The post office.

I am convinced that waiting in line at the post office is a form of modern torture. It's silent except for maybe the wail of a baby. People are shuffling forward at a snail's pace. The damn phone won't stop ringing (apparently, it's not in their budget to have an answering machine because the phone must have rang 30 times). The walls are gray and the room is small. The tone is somber. The guy behind me belches twice and coughs into my hair. He's standing so close I can smell the smoke off his clothing. Everyone is looking around helplessly while the one employee rings people up. A girl looks through the array of boxes to figure out which one she needs to use to ship her order in. You'd like to make conversation with the person in front of you but it seems she is just as annoyed as you are.

I am only there to buy some stamps for my workplace, but still those 10 minutes felt like a hour of hell, waiting in line to be served prison food.

My three beauties

Every day, at least once a day, I look at my children and think about how incredibly blessed I am. For as long as I can remember, I always wanted something to love. For awhile, pets seemed to fill that craving. But once I became a mother, my life truly changed and it divided into two "chapters": life before kids, which is seemily insignificant besides my wonderful memories with my mother and siblings and other family, and life after kids, which is super awesome, greater than I ever imagined, and my reason for existence. I live for these kids and everything I do is for these kids. If I should ever leave this earth unexpectedly, I would like my children to know that I loved them more than anything on this earth and nothing filled my heart more than them. ♥ ♥ ♥







If I could have somehow taken a peek forward 10 years ago and seen that these beautiful children would be my future, I'd have lived every moment without trepidation or fear, knowing that my future was bright and I need not worry. Now that I'm there, I now know that every step I have taken has led me to here. For that I am grateful: fate certainly was perfect for us.

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All photos are copyrighted material and may not be used by anyone under any circumstances.

It's me, Boring Blogger!

I apologize for my lack of availability in the blog world. I haven't been able to even log in and scroll my feed to see what's been going on with all of you. If you're still there. I have probably lost my readership.

A quick update: I am back to work but very busy. I feel as though sometimes I don't even have time to run to the bathroom (and really, sometimes I don't)! I am running home twice a day to nurse the baby (I'm at work 8 - 4 so I nurse before work, then come home at 10 and 1, and am home for the day at 4, feeding on demand the rest of the time). We tried pumping and feeding bottles around 3-4 weeks and he did really well! I was prematurely hopeful, because around 6-8 weeks, he was less enthusiastic about them. My first day back, he only took half an ounce in the morning (the whole morning) and wouldn't take anything in the afternoon. I decided, screw it. I ran home before and it worked out awesome, so I mentioned it to my boss and he was cool with it. Thank goodness! One of the breaks is my lunch break anyway, so they really can't tell me I can't go home. I punch out for both breaks. Jameson is a happy boy! He's becoming more aware every day and will smile and coo as soon as he sees my face. He has such a cute, gummy smile (please stay that way -- I don't need an early teether like Andrew was)!

Elise is just amazing. She has SO many words now and is starting to put 2-3 word phrases together. I can't even count how many words she has and she will try and say almost anything we teach her. She's spunky and funny and daring (she even climbed to the top rung of a ladder when Daddy had his back turned for less than a minute)! She is also very much addicted to the boobie, but I am really okay with that. The transition to her being "not the baby" anymore has been seamless and she loves her little brother. I like to think that the comfort I provide her has helped. It certainly hasn't hurt, and I love knowing she has gotten all those extra immunities through my milk (immunities not found in cow's milk -- immunities which actually increase in the 2nd year).

Andrew is my little man. He still has challenging behaviors but he is learning to control them better. A big part is just understanding how to react to him so that it may prevent angry outbursts. We praise him when he makes good choices, and he enjoys that praise. At school, he is doing better with not getting so angry and they are telling him to "ask for help" if something is frustrating him. He has made new friends and he likes to talk about them. I have been in touch with his teacher (e-mail, phone, and in person) and we have a great communicative relationship going. We both want what's best for Andrew. The plan now is to do a second year of pre-k next year. He is most likely not going to be ready for kindergarten, not because he lacks academically, but because he needs the emotional growth required for kindergarten (let's face it, he'll be going a full day and they will be asking a lot out of him). He is the very youngest in his class with an 8/25 birthdate (the cutoff is 9/1). I would rather him go to kindergarten ready than struggle and have to start over.

