The Douglas House

halloween night and feeding the geese

2013-11-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

boo to you.

just kidding. i totally forgot what was going on there, but nonetheless, they were having fun with their papa c...

and mama c. too.

halloween night is so much fun! emma rocked her pebbles outfit...

and carson rocked his too.

bamm. bamm!

our attempt at a family photo. it gets harder with each additional child...

our out takes were funniest!

here's emma with her mini me.

love him.

it was so exciting to have our c's with us for this fun holiday!

aunt lindy joined in on our craziness too.

carson was waiting for the witches to fly, because according to the five little pumpkins, they should've been flying!

and per the request of miss emma…we carved pumpkins. tinker bell for miss e….

and a train for mr. c...

the weather was beautiful that weekend, so we fed our local canadian geese.

and played at the park. that's one of their most favorite things.

little landon is oh so sweet...

he gets so much love. whoever said that the third child gets neglected is wrong. oh so wrong :)

a week of halloween festivities...

2013-10-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

there's been plenty going on around here this week...crafts at school…

pumpkin painting...

ghost making...

baby loving...

cookie decorating...

applause please :) they were all dressed the same....

for five minutes.

there's been some bubble bath taking...

and, we ended the week with two fun treats. first up was our neighborhood halloween party...

phew. we made it there with all. five. of. us. dressed.

i just love my baby dino :)

we had chili, cornbread, chips, and salsa. emma loves her cornbread!

and then i tried for a pic of just my three...

we ran home. i nursed the baby and then we headed to carson's preschool's trunk or treat...

halloween is so much fun for the little ones :)

and later that week, we got together with the kids on our street for another halloween party...

it was so much fun and there were so many scary treats to share :)

Meet the Flintstones...

2013-10-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

Wilma, Fred, Pebbles, Bamm Bamm, and Baby Dino are...

Wishing you a Yabadabadoo Halloween!

Lots of love...straight from the stone ages :)

milestones, picnics, smiles, boundaries, and a little celebration

2013-10-24T12:35:00.000-05:00

i bet you're thinking that the boundaries refers to one of my sweet littles. well, you're wrong...ha! the boundaries are for me. i'm the one that needs them.

without them, i don't get a whole lot done. you might be wondering what exactly i'm talking about. let's go with everything. it applies to all of it.

let's take laundry. i let it pile up. not intentionally, but it happens. and with five of us, it turns into a holy terror. so, i made a rule. laundry on mondays...all put away by sunday. now, it gets done. crazy, but true.

now for the blog. i let it go too. and i don't want to. i like it here. and i like watching my kids grow up.

so, here's my new rule...blogging every thursday...to recap the week. let's see if it sticks.

it's thursday, and i'm here, so i guess that's step one :)

rewind to last weekend....

we all got together to celebrate my sweet sister ashley and her upcoming wedding to cameron. we would have probably named landon...cameron, if it wouldn't have been for the ring and the date :)

it was a rare occasion for all of us to be together and we all enjoyed our day. none of us wanted to leave, but we had a little one with us and quite a drive home :)

i actually have some more pics to share...i got a new camera!! cue the hallelujah chorus. my sweet hubby bought it for me. i'm thinking he figured...buy her the camera or check her into the looney bin...seriously.

i swear, a camera is a part of my soul, and i just can't live without one...especially with a new baby in the house.

we all love him.

sweet emma was my first shoot. i owed her a seven year birthday shoot...last month, but i had a baby :) it tends to throw things a bit off kilter. so, here we are...you can see some of the pics here.

next up was my little nugget...

he was due for his one month pics...sigh. they grow too quickly.

he's still officially one month, but more like 1.8 months :) hmmm...maybe i need a rule for that too.

he's so sweet and snuggly...

he's our little bucket of love.

he was quite cooperative too...

love the age where they don't talk back...

and you don't have to bribe them with candy :) i think this one's my fave...

i took these two to the park last night for a picnic. rob was out of town, so i didn't cook :) the train came, which is the. most. exciting. thing. ever. for my little boy blue. it made his night.

it's the little things that make little ones happy. love that.

little things like raspberries. they are his favorite. he puts them on his fingers like claws. he's the only little dude in the whole world that can turn the word claws into a 14 syllable word. seriously.

i shot this one and loved it...

then i shot this one and loved it even more. baby smiles are the best.

seven

2013-10-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

you are...

and you are a beautiful little girl inside and out.

