Monday, October 26, 2009

I Had a Dream...

Last night I had a dream that we are having a boy.
Hmm I don't know if that's the case because
I think it's a boy,
or because that's what we're having.
(I think I may be the only one who thinks it's a boy!)
Only time will tell, but it's sure fun to think about it!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

3 centimeters

TONS of contractions

That's all!

boy or girl... any thoughts?


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pregnancy Update.... boring

I thought I would type up a quick (or not-so-quick) update for everyone. I was reading the last update I made before Grant was born, and it made me laugh! I liked how I actually had written down something (cause I suck at journal-ing) regarding my pregnancy- so this is really more for ME than you :) I had no idea that 5 days later, he would be born. Let's see how many updates I can make before this one comes :)

(taken on Sunday... don't make fun!)

I am 34 weeks and 5 days (35 weeks on Thursday). The last few days have been a little hectic- I'll explain: Two days ago, Sunday, we decided to go for a nice scenic drive to Lake Monroe (a reservoir just 10 minutes south of Bloomington). The leaves here are GORGEOUS and it's always nice to just GET OUT of the house.

(Cool lookout to the lake that Ben found)
(Me and my "buddy")

I noticed that I was contracting a little more than I have been, but what stuck out to me was the fact that my lower back was hurting every time I would contract. Oh well. So I took a bath after we got home and put Grant to bed, and that seemed to relax me a little before going to bed.

Then, Monday (yesterday), I woke up and started making some food for a Lunch Group I was going to (Halloween themed- I made "mummy pretzels" and "worm burgers!"). While at the lunch group, I noticed I was not only contracting a lot, but that they HURT! WHAT?! I never really experienced painful contractions with Grant, because I didn't "go into labor"
with him, and the pain was more of a, let's say,KIDNEY STONE
pain then!! So I was a little caught off guard.

I went home and realized that I probably had at least 5 or 6 contractions in a period of an hour, and those were ones I could remember. So I laid on the couch and did just what my midwife said to do (lay on left side, hold stomach, drinks TONS of water). I did all this, and I was hoping that they would go away. Not so. From 1pm-3pm, the contractions were every 5-6 min. I reluctantly called my midwife, and she said to come on in to the office. She checked me out, and yes- I was really contracting (my fear was that I was making it all up!). She did the fetal fibronectin test- if you aren't aware of what this is- cause I sure didn't know a few weeks ago- it's a test that checks for the protein in your "downstairs." Long story short- if the test is positive, it is a VERY good indicator that you'll go into labor in the next 2 weeks. If negative, it reduces those chances down to 1/16. After the test, she checked everything out. Guess what?! I am dilated to 2 cm :) AND, the head is already "engaged." um....... awesome. So- I'm not yet 35 weeks, and now I am on "stay off your feet" orders. The test came back negative- so that's good (tons of money, but good!), but it also left us with some unanswered questions.... like why was I contracting so much?!
Who knows.

Today, I just sat on the couch while I tried to parent Grant... haha. I hate letting him watch movies and TV all day- but I think it may come to that here pretty soon. I hate being off my feet, cause I really want to keep up the walking!! I also have things to get done :) Now I can't go to Chicago this weekend either. Sad day. Well, that's the update thus far. I'm still contracting today, but it's not nearly as consistent as yesterday. However, while on a quick errand run today, the contractions I did feel had tons of pressure in the "downstairs" area. I have NO clue what's going on- but it would be nice if the baby cooked a little longer. Who knows!?!?!

In the meantime, enjoy a few cute pictures of the child we currently have!

Grant loves helping Dad "practice" guitar... and by practice, we mean, get into or stuck in everything :)
At some awesome view by Lake Monroe (can you see the tiny bit of it in the background?). Of course, we had JUST missed the sun shining on the lake and trees.
Grant wearing Dad's coat.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Attempts... Follow up on Crafts-

Here are a few pictures of what I've done to our house. I owe Ben a LOT for helping me with the leaves... he cut and hung most of them!

I just found this cute pattern for these leaves online, then I traced them on paper, then made Ben cut them out and hang them from the ceiling... Also- there is a ghost I quickly made that Grant loves. He says, "GHOST! What's a Ghost say? Boo!!! AHHH!!" It's pretty awesome.
This is from the Martha Stewart website. I wanted to make our landing look like a little Bat Cave- so far, so good. Grant likes running to the door when we get home from places to see the bats :) I still have some big poster board I am going to use to make bigger ones that hang from the ceiling.

Oh yes- and I made this yummy apple pie. The recipe calls for applesauce- it's SOO good, and it helps keep the pie stiff- it that makes sense.

