Life

Life...does it ever slow down? I have a feeling now that we have the house, there will always be a project to do in our spare time:) I can't even begin to describe how nice it feels to have a nice home to lay my head down at night. We found a steal of a deal on a formal dining room set off Craigslist. I am always giddy when I find a great deal! In addition, Aaron bought me a new comforter set from Macy's for Christmas but since he can never wait to give me my gifts...well, that and because I got to pick it out, he gave it to me early.
Liv has been giggling for a few weeks now. I LOVE that we can entertain her. The first time she laughed for me was when Cece and I were sitting on the couch with Liv on my lap, we were laughing about something not having to do with Liv at all, suddenly Olivia starts joining in on our laughter! Ha! So stinking cute. Little Liv love is still nursing like a champ. Breastfeeding is so rewarding. Not only am I giving Liv all the nutrition she needs and nothing she doesn't by nursing, I'm also saving our household a TON of money on formula costs. As far as solids have gone, Liv has tried just a few...Bananas, apple sauce, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal. One night before I went to work, I asked Aaron if he could feed Liv some rice cereal...a short time later, I received a picture message of a picture of Olivia slurping the cereal up instead of eating it with a spoon....Leave it up to a man to figure out an easier, simpler way to do things
Every week the pile of presents under the tree grows and Cecelia so enjoys sitting by the tree, picking up each present with her name written on it and shaking it while trying to determine what it could possibly be. So cute! Aaron did let her open an early present though...he let her open up the new Madagascar racing game and accompanying steering wheels. She is trying to practice up because she knows when Kiley comes into town she's going to have some serious competition! Lately Cecelia has been obsessed with school. Like getting there super early so she can start her work, and reading for 20-40 mins. EVERY day and not missing A SINGLE DAY!
Since becoming a peer coach she has to do her work and get it done quickly enough that she can help others with their homework, so she feels the need to constantly stay ahead of things (sounds just like me!)
Loving life:) I thank God for all my blessings:)

Our Forever Home:)

Halloween came and went so quickly for us, we even missed our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch because we were so busy with the move. But, it's over and we are finally in our forever home and loving it! Family and friends showed us sooo much love and support and we couldn't have done it without them! We are almost all settled. My oh my is being a homeowner expensive! We have depleted our savings and then some. Some of the things we have had to pay for: The remainder of our 7,000 down payment, u-haul rental for 1 week (400.00), New stainless steel refridgerator, front loader washer and dryer, new living room furniture since we now have a family room and a formal living room, faux wood blinds for downstairs (we have temporary blinds upstairs and need to tackle putting up the permanent ones this weekend hopefully), garage door opener installation and supplies for that job (Aaron's dad gave us a top of the line opener as a housewarming present). Sprinklers and hoses (for watering the new sod), step stool for reaching the high 42" cabinets, fire extinguisher (didn't event think about that one), mailbox...never had to buy one before! cleaning supplies, candles, decorations, the list goes on and on. Home improvement projects we would like to finish in the next year:
Privacy Fence the yard for the kids and dog (we want them to have a trampoline and pool next summer but you have to have a privacy fence for this.
Landscaping: I don't mind maintaining it, but I want professionals to design and plant it to begin with
Finish the basement: That one should be fun
Cecelia is also riding the bus now! She is such a big girl! She loves that she has friends in the neighborhood that are also in her class, that also ride the bus! How fun! Cecelia was a bumble bee for Halloween this year, and I brought Liv up to her school for the Halloween party and brought cookies.
Liv is huge! Rolling around on the ground or swinging in her swing or being snuggled is how she prefers to spend her days.
Kiley flew into town for her birthday weekend and all the girls enjoyed their time together, and the new house
Loving life and the blessings that god has given us! Wouldn't trade this life for anything!

Oh how I missed my sleep!

Yeah Liv has been sleeping through the night for Aaron since just after I returned to work, but we couldn't get her to sleep longer than a 4 hour stretch at night any time I was home...it's like she smelled me and wanted the breast milk straight from the source! Yay me, Liv slept 7 hours straight for me twice this week, albeit we were snuggled up together and she sleeps in the bassinet for Aaron but I will so take it! I felt like a new woman not getting woken up in the middle of the night, even if it is only for 5 minutes, it is still interupting my sleep:) I love her. She is the sweetest thing!

