Early Christmas with Nana Joan

Our Christmases always last for days--- between all of my family and Aaron's, there's just no way we can fit everyone in on one day. Since we spent Thanksgiving with Aaron's family this year, we decided to stick around and do Christmas with my family. Because we are the only family on this side of the water that Nana Joan really has, she decided to pack up to visit Aaron's aunt, uncle, & cousin in Gig Harbor on Christmas Day, so we had an early Christmas celebration with her last Monday night where we exchanged gifts with her and some from Aaron's aunt, uncle, & cousin. In addition to this "Christmas week kickoff", Jayden also had 2 celebrations at daycare & preschool as well as 4 family celebrations on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. Not to mention that, in the hustle & bustle, we forgot to let them do their stockings, so they get to tear into those this weekend when I finally have the energy to take our Christmas decor down.

Jaxson wasn't really interested in unwrapping the presents too much-- he just wanted to play with them after they had been opened. Where he lacked, his big brother more than made up for it by tearing into everything as if it were an assembly line at a car factory. If a speed record could be set, I'm pretty sure he'd make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. :)

Seeing as both boys love anything with wheels, their new car toy and Cars-themed play rug were huge hits. Jaxson also fell in love with the new Buzz Lightyear kids' "laptop" and both boys received toy phones from their Great Grandma & Grandpa B (my grandparents). Nana Joan also got the food processor she'd been wanting for quite some time. :)

33 Weeks

How far along?: 33w3d

Total weight gain: Not sure, but I think it's somewhere around 23 pounds. I've been getting into the holiday eating spirit lately... ugh.

How big is baby?: A little over 4 pounds (the size of a pineapple) and 17 inches long.

Maternity clothes?: Yup.

Stretch marks?: About the same as last week. Old ones are itchy and irritated, but no new ones.

Sleep?: Same as last week... pretty close to non-existant due to frequent bathroom trips and overall discomfort.

Best moment this week?: Watching my kiddos opening their early Christmas presents from Nana Joan.

Movement?: Still depends on the day. He's running out of room so his movements are terribly uncomfortable to me. Rolling elbows and knees...not fun. :(

Food cravings?: Lately I've been stocking up on holiday sweets. I'm going to regret it later.

Labor signs?: Still about the same. Just lots of BH & some "real" contractions thrown in.

Belly button in or out?: Mostly in, but parts pop out on occasion.

What I miss: Being comfortable. I can't sit, eat, sleep (and definitely can't wrap Christmas presents) without wanting to curl up and die.

What I'm looking forward to: Being comfortable. I miss my non-pregnant body.

Weekly Wisdom: Get as much help as you can. Not that I use pregnancy as an excuse to be lazy, but I definitely cannot do it all myself and being huge & pregnant is a tiring daily task all on its own.

Milestone: According to BabyCenter, he's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal.

Our New "Baby"

No, Owen isn't here yet despite the fact that I feel like he's going to burst out of me at any second. We just wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our family... our MINIVAN!

We've known for a while that we needed to buy a larger family vehicle because there's just no way we'd be able to fit three car seats comfortably or safely in the back of our Ford Taurus. Not to mention that when we travel, which we seem to do quite frequently as we can't host family in our tiny apartment, we have lots of luggage and our double stroller (and sometimes an additional passenger) which leaves our car packed to the gills. We tried to wait as long as possible to save as much money as we could and not be saddled with a car payment needlessly, but we are definitely running out of time and with holiday travel approaching, it seemed like as good as it was going to get. We decided on a Kia because of the fact that we know that they have good warranties & good safety ratings. My sister has a 2006 Kia Sedona and says it's the best car she's had and highly recommended it. So, out of curiosity we drove to a Kia dealer and tested out a 2008 Kia Sedona. Aaron and I both liked it and it suited our needs, but despite the fact that we told the sales guy that we had a strict budget and not to show us anything outside our price range, we come to find out that the van (even though it was in good condition with great mileage) was outside of our price range. Hesitant to get ourselves in over our heads, we haggled with the dealership for HOURS. While he did try to help us get our monthly payments lower, he took advantage of us being first-time buyers and tried to get us to switch our financing to an outside lender with a higher percentage rate & longer term. We liked the van, but ultimately we were frustrated and felt like they weren't as willing to work with us to lower the price due to how much money was in it for them. Both of us were just exhausted and wanted to go home.

We knew that we needed to buy before Christmas because we wouldn't have opportunities until mid-January to find a van otherwise and that was cutting it close to Owen's arrival, and with our pre-approval running out we needed to buy by this past weekend. So, we started looking elsewhere and I called around to a few places. On Thursday we visited a local Hyundai dealership, and armed with more knowledge about how car sales work, I had a very don't-dick-around-with-me, cut and dry, this-is-what-we-are-looking-for-and-nothing-else approach & attitude. This guy was most friendly and generous despite my grouchiness and pulled together some ideas for us to look at. When we pulled in and parked, we just so happened to pull in next to a silver van. Aaron got out and looked at it saying it was nice but betted the price was really high. When we walked in, we were warmly greeted by our sales guy, Michael, and he explained that he'd looked over the vans that I'd found online, one of which was sold and the other he wasn't able to get from the other dealer, but he'd searched all their lots with the specifications I'd given him and he'd found this van he thought was going to be great for us.

