Madelyn is T-W-O!

Madelyn turned 2 on Saturday!

 We had such a fun week-end celebrating. We started the day off by having our family's tradition birthday pancakes for breakfast, then we headed out to the water park in our town. Madelyn and Carsen both had a BLAST! As you can see, Madelyn mastered the elephant slide all by herself before our 2 hour visit was over.

After the pool we came home to a wonderful surprise. My sister and her family drove up from Iowa for a surprise visit. I don't think Madelyn could have asked for a better gift!! :)

That night we ate supper, opened presents and ate birthday cake. My mom used to make these cupcakes in cones for us growing up, and I loved them. Madelyn was very specific that she wanted PINK cake with PINK frosting and PINK sprinkles. This little girl is ALL girl!!

 Madelyn brings our family so much joy. She is full of spunk and is constantly making us laugh, but she loves to snuggle. She knows her colors (with her favorite being... PINK!), can count to 15 (with minimal help), loves monkeys, loves to sing and absolutely adores her big brother. (I'm allowed to brag about her on her birthday post, right?!) :) 

She loves taking care of her babies, so I know that she will also make a great Big Sister.

I say this whenever my kids have a birthday, but I have no idea where the last 2 years have gone. They say that time flies when you're having fun. Well, having fun we are!

Happy Birthday, Madelyn Lou!!

Memorial Week-end

This long week-end has been wonderful. We Keith got some things done around the house, we relaxed, and we spent some good quality time together as a partial family. Yes, a partial family. My parents went down to visit my sister and her family in Iowa for the week-end, 2 1/2 hours away. As much as our whole family would have LOVED to have gone, that's too far for comfort at this stage of the game for my 37 week pregnant self when my last labor was 5 hours from start to finish. But they agreed to bring Carsen along, which he was very excited about.

Being a 1 kid family for the week-end was strange. Madelyn is so different without her brother around. She isn't as competitive. She isn't as whiny. She's much more snuggly... in fact on Saturday morning she walked into our room and told Keith "Daddy, I snuggle you". Being that she's our 2nd child, we've never really had much alone time with her, so it was definately a treat to soak us up some good Maddie time. :) I don't think she minded the extra attention she got, either. Have I mentioned how much she is Daddy's Girl? It's adorable.

We started our week-end off right by having a mommy/daughter shopping date. The weather was perfect, as was my little girl. She happily rode in her stroller for 2 1/2 hours while we shopped. When we left a store she would say "bye-bye shopping". Then she would say "more shopping" as we entered the next store. A few times she would randomly say "I like shopping". I'm sure glad she does... because we'll be doing a lot of it during her growing up years... :)

Madelyn loved helping me bake some cinnamon coffee cake, and was my champ stirrer.

 Sunday night Madelyn was telling me that I had "petty toes". I asked her if she wanted pretty toes too. She said "Blue ones!". Unfortunately I don't keep blue toenail polish on hand, so she settled on pink. And tickled pink she was.

 

She was so giddy about her pink toes all night long. I could barely get her to sit still for a picture...

 Today we went to the annual Memorial Day Parade. When I asked her what her favorite thing was, she said "Horsies!!". There were a few spotted horses that she thought were cows, but whatever... she's not even 2 yet (but will be this Saturday!) so we'll let it slide.... :)

 

Keith and I used to spend at least part of Memorial Day with my Grandma & Grandpa Schuler. Last year we brought Grandpa Schuler to grandma's grave, and enjoyed lunch at A & W restaurant. This memorial day was difficult as they have both passed now, but we will always carry the tradition of visiting the cemetary on Memorial Day. It's crazy how much changes come in a year's short time.

 

The week-end was a blast. I'm sad to see it go. I had Madelyn tell her Daddy that she wanted to have earrings, but he didn't give in. He wants it to be a real decision made by her, so maybe in another year or 2.

As much as we enjoyed our "alone time" with Madelyn this week-end, 

I sure am a happy mama looking in the top bunk tonight and seeing my favorite little boy up there. :)

We've got a 2nd birthday to celebrate on Saturday and another birthday that is TBD for our other little girl.

