My agoraphobic introvert

I have a little girl who has always been shy.  Even as an infant, she clung unto mommy anytime anyone else was around.  It took a long time, but ever so slowly she started coming out of her shell.  It helped that her big sister is such an extrovert, she started following her around bit by bit.  Anytime we went somewhere, it'd take her forever to warm up and get comfortable.  But now like at church, she is completely fine, she's used to it.  At 3, she's FINALLY comfortable in each family's house, and will even talk to and hug her uncles and papa (this is a very recent development).  But in other areas she's gotten much worse.  And it breaks my heart.  She cannot handle new places at all.  She shuts down and freaks out and has to be held by one of us.  If you combine a new place plus crowded, oooh boy, poor baby girl in in a nightmare.  Now that I am busy with the baby, I can't always hold her, so she just holds onto my legs.  I feel bad for her, my heart breaks.  I want to hold her but sometimes it's not possible.  I contantly comfort her and tell her it's ok.  I hold her hand.  I'm not exactly sure what goes on through her mind, but I hate that she's scared.  It breaks my heart.

Today we went out to eat at a new restaurant.  We were with family. The restaurant was full and super loud (she doesn't like loud either).  She begged me to hold her, but the baby was crying.  The biggest problem was that daddy had run to the car, but as soon as he got back, he held her.  She sat with him almost the entire time.  He finally found ways to slowly calm her down and get her to be more comfortable.  In a way he does that a lot better than me.  He colored with her, talked to her, made her laugh and eventually got her a fun game on his iphone to distract her.  By the end of the night she was actually walking around and laughing.

I just wish she didn't have to go through that every time we went somewhere.  I hate it for her and I don't even know if I'm handling it right.  I don't want to force her to come out of her "shyness".  It's more than that.  I just pray we're doing the right thing by trying to make her as comfortable as possible until she's ready to warm up to new environments.  At least that's what my mommy senses are telling me to do...

My prince and I

I'm so super thankful for this man of mine!  He is truly the best and I don't know what I did to deserve him.  He works hard to provide for our family and take care of us.  I love this man!!!!!!!
So thankful to end another year with him and begin another one :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Crazy to look at this picture and see 3 little children :)  We are blessed and I'm so thankful for God's blessings!  This season has been a busy one for us, but I have been reminding myself to enjoy the craziness and make memories with my sweet family!!! 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!! 

Fall 2014

We finally got to make our annual pumpkin patch trip this past weekend.  We ended up in the other side of town to have family night filled with the patch, dinner and a visit to the comic book store.  The girls had a blast.  I love our family days! :)

I have looked at this picture a million times, I love how it came out.  And I love the ones in it!  I still can't get over how blessed I am.  I love my sweet babies! And I have the best husband ever!!! And I love fall!  :) We have been busy with family activities on top of planning my sweet girl's 6th birthday AND redoing the living room/dining room complete with painting and refurbishing the dining table. lol  So yeah, busy!

I LOVE fall and I love November!  Can you believe it's almost November!? :)

awareness day

Yesterday was pregnancy/ infancy loss awareness day.  While I have never experienced that, thankfully, a lot of my friends unfortunately have gone through it.  I hate that so many people I love have had to experience it.  My mother in law lost 3 sweet girls before finally having my husband.  She tells me stories of their births often, and I can't imagine the pain she went through, losing her first daughter at full term, then twin girls halfway through her pregnancy.

While I never went through a loss, I have had 2 scares, and until seeing the heartbeat and knowing my babies were ok, the feeling of loss is horrible and there's nothing to compare.

At 10 weeks pregnant with baby sister, I started spotting, of all days, on a saturday.  I called the on call doctor who put me on bed rest and told me to come in first thing on Monday.  I had not experienced that with my first, so it was super scary.  We went through so many emotions that weekend.  Part of me felt the baby was ok, but then I kept thinking why else would I be spotting.  Monday finally came, and we saw the most beautiful little heartbeat and were overfilled with joy and thankfulness for a healthy baby!  We had another scare with her at 31 weeks, but thankfully they were able to stop early signs of labor.  She gave us a run for our money the whole pregnancy and I vowed I'd never do it again! lol

