Bear is 4 weeks!

For as slow as this month has gone in some ways, like the sleepless nights or the long waiting until Bear is old enough to take out in public guilt free. But, when I think that he is already one month old I am shocked. I feel like I just had him! Crazy. It has been such a pleasure to have this sweet boy in our home. We are all enamored with him. Ryan said again the other day that he feels that your love for every one in your family increases when you add a baby to the family. Maybe it's because they make you so happy, and they bring the spirit of Heaven down with them when they come. I know it definitely brings a husband and wife closer having a new baby....Ryan can't stop telling me how much he loves me and although totally sleep deprived, we couldn't be happier. So many blessings come from this sweet little boy and we are all eternally grateful for the gift of another Harvey to add to our clan. Hope you enjoy the pictures-I just took them today!

Thanks for a good day

I just wanted to take a minute a thank my sister-in-law for taking time out of her day to make sure mine was special. We went out to really fun lunch and then she watched my little ones while I went to a party at Ben's school. Not to mention she is babysitting for me tonight as well so we can go out to dinner with my dad. 2 times in one day, that should get some kind of reward. Or maybe just a blog post dedicated just to you! :)

I love hanging out with Jill and not only do I love her as a sister-in-law (or sister as she calls me, which by the way makes me feel so special) but I cherish her as one of my closest friends. We get along so well and always have such a good time together.

So Jill, if you're reading this,which I'm sure you will since you are one of only 5 people that probably ever read this blog, I love you. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. It really meant a lot. Glad I could spend my special day with someone as special as you!

Okay, I will end the cheese fest now....

My kids are the best!

I feel so blessed at how much my kids love our new baby. It brings me so much joy to see their unconditional love for their new brother. Ben is classic Ben. Protective, sensitive and totally loving. He takes on a very fatherly role with Christian. He is so responsible and even asks to change the diapers as long as it's just pee. He is the first to run to Christians aid at the first sign of unhappiness. Jake is a bit of a surprise. Now, I knew Jake would never be aggressive or mean to the baby in any way, but for being a bit of a firecracker, I wasn't sure if he knew how gentle or calm he would have to be around the baby. But I am so pleasantly surprised! He is gentle and so loving. It just came so natural for him. I am so happy at how involved and interested he is in the baby. He absolutely loves Christian. He wants to hold him every morning and any chance he can throughout the day. He loves to kiss him and feel likes such a big boy "taking care" of the baby.

I couldn't feel happier about the transition my kids have made during this time. . It feels so natural. Like they just knew Christian was meant to be in our family. Ryan and I were just saying how happy a baby makes you having them in your home. All I have to say is that boys are the best and I feel so honored to be able to mother 3 amazing ones!

Does it get any better than this?

I'm so in love with......

My new sweet baby boy, Christian Arthur Harvey. He came into the world smoothly on November 26th, 2007 at 8:39am. He is just perfect. He was 8lbs, 1oz. 20 inches long. He has the sweetest demeanor, so mellow and calm. I cannot express how blessed I feel that he is so healthy and that there were no complications with his birth. I am just so happy and am embracing all that comes with having a newborn around the house again. I am thoroughly enjoying every moment of it. I forget how wonderful it feels to have a baby fall asleep on your chest..it's like heaven. Well, I could write so much more, but due to the mass amount of pictures I posted, I don't want this to be the longest post ever!

2 days....

Well, since I don't have any more dr visits to give you an update on, I figured I should write something about my last glorious week of pregnancy. I use glorious very loosely. This last week has sucked. As much as I am excited that it looks like I will make it until Monday and be able to have my own dr, I have never tried harder to have this baby than this week! I played tag with Ben and ran all over like a mad man, and today I got a massage and asked the lady to focus on the pressure points that induce labor! Ryan thinks I'm crazy-how on one hand I can be so stressed about not having Dr. C and then turn around and do all I can to get this baby out. I can't argue with him. He's right. But I am crazy these days. This week especially, I have been so moody and just plain mean. I know it. I can feel it. I just wake up pissed and every little thing bugs me. I'm not usually like that at all. At least I hope I'm not. I think I am just so tired and worn out. And I have had some serious stomach issues. Almost like the stomach flu, so that has been fun. Tonight is the worst. I won't go into the gory details, but it's not pretty. And I am achy. So, either I am getting sick, which will make for an even more pleasant mood tomorrow, or like a lot of woman, I am going into labor tonight and my body is "clearing out" in preparation. I have totally heard of that happening. Maybe the foot massage worked....

