Easter

Grandpa got to spend some quality time with Brooke while we did the Easter egg hunt. She loves to talk with anyone who will take the time to talk to her. It takes her a min to warm up but then she will talk forever.

I love how I don't have to put the girls in sweaters with their Easter dresses. It is warm enough that it is an option but I don't have to.

Natalie was a little irritated that I made her wear a dress. As you can see she tried do the best she could in it. After the egg hunt she asked if she could take it off.

Grandpa and Sherry came over for Easter and Amos and Michelle came later for the meal. So it was a small get together that we didn't actually plan on and we just threw it together the day before but it turned out well.

These are the finished egg. We went simple but the girls loved the glitter they got to coat them in.

Yes that is my family all in their pj's. We were really busy that week and everything kind of got pushed to the last min. We woke up Easter morning and before their shower we quickly decorated eggs. Easter was fun and very low key which is good for me because time seems to be flying by lately and I am doing so many things last min.

My sweet babies

Natalie and Katelyn are true sisters through and through. The play really way together one min and the next someone is crying and they refuse to play together for a whole 2 mins. Then they forget what they were fighting about and are playing again. They make me laugh! Katelyn is enjoying her own time with Brooke when Natalie is at school. The new car smell so to speak is starting to wear off Brooke and the girls don't feel then need to be in her face all the time. This is a great weight off my shoulders because there for a little while Nat and Kate were doing all kinds of things to Brooke just to see what would happen or her reaction. It was hard for me to even take a shower and leave the girls in the same room with Brooke and not worry they were going to hurt her on accident. Now Nat and Kate have turned into quite the little helpers. We still have a few moments of bad judgment calls on the girl's part but they are definitely getting better.

My sweet baby is growing like a weed. She loves to lay on her back. She will lay on the floor for hours if someone is just sitting next to her. Her favorite toy right now is her floor mat. She loves the mirror and the music on it. She also enjoys being naked and taking baths. After her bath when I am getting her dressed she screams like no one's business. It even takes us a few mins to actually calm her down. She smiles a lot and really is a content baby most of the time.

Brooke's hair is out of control! A lot of people said that I should be ready for that hair to fall out but so far it isn't going anywhere. After a bath it has a little curl to it and then it turns pin straight when it dries. She is such a cute little nugget...well not so little. I got to hold a 5 pound baby the other night and she was about a month old. She felt like air compared to Brooke. Brooke is almost 13 pounds now at two months so no surprise that we are off the charts again. I think they need to make new charts. (haha)

Isn't she beautiful......

Who do I look like?

My cousin Emily posted on her blog pictures of her babies about the same age and it is almost hard to tell them apart. Even though they are a girl and a boy they really do look a lot a like. So I was curious about my kids and what they look like. Well I have posted the following pictures and they aren't the same age because unfortunately we lost a lot of pictures from a computer crash so Natalie and Kate are six to eight months old. I think you can tell they are sisters but they have their own look about them. I can't wait to see what they look like when they get older.

Minds of their own

We were walking through Target looking for some summer shoes and Natalie and I had the following conversation: Me: Oh Nat look at these shoes they are really cute. Natalie: No mom I don't want those. Me: but they will be really cute with your clothes Natalie: MOM...I won't wear them. At least I have one that I can still dress the way that I want and I mean Brooke. Katelyn didn't want the shoes I picked out for her either. Nat ended up with sparkly blue flip flops and Kate got rainbow sparkly flip flops. Not my first choice but they got to pick out what they wanted. This year I get to go school shopping with Natalie and Katelyn.....I wonder how that is going to go. Natalie already informed me that she currently doesn't have any cute clothes and Kate told me yesterday that she doesn't want to wear any of Natalie's old clothes. Kate saw that Nat has holes in some of her jeans from playing in them and I had to reassure her that I wouldn't make her wear clothes with holes in them and we will buy her new jeans. My kids are growing up way to fast.

