Friday, September 11, 2009

Learning to Let Go

Last night was the first night of many nights of this lesson of learning to let go and trust God when it comes to our children. It is funny because you think you would know this by now. Alex and I didn't realize how closely we held our children until we went to a new/old church for Awana. I say new because Isaiah was too young to remember being there because he was only 1 when we attended the church but it is old because we used to attend this church. I remembered a few days ago that they have the Awana program so I looked them up and called to find out if it was too late to get him registered. We have been debating for some time now if it was worth trying to get him into the program because we are moving sometime in December or January and we didn't know the cost and so forth. We finally said let's let him do it because he is enjoying memorizing scripture for school why not let him get to enjoy other kids his age and still learn about how much God loves him.

So last night was the first club meeting and everything went smoothly until a little girl came and grabbed Isaiah by the hand to take him off because Nathanael wanted to go too but he is only 2 and you have to be at least 3. All we heard was crying for a good ten minutes or so. We were told when the time for cubbies would be over and then we left. As we left we just looked at each other and said this is definitely hard to just leave. It just wasn't the same without our Isaiah. I tried to be brave as I told my husband our little boy is growing up. We had to let go at some point or he will never learn how to be a big boy. We sat in silence for a few minutes and then we had to figure out what to do for the next hour and a half because this church is a good 15-20 minutes from where we live so we went to the case lot sale that the commissary is having and then we took Nathanael to the park and he had such a blast. I think Thursday evenings from now on will be filled with days at the park as long as the weather allows it to happen because at some point it got too cold last night for Naomi to be out. We are definitely in the fall now. As I type this message it is 50 degrees out and it is only 8 something in the morning.... When we went to pick up Isaiah he was excited to see me because he wanted to share with me all the things he did but in between that time he didn't even know we had left the church.

This experience was so very hard for us because we have never left our children with anyone besides our parents and we left Isaiah one time with a friend of ours when I went into labor with Nathanael for a few hours and then both boys with a family we are friends with for a few nights but they spent the days with us while I was in the hospital with Naomi. It was hard for us but it made it easier knowing that the Lord has his hands over our little boy. I can't even imagine how much harder it is going to be when he is older.

Well I hope you have a great day.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Life with 3 Babies

After reading Abby's post I figured why not do this. Since only Nathanael and I are up right now I figured I could do this real quick and then spend some quality time with him.

Things That Have Been Easier That I Imagined

-I would have never imagined that Naomi would have been welcomed into the family as much as she would. I figured the boys would look at her and then go on about what they are doing but it is the complete opposite. Naomi is very much a social butterfly and has to be in the mix but that is ok because the boys love to be around her and love to make her laugh and they actually drop what they are doing if they hear her cry to try to run and comfort her. It just makes me cry to see the simple love.

-Nursing. I thought it would be more of a challenge because now that Isaiah is older and getting curious about body parts I figured I would have to constantly go to another room to nurse but wondered how in the world am I going to keep an eye on the boys. I tried it a few times by staying in the same room because let's get real...when a baby is hungry they are hungry. Anyways he realized that I was providing nourishment to her so now when she cries he says, "Mommy, Naomi want to eat." I am not so self conscience around him when it comes to that.

- Nursing in public. I always wondered how does Michelle Duggar nurse while walking around and tending to all her kids? I went out and bought a my brest friend pillow and decided to try to see if it was possible and that was the best idea ever. Now we are able to continue to do things as a family without having to put everyone on hold just so she can eat. We stop for a little while to get me situated and then we are off and still having family fun and I can keep up while walking and nursing. I am grateful for this because I would have missed tons of laughs and memories.

- Our routines have definitely changed but the routine has been easily adapted too. We wake up early and play (all 4 of us because Alex is working) then we all get dressed for the day and head downstairs for breakfast. I get the boys situated first and then I serve myself a bowl of cereal and then sit on the couch to have Naomi nurse while we all eat. After breakfast we clean up the living room area and then start school. Naomi goes to her toy and works on her grabbing skills and Nathanael goes to the play room while I work with Isaiah. When lunch time comes around we fill Alex in on everything that has happened for the day and then once he leaves it is nap time for everyone. Isaiah usually only naps for a little while if he naps at all but I get the housework that I need done during this time. Then when Alex gets home we enjoy the rest of the evening with him. Our day changes a little every day for instance if we have an appointment of some kind school may get pushed back to nap time since he naps shorter periods. It has been a different experience but we all enjoy the flexibility of our schedule because it just makes our life easier.

- Everyone says that adding a new child is harder on the finances because it costs money to have a child but as of right now it really isn't that much of a difference. Maybe it is because we choose to live a frugal life already that it really isn't that much of a difference. We have saved so much money from the nursing and we did cloth diapers on Naomi for the first month but stopped because of our trips that were coming up and now I am about to go back to the cloth diapering system that it has helped our finances. The Lord has provided more than enough and we have been blessed beyond measure.

Things That Have Been Harder Than I Imagined

- Cloth Diapers. For some reason I thought we will do this because we will save money from having to buy diapers but then I was frustrated the first week or so because she was going through clothes like crazy. The only reason I was so frustrated was because my house was in complete disarray and I couldn't get the house clean yet keep up with diapers. We went back to disposables until I got the house where I wanted and then it was easier to manage both. Now that we are home from our vacation it has been a little difficult for me to go back to cloth diapers because of the ease of just throwing away a diaper but we aren't on the road now so I need to go back to the cloth diapers.

- Although nursing Naomi has been so much easier it does get a little harder when we are in public because she does not like to be covered at all. We have to work a little harder to make sure I stay covered at all times. Although it is perfectly legal for me to feed my baby in public I choose to stay covered because of my modesty. Feeding her in Texas was the worst because it was so HOT!!!

- The first month was hard adding a new baby to the mix because she cried and kept me up at night and I was so tired but I reminded myself that it was temporary.

Overall adding a third baby to the mix has been a lot easier than I expected and the most difficult time was during the first month but we had a lot of unforeseen circumstances come up during her first month of life that could not be helped. I am very content with how things are running in our lives and am very grateful that the Lord has blessed me with three wonderful children I call Isaiah, Nathanael, and Naomi. My dad says we should name our house the (INN) for the first initials of all my children.

Have a good day.

Aleida

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Quick Update

The month of August has come and gone for us. We were on vacation for three weeks of this month and just got back Sunday early morning (4am). We spent the day resting and doing laundry and then Monday got on our normal routines for now. Monday I started homeschooling Isaiah so we have developed new schedules around this new development. We started off with the intention of only doing Preschool with him but in most areas he has far exceeded the expectation that is involved so we are throwing a few different things into the midst. I have since ordered a Kindergarten curriculum and we will be adding a few kindergarten things for him to learn. We are still doing majority Preschool things but my focus is mainly on learning Spanish versions of words like the alphabet, colors, and shapes. We are also working on building his hand muscles so a lot of our day is using scissors, glue sticks, crayons and pencils. All of this to train his hand muscles to do bigger boy things. He is doing so well and within 2 days he is already reciting scripture. We are so excited. We are focusing on how God created the world and yesterday he quoted Genesis 1:1. I know such a simple verse but such a huge accomplishment for a 3 1/2 year old. Needless to say that the grandparents are super excited. They can't wait to see this homeschooling business into action for their own eyes. They will be able to see it soon now that we finally got orders.

