Passing me by

Life since Luke's birth has been so weird.  It seems like I'm extra exhausted this time around.  I can't believe Luke will be 6 weeks this Thursday.  Where has the time gone?  Well, it's gone by with me wishing he was 2 or 3 months so I'd be getting more sleep.  It makes me sad that I've wished so much time past.  I was looking at him tonight all bright eyed and I got sad that time has flown by so fast and I don't have much to account for it besides being in "survival mode".  I wish I could bottle up moments so that I could revisit them in later years.  What will I journal for his first month?  I don't know.  It also makes me so sad that he has a cold, thanks to big brothers.  I can't believe he's 5 weeks with his first illness.  Lets see, what can I journal about Luke's first month of life:
-I was utterly in love with him at the hospital.  When I held him right after he came out all slimy I was in awe and amazed at the gift of life and what a miracle babies are.  Love poured out of me.  When we came home from the hospital that first day I bawled and bawled.  I was sad that life was back to "normal" aka, home with the boys.  I so treasured those 3 days where life was me, Luke, and Travis.    I enjoyed my time with just us enjoying this new life.  I loved that he nursed well from the beginning.  Don't get me wrong, I love ALL my boys but it was a special time with just Luke in the hospital.
-The boys ADORE, LOVE, can't get enough of him!!!  Douglas says things like, "Awe, he's so cute!" in a high pitched voice.  He says we have the cutest baby.  And what can I say besides, he's right.  :-) 
-Luke has the same "butt" chin as the other boys.  His hair is lighter though.  He also has beautiful bright blue eyes so I'm hoping they won't change since they are bright and not dark.
-Luke cries when he's hungry and after he's been awake for awhile.  Like, after an awake period when it's time for him to go to bed he has a hard time being laid down to sleep.
-He's gaining weight so nursing is going well.  My doctor is supportive of nursing.  He weighed 10lbs 6oz at his 1 month visit so all is well.  That is an average of 1 oz a day since his discharge weight.  I continously thank Heavenly Father for nursing going well and continue to ask that it will. 

This has been my hardest post partum experience.  I've heard that the 3rd is hard.  I'm very emotional and exhausted!  If he gives me a 4 hour stretch at night then I'm pretty good the next day.  When he doesn't, I can barely function.  I can see why people stop at 3. :-)  I wish I hadn't had such a hard time b/c I wish I could have focused more on Luke and not "surviving".  Here's to then next six weeks and me being better adjusted.  :-)

Morning from Hell and questions

While carrying hot facial wax to my bathroom the container decided to get a hole in it, dripping on me and spilling on my bedroom and bathroom floor.  After throwing the hot container in the sink and screaming for Travis to help me get wax out of the carpet I then threw the container away and thought maybe filling the sink with hot water would help get the wax out of the sink.  I left it running and searched the internet to see how to get wax out of the carpet and forgot the water.  When I went back into the bathroom the sink had overflown all over the counter tops and into the drawers.  We dumped the drawers out into the bathtub and am letting everything dry.   The wax is SLOWLY coming out by putting a paper towel over it and ironing.  I don't know if it will all come out.  It will take a couple days of me repeatedly doing it to get most out.  I'm so bummed about the whole situation and irritated that I am SOLELY responsible for this nightmare.  This was all in the first 2 hours of my morning.

Then I went to my OB for my 36 week appointment.  She said I'm 1cm dilated and that the head is still far "up there".   However, I've never dilated before 38 weeks though so I'm a little nervous that this child will be early.  I'm due April 5th and Travis is working on a client until April 1st.  I don't want this baby before April 1st b/c I don't want Travis working alot at home when we come home from the hospital.  I want him playing with the boys.  My OB really wants to induce me, although she knows I'm not crazy about being induced so she wants to break my water in the hospital b/c she thinks that will put me immediately into labor and within 4 hours having the baby.  I told her about Travis' client and she suggested we do it by noon on April 1st (Friday) but Travis thinks he'll still be really busy that day.  The next available time to "induce" is Tuesday April 5th, my due date.  She's worried and frankly I've been worried about it for months, that I may not make it to the hospital if I go into labor myself.  What should I do?  Have her break my waters April 1st (Friday) and just have Travis work from home the next week or wait until my due date and hope that Travis is done with the majority of his client?  Also, does anyone in the Allen area have a co-sleeper I could borrow.  I'm thinking of having the baby sleep with me but I'm scared to put him in bed with me.  I don't want to buy one b/c I don't know if I'll like it.  Let me know.  Thanks

Can't forget

Douglas drew this picture of our family.  The top part is "Heavenly Father in His beautiful home in the clouds."  Then he drew from left to right: Mommy, Douglas, girl, girl, baby 3, girl, Harrison, and Daddy. Apparently, I'll be having 3 girls at some point after this pregnancy.  :-)  Love this kid.

