Belly Pics # 2....

Here are the rest of the belly shots we had done yesterday. Sorry I could not upload them all in one post! Make sure you scroll down to see the ones from yesterday.

Belly Shots

We had a wonderful Chirstmas with the girls. Maddelyn and Emma had such a great time opening gifts at everyone's houses and getting ready for Santa at our own house. They laid out milk and cookies for Santa and celery for the reindeer, and sprinkled glitter on the lawn so Santa would see our yard sparkling from up in his sleigh and know were to stop. The first thing Maddelyn asked when she woke up the next morning was if Santa had seen her glitter or not! They opened thier stockings on our bed and then raced downstairs to find the kitchen and play food that Santa had left as well as the presents under the tree. When they went to check the milk and cookies to see if they were still there they noticed that Santa had dropped a few presents in the chimney when he was leaving and they just so happen to be the 12 Dancing Princesses that the girls wanted so badly! If you ask Maddelyn what her favorite part of Christmas was she will say EVERYTHING!!! I will hopefully get some pictures uploaded soon of the Holiday.

That night we had a scare and ended up back in Labor and Delivery for our second trip pre-Caroline! I was bleeding and so we went in to be checked out. The Dr came in and he said that all looked well with baby and ordered an ultrasound. It showed that baby and I were ok and the placenta and uterus were ok as well. He said that it looked like somehow the baby had jumped or something and actually tore my cervix! They sent me home still at the 2-3 cm and 50% were at to begin with. We were just relieved to find out that all was well. They also got a clear view of her girl parts, so we know for sure it is Caroline and not Elijah. The dr said that at this point she is pretty close to 6 pounds, so that is not bad for 36 weeks.

Today we went to Sears and I used my Christmas $ to do pregnancy shots. This was a first for me and they turned out so well that I wished I had done them with the other girls as well! I uploaded as many as Blogger would let me for one post, so I will do the rest tomorrow.

16 Hours of L&D......and still no Baby!

Well that is right, we just got home form 16 hours in Labor and Delivery, adn we still are a long way from baby! You would think with my 3rd baby that I would have her in less than 16 hours!!! Basically here is the story. I went in to my regular Dr appt yesterday and he said I was a fingertip dialated and was having some minor contractions that felt like cramping to me. I went home afterwards, and the cramping continued and turned into hard/close contractions. After 2 hours of 3 min apart contractions we called our sitter and headed out the door for the hour drive to the hospital. When we got there at 8:00 last night my contractions were pretty strong and 2 minutes apart. They said since I was 35 weeks it is standard to have me drink fluids and get a shot of brethine. Well besides the fact that I had an AWEFUL reaction to the brethine, my contractions did stop. She checked me an hour later and I had progressed to 3 cm even without the contractions! So they admitted me. They started an IV and said they would let me labor through the night and the Dr would be in in the morning. Well after a LONG night of no sleep for me and little for Nathan and both of our moms, the Dr showed up at 8 am. He siad that there had been no change through the night and the contractions had pretty much faded away. So he told me to walk for the next 2 hours and they would check me again. So we did just that, at 11:00am they checked again and I was still just 3 cm and 50 % effaced. So we went home!!!! Yeah, we are all zapped and of course I am frustrated as can be that we went through all of that and still have to do it all again for her to come! Let's just say I'm sore, tired, and she can probably see the sunlight from how low she is! So I guess I will just have to keep everyone posted! As of yet, no baby Caroline!

Hello from PA!

So life here in Pa has been pretty crazy. There were a few times this week that Nathan and I discussed me going to the ER. Contractions have really kicked it up since Thurdsday and they have been as consistent as 9 minutes apart for 2 hours. We have not headed back to Ohio yet because we are doing Christmas with the Martins tomorrow and we have tried to hod out for that. Besides that, the contractions are not consistent enough to go to the hospital for early labor and there are no other signs of labor yet. She has dropped even more though. Now I honestly have problems walking more than about 10 feet without having a contraction or shart pains from her being so low. So we are praying now that our little Missy does not decide to make it a December birthday let alone a pre-Chirstmas arrival!

