The birth of Leo Michael

I had talked to Ken on Dec 7 and we discussed when we would be going to Mass the next day for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. We decided he would go at 6:30am and I would go at 7:00pm. I woke up on Dec. 8 at 4am having some contractions. I didn't wake Ken up, I just kind of watched the clock and they were about every 5 minutes and very consistent. By the time Ken got up at 6, they were getting stronger. I told Ken I thought maybe today was the day, even though I was 38 weeks 1 day, and I've never gone that early. Also I've had contractions like that before, but I just had a feeling. I told him to go ahead and go to Mass, and I got up and took a shower and packed our bag. By the time he got home, I pretty much knew he was coming that day. The contractions were around 3 minutes apart and getting stronger. I just kept walking around our house to try to get things moving - I didn't really want another 18 hour labor! I called my mom and asked if Ken could bring the kids to her house because I wanted to stay home for a while. I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 so I figured I'd just go and see where I was then. So Ken dropped the kids off and stopped at Starbucks and got himself a coffee and me some of their oatmeal. I ate that, walked around, texted a few friends, and sent out a notice on facebook that I was looking for intentions to pray for during labor. (I didn't mention I was actually IN labor!) I got some great intentions to pray for and prayed for all of them! So we went to the doctor with our bags packed. She checked me and I was only 2 cm dilated, but she could tell I was uncomfortable and she felt my contractions so she said she thought today was the day. She suggested that we go walk around the mall for awhile and gave us her cell and said to call in a few hours. We went to Borders and walked around for a few hours. We bought both kids a gift for their baby brother to give them when they visited him in the hospital. By the time we left, my contractions were every 2 minutes, and were lasting 1 minute and 3o seconds. They were very uncomfortable and when I stood up I felt a lot of pressure. So we called the doctor and she had us come back to the office for another check. She hooked me up to the monitor and came in and checked me again. After all that I was a big fat 3 cm dilated! She suggested that we go up to Labor and Delivery and she break my water. Even though I told myself I wasn't going to let her do that this time, I was progressing SO slowly I decided to go for it. We got up there, got hooked up, and she broke my water. A few hours later I was at 4. At 8pm I was at 6. Seriously? The third kid?? The doctor said that she would really suggest I try a little pitocin. By this point, 16 hours later, I decided I would go for the pitocin and epidural. So much for a natural birth. However, I gotta say I love that epidural ;) It kicked in about 8:30. She checked me again around 9:30, I was at 8. Around 10:15 I told the nurse I needed to push. She checked me and I was fully dilated and his head was right there. She told me not to push, the doc was on her way. That was the HARDEST part of the whole thing. I was shaking and trying my hardest to breathe through the contractions and not push. It took every ounce of strength I had! She came in just in time, I pushed once and his head came out. He had the most beautiful head of thick dark curly hair. His cord was completely wrapped around his neck. Then one more push and he was out at 10:32pm, after 18 1/2 hours of labor! They put him on my chest. I could not believe his hair or his cheeks. He was just beautiful. He was 8 lbs 12 oz, 20 3/4 inches long.
In addition to his cord being around his neck, he also had a true knot in his cord. The doctor said it was "chilling" whenever she saw that. So scary. I didn't get to hold him for too long when the took him over to examine him, because of the cord issues.
I was looking over there at him while she sewed up my little tear. I heard the nurse say to Ken... "Put your finger in his mouth. You feel that? He has a cleft palate."
I had absolutely no idea what that meant, what it entailed, what would happen. I was kind of in shock because of the cord and the palate. I was really worried. My doctor assured me that he'd be fine and I should be able to nurse him. The nurse said she didn't think he'd need surgery til he was over a year. But I still didn't know what would happen. They cleaned him up and gave him back to me. He was just beautiful and perfect. They said his lip and gum weren't involved, just his palate. I tried to nurse him in the delivery room and he latched on and off just like my other newborns. It turns out 22 babies were born that day and night, so we waited down there for several hours before we were moved up to the room.
We got up to the room about 2am. The nurses came in and checked us. I went to the bathroom by myself (the nurse was surprised, lol) Then a lactation consultant came in and tried to get him to latch on. We used a modified football hold so he was sitting more upright. I was able to feed him a little bit and we got left alone at 4 am. Yes we were up for 24 hours. Then of course someone came to take our vitals at 4:45, and then i got up at 5:45. I took a shower and got ready for Leo's pediatrician to come. I had lots of questions for him. He came around 7:30. He said he was going to refer us to this great surgeon who would come see us that day. He said that a lot of cleft palate babies are able to nurse, most have to have some kind of supplementation. Not knowing whether he'd be able to breastfeed caused me the most anxiety all day. I called the lactation consultant in every time we tried, and they were very helpful. We tried all kinds of positions, nipple shield, etc. I had to pump every 2 hours and feed him the colostrum with a syringe. And I had to try to nurse him every 2 hours as well. We focused so much on feeding for the three days we were in the hospital that we asked our family and friends not to come. It was the first time we didn't have many visitors, but it was really good to be able to focus on feeding him.
We had some success nursing with and without the shield, and I also diligently pumped colostrum and fed him with a syringe every 2 hours. I got anywhere from 1-4 ml each time for the first day, then the next day I got up to 7-10 ml at each pumping session. My milk did not come in fully until the third day. By that time his biliruben levels were up and he had lost a whole pound. The nurses and lactation consultants said he was ok though, and we never did have to supplement formula. I was really happy about that.
The surgeon came the first evening. He was SO nice and put my mind at ease. Before he came, I didn't know if he'd need surgery in a few weeks, few months, or what. He said that he would have one surgery when he is around 18 months, and that should be the only one he needs. He explained what that entails, and said he'd have us come to his office in January to explain it in more detail. He looked at him and said he has a "complete cleft." He said that he would most likely be able to breastfeed with some extra help and patience. He also said I didn't have to do anything differently when starting solid food. After his surgery, they will follow up with him with their team until he's an adolescent, and give him any help he needs, with speech therapy or whatever.
The second day he was so sleepy he hardly ate for about 10 hours, just a few sips and a few syringes here and there. Not even the lactation consultants or nurses could wake him up. But in the afternoon he woke up and nursed for about 40 minutes, which was by far the best he's ever done. I had several different lactation consultants and nurses help us. He started doing better. But the pediatrician wanted us to stay one extra day to make sure we had it down, and to make sure his bili levels weren't too high when we left. Heck I didn't mind too much - it's almost like a vacation at that hospital! The food is fabulous, the nurses are great. I love it there. I did miss Madeleine and John Paul though. They were able to come meet him the first night. Madeleine was THRILLED, and got up on the bed with us, touched him, held him, and was just in awe. It was a beautiful thing to see. John Paul didn't pay much attention at all, but that was to be expected ;) We got to go home last night (Saturday.) But when we left, his bili levels were high so they wanted us to come back the next day for another blood test.
His first night home wasn't bad. It's a lot harder to feed him that the other babies. It takes longer for him to nurse, then I have to supplement with a special bottle, then I have to pump for the next supplement session. It takes quite a long time to feed him. I'm hoping and praying that when he gets a little bigger and stronger, we will just be able to breastfeed with some supplementation. I know nothing about this. He is doing MUCH better but it's taking a lot of work. But it's totally worth it to be able to nurse him. He is just a wonderful, sweet, beautiful baby and I love him SO much.