Life is good.

happy X's a lot

I am due to have this baby in less than 5 weeks. I can honestly not believe that I have made it this far. I have been in and out of the hospital with contractions since I was 21 weeks. I have feared pre-term labor far too long. I have officially made it to the "safe" zone, and I couldn't be more thankful. Although she isn't considered full term yet, she has everything going for her. I had the sterroid shot 2 weeks ago, so her lungs should be good and ready. The hospital in our town doesn't have a NICU, but I have made it to the point where if I went into labor, they would deliver me in town. With all my contractions, I never knew if my body was progressing, so a trip to the hospital to be monitored and checked was necessary to make sure I wasn't laboring for real. Now when my contractions get strong, I wait it out to see if true labor is coming or if they simply go away. I am so thankful to be at peace about all of these things.

With the birth approaching (even if it's another month) I figured I might as well get her room ready. Plus, I'll take anything nesting related lately. :) My grandma & grandpa both passed away in the past year or so, and I received their dresser.

It matches the crib & changing table very well, so I figured it would be a perfect addition to the baby's room. The dresser originally belonged to my great-grandma, so there is a lot of history with it. I love it. The porcelin doll on top of the dresser is one I picked out for Madelyn the night before my grandma passed away. My grandma loved dolls and had a huge collection. It makes me happy to look at this dresser, and think of both of my grandparents.

And you KNOW that it's already filled with our little girl's {clean} clothes. Pulling out baby clothes and washing/folding them was so fun. I can't wait to go through the baby stage one.more.time.

On a completely different note... this morning I walked into the kitchen at 6:45 to find this...

Carsen had gotten himself and Madelyn some cereal. Yes, we had a talk about how it isn't safe to climb on our counters to get a bowl, but I couldn't help but love and appreciate the fact that he was trying to help. He is taking his role of big brother very seriously these days. His desire to help his little sister makes me a happy mama.

So for all you sports fans; here we are in the safety zone, getting ready for zone defense. Life is about to change once again... and I couldn't be more excited!!

mother's day

Happy Mother's Day!

I love celebrating this day! I love honoring my mom, and celebrating being a mom. Being a mommy is a blessing that I think is easy to take for granted... especially on the hard days...

This week was a crazy one. My mom and I went and got pedicures together on Tuesday night. It was wonderful having a back massage while I got my feet & legs rubbed, and my toes painted oh-so-perfectly... all while spending some quality time with my mom! It felt like the prefect evening... until I started having contractions every 3 minutes on Tuesday night. After laying down and drinking about 400 gallons of water at home, they didn't stop. I went into the hospital, and was given a shot to stop the contractions. But it didn't work. They gave me some iv fluids, and that didn't help either. They told me I needed to stay overnight for observation, and even threatened sending me away to the Twin Cities or Rochester in case I were to deliver (they won't deliver before 35/36 weeks at our hospital). I was scared. I knew our little girl wasn't full term, and her being born would mean a couple of weeks of her being in the hospital. After being monitored all night (and the contractions not ever stopping) but realizing my body wasn't progressing towards labor, they finally let me go home. They gave me a sterroid shot to help with the development of the baby's lungs so in case she were to come early, she would hopefully be able to breathe on her own.

Today I didn't get any big fancy gifts, but I feel like I have everything that I could ever dream of. I have these 2 amazing kiddos who call me mommy:

I have an amazing husband who chose me to be the mother of his children. He does so much around the house, especially lately when my energy is down the tube. I'm so lucky to be loved by him.

As much as I can't wait to meet our little girl, I also know that her staying in the oven for a few more weeks is what is best for her. Here's my profile at 34 weeks...

I was so thankful that it was a nice day today and I got to show off my pretty toes, too!!!

Sorry about the obstructed view... I actually had to lean forward to get this shot... Hello 30 pounds in 34 weeks and over 10 inches in my tummy ALONE.....

Little did I know at the time that getting your ankles/legs rubbed can stimulate horomones that can cause labor. No more pedicures for me until this little girl is born!

Today was perfect. My Mother's Day was wonderful. Being a mommy is such a true joy and an incredible blessing.

She loves me... she loves me not...

Today marks 33 weeks of being pregnant for me. Believe it or not, but time is really starting to fly by. I can't believe we'll have our little girl in about 1 1/2 months- W.O.W.!!

My nesting instinct has kicked into full gear these past few weeks. I love to clean and always feel very happy and accomplished when my house is clean and organized, so I am loving this nesting and the energy that I currently have to get some things done. However, I think Keith is about to go nuts. I try really hard to focus on my kids during the day, and do the housework when they are sleeping. So that means a lot of my nesting takes place late at night... quite often, very late at night. For example: last week, Keith and I were getting ready for bed. It was about 11:00 pm, our normal bedtime. As I was brushing my teeth, I noticed the sink wasn't perfectly clean... so why not clean it, right? In fact, why not clean the WHOLE bathroom... at 11:00 pm? It wasn't the most thorough cleaning, but it was still a good cleaning, none-the-less. As I happily climbed into bed around 11:10, Keith gives me the "what were you thinking" look. I was clueless. I thought I was doing a GOOD thing by keeping a clean home. A clean home makes for a happy family, right?

