38 weeks maternity/mother-daughter photo shoot

Kyle took a completely impromptu photo shoot for Lauren and I. I can't wait to print some of these out!

Storm!

Our town hasn't had rain in a LONG time. We got quite a nasty storm that other night that left a bunch of trees in tough shape. News reports say that we had a "microburst" which is pretty much a little tornado and massive gusts of wind. Reports said it was around 90-100 mph winds. 

Our front yard, this little tree lost a limb

 A bunch of branches and leaves

 Our neighbor's tree lost a large limb that came crashing into our side yard. Thankfully the fence was unharmed but the picnic table took a beating and our awning crashed from our side door. Can you spot Lauren's bike? 

 There it is!

 Our neighbor's house had quite the tree destruction. The far left side has a massive hole in the roof from the limb that is up there. 

The town got cleaned up pretty quickly but still looks rough. It is devastating to see so many mature trees and yards destroyed. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt!

37 picture and Prairie Fest

We went to Prairie Fest a few weeks back in the next town over. It was a REALLY hot day but the kids were champs and soaked up as much as they could in the short few hours we were there. 

Our friends have an "Ethan and Olivia" just like Lauren's cousins. She thinks it is hilarious that she knows two families with Ethan and Olivia. Here is Olivia and Lauren. They are the same ages as our cousins but friend Olivia is older. 

 Driving the semi truck

 Checking out the cab of the semi. The kids were quite impressed that there was a mini kitchen and bed. 

(Miyah, Gabby, Ethan, Olivia, and Lauren)

 They had a little petting zoo that we spent a good chunk of time in. Lauren was in love with this little white goat. 

 The massive bunny!

 She kept saying, "I am going to tell Dad I want chickens!"

 Her little goat again

 Little piggie!

 Mini Donkey

Lauren intently watched a balloon guy magic show

 I think his Elephant face was pretty impressive

 They had a gymnastics show and then anyone could come up and do the "ice cream and cake" dance with them. Of course, the girls jumped at the chance and showed us their mad dancing skills right up in front

 And then they ran out onto the mats and had a "solo routine"

 Riding a pony named Merlin

37 weeks picture

Blogger was not cooperating with me lately so I couldn't upload any pictures. We have tons to put up so be prepared for possibly multiple posts in one day.

37 weeks!!!

We were practicing curlers for Aunt Amanda's wedding, Lauren enjoyed wearing the bandana on her head to keep the curlers in!

We had our 37 week appointment last Friday, I now go in on a weekly basis. I didn't make it to weekly appointments with Lauren. If things would go at the same rate, that means I would go into labor this upcoming Thursday, yikes! Everything still looked good, heart rate was around 145 which has been consistent the entire pregnancy. The student nurse felt around and said she thought the baby was around 6 1/2 lbs. The head is very low so I am measuring at 33 centimeters which is common when the head is engaged. I lost 1 pound, which I did at the same time with Lauren too; total weight gain is 22 lbs. We had the group B strep test as well.

I just started taking some vitamin supplements called "Birth Prep" which are supposed to help prepare your body/organs for labor, delivery, and recovery. Consistent Braxton Hicks contractions and cramping so I am thinking I might go early but ultimately this baby could arrive any time within the next 5 weeks (I hope it isn't closer to 42 weeks though).

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there! My friend saw this cute idea online and we decided to use it for our Father's Day gifts when we went to visit the zoo earlier this week. We asked the kids what they loved about their dad and this is what Lauren had to say:

This is the final picture we used because I think it says the most about her personality. It looks so cute on our shelf!  

 What a goof!

 We enjoy visiting the zoo. I snapped this pic of the giraffe because it is rare that you get one without their neck straight and I liked the reflection on the water. Lauren tells everyone that my favorite animal at the zoo is the giraffe!

 Of course, this one was framed right next to the Daddy picture!

 We had to give Dad the pictures early because Lauren told him that we took them! She is definitely my child, can't keep gifts a secret!

 This is the elusive Moose that Lauren was deathly afraid of last summer. No problems this year though. She would repeatedly tell us last summer if someone brought up the zoo, "No Moose, too shy, no hug!"

 Evidence of her fright from last summer!

 Last summer with Gabby!

 This summer: Gabby, Miyah, and Lauren

It is quite amazing to look at pictures from last summer and see how much she has grown. She looks like such a little girl now and can do so many more things by herself. They grow so fast...and she is not even 3 yet!

Happy Father's Day to Larry and Gary too! Wish we could spend the day with you but that drive is just getting too excruciating for me in my current state!

35

Lauren wasn't too eager this time...I guess I am not the only one ready to be done with this pregnancy so we can meet our new family member! 

Figure it Out!

Driving around this afternoon to get out of our toasty house while listening to the radio. This is how our conversation went...did you figure it out right away?

Radio: "I listen to Tim and Pam in the morning because they are hilarious!"

Lauren: "They just said my Grandpa's name. The radio just said my Grandpa's name!!"

Me: "What?"

Lauren: "The radio just said Larry!"

Me: "Huh?"



Did you figure it out...?? ha-Larry-us (Hilarious).

34/35 weeks

I don't have any recent pregnancy pictures, I should really take another one here soon, but figured this cute little action shot of our climbing Lauren would be suffice.

We had our 34 week appointment last week and are just entering 35 weeks. I have gained 23 pounds so far and the midwife said she was very pleased with my weight progression. Next appointment is 2 weeks from now and will include the GBS test, after that they will be weekly...yikes! I never made it to weekly appointments with Lauren!

We chatted about after birth things (vitamin K, eye antibiotic, and PKU test). We are saying yes to vitamin K (just a vitamin) and PKU (heel prick blood test) but are denying the eye antibiotic cream. I am 100% positive I do not have any of the diseases that the eye antibiotic are used to prevent and would like to forego any unnecessary antibiotics and side effects associated with it. We had a nice little chat about the vitamin K, I really wasn't sure exactly why it was used but the midwife explained that babies are unable to clot their own blood in the in the first week and a half or so. That is one of the reasons Jewish folk would wait a bit before circumcising. Hospitals started to mandate it when boys were hemorrhaging and dying following circumcision; interesting history!

Speaking of interesting history, we also met our back-up doctor this past week (Dr. White). He was an older gentleman with quite the family. His father was the first doctor to facilitate homebirths in Illinois and his mother was one of the founders of La Leche League. It was a different atmosphere seeing a doctor since we are accustomed to midwives. Kyle wasn't too much of a fan and said it seemed like we were "talked to" far more than listened to. A lot of talk about statistical things but useful information. I would never second-guess his judgment though, he was able to measure my stomach using his hands (a skill many medical professionals are unable to do these days), listened the heartbeat with a forehead stethoscope thing, and was much more "old-school" compared to baby docs these days. The midwife said his c-section rate is 4%...can you believe how low that is...some midwives can't even say that!

Baby is still head down and heart-rate is staying consistent in the 140's. I am leaning more towards thinking it is a boy now.