Hey! Where's the Baby???

What do you do when your Due Date arrives and there is no baby to speak of??? By all means, GET A NEW HAIR CUT I SAY! This could be a risky move, to be sure, in case the cut goes south but I really like it and let's be honest, I was so far gone anything is an improvement. So for your viewing enjoyment, here are some post-cut photos.

"Mom, what are you doing?"
The ackward side shot. similar in nature to the extremely ackward passport photo.
"I want to be in the pictures!!!"
I've noticed that almost all of my pictures show my baby belly covered up completely, so here you go! And YES, my daughter is in a belly shirt, a diaper, and boots. CLASSIC! I won't deny it, she looked like this for atleast 2 hours and we both enjoyed it.

Also: I've been anxiously awaiting what would happen when my baby timer on the side hit "0 days till baby comes" to see what it would do and to my horror, it's adding on more time. That little glitch could really be improved. :) Can't complain though, I feel fine and let's just remind ourselves that I'm not sleep deprived or heavily medicated yet so that's a bonus. :)

My 40 Week Prego Party

Last weeks theme was having a good time every day. We did some really fun things and I can honestly say I totally enjoyed it. Here's a glimspe at some of our activities.

Zach and Kaite at the beach for our final summer bash. This was the first time Kaite was really good at playing in the sand!
There is no stopping Kaitlyn when it comes to the water. She would walk right in and drown without blinking an eye, smiling the whole time. It's a little tricky to keep an eye on her but it's so much fun to watch her play and be so happy.
We hit the playground a few times which always brings sure happiness. The weather has been so nice all week it was a huge boost.
Kaite just cracks me up and I can't help but put her hair in little piggy's.
Don't worry, I only tried this manuver 1 time before realizing it was a poor choice at 40 weeks. Smiling at the top, wide eyed at the bottom!

On Saturday we went to an apple picking farm and had such a great time. The apples were low enough for Kaitlyn to pick herself. We forgot the camera but will go back in a couple weeks (maybe not me) to pick pumpkins as well. Now I've got a basket of apples to keep me occupied for the next few days. The only downer of the apple experience is that I sustained a back injury from pushing Kaitlyn in the stroller that had me in complete pain for 2 days with muscle cramps and spasms. Not a good thing when you are going into labor soon! I am so grateful that I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because Zach was able to give me a Priesthood blessing and I've been sore but fine ever since and I know it's a small but profound miracle for me right now. I'm grateful for the ways the Lord blesses me and I see his hand in my life. The gospel is the foundation of our home and our marriage and it's the most important thing we have to treasure and to share. I'm planning on just being really grateful this week. I'll let you know how it pans out! :)

Our 1st Canadian Summer

Thoughts at 39 weeks Prego

I have had a change of heart... thanks to all the advise from you great friends and realizing my window is closing for 1 on 1 time with Kaite. I am going to enjoy every day before Liza comes along. THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, we are naming her Elizabeth Ivey Williams and calling her Liza. That's the final plan and I'm 99.9% sure it's sticking but if you see a post announcing her birth and her name is Fredricka, well-that would be the .01% that I can't control. :) Plus, added insurance is that Kaitlyn can say Liza so it's too darn cute to pass up.
I am also practicing hypnobirthing techniques to prepare me for relaxing through labor, and it REALLY helps. It mostly just makes me feel empowered to help myself when I go into labor. With Kaitlyn I had no way to help myself relax through any of it and had such a hard time! (that was just relaxing to a 3 so I could get an epidural!!!) Yeah, I'm excited to have a MUCH better experience and I totally recommend reading the hypnobirthing material if you plan to go natural or not because it's a great resource.
So I've been on this energy high for the last 3 weeks or so, buzzing around the house organizing every closet, making meals for myself, and generally just NESTING like crazy. Yesterday it all came to an abrupt halt and I felt like Forest Gump when he decides he's finally done running across the country and that he's tired. It just seemed to dawn on me that I was tired and wanted a nap. PREGNANCY can be STRANGE. We're just happy to be here and excited to tell everyone about Liza when she shows up. Thanks for the great advice and PLEASE keep it coming. Everyone has advice to share, even if you don't have kids yet.
OH-I ALMOST FORGOT: My advise to all of YOU! It is imperative that you get a spa treatment when you are 39 weeks prego! I was in HEAVEN. A manicure and a pedicure was JUST what the dr. ordered!!! Bless the Vietnamese and their fast fingers.

