Long Awaited ANNOUNCEMENT

Before I get to the "BIG NEWS" I have to start with a bit of an update (you know, 'cause it's been over a month since I posted... again... sorry about that....). But don't worry, it's all tied in to the baby's arrival. So, on my due date (Saturday February 4th) we took Andrew to a local park and did some metal detecting (Scott's new hobby) as well as spent lots of time playing on the play-scapes. Andrew loved the slides and Daddy even took him up to the bigger tunnel slides, and sent him down to me. He had a blast, as did we!!! Oh right, it was my due date... nope, nothing was going on as far as signs of baby coming. But we thoroughly enjoyed what we hoped was our last family day as a family of 3. Oh, and in case you were wondering how we could spend 3 hours at a park in February, in CT... well, we haven't had much of a "winter-wonderland" winter this year. It was about 50 degrees the weekend I was due.

Here I am at 40 weeks, 1 day in the dress that I wore with the same sweater 7 sundays in a row. I seem to recall mentioning something in my last post about being down to 2 outfits that fit nicely. I also had this one lovely dress that I am very happy to not be able to wear for a good long while now due to the fact that it isn't nursing friendly (I have plenty of other dresses that are though... :) ).

Me and my handsome little buddy. This was the first time he got to wear a real suit for church (a gift from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas). He looked so handsome and even left his tie on during church! I was very impressed since I don't know what I would think of a clip-on tie. It looks uncomfortable. Maybe it isn't, but it looks that way.

Now for the BIG announcement!!! We are very proud to announce the birth of our daughter, Natalie Rose on Saturday February 18th, at 1:54 in the afternoon. She weighed 9lbs. 14oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long! Yes, we got our little girl, and yes, she was born at 42 weeks to the day!

She had a bit of bruising on her face which contributed to the redness in the above picture (plus the fact that she wasn't even 2 hours old yet). She is beautiful and we are all so in love!!!

That Thursday I had an ultra sound to check on Baby, the fluid levels and the placenta since I was almost 2 weeks past my due date. We wanted to make sure it was safe for baby and me to continue to wait for her to come on her own. Everything was great and I knew I'd have the baby by the end of the weekend due to some other signs I was having at the time. By Friday morning though I was convinced I wasn't going to have the baby until after Saturday as Scott was scheduled to be in Albany at a book signing that day (which he did have to postpone after all). About mid afternoon I started to have some serious, real, contractions! They were few and far between (about every 45 minutes) but I knew something was going on. I decided to still go to a baby shower I had hoped to go to that night and promised Scott and my Mom to come right home if I "started" having contractions (I hadn't really mentioned the ones I was having as I didn't want to get excited if I wasn't going to actually go into serious labor yet). It was about a 40 minute ride to the shower and I had 2 contractions 30 minutes apart during that drive. I was starting to think things really were starting. The next one was 30 minutes later, and then they started to be every 20 minutes. It was during the devotion time and a game (at the shower) that I had 3 contractions 20 minutes apart and decided that maybe I should start thinking about going home since while I was having the contraction I couldn't talk and felt like I wished I had stayed home (but I did so enjoy the time that I was at the shower). So I said my "good bye's" and headed home. Especially since standing up had given me another contraction not 10 minutes after my last. I made it home and spent the next 8 hours relaxing and trying to rest in between contractions. A couple hours after I got home the contractions moved to 10 minutes apart and so I went to bed, not to sleep but to just try and rest as much as possible and let my body do what it needed to do. Natalie's labor and birth was so much better than Andrew's because I worked with my body, letting it do it's job instead of fighting every single contraction that came along. I was in labor for about 20 hours which is just over half as long as 37 hours (my labor with Andrew). I only pushed no more than 10 times total (not what I had prepared for because I pushed for 2 hours with Andrew, but oh, such a nice surprise). When she was born I just couldn't stop praising God. First that she was here and then after I took the time to check and see if baby was a girl or a boy, I was just praising Him all over again!!! She is such a joy and a blessing!

She loves her Daddy, and as you can imagine, he loves her too!!! I told Natalie that from birth she's had him wrapped around her little fingers. :)

Andrew didn't know what to think of her at first. I think he wondered when she was going to leave and he'd have my full attention all to himself, 100% of the time again. However, he has since seemed to change his mind. He is always checking to see that she has her hat, and he also likes to come take he hat off and touch her hair. He has become much more interested in her and I know that within a matter of weeks he will be loving all over her and I'll have to keep an even closer eye on the two of them. :)

Natalie at 1 week old. As you can see she is very alert and sometimes seems interactive, which just doesn't seem right for an almost 2 week old. I guess being 2 weeks late has it's perks. She is nursing well and definitely seems to be growing and changing very quickly. I love my little family of 4!!!! God is so good!!!

