Emery's New Room

I actually got her room put together! Okay, so I had some help from Bryan (I'm not allowed to use the hammer anymore...), but it's done. Now, being that this is our 4th child, she has nothing new in her room (all hand-me-downs from Bekah) and her walls are not painted. But that's intentional. See, our 3 older kids all have decided along the way that they like sharing a room, but they decided this AFTER we had painted one room blue and another purple. So, all 3 kids, including the 2 boys) are currently sleeping in a purple room with a princess ceiling fan. They don't seem to mind, and all of them cry if we threaten to make them have their own rooms. Go figure...

Anyway, Emery's room is staying white, because I'm guessing that when she gets big enough she's going to want to join the "dormitory" with her older siblings. I'm seeing multiple sets of bunk beds in our future...

Here are some pictures of her finished room! It's not 5-stars, but it's done!

Happy Easter!!

We had a great Easter weekend! Saturday we went to my parents house for swimming and lunch. It was a bit chilly, but Nana and Pop heated their pool and had the outdoor heaters on, so we only had minor complaining from the cheap seats. I didn't get any pictures because I was helping Nana with lunch, but the kids all had a blast.

Sunday we woke up early and the kids got to open their baskets from the Easter bunny. This year the Easter bunny decided to limit the candy and cheap toys and get the kids more usable stuff. So, the kids all got new sunglasses, goggles, bubbles, and a few other "age appropriate" items. Devin and Caleb got DS games and Bekah got nailpolish and lotion. Who knew the little girl would be more excited about lotion than anything else! (Thanks Amy Ellis for that idea!!)

Then since it was sprinkling, the Easter bunny hid eggs in the living room at our house. The kids were moving so quickly that I had a hard time getting any good pictures, but I'm sure everyone knows what it looks like when kids run around crazy looking for eggs!

After playing outside for awhile.... (Yes, Devin has on a pink shirt. It was mine from when I was little, and apparently it's now "cool" for boys to wear pink...who knew?)

Bekah and Caleb got sidewalk paint, and they were thrilled to get to paint on the ground...you know, because it's so much more fun than painting on paper?!

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the Molander Easter. LOTS of people, and it's always a great time. The rain stayed away so the kids got to do their egg hunt outside.

Oh yeah, and Grandma got a new pet...a bunny! Bekah and Caleb were just fascinated and Bekah's asthma didn't seem to be bothered at all by the bunny's fur. They REALLY wanted to take the bunny home (or go buy our own), but Momma said no. We're about to have 4 kids and 2 dogs...all we need is a bunny to make me go insane!

Devin and Grant got fishing supplies from the Easter bunny, so they took off very quickly to go fishing and we didn't see them again for about an hour. This is Devin being annoyed when Dad was trying to explain that it was a different kind of reel on Grandma's fishing pole and he need to explain to him how to use it. In case you don't have one yet, this is a 10 year old's face saying "Dad, I already know how to do it...I don't need help!" However, he fought with the reel for the entire fishing episode, and later complained that it was too hard. If only those silly boys would learn to accept help!!

The kids also got more bubbles from the Easter bunny at Grandma's house, so that became kind of the theme of the day.

And the funniest portion of the day...while Aunt Jenny (Brody's mom) was holding the bunny, he left her a little present pile in her lap! The kids thought that was just hilarious, so I had to take a picture.

Hope everyone else had a great Easter as well!!

Bekah Singing to Emery

Bekah loves to sing and dance (NO idea where she gets that from ) and now she has started singing to her baby sister. Of course, she only knows Christmas carols, and it's April, but who cares? I thought it was a really cute thing, so I videotaped her. And yes, she says "oh mcfun" instead of "oh what fun"...I don't know where she got it from, but that's how she sings it. She got a little shy with the camera rolling, but I still think she's precious. I'm not bias of course... Enjoy!

