Back at school

Important day today... Summer came to a close (MUCH to soon!) and the kids started school. They were all smiles when we dropped them off and all smiles when we picked them up. Couldn't have asked for anything better. It so refreshing to be able to walk 2 blocks and be right there instead of having to load up into the car. It was significant for Noah because it was a new school so he's the new kid but he had no complaints and said he wasn't even nervous. It was special for Aly because it was her first day of kindergarten! The beginning of an amazing journey!









Here's Noah in his class...


And here's how I found Aly during dinner tonight...

Look ma! No Hands!

Well, not exactly, but here is Peyton showing off her latest trick. She been flipping onto her tummy consistently for about 2 weeks now.




She also has lots to say these days. Here a little bit of her chatter...

End of the year

It's just a quick little slideshow so you all can see some pics. There's a few from the Lilac Festival Torchlight Armed Forces Parade, Aly's kindergarten graduation, and Noah's last day of school. It is very bittersweet as we have decided that this fall the kids will be going to our neighborhood school. Westgate has been such a tremendous blessing in the kids lives but for many reasons we know that this is the right decision. I also included a video sure to melt your heart.

The Binky

Humor me while I get a little sentimental.... P.S. This was actually written about 3 weeks ago.



My daughter took a pacifier for the first time yesterday. Big deal huh? Well, actually it is kind of a big deal – for a couple of reasons. First, for the last month I have been physically attached to my little peanut night and day almost continuously. I have loved the snuggling! But in the process I have been forced to neglect my other two kids, my house and just about everything that can’t be done one-handed. Peyton is a smart one. She smells the difference between mom and anyone else – even in her sleep. So she’s been held almost constantly, and to top it off she hasn’t taken a pacifier at all – just a finger will work to soothe in between feedings. But the yesterday she took the pacifier for nearly a full hour. It was an amazing hour. I made the kids a dinner that actually required use of the stove. I cleaned. I helped Noah with his homework. It was really pretty blissful. After I took care of all those things I went and took a look at Peyton – happy and content with a “binky” in her mouth. And… (here’s the Big Deal #2)

I got sad. The last month has been a big chaotic and crazy. But it’s such a brief period of time when a baby is small and utterly dependant on mom. I know that in reality she is still utterly dependent on me, and I also know that there is no way we could continue for any length of time in that same routine. However, the realization hit me that the journey has begun. She has taken her first little step toward independence. Today the binky…maybe next month she’ll be able to sleep in her own bed…In a few years she’ll have her first day of kindergarten…and then ten years later she might be driving a car. It all goes so fast and I’m trying to savor and remember these moments as well as the milestones.

That’s all.

A tale of a girl's first bath...

Oh cruel twist of fate that this content sleeping angel is about to meet...


Her adorarable big sister is ready to assist in the torture...




What a face!


She is finally thinking this is not so bad...






One of those weird poses you can only do when you're under 1 month old...


And the finished product! Hmmm... we seem to have quite a few pictures of her screaming her head off which is funny because she is acually a really peaceful child. We swear! She really is!


~The End~

The rest of the story

Make sure to read the post before so you are all caught up first.

**WARNING** Contains plenty of pregnancy talk so if you are a guy or single person who might find this gross - read at your own risk!

I knew we were in the final leg of this race about 10 days ago. I started having contractions late Friday night and really thought I was headed to the hospital. But things stopped and all I ended up with a night of no sleep. Noah had a basketball game at 9 am the next morning and it was so hard to drag myself there. I was tired. I was hurting. My only seating options were to sit on the bottom row with no back rest (ouch!) or climb to the top so I could lean against wall, but making my way up the bleachers is equally painful right now. But we went to the top. Noah's team got crushed :(, and my little stinker Aly kept deciding she hade to go potty. I reached a point where I literally felt like I could not make it up and down the bleachers one more time and next thing I know I am bawling. Complete waterworks. Jon is looking at me like I have two heads and of course I am surrounded by people I know from Noah's school. Just a little embarrassing. I am usually not a cryer. This was purely a hormonal issue, and my first clue that things are a changing...

