Happy Birthday to Joely...

I just got back home after receiving a pedicure while my mom watched Parker--double blessing! It was so great and now my toes are a pretty red color...not that I can see them that well, but at least the nurses in surgery will be impressed with my attention to detail:) This was all actually Joel's idea. He bought me both the massage and pedicure gift certificates for Christmas, to be used before the baby comes. Isn't he awesome?

It is Joely's 29th birthday today and so it is my turn to brag a little bit about my great husband: He's my favorite person. He's my best friend. He is the perfect mix of being very sensitive and an athletic, manly guy. He thinks that I'm funny:) He knows how to treat a woman. He loves God. He forgives me. He loves his family. He loves MY family. He is a wonderful provider and supports me in my decision to stay home with our children. He is so darn smart. He's hot:) He thinks that I'm the best cook! He is really good at caring for his patients. This one deserves to be in bold: He's the most amazing Daddy. Seriously, I've never seen anyone be such a natural at this whole gig. And Parker thinks he's just the bomb!

I really could write so much more about this man that I'm so lucky to love, but I'll save it for just him!

Savoring the moment...

Joel is at work so it is just the two of us today. Sometimes, when Joel works on Saturday, both Parker and I get kind of down and lonely because everyone else is having family time and we're stuck here trying to figure out how to spend our day. Today has been a little different. We woke up to a cloudless sky and bright sunshine. We still have snow so everything in our park looks just beautiful. Parker's absolute favorite thing to do is to take walks outside--and it doesn't matter what the weather is like. He loves the outdoors and takes such joy in all things natural....dogs, pine cones, blue sky, ice on the road, dirty snow...which he tends to eat:)

I decided to venture out into the cold and take Parker on a leisurely walk. I haven't done this with him in what feels like months. I guess I've just been so worn out and the weather has been way too cold for Parker...and his mama! It turned out to be so fun. We probably didn't walk very far but we were gone for an hour! Parker stopped to talk to all of the neighbors, dogs, cats, trees, trucks...anything that would listen! And this time, I chose not to rush him along and I just let him discover and play. I found myself really savoring the moment. It was just the two of us and I know that these moments won't happen as often once we have two children. I love being with my little boy and spending time watching him grow and learn. What a blessing he is to me and so many others. Our little walk is one of those moments that I have treasured up in my heart for years to come. When things get crazy and I start feeling overwhelmed, it is wonderful to have memories like these to help me remember why I love being a mama.

A lesson from our Lazy Bones...

If you don't move, you might just get chubby!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and our appointment today to find out how our little baby is growing inside of me. As I mentioned before, the doctor was concerned that the baby was too small because I am measuring about 4 weeks behind. However, we have no reason to worry because we found that we actually have quite a chubby baby already. I was shocked to hear that the baby is already weighing in at 6lbs 14oz at 361/2 weeks! This means that in two weeks, we'll likely have an 8 lb baby born a week and a half early. Can't imagine what we could have if I went to 40 weeks! We got a few little peeks at our baby's face, but it was actually really hard to see anything because he/she is so crunched. The baby's face is literally smashed into my right hip bone and refused to move even a little bit. The tech did get a few distorted shots of the face and it was quite apparent that this baby has super chubby cheeks. According to the doctor, our little one also is carrying quite a bit of weight in the girth...I can relate right now:) The baby really did look cute, even with the nose smashed into something. All this time, I thought I was carrying this tiny baby. I'm so shocked, but we're so excited to meet our little bruiser! Two weeks from today....or less, if I have anything to say about it!

story in pictures...

My lovely blogging friend Jenn, over at Munchkin Land, wrote such a beautiful account of her daughter's birth...you really should check it out. She broke it up into sections and I was always just on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next installment. She articulated the process and her feelings so well that I actually felt like I was there! Anyway, she's inspired me to share a bit about the birth of Parker since we will soon be bombarded with thoughts and pictures of the new little baby. I don't feel like I have the energy or clarity of mind to write much about the day, but I'm going to post pictures. Okay, so I'm going to be really brave and show you pictures of me on that day that are not flattering...very, very brave.