We rented the movie Soul Surfer today. I could lie and say that I just rented it for Cecelia but I've been wanting to see it for some time now. My aunt is moving to Hawaii and between finding out that news and watching this movie that takes place in Hawaii, I want to go back sooo bad!!! In one scene, the family attends church on the beach! I want to attend church on the beach:( In the movie the girls loses an arm to a shark bite and in the process of training for a surf competition is shown doing 1 handed push ups, so of course my freakishly strong Cecelia has to attempt them, and she can do 1 handed push ups! I can't even do 2 handed girly push ups! LOL!
She's so cute! I love her so much. Today she was holding Olivia and was watching t.v. and rubbing Olivia's nose at the same time (don't ask me why) anyways, Olivia fell asleep to her nose being rubbed. Liv loves being caressed. I usually rub her soft head of her cheek or arm when she's falling asleep she loves it:)
Long weekend at work for me. I'm tired doing 3 in a row but it's nice to get them done with and out of the way for a few days. I'm off Mon-Thur this week and hope that it's relaxing.

Parent teacher conferances

We are so, so, so very proud of Miss Cecelia! She has had quite a few adjustments this year...new baby, new school and soon to be a new house, and she has handled everything so very well. She absolutely loves her second grade teacher and so do we. She's one of those people that you can sense has a good heart and absolutely loves what she does and I'm so thankful that Cecelia got her as a teacher. Cece's teacher did not have enough good things to say about her. She is doing excellent academically. She is reading at a 5th grade level! Seriously? Seriously! And she is one of the only kids in her class who will be learning multiplication at some point this year. Basically, if she keeps on the same track that she is on now, next year she would most likely be recommended for the "gifted and high achievers" program. Which would be amazing because it offers these kids so many extra classes to choose from based on their interests. I'm so happy when I think about what an amazing big girl and big sister she is becoming that it brings tears to my eyes. I love you baby girl soooooo much! I'm so proud to be your mom!

Oh, and since when did Halloween costumes cost $37? Cecelia wanted to be a bumble bee for Halloween this year...she couldn't just settle for any old costume from Wal-Mart or Target or even Nobbies for that matter (granted Nobbies didn't her size). I have to admit it is a pretty cute costume. She still will need a black short sleeve t-shirt and a pair of black leggings, and she really wants one of those pin on stingers to pin on her bum. She is going to look adorable. Stanley got his costume too. He is going to be a turtle. Oh how he enjoys dressing up every year (insert sarcasim) LOL. He probably really despises us. And of course, Olivia is going to be an Angel. Very fitting for her because she is such a good little girl. I do want to find her some kind of Halo or something to wear on her head.

Vala's pumpkin patch next Tuesday (Aaron's day off). So excited to go again this year. It is our family tradition. Turkey legs are so good!

Olivia had her 8 week checkup yesterday. She is now 11.4 lbs. Which puts her in the 61st percentile for weight! She is also now 23 inches long. Growing like a weed:) She is such a good baby! The other night while I worked, Olivia slept 6 1/2 hours straight for Aaron! She usually on sleeps 3-4 hours for me so maybe this is a new trend. But she has also started doing this reverse feeding schedule I have heard some babies do. She eats minimally when I am gone and then makes up for it when I get home. So for me this means I work at night and her and her dad get great sleep. Then when I get home she nurses and cuddles/sleeps with me all morning long when I'm trying to sleep, luckily I can sleep through her nursing. I miss her terribly when I'm at work so I love hopping in the shower when I get home and then hopping in bed to snuggle.

We found Cecelia's 1st Halloween costume (an Angel) and thought it would be so precious for Olivia to use it for her 1st Halloween. Then hopefully save it and let the next baby use it. Meanwhile Cecelia is unsure of what she wants to dress up as. We are planning on going to find her a costume on Saturday. She was thinking of being a little devil...I think she just wants to play with the little red pitchfork that comes with the costume:)

The house is coming along great! It's almost completely finished on the outside...it still needs grass and our back deck needs to be built still. Cabinets and counters are scheduled for the 16th and carpets are scheduled for the 24th. Carpet is obviously scheduled to be installed last since they don't want contractors walking allover your new carpet. Our closing is scheduled for Friday the 4th. I will have 5 days to move and put our house together so I'm anticipating a very exhausted week. But Aaron took off work and then has his regularly scheduled days off so I will be putting him to work as well.

Did I mention that Cecelia and Aaron went to the Vikings vs. Chiefs game in KC? They had a blast and I wish I would have went but I thought it was better to stay at home with Miss Olivia pumkin. Aaron has totally turned Cece into a Vikings, and football in general fan...not my cup of tea:)

Well, I'm exhausted...I miss sleep. I was sooo spoiled before. Aaron always took Cecelia to school in the mornings since he would go work out afterwards, so before Olivia, I could sleep in all week long until I was rested. Albeit I was pregnant and needed my rest but most nights I was getting 10+ hours of sleep. Now I'm getting sleep but it's choppy:( Oh well, it's a season of life and I'm going to miss these days when they are gone. Kids grow up way too fast!

