ps......still pregnant

i was really hoping it would happen by now

but it's probably good it hasn't since my parents
don't get here until tonight

i'm really excited for them to come because

a. they've never been here

unless you count my dad helping us move

but i don't count it
plus that was over a year ago

b. this means the kids will be super comfortable

as we're in the hospital having a baby
and we won't have to worry about waking any
of our friends in the middle of the night

c. my mom can be at the birth

which is awesome because she was the only person at noah's

and came right after my c-section with hazel
and i just love her

the only trick is...they have to leave on sunday

so...no pressure..

photoshoot in ross

i had no idea michael took these pictures of the kids

while i was wandering ross the other day

but i'm really glad he did

one down one to go

i passed my first due date yesterday
the latest due date is a week from today
i doubt i'll go past that
but i hope it's sooner rather than later
it's getting really hot lately
which i love
except that i'm super sweaty and gross
i think i'll have the baby soon....i just don't know when
my parents will be here tomorrow night
so maybe that'll help me relax knowing that someone will be here
if i need to go overnight
michael's a doll and stayed home from work today
so i wouldn't have to be stressed out all day
i'm sore from walking/jogging 3 miles pushing the kids in the stroller yesterday
but it did give me a lot of heavy contractions...

our darlings

one perk of michael going to PEC
and picking me up late for church
most sundays
is that we get a little extra time outside waiting for him
and sometimes i get cute pictures of the kids

did i mention

i'm dilated to a one

and the baby's head is super low

neither of which should be super shocking

or mean much

except that i've never dropped

until i was in labor before this pregnancy

and 

with hazel and her prolapsed cord

i only ever dilated to a one

maybe a one and a half

despite my 10 hours of labor

prior the emergency c-section

so...

things are happening

and we're excited

finally some sun!

yesterday we went to the water park for the first time this summer

it was super fun

noah is way confident in the water now that he's had swimming lessons

and hazel finally has better balance so she does pretty well, too

she couldn't get enough

then we went to dinner 

at our fave teriyaki place

sunshine

+

swimming

+

out to dinner

+ 

friends

=

summer

thoughts on pregnancy

• my hair has grown a ton this pregnancy and i'm enjoying it a lot
• pregnancy goes much quicker the more kids you have
• just because my friends are all super small when they're pregnant doesn't mean i'm huge
• i am anxious to be less swollen, less overweight, and less numb in my limbs
• but i'm nervous to have 3 kids
• i'm also nervous to deliver another baby
• please please please don't be another emergency c-section
• i kind of wish i could be induced so i could plan things better
• i wish we had a name for this little girl but it's kind of exciting this way
• i feel pretty ready, projects and nesting wise anyway
• but i think she'll stay in there until next week or the week after
• part of me enjoys that the baby is getting everything she needs right now
• and wants her to stay in a while longer
• i planned for it to be super hot when i have this baby...so far it's not
• i'm not motivated to try to induce labor yet
• it'll happen when it happens
• i purposely didn't care about my weight gain this pregnancy and it's served me well
• i've gained the same with all 3 pregnancies
• i can't wait to be comfortable while sleeping again
• i'm sad to see hazel bumped from the baby role
• i think the kids will really love their new sister
• am i ready to have 3 kids?
• i'm only 24
• i'm so happy my parents are planning on coming as soon as i say i'm in labor

happy fathers day, michael

to the best dad ever

happy fathers day!

we love you!

Love,

Rachael, Noah, and Hazel

lame

37-38 weeks

depends on the due date..

despite my recent pelvic pressure

the constant numbness in my arms and hands

frequent contractions

and swelling

there is nothing going on

the dr. is guessing nothing will happen until i'm in labor

which is how it's gone the last two times

but still lame

oh yes we did

first we got dressed in our toy story best

then ate dinner at mcdonalds

and then saw toy story 3

on opening night i might add

seriously i think michael and i might have been

as excited if not more than noah

maybe it's the millions of times 

we've had to watch toy story 2

who knows?

either way it was super fun

and we even had a gift card to use for mcdonalds

and one for the theater

win win win

ps..we really liked it

i'm serious this time..

i've made our blog private before 

once or twice

and i never liked it much

but something about having another baby

makes me feel protective a little bit

and i don't want the whole world to see her

hormones?

maybe

some highlights of our 3 years

the night we got engaged

our wedding day

the day noah was adopted

a picture we just love

the day we had hazel

the time she held your thumb

and lots of fun since then

love you, michael

three years ago today

we got married

and we're so glad we did

sunday best (hazel edition)

i love sewing for hazel

i made her this little dress last week

luckily she liked it

it was all fun and games at the park...

i decided to take the kids to the park

for a picnic while michael was at work today

and it was all fun and games
the kids ate lunchables
and had fun watching the ducks
there are even 4 little baby ducklings
then we played at the playground
it was lots of fun
...

i could have lived without
the part where i lost my balance
while holding hazel
and fell in the pond on our way back to the car
but...
oh well

five dollars of cute

thanks to the dollar store

the kids have looked super cute

hunting bugs

the nursery so far

and the specifics

white slipcovered ikea tullsta chair

we bought at goodwill for $13 and the slipcover

came from ikea's as is for $8

the ottoman i just re did

though as soon as i'm feeling energetic

the legs will get some white spray paint

white curtains from target

pink pillow i made

these are two ikea dressers

we painted a while ago

pink drawers with white knobs

the mirror is from goodwill for $4 

we spray painted it white

our $125 stokke crib from craigslist

is now painted white

that was a much bigger project than we hoped

but we love how it looks

i made this little mobile yesterday

our of some fabric flowers and wire

things aren't quite done

we're talking about painting a wall or two gray 

and maybe buying some sort of storage baskets

to hold diapers and such

on top of the dresser

oh and some bedding could be good

but i'll have to make it if i want it

because stokke bedding is super expensive

either way

i feel much more prepared than i did last week

now i should maybe start packing a hospital bag

and figure out who will watch our kids...

sunday best

cutest boy ever

other than my husband, of course

an ottoman for the nursery

we bought this ottoman at goodwill

for $2.00

and while i seriously love turquoise 

michael and i thought up

this sweet way to help it go with our

pink, white and gray nursery

isn't it darling?!

the only question is..

should i leave the legs natural

or paint them white?

last minute shopping

yesterday we took one last trip

before baby comes

to spokane for the day

to shop for a few last things

we bought her some super cute outfits

lots of pjs

and a few necessities like

newborn diapers and a baby book

i feel so behind this time

we're so late getting everything ready

but i guess that's what happens 

the more kids you have

i suddenly feel the need to apologize to my mom

for being on her case

for not doing a baby book for me

lesson learned

just in case you were wondering

this is what 36 weeks along

with my 3rd baby looks like

just one more month!!!

from the mouth of noah

within this last week noah has said:

to me: "Mom, you get mad when you're hungry?" 

I answered, "Yes."

to michael driving us to the store:
"Dad, stop being weird!"

Michael asked, "How am I being weird?"

Noah said, "Just drive normal."

to a crying hazel: "Don't cry sweetheart, it'll be ok."