Kipper Family Blog

6 weeks

2012-01-30T00:21:00.000-08:00

My little bean burrito is 6 weeks old today. Not sure why I call her that, possibly because she is always swaddled and farts a lot... or maybe I just like burritos.

I stole this idea from Pinterest, except on Pinterest they used a plain white calendar, I only had a Seattle photo calendar, but I think it will suffice (let's be real here: I'm too cheap to buy another calendar). I'm going to take her pic with this calendar every month of the year. I feel like this is really cheesy, but cheesy in a fun sorta way.

I'm not really loving this photo, normally I would toss it (lack of composition, crappy light, etc.) BUT this was the first smile I captured on camera, so it must be shared.

I know that just showing one of these photos would suffice, but again, since I'm the mom (oh God, I am that mom), I feel like *every single photo* of this kid has to be posted. Going through these photos I was like "oh, that pic is with her left arm in the air!! That's even better than the exact same one with her right arm in the air!" and then I was like "ohhh that one looks like she is going to kick my ass, and that one looks like she is really bored with me! And the next one she looks like Joey from Friends, when he says "whoah"!:. She is hilarious. People are going to die over these pictures! (insert sarcasm here)
I have a problem.

January cell phone dump

2012-01-28T00:45:00.000-08:00

I feel like I should be embarrassed of the fact that not only do I take nine-hundred bajillion photos with my good camera, but I take just as many (no about 5 times more, because the first 4 phone shots always suck) with my cell phone.

If there was a Hoarders photo addition, I'm pretty sure Mike would nominate me.

The above photos were actually taken in December, but I thought the chalk drawings and Scarlett's precious 4 day old face was too cute not to share.

I whipped out my camera on our New Years date because I thought Mike looked so handsome that night. Isn't he gorgeous?

The next day I posted this status on Facebook "Last night Mike was rocking Scarlett and confided to me that he doesn't really love the newborn stage "all they do is sleep, eat, poop and cry" he said "what's fun about that?" I picked her up and waved her arm as if she was talking to him, and said "daddy look at me, wheee I'm the coolest baby ever, how could you not love this stage!?!" and as if on cue, she projectile vomited all over him. LOL."

January 1st: This one isn't a cell phone pic, but sheesh, Scarlett already hates the camera. Sigh.

January 3rd: Also not taken with my cell phone (duh), but this is pretty much my standard at midnight. Jiggling the baby, tired, t-shirt with stains on it. For some reason I felt pretty that night, despite the gross outfit. Scarlett's head looks so small to me. I want to remember this. All of it. Pretty or not.

January 4th: Addie begged me to take her and Scarlett outside, despite the windy, cold 30 degree weather. We lasted about 5 minutes.

(All of the Jan. 4th photos were taken with my DSLR.)

My parents are the best. I only got to see my dad for 3 days. My mom was here for two weeks. I wish they were around the corner. I miss them every single day.

Addie took the photo above of my dad. How cute is that?

January 5th: Snapped a shot of Mt. Ranier while driving home. Such a pretty winter day.

January 6th: A perfect day consists of coffee in bed (Mike makes me coffee everyday, unless he's out of town and 9/10 will bring it to me in bed. ::swoon::) The pic on the right was snapped a few days later when I took Scarlett to our favorite indoor play place for the first time.

My dad took the above photos while he was visiting with the girls. Addie's favorite thing to do is build towers and ride her horsey that she named "forsey".

True story: my dad bought a Porsche Carrera after Portia was born, because he said he needed to have a car that matched his granddaughters name. I joke that he'll have to give it to her one day (or maybe I can convince him to give it to me :P)

and a perfect day ends with dinner out with my family. The next day my dad left and my sister moved away.

January 8th: The photo above and below aren't cell pics. They were taken after the day at the zoo with my mom. The sunset was amazing... but really any sunny day here ends with a perfect sunset. Two years of living here and I still don't take them for granted.

January 10th: Addie asks to feed Scarlett all day long. "Mommy pease can I feed Toilet? Peeeease, just for a couple minutes? Peasee!" Then when I give in, I try to get her back to burp her, but Addie interjects. "No I do it mommy, Toilet okay, I do it." She kills me.

We spent the afternoon of January 10th outside. We found lots of treasures (aka. rocks and leaves).

Above is my post partum body documented over the course of a few weeks. The pic on the left is just 3 days after having Scarlett. I looked 5 months pregnant and had to wear bandages with icepacks shoved in my boobs to help with the engorgement. By 18 days pp I had lost 22 of the 37lbs gained...which is where I still am now. These last 15 pounds will probably be a struggle to get off.

January 11th: (Not a cell pic). Scarlett finally opened her eyes for my camera.

January 11th: The above three photos were taken on the afternoon of 1/11. Addie threw a fit when I tried to put her in the car. As sweet as she is, she's still a cranky toddler. We spent the day walking around the local golf course. Addie made it about 3/4 of a mile on her little bike. Portia had no trouble on her scooter. She has done the whole 3.5 mile loop before, so we actually slowed her down.

January 13th: My mom watched the little girls while Portia and I got our nails done. She really likes the massage chairs. Her mind was blown when I told her the pedis cost $50. Thanks mom for treating us :)!

January 13th: Addie runs out and says "I got my backpack. I put paper and pencils in it. I going to Egypt! YAY!!! I going to Egypt!!!" and runs away screaming "I going to Egypt!!!"... we weren't sure how to break it to her that we were just going to Portland. LOL

January 14th: Scarlett's eyes are a dark blue, I think they will be the same as Addie's. Grey, like Washington. (Pic above not taken with my phone)

January 15th: Mike and his little girls (Portia was on the train to Portland with my mom. We were stuck at home because of the snow.)

January 16th: My baby pic on the left. Scarlett on the right.

My Facebook status update this day said "Scarlett stays up till 2,3 sometimes 4 am (that was last night, fun times! :P) and then sleeps all day, waking up in the early afternoon. She chugs her bottles, burps a lot, barfs a lot, and pees on everything. Come to think of it, she's not much different than a frat boy."

January 17th: My mom calms Scarlett down during her fussy time. I think we were watching Celebrity Wife Swap or some equally dumb show.

This was the day the snow picked up again (it started on the 15th, disappeared on the 16th). Portia didn't have school so we spent the day playing board games and doing crafts.

(PS: I covered her up in Photoshop, because I think she's a little too old for topless shots on the internet! They didn't want to ruin their clothes.)

Left to right: 1) Addie snuck into Scarlett's closet and put on the newborn shirt that we got from the hospital. I told her she looked like a hoochie mama. 2) We wrote our resolutions on the chalkboard in the kitchen. 3) Portia's music list...she is turning into a teenager right before my eyes.

I don't think this needs a caption. <3

January 18th: We got about 8-10 inches of snow this day. We went sledding while my mom watched Scarlett (Mike was out of town all week). We drank hot cocoa, ate soup and sat by the fire. Super fun day!

My Facebook status this day was: "So I'm trying to go out in the snow with the girls, but my winter clothes are limited. My options are A) where jeans that will likely get soaking wet, leave me cranky, miserable and hypothermic or B) wear ski pants from last Christmas that are about 5 sizes too small, don't zip and give me a permanent wedgie.

PS: for those of you in the area, we are walking to the apple orchard to go sledding. I'll be the girl in the blue jacket with a huge wedgie. Try not to laugh."

The girls drew pictures of the three little pigs. Addie asks us to tell her the "two yittle piggy story" every single night. We named the three piggies Portia, Adelaide and Scarlett. After we finish telling the story Addie says "tell me two yittle piggies just one more time, pweeease mommy! Two yittle piggies again!" and sometimes I just can't resist the cuteness.

January 19th: Watching the fire with Scarlett. Cold night. Over 250,000 people without power. We were luckily not one of them.

January 20th: I went outside to shovel my car out of the snow only to find that it was dead.

January 21st: I was trying to take pics of Scarlett, but Addie wanted to get in on the fun. (Above & below not a cell pic).

January 22nd: I pulled out the shirt that my sister gave me when Addie was born. We miss a lot of people in Texas! (See Addie in shirt here.)

I don't think I've shared Addie's new room on my blog, but it is so pink and bright and warm and lovely. I <3 it. (Above and below pics taken with my good camera.)

January 23rd: We decided to go ahead and give Portia our ipod. She is attached to that thing. Oh and the girls have decided that Caesar salad is the best. thing. ever.

I posted the above pics on Facebook with this caption "Portia fed her, Addie burped and rocked her to sleep. I guess I'm not needed, lol"

Finally enjoying a sunny day at the park.

January 24th Addie keeps a picture of Scarlett in her special box from Egypt. She keeps asking me if she can have more of my pictures to put in the box. She carries them around everywhere and begs me to let her take them to preschool. She calls them her cards.

January 25th: The girls are always super duper sweet with each other at bedtime. Hmm, wonder if there is an ulterior motive? ;)

Bathtime fun. Sometimes Scarlett joins in too. We may need a bigger tub...

Scarlett was super cranky that day. She was awake from noon-midnight with just two 30 minute naps... and Mike was out of town. I wanted to cry. The only thing that made her happy was going outside.

