36 Weeks

Three weeks from today. . .
. . . our little one should be here!!!

The waiting will be over!

I know that our lives are about to take a big change and that there is a lot of exhaustion in my near future, but (in the words of Bella) I am just so excited! I cannot wait to meet this little one and get an answer to the ultimate question. . . BOY or GIRL!!! We'll find out soon!

Andy played photographer this weekend and captured some nice belly shots. I'm the usual photo-taker in our family so I feel a little weird having so many photos of myself in one post. . . but I think that Andy did a great job and wanted to share.

The indoor photos were taken in our bedroom. And then we headed outside for a few more.I have become quite the heat box lately. I am literally always hot. Now I understand why so many women have told me how lucky I am to have the baby at the beginning of summer. The air conditioner will be blasting cool air, Andy will grab a fleece blanket to warm up in, and I am just sitting there.

Fanning myself.

I usually have to grab a sweater when grocery shopping because the air (especially in the frozen/refrigerator sectin) is so cold. Lately, I have found those spots to be very comfortable. . .

. . . while walking through them in a tank top.

Today it actually feels like spring (not summer). The first day in quite a while.

I am so grateful.

35 Weeks

This is what Memorial Day Weekend looked like for us.
Lots of time at Miss Nancy's (a friend from church) pool! We were there on Sunday and Monday.

Bella can now swim with just the floaties on her arms - though she still prefers to have an extra tube around her.

I discovered the glory of weightlessness while floating in the water. This is the first time that I've been hugely pregnant during the summer months and swimming was such a relief on my back and pretty much every other muscle that has been achey these days.

Here I am in all my glory. As of my OB appt. yesterday, I've gained 27 pounds so far, which is keeping right in line with my other two pregnancies. When people ask when the baby is coming - now that it's June - I can say, "at the end of this month!" CRAZY!!!!

33 weeks

Less than six weeks from our c-section date. I don't think reality has really sunk in that this baby is coming so soon. Preparations have officially begun, however. I cleaned out some drawers and the closet in Graydon's room (he and baby will be sharing for a while) and another crib has been added (we're not ready to put Graydon in a big boy bed). With this being our third time around, there isn't really much to do. . . which is nice.

I am starting to feel very pregnant. . . and clumsy. I am dropping things, bumping into things, forgetting things, etc. Physically, my lower back is feeling the pressure and I'm tired a lot. But, I really don't want to complain too much. This pregnancy, like my others, has been great and I think I'm feeling as good as can be expected. Pumpkin is moving around all the time and all over the place and I treasure every little moment. It is absolutely my favorite part of pregnancy and I'm going to miss it.

I added a little poll. What do you think. . . boy or girl? Here's all the info I can give you:
- heartrate has been in the 140s & 150s
- baby is just as active as Graydon was
- I've had two baby dreams, both times the baby was a girl

If I was forced to guess, I think my lean is towards a girl. Keep in mind, though, that I've been wrong with both Bella and Graydon. I thought that Bella was a boy and up until the last month of my pregnancy with Graydon, I thought that he was a girl. I know some moms get that strong intuition, but I don't seem to be one of them.

Go ahead and vote! I'm curious to see what the different guesses are.

Me and my. . .

THREE kids!!!!
C-section is scheduled! If all goes as planned, then Pumpkin will be out of my tummy and in my arms exactly two months from today.

Time to start making some baby preps around here.

Breakfast this morning

Had my glucose test for Gestational Diabetes today. I am not a fast drinker, so to chug this thing down in five minutes was quite a feat for me- especially with my gag reflex in high gear and a burning feeling in my throat.

I find out the results on Friday.

Baby is sounding good. Heartrate was 140 bpm and I am measuring 28 weeks exactly.

I start going in every two weeks now and we will be scheduling the c-section this week.

28 weeks.

The first week of my last trimester.

The beginning of the end of this pregnancy.

(photo courtesy of Bella)

If you're looking at this picture and the words "big" or "huge" come to your mind. Feel free to keep that to yourself. Oh, and definitely do not say the word "twins" to me. I got that comment yesterday. It didn't make me happy.

A word to the wise: never use those words in reference to a woman. Even a pregnant one. We really don't want to hear it. "Cute belly" and "you're all belly" make us feel so much better.

Thanks. :)

Lots to celebrate!!!

The Olympics. . . Valentine's Day. . . Chinese New Year. . . there is a lot to be enjoyed and celebrated this weekend. Before all of these, however, our household is rejoicing in a good report from our ultrasound on Thursday!

With each pregnancy, I am cautiously optomistic as I head in to this ultrasound. While everything seems to be progressing just fine, I have heard numerous accounts of women heading into this ultrasound and receiving a blow that something major is wrong with the baby. I try to prepare myself as much as I can for the possibility of a complication (though I don't know if you can ever be fully prepared for such news); but am always relieved to hear of no red flags. The same tech that performed the ultrasound with Graydon did this one as well. Though it would have been nice for her to explain things as she went about her business, her silence did not concern me this time as it did with Graydon.

