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!