On the left: Little toes. On the right: Addie tried to cheer Scarlett up by putting her stuffed animal in her bed.

January 26th: Weekly playdate at the most awesome indoor play place ever. Coffee, sandwiches, little tiny cupcakes, cookies and hours of fun for $8. Brilliant.

Today was a fun day. The morning started with show and tell at Portia's school. Scarlett was the show and tell. Portia got in front of the class and talked all about her new sister. The kids thought it was gross that she changes her diapers. Then it was preschool for Addie, after that we went to the park with our friends, came home to groceries (delivered! more on that in another post), nap/quiet time, then we ended the day with a party at this local play gym. Portia was doing laser tag with her friends for most of the party, while Addie and I played the games. We found a ton of coins in the money machine, so I did the right thing and turned them into the manager. He came over a few minutes later and told me to keep the coins. It was so awesome! Addie and I were able to play games for a full hour with those coins. It was a good lesson in "honesty is the best policy" for Portia (who has been our little klepto in the past).

Well here's hoping February is just as much fun as January... I'm crossing my fingers for less sleepless nights!

Officially obsessed

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

with this kid.

I got this little vintage outfit at the thrift store for $2. I think it is the cutest thing.

This was right after she took a bath and her hair had dried. It looks super light after a bath, almost like a strawberry blonde, then it gets darker as the day goes on (the oil from peoples hands makes her hair darken). I'm starting to think this kid is going to be a blue eyed blondie or maybe even a ginger baby?!? I've always wanted a little red head. I just think it would be so random for Mike & I to produce a non-brunette kid. Then again neither of us have curls and out popped Addie with a head full of ringlets! Crazy how genetics works!

She is as sweet as she looks. She pretty much sleeps the majority of the day, only waking for food and then wakes up around 4pm to hang out for a bit. She tends to get a little fussy in the late evening, but I can almost always calm her down by jiggling her. Sometimes I think she just wants her mama, because nobody else can calm her down at night.

We love her so much. <3

did you know that I have an older daughter too? lol

2012-01-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

One of my friends recently texted me that I dont take enough pics of P. And she was right! Between school, swimming, playdates and the sun setting so early, I never get photos of her :(

But, I did take this one the other day! I took it because she looked so cute sitting there eating her snack after school, but the light was awful (my flash was upstairs, the house was getting dark, so this was only lit by overhead lighting). And honestly it looked so blah on the back of my screen, that I didn't really have any desire to edit it... until I got that text from my friend.

50mm | ISO-640 | f/ 2.2 | 1/100th sec. | auto white balance in camera

As you can see, the straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) shot was pretty awful (and I completely blew out the red channel... see this link for more info). I shoot in RAW so white balance issues are fairly easy to fix, basically I just had to play with the color balance until it looked better in Photoshop and I took out a bit of yellow under the hue/saturation in PS (go to >Image>Adjustments>Color Balance or > Image>Adjustments>Hue Saturation... you can select the actual color you want to work on (like yellow) and change the saturation or hue... probably self explanatory!).

The only other thing I did was increase the exposure a bit, go into curves and pull up on the blacks, so they weren't too black/contrasty and then I added some noise reduction to sorta smooth her skin/reduce noise.

I think I like the black & white the best <3

(I ran a gradiant map, then I played with curves and levels to get the lights/darks where I like them to be.)

C is for cookies

2012-01-23T02:41:00.000-08:00

We made a plate of cookies for our neighbor during the snowstorm. He is an old retired widower who always drops off fruit on our doorstep. He just adores Scarlett and told me that "she will be a movie star with a name like Scarlett Olivia!" (did I mention that he is the sweetest man!?) Well, we are going to have to make him some more cookies, because... umm... these didn't make it out of our kitchen, LOL. Addie ate three, I ate, well, more than that :P. I think my mom snuck a few too. Then Portia and her friends got a hold of them and just like that, they were gone! It's the thought that counts, right?!?

"Hey, take a picture of me!"

"Oh you want her in it too?"

"Nooooo! I will bite her!"

"I just kidding Scarlett! I won't bite you!"

I've been spoiled

2012-01-23T01:46:00.000-08:00

Scarlett is 5 weeks old today and up until yesterday I've been living this fake-not-real-fantasy life [like living in an episode of my favorite reality show the Bachelor], that involves people bringing me food, doing laundry, sending me to get manicures and cleaning my bathrooms (along with a million other things). For the first two weeks of Scarlett's life, Mike was home from work. Then we had 16, yes SIXTEEN! meals delivered to us over the course of three weeks from friends and neighbors. Then, my mom showed up just a few days after Mike went back to work and stayed with us until yesterday. She was AMAZING. She did everything that I wasn't doing. So if I was with the kids, she was cleaning. If I was cleaning, she was with the kids. If I wasn't in the mood to cook, she cooked and I cleaned... some nights she cooked and cleaned. Basically I just had to interact with the girls and be present in their lives. It was perfect.

But, that isn't even all of it. We've had friends and family from Texas, Chicago, Florida and California sending us gifts, checks, homemade items and even restaurant gift cards.... for no reason other than just because they are awesome! I find that incredibly generous, especially considering this is our third child (and same gender to boot!).

I feel spoiled and blessed and beyond lucky to have such amazing friends and family, so many of which are far away and have no incentive (like cuddling my squishy baby!) to send us gifts. The generosity has blown me away. I am so appreciative of it all.

On that note, I've kinda had this epiphany as of late. I feel like I am enjoying so many more moments than I was this time last year, or really ever. It's not even that they are great moments, just little everyday things that I am trying to mentally photograph in my mind. I feel like I am more positive, more optimistic and just generally happier.

In fact, I wasn't planning on writing this post when I sat down to blog. I felt like I needed to write about what a craptastic week this has been, because it really wasn't too great... from my trip to Portland being screwed up by the snow (didn't get to visit my sister), to Mike being gone for a week (the one week we really needed his 4WD car!), to my moms flight being cancelled, to Mike's flight from San Francisco being cancelled, to my car battery dying right when we ran out of food and were snowed in by 10 inches of snow, to Mikes plane being delayed, to my moms plane being delayed, to Mike losing his car keys in Portland and having to rent a car and drive home at 2am, only to find that his keys were in his suitcase all along! when he got home, to my sister getting in a car accident, to the sinus infection that has kept Addie up at night, and (worst of all) to getting some really unsettling news about my father-in-laws health.

By all accounts, the week sucked.

But, sitting down to write this blog, all I could think of was how amazing our life is. How fortunate we are to have such great parents. How awesome it was that Mike was able to see his dad this week. How lucky we are that we didn't lose power, didn't get in an accident, or didn't have a tree fall on our house. How lucky we are that Scarlett isn't colicky. That Addie's cough is gone. That Portia is the most amazing mamas helper. That my mom was able to travel all the way from Cairo. How lucky we are to be a family.

If I can take anything from this week, it's that life is unpredictable and I need to enjoy it while I can.

Oh and give me rain over snow any day! :P Hopefully these are the only snow pics I take this year!

(These pics were taken the first day we had snow, Portia was with my mom on a train to Portland when I took these. We were supposed to follow later in my car, but the roads became too icy, so we stayed home.)

(Portia got home around 4pm the next day and immediately rushed out to play in the snow.)

This was Scarlett on the same day, wearing an outfit my friend Julie gave her that says "Snow Princess".

I only took cell phone pics during the next few real snow days, when we got almost 10 inches of snow on the ground. But, you have to watch this video (taken off youtube, courtesy of Komo news). We are not like Chicago or east coast cities, we get maybe 2-4 inches of snow a year or less. If you've ever been to Seattle, then you know how crazy this is!

whoever coined the term

2012-01-19T01:53:00.000-08:00

"sleep when baby sleeps" didn't have other children. Sleeping during the day is impossible, especially because my kids have been out-of-school for nearly a week due to this Seattle snowmageddon and the only thing "fun" to do is ~~torture~~ take care of their baby sister Scarlett.

Actually, I can't believe I've survived on so little sleep for a whole month. Yep, today was her ONE MONTHDAY!! (just pretend today is still the 18th, okay, lol?)We celebrated by starting the morning with a huge poo (Scarlett, not me), that covered her whole back, hair and thighs. The girls thought it was especially gross when I got some on my finger (finger painting anyone?). Then we spent the afternoon sledding in the snow (well, Scarlett was inside with my mom, have I mentioned how much I love my mom? She leaves in one day. Commence tears and mental breakdown. Sighhhh) We finished the day with a few tantrums (from the 2 year old), projectile vomit all over my back, and a mini bottle of Pinot Grigio that took me 4 hours to finish (but don't worry, I eventually finished that thing!).

I have better pictures from today, but isn't this one awesome? Ha. Mike claims he was a chubby cross-eyed baby. I'd say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with this one! :P

Is it just me, or does it seem like I only have pics of her sleeping? This was the other night. I thought she looked so sweet laying on P.

and a few days ago after I finally got her down. I kiss her little nose about 50 times a day.

