June

I wanted to blog about our June before tomorrow and our entire world changes with the arrival of our little one. We had a fun last couple of weeks and Paige made it through 4th grade!

We started the month off by celebrating our favorite guy's birthday!

Just a few snapshots when Baylor actually slows down and randomly falls asleep. Most of the time if she does take a nap it has been waiting to pick up Paige from school.

Paige had her school carnival. This is her first one in a while because of Covid and it was so much fun and the school always does an amazing job with it. Paige had so much fun and spent most of it with friends while we walked around with Baylor. There were too many people for Baylor's liking but she did do a few of the things offered.

A favorite for both girls at the carnival was the petting zoo.

More fun pictures from the carnival- Paige wanted to try everything and came home with loads of candy from tickets that she won and cashed in. Baylor got an ice cream- she thought the eyes were blueberries which was what she was most excited about but they were bubblegum. 

The cutest caricature of Paige and her friends

One weekend the girls were having some fun outside and wanted to try spraying each other with silly string. Baylor loved to spray Paige but wasn't the biggest fan of being sprayed. It was lots of squealing and giggles.

We have been getting everything ready for baby especially on the weekends when I have Nate's help.

We had a nice Father's Day that was very relaxed. We are all so grateful for Nate/Dad in our lives. He is the best dad our girls could ask for. He is incredible! Nate was showered with cards and gifts from his girls and we had a nice dinner. Nona came over for dessert and they had fun playing some Wii Sports.

Picture on the left is from Paige's field day. She had so much fun and family was invited to be at the school for lunch. So Baylor and I packed a lunch to join Paige at school. Baylor was so excited to play on the playground but while we were eating, the rain decided to show up and pour down on us. The picture on the right is the last pickup as a 4th grader!

Paige had a little big of a rough year this school year with friends and worries but she made it through with the help of some amazing staff and did very well academically and in her schooling. She is an excellent student and loves to learn. She loved her teacher this year and she learned so much and gained confidence in doing things at school that are a little out of her comfort zone.

Today was our official first full day of summer break and the sun finally decided to show up. We have had so much rain in June and it has felt more like spring. We are so ready for sun and being outside as much as we can. The girls took advantage of the warm weather and had so much fun in the sprinkler.

We ended our fun first day of summer and our last activity as a family of 4 with a fire and smores. It was a perfect way to start our summer vacation. I know this summer will look a little different than others but we are so excited for tomorrow and the next chapter of our lives and becoming a family of 5!

3rd Trimester

I truly can't believe that tomorrow is the big day! It is so surreal and my biggest desire is that everything goes well and that baby is healthy and I am heathy through the whole process. We are so excited to meet this little girl and are so ready!

The third trimester flew by!

27 week belly- The start of the last trimester

April 12^th- I had a quick doctor’s visit today. I got to listen to her heart beat and everything looks good and is measuring well. Nothing too out of the ordinary for today’s visit.

 April 26^th- Today was another quick appointment which was listening to her heartbeat and measuring my belly. Everything is measuring right and at first the doctor was trying to find the heartbeat towards the bottom of my belly and she couldn’t find it and then asked me where I feel the most movement. I told her at the top of my uterus and so she moved the Doppler to the top and immediately found it. The doctor said mama knows best and said that means her head is still up at the top and she hasn’t turned down yet which is fine since I’m having a C-section. My doctor did tell me today that she won’t be doing my C-section since she is having eye surgery and I immediately had tears. I felt bad and embarrassed for crying but there has been too much of this process that has been out of my control that I felt it was just another thing that I was loosing control over since that was one thing I felt that I did have control over. It was a rough day thinking about it even though I know everything will be alright.

 May 10^th- I got to have most likely my last ultrasound today. It was so sweet to see her again. She has some cute little cheeks. You could see that she does have some hair. She still loves her hands by her face and the ultrasound tech mentioned that her head is at the very tip top of my uterus which I can totally feel when she is moving around. We could see her mouth moving and she was mostly likely drinking in some amniotic fluid. She legs were crossed down at the bottom so she is still breech but it doesn’t matter for me. I had to wait a while after the ultrasound to have my doctor return from her rounds at the hospital. I was feeling a little dizzy so I rested on the bed for awhile until I heard her voice outside the room. It was a super quick visit since I had the ultrasound and everything looks good. She is a little on the small side and will most likely be in the 7 lb range. I won’t need another ultrasound as long as my belly continues to measure right. I’m still waiting for the for sure date for my C-section and have to wait for the hospital scheduling team to contact me though it will most likely be June 22^nd. We are getting so close! I’m so ready to meet this little one!

May 24^th- Today was a very quick appointment. Everything looks good. I mentioned that I feel that her head is still at the top so instead of the Doppler to just listen to her heart, the doctor did the small ultrasound machine that is in the room to see where she was. It is harder to see but her head is still near the top though it was a little at the side so we will see if she turns around or not. It doesn’t really matter but it is good to know for the doctors what position she is in. Her heart rate is great. I have had more heartburn and reflux this pregnancy than I had with the other two. Hopefully that means she will have more hair! She is very active and moves a lot which I love. My legs get tired easily and I can tell on days that I push myself too hard. I’m so ready to meet her but not quite ready for recovery from a C-section and waking up to feed a baby. I can’t believe that we are a month away from meeting her!