Life

Well, if you're reading this, then I'm impressed... I still have readers. Incredible considering that I have not been good about writing on here over the past year. Why? Well, put simply... Life. Just life happening and blogging not being a part of that. I still check up on all my followers, not that anyone knows it because I never comment, but I want to. Sometimes I do go to comment and my computer or internet "hick-ups" and then before I can fix it and actually leave the comment I was going to, something happens (life) and my computer is put back away for another time. I do get online to check my email at least once a day, and usually more than once a day, but getting on long enough to do more than check my email (even reply to emails or comments of facebook) is more of a rare occasion. With the baby coming soon I wonder if I might get more of an opportunity to blog (while nursing) or if I'll be too busy keeping up with Andrew while nursing. But either way, that's okay. It's life, and life for me right now means spending time with Andrew, keeping my apartment in good order, and doing whatever else comes up (crocheting, visiting with a friend, reading, making tinctures and lotions (inspiration from Shoshanna Easling's Making Babies series which I highly recommend), eating (being pregnant means frequent small meals for me every 2 hours or I start feeling sick), napping (being pregnant with a 16 month old means I nap when he does, especially in the third trimester), etc.).

Andrew is growing, growing, growing! A year ago I remember remarking on how neat it was to see his personality coming out more and more. But now? Now, we are even more amazed by his personality and we are loving learning about him and learning how to communicate with him. He says lots of "b" words (ball, book, buzz) and anything that starts with "m" (mamma, more) and even though his first words included "da" for Dad, he refuses to say it now. Once in awhile we'll catch him saying "daddy" but whenever he looks at pictures (we have lots of pictures from our wedding, and few family pictures around our house) he always points out "mamma" and laughs when we say "and Daddy..." He seems to be connecting pictures of babies and babies we see with my tummy. But he calls babies and my tummy "muh". He will see a baby and start pointing and saying "muh, muh" and then come over to me and pat my tummy saying "muh, muh". It will be neat to see what he thinks of the baby once it is here.

Speaking of Andrew.... we went outside for a short bit this afternoon as it's been snowing all day and I figured it was time he got to out instead of standing at the window watching all his aunts and uncles playing in the snow. He was more interested in watching the four wheeler plowing the driveway than he was in the snow, but once we came in he got very interested in the snow that was coming off his boots. So I got a bowl of snow for him to "check out" and captured a few pictures.

Here he is pausing in his enjoyment of the snow to "pose" for me. It was so funny.

And then he got very interested in testing the snow....

I am now 38 weeks along which means that I could have the baby anytime in the next 4 weeks I figure. I'm not counting on going close to my due date since Andrew was 12 days late, and of course if the baby isn't ready yet, I don't want to rush it along. However, I am super, super excited about meeting the baby and being a family of 4. I can't wait to see how Andrew interracts with the baby. The pregnancy has been going well. I've discovered that cutting out wheat from my diet means much less heartburn and acid reflux which I do have a hard time with. I'm also doing much better this time exercising and will probably end up gaining only half as much weight as I did with Andrew. Exercising all the way through pregnancy is SO much better than waiting until the third trimester to start thinking about it. My flexibility is so much better and of course, I'm sure it helps with keeping up with Andrew.

Still alive

I'm still here, in case anyone was wondering. :) My laptop is not working right now and so I don't have any "new" pictures, but here's an "old" picture on Andrew and my Mom within the first week he was born, and he has changed SO much! In one week he'll be 6 months old, and I just can't believe it! I can't imagine life without him, but he is growing so fast, I just pray I won't take any moment for granted.

We are finally all moved in (and organized!!!) into our new "apartment" at my parents' house. It is beautiful, and hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon! We are so thankful for both of our families, and we are just loving being so close to everyone. A year ago we were in Georgia, and while we greatly enjoyed the book tour (and are greatly looking forward to future book events), we just really have learned how valuable family is. Andrew loves seeing all of his aunts and uncles as well as his grandparents every day! He is getting close to crawling and does all he can to get to things he wants. He weighs about 16 pounds and is over 26 inches long. I think it was 26 3/4", but I can't remember for certain.