I shared this on FB, but I thought it was kinda cool. Comparison of all three girls as newborns (excuse the crap quality):

I sent out Scarlett's birth announcements last week. I think everyone should have gotten one by now, but I have about 30 left over, so if someone wants one, shoot me an email!

The weird thing about these is that I designed the cards BEFORE I gave birth. I stuck fake info and fake pictures in the card template. So, imagine my shock when after giving birth I opened my template to find that I had guessed the birth date right and was only off by 3 ounces on her weight!! Pretty damn good mommy intuition if you ask me :D

FRONT & BACK

and in case you missed this on Facebook , here is Addie taking care of her baby sister, who she so sweetly refers to as "toilet". Poor little Scarlett, you know that nicknames gonna stick. LOL

and now I'm gonna go sleep... 'cause the baby is finally sleeping... [knock on wood]

Day at the zoo

2012-01-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we headed to the zoo with all three girls, my mom and even Mike! We have made it a family resolution to have more fun this year; less projects, less work, more vacations and most importantly more date nights.

My mom has been a HUMUNGOUS help. Can we say Godsend? She does the dishes, the laundry, gives the girls baths, helps with Scarlett, forced Mike and I out on a date (twice!), goes grocery shopping, cooks dinner, sweeps, cleans toys, vaccums, etc. Oh my gosh I am going to miss her so much!

Sleeping through her first trip to the zoo! (Hat made by Just Be Happy on etsy!)

Scared of the peacock (it yapped at her)

So happy that daddy came with us!

This is what Addie does when you say "smile"

Speaking of resolutions. Mine are to run my 3rd half marathon (and hopefully shed these 15lbs of baby chub), go to bed earlier (if Scarlett allows me too :P), keep up with my photos each month instead of getting backlogged (if I don't have time to post them or share them or print them, then I'm taking too many and need to put the camera down) and continue to give my time and energy to people that are genuine, kind and important to me.

And the biggest resolutions are to keep my priorities straight and remind myself to put things into perspective, to look at the big picture when dealing with day to day frustrations and life in general. For example... my sister just moved. She was my ONLY family within a couple thousand miles of us. Most of my family is much further away. I loved having her nearby. :( One night I was getting sad about her moving, so I went to google and I made a map. I marked the location where I live, the one where my sis lives now, the place my other siblings live (Texas) and finally, the place where my parents live (Egypt). Putting it on the map made me realize she is really not far at all... in fact we will see her this week!

Here's the map (with our real locations not shown of course):

What kinds of things do you do to put life into perspective? Is there anything you remind yourself on a daily basis, like a 'mantra' of some sort?

What are your resolutions??

B is for baby

2012-01-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

The before & after just for fun. Shot with 50mm lens - ISO 500 - f/1.6 - 1/200th of a second

I've sat down to blog about 10 times over the last week, typed up a few sentences and then been interrupted by the baby. She has officially passed that sleepy newborn stage and is in the 'I-cry-all-day-long stage'. It's been fun... but having my mom here has been A-MAZING. I am probably going to have a meltdown when she leaves next week.

Hopefully I can get back to blogging regularly, because sheesh, I have about 3 weeks of photos to share + funny stories that must be documented... including one video of Addie ~~torturing~~ taking care of Scarlett... it's on FB if you happen to be my friend over there :D

2 week stats & newborn pics (round #1)

2012-01-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

Scarlett had her two week checkup today. She is a huge chunker, eating about 3 oz every three hours. At her 4 day appointment she weighed 7 pounds 1 oz. Today she weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces. Whoah weight gain! She definitely has her mamas appetite, lol.

( If you were curious where Scarlett falls in our family's birth weights... she is our tiniest. I was 8lbs 6 oz at birth, Mike was 10 lbs at birth, Portia was 8lbs 4 oz at birth and Adelaide was 7lbs 15 oz at birth.)

She is still just 20 inches long and her head is about the same as at birth, 13.5 cm, so she is short and chubby. Her weight/height put her in the 25th percentile for everything. She is still wearing newborn diapers and clothing, though I just got a massive box of size 1 diapers from Amazon. Adios newborn diapers ::tear::

As for newborn pics, well I have a gazillion to edit, but guess what!?! My parents are in town! We haven't seen them in ages (they live in Egypt), so editing has to take a backseat to chilling with my mom and dad.

However, I managed to get to one of each family member last week, so I thought I'd share those now.

First up is me. I really wanted to get this shot before I had Scarlett. Portia took the before and Mike took the after. They are 8 days apart. Not perfect or anything, but good enough for me :)

Okay, so let's keep a tally of who got peed/pooed on. Me = peed on my hand

Next up is Mike + Scarlett. I'd love to get more shots of them together, but oddly enough, it is SO hard to find time to take pics of my own newborn. Between taking care of the other kids, to not having much daylight (it gets dark here at 4:30), and Mike being back at work, the weekend is all we've got... and that's dependent on Scarlett sleeping at the exact moment that the other kids are occupied and my bedroom is heated to a toasty 80 degrees. Oh yeah, add sleep deprivation to the mix, which makes me not want to do anything, much less setup a photo shoot. Anyway, isn't this a sweet pic?

PS: Mike got peed on as well, in fact he was covered in pee for this shot, LOL

I took some pics of the girls on a whim one day, when by some freak chance, the stars aligned for me... the girls were both laying sweetly on my bed (in good moods, no less, score!), Scarlett was sleeping, the light was coming in the window perfectly, the blanket was draped at the end of my bed, the heater was blasting... and I even had some leftover Christmas candy to bribe them with, LOL.

(Luckily they are both obsessed with holding their sister, so this was one of the only photo shoots that I really didn't need the candy... it was a nice bonus though :D)

PS: Portia was covered in pee in this shot and (not that you can tell), but she was DYING laughing. She was such a trooper, laying there with pee all over her for a good 5 minutes.

and since we are keeping score, nope, Addie was NOT covered in pee or poo. In fact, she insisted that Scarlett wear clothes for this shot. She thought the naked thing was weird and kept saying "I see baby naked butt" while I was shooting pics of Portia.

So Scarlett peed on 3/4 of us. But to be fair, she peed in the bath while Addie was in their with her, so I think we can safely say Scarlett has peed on the entire Kipper family. Ha! Fun times. :P

And here are a few of our little peeing chub!

I was quite proud of the above shot, because the SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) version is almost identical to my edit! See below:

That's it for now. More to come soon! :)

A is for Adelaide

2012-01-02T00:44:00.000-08:00

K, I lied in my last post when I said my next post will be newborn pics. I didn't get to any of those tonight. But, I decided to do a 52-week challenge. My friend started this on Facebook and hopefully since its only once a week, I will actually keep up with it. I also think it would be cute to make an alphabet book at the end of the year.

If you want to join go to this FB page and "like" it, then take a pic and post it! :)

Catching up & Christmas Pics

2012-01-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

It's 2012, so I figured it was time for a catchup post. Scarlett is 14 days old! I can no longer say "she was born last Sunday or she is about a week old"... sheesh time is flying, she's practically an old lady already! :P

Before I get into Christmas/the first week, I wanted to share these pics. These were taken on December 17th, less than 24 hrs before she was born. I set my coffee cup on my belly and she kicked it. Then she moved all the way over to the other side to get away from the heat. It made me laugh. I guess it was too hot for her little booty? The third pic I took while buying last minute supplies at Target. You might notice a bunch of bottles in my cart. We made the decision to bottle feed Scarlett, even though I breastfed the other two for about 10 months each. Honestly, my decision wasn't made until we were in the hospital. I was feeling very guilty about it and was nervous to tell the nurses that I didn't have a desire to breastfeed. Initially I didn't want to because of my breast augmentation, but that proved to be a non-deciding factor (engorgement happened the first week and my milk was still able to come in), the main reason was to alleviate some of the feeding responsibility from me. Addie is pretty high maintenance and I hated the thought of sitting there every 2-3 hours for 30 to 45 minutes at a time feeding Scarlett while Addie destroyed the house/was bored/whined/etc. Bottle feeding allows me to be more efficient (she is done in about 15 minutes) and it allows Portia, Mike and even Addie to get in on the feeding. Mike and Portia LOVE sharing the responsibility. It has made them bond with her so much quicker than with Addie, where Mike literally felt like she only liked me, because I was the milk lady.

Anyway, that was our unpopular decision and so far it is going great! One of my friends helped me figure out the whole bottle situation and taught us not to heat the bottles, so night time has been much easier than I imagined. We just fill up sterilized bottles with filtered water and set it by the bed. Then we add formula and give it to her once she wakes up. Super easy and I only have to do one of the night feedings. Hurray for sleep! :)

Okay, let's see where I left off. Oh yeah, the birth. As you probably figured out, we weren't able to get my birth photographer to the hospital in time. I had texted her and contacted her, but it just happened too fast. So, all I have are some lousy cell phone shots (the battery in my real camera was dead, of all days for it to die!).

