Ladies and Gents - We may have a thumbsucker!

Yes, it's true! Audrey has been sucking her thumb for about three days now. She's been sucking on her hands for weeks now but all of a sudden she has found her thumb and has woken up from sleep and then found her thumb and fell back asleep. I don't know if this is good or bad. It's good because she has something that soothes her but take it from me, thumbsucking can be a hard habit to break. Some of you know that I sucked my thumb, my mom says from within the womb, and I didn't stop until a week before I was 12 and only because my sister and I both couldn't get our ears pierced until I stopped sucking my thumb. Anyway, it's cute for now but hopefully it won't last as long as it did for me.

A Winter Wonderland
Denver was hit with a huge snow storm. The blizzard of 06'! We got about 2-3 ft. of snow. Denver International Airport will have been closed for almost 2 days by the time it is back up and running which they say is tomorrow at noon. We have been stranded in our house and it's been fun. We watched movies, made homemade pizza, my brother came over tonight because he could get to us with his 4 wheel drive. He said the rest of the city is like a ghost town. Very quiet and hardly anyone out and about. The town basically shut down. There are hardly any businesses open because people are stranded and can't get to work.
Olivia loves the snow and helped her daddy shovel today. Well, she really just watched him sweat but she loved it. We are supposed to fly to Oklahoma tomorrow evening and I don't know if it will happen. They say they will open at noon but you never know and then there will only be limited flights out tomorrow since they don't have all the planes there. My brother is dropping us off because he has a 4 wheel drive and there is no way we could get there with our small cars. A lot of side streets including ours have not been plowed yet. BUT then Michael is leaving to drive to Wyoming for Christmas so if our flight ends up not leaving we may be stranded at the airport. With two young girls, I pray this does not happen. Anyway, when we make it we will be in Oklahoma for a week so Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I'll be blogging more next year. Hasta la vista!

Thanksgiving come and gone

We had a great Thanksgiving trip back to Wyoming. I love being back there with family and enjoying life away from responsibilities at home. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

First, in Rock Springs we got to visit with my Aunt Paula and my cousin Sam who were visiting from Eugene, OR. I wish we could see them more, they're lots of fun.
Here are the little troopers at Thanksgiving in Casper, WY. From left to right are Katie (4 yrs.) and Titus (1 1/2 yrs.), my cousin Andrea's kids, then Maya (6 months), my cousin Tony's little girl, then Audrey, and next to her is Dalton (8 months) who belongs to my cousin Nathan, and of course my Olivia. It was fun having three new babes around this year. We get together every two years on Thanksgiving so next time the little ones will be 2 years old. Crazy!
Olivia ate Turkey dinner with her cousins. Sean on the right wasn't in our group pic above because they had to leave early but he is my cousin Jason's little boy.

When we got back to Denver I got a wonderful surprise! Steve had put up our Christmas tree and decorated the house while we were in Rock Springs so it was all done when we got back. What a treat! I love that about my husband, he loves to surprise me! He doesn't want me to stress out about things so he does them for me many times to make me smile. Thanks honey, you're the best. To top it off there were presents under the tree wrapped and everything. Olivia's and Audrey's eyes lit up when they saw the tree.

My Dear Sweet Granny

Please be in prayer for my sweet granny Thompson. She fell down her stairs from top to bottom two nights ago and suffered many serious injuries. She was going downstairs to bed and she caught her shoe on something and couldn't get it loose. She tumbled down landing at the bottom where she laid unconscious in a pool of blood for about an hour and a half. She awoke, then somehow managed to make it to the bathroom to get a towell and then back upstairs to dial 911. We still aren't sure how she dialed the number or unlocked her door to let the EMTs in because she had two shattered wrists from her fall. Along with her wrists, she broke her nose, cracked a vertebrae in her neck, and cut her face clear through from cheek to cheek underneath her nose. I still feel ill when I think about it. She is in the hospital now and has had surgery on her wrists and face. They also adjusted her nose and she's wearing a neck collar. She had plates and pins put in her wrists and she can't move them for eight weeks. She will have to have 24 hour care since she can't move her hands. She has been through so much for a 76 year old granny. Thanks for praying.