June 7^th- Today was a super quick appointment. I did sign some paperwork for my C-section and the doctor had to tell me all the worse case scenarios. This is my last appointment with Dr. Zomer since she is having surgery herself and will be out for a few weeks. She did tell me to make sure to bring my baby in with me at my incision check so that she can see her. She did do the small ultrasound in the room again and baby girl is sideways in my stomach with her head on my right side. Good thing we are having a C-section since I’m pretty sure she is determined to stay in that position.

June 14^th- Today’s appointment was much longer than I expected. Once I got there I found out they wanted to do a non-stress test since I have the 2 vein umbilical cord and also since I’m an IVF pregnancy which makes me “high risk”. I did one with Paige at the end so I kind of remember what it was like. They got the monitors all hooked up to my belly and said it should be about 20 minutes. Well it ended up being about 40 minutes because little baby girl was SO active and did not like the monitor being pushed on her. She was constantly moving and rolling and pushing on the monitor. They like a consistent line on the paper for her heart rate but it kept on having breaks in it because she would move the monitor. She finally calmed now enough towards the end to get a good reading and everything looks good. I also got the strep-b test done which isn’t bad just a little weird feeling. I found out later in the day that the strep-b was negative so I don’t need to worry about that. I found out a little bit more about the Covid protocol. I will have to get a Covid test the Monday before and if I am positive (hopefully not) then I will be put in a special room with better ventilation and have to wear a mask more. If I am negative then when we are in our room, we won’t have to wear a mask. This would be ideal for us and I don’t need any extra things to worry about at this point. We are so excited and can’t believe it is getting so close.

 June 15th- One more week until we get to meet our little one! I went through all my needles and paperwork and got it organized and took pictures so that I can get rid of most of the needles and medications. As I went through it, there were some tears with the memories that came flooding in. We have been through so much to get to this point that it is so surreal that we are actually having another baby in a week- another little girl to love on, watch grow, and bring us joy. As I look at these pictures, it reminds me of heartache and pain and tears but also the hope that one day I would get to have another one. 8 little embryos in total- 7 losses and 1 amazing miracle. I don't know what the future will bring, but I am extremely grateful for this little one and that I get to be her mom. The little embryo that could, our last shot, holding onto hope and even though it was SO hard to get to this point, it makes me appreciate you all the more. Every shot, every doctor's appointment, every tear, every prayer has led me to you. Your sisters are so excited to meet you and I know big changes are coming with you but we will embrace them and the challenges and the joyful times as we grow together as a family of 5!

All the needles from all of the rounds leading up to this point. I counted them all- a total of 340 needles! Not all of them were stuck inside of me since some of them were mixing needles but all of them were part of the process and I so grateful for modern medicine and technology that has allowed us to grow our family.

Every one of those blue needles was stuck inside of me- the progesterone shot!

June 18^th- Today I had a surprise baby shower! It was so much fun and I later found out that it was put together by my young women presidency and some of the young women. I’m so grateful for kind friends who know how to make you feel special. Paige was in on it and was so excited but was excellent at keeping a secret. She asked if we could go get ice cream after dinner and of course I’m always down for ice cream. So we all loaded up and Nate told me he had to stop at someone’s house in the ward to get some paperwork. It was a little odd but I went with it. When we got to the house, I did recognize some cars and again thought it was weird and figured something was up. So I got dropped off and it was a room full of friends and family from the ward. It was so sweet of them to do this for me. We just visited, enjoyed food, and opened up presents. Paige and Baylor LOVED the presents and helping me open them. The focus of the presents was diapers which is deeply appreciated since that is something I really don’t have any of. Anna got all three girl’s matching dresses and they are so adorable and I can’t believe that I will have three girls in just a few short days. I definitely would have put make up on and wore something different but it worked out great and it was such a fun evening with friends. We are now ready for baby besides a few last minute things and some cleaning.

Almost 39 week belly- I had to get a few good pictures of this big belly that I will miss. I love being pregnant and especially feeling her inside of me. I am ready to be able to sleep a little bit more comfortably and not waddle so much but I will miss it. 

These two are SO excited to meet their little sister! 

Oh how I love these two silly girls and I can't believe I'm having another one!

So much love for a little one that we haven't even met yet!

June 20^th- Today I got my Covid test. I had to drive to the hospital and I was a little nervous for it but it really wasn’t too bad. The tests have gotten better with time and they don’t have to stick the swab up your nose as high as they used to. It was a little uncomfortable but was quick and now we wait for the results and hope and pray that it is negative.