At any rate, I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to go to sleep tomorrow night knowing that in a few hours I will be holding my precious baby. Man, I feel like an elephant waiting for this day. Aren't they pregnant for like 2 years? I feel like I have been pregnant forever this pregnancy-I don't know what it is. But people tell me the same thing, that they feel I have been pregnant forever. Anyway, I just feel like I have had to wait so long to meet this special boy. I feel so connected to him already. And in just a day and a half I get to hold him! It will all be so worth it. What an amazing pay off. I would go through it all over again for him if I had to. But boy am I glad I don't!

Part of me is so nervous. Not for myself at all, but for my baby. After all, neither one of my kids has had a smooth entrance into this world. I just pray he is safe and healthy and has an easy entrance into this world and into my arms. I am having a blessing tomorrow so I'm sure that will calm my nerves. I have faith my Heavenly Father will protect him.

Well, the next you will hear from me will be when I have had sweet baby "I don't have a name yet". I will post pics and details as soon as I can. Pray for us!

PS: I forgot to talk at all about how excited the kids are. It is so cute. Ben can barely stand it, he keeps telling me he can't wait to hold him. And Jake, he asked this morning how many more days until my baby is going to "pop" out and when I put up 2 fingers he excitedly said, "YES!!". They will both be such great big brothers and I am so grateful that they have been so excited and interested in this adventure our family is going through. Another side note: Ryan said the other night, " I just can't wait to hold this baby and cuddle with him. I am going to sleep with him every night." So, needless to say, we are all very excited for this little guy to join our family!

And so it begins.....

Now anyone that really knows me, knows I am not a reader. I have never claimed to be. Now, my husband may beg to differ, stating that I am always learning and reading all there is regarding pregnancy or a certain subject I am interested in. But that reading is usually done on the internet. I always say that if I am going to read any book, it ought to be my scriptures which I have a hard enough time doing! At any rate, I am on the bandwagon. I bought Twilight-the first book in a 3 book series that everyone is raving about. And I am hooked. I sat down just to read for an hour before bed and ended up reading for 3 hours. That just doesn't usually happen to me. I can't wait for another quite opportunity to curl up on the couch and finish the book. I can now see why all my friends are obsessed with Edward. I have never wanted two people to make out so bad in my life.

Well, I am excited to have a book to read on the nights Ryan is at school and studying. It will also come in handy for my hospital stay. Thanks everyone for recommending it!

And so it begins.....the obsession with the Twilight series.......

Regarding Post "A conversation with Ben"

Blogger messed up and put a post I posted today under the one I posted yesterday. So, make sure you don't miss it! Read about my funny boy.

Dr. Update - 7 days and counting

Well, today was my last dr's appt. I expected him to check me, but he said he didn't need to. That there was nothing he could really do if I was dilating since he was going out of town tonight. I was kind of hoping he wouldn't check me since sometimes that induces labor. But part of me wanted him to so that if I was progressing, maybe he would suggest I schedule the c-section earlier in the week. But, I'm glad that didn't happen either, since he will be out of town and I would have to have some random deliver me. He did check the baby's head to see if he thought it had dropped anymore and he didn't think it had so that is promising that I may be able to hold out until he gets back. I was also informed that they moved my c-section up from 12pm to 7:30am. I was stoked because I wasn't sure how I was going to go that long without eating!

He said my blood pressure was great as usual and my weight gain was perfect. He said, and I quote, "you have had a great pregnancy, I mean overall, this has just been a really great pregnancy." I sarcastically replied, "Well I'm sure glad this pregnancy has been so great for you." He laughed and said, "I mean, this has been really great for me, I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!". Anyways, now I am just praying to hold out for him. I just love him and feel so comfortable with him. He did say one thing that I literally made him repeat a bit later in the appointment to make sure I understood clearly what he said. He said, " I will tell Dr. Moniak that if one of my c-section patients calls, to call me first and I will see if I can make it in to do it myself. Since I actually will be in town from Thursday on, if I can make it, I will do it." That made me really happy. And I believe him. So, if he is in town and not cheating his family out of his precious time, he will come deliver me. I reiterated to him how important it was to me that he deliver me and that I will hold this baby inside until he is available. Again, he gave me a soothing grin and just smiled.

