Stephen and Me Plus Three

One year later.....(yeah yeah I know I failed big time on last years resolution)

2012-01-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

We've had another great year in the Sheets house! We all stayed up late to ring in the new year last night and made it to church this morning.

We are really excited to see what the new year will bring and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby 4. My due date is May 13th, but I predict May 3rd. We shall see!

Heres hoping the next 17-19 weeks fly by....

Did I mention that we're having a boy?!?!

Until next time.....(I'll try to do a better job blogging, but no promises)

The bug is here....

2011-02-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

Well some sort of bug has arrived in our house. Addison started in with the sickness late Friday night, she's had a high fever since then and has done nothing but lay around. Stephen isn't feeling well today. I'm really hoping this isn't the beginning of the domino effect.....

Poor Baby, let's hope she's better very soon, so she doesn't have to miss the Valentine's Day party!

An uneventful weekend is my kind of weekend!

2011-02-06T14:12:00.000-05:00

This has been a pretty low key weekend full of relaxing. We lounged in our jammies most of the day yesterday. Stephen and I were able to go out on a date last night while the kids hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Sheets.

Today the girls went to church with Grandma and Grandpa, when they got home the usual chaos began.

Addison has been begging to do crafts all weekend, so I finally gave in today and got the scissors and glue out for her.

Lincoln has been dragging most of the toys out of the toyroom, he's been talking very loud, making lots of noise and asking lots of questions in typical Lincoln fashion.

Kennedy has spent most of the weekend trying on lots of shoes, mommy's shoes, daddy's shoes, sissy's shoes......she's not picky, she just loves shoes!

Tonight we are going to JD and Crystals for a Super Bowl party. I anticipate that the kids and I will make it through the first half. Wish us luck!

Kennedy Layne

2011-01-27T11:51:00.000-05:00

I'm at home with Kennedy today because she had a pretty rough night of coughing, fever, and congestion. We made a trip to the doctor today to make sure that she didn't have any infections that needed treatment. It turns out that she just has a virus, which is good, but it means they can't really do anything for her. It looks like we'll be plugging in the humidifier and just trying to keep her comfortable.

In other news, Kennedy was weighed in today and she finally hit the 20 lb mark!! This is exciting news because we can finally turn her car seat around. She will be a much happier little girl with the same view as the big kids.

When she was born she weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds and 10 ounces. Just a little peanut!

And now she's a bouncing, giggling beautiful little girl. We love all 20 pounds of her :^)

What a crazy crew!

2011-01-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

Daddy Horse, Cousin It, Lincoln and Addison

This is a regular occurrence in our living room, and that's why the kids think their daddy is awesome!

Sheets Family Reunion

2011-01-16T10:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we met up with Stephen's extended family for a reunion of sorts. It was really nice catching up with everyone. The kids loved running around and playing with there cousins and even got to spend a little time with Uncle Charlie. They were a little bit sad that Uncle Zach wasn't there, but maybe he'll be able to make it next year!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day:

Lincoln and Matt playing superheroes

Kennedy shared a little hug with her cousin Brinley.

Lincoln enjoyed playing with his big cousins David and Matt.

Kennedy with Addison's class pet Leon

Lincoln parked himself here on Uncle Charlie's lap for most of the afternoon.

Addison enjoyed being "the ducker" in a very serious game of duck duck goose

Tim looks a bit scared that he might get goosed!

Lincoln takes a turn as "the ducker"

Hooray!!

2011-01-11T20:22:00.000-05:00

Guess who went pee pee on the potty!!!

That's right, you read it here first (or maybe you read it on Facebook first, but who really cares) Kennedy Layne went pee pee on the potty for the first time tonight. We are all very excited in the Sheets household :^)

That's right people, I'm a big girl now!

I love my little family

2011-01-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

As I type this, I'm sitting in the living room chair watching my kids run around like crazy nuts. I'm catching up on a few of my favorite blogs and surfing around on Facebook. Stephen is sitting on the couch flipping back and forth between the NFL playoffs and a Michael Jackson special. Every time the Michael Jackson special comes back on, all three kids start dancing like crazy. Kennedy shakes her little bottom, Lincoln does his version of break dancing, and Addison performs her take on the moon walk. Some might call it chaos, but it doesn't matter what you call it....I love it!

I live for the weekends when we can lounge around in our jammies all day, dance to the silliness on TV and snuggle up on the couch. How could I not love this life?

Some people think I'm crazy when I mention how I'd love to have another baby. I don't think it's crazy at all, I love babies and I love my family, so why not bring one more baby into the world to share a life with this wonderful family!

(NOTE: To any concerned family members reading this blog, I am not pregnant! I'm just looking forward to the future when the timing is right for our family to grow yet again.)

Attempting to make funny faces!

2011-01-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure they succeeded, but I thought I'd share anyway :^)

My Loving Lincoln

2011-01-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

Stephen took this picture today on his cell phone while I was on my way home from work.

Disregard Kennedy's insane hair and take a look at how much this little boy loves his baby sister! I hope that Lincoln always stays as loving and compassionate as he is right now. I know I'm his mom and I'm supposed to think my kids are wonderful, but this little boy is the sweetest boy around!

Tired Girl

2011-01-02T12:14:00.003-05:00

A little bit under the weather, but cute nonetheless!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T13:31:00.004-05:00

One of my many new year's resolutions is to do a better job updating the blog. It is my goal to update the blog at least once a week. Hopefully I will be able to do this, but don't judge me too harshly if I don't make it :^)

Yesterday was unseasonably warm, so the kids were able to get outside and play with some of their new Christmas presents. Lincoln and Addison both got scooters from Aunt Pam and Uncle Dale, so they had to try them out in the road. They also got some great Radio Flyer Big Wheels from Aunt Jill and Uncle Rick. They loved "zooming" down the driveway on the big wheels. Kennedy was just happy to be outside enjoying the breeze!