you are independent and wonderful helper to our family...

you have a vivid imagination and love all things magical...especially fairies and reindeer.

and you are always happy. always.

these past seven years have gone by faster than i can even process, but you've grown into the sweetest little first grader that i could've ever imagined.

you enjoy things...like we all should. you're never in a hurry, which i'll admit makes me crazy.

but, sometimes i think that God gave you to me for that reason. i'm not the best at stopping to smell the roses or always jumping in the puddles, but you are teaching me. i am learning.

you just started taking tumbling and you love it. you are in girl scouts this year too. i figured that was a good match for my little nature girl :)

you are a wonderful blessing to our family and we love you to pieces. my birthday wish for you is a life filled with happiness, love, and magic :) if you look close enough, there's a little magic in everything...

here & there

2013-10-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

rob took the kids there for the weekend...

while landon and i stayed here...

my camera was giving me fits...

so then, i finally threw in the towel and enjoyed my nice. quiet. weekend. it was so quiet. did you hear me? so incredibly quiet. my brain had time to think and recharge. it was wonderful.

i didn't get done what i thought i could...i think i forgot just how much time it takes to nurse a baby. it's a full time job folks. i added up the hours myself. so, we nursed and snuggled and i did get a few things checked off of my list...

the kids played hard...

so hard that this is them napping...

and they swam...in their clothes and ate s'mores and did all of the things that you're supposed to do when you go camping. and grand-dad met them, so rob had an extra set of hands. thank goodness for that.

they ate lots of yummy stuff...

and one night, a raccoon ran off with the entire bag of oreos. emma told me the story when they got home. she said, "he took the. whole. bag, mom." and i said, "really?" and she said, "yes, he took the whole bag....double stuffed."

all i've got...

2013-10-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

no camera equals no photos folks. so if that's what you're looking for, then maybe y'all should consider following me on instagram...

you might have better luck there :))) rob was in the attic digging for camping gear, so that's how we managed to get a bit of our fall decor put up around the house. emma and carson enjoyed decorating our little tree...

and since my photos are lacking, i thought i'd show y'all this one. this is how he sleeps...my little nugget :) his face is red only because of the flash, not because he's in a straight jacket....i promise. hopefully, we'll have something reliable in the camera department soon.

dear little landon,

2013-09-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

oh my goodness, we can't believe that you're a month old...already.

the days that we spend with you go by entirely too fast.

you've got a big sister who loves you to pieces...

and is always willing to help out.

and you've got a big brother who can't wait to play dump trucks with you. he's already decided which one you can have, and it just so happens to be the yellow one. you should probably try to remember that.

you were our grand finale baby, which is so bittersweet. you made our family complete, and our house is full of love for you...

your birth announcements have been mailed...

and although we both had a bit of a rough entry, it's been wonderful getting to know you. you are so sweet. you sleep pretty well. and for the most part, i think we've all adjusted.

you are the biggest baby that i've ever had, so i guess my milk is doing its job. i think you are averaging about one five hour stretch every night. so, if i nurse you at 9, you are up again around 2, and then again at 5. you aren't the best nurser. i have to work really hard to keep you eating, but you are definitely getting in the calories.

your reflux is pretty much under control. you like to be held upright, and both your crib and changing table are elevated. you sleep in your crib...swaddled, of course. our house sleeps better and safer when you are in your room.

you don't cry a lot. but, you are the loudest breather that i have ever met :) you breathe a little quicker when you want something...like a feeding.

on your one month birthday, you smiled at me. and the day before that, you smiled and laughed at your big sister. it made her day.

you've had a couple of bottles. you don't seem to mind them. it would help if your momma had some milk in the freezer, but she hasn't had time to pump.

you enjoy your baths now.

and you've gotten a lot chunkier...

we've moved on to size 1 diapers. and i think that size 2's are in our near future.

your 0-3 clothes are getting quite snug...sniff, sniff.

and you're already wearing some 3-6.

we think you are going to be a big boy.

i've got three babies now. some days, i still don't believe it.

all three of you are a blessing to our family...

and i love being your momma...

welcome to our family little buddy. you are in for a fun ride...

here's your official one month photo...a bit late. can't take them without a camera :) here you are, our bucket of love, still one month old, but officially, you're 7 weeks :)

WANTED...extra set of hands and new camera :)