Girl time

The girls love their sister so much that it drives me crazy on a daily basis. I have been trying to get across to Natalie and Kate that they need to leave Brooke alone sometimes and don't touch her face so much. This has turned out to be an everyday conversation that I have to have with them. Granted they are great helpers and they think Brooke is so cute but sometimes it is overwhelming for me. One of the benefits of having Natalie and Kate close together in age was that Natalie could have cared less about Kate being around.

This is Brooke at 5 weeks. She is going up so fast and she doesn't even look like she did in the hospital in my opinion. She will have blue eyes or maybe a hazel. Natalie has ice blue and Katelyn has brown so I think it is great that all of my kids will have different color eyes. I thought for sure with Paul and I both having brown eyes that all of our kids would have brown but I guess you never know. So far the feedback that I have gotten is that Brooke looks like Paul's sisters. So Natalie looks like me, Kate looks like Paul and Brooke looks like the Martin women. I say we will see.....looks can change from when they are so little.

Katelyn was all in our business when I was trying to get Brooke to sleep so I gave her the camera and this one didn't turn out that bad. I love how pale I look I think this was a week after my last blood transfusion so I was still trying to replenish my blood supply.

With the girls needing some attention I have let them take a few extra bubble baths in my bath and played princess music for them to listen and sing to. Now it is all the ask for when I say it is time to take a shower.

Brooke loves to smile and has done so since the she was about a week old. The only thing she has to be sleeping or just waking up. She just started smiling last week when I talk to her. What a cutie pie. I am so lucky to have three beautiful girls and be able to watch them grow up.

This is the girls helping again. About two seconds later they were in the grass then the girls ran off and left Brooke there. I can tell that it is going to be a hard couple of years for Brooke.

Overall Brooke is an easy baby. She is a good sleeper and will do 7 to 8 hour straight most nights. The only drawback from that is that she won't take a long nap during the day so my house has pretty much taken a backseat. Unless I can get it done in 15 mins it doesn't get done until the weekend when Paul can watch the girls. Brooke is starting to coo and try and talk with me which I love. I know that this is a stupid thing to forget but after not having a baby for awhile I forgot how much of your time is spent holding them when they are this little. I am really enjoying staying home and watching all three of my kids grow.

This is just one of the many funny conversations I have on a daily basis: (I was changing Brooke's clothes)

Kate: Whoa Brooke is fat!

Me: Hey your fat (just kidding and laughing as I say it so I didn't say it to be mean)

Kate: Not as fat as Brooke!

little miss

I was going through old pictures and came across the ones from last summer. I just have to say that is miss this little nugget!! I love how when I talk to her mom on the phone at any random moment I hear her yelling hi in the background and won't stop until I say hi. I can't wait until Brody will talk to me on the phone.

Meet Brooke Jenna Martin

Brooke is such a mellow baby. She is already sleeping 6 hrs straight some nights.

I just love her!!! She is also starting to just get fat. I love plump babies and I know she was big to start but the rolls just keep coming now.

Brooke with Grandpa and Grandma Sherry. We have had a lot of family to come and see her....now that we live close.

Emily took this picture and I love it. Of course it took 15 pictures to get one picture of all of them looking the same way. We are also working on understanding that Brooke needs some space sometimes. They just love her some much.

Brooke shortly after she was born on 2/23/11.