The girls meeting their little sis!
This was about 5am the morning after she was born. I thought Mike looked so sweet cuddling her in the dark.
Gorgeous view from our room:

We were at the hospital 28 hours, that includes labor/delivery and recovery. Probably the shortest hospital stay ever, but, because I did not labor at the hospital we were in and out of there super fast. In hindsight, maybe we should have stayed an extra day just to relax with Scarlett, before jumping into real life.

because real life came so fast...

The first week home was a whirlwind. I did not sit/relax or do anything that a new mom who is recovering from labor should be doing (which is to stare lovingly at your baby). In fact, I'm pretty sure my own mom will be pissed to find out that just two days after giving birth I was cleaning and lifting, running up and down stairs with laundry, and hosting guests. I guess the positive thing is that I felt good enough to do all that stuff, but the negative is that I don't feel like I ever really got to soak it all up and recover. I don't feel like I got doted on or pampered or anything. It was like, "Hey you popped out a kid, time to resume normal hectic/crazy life! Tough shit if you feel achy and tired and sore! Put on your makeup and happy face and suck it up! PS: Don't forget to buy carrots for the reindeer and make cookies for Santa!"

I took all three girls on a walk to the park by myself on Christmas Eve. Mike had to get stuff set up for Santa and the weather was too pretty not to take advantage of. I'll admit, I was pretty tired after we got home.

I remember the first weeks with Portia being a mix of sleep/lay around/sleep/stare at baby/feed baby/sleep/feed baby etc. I really soaked up her newborn-ey goodness. I LOVED those 6 weeks of maternity leave with her. It was the most relaxing time of that whole year (though to be fair, that year mostly sucked, LOL).

(The pic of above is of Scarlett at one week old... the milk was purchased the day before I had her. I was excited because it was my"due date milk" :P)

The first week with Addie was the same way. We were completely pampered by my mom. She stayed with us and literally did EVERYTHING for us, from playing with Portia, to cleaning, to laundry, to cooking, to grocery shopping. It was SO nice. I felt like a kid again. She comes to visit on Tuesday and I cannot wait. I don't need the help as much now, but it will just be so nice to see her!

Speaking of Addie, she has been taking pics of everything. Haha, love this girl:

Sweetness:

I can't believe how fast Christmas came and went. Honestly, I am glad it's over. It was so much to deal with just days after giving birth. But, overall it was great. We were so proud of our girls on Christmas day. They were the sweetest kids ever. There wasn't a single moment of greed or unhappiness or whining, it was just amazing watching them. Portia's favorite presents were a scooter and a swirly straw shaped like a pair of glasses, LOL. Addie's favorite was her new baby doll who she named "Scarlett" (or 'Tawlet' in Addie language). Portia made us the best gift ever (a paper stocking and a drawing of us at the tree farm) and even helped Addie make us a gift. Portia was also thoughtful enough to wrap up some homemade gifts for Mike's mom and her boyfriend. She worked so hard on these little clay figurines and was SO proud of them. I was shocked when I saw that she had decided to give them away. I mean she literally slept with these things, that's how much she loved them. Her heart is so so giving. I can't even explain how much I love that kid...

Addie made this face when I said "smile". hahaaa

Egyptian dolls from my parents:

Real baby Scarlett and fake baby Scarlett :)

Playing with her drill (it had to be Home Depot brand because we go there so often!). Can you tell she was sick?

Christmas morning

See that mug above? Portia made it for Mike at this cute little pottery place. We had so much fun making it!

Yawnnnn

My sis and brother-in-law

Hanging with her Auntie in her cute Christmas dress!

Grandma reading Addie a book

My sister made this ornament for me. Isn't it gorgeous?

Christmas cards from our friends, I think we got about 15-20 more after I took this pic. I don't want to throw them away, they are all so pretty!

And I think that's about it for the first week! My next post will be filled with tons of beautiful newborn pics, I just have to finish editing them. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Yay for 2012!

Things I need to remember from this week

2011-12-24T01:59:00.000-08:00

That a newborn head fits in the palm of my hand.

That when Addie is sick and barfing, she cries out for mommy (I melt).

That my 7 year old has the sweetest heart... just watching her with Scarlett makes me know that she will be a wonderful mama one day.

That my body is amazing, despite it's stretchmarks, jiggly belly and double-chin. I am amazed at how it can bounce back after birth and give me the energy to get through the day with three young kids. I appreciate my body now so much more than I did when it was "perfect".

That when Portia was crying because her earring ripped out of her ear, Addie hugged and kissed her boo boo.

That Scarlett's cry sounds like the caw of a bird. It is a really soft sweet cry.

That I owe my sister big time and if she ever has kids I need to help her like she has helped me (doing laundry, wrapping presents, playing with the big kids, asking me what I need help with and not waiting for me to ask her. She has been a lifesaver!)

That after 9 months without alcohol, a chocolate martini is the second greatest thing on earth (second only to my family of course) ;)

That I have amazing friends and neighbors who have brought us dinners every night this week.

That I miss my mom and really wish my family lived closer. A 2 minute phone conversation is not enough to get me through the first week with a newborn. Egypt is too far.

That nothing matters more than snuggling my babies.

That I am happier than I can ever remember being. Despite the chaos and imperfections, I truly love my life and am so extremely thankful for everyone in it... even blog/internet friends who I've never met :)

That I love my daughters and can't imagine life without them.

(PS: these hormones are turning me into a huge sap. ;)

I had a baby! (Birth story & pics)

2011-12-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

Scarlett Olivia arrived on Sunday December 18th at 10:22am.

She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was exactly 20 inches long.

THE PROLOGUE:
Last Monday was the start of week 38 in my pregnancy. We had a follow up ultrasound on Wednesday to make sure that Scarlett's abdomen was measuring okay (it was measuring 6 weeks behind at our previous ultrasound). I had mentally prepared myself that Tuesday might be my last day pregnant, just in case they said we needed to induce or something. Fortunately, everything looked great, her abdomen was back on track and she was weighing in at approximately 7 lbs. I'll admit, I left the appointment a bit bummed that we were back to waiting for her to arrive, but happy that she was healthy.

Friday the 16th I went to another doctor's appointment. I was 38 weeks 4 days and my doctor decided to do her first internal exam on me. I was super excited to find out that I was already 3cm dilated, over 50% effaced and at a -1 station (the baby had dropped). We discussed scheduling an induction for the following week, mainly out of convenience; I wanted to be home for Christmas and my doctor was going out of town for two weeks. She told me to call on Monday and schedule it. She also did a membrane sweep on me, which is basically just brushing the bag of water away from the wall of the uterus. She told me that it would give me a lot of braxton hicks contractions and possibly send me into labor within 48 hours, but that it only works if your body is ready for labor.

Sure enough as soon as I left, I started having more braxton hicks contractions. I decided to make a quick stop at Target to pick up some of the last few baby items that we needed. As I walked around Target I started having sharp shooting pains in my cervix, as well as the contractions. I started timing the contractions all night, as they were coming about 10 minutes apart, but they stopped around 2 am, so I went to bed.

The next morning I was pretty convinced that the membrane sweep hadn't done anything for me, but I was ready to meet baby, so I bounced on a medicine ball, went for a jog and cleaned the house. I only ran half a mile at a 4.3 pace, but it was enough to make me feel like the baby was practically falling out of me. Mike thought I was a crazy lady, considering I haven't even been to the gym in months. The rest of the day was spent lounging around, baking cookies and then getting ready for a Christmas party that evening. Now that I know it was my last day pregnant, I am so glad that we had a lazy Saturday.

That evening I was again having pretty frequent contractions, but they were the same painless contractions that I'd been having since 16 weeks into my pregnancy. The only difference was that they were more timeable, but barely noticeable (just the hardening of the belly, no pain). I mentioned to my friends at the Christmas party that I had been having them all day and they said they thought I was going to have that baby soon. On the drive home I told Mike that I really wished my water would just break so that I'd know FOR SURE that I was going into labor.

I texted my birth photographer and my sister that night and told them that I had about 18-19 contractions in 2 hours. I just wanted to alert them in case something happened during the night.

My sister said: "Are you in pain? Maybe you should call the doc!?! I have my phone by my pillow, call me whenever!"

and I said: "don't get too excited, I don't think this is it just yet...I'm going to bed, I can't sleep through labor, right? :P"

THE PART YOU REALLY WANT TO READ:
Sometime around 3 am on December the 18th, Addie was coughing and crying, so we brought her into bed with us. She kept kicking Mike, so he went downstairs to sleep in her bed. She continued to cough and kick all night. At 8:30 am I was awoken to what I thought was her kicking me in the crotch. I looked over at Addie and realized that she wasn't in the right position to kick me in the crotch. I didn't really think much of it and laid back down. Then I heard a faint "pop" sound and excitedly thought to myself, maybe my water just broke!?! I got up out of bed expecting to feel a gush, like so many people have told me about (my water has never broken on its own), but there was nothing. No gush. I went to the bathroom and there was a small round circle of water on my underwear (which honestly isn't that abnormal in the final days of pregnancy, LOL), so I thought "bummer, my water definitely didn't break".

At that point Portia came up with the Ipad, so Addie, P and I laid in the bed watching cartoons together, while Mike hung out downstairs.

