28 Weeks and Counting...

This Wednesday marked 28 weeks into this pregnancy. I am now officially in the 3rd trimester. Some books say that begins the 27th week, others say the 28th. Whatever the case, we are now a few days into week 29...which is getting closer to 30...which feels a little closer to the end. Can you tell I'm counting down?

This pregnancy has just been all around hard on me. None of them have been easy but number four is taking me for a very bumpy ride. I don't know if it's being 3 years older then last time, now being in my 30's, that I have 3 rambunctious boys to care for or that this is the FOURTH time my body has been through this. Pretty sure it is a combination of everything! The Dr. has warned me that with this being the fourth I need to be very careful. Rest lot's. Do half of what I plan for that day were his exact words. SO hard to do! I get involved in my day and before I know it, I realize I haven't rested at all. But I don't know how much of a choice I'll have these next weeks. I've been getting cramping in my lower abs and low back after doing a lot of walking, like spending the evening at Disneyland. Last night I had that same cramping and hadn't done all that walking. I had just been on my feet all day. For Tyler's Open House, errands, etc. and just hadn't rested at all. I guess we will see how this keeps progressing!

I'm also having a hard time waiting for this little girl! I really feel like I have been pregnant for well over a year! I'm nervous to see her healthy. I'm nervous about the delivery. I feel like it's never going to end! And, I am nervous about the delivery! For those that don't know, with my first two pregnancies, my amniotic fluid vanished with no explanation. That lead to an induction with Tyler, which failed when the contractions squeezed him too hard with no fluid to cushion him. I didn't get to see Tyler again for a few hours while I was in recovery. So hard! Second time around I went to the hospital in labor, they checked the fluid level and all the fluid had disappeared, again! Thankfully I was already in labor and this time I had an amnio infusion (they put water back into me to help cushion Zachary). It was a horribly long two day labor, but he came out after two hours of pushing. And I got to hold him and stay with him. Enter Jacob. He was a week and a half early and thankfully this time I still had fluid. Labor lasted almost exactly a day this time around but Jacob had had his first bowel movement while still in me. To make it worse, he aspirated it into his lungs and had to be whisked away to the NICU right after birth. I again didn't get to see my baby for hours or know what was going on. He stayed in the NICU for a week. One of the worst weeks of my life! All of this to say, I have not had one easy, smooth delivery and I have only been able to keep 1 out of 3 of my babies with me afterwards. Not very good odds. I'm scared of what lies ahead. I'm scared that my fluid will drop and I will have to have a c-section (They will not induce labor after having a prior c-section so loss of fluid would equal emergency c-section for me). Please pray that my fluid would hold up. Please pray that I would be able to stay with my baby girl after her birth. I really appreciate any prayers!

Everyone is still so excited here though! We talk almost everyday about when she will arrive. It will be exciting to get to July and be able to say, "Next month!" I feel Lexy moving all throughout the day now, especially at night when I finally lay on my side to rest. I'm constantly nesting and doing whatever I can to get things ready and in order. I am trying to hold myself off a bit longer from packing bags for the hospital but I have already made some piles for that. Some stuff for me and the baby! I just can't wait! Only 80 or so days to go.....

26 Weeks




28 Weeks

FIRE!

In case you are not on Face Book, or happened to miss my status, here was the fun event for today!

So it was time to get lunch together. Craig put a tortilla into the toaster oven to heat up. Meanwhile, I was around the corner cleaning up play doh from the kids craft table. I all of a sudden hear him yelling. I was alarmed but went to finish what I was doing. Until the yelling got louder and I hear, "FIRE!!!" Seriously not what you want to hear or think you ever will! So I go running and there are huge flames coming out of the toaster oven, getting bigger by the second and Craig whacking them with a towel. He's yelling about help (panicking!) so I get under the sink, grab the fire extinguisher and give it to him. He about rips the top off to get it going and thankfully, after a good spray, that worked. Not thankfully it sprayed all over our lunches...and the entire kitchen. And then all the alarms went off. And the whole downstairs filled with smoke. The flames were so high they were licking the wood cabinets way above the toaster oven! Scary!! And who knew what a mess those things made! There was a fine powder all over the kitchen...even far away from the site of the fire. And it must hang out in the air for awhile because I will clean it up and then there will be a new layer. And needless to say our oven is "toast"! =0)

So that was our big Friday event. Can anyone top that? ;0)

Monica

A sweet and wonderful friend lost her battle against cancer Monday night. I never believed it was going to happen...she was such an amazing woman. So incredibly strong and brave. A fighter.

