I just want to CRY!!!!!

Oh my gosh!!! I feel like months and months have passed in such a short amount of time! I was just looking at my last post a month ago, and WOW has Kate jumped WAY past where she was a short month ago!!!!!!

Kate's Milestones (or lack thereof) are almost all completely opposite!

*She now has a tooth, and her second bottom tooth is visible, and I am sure going to pop through in just days.
*Not only is she crawling ALL OVER! But she has stood and balanced herself more then once!!! In fact, as I walked into her room to get her from her nap, she was just standing there watching the door awaiting my entrance!!! NOT OK!!! She also is starting to cruise along the couch and trys on other objects. This really is nerve wracking because she doesn't have much control, and has tumbled quite a few times (luckily not into anything terrible, but still scary!)
*She is now eating like a champ! AND even taking bottles of juice/water at times!!?!?!? What?!!? I know!!!! sheesh!  Still no binki/pacifier however.
*Kate is now on the move to find her siblings, instead of waiting for them to come play with her, she is quick to go to them :)


I just feel like she has JUMPED and I am so sad to see my baby getting bigger.  I am fully excited for the next stage and when I see kiddos that are just a few months ahead of her, I can't wait for those stages to come around, but I am oh so sad that it's happening so fast.

Baby Kate

Baby Kate is 7 months old :) I can not believe how fast time has flown. I know everyone says that, but holy cow!!!! 

There isn't too much to report on her milestones,,, 

~She has no teeth yet,, however I am sure they are coming VERY soon with how drooly and cranky she has been over the last week. And she chomps on EVERYTHING!

~She is not crawling yet... but this is more my fault then her lack of trying :) Everytime I see she is close I quietly swipe her knees out and engage her in something else hehe. Don't tell her daddy :)

~She is finding other ways to get around,, she rolls and scoots, just not on her knees yet.

~She still refuses for the most part to eat any baby food or take a bottle. She does not want to eat baby food if I am trying to feed her, but she does eat well for her daddy and grandma when they try to feed her.

~She absolutely LOVES when her brother and sisters engage her! She has only laughed (real laugh) a few times and they were all in response to her siblings playing with her.

~Kate knows who 'her people' are vs 'strangers' and lets us know when she has had enough of strangers interactions :)  None of our other kids cared much, but Kate wants to be with her mom or dad at all times.

~She still refuses a pacifier. I am very sad about this. In fact none of our kids ever 'took binki's'. The twins would suck on them, but they never used them to pacify themselves.  Alexis NEVER took one, and Kate is the same way. She will play with it as a toy, and chomp the heck out of it, but will NOT suck on it.  She is wanting to nurse all the time (I think teething) but gets mad when she gets milk because she's not hungry. horrible cycle. IF she would only take a binki, it would help GREATLY!!!!  :(

But in all she is a really good baby, and I am sad to see her getting so big so fast.

Halloween 2012

Wow did Halloween sneak up on us this year?!!!?  We didn't even get pumpkins done :( Shhh, I am not sure the  kids even noticed...... luckily!!

I LOVE Halloween time because it's when our crazy world is at the point of settling down. With High school Volleyball season, plus 3 kids on 3 different soccer teams, we are crazy busy. Now add a baby to that mix and wow am I super thankful to my husband who  keeps the schedule flow going and keeps the house from crumbling! (he really is that amazing!)
For Halloween this year Dane picked Captain America ~His dad,,, not so happy about his choice! But hey, it was purchased when dad wasn't with us, and by the time we got home, it was too late for him to try to convince Dane otherwise lol.

 Hailey J chose to be a "beautiful witch" and she is/was.  She absolutely LOVED her costume and tried to wear it to school the next day.

Baby Kate was a kitty cat. We had planned for Drew to shave his head, for him to be Dr Evil and Kate to be his 'mini me' however, I honestly think Drew was just looking to FINALLY get my approval to let him shave his head, and when it came right down to it,,, he bailed lol. Though he wont admit to it. 

 Alexis asked Grandma to make her a Rainbow Dash costume (Rainbow dash is a my little pony). She was too funny, just days before Halloween she said... I sure hope Grandma can make the costume and on time, because if she doesn't, my Halloween is going to be a BUST!  lol didn't know she even knew that phrase :)

Mother's Day/ Father's Day

Drew surprised me with this necklace for Mother's Day. He did GOOD! lol. I haven't been wearing it too much because I feel like when I wear it, baby Kate rubs her face against it, and I worry she will hurt herself...  Mother's Day has always meant a lot to me with my kids and my family, but there was something more special about this last Mother's Day. Perhaps because we know our family is complete? I don't know what it is, but it was much more of an impact for me this year, and I am so happy with my babies and my husband! As cliche as it sounds...... They complete me!

