36.5 Weeks Baby 2

Here's the latest picture of my belly!

I looked back to see how I was feeling with Lucy and it seems like I am doing better than I was at 36 weeks back then.


I took the two pictures at different angels so it's a bit hard to tell, but I think my belly is about the same size? At this point with Hank I have not had much swelling at all. I have definitely noticed some, but I can still wear my wedding ring most of the time and there are only a couple pairs of shoes I can't wear (with Lucy I could only wear 1 pair of my shoes because my feet were so swollen). I am however starting to feel very stretched and like there isn't much room left in my belly for this boy to grow. It often feels like he's kicking his feet up into my ribs and when he gets into a weird position it feels like my skin is about to rip apart (oh great... here come the stretch marks).

I think I've gained a bit less than with Lucy at this point too... I'm at about 32 pounds, where I think I was closer to 36/37 with Lucy.

Sleep is sometimes good, sometimes bad. I usually get up to use the bathroom 1-2 times per night and sometimes I get back to sleep no problem, sometimes I lay awake for about 1-2 hours. I haven't been to exhausted (mentally anyway) though, I think God prepares our bodies to start getting used to being up all night. But I do think I am sleeping better than with Lucy and I have a lot less back pain. It's amazing what not sitting at a desk all day does for your body.

Can't believe we are in the final stretch, I am so excited to meet this little boy and to see what life with two kids is like. But I think I'm most excited to see my toes again :)

Kisses for Hank

Here's another video from when we were just laying around the house... have I mentioned how much Lucy likes to tape and watch herself. I think she'd do this all day if I'd let her! This video does a good job showing how verbal Lucy has become - saying three word phrases, speaking much more clearly (one day she repeated us saying "not today" and we thought it was the cutest thing ever), mimicing everything we say (I'm not sure who, but somebody taught her to say "no way", so now instead of "no" we get to hear that), and talking in full sentences with made up words in the middle (i.e. I can make out the first and last words, but everything in the middle is toddler gibberish) - but my favorite part in this video is when she gives Hank a kiss... so precious.

IU Homecoming

Looking back on this month of posts has made me realize how busy we have been these past couple months! I think we definitely wanted to fit in as much fun before Hank comes (not that he won't be fun, but we just know life will be different) and enjoy the fall weather as much as possible. This post should bring me up to date with our activities...

This past weekend we went down to IU for homecoming. I think we've made it to at least one IU football game every year since we graduated, and I love that we are able to keep the tradition alive despite our growing family. And of course when I say IU football game, I actually mean IU football game tailgate, I think we've only been to a game once... but I guess that's what happens when your team has a losing record every year.

I didn't grab many photos, but here are a few from the day...

Lucy and Drew before heading to IU. Drew didn't come, so we missed getting to play with him, but at least they got to see each other before we left! I'm not sure what I'm more impressed with - that they are both smiling or that they are both standing still!


Our little cheerleader at the game...


And here she is last year at homecoming...


Eatting M&M's with dad (one of her favorites!)


The boys...


Of course I forgot to grab a picture of the girls... but oh well, at least I am documenting that we were there.

We're Ready For Hank!

This is a little bit of a catch-all post, but as I was looking through my pictures I realized they all had to do with one thing: preparing for the arrival of baby Hank! This past month I have been in major nesting mode- getting the nursery ready, washing newborn clothes, installing the car seat, and setting up the bassinet. Here's some pictures from along the way...

The big sister... she may not really know what's about to come, but we talk about Hank a lot and being a big sister...




The below picture may not look like it has a lot to do with Hank, but if you look closely you can see a sling on Ben's arm. That's right, at 35 weeks pregnant, we thought it'd be a good idea for Ben to have surgery on his shoulder! Ben had a tear that he just found out about and since Hank is coming soon, we decided it would be smarter (financially) to have the surgery this year, since our deductible will be met with having the baby. It actually hasn't been that bad and after only a week Ben is feeling great, able to have a lot of motion with his arm and has already gotten back into the swing of helping with Lucy and the house (even it if it is with one arm at times!) Which is good, because I'm only getting more and more immobile and uncomfortable as this little boy grows!


Lucy moved to her big girl bed! And is loving it... in fact, she often asks to get up in her bed during the day just to lay around for a little bit. I'm not sure if this is because this is the only place she can have her paci's or if it's because she loves the bed, but either way, I'm just happy she likes hanging out in there. We had no trouble with the transition and she has only gotten out of bed a few times and as soon as I put her back in bed she doesn't get out again. She'll even just lay in bed and play after she wakes up! I was really sad to move her out of her crib (my baby girl is growing up!) but the fact that she loves the bed so much has made it much easier.

Here she is playing one day...






And here she is all curled up at night...


Some how she always escapes out of her covers, so I usually go in to tuck her back in. Look how tiny she looks in that big bed!