So that leads me to the new things in our life. We learned in late July we were going to be moving to Pennsylvania. The funny thing is it is the same place we visited over the Fourth of July weekend. So we are moving 8 hours south of us. The thing is that my husband is being sent to Fort Worth first to learn the new airplane he will be working on. He will be sent to Fort Worth for 70 days in January so we are debating on packing our stuff up in December and having it placed in storage until he is done with school and we can move to PA when he is ready. In the mean time he will be living in a bachelors quarters while in Fort Worth so we (the kids and I) are more than likely going to be moving back to Corpus and try to arrange it to see Alex on the weekends or something. We are still talking out logistics but that is where we stand as of now. We are so excited about this new venture for us. Once we finally move to Pennsylvania we will only be there less than a year and then we are off to New Jersey if my husband stays in the military. He only has a year or so left so we may only see PA but NJ is a big possibility for us. We are excited anyways because we know that the Lord will guide us in every move we make.

So now that I have gotten a late start on the day I need to feed all the kids and then begin school before my dentist appointment. This week has definitely been busy but it is a nice busy and I can't wait to see how the school year will bring much more joy to our house.

Aleida

Monday, August 3, 2009

Benavides Vacation

Our family vacation started yesterday after Alex got off work or should I say when I stopped working. I didn't want a total train wreck when I got home so I managed to have the upstairs completely spotless and the downstairs is almost spotless but Alex made me stop working because he said I was due a vacation. He is such a wonderful husband.

So we got on the road around 3ish because I just never made it to the store for a few items. We were able to make it at least 3 hours in our drive to Texas before we decided to pull over. It was a good thing we pulled over when we did. Nathanael was so cranky. Nathanael spent a good portion of Saturday night in the ER because his ear was three to four times the normal size. I was nursing Naomi on the couch and my sons pulled their little red chairs in front of me so they could watch their little movie and from behind I noticed Nathanael's ear. To me it looked very red and a little swollen. I mentioned it to Alex but he kind of brushed me off because he was busy loading the car. Later when he finally settled down for the night I mentioned it again and he noticed it too but by this time it was bigger. We weren't sure what it was so I told Alex to take him while I stayed behind with the other ones because I didn't want to take everyone there. Turned out it was only a black fly bite but his ear is still huge. That incident paired up with a lack of a nap made him very cranky so we pulled over early. After eating dinner we decided to take the kids to the pool because they love swimming and after all it is their vacation too. We had such a blast and when we said it was time to go the kids were more than eager to listen and get ready to go too. After they bathed they knocked out and they are still sleeping.

Today we are going to try to make up some ground and our goal is to end up in Virginia tonight. Hopefully it happens but we are not in a hurry to get anywhere. We are just enjoying the time as a family. Please keep us in prayer this month as we travel here and there. Hope you have a blessed day.

Aleida

Friday, July 31, 2009

Is July already over?

At this moment I sit here with Naomi on my lap and type with one hand, we watch the light rain fall and we are enjoying the peace in our home. As I watch outside I am humbled in my heart to realize that I need the rain in my own heart in order for me to grow spiritually. I must admit that the past year or so I have allowed my life to be consumed by everything other than what I need the most in life. I realize I have three young ones now but I don't feel that should be an excuse to where I am spiritually. I need Him more now especially since I have young ones because if I am not where I am supposed to be how will I teach them in the ways they should go? If I am not teaching them then who will? Anyways this has been on my heart for the past couple of weeks but this week it has affected me the most.

Other than my spiritual life so much has happened since the last time I posted. As I mentioned in our last post, Alex's conversion status has been approved. With this new development we were able to finally put in for orders. We are just waiting for the papers to be finalized and then we will share where we are moving next. If everything goes as planned (what we have been told) we should be not far from our current area.

We celebrated Nathanael's second birthday this past Sunday. The day before his birthday we pulled the clippers out and the bar stool and we gave both boys a haircut. The significant change was Nathanael's haircut though because this was the first time he really got a haircut. He no longer has a bowl cut and no longer looks like my baby. I put off haircuts until two years old because I want them to be my babies as long as possible. I was not ready to admit that until Isaiah's got his first haircut and then his baby features all faded away and he began to look like a big boy. I remembered this so I held on to Nathanael's baby look until the day before his second birthday the way we did it with Isaiah. When his hair hit the ground I almost shed a tear because I realized that my little baby boy was no longer a baby. He is my little boy now. He is so handsome and I am so grateful for the gift that God gave me which is also the meaning of his name. (Nathanael = gift of God) We celebrated the birthday by going to Chuck E Cheese and letting the boys run around having the time of their life.

This week has consisted of much cleaning and preparation for our vacation. We are going to be having a three week vacation which is so exciting for us. We are doing it for that long because this is our last big trip before our move. Our plans are to go to Corpus and visit for a few days before we head to Amarillo to visit my brother. We are actually vacationing with my parents but my dad's vacation doesn't start until Sunday so we will be in Corpus until then. After visiting my brother we will head to Colorado for about a week and then we depart from my family and will visit the friends in Albuquerque before we head back to Maine. We plan on taking our time and enjoying every moment of it. Now I must go and finish packing. I am actually almost done with the gathering of things that we need for this trip and tomorrow should consist of cleaning the car and getting it loaded so all we have to do on Sunday is pick up Alex from work and then head to Texas.

Maybe we will see some of you during this trip.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Conversion Status

After many months of waiting Alex's rate conversion has gone through. This is exciting for us because we actually get to receive orders to our new location soon. He spoke with the detailer this morning about some possible locations and we should find something out within the next few weeks about our new location. We are excited because it makes our next move a little more real. We know our time is ending here in Maine but we haven't known where we are going next. According to the detailer though we will be detaching from this base in December which is only 5 months from now and will be reporting to our new location in January. So please pray that the Lord will put us where he wants us.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Can you believe we are in the second half of the year?

It seems like yesterday that we started the year 2009 and now we are in July. This just makes me realize how fast time goes by. So much has happened in this first half of the year that I am anxious to see what is going to happen in the second half of the year...

Recap of first half of year...

January consisted of much snow so that had lots of time on the sled during the fresh snow because the next day would be too icy. This winter wasn't as much fun as the year before only because it turned icy so fast and it wasn't very soft snow. I was a little over five months pregnant here.

February consisted of more snow and more of the same as January. Six months pregnant here.

