Beautiful Boy, Darling Boy

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Kate Thinks Inside the Box

Now I ask you. What could be more fun on a Wednesday night than having your Daddy push you around in a used Huggies box? I mean really, does it get any better than this?

And they're off!

Now that's what I call pure glee!

I call this face her, "What you talkin' bout Willis?" face

Close.....But No Carson....Yet!

Last night, I thought we were going to be welcoming our little boy into the world. I started having some contractions around midnight. They were sporadic until about 2 am. Then they got more organized. I decided I better start timing. At first they were about 11-15 minutes apart. They finally got to where they were about 7 minutes apart. I was excited, but cautious. #1 I had heard that false labor was common in second pregnancies #2 These contractions were not quite as intense as when I was in labor with Kate. I could still breathe normally through them except for about 2 or 3 that really got my attention. #3 The roads were icy, so I wanted to make positively sure this was the real thing before we ventured out in that mess. Around 5 am after I had had one really good contraction I told Jared I was going to get up and move around to see if this was the real thing. I had read somewhere that walking around will make false labor dissipate, but real labor will continue. I went downstairs to wash Kate's bottles and had some weaker contractions while I was up. I decided to go back to bed and had about 3 more contractions while I was laying down. Around 6:15 they stopped and I drifted off to sleep. All that to say, our little boy is still tucked snugly inside of me although it gives me great hope that we will be meeting him very soon.:)

Married!

I want to wish my wonderful mother in law and her new husband Jimmy all of the best! They were married in Las Vegas on Saturday. I love this picture of their wedding. She is positively glowing. Love you Eletia!

How Great and Awesome is our God!

Please check out the blog entitled, "Here's Our Story" in my links on the right. The husband, Jeff is from a family that I grew up with in Chicago. Their baby Jacob was born yesterday. The doctors doubted that he would make it through delivery. He did! Please read their story and join me in prayer for this wonderful family. Their story shows one more example of God being the Great Physician.

Inspector Kate Checking In

I had put the story about Kate checking out Carson's carseat at the end of my post the other day. This morning she was caught in the act. Jared documented the "inspection."

Closing in on the inspector

Inspection for sturdiness of carseat. Check!

Inspection of diapers and going home outfit. Check! Her final report: This kid is good to go!

January 30th?

I am in total shock that I am still pregnant. I went to my appointment this morning and I have made zero progress. My Dr. basically told me it was my call about being induced. I have mixed feelings about being induced. I think my Dr. sensed that because he scheduled my induction for Friday morning. I am praying that I will go on my own before then. That definitely gives me enough time. If I don't have him by Friday morning I will go happily into being induced. I really believe this is an answered prayer because I kept praying that I was making the right decision and now I have peace about it.

Some Creative Answers to the Waiting Game

So you may be asking yourself what does one do when they are 38 weeks,4 days,21 hours and 15 minutes pregnant and waiting for their wonderful son? Well in this family the answer is Get Creative! Check out the various projects Jared and I completed today.

Project #1- Create a new blog background. So by now you have already noticed this project. What do you think? I was pretty proud of myself. Sidenote to Chesley: You inspired me. I love your new background. Because you have had problems in the past with losing your info I was kind of scared to do it. But to my amazement I retained my information. I crossed my fingers and held my breath, literally! Thank you for the inspiration!

Project #2 Make a "Big Sister T-Shirt" for Kate. I promise this will look cuter on her. And maybe I went a little crazy with the ribbon but it pretty much turned out to be a version of what I had created in my mind.


Project #3 Re-cover the bench in our entry way with some vintage golf fabric to add to Carson's room. This idea was a flash of brilliance from Jared. We had this blank wall in Carson's room that was driving the "designers" in us nuts! He thought of using this bench while we were at Hobby Lobby. So (this one's for you Maw) we went to look for some vintage golf fabric. You'll never guess what we found! The exact fabric that Jared's Maw used to make the squares in Carson's quilt. We couldn't believe our luck!