2013-09-26T13:07:00.000-05:00

we had a busy day today....yikes. i needed an extra set of hands...for sure. it was emma's 7 year check up and flu shots for all. i nursed landon in the preschool parking lot, picked carson up from school and knocked him straight to the ground when i opened my car door. he was crying. i slammed him in the head, on accident mind you. landon was crying too. someone came out from the preschool to hold landon for me while i consoled carson. all. star. mom. next up, pick emma up early from school....

while i had the extra set of hands, i went ahead and called the school, so that the little miss would be ready. i pull up, pop out of the car, and low and behold, she's not there. she went back to the class, because i wasn't there. thank you miss emma. thank you. let's call for you...again. and be late for our appointment...the one that i worked so hard to finagle all day on how to get everyone there happy and fed...again.

needless to say, she got a tiny lecture about how to wait for me in the office if i call for her. and, we were off for our round at the pedi's office.

it's pretty easy to blog this week...i. have. no. photos.

my camera is not working, at least most of the time. hooray.

we're still enjoying these sweet flowers from Nana and Pawpaw to baby landon...

and we are very grateful for all of our friends and neighbors who have brought us dinner. if you want to know what to do for a new momma...bring her dinner :) it's the best gift ever. if it weren't for the meals, we would be eating nothing folks. nothing. at. all.

our little dude is four weeks old today. it has flown by and we love him to pieces. but, before i get too sad, i'm going to save that for his one month post :)

thirty toes and three weeks old...

2013-09-19T12:55:00.000-05:00

dressing your kids alike and getting their photo should be considered an olympic event...

our sleeping has gotten worse, not better. after a trip to the pedi, we discovered that it's reflux, so we're hoping the meds help this sweet baby...

reflux...that would explain why he cries when i lay him down flat :( he would much prefer to be held upright. so, we've got big plans to tilt the crib and the changing table :) otherwise, he is a super happy baby.

we had some visitors last weekend. rob's mom and step dad got to meet baby landon :) they were ever so gracious and held off on their visit for a couple of weeks, so that i could recover a bit.

we enjoyed our normal weekend of football and snuggles...

i've got my sweet baby on some sort of a schedule...feedings every three hours until 10 pm. then i cross my fingers and hope for the best. usually, it's a 1 or 2 am feed, followed by one more. he's not consistent yet...i've gotten a few four hour stretches from him this week, so after nursing, i get three hours of sleep in a row :) unfortunately, i'm a momma that needs sleep...

rob was off this week...

i'm in sheer panic of being along next week, but i know i'll figure it out.

<3 p="" these="" together...="" two="">

he's learning to enjoy his bath...

and we're learning how to get out of the house...

one morning was a trip to the park...

park days with dad are always a treat...

birthdays & blessings

2013-09-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

sweet little landon turned two weeks old today. let me try to beat my sleep deprivation and recap the week...

i'll have to say that despite needing some consecutive hours of sleep, it is wonderful having a baby in the house. there's always someone to snuggle with...

aunt ash surprised us last weekend and came to meet her newest nephew....

and mama c. is still with us....thank heavens! i'm still on pain meds and can't drive, so she's been driving ms. daisy :)

both emma and carson are doing wonderful with mr. landon. both of them have taken to having a new baby and a recovering momma much better than anticipated. they love him to pieces...sometimes even a little too much :)

the paci is helping him enjoy his baths a little more, and oh how i love his sweet baby hands...

we love clean babies too :)

and we are very blessed...

and thoughts on who he looks like?

this morning rolled around, and let me just tell you, we were a hot mess. there were three adults in the house, and let's just say you wouldn't have known it...ha! it was sweet emma's 7th birthday. we had plans to make pancakes, but rob and i bailed on those at about midnight the night before. we. were. so. tired. plan b was donuts. but...we overslept, so we woke up to mama c. busting out a round of pancakes with. no. time. to spare.

by the time she had gotten home from school, we were a bit more together. emma picked chick-fil-a for dinner, which wasn't my choice, but it was fast and close. both necessities for a new nursing momma. my mom kept little landon...for me, cfa is a bit too germy for a two week old :)

we made some sort of carb loaded brownie dessert...

and sang to my sweet baby girl...

it seems like just yesterday that she was two weeks old...

she made her very special wish...

and opened her gift. it was a big sister necklace :)

all in all it was a good day. by the end of it, we were all exhausted. although, i think i woke up that way. our day was spent at my two week check up, followed by landon's two week check up (check the side bar...he is a BIG boy!!), and then we ended the afternoon back at the hospital for landon's pku. not fun, but glad to have it all behind us :)

and very grateful to be a healthy family of five...some days, i look in the rear view mirror of my car, see three bobbing heads, and am not quite sure how all of this happened. we are happy. healthy. complete. blessesd, and grateful for each of our days that keep passing us by ever so quickly.

happy two weeks little landon. we love you more than you'll ever know.

our week of many firsts...