I have been trying to get back into T-tapping consistently as the last few weeks things have been rather hectic. I am very excited because in just 25 days (almost 24) some dear friends are coming for a visit, and I just can't wait.

There hasn't been too much else going on. I'm a mom, my time is filled with Andrew and my wonderful, loving husband!

Absent

I know you, my readers (if you are still reading my blog after such a long absence) have probably been wondering where I have been. Well, I took an unofficial, blogging hiatus. I have not been spending much time on the computer over the past month and have been focusing my time and energy on my adorable little boy (who is almost 5 months old), my husband, and my home. It has been very good for me, and although I do intend on writing a little more frequently than every 6 weeks, I am also going to continue spending less time on the computer (or at least not more than I have over the past month).

In the way of news, Scott's book Swords of the Six is being released in just a couple weeks (you can pre-order for $9.97 from amazon.com right now). The cover is beautiful!

With Scott's book coming out, we are moving (again.. :) ) in with my parents. There are very few people in the world who we would feel comfortable moving in with for and undefinite length of time, and we are blessed that my family happens to be such people. We are very excited and can't wait to be all moved out of our trailer and settled in there.

Andrew is rolling all over the place now. I am most certain that he'll be crawling before 7 months. We go to the doctor's next week, and I am very curious as to how much he's grown since his last visit. In contradiction to my last posts, Andrew is still in some 3-6 month clothes. He is NOT in 3-6 month sleepers (those are 6-9 month), but when it comes to onesies, shirts, and pants, they are all 3-6 month. He also actually plays with toys now, and it is SO much fun watching him. He loves to be upright and so the Bumbo seat and Saucer seats/Walkers are our best friends. :) I have lots of pictures to post, but alas, I'm not writing from my laptop and don't have access to them at the moment. But hopefully soon!

And in case anyone was wondering, where I live, we have about 2 feet of snow right now. :)

3 Months and Other Happenings

I have many pictures to post, but I'm not writing from my laptop, and since I have time, I figured I better blog, picures or not since I am way past due!

Andrew is now 3 months old and can only fit into 6-9 month sleepers. He is still wearing 3-6 month clothes that don't have feet on them, and onesies. He had a cold for over a week, but it's finally gone now. We are very blessed because even though the cold lasted so long, it came in stages and was spread out so we didn't have any REALLY miserable times. You knew he wasn't feeling himself, but he wasn't extremely fussy. Andrew is such a mellow baby, I know we're getting spoiled. He never really "screams", just complains and "fusses". I'm sure we're in for a big surprise with the next baby (or not, who knows?). Andrew is also very close to figuring out how to roll over. He's almost got it, but not quite. It's hysterical watching him as he gets up on his side but can't figure out how to complete it and end up on his back. Sometimes he'll just give up, and it's funny to see his expressions.

I am doing good. I am trying to get back into a consistent exercise routine as ever since my cousins wedding (which I was doing good for), I lost my main motivation. So my new motivation is to get back into tip top shape so I can get all out of maternity clothes without lookin "buldgy" and so I can be in better shape when I get pregnant again than when I got pregnant with Andrew.

I've been doing much better at keeping on top of cleaning, laundry, and cooking. I'm sure that Andrew's willingness to play on the floor for more than 5 minutes is helping, but ultimately, I know it's because I'm working harder (with the Lord's help) to keep my focus on HIM! I'm re-reading Anne Ortlund's Disciplines on a Beautiful Woman from The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman. SOOOOO good!!!! I read it sometime before I got married, possibly just before Scott "came along." It was so good then, and I knew it would be even better to read when I was married. Anne Ortlund's books are the kind that you should always be reading and should always be on your nightstand. Disciplines of The Beautiful Woman is my favorite at the moment. You can find her books at Amazon at a decent price. I'd post a link, but for some reason it's not working right now. As a disclaimer, these are just my own opinions of her books. I only encourage you to buy them because they have been SO encouraging to me, and especially now, with a baby added to my everyday life (and all that comes with that), reading snippets here and there, has been so helpful and encouraging. Her heart for the Lord is so eminent.

I'm out of time. Hopefully I'll be able to share more soon (and post all the pictures I keep meaning to post).

