Time for Some Rearranging

Knowing that the baby will be here in only a few short months really puts things in perspective. I think life will only get crazier between now and then so we decided that the week of Matt's spring break would be a good time to get everything rearranged and ready for the babies arrival. The biggest of these things was getting the nursery ready. The original plan was for Hallie and Grace to share a room and we would use the other room for a nursery but about a week before we moved things Hallie decided she would rather have her own room in the basement than to share. I told her we would think about it but she was pretty set on that being the plan. I hate that she is a floor away but she loved the basement in the maple house so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. So The 2nd week of March we got everything moved and Hallie is thrilled!

She is loving the basement. She shares her room with the playroom since they are now one in the same large space. A different night we took a trip to the storage unit to get most of the baby things although we will have to go one more time for the few things that we forgot. Change is hard and although I'm excited I don't like that my other 2 girls are growing up so quickly. Im sure they are going to be a ton o

Getting Ready for 1st Grade!!

As crazy as it seems to me summer is coming faster than I would like to admit. I think that may have something to do with the fact that we really never had a winter but regardless the school year is wrapping up and that means that we needed to decided what we wanted to do with Hallie for this coming school year. I knew that we were going to be between houses in the rental but still at this point aren't sure for how long. Keeping this in mind and the fact that we are under a rental contract until Dec we decided to send Hallie to Shadow Valley Elementary. At this point the plan will be to transition her to Valley Elementary after Christmas break. I wasn't sure what to expect as we had decided to continue to keep her a grade ahead and have her start 1st grade this coming year. Last year I was met with such resistance and really no where to go hence why she ended up in private school. But once I called the district and got an appt set up with the school I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it really was. Hallie is so smart, very outgoing, and social and so Matt and I had no hesitations having her bumped ahead but I also think we could be semi bias since we are her parents. But when we met with the school I was pleased that they said she was more than ready for 1st grade and is well into 2nd grade skills! The day we went to fill out her registration paperwork the secretary asked if she had any questions. We have been talking about it for a while now, how schedules will change, what a normal day will be like for her, and so forth but I don't think I grasped how much she understood until the secretary asked that question. Hallie thought for a minute and replied, I would like to meet my teacher, see my classroom, have a tour of the school so I know where the bathrooms are, what do you serve for lunch, where does the bus pick me up, what time does school start, and how many breaks do we get....ect? All the secretary and I could do is laugh as she explained to Hallie that most of that information would come in the mail later this summer and then there would be a special back to school night when she would get the rest of her questions answered. After we left Hallie was really excited now we jst have to make it through the summer so she can get back to school. After we finished we decided to head to the playground next to the school. The girls had a ball climbing, swinging, and sliding. I don't know if there are many sounds better than the laugh of a child that is truly enjoying themselves. While they did that I called and updated Matt on how our meeting had gone and how impressed they were with Hallie.

Hallie said, Mom take a picture of me now that Im almost a big 1st grader!

Oh how I love our growing girls although I wish they weren't doing it so quickly. Here's to learning new things and attempting to do what we think is best for our girls. The next year is going to be packed with firsts and learning opportunities for us. Im a little nervous about the unknown but mostly excited that we will all be learning together.

House Stuff and a Much Needed Break

Lately our Saturdays continue to be full of house planning and shopping around. Sometimes I wish we had chosen to build with a builder only for the fact that I think it would have made the decision making a heck of a lot easier since you have limited options. But at the same time I love that when it all comes together that Matt and I will have put together something we both love and have wanted for a long time and we did it completely together. The girls, as usual, have been wonderful! They are happy to come along for the ride and entertain themselves as well as give their opinions when we ask. I found this picture of Gracie she took when we were at Home Depot...love these cute kids.

After we wrapped things up at the flooring center we decided it was time for a much need break and some fun that had nothing to do with the house or decidions reguarding the house. The weather was beautiful so we headed to the park but before we did that we stopped at McDonalds and grabbed some ice cream! The girls were in heaven and thanked us a handful of times for such a fun time

Just as the sun was setting we loaded up and headed for home to grab some dinner and call it a night. Im so thanksful for my little family and all the fun we have together. Here's to moving forward with planning the house and having a great time while doing it.

