FYI - Computer Drama

Heads Up!

Our computer DIED! I am working on repairing/replacing it, but we are without email and blog posts. Hang in there. We'll be back up and running at some point. I'm using a friend's computer to type this. I didn't want anyone thinking that our lack of posting meant we were having the baby or anything. :)

Mikey

Another day, another appointment

As I am nearing 37 weeks it was time for my weekly trip to the doctor. I've officially gained the same amount of weight that I gained with Aubrey at delivery. This makes sense since Mike looked at some old pictures of me and assured me I am more like 39 weeks pregnant. Ahhh, thanks honey! My doctor is very laid back and didn't even do an internal check today. She said she usually waits until 38 weeks before getting that personal with her patients. Those are my words, but you get the picture. The nurse did say it looks like I am starting to drop, so maybe this baby will make her debut a little early. Your guess is as good as mine! I was starving when I left so I gorged on Taco Bell on my way home. Oh well, there goes my weight for next week!

Mike's a rocker and Aubrey's ready...

How do I put two completely unrelated topics in the same post? Well, read along and you will find out.

I thought I would include a picture that should have gone with a previous post about me playing guitar and singing in the band at church. Here's the photo that Rachel took. She felt like the paparazzi so she only took the one. Please excuse the expression on my face. I was really into it...and no, I wasn't even singing that part into the microphone...on purpose.

In other news, we had the baby shower that FirstBank threw for us yesterday at Serenity and Ryan's house. A special thanks to them for their hospitality and to everyone who came and made us feel so loved and special.

We made out like a couple of bandits, and by we, I mean Ainsley Grace AND Aubrey Joy. Yes, you read that right. Apparently, there is a protocol for buying the older sibling something at the shower. So Aubrey made out with a cool fairy book and a talking Uniqua doll from the Backyardigans and a homemade little tule princess skirt with a hair clip.

What we didn't realize was that Aubrey's favorite gift turned out to be our new sit and stand double stroller. How cute is this picture?

I think Aubrey is quite ready and excited for the arrival of her little sis. I know Rachel and I are.

25 days to go...hopefully!

I tried on three pairs of shoes yesterday before I could find one that my swollen feet would fit it!

A few gripes for the weekend

Gripe 1: Aubrey wet her bed this morning. What? She is potty trained? Nope... she just peed so much that it went through her diaper, sleeper, blanket, and sheet. This was at 5am. I sleepily changed her diaper and jammies, laid a blanket down on the sheet and decided she could keep the urine soaked blanket. After all it was just part of it. What are the chances that she is going to suck on that part? I know, I know, but I tried to give her a replacement blanket in the dark, same brand and blanket, but she knew. That kid is freaky sometimes. Needless to say, the household has been up since 5am. Apparently that was enough sleep for her. She fell asleep on the couch at 10:12am. I carried her upstairs, which says a lot in my condition, and laid her in bed. Nope, she freaked out and tried to climb out of her crib. So back downstairs we went. I tried a bit later and explained that she would have to cry for five minutes before I would come back... I came back. I just gave her some food and took her back upstairs at 12:00, basically her normal nap time. This time I told her that I wouldn't be coming back until 2:00 no matter how hard she cried so she should just go to sleep. It's been five minutes and she is up there laughing away. Ugh! We have a baby shower this afternoon and want her to be precious Aubrey, hopefully she will be.

Gripe2: It has been raining all morning. This makes me happy. It reminds me that most of the snow is behind us and I get to look forward to several nice months. Aubrey and I went to Target super early this morning and got her some sandals and then stopped by the bank for fish tank time and donuts with daddy. As I was driving home, about a three hundred foot elevation change, the rain slowed down and drifted into my window. Hmmm... it was slushy! So I called Mike and told him we had a rain snow mix going on, but the rain was winning. Twenty minutes later... huge snowflakes were falling in our backyard. Did I mention that yesterday was the first day since mid-December that we had a snow free property? My gripe is with the weather people. They said rain all day for Douglas County (that's us) 46 degrees for Castle Rock (still us) and snow over 8000 feet. Ummm... we live at 6500 feet! I know the snow will be melted within a few hours, it just wasn't something I wanted to see today. Oh yeah, our baby shower is suppose to be outside, so poor Serenity will have a lot of people in her house. It's actually Mike's shower thrown by his co-workers. How cute is that? I'm sure he will be posting about that sometime this weekend.