March...Alex and I celebrated 4 years of marriage. Seven months pregnant. We decided that Alex should try to do a rate conversion which basically changes his job and title. He is currently an electrician but will try to become an aviation electrician.

April...Pretty miserable at this point because I am hitting the end of the pregnancy. Many walks to the park. Many walks period because I am ready to have this baby. No word yet on the conversion status.

May...Our beautiful baby girl makes her appearance. My parents come for a two week visit. The day my parents leave Alex's parents come in but due to the untimely death of Alex's brother only stayed for two days before turning around to head home. Alex visited Texas for about two weeks and had to learn how to manage three kiddos with my sister.

June...Alex gets home from Texas. My sister flew back to Texas. It is now one month of having our little girl and it has been such a huge blessing. Every day we have with her makes us count our blessings. The boys are falling in love with Naomi more and more and have been extremely helpful with everything. We realize we only have 6-7 months left here in the state of Maine so we decide to try to do something every payday to visit the rest of Maine and the surrounding areas. Alex's conversion package fell through with the rate he was wanting but a new package was put in for him to become some kind of aviation technician of some sort. We should hear back soon. We are now getting so much rain it has been very depressing. We visit York's Wild Kingdom on a non rainy day but it is very cloudy. The cloudiness prevented it from being too hot so it was a blessing in disguise. The kids enjoyed the zoo. The boys fed the deer and could have stayed there all day. Took a paddle boat ride. Rode an elephant. Visited the butterfly exhibit. Took the boys to ride the rides at the amusement park portion of the park. The zoo was much bigger than we anticipated and had a lot of exotic animals. We truly enjoyed this day. I have many pictures but I am unable to post them because my computer is broken. I am having to use the laptop which doesn't contain the programs to upload pictures so pictures will come at a later date.


So that recaps my first half of the year and now we are in July. Naomi had her 2 month check up last week and she is now weighing in at 10 pounds and is in the 35th percentile for weight. She is doing extremely well even if she looks really small. As I mentioned we have been getting lots of rain and we have pretty much had rain off and on for the past five weeks so it has been a little upsetting. We were going to go camping during the fourth of July weekend but because of the rain we decided to go to Pennsylvania for four days. We were going to go to Pennsylvania during the second half of the month for Nathanael's birthday but since it was going to rain in Maine and not Pennsylvania we went where the rain was not going to be. Friday the 3rd we spent our day driving to Willow Grove which is about 30 minutes away from Philadelphia. It took us 11 hours to get a 7 1/2 hour drive done. On the 4th we went to Sesame Place. Sesame Place is a theme park for kids completely consisting of Sesame Street characters. This was the main reason we went to PA. We went to see Elmo. During our time there we were able to see shows, ride rides, and have a good time. We even got good seats to see the parade at the end of the day. My boys were so excited to see the characters and then when they were able to touch Elmo and then Cookie Monster they were in awe. They asked us later if we can see Elmo again the next day but we told them we would have to see. (What makes us laugh about wanting to see Elmo is because we are amazed how our kids even know who any of these characters are because I kid you not we have not introduced our kids to Sesame Street at all. At our house they only watch Veggie Tales and now the Ice Age movies. They may have seen one show but this was probably about a year ago but if you ask who that character is or the other one they will tell you exactly who they are. Well Isaiah will tell you because Nathanael just knows how to say Elmo and attempts to say the other character names.) The next day we planned on visiting Philadelphia to visit historic attractions but we were starting to run low on our budgeted funds that we decided we would have to come back at another time. When the kids asked about Elmo we told them we would have to come back at another time. So we decided to head home a day early but after driving for 6-7 hours I was ready to pull over and so were the kids so we pulled over in Connecticut and went swimming in an indoor heated pool. It was very important to find an indoor pool to us because even though it is warm/hot outside the water in any pool area is freezing because it is just not like Texas heat and water where you are comfortable in the water. We had a lot of fun and then on Monday the 6th we headed home and celebrated the two months that we have had our Naomi. We got home around 7:30ish so there was still plenty of time to just rest. We took our time to get anywhere and really enjoyed it. Now we are home and resting and looking forward to celebrating Nathanael's birthday at the end of the month. He will not be getting any presents this year but he knows he is loved regardless. I will probably make some kind of dessert but who knows because I think we may try to go camping in Bar Harbor and go whale watching. This is one thing I want to get crossed off my check list. I want to go to Bar Harbor to see whales and penguins, Acadia National Park which is in the Bar Harbor Area, visit the areas surrounding the Canadian border, visit Augusta which is in the Moose River Valley area of Maine, and the western lakes and mountain area of Maine. We have many things we want to accomplish and that is only the areas in Maine we want to see so we will definitely be busy these next few months.

Although we will be busy I will do my best to keep you posted with photos and our journeys along the way. Hope you are all doing well.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Summer has begun

This week has been fun as we are all shaking off the sick bug. We have enjoyed getting to go outside a little more than usual. The weather hasn't been too good to us up here so when it is a nice day out we let the kids take the bikes out in the front and play with the other neighborhood kids.

Naomi turned six weeks yesterday and we are so grateful that we have been able to get to this milestone. She is growing big and strong. She eats all the time and is so cute with her chubby cheeks. I will have to post newer pictures soon. They get big so fast...don't they?

Well we are looking forward to this weekend because we are going to try to be outside more this weekend and try to just rest a little. Last night was a rough night because Naomi thought it would be fun to wake up at 2:30 in the morning and just stay awake until 4 am. She didn't cry much but she did move and kick and coo which kept me up. I am ready for a nap and I think this weekend will be just nice to just do nothing.

Well I hope you are having a good day. Be blessed.

Aleida

Friday, June 12, 2009

What a week

This has been a very stressful week for me because I have been sick and it was the first week that I have had the kids all day long by myself. Saturday night I started feeling my throat hurt and told Alex but we thought nothing of it until Sunday when I woke up and I was feeling worse. We rested the majority of Sunday because I was not up to par. Sunday I went to bed with a mild fever but when Monday rolled around I had a fever of a 101.4 and Alex felt terrible because he had duty and this was the first time he was going to be at work since May 5th. The kids waking up at 5:30 that morning didn't really help the situation but the cutest thing happened that morning. Keep in mind the boys just got their daddy home and spent 5 days with him so they are not wanting to see him leave. That morning Isaiah says "Daddy, where are you going?" Alex responds, "I am going to work." Isaiah says, "You go work daddy?" Alex says, "Yes baby, daddy is going to make some money so we can be able to play together later." Isaiah sits and thinks about what his daddy has just told him and then he spots a penny on the table and smiles. He grabs the penny and runs to Alex and says, "Daddy here I make money for you." Alex carries that penny around now. Needless to say he didn't want to leave him that morning but the transition ended up going pretty well.