For Father's Day, I gave my 'ok' to Drew going and preordering a new Verizon cell phone. He has been so excited (even though he wasn't going to get it until Aug) that he was always checking out it's capabilities and new features online and sharing them with me :) We are on a family plan with my parents, and Drew's upgrade wasn't available until Aug... however my mom's phone had an available upgrade, so she gave her current one to drew and she will use his upgrade in Aug (he is so lucky). 

This picture is fun,,,, about a month ago, we had our nephew Noah (Stephen and Sheyanne's little boy) over for a few hours. My kids LOVE playing with Noah. (He will turn 2 in Oct). While Noah was walking around, Drew called his name and showed him a movie on his Ipad... so Noah walked over, looked at it, and sat down right in front of Drew. It didn't take long for the rest of the kids to hear the movie, and when I came downstairs from feeding Kate this is what I found. It was adorable!

More of Kate

Kate has been doing so well!!!! We are spoiled with our last bundle, she is happy and sleeps well. What more could a mom ask for!!? Here are some recent pictures :)

This picture is probably my favorite so far! I absolutely LOVE how her eyes are smiling!!!

Daddy is so in love. 

 Kate is definitely the baby that looks most like her daddy!

 Hailey J has really come to adoring baby Kate. At first Alexis was constantly all over Kate, but Hailey has become the 2nd mom to her. Any noise she makes, whether happy or sad, Hailey is there to find out what is going on, why Kate might be upset, and to help get a smile back on Kates face. It's super cute!

This was too funny, I had to snap a picture. We don't have anything down stairs to lay Kate in while sleeping  aside from when she falls asleep in the swing. So since the kids are not always watching out for Kate,,,, (we have had many close calls to them almost stepping on her!) I keep her safe by putting her under the swing for her little cat naps during the day lol.

We are all so in love!!!

Kate Elizabeth

7 lbs 8oz 20.5 inches

My biggest baby :)

My beautiful Baby Kate has finally arrived :) I had planned with my Dr for her to arrive on my birthday March 30 (the day before the twins birthday :) but in the last week and a half, so many uncertain situations came up, so I didn't hold my breath on her coming on my special day. However, luckily we were able to hold off and she came on just the perfect day!!!!

Aunt Katie spent the night so when Drew and I had to leave at 5am to head to the hospital we didn't have to wake the other kiddos. (Thank you VERY much aunt KT!)

As many of you know, I had MANY fears during this entire pregnancy, up until the scheduled c section!!! I chalk it up to the fact that this pregnancy was a surprise, I always felt that I was playing catchup and could never get ahead of the pregnancy process. I had so many fears that just before leaving to head to the hospital I held each of my kiddos while they were still alseep and told them each how much I loved them, and how beautiful they are, and how much they each meant to me. I even told Drew what/how I wanted him to handle things with the kids IF something was to happen to me. (tearfully). I do not know why I had such extreme fears about everything but I am happy and very glad things went perfectly! :)

Drew and I got to the hospital at 5:30am (csection was scheduled for 7:30). They started checking us in and prepping me. Everything was fine until they had to get an iv in one of my veins for the csection..... holy crap! They tried 7 times!!!!!!!!!!! and these aren't the normal 'draw blood' needle sticks!!!! These are HUGE PAINFUL needles!!! and honestly coming from a diabetic who gets blood drawn every 3 months and needle sticks daily,,, I can handle most sticks! These brought me to tears!!!!!!!! The last one they did, if it didn't work, I was going to tell them to just put me under!!!! It hurt SO badly!!!!

We also got delayed by an hour because of an emergency delivery that needed to go in just before us...... So... needless to say when it was finally a go I was more then ready!!!!

As soon as the dr delivered her, he brought Kate to the side so I could see her. She was and is PERFECT!!!!!!!! The best thing about this c section compared to my others, was that Drew was able to hold her next to me for what seemed like 10 mins so I could just see her! Nothing was rushed, I could just enjoy her and enjoy seeing Drew hold her :)

As is normal, Kate was taken to the NICU for blood sugar testing. They routinely take babies whose moms are diabetic for a minimum of 4 hours to watch blood sugars. She did have an initial reading of 35... which wasn't 'low' but was on the lower end, so they gave her a bottle to help raise her blood sugars. When the 4 hours were up, she was brought to me and was with me the rest of the time.

