1st of 3 new posts...I am not sure why I didn't combine them into one.

Kiley, outside our house.

This is a picture of baby Cort wearing Kiley's bike helmet...and it looks like a necklace he got from church. He loves hats and shoes like Creighton, but Creighton steals most of his hats, so baby Cort has to improvise. He wore this helmet for a couple days :)

Kiley and Cort. She is so motherly to them. Cort hurt his lip and wanted to cuddle with her. She is better than any babysitter we could hire, but it's not legal until she is 12.......

This was the only pic I could get of Cort on Easter. He and Creighton had the same outfit and Kiley had a similar dress. I wish I could have gotten all three together.

These are Kiley's old glasses that Creighton found. They are dark pink, so Chad won't let him wear them in public, but I think he looks adorable. Here we are on our way to church on Easter.

Pregnancy stats!

My belly at 37 weeks.

Pregnancy stats: My weight: up 37lbs total....hmmmm.....

Blood pressure: seems to always be in the 120/70 range. 110/78 on Monday.

Babies heart rate: 124-135 while on the monitor in the hospital overnight (explained in the post below). I still have my money on another boy!!!!!

Babies weight: Estimated last Friday at 6 lbs 2 oz, so most likely about 6 lbs 8 oz now and 20 inches long. (About the size of baby Cort when he was born). Only 15 more days until my due date, but I am thinking I may go into labor on my own before or wind up getting induced because of low amniotic fluid (again, explained below...I should have flipped these posts) Otherwise, everything is looking good with the baby!

Lots of catching up!

It's been a busy couple months to say the least! I'll try to catch things up beginning with Easter. Easter was very nice and laid back for us. We went to a brunch at church and it was so nice to sit around and chat with friends. It was also nice to see so many faces that I often don't get to see. I had the kids all dressed similar and it was so funny to see the looks on peoples faces when they saw I was pregnant and asked if it was my first and I said "nope, that one, that one, and that one over there are mine too". The kids participated in the church's Easter egg hunt too. We went home and they took their Sunday marathon naps which lasted from about 1:00-5:00 that evening. When they woke up, we did an Easter egg hunt in the house and had a nice dinner. I finally broke the news about the Easter bunny not being real to Kiley. I did offer an explanation of why the bunny represents Easter, spring, and new life. I also threw the tooth fairy in. I am sure Kiley had already begun to figure these things out. She has drilled me about Santa and every other holiday mascot since last year and I keep trying to pass it off to the grandma's to explain, ignore it all together, or find someway to mix a little bit of the truth in without answering to honestly. Finally, I figured she is 9 1/2, all her friends keep telling her they aren't real, and she continues to ask (I think just to put me on the spot). She didn't seem to care at all and now she can participate in the fun for her younger siblings.

Mother's day could have been better. Chad has gone to skiing and golfing ( a Colorado thing-since there aren't many places you can go skiing in the morning and then golf in 70 degree weather in the afternoon) the day before, so I hadn't gotten much done around the house since he was gone all day. Cort got very sick around 5pm that night and I heard the infamous croup cough. I normally wouldn't get too worried about something like this, but he was having a very difficult time breathing and so I took him into the E.R. (Sadly, ruining my streak of never having to take a child to the E.R). He had a fever of 104 and was feeling pretty miserable. We stayed until around 1am. They gave him meds and a breathing treatment and observed him for several hours before giving us the okay to head home. He was sick for about 5 days after and then Creighton got it and was sick with it for another 5 days. My Mother's day weekend was spent cuddling my sick babies....but, I wouldn't have even considered leaving them for a minute when they were feeling so sick. I meant to go get a pedicure another weekend and have a Mother's day re-do, but things haven't really calmed down here long enough for me to sneak away.