We took him back to get his levels checked and they were even higher than before. So they sent a home health care worker out today with a bili blanket. He has to lay on it 24/7 until they tell us he's ok. We have to go back tomorrow and check again.

Then Tuesday I am going to meet with his pediatrician and the lactation consultant at his office. And Thursday I am going back to the hospital for a follow up with their lactation consultants. We have got to get this feeding thing down. Please pray for that!

I am convinced that Jesus and His mother were watching out for my sweet baby. I know it's dangerous to have a cord around his neck and a knot in it as well. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. I am so thankful for our little miracle baby born on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Introducing...

Leo Michael!
8 lbs 8 oz 20 3/4 inches

He had a knot in his cord, the cord around his neck, and he has a cleft palate. Its 2:30 am and I'm about to work with a lactation consultant to try to feed him. Please pray for us!

Other than the cleft, he's healthy and beautiful with a full head of curly, dark hair!

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Beth's version of nesting

Cooking? Cleaning? Not so much. I wanted to get Madeleine a Christmas outfit but I looked at several stores and didn't like anything. And plus, since M is in a 4T, the last size in the little girl sizes, I looked at the "big girl" section too. Seriously, the clothes in that section either look like you're dressing your kid like a little teenager or a little hooker! Not so into that. So I decided to try to make her an outfit. I had a little bit of Christmas fabric and some red flannel, so yesterday at nap time I sat down and tried to make her a skirt. I also want to embellish a little white turtleneck with the same fabric, but haven't got to that yet. I was very pleasantly surprised at how the skirt turned out! Here's the back (she still has her name tag from the nursery during Mom's group and her name is spelled wrong!)