Beautiful Weather and Grumpy Old People

The weather has seriously been amazing lately although I wish it would stay cooler for longer it is already feeling like May weather and it makes me nervous about how hot it will get sooner than later but until then we will be enjoying the outside weather as much as we can. I think we are all really going to miss having a fenced yard. I am such a paranoid mom that it makes me a nervous wreck to let them just run around and play outside unless I can see them. The other day I had opened the front and back doors so the girls could play out front while I cooked dinner. 

After about 10 minutes I could hear them visiting with what sounded like an older lady so I went out to investigate. One of the older neighbors was talking to the girls about playing the dirt. She told me she came over to "introduce herself" but really I think she was just being a bored old person with no life freaking out that the girls were playing in the dirt. She nicely told me that if the girls played in the dirt they could get in trouble. I nicely dismissed her and assured her that any mess they made we would clean up and went back to cooking dinner. I seriously hope one day Im not that anal and have so much free time on my hands that I worry about stupid stuff like that. This was just another great reminder that Im glad this is not a permanent move and sooner than later we will once again have a yard of our own where the girls can freely dig in the dirt and explore to their hearts content

Gateway with Brit

For some reason I thought I had blogged most of these pictures but some how I got so behind and am now catching up. Matt has been trying to get in most of his travel before the baby arrives and we break ground on the house which has meant some lonely time for me and the girls. I mentioned this to Brit and she was nice enough to invite us to Discovery Gateway for the afternoon to get us out of the house. The ids had a ball. It was a nice way to kick back and relax. Britt and I found a place near the exit of the one area and planted it there while the kids played. We looked over Nick and Brit's house plans and talked about ideas or solutions to issues they were facing. I love stuff like this so it was really fun for me to be part of that. Right before we headed for home we signed the kids up to do potato painting. The girls had a great time and came up with some darling pictures.

The kids were so tired on the way home it didn't take long after we left Nick and Brit's for them to start to fall asleep. Luckily I kept them awake so I could feed and bath them and got them to bed at a decent time.

It was such a fun day and I love the days I feel like the girls and I both get to get out and have some fun while also relaxing.

Week 27-30

In some ways its hard to believe that we are getting closer and closer to meeting this little girl but in other ways it feels like it has taken forever. Things have been rough the last couple weeks(29-30 weeks) my ulcerlative colitis has flared and is not being nice to my body. At this point my body isn't really tolerating any food which is super difficult and frustrating when you are starving and can't eat with out feeling sick. I was able to get into my G.I. Specialalist this past week and they put me on some heavy duty meds that I am reluctantly taking. I hate taking anything when Im pregnant but with me not gaining weight and feeling so crappy I don't really have a choice. They started me on prednisone that I will take about 6 weeks by the time I wean off of it. It is a pretty nasty drug that comes with quite a few possible side effects. Luckily so far the only one I have really had is some restlessness when I sleep but my body seems to be adjusting and I am getting back to sleeping good. She also but me on some maintenance u.c. meds that will take about a month to kick in so I will start them in the next couple of weeks. At our 27 week appt she was breech but at our 29 week appt was flipped back around with her head down I hope she stays the direction that she is supposed to. I have never wanted a c-section but I don't know if trying to turn her is worth it with all the risks that come with it...I guess we will cross that bridge when it comes. 

27 Weeks

29 weeks

I am at this point starting to think about the plan when this little girl arrives. Where will the girls go, how much help will I need, what time will Matt have to help out? Just normal stuff. A couple people have recently asked if I am nervous about how the girls will adjust to her and to be honest I haven't worried about it at all. I think they will do great. I do expect some sort of a transition period where we figure out what a "normal" day is like for all of us but AI don't expect much more than that. I only hope that the girls love this baby as much as they love each other. I am more worried about the time of year she will be arriving. With both the girls they have come at a time of year that we have used winter as an excuse to stay home and spend countless hours of cuddles and being home bodies. May to me the the beginning of a very busy time of year I want to make sure to spend just as much time cuddling and enjoying how little she is for as long as I can but Hallie has kindergarten graduation and dance recitals and then the kick off to the summer vacation times. I also still think I will be a germ a phob no matter what season my kids are born. With the girls I packed them in their car seats a lot but I think it will be to warm to do that with this baby so I'm thinking I may end up "baby wearing" her more? I guess we will wait and see what works best for us. Here's to more planning before this baby arrives to our little family.

Hallie's Feb Art Projects