One Week Left.....Sort Of

Today marks one week until my due date. We'll see what happens between now and Friday. I'm scheduled to be induced that morning unless I go before then. If I make it through tonight I'll get my April birthday! :) One of our friends from the ward came and painted the babies room last night because Brook has been sick. We are so grateful to have such wonderful friends and neighbors. Everyone has been so generous to us! Our friends have bought outfits, diapers, wipes, blankets, baby toiletry items, bibs, toys..... The list goes on and on! I feel very blessed to live near great people. Thanks again Ann for hosting my baby shower (not to mention inviting everyone, getting your home ready, providing food, taking your kids to a babysitter, and everything else)! Yesterday I finally got the babies quilt done. It's the green and brown one that I did a long time ago, but I hadn't tied it. I decided to tack it on the corners of the blocks with a button stitch. After that I made a tan hooded towel (thanks Kathy...I've used the girls towels as a pattern more than once!) Brooke said she'd put the babies name on it...now we just have to pick one. :) I've got a LOT of thank you cards to send out. Thank you family and friends for everything you do for us!

This isn't even everything from the shower....

people have brought more things over during the week.

There are sooo many cute clothes! Wish you could see them all!

Here's how the room looks today.

Brook is cutting and placing baseboards while I type. The carpet is scheduled for Thursday!

Can't wait to hang up the clothes in this awesome closet Brook built!

Here's Lauren addition to the room

Pregnant Pictures

OK...so this is all Adam's (my cousin) doing.....he wanted to see pictures of me with my Buddha Belly. If you don't want to see them, please avert your eyes. No bare bellies, but big none the less. These were taken at my mom's house last Friday. We had a small family lunch with some nice gifts. Thanks Debbie, mom, Mel, Nelma & Linda!

I can't believe I let Mel take these, but they will be fun to look back on someday.....right??

Went to the doctor today.....she actually wasn't there. She was at the hospital delivering babies. The nurse practitioner said they keep sending ladies up there, and that the doc is going to be there a long time. Maybe it's the change in pressure with the weather. When we woke up this morning we had another inch or so of snow. Spring in Utah can be very unpredictable....it will be interesting to see what the weather is like when our boy is born. (I just checked the calendar....tonight is a full moon.) I forgot to mention that she said I'm still around a 2 1/2 and I'm 80% effaced. We'll see what happens! Any predictions on date, weight, height, hair color, name????? :)

Sidewalk Shadows

A couple of weeks ago the girls traced eachother's shadows on my parents back patio. It must have been late afternoon. I know they're tall and skinny, but the sun added a little extra height. :) I'm glad my dad took a picture of it before the snow washed it away.

2 More Weeks

I can't believe it....only 2 more weeks until my due date. Some people have said, "It's gone really fast!" Normally I think when you're the one that's pregnant that it goes slow, but it's gone fast for me too. It's been fun getting the blankets and other baby items together....I just wish I had a room to put them away. Brook built shelves in the closet today. It just had one shelf and one clothes hanging bar across the whole closet. Now it has a top shelf, 4 smaller shelves down the middle, 2 shorter hanging areas, and 1 hanging area for long clothes. He loves building...he just doesn't like the finish work like patching, painting, etc... I wanted the room finished before the baby comes, and it still might be, but if it isn't....oh, well. The baby will be in our room at first anyway. I'm trying to get the laundry caught up and make sure my bag is packed just in case he comes a little early. Right now I feel pretty good though. For some reason I've been pretty comfortable when I sleep at night....what a blessing!! It will be interesting to see what the doctor says on Thursday. Jason and his family are coming into town on Saturday for Spring Break. He told my mom that I have to have the baby while he's here. He'll be here until the following Saturday....we'll see. :) My Dr. said I could set a tentative induction....they have it set up at the hospital for April 3rd since that's the last day of school before our break. She said I could cancel it if I change my mind....I'm kind of like my mom....I hope he picks his own birthday. Of course, maybe by the 3rd I'll be raring to go.

Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters.

Auburn's room has officially been cleared....no bed, no dresser, no clothes, no CARPET! We moved her into the old toy room. Yesterday after she saw it she came in the family room and said, "Thank you to you and dad for moving my bed and dresser to my new room." She really liked it. It's always fun to get a change of scenery. Last week she fell asleep in there at night while there were still toys in it. During the night she got up and curled up on Lauren's floor next to her bed. She had woken up and got a little scared during the night. Last night after the girls got ready for bed, I went in to check on them. Lauren wasn't in her room...when I peeked in Auburn's room, there was Lauren curled up on Auburn's floor. I would have taken a picture if I wasn't afraid of waking them up with the flash. It was so cute! When I went to pick up the girls from school, Auburn got in first.....like always. When Lauren got in the van, Auburn said, "Lauren!!" Lauren reached in and they gave eachother a hug. Wow...I don't know if that happens on a regular basis at anyone else's house, but it was a shock for me! One of those heart warming Hallmark moments. I'll take them when I can! :)

Here's a link to my favorite version of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YhTKiFEMAg

Here's the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYZbgG4D2oA

Lauren, of course has always gone crazy over their feather fans. When she heard the song she came up and started grabbing at the screen for them. :)

3 Weeks & Counting....from yesterday

Yesterday was a pretty busy day. We finally got the toy/sewing room cleared out so we can start moving Auburn's stuff in there. Last night she started getting a little emotional about having to leave her room. I tried to remind her that she was welcome to go back to her room after it's painted and carpeted....I think she was tired. This morning she used her little disposable camera, that I found while cleaning out the toy room, and took a picture of her room. The 'before' shot I guess.

I've been having more Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they seem to go away when I sit down and take it easy. We got the baby swing wiped off and set up. We'll wait to bring the crib in when the room is finished. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. :)

I had a dream about our boy last night....I seem to have the strangest dreams sometimes. At first I dreamt that I could see his hand through my stomach. Then I dreamt that he was already here and I was holding him. I kept looking to see what color his hair was. They say you can't dream in color, but his hair was definitely red and fuzzy. It was weird because his hair was board straight, but no one in our family has straight hair....we all have a little curl. I remember that I thought he looked a little like Lauren in my dream. It will be fun to see what he really looks like.

Why We Have Temples

I'm not sure if this came in response to HBO wanting to show part of a temple ceremony on TV, but one of my friends posted this on her facebook page. I really liked it. It is a little disappointing that the media wants to broadcast things like that. I wish that they understood that what goes on in the temple isn't secret.....it's sacred. I wouldn't want them to broadcast sacred ceremonies from any other church either. Now on a lighter note....we're going to see the Draper Temple dedication on Sunday. I'm excited that we'll be able to take both of the girls with us....they've never been to a dedication before. Hope you like the short clip too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8&eurl=http://ldsmediatalk.com/2009/03/12/church-video-on-purpose-of-temples/&feature=player_embedded

Girl's Night Out

The girls had a sleepover with Grandma Glade on Friday night. Once they were all gathered we took them to McDonald's for dinner and let them play on the playground for a while. Then we took them over to Kmart to get their pictures taken. On the way in they had some fleece shirts on clearance. J and Lauren got matching green shirts, and E and Auburn got matching purple ones. I've been going to this black and white photo booth since high school. It's always been fun to get some cheap pictures with your friends. We've taken the girls to get their pictures with their cousins a few times. It makes for fun memories. I'm glad they have cousins that are close in age to them so they can have a friend when we get together. If you ask them who their best friends are Lauren will say J, and Auburn will say E.

Flashback Friday

With our new baby coming, I thought I'd post some pictures of the girls when they were born. Boy, how time flies! Lauren had a rough start into this world. Thankfully she had that little hat on because her poor head was purple and bruised.

