As we wait...

I've almost hit 39 weeks and now we're just in the waiting game. Sometimes I love the wait because my calendar is mostly clear and I am able to love on my little ones a bit more and complete some of the tasks that I had hoped to finish. Then sometimes I hate the waiting game because I'm uncomfortable and ready to meet this little (or big) guy.

So what have we been up to during this time?

My friends threw me a surprise sprinkle and boy was I surprised! It was such a fun girls night complete with lots of chatting, laughter, a s'mores bar and thoughtful gift ideas. They gifted me with lots of diapers for the new little one and Sawyer and Nora also came away with loads of new toys/activities. Each guest brought something for the older ones and they created a nursing box. I can use the new toys/activities as a good distraction when I have to care for the baby and can't be focused on them. They are going to LOVE it and so am I!

We purchased another mattress, so the bunk beds are complete. Our sleeping situation is now complete hopefully for a long time.

Several of my friends have recently had babies, so we've been taking them meals and loving on their little ones.

Sawyer had spring break this week. It didn't really feel much like spring…

Kyle is in the midst of spring football, which means lots of early morning practices (think 4:45 am wake up calls).

Nora's been tagging along to my frequent doctor appointments. She is a trooper and is always so talkative with the nurses and doctors. When we leave she always tells them "I love you."

I recently had a morning off thanks to Sawyer being at school and a friend watching Nora, so I went to the salon for highlights and a hair cut. I love to do this before each birth. If I have to be large and swollen for pictures at least I can have nice hair :)

For those who know me in real life you probably already know the little dude already made his entrance into the world. I wrote this post just days before he arrived. I'll be back with all the details, but until then here's a sneak peek.

Kids Carnival

Every year the Malone education department hosts a kids carnival designed for those with special needs. I think it is such a great ministry opportunity to reach out to those kids and families!

And honestly kids of all ages enjoy the fun. As evidenced by the pictures below. This year's theme was fairytale land complete with characters ranging from the big bad wolf, pinnochio, princess, little red hiding hood, etc.

Sawyer is all about games board, video, computer, made up…it doesn't matter he is always up for a game. He had a blast going from station to station playing all the games. I think his favorite was the whack a wolf or sword fighting, which was put on by the football players so it also involved tackling :)

Nora is TERRIFIED of people in animal costumes. She spent the first 1/2 of our time clinging to our legs and running in fear of people like the big bad wolf. But once she caught that she could win a prize at each game she overcame her fears and had fun.

Here's a look at our night'o'fun:

Sawyer high giving the big bad wolf, Nora cowering away from the big bad wolf, Sawyer practicing his archery skills

 

Practicing his sword fighting technique

And now for the actual fight with a monster and he got him!

Nora was terrified of the monster, but Daddy saved the day

Helping the princess find her frog was much more up her alley

Or she also enjoyed holding hands with her brother and finding the perfect pair of shoes for the character

more games

Sawyer at the jester training center building with cups

Daddy protecting Nora from the costumed people :)

Whack-a-wolf is always a hit

And what's a carnival without a little or a lot of cotton candy?

And everyone, including daddy, got a crown!

The kids decorated their crowns…what can I say Sawyer likes the bling :)

Pinewood Derby

Recently Sawyer has started showing great interest in tools and fixing things. Any time Kyle is working on a house project Sawyer is right there to be his helper. So, when the church announced it's annual Pinewood Derby we knew Sawyer would LOVE to make his own car.

We purchased a car kit and everyday for the next week Sawyer begged to make his car. Finally when the weekend rolled around it was time to begin. Sawyer was obsessed with putting the wheels on, but since that is one of the final steps Daddy made him a checklist to break down the process into 20 steps.

Every time Daddy had a free moment Sawyer was begging him to do the next step! First Sawyer looked online at some examples and chose his design. Then he traced it on the car and Daddy cut the shape.

watching Daddy cut the car and making sure he was being safe :)

Then the hard part, sanding, sanding and more sanding. Sawyer was a trooper! He sat on that bucket in the garage for several hours (broken up over a few days) sanding the car until it was smooth.

