Pregnancy Things

I wanted to write about a few things that we've been experiencing so we can look back and remember what it was like being pregnant with Andee. As of today, we have 45 days left and I am 33.4 weeks along! WHOOHOO! She is EXTREMELY ACTIVE! J.D. and I can't believe how much she twists and turns and flips. We both are in shock watching my stomach move. How can she move that much in such a small space? We've compared her movement to the Twilight movie where Bella is pregnant and how strong the baby is because it's half vampire half human....... sooooo we either have a boxer or a half vampire half human baby.

Today at the check-up the doctor couldn't get a good listen to the heartbeat for a bit because she kept moving. He'd put the monitor on one side and she roll to the other side. He kept trying to follow her and was laughing because you could see her move. You could also see where she was at.... she didn't have much option for hiding spots in the hide and seek game, but she sure was fast at moving.

Dawson is still really in-tune with her. He will randomly come  up to J.D. or I and say, "I'm so excited for Andee to come." It's the sweetest thing. He also will feel her move and tell me, "That's her feet mom! She kicked me!" It's crazy that he knows how she's turned and what part is her feet- he's always right too.

I'm definitely experiencing a lot more pain that I ever did with Dawson. If I'm not dialated, I think I might cry because things have been so painful. I've had the braxton hicks contractions going on since about 24 weeks. The past 2 months they have gotten SO strong I literally can't walk, talk or breathe. Anywhere I am at, those contractions stop me in my tracks for a good 2 minutes. When telling the doctor he just said drink more water, empty my bladder more, and it could be the result of chasing Dawson around. Last time I didn't have anyone to chase around, so it makes a difference.  There is a lot of pressure... A LOT! I also have pelvic bone pain randomly strike.... I can honestly say that if women could have an epidural at 32 weeks I think more women would get pregnant more often. I want to have this little girl because I don't want to be in pain anymore, but I really want her to be fully developed and healthy so ..... 6 1/2 more weeks here we go.

The other day I was lifting something I thought I could handle and turned while bending back up and TEAR all across my abdomen. That with pinching my sciatic nerve all the time just about makes me want to put myself on bed rest. It is killer! lol! I laugh because I still have to learn the hard way for things.... they tell you to take it easy and be careful. However, I guess i haven't grasped the concept of listening to others rather than trying to be so independent.

As far as getting ready for this little one.... its definitely different than with Dawson. With Dawson I truly went through a nesting phase, and had EVERYTHING ready to go before he got here. With Andee.... we've been slowing getting ready, and focusing on the necessities of what we actually need. We don't have a lot of room and we don't have a ton of money, so it's changed our mindset of getting ready. J.D. and I joke that when it is actually time to go to the hospital it's going to completely catch us off guard and we will regret not getting serious about getting more things ready for her arrival and waiting until the last minute. It makes me wonder if that's going to be more her personality though. I wonder if that's why i haven't been able to know of her arrival date like I did Dawson. She probably doesn't know either and will just decide on a random day that she's coming. .... after she's born I will tell the story of when I think and have felt she will be arriving. After having one baby, we've realized what we actually need and what we can go without.

Since the beginning of the pregnancy I have told J.d. that I just don't think she will be very big. With that, I haven't even gained half as much as I did with Dawson- thank heavens! I am measuring good as far as being on my own track, but I'm not huge by any means. J.D. will say I definitely look pregnant, but not ready to pop in any way.

All in all- it just feels surreal that Andee will be arriving shortly. I just haven't totally grasped that fact that we will have 2 children. I think it's because it will feel so normal for her to be here. Since we've found out it was a girl J.D. and I have had such a complete and whole feeling. It wasn't a suprise and it's the right time for her to be here. I'm not sure how to explain it, but we are excited and can't wait to meet her.

Dawson turns 4!!

I can't believe our little man is 4 years old! We were so blessed to have so many people come celebrate his birthday with us. We feel extremely grateful for all of our family who drove so far to come and all of our friends who were able to make it. 

We asked Dawson what he wanted for his birthday and he said, "I want my family to come play." For a 4 year old, we were completely amazed by his answer. That's all he wanted even when we asked him if he wanted toys or what kind of cake, Dawson just wanted to play with his cousins. He has the sweetest and biggest heart ever and once again, we couldn't be more blessed that God chose J.D. and I to be his parents. 

We had a small party later that day, but then had the real party Saturday. It was absolutely amazing! We went to the Canyon Park to have cake, ice cream, and a pinyata. It couldn't have worked out to be more perfect- we went to pick out a pinyata and they had a PIRATE PINYATA!!! What are the chances?! 

Story: I was looking up at all the pinyata's haning in walmart and suddenly I hear Dawson gasp and say, "Oh MY GOSH! It's a pirate!" I looked down and it completely blew my mind to see a pirate on the shelf. Dawson's next response, "Holy freak mom- I'm freaking out." HAHA! Of course, I busted up laughing and we threw the pinyata in the basket. :-)

I also attempted to make a pirate ship out of rice krispies for his cake..... I froze the rice krispies into a block and my amazing husband with his amazine perceptual abilities and manual dexterity skills carved out a pirate ship. We kept the ship frozen until it was time to put it on the cake..... well, a good note for next time is that rice krispies don't hold very good once they start to warm up again. Needless to say, it kind of fell apart. BUT it still looked pretty cool.

Dawson and Kage (and Carson in the background)

 Make a wish Dawson!

Dawson received so many amazing gifts! He got LOADS of pirate stuff- treasure chest, gold, telescopes, beads, patches, hats, scarves, swords, hooks, and a compass. He also got a microphone with an amp, race tracks, books, pirate stickers, a 'Dawson size' football, a mini hymbook (he has wanted one forever), book of mormon action figurines, guns, yummy treats and drinks, and a huge castle. He has not stopped playing with everything since then! THANK YOU to everyone who was able to make it and for all the gifts.