2013-09-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

my sweet dad was able to join us for our first weekend home...

if you don't know by now, i call emma, "peaches." and i call carson, "cream."

we talked about what we would call the baby....

and came up with, "sprinkles." so here i am with my sweet trio...peaches, cream, and sprinkles :)

miss emma had labor day off, and i was so glad...

most of our days looked just like this...

happy, but exhausted :)

here's landon's first bath...

thank heaven for my mom. she's a lifesaver.

pretty. i call him that too :)

it was rob's first week back at work since landon was born, but he still managed to fit in his snuggle time...

and it was bro's first day of school...

i could eat him. backpack and all.

rob drove the three of us for his very first day. mama c. stayed home with little landon.

and then there was landon's first family bath...

geez. i think we could use a few more participants.

it's not everyday that you get a bath from your fairy princess brother...

and it's certainly not everyday when you have eight hands attempting to get you clean. as if he was dirty to begin with :)

Announcing our sweet baby ::part two::

2013-08-31T09:47:00.000-05:00

our stay in the hospital was a little longer this time...thanks to the c-section :) i am usually home in 24 hours, but that definitely wasn't the case this time. i sing praises to all of you c-sections mommas...especially those of you who nurse too. when getting out of bed takes everything you've got, it sure does make it hard to be up and down nursing all. night. long. i made it out of bed 12 hours after surgery and then again the following morning, which is when i slowly managed to get these shots...

when i woke up, i was so glad that my sweet baby had joined our little world and was here...safe and sound.

after the day he was born, we spent an additional two days in the hospital. they brought us our meals and we loved on our baby...

i managed to shower that day, which took a whole lot of help from rob and a whole lot of time. just keeping it real, please know that some tears were shed. the pain was terrible. and i felt like i had been cut in two. however, i soon learned that after a c-section, you can neither cry nor laugh. or cough. or really anything else...ha! so, i learned to keep my tears inside.

mama c. brought emma and carson for another visit on day two...there aren't any photos of mr. carson for this one. he spent his time stuffing his face with petit fours :) that night, we had more visitors too...aunt char, uncle steve, nic, christa, and collins. there are no photos to show for that either...let's just say i was heavily drugged :)

on day three, i managed to shower again. huge accomplishment, folks, huge. my aunt margaret stopped by early that day and we began the discharge process.

i love his mouth...

and just like that. i went in like this...

and left like that...

and we were on our way home....

and to be honest, i was scared. to. death. i had no idea how i would get into my very own bed and i really wanted to take the hospital bed with me....

Announcing our sweet baby...

2013-08-29T11:37:00.000-05:00

here's my birth story of sweet baby number three...

we headed to the hospital on the night of the 28th for an induction. the original plan was to arrive in the afternoon at 2, then it moved to 5, and then to 7 pm. my doctor was very busy that day :) so, here we are leaving our house with the nervous jitters. my sweet mom had my two little ones. thank heavens for her...

we checked right in and this became our new home...

and this was my room...

and our sweet baby would be put in here...we were so excited to find out boy or girl!

so, i checked in at 7 pm. i changed into my gown and the nurse started with the iv. she got it on the very first try, which is the biggest. deal. ever. you know me, and i did threaten first :) the nurse promised me she wouldn't try unless she thought she would be successful. she was right, so then i decided she deserved a raise...ha! after that, they drew my blood, and then my doctor came in around 7:30 for the cervical ripening. that was a piece of cake too. she confirmed that i was still just 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced...shucks, but truthfully, this was all just going too well.

here i am around 9 pm with my special noodle necklace for good luck. miss emma made me all sorts of things before heading to the hospital...she's such a thoughtful little one :)

rob and i took a walk around the hospital from about 9:10 to 9:40 and then we settled in.

this was me around 10 pm. after midnight, for about 30 minutes, we went for another walk, and then tried to get some rest. morning finally came. it was a long, sleepless night, and at 5:03 am, they started my pitocin at 6 mL/hour.

