Progress!

Had a Dr. appt today with my totally funny, kinda geeky, easy-to-talk-to OB Dr. Mazen.  I really like him, even if he does wear a mismatched bow tie everyday and wants me to go overdue so I can deliver on his birthday!

  I'm 36 1/2 weeks pregnant and hearing that I am 2-3 cm. dilated, 50% effaced, and the baby is at -1 station makes all the symphysitis, burning patches of skin from nerve damage, pelvic pain, and everything else that much better.  To be honest, having a nurse for a husband, I had him check the other day to see if there was ANY progress and his diagnosis matched the Dr.'s. exactly.  So yay!  Glad to see things are moving in the right direction.  I still have crazy anxiety for the impending birth and knowing what is to come, but I'm ready to have my body back and go on walks and bike rides with my family again.  It's funny how much you want to do something when you're told you can't!  I will be taking this little baby on LOTS of walks to make up for all these weeks of limited mobility.

I think we're narrowing names down to Kara or Kinley and there are a few others that strike us as possibilities, but we'll just wait and see what she looks like or how we feel after she's born.

Me: Kendra, please get your shoes on....Kendra, you need shoes. Now.   We've got to go... Kendra, I have asked you to get your shoes on!

Kendra:  Ok, ok Mom.  How many times you goin to ask me? Geez, I heard you da first time.

....and suddenly, I'm no longer angry, but laughing around the corner where she can't see me!

St. Patrick's Cuties

 I made the girls St. Patrick's shirts last year and Megan was able to wear Mikayla's old one this year and I whipped up a new one for Mikayla the night before.  We went out to a nearby field to snap a few pics before church.

I couldn't get over Kendra's attitude here!  Such a funny little girl!

Wow.

Getting ready to take Kendra to the library and then the park with friends...

Kendra: Mom, are you wearing those pants AGAIN?

Me: Yes, I only have 3 pairs of pants that fit me.

Kendra: Ok, then I'll pick out your shirt.  I think you should TRY to look cute today.

Family Day!

 We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the Sacramento Zoo with our friends, the Leishmans.  Here's Trent and Kendra watching the lions.

 The giraffes were Kendra's favorite!

 Mikayla was partial to the flamingoes

 Our groupon inluded tickets to ride the carousel.

 After our zoo excursion, we headed into Sacramento for some park play with friends!  We surprised the girls by inviting their best friends from Sac to join us.  Mikayla and Erik still get along great together.

 Megan was so excited to spend time with Brock.

It was fun to see Kelsey and it's even more fun that we are both pregnant with our 4th(both girls!) and due 6 days apart.  We ended our day with dinner at Pluto's and ice cream from Big Spoon.  We were all exhausted after our long, busy day but had so much fun together.

At the library, finishing up our craft: Okay, Kendra, do you want to write your name on your paper?

Kendra: Yes.  (and she draws the letter 'H')
Me: But, you don't have a letter 'H' in your name.
Kendra: Yes I do.  K-e-n-d-r-a-h, see I do.  (and smiles that mischievous little smile)

Self-Portrait

 I wanted some pregnancy pics, but goodness knows I'm too cheap to pay anyone to do it and hate to bother a friend to take some.  And I love my husband, but it's better for our marriage if I just take the pictures and not get frustrated with his lack of centering subjects.  I mean, for the life of me I don't know why pictures he takes of me are of my knees to the ceiling above, but to avoid criticizing I have just kind of given up hope there.  So, I pulled out the trusty tripod and went downtown.  Nothing a little self-timer can't do!

Matching Her Doll

 Megan loves dolls and was so excited to get a few matching outfits for Christmas.  She wore this to church last week and loved showing everyone her doll that wore a matching dress.  Too cute!

Family Pinewood Derby

 Dad helped the girls make their cars for the ward activity. 

 They were identically made, but Megan's edging out Mikayla in this one. 

 A bunch of the entries lined up.

 Cupcakes and hearts, polka dots, and pink, not quite the screamin machines Trent had in mind, but fully expected in this home full of pink.

Can't get much closer than that!  We had a fun night with dinner, car racing, diaper derby, and visiting with friends.  The girls and Trent already have ideas for next year's cars!

Symphysitis

Never heard of it?  Me either. Don't care about it?  Me either, until I was diagnosed with it and now it's all I can think about. Basically, it means my body's producing too much relaxin, a normal pregnancy hormone, that helps the hips and pelvis spread in preparation for birth.  So, having too much means too much pelvic spreading which means trouble walking and sleeping. 
   So, I've been told to lay off the gym, stay off my feet, and avoid stairs.  Real easy with 3 kids and a 2-story house!  Sleep is elusive with the pelvic pain, baby kicking, and searing hip pain all night.  Tylenol kind of cuts the pain, but not as much as I'd like.  I have one great day and then a day where I'm all but confined to the couch.  33 weeks now.... hoping and wishing it'll only be 5 more because I can't wait to get out and walk and exercise again! 

I think this time on the couch has made me more fully appreciate the health I normally do enjoy and the fitness I strive so hard for.  I saw a quote that said, "Health is not a chore, it is a blessing."  This has really resonated with me as something so minor as pelvic pain has made something so easy as walking seem difficult.

 Hey, I can at least pretend I'm enjoying this right?!

Oh yeah, pregnancy the 4th time around is peachy and if I haven't said it enough already, I am NEVER gettting pregnant again! I hear the Taylor Swift song in my head as I say it, but, "I-I, am never, never, ever....getting" pregnant again.  Oh yeah, also probably shouldn't write a blog post after coming out to the couch to try to sleep at 4am because the bed is seeming more like a torture device.  Lack of sleep combined with pain makes me not such a happy person...

Do-nut you know I love you?

I love my husband, totally makes me laugh.  I sent him to the store for salsa.  He came home with 2 cartons of ice cream, a box of donuts, a box of chocolate croissants for work, and chips.  "Hey, don't send me to the store right before dinner!" he says.

Well, after dinner, we broke into the mini donuts and the girls were showing us how they can stuff a whole mini donut in their mouth.  "That's nothing, I can do 3 at once" I very jokingly said.  "Do it!  Do it!" they started chanting and because the challenge had been thrown down, I conceded.  I stuffed 3 of those mini bad boys into my mouth--which was the easy part.  Next came the chewing part--not so easy at all!  They were not breaking up nicely and took up ALL the room in my mouth.

 Well, that combined with a stuffy nose I can't breathe out of meant I lost the ability to breathe.  My face registered mock panic and soon everyone sensed my inability to breathe or chew.  But rather than help, they started laughing.  Hysterically.  I too was laughing so hard crumbs started spewing out which meant my children were falling off their chairs laughing and both Trent and I had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard.  I admit it, me acting like a total buffoon was pretty funny...until I actually couldn't breathe and had to motion for Trent to grab a napkin so I could make room in my mouth to breathe.

So, challenge accepted.  I DID fit 3 in my mouth at once.  We'll just keep the side fact that they couldn't well be chewed or swallowed hush hush.  The things I do for my kids....  haha