Jack-O-Lantern

Well, here is our giant pumpkin as a jack-o-lantern.

And I tried to get a picture of it with the kids, but of course none of them turned out.

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We got to go get our pumpkin today! We decided to just get one big family pumpkin this year instead of several little pumpkins. And I mean we got a BIG one!

The kids really like taking the wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch.

For some reason I didn't taking any pictures while we were actually looking for a good pumpkin. Maybe because I had a bunch of little people tripping every time I turned around. But here we are back on the wagon after we got the perfect one picked out.

Daddy, of course, got the lucky job of carrying and holding the beast.

We haven't carved it yet, but it is taking up a good chunk of our table. When were out in the field, we were trying to guess how much it weighed. I didn't try to pick it up or anything, but just by looking I said "it looks like it's about an Emma" (because I tend to use my kids as units of measure). An Emma = 40 pounds. When we got back to the store to pay for it we found out it weighed 42 pounds! So there is our crazy beast of a pumpkin!

Birthday Party

Well before I get to the birthday fun I'll give you a baby update. Sadly, nothing to report. No progress! I was a bit disappointed to hear that, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see where we're at next week. I have been having a few teeny tiny contractions here and there the last day or two, but now I'm just thinking that maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up.

I was super busy this weekend and didn't get around to writing birthday posts for the girls. Oops. Their birthday was Saturday. Emma turned 4 and Abby turned 3. That was also the day of the shared birthday party for all three kids!

This is the amazing cake that our friend Debbie made for us. So cute!!

And here, Abby just wanted a random picture with Jessie. She's adorable :)

Blowing out the candles (Ian didn't want to participate)

Opening presents.

All Ian wanted to do was play with his new Thomas train toys.

That's why he wouldn't blow out his candle, eat any cake, or play in the bounce house.

Although he did finally get in and loved it of course.

And after the party Daddy and Grandpa even got in to bounce with them!

Jessie (seen above) rented the bounce house as her present to them and the kids really had a good time in there - no wonder they love her so much! I was worried because about an hour before the party it started to rain and I thought they wouldn't get to use it. Luckily it didn't rain very hard and didn't last terribly long. It was crazy having everyone crammed in our little house for the beginning of the party, but I think everyone survived.

I might try to give the girls each a birthday post. That way I don't have to be stuck with any mommy guilt for writing one for Ian and not them. :)

FULL TERM!!!

Ok. Here we are. We hit 37 weeks and the baby is officially full term! And honestly, I don't think I'm going to make it much longer. I've been feeling so much pressure that I can barely walk at times. Very intense. The kids' birthday party is tomorrow though, so I would like to make at least make it through this weekend and then Owen can come whenever he wants. Normally I would have had an appointment today, but for some reason I have to wait until Monday. I'm really hoping for some progress by then!

Bunk Beds

Half of the day yesterday was spent assembling the girls' new bunk beds. Why am I 9 months pregnant and putting beds together? I don't know, but I'm glad we finally got it done and they look really cute! I love the new bedding I got for them too. So cute! And not really something they'll grow out of, like Disney Princesses or Dora. They were very excited about them. Emma loves sleeping on the top bunk. I think when we were talking about them Abby didn't quite understand what we meant. I'm pretty sure she thought we were wanting her to sleep under the bed. Haha! But once we got them put together she got it figured out and was just as excited as Emma. They spent a good chunk of the morning hanging out on Abby's bed. (I wouldn't let them play on the top, because I didn't want Ian falling off) Anyway, I'm really glad they like they're new beds and very glad that I'll be able to set they're room up differently.

Happy Birthday, Ian!!!

Today, my little Ian is 2 years old!!

Two years ago I was supposed go in to be induced at 7:00 am. Apparently everyone decided to go into labor that day so my induction kept getting pushed back more and more until it was looking like it wouldn't be happening that day at all. We finally got in around 4:00 that afternoon and they started the pitocin and broke my water right away.

This labor was very intense right off the bat. I got the epidural only a couple hours into it and oh boy it did not help very much! There was an insane amount of pressure. I had never felt that way after having an epidural before (which makes me think I might just try to skip it this time). I was in labor for 5 and a half hours when they told me I could start pushing and by then I felt like he could come flying out of there at any time. So I was very surprised that it took longer to get him out than it had with the girls. I figured it was my third kid and with all that pressure i was feeling he would be out in no time. It took a whole 30 minutes to get him out of there though. I guess that's still pretty fast compared to a lot of people, but I wasn't expecting it. He was finally born at 10:03PM at 8 pounds 13 ounces and since it was so late it was a lot quieter than after the girls were born. We didn't have any visitors until the next day.

The day after we got out of the hospital Ian got to go to his first party! We got out on a Saturday and the girls' 1st/2nd birthday party. That was a busy weekend. We did get to have our first family picture taken that day.

Happy Birthday, Ian!!

36 Weeks

Here is my 36 week belly! I went to the doctor today to and was checked for the first time and everything. No good news though. Confirmation that his head is pretty much as low as it can possibly get, which I could tell myself every time I switch positions (or walk or lay down or MOVE!). I'm at 1cm which might as well be nothing. That's ok. We'll see where we're at next week. I'm pretty sure the baby is over 7 lbs already. Over the past 4 years I've gotten very good with guessing my babies' weights. Not other peoples' just mine. If we make it to the due date, I'm expecting a 10-pounder! :)

In other news, my house keeps getting cleaner and cleaner!! I'm so happy! One day this week I went crazy and deep cleaned the kitchen and since then I've done the living room, the bathroom, and the girls' room. Everyday I've been making sure to keep up with what I've already done and add a little bit more. The girls' floor was almost completely covered in toys - as in they had a path to each bed and that's it. All three kids helped me pick up and organize ALL the toys. Now they are not allowed to even open their closet without asking first, because if it ends up looking like that again I'm might lose my mind. The boy's room will have to be next. I need to get all the baby clothes into weatherproof boxes so I can get them out in the shed so we make room for little Owen.

Now I just need to learn how to cook! That is something I haven't been doing much of. Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza..... That seems to be what we live on these days. Luckily the kids eat more snacks than they do at actual meals so there is usually a lot of fruit and yogurt and other healthy things throughout the day. I really wish I could cook though. Maybe someday... It would also help if this family (myself included) wasn't so freaking picky. Any recipes or cooking tips are welcomed and appreciated. :)