Must have been fate. That silver van we parked right next to? Yup, that was the one he'd pulled aside for us. As soon as Aaron and I sat down inside, we just smiled at each other. It was almost like we just "knew"...and I didn't think I'd feel that way about a car ever. Even though the other van at the other dealership was "nice", this was just a completely different feeling. We just fell in love with this van (which for Aaron was an especially tall order as he's been really hesitant to be a man driving a minivan because it's for moms or something...).

Best part about it? It's a 2009 Kia Sedona, so a year newer than the last one, in better condition, AND with almost 20,000 miles LESS than the other van... at what we thought was the same price or less. Turns out it was a little more expensive, but this dealer was willing to work with us because they are less about making a commission and more about sustaining business & making their customers happy. Michael worked and worked with the sales manager to lower the price and despite the fact that it still was a little more than we wanted to spend, we loved this van enough and knew that it was a fantastic deal that we couldn't pass up. Plus they didn't try to sell us on a bunch of crap and weasel us out of using a different lender for our financing. In the end... we ended up walking out of there the proud and scared shitless owners of a new-to-us minivan.

I'll be honest, we haven't received the first payment yet and we are already sweating just knowing we will have a car payment--- a first for both of us as we've owned both our prior cars outright. It's scary making a big purchase like that!! That and it's so new that it's taking time to sink in that it's our car to keep. Now that I've had a few more days to drive it and have hooked up the boys' car seats in it, it's starting to feel more like "home" so to speak... but this is definitely a huge endeavor... the culmination of dipping our toes in the water for a while to finally deciding to take the plunge.

The boys also love the new car and are more than willing to go for rides in it. Jayden spent the first few days telling everyone about his new "silver van". He goes back and forth now saying that sometimes he wants to ride in his van and other times he wants his "red car" (we still have the Taurus). I think it's just going to be an adjustment for all, but we are really enjoying it so far.

Without further ado... here's our new car!!

Happy Holidays!!

Yesterday after Aaron and I did all of our Christmas shopping (yes, we are those people who always wait until the last minute to do our Christmas shopping), we stopped back at my mom's house and picked up the boys to take them to the Alderwood Mall as part of tradition to see Santa. Being that Jayden is three now, he's getting the whole "idea" of Santa and so he was excited to see Santa and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Jaxson was none the wiser this year versus last, but the hype over who this oddly dressed man with a beard is was definitely present.

Last year was mayhem and we waited for over an hour, the boys were cranky and, despite the fact that the picture turned out rather funny, Jayden screamed his head off because he was afraid of Santa. We halfway expected the same this year, but to our surprise the lines weren't bad and the kids were really patient in waiting their turn. Best of all? No screams or cries from our kids while sitting on Santa's lap. Not that they really smiled either...more like a dazed, lets-get-this-over-with-and-where-is-my-candy-cane? look.

The only thing I wasn't thrilled about? Paying $32.85 for a 5x7 and a USB drive with my picture on it. I miss the whole $25 CD that they've had in past years. Oh well, it may be pricey to me but it's worth it for the tradition of it all. Maybe next year I'll just stick with the 5x7 and get really close and personal with Kinko's photo printing machines though. :)

So, coupled with some wintery shots from Leavenworth and my favorite 3D shot of Owen, I compiled our virtual Christmas card to send around to our family & friends.

Happy Holidays everyone... from our family to yours!

32 Weeks

How far along?: 32w3d

Total weight gain: 21-22 pounds

How big is baby?: About the size of a squash or large jicama (approx. 3.5 pounds & 16.7 inches)

Maternity clothes?: Yes, anything to increase my comfort level at this point is welcomed. :)

Stretch marks?: No new ones, but the old ones are stretching a tiny bit.

Sleep?: Horrendous. I'm so uncomfortable, I'm peeing all the time, and having contractions strong enough to wake me up and keep me up. :(

Best moment this week? Having the whole family at Owen's checkup appointment. Hubby came... that's a first (or second this pregnancy actually...)

Movement?: Depends on the day. Sometimes he's really quiet and other times he's all over the place.

Food cravings?: Not really cravings. I only eat when I'm hungry and pretty much stick to the same foods every day.

Labor signs?: Yes and no. I have had a lot of contractions starting this week and they are strong enough to me that they don't feel like Braxton Hicks. They did a fetal fibronectin test on me yesterday to make sure I'm not at risk to go into labor within the next 2 weeks. Hoping no news is good news.

Belly button in or out?: Mostly in, but part of it is starting to puff out a little.

What I miss: Sleep... and unswollen feet.

What I'm looking forward to: Preparing for Owen and getting our ducks in a row before he gets here (yes, I'm nesting...). In addition to the obvious of giving birth and meeting him...

Weekly Wisdom: Do kick counts and keep an eye on contractions. If you have more than you think you should, try drinking more water & emptying your bladder first. Or go for a walk. If none of those work and you are still concerned, call your doctor.