Birth Story

This is my third kid and my birth story is nothing like the other two. We moved during the middle of my pregnancy and I found a doctor but after the first couple of visit I knew that he was not going to be my doctor after this pregnancy. It started with my doctor telling me that I was to be induced on Sunday night but the hospital was running behind and it may not be till Monday morning. I was hoping for Monday morning because my cousin Emily was to fly in on Sunday night and I wanted everything to go smoothly and not have to worry that I might be in the hospital when she got in. Well the hospital was a little further behind then we thought so I didn't get induced until Tuesday night. My husband went home that night to get some sleep knowing the next day was going to be a long one so Emily came to the hospital and walked the halls with me. When the contractions got bad enough I got my epidural and tried to get some sleep. The next morning I was only dilated to a 4 so things were going really slow. Everything was progressing but just really slowly. At about a quarter to 5 pm I started pushing and everything was still normal until the baby got stuck. The next thing I know there are 7 nurses in the room now and three of them are jumping up on the bed with me and pushing on my stomach. After a few tense moments the baby came loose and was out but she wasn't crying. They needed to get the baby to the nurses fast so Paul was unable to cut the cord. It was probably a few mins before I heard Brooke's first cries and I felt a sense of relief. After they were done cleaning her up they weighed her and she was 11 lbs 0.5 oz. I knew she was big but I didn't think that big. Believe me when I say there was talk that night among the nurses about the big baby. After the delivery I was OK for about an hour and then the 23 hours of labor started to affect me. I hadn't eaten or got much sleep in the last 24 hours so I started almost having delusions. I was saying odd random things and not really aware of what was going on around me. So I got some food and a couple hours of sleep and I was myself again. my cousin Emily and husband Paul have some good stories of the stupid things I was saying. After I was normal again Emily took my kids home and Paul and I just hung out at the hospital. I told Paul to go home and get some sleep and Emily came back to the hospital to sit with me for awhile and hold Brooke. When Emily got to the hospital I had about a good hour and then I started having pain in my stomach and back. I was given oxycodone which is pretty normal after having a kid and told I could only have them every four hours. I waited about 15 mins and the pain was getting worse and the medicine did nothing to help. I tried to suck it up and just get through it because I thought it was because Brooke was so big. A little while later I couldn't take the pain and I told the nurse. She called the doctor and he agreed to give me a narcotic to help with the pain. Now from here on out I will tell the story the best I can because I don't remember everything but people have told me stories of what happened. The nurse said that with the narcotic I shouldn't feel pain for about 3 hours. I was so high that when another nurse came in to take xrays of Brooke to make sure she didn't hurt her shoulder when she got stuck that I couldn't understand her. She had a accent and was explaining to me what they were going to do with Brooke and I turned to Emily and gave her a look of what the hell is she talking about. Another time I was looking at Emily and I said to her I know I am staring at you but I can't stop. I was really wasted. haha Then things took a turn for the worse the pain started coming back really strong and it wasn't time for pain meds yet but it was getting really bad that I started to cry. If you know me I am not a crier but the pain was so strong. The nurse called the doctor again and gave me another shot of the narcotic but that only took away the pain for about 30 mins and I was back to crying in pain again. My cousin started to get stressed out because we all had the feeling that something wasn't right but the nurses and doctor weren't talking to her and letting her know what was going on. She called Paul and told him that something is wrong and he needed to come back and she drove home to stay with the other kids. When Paul got to the hospital he came and checked on me and saw how much pain I was in. He then went to go find my nurse and find out what was going on. She told him that I was having a lot of pain but they didn't know why. Paul got mad and said OK well we have had two kids already and this is not normal so what are you going to do about it. The nurse didn't have any answers but said I can get the doctor if you want me too. Paul said yes get him down here. By this time it was 1 in the morning. When the doctor got there Paul confronted him and he really wasn't willing to do anything but give me more pain meds. Paul told him that is not working and you need to do something else. So the doctor said well I guess I can check for blood clots. Paul said well at least that is something so lets do it. The first blood clot he pulled out of me abdomen was a little smaller but about the size of a soccer ball. This blood clot was so big that it was blocking the other blood clots from getting out so they didn't know I was hemorrhaging. He continued to pull more blood clots out and doing this was extremely painful that by now I was screaming in pain. At that point the decision was made that I needed a D&C and I was off to the operating room. I got out of the operating room around 4 in the morning and by 6 am I was so weak that I could barely move. They determined at that point due to the amount of blood lose I needed blood transfusions. I received 2 units and I was starting to feel better. I was restricted to my bed so they could monitor my blood lose. The next morning they thought I was on the mend so I was able to get up and go to the bathroom. I made it to the toilet right before I passed out and had to be revived with smelling salt. That was one of the weirdest things I have gone through. It is hard to explain but the smelling salt is like a slap in the face. So I was confined to my bed again and they decided that I needed to more units of blood. When you get blood they give you a drug to help just in case you have a reaction to the blood but the medicine also makes you high. That early evening the bleeding had slowed so they thought I was healing and the hemorrhaging had stopped. Sometime during the middle of the night I started hemorrhaging again and the next morning I was back in the operating room. This time they scrapped my uterus and put a balloon in my uterus that would force it to start healing. I had to stay in the hospital for another 24 hours. I was FREE to leave the hospital on the fifth day. During my stay Emily and Paul traded off who was at the hospital and who was staying home with the kids and getting sleep. I can't say enough how much I appreciate having Emily help out with the kids and keep me company at the hospital. Paul was amazing at taking charge when I needed someone and couldn't speak for myself. I was high or unable to care for Brooke almost the whole time I was at the hospital and I think over the 5 days I got to hold her for about an hour. The nurses had her at their station a lot and the all loved on her so I didn't feel to bad. They all made sure to stop in and say how cute my baby was and how they got to play with her. My sister-in-law came the last day I was in the hospital and she is a nurse so she was able to ask questions that I didn't even know to ask. She found out that my blood levels had dipped below critical level and I was really close to bleeding to death. She also said that when I was released from the hospital my blood levels were at the critical level still. When I got home Emily had to go back home so my sister-in-law came to stay for a week. I was not able to do much of anything because I was to weak. I ended up going back into the hospital for two more units of blood while she was here. I started feeling better towards the end of her visit but I still needed to nap during the day or I couldn't make it so my other sister-in-law came for a couple of days to help. After that visit I was ready to take it on myself. I have been warned that it will take a couple of months to get my full energy back and to replenish the blood in my system. This was a lot of stress and not how I saw this birth going but you never know when things can take a turn. I love and appreciate my husband and my kids so much more now. Paul told his sister that he wouldn't know what to do without me and how scared he was there for a little while. I am grateful that I don't remember everything. I don't really know why I just am. I can't thank everyone enough for the help.

