He's Here!!!

And I could not possibly be more in love! Our precious boy arrived in the wee hours this morning. He is healthy, sweet tempered, smells absolutely scrumptious, and I am completely smitten. It truly is amazing the love God gives you for each of your children. It never gets old! Here are a few pictures of our sweet boy. Hopefully Alli has a few more that you can see soon! More details to come later, but for now we are just soaking up this amazing blessing.  God is SO good and we praise Him for this child!

Ezra Daniel
March 1, 2014
4:07 AM
8 lbs 8 oz
21 inches

 

Just For Fun...

We made it...

Here we are: full term. And as much as I was hoping I wouldn't be able to take a 40 week picture, I am now thankful. I fully believe God's timing is perfect, and am excited to meet this sweet baby whenever our Sovereign Creator thinks it best. Let's be honest, being sick has definitely contributed to my willingness to wait a little longer. But God has given me so much peace in trusting Him for his perfect timing. So until this sweet baby is in my arms, I will enjoy a few more days of rest with my family. Stay tuned...

Patience Has Arrived...

There's nothing quite like waking up with a sick child and you yourself feeling like you've been hit by a bus to cure you of the desire to go into labor any second.  Silas and I both woke up with colds this morning. Normally, a cold is not that big of a deal but add that to being 9 months pregnant and my body is completely worn out.  Funny how yesterday I would have given anything to go into labor and today I am terrified of the thought.  I REALLY hope this sweet babe doesn't arrive until this bug (even though a small one) has made its way through our house.  The thought of going through labor, not sleeping for days on end, and attempting to get back into breastfeeding mode seems nearly impossible when my head is throbbing, my body aches, and I can't breathe.  Once again, thanks for listening to me complain.  This, too, shall pass.  And I know and fully believe that God's timing is best and He will bring this child into the world when He thinks it best.  I'm just hoping that's not tonight.  Right now, sleep sounds way more appealing.

P.S.  Aren't you glad you're not married to me?  To say that my mood/hormones have been a roller coaster lately is an understatement.  But honestly, my husband has completely picked up the slack and has been SO good to me.  And I know it hasn't been easy.  So babe, thanks.  I appreciate you more than I can express!

(Not So) Patiently Waiting...

I'm still pregnant.  Need I say more?  Ok, since I'm slightly emotional about this I will go ahead and say a few more things.  First of all, I am 39 weeks pregnant today.  Although, one could argue that the due date is up for debate since it was based solely on ultrasounds, of which I had four and they all varied by about a week, but whatever.  Officially, I am due next Friday.  And I know I should be thankful to be at this point because the later a baby is born, the healthier he/she is...usually.  But the problem is, I am so done.  I know every single woman who has ever been pregnant and full term says the exact same thing, but I would give just about anything to have this baby right now.  Today.  This very moment.  Unfortunately, I don't think my body is ever going to bring this baby into the world on its own.  I was induced 4 days early with Owen and a week early with Silas, so to go very many days beyond 39 weeks is pretty much overdue in my book.  I really wanted to have this baby naturally without being induced, but I'm kinda losing hope.  I mean, if all of the bajillion contractions and cramping and back aches I've had up until this point are not doing much in the way of preparation, I don't know what will. So here we are.  39 weeks and incredibly pregnant.  Anxiously waiting to hold my sweet precious baby in my arms.  Just waiting...

P.S.  Sorry to be such a complainer.  But if you've ever been pregnant, I know you understand.  The reality is, in a blink of an eye my baby will be in my arms.   I know that.  I just needed to complain.

P.P.S.  I keep thinking my next post will include a picture of my baby.  I have nothing else to blog about.  Boring.

For the record...

You know how there are some things that occur in life that you think you could never possibly forget but then a few years go by and you forget them?  Well, just in case I really do forget this particular aspect of pregnancy #3 (which currently seems impossible), I thought I would document it just for the record.  People, I have an absolutely insatiable ice craving.  I mean, I truly crunch ice ALL. DAY. LONG.  My ice maker can't even keep up.  C.J. regularly brings home bags from his office to supplement, but even that isn't enough.  Thankfully, our local mini-grocer sells a 32 oz cup full for a quarter:

 

But sometimes even that doesn't last long enough for our home ice maker to replenish its stock. So thankfully, we now have snow for when I'm really desperate:
 

 I've been told the craving goes away after you give birth. I wouldn't know since this is my first pregnancy during which I have had the craving, but I sure hope that's true. Otherwise, my teeth just might start to fall out!

P.S.  I'm pretty certain that if I don't give birth to this baby soon, my other two boys are either going to run away or trade me in for a new mom.  My irritability and short temper that come along with these hormones are so not ok!

Winter Wonderland...