The past year and a half were hard on Monica but she hardly faltered. She kept her sense of humor, witt and charm. With her blog she enchanted many who had never even met her. She had an army storming the gates of Heaven in prayer. An army of God's followers standing behind her. And now she's gone. I struggle to understand how that can be. I struggle to understand why God didn't heal her. And it's hard. I sobbed when finding out she was gone, minutes later. The past two days I have been numb. But writing this is letting it all bubble up again and I just don't know how to deal. My heart literally aches for her husband Sol and there 2 year old son Kai. It just hurts.

Monica fought until the last moments. She wanted to live. She wanted to give it all she had to stay here and raise her baby with her amazing husband. Even with the incredible pain. But she is in Heaven now and able to rest. The pain and tumors gone from her body. Now it is those left behind that are in pain. Please, take a few minutes to pray for her precious family. For Sol, Kai, her mother, father and 2 sisters Karen and Janelle and the rest. Whenever they enter your mind, please pray. Her amazing story and heart can be found here http://solandmonica.com/ . I promise you will never be the same.

We love you Monica. And we will take care of Sol and Kai for you and surround them in prayer.

All in a Name

I realized after that last post that I had never talked about naming our baby girl here on the blog. With Facebook and so many other ways of communication, I figured everyone knew. One of my few readers brought to my attention that not everyone did know (thanks Jess!)

So, we finally found a name a few weeks ago. I really didn't think anything was going to "click", to feel "just right". We had a nice size list and a pretty set middle name. Somehow one name started to take over and then when I changed the middle name with it, that's when it fell into place.

I wasn't sure about the first name at first because it was wasn't one of my long standing, forever favorites. But for this baby, those favorites hadn't seemed to be working right. We have a lot of "criteria" for baby names and one of those is I must be able to "play" with the name. In other words make shorter and have other cute versions of it. This name fit the mold. And when I told Craig one day after thinking about it for awhile, he just smiled and smiled and I knew that was it.

So, her name is Alexis Joy. Lexy Joy for short. Alexis is so much fun because there is so much to do with it. Already she is my little Lexy-Loo! Joy is what completed the name for me. Joy because that is exactly what she already is...a complete joy to our family and everyone who finds out she is on her way! That word just sums up how we feel about her..complete and utter joy!

Too Cute

I was just cleaning Jacob off after lunch and when I walked over he smiled really big, pointed at my tummy and said, "Ahhhhh so cute! And baby Lexy is SO cute!!" Oh my goodness that was adorable!=0)

Good Things Come in Three's

We have had continuous birthday celebrations the past week in our house. With three out of the five of us having our birthdays within a week and two days! Yesterday Zachary turned the big 5! Exactly a week before that, my "baby" boy turned 3!!! So during this post I wanted to talk about Jacob's special day and then hopefully soon after I will get to Zachary's! They have a combined party coming up soon as well!

For all three of our birthday's we celebrated at Disneyland. Nothing like a free offer to get us there on our actual birthday's! After having passes for about 15 years, this is the first time that I have ever been given anything from Disney and I was not going to miss out! You either 1. get in free on your birthday, 2. Use that money towards a pass or 3. If you already have a pass, the money towards a ticket goes on a card to spend on whatever you want! Great deal isn't it? So since Jacob is now the magic number of 3, where all of a sudden you have to pay for them everywhere you go, we put his $59. towards his very first Disney pass. We had left the house around 2:00, and were set for a fun day. The only rule: It was Jake's pick of what we did all day.