AAARRRRGGG!!

 Here's Carson and Dawson with Dawson's new pirate stuff!

At the party when we finished, Dawson ran to every single person there and gave them a hug and told them 'Thank you.' He really has the biggest heart and really loves everyone.

Visitor from California

My best friend since I was 3 years old came to visit from California! She has a daughter that is 10 months younger than Dawson, and is the CUTEST thing ever! We had so much fun just catching up and they came on Dawson's real birthday, so they got to celebrate with us.

Dawson was more than willing to give her loves and take pictures with her... I'm not sure what she thought, but you can decide from the picture. lol!

 One of the best parts about our kids is that they both LOVE pirates! So, since Dawson is pirate every day, he was able to share his pirate stuff with Addison and his cousin Carson. We had an extra pirate costume thanks to Aunt Jamie who's let Dawson borrow one (THANK YOU JAMIE). We decided to get Dawson his own since he has a pirate addiction.

 Dawson was pretty sad that his friend had to go. Afterwards he kept telling me how  cute she was. Now he asks for his cute girl friend to come play.

It was such a great day to see my bestie and let our kids play. My sister Jori drove up as well and let Carson play with Dawson for his birthday as well. It was so much fun! Dawson just wanted his birthday to last forever.

Primary Program Practice

Dawson has his first primary program coming up, so we have been practicing his line. To make it official, Dawson wanted a microphone like at church to practice with.... so we got a microphone and improvised since we don't have a podium. 

 We even turned on the primary children's songs CD and Dawson practiced singing songs as well as saying his part. It was the coolest thing and he's a pretty good singer!

 His part is, "Noah, his family, and the animals were safe because Noah made a choice to follow God."

Dawson has the 'Noah made a choice' down which is pretty awesome I think. I got to listen to him practice in church that day too, and he did so good! He sang so proudly and kept waving to me- it was the cutest thing ever! I'm so lucky to be his mom. :-)

Seeing Miss McKynlee

It took us a couple weeks to be able to go see McKynlee because we had all been sick with a cold. Mckynlee was put in the NICU because they couldn't get her jaundice count to go down- it was pretty scary. She was in there for about 3 1/2 weeks under intensive light therapy, and special formula (which was super nasty). Together they finally were able to get her count down and to stay down so she could go home. 

Here is the little one under the lights in the NICU. Dawson didn't get to go in and look at her inside the NICU, so we had to come back a week later when she was able to do the light therapy in Jori's hospital room.

 Here is Dawson's first visit with Mckynlee! He was so intrigued by her. He kept touching her hands and fingers saying, "Mom, they are so cute and tiny." It was so sweet. He just kept watching her and would get so excited anytime she would move. He absolutely loved feeling her hair- it was so soft! It made me more excited to have our own little Andee arrive. Dawson is going to be such a sweet brother.

 J.D.'s first time holding her. It was unreal to see how small she was up against his biceps and hands. His arms were huge next to her small body. She was so calm while he held her.

 Dawson giving her lots of kisses- it was soooo sweet!

 And.... I FINALLY got to hold her after a much anticipated wait!

Mckynlee is home now and doing so much better. In fact, while in the hospital Jori really tried to push for her to be in Jori's room and sleep there instead of the NICU. When they finally allowed it, McKynlee's jaundice count automatically started dropping. It's amazing how a mother's instinct and presence can change the life of a child. It really makes me feel more confident in my decisions for my children as well. I can't wait for Andee to get here- only 10 more weeks! Holding McKynlee just keeps making me more excited for Andee.

FALL is here

Fall is here- at our house anyways! It's my FAVORITE season with my favorite holiday- Halloween. Fall is such an amazing time of year. There are so many reasons I love it. I had J.D. bring home all the fall decorations and they are up! I'm dying because I want to do more and more every year. 

We even have a pumpkin carved! 

 Dawson isn't much for the 'scary' part of fall because he likes things to be happy and content. You might not guess that with his temper, but he really likes everyone to be happy. So...he found a happy face for him and his dad to carve into the first pumpkin. It will probably go bad soon....but we will just keep carving more all season. Dawson is so proud of his pumpkin. He even helped get the goey seedy mess out of the pumpkin.

He is so handsome!

When the fall decorations were opened up, Dawson went crazy with helping putting it all up. His memory of what goes where and what is used for what amazes me! I put up the scarecrow and he said, "Mom we can play some funny jokes on people with the scarecrow!" and "We need to get candy to put in here." he said that for our little guest candy jar. We are so excited fall is here and Dawson is dying for Halloween to come. He could almost care less about his birthday because halloween is so cool. lol!

McKynlee's Birth

I had the most amazing experience of being able to be there for my niece's birth. It was like nothing I'd ever expect. It was the neatest thing. My other niece, Sari, my mom, me, and my mom's friend were all there to see McKynlee come into the world a little after midnight.

This is my younger sister and I minutes before McKynlee arrived.

 This was the first picture of her, and she was even still attached to the umbilical cord. She had been here for less than 20 seconds!

 Look at her big lips! The next day all the swelling went down and she looked totally different. She weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces, was born 2 1/2 weeks early, and was 23 inches long. I can't imagine how big she'd have been if she was born on her due date.

I'm grateful my sister let me be there because it was such a neat experience. i still have yet to hold her because we left a little after she was born. J.D. and Dawson have been sick so we are waiting until they are completely better before going around her and her family. It makes me more excited for our little Andee to arrive.... 3 more months!