Creighton moved to his "big boy" bed. About a year ago, we put a twin bed in his room along with his crib. He loves to lay in his bed and watch movies, but when he gets tired, he asks to sleep in his crib. I can't bring myself to force him out of his crib before he is ready. Finally, around his 3rd birthday, he showed much more of an interest in his bed than his crib. He's been doing great since moving to his bed! We haven't had any problems with him coming down at night or anything. I think that my belief in following their cues instead of pushing them into something they aren't ready for is still the best way. He goes to bed at 7pm, no tears or complaining, and sleeps until 7am, when he gets himself up and dressed and makes his way downstairs.

The basement is making good progress. All the rooms are framed. There is now a clearly defined office/study (that is much larger than a typical office-but it's also a conforming bedroom that we will use as an office and it has to be large enough to fit two desks and a drafting table) It's 12 X 12, the size of a large bedroom. There is another 12 X 12 bedroom that will be a guest room, a living room, a play room/area off the living room, a bathroom, a storage room, and a workout room! Chad's done nearly all of it himself and has only injured himself twice-once shooting a nail through his finger with a nail gun and another time by getting his finger stuck between two walls. I think getting a tetanus booster would be a good idea! I am excited to see the progress, but it will take another 6 months to a year to completely finish.

The pregnancy is winding down. I am 37.5 weeks now. A week ago, I hurt my stomach....One would think that with baby #4 I would have an idea of where my stomach was, but nope. I am constantly bumping it on things. I just don't seem to have a good idea of where it ends! I hurt it at around 8am and it was pretty sore. I thought I would give it all day to see how it felt later. As the day went on, the pain became pretty intense and at 6pm, I decided I should just go in and make sure there was no serious damage. I never go to the Dr. with complaints and NEVER go to the E.R., but I was feeling pretty bad and was concerned for the baby. My Dr. had me go to LDR for an extended non-stress test. Once I was all hooked up, they realized I was in labor. I had pretty bad contractions every 3 min......maybe that was what was hurting so bad :). I ended up being admitted and staying overnight. After about 6 hours the contractions stopped and I was able to go home the next day. I had to go in for a follow up 2 days later. An ultrasound showed my amniotic fluid was very low. My Dr. did not want to induce me at that point so she gave me the option of going back to LDR for 1-2 days to get fluids or to go home for the weekend and drink 120 oz of water each day and stay off my feet and be re-checked on Monday. I opted to go home. Monday's visit showed no change in the fluid level and that my fundal height was measuring 34 instead of 37. I go back in on Friday to have both re-checked. We are just taking it day by day now. If the fluid drops or there is no growth in my fundal height, an early induction may be the best option. Also, I am full term, so I could go into labor on my own. I have already made it further than I did with Cort. Even if there is no induction, my due date is only 15 days away!!! We are ready, but I'd like to get through next week and the end of the school year. We shall see!!!

Pics of Kiley and Cort...I still have to take one of Creighton.

Cort, 18 months.

Kiley, 9.

Pics of the kids...more to come next week.

Cort feels like such a big boy when he doesn't have to eat in his high chair.

Kind of blurry, but Creighton loved watching the tree in our front yard be cut down.

Baby Cort eating popcorn and watching a movie. Good thing his big brother loves any opportunity to get the handheld vacuum out and clean up!

My belly at 31 1/2 weeks. I said it was "big". Kiley took the pic, but I can't blame the angle for making it look big. It is...

This is one of my fav. pics from Creighton's birthday. Creighton was driving this monster truck and Cort clearly didn't trust him. His face was so funny every time they rode this.

I didn't have time to make Creighton a cake for his 3rd b-day, so we went with a store bought one. Kiley insisted on carrying it to him (I thought it would be a sure disaster) and then singing a solo version of "Happy B-day" to him.

