Who is he?

So, we've pulled out each of my kids' first year scrapbooks and have been going through them each night together. It's been really fun reviewing their early years. As we look at the pictures and read what I journaled about them, we've asked ourselves, what is this baby going to be like? Will he have as much hair as Mark had? Will he cry for a full year straight like Kyra did? Will he eat wonderfully (meaning it didn't hurt mom at all) like Darci did? Will he look more like Mark and Darci (who, believe it or not, look very much alike, and who look like Dave's family), or will he have more of the Kyra look (which is from my family--she looks very similar to a few of my nieces)? Will I adjust easily as my kids are older and can take care of themselves in so many ways? Or will it be harder having a baby so much younger than my other kids? Do I really have any idea what I'm in for? Will having a baby in the home feel so natural like the three times before? Will he totally change the dynamic of our family (like Kyra did)? Or will he blend right in with the family we have?  Will he be born without a hitch like my other three, or is he going to throw me for a loop and like, make me push or something?! (Sorry, I know some of you want to kill me right now, but I can be real, right? This is my blog, afterall!) I know he's head down and I'm practically dilated to a 10 and 100% effaced already, but what if he's posterior? Or what if the cord is tight around something and makes it difficult for him to come out?

Well, I suppose it won't be long before all of my questions are answered. Maybe I'll even find time to let you all know.

Just 14 days to go. . .

I can't believe I'm 37 weeks pregnant! I'm scheduled to be induced in just 14 days. I've been having lots of contractions, but I'm pretty sure I'll make it to the induction date because everything was similar with my last two and I made it to that point without going into labor with them (of course, I was 5 years younger then!). A week ago I was dilated 3cm and 80% effaced. I cancelled my apt. today because Dave's sister Sierra was graduating from HS and we wanted to celebrate with her, so I wasn't able to be checked. I wouldn't be surprised if I've dilated another cm or two! I was dilated 6cm with Kyra at this point. Over-all I feel really great. . .other than the sleeping being rough, the lower back pains getting a little intense sometimes, the extra 30 lbs making it a little hard to get up and down, and the heartburn after eating anything!!!

I went out with my sister Kimmy and got another haircut. Dave's concerned that the days of "long hair" are long gone, he may be right because I'm loving the shorter hair, but we'll see. . .maybe after having a little one again I'll just want to pull it back in a ponytail for a couple years. :)  I experienced my first case of KANKLES the other day and did not like it ONE bit! I spent two full days sitting at the computer so I could totally catch up on my scrapbooking (which I did, thank you very much--you can check out my pages on my scrappin' blog) but it resulted in my legs retaining water and getting pretty swollen at the ankles and feet. That has never happened to me. . .it felt weird and looked gross. Needless to say, I will not sit for more than an hour at a time from now on!

I have the crib set up, the camera charged, and the baby clothes and diapers in the baby's room. . .that's all I should need, right? I guess I did tell Dave we should probably splurge and buy either a small swing or a bouncer so I have somewhere to set the baby other than on the floor. But, other than that, I think we're set. The kids are SO excited. Mark is done with school and Kyra has the week off that I'm being induced, so I shouldn't have to work around ANY schedules for a bit. I'm definitely looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere and just spending time with the kids and the baby. I also look forward to having my mom stay with me for a few or more days! I hope all goes as planned. :)

Motherhood. . .

(I actually started this post a few months ago, but haven't come back to it until now. . .yesterday being Mother's Day reminded me of it.)

is a GIFT! The first thing I find myself thanking Heavenly Father for in each of my prayers is the opportunity to have children in this life and for the freedom I’ve had to make the choice to be home with them to teach, serve, and LOVE them every day! I’ve realized that as I talk to friends about various difficult parts of raising children, I always point out that we would really have it no other way, as we would easily choose the problems we’re facing over NOT having our child/children. If I’m having a particularly hard time, I think of my step-mom who lost one of her children in a car accident when he was 6 years old! I know she feels that she would take ANY difficulty in raising him over not having him anymore. Or I think of a good friend who has tried to have children for many years and is not able to. I know she would also trade any difficulty over not being able to be a mother in this life. How difficult it must be for these two and others to watch so many of us take motherhood for granted. Before I got pregnant (8 months ago), I couldn’t believe my baby Darci was over 4 years old and only a year away from kindergarten. . .and I realized how fleeting our time really is with our children! Mark was nearing the end of “playing with toys” and my kids were almost all in school! Could the toy messes really end so soon? Could my time with little ones at home all day really end so soon? Have I done enough? Taught them, loved them and served them enough? I couldn’t believe it! Time had gone WAY too fast. I look back on every minute I’ve had with them and thankfully am grateful for all the time I’ve NOT been away.

