Chloe is 6!!!

My baby girl is 6 years old today! Man, time flies way too fast! My mom always tells me how fast they grow up and that I won't believe it. Of course, moms are always right, and she's definitely right about this! I honestly can't believe that my baby girl is 6!

Chloe is such a sweet, bright, funny little girl. She says totally off the wall things constantly and she always keeps me laughing. She's such a snuggler and she's always the first to give me a kiss and hug in the morning! The funny thing about her is that she loves men! I'm not kidding. This girl could be in a room of 50 women and 1 guy and she would head straight for the guy. Every time I pick her up from Sunday School, she's always playing around with this teenage guy that works in there. And she loves to joke around with her uncles every time we're with family. It scares me a little that she's boy crazy too, because when we're talking about her friends at school, she loves to talk about her boy friends (not boyfriends ;P). Of course, I'm not really that worried, I mean I will be when she's older, but for right now I just want her to have fun with her friends...whether they be boys or girls. She will be starting 1st grade and she's very excited! We went school supply shopping this past Saturday, so she's all set to start!

I love my precious Chloe so much and my life wouldn't be complete without her!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!!


Here she is first born

1 year old

2 years old


3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

My big 6 year old!!

27 weeks!

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: It's probably up a few more pounds due to all the cheese quesadillas and ice cream :)

Maternity clothes? Yep

Stretch marks? Sure

Sleep: It's still pretty good, although I caught a little bit of poison ivy from the hubby and it's really frustrating.

Best moment this week: Celebrating Chloe's 6th birthday (which isn't actually till tomorrow) last Friday by going out to eat and taking her miniature golfing. We also had a little birthday party for her at my mom's house on Sunday with the family.

Movement: Yeah, he's quite the little wiggler (see previous post)

Food cravings: I've been really craving ice cream lately

Gender: I'm assuming he's still a boy...should I just keep this answer every week? I'm pretty sure he won't morph into a girl! ;)

Labor Signs: I'm starting to have braxton hicks contractions...I actually started getting them a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to post about it. They don't hurt, but they're so annoying.

Belly button in or out? In...but it's stretching out.

What I miss: Nothing

What I am looking forward to: Hearing his little heartbeat at my dr. appt. next Monday.

Weekly wisdom: I'm drawing a blank. :/

Milestones: This is the last week for me to be in the 2nd trimester!



How your baby's growing:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

A sign of things to come

This kid, ya know, the one that I'm carrying inside of me, the one we call Jett. Yeah, him. I'm pretty for sure he thinks it's completely okay to kick me all. night. long. Already. We're not even to 30 weeks yet. And he's not even in my ribs yet. And he's probably not even 2 pounds yet. Please, oh please my little Jett darling, don't be like this when you come out. Of course, you can do anything you want and I will love you an insane amount, more than you could ever imagine, but can you just do this one thing for me?

I can already see Elijah in him...and he's not even born yet. :)

More photoshop awesomeness!!

Thanks to MckMama and her fabulous photoshop tips, I have taken my photo from
this:



To this:




The photo below is how I had it originally photoshopped, which I still like, but I LOVE the distressed filters the best!



Here's this one of Isaac straight out of the camera:


And here it is after:



This is how I had it originally fixed, which again, I really like, but the distressed look gets me every time.


And lastly, this picture of the boys is one I have really wanted to print and hang, but haven't because I figured I don't want little Jett left out. Well, I may still do it just because now it looks amazing after I altered it with her tips.

Here it is straight out of the camera:



And this is how I had it fixed up before, which, yet again, I really like....but....




Oh my goodness...I'm in love with this version (or whatever you call it...hey, it's late and I'm tired)



She says that she buys her images, i.e. scratched metal, burlap, etc.(the ones you will place over your own photo) off iStock.photo, but I just googled distressed filters (under images) and things like that and saved them to my computer. One word though, when you google them, make sure you click on the tab that comes down and select "extra large" size, otherwise, when you overlay them and stretch them out over the original picture, they will look all pixelly (is that a word?).
Anyway, go try it out! It's way too much fun not to!! And if you don't have photoshop, get it! :)

New rooms!