Fast forward to last year.  In October we found out our little surprise was on the way.  It was scary and exciting at the same time!  When we reached 10 weeks, a sense of relief overcame me.  At 10 weeks with my previous pregnancy is when we had our little scare and my pregnancy from then on became super hard on me physically.  So I had a mini celebration when at 10 weeks with baby #3, everything was fine.  Then came 2 weeks later.  It was black Friday, hubby and I were at breakfast when I felt a "gush" and ran to the bathroom.  This was way more than just spotting, and it wouldn't stop.  I remember sitting back down at the table, holding back tears and telling hubby, "I think I just lost our baby".  We both sat there, quiet and not knowing what to say.  He was so lost and didn't know what to do.  I told him I needed to go home.  So we left, then I called the doctor, and being that it was a holiday the office was closed.  I was sent to the ER.  There I sat (still bleeding nonstop).  I was numb and working on preparing myself for the news. I had already played out how I'd tell our family, how we'd explain to our girls... The nurses ran a bunch of tests, they made me pay my bill (I was so angry), then finally after about 2-3 hours, they took me for the ultrasound.  Up to that point I had managed to keep my emotions in check.  I KNEW the baby was gone, and I was "ready" for that.  When the nurse started the ultrasound, I was not prepared for what I saw.  A beautiful baby, sucking his thumb with the most beautiful heartbeat.  To say I was in shock is an understatement.  I was 1000% sure I had lost this baby, and yet, there he was, alive!  I sobbed and sobbed.  I will NEVER forget that image.  And I will never forget feeling lost and in agony when I thought he was gone...

Again, while I never experienced a loss, I can kind of understand.  No one can fully understand unless you go through it.  I'm thankful for 3 healthy pregnancies and babies.

September

Oh my, this month FLEW by!  We've been busy and this mama has been completely overwhelmed.  Let's see... Baby boy turned 3 months on the 6th.  He's such a great baby and growing so FAST!  He is wearing 6-9 mon clothes, my big chunk! ;)  He has the sweetest giggles and loves his mama.  He's still sleeping thru the night, though these past few days have been a little rough for him.  I think he's teething.  Yikes!

Baby sister has also grown so much!  She was talking fine before, but this past month or so her vocabulary has gotten so "grown up".  She's also hit a growth spurt and at 3, she's starting to wear size 4.  She's thinned out and lost all her "baby" fat.  The girl's got some long legs now!
She loves school and really enjoys her workbook whenever it's school time.  She's been working hard on learning her name.  She's not a fan of writing yet, but we'll get there.

Big sis is in 1st grade.  we've been working hard, especially on reading.  She's so excited to learn it and is doing so well.  She also loves writing her own books and it's so neat to see her applying the words she's learned to her stories.  She's also hit a growth spurt, she'll be 6 in Nov and is now starting to wear size 7.  She has always been, and I'm sure will always be, all legs! Buying her clothes is VERY hard b/c they don't make cute "babyish" clothes for 7 year olds.. So this mama's gotta get busy making cute little girl clothes for her.  What can I say, for some reason our kids are giants. lol  Love it!

Yesterday we celebrated 9 years of marriage.  Seems CRAZY!  These 9 years have flown by!  So thankful for an amazing husband and an amazing life we've had so far.  God's been so good to us!

Nothing crazy has happened to us this month.  Just still adjusting to life w/ 3 and loving every minute!

Making our School room

So in preparing for baby #3 we switched some rooms around in Jan/Feb.  What was our living room became the playroom, then what was the playroom became the living room b/c it was the first room you  see when you come in.  With that switch, it gave us a more hidden playroom, and also gave us more walls, where I could hang up school stuff.  With the pregnancy and such this past year, I never concerned myself much with the playroom.  We did school in the kitchen table.

When August hit, I decided that I wanted the playroom to play 2 roles, 1 of playtime and 1 for school.  I have their school books in there already, and there was a whole wall I could put school posters and whatnot.  So I went to work on transforming the playroom into more of a schoolroom:

1. I purged 3 full trashbags of toys.  2 I sent to goodwill, the other was just broken toys/trash that I threw out.  I also threw out a LOT Of the kids artwork, my oldest draws a LOT and I just can't keep it all.

2. I reorganized their toys and made sure everything had a home.  It was amazing how great having less toys feel.  I wanted to purge more, but it would've gotten to the point that the kids would've noticed stuff missing. lol

3. I organized their book shelf with their reading books, games and puzzles.

4. I organized their school bookshelf and got everything arranged and ready for back to school.  I have baskets on one of the shelves that has different things, like pencils, pads, hands on activities and such. The kids are fully aware they are NOT to touch that shelf w/out permission.