A little after 9am I felt my first contraction. My first painful contraction. It caught me a bit off guard, because I hadn't felt any painful contractions with Addie. My fear this pregnancy was that I wouldn't know I was in labor, that I wouldn't feel the contractions, so being able to feel it was exciting.

[A little back story, I went to be induced with Addie, ended up already in labor, was at a 4ish when we arrived (unknowingly having contractions) and didn't get the epi till after 5/6cm, but I had not had ONE painful contraction... so I was convinced that I couldn't feel the contractions.]

I checked my phone to see the time and it was 9:02am. I kept laying there, hopeful that another one would come. 9:11 I had another one. Nine minutes apart. This one was even more painful and I couldn't talk through it. Portia noticed that I was in pain and asked me if she should go tell daddy. I told her I was fine and would go tell him. I jumped out of bed and ran down to tell him that I thought I was in labor. Standing over him I started having another one. I was visibly in pain and could not talk through it. He realized pretty quickly that this was WAY different than anything we had experienced before. We decided to get showered, eat breakfast, pack our bag and head to the hospital when contractions were 5-7 minutes apart.

I texted my sister at 9:22am:
"I think I'm in labor"

She called me (or maybe I called her?) and I told her not to rush, it wasn't a big deal, take her time. (HAHAHAHAAA!!! TAKE YOUR TIME!?!). Fortunately, she was not as dumb as me and said "I'll be there in 2 minutes".

When Kate & Chase arrived I was in the shower. The shower was taking me FOREVER. Why you ask? Because every few minutes I was writhing in pain from a contraction. Yes, at this point, just 20 some minutes after my first contraction, they were as close as 3-4 minutes apart. Somewhere in there I realized my water had broken, but there was never a gush. Just a small stream of liquid, a bit of blood and INTENSE contractions that literally felt like my body was trying to push the baby out of my crotch (hey, funny enough, that's exactly what was happening!).

By this point Mike was frantically yelling at me to hurry up. I was stubbornly yelling at him in between each contraction to "find my camera, grab my jeans, get my comfy pants, I need a magazine, find my cell phone, etc. etc. etc." I didn't know it at the time, but my sister and brother in law were seriously thinking we were going to have this baby at home. Apparently I was the ONLY person who did not realize how close to delivery I was.

Finally after about 10 contractions 3-4 minutes apart and more cuss words that I can count, Mike shoved me in the car. It was 9:45am.

As he drove, I screamed. He looked at the clock everytime it started. I hadn't practiced for this kind of pain, have never been to a Lamaze class or practiced breathing techniques, so instead of "heheho" breathing, I was yelling "ahhhhhhh shit shit shit, eff you, I'm going to die, mother effer, oh my God, I need an EPIDURAL NOW!!!! SHIT!!!!" which apparently isn't the best way to work through a contraction, LOL.

Somehow in between contractions I had time to text my birth photographer. My last text was at 10:04am right before we got to the hospital. I told her I'd text her after I got checked, to see what I was at. Mentally I thought I was maybe 5-7cm. I thought for sure I'd be able to get an epidural...

By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart and I was in the worst effing pain of my life. The 20 minute car ride was pure torture. Tears were streaming down my face, the cramps were penetrating throughout my whole body. I had absolutely no control of the pain. It was like nothing I can even describe. The worst pain of my life.

Mike flew into the main entrace of Tacoma General Hospital going about 60mph. He threw the keys at the valet guy, the receptionist heard me screaming, grabbed a wheelchair and apparently wheeled me to the elevator. I remember passing the people in the waiting room and hearing one woman say "oh my gosh!" as I screamed, cursed and cried while being wheeled in.

We entered labor and delivery, but I was completely incoherent. The nurses asked us questions, but there was no time. All of a sudden I was on a table and there were a ton of people around me. Someone checked me and I heard "she's complete!" Mike said "what does that mean!?!" and he said "10cm, she needs to push!" another person said "the doctor isn't here!" and a guy (who we later learned was a resident) took off his jacket and said "well... no pressure!"

At this point I was completely hysterical, screaming for an epidural, totally uncomposed. I screamed that I couldn't do it, that I didn't know how to push or breathe and I screamed that I wanted to die. The resident and Mike tried to get my attention.They held my hands and told me to breathe through the contraction and not to scream or curse (haha I was still cursing like a sailor!). The resident told me that I had to do it, that "the head was right there!". Somewhere deep inside me I remember realizing that if I didn't push, then the pain wouldn't be over. All I wanted was for the pain to be over, so I pushed. I pushed harder than I can even explain. I didn't care if I was taking a humungous crap all over the table (Mike told me, much to my surprise that that didn't happen!) I just pushed and breathed and PUSHED!

One push got the head out. There was no time to celebrate, I still felt the pain.

The next push was like three pushes in one, where I never stopped pushing, but had to breathe through it. Her whole body came out on that push.

I remember people saying that I had done it and that I was their new hero! All of the nurses kept telling me how amazing I was. One said "See you can do it!! You have bragging rights for life!"

The rest of those minutes were a blur, but I remember someone calling out that she was born at 10:22am. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. She was perfect.

And just like that, the pain was gone... just as quick as it came.

(This is the song I wanted to listen to while giving birth... I just love it.)

Christmas Card + "snow" pics

2011-12-16T01:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, I think I need to make a disclaimer that I don't favor Addie more just because I share more pics of her. Portia is in school all day and when she gets home, it's snack time + play time, then sunset at 4:20 pm. There is no time to take pics of her... but don't worry I will bribe her into taking some over Christmas break :P

With that said, I thought it would be fun to try out this pic I saw on Pinterest. Everyone's been doing it, so I can't take credit for it. Basically you buy some glitter and give it to your kid to blow towards the camera. You then snap pics and hope/pray/cross your fingers that your kid isn't eating the glitter, snorting the glitter, or making a hideous face in at least one of your shots. You also hope that the focus fell somewhere on your kids face even though they were frantically jumping up and down squealing with delight at the thought of throwing glitter everywhere.

Luckily for me I got a few cute shots (I deleted about 47 awful ones, just for honestys sake :D)

and because I'm pretty sure everyone I sent cards to has received theirs, here is our Christmas card this year. I got the template off ilovephotography.com and changed it around a bit (different font, different wording). I also made it into a scalloped card (this is just a sample of the card, I need to take a pic of the real thing). I printed it through a company called Millers (some people might know them as the parent company to mpix). I LOVE how it turned out! Photos were taken by Tammi @ Finding Moments Photography in Tacoma, WA and edited by me (we did a photo swap!).

I still need to share the rest of those family pics, but I misplaced my external hard drive where all my pics are stored and have been too lazy to look for it. Well, when I say I misplaced it, I mean I set it on a shelf in the living room, walk by it thirty times a day and haven't really cared to pick it up and plug it in to my computer. That's the nice thing about being on "maternity leave". I don't HAVE to edit anything or post anything or do anything photo related. It is really freeing :D I'm not sure how long my maternity leave will last. Knowing myself, I'll get antsy to shoot something other than my family in a few months, but mentally I'm not sure if I'll go back into it full force. I don't know what life will be like with three kids and I still have a lot I want to do to our house. Plus, I have to admit that managing the kids and house is SO much easier when I'm not trying to balance a small business on the side. I'm not one of those bake-everything-from-scratch-stay-up-till-4-am-knitting-Susie-a-homemade-Christmas-dress super moms or anything (punch me in the face if I ever turn into one, oh wait, I can't knit or cook well, so I'm safe), but ahem, I've had a home cooked dinner on the table every night, a perfectly clean house, and the laundry caught up and put away every single day for over 3 weeks now!! That might not sound like a long time to most people, but when I was working it was super hard to stay on top of (and impossible to stay ahead of) the cleaning and housework. I would shove everything into the master closet when people stopped by. I had laundry literally piled higher than my head, it was so dense that we'd dive in the closet and swim through it to find "clean" clothes (not sure how clean they were after sitting on the floor for weeks, LOL). Speaking of that, I even cleaned out all of our closets!! I could actually walk a guest into every single closet (well a few of them aren't big enough to walk in to) and they'd be organized and presentable.

I gotta admit, this whole stay-at-mom thing isn't too bad. I feel a bit spoiled actually :D

So anyway, I'm rambling and tired, but I have a bit of pregnancy insomnia, so I can't sleep. I will share a few random pics that I posted on Facebook.

This is Portia comparing herself to my old 3rd grade pic. She told me that my outfit was weird, ha!

Here are three baby deer eating apples out of our yard last week. Ignore the fact that our yard is a disaster and focus on the fact that this is pure cuteness:

This was a cool cell pic I took at a recent doctors appointment. See Addie on the floor?