Tuesday I continued to run a fever and that night Isaiah came to our bed around 11:30 pm crying and when he crawled into bed I could feel the heat from his body. He slept with us and the next morning he was extremely hot. I noticed he had trouble swallowing so I scheduled an appointment for him with the pediatrician and they told us that he just has the same virus I had and it just needs to run its course. Wednesday night Naomi started with the coughing and then Thursday morning Nathanael started with a runny nose. Everyone is running a mild fever now including me but I am hoping we can get this junk out of our systems soon. The weather over here hasn't helped the situation because it is cold and rainy. I want to air out our house but it gets too cold too fast so I am hoping we will have a sunny day soon so we can go outside and get some fresh air.

We are excited it is Friday and that we have completed the first week of getting back to normal. This week was a bit rougher because of the sickness but it also was a little nice to get used to the intimacy of our little family. I must admit getting back into the swing of things has been a little harder that I expected but as I have felt better I have noticed I can get a good hour to hour and a half worth of cleaning in the morning and then another two to three hours in the afternoon when everyone is napping. I am sure we will develop a system soon. I hope everyone has a good week.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Exciting Days

This week has been very exciting for us. Tuesday my sister flew home to Texas and Alex flew in to Maine. We were all set to leave the house because I had to take her to Manchester, New Hampshire so she can fly out when my phone rang. I saw that it was someone from Alex's command so I answered the phone only to hear what are you thinking? I was confused by this and said what? Well it turned out to be a friend of ours and he told me that I was absolutely insane to go to Manchester because I really needed to be resting. He offered to take my sister for me and to pick up Alex because his flight was coming in around midnight. I took him up on picking up Alex for sure but told him I would have to call back about my sister. A few minutes later I called back and asked if he happened to have his minivan with him and turned out he did so he was able to take all of us and I had someone to drive me there. It was such a blessing.

Keep in mind that when I woke up Tuesday morning I was dreading this day because I knew it was going to be a long day and I just kept telling myself I was going to be glad when the day was done. So the Lord completely blessed me with Derek and his help and it was great because my kids absolutely love him. On the way home from Manchester I got another phone call from a friend of mine from church and she said she had made an excess of dinner and would love to bring us dinner that evening. I was so excited because this was another thought in my head wondering what I would do about dinner that evening. She made us some homemade macaroni and cookies for dinner. We got home from Manchester around 5:15 and an hour later we had dinner. Isn't God so great?

The rest of the evening went smoothly and I let the kids wait up for their daddy to come home but I knew they wouldn't make it. My intention was to let them stay up late so they can sleep in the next day which worked out in my favor. Nathanael lasted until 10:30 and Isaiah lasted until 11:00 but Alex didn't come home until nearly 1 am the next morning. They slept until about 9:30 so that was nice.

We took Naomi to the doctor yesterday for her one month check up even though it is a few days early but she is doing wonderful. She is now weighing 8 pounds and that puts her in the 20th percentile for weight. She is now 20 1/2 inches long and that puts her in the 33rd percentile and her head is now 14 inches which puts her in the 19th percentile for her head growth. We were just glad to see her on the growth chart because the boys were never on the growth chart.

After her shots she was exhausted so we decided to go to the park on Main street and let the boys run around and get some energy out as she slept. We enjoyed a sunny day out with the boys and then came home only to lose power just as we were about to make dinner. We waited around and finally decided to go and get something to eat since we didn't know how long power was going to be out and just as Alex was about to leave the power went back on so I made dinner and got everyone fed and about an hour later we lost power again. We went again without power for another hour or two but we were so grateful that we had power long enough to make dinner so we didn't have to spend any money. We ended our evening playing cards in the candlelight.

The past two days have been filled with much to do but the Lord has completely blessed us and I am so grateful.

Aleida

Monday, June 1, 2009

Photo Update

I have finally uploaded the last two rolls of film I have developed and I took two more rolls of film to be developed yesterday but here are all the pictures I have up to date. These pictures are from October 2008 - May 2009.


Nathanael was our fireman because Isaiah was the fireman the year before.


Isaiah was Bob the tomato.


Bob the tomato and the fireman in their wagon.


The boys playing the piano at our friend's house after trick or treating.
Resting at the house after a busy evening.
My brother and I at my sister's graduation in December.
Nathanael's baby dedication just before Christmas.
Playing in the snow in late January and early February.
Nathanael getting his balance on the sled.
Isaiah waiting to get going again. He never wants to come in when we are out playing in the snow.
My anniversary gift this year. It is funny because I was originally going to get this for Alex since the traditional gift for us this year was either flowers or fruit and he ended up getting it for me but he ate it too so we ended up getting the best of both. I ended up taking him to a nice restaurant of his choice.
This is what the bouquet looked like after removing the wrapper.
Just celebrated 4 years of marriage.
Nathanael is Easter egg hunting at the base chapel.
Isaiah is interested in playing with the eggs and taking it to the pretend kitchen.
Isaiah is helping his brother collect his ten eggs.
Naomi Annette in one of her first pictures. She loves to be curled up like this. She is barely starting to stretch those long legs of hers.
Isn't she so precious just resting so peacefully.
Well there are more pictures but those are some pictures to catch you up on our life. I have told you most of our stories of what we have been up to but I have not been very good at posting pictures like I promised so here is the start. I will post more pics of the kids as I get the chance. Hope you all enjoy.
Aleida

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Three weeks

It is so hard for me to believe that Naomi is three weeks old already. She is thriving and getting bigger. She is still a peanut but to me she looks like she is getting longer and I just can't believe it.

So much has happened in the past three weeks that I don't know where to begin. We have had some adjustments that needed to be made but we are all doing well. Isaiah is doing well with having a new sibling but he is starting to get into the talking back phase and having to have the last word phase that it is driving me insane. He makes me laugh because he acts older than he really is.

Nathanael was not too fond of Naomi when she first arrived but now he loves to look at her and loves to give her kisses with Isaiah. They both enjoy giving her kisses and hugs. Nathanael has also had a growth spurt and is starting to look a little taller these days. His birthday is right around the corner in two months so we are thinking of ways to make him feel extra special without breaking the bank. Anyone have any ideas?

As far as Alex and I...we are doing well. Alex is still in Texas and I can't wait for him to be home already. He tells us he misses us dearly and we definitely feel that way about him. It will be nice to have him home again soon. I am a little exhausted but doing well. I finally got Naomi's crib situated to be her bed and transitioned Nathanael out of the crib into a twin mattress. Once Alex gets home I will have him get his bed together but he enjoys having his big boy bed. I have managed to stay busy but I am resting as well. My sister has been here helping me keep my sanity.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

A time of frustration

I feel so overwhelmed at this moment and really need prayer. Wednesday Alex's brother Mario passed away and went to be with the Lord. Although we knew it was coming it has still been something that has been a bit overwhelming. Alex left for Texas yesterday with his family and they should be there tomorrow night sometime which I will be happier knowing he made it there safely. Today I have been researching flights for him to come home and that has been hard because it is hard to determine when would be a good time for him to fly home and what can we really afford and that kind of thing. My sister stayed behind to help me manage three kiddos without losing my sanity as I try to rest some as well. So I have also been trying to look up flights for her too.

