more pics of Sam

aaaaaah. such a sweet boy. I have yet to get Elliott to sit with him for a pic, but, eventually...

so far....

.. it's been a bit of a rough ride. I really don't remember it being this tough the first time around. Then again, we didn't have a 4 year old to contend with either, on top of a new baby. Sammy has been pretty congested, so of course I stay up most nights listening to him and getting up to check him every 10 minutes to make sure he is still breathing......... he is getting better though, and my paranoia is starting to drop off... a little. I have been dealing with some post partum blues. More like anxiety, with a bit of crazy crying spells over the silliest things, and sometimes not so silly. The love you can feel for your children is indescribably painful sometimes, if that makes sense. It is the most amazing thing and terrible thing you can feel all at once. So many fears come along with being a mother, but so does many smiles and joyful moments.

I was gonna post a bunch of pics but this site is being a jerk face.. maybe later.

cancel Christmas???!!!

That was an almost sad reality in our house this year. Our sweet angel is starting to grow his devil horns. Its getting more challenging every day, but.. like they say, noone said this would be easy. Honestly, I have to say we are blessed, because he really is a great kid over all, he just has his days... one of the worst being X-mas eve day. Holy lord... we were pretty convinced that no Santa in the world was going to be bringing presents to kid who could act so terrible. all. day. long.

BUT... the end of the day came new attitudes, and after a heart felt letter written by Elliott to Santa, Santa arrived with some special things for that usually cheery, smiley little dude of ours.

Papa made it out a few weeks before Christmas, whoch was just wonderful I think it had been a year since he had been abl e to make it out, and I knw we were all missing each other immensly. It was so good to catch up, and Elliott and Papa got along like they had been hanging out together all year without a day missed.

Mason, Elliott and Charlie

----some pics from Christmas morning----

- ELLIOTTS 4th BIRTHDAY! -

We celebrated Elliotts b-day on the 31st. It was a small gathering and pretty low key. He had fun though, and all he was really interested in was his Thomas the Train cake. He had been talking about it almost all year....

New big bed for a big boy!

He was pretty excited about the Lincoln logs

It was a busy holiday adventure, and I have to say, I am glad the chaos is over, but, occasionally when I look outside at the falling snow, I kinda wish it was Chrsitmas day again.. just for a few more hours....

Babies, birthdays, christmas days.. oh my!

Yeah, we haven't been busy....

BABY SAMUEL IS HERE!!!!!

He arrived on January 2nd at 2:57 a.m. Mommy went into labor at around 12:30 that night (or I guess that morning), so as you can imagine labor was fast, hard and unimaginably painful. But... we all survived, and I am very proud to have had my natural VBAC as I had wanted and prepared for. We are home and doing well.

Time is short, and we are tired people right now, so I won't be writing too much more about the experience until later, along with more pictures of this sweet new guy, and also pics of Elliotts 4th birthday (I know, I still can't believe it either), and Christmas morning.

Loves and well wishes.

December 20th...

Elliott is taking a nap. I shoudl be, but the energy I have today will not permit it. I think I have cleaned the kitchen 6 times now.. what else is there to clean in here?! I am about to climb up on a chair and wash the ceiling in the bathroom.. but I won't. I want to.. but I won't.

Finals were this week. Didn't even make it into math class for the test Friday. Thursday night was the biggest false labor alarm we have had.. just about everyone was ready to head out to the hospital... then, the contractions came to a dead stop. Well, not completely. Had a few good ones wake me up through the night. By morning, things seemed back to normal, but with the storm of doom on its way into town, I decided to lie low and chill at home. This 'false labor' stuff has been quite a ride. My darling doula says I am a rare exception that most women wish they were though... instead of hours of hard labor to get to were I am at (4cm, 80 % effaced - if not more after the other night).. I am doing it gently over a months time! :) It helps keep a positive perspective on the whole situation. At least maybe labor will be short?... Hopefully not too short though.. depending on the time it happens. Oh man.. just a few more days to weeks away... think days.. but, weeks is ok too. Its what it should be....

37.5 weeks

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! Elliott is getting the whole Santa thing this year. He is just as excited for daddys to get his presents under the tree as he is for his own..lol! Such a sweet guy.

Alright, its time I get off of this thing. See you sooner than later...

Hair cut for X-mas

As heart breaking as it was to see my sons gorgeous locks drop to the floor, we decided to give him a haircut for X-mas. Well, it is really a kind-of X-mas gift for all the old folks in the family....lol! Anyways, he is still adorable as ever.. see:

Hahaha! Oh my boy.. waiting on some pics from aunt Lisa of Elliott and Mason and Charlie together. What a bunch of handsome kids we have.

Well, just a week left of school. I have absolutely no motivation to finish up my finals, but, I guess I have to. There are more importnat thing I would rather do, like, ..sleep, fold baby clothes, refold baby clothes...lol!

Nice big storm we are having outside. Got a ton of snow yesterday too. Dad left just in time. He came out for the week.. (((SO nice to see you dad!!!!))) I told him its kind of pointless to leave since he will just have to turn right back around once he gets there so he can come see Samuel... :)

Ok. Time to work on finals I guess.

new car and false labor...

This is not going to be the most exciting post, but i figure i havent updated for awhile and should...

Well, I have 1 month left til Sammy makes his big arrival... I have been dealing with false labor for almost 3 weeks now.. not very fun. But, it is slowly geting things moving along and preparing my body and mind, so... I thought he was coming last Tuesday, but, it was just a teaser. A VERY uncomfortable one. I am glad he is still inside, cookin away to be a healthy guy. I have more hypnobirth practice ahead, plus school in still in session for another week.

Well, the POS Mitsubishi finally had its last run.. so we got ourselves a 'new' car. 06 Nissan Sentra (what else would we get, right?). Awesome little car. I would include pics, but, unless I HAVE to, I dont go up and down those stairs anymore. Even getting up off a chair throws me into a bout of contractions.

I started seeing a chiropractor, and wow has that made a difference in my confort. Sammy has more room to move around and he dropped signifigantly after my last visit. Midwife says she doesnt think I will make it to term, but, we will see. It took hell to get this little boy, I can only imagine it will be just as rough getting him out. Have another appointment tomorrow to see how things have progressed. I am nervous, and anxious, and excited... natural birth.. the birth of my new son.. OMG! SO much to be overwhelmed with.. in a good good way.

Beaner is holding on by a thin string. We have exhausted every resource to 'fix' her, though there really is no fixing her problem, just trying to keep her comfortable, and we even lost that battle. So, it is up to her to let us know when she is done fighting. For now she still loves like crazy, eats like a pig, and has found her place in Elliotts room.

The tree is up, lights in the windows, and we got a nice snow yesterday. I might actually feel the Xmas spirit before it is all over. Dad is in town, so that makes me very happy!!

Ok, pictures next time... whenever that may be.

Oh, and Depeche Mode is working on a new album! AAAAHHHHHHHHH YEAH!!