ICE!

Last week we decided to go to the Falls. Patrick and I have never been, that we can remember, to see the falls when it is frozen. It was an awesome site! The ride there was a bit frightening though...everything was smooth until we got about 1 mile away from the exit and there was this guy going about 10 miles an hour. I, of course, got mad and "tried" to go around him. Well we soon found out why he was going so slow. The car was totally out of my control and we went through all the lanes and back. We actually did that 2 times before I got control back. It was so scary!! So we went 10 mph for the next mile too. Once we got there it was beautiful! Patrick took the girls out to go walk around and I stayed in the car with Owen. I could see all the people sliding around and I didn't want to risk falling with the baby. Anyway...I'm glad we made it there ok and back for that matter because on the way back there were NO cars on the road itself. They were all either in the ditches or stopped on the side. I wish we had a better camera to show just how gorgeous it was but ours will just have to do for now. Enjoy! :)

Cute : )

Owen is a little over 3 1/2 months and getting a personality! Just thought I'd show some pictures of him being...himself. Enjoy!

Nellie and Samantha have made up a new game. They put these pillows on themselves and then they fall. They think it is the funniest thing ever! Patrick and I think they are very creative to even think of something like that. It is very funny to watch too! :

'Tis the season!

Everyone knows how much Patrick loves to bake. Well this year we have taken it to a whole new level. He wanted to try and make pumpkin cheesecake with real pumpkin. So, of course, I was left to figure out how to do that. I found a website all about pumpkins, read a little and then just improvised a little and tried my own thing. After a few duds I got it right and he made his first cheesecake out of real pumpkin. We took a bit at the same time and just stood there. It was the best pumpkin cheesecake I've ever had! Last year he made one with the store bought stuff but this didn't even compare. Earlier this week a friend of mine asked if we wanted their left over 4 large pumpkins. I said sure, thinking we could do the seeds and use the meat for cheesecake and pie. Well, today we gutted, cooked, pureed and canned them. We ended up with about 30 16oz containers of puree. I'm so excited to be able to share the cheesecake with everyone! We called some friends and family members to try the first one and he'll be making more for others to sample. If you want one for the holidays or just to eat, let us know. He is selling them for $15.

Growing up

Oh and I forgot to mention that Nellie now has glasses and is loving them! She didn't realize how much she needed them.
I can't believe how fast the past 3 months has gone! Owen will be 3 months old on Halloween. He is 17 and a half lbs now. He has outgrown almost all of the clothes that we had for him. We just had to go out and get 9 months size! He is laughing, holding his head up nicely and almost rolling over. One of my sisters-in -law just had her baby and Owen looks like a giant next to him. It's hard for me to believe that he was that tiny just a few weeks ago!! Nellie is loving school and Samantha's school finally started so she is very happy now. It is so weird only having one kid at home for almost 3 hours a day. I hardly know what to do.

I have started a new hobby making wipe containers and small diaper bags to match. Not like a regular diaper bag but one that literally just fits diapers in it. I will be selling them for $15 at a Christmas Bazaar that a friend and I have a booth at. If you know anyone that would like one or if you want one yourself, let me know. I have a few different fabrics for boys and girls. The one set in the picture is mine and it was the first one so it's not the best. The wipe containers are alone but I will be making the bags to match soon.

Lots going on...

Well, Owen is 2 months and a week, Nellie turned 6, Nellie started Kindergarten and we had our family pictures done. So first of all Owen. He had his 2 month appointment and is doing GREAT!! He weighs 14 lbs and is 24 in long. Overall he is in the 90th percentile. The doctor says he is growing very nicely! Next, Nellie had her 6th birthday party at the Imagination Station. We had lots of friends and family there and she had a great time. She is also very excited to be in school, and so are we! She loves her teacher and all her new friends. The only bad part is coming home from school. She isn't the nicest person for a while after school. Oh well, I thought that would happen. Finally, once again Patrick's sister Bethany took our family pictures and did an awesome job. The girls however "forgot" how to smile so they look semi retarded in most of the pictures. But overall they are good. That's about all for now. Enjoy the pictures!

1 Month Already!?!

I can't even believe that it has been 4 weeks since Owen was born! He is a great boy. He sleeps 4-5 hours at a time, at night. He really doesn't cry except when he needs a diaper change or when we wait to long to feed him. The girls are absolutely in LOVE with him! It's nice that they are older and can help me, but it is also not nice that they are older and try to hard help me. He is in 0-3 month clothes, finally, and in size 1 diapers. I don't know how much he weighs yet so you'll have to wait for that. Other than that everything is great! I feel great and am healing well from the birth. Enjoy the picture. We'll have more to post at his 2 month mark.

He's here!!

From the start...
We went in on Thursday night, the 30th, to start the process of being induced. They had me come in the night before just to do some gel stuff to make it easier for the pitocin to work the next morning. They did that at 10:30pm and said that it is normal to have some contractions for about an hour but that they would stop after that. Well, one came and the next came seconds after that and 3 hours 2 min later he was born. Patrick was at work and my sister was at the hospital with me. He almost missed it! My midwife couldn't be found so they had to call one from Tigard to come and she almost missed it. Nellie and Samantha were both all natural births. With Owen after about an hour, I think, I got an epidural. Let me tell you that was great. I actually remember the whole thing. The bad part was that it didn't fully work on my left leg, but it was better than nothing. He was 7 lbs 5 1/2 oz and 21 in long. So far he is a great baby! He is actually nursing, something I wasn't able to do with the girls.
The bad part is that we were home one day and I wasn't feeling very good. I took my temp and it was 101 so I called the doc and she said to just watch it and if it gets to 103 to call back. Monday I felt horrible and my temp was 102.8 so I called back. She told me to go to the ER. We got there and they got us right in because my temp was now 103.3! They did a chest exray and nothing, so I just have an acute virus. But that means that I have to wear a mask for 3 days, no visitors, and I can only hold Owen when he's eating. Now today the girls have had a fever so I gave them meds and sent them to bed. We are all hoping that Owen doesn't get sick now.
Other than the sick part, everything is great! We are so blessed to have him in our family. He is such a good boy. Enjoy the pict, more to come.