I am just ready to have a good cry and go to sleep for a few hours because none of us slept good last night with Alex leaving. The boys didn't get to say bye to him so they keep asking where daddy is and when he will be home. They don't understand time just yet. Thank you for listening to me vent a little during this frustrating time for me. I hope you are having a better day than I am today. I know tomorrow is a new day and things will get better and easier.

In Christ,

Aleida

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Many Prayer Requests

I can't believe tomorrow Naomi will be two weeks old. It just blows my mind how fast time has gone by. I realize I have not been online very much because we have had the new baby along with having my parents here helping us out. I thought I would get online a little bit today as I have a little quiet time right now. The main reason I get online today is to ask for prayer for many things...

I ask for continued prayer with the recovery process of child labor and delivery. You would think after two weeks I would feel better but this has been a slow recovery for me and I must admit that I am in some pain still. This is frustrating for me because I am used to doing more around the house to help and I have had to learn to just let others help me out while I just rest.

As I learn to rest and try to take it easy, I have become overwhelmed with other things that go on. Yesterday we received a phone call that Alex's disabled brother went to be with the Lord the evening before but they resuscitated him and he was now on a respirator and we had to wait to find out how much more brain damage had occurred. We learned this morning that he survived the night despite having several seizures throughout the evening. Today we think they are going to try to take him off the respirator and see how he does and if he can breathe on his own then they will leave him off and wait to see how everything plays out. If he doesn't do well on his own they will put him back on the respirator until the family gets there and then they will just let him go so he can be with the Lord. Needless to say that this is a very sad ordeal for my husband and as I try to comfort him we are trying to figure out the details as far as him traveling back home.

My parents leave Maine tomorrow morning and start heading back to Texas so we ask for safe travels for them. Alex's parents were on their way to visit us when we got the news so I think they will be here tomorrow and will be turning around shortly to head back home but they really wanted to see Naomi. So we ask for continued safe travels for them. Alex's command has been very generous and has offered much support as we figure out what is going to happen within the next week or so and I couldn't ask for more.

I hope everyone of you are having a wonderful day but I must go now and take a nap because I am so exhausted. Please keep us in your prayers.

In Christ,

Aleida

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Naomi Annette

Wow has this week flown by. Monday I went in for my check up and left the office a little discouraged learning that I was only at a 3. The next day I had made some progress but not enough to send me into active labor. Yesterday morning I woke up feeling significantly different and told Alex that we were going to have Naomi that day. After waiting for about 3 1/2 hours at home we came into the hospital for the third time but this time they admitted me and started me on antibiotics because I tested positive for group B strep. When I was admitted I was still a 3 but they told me that I was very soft and they didn't want to chance sending me home this time. After being in the hospital for about 2 hours my midwife told me that she would rupture my water because she really didn't want to see me miserable for the next few days. I called my mom and told her what was going on and then an hour later around 10:25 we found out I was a 5 so I was definitely making progress so we knew this was the real thing. My midwife went ahead and ruptured my water bag but it didn't go as she had planned. She decided that she wanted me to get up and walk around and see if I can get Naomi's head to put a little pressure on my cervix so she can get the rupture she wanted but the minute I stood up I felt a shift and this put me into full swing. My water bad ended up completely rupturing so I went straight to the jacuzzi to labor in the water up until I needed to push since I was unable to do the water birth that I so desperately wanted for this birth. I had a water birth for Nathanael and was very pleased and honestly prefer this experience over anything but since the hospital can not perform water births here anymore I had to settle for laboring in the jacuzzi and then shifting to the bed when it was time to push. When I felt it was near time to push they moved me back to the bed and I learned I was a 9. At this point about an hour and a half had passed since my water breaking and then finally after 21 minutes of pushing our beautiful little girl made her appearance. By far this was the most difficult labor process I had ever done but the Lord gave me the strength to endure what I needed in order for me to complete this process.

As I sit here in silence watching this beautiful gift the Lord gives me I feel completely blessed. Because this has been the most difficult labor for me I have rested for most of the day and I am enjoying the fact that I have this time to rest in silence. I am doing well and the recovery process is definitely slow but we are making it. Naomi is a very mellow baby. She is also a very good eater and is latching on very well. She made her appearance at 12:22 pm and weighed in at 6 pounds .7 ounces. She was 19 1/2 inches long and her head was 13 inches. Although she was my biggest baby yet she is so tiny. I forgot how small babies are when they are first born. We will be in the hospital until tomorrow at least I believe but like I said we are just enjoying the quietness of just being together.

Thank you for all your prayers for us during this pregnancy and I can't wait to get some pictures of this beautiful baby girl up soon. As soon as I get some pictures up I will post them. I pray all of you have a wonderful day and will keep you updated on any further news that may come up.

In Christ,

Aleida

Friday, May 1, 2009

Nearing 39 weeks

I have been so frustrated with my computer because for some reason I have been unable to use it lately so I have been out of touch with everyone. So here is my quick update. I am still pregnant and doing well. I have not had as much pain lately which is good because honestly I would be crazy by now considering she is still in my belly. There have been days I have just wanted her to come but I am also learning to be patient. There have been many good reasons that she hasn't come yet. One reason is she is still growing healthy in my belly and another reason is all of the boys in my house have been sick with some but they can't seem to shake off. We are convinced that Lord has deliberately not allowed for our baby girl to come into this world because it would be so hard to keep the boys away from their sister.

My parents will be traveling up here for their 2 week vacation starting on the 9th and my actual due date is the 12th so maybe she will just wait until they get here which is also a plus because at least the boys will have family they can hang out with. We already have arrangements made in case she does come a little early but we just don't know the time she will actually come.

My last doctors appointment went good and I had passed my mucus plug on Sunday and I was at a 2 as far as dilation goes. My midwife told Alex I would probably have the baby within a few days but it has been a few days and no baby has come yet so once again we have to chalk it up to a baby will come when they are ready. I am partly convinced I will be pregnant forever but I know that is not true. I will keep you updated as the time comes and I can only hope it will happen soon. Who knows we may end up having to discuss induction at my next appointment on Monday because my midwife doesn't like for any of her patients to go too far over their due date.

More updates to come soon as we are nearing the end...

