a few more pics...

I had planned to put even more recent pics up but I can't find where Tim stored them on the computer....so, they will follow soon. Here are some pics of Alex pumpkin carving. Note the tears on the first pic due to her total disgust of the inside of the pumpkin on her hands. I love the pic she drew for her pumpkin. Tim was able to carve it to keep it pretty true to her drawing. [Those pics to come as well...can't find them]

Alex excited to spell her baby brother's name!

Front view of the sun bathing little one. We did have a heater on him so he didnt freeze [in case you were wondering].

Sam's first minutes of life!!!!

a little catch up.........

Sam is getting big. He's gained about two pounds already...I didn't figure it would take him long to catch up. We are all just enjoying time with family and getting to know the new little guy in the family. I will post new pics soon. I know there's no excuse for not blogging when I'm off work, but I had no idea the 'busy' days that have come my way just entertaining two babes and trying to recoup as well as stay on top of everything else that isn't 'baby' related.

I'll leave you with this funny alex quote:

Alex: Can I marry baby Sam when I grow up?
Me: Well, we aren't supposed to marry our brothers and sisters..."
Alex: Why not?
Me: Well, it's just against the rules I guess.
Alex: Well, then who will I marry? Daddy?
Me: No, we can't marry daddies either.
Alex: .....quiet for a moment..."well, whoever I marry I don't want to live at their house...[quiet again, thinking] hey! I know! I will stay there (the husband's house) during the day and then come home to your house before it gets dark for bedtime!?
Me: I think that sounds like a great idea!!!
Alex: I will want to live with you for 300 years!
Me: Absolutely! That sounds great! :)

Samuel Paul Receveur

Sam was born 10/23/09 at 10:53 a.m. Everything went pretty smoothly and I was ever so grateful for my epidural at 7 a.m. We had anticipated waiting for Sam until the late afternoon but he decided he'd finally had enough and came on his own time without any help to speed the labor along. I only stayed at the hospital 24 hours as I could not sleep there and with everything looking ok, they agreed to let me go a day early.

What I've learned so far:
1.) If you say anything along the lines of, "He's a great sleeper at night!" or "He's really never fussy" you are bound to experience the exact opposite within a few hours
2.)He's better than fruit snacks (according to Alex, as is being a big sister)
3.)Alex is a wonderful big sister already! She takes her job very seriously and is full of great questions such as: regarding breastfeeding--> "When does he get to eat something good?!" "who is inside there making the milk?"
4.) 3 1/2 year olds do not know the meaning of 'gentle'
5.) Moms are a GOD SEND after having a baby and energetic toddler (thanks, mom! for the dinners and the laundry doing, and the cleaning, and the cookie bars, and the entertaining Alex, and the cleaning, and the CLEANING, and the LAUNDRY, and the nurturing, and the fun, and the yummy leftover foods, and the wine, and the groceries!!!! and everything else!~!!!!! We will miss you very much, in fact, we already do!)
6.) Sam is the cutest little peanut ever (tied with Alex, of course...and with all my friends and family's babes)
7.) having a second babe, I'm much more relaxed but MUCH more tired!
8.) Life doesn't get much sweeter than this
9.) Breastfeeding is a full time job in the beginning! (but so worth it!)
10.) I've fallen in love with a little tiny 6.5 lb stinker named Sam
oh, and and naptimes are not to be wasted!

I'll post more pics later...tried doing several more but they were sideways so I have to fix them. This computer takes forever so this is all for today!

And waiting...

Just thought I'd update again as there has been still NO progress. Perhaps my body jumped the gun and pulled the false labor trick on me? Tricky body.
We'll see. I'm going to climb into my bed now, pretend I can sleep, pretend not to notice every random contraction, and pretend that I'm ok with having to wait even longer to meet this little stinker...and to have my other sweet bean pie home. sigh.....
oh the trials and tribulations of motherhood :) But I do know I can not complain. My family is safe, healthy, as am I, and so all is good.

Tonight I will pray for patience. Serious, serious patience.

Still no baby....

Alex had to try out her multiple old baby beds. I can't believe she still even fits in them!

So, I figured since I will be having this baby any day now I should have at least ONE pic of me with belly...and even though in the last two weeks I have absorbed and 'held on to' every drop of water I have taken in (hence the UBER swollen face/hands) I should share it on my blog. Tim is working today so I had to resort to taking them myself. I know they aren't the best, but you see the belly and that was the point. I'm sure we'll get some in the hospital, too. And those are usually very GLAM!

A couple pics from my sister taken this summer.