And so of course that means... Hank's crib is ready! I originally didn't think we'd move Lucy to the big girl bed till after Hank was born, but after talking with the doctor and some friends, we decided to move her before he came. So now I will get to really start decorating and hopefully have the room somewhat ready by the time he arrives... here's a look at what we've done so far!


And the latest thing I got set up was our bassinet for Hank. With Ben only having one arm, and with my strong nesting instinct, I've learned a lot about how to assemble things in our home! I guess it's probably good I know how to do a couple things around here :) While I was getting things set up, Lucy of course wanted to check things out for herself...


We're ready for your baby Hanky (as Lucy calls him) and can't wait to meet you!

The Children's Museum

A couple weeks ago we decided to do a staycation here in Indy. Ben had some vacation days left he needed to use up, we wanted to save some money, and I was really wanting to have some family time and do the things in Indy we never really have time to do because we are usually pretty busy on the weekends. We ended up going to Chicago for the weekend to watch Katy in the marathon, but the rest of the time we stayed home and had fun just the three of us. One thing Ben and I both wanted to do was go to the Children's Museum so that was our first outing!

(We actually had also planned to go to an apple orchard but at the end of the staycation I had come down with a really bad cold and Ben made an appointment to have his shoulder looked at so we spent one of our days at the doctor's office. This would then lead into another week of sickness for me and Ben ending up needing shoulder surgery... maybe that's why I'm so behind on my blogging!!)

Our first stop was the Barbie exhibit! Unfortunately I forgot my camera in the car, but I got some shots with my phone...






They have a little run way where you can dress up and walk down like a model - I don't think Lucy fully got this, but she of course loved all the attention...




Then we headed over the the wonderworks exhibit for a little more hands on fun. I think Ben enjoyed being at the museum as much as Lucy!




And of course, a trip to the Children's Museum would not be complete without a ride on the carousel (of course I hated this as a child, so I'm hoping my fear of "fast" moving objects is not passed on to Lucy!)


We were all exhausted by the time we got home - but I was so glad we went and am excited to get a family pass this winter so Lucy can get some of her energy out when it's snowy and cold outside.

The Library

Lucy and I usually go to the library every couple weeks to return books and check out some new ones. She loves to read, and I love to have something different to read (there are about 5 books in our house that she wants to read several times each day)! I snapped a couple pictures on this day - Our friend Kristy visited recently and somehow convinced Lucy to keep bows on her head (or "hats" as Lucy calls them), so I've been having fun dressing her up! I also just thought she looked so grown up with her jeans, sneakers and backpack ready to go to the library...


But first, as soon as she saw me snap a picture, we had to turn the camera around so she could look at herself. I'm having a lot of trouble taking pictures these days without her trying to grab my phone!

I guess she thought she looked pretty cute too :)

At the library I usually sit while Lucy brings me several books (we're talking 20-30!) to read to her, then I sneak a couple of my favorites into her bag to go check out.




Then with a bag full of books, we head home!

Goofy

This video is from a couple weeks ago, maybe even a month! But I just love it so much and love how goofy Lucy is in it, so I just had to post it. It's probably long and boring to most, but to me it shows how energetic, silly, happy and fun our little girl is. I want to make sure I always remember these days!

By the way, this is taken with my phone, while Lucy is watching herself, so it's not the best quality, but it's hard to get pictures/video of her without her getting to see herself these days!

Recipes - October

I haven't been keeping up with this, and as I thought more about what I want to accomplish by writing these recipes down, I realized I really just need to make a quick note about meals I like to make and then hopefully one day I'll put all the meals together in a cook book and never have to say to myself... "what should I make for dinner?"

So here's a random bunch of meals I've made the past month:
Breakfast Casserole: (I made two of these) http://www.bhg.com/recipe/eggs/farmers-casserole-for-12/ (with sausage) - one of our very favorites, and http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amish-breakfast-casserole/detail.aspx (with bacon) - another one of our favorites... the sausage is less time consuming to make, but a lot of people seem to like the bacon one too.

Stromboli: this recipe I got from a friend who brought us a meal with Lucy, and it is one of our favorites... we made the pizza one with green pepppers, onions, sausage, pepperoni and cheese.

1st - Ham & Cheese Stromboli

1 frozen bread dough
2 or 3 cups of any type of shredded cheese you like
2 or 3 cups luncheon meat ham cut into small pieces
Mustard of any kind

I hate to tell you this but I never measure my ingredients when I make this, it is all kind of a guess. Brian likes a lot of meat and cheese so I just add until it looks like enough! Only Linnea and myself like mustard so I only add mustard to one of my loaves, the other one is just meat and cheese.
Thaw out the bread dough for 4 or 5 hours (until completely thawed out and easy to roll out). Then roll is out so it is fairly wide (about 5 inches). Spread the mustard on top of the bread dough (as much as you like) then add half of the cheese putting it down the center of the bread length wise. Then add the meat on top of the cheese and then the rest of the cheese on top of the meat. Fold one side of the dough into the center and then take the other side and pull it into the center but overlapping a little onto the side you just rolled up. Then take either end and fold them down on top of the sides (kind of like you are wrapping a present) then very carefully flip the entire bread loaf onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown.