All is well in our house. We are preparing for Christmas, slowly but surely. I am going with my family next week with the kids to the Christmas tree farm. My family goes every year and last year I decided not to go, then changed my mind and wanted to go the following weekend and they were closed for the season because the trees (for that year anyway) were all gone. DH and I would like to go Christmas shopping so I need to get a night where my mom is off and have her watch the kids so we can get as much done in 2 hours as possible. We'd also like to have dinner since it's been, well . . . a LONG FREAKING time! LOL.

I hope things are well with all of you; feel free to update me with anything I missed while I've been away!

Confession: I have a major fear.

I always think I'm going to die in a horrible car crash. I actually am driving sometimes and think I feel like I'm going to lose control, even when conditions are just fine. I HATE driving when it's windy and it blows my car around on the Interstate. I am actually pretty good in the snow, having lived in Wisconsin (or Minnesota when I was younger) my whole life. Sometimes I am driving from work and I have thoughts of leaving my children without a mother and how horrible that would be. It's a whole 6 minute commute. I shouldn't be thinking so irrationally. I think it's just because you can go from happy, listening to music, smiling on a beautiful day to... dead ... in mere seconds. It's really insane if you think about it.

I think this may have gotten worse because last week I was coming home from work and it was raining lightly. I got off on my exit and I was still going 60 MPH (the speed limit is 25) and I went around the curve as I always do, and have done a little faster than I should, but have never had a problem, but for some reason this time I went into a slide. I didn't brake and then I did my best to straighten, but because it was a curve and I was going so fast, I spun all the way around and did a 180 (yep, I was now facing the opposite direction!). Scared the SHIT out of me -- my heart was racing. Somehow I managed to avoid hitting both side curbs. The guy behind me was far enough back that he was able to come to a stop while I reversed and got turned around as fast as I could. I got home and told the husband and he said I was just going too fast, but honestly, I've driven that so many times, several times a day (since I go home for feedings) over the past several years. I had him check my tires because my car felt "floaty" and the tires didn't seem to grip as well. The good news is the tread is fine on them, but the bad news is that one of the tires was almost flat. He said, "oh, that's the one with the slow leak; I'll add some air". The other three were overinflated because he does that when the weather is nice to get better gas mileage. The tires also need to be rotated, which the hubby can do, and is going to do in the next couple days.

Long story short: I don't want to die in my car but I can't get rid of the fear. I am now taking my corners super slow. I don't care if the person behind me curses me out. I would rather not take chances, especially as we enter the winter season! I have no idea if I'm being paranoid or what. Maybe I need counseling.

Some random facts.

I slept under the covers until my mid-2os. Is that even normal? Probably not. I was terrified of the dark, ever since I was a child. To this day, I still cannot look at a mirror in the bathroom for fear of seeing something. What, I don't know, but I don't want to find out. I don't sleep under the covers anymore. Becoming a mom changed that and I just don't fear it anymore.

While I love odd amounts of things (like 5 of something placed on the wall, or 3 -- it is more aesthetically pleasing), I buy even amounts of things (4 bags of chocolate instead of 3 or 5). I have no idea why!

I catch myself clenching my jaw when I drive and there is no reason for it. I'm not tense or stressed or scared, but I think it's just a habit.

I wash my hands an insane amount of times per day. I must do it absent-mindedly. I noticed this the other day because the hubby had to fix a leak in the bathroom sink so we couldn't use it and I probably went to it 3 times within 10 minutes before remembering I couldn't use it (I did acutally turn it on once, causing a minor flood under the sink. Oops.

I am a great speller and have excellent grammar but sometimes when I am typing online and not thinking, I accidently type "ov" for "of". How stupid! At least I catch myself before I post it.

Facebook is kind-of like crack. I don't think I could go a day without logging in. I don't want to miss anyone's update. What if something really important is happening and I don't find out about it?! I love logging in and seeing little red boxes that means I have either a message or a comment or even a friend request. What the hell did we do before Facebook?! Maybe I'm just too reliant on being social.

