Baby Blessing

This is about as good as it got for the special day. I guess M didn't enjoy all the attention. ;) He still looks handsome, though. My mom and dad were able to be here for the occasion, which made it even more special. Thanks for making the sacrifice to be here!!

Happy Birthday to Our Beautiful Girls!!

I asked the girls if they wanted to combine their birthday celebrations this year, or do things separately. It made me smile when they said they wanted to share, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. :) They decided they would like to go to a play. That also made me smile. :) So, we got tickets to Pinkalicious at the Emerald City Theater in Chicago.

We stayed at Wyndam the night before, and then the girls and I went to the show. (Daddy, M, and Sadie drove around in the meantime.)

Here's the girls showing off all their Pink! Pink! Pink! gear before the show.

Meeting some of the cast members after the show. :)

Posing with the poster

I think it was a fun and memorable birthday, and I'm really grateful we were able to do it. I love my kids! My girls make me so proud and I'm so glad they are such good friends, even though they are four years apart in age. They are such beautiful, fun, lively blessings to our family. We love you T and B!!!

The Reasons Why

He's Here

It's Sunday, August 28. I know I should sleep, because the next day will be a long one. I also know there will be several long days, as well as several long nights following. Just as I start to doze, cramps rip through my lower abdomen and back. Ok. I can handle this. It's not my first contraction. Deep breaths. It'll pass. It does.

Only to be followed, fifteen minutes later, by another. Then another. Then another. This continues hour after hour, with the bloody show making its appearance around 3 am. Around 4:30 I stop trying to sleep and get up to shower, then finish getting ready to head to the hospital as best I can through the contractions (which are now about 5 minutes apart).

My dear friends Carolyn and Phyllis show up at 7 to watch the girls and Sam and I head to the hospital. There, I'm put on the monitor and given my IV. (I have to give a shout out to the nurse who did my IV. I am NOT an easy stick. She got me in ONE shot. Never been done before. High fives to her.) My doctor shows up and is excited to hear that Baby Boy was gonna show up that day one way or another. Turns out I am 50% effaced and 3 centimeters dialated. The show has begun.

I'm wheeled into the OR just after 10. My CRNA is amazing, making me feel very comfortable. Unlike last time, my anesthesia is in within 5 minutes and we're ready to rock and roll.

At 10:56, a beautiful baby boy, 9 pounds, 15 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long is brought into the world of light and noise. He brings his own noise, shrieking like an angry cat. Tears fill my eyes. It's the most beautiful sound ever. He is here, and that is now all that matters.

Meet Miles Edwards Schwegler. My new pride and joy.

Awaiting the Big Day

These girls are going to be such awesome sisters to this little guy! They have been such troopers during this pregnancy, dealing with Mom feeling so crummy so much of the time, helping out SO much, or just keeping themselves entertained while I lie on the couch and watch. :) They are such wonderful girls and I'm so proud to be their mother.

This "adventure" has been one that has stretched this entire family. Looking at Sam and the girls, it seems I'm the one who has come in last place in the "handling it with grace" department, but I'm grateful for the challenges, and the things I've learned, even if I could have or should have learned them faster. I'm grateful to have the opportunity for a third baby, and am so excited to meet this little man tomorrow morning! Check back soon for baby details!

Brand New View

I've been meaning to put this on here forever! A while back, T woke up with pink and goopey eyes so we took her to the optometrist. They had time for her to have a vision test while she was there, so we went for it. Turns out, she's got the crummy eyesight genetics promised. BUT, she got to pick out these sassy specs!! She's a doll, no? :)

July

I can't believe July is nearly over! And I haven't been on to post once. This month started out with our annual 4th celebration of watching the Winnebago fireworks at the Johnsons' from our branch. They have an amazing view of the fireworks, and kindly open their yard and home for the viewing pleasure of the entire branch. Sam was working a 24, so the girls and I headed out on our own. We left our house just as dark was settling in, so the fireworks had already started. It was fun to see Byron's, Winnebago's, and Pecatonica's fireworks all at once on our drive over!

The next day brought about something I have been waiting years for: the U2 concert!! Sam and I have never been to a live concert before, and who better to break that trend than U2?! It was an amazing and memorable experience. It was crazy hot, I was having uterine pains, and we got lost afterwards, but the music!! It was so neat to experience it with my sweet hubby. The concert was originally scheduled for last year, but due to Bono requiring back surgery, it got rescheduled. It was crazy to see a packed stadium of people who had been waiting an entire year for that experience. It was really cool.

Sam and I kept talking for days about how impressive it is that they have such a strong recording history, so many hits, so much energy on stage, and just plain and simple how AMAZING the sound quality was! Bono's VOCALS! I have heard several live concerts recordings, and often the quality just isn't as good as what they concoct in a studio. Not so with U2. And Bono mixes up his pacing and melodies enough that you know there ain't no lip syncing going on. It was really, really cool. Yes, I realize that I'm lacking in appropriate vocabularly, but that's simply because I'm awed by such obvious talent. It was...well, kind of humbling to be invited into view such skill, such passion, such....bodacity. :)

The following week we got to enjoy Byronfest with the whole family. I love this little tradition we have. Our little town has a mini carnival with rides and food and games every year. I love it because it's on such a manageable scale. Fairs make me so nervous with the girls, so this is just the perfect size. I didn't get to ride any rides this year, being huge pregnant, so I got to relish in the pure delight of watching my girls have such a good time together. I love that they are such good friends. It makes life so much nicer, particularly this summer where they mainly just have each other for entertainment.

The girls have been troopers. July has been hot. Very hot. Like so hot that even getting into our unheated pool isn't enough to cool me down to stay outside for longer than five minutes without getting sick. Gratefully, the girls are excited about the room makeover we've been slowly working on, and that keeps them distracted most days. Plus, the novelty of having a bedroom full of mattresses (which is what B's room is right now as we work on transforming T's) hasn't quite worn off yet, thankfully.

We also got to have another ultrasound this month, which was fun. The entire family crowded into the room to see the little one. It seems he's not going to be quite so little :) but it was fun to see him. We didn't really get any good pictures of him (which has kind of been a frustration for me) but he's healthy and extremely strong, so we're happy. Last night, Sam and I were lying on the bed talking and he had his hand on my belly. Suddenly he gets this surprised look on his face and goes, "Woah! He's really moving around in there! Or am I just imagining it?" He wasn't imagining, but I had to laugh because this little boy moves around all the time and what Sam was feeling was little league. I was surprised it seemed like a lot of movement under Sam's hand because compared to what Little Bean is capable of, it was nothing. Sam watched my belly for a few more minutes and then said, "How do you sleep?!" :) It's always kind of nice when the husband gets a taste of what wifey has to go through.

Both the girls were active in utero, but nothing compared to their brother. He seems to get really frustrated with the confines of the womb sometimes and will stretch the entire length or width of my abdomen. The width feels weird and tight, but when he decides to stretch the length, it hurts! The little guy pushes for all he's worth! And he's got the Schwegler strength, no doubt about it. And he loves to roll. He will roll and roll and roll for minutes at a time. It's crazy watching my stomach when he does that. He's got personality, for sure. I can't wait to meet him.

We sit at five more weeks until Little Bean gets here. I have SO much to do, but having anemia, and still such fierce nausea, etc etc etc, there are days it feels like I'm never going to be ready. BUT we have the co-sleeper, car seat, diapers, going-home outfit....that should hold us for a few days, right? ;) Oye.

That brings us a little more current. Life is busy and as always has it's challenges, but it's sweet, too. I'm so grateful for all my many, many blessings.