We're a family of 5!

Little miss Esmé Evangeline has been with us for 11 days now. She's amazing! Not only is she the definition of cuteness, she wins the award for being my easiest newborn. There is so much that has happened since she was born, that I'm at a loss as to where to even start.  I've decided to update through pictures...lots of them 

I started having contraction at 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning, labored at home most of the day, got to the hospital at 5:00 p.m., and she was born 6 hrs later.  Easiest delivery! 

Just moments after she was born.
May 10th at 11:17 p.m., 5 lbs 14 oz, 18.25 inches

All clean and sweet. 

First picture of her being "alert"

We had issues with Gemma's bili levels when she was a newborn, so it was not fun to hear Esmé needed therapy at 1:30 in the morning.  Thankfully, there was a "miss-communication" between the pediatrician and nurses and her levels ended up being okay.  That little eye mask is pretty dang cute though. 

Being swallowed up by her car seat :)

I hate that Makael is blurry, but Gemma's face is precious. 

Gemma honestly hasn't seemed too interested in Esmé besides just saying she's cute and occasionally wanting to hold her. Surprisingly, she's been more "motherly" towards Makael which has been so sweet to watch.  

Remember how I wanted Esmé to be born in time for Gemma's dance recital?  Well, she came early enough that I was able to go to the dress rehearsal too.  My mom was over helping me with the other two so I could do Gemma's hair and make-up.  When Gemma was ready, we got our phones out and took lots of pictures. Gemma started posing with each click of the camera.  It was hilarious.  Here are just a few...but believe me there are LOTS more.  

Little E in the background hahaha. 

Night 3 at home...wide awake at 2:00 a.m.

One of my favorite pictures of her.  Is she not the most precious thing?!

Another favorite.

This little guy was pretty worn out when I got home.  He took lots of naps. 

My friend T.K. who made the pillows for E's crib, made this beautiful quilt from the scraps of fabric.  I LOVE it!

Still napping ;)  He goes nowhere without a bat.

Looking out the window. 

Gemma trying to give E her paci...Makael starting to show some interest.

No lack of attention from Ariya...she loves holding her. 

I just love her.

Sister love. 

Who doesn't love a baby yawning?

Recital day!!! I was so nervous for her, and scared we would have a repeat of her Christmas recital.  She actually reminded me to give her motrin before we left "just in case" she got sick. Hahaha.  She did great!

Best friends.

Ariya danced the same day too.  It was so fun to watch them.  Gemma was especially proud of her flowers.

She's been dying to play with her recital outfit on, but we had to keep it looking nice until after the actual recital.  She was so excited to be able to keep it on and go for a bike ride (those cute little boys live next door).

Gemma wanted to take a picture "just us girl".  This was recital day for G, and E's 1 week birthday. 

Look at that sweet face! I could sit and stare at her for hours. 

She doesn't really care to be swaddled, can you tell?

Looks so tiny in her crib. 

Yay for first bath!! She LOVED it.  It literally looked like she smiled through the whole thing.  She didn't even cry when I was drying her off...actually she rarely cries at all.  It's quite amazing. 

All clean and smelling heavenly. 

Makael was showing interest, so I went ahead and let him invade her personal space. Ha! 

Growling at her...his way of letting her know he loves her. hahaha

He ran into the door frame running away from Ariya. I was afraid we were going to need a trip to the emergency room, but all is well.  

So that is basically the last 11 days in pictures.  Esmé is just perfect and I'm so thankful she's finally here.

All about baby #3

We are at 37 1/2 weeks and this baby could essentially come any time.  Some days I think it will be soon, other days I think she'll decide not to show her face until after her due date, but one way or another she'll be here soon. I'm more than ready.  David and I are about 90% sure we only want three kids, so I've been trying to enjoy these last few weeks of being pregnant, which I have, but I'm ready to move on.  I really thought I would be more emotional about being "done", but surprisingly I'm completely okay with idea.  Three is a good number :)

It's impossible not to compare this pregnancy with my other two.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant I started trying to find similarities to figure out if we were having a girl or a boy.  I was pretty sick the first trimester, much more so than with Gemma, so I assumed it was a boy.  But then the morning sickness lasted longer than with Makael, so I started thinking girl. For a couple of weeks I couldn't hold water down, which was not something I experienced with either Gemma or Makael, so of course I assumed I was carrying an alien. The only thing I've found similar between my two pregnancies with girls, is my mood swings.  I was so even tempered with Gemma.  Not much bothered me during those nine months. It was great! I was a complete emotional basket case with Makael from start to finish (and then some). This time I was pretty emotional for the first trimester, but evened out after that, which is what tipped me off that it was a girl.  Other than that though,  everything has been so completely different, yet thankfully it has been the easiest.

