Busy again

So far, our year has been pretty good. Although, I always promise I will blog more often and I obviously haven't lived up to that quite yet; things are going well for our family. We are busy as always. It seems we have something going on every weekend, even when we don't make plans, something usually comes up.

Chris has been working tons of overtime. He is always at work early in the morning, usually goes back in after dinner, and works weekends. He had knee surgery in December and that set us back a little financially since he couldn't bartend for a few months. He is recovered for the most part, and is working his butt off to get ahead a little before summer gets here. Now that football season is over, he manages to find time to watch a little basketball, and is getting ready for softball/baseball season. He is still unsure about playing softball this summer after his knee surgery, but I think if I keep on him to get out and start running on it...he can do it.

Miss Holly is almost a teenager. Just another month and we will officially have a teen in the house. She made the A honor roll for the 1st and 2nd quarter at school, and strives to make sure her grades are the best she can make them. She spends alot of time on her cell phone and I-pod, but is still a lot of help around the house. She babysits Paige sometimes, and is always looking for ways to make money (she can spend it faster than she can earn it).  For her Birthday, we are repainting her room, along with all new bedding and decor.

Alyssa is now 10 and has been busy with Volleyball, Girlscouts, and Sunday School. It seems like we are always running with her somewhere. She was struggling in reading in school a few months back, and was put into special reading help class; which was in turn taking time away from her math time and causing her to struggle in math; but she has now caught up with her reading, and has turned her math skills around as well. Conferences are just around the corner, and we have high hopes for her. We repainted her room for her last Birthday and gave her all new bedding and furniture. She has more things in her room, than time to play with the stuff...but what kid doesn't I guess.We don't get to see her as much as we would like to, but we cherish the time we do get with her.  We have a lot of fun things planned to do with her on the weekends we have with her, let's hope we don't wear her out! 
Little Miss Paige is growing up SO darn fast. She practically runs all over now. She is starting to talk, and babble, but tells us what she wants even though she can't say many words yet. She is now 14 months old.  After many months of struggling with this baby, and thinking that the future would hold a very difficult baby; she has turned into quite an easy child. She has so much character already. She definitely knows what she wants. She also tends to be a fast learner. She loves to take a bath, and if we say the word "bath", she heads to the bathroom and waits for you to start the bath water, and then grabs her towel and jammies, and heads to our room to get naked. She has learned so much in the last few months, I am just amazed at her every day. She loves to be tickled, and will tickle you back. If we mention that it's time to eat, she heads straight to the high-chair and waits for you to put her in it and give her her food. If we say that we are going bye-bye, she will head to the kitchen to get her coat and shoes on. And after many months of struggling to get her to nap or sleep at night, she now will grab her blankie and lay down if she is tired; and when put to bed, she sleeps all through the night. So, maybe all my complaining paid off, or maybe I just wasn't patient enough for the easy time to come, but it is here now; and I am trying to enjoy every second of it. She is definitely a blessing sent to us!

I think I have self diagnosed myself with ADD. Lately, I have work ADD, laundry ADD, diet ADD, and ADD about many other things. I just can't concentrate lately. I will blame it on the winter weather I guess. We had a little taste of spring, and that was quickly turned around; and I think that is what my problem is. I can't wait for warmer weather, and more sunshine. I just don't seem to have the energy as I did a few years ago. I could blame that on many thing too, like perhaps the recent Birthday I had. I have many projects I would like to get to before spring gets here, so I really need to get off my behind and get started on them. Instead I tend to watch some TV, read a book or magazine, or spend countless hours on the computer wasting time. This is totally not like me and my OCD ways, but admitting it is the first step, right?

Wishing for a better year

As you can see, we have been horrible about blogging. Our lives just don't allow much down time anymore, and I never seem to remember to post on here. It has been a crazy year, and for those of you who know us, it really isn't one we would like to relive anytime soon. We had so much go awry for us, some people still cannot believe our misfortune. One good thing is, we are all happy and healthy. That is what matters most.

Our summer turned out to be quite disastrous at times, but we managed to live through it with a few interesting  stories to tell. Chris's truck wasn't quite able to handle the new camper very long , so we ended up replacing it with something bigger and better, not without a few headaches along the way.. I ended up in the hospital during one camping trip, and then some bad weather during others;  and by the time it came to storing the camper for the season, I was ready to bid farewell for the season and hope for better luck next spring.