Wrong. A clean home definately  makes for a happy mama, but the rest of the family doesn't mind the house not being perfectly clean or picked up.

During naptime today, I went through some piles of clothes (I can not WAIT to have a garage sale this summer and sell some of our girl stuff and all of Carsen's old things) and organized and cleaned most of the kitchen cabinets. 2 1/2 hours later I was wiped... I was in physical pain... I was ready to take it easy. So I plopped me and my big ole' belly on the couch. Then about 2 minutes later, the kids woke up. Of course! :)

So as much as I am truely LOVING getting my house organized and overly clean, I am going to try to relax a little and not hold as high of an expectation for myself. Pretty soon I'll be tending to a newborn and feeding her every 2-3 hours around the clock in addition to taking care of the family that I already have. I'm going to be tired. I'm not going to have time to have my house looking 'perfect' all the time. And look out people... I might even be a bit crabby, due to the lack of sleep... and my messy house... :)

our *hot* date

We've got 2 small kids. I'm very pregnant. Keith recently finished his Master's Degree and is studying for the CPA exam in a little over a week. Basically, we don't get out much. Rarely, actually. We happen to live right across the street from 2 of the world's best babysitters (my parents!) who seem to watch our kids all the time, but we still don't seem to get out just the 2 of us.
Well, we had a fun evening together on Friday night. It was just the 2 of us. Oddly enough, we didn't go anywhere special or do anything fun. We actually painted. Yup, painted.
Carsen has had his own room for his whole (4 years!) life. Madelyn lives across the hallway, but her little sister will be moving into her room in the near future. The 2 girls will eventually share a room, but not until baby #3 is a year or so. So, that means Maddie gets to move in with her big brother for the time being! (I think they will actually both love it). Carsen's room has been a light blue color, so I've been wanting to re-paint it for some time. This gave me the perfect 'excuse' to make it more gender neutral, but still fun. Here are a few pictures of his new room!

Most of the inspiration for the room came from our recent trip to Florida. While we were there, we visited Animal Kingdom and went on their safari. The 3 pictures hung on the wall are all from that safari, which Carsen loved! There is another bed that fits perfectly underneath Carsen's bunk, which is where his new roomie will be living sometime next week.
I know painting doesn't seem all that romantic, but it was nice to put the kids to bed, and have some alone time with my husband. There weren't any distractions of the television, computer or text books. It was just the 2 of us, and lots of paint. We talked. We laughed. We had a good time. However, as much fun as we had, I think I'll choose to go to a restaurant next time for some yummy food and something that doesn't involve work!
On a side note, does anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to make this a smooth transition? We're not only merging their rooms, but we're transitioning Madelyn from a crib to a bed. I'm scared!!!! :)

Kramer vs. Walsh

*WARNING... bare belly pregnant picture posted below. Don't say I didn't warn you...*

What do Amy Kramer and Kerri Walsh have in common?? 

Well, not much actually. 

She's tan... I am not.

She's a great volleyball player... I am not.

She's long and lean... I am not.

She's in shape... I am NOT.

About the only thing that we have in common is that we both use Kinesio Tape. Hers is to help her shoulder. Mine is to help my oh-so-sore pregnant body.

I see the chiropractor every few weeks to help me with my aches and pains. Yesterday he recommended something I had never even heard of before. He asked if I would be open to having some Kinesio Tape put on my belly. Basically it models the muscles in your stomach that you completely lose during pregnancy, and it helps support the ever-growing basketball that I am carrying out front.

I was hesitant, but thought it couldn't hurt anything. So I agreed to give it a try.

To my surprise, it is working. It is giving me some relief. The aches and pains are nowhere near gone, but I am happy to have them lessened for the time being.

The tape can stay on for about 5 days, and then I'll probably go get some more applied. 

And yes people, it's waterproof... so I can still shower! :)

I am not excited about exposing my bare pregnant belly for the world to see, but I think that this tape is really cool, and am hoping that seeing it may help someone else out there who is in as much discomfort as I am.Give this a try. It's definately not something you would normally think of, but let me tell you... I was feeling pretty desperate.

things that i Loooooove

I started the day off by using this wonderful shampoo & conditioner that my parents brought me back from Israel. I L.O.V.E. it. The ingredients are carrots and minerals/mud from the dead sea. Simply YUM.