Project #4 Create a golf sign to hang over Carson's doorway. Good grief we had fun with this one. This was a labor of love that Jared and I created together. We kept adding things to it. Jared painted in the fairway, green, and bunker and I did the lettering. We think it turned into one snappy looking sign.:)


All in all a very creative day. I wonder what we'll do tomorrow? By the way Kate helped us out a lot with these projects. She kept us laughing and focused. A side Kate story: Kate is such a good big sister already. We caught her in Carson's room this morning inspecting his car seat. Just making sure that all of the belts and buckles were working properly. I would have had a picture of this but by the time I grabbed my camera she had moved on to her inspection of the rocker. This big sister is thorough!

That's Quite the Hairdo Kate Girl!

Update on our Boy

I went to the Dr. yesterday and there has been no real progress. It looks like Carson is very happy in his home right now. To tell you the truth I am ok with that. I think I set the bar a little high being that I was already in labor with Kate at this point in my pregnancy with her. And even though I want to sock the next person that says, "He will come when he is ready." (they obviously haven't been pregnant:)) I know that this statement is true. His birthday will be on exactly the day God has chosen for him before we even had an inkling that we had a boy in our future. God has known Carson forever and that gives me great comfort. He knows his future and he can see his whole life. I love that.

Another Set of Hands

Remember this picture? It was taken at 38 weeks with Kate.





This picture was also taken at 38 weeks ....... with Carson. I love the addition of those sweet little loving hands. I love the way that all of our hands are placed in different places on our sweet boy. I love the way that Jared and I both have one hand encircling Kate and the other hand on Carson. Our wonderful family. What a difference a year makes. And God gets all of the glory!

Inauguration Baby?

Today I went to the Dr. and I am 1cm dilated and 60% effaced. To those of you who live in babyland you will know that that is not much progress at all. HOWEVER, these were the same exact numbers I had the DAY before Kate was born. So I am very hopeful. At any rate, my Dr. wants to see me back again on Thursday to check my progress. If Carson is born tomorrow he will share birthdays with my brother Burke (Born on President Reagan's inauguration day) and Jared's brother Blair. While we wait for this precious boy please enjoy pictures of his finished nursery.

This is the scorecard from the last golf game Jared and his Dad played together

He Will

The following song has been running through my head like a tape loop everyday. I am thanking God for sending me this comforting song to take the place of my worry and anxiety about the days to come. It's an older song,written in 1933, so the verses were not familiar to me. But the chorus seems like an old dear friend. I found it in an old hymn book and have been playing the melody on our piano. I hope that it comforts you also.

Chorus:
God will take care of you
Thro everyday
O'er all the way
He will take care of you
God will take care of you

Be not dismayed whate'er betide
God will take care of you
Beneath His wings of love abide
God will take care of you

Thro' days of toil when heart doth fail
God will take care of you
When dangers fierce your path assail
God will take care of you

All you may need He will provide
God will take care of you
Nothing you ask will be denied
God will take care of you

No matter what may be the test
God will take care of you
Lean weary one, upon His breast
God will take care of you

Superman

Last night was Carson's shower. It was wonderful. The food was awesome. The conversation was hilarious. And to top it all off my friend Courtney prayed the most beautiful all encompassing prayer over our family. However I have no pictures from that night. So I took a picture of the invitation and I will let you imagine just how great the night was. You can be sure that I was surrounded by love and laughter.

I know. Poor second kid. Not even one picture of his baby shower. However Carson is a BOY. I don't think, no let's make that I really hope that one day he won't ask me if I have any pictures from his baby shower. I feel pretty safe.

Back to the title of the post. My friend Jodi risked missing my baby shower because she could not find a baby sitter for her son Hudson. I floated the idea to Jared to see if he would bite at taking care of 2 almost 1 year olds for a few hours. He said he was up for the challenge. Let me just say that Hudson is a true boy. He is also walking fast! (ok he's running!) He doesn't stay in one place for very long and is a very wonderfully curious boy.Jodi and I both wondered what this was going to look like for Jared. In fact I would have loved to set up a video camera.I figured we could make it into a good comedy short take or even a sitcom. At the very least it could make a good entry for America's Funniest Home Videos. We left Jared carrying Kate up the stairs while Hudson was climbing as fast as he could towards the top.