We are absolutely loving all of this gorgeous snow, even if its arrival this winter was a bit delayed!

 

In the meantime...

So what do you do when you have been looking at hundreds of newborn photos on Pinterest and are dying to take some photos of your own newborn but said newborn hasn't arrived yet? You bribe your newborn's older brother with his own Snapple if he will let you practice on him. But then that newborn's older brother, who happens to be four, picks his nose, makes funny faces, wiggles around, and generally does not cooperate. When that happens, this is what you get:

 

Hey, at least it provided some much needed entertainment!

37 down, 3 to go...

Finally!!!

It's snowing!!! As in, real snow that actually covers up the grass! You have NO idea how happy this makes me. This is EXACTLY what we needed! The only thing that could make this day better is if my other two boys were here to enjoy it with us!

 

Good stuff...

Forts...

This is what our living room has looked like for a few days now.  Actually, yesterday's fort was built on the landing of the stairs but it stayed there all day.  And for those of you who know me, this is definitely a sign of progress.  For those who don't, suffice it to say that I am not the best at putting up with chaos and/or mess around the house.  So to actually let the kids leave their projects out for any extended period of time is quite an accomplishment for me.  And you know what?  It's not actually that bad.  Maybe I will eventually buy into the whole "it can be cleaned up at the end of the day" thing.  Or maybe I'll just be forced into it when baby #3 arrives!

P.S. You might get sick of seeing pictures of Silas playing every day for the next 4 weeks. But I'm trying to entertain myself here, so you'll just have to deal. I mean, a girl's gotta do something to get her mind off of hoping for baby to arrive early!

C.R.A.Z.Y.

Ok, time for a brutally honest post. People, I am about to go crazy...in more ways than one. First of all, I am getting SO incredibly stir crazy. The weather around here has been the exact same every stinking day for a solid 3 weeks. And that weather is anything but cheery. Dark, cloudy, 40 degrees. Every. single. day. Nothing different. Now don't get me wrong: I love clouds and cozy days. But without any snow or even frost to make it feel like winter, it is just blah. And honestly, with my about-to-give-birth hormones these days, a little sunshine would go a long way.

 Which brings me to my main point and the real reason I am going C.R.A.Z.Y.: HORMONES!!! I don't know if any of you ladies out there who have been pregnant before went absolutely bonkers at the end of your pregnancy, but I sure am. And this is something I didn't have to deal with my first two pregnancies. My poor family. During the first trimester of carrying this sweet babe, I felt really good physically but hormonally I was a wreck. Mad. Irritable. Oh-so-tired. Short tempered. It was so bad that I was about to ask my doctor what to do about it but then I hit the 12 week mark and it all went away. And since 12 weeks, I have felt pretty darn good...until about 2 weeks ago. Oof. Something changed hormonally in me and it is not very pleasant. I have read that it is quite normal at the end of pregnancy for your hormones to change drastically since your body is preparing to give birth, but oh man is it discouraging. Yesterday as I was sitting in church, I felt like somebody was literally sending shots of various hormones through my body every few seconds. All of the sudden I would feel like I wanted to bust up laughing, and then a few seconds later I would feel like sobbing, and then a few minutes later my muscles would be burning as though I had just finished an hour long workout with Jillian. And the worst part about it all is that I have had zero patience with my poor kiddos and husband. What on earth am I going to do for another 4 weeks??? I know it's about perspective and I am trying my best to be thankful to even be pregnant and get to experience this miracle in life once again, but honestly it's just really hard. You know, I will probably regret writing this because tomorrow I will likely wake up and feel great and think "what on earth was I complaining about?" But for now, I need a little cheer. The problem is, I have no good ideas of how on earth I am going to keep us all entertained until this sweet baby is born. And that is why you get to see yet a few more pictures of my children playing. Today, Silas discovered an old mobile that I had over Owen's crib when he was a baby and wanted to play with the stuffed animals that were on it. So we cut the thing apart and the boys have been playing with them ever since. I love these boys, I truly do. And I just pray that I will be patient with them and show them joy during the long 4 weeks we have left.

 

And this is why blogging is good for me: because I can look at these pictures and see the joy that God has in every day, even when we struggle.  I can see my children playing together and capture their sweet faces in a photograph and realize that this truly is a time in life to cherish.  And if I didn't take the time to blog (or take pictures), I think I would miss out on a lot of joy by focusing solely on the struggles.  For that, I am thankful.  

These days...

The boys have been really into playing firefighters lately. They created a fire station by cutting a hole in some cardboard and setting up a fort like creation between the coffee table and the couch. It truly is the simple things that keep them most entertained! I would also like to note that Silas wore the whole firefighter get up to Bible Study Fellowship this morning. And just so you know, the backpack is actually an oxygen tank!