Fun with Daddy and Last Day of Work

I've flown through the to-do list for work. This means I'm To-DONE, right? Either way I won't be coming to work Monday morning - that is for darn sure! :) I'll be twiddling my thumbs at home waiting for it to be noon so we can leave to go to the hospital and get ready for little Miss Abigail! OOOOOOOH I CAN'T WAIT! I have decided that knowing the exact time you are going to have a baby is awesome - HOWEVER - I feel like a 6 year old waiting for Christmas morning to arrive! WOW!

I suspect this will be one of the last (likely there will be more, but probably not for a bit) post that is just photos of Logan. He is very excited to be a big brother - for as much as he really gets it. I had a copy of one of the 3D pictures on my phone and was showing Logan's teachers yesterday. He asked for my phone and walked around showing his friends, "Look, my baby sister." It was so dang sweet!

This past weekend we wanted to treat Logan to something extra fun and new to him. We took him to the movies! I can't even tell you how cute it was to see him sitting there with his little kids popcorn and lemonade and 3D glasses. I think I watched him just as much as I watched the Lion King in 3D. He did a great job leaving his glasses on the whole time. There were only one or two times he wanted to leave, but then was good. He spent the last third of the movie on Nathan's lap. He said he really liked it though! So that is good! Here are my boys on the way back to the car.


On Sunday we went out to my parents' so Logan could have a sleepover and Momma and Daddy could have a date night before Abby arrives! (Plus it was the anniversary of our 1st date 7 years ago and yes I am totally that chick that remembers that and we always at least have dinner together.) :) Before we left Logan and Nathan needed to take a little break on the hammock out on the deck. Logan had his work gloves on as he was ready to "go work with my grandpa!" He was in charge of picking up fallen walnuts and put them in his bucket to be put on a big walnut pile. Grandpa said he is a professional walnut picker-upper. :)

Alright - well I think the next post will be an introduction to Abigail. Stay tuned! The c-section is scheduled for 2:15 on Monday. YIPEE!

Blessings to all for a great weekend!

Soccer Stud!

Saturday morning was the start of SOCCER!! Fun! This coming from a woman who has never found anything redeeming about soccer beyond cute boys from high school (Nathan played soccer... hehe.) That being said - when it is YOUR child and they are little and cute and running all over soccer becomes less lame and MUCH cuter!

Logan and Nathan have been running around the backyard playing soccer, but adding 9 more little 3 year olds makes it even better! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the morning.

Check out this boy: HA!!! (This was his wind up pose before running to kick the ball. Talk about hilarious. I could barely stand it!)
My second favorite pose of the day - waiting in line (how stinkin cute is he in his uniform!?!):

Off he goes! Tongue out... as per usual. At least the little guy, Dane, behind him has his tongue out too! ha!

After 30 minutes of drills they play a little game for the last 15 minutes. It was too funny to watch them run around.

I put Nathan down to be a helper, but not be a coach, but in the end it is 1 of three "co-coaches" - Nathan didn't want to be a coach, but in the end I think it will be a good experience for both Nathan and Logan. Can't wait for Saturday's soccer day!

My beautiful girl! 37 weeks, 3 days

We had what will be our last ultrasound appointment before Abigail Rae arrives on Monday. My fluid was good at 11 and she is of course still quite breech. She had her feet/hands up by her head. The sonographer and I are practically best friends at this point and she was sweet enough to do a quick 3D ultrasound. She couldn't guarentee any great pictures as Abby's cord was in front of her face and there wasn't a lot of fluid so that makes it difficult. She claimed these weren't great, but as far as I'm concerned they were AWESOME!! I almost started crying when I'm watching the screen and couldn't discern anything and then all of a sudden there was her face! I love it!


Her lips look a little distorted as the cord was running across them, but I can see Logan in her face.

Her little profile - look at those cheeks! Nathan's family is quite literally known for their cheeks. I think her cheeks will likely not really be this big as she is totally squished in there! The sonographer and I were laughing at how smooshed everything looked.

Seeing her beautiful little face has made me even more anxious to meet her on Monday! :) 5 more days... 5 more days... 5 more days...

T-minus 13 days and counting...

Yesterday's trip to the hospital ended in a big fat nothing. Not only did she not flip, but we didn't even try it. My amniotic fluid level wasn't high enough to where the doctor felt comfortable trying to flip Abby. So - there you have it - baby no flippy means baby no coming out the "normal" way. Instead we have a scheduled c-section on October 3rd! 13 days from now!!! eek!! So very excited I must say. Part of me wishes she could come sooner, but okay with waiting.

I want to drink in all this time with Logan and our little family of three. This weekend Logan starts soccer! We almost decided not to do it, but the more we thought of it - we still wanted Logan to have his experiences and fun times. Don't want his world to stop spinning because Abby joins in. I can't wait to see him running all over like a soccer stud of a man! :)

Our newest addition to the family... (and a short Abby update)

Yesterday our family welcomed the newest addition. Calvin Ryence Hunt was born yesterday at 5:00, 8 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long. He and his mom (my sister in law) and all are doing great.