Fast forward to my arrival home. He said it went fine. He said his only challenge was when they got hungry at the same time. Picture this: Jared with one baby in each arm, rocking them,feeding them their respective bottle. I love that picture both for its comedy and sweetness. Come to think of it, it's probably a good picture of things to come in the next few weeks. Seriously. Is it any wonder why I love this man so much?

Just Like Britney Spears!

Here are some random thoughts that have been running through my pregnant brain.I hope I don't scare you with the randomness of it all. Here goes.......

1. Nintendo DS is my new favorite toy. I received one for my birthday from Jared. He didn't know it but he stumbled on the perfect gift for me. I'm not saying Kate is not an intelligent girl, but sometimes I just need some more intellectual stimulation. I am not a video game lover so I was leery of this gift. But it has all of these amazing word games, puzzles, and ways to keep your brain sharp. I love it and play it everyday.

2.

See the house in the above picture? This house has become a huge thorn in my side. Never in my life of living in neighborhoods that are still building houses have I come across a house that has taken so long to build. This would not be a problem except that the house is being built directly across from Kate's bedroom window! I always assumed that the work crews could put up an exterior of a house in a couple of days. This one has stretched to a couple of weeks. What with all of the nailing, pounding, dump trucks, buzz saws, and their wonderful way of starting at 7:30 am our sleep has been interrupted. And they always seem to be the loudest around her nap time. It is to the point where I will look outside and see what they are doing and if they aren't there I will pop Kate into her crib for a nap.I really wish they would finish. Kate really needs her naps. Or can I be more truthful? I really need Kate to take her naps.

3. Last night a good friend of mine had a health scare. But it actually turned out to be a hilarious story. There aren't many times in your life when you rush up to the hospital to be with a friend in a time of need and then meet her in the hallway on the way up to see her. And then proceed to laugh hysterically at the cause for her scare. No details, but it's a doozy I assure you.

4. I now have an idea of what people who have gastric bypass or lap band surgery go through. Carson is acting as his own little stomach reducer as he pushes my stomach upward. It reduces the size of my stomach considerably. If I eat more than a little bit I definitely know it. Come to think of it he might be doing me a favor. If I am smart I will take a lesson from this as a way to eat after I have him to drop those baby pounds.

5. If you watched American Idol last night you probably saw the guy who works as a rough neck on an oil rig. When he walked in the audition room they asked him to tell them something about himself. He told them that he had the 5th most dangerous job in the world. Considering that my husband is also a rough neck I decided to investigate. According to a Forbes article, "Dying to Work: America's Most Dangerous Jobs" (nice title huh?)he is right. But putting it into perspective there were 69 deaths in the drilling industry last year. Most dangerous job? Timber cutter. Below is a picture of my favorite roughneck with our favorite girl at his rig.


6. Is it me or do Kate's shoes look like a pink version of old men's leisure shoes? You be the judge.


7. Here's the topper (and the source of the post title). Last week we were out and about and decided to get some ice cream. The girl (college age) who was helping us noticed my huge belly and how young Kate was. The inevitable question came, "How far apart will they be?" I said, "A little less than a year." With that she exclaimed, "Oh wow! Just like Britney Spears!!" I wanted to tell her, "No sweetheart. Actually our kids will be closer in age."

And with that, I'm off to play my Nintendo DS...............Good grief! They are hammering on that house again! What could possibly be left to hammer!

Kate and Carson Bonding Time

Lately, we have been teaching Kate to "Pat Pat Mommy's tummy" or "pat pat Carson." She will say "pat pat" as she is doing it. Very cute. We are hoping this gentle touch will continue when he is on the outside as she has a tendency to want to scratch everything with her extremely lady like fingernails that grow at a rapid pace. Here are some very endearing pictures of sister and brother. You'll see that in the last one she finds that sometimes Mommy's tummy is just a good place to rest your head.


Love this face!

