Happy Birthday to Kaelan!!!!

...And to Dito (my brother). We had a fun week this week. As I near my official due date (April 11th), we are (read: I am) starting to slow everything down to a snails pace for activities, etc. We took the week in stride and delivered the ever-dreaded snack everyday to Kaelan and Lathan's class each day. I had a meltdown mixed in there over it, and we were late most days because of it also. But we survived and Kaelan seemed to love being in control of it. So WHEW! Now that that's done, I am going to bury myself in a hole and start doing silly exercises to see if this baby will hate his environment enough to join us really soon.

Here is the general rundown of our week:

Tuesday we hit the OB's office for another ultrasound. The doc measured him to be 7 lbs, 11 oz and my belly measured about 39-40 weeks in size. Remember all of this is taken at 37 weeks. I'm dilated between 1-2 cm and the baby is still really high (not uncommon for me even after my water breaks). So I'm hoping for any day now. We didn't discuss induction because I feel that this should happen by itself; but I'm fearing the wrath of childbirth as each day progresses.

Thursday I went to a parent-education night at the kids' school (that I was hoping to miss because Dave had a Journal club meeting that night); but the boys really wanted to have a fun time at the child-watch that happens during the meeting, so we crammed our dinner down and ran over. It was a fun, but very late night. I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes apart while there, which I think was due to the uncomfortable wooden child-size chair I was sitting in because they stopped once I left.

Friday was Kaelan's birthday celebration day. Dave had committed to attending and made arrangements to be there for the short 30 minute celebration. Since I knew he would be there I brought JJ with me so that we could all be there. Well, as it turned out, Dave got stuck in the operating room doing a case that turned nightmare-ish. So he missed it and was unable to tell me at all beforehand. So I sat there hoping for some relief from JJ, who was absolutely determined to take part in the celebration and playing with all the "works" all over the room. I had a really hard time taking pictures/video because of his curiosity. Kaelan, thankfully didn't seem to mind or notice too much. Lathan was totally egging him on because the class thought that JJ's random outbursts were hilarious. So Lathan would say stuff like, "JJ, say 'horsey'." And JJ saw that he was getting such a reaction that he would end up shouting it for more effect. All this during the middle of the birthday celebration presentation. JJ thought he was the spotlight, for sure, and wanted to stand in the center of the circle to display a little more JJ-ness. Afterwards, we ate strawberry shortcake (that the class so nicely made for us - the biscuit part - the day before as an activity) for the birthday treat. Along with the strawberries, I brought canned whip cream for the topping and as I suspected, it was the highlight with whip cream being sprayed all over just for the sake of it because of its novelty. I already had it, so I didn't want to go out and buy more of something else. Poor teachers had to deal with it because I had to take off since JJ had really had enough of me corralling him here and not there.


Once I left and was on my way to the parking lot, I received a call from Dave saying how he was so sorry for not being able to make it and not being able to tell me beforehand. I was so upset by all the stress I was under in the classroom to control JJ and the fact that I couldn't really enjoy the moment with Kaelan that I completely lost it. I broke down in the car and really couldn't regroup for a while, ...so I went to Great Lakes to go shopping (heh heh), which is about 45 minutes away. No really, I had to return a couple of shirts I bought there at the Gap Outlet, so I thought it a good opportunity to get out and about and do some essential errands that have been on my list for a while. I felt much better letting JJ loose in those stores. I probably was a little too lenient since I was so sick of trying anymore. On the way back from Great Lakes, I stopped at Babies R Us to purchase a new carseat with a coupon I had because I felt guilty about putting the baby in a 6-year old car seat, which I found out later that one is supposed to replace carseats every six years to keep up to date with all the new safety requirements. Since my babies rarely make it more than 4 months in that seat because they exceed the 20 lb weight limit, there was literally no wear and tear on the carseat itself. I felt bad that I was buying a new seat for my last baby, but I thought that safety comes first, and since I had about $70 in a gift card left, I went for it. I wouldn't have done it if they didn't have the Snugride 32, though. This seat has a weight limit of 32 pounds and 32 inches long. Thats AWESOME!!! I might be able to use this seat for the entire 1st year! I hope. This baby is making quite the mark en-utero already, so we'll see! None of the boys made it to 30 lbs by year 1, so I can always hope. For those of you who don't have the experience, carrying an infant that exceeds 20 lbs around without any carrier is quite the burden. And one that I've had to deal with each time around. It would be such a luxury to bring a portable little bed for when I'm out and about and baby decides that it's naptime. It really is a big deal for me, so HOORAY!