2nd - Pizza Stromboli

1 frozen bread dough
1 can pizza sauce
1 lb. ground beef cooked
2 or 3 cups mozzarella cheese

Do the same as above except put half of cheese on the bottom then mix pizza sauce and hamburger together put on top of cheese and then add the rest of the cheese on top of meat sauce. You can add pepperoni or any other ingredients that you like on your pizza. The rest of the directions are the same as above.

Pretzels: http://www.sprinklesofparsley.com/2011/01/homemade-auntie-annes-pretzels.html - yum, these were a hit! and are super easy to make

Chicken Tortilla Soup (can't remember if I posted this one yet) - another one of Ben's favorites, serve with fried tortilla strips, cheese and sour cream. http://www.food.com/recipe/max-ermas-chicken-tortilla-soup-148807

Cobb Salad- this was pretty easy and fast to make, I didn't add egg or bacon because I didn't want to dirty too many dishes, http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/southwestern-cobb-salad-92069.aspx?cm_mmc=eml-_-rbe-_-20110823-_-1014&cm_lm=147A734116A31DAF7E13920CFD7B027A

Winter Squash Soup- yum! this was delicious, although no one in my home was a big fan except me, so this might be a good recipe to take for a girls night or something. http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/the-leaf-peeps/

Apple Crisp- also from the same blog post as above, this was also delicious and super easy to make! I added pecans to the topping. http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/the-leaf-peeps/

Weekend Getaways

I'm still really behind on updating the blog, so I decided to make this a catch all post for a couple things Ben and I have done without Lucy. Since this blog is mostly about her, I figured it'd be ok if I skimped a little on these trips... but I still want to make sure I remember that we had time to get away during this phase in our life. I hope Ben and I always remember to make time for our marriage and make time for ourselves!

Over a month ago I had another girls weekend away (I know what you're thinking, this girl is super lucky - and you are right, Ben agreed to watch Lucy while I traveled with girl friends for three weekends this summer, he knew it was important for me to have some time to recharge, and I was so thankful he supported me going on these trips!) Labor Day weekend I went to Pigeon Forge with Courtney and Beth - we had a great trip with lots of laying out time by the Lazy River, relaxing time in our super deluxe condo, and did a couple touristy things each night. We all agreed Pigeon Forge was a little to family/touristy for us, but I'm still glad we went and experienced it! We just know not to go back till we all take our kids :)

A couple highlights: seeing a magic show at the Wonderworks building... I think we spent most our time laughing AT the magician, not WITH him, but oh well, we had fun!


We ate at a couple good spots: the Dixie Stampede (dinner and a show!), a Japanese hibachi grill, and a small country restaurant (I can't remember the name of).


A few weeks later, Courtney and Ian took Ben and I to a Colts game, so we (or should I say my mom) returned the favor by taking them out to dinner at Ruth's Chris before. It was an awesome night, with amazing food and amazing seats (we were in the second row). Definitely not something any of us could afford on our own, so we were all appreciative of the free tickets and free dinner!


Lastly, we headed up to Chicago last weekend for a last trip before the baby comes and to watch Katy in the Chicago Marathon. We had planned to take Lucy, but both sets of grandparents offered to watch her so we figured we couldn't pass up an opportunity like that! I was so glad we didn't take her, it was a super relaxing weekend plus it would have been stressful trying to get her around as we tried to find Katy in the marathon. A couple shots from the trip...

Waiting for Katy...


We spotted her 3 times (although she only saw us twice) which was a pretty good accomplishment considering how crazy busy the city was that day. Go Katy!


I'm guessing things are going to slow down over the next month as we get closer to my due date, but I must say we've had an amazing summer full of lots of fun trips and lots of fun activities in Indy. I can't believe how fast time has flown by!

Hank's Sprinkle

Last week our Bible Study surprised us by throwing a "sprinkle" (i.e. smaller shower) for baby Hank! One of my prayer requests at our previous study had been to be less anxious about all the stuff we still needed for Hank, and they totally heard my prayer and responded - what an amazing group of friends!

Everyone brought over some food and lots of clothes for Hank. I was so excited to have a chance to celebrate this little guy.


Our small group:


Going through all the clothes after everyone left...


I mean is this boy spoiled already or what???


I think we're going to be set on clothes for awhile! We are so thankful for such an amazing group and feel so blessed to have each one of these people in our lives.

Pumpkin Patch

Last Sunday we headed over to a pumpkin patch near our farm, to have a little family time and celebrate fall!

We went to this same pumpkin patch last year...




And I'm amazed at how much has changed in just a year!








Lucy loved walking around, playing with the farm dogs, and trying to pick up pumpkins. This one was a little big for her!


We also got to take a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch...




But we decided to walk back and let our little ball of energy run around for a bit.


All in all it was a great day! We are trying to soak up as many memories as a family of three and get out a lot before our lives get turned upside down soon!