Cookie Dough!

I made some chocolate chip cookies yesterday and of course, I had to do what my mom used to do for me - give Jackson the beaters to lick clean! He LOVED it!!!

Big Brother is Ready to Play!

Fun City Pizza

Ryan and I have been eating out a lot lately - mostly cuz I just do not feel like fixing anything! I've been wanting to take Jackson to Fun City Pizza cuz I've heard it's really fun for kids so we invited Emily and Ben to join us and were so happy they decided to come! Jackson and Ben got a great workout!!!

On our last week....

Well, yesterday marked my 39th week. One more week til my due date.... I had a doc appt today. My doc (whom I adore by the way!) immediately saw the look on my face (I'm huge - I'm miserable - give me good news!) and said he'll check me and see what's going on and we'll get Ethan out this week. So I got excited thinking he could maybe go in there and "tweak" something to make him come out! So he checked me - No change. Baby is still sitting at -2 station, 90% effaced and 3 cm dilated. So he said "Keisha - let's induce on Thursday. I'll do the whole thing... come in about 515am and we'll start pitocin." My heart started racing a million miles a minute.... I told him I induced w/ Jackson and had a REALLY tough labor. His heart rate was all over the place cuz he didn't like the pitocin - it was a LONG labor and my epidural ended up wearing off.... and he said "It was your first baby... your body knows what to do now." So I sat there and the more I thought about it, the more I chickened out... I told him I trust his judgment but I just really think I need to let Ethan do this on his own. I don't want to play God and just for my own comfort level, force him out. So that's what's we're doing. We're waiting. Doc actually seemed proud of my decision - after I finally got the courage to make it. It would be SO much easier to have it all planned out... but then again... I feel, in a big way, I shorted myself a lot of the excitement of counting and timing contractions and rushing to get in, etc etc. It may sound nuts to some people, but I just really want this to happen when it's supposed to and no sooner. After all, I induced with Jackson when he was 3 days LATE and he was a tiny baby - 6 pounds, 7 oz... so for all I know Ethan will be the same way and so I need to give him as much time in there to grow as he needs to... LORD HELP ME... :)

Next appt is a week from today - on my due date. Doc said he doesn't think I'll make it that long. I hope he's right.

Almost 39 weeks!

We took our 38 week belly pic a little late - much closer to 39 weeks, but I figure what the heck!

Last night, Ryan and I dropped off Jackson at my mom's and went to Flying Burrito for dinner and then to the movies - a suggestion my doctor made based on recent experiences of women breaking their water at both places.... But - no luck for us! I can say that "Inception" is an EXCELLENT movie! We did have an amazing night together though - realizing that it will be the last time in awhile (probably) that it will be just the 2 of us for a whole night... a newborn and a 2 year old is going to be a little hard on my mom! So we made the best of it! We slept in until 900am this morning... and then went to Denny's for breakfast before picking up Jackson.

We have had MANY MANY people predict the 18th as the day Ethan would come, so it's a good possibility they will be right! Fingers crossed!

39 Weeks with JACKSON (5/13/08)

38 1/2 Weeks with ETHAN (7/16/10)

38 Week Update!

Just got back from the doc.... Good news for us! We are progressing very well! We are now at 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced and baby has dropped to a -2 station (0 station is when the baby is crowning. Jackson was at a -3 station all the way up until I pushed him out!!). So doc was very happy w/ this progress and told me to stay patient.

Just to show the difference: We went in and got induced w/ Jackson when he was 3 days late. Upon starting the pitocin to induce, Jackson was only 1 cm, 90% effaced and -3 station. So Ethan has progressed MUCH faster this time than Jackson ever did... So that's hopeful news! My technical due date is July 27th - even though I was always suspicious about going that long since I am pretty sure I know when we conceived (we were NOT trying to get pregnant - and Ryan was traveling a LOT) - and the conception date I have is over a week before the conception date the doc had based on my last MC. So.....

Doc suggested Ryan and I go out to eat at Flying Burrito and then head to a movie. He said he's been hearing of several women whose water broke while they were at Flying Burrito or at the movie theater lately. So tomorrow night, Ryan and I have date night scheduled!!! :)

... and the plug thing-y - is gone. :) Bring on the baby! :)

Anna Kate's Birthday!