Saturday, Kaelan's actual birthday, I went and picked up the spiderman cake and a spiderman pinata along with some spiderman paper products. We had a very low-key party, inviting the only people that Kaelan wanted, Ms. Sheila and her two little boys, Steven and Trevor. Funny thing is that Steven is one of Lathan's best buds and Trevor is definitely JJ's best bud. So then who for Kaelan??? He didn't mind. He just wanted them there, so we obliged. We hit Pump it Up, the inflatable slide and jumping place for about 1.5 hours and then went to Red Robin with everyone and had a fun dinner. I never thought to make a reservation (I don't know if they even they do that), so we ended up waiting 55 minutes starting at 6:30. Needless to say, but we had quite the late dinner. Then, to top it all off, we were lucky enough to have Mr. Randy (Ms. Sheila's other half, who we NEVER see) join us for dinner AND he secretly took care of the tab! WHATTTT? Why? We didn't understand and then he said that it was as a congratulations for Dave's residency completion. What a guy! I feel pretty guilty, though, considering that the idea was for us to pay for everyone since we were celebrating K's birthday. Then we headed back to the house to do cake, pinata and a little bit of play. The boys all had a wonderful time and finally made it to bed right after 10.
[This pic (above the car) is Dave flying WWE-style into Kaelan to show him who's boss. Thankfully, Kaelan is as quick as a fox, and so no one got hurt.]


I ate so much yesterday that I think it finally took a toll on my last night. I ate a ton of fun breakfast that Dad made for the birthday, then ate a huge lunch trying to rid the fridge of leftovers from the week, and then ate the huge serving that Red Robin dishes out, plus I couldn't miss out on the cake! I had to pull out the "hah hah" (vomit) bucket at the end of the night because I could feel the food trying to make its way back up. Dave tried to cheer me up by reminding me that I felt that very same way the night before Lathan was born. So we both hoped it might be a sign. No luck, obviously.

Today was a bunch of fun hanging out with the boys and just being silly before church. Then we came home and ate our late lunch, let the two older boys watch their "Planet Earth" videos while Dave, JJ, and I took a short nap upstairs. We came back down to make dinner and broke out our new Veggie Tales movie for them and they were loving it. Boy, we don't watch TV during the week, but we sure make up for it on the weekend!

We've been going back and forth on the name for our newest addition and really can't narrow it down past 3 names. We asked the boys tonight and each chose a different one. We don't know, but we suspect that this baby is waiting until we come up with the right one before he makes his grand appearance. Maybe that's what's missing. If we can't come up with one soon, we're just going to make it an open vote and see how that turns out.

Quote of the night:
You know from my last post that Lathan has been putting A LOT of holes in his pants as of late (apparently he is not the only one because I see all the other kids at school with holes, too). Anyway, I received a lovely email from Dave's mom saying that Dave was the same way and could never keep pants intact for too long; so I was telling Lathan about how he is just like Daddy more than I knew. He proceeded to ask, "so did Nana get him lots of new pants, then?" And my response was, "Nope. She fixed them just like I fixed yours." And his response, "Badly, then?" HA HA. FYI, in my defense, he said that because the patch I put on the pants he wore on Friday came right off and he also successfully put a hole in the other side simultaneously; but let's be realistic, anything I do to mend clothing will be poorly done. So we'll try again!!

