Baby Update

For starters, I will state the obvious:

I haven't had the baby yet.
I have been in early labor for almost a week and a half.
I hurt and I am tired.

That said, I was at 4.5cm yesterday at my appointment. Had I been at 5, Dr. Hannah could have broken my water and sent me to the hospital.  He sorta tried to "accidentally break it" but I've got a bag of steel and it has never broken on it's own before.

So here I am, still pregnant, timing contractions round the clock, getting my hopes up every time they are 5-10 minutes apart, then becoming frustrated when that wanes after 30 or 45 minutes of teasing and discomfort.  People keep asking when my due date is, and retracting sympathy when I tell them it isn't until next week, but the point is that I've never been pregnant for this long before and my baby is getting bigger with each day that passes.  If you know what my recoveries are like (hematomas, 4th degree damage, infections, etc) then you know why we are getting concerned about the size of this baby and the increasing possibility of an emergency C-section.

We've scheduled to induce on Thursday morning.  Not my favorite option, but one I'm looking forward to if my contractions don't kick it up enough today to get me into the hospital on my own.

After school yesterday, the girls were as sad as I was that baby brother wasn't here yet.  We raced through homework, jumped in the van, grabbed some caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, met up with Kasey and went to a 4pm showing of Brave.  Great movie.  Scary movie! I can't believe my kids weren't terrified, but they did fine.

My favorite part was my little Corbin, who must have a clue that his days as the "baby" are numbered. He curled up in my lap and rubbed my belly for most of the movie. I savored every second.

It was a lovely afternoon with my little people.  They fell asleep the instant their heads hit the pillows last night.  A couple hours later, I couldn't resist and crept into the girls' room while they slept.  I gave them each a kiss (not an easy feat with Reese on the top bunk, now, I had to stand on Quincy's bed to reach) and told them I love them then whispered a secret to each of them. "I am the luckiest mother in the world."
--which is really no secret at all.

When the girls got on the bus this morning, they kissed me goodbye and said, "I hope you are at the hospital when we get home!"

Me too, girlies. Me too!

Caterpillar

Corbin started preschool today!  I can't believe what a big boy he is all of a sudden.  He shouted, "Bye, Mom, bye!", waved, and skipped off to class cheerfully with his Cars backpack flailing behind him.  I love his outgoing personality.  I never have to worry about leaving him in a new place or with new people because he makes himself comfortable everywhere we go.

After  school, he was much more talkative than the girls ever were on their first day of preschool.  He told me who he played with, what he ate, about the letter B and what he did during circle time and open centers. He already loves school and I am so glad he had a great day.  One thing I thought was funny was that he kept insisting that his "turn" was over and that it was time to go pick up Reese and Quincy from school now.  He has really missed them since they went back to school last week and anxiously awaits their arrival every afternoon.  

I thought I would love having a few hours to myself with all the kids in school. 

It sucked.

I missed my children. 

Luckily, I had a dr appointment to occupy most of the time Corbin was in school today, and soon enough, we will have another little buddy to keep me busy and the house will not seem so lonely or so quiet at all! 

Hooray for preschool, and hooray for it only being a couple of hours long. I missed my little sidekick.

Double Trouble

Corbin and Cole are a force of nature when they play together.  They can be super naughty but really, they're always happy and laughing maniacally in their wild fun so the trouble part is sort of just expected.  Even when they are up to no good, I love watching them play, they are all boy and have so much crazy fun running around together it is impossible to not enjoy.

Today's trouble involved playing with a tube of toothpaste and smearing it all over Emma and each other, then climbing in the shower with all of their clothes on and getting soaked.   They were very proud of themselves.  Sounds like a pretty fun time, and the added bonus is I have one less kid to bathe tonight!  

Harvested

Aren't they pretty?
I grew those bad boys from seeds that I saved from last year's squash, in a terrible drought to boot.
They've been roasted, pureed, frozen in ice cube trays, bagged and placed in the deep freezer to be fed to our little baby guy this winter.   It was a labor of love, but three gallon sized bags of full baby food that we grew ourselves = one fat chunk of change saved and hopefully, one really fat chunk of a well fed baby boy ;).  I am so grateful for our garden.

All that's missing is the baby guy!  Come on baby!

Back to the Drawing Board

What?  Even Snookie had her baby before me?  What the heck?  My turn, man.  

And shoot, it looks like we're going to have to come up with a better baby name for our son, now that Enzo has already been taken ;)

Aaron came home from work early on Friday with a horrible man-cold.  I swear this is the reason we haven't had our baby yet.  He gets sick once a year, and unfortunately, timing is not on our side, right now.  Since he is in absolutely no place to play the role of labor coach, right now, being all drippy and phlemmy and coughing and making those man-sick throat noises that even non-pregnant women can't stand to listen to without throwing up, it really is just as well that our baby keeps cooking until Aaron is feeling better.  I wasn't planning on going to church today, because I've reached the point where I don't feel like giving nice answers to not-nice questions, but I think it's a better alternative (for everyone) than staying home and nursing my sweet man patient back to health.

I've been in early labor since Tuesday.  I am incredibly exhausted.  I am in a lot of pain.  Walking hurts.  I'm kinda mean (what? you hadn't noticed?)  I am well aware that my children are a hot mess.  And everything makes me cry.  If you see me today, please ignore my girth and ask me about something else.  Or don't ask me anything at all.  Or give me presents, tell me I look nice, Massage my feet, then walk away.

That Awkward Moment

Where you snap a bunch of pictures of your kid, because he is just so super cute giving his first FHE lesson, and then later you realize that he just looks like he's naked in all the pics. 

...While holding a photo of the prophet.

Because people don't think Mormons are weird enough.

The County Fair

Last week was our annual visit to the county fair for our last summer hurrah before school started.

This year, the weather was perfect. The fair is much more enjoyable when you are not making an exhibit of yourself by leaving a trail of sweat behind you. 

There were giant lemonades to drink,

baby chicks to hold,

a few thrill rides to enjoy, 

animals to pet,
an auction to watch (did you know they spray paint the hooves of the steers before they show them off?   The fur gets sprayed, too, if there are any imperfections or spots on the cows.),
baby goats to milk,  
glow stick necklaces to wave,
and all of the funnel cake, foot long hot dogs, and caramel apples a person can eat.