Mike didn't work today, so we decided to move the girls' room to the playroom downstairs. I'm sure the boring details are something only I care about, but since this is my blog, I'm gonna put them in here anyway. :) We moved their bed, nightstand, dresser, chest of drawers, tv, and rearranged the playroom downstairs to fit it all. We also moved the crib, the bookshelf, the changing table and the rocking chair out of Elijah and Isaac's room and into Jett's room (which is where the girls were). We took the chest of drawers (the one that hasn't been used at all in the past 4 years) out of my closet and put that in Elijah and Isaac's room to take the place of the changing table, since all of Elijah's clothes were in that. We're planning on moving our other toddler bed upstairs into Elijah and Isaac's room once we get a mattress for it. Isaac will just sleep in Jett's room until then. We still need to get Jett's bedding and stuff and paint in his room...we certainly can't keep it purple...and we'll be pretty much done!! I don't think we're gonna paint the downstairs to match the girls' stuff any time soon. I'm sure they'll want it done eventually, but for now it's good. They've been down there all day playing...they love it!

We've been talking about doing all that for a while now, and I'm so glad that it's finally done!

26 Weeks!!

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I haven't weighed myself in about 3 or 4 days...I'm assuming it hasn't changed a whole lot

Maternity clothes? Yep

Stretch marks? Sure

Sleep: Okay...

Best moment this week: Having everything cleaned! :)

Movement: Alot!

Food cravings: Cheese quesadillas

Gender: I'm assuming he's still a boy...should I just keep this answer every week? I'm pretty sure he won't morph into a girl! ;)

Labor Signs: None.

Belly button in or out? In...but it's stretching out.

What I miss: Nothing really...

What I am looking forward to: School shopping for the girls ;)

Weekly wisdom: I'm really trying to enjoy every moment of this pregnancy, since I know it will be my last.

Milestones: Every day!!



The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Double Digits!

99 days left till we meet our Jett...maybe less! Can't wait! =)

And, there have been over 7,000 views of Isaac's birth video I posted on youtube! Yikes!

Okay, that's all I wanted to say.

Really?...already??

I'm already nesting!!! What in the world?? Okay, so it's nice that I'm starting to get more and more energy, and it's nice that my house is so clean, but I really can't stop myself from cleaning and it's really annoying! I've cleaned out my closet, the girls' closet, underneath the kids' bathroom sink, the laundry is always done, and I've deep cleaned the kitchen...pretty much ;)...along with the normal cleaning I do all the time. I did the boys' room a little while ago when I changed out their winter clothes for summer, and it has stayed pretty much in order. I think we're moving the girls' room downstairs tomorrow, and then we'll be able to get started on Jett's nursery!! I've washed the onsies that the girls got me and put them in the dresser that we're using for Jett. This dresser, well more like a chest of drawers, has been in my closet ever since we've lived here, and I NEVER use it, so we've decided that we'll paint it to match his room and put it in there. That way, the older boys will get to keep their dresser in their room. Anyway, I realize that this post was incredibly boring, and I'm totally sorry!! Just so this post isn't a total waste of your time, here's some pics of the boys I took the other day while they were playing in their room.

This baby loves to read!!! He wants me to read to him ALL THE TIME!

Isaac with his tools (which come in 2nd place after books) and Elijah with his blocks (which come in 2nd place, after Hot Wheels...notice the Hot Wheels rug they're sitting on... ;D), and a rare moment when they're playing together so nicely.

Green jelly beans

Laney and Chloe learned this song at school, and the first time they sang it for me, the boys got right in there and started doing the motions with them. They're hilarious...watch Isaac's fingers when they start snapping. Soooo funny! :) And about Elijah's jeans...um, well, he's hard on his clothes. That's really the only explanation for them...

25 weeks!

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I'm thinking it's around 17 or 18 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yep

Stretch marks? Got 'em

Sleep: Good except for needing to pee every 5 minutes...okay maybe not that much, but that's what it feels like

Best moment this week: Being able to feel a little elbow or knee moving around in there! :)

Movement: Alot! His name fits him so far!