We hope to report some good news soon.... once again.... Until then, have a wonderful week!

No news...is good news????

I thought of these photos we took back in 2008 sometime and wanted to share a couple. They are so darling. I can never have enough!




So nothing on the baby front. I am officially "full term" as of Saturday when I crossed the 37 week threshold. I was really hoping for another Kaelan delivery where I went into labor at 37 weeks, but that day has come and gone, so now I just hope I don't incubate a 10-pounder. Now the focus is to try to avoid a double-birthday. Kaelan turns 4 this Saturday. He is already sharing the day with my brother, Fernando. I think that's enough. What would I do if this one came that day, too??? So minor, really, I know. But I know that I really like MY OWN special day. The bottom line is to just have a healthy and happy baby, right? I'm trying not to lose focus, but I can see my upbeat spirits draining from my face as each day passes and I keep thinking, "what is delivering this HUGE baby going to do to me???" I'm trying to suppress the fear (you would think I'd be over it by now, being that this is my FOURTH one), but I'm telling you that it's getting harder each day. I do have an ultrasound on Tuesday to see the size of the baby. I don't think they would do anything anyway until 38 weeks (Kaelan's bday, BTW). I don't want to be induced (I HATE, HATE, HATE pitocin); but I'm thinking that may be the lesser of the two evils. OH the confusion.

As far as the rest of our lives...
I spent the week catching up on various things (hoping that I would be out recovering from delivering a baby sometime soon!). We all got haircuts, got my nails painted a special baby blue, packed my bags, organized the baby's room a bit more, and I started sewing ALL those pants that Lathan has managed to put holes in, as well as hemming a few of my own for some post-baby wear. I really don't get how Lathan is getting so many holes in his pants so quickly. Before all the holes began, I had a sufficient supply for him to last him a week at a time. So he wouldn't be wearing his pants more than once a week for the most part; but I think the child walks, runs and sits on his knees the better part of the day because ALL his pants - and even is brand-new ones (brand-name no less) were getting holes after 3 or 4 times being worn....WHATTTT? I wanted to throw them all away, but that cheap side of me really wants to attempt salvaging some of them. It is REALLY hard work, though. In my head I thought that patching the pants with a cool fabric would be totally chic. But really, what I failed to realize is that little boy pants are almost impossible to get under a sewing maching at knee level. Those little leg holes don't provide enough room to sew anything but horizontally, which is sorta lame. So back to square one. I had a few "iron on" patches that matched some of the pants and so I used those. But those look totally retarded. They work, though! I guess the only way to do it is to hand-sew all the patches (really unattractive if I'm the one doing the work). I did a pair of jeans with a skull and crossbone denim patch and they look uber-cool, but I could only sew horizontally. The really cool part is that I used a cool quilting stitch from the sewing maching, so to finish the vertical part is probably going to look pretty lame. My problems are monumental, aren't they?

Because this week is Kaelan's birthday week, it is also our turn to bring in the snacks for 40 (!!!) children. So I've got to run and prepare that (another reason I want to go into labor...to shirk that responsibility).

Sending you all lots of love. I hope the next post is one about a "little" bundle of joy!

And You Thought I Was Kidding.... among other things.

This past week was a "normal" week with the exceptions of having a few fun activities thrown in the mix and that we had Friday off of school for a "staff development" day. It's always nice to have a 3-day weekend.

To back-track a bit, we were so fortunate to experience a massage from my good friend, Sheila. I went first, then Dave. I was able to relax and chit-chat with her for the whole time and I LOVED it. When it was Dave's turn, apparently he was asleep from almost the minute it started (although when later asked, Dave said it was a "wakeful sleepy state").

Below is JJ wanting to get some action, too. Surprisingly, he was not at all shy about being rubbed and wanted to stay for much longer (I'm sure it helps that Ms. Sheila is his absolute favorite!). He was so good about providing various body parts to allow for maximum rub time. We were both chuckling the entire time.

























