Welcome Baby Boy Louis!

Born May 1st, by VBAC: 9lbs 21 1/2 inches.

40 weeks, 3 days

First, some of the fun the girls have been having, playing in a fort in the backyard of the friends we are staying with and reading together (M is loving the childrens' picture Bible right now)


Having fun reading together...not very ladylike Liv!

M was born the day after her due date (by c-section after an induction for PIH), and Liv was born three days after her due date. I was thinking the trend would be for earlier deliveries with each child?!? I guess if we had 10 more children I had better plan on 43 weeks or so:)

We spent 3 hours at the Family Beginnings Birth Center monitoring my BP after it was high for my visit with the midwife. The monitoring (both mom and baby), blood and other tests all came back fine. So they released us to be seen in the clinic on Thursday morning, which is fine with me. The good thing is the midwife checked and a lot more progress had been made, as much as after a whole day of labor with Liv! So we are encouraged by that and hoping that will cut a few (maybe more than a few!!) hours off labor this time, since Liv's was 44 hours long. So...could be the next few days, but no guarantees. Looks like if baby hasn't made his appearance by Monday though we'll try the foley catheter to try to get things moving. If my BP shoots up again before then it will probably be sooner that we'll try some things. Hopefully we'll have something exciting to share soon:)

Still here (40 weeks, 1 day)

Baby boy is going to keep us in suspense for awhile longer. We are heading to the midwife (Daniel and I.... we decided 3 hours in the car plus an hour at a small clinic with the girls might be too much this time**) to do a routine check so hopefully things have progressed some. Let you know tomorrow!

**the girls both have colds and were up half a dozen times last night. And very cranky today...so are we! We are ready for baby brother to come:)

39 weeks, 7 days (tomorrow is due date!)

Nothing exciting here, but we had a fun day at the Manchester State Park. We were planning a ferry ride to Seattle to go to Pike's place, but didn't end up wanting to rush to get on the 7:20am ferry. That was the only one we could do and still get back for naps. So we decided to go to the Ilahee State Park, but upon arrival it was closed! So for plan C we went to Manchester. It was a gorgeous day on the Puget Sound.
Showing off their daisies:

Pretty girl on a rock:

Racing:

Daddy Love:

Another pretty girl on a rock:

39 weeks, 6 days

We sent Daniel packing, not too far though. He just left for a couple hour hike on some nearby mountains. I figure having a sane husband for our impending labor marathon is well worth the morning with no help (which I realize is normal for the rest of the world, I am blessed this pregnancy!). In the meantime, don't forget your free Starbucks brewed coffee or tea when you bring in a travel mug today! Its earth day and I have mine in hand right now (Daniel brought some back for me after early morning mens' Bible study).

Here are some pictures of the girls playing this morning: M with her balloon puppy, "Perry".

Liv and M and their constructed "gate" by which they could decide who comes in and out of their room apparently.

39 weeks, 5 days

Today was a busy day for me and the girls. I had hoped that people were right when they said that if you make a lot of plans, baby will come that day. Nope. I took the girls to the store (Safeway for $0.99 pineapple, organic tofu: $0.50 after coupon found in store-see picture below), and marked down natural ground beef), to Ladies' Bible study and then to a friends' house to play. This afternoon I went to an hour long "aqua zumba" class at the Y (my favorite, so fun!)

So, we wait. Somehow I've pulled something in my inner leg, so many movements are painful, which is going to be a bit of bummer when in labor (if it happens soon). Meanwhile, here are some pictures of my shopping trips. I am buying small quantities of things I find good deals so that we don't have a ton of food leftover when baby comes!

Albertson's on the last day of double coupons: total $2.49 (the juices were both on markdown bonus buy).

39 weeks, 4 days

I almost forgot to post today...and you all would have thought I had my baby! No such luck. Swimming, fatty donuts, walks up hills...yet nothing. Baby must not be done cookin'!

Daniel and I have chosen days and bet on which one baby will come on. Tomorrow is one of my days...so here's to hoping!

39 weeks, 3 days

Here I am in all my 39 week glory...

Midwife appt. went well yesterday and my blood pressure is still within normal limits! Baby is measuring right on for 39 weeks and his heartbeat sounded great. My body is making slow but sure progress toward "baby readiness";). Daniel and I are thinking a day or two after my due date (April 24) will be labor time! Before that would be REALLY great though!

My two "goofballs":

Time to head off to "water walking" class at the YMCA!

