52 week project catch up pt. 1

Yikes, I have fallen so behind on this project since Tommy was born. That's okay though, those first newborn days are meant to be soaked in and enjoyed without worrying about much of anything else but counting tiny fingers and toes and kissing a perfect little mouth. Now that I am actually showering and dressing myself most days I feel like I can get back into the swing of things here. I decided to break protocol and do one big long 'what we've been up to this past month' post to catch back up and then resume the 'portraits of my children' theme afterwards. It was turning out way too long though, so I think it will be broken up into two parts, maybe three. I mean, it really depends on how many pictures of us holding him you want to see because that is pretty much what we've been doing...or at least it's all I deemed necessary to take a picture of it seems. And, now that I've completely spoiled the ending for you, here is the beginning...

(Oh, and I'm just going to go ahead and skip over that pesky week I missed at the very beginning of the year if you don't mind.)

21/52 + 40 weeks:

My due date had passed and I spent this week waiting. And waiting. I took pictures off the walls and rearranged most of the house in an effort to keep my mind from counting down the unknown number of minutes until labor would start, and we finished up some last minute projects like hanging blinds in the nursery. The girls asked everyday when their baby brother was coming and tried to sweet talk him out, their little lips pressed up against my belly telling him that it was okay, he could come now. They were so excited to have him join our family. At the end of the week I went in to have Tommy monitored to make sure he was still doing okay. I watched the lines on the graph paper zig and zag while his steady heartbeat lulled me into drowsiness in the otherwise quiet room, wondering when I would finally get to meet him. Every night I went to bed thinking, maybe tomorrow.

22/52 + 41 weeks and Birth (finally!!):

The good news is he couldn't stay in there forever. Nine days past his due date he arrived in a short 4 1/2 hour induced labor after some possible complications arose during a second monitoring session and it was determined he needed to come out now. Even though an induction was never part of my plan I felt peace about it. All throughout the week I had been feeling tiny whispers in my heart that he would need to come this way. So when we walked into the hospital that afternoon it felt right even though we were a bit nervous, praying he would be okay. After waiting days for something, anything to happen it was almost shocking to have him in my arms so quickly. He was so tiny and beautiful, and after giving us a couple of scares during our hospital stay which resulted in an x-ray and more pokes for him than I would have liked, we were overjoyed to find out that he was perfect too.

And so we went home, a family of five.

19/52 + 39 weeks

 1 - The girls have been mix and matching their swimsuits and playing in the backyard with the hose after school all week long. Lark doesn't seem to mind running around bare foot in our pokey weed-filled yard, but LM always makes sure to wear shoes. Just another small way they are total opposites that makes me smile.

2 - LM only has one more week of school and then she will be a Kindergarten graduate! I really can't believe how fast this school year went by, wasn't I just dropping her off for her first day? The timing is actually nice though since I will have a newborn soon and I won't have to worry about getting out of the house at certain times each day for school drop off and pick up. It will be nice to have her home to help me too. She is growing up and proving to be a big help to us around the house and with her sister. I have talked to her about how important her contribution is to our family and how much we appreciate what she can do. We also discussed how a newborn is going to take up a lot of my time and attention, especially at first, and how I will need her to lend an extra hand every now and then. I am certainly not going to overbear her with responsibility, but I am glad she will be there to grab me a burp cloth, or help her little sister put on her shoes. She has declared she will NOT change a poopy diaper, but she WILL put that stinky diaper into the diaper pail for me after I change it. Ha.

3 - Lark is still taking naps for me almost every afternoon but once her sister is home all day I predict they will slowly start to dwindle and I am actually okay with that - it will help with bedtime which she can drag out for a very long time. One of my favorite things she does right now is make up stories. She grabs a book and says she will read it to me and then makes up the funniest little stories with awesome dramatic voice inflections and facial expressions that crack me up. They usually involve a dragon, a princess, a castle made of cheese, some part of the book she is looking at, and a mixture of the Three Little Pigs or Peter Pan. It is truly entertaining, she is a ham and has a fun imagination. She has declared she will get the wipes when it comes to the poopy diaper changing.