And We're Off to Wyoming

Hi all! Steve is driving Audrey, Olivia, and I to Laramie, WY to meet my parents and then they will drive us girls back to Rock Springs for a few days. My aunt Paula (my dad's sister) and my cousin Sam are flying in from Oregon and they have never met Olivia or Audrey so we will be spending time with them. Then the day before Thanksgiving we will drive to Casper, WY to spend Thanksgiving with my mom's sister and all her family. Steve and my brother Michael will leave that day too from Denver and meet us there. We have so much fun with all the cousins and the kids. There will be three new babies under 1 year (Audrey is one of them) and two toddlers (Olivia is one of them) plus other kids of various ages. It's a blast. A lot of us stay in my aunt and uncle's house so it is just 4 days of fun from breakfast to late night chats and games. Before I leave, I thought I'd throw in a few pics. Olivia and Audrey are in a baby music and toddler music class and before Halloween they could dress up for class. Well, I hadn't bought any costumes so I just made a couple up. Steve bought Olivia an OU cheerleader outfit on his last trip to Oklahoma so I put her in that and Audrey just had some pumpkin slippers and a bib (not really a costume but oh well, that's all I had around).
Then Olivia and I went outside and played in the massive amount of leaves in our back yard, she had so much fun jumping in them and burying herself so I included a picture of that. Well, I need to go pack. Happy Thanksgiving! Don't eat too much turkey.

How Funny!

As many of you know, my girls usually have a bow or something in their hair from when they are pretty little. And for those of you who have done this with little baby girls, you know that they move their heads around a lot and sometimes if you aren't paying attention it can fall into their eyes like it did to Audrey the other day. It happened to both my girls and I know I took a picture of Olivia too but I can't find it to share with you. Also, the next pictures are Audrey happily sleeping in very odd positions.

The Pumpkin Patch

So last Monday before my mom, dad, and grandma left, we stopped off at a pumpkin patch. My friend Vicki told me about it and it is a lot of fun for kids. There was a lot of farm animals to look at, a large corn maze, the pumpkin patch, food, a play area, and much much more. The website is www.andersonfarms.com Anyway, we had a lot of fun and even though it doesn't look like it on Olivia's face because she never hardly smiles for the camera anymore, I think she had fun. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

Audrey's Baptism

Well, the days have come. My mom left me this past Monday after being here for 6 weeks and I was afraid I wasn't going to survive but I have. Yesterday was my first day to be without her with both my girls and I did it. I am not going to say it is easy though because my mom did so much and now I have to do it. BUT, I have an awesome hubby who really was there for me yesterday and today. He has been helping make dinner, giving baths, entertaining the girls when he isn't working, changing diapers and much much more. I'm not sure I could cut it as a single mom.

On Sunday, Audrey was baptized. It was a beautiful sunny day. My dad and grandma Thompson came down and my brother Michael and his friend Mindy came. My dad's cousin Serena, her husband Chip, her son Josh and his two boys were also there. I wish you all could have been there too. The words our pastor spoke about it were wonderful and we were just so happy. Below are pictures from that day.
O.K., so I said I got my haircut and I would share a picture. Below is a picture of my short short hair. I haven't cut it this short since I was a little girl. Steve loves it, what do you all think?
P.S. Olivia will not smile for a camera lately, she can be so happy and smiley one minute and the second someone pulls out a camera she gets grouchy so that explains her grumpy face below.

I'm Still Alive!