Milestone: See more in the details of my midwife appointment below. BBC says that I'll be gaining about a pound a week and around half of that will be going straight to the baby. The baby will gain about half it's body weight over the next 7 weeks. Fingernails, toenails, and hair are present. In addition, I started lactating this week... yeah, really??

I had my visit with my midwife yesterday for this 2 week period. Everything looks good as far as Owen is concerned. He's growing right on track, I'm measuring at about 29-30 weeks right now according to her measurements, and his heartrate was a steady 150-ish BPM. I also had my first cervical check this week. Normally they are not performed this early, but I've had a lot of strong contractions with a mild pattern in addition to lots of discharge and all around tightness & discomfort in my belly over the last week. It was enough to slightly alarm them though not out of the normal realm, but with the fact that I'm still 5 weeks from being considered "full term", they felt that for my peace of mind and theirs that it was a warranted check. I'm luckily not dilated and my cervix is still relatively high, but I am thinning out. She said I have about 1cm of thickness left. They also performed a fetal fibronectin (FFN) test on me to check if I'm at an elevated risk for pre-term labor within the next 2 weeks. I'm assuming that no news is good news and I've not heard anything back yet. Despite not being terribly concerned at this point, I do need to keep an eye on my contractions (I'm getting them every day/night) and continue to report to them. In addition, they are putting me on 1000mg of calcium magnesium daily to help keep the contractions at a minimum and have also told me that I need to take it easy and rest more. Obviously it will be hard with two kids so we all need my hubby and others to step up and help as much as possible. Bedrest isn't in the equation yet, but we all know how unpredictable things can be so you never know what it could be like next week. Other than that, everything is going along well and we are counting down the days until I'm full-term on January 17th. Obviously we would like him to cook longer than that, but at least at that point if he does come it will be a lot safer.

In addition to the contractions, or maybe it's just in conjunction with them, I started lactating this week. Weird, right? It may be completely normal for some, but for me it's just not. I never had that issue with either of my previous pregnancies despite my attempts with Jayden at natural methods to bring on labor after 38 weeks, one of which being nipple stimulation. Even then I couldn't get anything out of my boobs. Now? I have a contraction and they are like leaky faucets! WTF?? This has been going on for at least the last week... I woke up due to a really strong contraction and had this tingly feeling in my breasts like my milk was letting down, so I got up and went into the bathroom and, sure enough, I'm leaking from both sides! I know that it could still be many weeks before Owen comes, but all these weird symptoms are making me second guess things and make me nervous about him coming before he's truly ready. I just pray he keeps baking!!

Motorcycles & A Mouse

Jayden had his 3rd birthday party last Saturday, December 11th. Ever since his daycare friend, Jerilynn, had her party there back in May, Jayden has been BEGGING us to have his birthday there and play. I always told myself that once he got to the age where he could tell me that he wanted to do something specific for his birthday party (venue, theme, whatever...) that we would listen and try our hardest to deliver. He LOVED his party as did the other kids. We tried to keep it small due to the cost especially around Christmas, but he's got lots of family and lots of friends so we ended up having quite a few people there both adults and children alike. His Harley Davidson motorcycle theme was a definite hit with him as he LOVES motorcycles right now. We had lots of pizza, soda, cake, & ice cream in addition to a show birthday show with Chuck E Cheese and lots of playtime for the kids. Jayden even got to go in their "Ticket Blaster" since he was the "birthday boy"... now there's a story there if you want one.

They shut you in this tube thing and there's tickets that blow upwards from the floor that you can catch. You then can "cash" the tickets in for goodies & prizes. They put the goggles on for Jayden and started it up... he just sat there with a blank look on his face like "What the heck am I supposed to be doing??". We kept telling him to grab at the tickets but he was still unsure. Then all of a sudden he just got totally freaked out, slammed himself up against the plexiglass, and started crying. Obviously they let him out but I have to say that it was actually kind of funny. Aaron got it on video on his phone so if I can ever get my hands on it, I'll share it with you. He got some "courtesy" tickets and then went back to his business... as did everyone else. Trying to open gifts was crazy and at one point we just decided we'd take them home and open them there as people were leaving or off playing and we just couldn't track them down. Jayden apparently had something else in mind and started right in to the presents anyway. He's definitely got the whole opening gifts thing down so Christmas should be a sight to see. :)

Let me just say this... as nice as it was not worrying about it being at my place or someone else's home where we need to clean and decorate, I'm not sure I'm ready for another party at Chuck E Cheese anytime soon. Trying to organize and corral a bunch of kids to do cake & presents when I'm 8 months pregnant is a disaster and I know I turned into an evil, hormonal basket-case at some point. Not to mention that Aaron and I dropped over $200 on his party. My advice?? Unless you have a small group of people, I'd wait until the kids are a little older for a Chuck E Cheese party. I'd be more than happy to host a party at my place to save myself a few hundred bucks and some gray hairs around the holidays. :)

Despite it not being as enjoyable for me, Jayden loved it and that's all that matters. Here are some pictures from our chaos-filled birthday adventure...

Miscellaneous party pictures

Jayden in the now "infamous" Ticket Blaster

His Harley cake

PRESENTS!!