Getting Closer...

Today Doe & I had a very busy and productive day while Daddy hung out with the kids!  We went to a Mom2Mom sale, ran errands for Gracie's party and even got the bedding for the new little girl!! I knew what I wanted, I just had to go and get it! We went to "Buy, Buy, Baby" and I got the sheets, blankets and dust ruffle.  HOWEVER... they did not have the bumper! UGH... 2 of the things on my list they didn't have so now I have to go back.  

It is currently in the wash, and I can't wait to see what it looks like on her bed. :)  

Meet Charlie...

Well at least my leg has!! I've been so close to having those darn charlie horses... and then it hit.  Two nights ago I had rolled over and stretched my leg out when BAM... a charlie horse.  Greg slept through the whole thing.  Boy... it hurt.  I was still limping the next day at work.

Aside from that my sleep has been REALLY good.  I often start on my left side but have been finding myself on my stomach when I awake.  I don't know how it is still possible, but knowing I have always loved to do this, it doesn't surprise me!

I've STILL been dry heaving daily and throwing up about once a week.  I'm use to it so it doesn't bother me a bit.  Baby is moving like crazy and often my stomach is looking like a earthquake is inside.  

The hardest thing is the fact that I'm feeling very overwhelmed.  Between having our house on the market, Grace's birthday, getting ready for baby (and yes... even though it is our third we still have TONS to do!), report cards, kindergarten open house, our new lovely kindergarten screening process, Jacob's speech & school... let alone our DAILY list of things to do I've had a rough couple of nights which usually lead to tears and breakdowns.  I just don't know how to physically do it all when I'm already physically drained.  I think that has to be the hardest thing about the whole pregnancy... just "splitting" myself up and yet trying to give Jacob & Grace the attention that they need and deserve.  The days of being pregnant with our first or even just having babies now seem so easy.... 

Doctor's Visit... Mommy & Baby

Today I had another doctor's visit... this time with Dr. Torok. My blood pressure was excellent 118/70, weight gain was good (only 13 lbs from my after puking had begun... so I'm thinking my total is actually closer to 10 lbs, not bad!) Everything else looks really good... I'm measuring right on and baby's heartbeat sounds perfect as always! We talked about the results from my gallbladder ultrasound. Stones... yup...
Dr. Torok is sending me to see a surgeon. Not to have it taken out immediately... just to establish a relationship in case it does need to come out during pregancy. He would rather that than have to go with whomever is on-call if it becomes unbearable at some point. Sounds fair. I'm sure I'll know more about it once I see the surgeon, but it sounds like the right decision at this point to at least go and develop a history.
We also discussed our 39 week mark... that is our goal. In the next few weeks I'll be able to set up my induction. Only 7 WEEKS to go... well that is on Friday! But hey... I'm rounding!

Up North...

This weekend we decided to head up north (both Doe & Greg were anxious to see if there was still ice on the water or if it had went away... it did in fact melt away!). It was a fairly nice weekend... sunny but a little chilly! That didn't stop us from getting outside and doing some yardwork as well as exploring the beach! Jacob & Grace had fun walking back and forth on the snow covered beach (which Mommy sunk into one to many times!). Uncle Tom & his friend came by and helped tip over our ice/water filled fishing boat, which really relieved Jacob!
We had some nice dinners, shopping excursions, and popcorn parties (one of Jacob & Grace's favorite things to do up there!) we even managed to bake a cake... YUM!
It's nice to sneak away up there even though the weather isn't always the best... its very relaxing and always brings back memories of my Dad for me.

Another quick picture from the 4d!!

That is baby girl's face and right arm tucked up around her face.  This was by far the clearest picture we got.  The DVD is really amazing... the highlight was her little toes/feet (they are perfect... not too long of toes, crossed over toes, crunched together toes which makes them appear to be front/back, or any of those other things I can't stand about feet... yeah I'm picky about feet... EVEN baby feet) and seeing them on the screen as she kicked! Amazing! 

I'm SO LUCKY!