Olivia is the cutest little bug:) She is talking and cooing a ton these days. Probably about 2 weeks ago we started to be able to get her to smile on command. Of course, Aaron can get a smile out of her easier than I can...little girls love their daddy's SO much!!! She is sitting in her bumbo chair about once a day and actually like it. I think she likes the new views from sitting up straight. She still continues to be a happy spitter...although at times, I would call what she does projectile vomiting. But, it doesn't seem to bother her at all. And if it doesn't bother them, Doctors don't want to give them anything for it. I did read that you can start adding rice cereal to their milk to thicken it up a little in hopes of getting less spit up. I'm going to ask the doctor about this, but I'm hesitant to do it because I don't want her to get filled up with basically nutrition less rice cereal and then take breast milk less. I went back to work:( There were a few tears but I'm doing fine now. Liv did great for Aaron, only waking up once during the night. And then the next day, she just wanted to sleep with me and nurse all day...I'll take cuddle time ANY time. I love my life. My kids are amazing, my husband is wonderful. God has truly blessed us.

This week Liv found her hands! Yay, this is part of her learning to self soothe...which will eventually mean a full nights sleep for me (hopefully). She also is taking her binkie more than before too. She also rolled over!!! The first time it happened I laid her down on a blanket naked...for a little tummy time, while I went to the kitchen to prep her tub for her bath. I walked back in the living room and she was off the blanket and on her back. Cecelia didn't do it because she was at the kitchen counter working on homework. I was shocked, so of course I wanted to see if she could do it again. So, I laid her on her stomach again. Although she wouldn't roll again for me on command, I could see how she did it. She got her legs so far up and then gravity did the rest and she just rolled. So, because it was gravity primarily, I wasn't going to count it as her first roll. But then, today she was laying on her back and sure enough, 2 minutes later when I looked over again she was on her stomach. This is astonishing to me that a 7 week old baby can already roll over.

Olivia is 6 weeks!

Maternity leave has flown by:( This is my last week before I return to work. I'm so sad to be leaving my family, even if it is just 3 overnights a week. Olivia is getting so big! She has her two month checkup next week and I can't wait to see how much weight she has gained. I'm not excited for her to get her immunizations but of course it's a necessary discomfort.
The house is coming along nicely. Hopefully this week they will be siding the house. It's amazing how quickly they can build at hearthstone! We are all so excited to move and I've been able to utilize maternity leave to get quite a bit of packing and deep cleaning done. I'm hoping to get a few more boxes done this week.
I got a second job. It's just very part time, maybe one weekend a month. I have a girlfriend who works for a home health care agency and has been telling me to come and apply for months now. They gave me what I asked for in terms of salary right off the bat and it's really easy work...dressing changes and drawing labs, and IV infusions, primarily.
Rachels wedding was 2 weeks ago and was beautiful! Cecelia was the prettiest flower girl ever!
Cecelia ajoined Girls scouts and loves it. They only meet every other week at the school so it's easy to fit in to our schedule. She continues to improve at gymanstics! I was so impressed with her back bend walk over the other day. She is getting so big and she is soooo good with Olivia. She is a great big sister and such a good helper to me. Never complaining when I ask her to help me with something...and since I'm breastfeeding I need more help sometimes since my hands are tied at times. We haven't been back to church since before the baby was born and Cecelia has been begging to go but every weekend we accidentally over sleep or baby is nursing and we run late and havent' been able to make it, until today. We were both so happy to go to church today.
Aaron's birthday is next weekend. He is turning 29! Old man:) We are having his family over for his favorite meal. A chicken dish, sweet potatoes, fresh green beans and better than sex cake. Then the following weekend, Aaron and Cece (along with a bunch of Aaron's family) are going down to Kansas City for the weekend for the Vikings game. I was originally planning on going...this was before the baby was born that I agreed. However, now that she is here and nursing is going so good, I hate to leave her. So, I gave my ticket to Cecelia and she is so excited to go to an NFL game with her Dad! Were now on the hunt for a Vikings T-shirt for her.
Life is good in the Culver house! We are so truly blessed!