9 DAYS : )

Today was my last appointment! Crazy to think that. I didn't gain any weight so I remain at 14 lbs total. I was dilated to 1 centimeter so she stripped my membranes, very well I might add. If that doesn't kick start anything then we are set for induction on the 31st. She will have us come in on the 30th at 8pm to start things, so if it goes fast he might come on the 30th. We are all very excited and anxious for him to come. The girls can't wait! We even made a chain for them to help count the days. The picture was actually taken at 37 1/2 weeks. According to my own waist measurements, in the past 2 weeks I have grown 2 inches! I feel it but I don't know if you can tell. This will probably be my last post until after he is born so wish us luck!

2 more weeks!!

Today was my appointment. Everything was good with the baby but I have gained another 8 lbs, so 14 total and my blood pressure was high. She also checked me and said that he was still a little high but that I was starting to thin out. She didn't actually say if I was dilated or not. I told her that I was really liking the idea of being induced early and she wants me to anyway because of how fast the girls were, so we decided to do it on the 31st! That only leaves me 2 weeks and a few days to go, which is fine with me.
On a different note, the picts above are because I was given a car seat for free and it was a little old looking so I decided to recover it. My mom did most of the sewing because my machine isn't working very well, but I did help. I think it turned out pretty good for no pattern.
We are officially all ready for this baby to come!

36 Weeks

I only have 3-4 weeks left. 3 if I let her induce me, which I'm really thinking is a good idea. I am measuring 2 weeks earlier than my due date so we'll see. So far I have gained 6 lbs. I feel bigger though. I'm starting to get very puffy, if you can't tell from the picture. At this rate I'll be back to my wedding pounds when he comes out! How great would that be. I have my appointment on Weds so if there is any new news I will post more then. As for now, things are about the same.

35 weeks and the 4th

Well, I only have 4-5 weeks left! I have gained 6 lbs so far and my doctor can't believe it, I can't either. This past weekend we went to the beach for a family reunion, kinda. The weather was perfect for me, just under 60. The kids had a blast and Patrick got to fly his kites. I didn't get to do very much, but it was still nice. Seeing all my Dad's siblings was cool too. Here are some of the picts.

32 Weeks...and counting!

Only 8 weeks to go!! The doctor says I'm doing very good. I've only gained 2 lbs since Jan 9th! Can you believe it? I can't. She says my contractions aren't close enough to worry about, so I'm not. Hopefully the next few weeks will pass very quickly! A wedding, 4th of July at the beach, baby shower and more. I know the picts aren't that great this time. What can I say. The first one was Patrick and the second was Nellie. I wasn't having that great of a day anyway, so smiling was hard to fake. That's about all for now.

2 days later...

Her eye keeps getting worse! The blood is pooling and making it more swollin. Poor girl!

28 Weeks

Yesterday was the 7 month mark. It's not going fast enough for me. I'm hoping he comes early, only because I feel horrible all the time. Other than that, things are good. I go to the doctor on Wednesday and we'll see what she says then. I have been having LOTS of contractions for about a month now that have made me slow down a bit. I will be a lot happier when this pregnancy is over! In other news, Nellie's lovely eye was due to a "horse" accident. Daddy was being the horse and her and Samantha were on his back at the same time. Needless to say they got bucked off and Samantha fell on top of Nellie's eye. She screamed for a good 2 hours. I think daddy is excited for a boy to be in the house. Today also marks Samantha's 4th birthday! I can't believe she is 4 already!! She wanted doughnuts for breakfast and then we went to DQ for ice cream after pre-school. Her party will be this Saturday so I'll put up picts after that. If there is anything important after the appointment I'll post more.

*New Look *

So, for a long time Nellie has hated her hair brushed, things put in it, or anything having to do with hair. Every morning is a fight! I keep saying I'm going to shave it all off, but I know that would just make her happy. The other morning she said her hair was getting too long and it needed to be cut. So we went that day and I told the person just to cut it all off. This is what she did. Nellie absolutely loves it! She even told the lady that that was exactly how short she wanted it. It is so easy to do! I couldn't believe it. We just blow dry it after bath and then when she wakes up in the morning it is the same as the night before. It's great! Hopefully it won't grow too fast and we can keep it up.

24 weeks ~ 6 months

I think he is growing! I do see a change from the last month. We are both doing good. Samantha is very happy that it is a boy, but Nellie wanted a girl so she is not happy. It took me about 3 days to get her ok with the fact that she can't change what is in there. Hopefully she will be happier when he actually comes. Patrick is a proud dad. He has the "manhood" picture on his phone and watch and shows people regularly. I guess that is all for now.

It's a BOY!!

All the family knows now so we can tell all of you. It is a boy and we are very excited! As you can tell in the picts it was very obvious so there is no doubt. Everything looks good with me and him and we don't have to go back to the doctor for 6 weeks.