to come. While we were at target we saw lots of pregnant women, apparently they (we) are out in droves today.

Kaeley and I also took a baby bump picture - as she is now definitely showing. I look more miserable than I feel - that will teach me to take a picture with no makeup on, Aunt Cynthia would hang her head!

Chronicles of Unwasted Time...

Since I have been given all this extra time to get ready for the baby, I have been trying to take advantage of it! I get so much done everyday - it almost makes me feel that I should do more when I am not pregnant!! Oh well. Anyway, I have been doing very important things like getting a pedicure (wouldn't want the doc to see unkept feet!), making sure that everything is picked up each night before we go to bed, nothing gets left till the morning anymore (I wouldn't want to have to come home to a dirty house), making sure that all the laundry is kept done(who wants to have to go to the hospital naked to have a child??), packing my hospital bag (we realised that we should do that now that she could be here anytime!), and last but not least, finishing the christening gown.

I am so happy that the gown turned out so well. For those of you who are seamstresses (Sarah, Grandma, Aunt Cynthia, Aunt Diana...), please don't look too closely. I lost my zipper foot for my machine, and had to do that part by hand. This was only my fourth project, first was a blanket, second was a book and third was a straight skirt - which I finished just before I started gaining pregnancy weight. So, this was quite the undertaking for me. It took me a long time and I had to re-do parts of the dress, several times. I have not finished the bonnet yet, and at this point pulling it all out again just makes me a little sick - so maybe she will be bonnet-less, it is summer after all.

Of course, I am praying that she fits into the dress, with as long as she is waiting to come out, she could be fifteen pounds, and I would have to get her something else to wear! But I will cross my fingers.

I am so glad that I finished it though, it is now a remembrance of my wedding, and a (soon) baptism. I plan to embroider KayLynn's initials on the back when she is baptised. I do want to wait until she is here though because, who knows she may not be KayLynn - you can never be too sure. Here is the picture of the dress.

"D" Day plus two

Or as the office calls it, "Day three of baby watch". The Lord has been giving Max and I blessing after blessing. Yesterday at work my big boss offered to make a position for me in the Tacoma office. Her reasoning - she did not want me to quit due to the commute and having to deal with a newborn. So now, I will be just a few minutes away from my house for work! Such an unexpected blessing! I am also thankful that the Lord has blessed us so that I do not have to work full-time, but I can go back to work part-time (20 hrs) and still have most of my time with our little one...

Also, KayLynn has decided that she is perfectly happy where she is! Believe it or not, this is a blessing. Both my mother (Terri) and my best friend (Brenda) will be coming to Washington for visits the first week in August. This means that I will still be on baby leave from work when they are here and I will get to spend lots of time with them. I can't wait to see them. And, the weather is so beautiful that we will be able to spend a lot of time outside and on the water. KayLynn, of course, will have to be covered and kept cool, but it will be fun. If any of you cant reach me in the weeks following the birth, I am probably at Aunt Cynthia's on the dock.

Well, that’s the update for now...

A Year of Blessings...

Today is Max and my one-year anniversary! I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me such a wonderful husband. I cannot imagine having enjoyed this year more, or having grown more in love with him than I was on our wedding day. Everyday I have more reasons to thank the Lord for giving me this man. I look forward to the future and Lord-willing, many more years together.

The traditional "First-Year" gift is supposed to be something paper. We intend to give eachother a birth certificate! It will probably be a few days late, but it will last forever!

3 days to go...

Well, here we are. Three days to go. Just waiting to see if this little girl likes to be on a schedule or if she wants to be stubborn and comes in her own sweet time. We are praying that she wants to come early so that we can begin enjoying her now, and so I don't have to go back to work next week!! We shall see.

The bet at work is that I will have her before Monday the 7th. However, it does not seem that way now.

Heat advisory in effect until 9 PM PDT Sunday...