I would also like to ask those of you out there to say a prayer for my aunt, uncle, and little cousin. They are currently on thier way to China to pick up the little girl they are adopting. 10 years ago they went over and brought back my cousin Sarah who was 9 mo old at the time. This time they are adopting a 5 1/2 year old little girl. Her new name will be Leah, and she will know no English when she arrives in the states on the 30th. So, could you guys please remember their family and pray for a safe trip as well as ease with the Chinese government in getting all the final paperwork done quickly so they can bring Leah home with no problems. As of now, they will get Leah on Tuesday, so they will be spending Chirstmas in China as a new family of 4!

Well, I need to get off of here and get to bed. We are doing Christmas tomorrow with my in-laws, so as soon as the girls get up...like 7am......we will open stockings! Yeah, it's going to be an early morning for all of us! Of couse you know they will get up earlier just because they know what to expect when they wake up!

Christmas Alphabet

I decided to do the blogging challenge forn 2peas today so here is my Christmas alphabet:

A.....is for the Advent Calendar that we do with the girls each night when they get to eat their Christmas Count-Down candy.

B......is for the Book that the girls get to unwrap each night and have read to them before bed.

C....is for all the Cookies we bake at my grandma's house each year. I think there were about 18 dozen cutout cookes made, frosted, and decorated by the grandkids this year?

D....is for the Day after Thanksgiving Shopping that my mom and I do each year. This is generally the start of my Christmas shopping and a must to start the holiday season.

E....is for Eggnog, a favorite holiday drink in our house, but we are known for halfing it with milk.

F...is for the WONDERFUL Food that is made and eaten this time of year such as chex mix, rock candy, cheese ball and peanut brittle.

G....is for all the Gifts that are exchanged between our families as well as those I make each year.

H....is for the Happiness felt in our home as Christmas Day grows near.

I....is for the Icing that coats our sugar cookies. This is my grandma's own special recipie and can be beat by none!

J....is for Jolly Ole St. Nicolas that that Maddelyn is just starting to learn about this year. She is so excited to learn all about how he brings gifts to all the children and the entire ledgend of this wonderful man.

K....is for Kandy Canes...I know I had to snake that in there! I LOVE these sweet treats and the only holiday food that beats them out is a Cadbury Egg in the spring.

L...is for the Lights that Nathan put out thi year. Thi was our very fist year decorating the outside of the house and I have to say he did a very nice job!

M....is for Music that plays in our home all day. We start playing Chirstmas music even before Thanksgiving Day!

N....is for the Nativity and the true reson for Christmas. Our girls ahve two different Nativity sets that they love to play with, a precious moments one and of course the veggietails one.

O....is for the Ornaments on our tree that show events through out the years such as Nathan and I's first Chirstmas together and each of the girls' births.

P....is for Peanut Butter Fudge, my very favorite chirtmas goodie made by my mom this time of year!

Q....is for all the Questions Maddelyn has this year about how Christmas works and all the traditions that she is starting to notice. It is a wonderful thing to be able to pass these on to another generation.

R....is for Reading the Christmas story each year before opening gifts. We think it is important for our children to know just why we are celebrating and opening gifts from under the tree.

S....is for SNOW!!! The best thing about winter is the very first snow and how perfect it all is glistening clean and untouched!

T....is for the Christmas Tree at my parents' house that we decorate in a different theme each year. This year the entire tree was done in edible decorations. Let's just say Emma was in Heaven!

U....is for the Unusual places in our home that you will find the Christmas ornaments that Emma has taken off the tree to play with and then stashed to get back out later!

V....is for the many Very Special Traditons that our family has including the tree, making cookies, shopping and so much more.

W....is for White Chritsmas, my very favorite Christmas movie! I love watching this show all year long though!