This is my little monkey playing on ~~Mike's~~ her iPad. She has NEVER been able to sit and watch tv until BAM she was introduced to Dora and Wonderpets on the iPad. Now it's a magical thing to get Addie to sit still. It enables me to actually DO stuff (not just think about doing it); shower, put on makeup, wash the dishes, blog, plan out meals, write thank you notes, etc. It's frakkin amazing! My only issue now is that I have to limit her iPad use. Luckily she tends to get sick of it after about an hour in the AM and then she is too busy all day to care about it, but she wants it again around dinner time to wind down for the day. Oh and did I mention that she isn't napping anymore? So the iPad gives me back some of that time that I used to cherish at nap time. :D

Now a real flashback, just because I was reminiscing about how shitty life was for about 4 months of this year. How just being able to cook dinner and wash clothes at our house... oh and have electricity and walls... is an AMAZING thing. We spent many many many days at the laundry mat this year. As a result the girls learned a thing or two about quarters... and fabric softener...and that it's not okay to swing from the laundry carts... and that there is always a faint curry smell in the laundry mat...but I digress, holy crapola, those days sucked. We just stared at the laundry for hours...

and because I don't think I've ever shared Portia's awesome homework on my blog, here are a few from the last semester. She kills me. Really. <3.

and last but not least, my friend took this pic of me & Addie at 29 weeks pregnant. I was tackling her and bribing her to take a pic with me. I think it's so cute <3

Tis the season

2011-12-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look very Christmasy around here!

Cutest little girl ever, I may be biased though :P

Addie decided to hijack my camera and take a few shots...

This was Mike building the main floor bathroom last weekend:

and me doing Portia's hair:

We took the girls to see Santa... Addie was not a fan!

We made some Christmas ornaments for the tree:

December has been a beautiful month. Sunny almost every day, clear, very little rain. It's crazy! If only the sun didn't set at 4:30, it would be perfect!

We headed to a tree farm the first weekend in December to cut down our tree:

THEY FOUND THE TREE!

All decorated and lit up at our house!

Everyone is placing bets on when Scarlett will arrive, even our neighbors and Portia's teacher! What do you think? Will she come early or late? Please cross your fingers that if she comes on Christmas day, it is after about 10am, so we can get the presents and breakfast out of the way first!

Addie had a Christmas concert last week. Let's just say that she did not do too well. Out of all the 2 and 3 year olds she was the ONLY one that freaked out on stage. She wouldn't sing, wouldn't ring the bell, wouldn't sit down! She just stood there clinging to Mike (he had to stand with her, even though no other parents did) and shoving her fist in her mouth. ::sigh:: Apparently she will NOT be an entertainer, LOL

(PS: these pics were taken with the onboard flash right before we left for the concert, not the best photos I've ever shared, but doesn't she look beautiful!?)

And last but not least... I hosted a play date last week (my first big play date since the renovation was finished!). I took twinkle light pics of the kids, thought they turned out pretty cute considering this was at the end of the party and I had to use bribery to get the kids to sit still :P. Here are a few of the pics:

(Sorry about the watermarks, but these are my friends kids...so I want to be overly protective :)

Belly pics (almost 38 weeks)

2011-12-11T02:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Hailey asked me via email if I was "huge yet?", so I knew I needed to take new pics.

I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow!

Someone tell me to go install the car seat, pre-register at the hospital, pack my hospital bag and set up the crib. I keep putting those four things off, thinking that if I don't do them, then I won't go into labor...not sure if that's how it works :P

PS: My friend Tammi took some beautiful maternity photos & family photos for us a couple weeks ago. We did a swap, so I need to edit them, then I'll share more... hopefully before this kid decides to come out.

Progress in the basement (before/after)

2011-12-10T01:07:00.000-08:00

Full term! Bumpdate

2011-12-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm 37 weeks and 3 days today, with 18 days to go!

I can't believe it. It feels very surreal that I could have a baby in a couple weeks. I am in major denial over here! You'd think with baby #3, I'd be over the whole "pregnancy is crazy!" thing, but I'm not. It feels equally amazing the third time as it did the first two times. It's just weird that a person is growing in my body! Mind boggling.

How big is baby this week? The size of a watermelon!! It doesn't get any bigger than that!

"Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz. "

Due Date: December 26th, 2011

Weight Gain: up 30 lbs-- and the nurse called me "chubbo!" LOL

Symptoms: New thing is the achey crotch/hip pain. I am hobbling a bit and it's super hard to bend over and pick things up. Sometimes I pick stuff up with my toes!

Same as before --- > Lots of braxton hicks contractions, backaches are pretty common, have the shooting crotch pain going on and my belly is starting to feel tight and full. Luckily I still feel pretty comfortable...as far as pregnancy goes. :)

What's different this time: I am not anxious to get baby out. I am really just enjoying these last few weeks and feel fine keeping her in till her due date or later!

Cravings: Anything sweet, chocolatey and bad for me.

Aversions:Really salty stuff

Sleep: Aside from peeing a lot, I cant complain too much. At least I am getting sleep vs. when baby comes and I won't be sleeping. Not looking forward to that!

I am loving: Sudden bursts of energy I've been having. Cleaned all three floors of our house over the last two days and feel the urge to clean again today.

I miss: Not looking like a ginormous whale.<--- same as last check in

I am looking forward to: Taking my kids to do Christmasy stuff this weekend.

I'm spazzing about: The fact that I'm going to have a baby!!

Best thing about this week: Everything is good right now, life is good. I'm loving December so far. Best month of 2012!

Milestones: Full term, woohoo!

Movement: Yes, her legs are measuring at 98% and I feel those long legs all day long.

It's a...: girl!

Exercise: Walking/cleaning/lifting stuff I shouldn't

Diet:Regular food and lots of holiday treats!

I plan to take some full term belly pics tonight.

Family Pics

2011-11-30T01:53:00.000-08:00

Well, sorry about my lack of blogging. I've just been enjoying life and the holidays! This month has really been good for me/us. We have SO much to be thankful for. For our family, our girls, our health, our home, our jobs, our friends. Lucky. Totally blessed. Fortunate. <3

(Photos above taken by my friend Tammi @ Finding Moments Photography and edited by me)

Here is a sweet pic of Adelaide & Mike, then one of A & her BFF from pre-school:

Here is a slideshow from Thanksgiving (you can see a bit of the kitchen in these pics):

My little sister came to visit. Here are a couple pics. We got pedicures, went out to eat, then drove to Seattle to celebrate my older sis finishing her first marathon!

oh and my girls got haircuts (Addie was verrry scared of getting her hair cut!):

Well, that's the update for now. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

December is almost here. Yikes! Yay! :)

34 weeks

2011-11-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

This is what I see when I wash the dishes... no wonder I always have a wet spot on my shirt!

How big is baby this week? The size of a honeydew

"Watch what you say! Your curious baby is listening in to your conversations at 34 weeks -- and might enjoy a lullaby or two -- so go ahead and sing to her. At week 34, you might breathe a little easier, since baby may descend lower into your pelvis and give your lungs some space. (Ahh!) Of course, some babies don’t do this until the day they’re born, so we’re not making any guarantees. The pitfall of this descent, of course, is even more pressure on your bladder, so be prepared to make even more trips to the ladies room over the coming weeks."

Due Date: December 26th, 2011

Weight Gain: up 27 lbs at last appointment

Symptoms: Lots of braxton hicks contractions, backaches are pretty common, have the shooting crotch pain going on and my belly is starting to feel tight and full. Luckily I still feel pretty comfortable...as far as pregnancy goes. :)

What's different this time: Time is flying by!

Cravings: Cookies, chocolate, ice cream, nom nom nom!

Aversions:Really salty stuff

Sleep: Decent. Snoogle helps me a lot, but I am starting to get heartburn/acid reflux at night. No bueno.

I am loving: Sudden bursts of energy I've been having. I think I might be nesting. Got about 8 loads of laundry done today and all the dishes done (4 loads). We are still trying to catch up on cleaning everything that was in storage in the garage. The house is starting to feel like home again!! :D Oh and it is freaking amazing to have a washer/dryer in my house!!

I miss: Not looking like a ginormous whale.

I am looking forward to: When we don't have random men in our house everyday. It's coming to an end soon... I am really excited about that!

I'm spazzing about: Not having anything ready for the baby. Don't know where the car seat or crib are. Need to find that stuff... starting to get a bit anxious!

Best thing about this week: Making progress on the house. We are all healthy. Life is good right now!!

Milestones: 6 weeks to go. Yikes!

Movement: Tons, it has gotten painful.

It's a...: girl!

Exercise: Does cleaning and lifting furniture count? This week I lifted a dryer, cabinets, desks, multiple chairs, a wooden bench, a wooden buffet, a sectional, a trundle bed, another couch, tons of boxes of stuff, dressers, end tables, stools, laundry baskets filled to the brim up & down THREE floors and many many more things I can't remember. Mike feels slightly bad for having me help him carry stuff in from the garage, but there is nobody else to help him (we do most of it at night/evening) and I can't have him falling down stairs and dying on me! :P

Diet: I've been making tons of home cooked meals! This week we had fajitas, chicken/broccoli/cheese casserole, chicken & dumplings, barbeque sandwiches and spaghetti with meat sauce & garlic bread. Tonight is lasagna and tomorrow is pizza & salad night. Oh and breakfasts have been awesome too! I made pancakes with bacon this morning, yesterday I made scrambled eggs with chopped ham. I love having a kitchen!