Finally after all the sanding it was time for the much anticipated paint job. Sawyer chose red and gray as his car colors and insisted there be a #4 on the car. Kyle was adamant that Sawyer do this project primarily on his own and painting was no exception.

After the paint dried it was time to put in the axles and attach the wheels. This was the part Sawyer had been waiting for and loved every minute of snapping the wheels into place.

hammering in the axle

Snapping in the wheels

Taking it for a test drive

Sawyer's picture of his car…pretty artistic I think

This weekend they added the weight and now it's all ready for the race next weekend!

1st Quilt {Kids Krafts}

I took the plunge and made my 1st quilt. I won't get into all the gory details :) Just suffice it to say I am glad I chose a quilt with a pattern and a tutorial. And I'm very glad I have some quilting experts in my life to answer my numerous questions.

I saw this ombre quilt on Pinterest from See Kate Sew and I loved how simple and modern it was. I was very hesitant to try my hand at quilting, but I knew I wanted to make something special for this new little man in our lives. For Sawyer we created a whole nursery and numerous crafts. Since Nora was my 1st girl I went a little overboard creating everything from headbands, dresses and a butterfly mobile for her. Also, both Sawyer and Nora had several special quilts made by family members including great grandma. I knew this little one wouldn't have a quilt from great grandma Schenk so I thought it might be nice if he had some kind of keepsake quilt. Thus began the journey…

I decided to base the colors off the nursery and Sawyer's bedding. I also decided to stray from the pattern and create a twin size quilt (instead of baby sized) so it could be used on their bunk beds when he was out of the crib. If I was going to put that much effort into a project I did not want it sitting in a drawer after a year :)

First I chose the fabric. Then I began the process of cutting the triangles.

After the tedious process of cutting I laid out my pattern and began sewing the rows.



This is an in-progress shot of the front all sewn together. Then it was time to baste the quilt with the batting and the back.

 

At this time I was 8 months pregnant and getting on the ground to insert safety pins was not the easiest of tasks, but I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel so I pushed through.

Then it was time to actually quilt the blanket. I chose to follow the tutorial and use the stitch-in-the-ditch method on the white and gray triangles. I honestly assumed this would be one of the easier tasks since I sew all the time. However, as I placed the quilt on the sewing machine progress came to a screeching halt! I spent the next 2 hours sewing 3 triangles, ugh. My sewing machine could handle stitching the 3 layers, but what I didn't anticipate was the bulk of the quilt. As I made each turn of the triangle I had to push the whole quilt through the machine opening which was super difficult and all my basting was going to waste.

I realize now I should have made the quilt in sections so my machine could handle the bulk, but it was too late at this point. After great debate about a solution (sending it to a quilter, hand sewing, etc) I decided to take it to a local long arm quilt shop. I had to give up the ideal triangle stitch-in-the-ditch dream because that doubled the price, so I chose to have each row of triangles sewn at the top and the bottom to preserve the modern feel of the quilt. When the quilting was finished I made the binding and attached it.

And here is the finished product:

Sorry it's a little wrinkly from being folded, but I've ironed it so many times while working on it…wasn't going to happen again :)

Overlooking the wrinkles I LOVE it and I hope he does too! I think it will look great in his room and hopefully it's neutral enough to grow with him.

Comparison

As I near the end of this 3rd pregnancy I thought I would document the similarities and differences with my previous pregnancies.

The 1st 12 weeks were tough. No actual sickness just extreme exhaustion and nauseousness. Very similar to Nora's pregnancy.

As my body changed and my belly grew it became apparent I was carrying this guy very low just like my 1st pregnancy with Sawyer.

With Sawyer and Nora I didn't need maternity wear until 20 weeks, but this time my belly expanded much faster and by 12 weeks I was happily sporting the stretchy maternity pants.

I ran until 20 weeks with #3 just like with Sawyer. However, with Sawyer I worked out until the very last day of pregnancy. This time around I developed a stress fracture in my foot at 22 weeks and after being out of the workout routine for 2 weeks I never went back. With Nora I was working out, but then I got sick and since I didn't know I was pregnant I took a break and never looked back.