Well, there's the update. I thought I was having this baby yesterday, I was feeling so uncomfortable. But, no baby. So, now just pray he doesn't want to make his grand appearance until after Thanksgiving. I'm really not that stressed about it though. I gotta let go and let God. If I go into labor and don't get dr. C I would be bummed, but I'm sure everything will go just fine. I can't stress about what I can't do anything about. I will trust that Heavenly Father will see to it that my baby is delivered safely. I take total comfort in that.

A conversation with Ben

We went to my dad's house the other night to pick up some flowers. My dad's house is really nice. It is a pretty nice sized house decorated beautifully. It feels like a model home when you are inside it. Ben lays on his back on the couch, puts his hands behind his head and says, " Now this is what luxury feels like." He is so funny. He hears these funny sayings off a show or something and then totally knows what context to use them in. He keeps us laughing everyday!

Slammed Shut

Well, I went to the dr's today and found out there is no action going on down south. It was funny because when he had me lie down to hear the heartbeat he noticed I was having a big contraction. He said, "Whoa, you are having a pretty big contraction right now, aren't you?" and I said "yah, you can see that? I have them all the time." He said, "well, are they regular like every 5 minutes?"I said no, I didn't think so. Then he says, "Well, let's check you out and see if you are in labor and maybe we will head right over to the hospital and do your c-section now." So, seeing as he thought the contraction was impressive enough that I could be in labor, I got a little excited. Then came the exam....he had a hard time even finding my cervix at first because it was still so far up. So, my cervix was still totally shut and totally high. He rattled off some numbers like -3 something, 0 dilation. He did say that I should pay attention to my contractions and make sure I call if they are regular. Also, that he wants to see me back on Monday, the day he leaves out of town, to check me again. I asked that if I was progressing then, that there is no chance he could deliver me, and he said I was correct. So, I am hoping that next week I am still "slammed shut" and can hold on until he comes back. I thought I might be bummed out that I wasn't dilated today, but I am totally good with it. Just means my baby isn't ready yet, and I can wait for him to be. Especially knowing that no matter what, in 13 days, I will have a baby. Today just gave me a little closure knowing that I won't be having the baby this week. Now I can plan a little more. But, there is always the chance I could go into labor next week and have my plans go out the door, but that is out of my control. I found out that Dr. Moniac is the Dr. on call while Dr. C is out. He assured me he is a great Dr. I know him a little , he assisted in my c-section with Jake. All I remember was that he was kind of a bigger man, and didn't really say a word to me. I'm sure he is great....I won't let my mind think any differently at this point. Well, that's it in a nutshell. I will keep you posted.

14 days and counting! Unless.........

WARNING: This is super boring and you may just want to skip over it. I would totally understand. In fact, I would never know......Alright, so I realized I never gave an update on my last dr appt. Maybe it was due to the sheer disappointment of it - I didn't feel very inspired to write. At any rate, here I go. Okay, so a little background which I am sure I have said before. My due date is November 27th. Due to Jake being born too early and having major lung issues, we decided to deliver as close to my due date as possible to ensure this baby is fully cooked and maybe one of my 3 babies wouldn't have to make a stop at the NICU. Well, I started getting really nervous last week thinking I could go into labor and running the risk of not getting my own dr to deliver me, which is the utmost important thing to me. What if he was at the temple and couldn't get there fast enough? I thought of all the reasons he might not make it. So, I called Ryan and told him I want to move the c-section date up a week to lessen my chances of going into labor. I explained to him that it made me more nervous to not have Dr. Clayton deliver me than to have the baby a week early. That I only had one real birth plan, and all it included was Dr.C. He agreed.

So, I geared up last Thursday to talk to the dr about it. Well, to begin with, they had accidentally taken me off the schedule so they had to fit me in when I got there and I had to wait about an hour. Not fun, but I understood. After all, it gave me more time to prepare my case. Then I hear his front office girl making several calls to patients stating she needed to reschedule their appointments on November 21st (the day I hoped to reschedule my c-section) because the dr would be out of town. Finally, I told her I had overheard her and asked if the dr would indeed be out of town that day. This was her dreadful reply, "Oh yes, he will be out town that whole week." My gut dropped. Well, there goes my plan. Crap. Not only can I not reschedule, but if I do go into labor early (since my first ultrasound gave me a due date of the 22nd) there is no way he will deliver me. And he won't just be around the corner at the temple like I first feared, he will be in UTAH!