So 9 days ago I went to do a cycle class at the gym. It had been 3 weeks since I did a cycle class. Anyways, I adjusted my bike to my normal settings and hopped on the bike seat. I don't remember specifics but I know that it was at the beginning that my butt hurt like crazy. I just assumed it was standard discomfort of a bike seat mixed with worsening hemorrhoids. (Hey, I have a baby sitting as low as possible in me. Of course I have hemorrhoids.) Anyways, I just tried to avoid the spot that hurt most. I did about 35min and left early. My butt hurt but it got way worse a couple hours later. So bad I couldn't sit or bend over. It really started worrying me as the days went on b/c I suspected it was my tailbone and I've heard there is nothing you can do for a tailbone. Tuesday I went to my doctor’s appt and as I lay on the table and it hurt so bad, I realized, how the crap am I going to give birth when I can't sit or lay down? I went to a chiropractor for the first time Friday and it felt a little better that day but by Saturday I was in so much pain again. With the preggo hormones, the house torn apart for two major projects, and having to spend too much time driving and hurting terribly I just started crying and prayed to Heavenly Father. I had been praying all week about my tailbone but Saturday I just about had it and couldn't imagine going on much longer in this pregnancy with my tailbone in pain. Miracously, Sunday and today, it has been 20 times better. It is seriously on the mend. I know it's a direct answer to my prayers b/c you can't go from how much pain I was in Saturday night to it feeling almost normal the next morning. Whew! Heavenly Father sure loves me! I am so thankful my tailbone is feeling almost normal.

8 more weeks

A day and a half before turing 32 weeks I took my first preggo pictures with this baby.  I'm 2 pounds heavier with this baby than Harrison at the same stage. I'm worried I'll gain more than the 30lbs I gained with Harrison but there's not a whole lot I can do about that.  The most annoying thing is that I'm starting to grow out of my maternity pants and I never did that with the other 2.

 

Anyway, this baby is a MOVER!!  He beats the other two by a mile when it comes to movement.  I'm eager to see how that tranfers when he's born.  Hopefully he's still mild mannered like his brothers and not the "typical" boy.  This pregnancy has been more uncomfortable than the other two.  He's sitting lower and so there's a lot of discomfort in my bum.  Sorry, tmi.  Also, I don't sleep well.  I slept fine with the other two.  All in all, I can't complain.  Oh, and I reached the point, a while ago, that I am excited for a third BOY.  I think it will be good to have 3 boys.  Douglas would really like a girl though, heck, he wants to be a girl but thats a different story.  So having to explain to him how Heavenly Father chooses who comes down, when, and to what family reminded me that Travis and I didn't create a random child.  That from the moment of conception (maybe earlier) Heavenly Father knew what spirit would be joining our family and that this little boy out of all the spirits in heaven was meant for our family.  So of course I'm excited for this little boy who clearly belongs to our family at this time. 

I don't feel like there is alot to do to get ready.  The biggest thing is getting his room ready which requires moving Harrison to Douglas's room and moving some furniture to the baby's room to make room for the other two sharing rooms.  But before any furniture moving, Dean is finishing their bunk beds and then we have to paint the boys' room white so it will be neutral for when we put the house up for sale, hopefully this May.  Thats the biggest thing.  I need to buy him clothes b/c he's a different season than the other two but I'll buy clothes as the time comes.

The time is closing in and I'm excited!

Quiet book

For those who aren't familiar with "quiet books", they are just "books" with activities to keep the kids quiet, particularly during church.  :-) I have about 19 pages.  I didn't come up with any of the ideas.  I googled "quiet book" images and found all of these and much more. The pages are loose so that multiple kids can play with them at once. The pages are stored in our "quiet book bag".

Unzip the zipper on the boat to find letters for the chicka chicka boom boom tree.

This is from the popular kids' alphabet book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" where the letters climb up the coconut tree.  This page is on the back of the boat page and the letters are in the boat.

This is a velcro shape match page.

On the back of the shapes is the Garden page.  Slip the strawberries/radishes (;-) and carrots in the ground (button holes).  The bottom right of the page is velcro and lifts up so you can easily collect the food.

This is perhaps Douglas' favorite page.  It is a volcano.  On the back of this page is a big pocket that holds mini dinosaurs.  So the volcano is a dino mat.