4 - Tomorrow is my due date. I am feeling calm and ready. LM took this picture for me since I figured I needed to document my bump in this series for what will hopefully be the final time. Next week I hope to have a beautiful tiny face make his appearance here in place of my large and in charge belly.

Have a nice long weekend :)

18/52 + 38 weeks

1 - LM has finally started showing interest in her dollhouse after pretty much neglecting it for the past couple of years. I thought she would love it when we first gave it to her, but she just wasn't interested even when I sat down to play with her. I am glad it is finally getting some much needed play time on record. I was about to claim it as my own and start decorating it for fun, ha. Now we can do that together.

2 - Lark came down with a fever so we have been taking it easy at home the last couple of days. Gratefully, I think she is on the mend after sleeping most of today.

3 - My next midwife appointment is the day before my due date and I really hope it is my last... fingers crossed. I feel ready to start this next chapter of our lives as a family of five. Both of the girls kept me waiting days past my due date though, so I imagine this dude will give me the opportunity to practice my patience too.

17/52 + 37 weeks

I wasn't very good at getting my camera out this week, as in I didn't get it out at all, so I am using this as an opportunity to go back in time a bit and post some iphone pictures from Easter this year...

1 - The girls wore the matching dresses I made them to church and then we drove up to my mom's little farm for a delicious family dinner and some festivities. It is the perfect setting for an egg hunt, don't you think? You can see our pictures from last year here (husband actually makes an appearance in them, this year we didn't even take a family picture, whoops).

2,3,4 - Scenes from the egg hunt. LM actually found a real Swallow egg in the middle of the field while on a walk with her cousins. She brought it home nestled in a little box and was so excited to show it to her class for show and tell that Friday. We put it up on a shelf to keep it safe, but she liked to get it down to look at often and one day she decided to keep it in her bike basket while riding around the driveway. Well, the bike tipped and I'm sure you can guess what happened. It was so sad. She ended up taking a picture of Swallow eggs in a nest instead.

5 - This week we got items like our baby bath tub and cloth diapers out of storage, and my awesome friends Danielle and Annie threw me a nice baby shower. So, I have a lot of washing and folding and organizing and counting my blessings to do now. I ended up cleaning out the dresser in my craft room to use in the nursery and we got a simple crib that is a keeper, so the main pieces in the room are starting to come together. It is turning out to be a quiet, peaceful little place that I like to slip away to and just sit and think and imagine while baby boy rolls about inside of me.  

15/52 + 35 weeks

So, this week it seems we've all been taking turns sitting in this rocking chair, ha. I found it while searching on the local classifieds (which I do waaaaaay too much of lately looking for a dresser for the nursery) and it was just too fun to pass up. 

1 - Every day we set aside some time for LM to practice reading out loud. It makes me so happy when she figures out new, harder words all on her own. I am really proud of her because she tends to get easily frustrated when she can't do something right the very first time, but she has overcome a lot of that frustration when it comes to reading (and life in general). It is beautiful to watch her practice patience and try again instead of melt down. Yay, for maturity!

2 - You can't tell in this picture, but I finally got around to taking Lark in for her first haircut so she is no longer business in the front, party in the back, ha. Lately, she has been blowing raspberries on my belly and yelling silly phrases at the baby like, "Hey, pooper brother, I'm your sister!" and "We'll read books, you tooter." So, pretty much I think they will get along just fine. 

3 - At 35 weeks I am starting to have some sleepless nights. Our new crib arrived but we have yet to take it out of the box as it's been a pretty busy week for us. I think today is the day though and that will be fun. 

12/52 + 32 weeks

1 - LM chillaxing in her new suit and shades. The girls have been taking swim lessons for the first time the last couple of weeks and they are doing so well! Before they started both of them wouldn't go under the water without a lot of coaxing and now they are jumping off the diving board. It's so fun to watch your kids grow and gain confidence - such a rewarding part of being a parent!

