I think this is called nesting...?

In 3 1/2 days we will have our second baby, Isaac Jude. That is so crazy to think about! I find myself feeling very overwhelmed by the thought of it, and yet, I'm anxious at the same time. I feel like i have so much to do, in terms of getting the house ready and cleaned up, so it's nice to come home to from the hospital. I ran a ton of errands today to get last minute things finished up before I'm incapacitated! Grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions and sending out thank you notes from my shower and making sure we have diapers for everybody! ha! Am I really ready for this? I hope so! It feels like we just went through this... and I guess it really wasn't that long ago!

I was cuddling with my little munchkin tonight and realizing how much I'm going to miss him while I'm in the hospital. I have only been away from him for one night at a time... so this is going to be the longest we've been apart. Is it weird that I'm really sad that I'm going to have to be away from him? When we first got pregnant, I was talking to a mom of three, and she said something that has stuck with me, and helped me cope with the fact that I'm going to be away from Joshua: This time in the hospital with baby number 2, is the ONLY time that it is just going to be the three of you alone... so take advantage of it, and don't worry about anything else. I think that might be easier said than done for me!

Please pray for us this next week. More than anything, I'm worried about my little joshy... and how he's going to do without me. haha, maybe you should pray for my parents who have to take care of him!! I hope my recovery is just as easy as my first, and that everything goes smoothly with the delivery etc. Pray that Isaac is healthy and happy, and loves to sleep! :)

5 days and counting

I just really like this picture :)

We have five days until our scheduled c-section. It's a little bit crazy to think about... to wrap my head around. I'm growing increasingly more uncomfortable, but I'm trying to enjoy this time and be thankful that I don't have a newborn right now. I remember being very anxious for Josh to arrive, and then when he was here, I wished I could shove him back "up there" so i could just sleep at night! ha! I have several contractions, but they aren't painful, just uncomfortable. It's so weird how different this pregnancy feels from my first. Some of my friends even tell me that I look different this time around. I haven't taken nearly as many photos this time, mainly because I just haven't thought about it. I do need to take one sometime before Tuesday though... for my belly book :)

Today, we cleaned up the house, and got the baby stuff down from the attic and I'm actually washing all of that stuff right now. Jude and I are both nervous and excited about the new addition to our family. TWO kids?? What are we going to do with ourselves? ha! I'm so thankful that Jude will have almost three weeks off... although, I just might die when he goes back to work!

The weather in SoCal has been so beautiful this past week! We've gone to the park the past two days, and let Joshua play. There were a ton of kids there too, which was fun for him. We fed the ducks and he ran around wanting to pet them :) Those geese sure are aggressive! And then, on our way back to the car, Josh fell right in the mud! He was really upset to have his hands and knees muddy! Too bad I didn't get a picture of him belly down in the mud!

I absolutely love Jude's work schedule! It's so great having him home for three days, and being able to spend time together. Joshua really enjoys it too!

Joshy is getting really good at riding his tricycle, and today for the first time, he wore the bronco jersey that we bought probably 4 years ago for our 'future child.' He looked so cute! And he thought it was SO cool that Daddy had one just like his! I took pictures, so as soon as i download them, I'll have to post some! Very cute!

Jude and I celebrated valentine's day last night, and it was so nice. We went to see a movie and had dinner at one of our favorite places, roman cucina. We both decided we need to really make time for date nights. I know the next couple weeks/months will be a little crazy, but it's something we need to do. I just love valentine's day! Such a great excuse to tell the person you love how much they mean to you. And Jude is very good at spoiling me :)

Tonight we had a lot of fun with Play-Doh! I feel like Josh gets bored with the same old stuff all the time, and I really want to find some activities that are fun, and don't get old (if anybody has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them). So we decided to get some play-doh, and luckily, we found a pack that came with a rolling pin, cookie cutters etc. It was so fun to watch Josh explore with all of that, and play and create. He REALLY liked the toy scissors, and was doing really well with figuring out how they worked. Got to love Play Doh!

Today, Joshua woke up with a runny nose... that's all i need right? A sick toddler with a newborn baby. We're trying to nip it in the bud before it gets worse, but that never seems to work with our son! Please pray that it's just an allergy or something, and it goes away SOON! He also (knock on wood) has been sleeping through the night! SIX nights in a row to be exact! I'm so proud of him, and tell him so every morning! Tonight might be a different story due to his snotty nose, but we'll see.

Anyway... That's all for now :) I always think I'm just going to post a quick something or other, and it ends up being a chapter book! Sorry about that :) If I don't get a chance to post something before our little Isaac arrives, wish us luck, and we'd appreciate any prayers you'd like to send our way!

a little bit overwhelmed

First, a sidenote: In two weeks, we will be having another baby. Just let that sink in for a minute!

Holy Moly!

I'm a part of a women's bible study/mentor program right now, and I absolutely love it! It's so nice to go and be encouraged by women who have been through "this" already, and have such great insight to make us better wives and mothers. This last Saturday, we talked about "Loving our Children" and I walked away feeling so overwhelmed by my job description! I found myself babbling like an idiot when Jude got home from work that day, telling him all that i had learned and all that I want to implement in our family.

I know Josh is still very young, but I think it's so important to start early!

