an easter onesie

since i know i'll have a newborn by easter

i decided she'll need something festive 

i used this idea and template

to make eleanor a bunny onesie

 i got all four kids' easter baskets ready

(even assembled and hidden)

and most of noah's birthday preparation done already

so i won't be trying to get it all together

right after having a baby

now i'll get back to the task at hand.....

waiting

science fair

noah's science fair was tonight

here he is in front of his project

he had to show a collection

and sort it

so we took pictures of his hot wheels

and he sorted them

by color, speed and size

 here's noah and his best friend timothy

 and noah wanted to show me a picture he made

in the hallway outside his classroom

guess who it is of?

me! 

isn't that the sweetest?!

things i learned

at my ob appointment today

i am measuring 43 weeks along (FORTY THREE)

just like last week i am 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced (NO CHANGE)

the baby's head is slightly lower but still high and not engaged

my doctor will be out of town all weekend until tuesday

if by wednesday i haven't had the baby i get a c-section

 my weight is uncomfortably close to michaels

blurg

part of me wants to be put out of my misery already if it's going to end in c-section

but i know that if i am still pregnant by wednesday, i will have given it all i have

and i won't regret that

i'm hoping that the looming deadline will scare this little one out

and at least now i have SOMETHING i can count on

a little light at the end of the tunnel

ps. thank you kelli for watching my girls during my appt
and for the delicious cookies!!!

waiting, waiting, waiting

don't mind us

just here waiting for another little ballerina

to decide she's ready to join our family

we have a plan!

after debating whether to find a job

or go to grad school

michael applied for the masters in electrical engineering 

program at BYU

and we found out yesterday

that he got in!!!

so we're moving to utah this summer
for at least two years
i'll admit
that the thought of being done with school

was tempting
but we know if michael is going to grad school
it's now or never
and even if it's not easy
this is the right decision

yay for having a plan!!

40 weeks

i've got some
good news and bad news

bad news first?

i'm still pregnant

good news?

we're going on a date

to see the hunger games tonight

guess who got her ears pierced...

hazel did!!

while walking through our mall yesterday

michael asked hazel if she wanted to get her ears pierced

which we often do

and she always says "no, it will hurt"

but yesterday she said yes

even after michael started getting really nervous

(like tears in his eyes, wanting to walk away nervous)

she was determined
and i wanted to support her
because i have always said
i don't care when she does it
but i want it to be her choice
not one i make for her when she's an infant
or put an age restriction on
so i figured if she said she was ready, she was

and she did it without a tear

she was so proud

we were shocked and proud

she said it didn't hurt

sadly i didn't have our camera with us 

because i didn't know she was going to do it

but i took some pictures with the ipod

(that i will have to get on here later)

and some when we got home 

such a big girl!!

i think michael was a little heartbroken

to see his baby girl growing up

and it didn't help that when we went for ice cream

right after, she asked for vanilla (so mature)

or that when walking back to the car 

she saw a group of older girls (like 10 or 11 years old)

and said, "i wish i was big like them"

michael was pretty distraught about the whole thing

it was cute
too bad for michael we're going to have three girls
who are all going to want to grow up at some point

baby update

yesterday was a hard day

i hardly got 4 hours sleep the night before

because of my darn arms

and i went to my ob appointment

only to be disappointed that i'm 1 centimeter dilated

and 50% effaced

neither of which are bad

but she is still SUPER high 

and maybe a little stuck that way

like olive was

the doctor is prepared to let me go to 41.5 weeks

i, on the other hand, was not prepared for her to let me go

that long

so that was a little hard to hear

but i am so glad that i have a doctor 

who is so supportive of a vbac

at that point if baby hasn't come on her own

and is low enough

the doctor will break my water while i'm being monitored

otherwise it's a repeat c-section

i just really, really, really hope

she comes before that all on her own
...
luckily my husband is amazing
and took all three kids with him last night
to buy me flowers and pick up dinner
and some things we needed at the store
so i could have a little down time
seriously i don't know how i would survive without him
and i am so grateful for his support
...
a few positive things to not having the baby yet are
michael and i will get another date night in
and will go see the hunger games for it
i will get to go to noah's science fair
not that it's a big deal
but it's nice to be able to support him
and
the first week of april is noah's spring break
so we won't have to worry about getting him to or from school
or making sure he gets a snack packed and all that
and also hazel doesn't have ballet that week
so it will make being otherwise occupied
a little easier
...
on that note
it's hard being a mom of almost 4
and worrying about the one inside
and how and when she will get here
while making sure the other three are taken care of
especially without having family nearby

ha ha ha ha

 i thought i was showing so much at 8.5 weeks

turns out i had hardly begun

and now i'm really showing

at 39.5 weeks

sleeping princess

i love to take pictures of hazel napping

because it happens so infrequently

and always in random places

plus this time was extra pretty

because she fell asleep on our bed

all dressed for ballet

in fact she almost missed her class, she was so tired

a family walk

we went on a two mile family walk/bike ride

on the trail this last weekend

it was a lot of fun to be outside

and enjoy some decent weather

it was also good to help noah and hazel 

remember how to ride their bikes

after a long winter

speaking of, it's the first day of spring

which is super exciting

if only we didn't wake up to snow this morning..