In all 3 pregnancies my food cravings have remained pretty consistent mostly in the form of red meat and ice cream. This time however, there is one major difference, I can eat chicken. With pregnancy #1 and #2 the thought of chicken was gag inducing. This time it can make me a little queasy, but I can usually eat it just fine.

My thyroid issues followed the same pattern as with Nora's pregnancy.

As for weight gain pregnancy #3 exceeds any of my other pregnancies. We may have a larger baby on our hands :) With Sawyer I gained 25 pounds. With Nora I gained about 30, but I began the pregnancy below weight and ended it about the same as with pregnancy #1. This pregnancy I started at the same weight I was with pregnancy #1, but this time I've gained about 30 lbs and I still have a few weeks left.

Another added feature of this pregnancy is acid reflux. I've been experiencing it at night since about 30 weeks. Never in my life have I had heartburn until now. Thankfully it's pretty minor, but suffice it to say I bought my first bottle of Tums.

Besides the weight gain and the added aches and pains this pregnancy has been a mix of the other two. Hopefully the labor and delivery follows suit as both of my previous births were smooth, quick and safe.

Speaking of labor and delivery we have a little bet going on in our house and we would love for you to join in.

What day will the baby be born?
To assist in the guess the due date is April 6th. With pregnancy #1 I delivered 2 weeks early. With pregnancy #2 I delivered 1 week early.

My guess: April 1st (simply because I think it would be fun to have a birthday on April Fools Day :)
Kyle's guess: April 2nd (he picked that date to play the odds and annoy me)
Sawyer's guess: April 4th (because he is 4 :)
Nora's guess: March 26th (no idea why, that was the 1st number out of her mouth when I asked)

Weekend Recap

We had a low key weekend at home, which almost never happens…what do you get when you combine a weekend at home with no plans and a 37 week pregnant woman? NESTING!

This is Nora on Friday night coloring on my phone. I love the way she lounges, but I think it makes her look so old. Perhaps a glimpse into what we might be seeing in her teenage years :)

On Friday evening Kyle finished his bunk bed project (more on that in another post) and he and Sawyer put the bed together. Earlier in the week Kyle put the crib back together. So now the boy's room is all ready for the baby's arrival.

Sawyer is very into tools and helping Daddy fix things

Saturday morning we DEEP cleaned the kitchen. It was a family affair of floor cleaning, cabinet decluttering and dusting, sinking shining, refrigerator cleaning and disinfecting galore. I even dusted the ceiling and the ceiling fan, which never happens. From 8 am - 1 pm we were busy bees.

Saturday afternoon as the kids (and the husband) napped. I finished off a big project for baby #3. I put the binding on the quilt I made for our new little man(more on that in another post).

Then to reward ourselves for all the hard work (and to keep the kitchen clean for at least 24 hours) we went out to dinner as a family. I love that the kids are now old enough to really enjoy going to a restaurant.

On Sunday morning we went to church and enjoyed a great message on prayer. During the afternoon the kids (and the husband) napped. I worked on a few more baby projects including a new style of nursing cover and a wet bag (I'll do another post on those baby projects). When the kids woke up Sawyer was insistent on working on his Pinewood Derby car with Daddy (more on that to come after the race). To distract Nora I helped her make a new necklace. She LOVES anything involved with a craft, which makes her mommy happy :)

Nora making her necklace and the finished product

Then we wrapped up the evening with a family meal and a few games and a dance party. As you can tell the weekend wasn't filled with exciting activities, but it was a wonderful weekend with the perfect balance of family activities, productive work and relaxation.

I think we can officially say we're ready for this baby to make his entrance!

Nora News

There's not really any news about Nora, but the other day she put on a new outfit and LOVED it so I took the opportunity to snap some pictures. She proclaimed it her Minnie Mouse outfit. It was a Sunday and at church she stopped everyone she knew to show them her new outfit. She can be oh so sassy, but sometimes you simply cannot resist the cuteness…just ask her daddy.

Dancing for the camera

seriously, too cute