Before I show you the pics from Thursday, here is what Pumpkin looked like on Dec. 3rd. I was 9 weeks, 3 days pregnant at the time. In case you can't tell, the head is on the bottom.All of these ultrasound photos are photos of photos, which makes them less clear. We received a new printer which does a nice job at printing pictures, but it doesn't have a scanner.

Here are the newest pics! These are from 19 weeks, 3 days.

This one is my favorite.This is my second favorite. Legs and leg bones.Hand and arm. I think this was supposed to be a face shot. . . but it didn't turn out.And, here is what I look like at 19 weeks, 3 days. I think I am carrying this one a little higher than I did Bella and Graydon.And, since I'm comparing, this baby seems much quieter than Graydon. I've probably been feeling movements for 3-4 weeks now, though I have not had that defining moment yet with this pregnancy was it was like BAM! that's the baby. I'm getting more light flutters and swooshes, if that makes sense. I'm pretty sure that's how it was with Bella. Graydon was very active and often made his presence known. I hope this means that Pumpkin will be more of a mellow, laidback baby. This Momma can dream, right!

Onto other things. . .

When the number of brown bananas in the freezer gets to about 5, then it's time to make banana bread. Bella loves baking projects. Here is the little Betty Crocker.It always turns out so great when she helps me - probably because that batter really gets stirred and beaten when Bella gets to it.



We DVR'd the opening ceremony for the Olympics on Friday and then watched it on Saturday morning, since it was on pretty late. Bella got into the Olympic spirit.While the athletes from each country entered the arena, we marched around the house waving our Olympic flags and blowing our flutes (straws). This was Bella's idea.

Graydon celebrated in his own way.Looks like he missed the lesson on flag etiquette. Poor little guy has another cold and he's teething. . . which means that he constantly has snot coming out of his nose and drool coming out of his mouth. He's a mess these days, but oh so cute.His fourth bottom tooth along with a top molar broke through about a week and a half ago. The other three molars are just below the surface and will hopefully make their appearance soon.



"It's Happy Valentine's Day!" Bella said this more than once today. She was very excited.

Bella's gift: Valentine candy and some lip gloss.There was a sucker on the other end of these lips.Graydon's gift: sippy cups and Gerber graduates fruit snacks.Andy's gift: candy bar bouquet. (Bella painted the vase). Andy surprised me with new bedding for our bedroom. We've been on the hunt for a new look and he found something really nice. . . and it was a great price! Can't wait to see how it all looks when we get it set up! He also lined up babysitters for earlier in the day so that the two of us could get some alone time together. We had such a nice time.

Tonight we're going to enjoy a chilled (non-alcoholic) beverage together and watch some Olympics. Sounds wonderful to me!

Happy Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year!

Yuckies!

It seems that we just can't get healthy around here. Bella has a cough that's been plaguing her for over a month. It doesn't seem to bother her at all, but sounds just awful. This week, Graydon got slammed with a cold. Icky cough, runny nose, interrupted sleep, and very grumpy baby. He was such a handful this week. Every little thing would set him off. Lots of screaming and crying. I did my best to console him, but he wore me out. By the end of the week, I was feeling so edgy and irritable. He was waking up every few hours at night, which did not help matters. I think I reached my breaking point on Thursday and then, miraculously, that evening he slept from 7:30pm - 6:30am. I gave him his paci at that point and then he further slept until 8:30 when I had to wake him up so that we could get going to Bella's ballet class. It always seems that the kids like to sleep in on days where we actually have somewhere to go. I think that God knew I could not handle one more day of the cranky Graydon or I would seriously lose. my. mind. The past three days have been much, much better. Thank you Lord!

Bella drew a picture of our family on her doodle. Daddy is on the left, then Graydon, Pumpkin (our baby's nickname), me, and her. Bella is very excited about the baby. . . but only of it's a girl. She only refers to the baby as "she" or "her" or "sister". Her logic makes sense. "I already have a brother, now I want a sister." So I countered her with Graydon's point of view, he already has a sister and may want a brother. Bella's response: "How about this baby can be a girl and then you can have one more that is a boy for Graydon." We'll see Isabella!
Another attempt at catching Graydon walking. I seem to be having a hard time with this as here is another blurry, out-of-focus walking picture. He's up to about 20 steps and can even turn corners. He'll just take off on his own - arms outstretched, steps wobbly. But he gets around. It is so cute and he is so proud.

