So many visitors!

I need to put a few pictures up of Al's visit with Nana Carlene a week ago. He had so much fun with her! I was waiting to get this video she took, but we are having a hard time getting it downloaded so we will have to settle for pictures... Al and Nana started the day like most, in bed drinking a bottle and watching cartoons.

Which, shortly after the bottle time is completed turns into breakfast prep usually consisting of "watlers" aka waffles.

Nana took him to the park and he got to do the see-saw all by himself for the first time..scary!

Nana was also the chauffeur for Winnie and Al in their cute red wagon. That is the video I want to download because she would bump into things and say "crash" and the two of them would just roll with laughter.

This was just to highlight Al's new obcession with putting on boots. I will download another video soon of Al in Aunt Kristi's Ugg Boots. he cant get enough of them and continues to get better walking in these giant shoes.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleepless nights

Arent you supposed to get all the sleep you can BEFORE baby comes? The medication I am taking is making this very hard. It is 3:56am, I have been awake since 2:42 and I just ate a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. If this continues, I may gain 50 lbs and feel like a walking zombie when baby girl arrives.. ha ha. The terbutaline makes my heart race and the steriods are giving me uncontrollable tremors. I am about to take my last dose of steroids at 4:15 am, so hopefully that will decrease some of the side effects of insomnia. I know, why 4:15 am? Ok, so these meds are required to be taken q 6hrs which inevitably puts a does due in the middle of the night. Weird. Its okay though, I am usually awake about an hour before my dose is due, so I havent had to use my alarm except for one night this week.
Please do not think I am complaining because I know this is what is best for Baby Girl. I am just merely sharing my journey :).

Four down, Nana, and other Baby Girl news

Fourth Book: A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming. This one is intriguing. I wouldnt say it is my favorite, and parts of it I had to skip, but some really great motivational words for mothers. She also has great activity ideas for kids. The parts I dont like are the uber-Christian oriented methods... it gets a little hokie in my opinion. I do think that bringing God into you and your childs relationship is important; she just goes a LITTLE overboard. The book increase my desire to stay at home with my kids and I am a little sad that it is not a possibility for us right now, but it opens my eyes as a reminder to be present in their lives in the time I do have with them... and by them I mean Al and Baby Girl... which brings me to my next news.



I am back on weekly appointments because I had another episode of long contractions. I am now on terbutaline which gives me an all day underlying shakiness similar to parkinsons and I feel a little like I am on speed, but other than that it is making my contractions better. I am fingertip dilated and about 50-60% effaced, so still a slightly more strict bedrest. But GOOD NEWS is... as of Wednesday's apt, Dr.Patel thinks she flipped into a head first position (she was frank breech). I am Soooo relieved, she better stay that way.. I seriously do NOT want to have a c-section!! On another note, I am getting so much help and lots of companionship this week because...



Nana Carlene is here! I will post pictures as soon as she sends them too me this weekend. She is being so helpful.. here is what she has done for me so far... dusted my entire house including fans, bought us all of our necessities from Target and the grocery store, got us our bassinett and stroller as an early Christmas present, cleaned and mopped our floors, did the laundry, cooked dinner, let Beau and I have date night at the Movies... you can see where I am going here, she has been awesome! Not to say the regular help we get from Grandma Linda isnt amazing too and we love her company... so props and thanks to all of our helpers!



Finally sunny, so I think Al and Nana are going to go to the park this afternoon!

Three down and other thoughts

I finished last weekend that Allie sent me for an easy read, and I loved it! "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella, the author of all the Shopaholic books (which I happen to despise, but this one is totally different). It is a funny, light hearted story about a girl who loses 3 years of her memory.

In other news, Al was the biggest sour puss last night, pretty funny to watch. Nothing could make him happy and he just looked miserable. He would storm from one room to the next, just crying and then laying on the ground and throwing tantrums.. he probably threw about 7 tantrums in a row. It was all over nothing, he didnt want to eat, play, watch us cook, nothing... we should have taken a video. Joan said he was the same way all afternoon, poor Joan. To his defense, he is getting the last two teeth on the bottom right side, so I gave him some Tylenol. He now has 16 teeth!! he is a real boy
Al is also seeming much more grown up lately. When we lay him in bed with us in the morning he points to the TV immediately and says "watch?!", more of a demand than a question. He also says "Tant Tuu" and "Pease" and pronounces Winnie's name quite well. Still refuses to say mommy when we ask him, though I know he can say it bc he cries it if Beau takes him in the other room and I dont come too. He can use a spoon without turning it over in his mouth, and climb into his chair all by himself. I think we are ready for a booster.
Nana comes next week and Al is getting so excited!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Things that I have felt during this pregnancy so far...

1. totally dumbfounded
2. "oh yeah, I am pregnant", I forget sometimes
3. angry about all the contractions
4. scared that I might lose the baby girl
5. a complete distaste for granola, ewe I hate even writing the word
6. a feeling of peace and calm in when I think about having two kids
7. anxiety about the sleeping arrangement
8. back pain
9. happiness that I have a husband who can stay calm in stressful situations, and who is so excited about having a little girl
10. a feeling of hope because God has given us something great to look forward to

Trick or Treat!

Yes you can carve pumpkins in a loft, but I thought it would be more fun to do it outside in the alley! It has been raining so much lately, I felt like Al needed to get outside.

Nonnie found this costume for Al this year... he is Roo from Winnie the Poo... no, its not a mouseI couldnt help myself.. Parker looked so cute on Halloween! He is a black cat...Hunter showed Al how to eat his first sucker. He ate the entire thing.. the tootsie pop too.His first house to trick or treat at... Hunter leads the way... so cute from behind!

Fun at the Farm

We had so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house yesterday! So nice to have a yard to play in and large spaces to run around in... Beau and Hunter show Al how to take a dive in the leave pile

Grandpa and Al feed the horse... Al loved this!

Grandpa and Al take a drive up the fields.. notice Al's little hands on the wheel. They stayed there the whole drive. He loves his Grandpa so much.. he calls him "pompa t". He puts a T on the end of everything right now.. wish I had a video with sound so you could hear it bc it is so cute!

This is a video of Al and Grandma sliding. Notice at the end of every slide he claps for himself.

Manly Man

We may live in a loft surrounded by a sea of concrete, but my man still knows how to get back to his roots. Driving a brush hog, cutting down trees with a 3 foot chain saw and hauling wood... just another day at the farm. Take a look...

"Heh, I spit on City Boys".. wait, is that a latte Beau is holding? ;)

Al got to ride the tractor for the first time too, and he was not amused... nor was I as I imagined him sliding off the back and getting run over by the back mower! They all survived.

Two Down

Books, that is. I know I have been down for 3 weeks now and you might think I would have gotten much futher in my reading than that, but I swear, I do still work from home.
This one is from a favorite... Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl. If you love food, cooking and a good autobiography, this is the book series for you. Start with Tender at the Bone.