June 21^st- I had my final doctor’s appointment today before we get to meet baby girl tomorrow! It is so very surreal and I can’t believe that it is tomorrow. It was a quick visit and really the only question I had was if they knew my Covid test results and they were negative which is great. They listened to baby’s heart and measured my belly and everything looks good. As I checked out today, I scheduled my 6 week postpartum appointment and she asked when the baby was coming. When I said tomorrow, she commented how calm I was and I said I’m calm on the outside and nervous on the inside. I really try not to think about it too much just mostly that we are having another baby. Knowing the exact date is kind of weird though nice. I have been on a nesting and cleaning kick and probably overdid it today but I want a nice clean house to come to that is organized and everything in its place. I have felt pretty good these past few weeks. I get tired and my feet get tired so I have to take breaks. I have had about weekly heartburn which is more than I had with the other two so maybe she will have more hair. I have felt like I have energy besides that I can’t walk too far without getting tired and tightness along my lower belly. I still can’t believe that it is tomorrow that we get to meet our little miracle baby that we have waited so long for!!!

Letter T

We got our full week of activities in though I did simplify some of them. Letter T for this week and now we will have a little break for baby!

Monday- our usual start of the week of tracing the uppercase and lowercase letter t.

Then for her craft, Baylor painted a turtle.

Tuesday we started with a triangle matching activity and talking about the colors of the triangles- too easy for her now a days but it's fun to see how much she has progressed this year.

Then she created a name train. She cut out all of the squares and some of the other pieces and then glued it all together and added her name and wheels with marker.

Wednesday she created a tutu for a ballerina. She cut out the shirt with a little help and then she colored the top and added the ballerina and arms. Then she painted for hand pink for the tutu.

Thursday she created a tiger out of the uppercase letter T. I wasn't planning on adding the ears but she said her tiger needed ears. So I asked her how she wanted to do that. She had me draw two triangles on the paper and then she cut them out and taped them on her tiger. I love the cute little face that she drew.

Friday was our tree day. She colored the trunk of the tree with crayon and then added leaves by painting them on with a Q-tip.

Then we went on a tree hunt. She decided that she needed a check list and wanted to find 4 trees and 3 cats while on our walk. She immediately checked off all the trees since there are a lot of trees around our house. We didn't see any cats but our walk was pretty quick since it was chilly outside and Baylor only wants to wear shorts these days. 

Bulletin Boards & Art

I loved volunteering at Paige's school this year more than I have in the past. I was able to help out with some events at the school and go on her field trip with her. 

I have been doing the PTA bulletin board for a couple years now and I love it. It is only once a month or so and is a creative outlet for me. This year I didn't do it every month but as much I could even with the school shutting down to volunteers for  a couple of months in the winter.

The first one for the year-September

October- Book Fair Plug

November- Grateful for the Staff at the school- When I printed out the leaves, I realized I made them all face the same way. This wasn't the original plan but it worked out just fine.

December- Acts of Kindness

This is when the break happened and I think this bulletin board was for mid-March to April. This one was my most favorite one I did this year. I loved how the flowers turned out!

This one was for the end of the year- May to June and was a plug for the carnival.

This year Paige's class didn't have an art docent and I asked Paige if she wanted art in her classroom this year. Of course she said yes so she had to accept the fact that her mom would be in the classroom with her and she realized it wasn't all that bad. I had fun being the art docent! Paige's class is very talkative and fun to teach and they always loved to see me since they knew they would be doing something fun. I usually always had a Power Point to teach about an artist and also with instructions of how to do the art project.

Our first art project was a self portrait but they had to make themselves look like Legos. The bottom right one is Paige's. I believe this project was in October or November. We didn't get started right away with school starting and them getting into their schedules and such.

In December, we did this painting one. We talked about the colors on the color wheel and they had to pick 2 colors that are next to each other and then a combination of the two for the middle color. It turned out really pretty though this one was a little messy and took me quite a while to clean up after.

During the break where volunteers weren't allowed on campus, I did do one lesson online and they created zentangles. 

This one was in March or April and we talked about perspective and shadowing. They used oil pastels and blended colors. This one was fun to teach and watch them all make it their own. Paige's is the one on the left with the strawberry on it.

I had to skip a month because of testing but in May we did this one which was also a perspective one. They used their own hands and feet to trace and then created the illusion of their person falling back into something. Paige's is the bottom right one.

And our last one that I did in the beginning of June was a combination lesson of talking about summer and also pointillism. They painted their fire with a Q-tip and only using dots and around their fire they had to write things they wanted to do this summer. It was a fun lesson and a fun way to end the year. Being an art docent is something that I would totally do again.

Letter S

Last week got the best of me time wise and it wasn't the best preschool week for us but we did it. She loves our little preschool activities and almost every day asks whether we have preschool today or not.

For our letter S week our first activity was tracing the uppercase and lowercase S.

Then Baylor created a letter S snake with it's tongue sticking out. The scribbled blue all over is water since she said her snake was in the water. She wanted her tongue out like the snake for her finished picture.

Our second day crafts were all about snow. She created a snowman out of paper plates. Then we made some snowflakes together.

Our third day we started off with some stamping.

Then she created a star necklace on string.

Oh the many faces of miss Baylor.

Our last activity was on Friday and it was supposed to be snails. She colored the coffee filters and sprayed them and they dried so pretty but the weekend got the best of us and we never made the body of the snail. Oh well- she had fun with the first part.

This next week with letter T, I hope to be better since it will be our last week and then we will take a little break for a new baby!