The Closet Project

Thanks to my skilled husband & dad we now have a new closet in Claire's room. The old one was original to the house & quite dated. It was ripped out & they built a new closet that looks so good! Thank you Cory & Dad for your hard work!!! You made it look so easy.

The old closet with built in drawers below.

Old closet

My dad had the old closet ripped out in just a few hours

Here's the new one!! It has a conventional door & now goes with the rest of the house

It's starting to be filled with all things pink & purple! Inside the closet to the left, there are some shelves built in. I love it so much more than the old one!

Baby Shower #1

My sisters threw me a wonderful baby shower last Saturday. It was so nice & wonderful to see family & friends. We enjoyed some great food & visiting. We received so many wonderful gifts for Claire...thank you everyone!

Cute & delicious favors that my sisters made-chocolate covered Oreos on a stick!

So many great gifts!!!

Wall hangings for Claire's room

Yep, we can't wait to meet you Claire!

Just had to add this pic-Carter reading a Thomas book in his room after church last Sunday.

By the way, he is feeling so much better!!!

Thanks for a great day!!!
(My friends from church are throwing me another shower tomorrow. We sure are spoiled!

I'll post about that one soon!)

PINK

I knew that the color pink was going to start taking over our house, I just didn't know it would affect Carter so much. Yesterday morning Carter woke up with green, goopy eyes & it turned out to be PINK EYE.
His eyes weren't really pink, but I had a feeling that it was coming on so I called his dr.'s office & they prescribed some eye drops for him. They said that it isn't contagious after using the drops for 24 hours, which I was happy to hear since Jolynne, Bryan & the girls will be back this evening.
When it was time for his nap he threw a fit & wouldn't lay down. He said his ear hurt, which he has never said before. We went from laying on his bed to rocking in the glider about 10 times & he was just very restless. I knew he was so tired, but he wouldn't fall asleep. Cory came home from work a few hours early to try & calm him down. I called back to the dr office thinking that maybe he had an ear infection. We got an appointment & the whole way to the office he was crying, which is not like him at all. He also mentioned in the car that his tummy hurt.
While sitting in the waiting room, Carter walks over to me & throws up, all over my pants & shirt & all over the carpet in the waiting area. Now he's crying & I start getting tears in my eyes as people are staring at us & I look like my water has just broke, walking down the hall with wet pants.
The doctor confirms that he does have pink eye and an ear infection, both a first for little Carter. So now we have him on oral antibiotics, eye drops, ear drops & tylenol. I had to start writing down what I have given him & at what time since all of the dosing is different!
I had a hair appointment last night, so Cory & Carter went over to my mom's so that Cory could help my Dad with his truck. I get a call from Cory saying that they are going home & that Carter has been crying & irritable for a few hours. A few minutes later he called back & said that my sister Courtney was rocking him & he fell asleep. When my appointment was done I go pick them up & Carter wakes up, almost delirious, saying something like "Mommy, I'm so glad you're here. I want you mommy."
We're thinking it's going to be a long night of rocking him or sleeping on the couch with him, since his ear hurts. We give him all his meds & I read him a story in bed, like usual & he goes to sleep and doesn't wake up until 7:30 this morning!! Hallelujah!!! He gets out of bed & says "Mommy, I went to the doctor, I all better!" His eyes are clear this morning, but he still has a little puffiness in his cheeks. When I put the ear drops in he says "Mommy, it's too loud." Must be something with the drops going down his ear canal. I know the feeling, I hate putting drops in my ears. Looks like we are headed for a quick recovery. He needs to be better by Saturday, for our trip on the Polar Express. He talks about it everyday!

**On a side note, I went to the dr this morning & he said I'm about 1/2cm dialted, which I think he said just to make me feel better!! It doesn't look like Claire is going to come any time soon. We'll keep you posted!!!

Poor little guy. His eyes looked so sad.
Still cute though!!

This is how I thought the whole night was going to be. Luckily he was fine in bed!!

Here's what he looked like when he realized that Cory was taking his picture!!

LEATHERBY'S

WARNING: This post is not meant to torture any of you that know what Leatherby's is & are not here to enjoy it!

Tori & her clown ice cream
Alyson & Carter sharing "Paul's Royal Raspberry Fudge Sundae"

Sadie is loving her cookies & cream ice cream.

Cory's sister Jolynne & her family were in town for the night on their way to Disneyland. Jolynne had heard of Leatherby's but had never been, so she twisted my arm (yeah right!!) and we went to enjoy some delicious ice cream.

Carter & the girls had a lot of fun playing together & he is looking forward to seeing them again in a few days on their way home from the Magic Kingdom!