And my amazing husband bought me an air conditioner - of course its not quite up in the window. We tried to pry open one of hte windows in our bedroom, but unfortunately even my body builder/strong man husband cannot force that thing open! I was ready to just knock out the glass, but he wasn't too keen on that idea. However, we finally got the other window open (we had to completely re-arrange the room to use this window), and got the air conditioner half way ready when he had to go to work. Needless to say, he felt aweful. If he was driving he could probably have stayed to finish it, but when you take the bus you have to be there on time - or your late for work.

On a better note...

Aunt Tam is coming over to see if we can do the last few things on our own and get it in. Lets hope so, because this whale of a pregnant woman, cannot handle heat. Actually, I couldn't handle heat before, but at least my feet didnt swell!! I have sausage toes - in fact I am going to take a picture right now of my sausages and load it on here...



OK - slightly tanned, and cutely pedicured, but sausages none-the-less!!

Due Dates...Schmue Dates!

Well, one due date down - another to go…

When I first went to the doctor they gave me the due date of June 27th!! Joshua and Brenda's Anniversary - Happy Anniversary guys!! After the first month they decided that I was not as far along as they thought, so they changed the due date to July 7th - Max and my anniversary. After going to the doctor yesterday, I have learned that doctor's don’t know much!! Aunt Tam and Uncle James have a business trip scheduled for July 9th through the 11th. They don't want to go if KayLynn is not here yet, so she told me to ask the doctor! And well, all that we know is that KayLynn will be born when she is good and ready!

Speaking of babies which are due… Please keep my cousin Sarah in your prayers. She once again has signs of pre-eclampsia and will most likely be having little Jack on Monday or Tuesday. She will only be 36 weeks at that time, so they want to make sure that baby Jack's lungs are developed enough. Please pray for her and Joe that the Lord will give them Peace and excitement to see this little one. God bless you Sarah, Joe and little Jack!!

The Mural

This is the mural that my grandma Kay painted on KayLynn's wall. Doesn't it look great!!

My dog knows

Yesterday I was sitting on the couch playing with the dogs, when Cricket stopped and started staring at me with this ufnny look on her face. I sat up and I realised that she was watching my belly which was moving and poking out more than usual! Cricket kept cocking her head from one side to the other trying to figure out what was happening. Then she stopped and started licking it! I guess thats her first intro to little KayLynn, hopefully she is just as loving when KayLynn comes home!!

Content...Finally...

It is amazing how a pregnant woman's body works. Two weeks ago I was sure that this baby needed to come early. I wanted my body back and to just be finished! From what I hear that is pretty normal, and it usually happens in the last 4/6 weeks. Well, since school is out, my attitude has completely changed. I don't mind being pregnant at all. I think that the difference is sleep. I am not going to school, doing homework or having to wake up early every day - how great is that? I am only working 20 hours a week, and I don't have to be in until 9:30a.m. if I don't feel like it. Max noticed that my belly was lower, and I think that helps me a lot in being able to sleep, breath and move. So, now I am totally content to enjoy the rest of this time.

My grandmother (from Idaho) came to my house on Monday and she painted a Winnie-the-Pooh mural on KayLynn's bedroom wall. It is soo cute! I will take a picture of it and show you all as soon as the rest of the bedroom is back in order! I had so much fun talking with my grandma. I havent spent a day with her (just her and I) for years, so I felt pretty spoiled! She was also able to stay and have dinner with Max when he got home, so it was a fun day all around. Apart from meeting her at Mandy's wedding, Max hasn’t had the opportunity to get to know her, so it was fun sharing old stories and family fun. Thanks Grandma!!

Hmmm... I wonder if that works??

9 Month Picture!

Well, here is the last picture I will probably take of this belly until the baby is here! 9 Months...

School's out for the Summer!!

Well, at about 10:30p.m. last night I finished my last final. I emailed it in and there is no going back. I am looking forward to going to bed tonight knowing that there is nothing for me to do but have a clean house and work every once in a while... I am only working 20 hours a week until the baby is born and so I will have plenty of time to get the rest I need! Yeah!

Now it's just a countdown between Sarah and I. Who will be older, KayLynn or Jack??