5. I bought a dry erase board, some posters and a corkboard for our wall and got to decorating it, making it more of a "school" feel.

We've been working on their playtable, which is a bit small, but works for now.  School time def goes smoother being in a school setting, and I'm able to use the board daily to teach them.

I had bought the alphabet last year at wal mart for $1.  I bought the corkboard for $8 with 40% off at Joann.  I used leftover paint and fabric and decorated it b/c I hate the plain corkboard. lol I also made a point not to make it pink b/c hubby complains there's pink everywhere.  The "READ" poster above it is made by daddy, based on his book.

The whiteboard was bought at costco. I'd like something a bit bigger but for now this works.  I had the 2 8x10 frames from the $1 store.  I printed the THINK from pinterest and I made the subway art on the left with school related words. 

 The school section.  The rest of the room is just toys.  Eventually we'll have a house that will have a separated school room.  Till then, this works and school is going so well for both girls!  I love our room and the girls get so excited, they always set up their school stuff on the table the night before.  

The rest of the playroom: 

Busy bees

We have been busy here!  Our sweet baby boy is 12 weeks old today!  Time has been flying.  He is truly the best baby!  He's been sleeping through the night since 6 weeks, and last night was his first night in his crib!  Mommy was sad he wasn't in his bassinet next to me anymore, but he's getting uncomfortable in there b/c he's so big, so as hard as it was to leave him in his room, I know he's way more comfortable in his crib.  He slept through the night and had no issues!  Best baby ever!!! :)

Last week we also started school.  We started on the 19th, big sis in 1st grade and little sis in preschool. Big sis and I are really enjoying 1st grade.  She's doing really well, and I can already see how much she's learned in just 2 weeks.  We're working hard on her handwriting and reading skills.  My hope is that she'll be reading on her own by the end of the year.  She is dying to read on her own.  I haven't been pushing her b/c she doesn't do well with change.  But now she's really working hard.
Little sis loves to "do school" with us.  Though she's not a fan of work books like her sister was, she loves hands on activities.  So I have found a ton of preschool activities for her thanks to pinterest!  She loves puzzles, so we've done that along with some other stuff.  Hopefully soon we'll be able to get her interested in work books :)

Last year we didn't have a school room.  We worked in the dining room table.  I didn't really like it, but it worked.  This year, I decided to transform part of the playroom into a school section.  It has been so much better, and having the "school room" I think has helped all of us be much more productive.  Our plan is to get a bigger school table, but for now this works :)  I'll post more about that later! 

To my little love

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY  to my sweet little love!

  You light up my life in ways that I never thought possible :)  Your little smile has always made any cloudy day so much sunnier.  I love you so much and I'm so thankful God made me your mommy!  

I may be dealing with lots of emotions as you turn 3.  It feels like only yesterday you were born!  And now you are turning into such a beautiful and amazing little girl! I can't wait to see how God uses you as you grow! 

Aug 3rd 2011

Dearest baby girl, 

Today I sit here thinking back to 3 years ago.  Mommy had gone through 9 months of anticipation.  Your pregnancy wasn't the easiest for mommy, so by the time your due month came, I was ready! :) I was anxious to meet my sweet baby girl, though nervous to introduce you to big sis.  

Your due date was August 11th, but we scheduled your birth for the 3rd.  When that day came, we woke up super early to head for the hospital.  We dropped off your sister at our friend's house, that was so hard to do b/c we'd never been apart.  We then headed to the hospital and I was so nervous to meet you.  The doctors and nurses started getting me ready and I started getting more and more excited to see you.  When they started the c-section I kept asking them if you were out yet.  We had music playing and everyone was so excited.  When you were out I could hear you cry, the doctor said "wow where were you hiding her?" You were bigger than anyone expected, at 7.15 lbs and 20 inches.  The first thing I asked was if you had hair.  They said you had a head full.  Then they brought you to me, a beautiful baby girl, they took off your hat so I could see your pretty black hair.

All that was 3 years ago.  I can hardly believe my baby girl will be 3 in a few days.. You are growing into such an amazing sweet girl.  You've always been a mama's girl and so shy, but lately you've been coming out of your shell and been more outgoing, but not always.  