Gosh I'm just so excited to meet this little lady!  It's such a surreal thing, this whole baby thing. There's no way to know what she will look like, what her personality will be, yet I know the second she's born it will all make sense and somehow I will love her as much as I love Gemma and Makael. It's quite amazing.  Her room is officially done, her clothes are clean, and hospital bags are packed. Now it's just a waiting game. A waiting game that causes  anxiety, anxiousness, and giddy excitement.

May is quite a month to have a baby.  There is just so much going on! We have end of school events, recitals, birthdays (we have 6 in our immediate family alone), deadlines to sign up for summer events...add having a baby to all of it, and it's enough to make your head spin.  It actually makes guessing her birthday all the more exciting though.  Whenever she decides to finally come, we are ready and so excited!

I don't like posting belly pictures, but I thought it was fun to compare bellies. These were all taken around 37 weeks. Gemma is top left, Makael is bottom left, and right is baby E.

A lot of love went into this nursery.  My mom did the art work and my friend T.K. made the pillows, crib skirt, and rocking chair cushions (not pictured).   

My crafty friends might get a good laugh at the projects I did for the nursery, but unfortunately I think I reached the extent of my abilities. There are several other things I made that are not pictured, but I'll spare you :)

You might have caught on by now that her name starts with an E ;)  

I had fun painting this little rocking chair. Pink is fun! The little tag blanket was a gift from my friend Hannah (one of those crafty friends I was telling you about). So cute! 

Easter 2014

The weather could not have been any more perfect this past weekend, which made for a few fun days outside.

Photo bomb by Buzz Lightyear.

Her favorite part about ice cream...the last drinkable little bit.

Bubbles outside :)

Our (almost) family of 5

Brotherly hug

"He's being nice?!"

"No wait! Let me give you a hug too!"

Game face on.

We're getting there!

The month of April is flying by! Up until now, time seemed to be dragging, now I wish I could make it slow down just a little bit.  We are on the very last stages of finishing the basement!  We just have those little details that seem to pop up out of nowhere. At times I'm overwhelmed by all of those little details, and then I realize they are the only thing keeping me busy so I don't go crazy from anticipation for baby #3's arrival. It's surreal, exciting, and terrifying all at once.  Ready or not, she'll be here in 2-5 weeks!
I'm still feeling pretty good actually...unless I over do it, which I definitely did yesterday cleaning the basement and setting up the kids' playroom. By the end of the day I could hardly lift Makael, but it felt really good to get so much done. Otherwise I'm still comfortable and sleeping well. David and I have a bet going as to how much she'll weight.  I'm predicting 7 lbs 5 ounces or more. He's predicting under 7 lbs. Regardless of who wins, I'm almost positive she'll be bigger than the other two. We've also been trying to guess what day she'll be born.  We both think it will be between May 7th and 10th.  Without knowing our prediction, I've had two other people tell me they think it will be May 7th too. All I know is I'm very ready, yet not ready at all. Ha!

Makael seems to be doing better these days.  He is yet to show any interest in eating real food, but the increase in calories from pediasure seem to be making a difference in how he feels.  He looks like he's gaining weight, he's sleeping in longer, and overall happier.  He is on Zantac now too, so that may be contributing as well.  We'll know more at his next appointment with the specialist at the end of May. He's currently obsessed with baseball, and we've realized that 80% of his vocabulary is movie quotes from either Sandlot, Finding Nemo, or Frozen. Th kid is hysterical!

Speaking of Frozen... I might just go crazy if Gemma's obsession with it doesn't subside soon.  I'm not sure if she likes the movie as much as just the songs.  The poor girl cannot sing a single note on key, but that doesn't stop her from belting out every song.  It was adorable at first, but now she has us all singing the songs too, even Makael. They will pull up Frozen songs on youtube and sing together.
So there's good news and bad news regarding her latest health issues. Good news first- I'm not so sure she has a sun allergy any more.  We found out she had parvovirus when a nasty rash appeared on her face.  Once the rash shows up, the virus has already taken it's course so we aren't really sure when she actually had the virus, but the parvo rash looks a lot like what she had on her arms (what I thought was from the sun). We have been out in the sun several times now and I haven't noticed the rash again, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The bad news is, she has to get four teeth capped (very back teeth on top and bottom).  She bit her cheek a couple of weeks ago, and while I was making sure there wasn't any blood (she ALWAYS needs to know), I realized her back tooth (bottom left) looked like it was decaying. After taking a closer look at all her teeth, I noticed the other three. We were able to get in to see the dentist that afternoon and he said we needed to get those fixed ASAP.  I was terrified that I was going to get yelled at for not taking care of her teeth, but I apparently it's a "malformation" of those teeth and they actually came in with no enamel.  So although it's somewhat of a drag that she has to get four teeth capped, it's nice to know it's not due to us neglecting her teeth (I promise we don't). Unfortunately,  it can be a hereditary thing, so we'll be keeping a close eye on Makael's teeth from here on out as well.