Aleida

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Frustrated

I am now 37 weeks and nearing my 38 week mark and am very frustrated. Last Monday I started having contractions off and on and on Wednesday for a complete 24 hours I was having contractions every 12 minutes but then it stopped. This has frustrated me on so many levels because once the contractions start I just want to get the labor process over. I realize the baby will come when she is ready but I also realize that my body is exhausted from having contractions on a normal basis. Yesterday I went in and had another check up and I am officially dilating now but I was only a 1 when I left the office. I have no clue if any progress has been made since then but I am getting stronger contractions and I am just worn out. Please keep our family in prayer as we are nearing the end of this pregnancy and I am beginning to get a little more irritable with everyone around me. I am trying not to say anything period but every once in a while I say something I wish I didn't. For instance my babies come and run to me to give me a hug but they happen to do it when I am getting a contraction and I get so upset and tell them to please leave the room. My babies don't deserve that so I have been trying to suck up the pain and give them hugs and kisses so they know I still love them. They know something is different and every once in a while Isaiah will say, "Mommy you alright?" I love my babies but I must admit at this point in the pregnancy I am not liking this part at all right now. Today is a new day and I am grateful that we have this day to enjoy. I thank you for all your support and prayers. I finally downloaded the sonograms up to date so here is where our baby is at this point. Hope you enjoy.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Baby Appointment

I must have been off in my calculations as far as my due date when I posted my last baby update but I am now 36 weeks. I went in for my check up and the midwife told me that she can see a difference in me since the last time I saw her which was two weeks ago. I have dropped a little and she says even my demeanor has changed and she feels the baby may come soon. Her heartbeat was very strong and she grew 4 centimeters in the past two weeks. At my last visit I was measuring at 34 weeks and now I am measuring at 38 weeks. Can you say she has grown a lot? I can definitely feel the difference. She is now pushing on my cervix which is a new experience for me because I didn't notice it much with the first two pregnancies but with this pregnancy I feel like I am going to drop her every time I walk. My cervix is definitely softening and I am beginning to show signs that early labor may be setting in. I started having menstrual cramps this morning and this was something I never really noticed with my first two pregnancies but I am noticing now and my midwife said that those are minor contractions. She tells me to take it easy because my body is gearing up for delivery and every little cramp will get me closer to having this baby. We have a sonogram on Thursday afternoon and unless I end up going into labor the next few days I will see my midwife again in a week. She says I am doing good though. I am putting on weight like crazy now. I am now at a 10 pound weight gain for this pregnancy which is good because up until about a month ago I was only at 6 pounds but I have put on at least 2 pounds every two weeks so she says that those are all good signs to having a decent weight baby. She just doesn't want her to be too small but she says she doesn't see that being a problem. She also told me to prepare for feeling more pressure on my bladder which didn't please me very much because I am already feeling that as she is getting ready to make her appearance. We will keep you posted as we near our due date which is not very far now. The end is in sight.

Aleida

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

More Photos

So I have officially uploaded 3 out of the 5 cameras I have developed and here are some more pictures. Again they are from a few months back but these are some of my favorites of the memories I have in my mind. It just amazes me how fast time goes by and to see how different and yet the same my children are. These photos are from August - October 2008.
Here I am with Alex.
Isaiah enjoying the Texas sun and the backyard sprinklers.
The best brother and sister I can ever ask for.
Everyone ready to eat this cake my sister made.
One of the kings of my house.
Another king spending time with Grandpa Curiel.
Isaiah playing with jump ropes at the circus.
Isaiah working hard with his daddy at putting our new table together.
Our house after decorating it for Halloween.
Isaiah carrying pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.
There are many more photos to come but these are the ones I have uploaded recently. Hopefully I will get caught up with all of the photos I have so when the baby comes I can post pictures of her and our new memories at a much better rate. We shall see. Hope you have a great week.
In Christ,
Aleida

Monday, April 6, 2009

Nearly 36 Weeks...

It is funny because last Tuesday I was telling my mom that I don't see this baby coming any time soon and how great I feel for being this close to the end and a few days later I started to feel differently. Friday evening I began to have some pretty painful pains and for the most part I only feel this pain when I walk because I begin to feel pressure. I also feel like she is starting to drop a little and I am not carrying her so high. I have kind of just put myself on bed rest because I really want to wait until at least next Tuesday so my midwife can check me out again and let me know what she thinks.

Saturday and Sunday, Alex had to work so I worked on tax returns and then scrapbooked on Nathanael's album. I am trying to finish this so I won't be so behind on Naomi's album when she gets here. I was able to complete 3 months worth of pictures in two days so I was pretty impressed given my time frame. I normally do scrapbooking during the few hours that the kids nap so they don't get into any of my things.

Today and tomorrow, Alex is off because this is his weekend and I will take it a little more easy now that I have help for two days and enjoy my time with him. He is ready for the baby to come but I want to wait just a little longer just to make sure she grows as much as she needs to. After he goes back to work we have a really short week and then we celebrate Easter which will be a nice break.

Please pray that the Lord continues to keep his hands on this precious baby I have in my belly and continues to give me the strength to endure the last few weeks. I never realized how tired I get during the end of pregnancies. Maybe it is because I have two active boys and one of them I am in the process of potty training and the other I am trying to keep from destroying everything. Hope you have a good week.

In Christ,

Aleida

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Good Times with Old Friends

Yesterday one of my old roommates from Teen Mania came to Maine to visit. She is doing an east coast tour with a friend and they perform at open mikes up along the east coast. They wanted to come to Maine so I told her if she was ever my way we would host her and her friend. We were so blessed to have her come up here and stay with us for an evening. I hadn't seen J. for about 9 years now and it was nice seeing what she is up to now while being able to show her what my life is like now. Alex was excited to just meet another friend of mine from Teen Mania because he enjoys meeting all of the people I spent a few years of my life with. Our time was short as she left this morning around 10ish and they were heading to Boston. They have some open mikes set up for the next few days and I am sure they will stay busy. Please pray for J. and S. as the Lord directs them through this tour and that they have safe travels.

I know my time with J. and S. were short but it was so refreshing to see a familiar face and to be able to enjoy the company of fellow believers. I even got to try Thai food for the first time. Alex and I have been wanting to try this little restaurant since we moved up here but have been hesitant because we only go out to eat like twice a month if we are lucky and when we do get the chance to eat out we rather spend our money on food we like just in case we don't like the food but J. mentioned the restaurant and how her and S. wanted to try it out because they love Thai food so we said well lets try it out. We ordered food in and Alex and I fell in love with our orders and we will definitely be trying some new food from that restaurant.

I thank the Lord that he has blessed me with such wonderful friends and for blessing me with times of encouragement which is what he did by bringing J. and S. to visit. Both Alex and I were very encouraged and sad to see them leave but we know we will see them again someday.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Photo and Baby Update

Baby Update first - We had a check up again today and everything is going well. Her heartbeat is strong and she is growing very well. I have finally put on another 2.4 pounds so now we know we are at the end because she is having me put on the weight now. The midwife told me at our next appointment in 2 weeks that she will start checking me for dilation and schedule me for my final sonogram to make sure she is where she is supposed to be. She told me that I need to try to take it easy and make it at least 2 more weeks before having this baby so we can be in the safe zone according to her standards. She wants me to make it past 36 weeks. I am about to enter my 35th week so if I can make it till then that would be awesome. I don't foresee her coming as early as 2 weeks but we will just have to see. I think if she comes early she will come somewhere between 3-4 weeks from now. If she doesn't we will just see her when she comes. I am happy either way knowing she is growing well and everything is looking good. Now to the picture update...
In the past few weeks I have finally gotten five cameras developed but have only had time to upload one camera so I thought I would post a few of the faves from that camera. These photos were snapped during the June - July 2008 time frame.