Thankfulness Part 8 (and other happenings)

Here, we are, the last day of November (although I'm doubting that anyone will read this before December comes seeing as that is 50 minutes away) and I'm sorry to say that I didn't do very good with my original intention of writing at least every day, adding to my "Thankfulness List." But 8 posts in four weeks isn't too bad, I think, considering that a 2 month old boy is keeping my hands quite busy.

Speaking of that 2 month old boy (11 weeks and 3 days to be exact), he is certainly growing. I just pulled out all the 6-9 month clothes (which is what he has on right now) as we are completely out of anything that resembles 0-3 month, and the 3-6 month are just barely fitting him. I'm really glad I haven't bought the onesies and outfit I plan on buying for his stocking yet! I would have bought the wrong size. Andrew was first born, I didn't know what to think of all the winter clothes we were getting that were size 6-9 month because I thought "he's not going to be 6 months old until March," and now I'm laughing at myself!

The last part of my Thankfulness list... I'm thankful:

• That I don't have to work a "9-5 job" and leave my cute little bundle of joy
• That God has given me an opportunity to earn enough money each week to pay for our groceries and a little left over (perfect timing with Christmas in a few weeks)
• For the lovely ladies I got to visit with this evening at my parents house while their girls were in Bright Lights
• That we had such a lovely, relaxing Thanksgiving!
• That even though Andrew has a bit of a cold, it hasn't been bad enough that he's been overly fussy (he's certainly not himself, but he still smiles on occasion). I know we will have very bad times in the future (all-nighters and everything), but for now, I'm thankful that the first cold isn't as bad as it could be.
• That I am already using cloth diapers because I didn't get stressed out today when I realized that I only have 7 disposable diapers left and no chance to get any before Friday :) It's great how God provides!
• For my time with the Lord this morning
• For two hands (it is so much easier typing with two rather than one) :)
• For eyes, to see and read
• For ears, to listen
• For all that God continues to bless me with

This past weekend we went to a Christmas party at Scott's aunt and uncle's house. They do this party every year, and every year Scott's uncle dresses up and Santa and hands out gifts to everyone. Now, just so you don't get me wrong, we don't believe in Santa and we are not going to make our kids believe in Santa. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy Scott's family's traditions. We had a great time at the party (we missed last year's because of our trip), seeing and visiting with all the family and here is a picture of Andrew with Santa (a.k.a. Uncle R.).

Aside from Andrew's cold (which he caught from his Daddy and I caught a touch of as well), we are doing very well! We had a great Thanksgiving and got to see both families, and compare Andrew to my two new cousins (who are 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 weeks younger than him), as well as letting him "play" with his two cousins (Scott's nephews). We also learned that my Mom's brother and his family is coming for a visit over Christmas, and we are all SOOOO excited!!!!!

Speaking of Christmas, now that we are passed Thanksgiving, has anyone else started decorating for Christmas? I love the Christmas season (as I'm sure all my readers have figured out by now), the decorations, lights, music, movies (especially the old ones like Christmas in Connecticut and Holiday Inn), cookies, my Mom's cinnamon rolls, and most importantly, what Christmas is about -- the celebration of Christ's birth. I know Andrew can't fully understand yet, but many times already, I have taken him over to where our manger scene is set up and told him the story of Christ's birth and why Christ came.

Here are a couple pictures from my cousin's wedding a couple weeks ago. As you can see in the above picture, I did dress Andrew up and he looked so darling, but we did change him after a short while as it was a little uncomfortable for him with his shirt and vest rolling up under his arms.

Here is my cute little boy with my very handsome Man!

And one of my family and I. I'm so thankful for each person in my family and love them all so much!

Last but not least, a verse the Lord brought to my mind this morning, and I just had to look it up!

"Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Thankulness - Part 5

Here's Andrew "hanging out with Grandpa". He looks so serious! :)

Andrew and I had an interesting day yesterday. Not long after Scott left for work he called me and said that the car (our old car that we took on our trip and just spent quite a bit of money on getting it in good working order so Jacob could use it while he was here) had died on him. Immediately I got up and started putting Andrew in his carseat because I new exactly what that meant. I had to go meet him so we could drop him off at work, hopefully before he was very late. The car did start up again and I was able to meet Scott at our local garage (which was a blessing since we didn't have to pay a towing fee or anything) and now we wait to see what they say about the car.