Baby is coming soon!!!

I haven't been posting anything lately because I am really over this pregnancy and it is hard for me to sit down and write about happy things that have happened because I feel miserable a lot of the time. The reason I am posting an update now is because I had a doctor's appointment today and it was a little bit of good news for me. As of yesterday I have 7 weeks until my due date but at my appointment today the baby is 5 1/2 pounds already. I have been telling my doc from the beginning I have big babies so this really didn't come as too much of a shock to me but I think they were caught off guard. I have taken two glucose test during this pregnancy because when I told my doc how big my other babies were he thought for sure I had diabetes and when the first one came back negative he thought OK until this baby really started growing and he had me take another. Which also came back negative. So back to my doctor's appointment today....he sent me in for another ultrasound today after he measured me and realized I was bigger then I should be. The ultrasound measured the baby's due date 17 days earlier then my original due date. I was told that if the date was more then two weeks earlier then the original date they will move my due date up. I have another doctor's appointment in two weeks and they will see where she is at before they make the call. Also they are a little worried that the baby is breach right now but I told them that both of my other kids didn't turn until 36 and 37 weeks. With my babies having the habit of turning late and the doc wanting to move up my due date a c-section now becomes a possibility. I don't really mind if that is what happens I just want a healthy baby. Also having an average size baby would be kind of cool or at least something new to me. This all happened when just the night before Paul and I actually came to some kind of agreement on a name for this little girl. We aren't saying what it is until she is born but I think it is really cute. Now with the due date a little more unstable I am working on finishing the baby's room and oh I hear they don't let you take the baby home without a car seat so we should probably get one of those. haha I would post a ultrasound picture but this little stinker hasn't shown her face through out most of my pregnancy. I think I only have one or two profile pics and I have had 7 ultrasounds. Apparently she is a very shy little girl!!!