That's right, I am still here but I've been just a little busy lately! Here's what has been happening:
Audrey Elizabeth Lee arrived a few days after her due date on August 31st weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. I was thankful that she wasn't too late and that she weighed almost two pounds less than her sister. She is beautiful with dark hair and dark eyes. Everyone told me I would love her just as much as Olivia and I couldn't fathom it until I held her in my arms and fell in love with her. She is such a good baby and Olivia adores her. She kisses Audrey all the time and wants to "hold this" (the baby) all the time. I thought she would be jealous but so far she has been very good about having another one around. Thank you Lord!
So the birth went like this: I started having cramp like contractions on Monday night the 28th- her due date. This happened for 3 days but by the 2nd day I called the Dr. and she told me to come see her. I did and I was only dilated to 1 cm but about 75% effaced. She said that some woman have prodromal (sp.?) labor where they labor like I was for days. I asked her how much longer this could go on because it was getting annoying and I wasn't getting much sleep. She said I could go into labor that night or the following week. WHAT? I can't labor that long, I will die! So that night was miserable, I didn't sleep at all. Then by 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 31st I called the Dr. and told her I couldn't do this without sleep. If I went into true active labor that I would be exhausted. She told me to come to the hospital and they would give me something to sleep if I wasn't in active labor. When I got there I was 4 cm. and the nurse was laughing at me because most people go to the hospital and say they are in labor when they really aren't in true active labor. I go to the hospital and tell the nurse that I don't think I am in labor, that I have been cramp like contractions steadily since Monday (3 days) and that I need to sleep. When she found out I was 4 cm. she said that I was definitely in active labor and that was funny that I didn't think I was. See, I didn't think my cramps were true contractions even though they were spaced like contractions because I was told that contractions get hard all over even on the sides of your belly and into your back. Well my sides didn't seem to get hard during my cramps. The nurse said this happens to some women and that I was still having contractions. Why does my body have to do everything out of the norm? So after laboring through Thursday and 3 1/2 hours of very difficult pushing, she arrived. For those of you who don't know, I had a C-section with Olivia and I really wanted to have a V.B.A.C. (Vaginal Birth After Caeseran) with Audrey. Well, I did it!!!! It was awesome but way harder than I thought. I have great pregnancies but I do not labor and deliver very easy. Oh well, the next one has to be better right???
So, Audrey is 5 1/2 weeks now and she is starting to smile and really focus more on our faces.

We were also busy in September with Olivia's Walk for a Cure for Diabetes. We raised almost $3,000 and joined many other families with children who suffer from Type 1 Diabetes on September 16th for the walk. Thank you to all our family and friends who were able to support us. Here's a pic of us at the walk with my mom and brother. Mike brought 3 of his friends too not in this picture.

My mom has been here helping me out since Audrey was born and she leaves this coming weekend. I am going to be on my own during the day starting Monday so if I don't go crazy then I will blog more often if I have time. This having two kids thing is a lot of work and I get very tired. Good Night!

Oh yea, I also got my hair cut the shortest it has ever been this past Friday, I will post a pic when I can. I like it but boy is it short for me.

Due Date Come and Gone

Well, here I am yesterday on my due date. My friend Lanee who was due today had her son yesterday on my due date. We were racing to see who was going to have their baby first and she beat me. Oh well, give me patience God, please give me patience. Actually as I write I am having cramps that don't feel like contractions yet but that is how they started out with Olivia. Except that my cramps with her turned into contractions sooner than these are so maybe it's not labor. I am having cramps every 10-15 minutes and they kind of come on like a contraction but when I feel my stomach it's not very hard like it is supposed to be when they are true contractions. Also, I have had them since late last night before bed and they are still the same. Weird. I guess all I can do is wait and see what happens. I have a doctor's appointment Thursday but I may call tomorrow if I am still cramping to see what they think. Maybe my body is just preparing for the real thing. Anyway, I wanted to add these last two pics on my last blog but it wouldn't let me. The first one is of Olivia after she got into my makeup and found my lipstick. What a clown. The last one is of Steve working on Audrey's room but notice who is trying to help in between his legs. Miss Olivia.
That's all for now, I'll keep you updated on what's going on with the baby.

No Baby Yet but House is Clean!

Ok, the baby isn't ready but the house is! Thanks to my wonderful mom and husband. My mom was here for almost two weeks to help me me get ready for the baby. It's hard getting anything done with Olivia, she loves to be very close by me at all times. So my mom watched her a lot so I could work and then on top of that she worked at night after Olivia went to bed. I think Steve and my mom were nesting too because they really got busy. We cleaned out closets, drawers, under sinks, the garage, the laundry closet, I mean just about everything. My poor mom was probably so exhausted by the time she left. Hopefully she'll get lots of rest before she has to come back when I go into labor. It was fun too though. We had family meetings at night to talk about what we needed to get done and what our plan was for the next day. They made fun of me for the meetings but that's o.k. Our house is clean, we got rid of a lot of clutter, our carpets were cleaned today and we are ready to have this baby. Steve said as soon as I got the last load of laundry done I would go into labor, but I did the last load today and nothing. Oh well, my babies must just like to cook longer. I had acupuncture last night to see if that would naturally induce my labor and nothing. I had a prenatal massage today and she worked on some points that might induce labor and nothing. Oh well, in God's time not mine.