2011 AirShow

Aaron had to work and Cecelia REALLY wanted to go to the airshow so I recruited two of my best friends; Karissa and Summer (and Summer's son, Chas) to join us at the airshow. We only stayed 2 hours but the kids loved it! Cecelia got to rock climb, she made it all the way to the top...I wouldn't expect any less from my monkey. They also had a bull that the kids could ride. Cecelia didn't want to at first, but we talked her into trying it and she loved it. She held on for dear life for about a minute and a half and then when the going got rough, she jumped ship! Everyone in line was laughing hysterically. She is so entertaining. I love her:)

Baby Olivia is 1 Month old!!!

She is such a good baby! I couldn't ask for a better baby. She is calm and relaxed. She only cries when she is hungry. She knows that night time is for sleeping and just wakes up to nurse and is back asleep shortly after. She is growing so much! She is really filling out. I love it!!! She is spitting up more than ever. Apparently, this spitting up peaks at around 6 weeks and then tapers from there. So were hoping that soon this will start to decline. I'm enjoying maternity leave and am ambivilant about going back to work. I will be happy to have a full paycheck again, but I'm going to miss my pumpkin when I'm working:(

Olivia @ 2 weeks old

Cece on her first day of 2nd grade:)

Selena Gomez Concert

Grandma and Papa Culver got Cece tickets to the Selena Gomez concert for her B-Day! What a great present. Cecelia was so excited to be able to go. The concert was at the Werner Park and Aaron and Aunt Christina took the ladies to the show. We decorated plain Black tank tops for the concert. Each tank top says I heart Selena. The girls were so proud of their shirts. Thanks Hobby Lobby for having all the supplies for the girls to come up with really creative ideas for their tank tops!

Oh baby:)

Olivia had her 2 week check up. She is now up to 7 lbs, 4 oz. Breast milk is doing this baby good. She is starting to really fill out and even some of her newborn clothes are getting snug. They did hear a clicking in her right hip when stressing it so we had to go up to Bergan for an ultrasound on her her hip. We anticipated that a sonographer would do the ultrasound and the radiologist would be reading it and then we would have to wait for the results, but fortunatley, the radiologist came in and actually did the ultrasound herself and walked us through the ultrasound and we were pleased that her hips came back as perfect. Aaron assured me for days prior to the test that she was fine (always the optimist) but I was pretty scared. She is such a good baby. She loves to snuggle and cuddle and she's starting to make more eye contact and Aaron can get her to smile as well. He gives her kisses and she loves it. Her favorite place to be is sleeping on your chest or eating) which requires her to be on my chest. Aaron got her to take her first bottle of pumped milk. I'm in a wedding next weekend and will be away from her for over 12 hours so she needs to be able to take a bottle...not only for the wedding but for when I return to work as well. We had tried about 4 different bottles and nipples before I realized that my breast pump came with a bottle and nipple that is supposed to mimic the breast. It's a First Years brand "nurser". I'll admit it looks a little wierd but she takes it and that's whats important.

Cecelia started at her new school and loves it. We all love her teacher and principle, she's making friends already and she is happy. And that makes me happy. I went to curriculum night last night and her teacher told me what a strong student and joy Cecelia is in the class. Cece starts gymnastics next week. She's really excited. I can't wait to see her doing what she loves again.

They are making progress on the house!!! The basement is dug and poured. Our curb grind is done and the driveway and plumbing should be done this week. And the lumber is being delivered in a few days. Once the lumber arrives, the house is going to fly up. We already met a few of our neighbors and we really like them. The couple next door have a few kids and a baby that is just a 3 months old so Olivia should grow up with a friend her age right next door. So excited to move! We obtained a few boxes and I've started packing what were not using. But we have a lot more to do.