Spiritually Vulnerable

I have felt this way for sometime. But life gets in the way. Everyday expectations that I put on myself get in the way and push this feeling to the back of my thoughts. Here is my confession. I am spiritually weak, spiritually immature. I have so many goals this year for my physical well being. Having a second baby in the space of 1 year certainly gets my mind thinking about ways to drop pounds, making running schedules, finding ways to eat better, and just generally improving my overall health. But my spiritual health has been lacking for quite some time.I feel like my knowledge of God's word and his will for my life is somewhere around the Sunday school level. I know the basic stories and I feel I am an overall "good" person but I believe God expects more from me. I believe God wants me to know I am more than a wife, more than a Mom. He wants me to know that I am His. I am His above everyone else. God has really been putting this on my heart for quite some time but I have ignored this prompting. While I was in the shower yesterday morning (which frankly, is where I do my best thinking) God was urging me strongly to start a bible study this year. I am not saying that God spoke out loud directly to me. But I am saying that I felt a strong prompting. God is revealing his plan for me in little bitty snippets and I believe this is something He really wants me to focus on this year. Spiritual maturity. I confess that I'm not really sure what that looks like, but I want to be faithful to what God will show me. I went to the local Christian bookstore to pick up a study that I had heard about called, Esther:It's Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore. They were sold out. I put my name on the waiting list for 4 books. One for me and three for the girls that I meet with on Monday nights. Believe me the timing is not so great according to my feeble mind. I mean, I am about to have a second baby in 3 weeks or less. But I also trust that God's timing is perfect. So now I am open. Open to what God will show me through this study. Will you please pray for me? And please pray for all of the other women out there who confess that they don't have it all together but are willing to let God show them the way.

One More Month Until ONE!!!!

Our beautiful happy girl

I love this one because it looks like she is dancing. In reality, she is trying to catch herself from falling!

No more sitting for her month to month pictures. This girl has places to be!

Our standing girl. She always looks at her feet as if to say, "Feet, don't fail me now!

This is her new face. Believe me it is REALLY cute when she manages a full pucker.

Always going for the camera!

Kate agrees puffs in her mouth are much tastier than puffs on the floor!

A view of the top 2 teeth

Happy 11 months to the sweetest girl in the world! Today I ordered Kate's 1st birthday party invitations. Can it be that our sweet little girl will be One a month from today? Can it be that before she hits that first birthday she will be a big sister? Our little girl is growing by leaps and bounds in front of our eyes! This month marked huge milestones for Kate. We have a crawler in our house! She is making great crawling strides and is quite pleased with herself that she has found a means to get where she wants to go. She is pulling up on everything! The look of pride on her face is so heartwarming to us. She is accomplishing big things and she knows it! She also stood by herself with her Auntie Care for the first time. And I have seen this a couple of times since then. She is getting the hang of following behind her walker stroller that we bought her for Christmas. At first she would let it get away from her and still hold on as her little body was splayed out on the floor. Now she is starting to get the fact that she has to follow it with her feet when she moves. Her vocabulary is growing as she is trying to say some new things. She tries to mimic her little stand up table that announces "I see you!" but for now it comes out as "Ah say du!" She is still saying her "Da das", "Mamas", "Nanas", and has added a great version of "Mimi" as my Mom was delighted to hear on the phone the other day. She is still counting her 2 and will even work backward if we start from 3. Such a smart girl this one! This month and last month meant 2 new teeth on top and one more additional tooth on the bottom for a total of 5 teeth!!! Also a huge accomplishment in eating. She is feeding herself. Before, when I would put the puffs or cheerios in front of her she would pick them up and throw them as if they were toys. Now she actually feeds them to herself. Our next goal is to get her to use a cup. She has no interest in it whatsoever. I am sure she is thinking, "Why would I want to drink from that when a bottle is so much easier!!?!?" As a Mom, I am realizing that with more mobility comes the introduction of some discipline. As in "No Kate!" I couldn't believe I was speaking those words as my little girl was trying to explore the outlet plug. All I could think of was, "Here we go!" I am definitely starting a new kind of prayer in my mind. A prayer of guidance from God in this area. Before, it was easy. She did what we wanted her to do because she had no choice. Now she is developing a mind and will of her own. Wonderful. That is what I wanted for her before she was born. But now it is our job to guide that mind and will. I pray that we will be worthy of that huge task! The next time I write about her milestones it will include 1st Birthday pictures and will be preceded by newborn pictures of Carson! This next month will be a huge roller coaster ride of change and possibilities. Hold on! Here we go!