Here is my Nathanael right before his first birthday after he successfully made it to the top of the slide.
Isaiah running to catch up to other kids at a birthday party. This makes me smile because Nathanael is starting to do a similar run but it looks like he adds a skip to his run and this picture makes me think of that.
Nathanael stuffing his face with birthday cake.

Isaiah after eating birthday cake.
Me with the boys in Boston about to start a walking tour.
My little family but Nathanael is taking a nap in the stroller.

Isaiah and his big ole smiles. I love to watch him smile and laugh. He has a contagious laugh.
My handsome men taking a break on our walking tour.
Hope you enjoy some of these pictures.
Aleida







Monday, March 30, 2009

Four Day Weekend

I don't know where to begin. It has been a while since I have gotten on this blog and I have finally caught up on reading what is going on in everyone else's life so I decided to post a little update of my own. Last Thursday on the 26th, Alex and I celebrated our four year anniversary. Since our anniversary fell on a Thursday he decided to take a four day weekend so we can just have family time. We have been debating for months now what we were going to do for this special occasion and we threw out several ideas such as visiting Boston again, maybe visiting New York, we even checked out some bed and breakfasts because that is what we did for our first anniversary and we both enjoyed it very much. In the end we decided to stay at home and go around town because I am just too far along to take chances in visiting other areas for long. I am very uncomfortable and we didn't want to chance me going into labor early.

Thursday consisted of having breakfast at a little restaurant I love to go to on Alex's days off named Friendly's because I love their french toast. After Friendly's we went thrift shopping and found a lot of cute little outfits for the baby. We were surprised to find so many outfits for her because every time we go we can't find anything. We then went to Portland which is about 45 minutes away and enjoyed lunch for half off just because of the military discount. We then went to Edible Arrangements and picked up a beautiful bouquet of chocolate covered strawberries that Alex bought for me. I have pictures but I will post them later because I do not have my camera with me right now and it is too much work for me to go downstairs to get the camera right now. We ended our day with going to the school and picking up Alex's cap and gown for his graduation day which will happen on May 9th just days after the birth of our baby girl. We decided to go home early and enjoy dinner at home and played Sorry for hours. We have become very addicted to that game recently.

Friday consisted of getting paperwork done for me because my military id was about to expire and my tags for the car to get on base was about to expire so we took care of that and then we rested at home for a few hours and then we went shopping at the outlets in Freeport which is about 15 minutes away from us. We ended up purchasing Isaiah's wardrobe for the year for a very good deal. Pretty much the same prices we would have spend at the thrift stores. Everything we bought ranged from .99-2.99. We were very pleased. We then drove again to Portland to enjoy dinner at a hibachi grill much like Kobe's in Corpus. We really enjoy Kobe's so I had to have it at least for our anniversary weekend.

Saturday consisted of cleaning out our car and rearranging how we are going to want the kids to sit once the baby comes because after all we are going to have three car seats in the backseat. The rest of the day we just stayed at home and did some mild housekeeping.

Sunday we woke up so late which didn't make any sense to us because we had been waking up so early for the past few days but I was completely wiped out. We ended up missing church and when we finally all got dressed for the day we decided to head to Portland again and had lunch in town and then we went to Babies R Us so I could purchase a my brest friend pillow. Once in the store we realized they were doing a Baby Fair so the boys got to go around the store to collect stickers and then took their stickers to the front to get a free little gift. I also entered a drawing and turns out I won one of the gifts they were giving out. I still don't know what it is because I have to go back to Portland to pick it up so I decided I may just wait till the weekend.

Thursday was the only sunny day we had and then Friday-Sunday consisted of clouds and darkness and then on Sunday it actually rained. It has been raining most of the day today and that has been a little depressing but we feel refreshed. I know our little weekend doesn't sound like we did a whole lot of what normal couples would do for their anniversary but we had a blast hanging out as a family. We knew we couldn't do anything without the kids because we do not have a lot of people up here that we trust to leave our kids for a few hours with but we had so much fun. This morning the kids woke up and were upset to find out that daddy wasn't home like he had been the past few days. They got used to having him here.

Tomorrow we will go for another check up and hopefully all will be well. I am 34 weeks now and about to be 35 weeks and we are getting more excited every day. We can't wait to see her little face. Well I hope you have a great week. I am going to join my family for dinner now since my husband made some lasagna.

Aleida

Friday, March 20, 2009

First Day of Spring!!!

I am so glad that today is a new day and it happens to be the first day of Spring. This is a day all of us that live in Maine have been looking forward to. This has been one long long miserable winter. Normally winters for us are not that bad because at least you can have a little fun in the snow but this year the snow was so icy and hard most of the time that the fun was dwindled to maybe two or three times during the past 4 months. Winter started over here in early December and we still have snow on the ground in late March. We are entering what is called mud season because the snow is starting to melt but everything is muddy and hopefully soon we will see some green grass and so forth. The weather has been warming up which is always a good sign but today is officially the first day of the season we know as Spring. We are so excited because we love to see the weather change and once this yuckiness clears up it will be absolutely beautiful outside. One thing we noticed yesterday was the sun was still shining around 7 pm over here which is odd because it normally goes down around 4:30ish but that is another sign the seasons are changing. We are finally going to be able to go for walks after dinner and let the kids go to the park. I am excited!!! I just wanted you all to know how excited I am.

Aleida

Thursday, March 19, 2009

14th Birthday

As I sit in complete silence this morning I have had time to do some reflecting and have time to tell you about it. This past Saturday, March 14th I celebrated with my husband my 14th spiritual birthday. March 14, 1995, I became a believer in Christ and accepted Him as my Savior. I must admit that throughout all these years I have not been as faithful to Him as He has been too me.

These past few months I have been so selfish and putting my own desires and plans first that I don't take the time I need to to really seek His Will. Yes, there are certain things I have entrusted to Him like our job situation, move situation, my kids, my husband but He has made it very clear to me that He wants all of me and not just parts of me. Why is it so hard for me to just give it all to Him? This has been my struggle and yet He comforts me and shows me He loves me all the time. I am so undeserving of His love but He gives it to me all the time. I don't deserve His grace and He shows me bits and pieces of this everyday through my children.

I am very grateful that He calls me His child but I realize that I need to change. I have been thinking and praying on this often within the past few months and I have seen how He has used certain situations to mold me into a better woman but as I have reached this milestone in life I have realized how far I am from where I need to be.

Hope you have a good day...