Martin Christmas Dinner

My sister-in-laws and I decided that this year we all wanted to spend Christmas at our own houses with just our families. We end up traveling a lot or having family over on Christmas that it was a nice idea to have one that was just our small families. Don't get me wrong I enjoy getting together with family but now that we have kids that are getting older I want them to have some traditions of our own.

Sister love

So we decided that we would have a Martin family Christmas dinner on the 18th. It was so nice to see everyone and we had a great time. As soon as we showed up Paul and I didn't see much of Natalie or Katelyn. They just love to play with their cousins that they take off and I have to go find them to make sure they aren't getting into too much trouble. We do a movie exchange for the grown-ups and some how Paul got the movie "Big Trouble in Little China" again for the second year in a row. I swear Paul loves some of the dumbest movies. He was so excited because last year he got the DVD and this year he got the Blue-ray. We really don't have the same taste in movies. I think next year the Martins have decided to do a movie exchange and you bring a movie that you hate. It will be funny to see how many men bring chic flicks and the women bring the B rated movies the men like. I am so glad we had this dinner the week before Christmas because it totally put me in the holiday mood. I am looking forward to Christmas and with Natalie now on Christmas break we can start do some of the fun things. Baking cookies, drive around to see the lights and go to the mall to see santa and that is just the start.

Party at Amos and Michelle's house

Thanksgiving

I know it is way over due but I just had to post something about Thanksgiving because I got to see a really cute little nugget and I have a travel story that I will probably never forget.

The girls and I went down to Las Vegas to visit my cousin Emily and her family. My husband got stuck back home because of work so that meant I was traveling 7 months pregnant and with two kids but I thought I could handle it. Emily had her little boy in August and I hadn't seen him yet so I was so excited to see and hold him. He is such a cute and easy baby. It was so cute to see how Sadie loves her little brother. My girls of course loved playing with Sadie and wanted to hold and kiss Brody. I think they are going to do great with our new little one. I only have a few pictures because I just kept forgetting to take pictures....I guess that is what happens when you are having so much fun!! I was so glad to be able to come down and spend Thanksgiving with Emily and Travis.

No matter how much we cleaned....it always looked like this....the girls were so helpful. So now on with the travel story. We got to Las Vegas just fine which was good because it put my uneasy feelings of traveling by myself with two kids to rest. Then on the way home the flight out of Las Vegas was an hour and a half late so we missed our connecting flight in Salt Lake but they had one more later that night that we would make so it wasn't that bad yet. The girls were really bored of airports by the time we got to Salt Lake that I was glad our connecting flight was a little early.We got on the plane and flew all the way to the Tri-Cities when the captain came on the speaker and said the weather was bad enough that they couldn't land and they were taking us back to Salt Lake. I handled that really well and started crying on the plane. (dang hormones) By the time we got back to Salt Lake it was midnight and the girls were crying and tired when I had to wake them up to get them off the plane. So the airline gave us a voucher for a cheap hotel and a phone number to call to get another flight. I called the number and they told me that the next available flight was in 3 days!!! By this time I am not crying anymore I am just mad. The only thing I could think of was to get a flight to Spokane and have Paul drive the 2 1/2 hours to pick us up. The earliest flight was the following evening so I booked it and now needed to get me and the kids to the hotel. The only good thing about this night was that because Paul is a Gold member with this airline our hotel was upgraded to the Marriott. The girls and I finally got into bed at 2 am. Oh one small bit of info...the airline thought it would be easier if we didn't get our bags and they just transferred them to our next flight. So no bags or change of clothes or even our tooth brushes. The next morning we got up, bought some tooth brushes and toothpaste in the lobby of the hotel and needed to check out at noon. Then back to the airport to wait 8hrs until our flight left. There is not that much to do in an airport and then on top of it I had to entertain to kids. That was the longest 8 hrs of my life. When we finally bordered the plane they could only keep two runways open due to the weather so we taxi'ed the runway for 2 hrs. Thank goodness my kids fell asleep but it was still long for me and Paul was just pulling up to the airport in Spokane when I called him and said we were just taking off in Salt Lake.