X....is for the X-citement of girls as they come down the steps to open the gifts that Santa left the night before.

Y....is for Yuletide Carols that we sing all season long. The girls favorite is "jingle bells...hey! jingle bells...hey! "

Z....is for Zapped....who we all feel by the time the 26th arrives!

Getting Ready for Caroline!

Well, we are almost ready! The only thing left to do is clean that car seat! I got my cradle in the mail the other day and the layette set to go in it should arrive in the next couple of days. I bought this for her coming home outfit if she is a preemie. If not, I do have a second 0-3 months outfit that is just as cute also packed in our bag for the hospital! It's kinda hard to tell what size she will be because we have no idea when she will decide to arrive!

Speaking of bags for the hospital...my best friend in VA had her prcious baby girl Emma-lee today! She had a schedualed c-section, so there was no surprise about when she would arrive. Emma-lee was 7 pounds 6 oz and 20 inches long. Just about a perfect size! It was so fun to be pregnant at the same time that my best friend was and to both be due with girls at about the same time!

My Aunt Donna sent Caroline her first Chirstmas ornament. This is the aunt that Caroline Fayth is being named after. Anyways when I opened it up I just about cried! How beautiful is this! I just love the scipture on the back as well!

Tomorrow we are leaving for PA for the next week. We always got up there before Christmas to do an early Christmas with my husband's family. The girls are just so excited to go!

A Busy Weekend

We had a FULL weekend this past weekend! Saturday was the day that I gave Nathan his early Chirstmas present. I had gotten us tickets to go and see the Glenn Beck Christmas program. For those of you not familiar with Glenn, he is a radio and TV political talk show host, very much the same as Sean Hannity or Rush. Glenn is definitely clear on his conservative political views, but he is hilarious to listen to as well. The show was great, but the funny thing was that it was all on the meaning of Chirstmas and not politically based! He pretty much gave his testimony about where he had come from and then talked about how the true meaning of Chirtmas was not even a baby in a manger but it was all about redemption on a cross! It was really awesome! It was neat to see a man so nationally known for his politial views and him still being so open and honest about his faith. Before I surprised Nathan with the show, we went and had dinner in Quaker Sqaure in Akron. It is where the old Quaker Oats factory was and now they have a huge hotel, restaurant, and shops all built out of the original factory and grain silos.










Sunday was busy with the Natioanl Guard Chirstmas party at Nathan's armory in Columbus. The girls were pretty excited about this since they knew Santa was supposed to stop by for a visit. Maddelyn has talked all week about what she was going to tell Santa she wanted! At one point this week.....after going through Walmart's toy aisle saying she wanted basically everything.....she told me that I would have to see Santa this weekend and not her because she would not be able to remember everything to tell him what she wanted! So cute! Both girls did great with Santa and Emma kept trying to sneak back up to him to see him while it was the other kids' turns.



We went to the OB for another appointment today and all is well. My midwife said that nothing has changed and even gave me permission to go to PA this week to visit the in-laws. I was definitely surprised at that! She just told me that it was ok since it is just 3 1/2 hours away and I needed to hightail it back here if anything were to start. She told me that Caroline has grown another centimeter since last week and that she sounded great! She was guessing that she is somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 pounds now! She also told me that I get one more shot next week and then we just wait on Caroline! I will be 35 weeks by then and she said that 35-36 weeks was her goal. It's hard to believe that we are finally getting to the "OK" point of this pregnancy! I mean yes, I want her to hold out longer but for quite a while I never thought we would make it this far!

New Pictures

Well I have been promising pictures for a few days now, so here they are. These are the first pictures with my new Nikon Digital D50 Camera. I am DEFINITELY still learning but I think they turned out pretty well, especially the family shots! Above is my Mom's Chirstmas tree. All of the decorations are edible to fit this years theme. If you look closely at the tree topper gingerbread boy, you'll notice Emma's perfect teeth marks on his foot! Yes, a bite out of one of the feet makes this gingerbread boy truely fit in at Grandma's house!