Olivia Camille

Our precious little girl has finally arrived as scheduled:) She arrived at 5:58 P.M. on August 4th, 2011. She weighed 6 lbs, 9 0z. and was 21.5 inches long. The labor and delivery couldn't have been easier. We had not 1 but 2 of the best, nicest nurses. We went in at about 7:00 A.M. for the induction and by 8:00 A.M. I was all checked in, hooked up to the monitors and the pitocin was started. Contractions were totally manageable and our nurse began asking me about getting an epidural by 10:45. I told her I wanted to wait it out and kind of see how bad they would get and how much I could handle. She just advised me that they would get worse after my water was broken and that she didn't want them to get so bad that I was cursing at her. LOL. Within 15 minutes the contractions got so bad that I was asking out loud why anyone would want to do or could do this without an epidural. It was pretty bad back labor and there's no "breathing through" back labor. In fact it hurts to breath so all I wanted to do was hold my breath and lay very still and that obviously wasn't going to work for long. So by 11:15 I was getting my epidural and right after that my Doctor came in to break my water. My goodness was there a lot of amniotic fluid. It's the weirdest sensation too because I was numb but could still feel a sensation of water coming out. The afternoon was spent hanging out with Aaron and my two older sisters, Nikki and Charity. At about 4:00 I began to feel some pressure. This of course was right about the time that Sara and my best friend Karissa came up to see me. So everybody left the room while the nurses emptied my bladder and checked me and sure enough, I was complete and ready to push. It's so weird how quickly everything happens from there. Residents came in, 2 nurses for the baby came in, my sister Charity and Aaron were in the room and every one else waited outside, apparently with ears to the door. My doctor was called but was in rush hour traffic so we started pushing and did some practice contractions. The baby's heart rate was dropping with some of the contractions and since we had time they would have me push once and the breath through the rest of the contraction so we had extra time to go slow, and this also helped me so to prevent any tearing or the need for an episiotomy. All together I pushed for less than an hour, probably even less than that, maybe through 10 contractions? Aaron joked and told me that I made labor look easy. Olivia came out with her hand next to her face and her umbilical cord wrapped around her feet. She is so funny because every single ultrasound we got, we were unable to get a good picture of her face because her hands were right up by her face, then she comes out with her hand by her face, then with her first pictures, we couldn't get her to keep her hands down!!! My sister Charity cut the cord since Aaron can't handle that kind of stuff. We hadn't picked out a name but we talked about that if she came out with dark hair, that we would name her Olivia, and sure enough she has dark hair so I knew as soon as I saw her that Olivia was her name. She does have dark hair but in the sun light it looks lighter. Cecelia was also born with dark hair and turned out blond so who really knows what hair color she will have in a few months. Her eyes look the bluish color that all newborns have but they look pretty dark underneath so either brown or hazel I'd say. I'm absolutely smitten with our new addition. She is so stinkin cute and looks exactly like Cecelia did when she was a newborn. I'm astonished at how similar they look. Breastfeeding is going so good! I stressed about my ability to do this but Olivia has made it so easy for me. She's such a good little eater and has latched on so easily from the very beginning. I hope that it continues to be this easy! Aaron is in love with the baby and was able to take several days off of work last week and this week in order to be at home with all of us girls. If Olivia is not being breastfed and held she is being held on Aaron's chest. She's so precious and so far is turning out to be an amazing baby:) She is pretty sleepy all day and is awake for about an hour in the mornings taking it all in and then wakes up about every 2-3 hours to breastfeed. We went to the pediatrician when she was 4 days old (2 days after discharge from the hospital). She weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, so she had lost 7 ounces since birth which was within normal range but her bilirubin levels were slightly elevated. So they had us come back the next day to recheck bilirubin levels (which had gone down so there was no reason to continue to recheck bilirubin again. Well, this little sweet pea had gained 5 ounces overnight and was up to 6 lbs, 7 ounces. She will be seen at the pediatricians again in 2 weeks for her well baby check up as long as we don't need to be seen before then. All of our family has been so supportive and loving and I can't believe how truly blessed we are! The day that Olivia was born, they broke ground on the house! We will be so happy to move in...3 months!!! Can't wait for the baby to have her own room. She's fine for now in her bassinet in our room but she will need a crib right around the time we move in to the new house. Cecelia is so excited for all these changes. Both the girls are such good big sisters and want to help so much! They love their little Liv:) Nothing slows down with a new baby though:) Lots of friends and family coming over. Appointments to make and go to, pictures to be done...It's endless. Cecelia got a new pair of glasses and she looks adorable in them. We got her back to school supplies and are finishing up her back to school clothes shopping this weekend. We got supplies and decorated tank tops for the girls to wear to the Selena Gomez concert on Friday. The shirts are so cute and the girls are really excited! Kiley goes home on Saturday and it's always an adjustment when she comes and goes...the house suddenly gets very quiet. Of course we all miss Kiley terribly:( Hopefully, the adjustment is a little easier this year for Cece because the new baby is here to keep her occupied. School starts next Tuesday for Cece. There is an open house on Monday night. I'm nervous for her but Aaron keeps reassuring me that she is going to be just fine and I will be too after the second day. I love Aaron, he is always so positive! Cecelia will be doing gymanstics again this year. She moved up from beginners to intermediate so I'm excited to see her push herself and do more, she looks at the older girls who are doing the complex moves and flips and she really wants to be like them:) Life is good these days!

