Building a bear for our baby boy!

After writing my post about not feeling like we could be ready for the baby, I decided we were going to turn that around.

Brandon and I cleaned our room and moved the bed and set up the bassinet.

I wrote a list of things I still need to buy...and things I need to pull out from storage.

I decided which set of comfy clothes I will take with me to the hospital...

progress...right? Baby steps. lol

And then we took the kids for a family day, to make a special gift for the baby. Several months ago I got in on a deal and was able to buy a build-a-bear online for $3 with free shipping. So I have just been waiting for the time to get it ready for this little boy of ours, since we were able to take it and get it all stuffed for free at the store.

The kids stood around and watched in awe...they were SO excited to see the "fluff" filling up their little bear. ;)

And then they got to each take a satin heart and make wishes and give kisses and tuck them each inside our little bear.

After it was all stuffed and sewn, they took him over to the "bathing" area to get him all combed and ready. ;) Jenna took this VERY seriously!





We took him over and made his birth certificate and wrote who it was for and from...and wouldn't ya know, it was that time that really sealed the deal on what we are naming this baby!

When the employees had asked what the baby was going to be named, Jenna replied, "Carter". She has been very insistent on this lately--as have the boys. When we suggest something else, they go back to Carter. Every time. So we decided to make it stick--and Carter it is. :)

We did splurge a few bucks and buy a little kit with a baby hat, blanket, bottle and rattle, and then dressed the baby bear ready to go home. The kids were SO proud!!!
They came home and put the baby bear in the bassinet in our room...and at bedtime they all had to go up and say goodnight. They are SO ready and SO excited for this little guy to come to our home.

And as for me, the discomfort increases daily. I too am ready--a little nervous (can I handle 4 kids?!?!), but ready. Had a Dr. appointment today--she said I am EASILY at a 1 (hey, that's SOMETHING) , that I am up to 14 pounds of weight gain, and that I will only have 1 more appointment before we go in to have this baby next Thursday.

Next Thursday. wow. Next week we will be bringing home our little guy and placing him to sleep where the little baby bear now rests. :) Next week when the kids will snuggle him and love him and be SO excited to meet their new brother.

Just thinking about THAT feels really, really good.

Stoppin' by!

We LOVE visitors. LOOOOOOVE them. It always makes things fun and exciting and the kids especially love seeing new friends and playing with them. So when we got a call on Saturday from some friends of ours who were coming through town that afternoon, we hurried and got ready for them to come.

Breezi and Brandon knew each other back in the day--not super well, but still. :) Somehow, through the blogvine, Breezi and I connected a couple years ago and have been friends since. She's such a fun person and a SUPER blogger (you can read her funnies and such here)--and I have been so excited to meet her in person. Well, Saturday was that day--finally! Jenny and Travis came over and we all ate homemade pizza and gabbed, while the kiddos played and played.

Kaden has been claimed as an official boyfriend to little Maggie and Jenna latched on to "the girl who is 7" (Alli). :) And it just so happens that Breezi and her husband just welcomed TWINS into their home--and they were SUCH cute little guys! Spencer was their best friend EVER! He was SO excited to hold the babies and love them, and even tried to pick one out to keep. lol.



Jenna in prep for our own little baby...coming soon!

THANK YOU Chip and Breezi, Maggie and Alli, and the cutie little boys for stopping by for a little visit! WE LOVED meeting you! :)

The Utah part, and catching up in Ohio.

This is completely out of order, true. But I had to be sure to post about the day we spent in Utah. :)

First off, leftover from our time in Idaho, these pics are a few samples of my the annual fireworks testing my family does for their fireworks stand. It was a fun way to end the week---watching them go off. I had been in my skirt still from church, and sitting on the curb taking pictures. It got to the last firework that was new, and BOY did it take off! It was shooting EVERYWHERE, and out of fear I jumped up and tried to run farther away--realizing I had been sitting with my skirt in water and was soaking wet. It was pretty funny. But it was a GREAT show. Little plug--If anyone in the I.F. area needs fireworks, my family has a Phantom stand in the Smith's parking lot on Woodruff--they'll take care of ya! :)





