Welcome to the World Little Man!

Andrew Blake born December 19th at 8:33 PM weighing in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. and measuring 18 inches long with a full head of mommy colored hair.

He is a welcome addition to the family and is well received by his sisters who constantly coo over him. In the words of Jocelyn: "aaaaahhhhh, he so cute." Enjoy the pictures!

{"Let's get this show on the road!" Leslie at hospital in labor: 40 weeks & 4 days pregnant}

{First weight check}

{One proud Mama!}

{One proud Daddy!}

{Happy to FINALLY hold our little boy. It's a miracle John was even there for the birth. He spent most of the time on the floor with a blanket and migraine! Felt better just minutes before Andrew's arrival.}

{Our little girl is now a big sister! Hard to imagine. But she sure is proud!}

{John with Andrew and his big sisters}

{Doing what he does best: Snoozing!}

{Like the picture on his pajamas: he's our "Silly Little Monkey"}

Baby's Picture - Unborn Style

Per my doctor's orders at this week's appointment, I went in and had an ultrasound done today to make sure everything was going well with the baby. I guess it's procedure to get this done if you go past your due date. The tech measured the amniotic fluid and made sure his diaphragm and lungs were properly practicing the "fake breathing." Everything checked out to be fine and we were done in less than 20 minutes! During the exam, we got a little glimpse of his face and saw him moving his lips and sticking out his tongue like he was sucking. Which of course he had been sucking on his hand/fingers for a bit too. Here is one of the printouts of his profile from today's ultrasound:


Tomorrow I go back in to get my blood pressure rechecked. It wasn't considered "high" at my appointment this past Monday but it's higher than it normally is so they just want to keep a close eye on things. I was also told to bring my bags "just in case." Hope to give everyone some good news in the next few days....like "He's here!" I promise - it WILL be soon!! :)

When The Going Gets Tough...

...just get in the kitchen and DO something! That's what I decided to do today anyways.

My oh my this has already been a hard week for me. I can't sit on my hands anymore. Waiting for our little one to arrive has been much harder than I thought. So today after a short power nap, I made a special treat that I thought would also be a great present for Aubrey's school teacher and bus driver. These make great last minute gifts too. I think it turned out really nice!

It's called Cinnamon Toast White Chocolate Pretzels. (The pictures she has up on her site obviously do a little bit more justice than mine but they still look nice and tasty!)


I found this recipe this morning on one of my favorite sites: Your Home Based Mom. She has a lot of great recipes (among other great ideas) on her site too that you should check out. This treat was so fast and easy too. Not to mention YUMMY! :-) Her recipe is on her site if you want to try it. (Click on the link above). Just a side note: when it tells you to sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar, it's easiest to just use the same measurements it calls for in the recipe (the sugar and cinnamon). I just mixed a separate batch and put it to the side until I got to that point in the recipe. Also, just eyeball how much white chocolate you'd like to melt for the topping. I used 4 individually wrapped Baker's White Chocolate Baking Squares that were 1 ounce each (4 oz total) and I was happy with it but you can always use more or less depending on how much you want.

So just when I thought I had nothing else to do...I found myself back in the kitchen. BAKING! I swore a few weeks ago that I was good and done with that for a little while but I guess never say never! Enjoy!!

Now I'm going to go BACK into the kitchen and clean up my mess. (Which was hardly anything at all might I add.) With being this far along in the pregnancy, the clean up is my least favorite part of baking and cooking because my back hurts towards the end but it'll give me something else to do, right? Oh Andrew...I can't WAIT to meet you! It better be soon too before I snack my way to an extra 35 lbs! LOL

Funnies

I had to write down some more funny sayings from Jocelyn before I forgot them - which could very easily happen anyways but with Andrew being here soon I didn't want to take the chance. She has me laughing on a daily basis. Her little personality is SO cute!!!

* After getting her pajamas on and all ready for bed, I told her to go say goodnight to her sister. She took off running down the hall, knocked loudly on Aubrey's door and instantly said, "COME IN" and barged into her room to run her down for her end of the day hugs. It was so funny. I couldn't believe that she added the "come in" part instead of Aubrey being the one to say it.