Olivia has been on her new pump for two weeks and she is doing great! I was worried about how she would do, if she would try and pull the tube out or if she would roll on the pump while sleeping, etc. So far she hasn't messed with it much. We just told her no several times when she was investigating it and she listened. She calls it her "bup" and when we talk about it to others she says "my bup" and pats it. Thank you God that this hasn't been more difficult. Sleeping has been fine too. Anyway, I will try and take a pic soon of it and put it on here so you all can see what it looks like.

One funny note - Steve and I always hug Olivia together and say "Family Sandwich!" The other day we were lying in bed after her nap cuddling and we said that to her. A few minutes later she took her arms and wrapped one around my neck and one around Steve's and pulled us into her and said "Samweedge". It was so hilarious. Oh yeah, she can also say three syllable words now like hamburger and cheesburger. She also repeats everything we say! Cracks me up!

O.k. well that's all for now. I was going to add some pictures but for some reason it won't let me tonight so I'll try again later.

36 weeks picture

I will actually be 37 weeks tomorrow but you know how it goes, I'm a little behind on blogging. So I have 3 weeks until my due date and I am in somewhat of a panic. Why you ask? Well, this pregnancy flew by and I'm not quite ready to have a baby again. I'm looking forward to meeting her but I have a to do list a mile long and I'm getting a little nervous about the whole labor/delivery thing again. Especially since I had a c-section last time and I am going to try and do a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section) this time. So I am not sure what to expect if I do get to deliver naturally. I went through labor last time so I know what most of that is like but actually having the baby I haven't experienced so I'm a little nervous. Please pray for me that everything will go well and that the baby and I will remain healthy through this process.

Anyway, my life has been a whirlwind and I haven't had time to blog. Here is the past 3 weeks in a nutshell. My church gave me a baby shower and I received lots of great things plus money to buy a double stroller. What a great group of women I am blessed to know. Steve and I attended a refresher childbirth class and toured Boulder Community Foothills Hospital where I will deliver. It's a newer hospital and very beautiful with a queen size bed in case husbands want to stay the night. I babysat for a friend who watches a 9 or 10 month little boy while she was out of town. I had him everyday for 4 days, along with babysitting Paityn who I normally watch once a week but that week I watched her twice. So one day I had Olivia who is 18 months, Paityn who just turned a year, and Trey. Not to mention they all want to be held and my belly is very large. I was exhausted by the end of the day but they actually were very good and napped at different times so it wasn't too bad.

My brother and sister-in-law, Troy and Bethanne, came down after that with their 4 kids, my mom and dad, and my grandma Forsgren. Part of the time they were here my Aunt Terri, Uncle Greg, cousin Elizabeth, and then my cousin Andrea and her two kids came to Denver as well. No they all didn't stay with me. Except for my parents and grandma, the rest stayed in the guest lofts at my brother Mike's loft apartments downtown. Very fun 5 days. We went to Six Flags, Water World, the Butterfly Pavillion, went and saw Pirates of the Carribean 2 and swam at the pool at Uncle Mike's loft. They left and two days later we drove to Wyoming for a family reunion up at my grandma's cabin in Pinedale. You think we would all be sick of each other but we weren't. Well at least I wasn't, I love hanging out with the fam. My mom surprised me with a small family baby shower while we were in Pinedale. Thanks mom! That was fun. Then Olivia and I stayed a few days longer and my mom came back with us to Denver for a week to help me get ready for this baby because I am freaking out.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that my friend Vicki and I went to a place called Dish and Dine and we made 12 meals in 2 hours. I brought them home and froze them and now after the baby comes we will have meals that we just heat up. The place provides all the ingredients, chopped up and ready to go, we just had to measure everything and put it in plastic baggies. So much fun and the meals we made are going to be so yummy I think.
Anyway, we have a very busy week coming up with lots of appointments. We got an insulin pump for Olivia and we go learn how to put in on her and use it. It will hopefully stabilize her blood sugars more and will allow a lot more flexibility as far as her eating goes. We are very excited about it, it should make our lives a little bit easier hopefully. Good thing since we have another child coming. So is anyone bored with the story of my life yet. It's just we have had so much going on and I haven't blogged in awhile so I feel I needed to catch up.
Ok so the pictures are in random order and go like this:
(1) Me at 36 weeks
(2) Pics of Olivia
(3) Steve and Olivia on 4 wheeler up in Pinedale
(4) Olivia and my cousin Andrea's son Titus
(5) Cousin Lance, brother Troy, Steve, and cousin Jason playing Bocci Ball at the cabin
(6) My friend Lanee and I at our church baby shower, she is due the day after me.
(7) Olivia with her daddy on one of her first amusement park rides, she looks like she is having a lot of fun.
(8) A pic of the fam at Elitch's Six Flags.
(9) Olivia being cool before swimming at Water World.
(10) Playing in the water with Uncle Mike and my niece Faith.