So most of you know that I've already "married off" my first born. Her name is Anna Kate. She is precious. She is a sweetheart. She is BEAUTIFUL. She just turned 2 on Monday and even though we made a late appearance (Jackson decided to take a LONG nap) - we went to her birthday party in the park on Saturday. It was hot - SO hot - but watching these 2 adorable little creatures together made everyone forget the blazing heat. :) Thanks Jeremy for the pictures!!

OK - so you know it's true love because, although he was very hesitant at first, he did allow Anna to play with his Thomas the Train. He kept a very close eye on her with it though and as soon as she set it down, he grabbed it back up!


Every time we get them together, I get pictures of them hugging... I figure it will be cute to show on the slideshow when they get married.

Going in for the kiss?






Typical boy - Jackson found a mud puddle and decided to play in it. Anna is like "um... not cool."


CHOO-CHOO!

Happy Birthday Anna Kate! We love you!!!

This is EXACTLY how I feel right now.

So if I don't answer my phone - this is the answer. Trust me, I wish I had something better to tell you. TRUST ME.

My Gorgeous Boys!

Happy Birthday!!!

July 9th is a GREAT day! Not only is it my amazing daddy's birthday.... but it's also Ryan's amazing grandpa's birthday! Happy Birthday to both of you!!!! We love you!!!

37 Week Appt Update

Well, I went to the doc today... Sadly, I have no real interesting news to report. I'm still dilated to 2 cm and Ethan is still high... I have thinned out a little - cervix is now 80% effaced, so that's improvement. I have been up the last 2 nights just SURE I was going to have to wake up Ryan... The contractions are definitely getting more intense but still not painful and still not consistent... Looks like Ethan is doing just fine where he is for now. That's ok - I know he'll come when he's ready to! :) I just hope it's soon. haha.

Ethan's Room!

I think Ryan did an AMAZING job painting this room! It took him 2 full days - literally 14 hour days to complete it within a weekend. I couldn't be happier w/ how it turned out! Since I didn't really get to get the nursery ready for Jackson, this has been a fun process putting Ethan's room together! Fortunately, we didn't need to buy anything really! I used Jackson's crib and glider. I took off the handles from my old dresser and chest and used the little shelf that my brother made in his high school class! The chandelier was one that my friend Emily used in her son's room and didn't want anymore. So, when our friends got us the "Ethan" letters and lamp for our shower, we were DONE! :) I'm super excited about how it turned out!

37 Weeks!

I have finally made it to FULL TERM! I am super excited about this... I do know that every day that Ethan stays in there, his little lungs are developing even more so I'm not in a super big hurry but at the same time, I'm SO ready to not be pregnant any more and have my body back!

Update from Friday: I went back to the doc unexpectantly on Friday because I was just sure I was leaking amniotic fluid. Turns out, I haven't but from Monday to Friday, I had progressed.. we went from dilated to a 1 to dilated to a 2 and from a thick cervix to 70% effaced. So tons of progress over 4 days - which explains all the contractions! Doc said I was safe to assume I'd be pregnant at least 10 more days.... so Ryan was relieved since he was in Michigan when I went in to the doc!

New update tomorrow - so hopefully we will have even more progression! But now that Ryan is home, the walking, walking, walking is ON! I have been taking it really easy knowing I don't want to go into labor while Ryan was gone, but now - bring on the spicy foods!! :-)

Grandma's 80th Birthday!

Yesterday, my family and a bunch of friends got together at my great - grandma's OLD house (sold now) to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday! She was surprised! The weather couldn't have been better and Jackson had so much fun with his family and friends! I didn't take too many pictures because our friend Rosa Lea took tons and so there will be more later when I get my hands on hers! :-)

Jackson and Mason - cousins! They are only 2 months apart!





This is the original sign up in front of the house where my grandma was born and my great-grandparents lived for many many years! When my great grandma passed, the house was sold to some good friends who allow us to use it for our family get-togethers! I'm so glad they kept that sign out because it's very special to us!


The birthday girl!

Jackson and Poppie - who the other day, he said "Bye bye poo-poo" instead of poppie... pretty funny!

Jackson was having a blast popping the balloons!!! When they popped, he let out the biggest laugh - like this.

Yum - chocolate cake!

Jackson and Uncle Ray!


By the end of the party (time flies when you're having fun) - Jackson was hungry so his Mimi just gave him a cold hot dog and he went to town.


My amazing beautiful grandma, age 15


Still beautiful now!!!