* She was wondering around the house last night on John's cell phone (which was on LOCK). She was jabbering away talking to someone. I asked if she was talking to Grandma at which she responded, "nope!" I then said, "well, who are you talking to then?" She stopped walking around, looked at me and said, "it's Auntie!" Like I should have known! My bad! LOL Then she continued on jabbering away!

* We were driving home from piano lessons and she asked where Grandma and Papa where. I said that they we at home. She then said, "let's go get them!" Umm...3,000 miles is just a little too far to go get them. She also says "let's go get him" if I tell her that John is at work. If it was only that easy! :)

* I was going into the kitchen today to make her lunch when I spotted her in the dining room with my tennis shoe in her hand. She then repeatedly smacked it against the wall. I immediately went over to see what in the world she was doing. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary so I asked her what she was doing. She said, "smashing spider, mama!" Hmmm...I don't know WHO she could be copying here. (me) I really have NO idea! :-) There wasn't a spider though just for the record. But I guess there's the famous line "monkey see, monkey do!"

* "Mom (not mama or mommy like she normally says), can I color?" I then reply, "you want to color?" Then she says, "no." Is it just me or am I missing something?

* Another favorite "whatever" line. We all went to the grocery store the other night. Coming back home, she was looking out her window trying to locate where the moon was. She couldn't see it...nor could anyone else. There was a pretty thick cloud cover overhead so we told her that we couldn't see the moon either. I then heard in the back seat come from her mouth under her breath: "whatever, whatever, whatever."

* Yes, a lot of her famous funny lines happen while we're on the road! We were behind a truck yesterday that had at least 4 ladders tied onto the top. She was saying "ladder" but for the longest time I thought she was asking for some "water." I was trying to hand her water cup to her while sitting at the red light but she didn't want it and finally said very clear: "LADDER!" Didn't I feel pretty stupid at that point. It was like she was saying, "duh mom! look in front of you!" We've only had a ladder in the house once while her and John were working on the living room shelving some time ago. Not that I think she's not smart but I didn't know that she would remember what it was or what it was called for that matter. Especially with the ladder being tied up on top of a truck!

40 Weeks Has Finally Come

A month and a half ago when I went into preterm labor, it was hard to fathom getting to the 40 week mark but alas - we're here! My doctor was pretty surprised that I was even at my appointment this morning. The baby's head has come down some since last week's check-up, his heartbeat is strong and healthy, my blood pressure is a tiny bit higher than what it usually is but that's probably due to a little bit of swelling in my hands and feet, and I'm still dilated to a 2. She doesn't want me to go too much longer without being induced so I have until next Monday to go on my own and then they'll step in and get things moving. This Thursday I have a bio phys (ultrasound) scheduled to confirm that all is well with the baby's growth and then Friday I go in to get my blood pressure checked again. Monday morning I am to go back in to the doctors office with my bags packed and ready so they can admit me to the hospital. I was also told to just bring them on Friday just in case they can get me in sooner. Doubtful, but I'm going to do it anyways!

This Week In Pictures (12/7-12/13)

{Jocelyn enjoying the lights and ornaments on our tree. So hard for little hands to not touch!}

{Our paper chain project. Didn't make it quite long enough to go around the whole tree so we decorated the mirror instead. I haven't done a paper chain since I was a kid. Sure was fun!}

{She's getting really good at going down the stairs without assistance. Little miss independent! It just makes me realize what a big girl she's becoming.}

{We got a package in the mail that had a billion styrofoam peanuts for packaging that in order to GET to the item in the box, we had to scoop them out into a bag. She didn't see this as a chore of course...she had SO much fun instead! Such a big helper.}

{Finally...the item that was found buried in the box. A sewing machine cover for my sewing machine. With Andrew coming soon, I had to put the machine away for a little while. Thought the cover was going to be blue but mint is fine, right? LOL It serves it's purpose so I guess that's all that matters.}

{Sporting her new backpack. She's getting so big! She even said "go to school" when she put it on her back. She's got a few years...thankfully!}

{The girls enjoying a moment on the stairs with their new teddy bears from the veterans bikers club for Christmas.}

