39 weeks and Christmas!

Hey friends and family! I am sitting here in bed thinking I probably don't have too much longer until this little girl of ours arrives! I have been having so many false alarms that I am in labor that I feel like I am going a little coo coo! I never really had that when I was pregnant with Mason so it's been a little bizarre. I have been averaging about 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night because around 2a.m. I wake up with fairly strong contractions. The weird thing is they go completely away around 5:00a.m. It's been really bizarre and confusing but I am hoping it's a sign that things are progressing and one of these nights it'll be the real deal.

Christmas was soooooo nice and relaxing this year! Last year we were busy moving into our new home so we never had the chance to just sit back and enjoy the day. Mason was so excited when he walked down the stairs and saw all the presents under the Christmas tree. He made the connection that Santa had eaten the milk and cookies and that Rudolph had finished the carrot he laid out on the fireplace! Brandon and I wish we would have taken a lot more pictures and videos but we really wanted to enjoy the moment with him! Sometimes I am so busy being behind the camera that I forget to stop, and soak in the moment! I have been spending a little less time behind the camera because I have missed out on a few really cool moments worrying more about the shot! 

My sister had called and said she was going to our Hauenstein family Christmas and really wanted us to go too! I wasn't sure how I would be feeling so I told her it was a maybe depending. It had been 18 years since I spent Christmas with the Hauenstein side I can't believe it! Way way way too long. I was feeling really good and not in the mood to cook or be alone so it was a perfect way for all of us to get out of the house for a few hours and socialize, eat, and enjoy! I also never realized how close East GR actually is to where we live. It only took us 1:25 to get there which is pretty awesome. Mason enjoyed playing with the little kids and I enjoyed introducing Brandon to family members of mine he has never met before. It was also nice Mason got to sit on my great grandpas lap for awhile! How cool is it that he has a great great grandpa? Not many kids can say they have one of those!

I feel pretty confident that baby will be here in the next 5 days or so. I was betting she would arrive on my brothers birthday Dec. 28th and I'm still predicting that day! On Sunday, we are having our Gloer Christmas at my house so hopefully it's after the party that she comes ha. I am excited to see Tom, Justin, Peyton, my cousins Brandon and Meghan and of course my sister and her fam! It should be a nice relaxing time. My mom will definitely be there in spirit and I'm hoping I can pull off some good cooking like she would do. 

I am having a little bit of anxiety the last couple of days wondering how I am going to do as a mom of 2 little ones. I am a perfectionist and put a lot of pressure on myself and I know this is going to be a trial for me to relax and just go with the flow. I'll admit I like having the house spotless, laundry done each day, dishes out of the sink, and me feeling like I'm looking my best! I need to remember to just let those things go for awhile and be in more of a "survival" mode than a Christi controlling woman mode! I wonder if other moms worry about those things! If you are reading this, try to shoot me a funny text after baby comes I may need it ha! 

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I look forward to sharing baby photos with you in the next week or so! xoxo

Holy cats I'm big!

38 weeks

What a wild week here at the Sev house! As you know this pregnancy has not brought me the best of luck and now I have some more unfortunate things happening to my body! I have a history of throwing out my back but thanks to my chiropractor, I have been doing pretty well. I was doing great up until last Monday when I was holding Mason during one of his tantrums. He was having a tantrum at my neighbors house so I decided to take him home. As i'm holding him he was throwing all his weight back and I felt a "pop" in my back! I knew right away that my disk had slipped. 

I scheduled a chiropractor appointment right away and instead of getting relief I ended up in even more pain. My right hip is about 2 in higher than the left right now and I can't go from sitting to standing without help from someone. Last week was extremely rough because Brandon was putting in a lot of hours at UPS because of Christmas season and I was home with Mason trying my best to take care of the two of us! Changing diapers, getting him to nap, and little tasks were so tricky. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown Friday because every time I did any sort of bending I would be in SO much pain. 

I am now going to physical therapy and tried a therapeutic massage yesterday. The massage allowed my muscles to relax a little so I am a tiny bit better today. I am praying that I am fixed by the time baby comes!

The last week we have been pretty busy. I had my "sprinkle" for baby thrown by Mandi and it was so fun. I was able to see some friends I hadn't seen in awhile and received some adorable baby girl clothes. I now have PLENTY of 3 month clothes for her! I may actually need to exchange some if she comes out a tubbo like Mason did! ha. We were also able to take Mason to do some fun activities. We took him on a hayride with Santa, had a library visit with santa, and we snuck in a couple playdates before my back went out!

