Halloween Part 2

I figured I better get these pictures up before Lucy comes tomorrow & all I want to blog about is her ;) Tyler ended up ditching his last class to take the boys trick-or-treating. It was so nice to have him there. Then Mike & Rebecca came over to help pass out candy. It was just the calm evening that I needed!

As you can tell, Steven didn't get as much camera time as Ben. Ben sort of hogged all the attention tonight in his Yoda (or as he says "hoda") costume. There were so many random people commenting on his cuteness. I think my fire fighter was just as cute though! Both costumes were hand me downs. Steven didn't have a choice because the fire fighter one was the only one that fit but Ben did and I was surprised he picked Yoda over Batman & Superman. Oh my boys!

Classic Ben Picture with silly eyes:

Halloween Part 1

Since baby Lucy is still in my tummy (4 days overdue at this point) yesterday I decided we should start doing some Halloween celebrating. This is only part 1 since we still have trick-or-treating to do tonight but I warn you there are lots of pictures :)

For dinner we made our traditional pumpkin pizzas (can you tell how excited Steven is to eat his?):

Then when Tyler got home we carved our pumpkins that we had purchased Saturday night. Steven and Ben were NOT into taking the guts out. In fact they freaked out when mommy and daddy touched them with their pumpkin gut covered hands:

After the pumpkin guts were disposed of, I helped the boys draw on the faces. Steven wanted a mad pumpkin & Ben wanted a happy pumpkin:

Last I attempted to try and get them to help cut out their faces but ended up pretty much doing it myself:

Tyler spent FOREVER carving his pumpkin. He really get's into pumpkin carving....

And here are my 3 boys with their awesome pumpkins:

Today we made Halloween cookies. The boys got nice & messy with the mixing and cutting part:

They had a little less fun with the decorating part. They both frosted one cookie and then were done. All they wanted to do was eat the cookies. They didn't understand that decorating is fun!

Tonight we'll hit the neighborhood and go trick-or-treating. I had invited Tyler's family over to go with us but I got anti-social and cancelled on them this morning. I feel bad but I really need a low key night with tomorrow's impending c-section. I'm nervous about getting cut open again and hoping that the recovery isn't more difficult this time. Hoping for a nice calm Halloween & an easy surgery tomorrow :)

40 Weeks

Tomorrow is my due date & I am still anxiously and very impatiently waiting for baby Lucy to make her arrival. I ended up scheduling a c-section for November 1st. I know not everyone approves or understands but it has actually brought me some peace. I feel like things are in God's hands. I am hoping that Lucy will come before November 1st and that I will be able to get a vbac but if she doesn't I at least will be more mentally prepared for the c-section.

This week started out very roughly. I had a ultrasound Mon. morning (Lucy is still a girl, still head down & they guess her weight to be about 7 pounds), I watched Tara's boys Tues. morning & then I had my dr's appointment Wed. morning (still 3cm & 70%effaced) plus I was tutoring each of those afternoons. It left me feeling stressed and exhausted and very temperamental. I felt like devil mommy and I am so glad Lucy didn't arrive then.

However, this week is ending very nicely. Thursday I was going to be crazy and sub but I decided not to and am SO glad I didn't sub. I took the boys to the Riparian Preserve and we had such a great time. The weather was perfect and my boys were so happy, I didn't feel like devil mommy any more. Then today, we went to Freestone Park and once again had a great morning together. I know we're gonna be broke but it was so worth it. Now I am "officially" done working (tutoring and subbing), the house is clean, the dishes and laundry are in done so I am just playing the waiting game. Hoping she comes soon because I don't want to spend too much time not making money without enjoying my baby Lucy.

And of course I didn't take any pictures on my outings but here are two random pictures of my cute boys:

The Zoo & My Belly

Yesterday Karen was nice enough to use her Phoenix Zoo membership to get me and the boys in for free! The Sanders & Ellsworth family also came along. It has been quite some time since we had been to the zoo so it was nice to get the opportunity to visit it and see all the changes that have happened. The orangutan's have a new habitat, there is now a jaguar, the Komodo Dragon's arm is in a splint and the zoo is reconstructing there whole entrance. Lots of fun things!

Sadly our visit to the zoo DID NOT start out well. Ben decided to try and get out of the wagon while it was moving and gave himself a good owie and it took him a good hour to recover (and I wish I could say I was exaggerating but I'm not) . First he was upset that I put a band-aide on it. Then he was upset that I took it off and he could see the blood. And then he was just plain upset to be upset. The picture below portrays my sad child perfectly:

I went and got him so the other moms could have a nice picture of their children, no fussy babies allowed. I love that Steven & Colin match- such good friends!

