Ace's birth

We checked into the hospital first thing Thursday morning. Our hospital is TEENY and the maternity ward is actually closing at the end of the month, so they only had one DR and two nurses on hand. There was another woman there, so they concentrated on her first. So I just hung out most of the day, which was quite luxurious. At about 3 pm, they were ready to concentrate on me.

My epidural was a nightmare....they tried 3 or 4 times in two different places. Then my blood pressure bottomed out....very painful 45 minutes. But then heaven set in....they broke my water around 5 pm and things picked up from there.

As with the rest of my deliveries, I pushed just a couple of times, and my babe was born. Its a good thing that my babies don't waste time coming out, because ALL of them have had their cords wrapped around their necks. Notice how purple little Baby Ace is in this picture. (Duce was that purple, too!)

But he pinked up quickly and weighed in at 9 pounds 03 ounces and 21 inches.

My nurse midwife was amazing, and the nurses couldn't have been more attentive to me! What a great experience.

Since he was born at night, the kids came to see him the next day (Friday)

Avery and Josie couldn't get enough of him. When it was time to leave, Josie burst into tears because she didn't want to leave us behind.

All the kiddos!!!

These pictures were taken at about 11 PM...everyone was gone and it was just me and Ace. He was so alert, following my voice. FYI: the boy has a sucking reflex like a bear trap....wow!

Friday, the girls flew in from Florida and come straight over to the hospital.

Grandma Munns with her 40th grandchild!

It was so wonderful to have Kara, Emily, and Shelly come with their babies, Charlotte, Jackson, and Hazel. This was my smallest entourage for one of my births....only Shanda and my mom were there with Tyler and I in the delivery room. (I usually allow them to set up stadium seating in my delivery rooms....the more the merrier!)

My baby boy....his newborn feet and wrinkly toes...the first of many pictures taken of our Ace Wade Anderson!

Jett's water bottle and Baby Ace

Its been almost a week since Baby Ace was born and I have not found the time to adequately blog about it...and so in the mean time, here are a few pictures of him and a funny story about Jett.

For those of you who have had kids, you know what this water bottle is and what it is used for.

Jett was in the bathroom and I guess, he got THIRSTY! Thankfully, Tyler walked in just as he was about to use his new water bottle! Maybe we will tell him when he is older about this....

our bike prodigy

Since Avery got a new bike for her birthday, we gave Josie her old bike. The training wheels are broken, so Jo has just been walk/pedaling along for the last couple of days. I came out today and the girl has taught herself to ride a two wheeler! Go JO!

Pinewood Derby

This was out first experience with the scouting programs' PINEWOOD DERBY. Duce and Tyler spent a lot of time designing, sanding and painting. We managed to get his car 1/100 of an ounce under the 5 ounce limit. He won his first race, but then a weight fell off and he didn't put it back on, so for the next three heats he was in, he took 2nd twice and third once. He didn't advance to the finals, but he did win the most unique use of weights ( we used fishing weights, of course)!

a video of the winning heat....he is in the first lane on the right...the orange monster!

The spectators....Tee was really just interested in all the balloons.

dear tooth fairy...

Dear Tooth Fairy,
You will need to bring along a bulldozer in order to retrieve your goodies from underneath Duce's pillow tonight. Seems he was "retaining" some baby teeth that were beginning to interfere with the alignment of his adult teeth, so the dentist took them out....NINE to be exact. He is a bit sore and a little grumpy, but anxiously looking forward to the financial windfall this hardship will bring him.
Thanks,
Duce's mom

BEFORE leaving for the dentist. They gave him a sedative pill to take ahead of time (wouldn't have minded one myself!)

AFTER the extractions. You can see the adult teeth already...said he would only be toothless for a little bit. We stopped to get some "soft" foods to hold him over for the next few days. Got some yogurt, soup, oatmeal, lots of fruit for smoothies.

(this little pile of gold is gonna cost me a bundle!)