The side with her silly smile....
And the front! I love it and it looks adorable on her!
Oh and you can see our new tile in that picture too ;) I forgot to do a post on all that.

And don't forget to go see Sew's blog and congratulate her!!

Thanksgiving Picture

This is as big as I could get the picture, but this is 90% of the whole crazy family ;) I'm the fat one.

Not a big fan

of false labor.

Gets me all excited for nothing.

Quick Takes

1. My mom and I took the kids to the mall to see Santa. He asked Madeleine if she wanted an American Girl doll (wth). Several problems with this. a. She's 3. b. We're not spending that much TOTAL on her. c. What if she KNEW what that was and then expected Santa to bring it? Um.... luckily she's clueless about that. She's actually clueless about all the "popular" toys he asked her about. I'm pretty happy about this.

2. John Paul was fascinated but too scared to sit on his lap. He kept his head on Grandma's shoulder but did reach out to take the candy cane. Then he spent the rest of the day saying, "Santa's Watchin'!"

3. I can barely move anymore. It hurts to bend over, pick up Bud, do laundry, walk, etc. I know I'll feel so much better once this kid comes out. But I will do this as many times as God calls me to do it ;) The babies are TOTALLY worth it.

4. Seriously I can't believe I'll meet my third child in less than 3 weeks.

5. I need help with this one. I'm trying to figure out how to configure the van to get the kids in as easy as possible. Options: Put M and JP in the back, the baby behind the driver and take the other seat (behind the passenger) out. Pros are having both kids together back there, they can hand each other books and toys and stuff. Cons are not being able to reach them to hand them stuff, and having to crawl back there every time to buckle both of them in. (Madeleine can buckle herself in but not with her coat on.) Option 2, put just M in the back, put the baby behind the driver and put JP behind the passenger. Pros - I can still reach JP and get him in and out of the car easily. Cons: M will be by herself back there and I'll have to crawl into the back to get her buckled in. We'll have to make sure the floor is always clear so she can get herself in. There is NO WAY I could get myself around the carseats to get her in, so if she needed help I'd have to crawl in the back and help her. Ugh. How do you do this??

6. I got to meet Fr. Leo Patalinghug this week when he did our Parish Mission. He was great and I bought his cookbook and got his autograph. I've tried 4 recipes out of it and they've all been hits over here.

7. I have almost all my Christmas shopping done. I have to wait to do the rest until Ken gets his bonus, but it is all in my cart at Amazon. All I have to do is click on "order" and it'll be here in two days. Each kid gets three gifts so I've put a lot of thought into what to get them, and I think they'll be happy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

This is Great!!

John Paul and I enjoyed this a few times this morning!

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Cord Blood Donation

It's so easy to do this - and free! Cord blood contains valuable stem cells that can help with research and can save lives! If everyone did this maybe using the stem cells from aborted fetuses wouldn't be an issue.

Here's what you do. Call up or email your local cord blood bank and request that they send a cord blood collection kit to your house. Inform your doctor that you'll be donating it. Then just bring the kit to the hospital when you go into labor and the nurses will do all the work. Call whoever the bank tells you to the next day and they'll come and collect it! So easy, so helpful. Hope our kit gets here before the baby ;)

I had a doctor's appointment today - they usually start checking your cervix at 37 weeks but I requested not to have that done today. They were fine with that. I also talked a little about the actual delivery. With Madeleine I did not have an IV but with John Paul I did. I HATED it. I was so uncomfortable, I had to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes, I couldn't walk around very well because I was attached to a big pole. She said they could do a hep lock and I didn't have to have the IV. YAY! I also said that the nurses wouldn't let me eat last time, for about 15 hours. I was SO hungry and every time there was a shift change I would ask for food and they said no. They finally brought me a little bowl of jello, which didn't even take the edge off. She said she didn't mind if I ate and she'd write it in my chart ;) YAY again!

I can't believe this is 2-3 weeks away! I'm so excited. But I'm actually feeling pretty good right now so I can handle it for a little while longer.

This Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for my sweet girl, who entertained herself the whole way down to Alabama and back reading books, and had a wonderful time with her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.
I'm thankful for my beautiful little boy even though he decided he didn't want to sleep in the pack and play the first night, but who was also wonderful and had a great time with my favorite Uncle Bobby and my goddaughter Cassie!
I'm thankful for swollen feet and ankles and heartburn because it means I get to meet my precious gift from God very soon!
I'm thankful for my wonderful, handsome, helpful husband who is proud to share his beliefs with anyone, and who is happy to welcome any precious little children that God chooses to send us.