Then, on Monday we were able to visit the classroom with the boys (while Ms. Sheila so graciously watched JJ - THANKS!), and saw how well they are doing in reading and in math. I'm astonished that they have such developed skills. It makes me worry that when we switch schools, they will lose, or fall back, a bit because they have done so well here. I feel that I'm not a good home-school teacher, so I worry more and more about this.

Wednesday I treated myself to a mani/pedi because the gym's salon was having a promotion that day and offering services cheaper than my employee discount. I thought it a good excuse to bring in the spring weather with presentable nails :)

Since Thursday was our Friday, we all went with Dad to see his Stake Basketball game at the Stake Center right after dinner. The boys enjoyed watching Dad run up and down the court, while munching on a treat from our favorite local bakery chain - Panera. After the sugar set in, they occupied themselves playing in huge empty cardboard boxes with JJ ocassionally running to the edge of the stage to yell "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY!!!!" in a sort of paniced tone, only to wave and say "hi!" after he looked. I felt bad for Dave having to look at the stage every few minutes in the middle of his game, but I don't think it affected much of outcome.








Dave had a lot of good assists this night, but not much scoring, unfortunately. Dave says that luckily the rest of his team scored, so they still won.





Friday I thought about going to the gym to workout, but then reconsidered when I realized that I hadn't even packed my bag for the hospital, prepared the nursery, or cleaned the basics around the house for a while. So we stayed in, rode our bikes/scooters for a little and really just let the boys take it easy the whole day. Because we didn't do much of anything, by the end of the day, it was a bit of a madhouse because of all the stomping and pounding from all the boys running around after each other. I could hear lots of giggling all over and thankfully there were only a few tears.

Saturday we visited with our good friend Judy (also pregnant) and her daughter, Jacie. Jacie is about 3 weeks older than JJ, so they had a blast and were pretty attached the entire afternoon. Judy and I caught up on each other's lives and made as much effort not to move or do anything physical with our big bellies. We did quite well in that department! We did a craft for ourselves (cute fridge magnets), and then spent time on individual laptops to find cute baby announcements on the internet for the babes. We also tried to celebrate Jacie's birthday (this coming weekend) a little early since we can't make it to her party by eating a tower of donuts and singing "happy birthday" and having a few party treats to play with afterward. Now JJ wants to sing the birthday song all the time along with some blowing to pretend-blow out the candles (some good prep work since Kaelan's bday and his are in the next couple of weeks!). It was a lot of relaxing fun, thanks Judy!

So I thought I would be brave and take some pictures of my BIG, HUGE pregnant self... for posterity???? And you thought I was kidding when I was said that I feel really big. No joke. HUGE, right? Really, I figured since this is hopefully (I won't tempt fate!) my last pregnancy, I should record the hugeness that is me. So here you go (taken last Sunday at 35 weeks, so I'm only getting bigger!):

From the FRONT























From the Side (my shirts don't fit anymore, so I had to force it down for modesty purposes)

Just Fun Stuff (from even as far back as November!)

So Dave and I have two cameras and apparently, I forgot that I had some pics stored on the "other" camera that I never uploaded to the computer. So I have a ton of cute stuff to share. I will update the latest goings-on at a later time; but for now pics and movies galore! YAY!

This is when we were so privileged to watch baby "Yanna" for an afternoon back in Oct or Nov sometime; the boys absolutely LOVED it.


We were invited to JJ's best friend Trevor's Bday party (Steven is Lathan's best friend and Trevor's older bro) at this bounce house and they couldn't get enough.


My party kings!


A Halloween/bday cupcake making a good showing on JJ's face.


We had all the residents and their families over for a Thanksgiving celebration and this is the AFTER picture of the basement.