Home Office

Here's what our home office used to look like. Pretty unorganized & so easy to become a mess.

This corner desk was huge! We're so glad we have changed this to become Claire's room. *Pictures of that transformation will come soon.

Here is our new computer armoire. Everything fits nicely inside & we can close the door to hide the computer whenever we like.

Here it is with the door opened. It fits perfectly in our dining area & it is nice to be out of a bedroom & be able to hear Carter playing.

R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G!!!

I received a gift certificate to have a spa pedicure done for my birthday & it was so nice & perfect timing! I really enjoyed the hot stones that the lady rubbed on my lower legs & feet & also the hot wax that she had me soak my feet in. Thank you Jen for the perfect birthday present!!! (And you can see that my feet aren't nearly as swollen as they were with Carter!)
**I also enjoyed an hour body massage a few weeks ago. It sure is nice to be pampered!

31 Years Ago.....

This is what I looked like 31 years ago today!

8 lb. 7 1/2 oz. 20" long

How can I already be 31????

36 Weeks (And Definately Counting!!!)

Mommy & Carter showing how big our bellies are

4 more weeks!!

Here I am at 36 weeks. I feel big & am starting to be pretty uncomfortable. I am so looking forward to another wee one, but have decided with this pregnancy that I don't enjoy being pregnant so much. Here's some of the things that I won't miss:

• 
  
  Back pain: It's pretty bad some days. I've had a bad back for many years, so carrying an extra (i'm not going to say!!!) lbs. around doesn't seem to help.


• 
  
  Heart Burn: Let's just say I've gone through a whole bottle of TUMS and I'm on my second bottle. I usually have to chew a couple of those when I get up in the night.


• 
  
  Insomnia: Up until a few weeks ago when we got a t.v. in our room I would be up for hours at night trying to fall asleep. Now I just turn that baby on & am out so fast!I don't know why the t.v does that, but I am so glad I am getting better sleep. The midwife at my doctor's office suggested drinking some hot chocolate before bed to help me sleep. I do that some nights but it leads to this next problem:


• 
  
  Going to the bathroom: A few weeks ago I was going like 4 times a night!!! Then it was taking me forever to fall back asleep after, so you can imagine I wasn't getting much sleep in the night!!! Good thing Carter is still taking wonderful naps!! Now I'm down to about 2 times a night, sometimes only once, which is so nice!


• 
  
  Leg cramps (otherwise known as a Charlie Horse): Can I tell you how painful these are! I get them in my calf, usually when I am asleep & wake up in extreme pain. About a month ago I got one in my right calf at 4am & it did not go away for 30 minutes. I layed on the couch trying to work it out but it took FOREVER! By the way, did you know the Cosby Show is on from 4-5am on Nick Jr?


• 
  
  Swelling: If any of you saw me pregnant with Carter you know what I am talking about! I couldn't wear shoes for the last 1-2 months of my pregnancy with him. Luckily, it hasn't come to that yet, but when I take my socks off at night I have some swelling that isn't exactly the most attractive thing to look at.


• 
  
  Sore Ribs: Getting kicked in the ribs is not the funnest thing...and it's not Cory or Carter doing it! Little Miss Claire is just making herself really comfortable & some of those kicks get me right in the ribs.


• 
  
  Braxton Hicks Contractions: Yep, we're having those this time around. And having been induced with Carter I don't even know when to leave for the hospital. I'm sure I'll figure it out when I am in some serious pain but the thought of not knowing when it will happen is a little crazy. Luckily these "false" contractions aren't too painful, my stomach just gets really, really tight & stops me in my tracks.


• 
  
  Doctor visits: I am so ready to be done going to the doctor. This week I start my weekly appointments. It's pretty ridiculous. My visit lasts about 2 minutes (not joking...check my blood pressure & baby's heartbeat & I'm out the door) but sitting in the waiting room for at least an hour before I am seen is getting really old! I really, really like my doctor, but I've only seen him once during this pregnancy. I've seen the midwife for most visits & I do like her, but my doctor better be at this delivery! I have paid A LOT of money for this little one & hope that he is at the hospital that day!

So why do I go through all of this pain & discomfort? Because it is all worth it in the end. I am so excited for this little girl to join our family, I can't even tell you how much. I am also so grateful that our Heavenly Father is trusting me with one of his little children. With all of my complaining I can definately say that I would do it again (maybe once more!!) & look forward to meeting my new daughter!!

It Made My Day!

The other night Carter was laying next to me in our bed. He said

"Mommy, you're my best friend. I love you too much!"