What we are up to

It is so so so so so busy around our house these days. Imagine that! :)

I am trying my best to keep up. Laundry, dishes, lunches packed, busy big boys worn out at the end of the day, feedings, naps (the boys, not mine, unfortunately!), snuggle time (not nearly enough of this with any of my boys), diaper changes (totally out of practice on this one and have been sprayed more times than I care to admit!!), baths, storytime, sleep ... oh sleep, how I miss you.

Anyway, just wanted to post a few pics and a few words about what we have been up to.

Mason loves his littlest brother
The boys can find the mud! Seriously... click on the pic to enlarge it and look at Miles' legs. And face. CRAZY! Good thing our huge new shower is finished!All that playing in the mud can really wear a boy out. Resting on the boppy and watching a video. Life just doesn't get much better for a 2-year old!

Learning to be a big brother.

Hello World!

We did Max's newborn pics the morning after he was born. Karen was there to catch big brothers meeting Max for the first time. Mason was smitten. Miles was, well, not sure about anything that morning other than the fact that he was ready to G-O!!!

We did catch a quick pic of Miles kissing Max and our new family of 5...!!!!!

Before the tornadoes boys got there, Mommy had some sweet cuddle time with her newest little man.

And Daddy had a few minutes with Max afterwards. And now, I will leave you with one more picture, just to leave your heart full of joy....

My heart is absolutely, positively overflowing!

Thanks, Karen for catching these amazing moments of a once-in-a-lifetime day!

Welcome Max

Maddox Ethan Kimball joined our family on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 1:26 PM.

He weighs 7 lbs, 3 oz and is 19 1/4" long.

He is beyond handsome and loved by his two big brothers!

More pics to come soon!

Wordless Wednesday - Family of 4

Soccer

Soccer has started again. Mason is playing with the Y league and is in the youth league this year rather than the rookie league.
Practices are Wednesdays at 5:45pm and games are Saturday morning.
We are taking a break from swim lessons this fall.
A new baby and one kid in soccer are plenty for this mommy to keep up with.
Maybe in the spring we will look at swim again.
Next fall if Miles wants to play soccer as well, we will suddenly be very busy...!

Sept 11 - and a sono

After browsing through a few blogs and news sites, I am feeling nostagic about 9/11 and the events that we all think of about that date. I am saying a prayer for not only the survivors, the vicitms and their families, but also for the soldiers and their families that have worked so diligently since then to protect our country. I pray that 9/11 is only a day that our boys learn about in history class and not an event that is ever repeated in their lifetime. Like Pearl Harbor for us vs. our grandparent's generation. A date, a tragic event, a movie. But not quite real. Not quite the same horror to us. Not like 9/11. Hopefully we won't have to have two terrible dates etched into our memories of our country being attacked

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In happier news, we had a sonogram this morning to check on Max and more specifically my c-section incision. It looks like it is holding strong and we will continue to let Max cook as long as he needs. Or, at least until 9/21. Since today is nearly over, just 9 more days. 9 more days. I know that things will be difficult once he is here, but I also am excited to meet him and not be so uncomfortable in my own skin!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the MUCH cooler weather! Hello 80's!!! :)

A new week

13 days to go.
I am focusing on the 21st. I know that we will meet Max at least by then. Maybe before, but there is no way to know that, so I am setting myself up for the 21st.

13 days.

Deep breath.

Just feeling tired. I am having contractions all day now. They are usually 15-20 minutes apart. In the evenings, they usually get closer and do not slow/stop until I go to sleep. Unfortunately, that cannot be at 6 or 7PM when they really get going. The cx are just making me tired and cranky. They are (usually) not terribly painful, but uncomfortable.

So, that is where we are at today.

We were busy over the long weekend. The blinds are back up in Max's room. The rug arrived. I cleaned the sofa cushions. We moved the boy's seats around in the car and put Max's car seat in. (That one took an hour and a half and literally brought me to tears!!!) It's a little overwhelming to think about going out with 3 kids. It is a lot of work to get 2 in and out, so adding a third is going to add, well, I am not even sure what it is going to add at this point.

