Sewing project and pregnancy

I finally started and finished my first sewing project on my new sewing machine! I'm slow getting around to it, but it was so much fun! It really only took a few hours to sew; cutting the fringe took longer than putting it together.

It's just a fleece throw. My boys love it though. I'm really tempted to make one for each of them.

So, here's a picture of my belly at almost 36 weeks.

I asked Kaden to take the picture for me. Brad was gone at work and I always forget to have him take a picture when he's around. I told Kaden to make sure he got my belly in the picture. So, considering his instructions he did a pretty good job. That night I had Brad take a picture which is the first one posted. Yay for being pregnant... and only having two more weeks! I'm still hopeful that she'll come early. My doctor keeps saying he doesn't think I'll make it to my due date. I'm starting to think that she's trying to prove him wrong though.

On a different note, I just have to say that Aaron has the strangest eating habits. Everything he eats has to be dipped in his drink. For dinner tonight we had taco soup with Fritos to dip in it and I let the boys have some soda pop (which is rare). Aaron spooned the soup onto his chips then proceeded to dip his chips in his drink which consisted of diet root beer and county time strawberry lemonade. He ate all of his soup and all of his chips. The drink was thrown away once he finished what he wanted. And they say pregnant women eat strange things!

Pictures of the kiddos

Here are some pictures of the kiddos playing in the snow with their dad. I was grateful that they could go play while I stayed inside. The pictures are kind of cloudy because I took them through a window that apparently needs to be cleaned!

They had fun shoveling the snow.

They also made a snow fort which Kaden loved.

Kaden loves to play video games now. He was pretty into one when I took this picture. Aaron likes to think he's playing too.

Aaron was watching a movie and zonked.

Kaden fell asleep watching a movie too. This is rare. He NEVER takes naps anymore.

Apparently this chair is pretty comfortable when it comes to nap time.

These boys keep me busy but I am so grateful for them. Kaden still constantly tells me how much he loves me (and Aaron, and his dad, and even his sister). He gives me compliments all the time like, "Mom, you're shirt is so cute." Or "I love your eyes, Mom, they are so pretty." Aaron has definitely hit the terrible twos, but if he sees Kaden hugging me then he'll come over and give me a hug too. They can be a real challenge but I dare say it's worth it!

Doctor Update

I went to the doctor again today. I'm at a 3 and 70%. Getting closer and I still have 4 weeks left. I think Brad and I might go to a movie tonight, one last chance to get away before this little girl decides to join us! We recently switched living space with my sister so Brad and I have the apartment area again. It's nice to have some of our own space and room for the boys to run wild. I'm still looking for more freezer meal recipes. I've received quite a few that I still need to throw together. The meals just need to be large enough for 4. Thanks for all the help and support! I'll post some pictures soon. My blog is pretty boring to look at because of the lack of pictures, sorry.

Recipes

If anyone has any good recipes for casseroles (or anything else) that can be frozen for awhile, I would love them. I want some meals made up before I have the baby so I don't have to stress about what to fix once she gets here. You can leave it as a comment or e-mail me or whatever. Thank you very much!

Updates about everything...

I went to the doctor this morning and I am at a "very generous 2" and about 60% effaced. Hopefully this will be a March baby instead of an April one, but either way I don't want her to come for another 2 weeks. I'm 35 weeks now, so anytime after 37 weeks would be great!

Anyway, thanks to everyone for posting their opinions on my last post. It's interesting to see how everyone else's pregnancies have gone. Mainly this pregnancy has been harder emotionally. I feel like I can't do a single thing to control my emotions. They are everywhere. It's driving me insane. For example, if I get really mad I start to cry. How is that logical? Oh wait, it's not. I can't do anything to stop crying, I just have to let it pass. Then it takes me a few days to get over the anger before I can actually do anything about it. I've also had a lot more sciatica this time and it's a lot more painful. So, has anyone noticed an emotional difference in their pregnancies (between boys and girls)?

Last night I went to pick up Brad's laptop from Best Buy. It took a lot longer than I thought it would so while I was gone Brad read scriptures with the boys and got them ready for bed. We have those family scriptures with all the pictures that basically paraphrase the Book of Mormon so it's easier for the kids to follow the story. Anyway, last night they were reading about Christ visiting America and how the people thought, at first, that He was an angel. Kaden turned to Brad and said, "Christ isn't an angel. He's a god." Then he went on for a few minutes about how Christ and Heavenly Father are both gods. I love moments like this when our precious children show us that they are learning.

Aaron was praying one night before bed. It was so fun. He'll be 2 in April and he knelt down and started the prayer all by himself. He was doing awesome and was almost done when the phone rang... we couldn't get him to finish. But it was great to see him kneeling with his arms folded, praying. Usually during family prayer he just runs around playing with random things. Another reminder that he really is learning something even if he doesn't always show it.

Brad is signed up for his Radiography test in May!!! Yay! We're still waiting to hear back from Weber about the Ultrasound program this fall. Hopefully he gets in; it would definitely open up a lot more job options if he was specialized. I am so proud of him though. I don't know how he manages to keep going. He works at 3 different hospitals, plus he has to do 24 hours of clinicals each week and he's a full-time student. Somehow he keeps going and he's doing very well. I absolutely love him and am grateful for all the sacrifices that he makes for our family.

Baby complaints.... ish.

So far this pregnancy is going well. My blood pressure is right where it should be. I'm swollen, but not too badly. Then of course there is the fatigue, but I think that's just expected with two other children. I'll be 35 weeks on Monday. However, she has already dropped. All week long I've been feeling a lot of extra pressure, especially on my bladder. When I woke up this morning though, my belly was visibly 2-3 inches lower than it had been the night before. Right now I'm grateful. It's nice to be able to breathe. I haven't had a single kick in the ribs all day (except if I'm picking something up)! At the same time it's making me a little nervous. I spent the day pulling out newborn clothes so I could wash them. Brad was laughing at me but I don't want to be caught unprepared like I was with Kaden. We are excited to have our little girl join our family out here and I'm excited to get my body back. However, with my history of low birth weights I would sure like her to "bake" a couple more weeks at least.

Lately, Kaden's favorite thing to do is list everyone that he loves. The list always changes depending on who's around or what we were talking about previously. He also likes to give my belly hugs and kisses. I don't think there is a little girl anywhere that has been kissed and hugged so much before she was even born. Aaron copies him sometimes too. It's so fun to see the love that these boys already have for their sister! Kaden's always asking if he can help feed her or hold her or play games with her when she gets bigger.

I need other moms' opinions. Those of you who have had both a boy and a girl, do you think your pregnancy with your girl was harder? I feel like this pregnancy is killing me! It's been much harder than my other two including the whole severe pre-eclampsia episode with Kaden. I'm just curious what others think.