I was able to head home after 2 days! I know right?!!?!? 2 days!!!! My first day home was tough, I definitely missed having a bed that could sit me up!!!! But after the 3rd day I was feeling much better.

Aside from having some gasy issues, Kate has been an amazing baby! She sleeps and eats and poops :) She is nursing amazingly!!!!!!!!!!!! I have not been able to master nursing any of my kiddos but Kate is a pro!!!!!!!  :)

Drew was able, and more then willing, to take 2 full weeks off from work!!! Which was much appreciated! My sister Katie took the kids for the first few days, and my mom helped out,, so between the two of them the kids were handled :)

People have asked how the transition was back to normal life... and quite honestly it has been better then planned!!!!!! God has given me the most perfect surprise! And with my other kiddos, life could not be better, easier, simpler; I love my family!!!!

My good friend April took some newborn shots. Kate was not having it that day lol, we got some good ones, but not tons lol :( Here are some shots.

Baby Shower

So as a result of this pregnancy being a 100% COMPLETE surprise, we have (had) NO baby items! I am talking literally!!!! I have a good friend Sarah who is having her third baby, a boy this time, and she was great enough to give me a bunch of baby girl clothing! (much MUCH appreciated!) For Christmas, my parents got us an infant car seat and a crib. And Drew's parents bought us recently a baby swing..... So essentially we had the basics at that point. And I felt much better coming to the end of my pregnancy. Well this last weekend my sisters, mom and sister in law surprised me with a baby shower! I am SOOOOO Thankful for all the wonderful friends and family who came and for the great baby items we are now stalked up on! :)

I went to bed last night feeling very physically overwhelmed... and I just had a thought that hit me.... I just honestly don't know that my body is going to make it to the Csection date. Honestly. I know most pregnant women think this, so perhaps it's simply just a pregnancy thought :).... but I got into bed and told Drew.. nothing happened.... but that I keep getting this feeling that I wont make it the full length. The Csection is even scheduled at 38 weeks lol. I have carried this pregnancy very low the entire time, but I also feel that I am carrying lower as of a few days ago. So is it possible she has dropped even lower? Perhaps,,, its what it feels like. I guess we will see.... I wouldn't throw a fit if she made an early arrival :) Yes yes, all of you,, I know it's better for her to cook longer ;) I'm just saying :)

Update

Alright, so I keep going through all my friends blogs, and I keep thinking... gosh so and so needs to update their blog so I can see what's going on!!!! When the heck are they going to update?!!? Ok ok, so perhaps I should take a dose of my own thoughts :) So if you are here and reading this blog, think to yourself.... when did you blog last? Lol.

I am now at almost 32 weeks and I am feeling it! I want to be done so badly. Drew and I have decided that this will be our last pregnancy, our last baby, our last member to our family. Some people get sad about decisions like this, however with this last pregnancy and all my struggles, I am very sure and pleased with this decision.

This pregnancy has been so incredibly different from my other two. I literally slept through my first 20 weeks. I have never been so tired in my entire life! Exhausted and worthless to my kiddos and husband lol. Between 20 and 25 weeks it seemed the pregnancy was finally turning around to be enjoyable, but it only lasted a few weeks. My tiredness came back with a vengeance and my body simply HURTS. I like to think it's because my twin pregnancy stretched me out to the max, that this pregnancy is starting me out at the stretched point my twin pregnancy ended?? I don't know, but my hips KILL and I was waddling by 20 weeks! (ridiculous!)

But honestly I can handle the being tired and sore etc, but what was extremely hard this time around was my medical side of the pregnancy. As most of you know, I have been diabetic since I was 14. My first two pregnancies (though they were still TONS of constant work to ensure my blood sugar was ALWAYS in check and good) compared to this one, were relatively calm and easy. There are a couple of frustrations when it comes to diabetes.. One, is dealing with physicians. As much as I love my OB dr and his knowledge about pregnancy related items, he is not skilled in the knowledge of diabetes. I see him for my pregnancy, I see an endocrinologist for my diabetes and both are telling me how to deal with my sugars. (both are opposite). The OB dr wants everything in perfect alignment for the safety of the baby (completely understandable) and the endo wants me to be in 'good control' but is more worried about MY safety first (also completely understandable) So keeping the dr's happy is a difficult and stressful task :)

As a diabetic the more control you are in with your blood sugars the more 'lows' you will have. Low blood sugar is difficult and happens a lot when you are in very tight control. Drew has had to all the paramedics on me 4 times during this pregnancy alone. When my BS gets so low he can't wake me and get me to drink juice to raise my sugars he has to call 911 and they come to give me sugar through my veins. (my poor hubby!!!)