39 week appointment

Well, it looks like I will be pregnant forever! Just kidding:) No but really, I haven't made any changes from last week...still dilated to 3 cms and 75% effaced. Luckily our induction is scheduled for Thursday morning at 7 A.M. The girls will be staying with my sister Nikki overnight on Wed. so they don't have to wake up early like we do. I'm excited to not be pregnant anymore and have my body back and to meet our new baby, but I also know that I will miss being pregnant too.

Happy Anniversary

Aaron meant to buy me 2 dozen roses (for our 2 year wedding anniversary). But somehow managed to buy 4 dozen roses:) Very sweet but something only a man would do and not notice! LOL! I love him! Needless to say, I told him he didn't need to bring flowers to the hospital when this little pumpkin in born (like I knew he would do and like he did when Cecelia was born). We had a pretty low key anniversary. We were planning on a dinner out and a movie but Aaron's grandpa is unfortunately pretty sick and his family decided that Sunday was going to be a good day to make it up to South Dakota to see him before anything happened to him. I spent the day shopping and hanging out by the pool with my cousin and Aaron and the girls spent the majority of the day in the car driving to and from South Dakota...poor Aaron had to endure hours of the girls listening to Cece's new CD's that she got for her birthday: Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. In the evening when we all got home we ordered Chinese food and Aaron and I watched True Blood. A perfect Sunday evening if you ask me. We ended the night with a few regular intense contractions before we laid down and I was able to fall asleep so they apparently stopped at some point because we are still without a newborn!!! Officially 39 weeks pregnant:(

Cecelia Elise is now 7!!!

I can't believe I now have a 7 year old and we will be starting all over with a newborn in less than a week! We decided to not do anything big this year for Cece's B-Day. We just didn't know if I would be pregnant still, have a newborn, or worse case scenario, be in labor or still in the hospital. So we just planned a BBQ with the Culver family. It was a really fun evening hanging out with family. Aaron's dad brought over Cecelia's favorite: BBQ ribs, along with all the other delicious food, we all had our filling. Cece picked out a pink champagne birthday cake from the Cake Gallery and we enjoyed that with ice-cream. Afterwards when opening presents, Cecelia was surprised with tickets from her Grandma and Papa to the Selena Gomez concert. They also bought tickets for Kiley and their cousin Alayna so that Cece could bring them with her. The girls are all really excited for this. The concert is going to be the night before Kiley goes back to Colorado:( Cece always misses Kiley so much when she goes home at the end of the summer. For as much as the girls bicker, they spend even more time enjoying each other's company and playing like sisters.

Splash Park

We decided to go to the splash park one evening. The girls had a blast but there were so many kids there (apparently a lot of other parents had the same idea I did). We decided to take Stanley with us on this particular evening because it has been so hot out he can't go for many walks and we have been spending a lot of time at the pool lately and he obviously can't go, nor would he be interested in swimming. Anyways, ALL the kids there wanted to pet him and Stanley is such a laid back dog that he really doesn't want all the attention. Even after I asked the other kids to give him a break, they were relentless. I had to actually put him on my lap for a while because I couldn't watch the girls and watch him get petted by a million kids at the same time. He's such a sweet boy but I guess he's just more of an indoor dog this summer. I'm sure he is as excited for fall (so that he can get back out and go for walks) as we are for it to cool down too.

38 Week Appointment

I'm now dilated to 3 and 75% effaced. Still making progress...albeit little by little every week. So I've decided on an elective induction. The baby's birthdate will be Thur. Aug. 4th (if not before then). Although based on how favorable or "ripe" my cervix was when she checked me, she said she would be surprised if I made it to be induced. Although I'm still planning on going to work tonight and tomorrow:) I'm due the 7th which is a Monday but I really can't take being pregnant for a second longer than I have to and I don't want to waste any of my maternity leave sitting around waiting for the baby to come. I'm so excited to meet the newest member of our family and see what she looks! The girls will be going to my sister Nikki's house all day and staying the night while I'm being induced. She is having my niece Mercedes's 10th birthday slumber party this night and so the girls are going to go to the party. We will play it by ear, but I assume that if I have the baby during the day or in the early evening, Aaron will go pick up the girls so they can spend some time up at the hospital with their new sister. Then he will probably take them back to the pary. We have decided that he doesn't need to stay the night up at the hospital with me. The girls need him and he will be there for the majority of the day anyways and can't really do much at night anyways since I will be breastfeeding... and since I know that this is going to to be a learning curve for me I'm okay with having those night time hours alone with the baby to work on this skill. God knows we both will need to learn how to do this:)

Summer Fun

I love our lazy summer days by the pool. I love being a nurse and having 4 days off every week, this is especially true in the summer time when I want to be around as much as possible for the kids. These girls have such an imagination. This was the "boat" they made. So glad we actually found a floaty though. We had to search for one, Wal-mart and Target were all sold out and we actually had to call around to find one. This one was only $3.50 at Dollar General. We had called Ace Hardware and were going to buy one from there but I was told they were $10 bucks and was hesitant to pay that much for a plain floaty, so when we arrived at Ace I decided to walk next door first to Dollar General and see if they had one for cheaper. Thank goodness I did. Saved myself a few bucks:) A lady at the pool today actually asked me where I found our floaty because she had searched too and everywhere was sold out.

