Easter Blessings All Around

We had such a nice Easter weekend.  I took Good Friday off as I had a floating holiday that had to be used by April 1.  Dave met us at Good Friday mass and then we came home and did some cleaning/cooking for the weekend and Dave helped the girls dye Easter eggs (watching Grace and making sure she didn't spill the dye was a full-time job in itself!).  Saturday morning we met Dave's brother and his family at the zoo for breakfast and the big Easter egg hunt!  This kids had a great time; they have SOOOO much fun together.  We were all thankful my sister came along on our adventure; you can never have too many people watching out for 5 little ones!  We came back to our hosue in the afternoon for a late lunch and some cousin play time.  I think they were all super worn out; Grace went to bed shortly after 6pm on Saturday night!  We went to 8am mass this morning with my mom and sister and then everyone came to our house for Easter lunch.  We had dessert at my mom's house and did Easter baskets there.  It was just a really nice weekend.  Now if only I had Monday off to recover!  Here are a few pictures of all the action! 

 Daddy and his girls dying Easter eggs!

 Pretty Madisyn

 Crazy Grace

 Our cute Godson, Jack. 

 Sweet Goddaughter Callie; she LOVED the Easter egg lunch I made them.  She is such a good eater; Dave and I are jealous cause our kids are so picky!

 The Easter Bunny, Auntie Kaci, and Madi-Madisyn has a phobia of things in costumes so this was a big step for her;)

 Gracie practicing to be a big sister; she just LOVES Jack and wants to help so much!

Our two little pretties in their Easter Sunday best; they didn't want to stop for a picture. 

26 Weeks

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain: We might conveniently remove this question from now on:) 

Maternity clothes? All maternity pants and most shirts. 

Stretch marks? I don't think there are any new ones yet but I'm sure there will be soon.

Sleep: Not great lately; I wake up really early and can't go back to sleep; usually between 3 &4.

Best moment this week: Another good week here; got to see little man again on Wednesday and they were able to get the pictures of his heart that they needed; said everything looks great.  We also had a very nice Easter weekend.  

Movement: Lots of movement at bedtime.  He moves more and more all the time which I love but DOES NOT like when I try to let anyone else feel him move and stops almost instantly (except for Daddy usually; he likes to kick dad when we get in bed at night).    

Food cravings: Soda; I know it's not good for me but I wanted a diet coke soooo bad, caffiene free of course. 

Gender: Still a boy!  He proudly showed off his boy parts again on Wednesday but of course covered his little face with his hands. 

Labor Signs: I'm not going to lie, I've been very uncomfortable for about the last week.  My pubic bone hurts soooo bad and makes me waddle soo bad sometimes.  It's like it really hurts after alot of walking/standing but then feels better when I am standing.  I know I probably need to have a little rest and relaxation but there's so much I want/need to get done! 

What I miss: Not having this pain:(

What I am looking forward to: Bed tonight; I am exhausted!
Weekly Wisdom: Baby is the size of a head of lettuce this week.

Milestones: I have my next dr. appointment on April 17th when I will do another glucose test and then we are switch to dr. visits every 2 WEEKS!!!  Time is flying now!

Happy Birthday Papa

 

Happy Birthday to the best Dad and Papa anyone could ever ask for.  I saw a quote recently that pretty much sums it up, "The most important thing a Father can do for his children is to love their mother."  I've always known I was blessed with an amazing dad and I've always known how much my parents love each other, but last September, the day my mom had surgery and we got the news that none of us were expecting, I witnessed what true love really means.  Thank you dad, for loving all of us unconditionally, we love you right back.  Happy Birthday!

 



All boy & breaking in the bathtub

 Here are a few of the clothes from little man's closet.  Do you see a trend here?   Truck, truck, truck, truck, plaid, truck, camo, truck:)  Two words...ALL BOY!

Here's silly big sis trying out the baby bath:)

25 Weeks and bedroom final touches

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure, I can't bring myself to go hop on the scale; I'm scared! 

Maternity clothes? All maternity pants and more and more tops, my belly is starting to sitck out of the bottom of some of my shirts:)

Stretch marks? No new ones.....yet, but the existing ones are more noticable and I feel like my belly is really stretching lately!

Sleep: Good minus Wyatt's 3-4:00am kicking.  Gracie has been sleeping in her bed too, hooray!!!  

