29 weeks and 5 days!

It is officially past midnight, it's now Monday morning, and I am officially 29 weeks and 5 days in this pregnancy. I had Lucy on a Monday at 29 weeks and 5 days. At 29 weeks and 4 days, my legs were numb by lunch at Olive Garden, there was an AWESOME snow storm ( December 12th,2010) that cancelled our Sunday school progressive party 

 my ankles had blown up beyond recognition

 and my right side was starting to hurt. Today, I made it through church, lunch, the mall, a great nap, and some maternity/family pictures! I kept watching my ankles. The last time I took my blood pressure today, it was 117/66 (still WAY far off from 175/112 ) . Today was a good day, and my body has made it farther ( as of 6:14 tonight) than it did my last pregnancy!

I didn't do a chalkboard picture this week. I just had no motivation, nor did I find any time to do it. This is my 29 week belly picture though, just trying on an outfit this weekend for our pictures today. I think they will be great--except for Lucy's hair. My fault. I couldn't find a bow that I wanted to match her shoes, but I found a headband. Her hair was CRAZY today, and the headband didn't stay in well. I brought a backup ponytail holder and a big bow ( that was toooo big to use solo). It looked cute, but her waterfall of hair on top of her head wanted to lay TO THE FRONT. Hopefully within 2 weeks, I will be able to post some pictures! I know almost 30 weeks is a tad bit early for maternity pictures, but I was really sad about missing out on some maternity things after I had Lucy, so I wanted to get these in before anything crazy goes on. Plus, we haven't had family pictures since Landon was 14 months. Yep, first family pictures with all 4 of us!

Landon cooperated , for the most part, during pictures. We pulled through Starbucks on the way home to get both the kids cakepops, and they were out of their favorite--birthday cake & tiramisu. They both got raspberry truffle, and had lovely messy faces afterwards!

We head back to the doctor in a week. Hoping for a post or 2 before AND quite a few more before baby pictures !

29 weeks tomorrow!

We are finally in the new house. There is still 'stuff' laying around in the other house & garage, so I'm told. I haven't been there since last Thursday, and don't plan on going back! The move did not go anything like I had planned or wanted. It was very messy and gross and unorganized, so I've stayed away. The rental company can't schedule the walk through until the end of this weeks, so Luke has just been moving things little by little here at the end because all that is left is random stuff. Our beds are all in our rooms, the heavy furniture is all in place ( Thanks for the help,Brian!), all packed boxes have been moved ( Luke, my mom, and dad have taken trip after trip with the F-150 and Nitro). The new house is a different layout, rooms are smaller ( but there are 4!), cabinets are different,and closets are smaller. So everything, for the most part, is in the area of the house it needs to be, we just need to figure out what other places things can go into. I am working on unpacking and putting away a few boxes at a time. This 21 month old likes to get into everything she shouldn't, and when she is obeying she likes to SQUEAL A LOT! Being 28 weeks pregnant, having an almost 4 year old and an almost 2 year old is not the ideal moving situation. But it will all eventually get put away........hopefully by this weekend! I'd like to be able to put away the pack n play by this weekend and not use it as a corral for Lucy so I can get some things done.

I went back to the doctor today. I saw a different doctor again--seen 3 so far and I think there might be 10 at the practice? Once I got past all the anxiety and worry at the beginning, I figured I needed as many of them as possible to see my records. I don't really care who takes the baby out of me, I'm bummed it's not my doctor in Nashville.But I want them to know what exactly I went through, and that most likely I will be asking for medicine to stay sane if there are any blood pressure issues. I would prefer to just be knocked out for 2 days after, but I know that's not an option!  We went ahead and scheduled my c-section for December 5th. I should get the papers soon in the mail about it. I also signed my papers for my tubes to be tied. Luke and I were both worried that if everything goes fine, I beat all odds and make it to 39 weeks, I'd have second thoughts about wanting another. He didn't want me laying on the table and NOT wanting to go through with it. BUT, I can't do this again. I'm still having a hard enough time thinking that we are starting over. We now have another 18 years to add on until we can have a life again ;) The first 15ish weeks of this pregnancy were pretty much crying and worrying and anxiety and not good thoughts. I had just gotten out of a bad place mentally, was getting into a great routine with the kids, had almost gotten rid of all the weight I gained after Lucy came home ,and then just wanted to crawl back under my covers and stay there all day when all our future plans seemed to be changing. I have tried to keep all thoughts away the past 14 weeks, which also include actually realizing we will have another baby here in the next 10 weeks! We haven't really 'prepared' too much for baby #3. But I'm still taking my weekly pictures. I'm mainly doing them because I don't want this baby to feel unwanted later on down the line if she finds out how non-excited I was. She still deserves the anticipation and excitement as the others. So taking the pictures is helping me remember each week that I am carrying a precious little baby that is a wonderful blessing to our family!

I had to photoshop the chalboard into this week's pictures. I ran out of time to make it.