On Monday morning my sister Sarah, my mom, and me and the kids headed down to Utah. The kids and I rented a hotel to stay in that night so we could be at the airport nice and early without inconveniencing anyone. So after we got to the hotel, a few friends stopped by throughout the day and visited for a bit. :)

MISSING PICTURES OF: My friend Jen. I met her through a card swap a few years ago, and we have been friends ever since. She's such a great girl--and I totally appreciated her coming to visit, and taking us all for a little trip to the grocery store so I could stock up on some food for dinner and breakfast the next morning. :) It was a short visit, but fun. :)

My friend Lisa came by with her kiddos and we had dinner together--dinner meaning: frozen, but microwaveable lasagna, green beans, and rolls. lol. I felt bad we couldn't do something more--but we only had a microwave and little stovetop in our room. :) It was an adventure, for sure. LOVE seeing her every chance I get. We have been friends for a long time now--since we moved to Idaho really--and that was 16 years ago!

After I got the kids in bed in the separate room, some other sweet friends came to visit--ALSO missing pictures of them! (how did these people escape without facing the camera?!?!) Two of the sister missionaries (Parris and Megan) who served in our area a couple years ago came up to visit--oh how I love them! They are such special women to me, and I think the world of them! It was such a good visit.

I wished I could have seen everyone I wanted to. The days were so short and the time went so fast! Hoping we will have another trip out soon--or that more people will hop in their car or on a plane and come visit US! :)

After we made it back to Ohio, we settled back in and got back on schedule. Spent the next few days catching up on laundry and cleaning up the house in preparation for Brandon coming home. We weren't sure when he would be coming--or even what day for sure--but he called me as he was on his way home Friday (earlier than expected) and gave me a heads up.

I kept it a complete secret.

And so when he came walking into the backyard while the kids played in the sprinkler, they all shouted and screamed and ran towards him.

Oh it's so good to have him home! SO good!!!!

That night we went to Red Robin for our traditional free birthday meal (for our 4 year old birthday boy!!) and to celebrate Brandon being home...

Jenny, Travis, and Grace joined us and we all celebrated together. On a side note, while Jenna was coming back from the restroom, she slipped in some water on the floor and fell. The manager felt bad--and ended up covering her meal too--as well as bringing all the kids free sundaes for dessert. :) We all were joking at the end of the meal as to who would be the one to take the fall next time. lol


LOVE our Red Robin balloons....always!

I should be nesting...

I keep thinking about all the things I want to be doing, but feel so limited to work on.

It's a strange place to be in really...for the first time, we don't have the nursery set up ahead of time, we don't have a name nailed down, we don't have the bassinet set up or a place to even put this baby's clothes!

I need to wash the newborn clothes, but need a place to put them first...

I WANT to set the crib up and rearrange Jenna's bedroom, but it would be silly to do so right now, when we have company coming and sleeping in that bedroom for the next several weeks and a crib would only take up space.

I would LOVE to pick up a couple things to make Jenna's room a little more neutral for the little guy who will share it with her for the next several months until we move, but can't do much because the crib isn't up and I have no idea how we will have to change things around to accommodate it.

It's just all one big waiting process.

So I thought, surely I can at least pack my bags for the hospital. But really, I decided over the years that most of what they tell you to take is overrated...unnecessary...and I just take the basics. How hard is it to pack a little overnight bag with a pair of pj's, an outfit to go home in, a baby outfit, your toothbrush and makeup?

It just feels so weird to think that in less than 2 weeks we will have a new baby here. Yet there is little to show for it--except that fact that I am huge. It doesn't feel real. AT. ALL.

Somehow in the past, it's just seemed like setting stuff up, pulling things out, has all made it feel like it was coming...that a little person would fill the space you set up for him/her...that they would wear the clothes, and use the baby items, and fit the name you picked.

Just feeling like I should be doing SOMETHING to get ready, but not knowing what...

Wanting to feel the anticipation and excitement of having this little baby, but stuck feeling like it's not really going to happen.

And it's a really, really weird feeling.

The last random few...

I am hoping I am finally caught up on most everything that happened in Idaho. I am sure there is more...much more, that never was caught on camera. But this girl only has so much memory right now. :) But there were the last random pictures I took that I hate to have sitting in the land of the dark abyss on the computer. So, here are the last random few that didn't have a specific post dedicated to put them in.