So here is the really, really short Reader's Digest version of Parker's birth day: I was in active labor for about 10 hours at home before we went into the hospital and found that I was only dilated to a 1. Needless to say, they sent me home with not much hope for having a baby that day! I went back in to the hospital about 8 hours later and was at a 6 and they admitted me. What a happy moment! For some odd reason, I tried to wait to get the epidural until I was over 8 cm dilated. Looking back, I would have gotten it a lot sooner. I loved the epidural! I quickly got to a 10 and after laboring for 27 hours or so, I began pushing. This was the part that really didn't go well. We tried everything for 3 hours to get Parker out, but he was so stuck! Finally, another OB came in and informed me that a baby was not coming out the natural way. I was later told that, unless my next baby was 4 1/2 lbs or under, I would not be able to push babies out! They quickly prepped me for a c-section and Parker was born soon after!

Whew! How did you like that? Just facts, no feelings:) Hopefully the pictures will fill in the gaps!

Laboring at home and faking a smile!

Post epidural with my ice chips:)

Joel, very serious during the surgery
Me being prepped for surgery...not faking a smile this time because I knew I would soon meet my baby!


The moment they told me that I was the mama of the sweetest little boy...

Parker David~7 lbs 0 oz.~21 inches
April 17, 2005~9:37 pm

Can't believe that I'll be holding another one in two weeks! We're getting excited and I'm pretty antsy to get this little one out of me. Thankfully, I had a one hour massage today(Joel gave me a gift certificate for one for Christmas)that rejuvenated me and gave me a little more juice to finish this one strong. We're hoping that maybe, just maybe, this one will come even a little earlier than planned!

pregnancy, baby, and not much else...

So... if you aren't interested in reading about the last weeks of this pregnancy or about babies, then I would stop right now and discontinue reading my blog until normalcy is established in my brain:) Totally kidding, but I just wanted to warn people about this condition of mine and that it isn't going to change anytime soon. I have 20 days or less left until I meet this little baby...whoa. Am I ready? Well, we have everything set up and have the major things we needed to purchase: a double stroller, a sling, a BundleMe, etc. But as far as emotionally being ready to have two kids? Nope...not at all, but this baby is coming whether I am ready or not!

I'm at that stage of pregnancy. You know, that stage....everything hurts from the extra weight I'm carrying around, I run into everything, I can think of nothing else but getting him/her out, I only want to eat cookies, I need Joel to help me tie my shoes, I am winded by climbing up our four stairs or taking a shower...it really is so glamorous.

I had my 36 week OB appointment today. I was quite excited for the appointment because I thought my doc would be able to tell me if I was progressing at all and that we'd be able to talk more about the surgery and such. However, the doctor was running about an hour and 40 minutes late. I was so frustrated because Joel had walked over from work to watch Parker and he will now have to work much later because of the time he took to spend at the OB office. And Parker was missing his nap...which is really never a good thing. Since the doctor was running late, I literally spent five minutes with him and we weren't able to talk about the things I wanted to. He actually is a great doctor and the only reason he is late all of the time is because he is so chatty with his patients. This time, though, I think he was realizing how late he was and he hurried through my appointment. Thankfully, my weight, blood pressure, and baby's heart rate are just fine. I have to go in twice next week because he scheduled me for an ultrasound since the baby is measuring about 4 weeks behind. I'm really not worried about it, though. Parker always measured behind and I've gained the exact same amount of weight and look about the same as I did with him and he was very healthy. As much as I look forward to seeing our little baby again on the ultrasound screen, I'm really not looking forward to the torture of having to resist looking for some gender give-aways! It is starting to make me crazy not knowing!

I have posted some more growing girth pictures and this time I've included a frontal view for fun! This may be the last time I post pictures of this expanding belly because I don't think we'll see much change from now on...so enjoy!