This treasure chest actually opens with a lock and key and you can stick something in the chest.

On the back of the treasure chest is the dog and opening his collar.

Un-snap the ballons

On the back of the ballons is the counting page.  The black bag is sewn into the page and holds the items that you "count". 

This is the clothes line page.  Take off the clothes held by mini-clothes pins.

On the back of the clothes line page are the people you dress.  You just lay the clothes on top of the people.

Unbotton the turkey feathers.

On the back of the turkey is the fishing page.  Paper clip on the fish and magnet on the pole. There are 3 fish and I just store them inside the "waves".

Classic weaving page.

On the back of the weaving page is the classic clock.

Crayon Caddy.  I made it to hold the long twistable colored pencils.

On the back is a large pocket to store paper.

Lace and tie the shoe

The back of the shoe is Jonah and the whale page.  Actually this is probably the boys' favorite page.

Whew!  It's done. 

A few Crafty things

I better post some things before all the Christmas posts begin.  In October I made the purse that I've been meaning to make since April.  This bag has a pocket and a VERY secure snap fastner.  I sewed this completely on my own.  No help from Travis here. ;-)

I saw this turkey on a blog and had to do it for our felt board.  The boys liked it.

I saw this hat on a sewing blog with a very basic pattern and tutorial.  I knew I wanted Douglas to have one.  Since the pattern/tutorial was kinda of vague we needed to cut and pin the lining and try it on Douglas before finishing it.  I have very busy trying to finish the boys quiet book so I had Travis do that.  And after Travis sewing the lining I just had him finish the hat.  I wanted bragging rights to this hat but I was just too busy.  Travis is a stud!  The side view.  It is supposed to cover the majority of his cheek like this.

I think the hat is slightly to big b/c it flares a little at the ears but mostly this is how the hat is supposed to look.  Douglas loves his dino hat.   I'll be posting the full quiet book when I'm completely done.

Poll

I have a little poll for all you mommies.  Has there been any extended period of time (more than just a day or two) that you have not enjoyed being a mom?  If so, what were the ages of your children?  This has been a rough 6 weeks for me.  I was relieved to ask a friend if she's always enjoyed being a mom and after pausing she said no and it was probably when her boys were my boys' ages.  I'm still trying to decipher why its been so rough.  I have some ideas.  Anyways, I was just wondering.

Just for fun

My aunt posted some pictures of my parents on facebook and it got me thinking as to who I look like. As a kid I heard that I look like my dad but I kind of think my mom. FYI, they are holding my brother in this picture.
This picture kills me b/c you can totally see my Dad's curly q hair. Douglas has my dads curls.

Or maybe I'm like some kids where you seriously wonder if they weren't adopted b/c they look nothing like their family. :-) What do you think?

What have I been up to? (random post)

Well, besides soaking up my sons I have been enjoying my new Christmas presents. Our computer is a little over 3 years old. That sounds brand new but in techno world, its pretty old. Anyway, it was super slow with all my digi-scraping programs and files. So for Christmas Travis got me an Acer laptop. Apparently Acer is an up and coming rival to HP. This particular laptop specializes in multimedia which is great for my NEW Photoshop elements 7. We can't afford the full photoshop (nor will we ever). So during naps and at night I hang out watching tv and scrapping. This is a huge plus b/c I'm not stuck in the other room if I want to use the computer. Here is the latest layout I did. I also redid my scrapblog. CHECK it OUT. I'm saying this b/c I think it's super cute! :-)
Anyways, Travis' busy season is starting so these presents have come at the perfect time to occupy my lonely nights. Boo hoo!! I really dislike January and February.

Douglas and James

Before getting to the more important stuff (aka Douglas), I have a question. I'm 37 weeks pregnant today. On Thursday I was dilated to a 1 which is exciting to me b/c I didn't dilate until I was over 40 weeks with Douglas. Anyway, since Friday I feel like my pelvis bones have been beaten by a bat. Okay, so it's not quite that servere but they are sore. I'm sure that's normal but my hope is that labor is right around the corner. Is that just wishful thinking? Are the two related?

On to Douglas and Bimmy (James). A few months ago my friend and I went to Burlingtons together to get our sons church suits. We both thought this one was adorable so we each got one. Douglas is just now fitting into his. I made Becky put Bimmy in the suit yesterday so I could get pictures. Doulgas loves baby James. He's really the only baby he's interested in. That's probably b/c we see him all the time. Douglas and James are almost exactly a year apart. We sure love the little fellow and will miss him when he moves.

