A few pregnancy photos

These photos were taken today.  I am 35 weeks pregnant.  Jesse was very obliging since he hates having his photos taken!  And yes, that is a maternity shirt and yes, the stretchy part of my pants is showing below my shirt.  Not many shirts are actually covering me this pregnancy...but that's okay!  I'm growing a baby.

Jesse can joke now!  But, can the pains of labor be transferred?!

Jesse's baby is looking a little flat headed...

Update.

Obviously I haven't posted in over a month.  I know I need to update this blog very badly but it's hard when I don't have internet at home and my time at the library is mainly limited to printing off my lesson and running after a very active toddler.  Blogging is something that gets put on the back burner and often times I want to write a post but my pregnancy induced brain doesn't have the energy to put a post together.  There you have it...the reason for my non-blogging.  Not that I really have many readers left anyway, but that doesn't matter since mostly I do this blog for me.

So, for an update (bullet style)...

::  Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook know that we are expecting baby #2!  A girl!  In early January (as in the first week in January!)  I am currently almost 35 weeks pregnant.  This time in my pregnancy with Malachi I was already on bed rest and he would be here in about a week.  Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't end up on bed rest with baby girl.  Although it would be nice to have her early (since I am feeling very pregnant) I understand the importance of letting her grow until 40 weeks.

::  I have been sick for pretty much the last two and a half weeks.  It started out as a cold and then progressed to what I though was a sinus infection (although my OB didn't think so and didn't give me antibiotics).  Now I think I might have strep throat since it feels like a knife is digging into the right side of my throat every time I swallow (though I haven't had strep throat since I've had my tonsils out about 20 years ago....)  Jesse has named my "frog voice" Leroy, since it sounds like I have a frog in my throat when I talk.  Honestly I think I'm going to be sick until I have this baby.  It's been over two weeks.  I should be feeling better, right?  Not to complain, but I want to feel better!!

:: My Mali cat is 17 months old!  Time is going so fast.  And it seems to be going faster every day.  I love watching him grow and develop.  I especially love watching his mind work as he plays with toys or encounters something new.  He is so cute.  I just can't help but kiss his cheeks (almost all day long).  I know he doesn't like me to do that (all day) because he squirms out of my arms, but I pick him up anyway and smooch away.  I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for trusting me with him.  I just love him!

::  About two weeks ago we got a kitten (who was named Popeye) from one of Jesse's co-workers and Mali just adores the cat!  He will walk-run (mostly a fast walk since he can't actually run yet) after him and try to tickle him (to tickle Mali will rub his fingers together and say tickletickletickletickle!)  Mali likes Popeye way more than Popeye likes him.  Which is probably how it is with most toddlers and cats, I'm assuming.  Mali stays occupied with him for a good while though and I'm thinking it will be good practice for when his sister is here.

::  I'm scared of giving birth this time, ok, I guess not actually scared of giving birth per se, but scared that the birth will be similar to Malachi's.  Don't get me wrong, I loved having my sweet Malachi in my arms at the end but the process of getting there did not go well at all for me.... 
I started having high blood pressure around 33 weeks.  Since high blood pressure is a sign of pre-eclampsia, which can become dangerous to mother and baby, my doctor kept a close eye on me and a week later I was admitted to the hospital over Memorial Day 2012.  I spent two days in the hospital being monitored and when I was released I was on bed rest until Malachi was born about two weeks later.

A day before Malachi was born I went in for a doctor's appointment where we had an ultrasound and I had blood drawn.  The office called later that day and said that as soon as I could I needed to get to the hospital to deliver my baby since my blood work didn't come back well.  They said I had elevated liver enzymes which is an indication of HELLP Syndrome.  I was terrified.  I called Jesse at work and told him what the doctor said and he said he would finish up and be home soon.  I cried as I took a shower.  When Jesse got home he gave me a blessing and then we left for the hospital.

I had to be induced with Pitocin (since I obviously wasn't ready to give birth on my own).  They had the amount up to the highest they could give me and I still wasn't having strong enough contractions.  They took me off of it for about three hours overnight so we could get some rest (ha ha) and then they started it again.  The contractions still weren't strong enough so about 10 that next morning the doctor came in and broke my water which started the strong contractions.  Long story short, I labored for about 24 hours and when it came time to push I gave about three pushes and since I had the fetal monitor on the doctor noticed that as I was pushing, Malachi's heart rate kept dropping.  She decided that I needed to have an emergency c-section.  I started crying again.  Yes, I knew it was best for my baby since his heart rate was dropping, but I had already been through 24 hours of Pitocin induced contractions.  I was just ready to have my baby in my arms.  They prepped me for the c-section and told me it might be possible he would have to be taken to the NICU.  When he was born the doctor said that the cord was across his chest and wrapped over his shoulder which was causing his heart rate to drop when I pushed.  Thankfully he didn't have to be taken to the NICU, but it felt like forever before I got to see him.