Best moment this week: Hard to pick the best; it was a good week all around.  I have a potty trained little girl and she is sleeping in her own bed. 

Movement: Yes, lots at night when I lay down, early in the morning; he's moving enough now that you can actually see my stomach move. He moves ALOT until Grandma Hoverson tries to feel, then he stops:)   

Food cravings: Just eating too much in general!  

Gender: It's a boy!!!

Labor Signs: Nope, feeling good.

What I miss: My hands not falling asleep at night; it's really annoying.

What I am looking forward to: Having 3 days off this week!!!  Going to the dr. and getting another glimpse of our little man (we have to have another ultrasound because he didn't cooperate last time and let them get the pictures of his heart that they needed), Easter egg hunt at the zoo on Saturday with Dave's brother and his family, and of course Easter & making Easter dinner for my family on Sunday
Weekly Wisdom: Baby is the size of cauliflower this week.

Milestones: Getting closer to the 3rd trimester, this pregnancy is going so fast!

 

This "R" is pretty close to the final touch on our bedroom.  I am so happy with how it turned out; just like the vision I had in my head when I bought the plain, black,  'R'.  Thanks to my brother, my mom, and Dave for helping create it! 

Happy Friday

It's not quite 8am yet and the girls are really on top of their quotable moments game this morning.  Hope they bring a smile to your Friday morning like they did mine.  Have a great weekend! 

 

*I was holding Grace this morning when we were dropping Madi off at school.  Grace says, "Wyatt is probably crying."  I asked her why Wyatt would be crying and she said, "because I sittin' on him."  I laughed and said, "what if you're sitting on his head" and Grace, being the sweet big sister she's going to be said, "no Mommy, I not ever do that to Wyatt."  Good to know:) 

 

*Grace gets a treat (usually a sucker or 2) every morning from the crossing guard at Madi's school.  She always has to have one as soon as we get back in the car and when we got back home this morning and I was taking her out of the car I said, "come on baby sucker."  We walked into the house and she said, "you a big sucker Mommy."  Yes dear, I really am. 

 

*My sunglasses broke last night and I was very disappointed since I just got them recently.  I had them laying on the kitchen counter last night, hoping I might be able to fix them.  I picked them up this morning and excitedly said, "Daddy fixed my glasses, he must love me!"  Madi said, "you should know Dad loves you not just because he fixed your sunglasses," and Grace said, "Daddy is your hero!"  Madi also told me, "I think you should give Daddy a big kiss when he gets home."  I think Daddy would agree:)

One of the little comedians...she doesn't photograph well if you couldn't tell:)

Grace Logic

Grace:  Mommy, can my (I) be done?

Me:  Did you eat your strawberries?

Grace:  My lick one.

 

Well then by all means Grace, go ahead and be done with your lunch and eat that peanut butter cup you want:)

Please consider

If you are eligible, I ask that you please consider participating in this study.  They are looking for participants all over the country, but especially in WI.  We all know someone who has or has had cancer; please do it for them.  I'm participating for my amazing mom and Dave's Grandparents, John and Lori Reed.

http://www.cancermw.org/cps3/NEWisconsin/newisconsin.html

24 Weeks

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: 13-14 lbs. Thank goodness it's almost nice enough to start walking to school again.   

Maternity clothes? All maternity pants and more and more tops, my belly is starting to sitck out of the bottom of some of my shirts:)

Stretch marks? No new ones.....yet, but the existing ones are more noticable and I feel like my belly is really stretching lately!

Sleep: Wyatt is VERY active at 4:00am usually; this morning I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.  Oh well.   

Best moment this week: Our bedroom re-do and we also had Madi's teacher conferences Thursday.  Of course she got a wonderful report and her sweet teacher brought us a baby gift; she absolutely goes above and beyond as a teacher!  Oh, and I think it's safe to say that Gracie is finally potty trained!!!  I put her in undies on Tuesday and after two VERY LONG DAYS of being in the bathroom more than I ever care to again, I think she's got it.  Not sure why I didn't do this 6+ months ago???

Movement: Yes, lots at night when I lay down, early in the morning; he's moving enough now that you can actually see my stomach move.    

Food cravings: Not really any cravings but we have been going through like an entire carton of strawberries every day lately. 

