Introducing Sophie

Here is Sophie.

Joe “Introduced” her on his blog, but now it is my turn. Here is my precious little girl Sophie. She is now six days old. Time is already flying by. She was 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches at birth. My biggest baby yet, but really not that big.

In earlier pictures her hair had a bit of a red tint to it. But it is a light brown. In the sun there are tons of red highlights, though. I think she’ll look quite cute. (A lot of the nurses said that she has a temper, so there must be red in there somewhere.) She looks a lot like Sai looked as a baby, just with lighter hair.

She does all the typical newborn stuff: eat sleep poop. All in large quantities. In fact, our first night home she ate at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and finally after she ate at midnight she went to sleep for about 3 hours. And she endures all the love and affection her brothers heap on her.

I’m doing well. Looking back I think this c-section was harder on me than the previous 2. I remember thinking, as they finally got under way, “This is the last time!” For example, it took 3 nurses 5 attempts to get an IV in me. I don’t even want to talk about the spinal–OUCH! I just feel more sore and more tired in general.

Joe has been really good and helpful. He likes to burp her when she is done feeding. If I start burping her he reminds me that it is his turn to take care of her. Unfortunately this doesn’t carry through tonight feedings. Joe’s also been really good with the boys. Taking them on outings to the park and to some local reservoirs to throw rocks.

I’ll leave you with another look at how our lives have changed with Sophie. I’m desperately trying to refuse the idea of a–gasp!!–mini van. I may have to give in. Two car seats and one booster make a full back seat in the Dakota.

We’re Back!

Sophie and I came home from the hospital today. It’s good to be home and in familiar surroundings. Thanks for all the comments and email from everyone! We feel loved!

In case you want to see more pictures, Joe has posted quite a few on his Flickr. I’d post one here but all the ones with me in them are not very cute! What can I say, I’m vain!

Hope you don’t get sick of all the baby news and pics. Not much else will be going on around here for a while.

Until Next Time

So, I’m not sure when I’m going to be posting again. Maybe over the weekend but most likely not since my parents will be here. I’m guessing that Joe might post some baby news on his blog Monday next week.

I’ve still got a bag to pack, batteries to charge, and other miscellaneous things to do. I’m glad I finally got the bathrooms clean and caught up on the laundry. Whew!

So until I’m back, have a good week!

Kathy

Who’s Having the Baby???

Oh My! Joe was being silly and sticking out his stomach and saying he was pregnant too. Can you tell how much I was laughing? My question is, if I’m 38 weeks how many weeks is he?

Last Projects–at Least for a While

Here are the last of my pre-baby projects. I started these baby shoes forever ago and finally finished them today. The embroidery pattern is a compilation of a few elements from different projects in the Doodle Stitching book. Joe told me it looked “bohemian” so I’ve dubbed them the Boho Shoes. Just don’t look too closely. I haven’t rinsed out the marking pen I used yet. I just love these shoes. They incorporate two of my favorite hobbies–embroidery and sewing. I even sewed beads on. It’s my most ambitious embroidery project ever and I’m quite proud of them!

I also finished the hand quilting and binding on the baby quilt I’ve been working on. I washed it to get the marking pencil out and here it is! I think it looks good and I’m so happy my hand stitching survived the washer and dryer.

Now I’m just biding time till Monday. Tomorrow I have a pre-op appointment to meet with the anesthetist and find out what time to be at the hospital (I’m guessing 5:30 a.m.). Then some last minute cleaning before my parents get here on Saturday. Time is flying yet not going fast enough. Ya know?

Oh, and, YAY ALI! I was so excited that Ali won the Biggest Loser last night. WAHOO! I can’t believe how teeny tiny she was. WOW!

Ahhh…Spring

After a dismal beginning of the week we have wonderful warm weather! Today it has been in the mid to high 70s. Ahhh… Sandals, shorts, cropped pants.

But Sai still insisted on wearing jeans today. And Joe was being goofy with his flip flops.

For dinner we had turkey burgers and fries on the grill. YUMMY! If you’ve never had fries on the grill you should try it. They get a nice smokey flavor. And we sat outside to eat.

Oh that Jay. He made that face for every picture. What a goofball!

Joe just told me this and it cracked me up!

Sai: Dad, do you have a girlfriend?

Joe: Yes.

Sai: What’s her name?

Joe: Kathy.

Sai: Does Mom know?

It still makes me laugh! Sai knows my “other” name is Kathy. Silly boy.

Tired

The nurse finally called me back yesterday. I’m scheduled! So less than two weeks to go till baby is here. It’s a relief to have a date and to know there is an end in sight. I’m just feeling so tired all the time now! This morning I’m especially feeling it.

The day started with leg cramps at 3 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The result is waking up tired. The boys actually got out of bed before me, but then, we put them to bed early last night. Then it was breakfast and get the kids dressed. Joe took Sai to school and I walked on the treadmill–Joe reminded me that the doc said walking would help with the legs, both the cramps and the RLS/PLMD. Then unload and reload the dishwasher. Shower, which lately exhausts me! Make beds then rest. But I had to get up and dry my hair before it dried all wonky-like. Then vacuum. And I’m done. That’s it. I’m tired.

I’ve still got Sewing with Rhonda today. I’m heading up to her house after lunch. I’m going to sew the binding on the quilt and start hand stitching it. Then after school I’m helping her and her 4-H girls sew aprons using a pattern from this book.