I'm thankful for my whole big family who loves my kids and looked out for them while we were in Alabama so I didn't have to chase them around too much - especially Grandma and Papa!

And... I'm thankful for stretchy pants ;)

Like his mama...

He seems to be a little on the chubby side! He measured today at 8 lbs 1 oz at our 36 week ultrasound. I'm hoping they're a little off but look at those cheeks! No wonder I'm huge and feel like I can barely move! How do they get this big already??

It was exciting to see him - the whole family came, Mom, Ken and both kids. Madeleine was VERY excited to see her baby brother. John Paul was really worried about me laying on the table and cried and kept saying "Mama!" in a sad little voice. I had to keep reassuring him that I was fine. They tucked a napkin thing into my pants to keep the goo off of them and he kept saying "Mama change?" like he thought I was getting my diaper changed or something! Haha!

Since he was so big - also measuring into the 38th week, I was wondering if Dr. P would say I shouldn't go to Alabama. But she said I'd be fine! She said he might be early but not this early. She checked me and I'm about 1 cm dilated which she said was normal at this point. I really don't feel too bad so I'm not worried. She had the nurses print off all my records to take down, and did the group b test. I now have to go in every week so I have another appointment next Monday. I can't believe it's getting this close! I better get my Christmas shopping and wrapping done!

Pics by Julie

My friend Julie was kind enough to take pictures of my kids a few weeks ago. They were very uncooperative (as usual!) but she is VERY talented and managed to capture a few great shots! Thanks Julie! Here are a few of my favorites.





And PS. So far NO problems with the van at all!! WOOHOO!!!

The rest of the story (Please God!?)

So yesterday, the van was dead in the driveway, and the guy came over in the afternoon to take a look at it. He determined that the gas gauge was not working and we had run it completely out of gas. He put a gallon in and it started right up and ran great. I took it to the gas station and filled it up - he was right it was COMPLETELY empty. (Although the gauge showed a quarter tank!)

So the speedometer hasn't been working for months ( I was totally guessing driving around town.) The gas gauge AND the speedometer seem to be working now..... hopefully this is the END of our problems.

So we are still planning on driving to Alabama next Wednesday - Saturday. It's approximately a 9 hour drive and I'll be almost 37 weeks when we get back. I get to have an ultrasound and an appointment on Monday and she'll make the final call if she thinks I'm safe to go, although she said she's sure I'll be fine. I am so excited! My Grandma has 8 kids - my mom is the oldest - and ALL of them are going. Most of their kids and their kids are going too. I think the final count is around 75 people. Some of them I haven't seen for several years. I'm also really excited for a 36 week ultrasound - I have never had one this late. His fat little face probably won't even fit in the screen, but it'll be so fun to see him! I think my mom and the kids are gonna come too.

Dang Van

Thursday it died in the middle of the highway. With both kids in the car. With Ken and my dad out of town and my mom working (taking care of Ava.) Luckily I was able to make it to a left turn lane and put my hazard lights on, and mom was able to come get it. I'm sure it was a humorous sight watching a humongous pregnant woman (and I do mean humongous - I measured my waist and it's as long as a 4 year old is tall - and it's the same as Sew's ;) try to maneuver two kids and two carseats on a busy road into mom's car, with Ava's booster seat wedged in between. We were able to do it, paid 60 bucks for the van to be towed, then the guy said he "fixed" it (for $120 more) and we picked it up Friday. I even asked him if it was safe to drive to Alabama in a few weeks, and he said definitely!

Well tonight it died in the driveway. How fun is THAT?

Silence, kinda. And other random thoughts.

There's no silence around my kids, however when we got our van back, the CD player, the tape player, and the radio are no longer working. Also the clock and the power windows. So it's been a tad more quiet in my car the past few days! The guy is going to look at it so hopefully it's just a fuse or some kind of easy fix. It's kind of annoying to drive through a drive through (had to go to Walgreens and the bank yesterday) and have to open the door!

__________________

Yesterday we were driving in the car and Madeleine said, "Mommy, I'm just your little girl and I'm still learning how not to be naughty." I told her that everyone has to work on not being naughty, and living like God wants us to, even Mommy. She said, "Mommy. You're a grown up and you should KNOW better by now!" (I know, I really should!)

