Evangeline Eleanor

Our precious little girl was born at 3:27 am on Saturday morning, August 18th, 2012.  She weighed 8 lbs. 0 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long.  Labor and delivery went great and I can't wait to share the full story soon. 

Almost there...

Well, it's late Monday night.  Due date one has passed and due date two will be here in a little over 24 hours.  We are anxiously anticipating Grandma's arrival tomorrow afternoon.  Thea drew this masterpiece and asked me to write the names of everyone for her.  Mareea keeps saying, "I really love you, Mama" because she is just so excited about Grandma coming.  They want to take lots of walks with Grandma and go to the beach with her.  Landon made her an origami flying bird and taped it to the wall by where Grandma will sleep.  He attached it to a string so she can "fly" it. 

Wednesday night I'll be going out to eat with a couple of girlfriends here unless Sweet Baby decides to come before then.  It sounds so silly now, but I'm sort of hoping she'll hold off until this weekend at least so we can get Grandma adjusted and have time to do a couple of things.  However, I will just be so relieved knowing that there is someone to watch the kids when I go have the baby.  It was really stressful for me worrying about it! 

Here are a couple of pictures of my sweet girls before church yesterday.  It's so much fun to have little girls to dress up.  I can't believe that soon we will have THREE girls!!  Everyone is so excited. 

I don't take a ton of pictures of Gideon.  He's just too busy to catch most of the time!  Here he's working on some writing while I do school with his older siblings.  He is so cute.  I think he's going to love the baby.  He's learned recently how to be gentle with the puppy dog next door and he totally understands us when we tell him to "be gentle".  He has a baby doll that he pats on the back and gives kisses to.  He also can make the "shhhh" sound and knows what it means.  Maybe he'll be quiet more so the baby can sleep!  ha!  He is such a good listener and we think he is just so smart.  He understand everything we tell him and is saying more words all the time.  He's putting two words together sometimes which is really exciting. 

I'm betting this will be my last post until the baby comes.  Until then...

39 Weeks!!!

I can't believe I'm a week away from my due date.  I'm actually 2 days away from my "other" due date which is just crazy to me.  I had been very anxious to meet Sweet Baby, but now I have changed my mind and decided it would be better if she waited until Grandma is here to help out with the kids when I go to the hospital.  She comes in 6 days.  At my last appointment there was pretty much no change since 2 weeks before so I'm hopeful.  However, none of this is my choice so I might as well just settle down and enjoy the ride. 
Dan and I are loving to watch her dance at night.  She's a little mover!  It will be so different to have her with us on the outside.  Because I am sleeping well now, I'm afraid there will be quite an adjustment when she comes. 
I have been trying to get the kids enrolled in activities before the baby comes.  Ashton and Landon started a handbuilding pottery class yesterday and Q and A start a drawing class tomorrow.  We went and observed the Tae Kwon Do class on base, but I am not sure it's something I want to invest in.  I would love to find piano and soccer.  The girls are on the wait list for gymnastics (it's on base and always full) and I hope to get them into dance this weekend. 

Dan has been working a lot.  He's been working every Saturday for over a month (and Monday-Friday of course) and this is the first Saturday he'll be off.  However, he has duty.  That means he will go into work early Saturday morning and won't come home until Sunday morning.  I'm furious.  I think I may have had a small temper tantrum when he told me.  This is our last weekend (most likely) before the baby comes and we have not been able to do anything as a family for the most part. Sunday is taken up by church and naptime.  He had mentioned he might be able to switch with someone, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Here is a picture of me at 38 weeks.  I said I wouldn't do anymore pictures, but I had the camera out and took this one. 

I made this ring sling and can't wait to try out having a baby in it!  It was pretty confusing to make, but now that I have it figured out I think I could make more of them pretty easily.  I also made a gauze wrap of a similar color.  No picture because I cannot wear it with this big belly!

I think I'm pretty much ready for the baby.  We need to get the carseat out and wash the cover and I probably should rethink my "coming home" outfit and be a little more realistic about what I will fit into.  :) 

Wednesday Love

Here's a post about some things I am really loving lately!


This is a razor rip rider.  Our kids love to ride bikes and scooters with the neighbors in the alley out back.  One of their friends had this and they just loved it when he would share it.  I got it for Landon for his birthday and everyone wants to use it outside.  I'm about to order another one.  I LOVE that it is very, very sturdy and I dont' have to worry about the wheels popping.  Dan loves it, too.  Don't tell him I told you, but he likes to ride it with the kids.  It reminds me of the old fashioned Big Wheels!!
Remember the post awhile back about us getting bikes for the kids?  Well, they are sitting under our lean to either bent or with popped tires.  I don't know if they are just crappy or what, but Dan was using like 2 hours of his weekend to fix bikes just to have them broken again Monday.  I'm over it and so frustrated!  Anyway, the Rip Rider is "sturdy steal construction" and we are thankful it does not break on us no matter how hard it's ridden!!


These Melissa and Doug paint cups are awesome!  We use these for all sorts of different projects.  When I make homemade sidewalk chalk paint I put it in these so it won't spill.  When the girls use watercolors and need a cup to rinse their brushes I give them one of these with water in it.  No more do we have spilled water all over the table while water color painting!  Amazon has them for a great price and I'm considering getting some more.  With 4 of the kids outside wanting to paint the sidewalk, they can sometimes get frustrated with only have 4 cups. 



We slow-started school last week.  We started with just Explode the Code and math.  I just love Explode the Code.  Mareea and Thea are using their preschool books and Ashton and Landon use the above books.  They are simple little phonics books that really, really help the kids with their reading and spelling.  I have them do 2 pages a day and it only takes them a few minutes.  Love!!  I don't know what I'll do when Ashton finishes the last book this year! 
This week we added Language to our work and next week (or the week after) I hope to start My Father's World.  I want to have things going a little bit so that when the baby comes we will be in a routine. 

38 Weeks

Just a couple more weeks (hopefully) until we get to meet our little lady.  I am super excited and for the most part, ready.  Today I got a babysitter and headed out to do some shopping sans kids.  My list was pretty basic so I figured I'd be able to find what I needed easily.

PJs for the hospital and for the first few days at home
Earrings, because when nothing else fits, they will
A fake wedding ring set because I'm too fat for mine right now
An overnight bag for the hospital
Pretty little clothes for baby in the hospital

I went to the NEX and came out with...nothing.  PJs were either teeny bopper or old lady, earrings were not what I was looking for, the fake rings were super ugly and they had no true wedding sets, there were no overnight bags at all except for Vera Bradly (which I don't like), and they quit carrying Ralph Lauren baby clothes at the NEX and only had Carters. 

I was feeling pretty darn defeated.  I couldn't believe I paid a babysitter to find nothing at all!  Even after coming home and looking online I'm coming up empty.  I get too overwhelmed with all the choices on the internet and sort of lose focus. 

Other than that things are good.  My appointment went well on Monday.  I'm going to retest for strep B next week and see if it's gone away.  I'm taking lots of vitamin C and probiotics to see if that might help.  I cannot wait to not be pregnant.  I am at the point of wanting to burn my maternity clothes.  I cannot complain.  Really, I feel quite well and still have energy, but I'm just ready!  This feels like the longest pregnancy ever.  I'm pretty sure that's because we moved 3 times during it and Dan has been gone so much. 

No picture this week.  I'm done taking them.  I just look kind of the same and I hate my fat arms and face so I don't see the point of posting them again and again.