Friday, March 29, 2013

So Happy to Introduce ...




 Our sweet Adelaide Elizabeth
born one week ago today 3.22.13 at 9:36a
She was a healthy 8lbs 8oz and 21 inches long
{although she lost over a pound before leaving the hospital and was an even 7lbs at her check up on Monday}

We are completely in love! And so thankful she has completed our family!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Last Baby Bump Update

How far along:

39 weeks ... 1 day

Total weight gain:


I have gained 20 pounds with this sweet girl. Most of that has been within the last few weeks. I'm praying she comes out about 10lbs so that half of the weight is gone!

Sleep:

My days of glorious sleep have ended :(. I'm sleeping from maybe 10p until 2a and then maybe I'll sleep again from 4:30a until 6a. It's great practice of what is to come I guess! Maybe it is God's way of helping me adjust to sleepless night.



Food cravings:

  • Cereal & anything else others make: Cereal and I have a list of favorite foods that my mom will be making while she's here! I'm sure she was sick of phone calls asking about "can you make this?!!!?!?!"

Symptoms:

  • Carpel Tunnel: It is the strangest thing ever! And  so VERY painful. I'm pretty much useless with my right hand & my left hand has flare-ups. My doctor "thinks" it will go away after delivery but there is a small chance it could stick around & require surgery.
  • Heartburn: As always
  • Swollen ankles: So of my favorite quotes revolve around my feet
    "Mom, where's your ankles?" "Mom, your feet look like triangles" "Mom, you need life alert so you don't have to walk!"   

Gender:

A sweet baby girl, I can't wait to meet her! Her bows are ready :) her clothes are ready & her hospital bag is packed!!

What I’m looking forward to:

  • My mom & then Jeremy's mom visiting! So selfishly looking forward to that time.
  • That sweet baby smell: It only last for a short amount of time but it is the best smell in the world
  • Watching the "big kids" meet the baby! The girls especially are so, SO excited & are counting down the days until they can come up to the hospital to meet "sister!" They have their shirts ready and Ziggy has prepped some gifts for them. I'm praying for some fabulous time of bounding. My biggest concern is Reed but we will work through the adjustments of adding a new sister.

What I miss:

At this point I just wish the swelling would go away! It is pretty painful but she will be worth every ache over the last 273 days

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Family Photos {2013}

 Capturing personalities right now
the spunk, the sass, the crazy!

 Capturing the beauty of our children at 6, 5 & 3
and while there are only 3 children, not 4!

 Capturing the imperfect that makes our life

Capturing {us}
we've known each other for 17 years!
have been married for 10 1/2
we started the spunk and the sass and the crazy
& it's a pretty imperfect, perfect life!

Monday, March 18, 2013

He's 4 ...


This sweet "baby" boy is 4 years old today.
We were not there to cherish the moments of his birth but I will never forget that Friday in June when we met for the very first time!
He stole my heart ... a true Momma's boy!

 Smothered by girls from the moment he joined us!
It hasn't gotten any better but he has learned how to hold his own against those sisters os his!

 This picture {above} was taken on the day we found out he would be FOREVER our son!
That was a fabulous day!!
 

 At four he:
-loves Buzz and McQueen
-thinks super heros are AWESOME
-enjoys mud and puddles and any other way that he might be able to get dirty
-he loves riding his bike down our sidewalk and banging into our front door
-favorite foods are: baked chicken, pancakes, oatmeal & anything chocolate {that trait comes from daddy}
-he adores TV but is limited to a maximum of about 30 minutes a day ... he loathes that rule!
-he loves to read and will sit and listen to many, 5-15 books, in a row



 He is rough and tough and 100% boy
We love him to the moon and back and are hoping that we get to celebrate many, MANY more birthdays!!


Sunday, March 17, 2013

A Look at our Week!

 This little man is working on learning the letter Bb! Here he is building boats out of blocks. He is loving a little school time {which is a little one on one time with Momma} & he is so, SO eager to learn!
 My amazing helper! She jumps to help anywhere so can, including in the kitchen and on 3.16.13 she spent about 8 hours helping her daddy build a shed & proved to me that she knows the name of tools better than I do :)
 
