Fall Family Fun Day

Today was a nice fall day here in MN.  We first went around looking for Halloween costumes.  Addy wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake before we even left the house...so that was easy :)  Blake on the other hand had no idea what he wanted to be and every idea you gave him, he got excited about and said he wanted to be that!

 

He started off saying he wanted to be a bug...but then he went all over the board, and we went to 4 stores looking for a costume for him.  We settled on a Turtle - it is actually a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, but I'm pretty sure to Blake --- it is just a turtle :) 

 

After that we went to an Apple Orchard/Pumpkin Patch near our home to take some fall pictures, get out of the house, and of course get ourselves some pumpkins for some outside fall decor!

HOW TALL THIS FALL?!!!

 

Almost 3 1/2 feet!

 

It's probably the fact that Mr. Blake needs a haircut that makes him look taller than 3 feet, LOL!  He's got such thick, wavy hair :) 






We purchased some mums at the orchard also.  Given that we moved into our house in the spring, I haven't had any flowers so I am excited for this little bit of color, even if it is just for a month or so!  (Addy being a goof!)



 The place that we went to (Northwoods Orchard) also has a few animals...chickens/roosters, rabbits, and goats. 

Feeding the goats!

 After we walked around for a bit, we went and grabbed a snack (apples w/ caramel and popcorn), then we purchased our items and bought tickets to go on a wagon ride!

Picking out our pumpkins!

What a goof! We tried to tell Addy that we didn't need this little pumpkin...but she said -- with a pout on her face --- "But mommy & daaaaaaddy, this pumpkin needs a good home because it doesn't have a family".

Where does she come up with this stuff??!!! Well, we ended up purchasing this tiny little pumpkin. We are suckers!

 WAGON RIDE TIME!

 

 

Enjoying the ride :)

 

All smiles...

More fun pics!

 

 

And...because who knows how much longer I'll be pregnant...

38 weeks on the dot...2 more weeks and counting!

I really go back and forth on if this is a boy or a girl.  I have cankles like I did when I was pregnant with Addy --- and to me I feel bigger than I did with Blake...more like I felt when I was pregnant with Addalyn.  However, there are definite things that make me think boy as well -- one being the fact that EVERYONE tells me that is what I am having...I am so glad we will know soon!

 

As of tonight, I am also packed for the hospital stay with the exception of last minute things...this week at work I have a just a few meetings and final details to take care of...and then I'll feel comfortable walking away at the end of the week if I don't go back for 3 months!  I know my track record says I'll be working for 3 more weeks...but here's to wishful thinking!

 

I'm really uncomfortable most days...but try to keep telling myself to enjoy this --- it may be the last few weeks of me ever being pregnant so I am trying to go with the flow as much as possible!

 

 

***

 

 

Thanks everyone who has kept my cousin Zack in your thoughts and prayers.  The love has been felt, that's for sure!

Feathers from Heaven

Those of you reading this that are my family, and also friends that are on Facebook have likely heard about my cousin Zack.  Zack fell from a 70 foot cliff on Friday (9/20) while hiking and is currently in Critical Condition.  Zack has suffered from a traumatic brain injury along with other injuries from the fall.

I'm just asking that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  As a mother, I have such mixed emotions going through my head right now  -- with my pregnancy and other things as I pray for the healing of Zack.

My due date is actually Zack and his sibling's birthday (10/13).  Zack is a triplet...and I used to babysit these wonderful kiddos when they were younger.  Now, they are all grown up, Melena just graduating from college and Zack and Luke just a few semesters away from doing the same...

Zack, Melena, and Luke

 Anyway - I know that some of you reading my site have all too much familiarity with what we are going through in my family, given Aaron's cousin Dustin's injuries from his accident back in November of 2005.  That being said, Dust's strength, determination, and outstanding recovery gives me hope and peace as I wait to hear the status of Zack.  (for those of you that may not be familiar with Dustin, he was our best man at our wedding...and at the time he had recently suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident...his recovery from then to now is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and we are so proud and thankful of this!)

Anyway - please pray for my cousin, and if you are interested, updates can be found on him at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zacknelson.

I have an awesome little story that I need to document (and the reason for my title of this blog post)...my grandpa Bob told my aunt Nancy (Zack's mom) that he would send feathers from heaven when he passed.  My entire family often sees feathers and of course think of my grandpa.

Today, when I was walking into work, completely distracted by my thoughts of Zack, I had a huge black feather stop me in my tracks as I had to step over it when I was walking in...then a block later another feather was in my path - and last but not least a 3rd feather was near the entrance of my building on my way into work!

How cool is that??!!!

I sooooo needed that sign from my grandpa that him and my grandma are with us, watching over Zack and our family.  <3 p="">

School Days...it's starting!

Addy started what is called "School Readiness" at school on September 10th.  It's preschool as the world knows it :)

 

She was so excited to start school! 

 

The weekend before it started, I took her to Shopko to get her school supplies.  Thank goodness I went there instead of a place like Target.  The shelves were picked over, which was good in my opinion because she had a hard enough time choosing her items as it was!!

 

I am in T-R-O-U-B-L-E as this girl gets older....she had to match her backpack, her notebook, and her folder, etc.  We spent a lot of time in the school aisle.  Thank goodness she had a small list...I don't know what we would've done if she had to have more folders and notebooks than 1 :)

Debating which folder to get.....decisions, decisions!

The school always has an Orientation/Transportation night for the Early Childhood programs, where they get to see the school, meet the teachers, and check out some cool vehicles.  We got there a bit late, so we only had time to tour the school bus - but the kids loved it. 

 

 

Addy and Blake on Transportation Night!

