Bursting at the Seams

Seriously, that's how I feel! I'm pretty sure there's NO MORE ROOM for this baby in me. And so, since I'm out of space, hopefully this baby will soon be out of me! That means it's prediction time!!

When will this little girl be here?!! How long will this labor go? What will she weigh? How long will she be? That's what I want you to tell me!

And to help with your decision, here's a little background information from Miriam's pregnancy/labor/birth:

Born 8 days after her estimated due date
7 hour labor - start to finish (No Braxton Hicks contractions or anything prior to the start of labor)
6 lbs. 15 oz.
20 1/2 inches long

When I first found out when I was due, I guessed the baby would come March 5th. Now I'm not so sure. I've been having VERY inconsistent contractions* since Thursday and that has given me a glimmer of hope that things might happen sooner than Friday, but I could be setting myself up for disappointment. And really, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that after three days of contractions (even inconsistent ones) I'm already a little disappointed. So, I'm sticking with the 5th and will gladly admit I was wrong if she comes sooner...later, not so much...I'll be pretty ticked, but I guess I'll still be wrong

As for labor, I'm expecting it to be shorter than Miriam's (since that is typical) knowing that it could be much longer (since I am not typically typical). Maybe 5 hours? Who knows?! I really don't have a feeling one way or another on this one.

Weight: 7 lbs. 3 oz.
Length: 20 inches

Owen's guess was always March 3rd. He's unsure now too, but he's sticking with it. He'd love for it to be earlier though, so I think he'd gladly admit to being wrong like I would.

5 hours of labor.

Weight: 6 lbs. 10 oz.
Length: 21 1/4 inches

It's your turn now!!! What do you think? Really, I wanna know!


Oh, and since I've kept this part pretty quiet. My estimated due date is March 1st. Yes, that's tomorrow! (or today, or yesterday, etc....depending when you read this)

*For those who are unsure about what I mean by inconsistent contractions, sometimes they are light and sometimes quite strong, more often light, though. They have come and gone since Thursday evening and have been as close as 5 minutes apart for a few hours. They were still light then though, so I knew that wasn't the real deal. It's the hard ones that give me hope and all the while frustrating the heck out of me.

Full of Emotion

Nervous. Two kids. Two arms. How am I going to get anything done?

Excited for my second sweet girl to be here so I can kiss and cuddle her all. night. long!

Sad that my time with just Miriam is almost gone.

Anxious to be done with this feels-like-forever-pregnancy.

Exhausted. I'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant and I chase a toddler all day. Need I say more?

Eager to wear normal clothes and feel like a normal person again...Whatever that is.

Tired just thinking about the up-all-nights.

Worried about leaving one baby while I go have another.

Hopeful that I'll have the strength and endurance to carry me through the marathon of birth. I've done it before so I don't have the blessing of naivete this time around.

Stressed that everything won't be "perfect" before labor starts. Nesting... :)

Curious to see just what this little one will bring to our family.

Happy. Little fingers. Little toes. Snuggled up squishiness. Newborns just make me smile.

Just One Word

Well, now that it's February, I guess it's about time I say a little something about my "New Year's Resolution". But before I get too far, I should mention that I'm not a resolution maker. I think they are silly and usually something unrealistic. I am, however, a goal setter. It makes a whole lot more sense to me to always be making a little bit of progress and trying to be better in some area of life. So when I heard about a new type of New Year's Resolution, I knew it was for me. The rule - pick ONE WORD to focus on for the entire year. If one word is too tough to follow, a short phrase will also work (i.e. Be Still).

It's genius really. And after focusing on just one word throughout January, I'd say quite inspiring too. I feel like my goal-setting and follow through has been increased ten-fold in just the last month. I'm excited to see what the rest of the year will hold. And so, I announce my word for 2010...

LOVE

A Fabulous Find!

Owen was raised by bargain hunters extraordinaire. He has picked up on their tricks, and luck, as he's grown. If there is a deal to be found, he will find it. He never ceases to surprise me. So, when we were browsing D.I. the other day for anything worth keeping, and Owen mentioned an old wheat grinder, I was amazed. And at $20 in really good condition, we couldn't turn it down.




Sure, it's no Wondermill, but it works great and will be perfect for the next few years. And it's a lot more convenient than our hand-crank grinder or a trip to Idaho Falls to stock up using my mom's grinder. Yay for good finds!

Snow Day!

Honestly, every day around here is a "snow day" but since our ward was having hot chocolate and doughnuts out by the playground I actually took Miriam out to play in it.

She had fun learning to walk in the snow.




And then picking it up and letting it fall again.




And eating it, of course.




But eventually she ended up right back at the slide. She's got a little thing for them.




Miriam had a blast, until she realized wet gloves make for cold, wet hands. I brought her back inside and she sobbed and requested a band-aid. HA! Funny kid thinks band-aids fix everything. I love it! Then she cried because she wanted to go out again. Poor kid is outdoor deprived these days. I guess I might have to buck up and brave the cold more often. I've decided that going out in the snow is kind of like exercise...you dread it until you just do it and then you realize it's really kind of fun. Kind of.

Slide, Baby Slide

Since it's winter (and it's cold and it's wet) and since I am just NOT a winter person, we've been cooped up a bit much lately. Friday night was time for a break in the monotony and a trip to Arctic Circle. We went specifically for the slide because the food there is just, well...it's not worth a trip for the food. Miriam would seriously slide all day, every day if she could. She love, love, loves to slide. And to see her face light up again and again, it's worth all the lousy food and icky atmosphere.

Ouch!!!

One of the joys of winter is all the ice and snow. This week, it hit our family hard when Owen slipped and fell on it. He now has a really bad sprain (even the doctor thought it was broken until the x-ray came back) and is slowly recovering. The damage happened Wednesday, and we have been documenting his beautiful colors ever since. We didn't get any good pictures on day one because it was in the brace all day, but other than lots of swelling there really wasn't much to see then anyhow.

*Warning: the following pictures are of a highly bruised foot. Continue at your own discretion. And even as gross as they are, they still don't do justice.*

Day 2

Day 3


Day 4

Miriam's comment this day was that Dad's foot had a "pretty rainbow." Leave it to a two-year-old to be optimistic about massive bruising!

Day 5

The bruising has now spread to his toes and heel. Even as gross as these pictures are, they still don't do it justice.