getting anxious, we took another half hour stroll around the hospital at around 5:30. i had had mild contractions all night, but the pitocin really kicked things into gear. when we came back to our room at 6, the anethesiologist was there to give me my epidural. this is me after the epidural at about 7:30 am...feeling nothing. at. all. it actually worked this time. things were looking up :)

we were pretty certain that this would be our sweet baby's birthday, and after forgetting to buy the paper the last two times, i guess the third time's the charm, and we got it right for this one :)

at 8 am, the cervical ripening agent was removed, and it pretty much went all down hill from there. the nurse checked me, and i could tell by the look on her face and the dead silence that something was terribly wrong. her body froze and she wouldn't move. at. all. i kept asking her, "how many centimeters am i?" "what's wrong" "please tell me something." and after what seemed like an eternity, she told us that she felt "parts" and for one of us to hit the panic button on the side of the bed.

i had visions of my sweet baby torn into "parts." were the limbs detached? was the baby okay? were we all going to all make it out healthy? i had a billion thoughts spinning through my head. after all, that's what she said.... "parts." such a simple word that can have such great meaning.

within seconds, my room was filled with doctors and nurses. another nurse checked me and confirmed that the baby had turned....transverse to be exact. if you looked at me from the front, the baby's head was on my right, and its legs were on my left. i was in tears. i pleaded for them to turn the baby, but i was already 5-7 cm dilated, so that was not an option.

my doctor was on her way. they brought in an ultrasound machine to confirm the baby's position, and yes, the baby had turned....during labor. rob and i were worried, upset, crying, and everything in between. any of my long time friends who know me well know that a c-section was always one of my greatest childbirth fears. i had had two babies naturally and couldn't believe my ears, but it was out of my control.

they began prepping me for surgery, and i began to pray...

at 8:55 am on August 29th....

our little bundle was brought into our world. it wasn't how we planned, but nonetheless, our baby was here...

and it was a BOY!

i got my first glimpse...love.

and off he went...

he weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long.

and was pink :)

still in the OR, i got to hold my sweet baby...between the drugs and my completely horizontal position, i was afraid that i would drop him, so i just held him a little tighter.

at my two week check up, my doctor clarified to me what the nurse meant by "parts." it's "fetal parts" to be exact, which is medical terminology for the position of the baby. they are either head down, breech, or fetal parts. i'm pretty sure that a meeting was held to inform the nurses that "parts" isn't the best choice of words for a momma in labor.

obviously my vision of "parts" was completely wrong. he was perfect in every way.

and we were so blessed that day.

i brought this sweet little bunting from home to decorate our baby's hospital crib...

and then, i was wheeled off to recovery where i found my mom...

and carson. he got to meet his teeny tiny brother.

and rob got to meet his newest son...

after that, they moved me to my postpartum room, which is where we stayed for the rest of our visit.

Please meet...
Landon Robert Douglas
Born on August 29, 2013
At 8:55 a.m.
Weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces
Measuring 21.75 inches long

in our room, carson got to hold him for the first time...

and was so proud.

and if i'm being honest, i don't remember a whole lot from that day...

except that we were blessed with a sweet baby boy.

i love his fuzzies :)

aunt lindy came to meet him.

as did grand-dad...

and nana...

i am certain i still didn't believe what had occurred that day, but i was so grateful to have made it to the other side...healthy momma & baby.

our first photo with landon...

that afternoon, emma got to meet her new little brother too...

and i had picked up a cookie cake to celebrate...

they were in love.

it was such an amazing day...

just like that, we were a family of five...

landon got a bath that evening, and then we turned in for the night. we were exhausted. and traumatized. and blessed. very. blessed.

we attempted to send out our mass text to announce his arrival. i downloaded a mass text app the week before delivery, saved my distribution list, and was ready to go. ha! that plan failed too, so i went on with my rest and loving on my new baby :)

stay tuned, i have lots to share, but am short on time...hugs!