After I gave birth they had me on Magnesium for 24 hours to prevent me from having a seizure.  That ended up making me very nauseous and I threw up.  Honestly I felt horrible.  I was still so, so swollen and felt groggy from the epidural and still in shock from the emergency c-section and having everything happen so fast at the end.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this to be a birth re-cap, but there it is.  That is why I'm scared to giving birth this time.  I don't know what "normal" is for a birth.  Not that there really is a normal when it comes to birth...but still...  I remember talking with Jesse before Malachi was born and asking "what if I go through 24 hours of labor and end up having a c-section anyway??"  Maybe I set myself up for it or jinxed myself.  I guess I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I don't end up with pre-eclampsia this pregnancy.

::  I started using homemade laundry detergent about two months ago.  I like it.  It seems to get the clothes clean and is definitely a lot cheaper than store bought detergents.

::  I'm glad to be home with my family in Columbus for Thanksgiving.  Jesse drove up today and surprised me by arriving around 7pm.  I had forgotten that the Dean usually lets everybody go home at 12:30pm!  Mali and I are happy to have him here!

::  Happy day before Thanksgiving!

Fuzzy hair

(This is a post I had in drafts that I need to publish- even though it's old).

My baby has such fuzzy hair.  After he got his first hair cut on his 14 month birthday (In August) his hair became very hard to control.  When he gets a bath at night then sleeps on his wet hair (even after I've combed it) he still wakes up with a head full of fluffy hair.  I think it's adorable. 

I love my sweet boy! He is just so cute and happy in this photo. I'm sure I'm biased, but I definitely think he's adorable!

******

Mali and the penny horse

When my parents came to celebrate my birthday in early September we went to Meijer to look for a carseat for Mali.  They have a mechanical horse there where you put in a penny and he starts "galloping" like a horse.  We decided to have Mali ride him.  He tried testing it by holding onto the reins a little bit then grabbed onto my sister!  Overall I don't think he was very impressed with the horse!

Mali and the raspberry

Mali loves fruit.  Loves it!  He will eat almost any type, but his favorites are bananas and berries.  During the summer Jesse would fill up Mali's stroller cup holder with berries and Mali would just munch away, happy as a clam!  I love that he loves fruit.
At the end of August my parents came down to visit and we ate lunch at our house.  My sister brought a bowl of raspberries and those were the main thing that Mali ate....I'm pretty sure he ate the majority of the bowl!  This series of photos reminds me (and my mom) of Little Jack Horner.
(A few weeks before this, Mali experimented in eating food by sticking his finger in it (Cheerios, fruit, etc) and then transferring it to his mouth.  He decided to try it again with the raspberry!)

 I love his concentration lips in this photo!  Trying so hard to get his finger in without the raspberry falling off.

 Still trying....

 Open wide!

 Fish lips!  "I'm pretty cool with this raspberry on my finger!" Yes, you are Mali!

 The raspberry finally made it to his mouth.

 His face looks like the raspberry was sour, but it didn't deter him because he kept eating.

"Oh, that was good!"

Photos! Finally...

This was taken on Mali's 1st birthday, June 12, 2013 at IKEA.  Oh my gosh, I love how happy he is in this photo!!

He really enjoyed sitting in the sink (though this photo doesn't quite show that).  This sink would be perfect for baths!

This was taken on June 19th (one week after his birthday).  Mali and my sister's birthdays are one week apart (different years, of course!) so my parents came down to celebrate her birthday as well.  We were at a park where we ate lunch.

Mali had a cake on his actual birthday, but sadly my parents and sister weren't able to see him eat it.  So I decided to make him another cake and we gave him it to him when my parents came back down for my sister's birthday.  (His hair was kind of long and he was kind of sweaty so my sister decided to kind of spike it up!) 

Here he is trying the first bite.  He was more willing to eat this one than his actual birthday cake!

Digging in!

He is sure enjoying it!

He's waving in this one...!  I think he is also admiring his cake-y hands as well!

He looks so serious!  But he is definitely enjoying the cake.

He is really good at sharing!

"Yum!  That was delicious cake!  I'm stuffed!"  (He didn't eat the whole thing- he had eaten about half of it when I took the rest away because I could just imagine a sugar coma in the making).