If you know me, you know I’ve had my fair share of vacations, girls night outs, etc. It’s not that I haven’t done anything without my kids. I really think that doing things with my sisters and friends on a regular basis is serving my children as they need to have a healthy mother! But, I also know there’s a time and season for everything and soon enough I’ll have plenty of time to do things “for myself”. . .and if I really think about it, I’m not necessarily looking forward to that time. For now, I’m happy to be having a baby in a month and postponing that time a little longer. :)

Pregnancy

I've always enjoyed pregnancy, from the minute I've seen a positive test result to the minute I've given birth to each of my children, I've LOVED being pregnant! And, I've always really missed it after I've had my babies! I enjoy knowing there's a baby growing inside me, then feeling the baby move around, and love knowing that I get to be a mommy to another child! For the most part, I feel great throughout too. Of course I deal with morning sickness for about three months, get heart burn, stretch marks, loose joints, splotchy face, leg cramps, itchy, etc. like everyone else, but, I guess it's never been bad enough to make me not enjoy it. I'm a bit sad that I only have 5 more weeks of this pregnancy and then it will be over!!

I've also always thought that most women enjoyed being pregnant and it was the minority that didn't like it, but during this pregnancy I've come to think I've been wrong. I feel like I've come across way more women who say they DON'T enjoy being pregnant than do! Most agree that "it's worth it" but they'd rather skip the pregnancy if possible. I'm just curious how all my girlfriends feel about this. . .now that I realize it's not such a GREAT experience for most of you! So, PLEASE, do tell!!!

Tums. . .my new best friend!

I'm only 8 weeks away from delivering this little guy. We're so excited, but can't believe how fast time has gone by. Since some of my friends/sisters have commented that I haven't looked pregnant in a picture yet, I decided to post a couple where you can really see my belly. I am DEFINITELY showing and I can DEFINITELY feel it after each meal. . .hence the title of this little post. :) I just can't believe how much fun I'm having being pregnant again. I love feeling him move ALL the time and preparing for another baby in our family. I just turned 36, but I don't feel much older than I did with Mark at 25!

Sea World

We really enjoyed adding 2 days at Sea World to our family vacation this year.

We found that feeding the dolphins was the best way to get to touch one! We did that both days and all of us loved it!

We also watched the Shamu show both days. After watching it from very far away the first day, the kids wanted to sit up in the "soak" zone for the second show. Dave and I weren't about to chance getting soaked and having to walk around uncomfortable the rest of the day, so we put ponchos on the kids and sat them right up front, then we went to the back again. They LOVED getting splashed by Shamu! And, Dave and I were amazed that all of our kids are (for the next two months anyway) old enough to be without us for a whole show. We enjoyed watching them have so much fun. :)

If you look close you can see Kyra's hands up egging Shamu on. This was the big splash that got them all wet!

We also got to see the Sesame Street characters at Sea World and ride a few rides.

 

Enjoying the *MAGIC*

As always, Disneyland was *MAGICAL*! The kids LOVED meeting, hugging, and getting kissed by the characters. We really enjoyed our time at the Mickey and Friends character breakfast where they got to dance, play, and take pics with the characters. Mark was especially excited to see Daisy because he hasn’t been able to find her except in the parades in the past. Goofy teased Darci a lot so she had to stop and hug him every time we passed him during the following four days! Kyra was overjoyed to see Jasmine as she knew that after the HOUR long line she would have to be happy with whatever three princesses were available at that time. . .and Jasmine is her favorite. We did get to see Jasmine in the Aladdin show also. I wasn’t sure I wanted to sit through the production again as we’ve seen it the past two visits to Disneyland, but Mark insisted, so we went. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it the third time! The genie makes the show so funny. We loved It's A Small World, they've incorporated many of the characters into the ride and it was fun finding them among all the dolls. We enjoyed the Disneyland parade this year as the kids got to get out and dance a little with the characters. We also got to see Disney's Electrical Parade for one of it's last showings as they're taking it to Florida next week. I'm glad we stayed up late for it, I loved it. Well, I've posted most of our character pics as my kids love to see what characters others have seen, so just scroll past if you're short on time. . . :)

We've made it a family tradition to go to Disneyland every other year for the past 6 years, so this is our third trip. We've absolutely loved it every time! Our first time was when Darci was 6 months old and that was perfect because the kids could ride every attraction twice as we did the "parent swap". The second time the kids were all old enough to really enjoy themselves. . .although Darci was a bit scared of the characters at that point. This trip also turned out well because since I'm 7 months pregnant and can't go on very many rides, I was able to run around and get fast passes so the kids didn't have to wait in such long lines for the more popular attractions. We've always enjoyed California Adventure as much as Disneyland and end up spending just as much time there as we do at Disney. We see a lot more of the characters there and we love the shows: Turtle Talk with Crush, Aladdin, It's Tough to be a Bug, Playhouse Disney, and Drawn to the Magic were the ones we went to this time. And, all of us loved the ride Soarin' Over California! At Disneyland, the kids spent a lot of time in Toon Town playing in all the houses. Darci just LOVED Minnie's house and couldn't get enough of it. I just can't believe how enjoyable it is to sit back and watch my kids be so excited and have so much fun! We can't wait to visit again in 2012!!! :)