Aleida

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Signs I may be getting old

Every morning I awake and conduct my normal routine which consists of bathing the boys and getting myself ready and then I sit and record any bank transactions I may have missed and pay the bills that are due for that day and then I end this morning ritual by checking emails and maybe posting a blog. I then head downstairs and make sure everyone is fed until their little hearts are content and we begin a new day of learning how to say new words and playing with firetrucks and making sure Bob and Larry have vehicles to get around the house. This is a normal day. However today was a little different.

As the boys were in the bath I went to the computer room and opened my email box to find a very familiar name but curious as to why this individual would be sending me an email. I proceeded to read the email to learn that this individual is in charge of putting our ten year high school reunion together. I just stared at the screen realizing that it has been ten years since I have been out of high school. Where has this time gone and why does it all seem to be a blur? This thought made me a little sad because only then did I realize that in a year and a half I will be 30. I have never considered 30 to be old but now I just realize that I am getting older and I notice it more and more watching my boys grow. I know you are all thinking she is crazy thinking about these little things but it is just a thought I have now in my head. I am not even sure I will be attending this reunion. Our intention was to wait to go to Texas when we move from here in December but now I am considering going home in July to attend this little reunion just to see what it is all about. Am I crazy for considering this?

As far as another sign I am getting old is that I am realizing that pregnancy the third time around isn't as easy when your body is tired. I wonder if I was younger would I feel this way? Some days I think of course I wouldn't but then I think Aleida this is your third pregnancy and your body is doing what it needs to do to grow this little baby. She is growing wonderfully by the way. This morning we had our check up with our midwife and the midwife told me she really isn't concerned anymore about the growth of our little one because she is proving to be our biggest baby yet. She also told me that I need to try to take it easy and continue to do what I am doing so we can make it another month. The baby is technically due in 2 months but she said if the baby comes next month she will be happy too because she thinks now that if I make it two more months I may end up having a nine pounder. I have no clue what to think about that. She asked if I was eating differently with this baby and I said no. I am doing the exact same thing with this baby that I have done with the other two pregnancies. Nothing makes sense. She also told me not to worry that I haven't gained much weight (I have finally put on 6 pounds as of this morning) because she delivered a baby this morning that weighed nearly nine pounds but the mom only gained seven pounds during pregnancy. I think that is crazy and I am sure that will not be my case but I must admit that I was a little worried about my low weight gain. I am actually trying to gain weight but I guess everything I am eating the baby is just taking it for herself. Two weeks ago we had a sonogram and that sono showed her to be in the 61st percentile for weight so that makes the midwife very happy. In a month if we are unable to figure out where the baby's head is we will go in again to make sure she isn't breach. We think she turned around again so it was a little difficult finding where her head was this morning. I have been given some exercises I can do to encourage baby to turn back down and for the baby's back to be against my belly as opposed to being parallel with my back.

So those are my random updates as of this morning. I hope you are all doing well. We are all doing well over here and very excited about life in general and seeing where the Lord is leading us next.

Aleida

Friday, March 13, 2009

Random thoughts on the baby

This has been a roller coaster of emotions for me and getting ready for our baby. I know I mention things about our expectation a lot but this is what is on my mind for the most part.

The beginning of the week I received the bedding (sheets) for the crib and the bassinet. We had already purchased the main bedding for the crib but it only came with one sheet so I had to order three other sheets all in different colors (pink, lilac, and sage) so I can rotate. All of these sheets match the comforter that will go in the crib. I haven't put any of this in the actual crib yet because Nathanael is still in the crib and we decided we would move him out of the crib in May when Alex's parents come visit us. They are bringing us a twin mattress which will go to Nathanael. We already have his part of the bunk beds but we do not have a mattress so we haven't put his bed together yet.

In the sheet order I also ordered some bassinet sheets to go in the bassinet we already had from when we had Isaiah. I decided to take the entire thing apart and give it a good washing and now the entire thing is put back together and has clean sheets on it and is ready for the baby to sleep in it. She will be sleeping in our bedroom for a while so now that is in order and I am so happy to have one less thing to worry about. I am happy to announce that after the bassinet was put back together, I was able to put all of the clean sheets on the bottom storage container along with a dozen cloth diapers and a pack of disposable diapers as well. We are going to attempt the cloth diaper route with this child but we have purchased a pack of regular diapers so I don't have to change the diapers in the middle of the night once we have her sleeping through the night. Everything is conveniently located in the bassinet so I don't have to move around a lot during the night to change sheets and diapers and clothes. Everything is right next to my bed and the wipes container has always been right next to my lamp on my side of the bed so the only thing I really need to do is make sure I can make baskets during the night whether it is a trash basket or dirty laundry basket. I am just kidding but if I was really lazy at that moment that is all I would need to do. And I can speak from experience that I don't really care to move around a lot at night. I usually fall asleep while nursing at night and then I place the baby back in the bassinet. We shall see how this set up works but needless to say I feel accomplished.

As we mentioned yesterday about some purchases we purchased earlier in the week some things have changed. We were excited to finally complete the toy box venture and rearranged two things in the play room and it makes a huge difference. We decided that once the kids are done with toys we are going to use this box for storage for blankets or something because it really is a nice box.

As for the glider I so desperately wanted, I am sadly disappointed. After putting in new batteries to make sure the glider worked I felt that the motor sounded like it was about to die and I just don't feel confident in having my child in a machine that will not work for long. I was very disappointed but I didn't want to go through the process of getting it cleaned up so she can use when it didn't work the way I was expecting it to work. We will be taking the glider back some time this weekend and continue to look. We decided if we can't find another one we will just use the money towards another big ticket item like our triple stroller we are planning on ordering.

Other than that we are getting very excited to meet our baby girl. I am 32 weeks now and we are down to our last 5-8 weeks. Can you believe that we are nearing the end? I can't and that is probably why I am trying to get everything I need in order like the kids room organized, our room organized, the house in general because we will need to adjust a little. I am glad that everyone in the house including the kids are not objecting too much to change. Hopefully it will stay that way when the baby comes.

Oh one last thing before I sign off. The Lord has completely blessed us with some wonderful friends who have offered to be a huge help during the going into labor phase. I was bummed because we were trying to get my sister to come up here to help out a little with these last couple of weeks and that way we had someone to take care of the kids while I was in the hospital but my brother sprained his ankle pretty bad and she ended up becoming his nurse and is staying with him for a little while. Needless to say some friends of ours that we haven't been very good at keeping in touch with on a normal basis (because of our different schedules) has offered to help. As the women (myself and my friend Lara) talk about getting together for a double date at the end of this month, she mentions that I really need to start talking to her on a weekly basis so she can be prepared and we can figure out where everyone will be. Depending on the time of day I go into labor her husband may watch the kids for a little while which should work out because her husband works with my husband and once her schedule frees up she will take the kids and so forth. I am so blessed that even when I think this is going to be a feat in itself with planning logistics around child birth the Lord places our brothers and sisters in our paths.

Hope you have a great weekend and be blessed.

Aleida