Jett and Avery have their birthday!

Jett and Avery had their birthdays on Thursday. Wednesday, they helped me decorate the cupcakes we took into their classes. I went to Jett's in the morning and Avery in the afternoon. Jett LOVES chocolate, so he wanted half his cupcakes chocolate. The vanillas were the first to go....those kids don't know what they are missing. The chocolate ones were HEAVEN!

I told the kids that I would make their favorite dinner. They picked macaroni and cheese (Avery's favorite) with hotdogs and baked beans (Jett's favorite). Simple enough!


Who doesn't love $money$ for your birthday!!

Their bigs gifts were a ripstick skateboard thing for Jett and a new bike for Avery.

In my very swollen/pregnant state, the less time I have to be on the feet, the better. So only one birthday cake this year for them to share. It was just a regular tres leches. Jett designed an ocean scene for the cool whip, so using some food coloring, Avery helped me make the fish and other decorations.

Happy 7th Birthday Jett! Happy 6th Birthday Avery!

update

FYI

37 week update
2 CM
70 % effaced
baby is a -1 station
1 pound weight gain


see you next week at the DR office or hospital.....

belly at 36 weeks

36 week check-up: 1CM and 25 % effaced

I've had a few request for some recent belly shots....Avery took these this afternoon....(no make-up and yes, the house is a disaster)

kid pictures

I love looking through my pictures and seeing what the kids have taken photos of....

Avery and Jett are usually the photogs....i tend to erase LOTS of shots of what they are watching on TV....and it amazing how unflattering a pictures is when taken from two feet below you...WOW!

Our little singer

this is Josie's favorite song to sing these days!

stuffed sausage

So as I am inching towards my due date, I am finding it more and more difficult to do everyday things.


Stand up.


Sit down.


Lay down.


Get dressed.


Eat.


Pick up toys or kids.


Sleep.


Move.


Breathe.

And if you are wondering about the picture, well that is how I feel. Like an italian sausage and one false move and I will bust out of my casing.


I've kept a "calendar" of sorts of each of my pregnancies. Its 40 weeks and has an it each time I took a test, my dr's appointments for most, if we had an ultrasound what the results were. I've kept track of my weight gain for just about every pregnancy and every appointment, so I can gauge where I am compared to other pregnancies. I'm not as big as the first two, but no at small as Josie's pregnancy ( if you can ever call ANY of my pregnancies small!) But I am still shocked (depressed) at the number every time I get one the scale. Why couldn't I have a baby in the fall...that would give me MONTHS to return to normal before warm weather season. But no....4 out of our 6 kids have had an April due date....leaving me little/NO time to rebound before bathing suit weather...ugh. Just saying bathing suit makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

With our Florida summer trip in sight, I will swallow my pride, dawn my ankle length skirted bathing suit and hit the beach with my kids. If you want an ego boost, come join me!

Bossy Boy

Well...we did it...after much thinking and weighing our options...we decided to find Boss a new home. Our life is about to get incredibly MORE hectic and this is the best for us and for him. To top it off...yesterday, he decided he wasn't going to come to me anymore. So when he got out of the yard, I chased him around the neighborhood for over an hour....me.....a huge waddling pregnant lady. I was ready to KILL him. Tyler got home, and he walked right up to him.....and since I'm the one that is home with him all day, I can't have that. We had quite a bit of interest in him. We weeded through all the unsavories....and found a great home for him. I actually prefer that the family live in an apartment, because I know they can't tie him outside forever. Which is what most people around these parts seem to do. Boss was happy as a clam...jumped right in their car. Our little family took it a little harder. Duce was super sad. Even Avery cried a bit this afternoon. I was surprised to find a lump in my throat. One day....(maybe)....we can think about getting another dog. He really was a good boy, and I think no childhood is complete without a dog, so someday....right now, our house is too small and is about to get smaller with our newest babe about to be born.

"Bye Bye, Bossy Boy" -Avery