Lauren's Birthday

Lauren & Dad

Lauren with Grandma Mills

Grandma Glade holding Lauren

Auburn's first picture with mom & dad

Dad, Lauren & Auburn

(mmmm Jamba Juice....I think I'll request one again this time!)

Just the girls!

Grandma Mills with Auburn

Grandma Glade with Auburn

Doctor Update

I went to the doctor today for my 1st weekly checkup. She said everything is going well....size, heartbeat, etc... She also said the baby is already head down and I'm dialated to about a 1-2. Pretty normal for my pregnancies. I'm getting a little nervous....I was induced with both of the girls so I'm not sure I'll know what to do if I go into labor on my own. Ready or not here it comes! One thing I'm excited about though is to have our little boy here (on the outside). When I was at Brooke's today, I held Tyler for a little bit.....made all those maternal insticts start to kick in again. It makes me think of what Auburn has said to me over and over again during the pregnancy. "Can you just even wait until the baby comes out and you get to hold him?" It's going to be interesting to see how this little "mother" reacts to having a little brother around.

The Countdown Continues....

Four more weeks left until my due date....no, we still haven't picked out a name. I'm hoping for some last minute inspiration I guess. I promise I will let you all know if we ever get it figured out. Went with Brooke to Sew-N-Save today to get material for Tyler's quilt. It's turning out really cute....she'll have to show you what it looks like later. I'm not ready for the baby to come quite yet, but I can't wait to get rid of these maternity pants! I feel like a plumber with gravity issues.

Ahhh....The Utah Weather

Yesterday after church we went to my mom's to visit. Nate & Debbie were over there with their kids and their darling dachshund puppy, Lucy. We went out back to enjoy the warm sunshine while the kids played with the puppy on the lawn. It felt soooo good outside.

Fast forward to this morning....I looked out the window, and what did I see???? Snow! I couldn't believe it! I hadn't seen the forecast for a few days....boy was that a surprise! It was still snowing the last time I checked. The girls enjoyed playing in it this afternoon....kids are generally appreciative of the snow.

Can you say sour puss??

Here's Lauren throwing a snowball at me.

I made the most of the stormy weather and make this blanket today. I really like how it turned out. They had one made up like it at Sew-N-Save. I liked the fact that I didn't have to crochet around it....took longer than I expected though. I'm sure I'll be crocheting something before this month is over. Saturday marked the one month mark for us! We need to make sure we get the crib out on one of our warm and sunny days. Between the wind and the snow, we have a small drift in front of the shed again.

5 More Weeks

Five more weeks until my due date. Do you think we can clear out enough of Auburn's stuff to get the baby's things in the room?? If you saw her room it might seem a little more impossible than you think. I'm too tired to deal with all of her excess. We have to do something though. Right now there is no way to get a crib in there, let alone any of the other baby necessities. Wish me luck!

Getting Ready for Our Boy

I finally climbed up the ladder in the shed to haul down our old car seats. Since ours were manufactured in 1996 & 1997 and you're supposed to replace them after 6 years. It sounds weird, but I got a little satisfaction out of throwing them into the big garbage can. Brook's mom was nice enough to send us some money to get a new car seat. She sent us enough that we were able to get a new seat and a new stroller. :) This is a picture of the "Travel System" that we bought. Thanks Grandma Mills!!! When I was bringing out the old stroller, I realized how old and worn it was. It's new home will be at my mom's house for when she is babysitting grand kids and wants to take them for a walk. It's been fun to get some new things this time.



I was looking through the few boy things that we bought. (I love shopping at Ross for baby clothes....they have such great deals!) I forgot how big my babies usually come because I bought a pack of onesies that were newborn sized. When I looked at the weight it said, Newborn 5-8 lbs. The girls came into this world at 8 lbs. 7 oz. each. I may need to take those back and exchange them. :) It's starting to feel a little more real....if he comes early, I could have him sometime this month. :0 (Still hoping for an April baby though) Now it's Brook's turn to climb up the ladder and get the crib and swing. This month will be over before we know it I'm afraid.