Our fall was busy, but fairly uneventful compared to our summer. Paige learned to crawl in October, and we haven't been able to sit down since. She has kept all of us on our toes, but it is so delightful watching her go. We spent Thanksgiving with family and friends, and enjoyed all of the fall festivities togther.
Winter hit us sooner than we had hoped for, but was to be expected being MinneSNOWtans. Luckily we managed to get most everything packed away for winter before it hit us.

Our kids are wonderful. Paige is determined, smart, funny, beautiful....etc. I could go on  and on. She is such a quick learner, I am afraid we will have our hands full with this girl. She started walking just a few steps at a time, and within 2 weeks, she had it mastered. She already has an attitude, and I anticipate it only getting worse. Oh my.
Alyssa is growing up so fast. She amazes us each day. Responsibilities are lining up for her, and she is taking them on quite well. She kept busy all fall with volleyball, Girls on the Run, and Girl scouts. We didn't get to see much of her, but I think she thoroughly enjoyed being so busy.
Holly, Holly. Where do I begin with this girl? She is becoming such a young lady. She is an incredible kid. Her maturity is amazing. I am a little terrified of the years to come with this one, but I can only hope she makes it as easy on me as the last 12 years. She opted not to play any sports this year, but works hard on keeping her grades up. She made the A honor roll for the first quarter, and I am beyond proud of her.
Chris has been busy at work as usual. The wedding season came to an abrupt stop, but he has taken on working some overtime at his full time job. Between work, running our kids, fantasy football, and his honey-do list....he doesn't have much down time. He just opted to have knee surgery to repair some damage from years of catching in softball and baseball. He is non-weight bearing (CRUTCHES...yuck) for 6 weeks. I can't wait for him to be back to himself! I never realized how much I need just a little bit of help getting things done around here.
 I manage to keep busy being a full time Mom and wife.  The housework is never done, and just when I think it is....some little girl undoes just about everything I did. This job is exhausting at times, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!! I had a big time scare with my mom, who was diagnosed with early stage lung cancer in December. She had surgery to remove a tumor on her lung, and is recuperating well at home,  hopefully cancer free for a long long time. I am beyond grateful for the promising outcome. This ordeal really scared the crap out of me, and made me sit back and look at life a whole new way.  I am more thankful than ever to get to spend many more years with her, as I cannot fathom life without her.


We just celebrated Christmas, along with Paige's 1st Birthday. I was more than wiped out afterwards, especially after taking on all the tasks myself (due to my incapacitated hubby), but everything turned out incredibly. We managed to see all of our families, some of our friends, and had some great quality times together. We are all so thankful for everything we have been blessed with.

Our kids are growing up SO fast, my head keeps spinning. I cannot believe we are the proud parents of  a 12 year old, a 10 year old, and a 1 year old. (sigh).

We are hoping 2011 is less stressful, and happy for everyone. For us, it only has to get better.  Let's hope our bad luck streak ends with 2010, and we ring in a Happy, Healthy New Year!!!

Summer

Our summer is almost over, and it feels like it hasn't even started yet. We have been so busy. Working, camping, family events, roofing disasters, and more working; just doesn't allow much time to relax. Little Miss Paige is almost 7 months, and growing up so fast. She is starting to get around slowly. She doesn't crawl yet, but I think it could happen soon. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, but just hasn't learned to move yet. She still rolls and scoots around, and can move around in her walker. Sleeping is something we are still working on. She goes to bed really well, and sleeps through the night most nights, but doesn't like to take a nap. She fights it so bad that sometimes she fights sleep longer than she actually sleeps. I hope she soon outgrows this, but we will manage for now. All I can think of is she is going to sleep her teenage years away since she hardly slept as a baby. She has started eating solid foods, and LOVES them. She eats almost anything we give her, fruits or vegetables, and now has started on cheerios and little puffers. She is starting to get quite the personality, and usually is pretty happy. She did have a touch of "I only like mommy or daddy" last weekend, but it may have been due to teething.

Chris and I have learned the hard way, that you shouldn't try to re-roof your own house. After a few weekend disasters, we have half of the roof done. And after all of the water mess, the result of trying to roof yourself and storms; we will be hiring someone to finish the other half of the roof. Our insurance is paying us have it done, as well as fix the water damage inside our house. Fun times. Bottom line: Hire someone to do the big jobs!