The last leg of pregnancy and the first leg of the basement

I am almost 32 weeks! I feel it too. I am more fatigued and my shirts aren't fitting as well. :) This pregnancy has gone by quick and has been pretty easy, overall. All of my tests have come back normal and it seems we will have another healthy, perfect little babe in a few weeks. It's such a huge blessing to have 4 healthy kids (knock on wood). We are still on for a June 10 birthday, but there is always the possibility of going early. Baby stats: Baby size: almost 4 lbs and about 16 inches long. At my ultrasound on Friday, the baby was measuring exactly to my due date. The amniotic fluid was low, as it has been with the last two babies. I am not too worried, but will try to be more conscientious about drinking lots and lots of water. Mommy's size: Big......up about 28 lbs overall. We had a grandma here for a few days, I am blaming it on her. :) Blood Pressure: 128/66... a little high, but I had to run to make my apt...well, waddle/run to get there on time because an accident made traffic a bit slow. Heart Rate: 134...it was 143 last week. I am guessing another boy! So, since this is my last pregnancy (hopefully) I have tried to appreciate all the things that come along with pregnancy. To be honest, it's hard to appreciate weight gain, heart burn, sleepless nights, strange dreams, cravings, etc. I have more of a "been there, done that" feeling even with the fun stuff, like feeling the baby kick. I hardly even notice the kicks because I am so busy during the day, but when I put the kids down and can rest, I can see my belly moving side to side and up and down. I think that he/she may be outgrowing the space. I still don't know the gender. My mom sent up a heavily taped box for the baby because she wants the baby to come home in something new, specially for them. I have to admit, I have been tempted to open the box and find out the gender. I know I would regret it though. I am thinking that I may have to give the box to someone to hide so that I don't have the option to look if I have a moment of weakness. I am having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and my Dr. noticed several occurred during my 10 min. ultrasound. I probably have 40-50 some days! She was a bit concerned about that and told me to take it easy, but how can a mom of 3 with a busy husband and a house in the middle of some big projects take it easy. I will do my best though. The picture of the baby on ultrasound was adorable, but I would think so, of course. Chad took off 9 days to get started on the basement. I have to admit we were at each other's throats for the first couple of days. He worked 250 hours of OT in the past 3 months and I became used to not having him here that often. We made it through the 9 days though and by the end, I was sad to see him go back to work. He took off another 9 days though in June. We ordered all the materials needed for the basement and nearly all of them have been delivered. Home Depot is fantastic. They gave Chad a contractors discount (maybe because he is the architect designing our basement....not positive though) and that was about 20% off, plus we pay 0% taxes since we had to pay for the permit. They even let us borrow a truck for free to get all the materials. We had planned to pay cash for the entire project, but the contracting dept. offered us 18 months no interest if we put it on our Home Depot card. So, we did and we'll just pay a few hundred on it monthly and then pay it off when our 18 months is up. Chad (and I, a little bit) took down the storage unit, moved it to the new storage room, rebuilt it (this is all Chad) re-organized our boxes (this involved me some), moved all the workout equipment to the new workout room, and made a big mess of the rest of the basement. Home Depot delivered everything, so we are trying to find a place to store all the wood, doors, carpet, tile, bathtub, vanity, etc....it's so much stuff! Chad did get one wall framed and the door installed today. He is planning to build another wall tonight. To appease our daughter, Kiley, he installed some nice screen doors on the front of the house today. It's hard to find screen doors for a double door entry, but I would like to be able to open the front doors to hear the kids playing outside and get a nice breeze. We would have to custom order any double screen door to fit ours and that was pretty costly. So, Chad made them himself. I will spend much of my week painting them, but will post pics as soon as they are done. I hope we can get our house back in order before the baby comes. The weather has been nice and the kids have been outside a lot. Creighton is living his dream helping daddy with the basement and other home repairs. I am going to get him a nice tool belt for Easter because he has started to slide different tools into his pant waistband and carry them around that way. Cort is finally old enough to venture outside as well. He is still too little to play on any of our play equipment and has to be watched pretty carefully, but he loves to ride in his car, play basketball, and use his brothers shovels and rakes. We don't see much of Kiley when the weather is nice. She gets home from school, cleans her room, does her homework, and disappears outside with her friends until 6pm, when she has to come home to eat dinner with the family. I will try to post some pics of the kids and the basement (when a bit more progress is made).