Gender: It's a boy!!!

Labor Signs: Nope, feeling good.

What I miss: My hands not falling asleep at night; it's really annoying.

What I am looking forward to: Putting the finishing touches on our room and Wyatt's room, we are close on both! 
Weekly Wisdom: Baby is the size of a canteloup this week!!! No wonder my stomach feels like it's constantly growing lately! 

Milestones: Getting closer to the 3rd trimester!

Some call it lucky, we call it blessed & makeover madness

 Happy St. Patty's Day from our two little Leprechauns; they enjoyed green pancakes, eggs, and milk for breakfast today:)

  The little crazy Leprechaun, this is one wild kid lately! 

 We made this cute little treat for Madi's teacher; unfortunately, Madi stayed home sick on Friday but we made fresh cookies today and replaced the ones in it...Daddy doesn't mind the old ones:)

We also made these for our two cute little neighbor ladies.  We're not Irish but we'll use any excuse we can to make some fun holiday treats!

 

Makeover Madness at the Reed House!!!

 Here's Dave and my bedroom makeover!  I am in LOVE with it.  We still have a few little things to finish up but for the most part it's done.  We have a work in progress that will hang above our bed; my dad is helping me with part of it now. 

 From the other side of the room; hard to see with the glare from the sun, but my mom made our curtains for us; she is the best. 

 As you can see, this still needs a little work.  I need a frame for the picture on the top right and I also want to get some mini clothespins to hang pictures on the cute frame my brother put chicken wire in for me. 

 You can get a little better idea of the cute curtains here; those pictures are the "guest book" from our wedding.  Fun to look back at them all the time. 

 Just added this decal and magnetic strip to hang pictures, etc. on in Wyatt's room

 "TRUCK"  hangers; planning on hanging some cute little boy hats on it.  My mom is also woking on the curtains for his room:)

We also added these cute little removable stickes to Wyatt's dresser. 

Everything is coming together and we (as in Dave) are really getting alot done.  We've also added shelving to our linen closet.  I think for the moment I am out of projects for Dave to do:)

 

Being a big sister is hard work

We've really been laying it on thick with Grace lately; telling her that she's about to be a big sister so she should really stay in her bed all night and she should really just get this potty training thing over with.  Now, in her defense, she has been doing GREAT in both areas.  In fact, she woke up during the night on Sunday to come and tell me she had to go potty; she was dry when we went in and she did go and the best part...she went back into her own bed when she was done-all by herself!  She came in my room the next morning and we talked about how awesome she's doing sleeping in her bed all night and she said, "when am I going to be done being a big sister."  Sorry girlfriend, being a big sister is a forever kind of job:)

23 Weeks and a sneak peek of little man's room!

How far along? 23 weeks 

Total weight gain: I'll say 12 lbs still but after all the pizza I ate today, I probably gained a few.  Three words for you...BBQ.  BRISKET.  PIZZA. 

Maternity clothes? All maternity pants and more and more tops, my belly is starting to sitck out of the bottom of some of my shirts:) 

Stretch marks? No new ones.....yet, but the existing ones are more noticable and I feel like my belly is really stretching lately!

Sleep: Last night was actually one of the better nights of sleep I've had in a long time.   

Best moment this week: Dave painting Wyatt's room, I LOVE it!!!

Movement: Yes, lots at night when I lay down, early in the morning, and if I lean against the counter at work.   

Food cravings: Cheese curds

Gender: It's a boy!!!

Labor Signs: Nope, feeling good.   

What I miss: My hands not falling asleep at night; it's really annoying. 

What I am looking forward to: Gettting some finishing touches for little man's room, putting up some stuff on his walls and moving onto our room next!
Weekly Wisdom: Baby is the size of a grapefruit this week and boy does it ever feel like it sometimes; he sits on the right side of my stomach and most of the times my belly is so lop-sided that it looks like there's a grapefruit on one side. 

Milestones: Over half way there!

 Here's a sneak peak of Wyatt's bedroom.  I am absolutely in LOVE with the color and how it turned out; Daddy did an awesome job.  On a side note, I have had this boy bedroom set for years and have been collecting things to go with it for years.  Can't wait to get it all finished!

Other side of his bedroom.