Last week during my 37 week appt. I had made no changes! I was still 2cm, measuring a week behind, and it didn't seem to my doctor that anything was really going on. I am curious to see how my appt. goes tomorrow! I have been having stronger contractions and major back pains (because of my disk AND contractions) so I'm curious to see if I made any progress. My guess is baby will come Dec. 28th (my brother's birthday!) I'm not sure why I feel like that could be the day but it just feels right!

I'm hoping to keep you all updated more I just need my health to get a little better! I feel so frustrated that my nesting instinct is kicking in and I care barely move! Her room still needs a lot of work and my house is somewhat of a disaster. I am going to try and not be a control freak and just let it go! ha :) Hope all is well with everyone. I will post this week any information I find out about baby! :)

36 Weeks

Hey friends and family! The last couple of weeks have been super busy so I'm sorry I'm a little late on posting this week. Between getting ready for baby, keeping Mace entertained, and getting the house in order I feel like I don't have a whole of time for much else! I was able to sneak in a girls day with friends over the weekend which was really nice. We had been planning it since early fall so it was great to finally see all my old roommates from college. We ended up going to a fun dinner in downtown Grand Rapids, doing Jamberry nails together, and watching some fun holiday movies. It was also nice to sleep in a tiny bit too! :)

I have been starting to have a few signs that baby will be approaching in the next couple of weeks so I actually already packed my bags today! I didn't pack until I was in actual labor with Mace so I learned not to make that mistake again! I really don't know when she will arrive but my gut tells me probably close to after Christmas! Maybe she will share a birthday with her uncle Justin :)

This weekend my sister is throwing me a sprinkle/cookie party is celebration of baby. It's going to be small and fun! I am excited to see some of my close friends and have my sister here with her little ones!

I am getting REALLY uncomfortable so I am really hoping I'm not pregnant too much longer! The baby seems to be all out front so it's really taking a tole on my back! Mace enjoyed being tucked back a little more I think :) Amelia also enjoys my right ribs and is SUPER high in there! I hope that she starts moving down a little soon…eek! This weekend we are going to try and finish her dresser and clean up her room so we can have it about 80% done :) It definitely won't be completely done until probably late winter when I have more time to work on things. I hope you all have a great weekend! I will post lots more pictures next week once I get some time to play around with my camera and actually get this house clean! :) 

I went for a playdate at the mall and across from the play area was a haircutting place that had the kids watching cartoons while sitting in a firetruck! Since Mason has only had one professionally hair cut I decided to give it a try and he did pretty good! Love his new hair style

 I made these for Amelia last week. I have more fabric coming! I am going to use the rest of the fabric to make friends some and put some on my easy shop. Not sure what the demand is right now for stuff like this but it was hard for me to find any under $10 each!

"Mommy eat banana like monkey" He will only eat a banana with the outer layer on it because this is what the monkeys do :)

 My mother n' law Renee redid this beautiful bassinet for the baby! I just bought the mattress for it today can't wait for her to use it! Thanks again Renee!

 I know many of you have already seen this ridiculous photo!! This just shows the reality of what life is like with a toddler. Definitely not all happy times :)

Another view of the Hair cut

 I put together her comfy insert for her carseat! Thanks Cheri!

 I finally got to meet one of my best friends little guys! His name is Kade and he is awesome! :)

These are my college roommates! Behind is the old house we used to live in. It was HUGE and we have lots of happy memories there. We snuck out of the car to get a quick photo in front of it. Can't believe it's been 10 years since we have lived there…..crazy!

34.5 Weeks and a happy happy Thanksgiving to all

Hi friends and family! Yes I am late as usual with my post…whoopsies :) Today is Thanksgiving and it has been a pretty good day so far! This week I was able to see my cute nephew and take some pictures of him and Brandon's mom came to visit us and has helped with a ton around our crazy little home!

While we were working on babies room, Brandon's mom realized we needed a cap for the light fixture so we headed to Wal-mart tonight hoping they would have one. I HATE black friday shopping so I was a little hesitant to even step foot into Wal-mart! While we were there, Brandon's mom spotted a grill for an amazing deal and we decided it would be worth the wait to hang out for the sale. I spotted some toys for Mason so I stuck in the toy area until they let people grab the items! The funny part was I found an awesome present for Brandon BUT the catch was there were only 4 of them left! There was a young guy in his 20's waiting by the gift and I asked if he could snatch me one. He said yeah of course which was great! All of a sudden Wal-mart started getting really busy and umm how do I say this nicely….an interesting crowd of people was flowing in! All of a sudden 6:00pm hit and it was madness! I quickly grabbed Mason's toys and headed to find the guy who said he would grab 2/4 boxes and give one to me. Sure enough he did and I was so thankful but REALLY shocked he did that for me. All of a sudden I see a police officer step in and yell "Ladies break it up!" there was two ladies fighting over the last box!!!(literally on the ground straddling the box with their legs) She then looked at my cart and screamed that I stole the last box from her!! I was terrified that this crazy lady was going to attack me! I actually went as far as to hide from her for awhile lol. I told Brandon's mom this may be the last Black Friday event I ever do yikes! Long story short…the crazy lady was taken away by the sheriff and Brandon will be the proud new owner of an air pressure pump that I saved a whopping $50 on. 

