Our little Wild Man

Preston has a very unique personality, he is always on the go. He acts silly and knows how to get you to laugh. Lately he has been giving a lot of sideways glances, I don't know how to really describe what he does but it is hilarious! The other night Preston had insisted on wearing his brother's Buzz Lightyear bike helmet and then proceeded to put on Ethan's shoes as well. I can't remember exactly the situation but he wanted to go somewhere. It was Sunday and he hadn't gotten a nap, we go to church from 11 to 2 so it is pretty much right during his naptime. Well that evening we were all sitting on the couch playing the Wii and Preston was over playing and being pretty quiet. I though he was filling his diaper but next thing we know this is what we find. Apparently he just couldn't take it anymore. The sad part was that it was 6:00 so it was too early to let him sleep for the night and too late to let him get in a short nap. So we woke him up to eat dinner and he eventually went back to sleep. POOR GUY!!!

When we had those wondeful temps last week Preston insisted on getting out the scooter. This is a razor scooter that we bought for Ethan that has three wheels on it and a big base so that little ones can ride it. Preston loves this thing and can actually scoot it along. The only down side is that once he starts riding he never wants to get off.

I went to the doctor and sadly still have nothing new to report. I am still at a two and playing the waiting game. The doctor said I could go this week or in three weeks he can't tell. He said that he use to think that he could tell but that he has given up. He did say that I can be induced my last week if I wanted on whatever day he is on call after the 9th. He has told me that twice now so I am excited because I will not have to go all of the way to my due date so that puts me at just over two weeks left unless I go on my own which is spectacular!

My Fourth Pregnancy

I've been thinking a lot about this pregnancy and how things have been so different from what I expected. I decided that I better write them down or I will forget all of them as I ushually do until I am pregnant again and all of those memories come flooding back and since I don't plan on getting pregnant again I better document them now! First I was suprized that my morning sickness went away. I was able to get up and get to work every day and by the time I was 16 weeks it actually went away! I had expected it to last much longer since I was doing so much. I am carrying this baby just like I carried Kendra, it looks like I have a ball up my shirt. With the boys I got big all over, Josh could even tell that it was a girl before the ultasound because the way I am carrying is so distinct. I haven't had too much heartburn and she doesn't kick a whole lot but she wiggles like you wouldn't believe! She wiggles SO SO SO much, even now she is wiggling like she has all of the room in the world and I am telling you that she doesn't, IT DRIVES ME CRAZY. I can never tell exactly which way she is laying and I think that has to do with all of the wiggling :) I am tired and don't have a lot of energy but it is nothing like I had experienced with Preston. My hair and nails haven't grown nearly as fast as with Preston and Ethan. I had always thought that they are suppossed to grow faster when you are carrying a girl but I guess not with me. This was a total bummer because I was really looking forward to letting my hair get longer. I started having contractions much earlier than I remember with the others. I have also had strange pains that I didn't remember having with the others until my mom and Josh so politely reminded me that I had with Kendra. (They did go away though) I haven't had any sciatic nerve pain, woo hoo! I am contributing this to not waiting tables through this pregnancy and I love it. I know that I am probably missing a bunch but these are the ones that stand out to me right now.

The Wait is on

Well I went to the Doc again yesterday and nothing new to report. I have started to swell up like a giant balloon, well not really but that is how I feel. But my blood pressure is good so the doctor isn't worried. I have also hit my maximum weight that I ushually set for myself. I have hit it with both Preston and Ethan so it is a good thing that I am at the very end :) Kendra and Ethan enjoyed a day off of school yesterday and the whether here has been amazing, into the 60's the last two days and again today so we have taken a few walks and broken in the new stroller. By thursday the high is in the teens and snow is expected, gotta love Montana!

Another Week Down...