But the day wasn't over yet. After we left Scott at work, Andrew and I did a little grocery shopping on our way home, and then we ate and changed diapers before heading out to Walmart for the bulk of this week's grocery shopping. Now, I had made sure I burped Andrew before we left and all, but sitting in the carseat, on the shopping cart (since I needed quite a few items, there was no way he was going to fit "in" the cart and I had forgotten the sling) must not have agreed with him. He slept most of the time I was shopping, but then he woke up and started fussing, and I mean, really fussing so I picked him up (I was really wishing I had remembered to bring the sling as it's not easy pushing a full cart while consoling a fussy baby) and then he had a big burp and I said "oh, that's why you've been fussing." Then I thought to myself how glad I was that he didn't spit up. Of course, what happened, but I immediately realized he had spit up, all over my neck, my jacket and the straps of my handmade purse. YUCK! I grabbed the receiving blanket that was in the carseat and started wiping off Andrew (oh yes it got all over him too) and prayed "Lord, what do I do?" as I knew the carseat was not a good place for him at that moment and I couldn't reposition the carseat because my hands were full and let's not forget the spit up that was all over me. I glanced down the aisle in front of me and saw a lady from our church (whom I've known my whole life) and thanked the Lord right there. I walked up to her and said, "would you please be a lifesaver and hold Andrew so I can clean myself up?" She was thrilled to hold him (I don't think she had even met him yet) as she loves babies and I felt so blessed that God would time that all so perfectly! Yes, God cares about even the smallest things like having your son spit up on you in the middle of a store (on the opposite end of the bathrooms, no less) and providing some help for you.

Now after that long (perhaps boring), drawn out, story, on to my thankful list (and pretty much a rundown of my day). Today I'm thankful:

• That I was able to get laundry and dinner done for Scott before he left for work today
• That Andrew took a 2 hour nap this afternoon
• That I was able to get clothes folded and put away, my bedroom straightened, and the house vacuumed (it was in dire need of that)
• That as a result of all the above, most of the house in in very nice order now
• That Andrew was happy to play (after eating and a diaper change) so I could exercise, finish folding and putting away the last load of laundry for the day organize his clothes (he's constantly outgrowing stuff), and even get over half of the dishes from the last 3 days done. Yes, I have not had a chance to do dishes since my sisters helped me a couple days ago.
• That Christmas is coming! (I've been listening to Christmas music all this past week.)
• For Swagbucks as thanks to them I have extra "Christmas money" to spend at Amazon on Scott

I have gotten a lot done today and it's not even over yet (for me, anyway). I hope all my blog readers are having a lovely weekend!

2 Months

In 3 hours, Andrew will be 2 months old. He has grown so much and is constantly changing. He's started wearing bibs as he drools quite a bit and I'd rather change his bib 4 times a day rather than his clothes. I am very blessed because he hardly spits up (usually only once a day, if at all). He is very smiley and loves it when we sit (well, I sit, and he "reclines" or lays on his tummy) on the floor and play. He weighs 13 pounds and is over 24 inches long. Yep, I'd say he's growing! :)

I love watching him as he "talks" and just enjoying every moment with him. I know "babyhood" won't last very long (I have my two nephews to prove it) and so I am just enjoying being a mommy, Andrew's Mommy not taking a single moment for granted. Especially as we move closer and closer to Thanksgiving, I am constantly reminded of how very, very grateful, thankful, I am for my sweet, loving Husband, and my adorable, loveable, little boy! I love how when Andrew is not happy all I have to do is pick him up and he stops fussing (unless I don't figure out what it is he wants within a few minutes, cause in those cases he starts right up again). It might sound funny, I mean I know he can't talk or anything, but I know that he loves me. The way he looks into my eyes, I can see the trust and love there. I am just so amazed at how incredibly awesome God is. I mean, I've always known He's awesome, incredible, indescribable, but he is always showing me that no matter how awesome and amazing I think He is, He is always more so. Does that make sense? I look at the little boy who is laying on my lap (taking a nap before we head to bed in a few minutes) and I am in total and complete awe of God's creation.

I'm sorry this isn't a longer post/update, but it's 1:40 (am) and it will take at least 20 minutes before I'm in bed (once diaper is changed, hands are washed, contacts are out, humidifier is refilled, and whatever else pops up) and I'm ready for bed now, so I'm thinking I should get started.

PICTURES!