This was the best smile I could get out of them. We were just about to board the plane to go home.

Overall I will never travel without Paul again. We were so happy to be home and I had to try really hard not to cry when I saw Paul in the airport. I will never forget this disaster.

Parent teacher conference

We had a parent teacher conference with Natalie's teacher and it went super well!!! I was really nervous about how Natalie was doing in school. I think I was more worried about how I did with her at home in preparing her for school. She is in the top of her class and in the top reading group. The teacher did say that she needs to work on her communication a little. She told us the first day Natalie went up to her and said "I am not so sure about this place". When her teacher asked her what she meant Natalie said never mind and went about her work. Now when ever they change things up in class Natalie will say "Are you sure about this?" The teacher asked her what she means and Natalie just says never mind. We have noticed her saying this at home sometimes so the teacher suggested that we ask follow up questions so Natalie will learn to express her concerns. The teacher thought it was very funny the way Natalie puts things but wants her to feel comfortable in expressing her concerns. It really doesn't surprise me that Natalie gets a little apprehensive when it comes to change...she has always been my child that worries too much.

I can't stop smiling

The other day was such a beautiful day that we had to get out of the house and do something. We found this nice park to go to. It has walking trails, a play area, fishing area and this little pond where there was about a thousand birds. The girls loved feeding the birds.

Both of the girls wanted to catch a bird so they were running around chasing them. (very funny)

I love this picture of me and Natalie. I wasn't feeling well that day so this is me with no make-up and my hair just pulled back. It was such a nice day that I just had to go out too so I just put on some sunglasses and headed out.

Kate and I are loving the time we get to spend together during the day. I have come to realize how unhappy I had been for a while. Just with all the changes and moving over the last couple of years. It is so nice to finally feel settled and content. I get out more then I have in a long time and I get to do things that I just wasn't motivated to do before. I find myself through out the days just smiling. I am so excited for what is to come and I am really excited to meet this new little baby of ours. Only 14 more weeks!!!!

Family time

We got to spend some more time with my in-laws this last weekend. I like that they are close enough that getting together isn't a big deal. We have a bunch of birthdays in October and November so we decided to get together for a bowling party. I forgot my camera, of course, so I didn't get any pictures of that. My sister-in-law Liz and her kids stayed the night with us so in the morning Kate got up and went out to the living room where her cousins were sleeping snuggled in with them and asked them to turn on cartoons. I got to sleep in a little so that was nice. The next morning my other sister-in-law and her kids came up and we took the older ones to the mall and did some shopping. They all went to a movie but I choose not to go and went back home. At home were the younger ones including my kids and now they wanted to go to the mall. So I loaded up 4 kids and took them to Claire's. I love that store they have a clearance rack in the back and the little girls love that stuff. When everyone got back to the house my sister-in-laws and I sat down to go over the kids schedules. A lot of my nieces and nephews are in sports and I want to try and make it to a couple of their games this year to support them. I realized while doing this how busy things are going to get for me when my kids get older. It was really different this year with Natalie in school and all the functions I have to attend or things we have to do for her and her school and it is only November. (and only Kindergarten)

We did find out a little while ago that my brother-in-law Amos and his wife Michelle are expecting and their baby is due about 4 months after ours. I am excited that all of my kids will have a cousin that is close in age to them so when we do family functions they all have someone to play with.

Halloween

The girls are older now so Halloween is a big deal. I have always decorated the house in just fall colors with leaves and pumpkins but the girls have something else in mind. They want to decorate for Halloween with scary stuff. We went through target and Paul and the girls had to be dragged out of the Halloween section. We didn't have the time this year to really decorate but watch out next year. I guess I need to do some crafts for the inside of the house before next year comes. Speaking of crafts and I have found a craft warehouse store just a few miles away so I have a hobby now.

