OB appt, birthday celebrations, and sister bumps

Today I had my 36 week appointment, and per usual, everything checked out normal. Good blood pressure, I'm measuring right at 36 weeks, "good weight gain" (as if there is such a thing...), and the doctor said that I was dilated to 1cm. I really take that with a grain of salt though because when I was pregnant with Ryder, they told me that I was dilated to 1cm at my 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40 week appointment....and I went overdue by a week anyways and had to be induced. So when the doctor tells me I'm dilated to 1cm at 36 weeks, I think that a) it doesn't mean anything and b) it's just an OB doctor's way of being nice and giving "hope" that something might happen.

Then tonight for dinner, we headed to Maple Grove to my parent's house to celebrate their 51st birthdays. My mom turned 51 today and my dad turns 51 on March 2nd. Unfortunately I didn't whip out my camera to take any pictures :( But it was fun and Ryder had a good time too. He was being his wild silly self with Uncle Dave and Grandpa Donn!

And THEN, when we got home, Logan and Amy Grace came over to give us a baby gift. Ryder was tired and almost falling asleep in the car, but when he saw Uncle Logan and Auntie Amy he became a wild man again. He stayed up way past his bedtime running around and rough-housing with the boys. Here is a picture of my sister-in-law, Amy Grace, and me with our pregnant bellies. We're 3 days apart in our due dates!!

And here is a picture of Ryder having Auntie Amy "read" him the photo album before bed. I kept telling him it was time for bed, and this was his way of stalling :)

And the last picture is of Ryder sitting in his old infant car seat. I brought the car seat out last night to make sure we had it all ready and when he saw it tonight, he decided he was going to chill in it for awhile....I'm sure he will have NO issues at all when his sister comes out and is using all of his old stuff...oh wait!
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend everyone!

9 month belly picture

Ahh, here we are again...another milestone-->36 weeks! And not that I'm counting or anything, but it's only 23 days from our scheduled c-section. Like I said, not that I'm counting or anything ;) I can definitely say I'm over being pregnant. It's hard getting up and down off the floor with Ryder, and let's not get started on work with all of the lifting/bending/squatting/pushing/pulling/standing on your feet for 12 hour night shifts is NOT a 9 month pregnant lady's idea of a good time. What is a 9 month pregnant lady's idea of a good time???? M&M blizzards from Dairy Queen and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I eat ENTIRELY too many of those (let's just say, I get slightly embarrassed going into the DQ so many times a week because the people recognize us...but obviously not embarrassed enough to actually stop going though!) Anyways, below is a picture of me pregnant with Ryder.

And here is a picture of me this pregnancy. I'm definitely carrying lower with this little girl, which is evident to my bladder. I'll admit it, I pee my pants a little every once in awhile. I have no control over it and it makes me feel like I should be in a nursing home or something. But I guess it's nothing a quick underwear change can't fix!! :)

I have my 36 week appointment on Friday, so I'm sure I'll do an update post at some point this weekend. Have a good rest of the week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Everyone who has kids knows that when you have a toddler, some days are better than others. On the bad days, you try not to pull your hair out while you try to think about and remember the good/fun days ;)

Today I had the best day with Ryder. There was not one tantrum. He listened/followed directions well all day. He put toys away....WITHOUT ME ASKING!! (That's a huge deal, by the way). He was happy and giggling all day, and was quite the ham bone too! There was a lot of laughing. Man I love my little dude :)

We started the day with a good breakfast where nothing was thrown on the ground or spilled. Then we went to ECFE, which is always a hit or miss with him, but today I'm pleased to report he loved school/didn't want to leave/played well with others. After eating well at lunch he had a fantastic nap (Yay for mommy!!!). Daddy got home early from work (yay!!) and brought me flowers (yay!!) and we went and played outside before dinner. Then after dinner Grandpa Paul and Grandma Amy came down to see Ryder for an hour or so before bedtime since they hadn't seen him in awhile. They brought down a heart balloon that he absolutely L.O.V.E.D. He ran around holding the balloon, screaming at the top of his lungs. It's safe to say he was a tad wound up. Just a tad.

He also enjoyed playing with his valentine's day gift-->a fisher price school bus. He was laughing out loud when he realized that it sings/makes noise.

I had a talk with Ryder before he went to bed tonight and asked him if we could do a repeat of this day again tomorrow. It truly makes such a difference (both mentally and physically) when you have such nice days (especially in the winter) with your little ones. I hope everyone had a wonderful Hallmark Holiday today too!

8 1/2 months/34 weeks Belly pics

Once again I find myself saying, "I can't believe I'm already...." 8 1/2 months! I had my 33 week appointment last week and we officially scheduled our c-section for Thursday, March 15th at 1pm. I'm excited that it's at that time of day because then we can still get up and do our regular morning routine with Ryder. And believe me, Ryder likes his morning routine (does anyone else have trouble with their child getting dressed in the morning??? It's literally the worst part of the day for him. The.end.of.the.world. every single day, seriously). Anyways, so 5 weeks from tomorrow is the big day!! Below are some updated belly pictures.

8.5 months with Ryder

8.5 months this time (fairly big, huh??)

8.5 month bare belly when I was pregnant with Ryder

8.5 months bare belly this time around

Well there you have it...big belly in your face! Enjoy the rest of the week and weekend everyone.

Remembering Grandma Cheris

Heaven gained another angel yesterday as Grandma Cheris received "her wings" as the hospice nurse said. It was a long, tough road to the end for Cheris, but even as her dementia took over she still always seemed to make us laugh with her quirky sense of humor :) After numerous health issues over many months, she transitioned over to hospice care last week and finally passed away comfortably yesterday. I was glad Joe and I got to say good bye to her last Sunday afternoon, but I will choose to remember her not like I saw her on Sunday. I will remember her like this:

Here is a picture of her meeting Ryder for the first time in the hospital.

Here is Grandma Cheris with us at Ryder's Baptism

And here is Grandma Cheris enjoying herself last October on her 85th birthday.

You know, because of my work I see people pass away all the time as death is part of the job. But you can't make it personal at work otherwise you would never be able to do your job. Because of this (and the fact that I have been fortunate enough to not have had to deal with death in my own family yet), I had gone into Sunday thinking I would be strong/not cry when I saw Cheris. But when I saw Cheris on Sunday, I was shocked at how fast she changed and how sad it was. I started to think about how she was at the moment compared to how I remembered her being. And what really got me was thinking that she is Paul's mom, and Joe's grandma and it made me think of how hard it must be for them. Needless to say, it was much harder to see her like that than I originally thought. But again, I think the most important thing Joe and I talked about is that you have to remember is that she lived a long life and she's in a better place now. We will remember the good times and not the bad. Rest in peace, Grandma Cheris!