I talked to him anyway about my concerns and he was great, of course. We discussed the option to do the c-section before he left by going off the 22nd due date given, but because of Jake, that made both of us a little nervous. He me feel good about the date we picked originally for the c-section, and also assured me that if I do go into labor that he has wonderful dr's on call for him. At the end of the appointment, we came to this conclusion. He wanted to check me in 5 days, which will be tomorrow. If I am starting to dilate and progress at all, we will talk about possibly having the baby late this week. If not, we will stick to the original plan. I sure hope I'm dilated but I doubt I will be. As much as I want to have this baby like yesterday, it still makes me nervous to have him early....just because of what happened with Jake. If I did have him around the end of this week, and the 27th date is right, that feels a little too early for me. I know most babies are fine, but you never know.....Oh well, that's why I have a good dr to help me figure it out and a good Heavenly Father than I can pray to and get the answers I don't have. I will post tomorrow and let you know. Have a great day.

A conversation with Jake

After he accidentally bonked me with his head today, I tried to explain a common principle to Jake. That even if something is an accident, he should still say sorry (he doesn't really like to do this). I explained that I wasn't mad, but if he hurts someone, like he did mommy, even if it is an accident, he should make sure they are ok and say sorry. After looking like it was totally sinking in and feeling quite proud of myself for my successful teaching moment, he made this comment........ "Yah, like when you go poop on the floor, you say, sorry mom. "

Huh....wow..interesting example, don't really remember much pooping being done on the floor, but I guess it works......I think he got it. :)

New haircuts - 2 Posts in one night. Man I'm good!

I seriously love my boys with buzz cuts. Especially Jake, who is seriously calic challenged- he tends to get the Dumb and Dumber look where his hair kind of curls and lays flat across his forehead. (Sorry Jake) So, he just looks so dang cute with a buzz. His big brown eyes just stand out. Ben is much more fortunate in the hair department, his actually lays pretty nicely, but I buzz his anyways just for the change. They just look so cute- and I can see their sweet little faces so much better!

Getting a good picture of both my boys smiling and looking at the camera is darn near impossible most days. So, here is the best I could do. You get the point.

Some fall fun

So, a couple weeks ago, the boys and I decided to make the most of our day at home. We had so much fun playing basketball, doing tricks on the trampoline, and making caramel apples. It was really fun for me because I actually had the energy to help my kids have a fun day and enjoy it with them. Here are some pics.



Jake probably making yet another shot.

Ben seriously beats me most of the time at HORSE. Of course, when Jake isn't playing, we put the hoop way higher.

Jake's "donkey kick" flip

Ben's "almost" front flip.

Making caramel apples.

Finished product....

YUM!

Halloween and Ben's last soccer game

We had a great Halloween. We went to my brother's house with all grandparents and had chili and chicken noodle soup. Then we headed out for some serious candy hunting. They scored. At the end of the night while we were sorting the candy with cousins to do some serious trading (a Templin family tradition that my brother and I did every year-sort the candy like a store and then trade). All the kids ended up with several full size candy bars and both my boys even had a couple king size candies as well. It was crazy. We know where to go next year!

Last night was Ben's final soccer game. His Saturday game was canceled due to the fires, so they rescheduled it for today. As much as I was excited for soccer to be over, I am a little sad because this is the first thing that Ben has actually been in to. I mean, when they would have a pizza party instead of practice, he would be bugged. He loves to play and that makes me so happy. I was beginning to think Ben was a little bit of a commitment phobe -every time we would start him in something, he seemed to be over it in about 6 weeks or less. I think we have found something he truly likes. Now I know that maybe he got over the other things because they were just not his "thing". Anyway, Ben did so well throughout the season. He improved so much and tried so hard in every practice and game. Thanks to all the family who supported him throughout the season!

Here are a some pics from each event.

HALLOWEEN

Ben 10

Ben 10 with fangs

Thomas the Train

LAST SOCCER GAME

Nana freezing her buns off at the game. Picture taken by Jake.

He looks like he is pooping, but he is really showing off Ben's soccer pin he is wearing.

Ben before the game

Okay, so this picture was taken at a different game, but this is Ben after a game.

Ben in action! He is the one in the green. We played a team that had the exact same uniforms as us.