The Main Attraction

Kendall is certainly a big hit around here! The girls just love to be around her (thankfully, no jealousy issues so far), and, of course, her mommy and daddy think she's pretty special too! We've also had some visitors this week to welcome our new addition. Papa and Nana came up on Monday, and then Nana stayed with us the whole week to help out. It was such a blessing. While she cooked, cleaned and watched over 2 active little girls, Kendall and I were working on figuring out life. And, we've made a lot of progress! Then, my sister and her daughter, Katelyn, came up on Thursday and then took Nana home on Saturday. So, it's been a busy week, but a good one. Here are some pictures of my parents with Kendall, and then my sister, Becky, with Kendall and Katelyn.

You can imagine how the girls just swarm around the baby. They LOVE to be around her!

And then today, Craig was holding Kendall on his lap and Jaclyn came over and started talking to her. You can see by the picture how Kendall turned toward Jaclyn and focused in on her. Kendall's really alert (at 10 days old), and I can see her focusing more on us and learning about her surroundings. It is very sweet.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all of you! I decided this year that we would make our costumes, in hopes of saving some money. Well, thanks to the help of my mom and Aunt Jill, we got them done, but I never would have completed them without the help. And, we didn't even save any money, so this may be the last year of the homemade costume! But, we got them done, and the girls had fun, so I guess it was worth it.

Here are my little flower fairies. They, of course, had a blast trick-or-treating around our neighborhood while Kendall and I passed out candy at home. (It's kinda hard to answer the door while trying to get a baby to sleep! I finally had to turn off the porch light and feed her. I guess we were the bad house on the block this year!)

Pictures of Kendall

Here are some pictures of our new little one. Her sisters are soooo excited about her, so it's been fun to be home. It's also been quite an adjustment, as is to be expected. Hopefully in the next couple weeks we can get life with a newborn figured out! She's a sweety and we are so blessed to have her.

We have a baby girl!

Kendall Reese was born today!

8 lbs. 1/2 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long

After about 2 days of having strong contractions, I finally delivered! I was getting pretty frustrated because the contractions would be very strong, but stayed about 10 min. apart since Monday evening. Ugh!!! So, I've had 2 sleepless nights and long days, but we have finally made it. Last night at about 1 AM the contractions started getting really strong (but still only 8-10 minutes apart), so I waited through it, but then I decided to just go into the hospital anyway because they were so strong. So, at about 6 AM, we came in, and Kendall was born at 10:43. Hurray! She is a very sweet baby, and we've had a nice, restful day. I am so thankful for a healthy baby and a safe delivery!

Once I get home, I'll be able to post some pictures. Can't wait for you all to meet her!

Singing the Blues

(To the tune of "Happy Birthday")

Happy due date to me.

Happy due date to me.

It will pass by uneventfully.

Happy due date to me.

(Sigh.)

Counting Down

One week until my due date!

I am definitely ready, but trying not to get my hopes up. I've never gone early, so I'm planning on being a bit late. But we'll see, I still would love to go early!

It's kind of a bitter-sweet time for me...uncomfortable, yet exciting and special. Unless God decides otherwise, this will be the last time I am pregnant.

The last time I will ever weigh this much! (hopefully)
The last time I will have to endure the never ending annoyances of pregnancy (heartburn, constipation, backache, iron deficiency, mood swings, etc....all at once!)

The last time I will get up 5 times to go to the bathroom at night.

The last time my feet will swell up so much that I can't get my shoes on....I wore flipflops today in 35 degree weather.

The last time I will feel the wonderful movements of the baby inside of me.

The last time I will sit in the nursery daydreaming of what she will look like/be like.

The last time I will experience the anticipation of how the birth will transpire.

The last time I will experience the miracle of giving birth.

Thank you, Lord, for a healthy and mostly problem-free pregnancy. Our baby will come in your perfect timing, and I can hardly wait!

Problem Solved?

I hope so.
It feels like Ashlyn has been sick with something since May. She would finish up a round of antibiotics and then 2 weeks later she would come down with something else. Today, I am finally hopeful that things might improve. Last week she had another ear infection, so I got her in to the ENT, and he basically said that we were done messing around. So, today, she got her 2nd batch of tubes in her ears and had her adnoids taken out. Evidently those adnoids are a comfy little place where bacteria likes to fester, so we are very hopeful that by removing those, she will be able to resist bacterial infections.

She did a great job this morning. We had to be at the surgical center at 6:30, which was no problem for my child who doesn't sleep, and Ashlyn had fun entertaining the Drs and nurses and playing with all the toys until it was her time. The doctor said that she was pretty funny as they walked down to her surgical room (obviously she didn't know what she was in for!). He said she ran down the hall like a pinball, and then ran into the room and ran around the table a couple times. Sounds like my girl!

So, everything went very smoothly until afterward. It took a long time for her to recover from the anesthesia, and I was shooting myself for not having Craig there with me! Imagine a 9 months pregnant gal trying to hold down a very distraught and strong child who DOES NOT want to sit on my lap and who insists on pulling out the I.V., and keeps rolling around on the floor, getting tangled up in that cord. It was a mess, but thankfully she calmed down after a while, and then she let me hold her. For a long time I had to just let her lay on the floor. It was kinda funny, cause the nurse kept asking me if I wanted a warm blanket for her. Like that is going to magically calm her down! And, I saw another nurse slip something into her I.V., so maybe that helped her settle down a bit sooner, I don't know. Anyway, we made it through, and now she's acting very normal, singing and dancing around the house, after an afternoon of trying to take it easy and a short nap. Ashlyn just found the bag of Easter eggs in the closet, so now she and Jaclyn have filled them up with "candy" (i.e. Teddy Grahams and Fruit Loops) and are hiding them around the house. Another big mess, but it's keeping them happy after a long, tiring day.

A sweet surprise was that my mom sent her some flowers, a balloon and a teddy bear, so here she is with her little gift.

Another major thing marked off my list. Now I'm really ready to have this baby! 12 days to go!