Before that, though, I’ve got to at least iron my binding but I had also planned on ironing shirts that have been hanging in the laundry room for a few weeks. Probably not going to happen. Because I also told Joe I would check out a web site that my niece told me about (Thanks Sandy!) and see if it’s something that one or both of us could do.

No nap today. Maybe tomorrow. I may as well get as much rest as I can now because after the baby comes there won’t be much time to rest.

Anyone out there watch The BIggest Loser? Joe and I have been following it this season. And I’m so excited that Ali & Kelly beat out the boys last night. WAY TO GO! They are inspiring. And I really want Ali to win. I keep thinking that after the baby gets here and I recover a bit I need to get my butt in gear and lose the baby fat once and for all.

Hand Quilting Done

From the land of fuzzy pictures here is the quilt with hand quilting done!

I finished the quilting today. It didn’t take me too long. I put Ever After on and watched that while quilting. Jay kept saying “Oh man! They’re kissing!” Oh how he cracks me up! But anyway… Tomorrow I’ll pull out my sewing machine and sew on the binding.

I’ve been feeling a bit frustrated yesterday and today. Because of the doctor. Grrr… The only good thing I have to say right now is that I didn’t have to wait this week. They had a few cancellations so they were actually sitting around waiting for me to show up. I was 10 minutes early so I guess they didn’t have to wait too long. But I’m frustrated because last week he said he would have my c-section scheduled. Nope. It appears that the day we had talked about, the 24th, is a no-go because the other doctor is not working that day. So it will be the 21st, 22nd, or the 25th. My doc called the OR while I was there to schedule it but they didn’t answer and he left a message. He promised me that he would schedule it today and call me. No call yet. And I’m getting more and more impatient. I just called and left him a message so maybe… Yeah right. Who am I kidding? I just really want to know, plus I need to know so my parents can make plans to be here.

Plus, we woke up to snow. And it kept coming down for a while. It has since stopped and melted off. But it’s APRIL! Rain is fine in April, but not snow?!?!

Well, I’ve got stuff to do and dinner to think about.

Just Stuff

I’ll start with this. My 36 week bump. My face looks fuzzy and I think it’s because I was laughing. I was laughing because this is what was going on while Joe was taking pictures…

Joe: Chin up.

Joe: Shoulders back.

Me: Boobs out? Ha ha.

When I look at this picture my stomach doesn’t look as big as it looks when I look in the mirror. Maybe I just think I look bigger than I am. All I know is that I’m ready. I’m tired of being uncomfortable and getting kicked in the ribs and being tired all the time.

I think we are about as ready as can be. Joe moved Jay’s bed into Sai’s room yesterday. He says they may as well get used to sharing. It looks a little crowded, but they loved it!

They spend a lot of time jumping back and forth from one bed to another. Or putting the pillows across the space between the two beds and hiding under it. So for now the novelty of sharing a room is great. Maybe they’ll be ready for bunkbeds soon and things will be less crowded. Oh, and Jay has slept all night in his bed without waking three out of the last seven nights. It’s a miracle! I’ve had such stress over him and his sleeping and now he is finally sleeping through the night. YAY!

Jay’s old room looks like this now.

It’s full of the boys’ toys, car seat/stroller, bassinet, and other baby items. It’s good because the baby stuff was crowding up my room. Once Jay’s room was empty I transferred it. Then Joe and I put together the carseat/stroller and bassinet. I’m feeling good and ready now!

And lastly. This made me smile so big!

Sai had a rough first part of the week. We thought that maybe it was getting back into the groove after Spring Break plus having a substitute from now till June since his teach is out on maternity leave. He was being a little bit naughty at school. Thursday and Friday he was good and brought home green cards. Yesterday Sai wrote this note. It says:

Sai loves Mom and Dad. I been good at school.

He does a pretty good job at guessing how to spell words. Under the words are check marks. At school, when he writes sentences the teacher puts a check mark under the words he spells correctly. So Sai figured that he spelled all of these word right. Isn’t it so cute? I don’t remember being this advanced when I was in Kindergarten. He’s so stinking smart! When I read to him at night he even helps me read. Sure, it takes longer to read a book, but he helps!

WordPress users: Are you liking the new dashboard? I’m not. What happened to my spell check? I’m a terrible speller and now I don’t have a button for it any more. And I can’t edit comments. Maybe it’ll grow on me but for now, not so much.

To Blog

I have all these comments backed up that I haven’t responded to. And I’m not promising that I will. But thanks to all who leave comments. Makes me loved.

Which kind of leads me to what’s been on my mind.

I started my blog last February. (Yeah, I missed my blogiversary. Oh well.) I wish I would have started blogging back when we first moved to Oregon. When we first moved here I would send frequent e-mail back to friends and loved ones letting them know how we were doing and what was going on in our lives. This blog has taken over. I figure this way it’s not forced down their throats (a.k.a. filling their in-box) but it’s something they can check out when they have the time.

Plus, once I started blogging I found all these wonderful blogs that I like to check out with crafts and sewing and family stuff. Thanks to Bloglines I get to read all these amazing posts.

I know a little bit about my audience. My family and Joe’s family. Some friends back in Utah. Friends and fellow bloggers that I’ve met online.

Who’s missing? The friends I’ve made since moving to Oregon. Is it weird that I am reluctant to tell them “Hey, I have this web site…”? Especially considering that I sometimes write about hanging out with April and Sewing With Rhonda. April and Rhonda are two wonderful friends but I’m reluctant to tell them, and most other people about my blog. And yet I feel like I’m hiding something from them.

So fellow bloggers… are you the same or does everyone you know access your blog?