Christmas Party: A Visit With Santa

Our ward had their annual Christmas party tonight. We had such a good time. Everyone was invited to wear their pajamas and bring blankets to sit on and enjoy a movie with desserts and hot cocoa/ apple cider. (I on the other hand was satisfied sitting on a chair. I sat on the floor for a bit with my friend who is only a few weeks behind my due date and I could barely get up.) Jocelyn begged for a cookie, smelled it and then refused to eat it. Go figure, huh? Her and sweets don't mix very often. And yes, she IS my daughter!!! :) I on the other hand indulged in a delicious cinnamon roll and a warm cup of hot cocoa. Mmm. She was perfectly fine with her apple juice though and sitting with sister during the movie was cute to see. We then sang songs and listened to "The Polar Express" being read which then brought us to the big surprise at the end: SANTA! Jocelyn wanted nothing to do with it but I was pretty insistent that the girls were getting their picture with him (didn't want to do the mall thing this year) so I made John take her through the line. Yes. I know. I'm horrible huh? :) Oh well. Hopefully she'll forgive me. Let's hope John does too. He wasn't thrilled that I made her go up and see him when she was scared. Let's just say the following picture came at a mighty high price!

{Aubrey & Jocelyn - Ward Christmas Party 2008}

Picture: 39 Weeks

Wow! This week has just flown by. I promised to post a current picture this week though so here is one that was taken today (39 weeks & 5 days). Not much new to report. Tuesday night I called the on-call doctor to discuss some symptoms I was having (mainly some abdominal and back cramps) and she said that I was probably in the early stages of labor and to call if things got progressively worse. A few hours later, the symptoms and constant contractions ceased and I went to bed. So I suppose that this labor will just go in stages and gradually over time instead of all at once. I'm feeling fine though otherwise. Just some tingling in my hands and being really tired. With John reporting to his training mid-January, let's just hope the baby comes sooner than later so I can get as much of his help as possible. We're looking at that being 2 to 3 weeks of time before I'm on my own for 10 consecutive weeks. Better than nothing! I thankfully have wonderful friends and family that will help me keep sane while he's away. I don't think I could do it without them! Lots of love to you all. And hopefully we'll have some baby news to give to you soon. :)

{Me at 39 weeks with Andrew - John making me laugh at who knows what!}

{Close up of the baby bump!}

{Andrew's bassinet all ready and waiting}

It's Now Official!

John received word today FINALLY...he's been accepted into the Officer Candidate program - starting this January. It's a 10 week intense training course to become an Officer in the Marine Corps. Great timing, I know. But that's the military for ya. Or life in general. Either way. I've been really exhausted lately (gee, I wonder why!) so I don't have much energy to spend to type more but I will be back to update on this topic soon. All I can say is that many changes are in store for our little family. That basically sums it up at this point. But I'm really excited for him and super proud of his hard work to get into this program. "Great job sweetie!"

39 Weeks Update

Today's appointment didn't confirm many new changes despite all that I have been feeling but I am now dilated to about 3cm instead of last week's 2cm. Oh and that I have officially hit the 35 pound weight gain. Woo Hoo! Still 15 less than when I carried the girls to full term. Thankfully this pregnancy has treated me pretty well. I'll get John to take a new side shot of the baby bump in the next few days and will post it for you to see soon. It's getting so close...I can hardly wait to have him here! :)

This Week In Pictures (11/30-12/6)

So this week in pictures is going to be on the rather short end. Surprisingly this past week was crazy busy but I was still able to manage posting quite a bit and therefore don't have any left over pictures to display except for this one of Jocelyn. She loves her sunglasses and asked that I take a picture of her wearing them...crooked and all! She was really proud of herself for putting them on all by herself - something that she's been working on for a little while now.