Well here is my new Car seat/stroller. Apparently it had been here since Decembe 22 and I just hadn't gotten the message. That shows you how often I check my cell phone, I hate that thing. Oh well, I got it all put together and it is sitting in Preston's room. I think that I might get around to packing the diaper bag and maybe my bag this week. Preston enjoyed getting pushed around in the stroller and I would love an excuse to take it out, but it is just too cold and I am trying to shop as little as possible :) So thank you Stillwater Mine for the wonderful new Car seat/ stroller I would have had to make due with the old one had it not been for the Priority Maternity Care program.

Preston has recently had some major issues when it comes to sleeping. It has been the strangest thing, like someone just flipped a switch in his head and told him that sleeping is the worst possible thing that he could ever do. He has never had a problem with going down before but all of the sudden he kicks and screams and cries and wants you to lie down on the floor next to him or rock him until he actually falls asleep. If we just let him cry he even did this for the first week (see picture below). He would get out of bed and find every possible item in his room that he could lift and carry and bring it in bed with him and then go to sleep. This is how I found his bed after one of his naps, yup he had found room to sleep in this mess and the rest of his room was spotless. He is getting better and I don't mind rocking him, it can just get a little uncomfortable sometimes but hopefully we are getting over this relapse and moving forward.

Preston got some fun things to play with in the bath for Christmas and his birthday and has been having a blast with them. I am not one for bath toys AT ALL!!! I like to keep bath time short, sweet, and to the point. But I gave in a Christmas and got Preston some toddler crayons for bath and then his Aunt Nicole got him a b-ball set that came with bubblebath. I don't remember the last time my kids had actual bubble bath and not just bubbles from the baby wash that last about 3 minutes.

This is Ethan's Santa Clause impression. Well on to the good stuff right? I went to the Doc this morning and am Dialated 2cm so I am on my way! I started having some pretty strong and regular contractions last Thursday so I was hoping that they had done something and they have so I am excited about that. I don't know why I have to have contractions for the last few weeks but it makes things so drawn out. Sometimes I feel like I am just sitting around waiting for the baby and I hate that, so I have been trying to get more done around the house. The doctor said that I can be induced my last week or I can wait, I told him I am not a waiter! After doing this three other times I am sure that a week early will be just fine. Josh, of course, is convinced I won't last that long and the doctor said "probably not" but you never know. I believe I heard the same conversation when I was pregnant with Ethan and I was induced on my Due date with him so.... I won't hold my breath about the baby coming early. Josh is still enjoying his new job and his semester started yestserday. He is feeling super overwhelmed after reading through all of the class outlines so hopefully he can stay organized enough to get through it all. I will keep you all posted if anything changes, my next appointment is already on Monday so it won't be long.

The End is Nigh

Well I went to the doctor on Tuesday and everything looks great, I love my doctor! After feeling my belly he said that the baby felt pretty big and was sitting all catiwhompus (yup that is the word he used and I am sure that I didn't spell it right) Then he measured my belly and said that I was measuring big too! He told me to tell that baby girl to quit growing until she got here and then she could grow all she wanted. So that confirms it everyone, I am officially huge :) Nah, I am not that big and I still feel ok, I have moments when I am miserable but for the most part I am good. My contractions have been coming and going but haven't stuck around to do anything I am sure. We will see at my next appointment when I get my strep B test and he checks me and all that jazz.
Yesterday I finally quit procrastinating and got Preston's room all clean and re-organized to make room for all of baby's stuff. I also got all of the baby clothes, blankets, and burp clothes washed, folded, and put away. I also went and bought the last of the newborn diapers that I should need so I am now feel officially ready. I pulled out the pack-n-play and just need to find the bassinet insert which is a job that I am leaving for Josh because it is burried in storage. My new car seat/stroller combo should be in any day and I am really excited about that. I do have an extra, practically brand new graco car seat if anyone needs it. It is a long story but I do have one and it is in great shape, I only used it for Preston and he wasn't in it for very long because we got him a nice convertible car seat as soon as he could sit up on his own, (I hate carrying around that infant seat.)
Josh has been working hard at his new job and is enjoying it but has been fighting off a stomach bug all week which has made it really hard to stay motivated. He has also been working at the roadhouse at night before classes start. It sounded like a really great plan until this stomach bug hit and now he has been pretty miserable. But he got his Saturday shift covered and we get to go to his new company's holiday dinner at the Petroleum Club this Saturday so that makes it all worth while. I am just excited to go on a date before the baby comes, and one that someone else is paying for makes it even better :)