Here's my goofball dipping chicken into salsa on fajita night:

This is when she said it was spicy!

Other goals: I hope she stays put till 39 weeks, but doesn't make her appearance on Christmas eve or Christmas day.

More pics of the 34 week belly:

Halloween, then and now (2004-2011)

2011-11-11T02:07:00.000-08:00

So, let's go back in time for a minute. I'm getting a bit nostalgic, realizing just how fast time goes by, especially as this pregnancy winds down. Lately I've been really trying to cherish every single moment I have with my girls, my husband, and this beautiful life that I am lucky enough to live. I look at these pics and can't remember Portia being so small. It brings tears to my eyes. I've been doing this mom thing for awhile and I still get taken aback at how much I grow from my kids. I swear I still learn something new every single day. They have really changed my life for the better... and so has Mike...(Gah I've turned into a huge sap! Commence the gagging :P)

Let's get to the good stuff... pictures:

This was 2004, 2005 and 2006 with Portia. It was just the two of us. 2006 was the beginning of Mike and I, but he didn't meet Portia for another 6 weeks or so.

How cute was she as a baby? She was 4 months old in the first pic... I loved that head full of dark hair. <3

2005 - she was 16 months. Have I mentioned that she was the happiest, most easy going toddler ever? I was so incredibly spoiled by her sweet, mellow nature. She is the same way now, but it's also morphed into a bit of ditzyness. I suppose it's a good thing, she is very innocent and stuff goes right over her head (that other kids would catch on to). She cracks us up on a daily basis.

This is more from 2006. A great year for me. I had lots of friends, I was in my final year of college, I had met the greatest guy in the world (Mike). He was living in California, I was in Texas, so for Halloween he baked us brownies and sent them over. I baked him cookies and sent those to him. You can see Portia eating Mike's brownies in one of the pics.

My brother, sisters, Portia and I went to an airshow sometime around Halloween. Can't believe that was 5 years ago. That pic makes me really miss my brother and sister.

(I also have to say that damn, I looked skinny. My goal is to get back to that after this baby!)

I can't find actual Halloween pics from 2007, but this was the following weekend when I went to visit Mike in California. We were moving there and looking for places to live. Mike was already there. Being apart from him was tough and this weekend together was one of the best weekends of my life. Such a fun adventure, but we had no clue what was in store for us! Can't believe this was pre-wedding and pre-Addie! What did we do without her!?!

and here's my little Portia in 2008. I can't find actual Halloween pics, but this was in the October 2008 folder, so I assume it is sometime around Halloween. This was the last year she was an only child. 2008 was probably the best year of my life thus far. We had SO much fun as a family of three. We lived at the beach. It was amazing.

and here we are in Temecula, CA as a family of four! I remember feeling bad for buying Portia a costume that ended up being kinda dorky (and too short on her!). I vowed to let her pic her costume from then on out. Addie was 5 months old.

This is last year, 2010. I don't think I ever shared these pics. Addie was a spider and Portia was a witch. I wore a pig nose... and now that I see these pics, I realize how badly I need a makeover. Sheesh, black coat, long hair with no shape... yeah pretty sure I'm turning into a style-less mom (okay, let's be real, I'm already there ::stares down at black stretchy pants and comfy shirt:: LOL).

And finally we are at this year! 2011. We did the same loop around my sisters neighborhood that we did last year. It is the perfect distance for the girls and they get a TON of awesome candy (Addie wouldn't let me hold her basket because she knew I was going to eat her treats, LOL, the girl is smart!!).

And for a quick non-Halloween related update, sorry I haven't posted in so long. Life has been SO much better than it was just a few weeks ago. My stress level is much lower and I am extremely happy. The renovation is 95% done, we've had a kitchen for about 10 days and I've been cooking up a storm! Forgot that cooking = dishes, so I've also been doing a lot of cleaning. Oh and we got our washer & dryer hooked up after not having it for months!! We washed every single thing in the house and a week later I am still trying to catch up. We also had to wash every dish that we own, but luckily we are almost done with that. Other than cleaning, we have been tackling our never ending to do list. I feel like Mike and I have grown a lot closer, we spend every night doing a project together and it feels awesome to accomplish so much and see our plans turn into reality. I have realized how lucky I am to have him, he is so damn handy, it's kinda amazing! I feel the pressure from the pregnancy to get shit done, so that means I've been doing stuff I shouldn't do, like painting, lifting massive amounts of furniture, climbing ladders, using power tools, lifting more furniture, etc. I still feel great (almost 34 weeks) and am hoping she hangs out till at least 39+ weeks.

Well, that's all for now. I appreciate having this blog to vent to when I was in such a low place... the renovation and the last 4-5 months have been one of the most stressful times of my life (and definitely the worst time for Addie & Portia). I was just really really down and felt so stuck, with nobody to talk to, nobody to turn to for help.

'They' say renovations are one of the most stressful things you can live through, well it feels good to say that we did it! We lived through it with two kids and one in the oven. Woohoo! I think that 2012 can only be better. I am looking forward to it. :)

I'll try to update more, but if I don't, well that just means I'm enjoying the little things <3

The Kitchen: budget breakdown

2011-10-27T01:54:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that on other blogs, people always lay out the budget and pricing of major renovations or purchases. Honestly, that makes me uncomfortable, because I just don't like talking money with people other than my husband. (My parents always taught me to keep that to myself... is that a regional thing, perhaps?) But, I figure that the budget/money talk is the big elephant in the room with this renovation... so, I'll do it bit by bit for whoever is interested (sorry if this is a massive ramble of word vomit, ha!)

So, lately my life has been consumed with researching stuff online, trying to find good deals and purchasing all the items for this renovation. I am not a normal woman and really hate buying/spending money on stuff, so Mike has handled 90% of the major budget decisions and left me with the "fun" decorating purchase/decisions.

I know all marriages are different, but in ours, this works because A) I am CHEAP and he knows very well that if I had control of the budget, well, there wouldn't be one. I cannot pull the trigger on anything. Typically I find several options of something we need (ex: faucet), show him, tell him my favorite is too expensive, he tells me to just "pull the trigger", I hum and haw, spending countless hours trying to find a cheaper option (usually I do!) and then FINALLY we both agree on something and either he buys it (because I literally freeze up, lol) or if it is cheap enough for me mentally, then I press the buy button.

and it also works because

B) Mike makes the vast majority of the money in our household (I'd say I only make about 5% of our total income), he knows where everything is going each month, he pays the bills, he knows what we can afford... he is a really great provider/all around man. I know it sounds old fashioned, but my primary job is to be mother/homemaker to our kids (and bake this baby) and his is to work/handle the money side of things. I like it that way and I know he does too (this might not work if I was a spender, but I'm not. I spend money on groceries and necessary items for the kids, nothing crazy).

and it also works because

C) This whole renovation was his idea. Have I mentioned that? We talked about making some changes to the house when we bought it because it needed some things (like new electrical, new heat, new plumbing, new windows), but the grand plans of re-doing THE ENTIRE house went right over my head. I mean, I heard Mike talk about his ideas for the kitchen/basement/bathrooms, but I put it in that part of my brain that includes things like Santa Claus, puff the magic dragon, taking a trip around the world and winning the lottery, haha!! aka. NOT REALISTIC... right?!

Well I was wrong, lol

When he got his bonus this year (yes, I realize that we are very blessed/fortunate to be doing well in these economic times, we've been on the other side of things and it sucked), he immediately started putting the plans in place to actually make this renovation a reality. We had spent the prior year getting our finances into what I call "grown up shape", you know, with a 529 account for the girls, savings, stocks, upping our 401K, paying off credit cards and (thanks to my dear old dad) finally getting rid of the last of my student loans. With just one car (his is company) and the cheapest house on our entire street (we got it for an awesome price... probably because it needed fixing), Mike was convinced that we could make this whole thing happen.

The only dilemma was... ME... and my cheap-o issues.

See, I used to live off of a very small income and I think the single-mom budget-minded girl is now permanently ingrained in me. Ex: I would have kept my old 13inch tube TV that would alternate between color and black & white till THE END OF TIME if Mike hadn't come along and bought a new one for me us [cough cough], him. I didn't care what it looked like because it worked!! and that was good enough for me! :P

So now that you understand what Mike is dealing with over here, lol, I have really drug my feet during this whole renovation; stalling on decisions, changing my mind, not getting involved, not wanting to consider expensive options, and even telling the contractors that we weren't going to use "their guys" (I'm a pain in the ass, I know).

For example...

When Mike asked for my opinion on cabinets I said "the cheapest". When he rolled his eyes and forced me to go look at them in person, I told the lady "show me the cheapest white cabinets" just as she was showing me some uber-expensive fancy cabinet that would probably fit best in a home owned by Donald Trump or Mariah Carey. LOL. (I probably annoyed her a bit, as you could tell she was working on commission.)

When we picked counters and were given pricing for our three favorite options, Mike told me he liked the more expensive one and I said "let's go with the cheapest" (we did).

When he said "we should put a wall here" I asked the contractor what would be cheapest and he said "no wall", so we went with no wall (looks wayyy better anyway).

