Getting ready for baby

We are getting closer to having a new baby in our family and are getting excited. I'm still trying to get the baby room set up, having to change it from a very full, messy craft room into a baby's room. We'll probably paint in the summer, but we at least need a crib and some clothes out. I've been 10 days late with both my other babies, so am planning for that, but i guess I could be surprised. I'm happy to have a little extra time to get ready though. I need more muffins in the freezer.
My sister Esther took some belly pics of me the other week. Here are a few. We had lots of fun!!

The year of the cake

Well I have finally figured out how to download pictures and can show the girls birthday cakes that I made this year. I had lots of fun doing them, but don't think that I will do it every year.

My baby is three

Adaline turned 3 last week and we had a fun, but very chaotic birthday party for her. I want to post some pictures, but have a new camera and haven't figured out how to download them yet. (It should be simple, but there is a warning tag saying that I cannot connect my camera to the computer until I have downloaded some software, which I can't do because Patrick just broke our CD-ROM drive.) I had so much fun making her cake and will hopefully be able to show you pictures soon. Adaline is such a happy part of our family and she makes us laugh all the time. She is very sensitive and caring of others and shares very well with her big sister. They can play for hours together.

From the mouths of Babes

Adaline is still convinced that we are having a boy. When asked by my cousin what she will do if her mommy has a girl, she responds "My mommy is not having twins". I have a hard time not believing her, as this baby never stops moving and is way more active than the last two. I figure it must be different. I am feeling the effects of the third trimester and do not remember being this tired before. I therefore put my self of self prescribed bed rest this weekend and have benefited much because of it. I'm counting down the number of days of work I have left and am canceling as much as possible, while still trying to reach my goal to keep my license. I've been averaging 6-10 hours a week which still feels like a lot and am questioning my desire and motivation to keep my license once #3 comes.

First Photo Shoot

Well, I have hit the 18 week mark which has come very fast. We had our ultrasound today and thought I'd share a few pics. It's amazing what technology can do. I told Adaline we were taking pictures of the baby today and her face lit up, she grabbed my tummy and said "My baby boy?" I said yes, your baby boy. She's convinced. I told Eliza and she said, "Mom, you can't take pictures of the baby, it's inside you." I haven't showed her them yet as it was a crazy day, but she will see them tomorrow. And, no we didn't find out the sex of the baby. So for those of you have been asking when I'm due, It's end of May.

Ups and Downs

Well like most weeks, these past few have had their ups and downs. The glorious first few days of potty training were obviously to lure me into a false sense of security. Although things are still going very well and she had an entire week without a single accident, there were a number of days with some very tricky accidents. But that's how we all learn right?
We've had a rough weekend with each of us with a different ailment and pour Eliza continues to yoyo up and down with a fever. It's hard to see your kids struggling so much and there being very little you can do. Patrick has been amazing getting up the the kids at night as I have been more sick than him. We're glad we had the weekend to rest.
On the Up side, we are all getting very excited for Christmas and enjoyed spreading Nativities throughout the house. We are planning our annual parties and are mostly done shopping. One of our favorite traditions is to fill a small manger with hay as we complete different acts of service, so that baby Jesus will have a soft bed by Christmas Day. Eliza came downstairs the other morning and announced that she was going to make my bed. She did a really good job too. I enjoy seeing my kids learn about serving others and this is such a great time of year to learn these lessons.

I finally downloaded some pictures, so here are our new counters and kitchen (still a couple things to do) and a Halloween picture of the girls with their cousins Freyja and Cora and Eliza's snowman she made herself.

Counters and Panties

Well we have had an exciting week at our house. We had our counters installed last Monday and I am really enjoying them. It is hard to believe that we went almost a year and a half without any counters. It's so nice to be able to wipe the counters with a cloth and not have them pop off when you lean on them. It's amazing what you get used to. I would post a picture, but I refuse to download any more pictures to my computer until the others are on disc which seems to be more difficult than it should be. Once I get my pictures organized I will post before and after pictures of the kitchen. We still have a few little things to do, but we are very close to the end of the kitchen saga.

The next excitement is the Panties. Adaline has been in underwear since Thursday and has only had one accident a day and made it through the night last night dry!! I'm excited to have 6 months with no diapers until the next one gets here. Adaline is hilarious to watch on the potty. She likes to go on the big toilet and she won't use a stool but climbs up on top so that she is standing and straddling the toilet and then sits down. The other day she came to me to tell me that her foot had fallen in. She is so funny!! I try not to watch as it makes me nervous, but it's funny because she is so small. This go around of toilet training has gone much more smoothly, but that seems to be Adaline's way.

I just keep adding random pictures until I get some more recent ones on the computer. This is Eliza way back in February, but a blog is more fun with pictures.