Then I spent the rest of last week nesting!! The girls room is done except for some wall decorations. I love the way it turned out and will post pictures soon. So that brings us up to this week. I had my doctors appointment on Monday (yesterday). I am currently 3 1/2 cm dilated! Yay! That is good news. The bad news is that he told me he will be on vacation all next week. This really sucks for me. I have been very spoiled. He is a great doctor and throughout this entire pregnancy, not to mention my entire last pregnancy, I never once had to see another doctor. He was there for every appointment and for the delivery. it will really be a huge letdown if he not able to be there. My doctor knows how ready I am to have this baby and really trying hard to work with me to get her before he goes on vacation. However, we did have a discussion about recent recommendations from the medical community. Turns out the consensus is that doctors have become to cavalier with non-medically necessary inductions and recent studies are suggesting inducing before 39 weeks is not a good idea. I completely agree and don't really want to be induced, but it is a bummer because I won't be 39 weeks until the day AFTER he leaves for vacation. But we did come up with a plan. Yesterday, I had my membranes stripped. I'll leave out the details. Just know that physically I am showing every other sign of being ready for labor and he was confident that with that procedure I would be in labor within 24-48hours. Well that was about 31 hours ago and I am still not in labor. I am so surprised because I had this done with Aly and she was born the next day. The only positive sign is that as of this morning I have also lost my mucous plus. Again, I will spare you the details. ;)
So here I sit! Playing the waiting game. The next step, is another appointment tomorrow where he will strip the membranes again. He also said that he *might* break my water. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I am really anxious to have the baby, but to me that pretty much seems like an induction so I'm not sure if that's what I want to do. I'm hoping I will go into labor tonight and not have to make the decision. We of course will be updating with pictures as soon as she makes her arrival. Oh and we now have the name "Avery Elise" back on the table. For a long time we have been settled on "Peyton Elise" but now feel like we need to see her before we can decide between the two. So who knows!

The good and the bad

I haven't updated the blog in 6 weeks! To anyoen who reads - sorry! I have felt a bit uninspired, not to mention quite busy. I wanted to take sometime and fill everyone in on my last few weeks of this pregnancy and life in general. I am literally just hours or days away from having our little one. I'm so excited and antsy. It occured to me that once baby comes these last few weeks are going to be remembered as a surreal fog and I wanted to make sure to take the chance to write it all down so I don't forget. I've been wanting to get this little one out since about 36 weeks along. Although I know it is better to stay in as long as possible I can honestly say I am TIRED of being pregnant! I had it so easy with both Noah and Aly so this is totally new to me. I try daily to remind to myself that this will be the last time I experience this and to make sure to savor it and take it all in. However, the reality is that I am having a really hard time getting past the pain in my hips and pelvic bone. I am also having a hard time getting past having the same conversation over and over again. People are brutal! Everyone was must much nicer and had a lot more tact with the other two. This time around everyone just seems to say whatever pops into their mind. Sometimes funny, other times - not so much. On the bright side...it is pretty cool because for the first time Jon and I are totally completely in sync - we both know FOR SURE that this little one is the little caboose to our family. Now all that probably sounds prett grouchy, but don't get me wrong. Although a surprise this gift has felt so completely right. I look at how our family has ended up and it fills me with such joy and peace. I truly know that this is how our family was always meant to be and we are complete now. So, now I just want to tell my story...

To be continued...

The fashion sense of kids!

Or perhaps lack thereof?

We have several nice cute pairs of PJ's for the kids and they are folded and put in their drawers. However, when I ask them to go put on their pajamas for bed they have their own idea of perfect sleeping attire. A bit eccentric maybe, but I still think they look pretty darn cute.

Dog on roof?

That's what happens when you have snow piled nearly to the top of your roof! Stealthy laboradors can jump it and voila! They have a whole new playground. Craziness I tell ya! Here's my little video. It doesn't have sound and I'm not a very good videographer but you get the idea. :)