__________________

We have less than 6 weeks til baby Ice's due date now, so I've been doing a few things to prepare for him. I have all his clothes washed and hung up in his room and folded in his dresser. I got his crib set together and put it in his crib, and it looks GREAT. My mom is going to make some wall decorations and I've been washing his handknits ;) I'm looking forward to using the newborn wool diaper covers and pants with this little baby. I LOVE cloth diapering newborns! I also tested out our new car seat and it fits in our old stroller, so that is good! Since my older two are incapable of walking somewhere without pulling or running away, touching everything, and generally getting into trouble, little Ice is just going to have to be worn in the wrap while the other two are strapped into the double stroller. Hopefully he likes the wrap - he has no choice!

_________________

Occasionally I'll watch Dr. Oz during naptime, even though I'm not a big fan. After a show a few days ago I will not be watching him anymore. He was talking about ways to improve your sex life, as usual. One of the two ways he suggested was to GET AN IUD. He then went on to say that 40 out of 100 OBs recommend them for an effective way of birth control. (Woo.) Then he had one of his demonstrations - two clear boxes. One was full of fertile looking soil, which was supposed to be a normal healthy uterine lining. The other one had astroturf, which is your lining on an IUD. So GREAT! Improve your sex life; kill off your unborn children. I was SO upset and I'm done watching that show.

__________________

My hips are KILLING me.

__________________

Peppermint mochas.....MMMMMMMM!!!!


__________________

I got a few new workbooks from Catholic Heritage Curriculum, one is a preschool number practice and one is a letter practice. I have been SO impressed with their materials! They incorporate God and the Catholic faith into every lesson, while making it fun. Madeleine loves the lessons. She also loves doing simple dot to dots so I ordered her some off of amazon. I love seeing her learn and have fun doing it! She's like a little sponge - she is learning all the time and soaks up everything. She's now realizing that she can read some little books by herself. She hasn't taken a nap for a few days but she has sat up in her room for up to 3 hours reading her library books. Love this girl, even though she is NAUGHTY!

___________________

I was kind of thinking of getting John Paul's hair cut, because it's a big rat's nest in the back all day long. However today I decided to try to spray it with Madeleine's detangler and comb it out, and he had the cutest little curls everywhere! I won't be getting it cut for a while. ;)

This turned out more like a quick takes post :)

Big FAT opportunity for sanctification

With a little grace thrown in.

Today we were leaving the library, when our van stalled just as we were getting ready to pull into the intersection. Ken told me to get into the driver's seat and steer while he pushed the van into a parking lot across the street (at my old high school.) As soon as we got into the spot, I waddled out of the car and saw a man who was helping Ken push. He was wearing a mechanic jumpsuit type thing. He said he was a mechanic who lived right across the street. He did some diagnosis on the van and came to the conclusion that it was the fuel pump (Please GOD let him be right and let this be the last thing wrong with this van for a while!) Anyway, he called a friend at Auto zone to see if they had the part we needed. He said he could pull the van over to his house with his truck and fix it for us, $150 for the part and $150 for the labor. We figured this was a good deal so that's where our van is right now. We called my mom and dad to come pick us up. The van probably won't be done till Monday. Ugh. I figured we were fine with the van. It seems like there's always something that happens when we start getting back on our feet. Now I'm kind of thinking we won't be able to go to Alabama for Thanksgiving because we were not expecting to have to pay this $300. But thank God that mechanic was right there.

Not a fan of car trouble.

Perspective

A few days ago I received a giant box of diapers from an online friend - she said she was going to send me one wool cover she had for the baby but she ended up sending me 2 dozen prefolds, about 7 fitteds, 7 all in one organic bumgenius and 2 extra wool covers! I was blown away and have been using a lot of them on John Paul - the fitteds and bumgenius are one size - so they should fit baby to potty training age. They are AWESOME diapers!

Anyway, my kids have been playing in the box for days. Madeleine has barely asked to watch TV since we got the box. Today it was on it's side and John Paul leaned on it and ripped a corner of it from top to bottom.

Me: Madeleine should we throw the box away now since it's broken?
M: It's not broken Mommy! It just has a new door!

__________________

The other day we were going to Mom's group at church. I was running really late and so I grabbed us a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks. (I know, don't judge!) John Paul was eating most of his and then he took a bite and just let it fall out of his mouth, looking like Randy on A Christmas Story.

Me: John Paul! Don't spit food out of your mouth!!!
M: Mommy? Do you still love Little Hance?

___________________

A few days ago my mom was watching the kids while I went to the doctor. Mom and Madeleine were playing a Dominoes game on the coffee table. John Paul kept coming by and sweeping the entire game onto the floor with his arm (he likes to do these kinds of things.)