Our older girls are awesome! They too, are growing up way too fast. Holly had her 7th grade physical this week. She is healthy as a horse, and I am so proud of her!

Alyssa will be entering 4th grade this year, and is also doing quite well. She is teetering on the edge of being a kid and being a tween. (sigh)  Both girls are very busy, that we don't get much time to hang with them anymore, but they are getting to that age where....it's just not COOL to hang with mom and dad anymore. The teenage years are right around the corner, and I think we may be in big trouble with 2 beautiful girls on our hands!

Time? What's that?

So, I really haven't been very good about updating, but honestly....I just don't have the time anymore.

Everyone is doing very well. Our kids are getting so big. Paige is now 4 months. She still has her fussy moments and lets us all know who the boss is. She loves any attention she can get, and often throws a tantrum if she doesn't have somebody's undivided attention. We have resorted to the cry it out method a few times, which tears at my heart strings, but is sometimes the only way we can keep our sanity. A few weeks ago, Chris was up north for a week, and my patience was stretched to the limit. In perfect timely fashion, she was going through some serious teething pain that week while I was flying solo, and was just not feeling well. After getting up 3 and 4 times each night with her, I couldn't wait until Chris arrived back home. And just how my life goes, by the time he came home, she was feeling better. She did make up for all the gray hair she caused that week by sleeping through the night this last Saturday. I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day present from her. I was in dire need of a good nights sleep My big girls thought up another perfect gift for me for Mother's day, a picture of all 3 girls together. And I had no idea that they took a picture and had it developed.  They are pretty good to me! I enjoyed the day by having breakfast with my family, and staying home and just spending time around the house getting things done.

Chris and I are also doing  well. He has been working a ton of hours, and  is also busy with softball on one of his nights off.  I am usually running around hauling kids somewhere, or heading to the grocery store with a few kids in tow. In our spare time (ha ha ha) we hope to do some camping this summer in our new camper. We picked up the new toy last week, and are slowly getting everything put in it so we will be ready to camp as soon as the weather cooperates. The girls were very excited for it to arrive, and are even more excited to get to use it in a few weeks. Only having our big girls every other weekend will limit the time they get to camp with us, but we hope to make some really good memories this summer! 

Soon school will be out, and we will be approaching graduation time, and wedding season. Busy Busy! I especially cannot wait for it to warm up so we can get outside with Paige more often. 

Well, I am going to head to bed, so I can hopefully enjoy another full nights sleep, if Paige allows.

Good night all!

Changes Changes Changes

Welcome Spring!! It has been so nice these past few days. Paige got to take her very first stroll outside today in the 60 degree weather. She just happily rode in the stroller, only squinting a few times as the sun shined in her eyes. She has become such a different baby lately. We no longer have a fussy baby!! Yippeeee! She is all full of smiles, all the time. She especially loves when people talk to her. She will give you tons of grins and giggles. She has apparently grown out of her tummy issues we had for the first 2 months or so, and hasn't had a fussy spell for a few weeks. It makes life for Mom and Dad so much easier.  But it seems everything is happening so fast. Our little baby has already rolled over a few times this week. She works so hard at it, but gets frustrated after a while. I think we are going to have our hands full when she becomes mobile;  she may be a wild one! It is hard to believe that she is almost 3 months old. Not sure where the time has gone, or how it got away so fast. 

We are all getting anxious for spring to officially get here.  We just purchased our very first camper, and can't wait to get to use it. A few trips have already been booked, and I am sure there are many more to add to the calendar. The last few years we have crashed in my mom and my sisters campers, but with our little addition to our family, we decided it was time to get our own space. Our girls are really proud to have their own camper, and cannot wait it's arrival.  There are many great memories waiting to be made!

 

Chris has been really busy at work, which is good. I have been trying to get out to do some walking, when the weather allows. I have been battling a cold for a few weeks,  and will be thankful to kick it to the curb any day now.  Holly is quickly becoming a teenager (way TOO fast), but is a pretty good kid, even despite the attitude. Alyssa too can show attitude at times, but is maturing right along. They get along like any sisters do, best friends one minute, and at each others throats the next. I guess that's what you get when you have all girls in the house. Chris is a lucky man.

Quick update

Where has the time gone? Every day time goes by faster and faster. Our baby is 10 weeks old already. She is currently up to 11lbs, and is 22" long. They grow so fast! Our nights are MUCH better. I finally get 4-5 hours of continuous sleep, which is soooo nice.