Cutest Kid on the Block

Sometimes, I think Grant looks like an orphan. But 99.9% of the time, I think he's the cutest. He's so big!! I have to laugh because my sister is obsessed with her kids in PJs, and I never understood her fascination with it... until I saw Grant in PJs like this! It's the cutest, EVER!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fall/Halloween Crafts

I have been trying to find ways to entertain Grant now that it's starting to get cold, and raining season is upon us. He loves reading books and playing with his cars, but sometimes I feel lazy not doing anything else. My older sister has been planting ideas of "crafts" in my head, and so today, I thouht I would start making things to decorate the house. Then I though- gee- could Grant help me with some? YES! So- here are some cute ideas I have found... maybe you all are smart enough and have done things like this before, but I am not-so-smart... so here they are! I haven't done all these, but at least I have an idea of what to do everyday now :)

-As easy as 1- paint foot; 2- step on paper; 3- decorate ghost!

-I have started making some of these, but his website is just an idea of where to get patterns for cutouts. Grant loves looking and pointing at things, so we are going to hang a bunch of yellow and orange leaves around the house from the ceiling.

-TOTALLY going to do this. I think it would look cool on my landing!! So fun.

-This is something I remember doing as a kid in shcool, but they are SOOO cool. Takes about 2 weeks to fully dry, but the results are awesome.

Anyway- Fun ideas to keep you (or ME) busy. Hope you enjoy them. If you have anything fun you do- which I bet you do!- just let me know.
(PS.. I'll post pics of our place all decorated next time)

Friday, October 2, 2009

We don't like to travel...

... just kidding. That's all we/I do. I don't know what I am going to do when next month hits and I can't just jump in the car and go to Chicago! Ben and I went 2 weeks ago, I returned last week, and then again 2 days ago. I just LOVE my parents (and scoobies). And Grant freaking LOVES LOVES LOVES Laurel ("Lowlel"). I also seem to be awesome at NOT taking pictures on our camera. My phone is just so much easier than trying to remember to grab the camera, replace the batteries, etc. So- here are some pictures from this past month from my PHONE. These are all ones I've posted to facebook, minus the last one, so if you don't want to look, you don't have to :) Enjoy!

My little sister is a varsity for Lake Forest High School. I was also a for my school when I was her age... oh my gosh- was that really 10 yrs ago? So, I love going to see her cheer, because they still use most of the cheers we did, AND, I can sit and criticize and feel like I know what I'm talking about :) It was really rainy at the game the other night, but Grant was having a BLAST cheering on the s (those in blue in the background). He would also turn around and clap for ALL the students who were sitting behind us. He was a hit :)
ALL upon a time, it's humid here. I don't mind it THAT bad, because it keeps my skin moisturized and my hair looks AMAZING when I let it go curly. But poor little Grant seems to have a hard time. I was at play group, and he was running around a lot- which is totally normal for him. But he was the ONLY one who walked away looking like this. I had to take him home early and get him inside our A/C home before he melted away!
Like father, like son. Need I say more? Probably not, but I'm Rochelle, and I don't ever stop talking... SO- Grant LOVES the "geetawr" and he loves hitting the Guitar Hero guitar and saying, "bam bam bam." I don't know why he thinks that that is the sound a guitar makes, but it's sure cute.
Back in Chicago, I took my friend Molly, her son Luke and Grant to Lamb's Farm yesterday. We had a lot of fun looking at the cow, the llama, the chickens and turkeys, and then the goats. Grant LOVES goats. He would hug them, and then I had to stop him from kissing one or two. Then, Grant saw that there was a place with MORE goats (the goat pen?), and he went running to see them, tripped, and then face planted it in the largest pile of goat poop in the petting area. Awesome. He totally had goat poop all over that cute sweater of his. Sad, but of course- he had a blast!
Grant likes to do whatever Ben is doing. Strange, eh? So here he is with my old apron on while he was helping Ben make a sandwich for me. That apron is one I "made"/decorated at a birthday party when I was maybe 8 years old. It was so fun to see him wearing it. Also, I guess you need a colander for making sandwiches.
And if anyone is interested, this is me. I took this picture a week ago (for Ben), so that would make me 31/32 weeks in this pic. I made the pic bigger, again, for those interested. My cute sister in law, Alison, has helped me get a new wardrobe full of maternity clothes, and this was the latest shirt. I love it! In fact, I'm wearing it again as I blog right now!! So, sorry I look like a tool, but here is baby #2! Now, let's all start telling this child to get head down... it has 2/3 more weeks to do it on it's own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE END.