Thanks to all our friends for the sweet e-mails, calls and offers to help with the boys. They are all appreciated and helpful during this crazy time in our lives!

still cooking

I had contractions Wednesday night that were 4-7 minutes apart but stopped when I went to bed.
Thursday morning, they were 8 minutes apart so I called my OB and they sent us to labor and delivery to be monitored for a couple of hours. We got there about 4:30PM.
I stayed in labor and delivery until about 10 last night.
Contractions were consistent at 2-5 minutes apart, so they kept me overnight for monitoring.
Thankfully, two doses of meds stopped the contractions.
Baby Max is 37 weeks tomorrow. So, they really want him to cook another week to make sure his lungs are developed. However, my OB did tell me that if I come in again with contractions, he is not going to stop my labor, he will just cart us off to the OR for a c-section.

We did have a sono this morning and my previous c-section incision looks good. So, on that note and totally inconsistent contractions this morning, they sent us home. No restrictions (ie: no bed rest) but just waiting to see what the weekend holds. I have to go see my OB Tuesday morning.

On a fun note, the sono revealed a few clues about Max....remember I am 36wks 6 days
His leg measures 34weeks 4 days (short?)
His tummy measures 38 weeks 4 days (her words: he hasn't missed many meals)
His head measures 39 weeks 6 days (Seriously? Apparently we make big-headed babies!!!!)
Overall: 37 weeks 4 days. Estimated weight: 7lb 3 oz or approx 63%.
So, overall he is a little large (I know, big surprise for me, huh???) but not huge. Except that melon on his shoulders. Makes me happy I don't have to push him out. Thankful for c-sections!

But, I can hardly wait to kiss his sweet chubby cheeks and count those precious fingers and toes!

Grandpa is voting we meet Max on Saturday - 9/5 - his birthday.
Uncle Kelley is voting we meet Max on Wednesday - 9/16 - his birthday.
Auntie Kim is voting he waits until she gets to town on 9/16 as well.
Anyone else want to get in on the fun? Leave us a comment and let us know when you think we will meet Max. The prize for the closest guess???? YOU get to be Max's favorite Aunt/Uncle/Cousin (and mommy's if the date is soon!) for the day! :) Who could ask for more????? :)

Max - sooner rather than later???

Since I use this blog to 1) brag on our kids (hey, just being honest!), 2) keep everyone updated on the day-to-day in our lives and 3) to serve as a journal for me.
So, here is an update for the last few days.....

I had contractions last night that were 3-5 minutes apart for a couple of hours. They did slow/stop overnight. I talked to the nurse this morning (my OB is off today) and after getting my hand spanked for not heading into labor and delivery, we agreed to wait and see what happened today.
This morning while at the church for a class I help lead, I had cx every 8 minutes for about an hour. Since getting home and sitting on the couch while the boys are resting/napping, they have slowed way down (about 15 mins apart).
But, I did call back and left a msg for the nurse again asking to be checked in the office this afternoon (so as to hopefully avoid a needless trip to l&d).

So, Grandpa may get his wish to have MEK3 born on his birthday (Saturday 9/5). I am 36 weeks 5 days, so they will not stop labor, they will go ahead with an emergency c-section. I have been told several times that since this is my 3rd, they do not want me to go into full-blown labor. Since white boy's lungs develop the slowest, please say a prayer that he will stay put a little longer and if it is his time to be born, that there would be no complications with his breathing or anything else.

Wordless Wednesday - Play hard, crash hard

Another peek

Here's another peek at Max's room.

Paint went up on the walls this weekend.

Blinds and curtains need to be re-hung.

Rug has to be ordered.

Need a few more things for the walls (they are in the works)....

but for now, here you go....

I LOVE the wall color. So calming.

I LOVE the tree mural. SO MANY thanks to two of the most talented and generous friends (Keely and Irini) for taking their Saturday to paint it for me while I just sat and chatted with them.

I LOVE the birds in the tree. Three little blue birds represent our three sweet boys.

I LOVE the bedding in the crib. Nana did an amazing job (as always) making my crazy dreams a reality!

3 weeks. From yesterday.

19 days. It is official. We are in the teens in the countdown. Single digits will be here soon. I can't wait and am scared to death all at the same time.....