We talked about how we, as parents, set the mood in our home, and is that mood joyful? Do our children feel safe and secure in our home? It should be a safe haven. How our children read our faces for reactions, and take cues on how they should react to certain situations. What kind of looks are we giving our child? And I know for a fact that Joshua already reads my face SO well! How do we want to be remembered as parents and grandparents? Children are a gift from God, and placed in our care. If we love our children, we have to trust that God loves them SO much more. Is the Lord building our house? We are commanded to teach our children the word of God. It's not a suggestion. They asked us to sit down and create five forever qualities that we think are important for our children. We talked about discipline, and consistency, and making sure they know their opinions and feelings matter but that we as parents are to be respected. The best way to lead, is by example. How to make our children feel special. Teaching manners, and what matters the most is how they behave when no one is watching. Memorizing scripture with our kids.

And that's not even everything that we talked about! Now can you see why I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed!? Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and to be honest, I'm kind of excited to start (continue) on this journey. I feel so blessed that God entrusted me with this job in the first place. With Him by my side, anything is possible... now i just have to believe that!

This world we live in is so different from the one I grew up in. And I really want to take the best from my parents example, and change some things as well. I desperately want my kids to remember me as loving them unconditionally. And i want them to love unconditionally as well. I don't want to be judgemental, and I want them to know that their thoughts and feelings are valid. I want them to know joy and hope and see the love between me and Jude. I want family time to be important, and valued. I want to be sensitive, and help them learn how to walk through heartache or pain or whatever hardship they have to go through, and know that I will cry with them. I want my kids to know they can come to me, no matter what. I want my children to be well behaved, and I want to enjoy their company. I want them to know Jesus, and trust Him.

I look at Joshua, and I love him so much. I know I've said this before, but I never thought I could love another human to this degree. I want to soak it all in, and cherish this stage of life. It changes every day, and I know he'll be grown in the blink of an eye. He is such a good boy, and now we have another one on the way! And I know that I will love and adore Isaac in the very same way. Their innocence is so precious to me. I look forward to this next stage of life. And I am up for the challenge to raise them the way God has commanded me to. I know I'm going to screw up, and I know sometimes I will fail... but I trust in God to pick up my slack! I will try my best to raise them in the way they should go, and when they are grown, they will not turn from it.

Who would have thought being a mom was such hard work ;)

Not sure why I thought of this just now, but...

I was so inspired by a speaker named Nick, and I can't remember his last name at the moment... but he was born with no arms or legs...?? Anyway, he was amazing, and i was in tears for most of his sermon. But the hope he has in Jesus is simply astounding. I felt like if I just lived with a TEENY, tiny bit of the hope he lives with, I would be made in the shade.

Just a cute picture :) This was taken a while ago, but I just love it!! My little Joshy :)

Bowling!!

I just had to share... we took Joshy bowling for the first time today, and it was SO cute! He was so excited, and every time he pushed the ball down the lane, he would turn around and hold his arms in the air and say "whoa!" It was precious! And even me, at 37 weeks pregnant, bowled! ha! I might pay for it tomorrow, it felt like quite a work out, but I'm so glad we went. I was kicking myself that I didn't bring my camera... but trust me, it was adorable to watch him bowl!

He also said "please" for the first time yesterday! He has always signed please, and I just kept trying to get him to use his words to say it, and it never kicked in, until yesterday! It's so cute, and he still rubs his belly while saying the actual word, which is adorable.

Isaac is running out of room I think. I'm so achey, it pretty much hurts to walk... which is annoying. I asked my doctor about that, because i didn't experience this with my first pregnancy, and she said it's normal for it to happen the more babies you have. Great right?! How do women have 4, 5, or 6 kids? I don't think I could do it! I'm trying to stay positive, and look on the bright side: at least i don't have to get up every couple hours at night to feed my newborn baby. I remember with Josh, I was SO anxious to have my baby, and then afterwards, I wondered why I was so stinkin' anxious! I just wanted to sleep! ha :)

I'm curious how things are going to change having two kids. I assume it'll be harder, and I'm probably going to have to rely on Jude for a lot more than I ever did with our first child. In some sense, I feel like I'm kinda starting over. Josh is pretty easy, for the most part, and now I'm going all the way back to the starting line! And will I want to do it again, and have a third baby?? I'm not entirely sure anymore :) Of course, I thought that after Josh too... and then somehow you forget all the hard times, and get pregnant again anyway! ha! I guess we'll just see what happens.

My baby shower last Sunday was so nice. I just really appreciate all of my friends and family. It's so nice to feel so loved, and to know how many people care about me and my growing family! It really means a lot to me. And now, I pretty much have everything I need for baby Isaac. We made some returns, and were able to get all the necessities. Now, I just need to go in and clean the room. It feels very dusty to me, so it shouldn't be too much work. I just want it to be nice and clean for him. Meanwhile, the rest of my house feels pretty dusty too, but I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time! My mom said she'd come over and help... so I'm glad I won't have to do it alone!

Jude is really enjoying being on his own at work! His stress level has come down a TON, and he's just happier now. I know it's hard on him, but when he's stressed, it's hard on me too! I feel so helpless, and wish i could do something to help him out! So, I'm about as relieved as he is ;)

Alright, that's all for now :)

Here's a 4D ultrasound picture of little Isaac. His little nose is kind of smushed...