Mom: John Paul! Stop doing that!!
M: Now Gram. John Paul is just a baby and he doesn't know any better. Maybe we should give him some pieces he can play with?

Have I mentioned that I love this kid?

How I feel...

Little Ice is gonna look like.

We are pro-life

And we voted :)

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I like to break out the controversy around election time

A Reminder to Catholics on Election Day

As election day approaches, we are reminded that as Catholics we are obligated to know the candidates position on these 5 non-negotiable issues which are considered to be immoral and contrary to the Christian gospel. Candidates who endorse or promote any of these five issues should be considered to have disqualified themselves from holding public office and should not receive our vote.

The 5 non-negotiable issues that a candidate may not support to gain our vote are:

1. Abortion

2. Euthanasia

3. Fetal Stem Cell Research

4. Human Cloning

5. Homosexual ‘Marriage’

To find out where your candidates stand on these issues you may go to:

www.focusvoter.com/IN

Halloween Pics

There's no getting a decent picture of the two of them together.
John Paul was St. Francis again this year, to go with Madeleine's raccoon. She REALLY wanted to be the raccoon again so I did not argue! His sacred heart necklace I got in Assisi and it's blessed by John Paul's patron saint! (I kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn't lose it!)
We kicked off the weekend festivities at Madeleine's friend's 3rd birthday party. My two handsome guys. (Soon to be THREE - next month!)
Madeleine's first experience with a pinata. It was a BIG hit with the kids. Someone else was a big hit with Madeleine.... a 12-13 year old dressed like an angel at the party. She has been interested in angels for a while now. Unfortunately, this "angel" was wearing something totally inappropriate for a 12 year old or anyone for that matter. Very low cut strapless black and red dress and angel wings. Weird. M got obsessed with her and followed her around the party for two hours, saying she was her "guardian angel." Great, now she thinks her guardian angel dresses like a little hooker with wings. She said she wants to be an angel next year. I told her she could for sure but she wouldn't be looking like THAT. I also had to explain that she wasn't a real angel, just a girl dressed like an angel!
The next night, Halloween, we started out at Grandma's house. John Paul consented to wear the Bee costume this time! Again, there's no getting good pictures of both of them at the same time.
Ken trick or treating with his little raccoon and bee. We just walked around to the houses on Mom and Dad's cul-de-sac, probably 6-7 houses. That was plenty for us all to get quite enough candy.
After trick or treating we went out to eat at Old Country Buffet, which was having a kids eat free night if they came in costume. My little Bumblebee loaded up on sugar - an ice cream cone in one hand and a "pop" in another! (After his supper, but still - he had to detox today!) Also he had a lollipop from his basket in the car on the way over there, and somehow got his eye stuck shut with it! Messiest little thing.
All cleaned up! We had a fabulous time and I can't believe we'll have 3 little trick or treaters next year!

Pumpkin carving

This was our first experience carving pumpkins with the kids (we slacked off the past few years!) Madeleine was SO excited. For some reason she wore her pumpkin candy bucket on her head....

She was very helpful getting all the seeds and pumpkin guts out! John Paul was content to watch. If you look really close you can see our new tile.


Madeleine designed the faces and told me what to draw. She wanted her pumpkin to be scary and John Paul's to be smiley.

After Buddy's pumpkin was done, he kept sticking his finger in the mouth and saying, "Bite! Ouch!"
The finished product!

32 weeks, 1 day

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Ice's Christmas Hat

I'm 32 weeks today....

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7 Quick takes (off the record)

1. I did not get on the computer for two weeks! I did have my phone so I could check emails and stuff, but hardly read any blogs and did not post on my own.

2. The first reason was because we got all new floors on the main level of our house. We got new carpet in the family room, new tile in the kitchen, dining room and entryway, and new laminate in the playroom. It took the entire week. We went to Chicago the first day of the week, but the rest of the days we mostly hung out at mom's, went to the Children's museum, and basically stayed out of the worker's way. The floor was torn up and all the furniture was in a room they weren't working on, so basically we had to leave as soon as we came downstairs in the morning - there was no way I could put John Paul down downstairs. I was really dreading this week, but it wasn't so bad! I was able to bring them home for naps in the afternoon, and we all just stayed upstairs. Also mom cooked dinner for us every single night of the week! Thanks Mom!

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE our new floors! Our whole house looks MUCH better!