Merry Christmas

I know that I am a little late with this but I hope that everyone had a spectacular christmas! We had a nice quiet christmas it seemed like this year. I don't know what it was but we seemed to avoid a lot of the stress that the holidays ushually bring. Heck, Preston didn't even understand the whole santa/present thing since we never really talked about it. I tried to keep the holidays centered more around the birth of our savior and why that is the greatest gift that we could ever get. I think that it worked pretty well, even for an eight and five year old. Kendra turned eight on December 21 and so she was able to experience one of the most important days in her life. She was Baptized on Saturday, December 27 by her father. I am still in shock that my daughter is old enough to take this step. It was a very simple and wonderful baptism and both her grandma and grandpa Card were able to speak. She wanted me to give the talk on baptism but I knew that there was just no way that I would have been able to get through it. Grandma did a wonderful job! I know that having her baptism right after christmas was helpful to keep me focused on what is really important. She was really excited and afterwards we came back to our house for lunch and cake to celebrate both her and Preston's birthdays. Preston turned two years old yesterday and pretty much didn't even realize it. We sang to him a couple of times and he seemed to like that but other than that it was just another day for him. Oh and he got to go to the doctor, what better way to celebrate than getting a shot huh? The doctor did say that he is catching up in his weight. He is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight now which is actually a big relief. Preston has always been super skinny and at his last well baby check-up the doctor was a little bit concerned so he was pleased with his weight gain yesterday but he is still a little stick!

This is Ethan with his big Santa present as well as his new christmas PJ's. Santa brought both Ethan and Preston Imaginext sets, but Ethan had really wanted this one called "Gorilla Mountain" all three kids love playing with imaginext they get out their Littlest Pet Shops and Kendra's Polly Pockets and have a blast, and lately they add hot wheels cars to the mix. I could just listen to them play for hours, the imagination of little kids is so sweet.

Here is Kendra opening what I think was her very first Christmas present. It always boggles my mind how much fun the week of christmas must be for her between her birthday and christmas at all of her grandparents houses and then at home she opens presents for an entire week sometimes!

Here we are showing off our slippers that we all got for Christmas. Daddy is the only one missing out on the slipper action this year, I guess we are going to have to get him some! And those huge bunny slippers are Kendra's not mine. Josh is enjoying his last days of freedom before he has to start his day job and the kids are enjoying their christmas break. I don't know if I am going to be ready for the fifth, the kids go back to school and Josh starts his job, I also happen to have a doctor's appointment that day. I guess Preston and I are going to have some quiet days around the house until Aubrey decides to join us and mix things up a bit.

Some pictures

If you can get past the nasty PB&J face isn't he adorable? He loves to rock, he is my first child to actually want to rock. In fact every night when we tuck him in he say, mama rock mama rock. It breaks my heart and I ushually give in, but he just does it so he doesn't have to lay down. He has me wrapped around his finger that is for sure. I wasn't sure if Kendra had enough pillows or not. She barely had room for herself on the couch after she did this with all of the pillows.

Preston insisted on wearing his hat the other day, he loves this silly little hat and it barely even fits on his head!

This is now my favorite hairdo for Kendra, it is super easy and looks cool. I call it the worm ponytail, I can't really take credit for it, I stole it off a website as ushual. The only problem is that it doesn't seem to stay for an entire day, I got new bobby pins and everything but I can seem to get them in tight enough to hold all day.

Josh has learned very quickly that he is bored to death without school during the day. A day job isn't sounding so bad these days :)