I haven't been doing my Walgreens couponing lately, but I made a trip yesterday which I was pretty excited about. I got these 4 bottles of men's body wash, 2 candy bars and a box of prunes (for my sweet daughter... not me) My grand total after coupons? $1.50

Madelyn is really into her babies right now. A few times throughout the day she lays her baby on the table. When I ask her what she is doing she says "Mommy, baby poopy diaper. Baby wet wipe". Yes, we're going through lots of wet wipes, but I think it's absolutely adorable.

Carsen is always doing silly things throughout the day that make me laugh. This little boy makes me smile so much!

My mom accompanied me to the doctor today, and we saw my little sweat pea via ultrasound. She's looking good and healthy!

Keith has been in bed almost the past 3 days with a fever. He got some anti-biotics today, and I'm hoping those pills will kick his fever's butt. When that happens, I'll be adding that to the things that I love.

We'll see you again, Grandpa Schuler

The past 3 weeks are a bit of a blur. You know what they say, when it rains it pours. Well, I think I can say of the past 3 weeks when it rains, it hails.

My parents left for a 2 week vacation for Israel to visit my brother and his family that live there. They had just moved my Grandpa Schuler into a nursing home as he was requiring more care, but health-wise he was doing fine. With me being the only "Brough child" left in Faribault, I told my mom that I would take good care of my Grandpa with frequent visits and phone calls.

We visited at least once a day. It was tough to take the kids to the nursing home with how excited and wild they get to see Grandpa Schuler and running around like kids do, but we knew it was important to see Grandpa. The first few days of my parents being gone he was fine. But after a few days, he started going downhill... fast. He quit eating completely and refused his pills. He had lost the will to live... he wanted to be reunited with my grandma who died last March.

The nursing home has a "hospice room" in their facility where they put residents who are approaching death. They decided the middle of that week that my Grandpa was going to be moved to that room. It's a private room, so the patient receives more care, and family can have more personal visits.

That next week-end (my parents had no been gone a week at this point) my 2 uncles from Colorado came up for a visit. They were able to spend a lot of time with their father. He was spending most of his time in a wheelchair or in bed, but the change of company was good for him. I am sure he was getting a little tired of just seeing my face for almost a week. :) I struggled to let them go back home to Colorado on Sunday. I wanted them to stay, but the nurses still thought he had some time left. I just had a feeling that he didn't.

That next week, things changed very quickly. He was sleeping most of the day in his bed. He was becoming less responsive each day. He was struggling to swallow, even a small amount of liquid. On Tuesday afternoon I had a meeting with the hospice nurse and a few other people, and they gave him less than 2 weeks. I called my parents, and they decided to stay in Israel. Hospice thought that he would still be around once they arrived home, plus my mom has spent 1 1/2 - 2 hours with grandpa each & every day. Grandpa knew how much my mom loved him. She took great care of him.

The very next morning (Wednesday March 2nd) I got a call at 7:45 am from the nursing home nurse, saying my grandpa wasn't doing well. His body was showing obvious signs of him preparing to die. I was supposed to work that day, which ended up being great b/c the kids were at daycare. I immediately left to go sit by grandpa's side. I made phone calls to his 3 children. The 2 boys from Colorado left immediately to try to make it to say good-bye. I called my mom and let her say good-bye over the phone. I called my sister and asked her to come up from Iowa to be with me. She had to pack and drive 2 1/2 hours, so I called Keith's sister who lives in Faribault to come sit with me, too. I didn't want to be alone, but I also wanted my grandfather to be surrounded by people who he loved, and who loved him.

My sister got there around noon. We had no idea how long it would be, but knew it would be soon. We spent the day thanking Grandpa for being a wonderful father and grandfather. We told him we loved him. We held his hand. We asked him to tell Grandma "hi" once he entered Heaven.

In the past couple of months I have spent a lot of time reading the Bible to him. He wasn't able to read it himself anymore, but my grandfather was a very Godly man who loved his Bible. At about 4:40pm that day, I grabbed the Bible and started reading Psalm 23 to him.

1:The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2:He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3:He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4:Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5:Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6:Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Less than a minute after I finished reading this passage, my grandpa took his last breath. He was finally reunited with my grandma. He was finally with Jesus.