Today was such a great day... aside from the beautiful weather and playing outside with the kids I was also able to sneak another peek with a 4d ultrasound of baby number 3!! She continues to look beautiful! Her cheeks are still chubby and most everyone thinks she looks JUST like her big sister! She was still very sleepy this time (I guess that large moutain dew slurpee (thanks TETE!) and the junior mints must have put her to sleep!) and although she did at first have her hand in that same position... she later cooperated! We even got to see her little mouth and tongue... she was trying to eat her hand and kept sticking out her tongue! AND we got a little peek at her adorable feet and toes (which yet again look like Grace's!).  She is beautiful and we love her already! I cannot believe we only have about 8 weeks left until we meet her!

To top off my night I got to see "my girl" and her B.F.F. (best friend forever) Averie!! Averie (my good friend Christi's baby... born TODAY!) is another BEAUTIFUL girl! After our ultrasound (and two more showings) Greg went to get the kids and I headed up to hang out at the hospital.  I didn't plan on seeing Christi or the baby since it was late, but I did get to and even hold her!  :)  I can't wait to watch these little girls grow up!  

Pictures from our ultrasound to come soon... just too tired to do that tonight! :)  

Beautiful day!!

Today was such a beautiful day, the kids just wanted to be outside ALL day long! We went on a walk and just PLAYED.  It was such a nice day!! We also ventured out to Costco tonight... we had yet another showing (8 in 6 days!) so we had to get out and go somewhere! Besides I needed to stock up on our necessities (waffles, apple crisps, milk, etc).  Which brings me to my second reason for this post!  My top ten list of cravings in honor of good old St. Patty's day (in no particular order).

1. Shamrock Shakes!!

2. Cheese Fries

3. Banana Bread (small loaves like Sandy makes!)

4. Slurpees

5. Salads (EXTRA ranch, cheese, sunflower seeds with a little lettuce! No other way is acceptable!)

6. Quiche or Zucchini Pie 

7. Salt & Black Pepper Potato Chips

8. Mountain Dew

9. Peanut Butter

10. Kruse & Muer Bread

Yes, yes I know not very many healthy options, but I can't help it!! I have been eating salad like it is going out of style... so I say that is healthy!  Greg disagrees with it since I use a "bit" of ranch.  The funny thing is I have had alot of cravings come up that are things I ate as a child (banana shakes... have yet to have those!).  

Tomorrow is my second 4d ultrasound, yeah!!

Gallstones... Confirmed!

Well my pain was certainly not muscles or nothing... I went for an ultrasound today and the tech did tell me that I have some gallstones.  I'm sure at my next appt on March 23rd I'll find out more... but I wanted to update everyone.  Until then I just have to watch what I eat to see if I can figure out what is causing the attacks. The tech & the registration lady both commented that I could NOT be 30 weeks pregnant... they said I looked so small! They about fell over when I said it was my 3rd!! I feel huge but it seems like everyone says differently, hey I'm fine with that! 

For those following the move we are up to 6 showings in 2 days.   WOAH...

4d Ultrasound

Tonight we had our 4d ultrasound... it was amazing! Doe, Bets & Tete went along with Greg & I to catch a peek at baby number 3! She is absolutely adorable and I think she looks just like Grace (let us know what you think in our poll on the side!).  She has cute chubby little cheeks, and a button nose.  She unfortunately was a bit un-cooperative so we will be going back next Tuesday (March 17th) for another peek! She (it was confirmed she is a she) was very sleepy and kept wanting to stick her hand up by her eye and near her mouth.  (I swear she looked like she was licking her hand or sucking her thumb.) It did take us quite a while to get a good view of her (she was looking at us and we need her to look up).  They did say she was head down (good news).  Mommy had to go to the bathroom, drink juice and do some jumping jacks and she still didn't want to wake up! Her are some of our pictures... I cannot wait to go back and get some more! :)  We also have a DVD, so next time you see us be sure to check it out!! 

One more quick note... baby's heartrate was 138 bpm.  Just had to throw that out there... a girl with a low heartrate! 

Here is her little face with her arm up by her eye... so sweet!

Showings!!

Our house did officially go up for sale Monday... we got our sign and lock box on Wednesday (I have been meaning to take pictures of the kids by the sign because Jacob really likes it, but haven't had the time thus far!).  The move comes with so many mixed feelings since we have had so many wonderful memories and this is the home we have brought our babies home too! :( However like I have said, we are simply running out of room for both humans and storage! It is so strange to think about someone else being in "our" home, but I know it is a good step for us.  