I think it is time to start guessing! What do you think...Boy/girl? Weight and length? Will the baby come earlier than the 7th? Any guesses on names? I'd love to say that whoever guesses the closest will be rewarded with something material but I'm sure I will have other things on my mind after the arrival....so how about a nice pat on the back?

You all are just too sweet to still be reading:) I promise, there will come a day when these sort of things aren't taking over my brain!

Bitter Cold

Just a little visual reminder of the warm weather we have to look forward to...a picture of Parker in his mini-pool last May! The scowl is deceiving; he ended up enjoying the water...I promise!

We've been experiencing quite a little cold snap and it is starting to get to me. If I wasn't going out of the house much before, I've really become a hermit now. I know we don't have it that bad, but I'm realizing that weather really makes a difference in your day to day activities when you have kids. I can't just take Parker on a walk in this type of weather--he'd freeze his little buns off. Even driving places feels unfair. According to some silly, new law, we're not allowed to warm up our cars in the city anymore, unless we're in them. I understand the reasoning, but this is just ridiculous...especially right now. I strapped Parker into his car seat yesterday to go to church and quickly realized why he was screaming; it was 1 degree outside! He screamed all the way to church and then cried for about 10 more minutes once we got inside because his hands were thawing out. Ugh.

And then...we got our electric/natural gas bill the other day....goodness gracious...it was just *astronomical*! I'm embarrassed to even say what it was. I really have no idea what we're doing wrong. We have 826 sq. feet of house that we live in right now...so really not that much to heat. We have great windows, I keep the blinds shut, we don't even heat our bedroom...what to do, what to do? I've even tried to keep the heat lower during the day but since Parker and I are home much of the day, I try to keep it fairly comfortable. Okay, so I admit that I'm a cold person and I really enjoy a warm house....but I don't think I'm extreme. Does anyone have any ideas? We really need help on this one!

And what about some ideas for indoor activities to do with Parker? We have a lot of fun most of the day until about 4pm and then he gets crazy because he has so much energy to burn! He really lost it yesterday and decided he needed to jump off a chair in the kitchen...head first! And his goose egg on the other side of his forehead was just going away--what a shame:)

meet our baby...ELMO :)

I think that this whole thing is starting to become real for Parker. It is for me....26 days and counting! Yesterday we were washing some equipment, getting everything ready for the baby. I was demonstrating to Joel how the straps were indeed in the car seat correctly. I just picked Parker's Elmo up and used him as a model. Parker went straight to his bedroom and picked up his beloved blankie and pacifier and proceeded to lay the blanket over Elmo and stick the paci in his mouth. In the above picture, he is kissing Elmo! All of this just shocked us because we truly didn't think Parker had any idea what all the fuss was about! Apparently, we've underestimated him again. He has been talking about babies quite frequently all of the sudden and wanting his Cabbage Patch doll with him. And when we talk about the new baby, he comes and lifts up my shirt to lay a big, fat, slobbery kiss on my tummy...which is sort of embarrassing in public:) I guess I thought that he was too young to care about the baby coming and that he wouldn't be interested yet in the nurturing aspect of being a big brother. I am pleasantly surprised and hope that this really means that this transition will be a good one!

the power of our words...

I just found this picture on my computer and I can't believe I never noticed it before! Apparently it was taken in the fall. The jacket Parker was wearing is now too small...how sad!

Yes, I have some thoughts about words today, but I must say two things right this minute because I feel so happy: My great husband just came home from grocery shopping for the week AND he brought me my favorite Jamba Juice...how amazing is that? What a blessing! And here is the next one...I am sitting here in my brand new down vest that I bought yesterday for $9.97 at The Gap. Never mind that I bought it for post-pregnancy in my normal size, or that I'm busting the seems and can barely breathe, OR that it is near 70 degrees in here.....I love it and I'm going to wear it even if I look a little roley poley:) Back to the real topic of my post...