When I returned home that evening, I told Carsen that Grandpa Schuler went to Heaven. Carsen looked at me with 2 very sad eyes and said that he was "sad that he wasn't going to get to visit Grandpa Schuler anymore". Then he asked "could we go to Heaven to see him and Grandma". Carsen just turned 4, so I am hopeful that he will keep some of the memories that he has. Even this morning Carsen said that he wished that he could go see Grandpa Schuler today. I told him I wished that we could, too.

I miss my Grandpa. I'm sad that my kids won't grow up with him in their lives. I will miss his gentleness, kindness and sense of humor. Ever since my Grandma died, my Grandpa has talked a lot about Heaven. He was ready to go. He wanted to go. Grandpa isn't in anymore pain. He doesn't have anymore sadness. He's exactly where he should be. Because Grandpa is in Heaven, we know we will see him again someday.

We celebrated the life of Grandpa Schuler this past week with family, friends and services. I have so many good memories of him. Sitting by his side as he took his last breaths was hard and emotional, but it was a true honor. We do things out of our comfort zone for family. We do things that we normally wouldn't for the people we love. And let me tell you... my heart is filled with a lot of love for my Grandpa Schuler.

My 'little' boy is FOUR!

So it's midnight on March 1st, 2007. I am still enjoying the Nubane, but can feel the effects wearing off. I was frightened for the pain I was about to feel when I lost the full effects of the drug. I asked for an epidural, immediately. Being it was in the middle of the night, I knew it would take some time for the anestesiologist to get there. I knew the pain was temporary though, b/c once he got there it would be smooth sailing.

He finally got there, and was prepping me for the epidural. They brought out the form for me to sign of all the scarey things that can happen from getting an epidural... you know, things like permanent paralysis or death. Little things. I cut them off while they were reading the form to me and said I didn't care. Show me where to sign. Because honestly, I thought I might die if I didn't get this epidural.

After the epidural I was to lie on my back, and they said it would kick in very fast. So I waited...

and waited...

and waited some more...

I felt a little tingly in my left side, but I was still feeling every pain from every contraction. They had me turn on my side. They tried a few things. After about 30 minutes with no relief, it was quite obvious. The epidural wasn't going to work.

I was devasted. I was scared. I was so completely exhausted. I still had a long ways to progress before getting to the pushing phase, and I had no idea how I was going to ever get there.

They said they could call the anestiologist back to give me another type of shot in my back, and that this was the last shot at anything. (any more drugs after this would have given me a spinal headache) They said this would numb the pain like an epidural does, however would only work for anywhere from 2-5 hours. I begged them to get him back here asap.

He returned with his big needle and his long form. Signed my life away once again, and waited for the drugs to kick. This time it worked... THANK YOU GOD. It had to be around 3 or 3:30 am by this time. The nurses encouraged me to sleep while I could, so I followed their orders.

At about 5:00 am I woke up with contractions again. I still wasn't at a 10. At this point I really felt as though maybe my body was telling me it wasn't going to be able to give birth naturally to this child. I started asking the nurses about c-sections. Then, I started BEGGING for them to give me one. They said that it wasn't an option for me at that point.

So I labored some more and puked like crazy but also tried my best to breath through my contractions. (although the pain was horrible, I never completely lost it. And I was definately not a screamer!) Finally at 6:30 am the nurses checked me (because I was feeling the urge to push... remember, no pain meds at this time) and I was finally a 10. It was go time. It was time to push.

Pushing was wonderful for me. It gave me relief through those horrible contractions. After 30 minutes of (most people say that this is quick!) pushing, Carsen Keith Kramer was born at 7:00 am weighing 7 lbs 4 oz. The pain went away immediately. I was so tired happy.

Holding Carsen for the first time and hearing his first cry and seeing how perfect he looked made all the pain so worth it. Keith and I had a healthy baby boy- we were so completely over the moon.

Carsen is such a good boy. He has a spunky personality and a warm loving heart. He loves his sister and is very protective of her. He loves to learn. He can write the alphabet, count to 40 or so, sound out simple 3 letter words and loves simple math. He loves going to church and quite often talks about his love for Jesus. We still have the normal challenges that any parent with a 4 year old have, but it is such a delight and such an honor to call him our son.

Happy Birthday to my favorite little guy, Carsen, I love you SO much!!  :)

4 years ago...

It all started 4 years ago today. The date was February 28th, 2007.

                                                                           Don't mind the sideways picture...

I was nearing 40 weeks of being pregnant. I was big huge. I had outgrown all of my maternity clothes. I was ready to meet our son.