Oh, and some cute shamrock jello and shamrock sprinkle/chocolate chip cookies for Madi's lunch this St. Patty's Day week:)

From the mouths of babes

Grace and I were out and about today and at both places we stopped, Grace, being the little fashionista she is, had comments about what two different guys were wearing.  I was mortified and hoped neither had heard her innocent little comments but did have to chuckle a little.  First, we were at the post office and there was a gentleman in front of us who was wearing pajama type pants and moccasin/slipper type shoes.  Grace points him out and says, "mommy, that man is wearing his pajamas."  Next we stopped at Dairy Queen to satisfy my cheese curd craving and a young, high school age, boy was standing at the soda machine.  He was wearing "skinny" jeans that were a reddish/mauve color.  Again, Grace pointed him out and said, "Mommy, that boy is wearing pink pants," then giggled.  I told Dave about it later and he was proud because he is a firm believer that boys should not wear skinny jeans and especially not colored ones...period.  Never a dull moment with this little girl:)

22 weeks, 3 days

How far along? 22 weeks, 3 days 

Total weight gain: About 12 lbs

Maternity clothes? All maternity pants and more and more tops, I really seemed to have "popped" this week.  I had several people at work look at me and seem shocked that I was pregnant and they hadn't noticed. 

Stretch marks? No new ones.....yet, but the existing ones are more noticable and I feel like my belly is really stretching lately!

Sleep: Still not great.  We moved the girls into the same room in hopes that it would help Grace sleep better.  She did one night and was back in our room last night. 

Best moment this week: Seeing our sweet little boy!

Movement: Yes, Daddy got to feel Wyatt kick on February 26th.  Last night I could actually see my belly move too.   

Food cravings: Cheese curds, I think Grace and I might have to have lunch at DQ today:)

Gender: It's a boy!!! 

Labor Signs: I've been having back/hip pain but it's definitely not labor, just self induced nesting pain:)  See below, you'll understand.   

What I miss: My hands not falling asleep at night

What I am looking forward to: Getting our little guy's bedroom ready and also re-doing our bedroom.  I told Dave that I am nesting already and he told me, "I'm fully aware of that dear."  He knows me all too well:)

Weekly Wisdom: Baby is the length of a spaghetti squash this week and we were told he is in the 83rd percentile already, weighing in at 1 lb. 2 oz.  The dr. looked at Dave and said she understood why we had such big babies:) 

Milestones: Over half way there!

This is the source of my back and hip pain.  These are all the shoes that the girls have outgrown.  Since finding out we are having a little guy, I got very ambitious over the weekend and decided it was time to go through all the girl stuff and start selling/giving to family.  Well, it's going to be a MUCH bigger project than I anticipated, good thing I have a few months to get it done! 

If you have a sister you know

I found this in one of Madi's notebooks today and it made me laugh.  It says, "If you have a little sister you know how bosy and naughty they are."  I also love her drawing of Grace saying, "Sissy will you color with me."  Asking Madi to color with her is pretty bossy and naughty afterall:)

And.....we breathe

Up until yesterday, I was struggling with allowing myself to get really excited about this pregnancy.  As cold-hearted as that might sound, let me explain.  I still have a huge amount of anxiety and worry when it comes to this baby and everything being "okay".  If I don't feel movement for a while, I worry.  If I have a pain, I worry.  There has not been anything during my pregnancy that should give me reason to worry as much as I do but until I saw him on that monitor yesterday and they said he, and the ultrasound, looked great, I was a nervous wreck.  The other part of my anxiety has more to do with guilt.  I was feeling really guilty about allowing myself to get excited about this little guy when, in the back of my mind, all I could think about was the fact the baby we lost should've been born within the next month. 

I wish there was a way to let go of the worry and guilt but I'm not sure if the worry will go away until I'm holding my sweet Wyatt in my arms.  As for the guilt, I don't know if that will ever go away.  I am certain that God knew the stress that was about to overcome me, finding out my mom was sick, when we found out we were expecting the baby we lost.  He decided rather than letting me get too far along and then losing the baby, that He would take the baby in His arms and care for it because He knew my body wasn't going to be able to.  For that, I am thankful but it doesn't take the hurt away. 

So, for now, I am going to focus on this sweet little boy growing inside me (in the 83 percentile already at 1lb. 2 oz:) and be thankful for the two precious little girls that I have here with me and just take life one day at a time.