We put up wallpaper in the babies room tonight and decorated for Christmas some more. Mason put up ornaments on the tree and I was able to find some goodies in the basement to make the house a little more Christmas like. I can't wait to show you all pictures of what we've done around here. It's been fun but definitely a lot of work!! I forgot how much easier it was to accomplish projects when you don't have a 2.5 year old running around. Poor buddy has had a fever the past 2 days too so it's been extra hard to get work done around here. He seems to be doing a lot better tonight though. 

I also had a doctor appointment on Tuesday to make sure baby was in a good position. The good news is baby is head down! THe bad news is I am still measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. This could mean big baby for me or it could just be the way I'm measuring. I am a little terrified though that she is going to end up big like Mace was! He was 22in and 8lbs. 4oz the day we brought him home from the hospital. My body can't handle a baby that big I don't think!! eek.

I am thankful for lots of things today. Seeing Mason grow and watching Brandon being a dad are probably the two things I love the most right now. Being able to see family whenever we want is another added bonus to our list of things to be thankful for. I was overwhelmed with emotion a little this morning remembering how Thanksgiving used to be with my family growing up. We would watch football, go shopping with my mom, rent lots of movies and just relax as a family. I haven't had a Thanksgiving with my siblings in probably 8 years or so! I'm really hoping to organize something with them in the next couple of years because I miss those times so much. My mom would have really wanted us to get together more and I need to do a better job of making sure it happens. 

I am going to be posting a lot of pictures next week of babies room and the Christmas decor so stay tuned! xoxo Here's a little Colton cuteness for you 

Baby Colton is here!

Baby Colton has arrived! He is probably the most adorable little baby ever too. I joked with Mandi that he was probably going to come out 6lbs 10oz because she had the tiniest little bump! Sure enough he came out 6lbs 12oz and 19.5 in. He is so precious! I got to hold him yesterday at the hospital and I fell in love instantly with the little guy. He looks so much like my sister did as a baby. All I could think about was how much my mom would have loved to see her little Mandi moo (she called her that) with a little replica of her! I am so happy for Mandi and her beautiful little family!

Seeing Colton arrive has really made me realize that time is creeping up on us! We aren't quite ready for Amelia's arrival yet but we are getting close. This weekend we are going to finish painting her room and fixing up some things that are broken in there (former residents made holes in the wall yikes). My mother n' law Renee will be coming Monday to help me do the final touches on the room and I'm so so so excited! She has a bunch of fun stuff picked out and so do I! Together I think we can make the room super fun and the best part is we aren't having to buy brand new items. A lot of what we found was from garage sales and antique places :) I can't wait to show all of you when it's complete!

I have also been doing a little Christmas decorating this year. As some of you know, Christmas was my mom's favorite holiday by far. The hard part is she passed away so close to Christmas that I haven't been able to bring myself to decorate the last couple of years. This year I made a promise to myself (and as a mommy) to make Christmas really special for Mason and Brandon. I know my mom would want to go all out with the holiday and make it special for Mace face. I sure do miss her even more this time of year! She really did make Christmas so special for all of us growing up. I will take lots of pictures of the house once all the decor is up. 

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the week. Hope you all have a great week before Thanksgiving :)

32 weeks

We are in the home stretch of babies arrival and I think we're starting to finally feel a tiny bit more prepared. I had a doctor appointment yesterday and found out my blood pressure and everything is great! The only issue was when he was feeling my belly he thinks baby could be breeched now. She may still flip head down but I will need a ultra sound in 2 weeks to confirm she is head up! I have been having really bad pains under my ribs and trouble breathing which may explain her new position! I am really trying to avoid a c-section because Brandon can only take one week off work :( My mom and sister were able to help me out of bed and help me with the house work and cooking which was so helpful! Not having my mom this time around is going to be pretty difficult on me. I know I am going to be a little more prone to post pardon depression because of not having her so I am really praying that everything goes smoothly with delivery. I am thankful though that Brandon's family will be here the first two weeks she is born to help with Mace face. He will have so much fun with them.