 

Addy actually rides the bus home from school right now to a friend of mine's house with her kids...I think she LOVES that she gets to do that...makes her feel "big"! She also loves that she is at the same school as her cousins - the other day she got to see Drew during his lunch and saw Brooklynn TWICE in one day -- and Brookie gave her a hug. That was probably the coolest thing about school so far :)

 

Of course we had to take the traditional first day of school pics...our porch would be the perfect spot for these but we were having some work done on it...so our driveway had to do!

Can you believe how big this kid is getting...SERIOUSLY!??

 

Even daddy was able to be home to see her off on her first day --- yeah to that!

My 1st baby...getting way too big!

 Her school is actually from noon to 3:00, so I carpool with 2 friends of mine/moms of some preschoolers.  Chelsea brought the girls to school on the first day:

Addy & Quincee on the first day waiting to go in to the halls of school :) 

She doesn't like to share a lot of details of what she did at school, she says "I don't know" when I ask what she did.  This actually cracks me up a lot, because I KNOW I totally did that to my parents.  I'd offer more details if they didn't ask.  On her first day, I learned more about what she did by eavesdroppoing on her telling my mom about her day (it was my b-day so my mom had stopped by in the evening!!)

The third mom that drives is my friend Amy, who's son Ryan is the same age as well.  She got to get the kiddos this past Tuesday.  I got this pic via a text that put a huge grin on my face:

My goofy girl, with her buds Ryan and Quincee

We've gone back and forth since the day Addy was born on when she'll start kindergarten.  She could go next year, the cut-off is you have to be 5 by September to start.  I get nervous having her young, but in all reality - this girl is SOOOO ready so unless her teachers advise us not to send her...she will be a kindergartener next year.  I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT!

It will be really good if she goes.  In our neighborhood, there will be 4 other kids that are kindergarteners next year.  And, at her new daycare, there will be 2 girls (Quincee being one of them) that are also going to be in kindergarten next year.  So, she already is on the way to knowing lots of peeps!

Addy is pretty social, which reminds me a lot of me.  We were leaving dance class the other night and as we were walkign to her car, she was yelling out bye to all of her friends that she just recently met...makes me happy that she is so friendly and outgoing!

She is has done awesome so far with school.  It makes me happy and sad all at the same time to be starting this time in our lives...why do they get big so fast??!!!!!!

36 Weeks...and R-E-A-D-Y!



As of this last Sunday (9/15) I was 36 weeks...and I'm definitely ready for this baby to come!!!  This summer has been a busy and sometimes an emotional one (isn't it always when you are pregnant!), so I am ready to just be home with my kids for my 12 weeks of leave!  We are in-between daycares right now - so Addy and Blake are at a few different places a week until I am on leave...so I'm ready for them to have some consistency again and just be home with me for a bit!

 

The good news with daycare - we will be starting a new one here in Pine Island after my maternity leave - one that can take all THREE of my kiddos!  It should be a good change, once we get there!

 

I would say this pregnancy has been physically harder for me than the other 2. I think it is because of the kiddos age and I just don't allow myself to rest as much as I did with the other pregnancies. I have had a lot more pain (my sciatic nerve???) that makes me feel uncomfortable a lot. That has been on and off since July. But, as I get bigger, I notice it more!

That being said - I do still really enjoy being pregnant as a whole - those baby moves will get me every time!

 

A birthday baby pose!  (My b-day was on 9/10, so I was 35 weeks/2 days in this pic)

This past Sunday we finally had the opportunity to go through the stuff we've had in our basement and get that organized - which means this mama got to put her nesting needs into full effect!  I was able to locate all our neutral baby clothes and blankets and all the newborn essentials.  They are now washed, folded, and waiting :) 

Addy had a BLAST looking at all the tiny baby clothes and was just loving helping fold and put the items away.  For now, we have the dresser for the baby in our walk-in closet, and the pack-and-play in our room as the bassinet.

We need to finish the bonus room which will be the baby's room + spare bedroom combination - because it is just too big to have occupied by one little being!  Plus, it'll be good to have a place for guests to sleep since we don't plan on finishing our basement right away.  When we have guests, we will have the baby sleep in our room, and with their older siblings as they get bigger. 

Finishing that room will be a winter project for Aaron when work slows down.  Both Addy and Blake were in our room until they were about 3 months old, so it'll work out just fine to finish it throughout the winter (all it needs is trim, paint, and carpet...it is drywalled and taped, etc and electrical is already done). 

I had an appointment yesterday, and all is looking fine.  The baby's heart-rate was in the mid 150s.  It has been that and 140s for most of the pregnancy.  I actually don't have very many appointments this time around - my last one was at 30 weeks, and I will have one 2 weeks from now and then 2 weeks after that...then I will be officially overdue if I make it that far!

My hopes is to not go over this time around (but I'm really not getting my hopes up, I don't have a good record with that)....and if did go over, my wish would for it the baby to be born on 10/16.  You may recall my Grandpa Paul passed away when I was already overdue with Blake...and the anniversary of his death is that day.  I like the idea of the Circle of Life, and think it would be neat to have that date be a birthday.

With that, and the fact that I could go as far as 10/23 if I have to be induced...and I really don't want Blake and this baby to share a birthday (which is 10/22)...I'd like to have the babe before that. 

PLUS --- it is MEA weekend starting on 10/16 (MN Education Association) which means all schools are closed - so I know my family is available to help out with the kiddos if I were in the hospital!!!!

Add all of that up and I'd rather just have the baby the week of my due date (which is the 13th!)

I go back and forth with how I am carrying and feeling and if this is a boy or girl.  Strangers love to tell me all of the time that it is a boy.  So I guess we will see!  Well, that about sums up the happenings for this pregnancy right now...hopefully we'll have some exciting posts coming soon :)