I woke up around 4:00 am with contractions. I had been having pre-term contractions for about 6 weeks, but these were different. They were stronger. I finally got out of bed around 6 and got ready for work. Yes, work. I'm an accountant, so I had some month end stuff that I needed to complete before I was comfortable going on maternity leave!! :)

My contractions got progressively stronger throughout the morning. At about 11:30, I called Keith in tears telling him he needed to come pick me up from work. My contractions were very strong, and were 2-3 minutes apart. I wasn't able to drive because I was in so much pain. He picked me up, and we rode home together.

We called the hospital, and they told us to do whatever we were comfortable with. I didn't want to labor at the hospital for hours on end, so we decided to try a warm bath at home to see if that would soothe any of the pain. Well, after about an hour of crying and pain, Keith told me we were done laboring at home and headed to the hospital because he didn't want this baby to born at home.

I agreed. I knew I was almost fully dialated, and that our son was going to be born SOON. This was it. I was ready.

I got to the hospital, and through my tears explained to them that I couldn't possibly labor at home any longer b/c our son was about to be born.

I got in my gown, got into bed and hook up to the baby monitor. Yup... the contractions were registering loud and clear. Then they checked me. I couldn't help but think "Maybe not a 10, but for sure a 7 or an 8". I'll never forget the feeling of defeat I felt when the nurse looked at me with a grim look and told me that I was MAYBE A 2. You have got to be kidding me. If this was what a two felt like, what on earth would a TEN feel like??? Wowza.

The afternoon was hard. Labor is something that you can't anticipate until you experience it. I thought I could easily do it without an epidural. Little did I know I would be begging for one at just a measilly TWO. 

Finally in the evening, the nurses gave me a dose of Nubane. If you're not familiar with the drug, let me tell you all about it. It's pretty much the best narcotic e.v.e.r. I've never been drunk. I've never tried drugs. Nubane was was exactly what I was needing at the time. It helped me relax. It made me happy. It made me not realize that I was in so much pain, b/c I was on cloud nine million. :) The thing about Nubane though is after the first does, it doesn't work effectively. And it only works for about 2 hours. So I knew I needed to enjoy it while I had it. And let me tell you, I did. Enjoy it, that is. (In fact, sometimes I have days where I feel like a little shot of Nubane would go a long ways) :) I think that Keith secretly enjoyed seeing me on Nubane. I was happy. I was giddy. I was telling Keith how much I loved him, along with all the nurses...over and OVER AGAIN.

I remember looking at the clock, and it was almost midnight. February was almost over. We were going to have a March baby.

To be continued......

oh boy, it's a GIRL!!!

We had our level II ultrasound yesterday. Because of my heart palpitations and my pre-term contractions (I landed in the woman's health unit again for observation this past week-end) I was labeled "high risk". The high risk OB from Mayo Clinic in Rochester was in town so I saw him, along with an amazing ultrasound tech. Apparantly this tech has been doing ultrasounds for 20 years, and it was quite obvious. She was awesome. She was zooming around my tummy, and showing us all sorts of really cool things with the baby. They checked baby's brain, spine, heart chambers, feet (for club feet), lip (for cleft lip), spine, belly button location, blood vessels, kidneys, bladder... it was amazing. This lady obviously really knows what she is doing. She said that our baby is a text book baby, and is perfect in every way as of now.
With all of the symptoms I've been having and how crummy they make me feel, it was a HUGE relief to see that baby is healthy and thriving and doing well. I'm measuring right on time.
She also confirmed today that baby is a girl. (well, she was 99% sure...) :) It was good to get confirmation again. Now I can start going through baby girl clothes, etc. I can't wait. I THINK we even agree on a name. Yay!!
As far as my heart palpitations... the doctor is confident that once I deliver that they will go away on their own. I may have some additional testing to confirm that, but knowing that they are not harming the baby in anyway calms my fears. Knowing that the baby is healthy makes me not worry about the palpitations.
The appointment today could not have gone any better. I heard everything that I wanted to hear. Baby is healthy. Baby is thriving. AND.... baby is a girl. :)

Kramer Kids get Glasses!

Madelyn has had a crossed eye for a while now, so we went to the eye doctor to get it checked out. The doctor determined that she needed glasses! During her consultation, Maddie was having a hard time with the doctor looking in her eyes, so the dr said "watch how I look in big brother's eyes and how he's a big boy!". While the doctor was looking in Carsen's eyes, he suggested that we schedule an appt for Carsen, too.

Sure, enough... they both got glasses!!