An update on baby news: last night I started to get contractions every 5 minutes for a good while. I was laying there timing them and must have gotten real tired of that because I woke up a short time later to find out that I slept for an hour or so. Got back to timing. Still every 5 minutes. Walking around didn't change things either. So after that had gone on for a good 3-4 hours, I called my doctor's office around 11:30pm. The on-call doctor called me back (sounding pretty tired) and asked if I was dilated. I told her that the past Monday at my appointment I was at a 2. She asked if there was any other symptom and I said no. She said that she didn't seem to think that I was in labor and could just stay home and wait until it felt like my cervix was dilating but also to not wait TOO long as it's my 3rd child. Yeah. Okay. That makes a ton of sense! How the heck am I supposed to know when my cervix is dilating? Frustrated with the conversation that made absolutely NO sense whatsoever to me, I went to bed - hoping I wouldn't end up delivering him at home! John mentioned that we had a tarp that I could use in the backyard if we needed to. HELLO????? I don't think so!!! A little traumatizing, don't you think? Not even an option! I know it's strange that I'm so concerned about knowing when I'm actually in labor (I'm sure it'll be pretty obvious!) but with Aubrey I was induced 6 days before her due date and in labor for 24 hours and I was at the hospital the morning they had scheduled me to be induced with Jocelyn but lo and behold I was already in labor on my own with her and had delivered her in just 4 hours. This time, I'm not being induced unless I go 7-10 days AFTER my due date of December 15th so this would explain my concern. Though I am glad I most likely won't be induced. NOT fun! So. That's my update at this point. Everything's done and ready so we're just playing the wait game. I have another appointment tomorrow (Monday) morning so more news to follow...

Jingle Bells

The girls and I were sitting in the dining room waiting for some of John's yummy waffles and out of no where Jocelyn started to sing the WHOLE song to Jingle Bells. I was quite stunned to be honest! We've been playing a little bit of Christmas music around here but not a whole lot so it really surprised me that she knew this song entirely. It was really cute and we were all so excited for her that she had it memorized. I went and grabbed the camera and recorded what I could (she only did the first verse this time)...finally getting her to sing a little bit on TAKE #4! I was beginning to think that she enjoyed the spotlight! :)


Jingle Bells - Take One


Jingle Bells - Take Two


Jingle Bells - Take Three


Jingle Bells - Take Four

Aubrey At The Piano

Aubrey performed tonight in her Christmas piano recital and did such an awesome job! We're really proud of how well she did - especially for just starting lessons this past Winter. She was also pretty happy that she had both of her songs memorized for the recital: Oh Christmas Tree and The First Noel. Here is a little video of her performance. (Again, you'll have to pause the blog music in order to hear the video.)

Aubrey's Winter 2008 Piano Recital

More Funnies By Jocelyn

As a typical two year old would have it, learning new words every day is a MUST! I am confident in saying that Jocelyn is definitely among the typical in this case. Just to get this straight up front, I am by no means complaining. MOST of the time, I find her new words quite amusing. Others, well, not so much. :) Here's her recent findings:

* "hey babe" - Our family was driving down the road and I was telling John something which started with "hey babe." Of course it was copied right there on the spot when she heard it but just this morning before John left for work Jocelyn blurted out "hey babe!" We obviously correct her and tell her that it's daddy to her and not babe but she still thought it was funny and said it again. Maybe we're both not very good at controlling the silent chuckles when she says this. Who can blame us? (Although we really should work on keeping a serious face). Kids say the funniest things out of no where!

* "stinky diaper" - Every Tuesday and Friday morning when we're home, Jocelyn hears the garbage truck drive up our street for garbage pickup. She goes ecstatic and runs to the window to watch. It is then, in a very serious voice, that she says "stinky diaper!" Clearly every neighbor has a garbage full of stinky diapers, right? LOL Someday she'll catch on that there's more to garbage than stinky diapers but that's her logic at the moment: That garbage men come twice a week to hull away her stinky diapers. Not that she's entirely wrong here. We'll be happy when she's diaper free! Thank goodness she shows some interest in going in the potty but we have a LONG road ahead of us I have a feeling to get her to diaper free. (It'll happen, it'll happen!)

* "that's cool" - John came home with the girls the other night from the store. It had been snowing and when Jocelyn saw this she said "that's cool!" I don't say that phrase too often so it honestly could have been picked up anywhere. He got a kick out of it.