Miss Bella had her four-year check-up on Tuesday morning. She is now 40.5 inches tall (75th percentile) and 35 pounds (50th percentile). I didn't read up about what to expect at this visit, so I hadn't prepared myself or Bella for the four shots plus a finger prick that she'd be getting. She was so brave. The finger prick must have hurt, but she didn't cry. Then the first two shots went in one arm. She whimpered an "ow" as tears filled her eyes. The next two shots on the other arm really did her in. Big time crying. I don't blame her. That was a lot. She did receive a certificate of bravery for a free kid's meal from Chick-Fil-A that we used the next day. I also treated her to ice cream after our visist. Prior to receiving her shots, Bella was asked to draw a person. That went well as they are one of her favorite art subjects. She also had her first hearing and vision test. Things look really well for our girl. Everything came back normal and healthy. Yay!!!

I had a baby appointment on Friday. It was a very quick, in-and-out appointment - which I like very much. Everything is looking good with me and the baby and we heard a very strong heartbeat, which is always a joy. I think I may have started feeling some movements, but nothing that I can be sure of. I'm still waiting for the very obvious kicks and flutters. I'll be 17 weeks tomorrow!

Wisconsin visit

We pulled out of the church parking lot around 1 pm on Sunday afternoon and arrived at my parent's house around 5 pm Monday evening. All in all, the road trip went well; though all of us were so happy to finally reach our destination!!!

First off, I have two pics that I stole from Jodi's blog. Here's Bella with her little cousin, Ava.My turn with the little beauty. And of course, Ava and Graydon. He was pretty fascinated with her pony tail for quite a while.Doggy smooches!!! Getting reaquainted with Hurley.Donnie and Auntie Mary! I could not get him to keep those fingers out of his mouth. Graydon had this fun little game with Uncle Scott. He would look up and stare at him for a few seconds. Then he'd turn his head towards us and laugh. Then he'd return his eyes toward Uncle Scott and give another serious stare. This went on for a few minutes. I laughed so hard there were tears in my eyes. Uncle Andy and AvaOur two kiddos in the ball pit. This was a very popular toy. Little Miss Ava Snuggle time with Auntie Lori . . . . . . and a sleepy Grandpa. Graydon was content as could be - which surprised me since he never sits still with me anymore.Party time! Graydon turned one while we stayed with my parents. Auntie Lori and Ava are ready to celebrate! I made a little banner of Graydon through the year. And decorated some noisemakers that unfortunately didn't make any noise.Cupcake toppers! And there's the birthday boy!!! "Happy Birthday to you"Cupcake time! He wasted no time getting right to it. All cupcaked out. He managed to keep his face (besides the mouth area) rather clean. His lap and pants were another story. The next day, we had the rest of the family over for a little birthday party.More cake and singing!! Laughing with GrandmaThe following day, we celebrated our family ChristmasThe kids came back with quite the loot!Bella played the Wii for the first time. She loved golf but got pretty frustrated with bowling. (And isn'st Auntie Lori cute in Bella's tiara). Our week at the Benetti House came to an end.

Kilps House here we come. . .

One of Bella's nightly rituals was making popcorn with Grandpa. She did not let him forget about it either.All bundled up! It seems we can always count on lots of snow when we're back in Wisconsin!Auntie Laura was nice enough to take the kids outside.Monkey pile on Andy! Daddy and Bella Our attempt at a photo with all five cousins. I probably took at least 20 shots and this was the best I got. Grady Boy did not sit still for long. Even here, he's just about to take off. Uncle Tom with the big kids.Silly gooses! Before we knew it, our vacation had come to an end and it was time to head back east. We must have arrived in Pennsylvania shortly after a snowfall, because we had miles and miles that looked like this. It was beautiful!There are lots of mountains to drive through in PA which means lots of tunnels to go under. Something must have happened inside one of the tunnels (we still don't know what), because we got stuck in traffic and backed up for quite some time. We eventually got the kids out of their seats since it was clear we weren't going anywhere any time soon. They must have been out of their seats for five minutes when suddenly the traffic started moving again. I scrambled pretty quick to get them both buckled in as we finally made our way through the tunnel. As good as it felt to get away, it felt wonderful to get home, sleep in our own beds, and quit living out of suitcases. We miss everyone, but it's good to get back into a little routine again.

I didn't take Graydon's teddy bear with us, so here is his 12-month photo, a few days late. This was by far the hardest one to take. As soon as I put him in the chair, he started rocking in it. That was a first. I couldn't get him to stop moving. Here he is mid-rock.Then he started grabbing his bear and hugging it to the point where I could only see his hands and feet. This was the best I could do. . . and he's still a little blurry because he's moving so much. Typical one-year-old, I guess.

Graydon took his first step on January 2nd. The most steps I've seen him take so far is 16, though it's usually about 6-8 on average before he ends up on his hands and feet. This photo isn't the greatest, but it's the only one I have of him walking so far.

While we were gone, Graydon made a big announcement for us. In case you can't read that, here's a closer look. Now, in case you need translation like much of our family did, I'll make this easy: I'm pregnant! Baby #3 is due July 5, 2010. We are very excited about the new addition to our family. We kept this a secret for quite a while because we wanted to tell our families in person at Christmas. It feels good to finally be able to share our news!!! The Kilps house is going to be very lively this summer!