Brandon had a 4 day weekend which was so nice! We were able to start babies room, take Mason to his favorite spots (library, bounce, playing in leaves, etc) and relax! My sister had a last minute diaper party before babies arrival so we swung up to Midland for a few hours to celebrate with them. I think getting invited to parties is one of my favorite things about being back in MI! We missed out on so many parties living in Arizona I feel like I am finally catching up on them now! It is also nice being able to drive only an hour to visit a family member. Mason seems to do great with the short drives it's just the long ones we're still working on with him.

The next few weeks are going to be pretty uneventful around here. Brandon doesn't get much time off work around the holidays so we will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas at the house. Normally I hate being a home body but this year I am kind of excited for it. Last year we traveled a TON! Not to mention we spent Christmas Eve lifting boxes into our new home and Christmas day unpacking ha. I want Mason to have a relaxing week before babies arrival too so the less craziness going on the better :)

Say a little prayer that baby flips back into a good position and  all goes well for her arrival! I am literally scared out of my mind this time around. I didn't realize not having my mom for this experience would make me so on edge. Have a great week!

31.5 weeks and disaster strikes at the home!!

Hey peeps! What a weird week this has been for us. The week started off fun with Halloween festivities then ended in disaster! Let's start with the fun stuff first.

Mason had a Halloween activity almost everyday last week. He went to the zoo, dressed up at his library class and passed out candy, then got to go to a friends of ours get together with TONS of kids. Each couple brought their kids and a dish to pass before taking the kids out trick or treating. It was really nice! The adults got to chat and have fun and so did the kids. We definitely hope to do it again next year! 

Mason made it to about 15 houses before his lips started turning blue. Halloween night was of course the first night of snow and crazy blizzard conditions! go figure huh Michigan? He was a trooper though and never complained. The best part was he chose the costume my mom got him over his tiger costume! He loved it so much he even napped in it. He is still talking about Halloween everyday so I am trying to get him interested in Thanksgiving and Christmas :) He comes up with his pumpkin and says "twick o teet" and I hand him some gummy snacks or small cookies. The kid loves Halloween!

When we woke up the next day I noticed we didn't have any water. I thought it was weird but also though maybe it was because the pipes froze. It turns out that it was much more than the pipes freezing! Our neighbor came over with Brandon and helped install a new $400 bladder tank. Sadly, that didn't fix the problem but we are so thankful for our neighbors help. I hired a well company to come out and the guy looked at our issues and said "sorry to tell you this but based on what I'm seeing we could be talking anywhere from $1,500 to 7,000 max if you need the well replaced" I about fainted when he said that! Brandon and I spend wisely and are smart with money but our emergency fund is definitely limited and not ready for all this at once! WIth baby on the way, my INSANE medical bills from the ectopic pregnancy and kidney stones, along with house repairs we were feeling so overwhelmed! I sat on the stairs, put my head down, and started bawling like a baby! The most important thing is that my family is healthy and I knew I needed to stop being a baby and suck it up ha! It's just crazy how bad things always seem to come in threes. My advice to anyone reading is have a LARGE emergency fund! You just never know what will happen.

Anyways, after writing a $1,600 check we woke up the next day to no water again. Instead of flipping out I had to kinda laugh because it was becoming crazy. The guys came over (I think because they could tell I was about to cry!) and figured out our softener had taken a big blow with all the sediment that deposited from the well pump breaking. They mixed things around and cleaned it out and told me we would be ok for awhile but would need to replace the softener to eventually (we will save that for a later date!) I thanked the guys and now I can happily take a shower!


What a weird week! One bit of exciting news is my sister's baby is scheduled to arrive Nov.18th! I am so excited to meet him and squish his cute little cheeks. I also can't wait to find out what his name is going to be. Mandi has been having a little bit of a hard time not knowing what he's going to look like and what name will match him the best. The suspense is killing me! I will definitely be up there right away once he's born with camera on hand to take lots of photos of his first precious days <3

This weekend we are finally going to put a dent in doing the babie's room. Brandon took the weekend off so it will give us a chance to get some work done around here. Mandi is having a last minute diaper party in Midland so I am going to try and sneak up there for a bit too! I wouldn't want to miss it :) I have been slowly building up things for the baby. With Mason I had so many showers I only bought a few things here and there. This time around I am buying like crazy and when I look at everything I bought, it doesn't seem like much! yikes! I guess they say girls are a little more pricey ha. I am saving some money on her room though. Almost everything I am using was from either an antique store, garage sale, or thrift store! I am going to be doing a lot of painting to make everything pretty and fun! I can't wait to show you what it looks like when it's done…hopefully the vision in my head will work out.