He is a beautiful little guy and I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me wish the next two weeks away so Abby could join us soon. I keep telling myself I need to just enjoy the last little while of our family of 3... but I'm so excited to meet this little girl!

Big brother Thomas and Big Sister Piper with my brother, Kyle and his wife Sarah. Speaking of Sarah - that girl is awesome at giving birth! She always looks gorgeous afterwards and only pushes for a few minutes and done. Amazing. I'm going to have to channel her if Abby flips and I'm able to go all natural!



My little brother and Calvin - a proud Daddy of THREE! EEK!)

Today at 1:00 we are going to try the ECV with our doctor at the hospital. I'm a bit nervous, but hopeful that she will flip - she has been a moving fool the past few days. There is a very small chance that this procedure could cause her to go into distress which would mean - emergency c-section today. In order to prevent this from happening this weekend Nathan and I did all the rest of the baby prep. Hospital bag in the car... infant car seat installed... house is clean... etc etc etc. Here is to hoping she flips herself today and we can just wait until her induction on the 7th or me going into labor on my own. GOOD TIMES! :)

Another Abby update...

Here is our lovely girl's face (her right hand is up on her face toward the bottom side of her face: Isn't so a beauty? :)

Yesterday I had an NST where we checked to make sure Abby wasn't in any distress - she passed with flying colors!

This morning I had my weekly fluid check. Fluid was good at 9.7. Abby is still breech. I'm pretty sure that isn't going to change at this point. She has been in the exact same position for almost 2 months. The shocker of the day... she is HUGE! 35 weeks, 3 days and she is already estimated to be 7 pounds 1 ounce. EEK! Talk about going from one extreme to the other. 5 pounds tiny little Logan and what looks to be a big little sister for him! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about her size. I feel like I must be doing something wrong with my gestational diabetes. I thought everything was under control, but it seems like maybe it is effecting her more than I thought. We'll see if that changes the c-section/induction schedule. I'll talk to my doctor on Friday.

Paint the Belly...

AKA: Paint the Buddha... wowza! I almost wasn't going to post these pictures simply because I detest the way that I and my stomach look, but then figured - oh what the heck. It is my blog and I'm sure there will only be like two people that actually see them.

I am always trying to think of fun and random things for Logan to do. Thankfully I remember to write them down on a sticky note in my planner so I won't forget. This Saturday's activity was PAINT THE BELLY! I knew Logan would love it and boy was I right! We had emptied the dining room the night before as we had some major smoke issues in the house from a smoldering fire in our garage. (UGH - thankfully we have been able to get rid of the VAST majority of the awful smell and am confident the rest will go away soon!)

Here are some photos from our painting morning:

Logan is wearing one of Nathan's old work polos from his 10+ years working at a local orchard. It went all the way down to his feet and we had to roll the sleeves up - but it was darn cute!

Nathan got in on the action too! His favorite part was putting the REALLY cold paint on my sides to make me jump. Not so nice.

Focus Focus Focus.

THE FINISHED PROJECT:

(Curtains are missing since we had to wash every fabric thing in our house because of the smoke. Have I mentioned that the need to iron said curtains after the come out of the wash is a royal pain in the butt?!?)

Afterwards Logan went in the half bath to wash his hands. Nathan followed him in there after a few minutes to find a sink FULL of bubbles and Logan dipping his head in to get bubbles on his hair. lol

I told Logan I was going to go upstairs to take a shower and he quickly stripped naked and said he was taking a shower too to help me clean off my belly. It worked well as he could tell me where I missed a spot on the bottom of my belly where I am unable to see! ha! The best part is that all the blue paint he put on originally died my skin blue. Not sure if it is still blue. I forgot to look after my shower this morning, but it should make for an interesting conversation topic when I get my NST tomorrow! :)

Breeched Abby Update!

This little girl is stubborn... annoyingly stubborn. Let's start with the positive stuff:

• She is passing all her NSTs with flying colors - so she is in no distress in my belly.


• My blood pressure has been GREAT! Such a blessing after the pre-eclampsia with Logan.


• My gestational diabetes has been in control and doing great.


• The amniotic fluid problems seemed to be resolved. The past two weeks it has been over 10 cm. While not REALLY high, it is a good number now so that is great.

The bad news. Little miss is still breech and has been for over 6 weeks - if not longer. She has rolled from one side of my belly to the other, but her butt is still in my pelvis. My OB says if she hasn't turned by 36 weeks they will schedule a c-section for 39 weeks. We have the option for an external version (between 36 and 37 weeks) - where the doctors try to push on my belly and get her to move. The risks:

• I don't have a ton of fluid so there isn't much room for her to float in.