39 weeks

i am due a week from today

which is exciting and soon

but i'm feeling pretty peaceful

if i want a v-bac, labor has to start naturally

and i don't have much control

so i'm happy letting go

and letting my body decide

i don't think i'll be allowed to go too far past my due date

without having the need for a repeat c-section

since high birth weight decreases success in v-bacs

but i am trying to be content
and accepting the fact that there may be
up to another two weeks of this

spring break

michael's been on spring break this week

so he's been working half days

taking noah to and from school

and then spending time with us for the rest of the day

it's so much easier to do fun things 

when michael is with us

so this week we've gone to mcdonalds, 

the science center, spokane, and the pet store

so much fun

i think this weekend we'll try our hand
at inducing labor naturally
(walks, spicy food, etc)
wish us luck!

spokane

today after my ob appointment

and noah got out of school, we headed up to spokane

 olive is so darling

especially when she's happy...

she may have missed a nap or two today

we may have stopped by krispy kreme

what?

i only have so much time left to eat whatever i want

we bought michael new glasses today

pretty cute!

by the ride home we're always a little spent

but it was a fun last little trip

before eleanor gets here

eleanor's corner

we're trying to carve out a little space for our new baby girl

in our little apartment

she'll be in our room for now

michael painted the cradle white yesterday

after we both confessed we didn't like the look of it stained

and i brought in the chair from olive's room

so i can have a space for nighttime nursing

we are getting really excited to meet eleanor

not to mention

my arms are super swollen again

just like they were at the end with olive

and it's really hard to sleep with achy swollen arms

but we'll wait patiently until she's ready to come out

38 weeks

it's crazy how close to the end we are

i had several hours of contractions 3-5 minutes apart yesterday

which was exciting

but didn't amount to much

we're getting last minute things done

and enjoying that michael is on spring break this week

this little one is welcome to come anytime

pig pile

 all three kids piled on michael today

 it was pretty cute

but didn't last long

sisters

 hazel and olive playing in a sideways tent

having so much fun

i love that they have each other

and that we're adding another little girl to their party

love this guy

for so many reasons

i am the luckiest woman in the world

i have the best husband 

not just because he came home from work today

when i called and told him how bad i needed a nap

then while i slept for three hours
he fed the kids lunch

took them to get hazel's bike fixed

and played with them at the playground

michael, i love you

forever and ever

on my mind

i'm sick of seeing the picture of my belly

so here's what's on my mind..

i've been reading a bunch about birth lately

and feel confident that i will have a v-bac

hazel's behavior has been crazy lately

lots of yelling, "that's not fair"

about everything

i expected bad behavior when we have the baby

but it's started early i guess

speaking of bad behavior starting early

olive is acting very two lately

though she won't be until july,

she is wanting to be very independent

and hates it when i get her dressed

or change her diaper 

she had her last day of speech today

she is really catching up lately

and wants to talk which is nice

because before she was completely content being silent

noah is going to be six next month

i can hardly believe it

i have been a mom for a long time! 

he calls everyone dude lately

and loves to play wii and ipod

oh and his very favorite pass-time is teasing his sisters

it is a little hard to believe we are going to have another baby

in just a few weeks

life will be different again

and we'll all have to adjust

but it'll be wonderful

i love my babies

michael still doesn't know about the school/work situation

we'll see where we go in just 2 short months

we're pretty open to whatever life brings

and we know we're always happy

as long as we have each other

37 weeks

last night my stomach was super itchy

so i had my shirt up and it gave michael the idea

 to color my stomach

i think it turned out as an easter egg

not sure

also not sure how this pregnancy has gone by so fast

and been so pleasant

but i'll take it

3 (or so) weeks to go!!

super fun weekend

thursday while i was talking on the phone with my sister

we decided she should come for a visit

and by friday night she was here!

saturday morning we left the kids with michael

and went to women's conference

i didn't realize i was sticking out so far..

 so happy to be together!!

 after the women's conference

we all went and saw the lorax in 3D

it was a lot of fun

 the kids got their first cousin sleepover

they slept through the whole night

without a peep

 sunday ready for church

her kids were not as accustomed to sunday morning pictures

and our kids were a little shocked by the sunshine today

 cute anna

 after church we had to enjoy the nice weather

and sledded on the grass

 i think clark was in heaven

the kids had so much fun together

we ate lunch and packed her up

and off they go

we'll miss them and we're so glad they came!!!

yikes

you'll never guess who jumped out of her crib for the first time today

bad timing, little miss

i really hope it was a one time thing

done out of anger

(she was really mad at me for getting her dressed after a morning bath)

and that she won't do it again 

for a looooong time

i am so not ready for her to be in a big girl bed

our week

noah is off of school this week for conferences

which i thought would be fun

but i didn't know hazel would have a double ear infection

that would make her act CRAZY

luckily she fell asleep for a few hours yesterday

giving us all a break

 olive is so funny

i bought her these rainboots yesterday

and she loves them

she's also a fan of binkies

(as a toddler, not a baby) and toothbrushes

 noah's enjoying a lot of wii time

here's his bow and arrow pose

such an exciting week..

i am considering venturing down to costco today

we'll see how it goes..