I've been having some thoughts about how powerful words are and how they can touch the children in our lives. Around this time last year, I read a book called Children Are Wet Cement by Anne Ortlund. It is a book that was written the year I was born about how verbal affirmation can be a pivital force in raising children to be secure and loving adults. It is a quick read and, at times, quite old school, but it really encouraged me to be more intentional about affirmation and more aware of how I speak about and to my child in general. While reading, I noticed that a lot of the tactics that Ortlund wrote about were used by my parents while we were growing up. It was interesting to recognize how intentional they were with us.

I recently have picked up this book again because Parker now understands much of what we say and I really want to be very careful about the words I use. For the most part, I think Joel and I have done well in affirming Parker, but recently I think that I've failed him a little bit by the words I choose when I talk about him. I've caught myself making comments to other adults about how he is a picky eater or how he tires me out, hates shopping, is disobedient...you know, normal toddler stuff.

An excerpt from the book:

"When your Freddie or Charlie or Sue came into the world, he or she was pure potential. He had few limits. But after a brief period of admiring and cuddling, all too soon life settled down.
He bugged you by crying too much. He spit up, and he dirtied his pants, and he pulled things out of drawers; and before long it was easy to convey to him that he's an irritation, an inconvenience--a drag.Then think about the things that begin coming out of your mouth.
By the tone of your voice, then by the words, he catches the implications sooner than you expect. And earlier than you dream, he begins to get degrading impressions of himself."

I think this makes a lot of sense. If I say something about Parker enough, he might just start believing it. How sad! However, I also know that just as my words can be damaging, they can also be life-changing in a positive way.. I can tell people what a good boy he is (in front of him), or how affectionate, or athletic, or how he loves other people so well and he will remember these things and identify with these attributes. I remember that my parents always used to tell me from early on, how well I listened to other people and showed great empathy. I think this was intentional because as I grew up, I always worked hard at listening and empathizing because I knew that this was something my parents noted in me and thought was special. How powerful!

What do you guys think? What are your experiences in this area?

I also have some personal experience I want to share about how adults can unknowingly hurt a child's self-image by making comparisons or by focusing on physical attributes.....but this is getting way too wordy and lengthy, so I'll wait for another day. I'm going to just go now and enjoy my beverage, my well-stocked kitchen, and my lovely vest!

Three generations of women

My mom, my Grandma Dee, me, and possibly a 4th generation girl growing in my tummy!

This year my grandma is 75, my mom is 50, and I'm 25. We just recently figured out that this was a pretty cool thing. Even more cool...if this baby is a girl, then a quarter century down the road, we are looking at a family celebration of women at 100, 75, 50 and 25! (I totally just stole the words in italics straight from my parent's Christmas letter...but I know they won't press charges because they like me:) In any case, I just think this is a pretty special picture taken on Christmas Eve and I wanted to share.

New Year's Resolution

"You should own nothing that is not useful, beautiful, or loved."

This is a quote I found in an article titled Outta Here! in the January '07 issue of O...you know, The Oprah Magazine. I'm going to post it on my bulletin board so I remember my new year's resolution this year which is to simplify my life by getting rid of things I don't need.

I want to make room in my life for the things that I truly love. I also want to make time in my life for the people I love.

I think that this is possible by weeding out the things that don't matter. Usually I don't really make resolutions because I can never think of something tangible. However, this year I feel really motivated to get rid of the "stuff" in my life that doesn't meet the above criteria. I've written before about how we are trying to simplify and how living in a smaller house has caused us to rethink how we want to live in relation to our possessions. It really does take some work to change my mindset on how I decide what to get rid of and what to keep or purchase. I really like rules and so having criteria to follow really helps me. I'm so excited to see how I follow through this year and hopefully I will have some good things to write about next year at this time. I'm hoping that publishing this resolution on my blog will provide me with enough accountability to actually accomplish my goal...so remember this:)

Do you have a resolution you would like to share? How about any tips on how to accomplish my goal?

*By the way, I just received the the Oprah Magazine in the mail yesterday from an anonymous giver...was it you? I just wanted to let whoever it was know that I really appreciate it!