best. thing. ever.

If you haven't seen this watch it now. You will love it!

easter: party of 4

Most everything we do lately is a first as 4.  But hey, Easter is special!  

On a side-note, do you know how hard it is and how much earlier one has to wake up to get two little girls plus yourself ready for Easter Sunday church service?  

Answer:  A lot harder and much earlier.

Yesterday was Parker's first church service as well so we had a lot of people wanting to meet her.  We got to church only a few minutes late.  I was pretty proud of that (although admittedly annoyed because I got up quite a bit earlier than I normally would have thinking I would have plenty of time).  Haven opted to go to the nursery almost right away to play with the other kids, so that was nice.  Parker didn't wake up until almost the end of the service, so she just slept in her carseat most of the time.  

After service we headed to L's family's for lunch and an Easter Egg hunt.  L and a few of the guys hid eggs for quite a while and Haven and her cousin Ethan had a lot of fun looking for eggs.  There were plenty of eggs, probably close to 100 for two toddlers.  So they were finding eggs for quite a while, and just when we thought we'd found them all we'd find some more.

We then headed to my side of the family's for another Easter egg hunt with Haven's other cousins.  It was just as fun and cool that Haven got to have so much fun with family in one day.

    

As you can see, Haven had a lot of fun and Parker had a lot of sleep.  It was a good day.

big sister's picture extravaganza

Haven loves my camera.

But just until recently she didn't understand how to point and aim at things, so she would take a lot of pictures of her feet, her tummy, anything in extreme close-up.

Well, she figured it out, so I let her take my camera for a stroll around the house yesterday...

Pretty good for a 2.5 year old, don'tcha think? ;)

Here's some pics I took for good measure...

 And yes, Haven does like to dress like a cowgirl princess.

one week.

At 11:00 a.m. Parker was officially one week old!

It is so amazing to think about what can happen in a week.  

• We checked into the hospital Sunday night and began the induction process.
• Parker was born the next morning.
• We were in the hospital until Wednesday with a flurry of well-wishers, doctor/nurse visits, and a not-so-experienced nursing student.
• Wednesday night was our first night home and obviously kind of stressful.  I am the typical worried mom and I woke up every 15-20 minutes to make sure Parker was breathing.
• Thursday through Sunday we had a lot of time to get used to this new way of life.  Quite a few nice and generous people stopped by to bring us meals, gifts, and just to catch a glimpse of Parker.  We've only gotten a meal for ourselves one night so far since being home, and somebody is bringing us dinner tonight.  Feeling totally blessed!
• Today, we'll probably lay low for a while.  But we have been thinking about getting out of the house to see a movie, and probably bringing Parker.  She's a really quiet baby and doesn't cry much, so I think we could pull it off.

All in all, everything is going well.  I am trying so hard to make Haven feel important and included and just to learn how to balance two kids.  

And Parker actually slept really well last night!...knock on wood.

happy birthday blog.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday dear blooooog....

Happy birthday to you!

(a day late.)

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of this little blog.

I planned on a bigger celebratory blog post, but something* that happened earlier this week got me distracted.  Well, I am sorry little blog, but I have priorities. ;)

Love you blog. 

Here's to another year!

*click the "something"

welcome parker!

Parker Nicole

Born: 4/11/11 at 11:00 a.m.

Weighing in at 9lbs. 1.5 oz.

20.5 inches long

it's all about Haven

As the time continues to tick until our new little baby arrives (T minus 2 days til induction day!!) I feel my time with my only child slipping away.  My beautiful, sweet, little baby is now going to be the big sister and not the sole focus of my attention.  

Haven is so special and she deserves to have my full attention, so in a way I almost feel guilty about what's to come.  I don't want her to feel replaced and I don't want her to feel less special.  

I've been trying my absolute hardest to show her extra attention.  

Color with her when she asks.  

Not get mad at her when she's being naughty.  

Answer her repetitive questions.

Buying her little surprises: a cheap coloring book, "Tangled" for her big sister present, a little more candy than I would normally allow.  

We've been taking her to the track with us and letting her ride her bike around like a race track. 

She loves the orange cones, which she calls "ice cream cones."

She came with us to the driving range and we played on these thingies... shoe cleaners I think?

Anyway, I know she'll be fine.  She is so sweet and caring.  And she'll love being a big sister.  And I think she'll be really protective of her little sis.

She's still my sweetie face Haven Grace. 

And I love her so much.

10 things not to say to an overdue pregnant woman

(I didn't write this, but it sure is true!)

Now, when was your due date? 

If someone says this to you, try not to bite their heads off. This may actually be valid. So many times, the due date is thrown off by a late ultrasound or how your baby is measuring, which are the least accurate ways to determine when your baby is due.

Your belly sure is huge. 

Ouch. The size and or shape of a pregnant abdomen has nothing to do with when the baby is due and may not have anything to do with the size of the baby.

Are you sure it isn't twins? 

Of course you're sure. Now please don't hurt them...

Have you tried... 

Insert a long list of comments and old wives tales on induction methods to be used at home. These, like their medical counterparts, are as great as they sound, particularly in how well they work.

When will you be induced? 

The general answer from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is 42 weeks into pregnancy. There are medical reasons for induction of labor prior to this date.

Don't sit there, your water might break! 

The good news is that over 75% of the time your water won't break until labor is well established. In fact it only breaks before labor about 12-13% of the time. Sit wherever you like...

Doesn't the placenta have an expiration date? 

Nope. While the placenta is the only disposable organ that our bodies make, they aren't ticking time bombs. If your pregnancy goes to 41 weeks, you will likely have special testing to make sure that baby is doing well and so is the placenta, called a biophysical profile (BPP), complete with a non-stress test.

Maybe they got your dates wrong. 

Argh, see #1.

When I was pregnant... 

Regaling you with stories of their pregnancy may be entertaining. If it's helpful or entertaining, let them continue. If not, fake a contraction and leave.

Oh, being over due isn't that bad... 

It can be nice, but when you've got someone reminding you of it or asking why you haven't had the baby yet, it's annoying. The fun guessing game of when will I have the baby does eventually get old. I personally like to remind myself that no matter what I think during pregnancy, postpartum isn't exactly a picnic!

overdue.

My due date (4/2) came and went, and here I am still pregnant.

I had my 40 week doctor appointment this morning and it was a bit of a bummer.  I had my now weekly cervix check and haven't dilated anymore since my L&D trip last week.  

We finally had the induction talk.  My doctor induces once you hit 41 weeks, but not before that.  And hospitals don't do elective inductions, so we wait until I hit 41 weeks.... which isn't until next Saturday.  And hospitals don't do inductions on the weekends, so we wait again until Monday.  

If I make it to my induction I will be 9 days overdue.  That's ridiculous!

I never even thought I would go overdue since I went nice and early with Haven, 

let alone 9 days.  Ah!

I just have to keep thinking that I could always go into labor on my own before then.  OR if I'm really lucky, my water could break - that's the easiest in my opinion.  Water breaks, there's no contraction timing, no doubts, you just go into the hospital and have the baby!

Anyway, keep me and Baby Yellow in your prayers guys.  

Mommy is uncomfortable and Baby is too comfortable.