 I choose pink glasses for Madelyn. She does quite well with them. The doctor said that when toddlers get glasses, they often leave them on once they realize that they can see better with them on. We already notice a huge difference. When she doesn't have them on, we notice she trips and falls much more often.

Carsen just got his glasses this week, so he's still getting used to them. Carsen picked out these glasses all by himself. These are definately not the glasses that I would have chosen for him, but I felt it was important for him to love his first pair. He thinks he looks pretty cool. Here he is being goofy for the camera.

This is a random picture taken on my birthday. Carsen wanted his picture taken with both of his sisters. :)

I'm nearing 22 weeks! Only 18 more to go!!!

Attitude- CHECK.

Yeah, so I admit it. I cried myself to sleep last night. I was having a pity party and feeling bad for myself. On Monday (which happened to be my birthday) I had an EKG for all the heart palpitations that I've been having. Yesterday at 21 weeks pregnant, I started contracting every few minutes and landed myself a front row seat up at the woman's health unit at the hospital for a few hours of monitoring. So last night I came home and felt defeated and tired.
However this morning when I woke up, I checked my bad attitude at the side of my bed, and decided it was going to be a good day. Yes, my heart is still palpitating. Yes, my contractions are still occuring every few minutes. But I'm choosing to focus on the positives rather than dwell on the negatives.
Have you heard of the saying "The grass is always greener on the other side"? Well, I tend to believe that someone is always worse off than I am, too. For example:
*Some childhood friends lost their adult son on Sunday.
*My grandpa has been mourning the loss of his wife for almost a year now, and wants nothing more than to go to Heaven to be with her.
*I know of too many people who are unemployed because of the horrible economy and even struggling to buy food and the bare necessities.
Yes, this pregnancy is taking a toll on my body and I'm in pain in places I didn't know could hurt, however I'm choosing to have a good attitude about it and not complain. I'm going to try to enjoy the next 4 months of being pregnant with our little girl. I'm going to continue to thank God that he has entrusted me with this precious gift.

And believe it or not...

I'm probably going to be sad in a year or 2... knowing that I'll never be pregnant again.

I am truely blessed... and I thank God for it.

Not in the 'blah-ging' mood

I have been at a loss of blogging words lately. Good thing that we've had some things such as Christmas, vacations and baby news to share lately. Otherwise there would be nothing on here!

I read somewhere that a couple weeks ago was known as the most depressing week of the year. I do not suffer from depression, however I am feeling the 'blah-ness' of this time of year. The holidays are over. It's still winter... and we've still got a couple months of hard winter left!

This past week in particular was a tough one for me. Coming off of the high of being on vacation, and then coming home to my sister and her family moving. They have lived in the same town for 9 years, and are moving for a ministry opportunity in Iowa. It's only 2 1/2 hours away (which I know could be MUCH worse) but it just makes me sad knowing they aren't right here in town anymore. My parents were on vacation this week, so I have also been taking care of my grandpa (who was entered into hospice last week). So needless to say, I felt a bit down this past week.

There were a couple of people in particular who really encouraged me this week with simple, kind words. It's amazing how big of a deal something so little can be when you're having a rough day/week. We still live in a tough economy where people struggle financially, people are generally selfish and it's easy to feel secluded. I would encourage you to act upon any prompting that you have to write someone a kind note, give someone a hug or just to tell them that you're thinking of them. It may seem unimportant and feel unneeded, but to someone who is having a rough week- a week like I was having this week- it could mean the world.

Pink it is!

At our ultrasound today, we found out we're having another little girl. To be honest, I am in complete shock as I really thought we were having a boy. It's a very good shock, though. I am so excited about having more bows and fingernail polish and pink clothes in our house.
Going into the ultrasound, I honestly had no preference on the gender. Yesterday I was hoping for a boy, but this morning I e-mailed Keith and said "I hope it's a girl". A boy or a girl would have been a complete blessing.
But now that I know that we're having a girl, I am so happy thinking about how our life will be with a son a 2 daughters. I love the idea of Keith and Carsen doing fun guy things together, while my girls and I stay home and do manicures and pedicures together. I love that Madelyn will have a little sister, but that both of my girls will have an older brother to look up to. All these thoughts going through my head tonight brings a huge smile to my face. I'm so happy.
These thoughts make me realize even more than ever that our family will truely be complete after this baby is born. Keith and I always agreed that we wanted 2 or 3 kids. Neither of us were satisfied with 2, but we're also not up for the challenge of having 4. We are in 100% complete agreement that this is our last child. The decision was made even more clear today when the doctor advised us that we should really consider this being our last child. My body is going through a lot with this pregnancy, and the doctor says it's my body's way of telling me it doesn't like being pregnant. However as uncomfortable I am and amidst all the pain I'm in, I consider it a true blessing and honor to be pregnant with our 3rd, last child. I am enjoying this last time of having a miracle growing inside of me to the very fullest.
Keith and I had a boy's name picked out, but not a girl's. So tonight we were discussing what our little girl's name will be. I can't wait to go through Madelyn's old clothes and get the newborn clothes ready again. (along with buying at least a few new ones). I have a few friends who aren't finding out the gender of their baby until the delivery, which I totally respect, but I'm way too impatient. I personally LOVE this stage of pregnancy and knowing the gender and planning.
Everything looked good on the ultrasound today, and we pray that our little girl arrives safely on or around (preferably before!) her June 19th due date... which happens to be Father's Day. :)