Breaking Dawn

I started the 4th book in the Twilight series Monday night and finished it just now. I was worried b/c a friend called Saturday saying that the reviews were awful. I think the book was okay. Now, I want to talk about it so I'm going to leave a comment to start the conversation. If you have NOT read Breaking Dawn then do NOT look at the comments. Spoilers are all over the comments.

Baby and Douglas

I know I just posted and I said I'd have pictures of Douglas the next time but I don't. So first item is the baby. I went to the doctors today and my cervix and fluid level are good to go so YEAH! He approximately weighs 4 lbs 11 ounces at 32 weeks. The bad thing about this doctor visit (besides waiting for the doctor for FOREVER) is my weight. I only have 2 more pounds to go before I reach what I gained with Douglas. I was sooo hopeing that I'd only gain the same amount or 5 lbs more max with this one. What do you think? I have eight more weeks left. Do you think I can make my goal? That would be 7 lbs in these last 8 weeks. I sure hope so.

Anyways, about Douglas. He'll be 20 months in 5 days. A couple of days ago Travis tried something. He left the baby wipe container on the floor in his room and a few minutes later Douglas brought it to Travis who followed him back to his diaper mat where Douglas sat down to be changed. Today Travis left the wipes on the floor again. We knew Douglas was in his room but the lights were off and we didn't hear anything. Travis walked in to find Douglas laying on his diaper mat. Travis tried it again tonight and same thing. My mom thinks we should try potty-training him but I think it's still way too early, especially for a boy. When did you start potty-training your BOY? What were the signs that got you started?

18 months and 24 weeks

Today Douglas is officially 18 months old. He went to church nursery last Sunday for the first time and did great. I'm relieved about that. Today he went to the doctors and it looks like he's taking after his dad. He's 22.6 pounds (10%) and 33in long (70%). Still a skinny fellow but what did I expect? The doctor said he seems to be right on track, even with his talking. She only asked if he said 6-10 words. I asked if that included his animal vocab and she looked at me strangely. :-) But in English words he says Mama (doing that more lately), Dada, see, silly, cheese, lawnmower, vacuum, and strawberry. Notice how difficult the last 3 are? Ask him to say bus or ball or something else small and he doesn't. But boy if it is something he really likes, he'll say it, or something real close. I'm so thrilled that his language development has picked up the last couple of months! He's doing great in every aspect. He is the biggest ham around people he knows. We went to my cousins birthday party and they gave Douglas his old jeep. Douglas is too short to reach the petal yet so Travis is rigging up a double block of wood to put on top. See the video below.

In other Hill boys news, the baby is doing great. The second best news is that my cervix has not shortened yet and my fluid looks normal! I go back in 4 more weeks for another sono and that should be the best predictor as to whether I'll repeat those issues again. I sure hope not. So at 23 weeks and 4 days (last Thursday), the baby weighed 1 lb 7 oz. He moves all the time! I feel him so much more than I ever did Douglas but I believe that's b/c I don't have high fluid like I did with Dougie. I can't wait to meet this little one! Here is a picture of me at 24 weeks.

And here are some pictures.

Pay it forward

In January, my friend Becky posted a "Pay it forward" post where the first 3 people to comment on it would receive a special gift from her. In return the 3 people to comment would have to do the same/similar thing. Well I posted and got a nifty bag that she made. The reason why it's taken sooo long for me to pay it forward is b/c I had no idea what to do, especially if one of the people lived far away. I now have something in mind that I'm super excited about. So...

The first 3 people to comment on this post will receive something from me. I'll let you know in a few days what and how it'll go. Remember,the catch, if you are one of the super lucky few to win, you will also have to pay it forward.

Baby

Today I went to the doctor again to check my cervix and it looks good. Anyways, it was fun to see the baby again. He was moving tons. And for those who were skeptical of the 12 week conclusion that it was a boy, rest assured, it is definitely a boy. I saw the parts today. I'm 17 weeks this week. I'm dying to get into maternity clothes. I've borrowed some clothes from a friend and am wearing some small maternity pants now that are perfect for this in between stage. Here is a picture of my baby. Look at his adorable little profile, particularly his nose and lips. And here is me on Sunday. Do I look pregnant yet, or just fat?? (be very careful on how you answer that :-)

I just have to say

...that someone really loves me. Here are the 3 proven reasons of the day.

Background first.

1. I took Douglas to get what was hopefully his last blood work done last Wednesday only for the lab to poke him and not get enough blood and say come back when his arm has healed.