My Thoughts at 37 Weeks Prego

So... I'm 3 weeks away from the big D-day, or B-day, however you want to see it, and I'm thinking I'm not so excited about the "D". I have come to realize that a woman must be READY to go through with delivery. As in, the choice between leaving the babe in and being uncomfortable or pushing her out and being miserable is an easy one... I'd rather be miserable and get this over with. I have to say- I am NOT there yet. At church today everyone kept asking if I was excited and ready for this baby. I'm excited and there is a room set up, but I'm not to the All Important Point of Pain yet. Does anyone else get this? I think I'm kind of lucky that besides not being able to bend over and having heart burn, I'm doing pretty good so long as I'm properly medicated every night before bed. :) But I'm starting to want to be completely uncomfortable so the delivery looks like a good thing and not the endless night and day disaster it was with Kaitlyn.
I'm pretty sure I'm setting myself up here and in a week I'll be drinking caster oil and jumping on trampolines to get this all over with. It just seems so convenient that she's fed, warm, sleeping, no diapers, and I haven't lifted a finger. It's going to be a big adjustment going back to a newborn with a 2 year old too. I'm pretty sure almost everyone that reads this has already been here and I'll survive. This is a good time for give me your best advice on getting ready for #2. Ladies, help!

New York, New York!!!

Our trip to NYC was AWESOME!!! We saw all the sights and sounds and smells of Manhattan. It was an awesome time. We were there for 5 days and did a Citypass tour and got to see lots of museums and key locations. Our favorites: Empire State Building (with audio tour), Central Park, Time Square, Natural History Museum, and Rockafeller Center. Our least favorite: Figuring out the mass transit system with a stroller :) and The Guggenheim Museum. I apoligize to all of you that LOVE modern art but we couldn't get a great appreciation for it. Zach had a harder time than I did but it was still a little rough, in the end we were happy to get outside and hit the pavement again. Here's some Highlight pictures:

LOVED CENTRAL PARK. The whole time I was thinking of the movie Enchanted and One Fine Day. I couldn't believe how much I recognized just from the movies I've watched.
Zach's Cousin Emily and Her hubby Nicholaus that we stayed with while we were there. They were so awesome to put up with us coming and going and taking over the front room. You guys are Fantastic!!!
Zach is having his way with the Wall Street Bull.
Here we are about to take the harbor tour around the island and to see the statue of liberty.
TIMES SQUARE. Talk about an exciting place to be. Even during the day it's lit up like crazy. We were there right at dusk and watched the transition to night and I was astounded. Talk about cool. Kaitlyn just kept pointing to the T.V.'s and saying "SHOW-SHOW". Kaitlyn was a really good kid through this whole thing. She missed days of naps and we always got home way too late but she just kind of figured she was along for the ride. I swear she has a tougher time at home than she does on the road. Maybe I should go for a gypsy life. That's a thought.

All in all: GO SEE NYC! We had SUCH a great time and I am so excited to go back some day soon.

You know your a sucker when...

Let's just state the obvious... every parent is a sucker. It's encompases the highs and lows of the position. So much joy when they ask and you give in, and then so much regret when it all goes south. Luckily it doesn't always go south.

YOU KNOW YOUR A SUCKER WHEN: You agree to climb into your 2 yr olds crib to sing songs to her at 8 months pregnant. This little stunt resulted in a pulled hip flexor that still has me limping. Aye, Yae, Yae, Yae! What I wouldn't do. (I do want to say, this was a first, I don't climb in every night.) The cutest part was that after I finished the song she said "momma up" TRANSLATION: Your services are no longer required and you may go. I was pretty happy about it because as doing little extra favors for 2 year old's go... once you've agreed to do it there's a pretty good bet you'll be asked again. Perhaps this was a one time deal now that she knows Momma doesn't fit so well.
YOU KNOW YOUR A SUCKER WHEN: This strategic manuver (But look how cute I can be)gets her a completely separate meal than the one you prepared. Arg! I wish I could say it doesn't happen, but the poor kid would starve since she generally won't eat ANYTHING we're having. What's the trick my friends???
YOU KNOW YOUR A SUCKER WHEN: The opportunity to see Kaitlyn climb up a latter and practice washing the dishes, even though you'll have to change her entire outfit because it will be soaked in the end, is TOTALLY worth it. I like to think she'll never want to stop and when she's 8, 9, 12, 14 she'll still get all excited at the end of each meal and gather up all the dishes for a good scrub while she thanks Zach and I for the delicious meal. WELL I CAN DREAM CAN'T I?
YOU KNOW YOUR A SUCKER WHEN: There is nothing else you'd rather be doing than clean up after your kids, even though you don't like it. Because the big picture reality is, it's all going to go WAY too fast and being a Mom is a huge blessing. So good luck today picking up toys, cleaning up dirty diapers, catching throw up with your bare hands, clean clothes and inevitably your hair, and remember to smile and remember how great it is to see the big smiles and hear I love you's.