::Growing Baby #3:: Chapter 9

2013-08-28T12:01:00.000-05:00

i've almost reached the end. i'm 39 weeks and 3 days today, and i'm here to update y'all.

rob took this one of me on emma's first day of school...39 weeks and 1 day.

and then i took this one. i feel giant :) monday's appointment went good. my blood pressure was high. 160/90 the first time and 140/88 the second. we had sort of penciled in an induction for tonight, but after my appointment on monday, my doctor let me know that with my elevated blood pressure, i would have been induced regardless. so, i guess that means that we made a good decision. she even offered the induce me sooner, but i didn't bite :) i'm still just 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced...i was hoping for more, but you get what you get.

so, here we are. we go in tonight at 7 pm for "cervical ripening" and then of course pitocin. my doctor won't tell me when the pitocin will start...she said that often times the cervical ripening causes contractions on its own, so we will just wait and see. i won't get the pitocin until i need it :)

so, we are hoping for a baby sometime tomorrow, but i. have. no. clue. when. prayers please for an easy and safe labor and delivery and most importantly, a healthy baby :) last time, i forgot to pray for pain management, so add that to your list too. my epidural never took with carson...yikes! i'm feeling the exact same way that i felt here. nervous. anxious. scared. excited. and all things in between. i think my anxiety has increased with each baby, so i'm ready for this all to be over with. we appreciate all of your prayers and support and i'm hoping that the next photo on here is one of a sweet new baby-boy or girl..we will be thrilled!

my iron on transfers arrived on monday...just in the knick of time....

so i made these...love it. i wonder which onesie we will get to use?

and then my two nuggets just had to try them on. they are so excited! and are both 100% convinced it's a boy. time will tell. time will tell. stay tuned :) i hope to be back very soon.

first day of first grade...

2013-08-28T06:51:00.001-05:00

i can't believe my baby girl starting first grade today...

i just love her to pieces.

she's sweet and helpful and everything in between.

and her brother loves her to pieces too.

he wasn't impressed. at. all. that she would be gone all day.

emma held her daddy's hand the whole way in :)

and we made it through drop off with no tears from any of us :)

when three o'clock came, bro waited anxiously for her from the front porch.

and then the bus came, and she got off, and she was happy! i felt super blessed to have such a happy little school girl :) wishing her and all of the other little school children the best year :)

::Growing Baby #3:: Chapter 8 ::Nursery Reveal::

2013-08-25T10:06:00.000-05:00

i promised y'all photos of the nursery, and well, considering we are headed to the hospital tomorrow, i figured i better go ahead and post them. here is the wreath that my mom made for the door...

i went with sort of a woodland animal theme, and my sweet emma spotted these little animals at Michaels and had to have them for the new baby...

i hung a cross that my aunt charlotte gave me as a housewarming gift last year...

and, here's a peek inside...

the walls are palladium blue by benjamin moore. they actually appear a little more aqua in person, which is what i was going for....

inside the crib, i kept pretty simple. the quilt was mine when i was a baby :)

i had the bird mobile from carson's baby room. he gladly gave it up for the new baby, with the promise of an airplane hanging from his ceiling instead...one day :) i made the buntings and plan to make an additional bunting with the baby's name on it. if it's a girl, i want to use some lace, and if it's a boy, i think i'll go with burlap.

the crib was our original crib, but completely beat up by four moves, so i painted it. i think it was color matched at benjamin moore to real red from sherwin williams.

next to the bed is a dresser i found in someone's trash pile. just go ahead and call me a dumpster diver... :)

the shelves above the dresser are photo ledges from ikea, and the books were all emma and carson's. they agreed to share...

the owl bookend was from rob's grandmother and papa's house. they've both passed away in the past year. emma found the little yellow bird at tj maxx for three bucks. yellow is her favorite color, so she picked him out too. the bunny was made by emma & carson at build a bear for the new baby, and mortimer the frog was mine...love him.

this little bunny was mine...i added some gingham ribbon.

and the blocks. one of our favorite toys in the house. they have been loved by two and will be loved again.

the curtain rod was in emma's old room. i painted it the same red as the crib. the curtains are 6X9 foot drop cloths from home depot. they were twelve bucks each. i have black out panels behind the curtains...those are from walmart.com. the rocking chair was a hand me down just before emma was born. it's still here :)

to the right of the nursing station is the changing table. the dresser is ikea. our changing table bit the dust after carson, so we got rid of it. we bought this instead...something that can be used again :)

carson did the abstract painting on the top left. i drew off the family of birds, and miss emma did the rest. each bird represents one of us, she even picked our favorite colors for each of them. the photo with the bird fabric will eventually be replaced with a photo of the new baby, and the rest, i either had or repurposed.

i think that's about it...all we need now is a sweet baby! i'm 39 weeks today and feeling very anxious!

friday night with just the four of us...