4. Last week we spent almost the entire week putting the house back in order from the previous week. I took a HUGE amount of stuff to Goodwill, threw away a bunch more, and rearranged some more stuff. My mom spent the entire day here one day helping me clean out our spare room and getting John Paul moved in there. We have 4 bedrooms upstairs so John Paul is now moved into the last room, using Madeleine's old crib and her old changing table/hutch/dresser. Cleaning out that closet was a CHORE. But he is all moved in, his clothes are put away, his walls are decorated and he made a very smooth transition. His favorite part about his new room is that the previous owners had put glow in the dark stars all over the ceiling. So we read books at night then turn off the light and look at the "tars" for a while in the rocking chair. He loves them. His old room, with the crib, changing table, dresser and all little clothes will be the new baby's room. That room is right next to ours and the other two are down the hall, so hopefully the new baby won't wake them up.

5. We also turned Madeleine's room into her "big girl room." She got a new dresser and bookshelf that I painted white to match her daybed. We got all her too small clothes out of her closet and put them in bins in the garage (I really need another girl someday to use all my favorite clothes again!), took her bed rails off and got her a new big girl chair. The chair is like a chaise almost, we got it at a garage sale for pretty cheap, and she loves it! It'll work for her room til she goes to college. We needed her rocking chair for the baby's room.

6. Speaking of the baby's room, I am working on his room next. I actually have all the 0-3 months clothes in his drawers and hanging up in his closet already, all washed and dried in the sun. I found the perfect bedding,

And my best customer of my knitted items, Mary, totally helped me save to buy it with all her orders. You're the best Mary! By the way if anyone needs a hat for a baby shower or anything like that, let me know - the room is still going to need a lamp and curtains ;) And I can knit some really cute stuff! I'm making a little Christmas Santa hat for little Ice right now.

7. While all of this was going on (for TWO WEEKS) my van was dead in the driveway. Ken tried several things to fix it, including a new battery, but it was doing some really weird things. So I drove Ken to work and sometimes picked him up, and we drove his car. In the end, it turned out to be corrosion in the power control box, which was only a $145 fix - Could have been SO much worse! My speedometer is broken but I downloaded an app for my phone that hopefully tells me an accurate speed.

After all that craziness, I think everything is getting back to normal!! Thank God for normal days!

18 months old!

My sweet baby is 18 months old today! He is totally in toddler mode, growing and learning new things every day. I know this is a bad picture, but this is what he likes to do every morning - he brings his "silky" or as he says, "Kicky," George ("Doge") and his "Juice" to the chair and wants to "Wock" with me. It takes him a while to wake up - he just likes to sit with me for a while when he first wakes up, which is fine with me! Sometimes he even wants to watch the Colts in the morning ;) He says "Go Colts! Kick! Fro! Run!"

He is extremely coordinated (compared to someone else around here, especially!) He runs, kicks, throws, climbs, goes up and down stairs, etc. He is very sturdy and I don't worry much about him falling. We went to the Children's museum today and I loved this picture of him looking in the mirror....
His vocabulary is getting HUGE! He learns new words every day and is even putting 2-3 word sentences together. He loves dinosaurs and goats (I know, goats?) He can name lots and lots of animals. He loves books, especially ones with animals, and Curious George. His favorite is Good Night Gorilla, which he calls "Lilla." I'm so thankful he has outgrown his screaming phase now that he can talk better and tell us what he wants. He is very excited about EVERYTHING. My dad loves to ask him "John Paul did you have fun today?" because he always says, "YES!!!!" He also says Yes whenever I ask him if he wants to eat, and "I EAT!" is one of his favorite phrases. He also loves any kind of water fountains, and pumpkins.
He is still a really cuddly, lovable kid. He loves to sit on our laps and rock, and will randomly come over and hug my legs several times a day. He loves his sister SO much, and she loves him. She calls him "Little Hance" or "Hancey" - short for Handsome ;)

I hope he's ok when little Ice is born - he's still kind of needy and a little on the high maintenance side. I know it will be a blessing for him but it might be hard on him at first.

I was worried about how Madeleine would do with him, and he's been nothing but a wonderful blessing in all our lives!

We love you John Paul!!!

Baby Boy Clothes

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Thank you St. Anthony!