We went with my friends to see Wicked on my birthday !

In the new house. The chalkboard doesn't have a place yet! I think it will eventually go into Lucy's room after baby comes.

I passed my glucose test today at my appointment. My blood pressure is still great, and still showing no protein in my urine! AND I didn't have a massive weight jump--that's a bad sign too(big weight gain). I've gained a total of 15 pounds so far, and still enjoying my cheesecake =)

Now some photos to catch up on the last 2 weeks:

Another picture from my birthday night with Cindy Sue. 

The cheesecake Cindy got me for my birthday!!! I ate a piece a day ;)

Lucy's first football game--out of my tummy ;) Go Cards! It wasn't the prettiest 4th quarter, but they are still undefeated, and we're excited for the last 4 home games!

The kids & I did the American Heart Association Heart Walk last Saturday. We walked for our friends' baby Caleb. This is from her fund raiser page:  When we found out we were going to have a third boy we were so excited. But our excitement quickly turned to fear when we found out at about 22 weeks gestation that he had hypoplastic left heart syndrome which is one of the most serious congenital heart defects one can have. So we began preparing ourselves for the rough road ahead which included but was not limited to three open heart surgeries by three years of age. But God had other plans...He took our angel to be with Him at 32 weeks gestation. No words could describe our pain and sadness. We had decided on a name for our sweet boy just a couple days before the Lord took him home. His name would be Caleb which means faith, devotion, and WHOLE HEARTED! So we will walk and raise money for baby Caleb and the many other babies born with a congenital heart defect! 

Lucy's arrival was about 6 days from this point, and I believe we will make it past that point. Every day we pass, we will be thrilled! Although we prefer she stays until at least Thanksgiving, we know every extra day inside is awesome! We also know that we saw babies that were 7-8 pounds on ventilators, on antibiotics, and not thriving. Lucy is a miracle & we know this baby will be also! We are anticipating a few more updates before we post pictures of baby!

26 weeks and Advent

Being 26 weeks and the Advent season actually don't go together. Little Baby #3 turned 26 weeks on Wednesday. I'm assuming we will have all 3 children by the time Advent season starts this year--I believe December 2nd. If not, then we will have her that week! Just about 12 full weeks! 

Here is a belly and chalkboard update:

Yes, my heart is burning all day and all night. Heartburn.

But I am currently in love with Ice cream, cheesecake, Lucky Charms, and the Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks--decaf & non-fat WITH whip(tall and non fat makes it only 300 calories instead of over 400. I just saw that taking off the whip takes away 80 more)!

http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/espresso/salted-caramel-mocha#size=11009208+&milk=61&whip=125

So, Advent?

We had the chocolate cardboard calendars growing up.

 We got Landon one the year I was pregnant with/had Lucy. That was something we had already gotten and set out by his own tree before we had her. We had intended on getting a nice, wooden manger/stable one we had seen after Christmas for the following years. 

And we forgot until the 1st Sunday of Advent. =/ 

Last year, I saw so many people blogging about different calendars and crafts to make with kids during Advent. There was one Luke and I both liked and decided we'd start this year. Here are a few blogs that did the same:

Advent adventures

Countdown to Christmas

24 days of holiday books

Christmas Book advent

Christmas book Advent calendar

Christmas book Advent

We set out after Christmas looking for Christmas books. We got a few at Hallmark and Wal-mart. I think we ended up with 5? And those 5 were nice, record-able or sound books.I remembered the other day that we still needed to look for Christmas books, and was hoping we could find some cheap . We went into a store called Ollie's here in Louisville. JACKPOT! 

None of the books were over $3.99, and most were $1.99.We now have 19 books. And we have about 11 or 12 weeks to finish up the books--look around the house, go to Goodwill, order from Scholastic book order,or snag some on-line.We will have books now to use every year, and continue the tradition of opening one every night. I have some time also to figure out some other activities, crafts, or service projects to add in also to our advent time.

Landon's cute tree & calendar back in 2010.

Landon has finished his first two days of pre-school. He loves it so far! Next week he will go real hours. We are back to the baby doctor on Monday, and will finish off the week packing!

Pre-school!

Today was Landon's first day of pre-school. We dropped him off a little while ago! He goes 2 short days today and Friday, and then will be 3 days a week, 2 1/2 hours a day, starting next week!

We made his teacher a flower pot with colored pencils and took her a mum ( $.88 sale at Home Depot for a 1.25 qt.) It didn't turn out exactly like I had wanted, but I forgot that the pot I got was smaller at the bottom. Unless I wanted gaps all around the top, the pencils would all start to lean. I hate starting crafts, because they always turn out gross to me. All you need is colored pencils ( or regular pencils), hot glue gun, and a flower pot or vase. I'm assuming a straight round vase would work better!

You can see the pencils starting to lean to one side.