I  started back to work a week ago, so the little extra sleep is very welcome. Paige was baptized a few weeks ago, and we had a wonderful little party for her. All of her grandparents gathered at our house on Saturday night. We grilled steaks and had a great time visiting with each other.  Sunday was a big day for the little Miss, she was baptized at our church, while many relatives were present to witness such a blessed event. We then had everyone at our house for lunch to celebrate. 

Her first week at daycare was successful. She seems to love her daycare lady, and soaks up all the attention the other little kids give her. It was a little rough for Mom the first few days, but leaving her at daycare with a big smile on her face made it much  easier. 

As for our big girls, both have recently participated in their schools' science fairs. Holly earned a Garfield School First Place ribbon (voted best by her classmates)! We are very proud of her!  This was the first year of science fair for Alyssa, and she also did very well.  We continue to be busy with Girlscouts, (It's COOKIE season). Soon it will be spring break. Speaking of spring....we all can't wait for nicer weather. !! Let's hope its right around the corner.

7 weeks old

Our little munchkin is now 7 weeks old! She is such an angel. The brutal days of continuous crying and late night episodes have mostly disappeared, and she is becoming more and more independent every day. She still loves to be held when she can, but she is spending more time each day in her bouncy seat or swing. She is growing SO fast! Everyone comments on how big she is getting. She is already starting to outgrow some of her newborn clothes, but she still  has a closet full of bigger sizes!! Good thing she has her own room!

Last weekend all of the girls and I ventured to St. Paul for the last of our baby showers. I was a little nervous  about taking all the girls on such a long road trip by myself, Paige's longest car ride yet; but she was an absolute angel. I actually had to have the girls check on her a few times in the back of the van since we didn't hear a peep out of her the whole way. We got many nice things at the shower, and were able to spend some time with  Grandma and Great-Grandma. It was great to see all the great aunts and cousins again, since we missed out on Christmas (for some reason..)

I have one more week at home with my little girl, and then have to go back to work. :(  I am ready to go back and get back into an everyday routine, but I am not ready to give up my baby all day long. It will be a hard day for me, but I will just have to keep reminding myself that she will be OK.

 Holly and Alyssa are growing up way too fast too!  They have both decided to participate in Science Fair this year, and still keep us busy every day driving them to some sort of activity. Holly is currently playing Volleyball and active in Girl Scouts, and Alyssa just started Girls on the Run. We hardly get much time at home with them, but they don't seem to mind the hectic schedules. Although, us parents could use a nap  every now and then. :)

How time flies...

Our little peanut is almost 5 weeks old already. Where did time go?
Things are still going well with all of us. The fussiness and late night episodes are getting fewer, which makes for an extremely happy mommy! We still have some late nights, but we are managing. I am dreading having to go back to work, which means no more sleeping in after a long night, but we are working on a routine so we can get in the swing of things before reality hits us hard.
Paige is growing fast. I don't really see it much since I am with her every day, but those people that don't see her every day comment all the time on how much she is growing. She weighed in at 9lbs today, but is still in newborn clothes. She is slowly showing us little bits of her personality. She will often give a little smile while we are talking to her, and is starting to make little coos at us. We absolutely love to see her happy after many "crabby" weeks. She is starting to get more used to her car seat, and swing; but is still very much a mommy's girl and loves to be held all the time. I am afraid of spoiling her (although they claim you can't spoil a baby this age), but I waited so long to hold her....I am gonna do it as much as I can! Sometimes I wish I could get more done each day, but soon enough I will be back at work and not able to spend as much time with her.
The weather hasn't been cooperating as much as I would like it to. It is either too cold to go out with a baby, or the roads are too bad to travel anywhere with such precious cargo. We try to go to the mall as often as we can to go for walks, but I have had to resort to using the treadmill most days. Hopefully spring comes early this year!
The older girls are happy that they have had so many school late starts and early releases lately. They are both becoming more responsible each and every day; which is a great help to me since I not able to do as much as I used to with them since having Paige. I get to see both of them a whole lot more than usual since I am home every day after school and it is nice to help them with their homework and projects. Although I refuse to watch the Disney Channel, I think they like me being home too.