When they said none of our appliances would fit, I said "let's re-use whatever we can", so we did... and we sold/are selling the rest.

When Mike told me we had a cabinet made for an apron front sink, I thought "cool! I always liked those", but when I started looking at prices for real Fireclay apron front sinks, I wanted to gauge my eyes out and drown myself in my own tears. They were WAY too expensive and [in my opinion] not worth it... but we already had the cabinet, so we had to just bite the bullet and get one. Amazingly, through some random computer glitch, we managed to score one for $500 less than ANYTHING I saw online... we got it at the manufacturers COST and it is huge, beautiful and amazing, really! (I don't think I'd love it as much if it cost $1,000+ though.)

When Mike said we needed a new dryer (ours broke) and couch for the basement, I found both on Craigslist for super duper cheap prices. (Craigslist is my BFF)

Oh and when that pushy cabinet lady came back with a $12,500 quote for cabinets, I almost wanted to barf. I mean, COME ON!?!! I'd need to sell my kidneys on the black market to pay for those! Luckily, Mike was with me on that (not the kidney thing, haha). He went straight to Lowe's and got a different quote... the Lowe's sales guy was able to get us 52 feet of upper and lower cabinets for $6,500 (tax and extras made it about $7,000 total). Dude, $6,000 less than the pushy cabinet lady's quote!!!? Score!! I dare you to find cabinets for $134 per foot. It's an incredible price!

and the added bonus was that they were doing a crazy awesome summer freebie, which included free soft close doors, a free apron front cabinet, 2 free lazy susan cabinets and free paint (because white is surprisingly more expensive). I really don't think it gets better than that -- cabinet wise anyway, lol.

Just to be clear, I am not completely responsible for us coming in under budget (on almost EVERYTHING, isn't that unheard of in a renovation?), because Mike has really been the main reason why that has happened. He has worked out SO many deals with our remodeling company. He is basically doing the work of 5-6 hired contractors by himself, at night. He has been able to tag along with the actual professionals and save us a bundle (example: his permit for ALL the basement work was just $11 added on to their remodel permit, whereas if we had waited to do the basement and gotten the permit on our own, it would have been over $1,000). He has also been able to borrow tons of tools from the professionals. They leave their stuff here everyday, so voila, he has tools! Professional ones (they know he borrows them)! The guys are awesome and even show him how to do stuff and then they check his work to make sure it will pass inspections (no delays on Mike's work thus far!).

So really, I am super impressed with the strings he has pulled and the work he has done. Prior to this whole renovation I thought the guy could barely hang a painting (sorry babe).

Now, let's get to the actual numbers, before I bore you to death.

Please note that this does NOT include the addition, because that was not broken out line by line. The addition includes the exterior brick work (re-used our old brick), the concrete foundation, the roof extension and framing. This is just the kitchen... pretend we started with the full space.

Keep in mind that HGTV states that "the national average cost for an upscale kitchen remodel is roughly $82,000" another website says the BARE minimum would be around $25,000 for a kitchen remodel that doesn't include high end items like granite and wood cabinets.

Our kitchen will likely be done in just a few days and here is where we stand budget wise:

KITCHEN RENOVATION COSTS

Cabinets - $7,000 including tax (not including install)
Notes:
- Our contractors cabinet people quoted us $12,500, so we went to Lowe's and got Kraftmaid for a major bargain. We saved huge on summer promo, which included free soft close doors, free apron front cabinet, 2 lazy susan cabinets and free paint.
- They are called "semi custom cabinets" because they come in standard sizes
- Total of 52 feet of cabinets (uppers and lowers)
- $134 per foot price

Windows - $200 for one window + install.
Notes:
- We bought one new window and re-used one window that was taken out of our old bathroom, which was of course free
- Mike installed all the other new windows in our house

Lighting - $400ish
Notes:
- Pendants ($120 for two)
- 5 can lights ($50 per can, which included install)
- Decided against having a chandelier

Sink & Faucet - $900
Notes:
- Elklay 30 inch apron front sink - $750 including tax (normally $1200+)
- Pfister Hanover High-Arc Pull-Down Faucet - $150 (on sale on Amazon)

Appliances - $2,800
Notes:
- Slide in gas stove (had to add gas line)
- Microwave with vent (over the range)
- French door refrigerator
- Was able to re-use our old dishwasher

Countertops - $3,600
Notes:
- $3,600 including installation
- Class 'A' granite called Giallo Ornamental (A is the most inexpensive granite)

Miscellaneous $1,800 (ish)
Notes:
- Refinished floors - $1,000 to redo and refinish floors in kitchen + dining room
- Pantry - $100 (Mike built our pantry and bought a door at home depot, saving us $1,100 from the price quoted through our contractors cabinet dealer)
- Backsplash - Off white Daltile 3x6 subway tile @ less than $2 per SF (not sure of exact price yet, not installed)

The above numbers come to approximately $16,500... but Mike says we are at a grand total of about $25,000 for the kitchen, so the rest of the cost would be in labor.

That $25,000 total includes new insulation, drywall, beams, texture, electrical, plumbing, window, trim, cabinets, appliances, paint, counters, pantry, floors, lighting and labor.

Well that's all for now! It's been a learning experience, to say the least. I can't wait to finally cook in the kitchen (crossing my fingers for a Friday or Monday finish)!

PS: Scroll down to see all the items we have picked for the kitchen in this post.

31 weeks & two months away | BUMPDATE

2011-10-24T22:38:00.000-07:00

This is me at 31 weeks. Mike and I stayed in a hotel on Friday night (our first night alone in 18 months!!!). It was sooo relaxing. We went to dinner, watched the Hangover 2, ate two pieces of cheesecake while lounging in bed, and then SLEPT NINE HOURS STRAIGHT!!

Did I mention that it was AMAZING?!?

I wish we could do that more often...I think we will definitely make dates more of a priority once the house is done, but in the meantime, I'll just reminisce about this awesome night away <3

(We couldn't be in our house b/c of the fumes from the floor stain, so we decided to ask my sis and bro-in-law if they could watch the girls while we snuck away for the night -- best idea ever!)

On the way to dinner I made Mike pull over and take a belly pic of me in front of these gorgeous trees. Of course I had to snap a shot of my handsome date too. :)

This is a cell phone pic of the road we were driving down. Such beautiful trees. I'm in awe of fall colors, we never had anything like this in CA or TX.

and this is totally un-pregnancy related, but I had to share. I was driving home from a session on Sunday and made it just in time to see this sunset. It was so beautiful.

Now back to the pregnancy update!

How big is baby this week? The size of a squash

Babycenter.com says this about week 31: "This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3 1/2 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up."

Due Date: December 26th, 2011

Weight Gain: Not sure, thinking 25lbs?

Symptoms: Braxton hicks and my belly is starting to feel tight and full. Luckily I still feel pretty comfortable...as far as pregnancy goes.

What's different this time: Busy, busy, busy. No time to think about pregnancy.

Cravings: Sweets. Pasta. Not good for the badonkadonk, if ya know what I mean :P

Aversions: Nothing.

Sleep: Pretty good thanks to my beloved snoogle <3 (although hubby keeps me up at night tossing and turning... he wakes up if I blink too loudly, lol, whereas I could sleep through a tornado!)

I am loving: Feeling pretty decent. I am nervous about weeks 37-40. My least favorite :-/

I miss: Having a functional, liveable house. We are currently resigned to about 250 SF of space. That includes our master bed (just the bed, not the room, it is filled with shit from the rest of the house), Addie's bunk bed (her room is also filled with shit) and a tiny bathroom that we can only get to by climbing over piles of furniture. Nothing else and it effing blows. I also miss doing laundry at home.

I am looking forward to: Too much to list, but see answer above.

I'm spazzing about: Not having anything ready for the baby. All I know is she better come on her due date or later, we can't handle her before that!

Best thing about this week: Went on a date night with my hubby!!

Milestones: 2 months till due date!

Movement: Tons, it is a bit painful. She likes to kick the crap out of me and her sisters hands/feet!

It's a...: Miss

Exercise: Aside from walking around sessions? Not much lately. Gah I'm an exercise failure this pregnancy!! I was sooo good last time. Booo.

Diet: Anything that you can make in a microwave or order from a restaurant. Have I mentioned that our fridge is in the front yard? Yeah, I'm sure my neighbors love us, we have a toilet, tons of windows and a fridge in our yard. LOL

Other goals: Just taking it day by day.

Kitchen Progress

2011-10-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

We have made HUGE progress in the last week. Our kitchen is actually resembling a kitchen. It's amazing!

Let's start with a before:

Here is the post I did when we were mid-renovation:
http://thekippers.blogspot.com/2011/08/renovation-kitchen.html

Here is the stage we are at now (Facebook pic). Cabinets are all up (they weren't all up in this pic). If you look at the first before pic, the kitchen ended just to the left of that window on the right. The rest of the room is an addition. We also opened up the wall to the living room, making it more of an open floor plan. Floors are currently being sanded and re-stained. The light floor is all new. They did a good job matching it to the old stuff.

and here is what we have picked out... I can't wait till it looks half this pretty.