Pink or Blue?

A few weeks ago we were contemplating not finding out the gender of our 3rd baby. After spending many hours in deep discussion quickly thinking about it, we both agree that we want to know before the delivery. We're hoping to find out on Wednesday morning during my ultrasound. Carsen & Madelyn both cooperated during their ultrasound, so I'm hoping this one follows that same trend. It obviously doesn't matter what we have. I can think of a few different benefits of each gender (it would be really fun for Maddie to have a little sister, but it would be very practical to have another boy and have Maddie {our middle child} be the only girl). So either way, we're going to be thrilled.

I had some intuition with the first 2, but this time it's very strong. I really think that I'm carrying a boy. It's so strong of a feeling that I often forget that we don't know yet. If we find out 'it's a girl!' I'm going to be excited, but shocked. (not disappointed, just shocked) Plus we don't have a girl's name picked out yet! I've been shopping some clearance racks (surprise, surprise!) and have bought almost all boy things. I'm telling ya people... I'm having another BOY.

I'll let the world know sometime on Wednesday! I can't wait!!

Disney World!

 Keith finished his Master's Degree... we're having another baby in a few months and won't be able to go on a big vacation for a while... we're sick of this freezing cold in MN... so we thought it was time for us to get away for a few days! We looked at a couple of different options, and decided on Orlando, Florida. We weren't gone for too long... we left on Wednesday and got home on Sunday evening. But with 2 small kids, we found that it was actually the perfect amount of time for us.

Carsen has been on an airplane a few times before, but this time he was especially excited to get to order anything he wanted to drink on the airplane. Here he is on our way down with his beverage of choice for the day... SPRITE!! :)

The kids both did great on the airplane, and Carsen even helped out by reading books to Madelyn.

On Thursday we headed to Magic Kingdom. We had perfect weather for the day!

Being that this is their off season, we didn't have to wait in many lines. It was wonderful!

Everywhere at Disney they talk about making memories and making dreams come true. Being the sappy, emotional (HOROMONAL) woman that I am, it actually brought tears to my eyes a few times throughout the day. It was so special to be doing something so fun as a family. It was memorable, for sure.

After spending the majority of the day at Magic Kingdom, 

we hopped the monorail over to Epcot for a few hours.

Carsen was a little apprehensive at first, but enjoyed meeting some of the Disney characters.

He also really enjoyed the Nemo exhibit.

The next day we loaded up and went to Animal Kingdom.

Our favorite part of the day was by far the safari. 

Carsen loved these "daddy and baby" elephants that we saw.

He also loved the giraffe!

Towards the end of the day we got rained out. It was pouring rain, and we stood in line for about 30 minutes for this one picture. Keith was 'thrilled'. :)

We went back to our resort to dry off and get some Cici's Pizza, then headed back over to Magic Kingdom to see their firework display. It was awesome!

Our last full day (Saturday) we drove to Cocoa Beach. It was cold., 

but we definately wanted the kids to see the ocean.

Brrrrr.....

Then we came back to the resort and played some minigolf. 

I think this was the highlight of Carsen's whole trip!!

The resort we stayed at has 15 outdoor pools, but nothing indoors. On our last evening it was chilly, so we let the kids go swimming in our bathtub. They had a blast!

On Sunday we loaded up our vehicle (Keith loved driving a nice vehicle for a few days!) and loaded up our tummies with Dunkin' Donuts (YUM!) and headed back to the airport.

We had a wonderful get-a-way for a few days, and look forward to returning to Disney with our family of FIVE in another 5 years or so.  :)