Every week my insulin/blood sugar needs change with the change of the pregnancy. So what was working (amount of insulin, type of foods, etc) that worked perfect last week are now different this week and I have to find my way through trial and error for how much insulin and what types of food to eat. Honestly it's ridiculous!!!!!! It's stressful and takes my FULL attention. I have been told being pregnant and diabetic is like working 2 full times jobs, I fully believe that, but when you are a wife and mother on top of that it's exhausting.

Ok, enough of my rant/complaining about poor me. I talked with my ob last week and told him I would like to be delivered at 38 weeks (I am having a repeat C Section, so we can actually PLAN the date) He will be gone during my 39th week and I don't want to chance going into labor and having a different dr deliver me, plus it works great, we will have the baby the weekend prior to spring break. PERFECT timing :) Not to mention, this new bundle will share a special day, she will be born on my birthday :)

We have the crib ready and have the main necessities,, just need to start filling the closet with clothes to dress baby Kate in :) yay, I am so antsy I can barely stand it. Only about 6 weeks to go! I am definitely on a major count down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Full story of Baby #4

You cannot imagine our excitement finding out I am pregnant with baby #4. For most of you, you know Alexis came easily, however after having my first pregnancy, my body shut down completely and gained a few more medical issues causing me not to ovulate or function without help. We were on fertility to get pregnant with the twins. After having twins and dealing with almost 8 full months of fertility and stress we decided fertility was not the route for us again. I went in to see a doctor about our options and was told, pretty much without the aid of fertility our chances are next to non. Drew and I both decided we were happy with 3 and we would not go for fertility again. (We really wanted one more, but ONLY one more :)

We looked pretty seriously into adoption options as well. We did not feel our family was complete yet, but even with looking into adopting, nothing felt at peace.

I remember laying in bed one morning, and I told Drew,,, I really need to start running I can FEEL my body gaining weight! (I had done a fabulous job losing weight, but was at a stand still for almost 2 months with no additional weight loss and was getting frustrated). I had also been very nauseous and on top of that I was getting so tired I was taking multiple naps during the day time.

Even though I was told it was near impossible to get pregnant on my own, I still have pregnancy tests on hand as back up. I decided since I was having some symptoms, why not take a test! It's not like I hadn't been let down plenty of times before.

One morning after getting extremely nauseous I decided to take a test. Would you believe it came back with 2 pink lines?!! I couldn't believe it. I actually yelled out loud in my bathroom "are you freaking kidding me?!!!!?" I then began to cry! I called Drew still in disbelief (freaking him out with my crying) and told him what I had discovered. We were and still are both very surprised and shocked! This is a complete welcomed pregnancy but a miracle baby at that!

This pregnancy is FAR different then ANY of my others. I am soooo tired, nauseous, CRANKY (my poor kids and volleyball team having to deal with my crankiness). I told a friend,, so this is what it feels like to be pregnant?! Holy cow!

I am due April 12th. and everything thus far is fabulous with the baby!

So here's the deal. This one is going to be so fun! We are naming the baby Logan. I am still convincing Drew to wait till the baby is born to find out if it's a boy or a girl.... but Logan will be the first name. We will pick out middle names for a boy and a girl, and when the baby is born and we find out what gender 'it' is lol,,, we will have names ready.

We are so blessed and SO EXTREMELY excited!!!!!!

Budgeting~ Dave Ramsey Style

Drew and I have been doing the Dave Ramsey courses on Finances.... we have gone from our house mortgage payment being 1/4 of our monthly income, to being 48% of our monthly income! And along with the larger house are larger utility bills as well... we are having to crack down on spending so that we don't bottom out our bank accounts!!! (it's close!) crazy how fast these things can really creep up on you!!!

We knew once moving into the house that we would be living very tight money wise for a couple of years, but you never know until you have all the bills in hand what they will ACTUALLY be. That being said, we have never in our marriage had to live paycheck to paycheck,, and we are about there at this point. (scary) but at least we leveling it out before our savings security is gone :)

So,,,, for those of you out there who do budgets,,, with a family of five (or close to it) what do you budget for groceries???? That's been our hardest one to figure out.. In order to equal income vs outgoing money, we had to budget half of what we thought for groceries- I know we can do it, but it's going to be a re-learning adjustment again!

It will be a trial and error for the first few months,,, but I'm nervous on how I'm going to do. We are starting the cash envelope system for Groceries, Entertainments, clothing, and household items. I have NEVER been one to carry cash, so this is going to be a huge change for me!!!!

Wish us luck as we head into it!!!!! Starting.................NOW