Dr. Appointments

Well, I had two doctor appointments this week. The first one was my weekly check-up with my OB. It was supposed to be my first internal evaluation, but Dr. Jones decided to skip it due to some information from my pregnancy with Aubrey. It might have been nice if the nurses knew that so I didn't have to sit in the room undressed for 15 minutes reading a magazine. It felt kinda creepy to be reading a magazine with my pants off! Everything was normal and I will continue to have weekly appointments until our daughter is born.

The second appointment was with my PCP. I have had an earache since last Wednesday and it is driving me crazy. It is uncomfortable to chew mostly, but I am aware of it all the time. I was hoping my OB could check it out while I was there to keep me out of a germy waiting room, but no such luck. So Aubrey and I spent the afternoon at a doctors office here in town. They had a great play area for Aubrey so I was able to get through some of the paperwork with out incident. (It was my first time at the office). But, she soon saw that I had paper and a pen and wanted to help. One torn form later and entire box of raisins and the paperwork was complete. It turns out that I do have trapped fluid in my ear, but no infection. Since I am so far along in my pregnancy, the doctor was hesitant to treat me medically. So my prescription is to chew a lot of gum and hard candy to open up the ear thingy so the fluid can drain out. Who knew you could get swimmers ear from taking a shower?

St. Patty's Day

For whatever reason this was a big deal while I was growing up. We would all go to my grandma Alice's house for dinner. Eventually, the tradition continued with immediate family at my parents house as it was just too difficult for my grandma to entertain anymore, but March 17th is a special day to me. It doesn't signify the snakes being ran out of Ireland or anything, it just signifies a fun meal and time with family and friends. This year we spent it with family here in Colorado. The Anderson's came over for dinner and we had a great time. It is so nice to see Aubrey interacting more with their daughters. She is learning to "keep up" and enjoyed just following them around for hours. It was also nice for us adults to catch up too. We only live a half hour away, and evenings like this make me want to make a bigger effort to get together more often. We let the girls eat at their own table which was pretty comical. There was rarely a time when one of the girls wasn't needing milk, or just checking out what us adults were doing. We eventually tied Aubrey down to get some dinner in her, but it was fun watching them all so independent and becoming kids. Well, Megan already made that transition, but it was neat to see it from Zoe and Aubrey too.

A few things that you shouldn't do four weeks before your due date

Thing One: Call you brother and sister-in-law to see how they are adjusting to the new baby. Mind you, Kevin was extremely positive and thrilled to have a baby again. But being pregnant, I heard things differently. It made it all seem very real all of a sudden. I had forgotten that sometimes the baby doesn't fall back asleep right away after a night feeding. Then I got this horrid image in my head of swaddling and shushing Aubrey on the edge of the bed while trying to rock her back to sleep at 3am. Then giving up after what seemed like hours and handing her off to Mike, only to do it all again a few hours later. Am I ready for this?

Thing Two: Watch Bringing Baby Home on TLC. I never watch the baby shows, but for some reason I was drawn to it. Maybe it was because the parents were young Christians and leaving to be missionaries in a few months, or maybe it was because the only other thing on TV was Days of Our Lives, but I watched it yesterday and Mike did too! Holy cow, babies are really small, and so are their diapers. I cried through most of the show as they fought to find a rhythm in their day and as the mother struggled with breast feeding. Am I ready for this?

Thing Three: Reread all of your books on labor and delivery! Wanting to be prepared, I started skimming the pages on false verses real labor, stages of labor, complications... You get the picture. Surprise, surprise, I just kept thinking... Am I ready for this? Again? Well, ready or not, here she comes. I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to fly by!

Who needs a sandbox?

Wow, usually I just have mommy hold the rocks for me. This bucket thing is pretty neat!
Lift the rocks, dump the rocks, lift the rocks, dump the rocks. I think I can... I think I can...
Mommy! Why are you bothering me. Can't you see I'm working here! Sheesh!

thank heaven for little girls...

Before I put Aubrey down for her nap, I hauled all of her outgrown clothes into the hall so I can start the process of rewashing and getting everything ready for her sister. Oh my goodness, I had two 18 gallon totes and five diaper boxes full of stuff. I also have an entire closet and dresser full of her 12 month stuff that she has been transitioning out of. I have never been so happy that I am having another girl! That's not entirely true, but you know what I mean. Wish me luck, I have a lot to do before that nap ends!

How Mikey spent his day off

We got out of bed at 8:03 when Aubrey woke up (or was at least loud enough to get our attention).

8:03-9:00 Mike gathered up all of the rest of our tax information for our accountant (his dad) and got that all squared away.