Chris and I are slowly getting used to having a baby around again. It had been a few years for both of us, but we LOVE having her here. Our dog seems to be showing some signs of jealousy, by barking at us all day long, but she too will have to get used to it.....Paige is a keeper and we aren't giving her back any time soon!

A week old and the New Year

Paige is officially a week old!. She is a great baby. We did have a few rough nights, possibly colic, but after trying everything we possibly could think of, switching her formula seemed to help for last night. She mostly sleeps the day away, but we do get a few periods of awake time with her. It is so wonderful to watch and learn her expressions. She shows a few smiles (that or gas, so dad thinks), the pout lip, and quivers her bottom lip. She doesn't like to have her diaper changed, or to be cold while changing her clothes; but we love learning her personality.

It has been so VERY frigid outside that we have mostly stayed home, but made a few trips to the store, and stopped in at both of our jobs to show off our little miracle. Our New Year was rather uneventful; Mommy, Daddy and Holly watched a few old Harry Potter movies, and Paige snoozed the night away.

I (mommy) have been recovering very nicely. I still cannot do as much as I would like to, but it seems to get better every day. Today I went most of the day without depending on my diet of ibuprofen. Daddy is enjoying his time at home, and is a really big help for me. We are slowly de-Christmastizing our house, but we work on baby time now days, so it is a slow process.

Auntie Annie was over today to take some pictures of our little Peanut (daddy's nickname for Paige), so I can soon start to fill some photo albums of our new little addition. I will post some pictures when she sends them.

Happy New Year to all!! and STAY WARM!!

~Our Christmas Surprise~

Whoa, what a Christmas! It all started on Christmas Eve. The plan was that Chris and the girls would leave for  a Christmas party at his Grandma's house in St. Paul around 2pm, and then would come back late that night. I wasn't planning on traveling that far away from home (not wanting to sit in a vehicle for over 3 hours, and being crammed in a house of many relatives), so I was planning on attending Christmas at my Grandma's house in Madison Lake for a few hours and then heading back home to put my feet up.

The first glitch in the plan was the pending bad weather. I was a nervous wreck thinking about Chris and the girls traveling on bad roads, with the possibility of not making it back that night.
After listening to the weather report, they decided that it would be best to leave early and then head back earlier than anticipated, to beat the big snowstorm. They left home around 11, and I stayed home and relaxed. I had decided that instead of driving myself (in the not so favorite truck) on bad roads, that I would hitch a ride with my sister who was already in town. She came to pick me up, we picked up lunch and then headed to her house in Elysian, before heading to Grandma's. Completely feeling fine (well, as fine as one can feel for being 38 weeks pregnant), we chatted the whole ride out there; but as soon as I walked into her house...I felt the urge to head to the bathroom. I noticed a little extra dampness, but didn't think much of it....maybe it was just a pregnancy thing, right? We all sat down to eat lunch, and again soon afterwards I had to head to the bathroom again. I started to wonder if it was my water breaking, but wasn't too concerned at that time. I didn't really want to say anything to anyone just yet, but once my brother in law stepped outside to snowblow,  I decided to tell my sister (calmly), that we might have to head back to Mankato and that maybe I was leaking water. We were more or less joking about it, not thinking that it was really happening. She had told me that she had joked with her co-workers before picking my up that "My sister better not go into labor while I am driving her around!". Well after a few more trips to the bathroom, I decided that it was really happening, and then my nerves started to kick in. I tried to call the clinic, which was closed for Christmas Eve. I finally reached my OB Dr. (who just happened to be on call over the holiday), and she told me that I should probably head in to Labor and Delivery and they would check me to see if my water was actually breaking, but not to rush things just yet. I decided to call Chris and let him know that he should start heading back from St. Paul, but he wasn't answering his phone.....nor was Holly. I finally got in touch with Chris' mom, who freaked out when I told her what was happening. She handed the phone to Chris and I told him that he should probaly head back. He really didn't think I was serious at first, but after realizing I wasn't joking, they quickly packed up and drove towards Mankato. Chris was a little worried that he would miss the birth of his child, but I assured him that there wasn't much happening and that he had time.

My brother in law drove me and my sister back to Mankato on the snowy roads, and we checked into the hospital. Shortly there after, Chris and the girls arrived. They assured me that my water did indeed break, and that we were having a baby that day!!! I was prepped for a C-Section, and taken into the operating room around 7:30pm. Our beautiful daughter was born at 7:52pm. She was absolutely perfect, weighing in at 6lbs 2.6oz, and was 20" long.  We named her Paige Catherine. She screamed very loudly right after birth and didn't stop for quite a while, just letting mommy and daddy know that she was alive and well. Possibly the best sound in the world at the time for the two of us. Both sisters got to see her right out of the operating room and into the nursery, and snapped many pictures of their new little sister.