Food cravings: Reese's peanut butter cups

Gender: I'm assuming he's still a boy...should I just keep this answer every week? I'm pretty sure he won't morph into a girl! ;)

Labor Signs: None.

Belly button in or out? In...but it's stretching out.

What I miss: Having energy...I seriously feel like I could sleep all the time!

What I am looking forward to: Getting his room ready!

Weekly Wisdom: ? I'm too tired to think

Milestones: If he were born now, he'd have a good chance of survival. Although we definitely don't want him coming out just yet!!




How your baby's growing
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

The best baby shower ever!

Most every Sunday, we go over to my mom's house, along with my 2 sisters and their families to have dinner. Today was no different, and when we got ready to leave, Laney asked to stay for a while longer, since her cousin Bailey was staying too. Chloe wanted to go home with Mike and I, which is really unusual...most of the time she wants to stay (I think it had something to do with us renting a Wii game she really wanted to play ;P). So we went home and let her play on the Wii for a while, and then went outside to do some yard work and to let her and the boys play.

I talked to my mom around 7:30 and told her that I would be coming to get Laney and she told me to make sure Chloe was with me. Okay...? So off we went to pick her up. When we got there, I walked into the kitchen, and saw the sweetest thing I think I've ever seen. There, on the kitchen table, were 3 "It's a boy" balloons tied together, 4 hand-made paper place settings, 2 gift bags with cards, coffee mugs stuffed with water balloons, and 4 plates piled with crackers, grapes, cookies and peanuts. Laney and Bailey yelled "Surprise!" and told me that it was a surprise baby shower. My mom said that they put it all together on their own...she didn't even know what they were doing. She did give each of them 2 onsies to put into the gift bags, but that was all she did. They came up with the rest on their own. Chloe and I sat down and ate our snacks with them and I opened my gifts and read their cards. I so wish I had a camera, and the closest thing I had, which was Mike's cell phone, had no battery and wouldn't take a picture. So I wrote down everything they did and brought home the place settings and the cards and took pictures of them. Here they are...




Here are the place settings. The one on the top right has my name on it, so I would know where to sit :)

Here are the front of their cards...Bailey's on the left and Laney's on the right.

The inside of the card Bailey made. She drew our whole family on the left, and (if you can't make it out) on the right it says, "It's a boy and it will be your 5th kid. I am so happy for you."

Here's the inside of Laney's card. She drew me and her on the right :)

And here's the back of Laney's card. "Great, another mess maker" :D She's funny....and right! :)

What a wonderful daughter and neice I have...and I'm sure Chloe would have been right there helping if she were there! This is the most memorable baby shower I have ever had...I love them so much!!

24 week belly pic

With a little bit of Isaac for ya :)

Wish list

When I found out we were having another boy, I knew that most of my boys' clothes will be passed down to him, and we'll be using the same carseat and things like that, so I've been looking online at different things for him and I've found a few things that I have fallen in love with! :)

I've been looking mainly on Etsy, and these are my favorite diaper bags that I've found so far.

From this etsy shop

And these next two are from this etsy shop

Of course it will say Jett on it! ;)

And I just thought these little hats and booties were the cutest things...I can't decide which ones to get!!!

You can actually get these in a set that comes with a onsie that has a little tie on it, which is what I would probably do. The picture below is of the onsie and the hat in the set. I really like both the blue and the brown...

They are both from this etsy shop

And these next four hats that I found are the CUTEST things ever!!! This lady has the most adorable hats for boys and girls!!! Decisions, decisions....

They are all from this etsy shop

Seriously, how is anyone supposed to make these kinds of decisions with so many options?!?!?

24 weeks!

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: It's going up faster than what I would like it to!

Maternity clothes? Yep

Stretch marks? How am I supposed to know when I get new ones when my belly already looks like a roadmap?

Sleep: It's been pretty good even though I can't sleep on my stomach...sometimes I wake up on my stomach and I feel bad for squishing him ;)

Best moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat at my dr. appt...which I talked about in the previous post! And knowing that he weighs at least a pound in there! :)

Movement: He likes to flip around in there, that's for sure! His kicks are always all over the place!