My sweet baby!  I love him so much!  And time really does fly.  I can't believe as of this blog post, he is almost 16 months old (in about two weeks).

Hopefully you enjoyed these photos!  I will try to post more soon.

Guess who turned a year old?

My sweet baby turned a year old on June 12th. (This post is late!)  Oh, my heart!  He is growing up so fast it makes me wish I could slow down time.

On his birthday, Malachi's grandparents (my parents) came down and we all went to IKEA to celebrate.  He had fun, but didn't nap during the day so he was exhausted by the time we got back home.  He opened his presents then he had a mini cake.  He wasn't sure what to think of the cake at first- I had to put some frosting to his lips...then he bent his head down and got frosting all over his face!  It was so funny.  Photos coming soon....

Now at 14 months, Malachi...
::  Has 8 teeth- 4 top and 4 bottom.
::  He has an infectious laugh.  He is such a happy baby toddler.
::  He loves to give hugs and kisses.  Any time I ask for either he willingly obliges!
::  One of his favorite times of the day is when Jesse comes home from work.
::  Is weaned, but still periodically asks to nurse.  It makes my heart break to tell him he has to drink cow's milk now.
::  Loves to climb on and off the couch.  I've taught him how to climb down safely (feet first) but it still makes my heart jump when he's on the couch.
::  Sometimes takes only one nap during the day.
::  Does really good at taking bites of food and chewing.
::  His favorite foods are cheese (which he could eat all day if I let him), tomatoes, yogurt, cucumbers, and all fruits, especially berries and bananas.
::  He is a walking pro!  He started walking about a week before he turned 14 months and he is doing so well!  I love the happy look on his face when he's toddling around!
::  He still sleeps with his hands behind his head and his elbows sticking out.  I hope he sleeps this way until he's 10.
::  He drinks out of a regular (adult) cup.  I tried a cup with a spout (i.e. sippy cup) and he just preferred a regular cup, so that's what we've stuck with.
::  He knows a few words:  "ma ma", "da da", "dig", "tickle" (which he says together like, tickletickletickle!), "up" and "yum".
::  He also knows some baby signs:  "food/eat", "more", "milk" and "all done".  I'm working on a few others with him.
::  He's learned the fun of talking into a fan and hearing his voice get all choppy!  It is so cute to watch him.
::  He loves bath time!  We're still working on him sitting during baths though.
::  He got his first haircut from Jesse on his 14 month birthday.  There was lots of movement (on his part) and bribing (on our part) involved, but it got done.  I saved pretty much all his hair...
::  I'm pretty sure he gets tired of me giving his cheeks kisses almost all day long.  I just can't help it!  They will only be baby cheeks for a little while so I have to get the kisses in while I can.

He is growing up so fast and there is nothing I can do except enjoy every minute!  I love my sweet baby!

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Malachi turned 11 months on May 12th (Mother's Day), so I guess technically he is 11 and a half months and he will turn 12 months on June 12th, but I don't count half months since my baby is growing up too fast as it is. 
We came up to my parent's house for Memorial day weekend and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them!  Malachi sure has grown a lot since they last saw him in February and he has definitely had fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

My sweet sleeping baby napping after church.  It's cute because sometimes he naps in just a diaper and puts his hands behind his head like this- we say he is our little beach boy sunning himself.  He looks like a little surfer dude with no cares in the world.  I love it!  Notice his crossed ankles too. :)

He loves putting just the tip of his tongue out.

Definitely all boy! Playing with a Tonka truck.

He is getting sleepy here.  He tends to put his hands behind his head briefly when he is tired, whether he has food on them or not!

Malachi is sure enjoying his food!  "I love food, but I love Mom's milk best of all!"  He ate almost a whole banana by himself!

"Stop.  Don't come any closer...I am warning you..."

Holding a ball of tissue.

I love the back of his neck.  His hair and neckline 

are just so adorable.  My sweet baby! He is growing up too fast.

Houston, we have a crawler!

Last Friday, March 15th, Malachi crawled forward for the first time!  There was a toy he wanted and he crawled right over to get it.  What the video doesn't show is the smile and surprise he had on his face once he lifted his head back up!
My baby is growing up!

And now for some photos...and the video!

The day of his first crawl!

 My sleeping, sick baby.

 Modeling (and trying to take off) the crown he/we made at baby story time at the library.

 A better view of the crown.

 Happy Malachi.

 9 months old!

 My 9 month old!

 The face he gives us often when he is getting excited about something!  I love it!

 My sleeping baby in his car seat.  He normally sleeps with his hands behind his head on the bed, but this day he did it in the car seat too.