And it turned out to be an awesome day! We started out on "Buzz Lightyear". After that we surprised the boys by going to the "Jedi Training show" that we are never there on time for. They were SO excited and SO into the whole thing. The only other time we had been to the show they had not yet entered into the world of "Star Wars" so it didn't mean anything to them. Oh how different it was this time around! The two older boys had Star Wars shirts on. Jacob had his light saber with him that he had just opened for his birthday...they were ready! Craig grabbed Zachary and held him up when it was time for the kids to be chosen. We yelled and screamed to get their attention...and it worked!! Out of the huge crowd Zachary was chosen! We were so excited! So he did his thing and in the middle of the show, a coordinator noticed Jacob with his saber and birthday button. She had him come over and then brought scary Darth Maul over to "fight" him! We could not believe Jacob was so brave! No fear! Darth Maul came over twice and it was great! The coordinator was so sweet and really made all of our days by including Jacob like that!

After we ate some pizza, visited some more attractions including the Nemo Subs, Matterhorn (which I was not on due to baby) Dumbo, the Star Wars store, and the Tiki Room. The only big disappointment of the day was that "Pirates" was closed. That is Jacob's favorite ride and he had been talking about going on it for a week! But we told him we would go on it for Zachary's birthday and then we got to hear about it none stop for the next week! =0)

It was a great day! Jacob is a fun little guy who loves to imitate his brothers! He is starting to not be SO "independent" and does what we ask once in awhile without arguing! Good bye to the two's! Whew! But he is so funny, has a huge smile, LOVES his kitties (has to see them all throughout the day, especially his Cody) enjoys Star Wars with his brothers, playing Indiana Jones, playing outside, loves his blue blankie, wants treats or snacks ALL of the time and is a great part of our family!

Birthday cupcakes before we left for Disneyland.




Yelling to be picked for the Jedi Show!












Special birthday boy getting to start off the show in the Tiki Room!=0)


Getting sleepy after the long day!

Good Bye 20's.....

I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that I am....30. Don't really like saying it. Never thought I would have a problem with it but the fact of the matter is... it's WEIRD!! I don't really know how I got here. I think back on so many different people saying they are getting older but they don't feel 30,50, 60whatever. Physically yes, but in their heads they are still "younger". And a big part of my having a hard time grasping my 20's are no more is that I look like I'm 19. I get many eye rolls when I talk about that but it kind of messes with your head! When you have people come to the front door and ask if your parent's are home....yeah that's kind of weird. I wish I could say I still felt that young though. My 20's were pretty much made up of child birth. My first pregnancy began at 22 and I had my first baby at 23. Then nursing for a year and then pregnant again by 24 and so on. And capping it all off with another one at 29! All of these tough pregnancy's have taken a toll on my body and I just feel...old! So see the confusion?? Look young, feel old...not sure where the time has gone in the sleep deprived haze. But I have built my family in my 20's. What I look forward to most in my 30's is seeing my family grow. To meeting my baby girl! To letting my body heal and move on from childbirth! It will be interesting to see what comes with the next 10 years besides more wrinkles!=0)

To celebrate the occasion we had a get together at our house. Craig was an awesome husband and put together a group gift for me of a lap top! So fun! It was nice having my friends and family around me...not too big so it was pretty relaxing. It made me realize even more how many of my friends and family have moved away and that makes me sad. Craig put together a montage of recordings from family and friends that was super special!!! I so enjoyed hearing the voices of those who had moved away or could not be there! Thank you to everyone who recorded a message. It's something I will treasure forever!

Here are some pictures from that night!




We played Guitar Hero World Tour! So fun and we actually got some new participants! Thanks for trying it out Mom, Robert and Melinda!








My mom brought a pinata. The kids had fun with it and I even got to take a few hits and finish it off!

Tyler Times

For a few months now I have been wanting to do a post on Tyler. He has been up to so many new things!

This week he lost his first front tooth! It was hanging from a thread by the time it came out! He looks super cute with the big gap...and it's a big one since he already had a gap between his front two teeth!





About a month ago he won another school award! We are so proud of him! Around that same time he was in his first school play..."A Rumpus in the Rain Forest!" Super cute. It was put on by the First Graders who were all dressed as different animals from the rain forest. Tyler was part of the "Sloth group" and they painted all of the kids faces. We really enjoyed watching him perform and he knew every line in the play (even all the ones that weren't his!)