At 3, you love to color, play with baby dolls, play with doll house, love to wear dresses and look like a princess.  You love My little Pony, are obsessed with TMNT, love Frozen... You try so hard to be grown like your big sis and are working on doing things more independently.  You still have a favorite blanket that you have to carry around and sleep with.

Your smile completely lights up the room.  When you smile I have to grab you and squeeze you tight!  Your eyes are big and beautiful shade of hazel/greenish.  I've never really been able to tell what your eye color is, but they are so sparkly and I get lost staring at them. 

I'm so thankful God made me your mommy.  You are such and amazing little girl.  

Happy 3rd Birthday baby girl!!!!!! 

Family

Pictures are very important to me.  I love taking pictures of family members, friends and especially my kids.  It is also important to me to have family pictures, and thankfully we have a very talented friend that takes our pictures :)

People pick on me sometimes b/c I always have my big camera with me and always take a lot of pictures!  But I like to record memories, I always look through pictures hundreds of times and reminisce on days past.  

I am guilty of not enjoying the moment b/c I'm always busy trying to capture it on camera.  So I am working on putting the camera down more often and just enjoying time together.  But with 3 super cute kiddos, it's hard sometimes to not take pictures ;) 

I'm so thankful God chose me to be their mama.  And they are so used to me having a camera that they are constantly asking me to take pictures. lol  

my time

Since baby boy's birth, I've had to readjust our days.  He's 6 weeks old now, and I've struggled finding the balance between schooling big sis, cleaning, laundry, cooking, spending time with the girls and taking care of the baby.  Up till about a week ago I had 1 goal: SURVIVE.  But hubby and I had a discussion and we both felt it was time to get things back on track.  Hubby's 1 request was to work on big sis' schooling.  My goal was to get that done as well as taking control of the house.  Easier said than done. lol

Baby boy has been very demanding.  He's gotten a lot easier though, but still trying to manage 3 kids has been hard to learn.  I am taking it one day at a time otherwise I just get over stressed and the migraines start.

One thing that has really hit me was that I wanted to spend time with the girls more.  They're really struggled not having mommy's full attention.  So last Friday I took the girls to a Krispy Kreme date :)  They were so happy, big sis said "it's nice to leave the boys home and just have girl time" lol  It made me realize that I really need to make more time to spend with just them, baby free.  Then on Saturday I had to run some errands.  Now baby sis had been asking me to play with her all week and I was never able to b/t trying to clean and take care of the baby (it never fails, anytime I feel like I have free time to spend with the girls, he cries!).  So she begged me to come with me to run errands.  I won't lie, I was dying for some kid free time.  I haven't had any alone time in I don't know how long... But when your 2 year old "middle" child flashes her beautiful smile, you can't say no. :)  So off we went to target, Ross and costco.  She held onto me with a smile the entire time.  She asked me to hold her, which I happily did.  It was so precious.  I loved my time with her, and I know she did too.

So I'm trying to make a point to spend more 1 on 1 time with each kid and focus more of my time on the kids in general instead of worrying so much about how perfect the house looks.

So thankful for my family! 

sibling love

There's a little boy that we met 6 weeks ago that has captured all of our hearts.  From his black hair, to his gray blue eyes, to his tiny sweet toes...He is LOVED so much.  

I worried a lot about how the girls would react to his arrival.  Big sister didn't worry me as much, she was so excited and anxious to have a brother.  But baby sis is such a mama's girl that she worried me.  I worried she'd be jealous.  But she had so much love for her brother, we've never had an issue.  She immediately fell in love with him.  The girls constantly want to hold him and kiss him.  It's just the sweetest. 

Lately though I have noticed that being the middle child is starting to affect baby sis.  Not in a bad way per se, but she is constantly asking me to play with her, and when daddy comes home it's the same.  She never used to before.  She really misses her mama.  So we're trying to find time to spend with each kid.  Last Friday I left baby boy home with daddy in between feedings and took the girls to Krispy Kreme.  They got to see donuts being made and then we sat and talked for a bit.  It was nice to be with them again.  Then on Saturday I had to run errands, which I REALLY wanted to do alone, but baby sister begged to go with me.  So I took her.  That girl was grinning from ear to ear and was so happy to have alone time with mommy.  It was such a sweet time with my girl.  It made me realize that #1 we dont' necessarily have to do anything special, kids just want to be with you and you can make running errands fun.  #2 I need to make a point to spend alone time with each kid.  Having a newborn is hard, especially one that I'm nursing.  But I've come to the conclusion that if need be, daddy can give him a pumped bottle if it means my girls get some alone mommy time.  It's important to me that the girls still get time with me.

