this week so far....

we went to ikea a few days ago

and bought a crib for henry that we won't set up until we move

we will definitely miss having an ikea so close!

 we also went to an indoor garage sale of sorts 

and hazel carried eleanor like a baby
i love these cute girls

i really couldn't ask for a nicer big sister for all these little ones

 eleanor is getting jealous already

she got mad at me when i told her not to get in henry's swing or cradle

and tried to shut me out of his room...

 this was my last sunday before henry's born

i'm so glad i could find something to wear

it gets harder and harder to fit anything by the end

noah and hazel have made up their own club recently that usually takes place when they should be sleeping...

but they had a meeting in our bed the other morning and i thought they were so cute cuddled up

 michael FINALLY turned his thesis yesterday

such a relief

i spent like 3 hours proof reading it for him on sunday

not fun...

we went to the temple for family home evening yesterday
we had grand plans of a spiritual lesson, taking baptism pictures of noah, etc.
but after a few short minutes and a super short lesson, all the kids needed to use the bathroom
so we left
and went to the byu creamery for dinner and dessert instead
which was also fun

 last night we were reading scriptures

olive doesn't normally participate

she usually puts herself to bed when we start or plays

but last night she grabbed her tiny book of mormon

and every word noah said, she repeated

it was so funny

i think she may have thought she was actually reading :) 

at my last ob appointment my dr said to head to the hospital if i have contractions 8 minutes apart

we timed them last night and they were consistently 7 minutes apart....

but i don't feel quite ready to go to the hospital because we don't have our help here yet

i'm going to wait it out and see how it goes today

i'm hoping to still make it until thursday or friday 

but i don't want to labor unnecessarily or add any risk... 

henry may be here sooner than friday

our last weekend with 4 kids

this baby is coming on friday

so we figured we'd have one last hurrah this weekend

we went out to breakfast to magleby's (our favorite)

this picture of noah and hazel got a little over exposed from the light 

but i love that it shows how similar they look

 michael and eleanor

 this shows how eleanor feels about olive giving her attention lately....

 me and our four kittens

 i hate how fat my face gets at the end of pregnancy

but....oh well here we are

 eleanor and her wild hair

 magleby's is delicious

 orange mouths!

they are so cute

 we went thrifting after breakfast, looked at the progress on the new (tabernacle) temple

and bought the kids a sandbox

then we spent the rest of the day at home playing outside and riding bikes

michael and i also spread some new bark and planted some new flowers for the front port

it was so nice

ps. i had my last ob appointment (38 weeks) on friday

and when i told my dr. that i'd measured 46 centimeters the week before when i saw a different dr.

he said, "yeah, you're huge" and made a joke he's going to have to wear waders 

because of how much fluid i must have (haha)

he also said to head to the hospital if i have contractions 8 minutes apart because this baby may come soon

either way baby and i are both healthy and doing well so we are grateful for that

even if i am huuuuuuuuuge

six more days! we're all so excited!

pregnancy (#5) pictures

i've been a little nostalgic about this pregnancy

just in case it's our last one (we'll see)

and since it's so easy to take my own picture with my phone

i've tried to take frequent pictures throughout

a few tidbits:

i definitely have a preferred side (ha!)

i felt pretty crappy about not getting allll the way back in shape after eleanor

but looking at my early pregnancy pictures, i think i was doing ok

i should try not to be so hard on myself

i have had a few shirts in heavy rotation this pregnany (mostly from target)

i can't believe i've done this five times!

and...

i'm having this baby a week from friday!!!!

i'm so excited and a little nervous
i can't wait to see his little face and have him placed on me right after he comes out
also, at my 37 week check up last friday, my uterus measured 46 centimeters
that's a new all time high for me
the fact that i know i'm having a c-section this time makes me a little more nervous about it
but i am pretty grateful that i get to have him on the day i'm 39 weeks
he's either really big or i have a ton of amniotic fluid
we'll see

this week..so far

after noah's martial arts tournament on saturday, we went to scheels for the kids to ride the ferris wheel

eleanor and i sat it out

she loved this little car cart

and i loved that she rested her feet on the steering wheels

during sacrament on sunday, my sunglasses helped entertain eleanor for a while

after church we went to the claytons for dinner

for dessert kate spoiled us with their chocolate fountain

i might need one now...

monday noah busted through his whole homework packet

he's so cute

17 days from today this boy gets here

after eleanor's nap this afternoon, she was resting on me

and i brushed her hair out with my fingers

i had no idea it would be so crazy crusty-the-clown-esque

poor michael has pink eye from this terrible cold he's had for a month or so

i think he's actually on his second cold 

he went to the byu healthcare center today and they gave him eye drops 

and antibiotics for a sinus infection

michael's not easily stressed but his thesis is really killing him

at least it will be turned in soon 

and then he will get a cute little baby boy to cuddle 

random thoughts & recent happenings

*I was so proud of our kids for sitting still during stake conference yesterday. Eleanor only lasted one hour so she, Olive, and Michael went out but Noah and Hazel were so good. As overwhelming as 5 kids can seem, it's not like you have 5 one or two year olds, kids grow up and become easier and I am grateful.