2 - Lark feel asleep on the couch, so of course I took about a million pictures of her sweet, sleeping face. As one does.

3 - I think I'm starting to realize I actually have to give birth soon. Anyone else feel like they spend most of their pregnancy in denial? Ha ha. I really need to buckle down and practice my meditation and breathing because this baby is going to come out whether I am prepared or not, and I really want to feel like I am on my mental A-game for another natural birth.

And here's one more picture for you, just for fun :)

11/52 + 31 weeks

1 - LM has been on a My Little Pony drawing binge this week. Our house is littered with pages of her work as she has spent hours at the coffee table completely in the coloring zone. I don't mind this phase one bit, I love seeing her creativity. Her rendition of the Queen of the Changelings was especially impressive.

2 - An afternoon snack of orange smiles. This picture reminds me just how badly I need to take Lark in for her first haircut. More often than not she won't let me put her hair up which looks so cute, and when it's down it's just...well, not so cute, ha ha. The mullet needs to go.

3 - The girls spent an afternoon outside playing and collecting what flowers they could find that have bloomed so far this Spring. Each time they found one they would bring it in and place it on my belly.

Have a great weekend!

10/52 + 30 weeks

This week I thought two pictures each of the girls said it better than one.

1 + 2 - LM playing pretend on her bed with some of her Littlest Pet Shop figurines she inherited from her cousin. I love listening in on her pretend play conversations, it is so entertaining.

3 + 4 - Lark is our little bookworm with her nose often found in a book. When she gets hurt or sad she will cry, "I want to read a book!" and run to her room. We snuggle on the 'comfy chair' together and I read her stories until she feels better. (This reminds me that when LM was her age she would cry, "I need a rest!" when she was hurt or sad and would get a blanket and lay down on the couch).

4 - The farther along I get the less I feel like taking pictures, ha. I know I will be glad to have them to look back on though. This little guy is starting to kick me hard enough to make me jump sometimes and he has been getting the hiccups almost every night. So far we have cleared out the room that will be his nursery so it is empty. I am looking forward to getting it ready for him over the next couple of months.

7/52 + 27 weeks

1 - We have the most loving and patient cat named Tiger Lily. She lets LM pick her up and carry her around the house and I often find them snuggling together on the couch. It is LM's job to feed her every morning.

2 - Lark playing with dominoes one afternoon. Sticking your tongue out helps you concentrate.

3 - I am finding the hardest part of this challenge is getting pictures of my bump since I am usually the one behind the camera. Sometimes a shot looking down is the best I get. We went out to check on the state of the garden and make plans for Spring only to discover that the spinach and broccoli plants had survived the winter snow. What a fun surprise!

5/52 + 25 weeks

I meant to post this at the end of last week, but with a busy Valentines Day and then getting hit with a sick bug over the weekend I find myself playing catch up...

1 - I have pretty much given up any kind of control when it comes to what LM wears. She picks out her own outfits these days and on this particular day even did her hair herself. She was so proud! I didn't count, but I think there were about 5-6 clips throughout her hair. So, that is how she went to school, fancy vintage dress and all.

2 - Lark will often dress herself too. Her uniform of choice always involves one of her sister's skirts. This polka dot skirt is her favorite. It may as well just be hers because she wears it more than LM. I love that it is almost always on backwards.

3 - As far as my wardrobe goes, I am having to get creative. Layering a dress with a shorter shirt I sort of bunch up with a belt is my latest comfy outfit that still feels put together.

4/52 + 24 weeks

1 - Going...

2 - Going...

3 - Gone! They played on the couch like this for most of the afternoon one day.

4 - The view looking down at 24 weeks. Feeling really good at this point. The baby was kicking the heart rate monitor like crazy at my midwife appointment this week. I am so grateful for every one of those kicks.