9:00-9:17 Showered and got ready to leave

9:17-11:45 Drove 50 miles each way to Broomfield to pick up the baby's crib. While on the road he answered one call about our taxes and several from the centralized loan department about a closing he has later this week.

11:45 We arrive home and Mike is on the phone with the bank yet again trying to clear up this loan drama. (He's giving the loan not getting one, so it is work on his day off).

12:00-1:00 A rushed lunch and putting together the crib.

1:00-3:45 Mike washed both cars while I organized the garage. He then cleaned the garage floor that had winter filth all over it.

3:45-4:00 Veggies and dip break

4:00-4:45 We took Aubrey for a walk to the local school so she could play on the kindergarten playground.

4:45-5:30 Mike pulled out the six splinters he got on the way to the school while I watched a reality show.

5:30-5:50 Dinner

5:50-6:15 Mike raked all the areas in the backyard where snow has melted. (It's suppose to help your grass come back).

6:15-7:00 Mike checked a few emails

7:00-7:20 He gave Aubrey a bath and got her ready for bed while I took a shower.

7:20-7:45 We watched a little more TV

7:45 Put Aubrey to bed

8:00-9:00 We started a movie, The Departed.

9:00-? Mike has been dealing with a security problem at the bank and had to go down there to see if he can arm the system properly. Mike called at 9:56. The cleaning crew is there so there is nothing he can do. What a great way to spend your late evening...

Ahhh... what a relaxing day off. Here are some pictures form the park and one of the new crib. See, I'm dwelling on the positives. That's pretty impressive at 35 weeks!

Look out world! Here I come. Check out the wind blown look, so stylish!This was on the big kids playground. After one trip with Mike she gave it a go alone.
A little skeptical, but willing to give it a try.
Having a blast... and loving most of every minute.
For our little girl. It was pretty crazy realizing she will be sleeping in this bed next month. Getting the room together sure makes it real!

Musical update from Mikey

In defense of Mike's last minute Saturday afternoon plans from the previous post...

About a month ago at our new church, Plum Creek Community, an announcement was made asking for people to audition for the new worship team. I had my reservations about even applying. My last two attempts to offer my "talents" at RockHarbor in the OC ending without being selected. I still felt like I could play and sing so decided to give it the ole college try again. The draw really comes from wanting to be involved in what the Lord is doing at this church. There is a fever there that you WANT to catch. Our pastor, Doug, is a passionate, yet humble leader, the kind of guy you would want to emulate.

At any rate, I was given the opportunity to "try-out" last night during their practice and was honored to be able to play with the team this morning. So I saddled up the ole 12-string and headed to church (the movie theater) at 6:45am which mind you was really 5:45am in my body's clock. You should have seen all the help getting everything set up in the morning. I was impressed. Within about 15 minutes, we had completed unloaded a good sized trailer and within about 30 minutes of that we were all plugged in and practicing.

I was fairly nervous before taking the stage, but we prayed before hand that God would use us and the focus would not be on us. It must have worked because once we started playing, the nerves left and we just let 'er rip. We rocked the house! :) I mostly stuck to the strumming. I hadn't ever played 3 of the songs before so it was "interesting". Ryan, our fearless leader, has an amazing voice and is an excellent guitar player as well so he is an excellent musician to follow. I did sing a couple different harmonies in back up. Kollette, who moved down from Ft. Collins when the church was planted, has a beautiful voice as well and her and Ryan together are quite the pair. All in all, it was an excellent first week and I look forward to continually being able to play on the team. It is great getting back to playing and singing after about a year hiatus. So come check us out!

Aubrey the Sweet

I like the ring of that. Usually, sweet is a word that others use to describe Aubrey, but rarely me. Yesterday she earned the title. I was hosting a baby shower for my friend Jenna that I strategically planned at nap time. I knew there would be some overlap, but Mike would be here to keep her occupied. Well, two days before the shower, Mike found out that he wasn't going to be able to here in the late afternoon, and he couldn't be flexible with his last minute commitment. So, a little apprehensive, I accepted that I would be playing mother and hostess simultaneously.

Aubrey came and sat next to me after she got up from her nap and happily drank her milk and ate apple slices. After a while she noticed something, Jenna's friend Amanda had brought her four month old daughter along. The baby began to fuss a little bit and Aubrey took off. She came back and gave her beloved monkey to the baby. When that didn't work, she went and got her blanket and gave it to the baby. You know the blanket that cannot leave her sight. The blanket that requires a full blown tantrum through the entire wash and dry cylce. Yeah that blanket. She then attached to Amanda and that baby for the rest of the shower, captivated by this little being. So Aubrey the Sweet seems like a fitting title. Hopefully this is an indication of Aubrey's big sisterhood to come.