I'm so thankful for my 3 children and thankful they've all adjusted pretty well.  The girls have been so helpful and so understanding with mommy being busy with brother.  Sometimes they're a little too helpful but they mean well and are just eager to make baby brother happy :)

1 month old!

On July 6th my beautiful baby boy turned 1 month old.  It's definitely bittersweet how fast they grow.  He's 6 weeks old today!

He has been such a wonderful and easy baby.  He just eats and sleeps.  The only "problem" we have is that he likes to be held a bit too much, but hey, I love holding and cuddling him :)  He's also been having problems being really gassy to the point that his tummy bothers him and he can't sleep.  I cut out coffee from my diet, as well as anything with red sauce.  It helps a bit.  We've been giving him mylocon and I'm trying to slow him down when he nurses and burp him more often.  Some days it helps, others it doesn't.  I just feel so helpless when he gets all scrunched up and wakes himself up.

At 1 month he:
-wears 0-3 month clothes
-wears size 1 diapers
-eats every 2-3 hours
-weighs 12.2 pounds
-measures 22.5 inches
-is starting to like his playmat more and more
-dislikes his swing
-loves being with his sisters :)
-likes to sleep on mommy and daddy's chests

There are times when I am nursing him and staring into his eyes that I just sit in awe of my son.  He's just so awesome and I'm so thankful we were blessed with him.  I could never have imagined just how in love I would be with my son!

 We have many photoshoots in this house.  I love taking his pictures, and it gives me a chance to play with my camera.  If his tummy is full, he cooperates pretty well ;) Speaking of full tummy's, that boy LOVES his milk.  It's amazing how much he eats.  Which is why at 6 weeks he's 12 lbs.  He is beautiful and perfect and I can't get enough of him!

 I mean seriously, look at this face!  Those cheeks!  I kiss him nonstop!  He's just the best :)

mommy of 3

On July 6th little man turned 1 month.  This month FLEW by! He has already changed so much from birth.  

After baby sis was born, I was so overwhelmed and exhausted, I wasn't sure I wanted any more children b/c I didn't think I could handle it.  Alas, God had other plans, and surprised us with this beautiful gift.  Throughout my pregnancy I worried about having 3 kids.  My main concern was the lack of sleep, I don't function well w/ little sleep.  Thankfully God has given me the energy I need to take care of the 3 kids.  I am tired, and constantly have headaches due to lack of sleep.  Baby boy wakes me up 3x a night or more, but somehow, God gives me the strength I need to get through my days.  I keep reminding myself that this is all temporary and before I know baby boy will be grown.  And I just love this sweet stage.  He's such a sweet and cuddly baby.  He loves cosleeping w/ mommy and daddy.  Though we're starting to wean him from that one ;) 

Life as a mom of 3 has been super busy.  My days are spent catering to their every needs, somedays I barely have time to eat.  But it's all worth it.  The girls have been wonderful and so understanding, beyond their age!  They let me sleep in in the mornings, big sis sits quietly with me in the afternoon and allows me to nap while the littles nap.  So it's been going ok.  We've relied on a lot of sandwiches for dinners, but it's just a season.  Baby boy is slowly getting used to sleeping in his crib instead of on mommy's chest.  So I'm getting more time during the day to get things done.  Though I do enjoy cuddling my son. 

I am so thankful God blessed our family with this sweet baby boy.  He is just amazing and we can't get enough of him.  The girls love holding him and constantly ask to do so.  

My husband has been absolutely amazing, he is always willing to jump in and help with anything.  He even handles all the diaper changes at nighttime and then hands him to me so I can nurse.  Speaking of nursing, baby boy eats like a champ.  He's HUGE at 5 weeks! lol  I love it!  He's beautiful and perfect and I'm still in awe that I have a son! 

BTW I just love this picture :)  Taken by the professional photographer at the hospital when he was 3 days old.  