2013-08-23T10:43:00.000-05:00

i'm thinking this might be our last friday night as a family of four...bittersweet. we had lots of plans for the evening, which started with meet the teacher....

emma's teacher was so sweet! we are looking forward to an awesome year!! we had a little time, so we made a pit stop at our local snow cone stand...

emma got wild thing, i think because it's the name of one of our favorite books...

and see?

carson got blueberry and just happened to have on a blue shirt...priceless for a stain treating momma.

after snow cones, emma performed at the high school football game...

that was so much fun for her. we were so proud!

here she is with one of her favorite friends, who's in her class this year too...yay! we went home to the a/c and pj's...i was worn out :)

::Growing Baby #3:: Chapter 7

2013-08-22T05:37:00.000-05:00

good morning y'all! i hope this finds each of your doing well. it seems that my mornings keep getting earlier and earlier. i just can't sleep, which i anticipated, so why not blog? :)

i had my 38 week appointment on monday, which made me 38 weeks and 1 day along. so, let me see if i can recap it for you....

*let's start with a pic of my giant baby belly...

*they thought i had preeclampsia due to a few high blood pressure readings the week before, but after turning in my labs at the end of last week, i tested negative. you have no idea how relieved i was :)

*mild preeclampsia=bed rest and severe preeclampsia=deliver the baby, neither of which i was ready for or wanting to do, so both rob and i were thrilled with the good news!

*i had a 38 week ultrasound to check on the baby's size. at 20 weeks, this sweet baby measured over the 95th percentile, which was a little scary. okay if i'm really truthful, it. totally. freaked. me out. but, after today's measurements, we are in the 85th percentile, which basically took me out of the "ginormous sauros" category. for any of you who don't have c-sections, you realize that this is very. good. news. ouch!

*here's an ultrasound photo from monday. it's a profile view our sweet baby, showing super full lips :)....

*at this point, the ultrasounds always measure on the high side, not the low, so we are no longer expecting a giant baby....thank goodness! i do think he or she will be a bit bigger than the other two, but i also think that this is just a really long baby. thank you, genetics :) time will tell.

*the ultrasound also revealed that the baby is head down, just like it's supposed to be :)

*my belly looks super squared off in this one...weird! i think it's the baby's back :)

*they got one blood pressure read of 130/90, which is a little high, but after lying down and taking a few deep breaths, they got a normal read too. hello type a personality.

*at my appointment, i was 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced...i'm hopeful that this will change, but i'm not holding my breath :)

*emma and carson are super excited about "baby bom bom!" carson gave the baby that name and i. have. no. idea. why. we've been counting down the days!!!

my sweet mom stayed an extra day... until our appointment monday morning to see if i would be on bed rest. she was in town earlier in the week to help my sister with her classroom and then to celebrate emma's birthday party. even though i ended up not needing her to stay, i was very grateful that she stayed until my doctor's appointment. how on earth people go on bed rest with two kids at home is beyond me.

rob and i both appreciate all of you that have called or texted either one of us through all of this. we have so many neighbors, friends, and family that couldn't have been sweeter :)

happy early 7th baby girl!

2013-08-17T06:54:00.000-05:00

we celebrated miss emma's birthday a bit early this year...

she *picked* a cake from costco, and feeling as i do, i was ever so grateful :)

we added her fairies to the top, and she was thrilled :)

love her.

and love them all :)

she picked fairies for her theme...big surprise :)

and we decided to have it at a local gymnastics place...

when i asked bro to smile, this is what he did...

here's her party room...

but, all they really wanted to do was play...

she was very lucky in that all of her grandparents were there...

and one was being a bit silly :)

carson loves to play with our little neighbor down the street. we all love her...

and we were so glad that some of emma's favorite friends came to help celebrate...

parachute time. #bestpedayever

and the birthday girl found the middle :)

after playing, we had pizza, veggies, cake & ice cream.

i lit her candles...

and she made a wish...

happy birthday memms! we can't believe you are almost 7. oh my goodness how time flies! you've been a blessing to our family and we love you to pieces!

this was the fastest and easiest party i have ever thrown :) emma loved every minute of it, and i was so glad to have it behind us before the baby arrives. i just didn't think a birthday party with a two week old was going to cut it, so here we are, early & done...perfect!

a little more summer fun :)

2013-08-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

we have been enjoying one of our last couple of weeks of summer. well maybe the kids "enjoyed" more than me...38 weeks pregnant in the middle of the summer can be miserable, but i'm hanging in there :) we spent one whole morning at the splash park...