Here are some long over due photos. I tried uploading some videos and it didn't work.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Gemma riding her bike with our neighbor. 

Happy even with a rash on her face. 

Brother and sister cuddling and taking a snooze. 

Performing a song during Mother's Spring Tea at preschool. 

Eating cheerios and watching Nemo while wearing Spiderman sunglasses (Spiderman is a new favorite).

A little attitude wearing Hello Kitty sunglasses (of course).

Practicing his swing. Notice the how close the basement is to being done!! That white dresser is just temporary haha.

Overdue update on my three littles.

Time seems to be dragging yet flying by all at the same time. We are about two weeks out from finishing the basement and about two months out from having another baby.  Projects galore! I get overwhelmed at times, thinking about everything that needs to get done before baby #3 arrives, and I wonder how we'll manage to complete everything. Other times I wonder why time seems to be moving so slow.  I think it's nervous excitement.

I'm still feeling great, but my mind starts going a mile a minute right around 3:00 a.m. so I'm not getting much sleep. I had an OB appointment today and her heart rate was only 126. It worried me some that it was so low, but it must have just been nap time or something. She has since "woken up" and given me peace of mind. She really does move ALL.THE.TIME.
A couple weeks ago the nesting phase hit hard, and I got the urge to clean every corner of the house. Unfortunately, with the basement getting done, cleaning is somewhat pointless. I still clean, but you can't really tell I did anything two hours later. The dust is just unreal!  So instead of worrying too much about it, I've focused most of my efforts on finishing the nursery.  There's still a ways to go, but I've kept myself busy by patching holes, painting, organizing, ordering things we need, washing adorable little pink clothes...etc. It's all coming together.  Just two more months! On that note...Gemma's second recital happens to land on my due date.  If you read my post about her first recital, you know it was a disaster and how heart broken I was over the whole ordeal.  I really want her second recital to go well. So badly! So one of two things needs to happen.  Either baby girl needs to make her appearance early, or she needs to wait until after her due date.  I really hope she follows in her sibling's footsteps and we get option one.  

There's a lot to update on the older two, and I should really make a separate post for each, but I'll try and sum it up as much as possible...

I took Makael in to the pediatrician for having an ongoing nasty cough.  Although he wasn't running a fever or otherwise seeming sick, he was having coughing fits which typically lead to him vomiting.  Turns out he was in the process of recovering from RSV.  We were all pretty excited that he had jumped out of the 3rd percentile for weight and into the 16th.  Wooohooo!  We have Pediasure to thank for that.  Literally, that's all.he.eats. Since he's still not showing any interest in eating, we were referred to a GI specialist (Dr. Kantor).  Kantor ordered labs but we had to wait a couple of weeks for Makael's lungs to fully clear up to do them.  That first appointment was short, but such a relief to know I am not the only one concerned about Makael's growth. With how active and happy he is, I've often wondered if I'm just crazy and he really is just that small. But a two and a half year old should definitely weigh more than 20 lbs!
Besides showing that Makael is slightly anemic, the labs came back pretty normal.  The general thought is that he had silent re-flux as a baby, which basically taught him to not like food.  The game plan now, is to only let him have Pediasure at the table since it's technically his meal, always offer some other type of food with it (even if he doesn't touch it), and have him interact with food as much as possible (picking food out at the grocery store, letting him put groceries away, playing with pretend food, etc). Basically all psychological stuff. We'll see where he's at in a month or so and go from there.
Aside from being little, he is definitely all boy now... no trace of baby whatsoever! He's currently obsessed with Buzz Lighyear from Toy Story. His poor little Buzz has been played with so much that the wing is already broken, but we dare not go anywhere without him! He's still climbing on everything, growling, jumping and overall being a very loud boy. He's constantly coming up with funny new phrases, and still managing to keep me wrapped around his little finger :)