Today we weren't able to be downstairs much because we couldn't walk on most of the floors. SO, we basically woke up, got the kids dressed, and went to Grandma's house. Sometime during the time we were getting the kids dressed and ready, Ken handed me a substantial check to deposit today. I stuck it in my pocket and promptly forgot about it. We went to Grandma's, I went through a bunch of clothes we got for John Paul from friends, we ate breakfast and headed to the Children's Museum (and had a great time!) I paid for our lunch and then pulled my phone out of my pocket to check a text from Ken, which said to make sure to deposit the check. Check? What Check? I checked my pockets. I checked my wallet. I checked my purse, the stroller, the car, went home and looked at the changing table where I was standing when Ken handed it to me, and could not find it. Uh oh. I told Ken I couldn't find it. I prayed to St. Anthony and asked him to help me find it. Not 5 minutes later, the Children's Museum called and said they had the check!!!!! I could not believe it. I had to drive all the way back downtown to get it, but it was totally worth it. ;)


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In other news, I haven't talked about my ultrasound on Friday. That boy was measuring a full 2 weeks bigger than his dates. I was 28 weeks 3 days and he was measuring over 30 weeks, weighing in at a whopping 3 lbs 7 oz. Whew! The doctor said that he might have had a growth spurt and would even out, when I expressed concern at having a 10 pound baby. She also said I could have another ultrasound at 36 weeks, right before we went to Alabama for Thanksgiving, and also check my cervix, but she thinks I'll be good to go. I have to go every 2 weeks now, which I actually enjoy! I love hearing his heartbeat. By the way, he is just ADORABLE and looks like his big brother. He had his hands up by his face most of the time. I actually can't believe we're about to have 3 kids. I'm so excited to meet him. I was kind of worried before John Paul was born about Madeleine having a sibling, after having us all to herself for 2 years. I wondered how she would do, and if I could possibly love him as much as I loved her? But now that he's been here for 17 months, I see what a wonderful gift he is to ALL of us. Madeleine loves him, he makes her a better person, he makes us better parents, she is a wonderful big sister to him and they play together SO well. It's obvious they love each other. So I'm SO excited to add another sibling to the family. I truly believe what John Paul the Great said, "The greatest gift you can give your child is a sibling." This time I'm not worried about them, or if I'll love him as much as the other two, but maybe a little about my own sanity.... ;)

Road trip!

We are getting our new floors put in this week! I thought about going to visit Lifehopes, which would have been awesome, but the flights didn't look good and also John Paul has a cold so I wanted to stick close to the doctor and his nebulizer. So we decided to take a short road trip to Chicago yesterday to see Cathy and family. We pretty much invited ourselves up and they were very gracious and wonderful hosts! We had some issues in the morning however.

Actually it all started Sunday night when I went to Mikes Car Wash to vacuum out the van. I finished cleaning it all up and then it wouldn't start. Some guys jumped me and I made it home. Then Ken put in a new battery and it started right up, so we figured we were good. The next morning I got up at 5:30am, packed the car with everything we could possibly need - books, toys, extra clothes, pajamas, double stroller, potty seat, snacks, diaper bag, stories on tape and CDs from the library, etc. I was just about ready to get the kids up to leave when I decided to try to start the van. It wouldn't start. DARN IT! I was just about to tell Ken to NOT get John Paul up but he already had. Ken went out and tried to start it (although I didn't feel comfortable taking it,) and it was completely dead. So I moved everything to Ken's car, which was much more crowded, dropped Ken off at work, and left, about an hour and a half later than I had hoped. I was kind of nervous about the 3 1/2 hour drive with them by myself. When I say "them" I mean BUD. But the kids were GREAT. I got them breakfast in the car, and we only stopped once on the way up for a potty break and diaper change. I packed a huge box of books and put them between them and they just looked at books the whole time. Bud fell asleep for about the last hour too, which was awesome since I'm scared of driving into Chicago, and at least it was a little quieter in the car so I could concentrate. By the way, I LOVE my Navigation App on the droid. Took me straight to their house.

We went out for lunch, and Bud showed off his food throwing and mess-making skills. Then we went to Navy Pier, which all the kids LOVED.


Madeleine with the remote control boats. (Which we didn't pay for, but she just liked the steering wheel.) By the way Cathy, thanks for grabbing my naughty girl before she fell in the water!

John Paul on the carousel. (Thanks Joe for the tickets!)

Madeleine and Mary on the chairs - they LOVED the chairs! We were probably there for 30 minutes! They were great friends - playing and holding hands all day.

Madeleine and Mary on Thomas the Train. You can see the start of the meltdown in this pic if you look carefully. She decided she wanted off in the middle of the ride.

3 happy kids with their lollipops.

On the road!

Thank you so much Cathy and Joe for hosting us and for paying for everything!!! You guys are awesome ;)

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My Kids

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