I love the feeling of getting in a hot car when it's winter. Winter is damn cold here. There's nothing better than having the heater blast that heat right in your face, even if it makes your eyes and face feel super dry. When I was a kid, my sister and I used to get up early in the morning and sit on the registers in the house.

I am addicted to doing laundry. I cloth diaper, as you know, and I also enjoy doing the regular laundry. I think it's the organization of it all. I don't always enjoy folding it and sometimes it piles up a little in the hampers, waiting to be put away. I only get to it when I need a hamper. Haha.

That's about it for now.

I want to be Jim and Pam.

The Office followers, you know who I'm talking about. I have seen every episode. In fact, I only got into the show a year-and-a-half ago when I was on maternity leave with my daughter. It was the early days and she was eating all the time and my sister has the entire collection on DVD, so I put the first one in, got addicted, and finished the whole series.

To this day, I cannot watch the episode where Jim and Pam get married without bawling my eyes out.

Does this fairytale romance exist in real-life? Do people really have relationships like that? I want that. I read books and lose myself in the novels and live vicariously through the characters. I think those do exist, but I wonder how long that spark lasts. Are they just rare? Is it eternal [the new love feeling]? I'm sure for some it is, and some couples really do have that much love for each other all their lives. Are some men just the silent type who keep their feelings in, and they just don't get all mushy and romantic, even if they love their significant other?

I love my husband, but I really do live for my kids. They make me feel whole and complete and loved and special and I am their whole world, as they are mine. I feel that that is enough, but sometimes I find myself wanting to be looked at adoringly, or crushed at, or winked at. Maybe I'm just past my prime.

For now, I will just watch Jim and Pam, even if they are just characters on t.v. and maybe nobody does have a relationship like that.

Elise's vocabulary at 18 months

Mama
Dada
DeDe (baby)
Appo (apple)
Nana (banana)
Socks
Hot
Bite
Hi
Bubbohs (bubbles)
Ayya (hello)
Ah Gahn (all gone)
De Ennn (The End)
Buh-bye
Poopoo
Di (diaper)
Up
Cup (water)
Butt
Goat
Ant
Kkk (kitty)
K (book)
Boobie
Boohbah (blueberry)
Cado (avocado)
Teese (cheese)
Num num
Uh-oh
No
Bah (ball)
Coh (cow)
Duck
Purpoh (purple)
Sues (shoes)
Cah (car)
Bir (bird)
Mine
Cuppie (caterpillar)
Wow
Buh (bus)

It's been almost 4 weeks!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I have been busy, as you can expect. Things are going very well, overall. Going to three wasn't bad, and I feel it was easier than going to two (but that could just be that Andrew is at a much better age now at 4 than he was at 2.5 when Elise came along).

I have been taking pictures so I'll share some from the last 3.5 weeks. Jameson sure is growing nicely! He was 6 lbs, 13 oz. at birth and 6 lbs, 9 oz. when we left the hospital. At his 2 week well check, he was all the way up to 8 lbs, 3 oz.! The pediatrician said that is awesome.

We also took Andrew and Elise to their well checks (his 4 year and her 18 month) -- Andrew is 43.3" tall (95th percentile) and 36 lbs (57th percentile) and Elise is 32" tall (60th percentile) and 22 lbs, 9 oz. (22nd percentile).

So, here are the aforementioned and long overdue pics! ;)

All three kids together (this was the morning after we returned from the hospital). I regret that it's not a great quality image; it was taken with the point-and-shoot:



Then I did Jameson's newborn shoot at 3 days of age:

















































A couple more recent pics -- you really can notice a change!:

The Birth of Jameson Edward

Late Sunday morning, 8/21/2011, I was having contractions I could tell were real, but they were far enough apart. They didn't really hurt but I could tell that they were at least wavelike with a peak in the middle. I figured that they would lead to "the big deal" later in the day. By the afternoon, they were coming closer together (6-8 minutes apart). I was still able to get through them without people around me knowing I was having contractions (I was at my grandparents' house). I decided to go home around 4:30. At this point, contractions were 5 minutes apart. Things began to pick up shortly thereafter. I finished up some last minute things around the house (like laundry). I noticed that I was urinating quite often and I figured the baby was getting lower in the pelvis. Around 5:45 or so, I had bloody show. I knew then for sure that my baby was coming because I had bloody show the last two times only when I was in active labor. I called my mom over because my kids were driving me up the walls and my house was a mess, and Rob was gone with his brother, and I just needed someone there. She came over and swept the floors, did the dishes, made supper for the kids, and folded my laundry. I didn't ask her to do any of this, but that's just how she is and she said she didn't want me coming home from the hospital to a mess. She was just so excited to know that her newest grandbaby was on the way. During contractions, I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. It was what worked for me in the past, and it helped this time around too. Plus then I could lock the door so I could breathe through the contractions distraction (kid) - free.

Around 8:00, I sent my mom home with the plan that she would pick me up when it was time to go to the hospital. My mother-in-law also came over to stay with the kids. It was shortly after 9:00 when contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and my mom took me to the hospital. At this point I was still breathing through them and didn't feel the need yet to "ah" through them. I got checked around 10:00 p.m. and was 4 cm, 90% effaced, and 0 station. I was glad I was at the hospital because last time, I went from a 3/4 to an 8 in just 2 hours. I really thought that birth tub sounded enticing!

I got into the tub just before 11:00 p.m. Ah, instant nirvana. Amazing. Contractions continued to come every 3-4 minutes and I "aaahed" through them, as I did last time. The reason why this works so much better is because then I am slowing down my breathing. The tendancy when blowing through a contraction, at least for me, is to take more breaths. I kept my voice low to allow myself ultimate relaxation. The midwife on-call was not my regular midwife but she was very nice. She kept the lights low in the tub room and basically just let me be. My mom served as my "doula", telling me "good job" when I got through a contraction, and feeding me ice chips. I got out of the tub around 12:30 a.m. and had to use the bathroom. Prior to, I felt the shaking that I knew meant I must be in transition. After using the bathroom, I had the midwife check me and I was at 8 c.m .Yes! Transition! Home stretch, baby! I knew within 2 hours I would know the gender of my baby and have him or her in my arms finally. The nurse used the handheld doppler a few times thoroughout the labor, but that was my only "monitoring". The heartbeat sounded great and she told me the baby was definitely moving lower as things progressed.

Within a half hour, contractions started lasting 2 minutes, then three. When they were consistently lasting 3 minutes and I could feel a little more pressure, the midwife stayed close, but still continued to allow me to do things on my own and get through the contractions. Loose jaw, loose bottom was my mantra. I was using cold, wet washcloths to rub my face down because I started getting a little warm, and it helped to distract from the pain. Just before 2:00 a.m., she checked me and I had just a lip of cervix left. The bag of waters was still in tact. I was all "game on: let's go" so I had her break my water. After an intense contraction, I felt it. The urge to push. The baby pushed lower and I could feel that pressure in my bottom as my eyes watered. I heard the midwife tell me to push whenever I wanted to. She told me blow out in short spurts so that I could prevent tearing ("who-who-who"), so I did this and started pushing at 2:10 a.m. I felt the warmth and pressure as the baby crowned. Crowning! I was doing this! There was no turning back! "Push, push", I could hear them say. "The head is out!", I heard next, and then, "push again -- get those shoulders out!" I knew I had to just do this one more thing and my baby would be here. "Reach down and grab your baby!"

2:12 a.m.: My baby was out! Oh my God -- my baby was out. My hands grabbed the slippery, warm body and I pulled the baby close. "What do we have?" "I moved the cord out of the way and announced, "It's a boy!" My son. Jameson. He was here. Nothing else mattered in that moment and time seemed to stand still for a few seconds as I gazed at him and took him in. I held him close to my body and he cried out for a moment, but for the most part, he was just content in the water and close to his mama.

Another amazing waterbirth. The moments after labor are almost surreal.
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Jameson Edward: 6 lbs, 13 oz. and 20 inches long., 8/22/2011

Please welcome . . .

Jameson Edward! He was born at 2:12 a.m. 8/22/11 via waterbirth. 6 lbs, 13 oz. and 20 inches long. I am working on the birth story now.