 It was 80 degrees on Friday so after a morning of co-op, library run and buying groceries for 2 weeks these kiddos were given some time to run in the sprinkler! They successfully made mud and came inside covered, exhausted and having had a blast!
 Looking back over my pregnancy! I do not have a full week left of being pregnant {which is so hard to believe} I'm soaking up the hugs to Ziggy from the girls, the way Jeremy can get Ziggy dancing {or punching} and the hiccups. I'm going to miss her always being safe & snug inside me! The world she is entering, with 3 older siblings, might be a rude awakening for her!
 We try to hit the library every week to get books that go with our CC Memory Work. Right now that is how we expand on our history topics and often times science too.
The girls are also able to find books that they might be able to read on their own or with a little help.
All I can say is that lately I'm so thankful for the library hold shelf so I don't have to search around for much!
 Emma finished up her math for the year! She is so, SO excited!! She doesn't know that we will be adding math back in, in April, but hopefully in a fun way. We can't go from now until July with no math ... that's too, too long for our brains!
 On the 2nd and 3rd Fridays of every month we have co-op classes! The girls {below} are in a music class and are practicing for a musical {that they unfortunately can't be in because we will be in Michigan}. Reed is in a play room that it monitored by moms. I teach/monitor the photography/yearbook class with a bunch of middle & highschoolers. These kids make me feel old! And stretch my comfort zone but it has been a fun experience.
This sweet group of families is becoming very important to us as we readjust our "community." It's about time we put down roots in our local town and not where we were even a year ago!  
We ended our week with a breakfast visit with friends from Kalamazoo, MI! We haven't seen them in about 3 years so it was fabulous to see them!
We're also in crazy baby prep mode ... you know: laundry, cleaning the floors, writing notes down everywhere! Oh and we are also preparing for a 4th birthday celebration tomorrow!!  
 

Friday, March 8, 2013

Weekly Recap

Our  weeks are going by so quickly! I don't know if it is because Jeremy is working days or if we're busy trying to get things wrapped up before sweet Ziggy makes her appearance but time could slow down just a little! Between now and the baby's arrival we get to celebrate Reed's 4th birthday, finish our math books for the year & hopefully get a storage shed built and a garden started.

 Saturday I left the kiddos with Jeremy while I headed to a Classical Conversations meeting! We aren't thrilled with our campus this year so we have decided to make the jump to one closer to home for the 2013/2014 school year. The atmosphere is already completely different. VERY friendly! The director has already offered to set up meals for us for the week after the baby is born, and I seriously just met her on Saturday!  
 Kate working on school work while we wait for the doctor! Doesn't that look like the most comfortable chair?! She is still looking so big to me. The kids also got to be in the room during my ultrasound and it was magical! My doctor took the time to show them most of the body parts, the head, face, nose, tummy, leg & hand! They got to watch her heart beat. It made me so excited for the day they get to meet her face to face!
 Lots of reading this week due to massive feet! We brought a blanket outside one day and enjoyed lots of books. I am enjoying being read too. Emma also spent three days of this week writing her own books :) They are fabulous and I feel like I need to keep all of them!
Kate & Reed being spies :)
I'm sure not being able to see gave them awesome spy skills. 
We are down to 5 & 2 math lessons!!!!
I'm really, REALLY hoping we can finish up before the baby gets here. Then we will just play math games and practice what we've learned. 

The discovery of a 3rd loose tooth has this girl pretty excited!
I can't imagine her with a top tooth gone. Unfortunately, it is looking like she will need braces, the new teeth coming in are moving everything around ... skip the college fund - here comes the orthodontics fund!
& a week wouldn't be a week without gymnastics!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Baby Update

How far along:

37 weeks ... only 2 weeks to go because of my scheduled c-section. Everything looks good for this baby to stay put until back-up {AKA: Grandma} arrives

Total weight gain:

I have gained 18 pounds with this sweet girl. I'm pretty sure I've gained about 8 in just water weight in the last month. I'm so, SO swollen!

Sleep:

8-10 hours a night! It's fabulous and I never want it to end!
Photo taken during our recent family photo shoot!



Food cravings:

  • Nothing: nothing sounds good or is tasting good.

Symptoms:

  • Carpel Tunnel: It is the strangest thing ever! And painful. I'm pretty much useless with my right hand. My doctor "thinks" it will go away after delivery but there is a small chance it could stick around & require surgery.  
  • Heartburn: As always
  • Nesting: although it is decreasing as I get more tired. Now just getting daily tasks done is enough to make me need a nap.

Gender:

A sweet baby girl with a solid name!!!

What I’m looking forward to:

  • My mom & then Jeremy's mom visiting! So selfishly looking forward to that time.
  • Seeing her cute face: I got to see her sweet face on the ultrasound screen this week & it makes me so, SO excited to look at her.
  • Watching the "big kids" meet the baby! The girls especially are so, SO excited & are counting down the days until they can come up to the hospital to meet "sister!" They won't meet her until the day after she is born so that I can be "with it" when they are first introduced to each other!

What I miss:

Nothing ... soaking in the moments of my last {planned} pregnancy!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Our Snow Day: In Pictures

 We had 8 lovely hours of snow here in North Eastern OK!
And we took full advantage of it!
Sledding, snowman building, snow faces (Kate's favorite)








It was a glorious 8 hours & then ... it was a melty, muddy mess but at least we got to enjoy snow and do some of our FAVORITE winter things!