School starts back up in only 26 days. I'm ambivalent about this. I love our relaxing summer days spent at the pool and enjoying all the fun summer has to offer but I also like the structure of the school year. Watching Cecelia learn so much. Quiet evenings at home reading, early bed time, gymnastics and swimming lessons. This year I'm especially excited for fall to get here because we move into the new house at the end of October. We went up to Cecelia's new school and got her enrolled today. It was an easy form to fill out since she will still be in the same district but just at a new school within the district. She is very excited for this new change. We have so many big changes in our life in the next few months. New baby, new house, new school. This year has been full of so many exciting and fun changes. I can't wait for this next chapter of our life:)

37 week ob appointment

Absolutely no change from last weeks appointment! Still dilated to 2 and 60% effaced. Seriously? I walked around the zoo in the heat really hoping that my efforts would not be in vain! Am I going to be pregnant forever? LOL! I'm still fine working, I do just fine when I'm there. However it's taking a toll on my body the next day when I work. So I'm starting to get very excited for maternity leave. I found my first stretch mark on my stomach last week. Actually, since I can't see the underside of my stomach that well, Aaron was the one who spotted them first. O.K. I can handle the stretch marks on my butt and hips, but on my stomach? The party is over...time to get out kiddo:) Just kidding! Kind of

Summer Fun

Since I only work 3 days a week, it often seems that my mission in life to get the most out of my 4 days off every week. Especially in the summer time. When both girls are home, and if they are sitting doing nothing for more than an hour they are complaining about being bored! Kids have soooo much energy!!! So I had Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday off and then went back to work Monday evening. Thursday night was a laid back night. The girls and I spent the day cleaning the house (I nest for at least 1 of my days off lately). Friday we had Cecelia's annual well-child visit and then we both had our annual eye exams. They the girls and I went shopping at Old Navy and I picked them each up a few things. Then we enjoyed dinner at Cecelia's favorite restaurant, Texas Roadhouse. She just loves the place primarily for their rolls and the peanuts...as well as the fact that you get to throw the peanut shells on the ground. She thinks its the coolest thing to do and encouraged Kiley to follow along as well. then that night there was a baseball game, fireworks display, and country concert at the new Werner park. Every year Aaron's mom's work (Werner enterprises) hosts this type of event for it's employees. The concert was the best part! The girls loved seeing Heidi Newfield. Aaron took them down on the ball field for the concert because... well only because Cecelia demanded to go, but it turned out they got really close and it really wasn't too crowded at all down there. After watching them from the stadium for a few minutes, I decided it appeared safe enough for a 9 month pregnant women to venture down too. Then Saturday we went garage sale hunting in the morning with my friend Karissa and then went to her pool to lay out for a few hours. Sunday I pushed myself to the limit. First church in the morning, then a quick fast food bite and we headed down to the zoo to meet my mom and step dad. It was probably 100 degrees out but my parents really wanted to spend some time with the girls and I wanted to see the zoo too. So we decided that we should stick mainly to the indoor exhibits...the jungle, butterfly pavilion, aquarium and desert. Then the girls "had to" go to the petting zoo. So we walked down to the petting zoo...in 100 degree heat with humidity which made it feel like it was 113. Come to find out Cecelia wanted a petting zoo like her great grandma has...she was frustrated that they only had goats to pet and the bunnies were caged and could not be petted:( We were also hoping to get ice-cream by the dairy exhibit next to the petting zoo and were disappointed to find out it was closed. So we took the tram up to the main gate and left the zoo and headed to Zestos so the girls could get cookie dough blizzards. When we got home I convinced the girls to strip down and get in their bathing suits with me and hose our sweat off outside in the ice-cold hose water. They were hesitant until I assured them that I was going to do it too. Oh, I love those girls. They are so cute (when they aren't arguing and I'm having to be a referee that is). Then Sunday night we met Aaron's parents and sister at Pizza Ranch for dinner in Council Bluffs. Aaron and I have been meaning to go there for sometime and since Aaron has been going in at 10 A.M. for work and getting off by 6:00 we figured we should enjoy being able to go out to dinner like this. My night ended with Aaron and I trying to enjoy our Sunday night shows through some pretty rough contraction. For about an hour and 15 minutes I was having contractions every 3-7 minutes and they were lasting about 2 minutes in duration. I really thought that it was gonna be the night...and then we laid down for bed ( I was laying down on the couch the whole time this was happening mind you) they stopped! How disappointing:( I really want to meet this baby already! However as we laid in bed talking that night we suddenly realized that we need to get very serious at picking a name...we have 3 names picked out and we know that middle name is definitely going to be Camille. However we love all 3 first names and I think we are just going to have to meet her before we can decide for sure...or maybe it will be even harder once we meet her. Then today (Monday), the girls were treated to pancakes for breakfast, then we went to the grocery store to get food (these kids eat me out of house and home) and then I took them to the pool for a little over 2 hours. It was so hot out again today though, that just being there for that short amount of time really took it out of the kids. They looked exhausted on the drive home and I encouraged them to watch a movie after their bath. So they rested and watch Despicable Me. Now I'm working tonight (yes, as I blog I'm getting paid...Did I mention I love working overnights). I have an OB appointment tomorrow and the next 3 days off work again. What shall I find for the girls to do this week? Till tomorrow...