The final countdown!

I am one of those people who always needs something to look forward to. I keeps me going, so to speak, and prevents depression. There is always something exciting coming up that I can think about. Obviously, right now it's this watermelon I have growing in my belly. I'm down to 11 days until my due date. The not knowing makes me impatient -- will I go early, on time, or late? Really, in pregnancy, 40 weeks is just an estimate. Even if a woman goes to 42 weeks, she's really not "late". 40 is just the average. But I find myself wondering if every little contraction is going to be a big contraction, even though I know this information. I am just so excited to go through labor again and meet my little one, and find out of it's a little miss or mister. I am not "hoping" for either gender (I get asked that a lot). I only care about a healthy baby. So wish me luck as I get through the last week-and-a-half (or more) of this final pregnancy!

Also, there is a lot going on right now. Andrew turns 4 one week from today (I have his presents all picked out but they're not wrapped yet), I am working on night weaning Elise (not going so well), and pre-school for Andrew starts September 6th (at least I have most of his school supplies purchased). All of this on top of working full-time keeps me busy and distracted.

38 weeks today!

Likewise, I had my appointment this morning. There is really nothing to report. My blood pressure is nice and low (well, normal low). I haven't gained too much weight; in fact, I think I'm below where I was with Elise. The baby sounded great and my midwife felt my abdomen and said she thinks he/she is around 6 lbs. now (makes sense -- both of my other kids were 6 pounders). She did not check me, but I am okay with that because it's not like it tells you when you will go into labor anyway. My fundal height was 37 cm. She remarked that I look amazing! It's nice to hear that, because I certainly don't feel like I look amazing.

SAY, if you're interested, I have added a baby pool (guess the date, gender, and weight) to my sidebar. It's all for fun -- no prizes here -- I'm about to go into a 3 month, unpaid maternity leave here. It's easy to put your guess in and you don't have to register to play the game.

I will try and update the blog when I go -- I think my hospital has wi-fi, but I'm really not sure. For those of you who are Facebook friends with me, I think someone will be posting updates there. I can't wait to find out what I'm having! So exciting.

I also want to share these lovely pics I took of my offspring yesterday.

Long time no post!

Summer has been busy for me. You know how summer is just "go-go-go"? And it seems like you never have time to just relax? That is how mine has been. If I'm not busy at work (and I am, with some new duties they gave me), I'm busy with the kids. We are always out enjoying the weather, going for walks, going to the park, or going swimming. Anyway, I'm 37 weeks today! Officially full-term. It makes me happy to know that if my baby decided to come now, he/she would have lungs strong enough to breathe on his/her own and would most likely need zero medical intervention. These weeks have been flying by. Next week I start my weekly appointments. At my last one, last week, the midwife said, "whoa" when she felt how low the head was. I was also measuring at 34/35 cm at 36 weeks, so I'm betting on another small baby. That is fine with me! I am just so anxious to know: boy or girl. Yet the suspense has been amazing and I'm glad we didn't find out.

I also wanted to share something we did on a forum of mine. It's where you interview your child. I did this with Andrew. Enjoy!

Andrew's All About Me Interview
August 7th, 2011, almost 4

What is your name? Uh, Andrew [last name]

When is your birthday? Uh, in August. August what? (I said): August birthday, and Mike's (that's my brother, and he is correct).

How old are you? Uh, I don't know.

Where do you live? Where do I live? At home.

Who is your mommy? Sarah

What does your mommy do? My mommy do? She goes to work and she gets my "bitamins" all the time. Mom can you give me my bitamins now?

Who is your daddy? I don't know.

What does your daddy do? My daddy do? He bikes with me and Squeaker.

What is your favorite color? My favorite color? My favorite color car? My Lamborgini and my soccer ball van... they're my favorites.

What do you want to be when you grow up? What do I want to be when I grow up? I talk.

What is your favorite food? My favorite food? Salad.

What food do you not like? Uh, stinky cheese. I don't like that. (He's referring to swiss.)

What is your favorite animal? I don't know. I do like squirrels, but they go in their homes.

Where do you want to live when you grow up? When I grow up? I don't know.