* "whatever, whatever, whatever" - I was sitting with Jocelyn at lunch. She saw a neighborhood cat walk by and then run off which she then asked what the kitty was doing. I said something along the lines "the kitty is doing whatever it wants...maybe playing or eating or sleeping." All she apparently heard or stored into her memory was the word "whatever." This morning I asked her to go and put her shoes on so we could take sissy to school at which she mumbled under her breathe while putting on her shoes "whatever, whatever, whatever." This word just irritates me (of course deep down I'm laughing) but I think that it's one of those words I now choose to ignore in hopes she forgets with not getting attention from saying it. We shall see if that approach works or not. Is there any chance being in this family that she won't end up a little sarcastic? Doubtful! LOL

Happy 28

We celebrated John's birthday with a nice dinner followed by presents and Cold Stone Ice Cream. (Which by the way, if you'd like free ice cream on your birthday, go here and sign up. Our family has loved this treat!) John's hard to surprise and this year I had a really hard time coming up with a great gift so the girls and I got him a stir fry pan, cooking utensils & stir fry sauce. He's been using our frying pan for the longest time but has mentioned a time or two how nice it would be to have an actual stir fry pan. Well, there you go honey! I told you my pregnancy brain doesn't forget EVERYTHING that is said. Hope you enjoyed your special day. We love you!! xoxo

And for good measure, I'm throwing in a picture of me and the baby bump. Today also marked my 38th week and the only news from going to the doctor this morning is that I'm now dilated to a 2. Woohoo...progress! :)

O Christmas Tree

So naturally - to go along with my nesting - the Christmas tree was put up just days after Thanksgiving. I honestly can't remember in the last few years that this has happened but again, Andrew will be here before we know it so I want everything on my "to do" list checked off and done. Getting the tree up and decorated was high on the list. Gone are the days of getting a real tree (since living in Virginia anyways). Stringing the lights, endless needles everywhere, even the occasional spider and all - the real tree is for sure missed. Especially the smell. I hear there's a fix for that though: tree smelling candle? I just might have to go and get one. :) Regardless of a real tree or an artificial one, we had a great time decorating with the girls. Last year we weren't home (in Virginia) for the holidays to decorate our family tree so this is Jocelyn's first official year helping out with placing ornaments on the branches. She was so excited! In fact, she kept begging to put up another and another up until they were all gone. Of course she can only go so high so daddy had to step in and lift her to the hard to reach places. And Aubrey placed a lot of the keepsakes and breakables on the tree. All the while we had the Christmas music on in the background and not soon after placing the last ornament on the tree, we were guzzling hot cocoa. YUM! I love sharing these traditions as a family. So much fun!!

This Week In Pictures (11/23-11-29)

Another tiring week around the Shields household. Or it could just be me that's tired? (Doubt it!) Andrew will be here any day now. We've accomplished a lot though including John installing half of the bottom floor's new baseboards on top of his pile of homework, me setting up Andrew's bassinet & getting his newborn clothes washed and ready for his arrival, and getting the Christmas tree put up. I haven't had a lot of time to write on here as we are busy and tired but I will make sure to keep the blog updated as I find the time. Here's to another week!! :) Have a great one!

{This is how I found Jocelyn at the table for dinner: ripping off her socks and cleaning between her toes. While I found this disgusting, I had to run for the camera! It's interesting...her sister used to do the same thing when she was little. Maybe it's a kid thing? Still gross at the table. :p}

{Some time before this picture was taken, John was wide awake and studying. Guess I can't blame him. Economics classes put me to sleep too.}

{Girls playing with blocks. Jocelyn discovered a circle when the two blocks were wedged together.}

{'CHEESE!' When I looked back at this photo of Jocelyn, I couldn't believe how big she's getting. Wow!}

{Lovin the jello at lunch}

{Girls cuddling up to a movie - I believe it was The Polar Express.}

{We found some extra party favors in the hall closet. Jocelyn was in heaven!}

{Jocelyn getting her hair cut for the 2nd time. I never posted about her 1st haircut but she does extremely well sitting in the chair all by herself. You can't tell by her expression here but she was very excited to get her haircut. Her being shy around strangers helps I think but she didn't move the entire time the lady cut her hair. And ever since she got it cut, she asks to go back every.single.day. Aren't kids the funniest? Luckily, it'll be awhile before having to go back. I'm sure the checking account thanks us.}

{Aubrey & Jocelyn after their haircuts. Aubrey asked for a "bob." I told her what a bob was and she got wide eyed and said, "oh...never mind. I didn't know what a bob was." :)}