I hope you all have a great week! LOTS of pics to share! :)

His exact words "Thank you grandma Jenny Heaven" My mom got him this outfit a month before she passed away. She bought a 3T knowing Mason or Landon would look amazing in it. Last gift from grandma Jenny. Makes me sad :( 

 SO FREAKING FREEZING!!!

 He had a great time playing with all the kids. He was so cute :)

May May and mama pic

I was brave and gave Mason a shorter do!! Mason has had only one professional haircut so far and it did NOT go well! There was a lot of crying and screaming so I have mastered the scissors and his hair each month! I am proud that I was able to teach myself! You would be proud grandma Joy! :)

Mason enjoys his bouncer more now than he did when he was a baby!! We will start bringing baby stuff up right after the holidays…for now I will enjoy my clutter free house :)

So I have been trying to save money anywhere I can lately! Especially with all the bills we have had. I purchased a dresser at an amazing antique store!! These sisters and their mom collect and had dreamed of opening their own store. unfortunately financially they can't afford it anymore and are getting rid of EVERYTHING they have collected the last 20+yrs! I love these ladies and chatting with them. They know so much about antiques it's awesome. They threw in this mirror and frame because I purchased the dresser below for $50 AND they delivered it all for free for me! I am going to paint the dresser white and paint the handles gold.

 Mason is on bottom!! (has the same mouth and I knew right away he was a mini Brandon) Baby girl looks nothing like Mason in the side by side!! pretty sure I have a mini me.

 My new neighbors are so amazing! Helped us out when we had no water and I got a chance to cuddle this sweet little one while her mommy got some work done around the house. I'm loving all the new families moving into our neighborhood…they're the best :)

30.5 weeks! I'm late…I know I know!

Hey people of the world! I hope you're having a great week. Sorry I'm late on posting I have been a busy chick. Mace man  has been busy making new friends where we live and it makes me so happy! It's amazing how getting him involved in a few groups has changed him from shy guy to mr. personality. I am loving it :)

Over the weekend we went to a Halloween Church event that our new neighbors invited us to. It was a lot of fun! The kids walked around in a circle and got to do carnival games to earn treats. The other weird thing was I ran into someone I knew in college who was also invited by my neighbors…small world! We are all going trick or treating on Friday with our kids which should be a fun time. I'm glad we're finally meeting some people around here. 

Today Mason and I went to the zoo with my friend Meghan and her daughter Charlotte and son Jack. The winter animals were loving the weather today! The kangaroos were going wild and so adorable! Mason was within 2 feet of a mama kangaroo and her joey. His favorite exhibit is definitely the prairie dogs though. He just giggles and says "doggies eat apples hehe". We love going to the zoo with our season pass. It's a little exhausting physically doing it at 8 months pregnant and lifting him in and out of his stroller, but worth it to see him so happy!

Tomorrow Mason gets to dress up and pass out treats to his library group. The kid is literally OBSESSED with Halloween! All day he talks about it and he begs me to talk him for walks around the neighborhood to see all the decorations. It's pretty adorable! It's funny how cartoons, commercials, and stories can really get a kid excited for holidays. 

Tomorrow I have my 30.5 week appt. I don't think it'll be very exciting but I am going to talk to my doctor about some pains I've had the past week or so. My braxton hicks are way more intense than they were with Mason so they may check to make sure i'm no dilating. I feel for the most part good right now though! I will update you this weekend and let you know how it goes.

I know I've talked about this before, but I am proud of myself for being more positive the last few months. It's almost been 2 years since I lost my mom and I look back the past couple years and realize how much of a sad place I was in. I know my mom wouldn't want me to ever be in that place, and I try hard to be as positive as I can! My heart still hurts, I still get sad and cry over dumb things, and I pray that my mom is somewhere watching over us, but I am finally in a place where I can start to think of her and smile and not completely break down in tears. I don't think I'll ever feel like the "old" Christi ever again….but I am a stronger, kinder, more forgiving person since this has happened to me. I see things a lot differently now and don't sweat the small stuff as much. I also feel like the most important thing in life is just being happy! Whenever people get mad over little things or upset with people over something small I want to shake them…because life is too short to be bitter or mad! Be happy and make others happy along the way.

I want to leave you with some photos. Some of you may have already seen on instagram (sorry!). I will use my camera this weekend to take some fun photos of Halloween festivities. xoxo