What do mommy and daddy do after you go to bed? After I go to bed? Brush my teeth.

What does daddy say? To brush my teeth!

What does mommy say? What does Mommy say? I don't know what Mommy says.

What is your favorite song? Shake, shake it... and shake shake

What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie? Um, bumblebees.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Um, the black ice cream. Vanilla ice cream.

Where is your favorite place to eat? My favorite place to eat? At the restaurant! And get ice cream!

Who is your favorite person? Mom

Who is your best friend? Mom

What is your favorite book? I don't know...the strawberry book!

Do you have any brothers or sisters? Um, I have a sister named Squeaker and how old is she?

Where did your sister come from? The doctor!

What is your favorite thing to do? My favorite thing to do? I don't know.

Favorite cereal? Favorite cereal? Vanilla ice cream!

Favorite vegetable? My favorite begetable? Salad!

Favorite drink? My favorite drink of water?

Favorite toy? Rings.

Favorite TV Show? Electric Company

Favorite game? I don't know.

Favorite restaurant? The restaurant!!! (Probably referring to the only place we have really been as a family, our favorite local restaurant.)

Favorite holiday? I don't know.

If you could change your name, what would you choose? Choose? Chips and ice cream and...

What do you love about each person in our family? Mom. M-O-M. Dad: nothing (). Squeaker: I hug her. Mom, can you get my orange pickup truck?

Where would you like to go on vacation? On vacation? I don't know.

What are some things you wish for? I wish? I don't know.

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Elise is doing great. She's 17 months now and is learning more and more words and can drink from a regular cup (she never caught onto the sippy thing). She is still nursing a few times a day and I'm working on night weaning, but that's been put off so long now I don't know if it'll happen.

Not much to report

I'm holding steady and 34 weeks + 2 days along right now. Yesterday, I had an appointment with one of the 2 midwives I've been seeing. I love how in-depth the midwives are as opposed to when I saw an OB my first pregnancy and I felt like a new patient some of the appointments (who are you?).

A summary:

- My BP is still great (104/64)
- Weight gain is good, even though I'm up 32 lbs. (remember, I started out 10 lbs. below my normal weight)
- Baby's heartrate was between 140-150
- Fundal height was 34 cm (so, perfect for 34w1d)
- Head is LOW (no wonder I'm peeing every 45 minutes), with the back on my right side of my uterus and the butt on top -- yay for still being head-down!
- No swelling to report.
- I go back in 2 weeks and then the appointments are weekly from 38 weeks on.

I am tired, not so much because of being pregnant, but because I sometimes go to bed late. I am sure I'm not the only one with an internet addiction?! Things are going well at work -- a little slow and boring lately, but it gives me time to prepare for my leave (I will again be taking the maximum time off, 12 weeks, even though it's unpaid except for any PLV I have accrued -- which will be around 3 weeks). It's been hotter than a Baghdad Barbeque here -- serious heat indices, which makes me appreciate air conditioning so much! My kids are little adorables. I love them so much. They are both enjoying swimming this summer. I like to think that my daughter is such an advanced little fish due to her waterbirth. :)

At least I'm craving healthy things!

I just ran on my lunch break to the store to get some Life cereal. I just had to have it. Now I'm sitting at my desk just eating it out of the huge box next to me. At 33 weeks pregnant, anything I do can just be attributed to pregnancy and I don't think anyone will bat an eye.

July!

How can it be July already? Most likely, my baby will be here next month, and it seems crazy that I can say, "next month". I will admit that I am in no rush! I never get the "hurry up and get this baby out of me" feelings, even at the end of a pregnancy. Honestly, the longer the baby bakes, the less likely there are to be complications. The most annoying thing to me is not the fact that at that point, the baby will be really low, or that I will be peeing a lot (already am going every 45 minutes) -- but the fact that everyone will be asking me if I am still pregnant, especially people at work and the one really annoying lady at the bank (I take the daily deposit there for work so they know me there pretty well).

But now that it's July and I'm going to be 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow, reality is setting in. Holy crap, I will be a mom of THREE!