I decided that maybe I should start on the other side.I even tried to lean them a little more straight each new pencil I glued on.  That maybe wasn't the best idea?

This was the good side! =/

Final product with some ribbon and an embellishment, The pencils are not prefect, but it had to do! I even broke a few pencils and just stuck them above the rosette.

The back--the worst!

Landon ready to head into pre-school! The vase doesn't look so bad far away ;)

Landon heading out the door before RUNNING to the car.

He had a great time today. He said he obeyed along with all of the other kids, and he even got a snack! I could see his koolaid ring around his mouth when he got into the car =) And it didn't take him nearly as long to fall asleep for his nap today. We might REALLY like this pre-school idea ;)

September

Sometimes we're all to quick to countdown the days that we forget to make the days count ~unknown

Our calendar on the fridge is completely written & circled & filled up. And while we've got several things to countdown to, I'm sure we will be taking every day to celebrate and savor the memories. This weekend was both Louisville & Bama's first football games of the season. Both wins of course!

the kids this spring

Landon's Halloween costume (and Lucy about 23 weeks).

This week:Landon starts pre-school Wednesday! He's been begging to go since he could talk. He always heard his cousins say they were starting school & his friends at church were all starting pre-school. So I finally gave in. Hopefully this will also give me some sweet time with Lucy. She has no clue there is another baby coming, but I do. I know she won't be my 'little baby' anymore =( Never thought that would happen! I don't want to lose her specialness and amazingness of the little miracle that she is. I think the absolute happiest time of my life was when I was pregnant with Lucy and had so much fun with Landon all day. I'm hoping to squeeze some of that special time with Lucy while it's still here. I'm also really hoping Landon can learn to sit at a table, because he doesn't understand that from me--he stands, spins around, gets down.......He only goes 2 short days the first week, and then will be going 3 days a week for about 2.5 hours each day. It will be much more structured time at tables learning with 30 minutes of play time and snacks ( of course!). He is excited about the field trips already!

Lucy has her 2nd to last speech session this Tuesday. She basically tested out a few months ago, but we decided to do three more sessions this year. Most of these will be follow up testing, and paperwork to close out her case. We decided that since 2 years is the age where there is much more that you can diagnose and figure out and really tell, we'd leave her in until then. It is SO much harder to get BACK into the system if she were to fall behind as opposed to doing a few final check-ups.

Next week:

I go back to the doctor on the 10th. I will be 26 weeks and 5 days, and we are just staying on top of checking for pre-e. My 29th birthday is the 13th! I've already told Landon what I want and what type of cake I want. I saw a commercial for a DQ ice cream cake that had cheesecake bits in it. I could eat cheesecake all day, every day. I've also been eating ice cream lately. Not typically my favorite. Guess it's the baby. We will see if he remembers the cake and what I told him I wanted ;)

We are also going to see Wicked on my birthday ( I think it is that day, but I'm not exactly sure!) Luke and I saw it in NYC & Loved it, and are so excited!

Luke is taking off of work that week because we are packing, packing, and more packing all week. We are possibly going to be able to take some things down to the house we are moving into.  It is down, as in down the hill that I have tried to make myself enjoy walking. I'm not sure I will be walking up it EVER again =) It's different to make yourself go up just to go up it. But when you have to start going down, it's the only way to get back home. And I think the official date we move in (pay a deposit and start paying rent) is the 21st of September. I'll be 28 weeks and 2 days, and will have another appointment at the doctor a few days after. 

After we get moved in,I'm sure the rest of September will be spent unpacking. ugh. THEN I can finally get into decorating the baby room. I feel this baby moving and kicking and rolling inside of me,my belly contracts all the time, my pelvis is obviously struggling,  yet we still have not stopped long enough to comprehend a 3rd child. I guess both other children had set names once we found out the gender ( at 17 &16 weeks), we had bedding picked out at this point, rooms were being renovated, and we were READY TO GO. At this point, we have about 3 months left. Tomorrow is September 3rd, and the 39 week c-section will be the week of December 3rd. I still don't know what to think about having a third baby. I don't know what to expect at all about getting all 3 out of the car and into a store-- we don't even know what car we will be driving yet. Lucy still seems so much younger than Landon was when she was born. I was looking at picture from a few months before she was born, and he seemed SO MUCH OLDER. He was capable of doing more on his own, and wasn't JUST asking to 'walk ,walk' when we were in a parking lot. I have to stop carrying her because she needs to walk and also because it hurts. 

Landon at 17 months. 

Landon at 20 months. Starbucks with mommy ;) She'd fall out of this seat and crack her head open!

At least I have somewhere around 3 months until I will have to deal with 3 at a time. With Landon at pre-school, hopefully my time with just Lucy will help her learn to do a little more on her own, use a fork better, use a juice box without shaking it a squeezing it out all over, not SQUEALING in a restaurant when she wants something(over and over and over), talking and communicating just a tad bit better, and not trying to climb over EVERY object she encounters =)