After Ben finally stopped with the fussiness the zoo trip was much better for me. It was so nice to hang out with some ladies in my ward and even nicer when I was able to see both my boys having fun with all their friends. However, Ben did not want to participate in the lizard picture below and I was not going to encourage the evil child to return so here are two cute lizard picture sans Ben:

Hopefully my child didn't ruin the experience for everyone else and despite his crankiness I am still glad we got to go. It was nice to have one last big outing with just my boys. I'm sure the next time we go there will be an additional child joining us.

Here's a picture of that additional child (aka Lucy) hiding out in my big belly. Of course, Steven had to get in the picture too.

I can't believe that in less than 2 weeks I will be at my due date. I'm super nervous for how my labor & delivery experience will turn out. I made the mistake of reading some anti-vbac things and am beginning to get worried. There's that .1% risk of uterine rupture which can cause fetal death. I know it's only .1% but you can't help but worry that you'll be that .1%. I also worry on the other side that baby Lucy will go overdue and I will just end up with a c-section anyways (because the risks of a vbac go up with induction & I don't think I'm game for that). I don't want another c-section but I don't want the risks of a vbac. Ugh! If only I could know how everything is going to pan out and know that it will all be ok. Hopefully I can rid myself of doubt and have faith in my prayers and know that it will all be ok. I honestly can't wait to be done with that stressful part and just have my sweet, baby girl to hold (and to dress ;) ). I am so excited to meet her!

Current Events

I only have 3 weeks left until my due date and I'm feeling huge. Super sweet people tell me otherwise and claim that my belly is small and cute. People who have never been pregnant and don't realize it's better to lie tell me "Wow! You just look bigger and bigger everytime I see you."  or "Are you sure it's not twins!?" Then there's my doctor who used to tell me how cute my belly was and now makes no comment...Hmmm....

Anyways, Lucy is finally head down (and I'm praying she stays that way) so I am feeling less apprehensive about her arrival and you might say that I have also been nesting a bit.... The boys and I added Lucy's name to the Playroom and bathroom door. We also had to label her door and crib. Of course, I used pink word strips, much to Tyler's disgust :)

I have also been busy decorating & organizing Lucy's room (girls have too much stuff!). It's still not completely finished (the crib needs to be converted back & I'm still on the lookout for some affordable white, light blocking curtains) but it's pretty darn close...

Steven had his first Primary Program this past Sunday- his line was "Nephi was a prophet that you can read about in the Book of Mormon." He was nervous but with some prompting he was able to say his line and he kept his fingers out of his mouth while doing it (trust me that was a big thing for him). However, unless you knew what he was supposed to say most people had no idea what he was saying. My parents and Tyler's mom & sister came to watch him. They got to watch him stand on risers and look lost during the songs, do a butt bump with a fellow child & pick his nose- too much fun ;) 

Steven is sill obsessed with his stuffed animal, Kevin. He loves it more than he loves the real Kevin. The fake Kevin goes everywhere with Steven and if left behind at anyone's house it is quite devastating. Steven even insists that Kevin gets buckled up when in the van- safety first!

Our Ben gets bloody noses like crazy and the other morning he woke up looking like he had been murdered. He must move around a lot at night is all I can say. Tyler felt the bloodiness needed to be documented:

Speaking of noses...Ben has had a runny nose these last couple of days and has decided that his shirts make the best tissues-- or basically anything other than a real tissue. I gave him one once and he shouted "Oww!" and disgustedly tossed it aside and then wiped his nose with his shirt. So what did he do when he had no shirt to wipe his nose on before taking a shower today? He grabbed anything close by- first a random sock than his diaper- ugh! 

The one nice thing I have to say about this sickness (and Steven's had the runny nose too) is that both boys have been sleeping splendidly. It used to not be like that but thanks to Steven's Singulair, Vick's Vapor Rub and a little essential oils "Breathe" in the humidifier- they sleep wonderfully! I've noticed too that keeping the fan off helps- not sure why but it does....

Ben also has a stuffed animal that must travel everywhere with him- his kitty cat. His kitty cat has a nice manly pink ribbon around it's neck (he stole it from Grandma's house). He calls it his "Titty Tat" and just as Steven becomes distraught without Kevin- Ben as of late has been equally distraught without his kitty cat.