Andrew is now at the age where he is SO much easier to watch than he was a year ago. Gone are the days where he'd try to run away as soon as we turned our back on him in the yard. Gone are the days when eating meant a huge mess on his face and hands. These days he can be found riding his tricycle for long periods of time (yay, concentration!) in the driveway, or looking for bugs for HOURS on the trees and plants in our yard. He will be four on August 25th and I am excited for him to meet this milestone. Four is a good age. He is signed up for 4-year-old pre-school through the school district and I will most likely be on maternity leave at that time since school starts September 6th and I'm due August 29th. I hope to be home to see him off on that first day because I think that's important for both of us. He is a smart, bright boy. He's so observant and catches on to everything. I am only concerned about him getting used to the other kids, but I'm sure he's not the only one who has never been a daycare kid. This will prepare him for kindergarten and we will use this year as an assessment of sorts to see if he's ready (because he is going to be the youngest in his class with an 8/25 birthday).

Elise continues to amaze me. She loves her Rock-a-Stack and will (oftentimes, correctly) put the rings on and clap her hands, saying, "yay!!" when she's done. She loves books. She loves to dance. She loves to watch her and her brother's favorite show, The Electric Company. She even says, "HEY YOU GUYS" as they do on the show, although it's not always perfectly clear. Sometimes it's just "hey you" and other times it's just "eeyyyes". She's more daring than her brother was at this age, and even at his age now. She has been climbing the chairs in the kitchen and getting on top of the kitchen table for more than a month now (so I move the chairs away to prevent falls), she loves to swim and will attempt to go in any body of water (she even cries if she is in a shopping cart and sees a puddle and is sad I won't let her lie down in it), she loves to go down slides and if I put her at the top, she will just push herself right down and squeal with glee. While we don't have stairs for her to play on (just the "death stairs" to the basement -- wooden, open stairs which lead to a concrete floor), she very quickly learned to go up and now down the ones at my mom's house. She's just growing up so fast! One of her favorite things to do is sit on my lap, lift up my shirt to reveal my belly, and then lie her head on it. It's so sweet. I am sure she doesn't know there's a baby in there (she's really too little to understand), but part of me wonders if she somehow knows something? It's very sweet.

Well, that's enough for now. I better go because my aforementioned daughter was up at 6:00 today and is now rubbing her eyes and hitting at me.

I will update again after my 32 week appointment on Tuesday.

30 week midwife appointment

I can't believe I'm 30 weeks already. Wow! This is really the home stretch. I saw a different NMW today because mine is on vacation this week. She was really nice! We chatted it up because my aunt works with her as well (my aunt, the Labor & Delivery RN -- my dream job).

Anyway, blood pressure is still good (I run low anyway). My fundal height is 30 cm, so right on track. She confirmed that baby is, indeed, head down, but lying sideways with his/her back to my left of my stomach. The other day I was convinced the baby was feet down because I kept having all kinds of fluttery feelings down there and it was just strange. He/she either turned now, or those were fingers. Whatever, I am just glad the baby is in position (somewhat), even though I know things can change. The heartrate was 150 -- I never tire of listening to that beautiful sound. ♥

I am still nursing Elise -- it's going really well. I mentioned it to the midwife and she said that she nursed her daughter through her third pregnancy and went on to tandem nurse. Her daughter was 27 months when he was born and went on for another 7-8 months. I told her that was really good. It's nice to meet other moms who understand extended breastfeeding and all the benefits and they don't look at you like you have two heads (well, haha, just two heads on the boobies!). She said that she would always feed the baby first and then her daughter, and her daughter would tell her that there was so much milk. I am, here and there, having people fret and tell me that I have to make sure the baby gets enough -- and he/she will! The body knows exactly what it is doing and will make enough for the demand -- in this case, it would be kind-of like nursing twins, but not quite because Elise obviously won't be needing the same amount of feedings as her little brother or sister.

Nothing else is really new here. I turn 31 this coming Saturday -- blah. It's not so bad, I guess. Turning 30 last year was a little hard for me, but being a mom is the best thing in the world so I'll just refer to my late 20s into my 30s as my glory years. :)

My adorable girl (video)!

A Saturday in the life of Wisconsin Mama Sarah

It doesn't get much better than this.