Check out this BEFORE (Lathan mentioned that it was only two kids that managed to make this mess while the other 8 or so were respectful enough to play nicely). The one thing missing from this picture is the futon (in the back) cushion was completely removed and placed near the stairs.


Kaelan thought he could squeeze into the baby chair left from the dinner the night before, only to find that he was truly stuck (and NOT happy about it).


We were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with the Leonards and the boys spent the night on their futon. Here are a couple positions we encountered. SO CUTE!



The next morning they had yummy sweet cereals for a treat while the ladies were out shopping.


One day after one of our major storms this winter (I am happy to say that I will NEVER have to face shoveling that driveway again!!!).


Lathan flirting with the camera - again.


One of the more common occurrences lately where JJ falls asleep on the way back from picking Kaelan up from school. This day he didn't budge for anything.


Silly stuff with silly boys.


This is my birthday dinner that Dave and I "raved" about in a past post. The boys were so fun and here is a little glimpse.


Those infamous "nachos"


Kaelan enjoyed the coloring pages regardless of the food. What a good boy.


The next night (on my actual bday) I was able to hang with my prego friend Judy and do a little window shopping - sorta. Here we are showing the goods and also trying to show our round bellies, but it didn't quite all fit :)


While I was out with the girlies, the boys celebrated with Dad by eating the cupcakes they made me the night before.



We had a wonderful winter, but are now looking forward to an even better Spring!

I will try to update sometime this week, so keep checking back!

Funnies

We were in primary sharing time at church on Sunday where the whole primary was talking about what they liked to "build" with their families. You had the stereo-typical answers such as... blocks.... legos..... tents.... forts.... and then Lathan raises his hand to share what he likes to build with his family. So they ask him, "Lathan, what do you like to build with your family?" Without any hesitation, Lathan responds, "I like to build Guns!!" Griselda's jaw dropped. Talk about a lot of explaining to do. She immediately tried to clarify, "paper guns. They are paper guns. They aren't really building. He is talking only about drawing paper guns."


We were sitting at the dinner table eating dinner tonight, when JJ wanted more pasta. Lathan also wanted more. So as I was getting up, I passed by a package of Griselda's favorite herbal tea that we received today, and so I said, "I gave Mama the best Christmas Birthday present ever!" By this time I am starting to dish the pasta into the respective bowls, when Kaelan says "What is it Daddy? " He pauses, cocks his head to the side, and inquisitively looking at me says, "Pasta?"

Finally, we are at the table when Lathan starts saying, "Oh, I hurt. I can't eat my cauliflower...but I can eat dessert." Then he starts to just say, "Oh, Mama, I hurt. I have a belly ache" So I start to mess with him. "What's the matter? Do you need to go Ah HAHHH? (vomit) Do you need Daddy to stick a finger in your bunda (rear-end) to make you go poo poo?" (For those of you growing concerned I was absolutely joking). Anyway, Kaelan decides to play too. He says, "Yeah, Lathan, do you need me to cut your head off?" We all started laughing. Then Mama says, "Lathan, you know that Kaelan's idea would definitely stop you from hurting."

All the kids are fine. Promise.

Dave's Take

How to tell when the economy is bad in Detroit........when "Gang" shootings begin to show up in the ER with BB holes instead of bullet holes.....when it is no longer asked of "Gang" members, "What caliber gun was used?" but instead, "How many times did you pump the gun before shooting?"

And how do you tell when the economy is getting bad in general? It is when Griselda realizes that the tax breaks that are going to default in 2011, that are going to help pay for all of the government pr0grams, is going to directly affect us within our first few years of practice. Priceless.

So, not only will we probably not sell our house in Detroit, but we are going to be significantly increasing the amount of taxes that we will be payingand we will lose the current tax breaks. We are also moving to a state in a budget crisis that will be decreasing the amount of money spent on our children's education, increasing the income tax, and hiking up the sales tax......But at least if we are going to be paying more for everything, we will be Californians again, close to family, and enjoying the warm weather.

Dave