Well, it took me a little longer to do this post than I planned, but it's finally here. :) So, pictures... Here is Andy sporting his cute little outfit from Aunt Lori! My sister says the colors look really good on him. :)

This picture was from about a week and a half ago when I gave Andrew his first bath with the [baby] bathtub in the big tub instead of in the kitchen sink (our kitchen sink is too shallow). He looked so cute!

A week or two ago, Andy and I went and visited Scott's parents while he was at work.

Here is the first picture I've gotten of him smiling! I had to post both pictures, so you can see the progression of what he was thinking. He's just so adorable!!!!!

And just for the record, we have since gotten some BOY hats (instead of the green that makes people ask "is it a boy or a girl?") but they weren't done drying at the time of these pictures.

We were delighted last weekend to get a visit from my Dad's cousins and their daughter Amy!

Amy and Andrew:

This past Thursday, we picked up Author J.R. Parker as he will be staying with us for another 2 weeks! We're really enjoying his visit (even though he's really here to promote his book Kestrel's Midnight Song) and frequently this is what I see:

On Friday we had a get together at our house and realized that we didn't have any pictures of Mom A. with Andrew, so of course, we had to get the camera out! :) I loved how Andrew wouldn't look at the camera because he was looking Grandma!

And one more of Andrew and I! The first couple weeks I only have 2 pictures of the two of us, so I've been trying to make sure I periodically take one.

Andrew is growing and growing. I'm having to get out the few 3-6mo outfits we have (and we picked up a couple at Walmart last night, as his 0-3mo outfits that have feet are too short for him. He is so incredibly adorable!!!! We just love "playing" with him!

I am finally starting to figure out how to balance everything, Wife, Mother, and Homemaker. Jacob's visit is definitely "helping" me stay consistent (God's timing is so perfect). Of course, this post has been sitting on my computer screen for about 8 hours now. :)

Well, Andy is ready for bed and so am I, so I guess that's all for now.

Andrew

Andrew is 3 weeks old and growing and changing daily. I'm too tired to do a real post as Andy hasn't slept more than 90 minutes straight in 30 hours, so you know what that means for me. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from the last 3 weeks.

My Mom is such a natural! :)

I love this picture! My dad started bouncing Andrew on his knee while singing John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt and Andrew sat straight up. It was so cute! He's holding his head up much more frequently now and he never stops gazing all around him, taking in as much as he can!

Seven Sisters' Visit

This week we were so very happy to host our favorite family!!!!!!! You may remember the dear, new friends we gained back in December last year who quickly became like family! Well, they are on a trip along the east coast and of course, they had to come visit us!!!! :)

(Susannah and I)

We had so much fun! They arrived at my house just before 5pm on Monday. Andrew started getting passed around right away and he didn't mind it at all. At 7 we headed over to my parents house (where most of them would be staying) and had fun eating pizza, and my family got to get to know the family that I had been talking and talking about for the past 10 months! Trisch and my Mom knew each other, but the kids all got to get to know each other! :)

(Trisch and I)

Jessica and Leah came back to my house Monday night, although we didn't stay up extra late as it is very different having a baby. I didn't realize just how different it is, having a Little One that needs me constantly! But it is worth it! Of course, I had lots of eager arms willing to hold Andrew whenever they could, and it was so much fun watching everyone holding him.

I tried to capture the sweetness of Trisch holding Andrew. It's not easy capturing such things on camera, but I tried. :)

Me and dear Jessica! The first thing I thought when they had left was "we didn't get enough time!" But then, I don't know if we could ever get enough time!

My family came back from vacation the same day our company came and so they hadn't seen Andrew in a week which meant that Andrew had to spend time with everyone. :)

Here is Cassia and Andrew

Bekah greatly enjoyed holding Andrew as well, and Susannah was ALWAYS on the lookout for when she could hold him next! :)

Now we are back to no company (although only for 3 weeks as we will soon be hosting J.R. Parker) and I am trying to catch up on laundry (I have 3 loads of laundry to fold from this past week and just put another load in the washer) and cleaning (have only washed dishes once since Monday, and even though we weren't home much this week, dishes still piled up, not to mention the kitchen floor desperately needs to be washed) without pushing myself too much. I also had to go through a bunch of baby boy clothes as a sweet friend gave me a TON of clothes for Andrew which was awesome seeing as we had 2 outfits and 5 onesies that fit him and only a few outfits and onesies in larger sizes. Now we are set for the next year! :)

Tomorrow I am hoping to go for a short walk with Andrew, weather permitting (it has rained the past week except for Wednesday) and then we have a baby shower to go to for my Aunt. I have 2 new little cousins who will be 2 months younger than my son, which seems funny, but I'm sure that the 3 of them will have lots of fun together as they get older.