39 weeks, 2 days

I thought last night might be it because Liv woke up with a horrible cough (and then proceeded to throw up). I guess I have an odd sense of when its all going to happen...thinking that it will be at the worst possible time (after a night of no sleep for example). I know that's not necessarily the case, but am trying to imagine worst case scenario just in case:). But no baby, so the wait continues. And after a rough night, Liv is doing okay. Seems to be just a cold with a noisy cough. I have my 39 week midwife appointment in Seattle today. The drive is not my favorite, but its nice to listen to music and have some time to think on the way over and back (the drive is about 1 1/2 hours). Last night I did some double coupon shopping after the kids went to bed since I can't sleep for the first few hours of the night anyway! I spent just under $7 for everything below and got stocked back up on snacks (we were totally out minus things like fruit and cheese!). 4 bags frozen veggies=free 2 boxes wheat thin stix $0.49/each 5 boxes Ritz crackerfuls 3 free, 2 $0.99 each 2 packs oreos $0.99 each Idaho instant potatoes $0.49 each 1 pack stove top stuffing $0.49 each McCormick spices (all free!) Ritz munchables $0.49 each.

39 Weeks! (and counting...)

The baby countdown has begun. Sometime in the next two weeks baby boy will be here! Yay! The next two weeks only because since I am going for a VBAC they will try some things at 41 weeks if he's not here on his own. Praying that it won't be nearly that long though!

With the previous two pregnancies I was very busy the last couple weeks (working full time with M and packing up a house/caring for M most hours by myself while Daniel renovated our house) so this waiting is hard. The Lord is working patience for me (and us!).

The wonderful thing is that Daniel has been able to care for the girls while I rest this time and put my feet up. Very little swelling and my blood pressure has been holding steady at just below high levels (136/84 was my last reading).

From here until the baby comes I'll post some sort of update here, if nothing else to keep myself busy:)!

Fun around our temporary house

We are still in waiting for baby mode, possibly for up to 2 weeks more! So we are trying to get in a balance of family time, visiting friends here in Bremerton and rest (for me). I also have a monthly membership to the YMCA so I can do some swimming. Yesterday I tried "Aqua Zumba" which was a lot of fun. Girls playing "princess": The girls "hiding" between a shelf and the kitchen sink. Good thing they aren't clausterphobic! Some of the fun things we've gotten to do while here: go out to lunch with a friend from our old fellowship group, walk to a local bakery, feed chickens and get fresh eggs, visit friends with 4 kiddos, Daniel and I went on a date while a friend watched the girls (they got to play with kitties, watch "Tangled" and eat cookies and milk....rough!). Daniel and I both have gotten to attend weekly mens' and womens' Bible studies here as well. The biggest blessing that although we are spending so much time at "home" the girls are playing really well together and having a lot of fun pretending together!

Enjoying Spring!

The girls LOVE being outside. I can't imagine a more wonderful thing when I will soon need something to entertain them other than me:) Hopefully I will be spending a lot of time outside in the fresh air watching them play while enjoying and nursing a new baby! M loves to ride her bike with training wheels. Liv has a tractor that she loves to ride and wants to be like big sis with her helmet on so here she is wearing grandpa's helmet: Daniel built the girls a "teepee" that will also double as a place for grandma to grow veggies (up the poles hopefully):
I can only imagine the conversation going on above:)

Way too much shopping (the one time in my life bargain shopping is exhausting:)

Walgreens: $0.54 after $2 RR

Freddies: $25.12 (6 packs Tillamook, Seattle's Best Coffee, 4 lbs Challenge butter, strawberries, 8 packages Ronzoni pasta, sour cream and marked down Yo-plus. A bit of a splurge trip (getting the good stuff, but for good prices:)

Albies: about (gasp!) $50. I figured I was running out of deal getting steam so some things I would've just lived w/o I thought I would get anyway since it takes SO much energy to get out of the house! A few of the pricier items were 6 or so lbs of ground beef, 3 lbs of sausage, a bunch of yogurt, organic whole milk, honey bunches of oats ($0.49/ea raincheck), pepperoni, juicy juice, apples, ronzoni garden delight, some powerade for labor bags:) and 4 light ranches. I am sure I am forgetting a few things, it was a load!