She was about the best Christmas present our whole family could ask for!

After spending the weekend in the hospital, we were released on Sunday and arrived safely at home. We are slowly adjusting to having a newborn in the house, but it keeps getting better every day. She is a great baby, and we are all so thankful to have her in our lives!

Only 11 days left

Sam has been doing a great job of keeping everyone informed of what is going on from the doctors and with her feelings, so I thought I would change the perspective. The doctor is pleased so far with how Sam is progressing and how the baby is doing.  Her tests are coming back normal and she is progressing as she should.  The Doc thinks that the baby is about 6 and a half  pounds.  The baby is very active at night even when mom might not be as active.

We are mostly ready to roll as far as the baby and accommodations go, but this time of year is always stressful.  Sam is taking it in stride.  We started shopping early for Christmas and got most of it done with plenty of time.  Also she is letting me do somethings around the house.  OK maybe that is not amazing (I probably should do more), but she is not redoing any of it.  With the baby being born so close to Christmas, we are limiting the travel by having to cut out a few trips. I know everyone understands, but we love you all and can only do so much this year.  To those who we will be missing, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Ours will be.

Finally as prayer lists go, we have a small addition.  We have friends that are going through a difficult time as they lost their 2 month old unexpectedly.  Please keep Ben, Amber, and baby Connor in your prayers.

Almost there!

Boy, am I glad that I managed to make it to 36 weeks before our first snowstorm! The weather outside was frightful yesterday, and I had to go to work early so I could leave for my appointment. Sometimes I wish we lived out of town so I would actually have an excuse to stay home with the kids on a snow day, but no such luck working only a few miles away. The drive to the clinic wasn't so bad, but it was sure cold!  My appointment went well, everything is still looking good. I had the strep B test done, and was checked for dialation. So far I am not dialating, and baby sounds good. Her heartbeat was at 142 beats per minute.The doctor is still please with how things are coming along. I go back next Wednesday for my next appointment.  Only 18 more days to go!! I am really getting ready for this to be over with, and just have baby in my arms already. It gets harder and harder to get around and do things each day...like putting on my socks, picking up the many things I seem to drop, get in and out of the van, etc, etc. Fortunately, we are 99% done with our Christmas shopping for the year, so now all I have to do is find the time and energy to get everything wrapped! Does anyone know how we got to mid-December so fast??

35 Weeks and into December!

I can hardly believe that we are into December already. It seems just like yesterday that we embarked on this journey, not knowing where it would take us. And now we are rounding the last curve. I am currently 35 weeks today!! The countdown is definitely on. We all survived a wonderful Thanksgiving, that went by way too fast. We spent  some nice time wiith my family here on Thursday, and after a little early shopping, we headed up north to be with Chris' family on Friday. I was very much dreading the long car ride, but after being awfully tired from the black Friday shopping, I managed to nap for about half the ride so it wasn't so bad after all. We spent some quality time together with the family, went to see the Blindside, ate like kings, played games, and just visited with each other. It was overall a really good weekend. I took Monday off to recoup, and head to my doctors appointments. First we had an ultrasound, in which baby scored 8 out of 8 (already a straight A student!!), and then we were off to the clinic for some NSTs and a visit with the doctor. Baby is doing great, and measuring right on track. She is approximately 5lbs 9oz (give or take 13oz), and is getting good at practicing her breathing. We got to watch her open and shut her mouth on the ultrasound, which was really neat. I will start weekly appointments now, which should mean only 3 more appointments before we get to meet our little girl.
After the doctor appointment, we met at the hospital to pre-register, and got to take a tour of the labor and delivery floor. Both of our older girls were born at this hospital, but it has been a few years for each of us, so it was exciting to see where everything will take place.
I definitely think the nesting instinct has kicked in. I haven't stopped since returning home from up north. I am trying desperately to get all the Christmas decorations up, presents bought and wrapped, house cleaned, baby stuff washed and ready....etc, etc, etc. My list is never ending, and it seems to take me a lot longer to get stuff done lately. Before we know it, Christmas will be here, and then a few days later, our biggest gift of all will arrive!! We all anxiously await her arrival!!!