*Despite not sitting well during church, Eleanor is such a dream. Not only is she hilarious (she squints her eyes to talk a lot and scowls at everyone she doesn't know) she is the sweetest, most gentle girl. She gives hugs, good hugs---she squeezes and even makes a sweet satisfied hugging noise and yesterday she started giving the best kisses. She still has the big cheeks she was born with and I'm so glad. As impatient as I get with the kids while pregnant, I usually have never-ending patience for sweet Eleanor.

*Michael and I watched the first episode of Call of the Midwife yesterday and it made me feel pretty sad that I'm having yet another c-section. I'm grateful to have it planned and not have to labor unnecessarily but I'm sad I've had to have so many c-sections for weird fluky reasons. Oh well.

* I have no idea how Eleanor will handle having a new sibling. She loves babies and doesn't have a needy or possessive personality but you never know. Olive is just so excited for Henry to be here. I hope that lasts.

*Olive is such a funny attention lover. She made herself a microphone out of the magnetic pieces at the library then stood on a stool and sang super loud. She always poses when you want to take her picture and she loves to talk to everyone. So outgoing! It probably has something to do with the crazy amount of attention she's received since she was born. 

*After the library we went outside to a picnic table and had a really nice family home evening lesson followed by ice cream at the cutest ice cream shop.

*Hazel loves games lately. It started with dominoes and now it's go fish all day every day. It's pretty fun but she gets a little mad at me if I don't want to play anymore. My favorite is when the whole family plays together.

*I am having a hard time picturing our baby boy. I assume it's because 1) I haven't had a baby boy in almost 8 years or 2) Eleanor really threw off my idea of what my kids could look like. I had a pretty good idea until she came. Now I have no idea what our baby would look like. Also a fun fact..none of our kids have looked anything alike when they were born.

this week

this is a hilarious picture noah's primary teacher took a bit ago

i love his scowl

i just took this of hazel as she waited for her bus because i think she's cute

eleanor was cute coloring hazel's workbook

hazel got a gross cold this week (as did michael and eleanor)

so i kept her home from school tuesday

she was soooo mad when she watched her bus come and go

she wanted to go to school so bad

luckily lots of games of go fish helped

noah is awesome at sparring 

i couldn't believe these girls were laying the exact same way

 michael took this picture during a bishopric meeting saying it was a real "tough" one

 olive and eleanor playing outside nice and early

35 weeks

we're having our baby in less than a month! 

 i've started nesting which is good for feeling ready

but hard on my sore body

 we went to cafe rio for dinner last night and the kids sat a table over

it was like michael and i were on a date

amazing!

 olive loves hand dryers

she's so funny 

the knots in her hair after this were out of control

 today michael took the three big kids 

to a pool party at one of noah's martial arts instructor's house

isn't this an amazing indoor pool?! 

 noah's standing in one of three hot tubs

afterward he came home and told us we don't need to move to boise,

we can move in to this house because his instructor is selling it :) 

weekend update

eleanor's friday afternoon nap was extra cute

because she took both her babies down with her

usually she just takes one but she was extra happy to have both

....

saturday we got up and took hazel to a birthday party at a trampoline park place

and while she was there we took the other three to the pet store to look at the fish

and to toys r us to look at the toys

when we got home, noah couldn't get to his room fast enough

reading is his favorite lately

he's almost done with the third diary of the wimpy kid

 michael took the three big kids to the ward party

while i relaxed and eleanor napped

when she got up she wanted to watch a show

and i thought she was so cute watching from the coffee table

 while we were brushing teeth michael and i decided noah's super loose tooth needed to come out

so i pulled it 

he was mad at me at first but happy to have it out 

he put it under his pillow and somehow lost it from there

and then couldn't see the dollar we put there when he woke up

silly boy

hazel is totally jealous

noah has lost 8 teeth and she hasn't lost one yet

she does not like to be left behind by him

by the way, a few months ago noah learned to tie his shoes

and it was only a few weeks later that hazel learned, too

she really likes to keep up

they are almost at the same reading level, too

and not because noah's behind or anything

hazel is just a good self learner and loves to read

olive was throwing a fit at bedtime

and i thought michael was so funny trying to hug the grumpies out of her

it didn't work but it was still cute

michael has had a bad cold for a few days and today eleanor got it

poor girl but it was still a good day for her, playing on the trampoline

and taking a bubble bath with her sisters

i hope she doesn't get much worse
....
as far as a baby update
i had a 34 week appointment on friday
and he's measuring 39 weeks (!!!)
my hip-pelvis-back pain is off and on unbearable
i try not to do too much anymore
and luckily michael is awesome and helpful
we're excited for our baby boy to be here!!