I know I said I wasn't going to post...

but our new niece was born last night! Welcome Kaitlyn Jane. See that's it. If you want to see her or read the stats click on the link!

What I miss most about California

Late Tuesday morning, Aubrey and I headed outside to go for a walk. To my great surprise, there was a huge package from The Coffee Girls. This is a dear group of women that I have been having coffee with on Saturday mornings since Mike and I got engaged. Obviously I haven't been in about a year and a half, but they continue on, dwindling in numbers as more and more of us jump state to Colorado, North Carolina, and most recently Washington. Well, as you can see they are a great group of friends to have. The box came equipped with confetti, blown balloons, shower games, and presents. What a fun treat!!! The games are in Starbucks cups as that is where we have been meeting the last few years. We never discriminated though, we have also met at Coffee Bean(by far the best coffee, but a strict policy about bringing in outside food), Dietrich's, each other's homes, and on June 11, 2005 Hoag Hospital while I was in labor with Aubrey. Back to the games, each lady took a stab at my baby's real birthday, weight, and length. I'm hoping Erin wins as the other girls had me having very large babies. They each took a guess about the size of my budding belly. They were all way over, the winner only five inches off, and the losers well over a foot! You girls crack me up. I'm not carrying triplets! Anyway, it was a special gift and really touched me a great deal. Mike was also taken aback at the generous gesture. I would never want to replace these friendships, they are too rare and special, but I do hope to create deep friendships with people here too. I just wanted to share my special gift with all of you. Okay, I am really going to wait a few days before I post again, this is getting ridiculous.

An interesting morning

Time outs are now taking place in the pack and play as it seems to be the only place that Aubrey will cry and "get" that she is being punished. After two warnings this morning, she climbed on the arm of the couch and touched the lamp shade. She is really into seeing what she can reach nowadays. So I took her into the office, placed her in the pack and play, walked out and closed the door. I then looked at the clock and was heading to the restroom. Our office has glass french doors and I have to walk past it to get to the bathroom. What do I see? Ummm... Aubrey standing at the door crying. Apparently Aubrey can climb out of the pack and play. What? Scary... I immediately opened the door and comforted her. Needless to say, she hasn't touched the lamp again today.

About ten minutes later I heard Aubrey faintly moaning. I called out to her and she didn't respond. I checked downstairs, then upstairs, then every closet, and closed room. Heck, if she has learned to climb out of the pack and play, maybe she is opening doors too. Then I checked the linen closets, the pantry, laundry room, and even the basement. I could still faintly hear her, but I just couldn't find her... anywhere. I was getting panicked, even though rationally I knew she couldn't be too far and had to be in the house. I could tell she was towards the front of the house so I checked the front room again. She was laying on the floor, in front of a large chair, with her blanket over her head. That explained the faint moaning. I sat down and told her I was looking for her. She laughed and pulled the blanket over her head again. Apparently I was part of a game of hide and seek, but didn't know. Needless to say, I cuddled a good ten minutes. I hope I never misplace her in a public place, I had a taste of that feeling this morning and didn't care for it.

We spent the rest of the morning walking around the neighborhood and playing outside. It is a beautiful day today and perfect for some backyard time!!! Oh, and I am still pregnant. Hopefully I only have about 6 weeks left and then I get to meet my new daughter. I wore this dress yesterday to a Woman's Coffee hosted by a member of our church. I was sitting on a leather bar stool and could not stop sweating. It was crazy. As I looked around, the room was full of women in long sleeves and pants, and hear I was in a sun dress drenched. One of the ladies commented that the end of pregnancy is preparation for menopause. I truly can empathize with hot flashes now!!! Good times :)