32 Weeks

Can't believe we have made it this far, and then again....sometimes it feels like forever!! Had my appointment today. All looked good. Blood pressure is a little higher than normal, but nothing to be concerned with. Baby's heartbeat is 152bpm, and she is measuring right on track. She has been having tons of hiccups lately, and Dr. says that is a good sign that she is practicing breathing.  I got the much waited for H1N1 shot today. I hope I don't have any reactions to that. We scheduled the C-section for Monday December 28th, so it looks like we will have an after Christmas baby, unless she decides to come early. The countdown is ON!!

We all cannot wait to meet her! Life leaves us extremely busy all the way into December, so the time should go fast. We are busy getting her room ready for her. I love seeing all of the baby stuff fill our house, and the girls are excited every day to see what we have brought home or picked out for their little sister.

Our next appointment is scheduled for November 30, and we will have another BPP(ultrasound) and NST's (non-stress tests), just to make sure everything still looks good, but Doctor isn't concerned at this point. Hooray!!

Good News at 30 weeks

Today we finally got the ultrasound we have been waiting for. I was a little nervous, but was excited at the same time. The ultrasound tech said that baby looks absolutely perfect, and earned a perfect score on all the tests they perform!. I had a little scare with my blood pressure, but I think the first time they took it, they either didn't do it right or I was nervous and it was elevated. After they checked it again, it was back to normal, but it sure had me worried for a few minutes. I also did some non stress tests that tracked baby's movements and heartrate, but all looked good.   It seems that Christian will be a little more outnumbered in our house, as baby appears to be a GIRL. Girls will rule 5 to 1 if you count the dog! Poor Chris! Most importantly, baby is completely healthy and right on track. She is measuring in at 3lbs and 5oz, and is a very active little bugger! She is head down now, and moves constantly. We surprised both Holly and Alyssa and bought 2 little pink outfits, put them in gift bags, and had each of them open them up to tell the gender. I think they were surprised as they were both thinking it was going to be a boy, but I know they will be happy to take another little girl under their wing. Still not a definite date for the c-section, but Dr. said that she will be more likely to schedule it in 2 weeks when I go back.
It really feels good to keep coming home with good news. We are all extremely anxious to meet this new addition to our family, but will have to wait just a while longer. In the meantime, we will prepare for the new little princess!

26 Weeks!

Today was a great day indeed! To start the day off, Chris sent me some beautiful flowers at work, for no particular reason. He is so good to me. Not sure what I would do without him.
We had our 26 week appointment today. Everything is going great. I had my gluclose screening at our appointment as well. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, now we just wait to hear the results. Doctor says baby is growing just as "it" should be, and everything is going as planned. (He/She is an active little baby!)  I was hopeful to talk to the doctor into another ultrasound, but my convincing apparently does no good. She wasn't going for my sympathy card again, but when Chris piped in and asked her about another ultrasound (since we are extremely nervous and scared considering our past. ..blah, blah, blah) she agreed to schedule one for us for our next appointment in 4 weeks. So yippee! We are scheduled for a BPP (bio-physical profile, ultrasound), and a NST (non-stress test) on October 28th. We are extremely excited to get to see our little jumping bean one more time before delivery! We also "tentatively" scheduled the C-section for December 28th or 29th, but will discuss this more at my next appointment at 30 weeks. She thought that 26 weeks was still a little early to schedule definitely, but if everything goes well, she will still stick with Dec. 28th or 29th. This is all great news for us. It is hard to believe that we are so fortunate to have come this far without any problems. It sometimes seems surreal, just because we never thought it would happen for us!
Now I think we will start to do some baby shopping! It will be hard to buy many things since we don't know if we should plan for blue or pink quite yet, but we can get a good idea of what we want. And as you all know, I LOVE to shop!
As for our big kids, they are off and plugging away at school. It has been about a month since the start of the new school year, and both girls still like going everyday...so all must be going well! Homework is starting to flow and before we know it, it will be soon time for MEA break. We are all proud of how they both do in school, let's just hope that the good grades and reports continue throughout those teen years that are soon approaching!
Let's hope we can keep posting these good reports!! Love to all. :)