We carved some pumpkins this year and Natalie was so excited until she saw the inside of the pumpkin. There was no way she was going to stick her hand in there. When we were picking out the pumpkins Natalie wanted the biggest one she could find and Kate wanted one of the small ones. Kate actually helped clean hers out and everything. Natalie did get excited when it was time to light the candles. This was the first time I used a stencil and I thought it was pretty cool. Paul found a pattern for the death star but after craving Natalie's he lost his motivation. Which I can't blame him, if I had to do more then one big pumpkin I would lose motivation too. The girls got to pick out their Halloween costumes this year as long as it wasn't Disney princess. I am so over princess!!! Kate and I went to the store and found the hot dog costume for Buster. When we were there the first time they didn't have his size but Paul thought it would be perfect for him so Kate and I went back another day and found his size. Paul took the kids around and I stayed behind to hand out candy. We met some of our new neighbors and and we got to see who has kids the same age as ours. I loved how the weather was still warm and not raining.

Update again

It has been a while since I have updated on this pregnancy so I thought I would scribble a few things down. While I think this pregnancy is taking just about forever Paul's family keeps telling me how fast it is going. Well I guess we will just meet in the middle and say it is taking forever....is that not the middle?!?!? haha The girls are so excited to have a baby in the house and they are both very happy that it is a girl. Natalie is working with her dad to figure out what to name this baby. I gave up the right to name this child but I still get to have a final yes or no if that makes any sense. Natalie has told me that she will pick out the clothes that she wants the baby to wear everyday and Kate just says she gets to tickle her. I am a little worried about how Kate is going to deal with a baby in the house and her losing her spot. She can be so emotional sometimes and whine for hours if I let her. I think it might be an adjustment for all of us but we will get through it. I have just cleared out the rest of the boxes out of the nursery so next week we will be buying the crib and dresser. Woohoo!!!! It will finally start to feel and look like a nursery. I am excited to have a baby around the house again. It has been a while and I am a little surprised about how many things I have forgotten. I am happy to be going through this process again one last time. I had a feeling from the beginning that it was going to be a girl and I am pleased to have three girls. This pregnancy has been trying at times but all of my pregnancies have been trying so this is no surprise. All three of my pregnancies have been so different from one another. This time I am craving salty and sweet foods so I guess chocolate covered pretzels are the way to go. The swelling is out of control. I had swelling the other times but it didn't happen until the end so this is a little different for me. I have done just about everything to try and reduce the swelling. I gave up soda, reduced salty foods and drink tons of water. Still the swelling doesn't go away. I guess I will just have to wait until I have this kid for it to go away. The heat is almost unbearable and I keep the house very cool. Paul and the girls are always cold and I do sometimes feel a little bad. Paul and I were putting the girls to bed one night and Natalie said can we turn on the heat I just what to know what it feels like. haha I have found a good doctor and he seems to be OK with everything I want for my labor plans. Everything has seemed to work out well and I will be so excited to stay home with this baby.

Natalie is a year older....

Natalie turned 6 this month so we had a party with some friends and family. We just moved into the house too so it was nice to have a few people over. Natalie loved having her cousins over and opening presents was definitely a group effort.

Natalie is getting so big I can hardly believe it. I remember when she was a tiny baby and so dependent on me. Now she is girl with her own thoughts of the way things should be and reminds me constantly of how big she is. Birthdays are so fun with her now because she makes her list of what she would like to get and wants to have input on the decorations. I am learning to let go of the control and let her choose what she wants rather then what I would think would be cute. It is a lot of fun to sit down with her and go over things.

The funniest part of the evening was to watch Paul and a couple of our friends sit around the table and put all the toys together. They were so into it and had to make everything perfect. haha Natalie loved running around with her cousins and playing with her new toys. They got to stay awhile because the adults wanted to sit around and talk so I think fun was had by all. Thanks everyone for coming and I hope to get together again soon.

I tried punch for the first time and it turned out pretty good. I called someone and got a recipe and I think I will be using that one from now on. I actually crave it all the time now but I can't have punch around all the time....that would just be dumb.....right? haha We are having a bowling party at the beginning of Nov. and the rest of the family will be able to make it. Plus we will be celebrating about 4 birthdays at that party so more pics to come later.