First off, seeing my friend Katy is anything but random-- :) If you have ever read a funny comment in my blog comments or on facebook, it is from KATY! She is seriously the FUNNIEST person EVER. And she is amazing. An amazing friend, and an amazing woman. I feel so lucky to know her, and so blessed that she would make the drive down to see me. :) We had such a fun little visit--even though it was short. THANK YOU KATY for making time for me.

The true random pics begin here...I have to point out that Mr. Spencer here pretty much inhaled all food he set his eyes on while we were in Idaho. We ate lots of yummy food--and he licked the plate almost every time. He is definitely a good little eater! :)

We ate lots of popsicles. Grandma made sure her freezer was stocked, and these made for many yummy desserts!
The boys both have Buzz Lightyear pj's, and niece Emma (remember she is a Buzz fan too) had her own little set. So they wore them all on the same night, and it was too cute! :)

One night, can't remember which, all the kids tried to pile in the bathtub together. While efficient, it's clearly not practical! :) lol

And swim lessons ended. Oh so sad! The kids loved their time there. And I love hearing them talk back and forth about how they know how to do this or that now...how they aren't afraid of water, or how they are such a great swimmer now. Swim lessons were one of the best parts of vacation.

It seems so sad to close the chapter on our month long Idaho vacation. The time seriously went so fast...I can't believe it! But we had a great time--we really did--

....and now we just have to hold out for a few more weeks for our Idaho families to come visit US! :)

The big 4!

So far, we have made a tradition of being in Idaho for the 4th birthday--Jenna turned 4 in the gem state, and now Kaden has taken that right of passage. :) We shall see how Spencer fares next year. lol

Kaden LOVES Toy Story--and I was SO excited when I realized months ago that his birthday would be the day after Toy Story 3 came out. We made plans to go to the theater--since it is something we NEVER do, and amongst all my siblings with kids, we were all able to get in on the free movie ticket deal a couple months ago with the purchase of Toy Story 1 and 2 (when they were $4 each)----so it worked out really well! :) All of the cousins were in town, and we arranged to have everyone go together.

IT WAS SO cute! :) More intense than the others, I would say, but really cute. :)

After the grand showing, Kaden modeled his new t-shirt...

We ate pizza....

And we celebrated not one, but 2 little four year olds--my niece Emma has a birthday close to Kaden's, so we thought it would be fun to combine the party. :) She is a Buzz fan as well-- :)

And then came the radioactive cupcakes. Totally kidding. The colors, however, left their mark on everything they came in contact with. :) We had a funny time cleaning up after people. The kids all loved their little rings though.

We also opened some presents--

Kaden got a little lego set--after falling in love with them on our trip to Columbus.

And grandma gave him a stuffed Buzz....
And he got some other cute things too from his cousins--you know, it's funny, because I was the one SOOOO worried about him having a good birthday. I was panicked at the thought of him being away from his dad, and not having our normal celebrations. And I felt terrible that most of what we got him came from the dollar spot at Target (Toy story crayons and stickers, and a little cars wallet)...I worried he would notice that he didn't have much (considering I could only buy small things there that we could fit in our suitcases on the way back).

I had stuff set aside for when we got home--gifts to give him when we could have our own family party.

But he has never looked or talked like he felt jaded that dad wasn't around on his birthday, or that he didn't have some big gift to open...he has never mentioned having another party or getting more stuff...

He is totally content with what he got...loves it all, in fact. And it looks like at this point, we may just have Christmas taken care of for him. :)

In a sense, my fears were totally unfounded and over the top. It most likely wouldn't have mattered if we had matching cakes and cupcakes or a big pizza dinner, or gone to see the movie. He wouldn't have known the difference...

He would have just been happy...being a kid...turning 4...having a cupcake and playing with all his cousins. Guess it just taught me a lesson--that kids don't always need what we think they do in order to be happy. Sometimes it's more of a standard we set for ourselves and impose on them.

Am I still happy we partied like we did? YES--it was a great time. The kids had fun, and I loved doing something really special. :) Even if it ended up being more for me. ;)

Happy late birthday to my 4 year old little guy. I just can't believe how fast time has gone by, and how much you have grown. You make this momma really happy... :)