Single Parenting, catching Vomit, a postponed b-day, and fighting with a 3 year old about taking a plunger into church.....What a week it's been!

Actually, what a last couple months it's been. Chad has been so busy with work the past couple months, I feel like a single parent. He is gone before we get up in the morning and we are in bed before he gets home most nights. He has been working 7 days a week for at least the last couple months or so. To add to the stress that causes, the kids have been sick for going on 2 weeks now. First, Cort was very sick for a full week, then Kiley was sent home from school two days last week and stayed home for a third day to rest. Creighton has been sick for a week too. I have caught vomit in my hand, a diaper, with my body, in a towel, and the more conventional trash can and toilet (if we can get to it on time). I can officially say that I am exhausted and would be willing to pay an arm and a leg to fly a grandma out here for a few days.



Speaking of Grandma's, we do have some relief coming in the near future. Chad took off the entire last week of March, which is spring break for the kids. Chad's mom is coming in for a few days and then my mom is flying in for a weekend. That week, Chad and I have a "to do" list 2 pages long. We have to get the first phase of the basement done so that in April we are ready for the electrical work to be done. Chad drew up the plans for the basement and it's looking very, very nice with 1 bedroom, a den with a fireplace and sliding frosted glass doors (very nice looking), archways, tray ceilings with some fancy lights built in (they have a name, but I forgot), the living room, play area, bathroom, workout room, and storage area. I drew it up on a piece of notebook paper, not to scale, and only a furniture layout. He, of course, drew it up in AutoCad, with electrical plans, ceiling plans, floor plans, construction and material plans, etc. He is clearly better than me at at least one thing. The fine details like the tray ceilings and archways won't be in the first, second, or maybe even third phase. He wants to have the bathroom done, storage area done, and I want the workout room done, before summer arrives, but it all depends on how busy his work is.

Creighton turned 3 on Saturday. It was a pretty miserable day for him. He has been sick all week and his birthday offered him no relief. To add to that, he was missing his dad so bad and was so distraught when Chad had to leave in the morning to head up to work. Chad came home around 4pm and we attempted to take Creighton to Chucky Cheese for a bit of fun. I felt so bad for him that I had taken him to Target and offered to buy him anything he wanted, but he was too sick and didn't want anything...not even cake. He did play some at Chucky Cheese, but wasn't having a ton of fun, so we will try again next week.

We have been vomit free for a full 24 hours now and I had to take the kids to church with me this morning, despite my reluctance. I would have left them at home and let them sleep in, but Chad had a physical at 8am. I think I'll be taking the Spring Ahead Sunday off each year from now on. Kiley fell asleep on the church floor, Cort cried over every little thing, and Creighton threw the tantrum of all tantrums over not being allowed to take a plunger into church. Seriously. Fortunately, one of our friends was in the parking lot and was there to help me collect my trio of crazies and get them inside, kicking and screaming...well, one was kicking and screaming, the other was picking his nose and observing his brothers antics, and Kiley was half asleep carrying in a pillow and blanket.

The weather is looking gorgeous for the next week. I am hoping everyone can get over their sickness, get some extra rest, and we can enjoy the spring like weather. One more busy week for me and then things will slow down at home. Chad's going to be busy until the last week of March and then hopefully by mid-May he will get back to a 40ish hour work week for a month or two. I don't want to wish for more than that because the firm is still struggling with keeping work consistently throughout the year. Hopefully, as the economy recovers, so will the firm.

Baby Stats:
I haven't' been to the Dr. in a couple weeks, but will go again for my 28 wk check up and glucose screen on the 18th. I still don't know the gender and am not curious at all. I weighed myself and am up 22lbs, but that's healthy and I'll plan to put on the full 30lbs by the end. I was hoping to stay in the 20-25lb range, but 30 is okay too. The baby is moving a lot, but is still a lot too. I have already noticed that this baby quits moving around 8pm and doesn't move again until around 7am. I hope that means it's already developed a sleep routine!

Hopefully, I will have some great spring time pics and happier times to share next time I update!