He also started his first year of baseball and is LOVING it! The past 3 years he has thought soccer was OK but he really enjoys baseball! He looks forward to every game and practice! He has made huge improvements already since the start of the season and hits the ball every up! (The coaches pitch at this stage). This year he is on the "Yankees" and is number 10.

20 Weeks...Half Way There!

Today I have hit the big milestone....20 weeks! I feel like that is a huge accomplishment but then I also feel like the end of August is soooo far away! For this week in the pregnancy I am just going to list thoughts, how I am feeling and anything else that pops into mind!=0)

1. Feeling better. More foods starting to sound manageable. Hoping everything sounds good sooner then later! (especially meat!)

2. Not losing weight any more and have gained a few pounds back!=0)

3. Tired and feeling rounder! Have also been sick the past few days...achy head, sinuses and throat!=0(

4. Really enjoy looking at the girl things I have acquired thus far. Go into my closet a few times a day to look at all the pretty girly things hanging in there!

5. Big event this morning...Tyler felt his sister kick for the first time!!! He is the first person to feel her other then me! He came into our room at just the right time, she gave me a few hard kicks and he was able to feel her last one! So exciting! (On a side note, Zachary was very upset he didn't feel her...hopefully soon!)

6. I feel the baby moving all throughout the day now. Sometimes harder then usual so that it makes me jump! Such an amazing thing to feel...I never tire of it!

7. Having a hard time naming this little girl. Go figure. But it turns out that there are SO many great names that now I have no idea how to settle on one and KNOW that it's THE one!

8. I love American Idol (no this has nothing to do with pregnancy!=0) )

9. I hate having to pee so often...and having THREE UTI's just in this pregnancy!!

10. I love being able to share this huge life event with my boys! Having them talk to my tummy, kiss it and say all together, "Good night baby girl!"

11. I really don't like not being able to sleep on my tummy!! I try... and then am promptly kicked from squishing her!;0)

Meeting Bella

Well, we made it to Colorado and back...again! We were just there in December for an impromptu trip but this one has been planned for about a year. Main goal: To meet baby Bella!! The whole family has been anticipating her arrival and our trip to meet her! When we arrived Bella was 5 weeks old and the little doll we had envisioned! We were able to hold her, cuddle her, soothe her and I even fed her twice (with a bottle people ...no Salma here!) Zachary, staying true to his character, was always asking to "hold baby Bella". He had the same sweet expression when he held her as he did when he held Jacob. What a sweetie! Tyler enjoyed her as well and was happy to help get her paci when she needed it. Jacob...was Jacob. Liked to look at her, held her once, but then was just on the go!

We pretty much spent the week hanging out. We went to the Denver Zoo for a couple of hours to let the boys get some wiggles out! I truly love that Zoo! Everything is so close, easy to see and they have a great variety of animals. Every night we played Settlers of Catan...so much fun! On Wednesday, we went to Fort Collins to spend time with Craig's Mom, Grandma and brother. It was a good day. Thursday Melinda came over as she was in Denver for a conference. It was fun getting the chance for the 3 of us to hang out...we just needed Hillary!

And we ended up staying an extra day due to an impending storm expected to arrive Saturday, our planned date of departure. The boys were super happy about that and kept asking when the blizzard was coming. But, the storm ended up blowing into another state so we didn't even see much snow. The Rockies had gotten dumped on though so it was good we waited it out.

So it was a good trip. I am terribly sad that I won't see my little Bells until she's a much bigger girl though. I wish I could watch her grow from here instead of afar. She is such a beautiful little baby! Mommy needs to keep up on the pictures and I'm hoping for a blog in the near future!=0)

I can't wait to see them again!

Caught her smiling in her sleep right after we got there...happy to see us too!=0)


Our crew meeting her for the first time!


Tyler and Bella.


Jacob and Bella.


Zachary and Bella.




At the Denver Zoo.




I had so much fun dressing her up...can't wait until August when I can do it every day with my own living doll!


The day we left and Bella was now 6 weeks old!