I am ready to start exercising in earnest now, but I still have to take things slow and easy for a few more weeks, so whenever I can, I am going to try and take short walks until my Midwife gives me the green light to really start exercising. It's not that I want to be obsessed with my weight, I just want my body to be in good condition. I know that if I stay consistent with taking care of myself now, then it will be much more beneficial in the long run.

On a completely different note, Swords of the Six is now available for pre-order on Amazon for only $10.19 This is being re-released through AMG Publishers and has some new material in it. If you go on over to Scott's Blog http://www.flamingpen.blogspot.com/ you can check out the different rewards/prizes for pre-ordering Swords of the Six!

Have a great weekend!

2 Weeks

Today marks 2 weeks since our Son's birth and he has certainly changed our lives! Scott remarked on that fact this morning and he mentioned how one of those changes is that we're less lazy. And it's true, we don't have time for laziness, we have to take advantage of any extra moments we get. I am finally starting to do more. I'm still being careful about lifting anything that weighs more than Andrew and I still have to be extra careful when going up or down stairs, but it is nice to be able to move around more and do more! This morning I made us breakfast with Andrew in the sling. I am already discovering just how much I love my sling, it's awesome!

I am so in love with my little family! God is so good! When I was in labor, God met me out in our driveway. I had been just trying to endure labor, and I was trying to do it on my own. But when it got to the point of things really needing to get moving, all I could do was turn to God, and He met me and carried me further than I knew I could go. God is good!

Here is Scott and Andrew earlier this week (I must admit, I've never taken my camera out so frequently in 2 weeks as I have, these last 2 weeks).

Let's see, what are some of our achievements over the last 2 weeks? Well, I tried a cloth diaper yesterday. Of course, not long after was when Andrew decided to "mess" and seeing as I haven't quite gotten the hang of just how to properly put the cloth diapers on yet, let's just say, it was pretty disgusting as not only did I have to clean off the diaper in the toilet, but his blanket as well. Needless to say, I decided to do a load of wash right then! I am not giving up on Cloth diapers yet, but I am going to be a little more careful about how I put them on. Also, Andrew is finally wearing clothes. As you can see in the pictures in this post, he has only been wearing receiving blankets since he's been born. Mostly due to the fact that he got a rash 2 days after he was born, and the more air (less coverage) he got, the better it got. His rash is not completely gone yet, but it is so much better now.

Here he is, trying out his swing! He seemed to be entranced by the fact that as he moved, the back leg stayed. :)

Saturday, after breakfast, Andrew and I went out on the deck to get some fresh air.

Until today I had not been anywhere in 2 1/2 weeks since I was sick before I went into labor and then I wasn't allowed to leave the house for 2 weeks. So, today, in honor of Andrew being 2 weeks old, we took a ride to my parents' house and watched a couple episodes of Chopped (a cooking show that we enjoy). Oh, how I love fall! Driving along, with the windows open, was so refreshing!

Andrew's first car ride. He did very well. :)

I am working on straightening my house and getting things back in order seeing as I've been sort of "out of commition" for the past 2 weeks. So now I'm taking every few moments I get to do something. Tomorrow, some very special friends (from the Seven Sisters blog) are coming and I am so excited about their visit!!!!! You may remember when we visited them on our book tour, we had so much fun, and hopefully they'll have as much fun visiting us. :)

Well, *someone* is trying to get my attention, I think he wants to eat (again!). This little boy eats more than I thought possible. I mean, I knew he'd eat this frequently, but I just didn't fully understand what that meant. :)

Baby is HERE!!!!!!!!

Baby is here!!!! We are so delighted with our new, precious, little gift from heaven! God is so good!!!!!

September 12, 2010 at 4:46am I gave birth to a beautiful little BOY!!!!! There is a long story behind his birth as I'm sure you must guess, and I will keep you in suspence until I have a few more minutes to write it out.

So, in the meantime, let's play a guessing game! :)

Let's see who can guess the closest to how many hours I was in labor, how much did the baby weigh, and what did we name him!

Leave a comment with your guesses and I'll be updating the blog with a long story and lots of photos very soon!!!!!