Week 23

Well again, we don't really have much to report. Which, is a good thing. At our last doctors appointment, we were told that the ultrasound revealed that our baby is growing perfectly. Dr. said that baby is in the 50th percentile, which means not too small, and not too big. She doesn't seem worried about the last ultrasound, and said that all was going smoothly. At my next appointment at 26 weeks, I have my diabetes test. Let's hope that goes well too. I am not looking forward to it, as if I remember correctly...it is a horrible thing you have to drink...but I have never had a problem with diabetes before. Baby is very active every day, so that is just a daily reminder that all is going well so far. The doctor didn't really sound too concerned with not being able to see all baby parts on the last ultrasound, and told us that we probably won't have another one unless something starts to go wrong. I guess this baby will be a surprise for all of us!!
Our big kids start school this week. Holly will be in 6th grade (yes I said 6th Grade!!), and Alyssa will be in 3rd grade. (Sniff, Sniff) They are growing up way tooooo fast!! Holly got her first pair of glasses today. She only needs them for reading, which is a good thing, but she looks so grown up wearing them. What happened to my baby girl? Alyssa is moved back to Mankato (let's hope for good!!), and will start back at her old school again on Thursday. I think she is excited to be back with all of her old friends again. We are happy to have her back in town!!
Not much else is new with us. We are awaiting fall to arrive, and as the forecast sounds....it will be right around the corner!

On to Week 21

Not much to update, but just thought I would let everyone know that all is going well. No news from the doctor after the ultrasound, so we assume all is well. I am heading into 21 weeks this week. Past the half way point...whoohooo! I am feeling pretty good. I have had alot of energy, but not quite as much as pre-pregnancy. My belly is starting to pop, but unfortunately I am wearing the belly all around, and not just in front. Hopefullly soon I will have the cute baby bump! My next doctor appointment is in a week and half. I hope to talk to doctor into another ultrasound. We are anxiously waiting to find out if we can up the testosterone in the house....or add to all the estrogen! The girls are anxiously awaiting to find out of they will have a sister or brother too. They have both voted for a little brother, but I am sure will be happy to spoil either. They both told us that if all they get for Christmas is a baby brother or sister, they will be happy.....but we aren't counting on it! We know that they will both make excellent big sisters! Well that's all for now. Short and sweet....which means....no news is good news...right?
~Sam

Dostert Party of 5?

Our family is growing; and well, so is my belly! We are indeed expecting a little one, due around January 5. We are all very excited for this new addition to our family. We have kept quiet for 19 weeks, just to make sure all was going well. Today was the 1st big ultrasound, and it appears that baby is healthy and everything looks good. It is a Dostert baby, so of course... "it"has to be difficult. Baby happens to be head up, and face down; so we didn't really get a good look at anything...including those important parts. The technician thought that maybe the Dr. would want us to go back in a few weeks to see if they could get a better look, but for now.....we plan for yellow and green!
Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. The last few years have been quite the roller coaster, but we keep praying that this time around it will be smoooooth sailing!

It can't be the end of July

Summer is almost over.... Really it hardly even begun. We (as a family) have had a very busy summer. We just got back from camping in Austin, MN. We stayed at a Jellystone Campground and any of you with children can understand there is plenty for the little ones to do. There is even some stuff for us big ones as well. There are pictures on mine and Sam's facebook pages.

For those of you who know me, I try to give credit where it is due. Credit is due to my beautiful wife who keeps me and the family together even though we are running in different directions. She is the one who plans and organizes most family events, the photographer, the web page designer, the packer, among so many things I can't list here. I have known this since the day I met her and she still continues to amaze me.

The kids have had a fun summer. They have went camping a couple times, stayed out at Annie's house, and numerous trips to the pool. They have been doing it all. Holly is now a certified babysitter. She helps Mom and Dad out with Alyssa and keeping the house clean. We have given her more duties like cleaning and cooking and she takes right to it. I am very proud of Holly.

Alyssa is moving back to Mankato and that means I will get to see her much more. She will be attending Monroe again, back with her friends. She has really grown up in the last few months and is making strides to being a great young lady.

As far as other items, the softball season has been fairly successful, but we are struggling quite a bit lately. Not sure if we can get it turned around or not. Hopefully we will as playoffs start next week.

Sam and I are doing great. Last year was very tough and we seem to have pulled through. This year has been a little trying, but that is life. As long as I have family and friends like the ones I have surrounded myself with, we will be good. Thank you all. Sam will be posting something soon, I am sure ;)