• Since there is only a little fluid there is a chance of compressing her cord.


• Her heart rate could drop and then I'd have to go in for an emergency c-section. My OB says it is rare, but it has happened once to her.


• My OB said it flat out hurts so they will do it as much as I can tolerate. They will try from one side - then the other - then done.

Is it worth it? I'm not sure.

I'm trying to do what I can at home... so far this is what I've tried:

• Swimming and some headstands in the water and flips in the water. Didn't work.


• Sitting on the couch with my hips raised MUCH higher than my heart/shoulders. The goal of her butt slipping out of my pelvis and then her head would flip down there since it is the heavier part of her. I tried this once, but need to do it daily for 15-20 minutes.


• Poor man's acupressure - there is a pressure point on the outside of your pinky toes (also where they would do acupuncture in this area) - so Nathan put some clothes pins on my pinky toes. That did NOT feel good. ha!


• I'll continue doing the last two every day.

Options to still try:

• Moxa Sticks... google it. (will be trying later this week)


• Chiropractor doing the Webster Technique (will try if she hasn't flipped on her own by 37 weeks)


• Acupuncture - probably won't try as it is VERY expensive in our area.


• External Version... we'll see.


• Some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.

I'm not scared about having a c-section, although it would be nice if ONE of my children's deliveries was somewhat normal. Lord knows the scariness of Logan's birth wasn't normal and the fact that we were literally moments away from losing our precious boy... I don't want those risks/chances again. The only thing I'm scared about is the recovery. My company - very very very small (just me and bossman) only gives me 6 weeks maternity leave so I don't know if that gives me enough time to recover from everything, be with my girl, be a mom to my boy, a wife to my husband.

Anyway - lots to think about. I'm very much open to hearing anyone's thoughts on the subject!

Here is Abby - 34 weeks, 2 days with her hand on her head.

First Day of Preschool!

Yesterday while getting my NST at the doctors I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone and it was covered with first day of school pictures - so sweet!

At our house it was Logan's first day of preschool! It wasn't as MAJOR of an event at our house as his preschool is at the same place he has been going for daycare the past three years. Even so we wanted to make it special. He had his cool backpack and we took pictures and BOTH Momma and Daddy took him to drop off. Here is his first day of preschool pictures... How grown up does he look?! I swear - it is nuts to me!

Logan seemed to have a great day! He said he painted, played outside and ate all his lunch! Sounds like a good day to me.

Our Annual Labor Day Picnic

When Logan was just a few weeks old we took him to the park near our house. It was such a great memory - kind of our first family outing just the three of us. We have since done this each Labor Day - Monday being our fourth! Here are some pictures from our 2009 picnic and there are some of the pictures from 2008 in there as well. Last year we had a great time as well. Another one of our traditions is taking a picture of Nathan and Logan's feet together. Here are the pictures from 2008, 2009 and 2010 all together.

This past weekend was true Michigan weather. Saturday morning we went out to Nathan's parents' house to go swimming. It was almost 90 degrees at 10 am. (We went out there so that I could float around and be weightless - a great feeling in your third trimester. And also trying to get Abby to flip over. She is breech and has been for many many weeks. If she doesn't turn then we are looking at a c-section around 39 weeks. FYI - swimming didn't work.)
By Monday - picnic day - it was in the mid 50's and we were wearing jeans and sweatshirts to keep warm! ha! Gotta love it!

Logan said he wanted to eat first so we did that. I packed a couple of apples and Logan said one was for him and one was for Daddy. Nathan doesn't like fruit - it is a texture thing - he really doesn't like apple peel. But he was a good sport and took a bite. I had to take photographic proof! Ha!

Family picture time!

The 2011 feet picture - just think in 2012 there will be a third set of feet in this picture!! :)

Time to play!! Sliding race... Logan dominated. I think it helped that Logan fit in the slide a bit better than his daddy.

This is how Abby and I spent the play time - relaxing in a chair watching the boys run all over the playground! (34 weeks, 1 day in this picture.)

I love this little tradition we have! Hard to believe we'll have an 11 month old with us this time next year chasing after her brother, her daddy and a momma who is not super pregnant! :)

The things they do to make Momma smile!

On Tuesday after dinner Nathan and Logan headed out for a bike ride. This means Logan peddling as fast as humanly possible and Nathan jogging/running to keep up. Logan loves to ride his bike. I FOR SURE can't keep up at this point so I stay home. However - I seem to always bug Nathan while they are gone to see if they are having a good time and such. I hate missing out on that stuff.

On this trip I texted Nathan to feel free to take a Daddy/Logan picture and that I would be okay with that! He did and it is my new wallpaper on my phone. Funny enough when they came back a little while later Nathan pulled his phone out and told me to scroll through the rejects. For some reason i was totally cracking up at these. I love that Nathan took picture after picture after picture to get just the right one! Hope you enjoy!

And the winner!! Love my boys!