On the plus side of things we have already had two showings and have two more scheduled for tomorrow!  We had the first two calls come in before we even had a sign up!! The hardest part is always keeping everything picked up and ready to go incase someone wants to come, but I won't complain... at least they are coming, right?!??!!?!

Grace ON Tuesday!

So Doe & I have come to the conclusion that Tuesdays are Grace's catch up days.... again this Tuesday she was crying for "nighty" at 9 am!! Doe let her go back to sleep and she got gently woken at 11! Then she visited Jacob at Speech (and got a wonderful report from Miss. Katie! Miss. Katie couldn't believe how much she says for someone who isn't even 2 yet!! The multiple word phrases she pulled out during our visit really impressed her, that and her articulation (by 3 kids should be 80% understood by a stranger... and Grace has that too!) ANYWAYS... after speech we headed back to Doe's to take a nap and Grace went back to sleep and slept from 2-5:40PM! WOAH... Doe told me that she thinks the weekends tire poor Grace out! I'd say so!!

Doctor's Visit... 29.5 Weeks!

Today I had my doctor's visit with Dr. Mikula.  All is looking good with weight gain, blood pressure and my lab work (believe it or not I was actually below the normal range for my PIH labs (deals with blood pressure!).  She reminded me that we still have to keep an eye on that, and I am by no means "out of the woods".  We discussed my ongoing upper right quadrant pains and she feels that I should have an ultrasound.  She fully believes that I have a colic-y gallbladder due to the pregnancy.  I may need to have it removed, but we will see. I am going to have my ultrasound done, and go back to see her in 2 weeks.  She did ask me if I wanted the number of the surgeon (which freaked me out a bit)... then we decided to wait to see what the ultrasound shows. She said it could show nothing... we'll see.  I also had my PIH labs done again, just to be on the safe side.  

Lastly we talked about the oh so lovely lice outbreak at my school and what I can use if I happen to get it.  Which I'm really hoping I don't!! The good news is there are a few treatments that are safe to use when pregnant, which was my major worry! I just get all itchy thinking about it! 

All in all I'm still feeling really good.  Aside from being really tired and having pains in my upper stomach I'm doing good.  The hard part is lifting the kids, stairs (yes carrying the kids), and all that other little stuff.  The baby is really becoming quite active (especially when I lay down at night).  We have been talking more with the kids about their new sister.  Jacob seems to understand, I don't think Grace gets it.  I have been waiting to tell them until it got closer, I have heard not to tell them too soon for different reasons.  Jacob has told many people the baby's name.. and also have told us the baby's name should be "Pete the Baby Girl" (from Mickey Mouse).  He is too much! 

I'm surprisingly still able to wear my regular jeans... YEAH! Shirts I haven't attempted, I'm sure they are too short!  I have no swelling but I do have some bouts of indigestion.  Ugh...

We also began to get some things out for the baby... clothes, bottles, etc.  Jacob loves helping with the baby stuff and always says "AWWW".   I still feel as if there is tons more to do (getting her bed ready, more baby stuff out, diapers to buy, clothes to wash... let alone all the "other daily stuff" that goes into having 2 other children and a house for sale. )  Most nights I'm completely overwhelmed. I look back on the days I had "Just Jacob" and chuckle that I actually thought I was "busy".  I didn't have a clue!! YET... I wouldn't have it any other way!

House For Sale... & Busy Week Ahead!

It's official (or will be Monday morning) that our very first home is for sale! I'm excited for what is ahead for us, yet sad.  This was the first home we shared, the place we brought all our babies home from the hospital to, and a special place of so many wonderful memories from the past six years! I'm excited and anxious about selling this home and finding a new home but I know it will all work out.  I'm hopeful that we will find something and that our home will also find someone.  I have never been a fan of moving but I know its just a house and our memories create a home... the memories won't leave us.  

On that note... if you know of anyone looking in our area for a home, please send them our way! As soon as information becomes available I'll send it to all of you. 

We have a very busy week ahead of us... I have a doctor's appointment and in addition to that we are also having a 4d ultrasound done on Thursday (I'm SO excited for this).  We are also working on Grace's birthday plans... we have the theme set and the invitations done (they just have to be printed and mailed).  Let alone all the little things that we have going on daily, should amount for a pretty big week! And don't worry... we'll be sure to keep you all updated on how it all goes! :)

Conrad's Birthday Party!

