More pictures-

Ashlyn just ADORES her little brother Ben and always wants to have her turn to hold him

In case you are wondering, yes Benjamin is yellow... he has jaundice but not serious enough to require phototherapy. He actually is less yellow today than he has been. Paul and Ashlyn went to church today while Ben and I stayed home. It was lovely to be able to sleep while the baby was sleeping.

Benjamin is here!!

Okay, so he has been here since Monday... I am not nearly as quick at getting around to writing this exciting of a blog as many of you are!

If you don't want to hear about labor, then skip this paragraph. So we showed up to the hospital at 5:3o after getting a very poor night's sleep the night before. Within the hour they had ruptured my membranes (broke my water) and had started the pitocin. Before 10:00 I had my epidural (LOVE IT!) and I got to doze off a little even though we had tons of family coming and going. I progressed fairly quickly and soon it was time to push. I ended up pushing for over an hour (I only pushed for 20-30 minutes with Ashlyn) and then... SNAP!!!... I broke my tailbone. No seriously, I did but since I had the epidural it didn't hurt. We didn't even know what the "pop" was until that night when the epidural wore off. Who knew that you could break a bone while pushing? After that Benjamin came flying out and officially joined us at 2:41 weighing in at 8lbs even and measuring 20 1/4 inches long. My first thought was that he looked so much like Ashlyn did, but really he looks EXACTLY like Paul did when he was a newborn. Good thing I married someone so handsome!

Ashlyn has done well, I don't know what we would have done without my parents staying at our house with her and Paul's parents helping with her a tremendous amount as well. She is so proud to be a big sister and all she wants to do is hold him.

I am sure that I could write plenty more, but I will just get right to the pictures instead. Thanks to all of you who have been thinking of us and praying for us! Love you!

Benjamin Paul

Looks like it will be June 4th!

I really am starting to feel sorry for myself. I know that I am blessed and have much to be thankful for, but I am beginning to feel like if I wasn't going in to be induced tomorrow that I might just be pregnant FOREVER!!

I can't wait to see what Benjamin looks like and to see Ashlyn's face when she gets to meet him...

Here are some more pool photos- sometimes this girl scares me with how brave she is in the water. It has been nice going to the pool since we have been at the point of not being able to plan anything just in case I go into labor, so we have been staying close to the house and trying to pass the time. It is also really nice for me to be in the water to relieve my body from the extra weight and since it has turned scorchingly hot all of the sudden!

We've made it to my due date!

...and yet I am still with child! I went to the Dr today (I had to see her associate since my Dr is out of town on vacation) and I am still carrying him VERY high although I am 1-2 cm dilated. Supposedly he could be too big to drop further down into my pelvis, or he just isn't ready to yet. I have been told that a c-section may be my best option, but we will have to wait and see. Poor Ashlyn must think we are nuts since all we ever talk about is this baby Benjamin whom she is not even sure exsists. She has started saying "Benjamin's my friend!" I am hoping that she is not referring to an imaginary friend that she has developed since everyone else seems to talk about this Benjamin fellow all the time. One more funny thing: yesterday she said "my tummy is so big, just like your's Mommy!" ...that can be funny for just a little while longer, hopefully not too much longer!!!

No news

Went to the Dr on Wednesday... nothing has changed. I am a little bummed, but I am trying to keep in mind that Benjamin will be ready to join us when the time is right. Until then, I am praying that he will drop, that labor and the delivery will go smoothly, and that he will be calm and laid back like his Daddy.
Did I already mention before that my induction date is set for June 4th if I haven't already had him by then? I am starting to suspect that we may make it to June 4th!

A not too eventful week, kind of

Well we have had the kind of week that is probably boring to read about in a blog... my apologies.

• Saturday, we visited the zoo

• I had a great Mother's Day- Paul and Ashlyn got me a beautiful charm bracelet that I have had my eye on ever since we got the last James Avery catalog (I am a great target audience for advertising apparently) and Sunday afternoon I got to take a great nap while Paul played with Ashlyn and put her down for her nap. This was an even bigger treat than it used to be b/c recently Ashlyn is having a hard time be put in bed without making the biggest fuss!


• Monday night I went out for the evening and spent some time with the ladies from my Tuesday morning bible study group, which was a lot of fun. I did however stay out much later than I meant to.


• Tuesday evening I went to a Home Interiors party at a friend's home, so Paul and Ashlyn had yet another night together... lots of bonding time! I did thankfully make it home in time for the bedtime rituals, including the meltdown.