about a week ago, we saw the movie, "chimpanzee." i think this was carson's first attempt at mimicing their table manners...

here's his second attempt. chimps don't have the best table manners, so friends, this. is. not. good.

after a couple of hours at the splash park, we went next door to the real park...

they had a blast...

i think they both love a park more than anything else.

i got this shot, because i was sitting on the mulch...spent.

and then, they complied, and i got this one too :)

emma had cheer camp this week too...

and show offs, were friday night :)

mama c. & papa c. happened to be in town early for her party, so they got to watch too, which was a special treat. she did such a great job on stage! we were so proud of her :)

friday was also our ten year anniversary, but it was just an ordinary day, and i think we were both okay with that. hopefully, we can celebrate with dinner this weekend, but for now, i am just grateful for my amazing hubby and all that he is. the past 10 have been great and i'm sure that the next 10 will be even better.

also, don't forget to vote, if you haven't already :) i'll be shutting down the link soon...very soon :) here's the link...

now, if i could just fast forward the next couple of weeks...the end is exhausting in every way imaginable. hugs to you all...

jenn

We are Team Green, so please vote!

2013-08-13T08:32:00.002-05:00

Most of you know by now that for baby number three, we are Team Green :) Meaning, we don't know the gender and are anxiously awaiting the big news! We would love for you to participate! If you're family, a friend, or an acquaintance, please vote!!! Just click the box below and enter your best guess :) I would love to see all of your guesses :)

The poll will be locked soon, so be sure to get your vote in while you still can!

::Growing Baby #3:: Chapter 6

2013-08-12T08:24:00.001-05:00

i made it to 37 weeks, which is considered full-term, so i guess this little monkey could come any day now! although, i've never gone into labor before, so i'm not banking on it. i'm hanging in there.

this pregnancy has been the. hardest. for. sure. oh my goodness. this week i've been dealing with sciatic nerve pain, nose bleeds almost every morning, heartburn, indigestion, third trimester nausea (that was a new one for me. and after already having it for 20 weeks, i was not at all impressed when it came knocking on my door...again) and a whole host of other issues. all of my issues are within the normal range, but still...geez! i'm super uncomfortable and for whatever reason, when this baby kicks, it hurts, and i mean really hurts. i had a bladder infection a few weeks ago, but for the last couple of weeks, i've just been trying to keep up with my two kiddos in this heat. some days are more challenging than others.

i start my weekly obgyn appointments this week, so i'll have weekly updates from my doctor. the nursery is done. i hope to post pics soon. we installed the car seat this weekend, and no, i don't have a belly pic to share. i promise i'll get a 38 and 39...i'm giant :)

xxoxo, jenn

summer lately...

2013-08-05T15:05:00.000-05:00

some mornings, we ride the jeep. i do my best to keep up, but my walking probably looks like the pregnant waddle by now...

we usually break at the park :)

one afternoon was a play date with friends...complete with homemade peach ice cream and cookies...so fun!

we have tinker bell and peter pan roaming the house quite often...

and sometimes, we bake cookies :)

we took some to our sweet neighbors...

trains are still at the top of bro's faves...

and a morning of gymnastics is fun for all three of us.

they run their energy off and i get air conditioning...priceless :)

here we are on our way to the mall...

and here's my sweet memms who lost her front tooth this week. she's growing up too fast.

i couldn't stop taking pics of bro. they are so sweet when they sleep...

we took the kids to build a bear. bro picked a bunny...

and emma picked a pony...

and then, they picked one for the baby :)

each animal got a heart, a name, a bath, and a birth certificate.

we took emma here, just before carson was born and did the same thing. they've both enjoyed building sweet animals for our babies on the way :)

safety town was on our summer list...

we had a fun morning learning about fire safety and playing dress-up...

so funny!

i think their favorite was driving the big truck...

carson loved that...

and the lights!

safety town marked 36 weeks and 1 day for me, so we are getting closer! i'll update on our sweet baby number 3 soon! hugs to you all!!

::Fun at Medieval Times::

2013-07-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

Pawpaw and Nana treated us to an evening at Medieval Times...

Emma was super impressed with the castle...

And Carson was super impressed with his sword...

We were all excited about the show with all of the horses and didn't quite know what to expect :)

Dinner was so fun! You eat with your hands, medieval style, and the horses, knights, and jousting were so fun for the kids to watch. We had such a fun evening with Pawpaw and Nana!