2. I grew up on Dunkin Donuts and think they are the BEST donuts there are. Unfortunately they seem to be disappearing in DFW and I haven't had one in years.

3. Yesterday I really wanted some sugar cookies.

All in a 1 hour time period today.

1. 1 week later (today) Douglas arm just had a tiny bruise so I took him to a different lab today and the man got enough blood in one poke and Douglas didn't cry as much. That doesn't sound like much but poor Douglas has gotten poked in the last 2.5 months more than Travis and I have in our lives. His veins are tiny and labs don't seem to have much luck so today was somewhat of a little miracle for us!!

2. On the way from the lab to Sprouts I passed a Dunkin Donuts and quickly did a u-turn to get my treat. I bought 3 donuts, with the intent for 2 of them for Travis' and mine breakfast tomorrow but we'll see if I can hold out!

3. First thing in Sprouts I saw a display of the St. Patricks sugar cookies on sale for $.99. WOW, was I lucky or what!!

Just 3 ways today that someone was telling me they loved me!!

Getting back into it

I've been a major slacker lately. I haven't had anything to blog about (except Twilight but that's winding down). I haven't taken any pictures this month either. Such a slacker! What do I do then if I don't blog?? I sleep when Douglas sleeps and plays when he's awake. Nothings gotten done, including scrapping (something I usually enjoy). However, I did a layout tonight and posted it on my digi scrapping blog so hopefully that means I'm bouncing back from the last two months of laziness! We'll see!

I'll take pictures this weekend and find SOMETHING to blog about! :-)

Twilight, the Movie

Emmett, Rosaline, Esme Edward, Carlisle, Alice, Jasper

Finally, a picture I'm okay with for the Cullens family. Edward looks more like the Edward I picture but still, somethings missing. I can't explain it but this Edward seems to European/runway beautiful, not good old American beautiful. Does that make sense? I don't care for their Jasper though. He looks fruity and the Jasper I invision is not fruity!! And don't they know that Emmetts hair is curly! But like I said, this is the best picture I've seen.

This last picture, however, does NOTHING for me in the way of Edward. His jaw bones and creepy eyes does NOT portray my beautiful manly, Abercrombie Edward. Help me out people, whats the right way to explain this ill-match for Edward?? (Notice, Jaspers afro?)



pictures from http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_movie.html

Psycho Part 2

First of all let me clarify on the most important things in my life. Douglas is doing super. We meet with his pedi tomorrow for a checkup and the cardiologist next week. Travis is the main hero around here. He goes in to work at 9am and doesn't come home until after midnight. This is his super busy time of the year (accountant). Thanks honey! Only 1 more week until you can start coming home at 10pm!

Okay, on to my latest obsession (the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer). Now before I get to far, give me some credit. My husband is non-existent at night so due to boring tv from the writers strike and my new obsession, I've turned to Stephenie Meyers website (click on website) to get any ounce of detail on the series. I'm here to report my findings! First off you must check out the "Twilight Series" tab. On the left is each book. If you click on each book there are FAQs, outtakes, and sometimes Extras. These are parts of the rough draft that she had to edit/take out so it's just some more detail and depth to the story that we haven't seen. It's awesome. Also Breaking Dawn is the 4th book and it appears as if that will be the last. Some of the treasures I've found from this site include Edward's version of Bellas' first day and what Bellas prom dress was inspired by, another version of Bella getting ready for the prom, etc. Stephenie Meyer will publish Twilight from Edwards narration after Breaking Dawn is out. It will be called Midnight Sun. (see the tab called "other projects"). Anyways, I recommend you just thoroughly search the website, especially under "Twilight Series" to get all the extras. Enjoy!

Oh my heaven!

I know I'm a little behind with reading the Twilight series. However, since I got sick the last day of Douglas' hopsital stay and had Travis and my mom watch him all this last weekend, I finally read the series. I read all 3 books in 4 days. I'm an addict!! I've NEVER felt this way about a book/series before, EVER!! I'm going nuts thinking of FAll 2008 when book 4 should be released. And it's not nuts from excitement, it's nervousness and FEAR! I'm so afraid that she won't end the series like I want. I'm so concerned about the ending that I wrote a letter to Stephenie Meyer today to tell her how I think it should end. I know, Psycho!!

*********STOP reading this post if you plan on reading the series yourself.****************

The only way the series should end (in my opinion) is with Bella and Edward living happily together forever as vampires! I was so bummed in the last book with Bella even possibly loving Jacob Black. Anyways, if the series doesn't end how I know it should then I will be so depressed!! Does anyone else feel this way??