His birth- 6/6/2014

My due date was June 14th, scheduled c-section date was the 12th.  The whole week before I spent showing signs of labor, but very little contractions.  On Thursday night, June 5th at 10:30 pm I started having stronger contractions.  They started at 10 min apart for 30 min, then quickly jumped to 4 minutes apart.  I timed them for 2 hours, then called my doctor.  The on call doctor sent me to labor and delivery.  We called Nona to come sit with the girls, and got our stuff together.  Nona arrived and I went to say goodbye to the girls 3 times.  It was so hard to leave them!  The whole thing felt surreal, I had never had labor before, so the timing contractions was new to me.  It was weird to think in just hours we'd have our son.  When we got to the hospital, I had to make many stops as it was getting more difficult to walk through the contractions.  We got to the hospital at 1:30 am.  I seriously thought I'd be set up for my c-sec quickly and we'd have a baby in a few hours.  Alas, it was not to be.  The nurse refused to call my doctor until they were "sure" I was in labor.  I was hooked to the monitor and sure enough my contractions were about 3-4 min apart.  I was 2 cm dilated, and at around 2 am the nurse told me their doctor would check me in "2 hours" and then decide wether or not I'd have the baby or go home.  I looked at her like she'd lost her mind b/c there was no way I could go home. lol  She hooked me up with some IV fluids and said it'd help me dilate quickly and help slow down the contractions.  Well, my contractions came even more quickly but dilating took longer.

After waiting the 2 hours, we still hadn't seen the doctor.  It wasn't till 6 am that the doctor came in and I was 2 cm dilated, STILL.  But at that point, my contractions were on top of each other and they decided to call my doctor to come do the c-section.  At that point I was miserable.  I never got a break from the contractions, they were back to back from about 5 am till I delivered.  I was screaming in agony, I couldn't get comfortable.  At 7 am my doctor walked in and I lost it.  I kept telling him to hurry. lol  The nurses kept checking me and at some point around 7:30 my water broke and I was at 4 cm.  Hubby and my sister were there the whole time, and it was hubby's comforting, assuring voice telling me to "breathe" that helped me somewhat calm down through my contractions.  All I could think about was how I wanted the pain to stop.  My sister and hubby say I was mean to everyone, which they think is funny b/c I'm never mean. I had labored from 10:30pm-8am, it was a long night, but well worth it!  

At some point b/t 7:30-8 I was taken into the OR.  I had to sit up through the contractions to get my spinal block.  It was so hard to sit still, but the immediate relief was amazing!  I remember thanking everyone and apologizing for being mean. lol  

Hubby was brought in and they began the process.  

At 8:12 am we heard the beautiful sound of our son crying.  Now, we were both emotional when our daughters were born, but neither of us cried.  As they cleaned up baby boy, we both started crying.  It was such a sweet and emotional moment for us.  I think being up all night and waiting for him just made the whole thing way more emotional for us. 

He struggled with breathing at first, but then did great.  He was 8.12 lbs and 20 3/4 inches.  Our big boy! 

After feeling like we waited forever, I finally met my son.  I remember the moment the picture was taken, he was making a pouty face.  I couldn't believe he could pout at only a few minutes old. lol It was love at first sight for us.  They took hubby and baby boy to the nursery while they finished me up. It felt like closing me up took way longer this time, they gave me a shot on my shoulder, which I later found out that I was bleeding and they couldn't get it to stop.  So I needed a shot of something to control the bleeding.  I felt fine the whole time.  I was taken to recovery at about 9 am, and they could not manage my pain.  I was on morphine and something else that wasn't working.  3 different meds later, they found something that worked.  I didn't leave recovery till 12.  I saw my baby for about 30 minutes to nurse him, but other than that, I was having pain issues, and they kept him in the nursery to monitor his breathing.  

At about noon I was taken to my room, it wasn't till 2 pm that they brought baby boy to my room.  I immediately nursed him and he took to it like a champ!  The most excited person was big sis, she couldn't wait to hold her baby brother! She had to "share" brother with family and hated doing it. lol 

I worried about baby sis' reaction to it all, but she just kept saying how cute he was and loved holding him too.  Such a precious sight! 

My mom made him some cute hats b/c I'm not a fan of the hospital hats.. This is his monster hat.  And a friend gave me this beautiful hospital gown b/c she knew the ones the hospital has are ugly. lol  

The girls wore their big sister shirts and baby boy wore his little brother one.  At this point baby sis was kind of over being dragged around everywhere and not having mommy, so she didn't want to sit for pictures. 