Wal-Mart: not sure of the totals because I need to take a couple things back that rang up wrong. It was a crazy trip because Liv fell headfirst out of the cart and landed on her face!! We drew quite a crowd and had to fill out an accident report, plus it was well into nap time and past lunch time by then. Good times. Freebies: floss. Super cheap: Yakisoba, carefree liners, Revlon nail clippers, gain dryer sheets, Motrin PM (I take these sometimes recently...so much soreness! Bad mama, I know), black cotton dress $1 on clearance, 2 pack toddler mittens $0.50. Staples: pinto beans $0.68/each, white rice for those occasions when brown doesn't cut it $0.62. By the way, Liv was just fine. Kids are so resillient, and I am thankful for that!! ;)
Totals: well, let's just say I'll be over budget this week, but not too bad for this month. Next month I will hopefully be hanging out with a new baby for the last half of the month and not shopping!!

Family photos: the waiting for baby boy edition

Tomorrow marks 35 weeks!





Credit goes to Blake & Kathy Gregory for photos :)

What's up with us in March

Pictures are still mostly on hiatus (which means I am having serious withdrawals related to not being able to take pictures of my shopping trips!;) since we haven't decided on a camera (or where that fits in our budget:). And yes, I have been getting some good deals-frozen food month has been a lot of fun in the coupon-shopping arena. Let's just say we are well stocked in frozen juice, sweet potato fries, fish sticks and frozen veggies! Which now that I think about it will make some great zero-prep meals for the last few weeks of pregnancy or after the baby comes that aren't 100% devoid of nutrition.

A few bits of news from us (important and not so much!):

~we got a much needed new bed today! I slept on this same bed when I was a teen and it was a hand-me-down from a grandparent then! (and I am 30 now:)

~we met with one potential doula yesterday via skype and will meet with another plus the midwife group we will probably use in Seattle on Monday. Excited to have things settled soon!

~this next week will be 34 weeks...so baby is just a month away from "full term!"

~we are getting closer and closer to our one-time goal for France funds!

I am sure there is more but that is all I can think of for now:)

Baby Boy Shower @ WVBC

Last weekend I was blessed with a beautiful baby boy shower at a friend's house from our church here in the Wenatchee Valley. When my family moved here in 1994 I never pictured myself back at the church almost 20 years later with my two (almost three!) children and a husband! Although no church is perfect and we've moved around quite a bit recently (Puget Sound to North Carolina to E. WA) we've been blessed with wonderful church families in all three locations.

Here are a few pics our friends the Smith's gave us (our camera still on the fritz).






We were blessed with a group of almost 20, including my mom, grandma and friends I've known for almost 20 years (hi D!). What a sweet blessing.

My Nurse-Maids

Today is my glucose screening test...prayer appreciated! And we are still unsure of who we'll be able to have the baby with...just a tangle of insurance stuff we have to wade through and midwife availability. They still don't make it easy to VBAC...even if you've already had one! But, God is in control!

Either way, I am in good hands...the Lord's and my faithful nurse-maids pictured below:

Baby Bump: 24 1/2 weeks

Yes, I know I look 8 months pregnant already! But overall I am feeling good and still exercising (mostly walking or aerobics about 30 minutes a day 4 days a week). The holidays were bad news and I gained 7 extra pounds. So all this week I've started to write down everything I eat and that seems to curb some of my extra snacking or sugar overload. Baby boy kicks all the time and is measuring right where he should be for a late April/early May arrival.

The plan is to move to Bremerton mid-April so we can have the baby in Seattle again. Praying for a little quicker labor this time (less than 44 hours would be nice!;)

More than just pink

In just a few months our girly household will be invaded by blue things, trucks, and all things "boy". Its going to be quite a different world than our house-playing, dolly-caring for, dressing up twosome. But we are excited. Our world is about to change, come May!

In the meantime, here are a few more pictures of my girly-girls in residence:

Tuna for breakfast

For my 6:45 breakfast I had oatmeal. Pretty normal, right?! Well, my 8:45am breakfast (typical times for breakfasts these days) was tuna(entire can) with a little mayo. It was fantastic and made me feel very very good. This pregnancy has been so weird!

Today I am 10 weeks along (or rather baby is?) and we have our first appointment with the midwives here next week. I am hoping the all day sickness will be subsiding soon. I feel like my whole day consists of figuring what high protein snack to eat next so I won't feel terrible and when I can finally take a nap. My sympathies definitely go out to those who suffer from this plus worse(not keeping things down (which I do...although sometimes I know I would feel better if it were not the case!) the entire pregnancy (and I am assuming that won't be me!!:).

Off for a walk to the store before my tuna happiness subsides and I have to figure out the next snack;).