Gemma is still loving school.  She's a total grump when it's time to wake up in the morning to get ready, but doesn't hesitate to skip off without looking back when I drop her off.  It's fun to see her with all of her new friends and listen to her little stories about her day when I pick her up.
I've baby sat a few younger kids recently and she has become quite the little mother.  I'm so excited to see her with a baby sister.  She's pretty excited about it. She tells me she can't wait to, "hold her, nap her, and help drink her". Hahaha.  It's so cute the way she says it that I don't feel the need to correct her just yet.  I know the novelty of having a baby around will wear off, but I am definitely excited to see their interactions the first couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, Gemma seems to be having some "health" issues as well.  During those two days where the temperatures got up into the 60s, she was outside quite a bit wearing short sleeves.  She came in both nights with hives on her arms (only exposed skin), with the second day being a lot worse than the first.  I'm wondering if she has developed a sun allergy (noooooo!!!!).  It hasn't been warm enough for her to be outside without wearing long sleeves since, so I haven't really gotten the chance to "test" it out again.  I guess we'll find out here pretty soon when it warms up a little more.  Other than that she's doing well, and becoming such a little lady.  The girl is going to be an artist when she grows up...I just know it.  I swear she can already draw better than me! And you should see her play temple run...ridiculous. :)

That's about it for now.  Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be able to post pictures of a finished basement and possibly a finished nursery :)  I have several pictures and videos to post, but I've got to get my phone back from Gemma to upload them. Ha!

Snowed in...with plenty to do.

We are ready for this snow to melt away!  We've done our best to keep ourselves busy indoors, but we are counting down the days until we can go outside and play! Gemma liked the snow the first couple of days, but just like me, she's over it. Makael didn't like it from the get go, but he's never been a fan.   We're ready for Spring!

Gemma and I have been doing a lot of baking...nothing fancy, just cookies and cakes.  Baking is not something I typically enjoy doing, but it's admittedly much more fun when you have an enthusiastic four year old helping. She has also spent lots of time painting and riding her new bike...the perks of having an unfinished basement. I had a video of her riding it, but accidentally deleted it.  I'll definitely post one later...but for now, I'm sure she would want you all to know it's a Hello Kitty bike. :)

Today was Daddy Day at preschool.  I'm not sure what all they did, and I don't know how excited David was about getting there at 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday, but it looks like she had a good time.

Makael is not at all a fan of being cooped up in the house, so we took advantage of the time stuck indoors and started potty training. I had such a hard time potty training Gemma, that I have been dreading going though it again since the day Makael was born. That might sound like an exageration, but I'm being completely sincere.  In hindsight, I started Gemma to early. I wanted her to get it so badly that I pushed her into it. She was too little, I was pregnant...lots of tears were shed by both of us (okay mainly me). Thankfully Makael has been wonderful! I had already made up my mind to wait until after baby #3 was here before even trying to potty train him, but a couple of weeks ago we were driving back from Target, and he basically told me the plot to Sandlot. I understood him perfectly, and for some reason it made me think he could probably figure out how to use the toilet too (I know, I'm not sure why I made that connection either). So...I went out and bought him some big boy undies, a bag of peanut m&ms, and started potty training. The first day was hard! He had 5 accidents before he went in the toilet. At the end of the day, the count was 8 accidents and 2 successes...and there was no evidence of anything "clicking" for him.  The next day started out hard again. I even had a conversation with my mom about it, and we both came to the conclusion that he just wasn't ready. So after a rough morning I gave up and put a diaper on him (which they say you aren't supposed to do because it confuses them). Thankfully, my stubbornness came out and I decided I was NOT going to give up so easily and that diaper came off 5 minutes after it went on. Well, Makael must have understood the conversation between my mom and I, because he sure proved us wrong that afternoon.  It was like a switch was turned on and he just figured it out.  By day three I knew he had it figured out, but it was still up to me to figure out when to take him.  By day four he was telling me when he had to go!  What is it about a kid learning how to use the toilet that is so dang exciting?! I just can't believe how easy it was! I'm so proud of him! He hadn't put down his little Buzz figurine all week, so as a reward for figuring out the toilet, I got him a Woody figurine. Is this not the sweetest little boy?

Taking a snooze with his friends. 

I've still been putting a diaper on him at night, but the last three days he has woken up dry.  Last night he even came into our bedroom at 2:00 a.m. and told me he had to go potty. What?!  I think it's safe to say we are pretty much diaper free! Until May of course...and yes, I'm still totally dreading potty training #3.  Thankfully that's still a couple years away.