This is the invitation that I made for Great-grandma's 100th birthday party. The tag pulls out to reveal the party information and a current picture of grandma. Nathan helped me get 50 of these out the door a couple of weeks ago.

Maddelyn and Emma are opening the gifts they recieved at the family reunion last weekend. Emma loved her My Little Pony and Maddelyn went on and on about her 12 Dancing Princesses' Cell Phone!

This is Nathan's mom...far right, and her parents and siblings at the reunion.

This is a great group shot of all of Nathan's immediate family. Pretty much everyone was there besides an aunt and a couple of cousins and of course Great-grandma herself. Nathan and I are in the far back on the left. I have the huge orange sign behind me...uhhh!

WE HAVE A BABY NAME!!!!!!!

We finally did it!!!!! We picked a name for our baby girl! Our precious baby girl will be Caroline Fayth Martin! We always do a family name in the baby's name, so Fayth is after my Aunt Donna who is Donna Fay. So now, all that needs done before Miss Caroline arrives is we need to wash her carseat out and then we are ready. NOT that she needs to come anytime soon! 33 weeks is still kinda early!

Well I had not planned on there being such a delay since my last post. We woke up on Friday morning to find out that Nathan's Grandparents had received about 4-5 inches of water in their finished basement the night before! So Nathan, my mom , and I spent the day dry-vaccing thier basement carpet. While we were there Nathan's Great -grandma was taken to the ER with a sore leg. Ended up that Great, who turns 100 in January, had a broken femor. So this was the start to a crazy weekend.

Friday evening we had already made plans to help my mom put up her Chirstmas Tree. It is a Hartz tradition to put the tree up with all the grandkids as well as do a different themed tree each year. This year's theme was an all edible tree filled with candies, gingerbread, popcorn and cranberry strings, and a tree topper of a huge gingerbread boy. Well Emma had a blast with a sugar-filled tree! I told Nathan it was as good to Emma as if she had happened upon a REAL gingerbread house! She got the concept of hanging the candy ornaments on the tree, but she was doing more eating than hanging. She would put one on the tree...eat one.....put one on the tree.....eat two and so on. The after we started catching her with the candies almost in her mouth, she would hurry and lick it and then hang it on the tree! Just about everytime you looked at Emma, there she was munching away with the hook still hanging out of her mouth! The huge gingerbread baby was laying on the table waiting to go up on the tree top and Miss Emma found it! It was so hard to be stern and schold her when I found her...but looking at that perfectly shaped bite out of his foot was too funny! I have pictures to show you of it, but of course I forgot my camera!

Satuday morning we had pictures at 9 am with Nathan's parents and siblings. Then we came home and packed our bags for the family reunion in Indiana. We went up the night before to help split up the time in the car for me. All of the family stayed in the hotel that night and went swimming. The girls had a blast swimming with thier cousins from St. Louis. The next day was the Smith Family reunion as well as Great's 100th birthday party. Unfortunately because of her leg, Great was not able to make the reunion. We had a very nice power point of Great's life as well as a Christmas gift exchange and family pictures.

Nathan left today for his last trip before the baby arrives. He will only be in Iowa 2 days and while he is gone the girls and I are staying at my parents' house. My grandma was asked by my mom to "babysit" me while she works. Mom and Nathan agreed that I do not need to be left alone with the girls for very long since I am still on bed rest.

We went to the doctor's yesterday and everything is fine. They guessed that she is about 4 1/2 pounds now at 33 weeks. The midwife said her goal is 35-36 weeks for us. After that she will no longer be giving me the progesterone shots and they will just let the baby do what she thinks best. She said that generally babies of that gestation do fine. Yes Emma had problems, but my midwofe said even a full term baby can have some problems with thier lungs opening after birth.

I will try to remember to get my camera tomorrow and post some pictures of this weekend.