Well the weekly ob visits have started. I'm ambivilant about these. On the one hand I was dying to know if I had made any progress yet, and on the other hand, it's never fun to get checked. I am dilated to only 2 but I am 50-60% effaced, baby's head is down, but I'm still at -2 station. Some progress. I just imagined this whole pregnancy, that I would go into labor early. After this appointment I have come to the conclusion that I may go closer to 39-40 weeks...and have to work at getting this kid out. She apparently feels like a pretty good sized baby and based on my last ultrasound, plus the Doctors experience at feeling babies inside the womb, she has stated that we are looking at a 7-8 lb baby. I'm excited to meet this little princess but also am realizing that they are ALOT easier to take care of inside the womb than when they come out. It's all in God's hands:) Everything always works out just the way it is supposed to.

36 weeks

36 weeks pregnant and so ready to be done. I love the angle for the picture...it's taken by my little 46 inch photographer, i.e. Cecelia. I figured that I should get this picture since I'm not really sure how much longer I'll make it. Someone once told me that you will have your baby when you can't stand to be pregnant any longer...well that day is coming very quickly. My hips hurt so bad from her head being engaged and I feel like an old person...I walk very slowly and it takes me forever to get up without help:(

On a lighter note, we have been enjoying this past week of Kiley being home. Lots of swimming. Which is great because I realized that my halter top style bathing suit was going to give me terrible tan lines for Rachel's wedding that I'm in, in September. I had to buy a bandeau style top and try to get rid of my tan lines before I have this kiddo because I know I won't be making it to the pool with the rest of the family much after the baby comes:( Aaron is planning to take at least 2 weeks off of work(he has a ridiculous amount of sick, comp, and personal time that he might as well use), so we plan on me staying at home with the baby and him taking the older girls out of the house and entertaining them so they don't have to be cooped up in the house.

The waddle

Yep, I officially waddle now. The baby not only flipped out of the breach position and into vertex but she also "dropped" or became engaged in my pelvis. Ouch!!! Every single step hurts. Apparently, this can happen weeks before you actually give birth:( Which means at this point it could be another month for me!!! Next week I start seeing my doctor weekly and getting checked. I am anxious to find out if all these aches and pains and discomforts from contractions are doing any dilating and effacing. I am miserable:(((( I don't remember waddling with Cecelia at all...

Cece at the pool. Her favorite place to be after all!!! She could swim all day every day if we let her. She is such a water goddess! Hopefully, this baby likes the water too, since we love spending time hanging out by the pool during the summer. Poor Kiley is so anxious to get here and be able to swim. Last time I talked to her she said that she hadn't been to the pool yet this summer:( Poor kiddo! Cecelia will be happy to have a playmate at the pool too. At the last OB appointment on Tuesday we found out that the baby has flipped and is head down! Yay!!!! Apparently, the babe is very unlikely to flip back around at this point. I'm so happy that a C-section is not immanent at this point! We got the new car seat and stroller delivered yesterday. Funny how the little things in life make me soooo happy. Aaron was working so I put it together myself....o.k. I took it out of the package and put the wheels on it. Not too difficult.