Finally a decision

Mike and I really went back and forth on the toddler bed/big girl bed dilemma. We had pretty much decided to go with a toddler bed due to cost and size. I still wasn't wanting to go forward with it. So I made decision based more on emotion than logic and Mike is backing me on it. What a man. I decided to buy a used crib on Craigslist for the baby and leave Aubrey in her crib until she climbs out or we decide it is time. Aubrey's crib does convert into a toddler bed anyway, so there is no extra purchasing going on. When the time comes, we can just take the front rails off and add a mesh thingy. And when we are done with the other crib, or Aubrey's for that matter we can list them back on Craig's list and get a lot of our purchase price back. The crib we are buying was purchased in 2003 and has only had two years of total use. So it is basically in the same condition as Aubrey's. The fun part is that Craigslist lists for Denver and Boulder and the one I found and liked is more of a Boulder listing. So we will have a bit of a drive to pick it up. Hopefully we will be doing so next week on Mike's day off and can post pictures then. Thanks for all the input. Sorry I ignored it all and turned into an emotional wreck who isn't willing to see Aubrey in a real bed or fight the battle of her not staying in her bed with a new baby in the house. To be honest, Tanya's stories of Megan's transition really sealed the deal with this one. Aubrey is one fiery kid, and I don't want to ignite her!

Sleepless Nights

Saturday evening Mike and I went to a friend's house for dinner. It was great to get away even if Aubrey was with us! Thankfully she eventually warmed up to their children and even played without mommy having to be right there! Score. She even went to sleep pretty easily in a pack and play so we were able to extend our evening a few hours and play cards. I had a Pepsi around 8pm becaue I was exhausted and knew I should be the one in the pack and play. I realized immediately what I had done. I had sentenced myself to a sleepless night due to caffeine. I went right to sleep when we got home and woke up at 4am, only 4.5 hours later. That was it, I pretty much layed there the rest of the night and drifted in and out of sleep for short catnaps.

Sunday night was our turn to entertain. We had the Hoskinson's over for our first bbq event of the season. Being that Jenna and I now waddle and cannot seem to get comfortable, ever, it made for a nice evening of sympathizing. We had an early evening and an earlier bedtime, 10pm. So, when I woke up to use the restroom at 12:25am I wasn't too concerned. My sciatic nerve was freaking out so I also got an extra pillow from the guest bedroom to prop behind me. Ah, sleep at last. Wait, what's that sound... Aubrey had let out a wail and then was silent. I was in the clear and moments away from sleep when she started crying, hard. I went in and got her settled down and returned to bed. This time wide awake! After 45 minutes I decided I was hungry and came downstairs to have a snack. Then I checked my email, everyone's blogs, and started the fourth chapter of Calm My Anxious Heart. Maybe I am awake because I am anxious. I have no clue, nothing is on my mind, trust me! About four pages in Aubrey started wailing again. Mommy to the rescue... again. So now I am back downstairs and back on the computer. Ugh... It is currently 1:55am and I am not even close to tired. I can guess I will be tomorrow though.

Now & Then

The current picture was taken at 32 weeks and the older picture was taken at 31 weeks with Aubrey. My 32 week picture wasn't wearing a shirt that really showed what was going on under it so I used an older one! Apparently I was taller while I was pregnant with Aubrey too... and much more tired. Give that girl a pillow :) One noticeable difference to me is that I have already dropped this time around and that happened much later with Aubrey. It's nice to breath again!!!

1 Corinthians 13 4-8

"4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails."

The bold parts are what I cannot seem to do today. This is our second home bound day in a row and they happen to coincide with my mom returning home, and Mike going back to work. He had Tuesday off this week. It usually takes a few days to rebound form Aubrey being idolized, and usually half a day to recover form Mike being here. I was hoping the weather would be nice this week so we could kill time elsewhere and help keep Aubrey preoccupied. No such luck. It snowed most of the day yesterday and today we have a high temp of 31, lower with wind chill.

So... in the last four hours I have been hit with several flying blocks and puzzle pieces. When I tell her not to throw toys at me she comes over and gives me a hug with an evil look on her face. "See, mommy, all better!" She has also ate a chunk of purple crayon, that one seems to be her favorite, and dumped the crayons on the couch, which she knows is off limits. But it's okay since she came and gave my belly a hug and a kiss after she did it. Do you see how manipulative she is? When we were singing the "If you are happy and you know it" song and got to the part where we nod our head. She freaked out and headed for the garage. She wanted daddy to nod his head too. We've been over this, we will see him after dinner... and no he doesn't hide in the garage all day!

After her nap I hope to have a fresh start with my little one. Hopefully we both just need a little time to ourselves. I just keep thinking how fun it is going to be when she pulls this stuff after the baby is here. Here are some pictures of Aubrey playing outside last week when we had warmer weather. Enjoy. Sadly the two toys seen in the second picture are our only outside entertainment. I think the Easter bunny may need to bring some outdoor fun this year. Can you mention the Easter bunny in a post that quotes scripture?