Tonight the kids had so much fun at Conrad's party... Grace is already talking about her party now! (she knows what kind of party she is having and how old she will be) They throughly enjoyed the cupcakes, the toys, the present opening and the company! 

Little "G" is 23 Months Old!

It seems so hard to wrap my head around the fact our baby girl will be 2 next month! Having Grace in our lives has been such a pleasure and surprisingly so different than our experience with Jacob. She lets nothing stop her... she has determination, will, and a spunky little personality that influences us and makes us laugh every single day!

The other thing that just amazes me about Grace is how motherly she is... she just loves babies and cannot get enough of them. I know that she was just meant to be a big sister and will have a special spot in her heart for the new baby. Jacob has always been such an idol to her... she does everything and says everything he does/says. I can only imagine what she will teach her little sister and the bond they will share... I'm sure it will yet again surprise us all and create wonderful memories. I'm so excited to see how she reacts and see her love for this baby.

Grace's favorite things to do are play with babies (real or fake), imitate her brother, play with Abby, go to work (riding in her car or the four wheeler... speaking of that she caught on so much quicker to that than Jacob and alot of other kids I have seen), eat (anything!), give kisses, brush her teeth, try to go on the potty (mainly number 2!), clean (with wipes or the vaccum), watch Minnie/Mickey and gang, watch the wiggles, try on sunglasses, and jump on the bed or off anything (she is quite the daredevil!).

Her only thing that has been holding her back is her "shadow" if you haven't yet watched it be sure to check out the post below to watch the video with her and her shadow. She was very afraid of it for a few days, but now seems to be friends with Miss. Shadow!

Grace is developing an amazing vocabulary and each day Greg & I are amazed at how much more she says. She is saying small sentences now... "Mommy, I want up" was her newest. She will repeat anything (toodles= Mickey Mouse is the one that made us laugh most recently). The funny thing she does is when we are leaving somewhere she says "bye" to everything... bye shoes, bye daddy's car, bye dog. Same when we come home... hi daddy's car, hi daddy's house (lol), hi shoes, hi coat. She just goes on and on... she even does this when she goes upstairs to go to bed!

She has the appetite of a horse or her Uncle Tim... this girl can chow. She can eat 2-3 pieces of pizza. She amazes me with how much she can pack away for how tiny she is. She loves her food and really doesn't have many dislikes. The weird thing is neither one of my kids are big on meat/chicken as a whole. Grace will eat it "in" something but not on its own. Not surprising... since I won't either. She also has totally mastered water bottles... the hardest thing is she doesn't quite get when she bends over if the cap isn't on she'll be wet! Oops!

Grace is still waiting to cut her two year molars but I think they are on there way. She told me that her teeth hurt today and she had her hand in her mouth ALOT today! She also has been asking for her "buh" (which she only has at bedtime) and her knee (her blankey... which again she only has at nap time). We'll see, well hopefully we'll see... they are a little hard to spot!

THE SHADOW...

I hope this works... it is the HILARIOUS video Greg's Mom took of Grace with her shadow!!

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/65ddbe3094b2579a50a545a53f034078/video/3275332

Luckily we appear to be over that... the funny thing is she is "tame" in the video compared to her first day with her "shadow"!!

Grace is a "LAZY BONES"...

At least that is what Jacob says about her.  Tuesday her & Gigi were hanging out when she decided she wanted to go to sleep at 11:30 AM (her usual time is about 1PM).  I'll admit I was a bit concerned since that is Jacob's speech day and I thought she might get up around the time we came home and then Jacob wouldn't nap. Well it turns out I had to WAKE HER UP at 5PM!! YIKES!! And you guessed it... she proceeded to go to bed at her regular bedtime (8:30PM) and sleep until her usual wake time of (7:45AM).  We wonder sometimes if she has carbon monoxide poisoning or malaria!  

Jacob's First Time...

Well Sunday (after Jacob had some bathroom issues on Saturday) Jacob threw up for the VERY first time (yes, remarkable that he is 3.5 and just now throwing up!). He threw up twice. Once on the couch and once on the floor. He also had it coming from another end the ENTIRE day. I felt so badly for him... he just looked miserable! After the second time he threw up he said "Mom, this is making me upset. I don't like this!" By Monday he was on the mend (we still kept him out of school he was still very tired but aside from the bathroom visits we were doing great.) Tuesday... ALL better!