• Wednesday, I had the weekly Dr appt. It appears the baby is still really high and at the moment I would be a prime candidate for a c-section. Now with my first pregnancy, I was prepared for ANYTHING, this time around I have much less time for reading and mental preparation, I have not even thought about the possibility of a c-section. I would like to hope that I won't need one when we get down to crunch time... She also set an induction date for June 4th- yikes that is whole 6 days after my due date! I surely do pray that I deliver before then! Wed night, Paul took Ashlyn with him to church and I had the house to myself. So what did I do with this precious time- I cleaned! (without having a toddler hanging on my leg or wanting to "help")


• Thursday, we went to gymnastics in the morning- always fun. After naptime Ashlyn and I met up with my friends Angie and her son Cager and went to the park where we went on a nature walk and played on the playground. It was so cute to see these cute little 2 yr-olds racing each other and singing bible class songs together. I wish I had my video camera with me.


• That brings us to today, which I am excited about b/c we don't have a single thing written on the calendar for today! Don't worry about us, I am sure we can find plenty of things to fill the day. I'll leave you with one last picture-

Here is a Daddy-daughter picture in honor of all the quality time they had together this past week.

Here are some things that Ashlyn says that I need to write down before I forget them:

- calls Rollie Pollies "Holy Molies"

- "I'm just kiddin'!"

- calls balloons "Balloomas"

- says "sumpin" instead of something

- "I skrong (strong), right? See my muscles?"

- "I not little, I biiiig!"

- after her nap or first thing in the a.m. ... "I woked up!"

-"so Daddy how was ye day? Duud (translation- good)"

- the most frequent phrases she uses besides "NO!!" are "I do it myself!" and "I help!"

- I may have shared this one before, but she has done it more than once, or should I say that I have fallen for it more than once (it is an actual conversation)...
Ashlyn: "Mommy, my tummy hurts!"
Mommy: "Oh no, what kind of hurt?"
Ashlyn: "It hurts, feel it"
Mommy: "I can't right now honey, I am driving"
Ashlyn: "oh, the baby is kickin' in my tummy!"

Here she is telling me that she just saw 2 cats. But I thought this pose was funny for another reason- for those of you who have seen Superstar starring Molly Shannon, this reminded me of when she stands on the side of the pool and yells "LIFEGUARD!" I know at least one or two people who can appreciate this as much as I did.

Well, we sold our trusty Escape yesterday. We took it to Carmax last week and were not tremendously pleased with the offer they made us. However, after an extremely poor attempt at trying to sell it ourselves, we just cut our loses and took it back to Carmax. I am now driving the minivan that was Paul's company car. It is official- I am now a true mom who doesn't care what kind of car is cool to drive. I am all about comfort and convenience- I love the minivan because of the automatic doors and all the room inside!

Goodbye Escape, it's been fun! Well, not too much else to report. I am going to go lay down until Ashlyn wakes up from her nap.

Last week was exciting...but I am glad that it is over and that things have started to slow down. My college roommates came to visit and I just had so much fun spending time with them- reminiscing, laughing and talking. Ashlyn was thrilled to have them all come to see her (and only her in her mind), she REALLY loved having Mommy's friends here. If ever we had to leave her behind, like when we went to get pedicures, she was nearly devastated to be left out! When it was time for everyone to go home, she also had a hard time dealing with this. She'd tell them "no, you stay here!" Ashlyn went down for a nap before Jamie left- the first thing Ashlyn said to me when she woke up was "Mommy, where's yo friends?" Even though it was such a joy to have Allison, Jamie, and Katie here... Ashlyn really made it hard to deal with her by pulling out all her worst behavior- tantrums, crying, disobeying, the word "NO!!!" She did however counter all of that by being fun and cute at times too. Hopefully we didn't scare anybody into never wanting to have children.

Benjamin's baby shower was this past Saturday, and it was great! I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people who care about our family. I was truly overwhelmed by all the people who took time out of their busy lives to help us celebrate the upcoming arrival of our son. The fact that my college roommates could make it to the shower was very special to me too. Ashlyn is crying in the picture here, most likely b/c the shower was from 2-4 aka her naptime! I plan to add another photo or two once I get them from people who took pictures for me during the shower.

I am officially in my 9th month of pregnancy as of Wednesday- I am a little surprised by this, it kind of snuck up on me. However, I do feel huge enough to believe that I am 9 mos pregnant! I had great difficulty today at the grocery store getting my groceries from the cart to the conveyer belt and again while trying to load them into the car- I don't easily fit between the cart and the check-out or between the cart and the car anymore.

We went to the specialist again, for the last time, and they did all their detailed measurements and even took a couple of 3-D pics for me! Sorry about the quality of the ultrasound- it didn't scan that well. Check out those lips! He really looked like he was smooshed in there, it took a little while for him to give us a good face shot. I was just so thrilled to watch him in "real time" and to see his face; it was AWESOME! Sometimes I love technology. Supposedly the baby is measuring about 6lbs 4oz... how much weight can a baby gain in the last month? I am trying to get everything in order, get the newborn clothes, blankets, burpcloths, etc... washed and in the drawers. It is time-consuming but it sure is fun too! Every once in awhile I feel like a little girl who is playing house. Once the baby comes and the reality of having 2 children hits me, I doubt I will feel much like I am "playing." I am getting more and more excited the closer I get to my due date. My bet is that I make it pretty close to May 30th, but we'll just have to see.