We are still awaiting the arrival of this sweet little human currently taking up food and air space in my bod. Had Dr visit today, no new action to report. I have been having contractions since 2 a.m. so we'll see if they take us anywhere?! My sweet bean pie is still with her grandparents and I'm missing her desperately! I literally don't know what I did with my time before being 'Mom'. I've done all the cleaning I can do, been taking walks, nested [aka 'organized'] my entire house (with help from the hubby, of course), shaved my legs!, etc, etc.

The hospital is not allowing children under 14 years old in AT ALL [due to flue season/H1N1] so Alex will miss out on coming to see me and her new little brother (which is a total bummer) but she will be here when we come home, so I guess I'll have to wait until then to see her! She is very excited for me to go to the hospital and asked if things would go in this order, "will you stand up after baby Sam is out, then eat dinner and come home?" I love how my daughter really knows what is important...dinner--for her mama. She asks all kinds of really fun questions and is really puzzled on exactly how the baby will get out. She thinks the dr will remove my belly and then glue or tape it back on. I have told her only that God gives mommies 'special parts' that let the baby come out and she will find out when she gets to be as old as mommy. She seemed content with that answer and it keeps it simple and not horrifying for her WILD imagination (which grows wilder every day, i swear! her dreams/nightmares are fascinating!).

Well, we may or may not have a new baby tomorrow..or the next day, or the next. Patience. Patience. And, oh, did I mention my serious lack of PATIENCE!!!!

She grows and she grows....

Finally...a summer update!

We have been very busy this summer with projects and fun summer stuff, hence, the lack of blogging. Plus, my motivation and lack of time/energy these days has also contributed to my lack of blogging. There is no excuse, I know, but here is an update, nonetheless. You can see the picture above (sorry, mom) is my closet. I think Tim caught it at its absolute worst or maybe pulled some things out to make it look even worse than it was but you get the picture. It was very cluttered and VERY unorganized! So, Tim, being the awesome hubby he is, went for it and built me 'the closet of my dreams' he called it.
Now you can see a side by side comparison of the before and after pictures. The mirrored part is a door that has shelves of shoes (mostly mine), where I can get to them oh so easily and I can actually wear them and remember I HAVE them!
Another side-by-side comparison. The difference can't even really be appreciated from the picutre.
We even put in bamboo floors. I say 'we' because I DID help, actually, with this project. Not the building of it, but the placing of it and painting, etc. Go Pregnant-not-so-gifted-with-tools-lady!
It has made a huge difference! It's like a new room in the house! I love it! And I don't even mind putting laundry away anymore. [Well, it's at least made it less of a drag!] Thank you, Tim!
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What I found Alex doing last weekend in her room with her 'lullabye' music on, rocking her puppy with a timer on for puppy's bedtime. She was determined to rock him until her timer went off but she had set it for an hour, so she didn't quite make it. But it kept her occupied for quite a long time!
Zoo trip on the train. Good times had by all. Tim and I probaby enjoyed it the most. Alex was mostly interested in the rides and getting 'treats'.
My little soccer bean! For being the youngest on her team, she really does a great job and loves to play! We've found she's a very fast runner. When asked what her favorite part of soccer is: "Consheshion[concesssion] stand treats!" of course! LIke mother like daughter!
Alex and her BFF, Gracie, and how they spend most of their practice time--hugging, holding hands, and rolling around on the grass giggling. It's pretty freak'n cute!

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Rough River

We didn't get to go as often as we would have liked this summer, just three or four times, but it was great! Alex is learning to be quite the water girl, swimming on her own, peeing in the lake for the first time [with extreme hesitation, i might add, as I'm not an advocate of it but she HAD to go and we were very far from the house]. I hadn't realized how traumatizing it must have been until Tim's friend came to stay with us last weekend and she and him were playing 'Hi-ho Cherrio' and out of the total blue she stopped playing and said to him very seriously, "My mommy told me to pee in the lake...and I did." And that was all that was said, and the game continued on. We haven't even been to rough river in over a month so the fact that she brought it up for no reason was pretty funny. I have scarred her.

My two silly sweeties

Baby Sam will be here before we know it! Next week is my last week of work and I'm looking forward to the break! Alex is very much looking forward to staying home with me and Sam. This baby moves like I never thought possible. He is non-stop and mostly at night or early in the a.m. My doctors tell me an active babe is a happy one, so this little guy better be one joyful little bundle!! It's hard to imagine in just a few weeks our lives will change forever, just like they did with Alex. I'm so thankful and so excited. It's hard to imagine having ANOTHER blessing like Alex, she's redefined my life in so many wonderful ways and taught me much about life, love, mothering, and myself. I am looking forward to the wonderful blessings little Sam will bring. I will definately post pictures once he arrives!