32 Weeks Picture

So this picture is actually 2 weeks ago because today I'm 34 weeks. I'm a little slow and 32 weeks is the beginning of the 8th month so that's why I thought I would still send it. It was taken in Oklahoma at Steve's parents house and just for your information the white piece down by my hand is a string from the pants the can be tightened or loosened as I get bigger. So as of today I have 6 weeks until my due date. Yikes! I'm getting a little nervous about the whole labor delivery thing again. Please be praying for me and this baby that everything will go well and we will both be in good health for labor and delivery. I am experiencing some different aches and pains with this pregnancy. For instance, my belly itches a lot this time and I hardly itched at all with Olivia. I also have more pain after sitting for awhile and then trying to walk. It's like my bones are catching and pinching. The Dr. said that's normal after your body has experienced labor once. Even though I had a c-section my bones still shifted and moved a little during the 34 hour labor with Olivia. I worry about this baby sometimes because Olivia is so rough, she loves to be really, really close to me so she'll sit on my lap and scoot farther and farther back pushing my belly in. She jabs her elbows in my belly all the time trying to get comfortable and even trys to sit on my belly when I am laying on my side. Silly girl. I hope the baby is not getting crushed. Anyway, it's harder this time being pregnant because I can't sit down and relax as much, Olivia keeps me on the move. Oh well, I'm sure it's that way with all moms who are having their 2nd or more. I'm not alone.

We're Back!

Well, we made it back from Oakie Land safe and sound this past Monday night and it's taken me this long to get the chance to blog. We had a great time with Steve's family and friends while we were there. To sum up our trip:
- Since we flew down on my birthday, that night after we got in we went to Outback Steakhouse for my birthday dinner, very yummy.
-We were in a parade with Steve's parents church and since their church is a Cowboy Church, Olivia dressed like a cowgirl in an outfit Steve's parents bought her. So many people that were watching the parade kept pointing her out and commenting on her cute outfit and cowboy boots.
-We went to an Indian PowWow. Very entertaining, Olivia loved it.
-We drove to Lake Eufala for the 3rd and 4th of July to hang out with Steve's friends at one of their lake houses. The water was perfect temperature and Olivia played for hours on the beach and in the water. She also rode a jet ski with her daddy and she loved it. Made mommy a little nervous but they didn't go far and didn't go fast. Olivia also saw her first fireworks show.
-We had an awesome dinner at his sister Lisa's and went to our nephew Grayson's t-ball game. He plays on the Stinkpot team. Love the name.
-Steve helped his dad put in a fence. I was very proud of him, they really worked hard.
-All his family came out Friday night for another great meal at his mom's. His sister Shelley made me the best birthday cake ever. She made a Chocolate praline cake with whipped cream and powdered sugar frosting. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. SOOO YUMMY!
-Visited another friend of Steve's Saturday and then spent the night with his sister Shelley and family.
-Spent Sunday with all family and then that night at Lisa's.
-Lunch out on Monday and then to the airport.
Very busy but a great time. Olivia loved spending time with her cousins, she followed them everywhere. It's good to be back but I have a lot of work ahead of me and a lot of other events coming up. Will it ever end? Probably not, but that's o.k.
The pictures here are of our time in Oklahoma. The first two are over the 4th at the Lake, the next one is of Olivia hanging with her cousins Garrett and Grayson, and the last three are at the parade.