I love this man!  Watching him with his son has been a beautiful sight.  He is so excited to have a baby boy.  He has done such a great job taking care of me while I recover and taking care of all 3 kids.  He is the best! 

Those cheeks!!!  He is so beautiful and we are so thankful for a healthy baby boy!

It's still weird to think of us as a family of 5.  We are so blessed and I'm so thankful that God has blessed me so!  I've also learned that taking pictures of 3 kids is almost an impossible task. lol

June 6th 2014

Little man surprised us by arriving 8 days early on Friday morning at 8:12 am.  After a long and rough night of labor, he was delivered via repeat c-section with my doctor commenting "that's a big, solid boy".  We both had a bit of a rough morning but all in all everything went great.  We've been home since Monday and adjusting to life as a family of 5 as I recover.  I will definitely write his birth story soon, but I need to sit and collect my thoughts, and have time to do so :)
For now, here's a couple pictures.

I mean we just can't get over the cheeks! :) They are so kissable!

Our boy was 8.12 lbs and 20 3/4 inches.  I have no idea where his size came from, but he is the cutest baby boy and we are all in love!

Mani/pedi

The girls have been asking me to paint their nails for days.  I kept forgetting, so this morning I made a point to spend some time with them and treating them to a mani/pedi.  

Baby sis chose blue, let me tell you, painting her tiny toes is hard! lol  

Big sis wanted a "summery" color, she chose green.  It looks so pretty on her! 

We went out to lunch and they kept showing off their nails... Love making these girly memories with my sweet girls!  Now if only someone came and painted my toes we'd be in business ;)

"if you were waiting for the right time it's now"

Walking around Target last night and came across this sign.  I thought it was perfect :) 

We are longing to hold our sweet boy, but God's timing is perfect.  I'm learning a lot of patience as we wait on him. Each day I keep thinking could be it, and it's not, I get a bit discouraged.  But then I constantly remind myself that God's in control, there's a reason he hasn't arrived yet.  In the meantime, I  am focusing on enjoying my 2 girls... 

patience

The past week or so I've been getting impatient with "still" being pregnant.  I know, I know, baby is still 'cooking'... But I've been miserable and have had pre labor symptoms for over a week.  So each new day I wake up thinking, "this could be it"... The uncertainty and waiting is awful.  I've been doing a lot of walking to see if I could get this show on the road (as of Thurs I was 2 cm dilated).  But nothing.  I was stressing myself out and getting down b/c nothing was happening.  So yesterday I told hubby when he got home I needed something to do to relax.  After dinner we all went for a stroll on the beach.  It was PERFECT.  Just what I needed.  It was a beautiful sunset, the girls had a blast and it was just nice to not be thinking about contractions and birth and such...

The best part of our night was big sis witnessed a seagull capturing a fish.  She ran to it and the bird flew away leaving his dinner... We managed to get the fish back in the water (thanks to my empty icee cup) and all big sis talks about is how she saved a fish. lol

It was a relaxing evening.  I've spent time in prayer, just asking God for patience.  I know baby boy will come in God's timing.  I'm just so excited to hold him! :)  As of today I am 38.3 weeks pregnant. We will see what happens...  I keep reminding myself that God's in control and baby boy's birth is in HIS hands!

38 weeks (tomorrow)

Hard to believe that as of tomorrow we "officially" have 2 weeks till we meet our son.  I saw my doctor yesterday for my weekly check up.  I was partially shocked, but kinda had a feeling that I was, but my doctor checked me and I am 2 cm dilated.  Now I know it's not much, but I've never had labor before, and this week I've definitely felt signs of labor.  My doctor has high hopes baby will come soon, so we shall see :)  I'm hoping that he'll at least make his debut by sometime next week.  I REALLY want my doctor to deliver him, and he is out of town the week I'm actually due.  

We are ready for little man's arrival!  House is clean, nursery is ready, bags are packed, batteries are charged, everyone is excited!  Yesterday we finally took his car seat out of the box and put it in the van.  Big sis has the back row to herself.  She never complained, which surprised me.  I feel like she's so far from me now :(  Seems weird to see a car with 3 car seats. lol