Announcement (Better Late Than Never)

(I'm 4 weeks and 2 days late in making this announcement...sorry!)

We would like to welcome Claire Elizabeth to our family!!!

She was born on November 8th at 6:44am 

and weighed 8lbs, 6oz (my lightest baby!) and was 20 1/2 inches long.

 

She is absolutely beautiful and has completely stolen our hearts.

 

The transition from two to three children has been tougher than I imagined, however I wouldn't trade one sleepless moment of it.

  

The kids love her to pieces and I have to say mom and dad think she's pretty cool too!

I'll post about her birth at another point, but this is what I could squeak out for now.  The other post has been a week in the making and each time I think I can finish it Claire starts fussing, kids need feeding or laundry needs to be folded.  

Ah yes...the life of a mother...and I'm not taking any moment for granted either!

A Day at the Orchard

I am a bit behind in posting, but I have a good excuse.  Really.  I do.  I just can't think of it right now.  Could be the baby that is due on Thursday.  Yeah.  That's it.

A few weekends ago we ventured out to a local apple orchard that has the best, to-die-for apple cider donuts.  We went to pick apples too, but the donuts are always the highlight.

The day happened to be a bit windy and chilly, but we're New Englanders!  We're tough.  We go through winter in shorts and flip flops.  Ok, maybe not shorts, but I have worn flip flops in winter.  Something about not being able to let them go.

Where was I?

Oh...yes, we were going apple picking.  The main objective was to get apples so I could make a few homemade pies.  Which I did.  I ended up making 4 pies and only 1 stayed home.  I was a little bummed especially after all that hard work, but I gave them up willingly since it made other people very happy.

Here are a few pictures from our apple picking adventures.

Waiting for the tractor to come around

Pretty Orchard

Reach!

Caleb loves sticks!

The pros

Going around again

The only proof I was there :)

 

So, that was our fun and exciting apple picking trip!  I only wish the season hadn't been so short because I would love to go one more time!  There is nothing like fresh picked apples from an orchard!

Yummmmmmm

Aaaargh Matey!

Caleb informed me the other day that his Lego man has an eye patch!  

I thought that was pretty cute and clever.

Of course, he is one of our kiddos so I'm a bit partial!

36 Weeks

Only 28 more days to go!!

...and you may be thinking "Geesh!  Doesn't that girl have any other shirts?!"  The answer is "yes, I do."  It's just so much easier to see the changes when you wear the same shirt for each progress shot :)  

There is a method to my madness!  Really.  

Oh, and I didn't want my head in this picture.  My hair hadn't been dried yet so it was

tossed up in a few clips and a ponytail.  Definitely not picture ready!

Tired.

I think today was probably my toughest day yet.  I know I've thought that before, but the further along I get with this pregnancy the more tired my body gets and the faster it gets tired too.


I have to keep reminding myself how blessed we are to have a healthy baby.  It's easy to get down about the physical pains (and trust me!  They're painful pains!) and not focus on the healthy baby growing inside.


The closer I get to my due date the more I need to take it easy, not push myself and give my body the rest it needs.  Especially since I'm not getting a good night sleep anymore.


I really felt it today when I realized how bad I felt and also realized I had a fever.  I pretty much figured it out at that point that I cannot do it all anymore.  It's physically impossible.  I may want to do it all, but it's actually unwise at this point.  I'm pushing myself too hard and it has to stop.


I only have a little over 6 weeks left until my due date.  I'm going for 7 weeks since I'm usually late.  We shall see what this time around brings us to though.  I will be happy with early!

33 weeks.  Yes, I took this picture in a public restroom :)

Until then I think I'll focus on not running around during the day (as much), maybe limiting it to once or twice a week.  I'll also be trying to finish organizing our bedroom so we can make room for this little love bug.  I don't have too much to do.  It's just finding the time to file the papers, go through the pictures and find homes for the odds and ends that seem to be hanging around.


Maybe I should do a before, during & after post about my "L" shaped corner of the room that is the problem area I'll be dealing with.  


Hmmm...we'll see if I'm brave enough!!!

Silly Boy

(Taken when the kiddos were @ camp with Grammie & Grampa)

Father & Son

Toothless Corn on the Cob Eater

Afton comes up to me and say, "Hey Mom.  I think I can eat corn on the cob now.  I don't have any more wiggly teeth!"

I looked at her and giggled a little bit and then I said, "True, you don't have any more wiggly teeth, but you don't have any teeth in the front." *giggle* "How are you going to bite the corn without teeth?"

Please Excuse Me While I Lick My Spoon

Spa Like Relaxation

A bathroom remodel would have to include this!