Food cravings: I've been eating alot of watermelon lately, but it gives me horrible heartburn for some reason.

Gender: I'm assuming he's still a boy...should I just keep this answer every week? I'm pretty sure he won't morph into a girl! ;)

Labor Signs: None.

Belly button in or out? In...but it's stretching out.

What I miss: Being able to bend over comfortably. :)

What I am looking forward to: I am looking forward to meeting him!!

Weekly Wisdom: If something you eat gives you horrible heartburn every time you eat it, it's probably not gonna stop...you're most likely not gonna develop an immunity from it, just because you eat it alot. ;)

Milestones: Laney and Chloe got to feel him kicking!








Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Fireworks and check-ups

Our 4th of July weekend started on Thursday when we took the kids to get fireworks. Mike convinced me that we had a ton left over from the previous year (which we always do...I don't know why I don't believe him), so we only bought a little kiddie pack and some extra smoke bombs, since they're the kids' favorite! We lit some off on Thursday night...although not as many as the neighbors did. On no, they had enough to light off every night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 1 am. every single night. It's a good thing we don't have kids that need their sleep. Ok fine, I'm the one who didn't sleep. The kids actually did fine. But still.


Anyway...here's some pics of the kids on Thursday.

Watching daddy

They love smoke bombs...I do too, actually.

Sisters :)

My beautiful babies! *sigh*

On Friday, the 4th, we took the kids to a festival-type thing, and they had alot of fun! My mom went with us, which is always nice...it's great to have an extra set of hands, and of course, we love spending time with her! The kids had fun checking out cars (only daddy and Eli though), riding ponies (only Laney though) and carnival rides (only Laney, Elijah and Isaac though), rock climbing (only Chloe though), watching a puppet show (only Chloe, Elijah and Isaac though), going through an obstacle course (only Laney and Chloe though) and petting all sorts of animals, like goats, donkeys, camels, kangaroos, and baby cows (only all of them, finally!) They all wanted to do different things, so my mom would take this one while Mike and I took the others, or me and my mom would take these while Mike took that one...kinda like that. was that as confusing to read as it was to write?? :/

Mike and Elijah checking out Mike's favorite car!

Isaac peeking out on the ferris wheel :)

Laney and Elijah on the ferris wheel

Chloe getting all hooked up for the wall climb

She did it!! with daddy's help :)

The kids on an army helicopter

Mike and the boys in front of the helicopter. We watched it take off, and it was really amazing...and LOUD!

Laney on the pony she named Freckles :)

That night, we went to my aunt and uncle's house out in the country to have a barbecue and to do more fireworks. They always have alot, and some pretty big ones, so the kids really enjoyed it!

Chloe with her sparkler. I'm actually surprised she wanted to hold them. She burnt her finger the night before holding a smoke bomb.

Elijah loved the fireworks...well, at least when he wasn't running in circles! Or racing, as he put it. ;)

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I had my 24 week dr. appt. today and everything is still going great!! His heartrate was in the 140's and I'm measuring right on track. I asked her how long she would let me go over my due date until she would induce me, and she said that at 41 weeks, she automatically orders an ultrasound and a non-stress test, just to make sure the placenta is still holding up and everything else looks okay. But she said that she will definitely induce at 42 weeks. Which is totally fine by me...uh, why would I even want to be pregnant any longer at that point? :) I recently watched Ricki Lake's movie The Business of Being Born, and while I understand the whole not wanting any type of intervention thing (which is what I want with this birth...within reason, of course), I still don't think I could ever justify having a homebirth. What if, God forbid, something horrible (like a cord prolapse or an abruption or the baby's heartrate had decelerations that wouldn't come up...something like that) would happen...what then? I know myself and I know that I would forever blame myself for not being somewhere that it could've been prevented or taken care of immediately. I don't know. I mean, I know that women have perfectly fine homebirths every day, and that's great, but I could never do it. I'm way to paranoid. have I ever mentioned that before? :D

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!!