Yea! Swimming Pool! ...and Bubbles!

Oh, how Ashlyn loves the outdoors, and now that it is warm enough for the pool I can't seem to be able to keep her indoors.
Well, I didn't intend to go so long without blogging, but these past 2 weeks have been BUSY. Let's see, what have we been doing? First off, I am so tired by the time that Ashlyn's nap comes around that I have regularly been taking a nap myself. Her naptime is traditionally the time I can make phone calls, checks e-mails, read blogs, so I have recently been way out of touch with everyone. Back to what we have been up to... we have had a lot of birthday parties to attend and this has been an opportunity for real personal growth for Ashlyn. She thinks all parties are her parties and that the presents/toys are her's; the sugar-high does nothing to help manage this embarrassing behavior. We have had many "talks" during and since these events.

We have been going on walks as a family in the evenings and Ashlyn has begun venturing from the stroller. If she becomes a marathon runner one day, I'll be able to say that I saw her potential forming back when she was 2. We might as well not bring the stroller, she wants to run the whole time and keeps up an impressive pace. She can jog as fast as I can walk and I am pretty sure that I tire out before she does. This energy expenditure makes for a great night's sleep on Ashlyn's end. Oh, and you should see her at gymnastics- she is turning into a little monkey! She has mastered the "bear crawl" where she walks on the parallel bars with her hands and feet. Her arm strength has improved so much that she can now push herself up onto the lower of the uneven bars and do "cast-offs" where she flings ber body away from the bar for a moment while her hands are still holding on. She is wanting to walk the beam "by myself, Mommy!" but it still makes Mommy nervous. On the floor station, she rolls backward over a cylinder-shaped mat and says "ta da!" after she plants her hands and kicks her feet over- it is fun to watch her do her back-walk-overs. She can't leave the gym w/o doing at least a dozen of those! Okay, enough about gymnastics.

As for my pregnancy, I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don't get me wrong, I am still not packed for the hospital and I have hardly even given a thought to labor (how can there be such a big difference between baby #1 & baby #2?) Now I am having to visit the Dr so frequently now that I feel like I might as well set up camp in the parking garage. It is hard to believe that we will be a family of 4 before the next 6 weeks are up. It is funny to me all the things I have forgotten about being pregnant. For example- getting up at night either b/c I have to use the bathroom, or the baby is kicking so hard that sleep is impossible. I think this interruption of sleep is good preparation for when the baby is here and I will have to be up with him. I am just praying that Ashlyn keep her current routine and sleep through the night. My goal is to get to where everyone can be asleep at the same time sometime during the night and hopefully sometime during the day too so that I can continue with my afternoon snoozes. I'm sure I'll let you know how that works out!

I should have some good stuff to write about after next week- it's another busy one. I am SO EXCITED because my roommates from college just happen to be coming to stay with us next weekend. Stay posted!

Springtime!

This really is her "say cheese" smile. I am not sure where she learned to scrunch up her nose and squint her eyes for a picture, but you have no idea how many pictures I have with her making this exact face.

Something new that Ashlyn has been doing that I think she may have learned from me, is that she sings- constantly. I am amazed at how she knows most all the words to the songs we hear. Her recent favorite is Lifesong by Casting Crowns, she'll sing it ALL DAY long with or without the accompanying musical track. When we are in the car, she asks "Mommy can we hear my favorite?" over and over.

We are continuing to do the potty-thing at Ashlyn's pace. She takes such initiative with this... she will be doing something, and then all of the sudden she gets up and runs to the bathroom. She figured out all by herself how to climb up onto the toilet seat. I am just so surprised at her determination and independence. Most days she still wants to wear panties, but every now and then she requests a pull-up. We definitely still use a pull-up at naptime and bedtime though, regardless of her input.

Staying with the theme of independence, Ashlyn has also taken over the bedtime prayer-saying. It truly makes my heart swell to hear her, "Dear God, thank you for our family, thank you for Barkley, thank you for our family..."(she repeats that one a few dozen times- I love it!) Also recently at bedtime, Ashlyn has been insisting upon keeping a book with her in bed after we leave even though we turn out the lights and she only has a dim nightlight on. Last night when we came back to check on her, she had fallen asleep almost completely under the covers with this huge book opened and laying on top of her face. She was drenched in sweat. For some reason it was so funny to me.

An update on my pregnancy: I am now in my 8th month and my belly is ever expanding. I am feeling a little guilty about not posting more recent pictures from Ben's sonograms. We have been going to a maternal/fetal specialist due to a narrow second umbilical artery (although it appears that everything is going well), but we go every month and get a detailed ultrasound done to monitor everything. We get to record it onto a cd, but we don't get the pictures printed out any more. If he continued growing as he has been doing, the Dr estimates that he will weigh approx 7 1/2 lbs at birth. I'd be okay with that.

I hope that everyone is having a good Good Friday and a Happy Easter!