Strawberry Picking

I took the munchkins to Froberg's Farm in Alvin last Friday to pick strawberries. Having never been there before, I didn't really know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by the whole experience! Caleb and Bekah had a great time picking strawberries, and I got to show them how a strawberry grows from plant to flower to berry. It was really neat! They picked 5 pounds of strawberries, and as of today (Wednesday) they are all gone! So, we get to go back again soon....and Devin said he wasn't interested in going before, but after hearing about it afterwards (and the neighbor boys going on Saturday, so it's not too uncool) he wants to join us on the next trip. We also got several other kinds of fruit from the farmer's market there, and Caleb discovered that he REALLY likes plums! I love it when my kids get to try new things and discover something they didn't think they would like. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Caleb's Dance Pictures

Yup, my son is a dancer too :-) He is taking an "all-boys" tap class (which is surely the only reason he is doing it!) and he absolutely loves it! He gets giddy with excitement every week when it's time for tap class, and the 30 minute class just is never long enough for him to be satisfied. For the recital this year he gets to be a police officer and capture the robbers, who are the older boys. Of course, he can't dance with his mouth closed, so please ignore the open mouth and lack of focus in the video (it was their first time performing in front of anyone, and there was a group of older girls watching!) I have a few pictures, and of course the video of his dress rehearsal. Enjoy!!

Bekah's Dance Pictures

Okay, so I suck at blogging, and I haven't posted anything in almost a month....I know it's awful. But maybe this will make up for it in cuteness at least. Bekah had her dress rehearsal and picture day at dance class today, and I got to get some pictures and a video of her in her costume complete with full hair and makeup. I have to say that she is just precious (I'm not bias at all!). We played beauty shop last night and put her hair in sponge rollers to make it good and curly, and it turned out really cute. We got to put makeup on her this morning (including lipstick and mascara!) and she thought that was just the greatest thing EVER! Here are a few pictures of her in all her glory, and then the bottom is the video of her class practicing their dance. You may need to turn the volume up pretty loud to hear the song. It's Shirley Temple's "Oh My Goodness".

Bedrest...sort of

Well, I called my doctor last night because I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart. They weren't painful, and were very clearly braxton-hicks, but too regular for my comfort. I tried the old stand-by of drinking water and laying on my left side for an hour to see if they went away....they did not. So, I called the doctor on call and she sent me to the hospital. The nurse hooked me up to 2 monitors, one for contractions, and one for Emery's heartrate, and I sat...Emery did not. She did not at all like the monitor and literally kept kicking it off. Fiesty little girl! Every time the nurse would get the monitor positioned correctly, Emery would twist, move, or kick and knock it right off the signal. That at least kept me entertained while I sat and waited for the next contraction.

After about an hour of still continuous contractions, the nurse came in and said that they were going to keep me overnight and give me 2 shots of brethene (sp?) 30 minutes apart and then oral tributaline (sp?) every 4 hours all night long. These are medications (the same thing, I think, just different ways of giving it) to stop contractions and calm the uterus. Well, it worked and after the first shot I only had a few contractions all night long.

The doctor came in this morning, and said he was going to keep me one more night for monitoring, and I just about cried. I asked if there was any way I could go ahead and go home, since I hadn't been contracting, and the baby is clearly fine (still kicking at the monitor constantly). He gave in and let me leave, but not before a first shot of beta-methadone (spelling again?) which is a steroid shot to mature Emery's lungs in case she is born too early (I had the same thing with Bekah, and her lungs were great when she was born).

I have to go back tomorrow morning for a second steroid injection, and I'm now on the trebutaline every 4 hours around the clock. If anyone has ever had to take that, then you know how awful it is. It makes your heart race and you feel shaky all over. I was on it with Bekah for about 2 weeks and it was pretty un-fun. I'm not looking forward to 3 months of it this time!

I am also on very restricted activity, though not official bed-rest. My doctor says I need to take it easy, and sit or lay down whenever possible (has he met my kids??). I can still work, but no coaching, and I have to be sitting down the majority of the day. Oh, and no lifting, exercising (ha ha!), driving long distances, or intercourse (TMI, I know, but it's 3 months!!). At least it will be easier with 4, 5 and 1o year olds than it was with a 6 year old and a 12 month old.

So, I am almost 28 weeks, and she is NOT ready to be born. I will do whatever is in my power to keep her in and give her the most comfortable home I can for the next 3 months. My goal is 40 weeks, but given that I haven't yet gotten past 36, I am really aiming for anything past that.

I know this is a lot of information, and it is really more for me to remember than for anyone else, but I thought I'd keep everyone posted! Thank you in advance for your prayers for our healthy little girl.