Stephen looks pretty cute on the Barbie scooter too don't you think?!?!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Let the Christmas Festivities Begin!!!

2010-12-26T20:10:00.006-05:00

We had a very busy weekend with Christmas festivities, and we aren't even done yet! The kids were really excited about Christmas this year, so there were a lot of things on our To Do List to make sure that everything was perfect!

On Christmas Eve, we went to the Geisler family Christmas at Grandma Nina's house. It was nice to catch up with everyone there on my dad's side of the family. Once we finished up at Grandma Nina's, we headed home to finish preparing for Santa.

Earlier in the day we made gingerbread cookies and decorated them for Santa.

We spread reindeer food on the front lawn so that the reindeer could find their way and have a little snack while Santa delivered the presents.

It was snowing on Christmas Eve and the kids (and Stephen and I too) were pretty pumped about having a White Christmas! While we were spreading the reindeer food on the lawn, we discovered a package on the front porch. Buddy the Elf left the kids a new book A Charlie Brown Christmas. Buddy the Elf has found our house every year since Addison was just a baby. It is always a lot of fun to see what Buddy has left for us!

The kids picked out the perfect cookies for Santa and placed a glass of milk next to them on the table. Kennedy was having a hard time keeping her hands off of the cookies, but in the end I think only a few M&M's were missing :^)

After the kids were in bed and we knew that Santa had come and gone, Stephen took a picture of everything that Santa left for the kids.

Lincoln was the first one to wake up on Christmas morning and he tiptoed into our room and said "I think Santa was here, there are new toys out there!" We decided that we would wait on Addison to wake up before we ventured out to the living room to check out the goods! Once she came downstairs she ran into our room and made us get up to come see what Santa had left behind. Here are a few of our favorites from Christmas morning:

Later that night, we went to my mom and dad's to celebrate with mom, dad and Justin. The kids were really excited that Uncle Justin was in town. Addison and Lincoln wouldn't leave him alone! As always, mamaw and papaw went a little bit crazy and the kids got lots of really great presents! Stephen and I didn't do so bad either......

Here are a few favorites from Mamaw and Papaw's house:

Here is my favorite picture from the whole weekend...

There will be more Christmas festivities to share in the coming week. We will head over to Stephen's mom and dad's house on Tuesday to celebrate Christmas with them. I'm sure the kids won't get spoiled over there either :^)

Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T20:07:00.003-05:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at Pam's house. Stephen's family traveled up to Middlebury to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa Sheets. Maybe next year we will make the journey north! Although we missed spending Thanksgiving with Stephen's mom and dad, it was nice to go to my family's thanksgiving without being overstuffed from the first round :^)

I dusted off my sewing machine this year to make outfits for the girls that included skirts and matching turkey shirts. Lincoln felt a little left out so I made him a neck tie shirt the night before thanksgiving.

The kids always love getting together with all of their cousins. This always causes lots of squealing, giggling and running through the halls! The day after Thanksgiving, mom, Pam and I ventured to the movie theater with the big kids to watch Tangled. At one point I took 5 of the kids to the bathroom by myself (not sure what I was thinking)! We had a great time and the movie was really cute.

That night all of the big kids came to my house for a pretend slumber party (that just means that their mommies came to get them around 9) I'm not sure that I would have survived the night if they stayed :^)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for. On Saturday after Thanksgiving we celebrated Christmas with mom's extended family. I blew it because I forgot to take the camera with us. This is most unfortunate because the kids have a new baby cousin, Hudson and you desperately need to see him because he's beautiful! It was nice getting to see everyone, maybe next year I'll remember my camera :^)

Now we are in the home stretch to Christmas. As I type this blog, I'm not sure which list my kids will end up on. If Santa is listening to them bicker with each other right now, they're is sure to be a lump of coal in someone's stocking!

Kennedy after too much turkey!

Better Late than Never!

2010-12-05T18:58:00.010-05:00

I decided today that a blog update is necessary, never-mind that it has been almost a year since I last blogged!

Lets do a quick year in review:

Kennedy Turned One! Since we call her our little bumbler, it was only right to have a bumble bee party.
Addison Turned 5! She requested a unicorn and rainbow party :^)
We went on our yearly trip to Hilton Head and had a wonderful time as usual.
Lincoln started preschool at Dupont Baptist Academy and he's loving every minute of it. In fact, he gets really ticked on the days that he doesn't go to school!
Addison started Kindergarten at Anderson Elementary and she loves it too! She is in Ms. Asher's class and she amazes us everyday with all of the new things she is learning.
In September Kennedy was put in the hospital overnight for a bad run-in with croup. She hated staying there, and I did too, but we were glad that Dr. Holly was able to fix her right up so she could get back home!
In November, Lincoln turned 4! We celebrated with a monster truck party.
That doesn't even touch the amount of fun stuff we've done this year, so let's see if I can remember everything:
2 trips to the Louisville Zoo
2 slumber parties at our house
Planted and took care of our first vegetable garden
Went to see Monster Jam at Freedom Hall
Watched as Kennedy learned to walk and talk and turn into an adorable little girl
Lots of afternoons in our blowup swimming pool
Visited Cornucopeia Farms to pick out our pumpkins
Lots of bike rides and walks
Movie nights on the living room floor
and I know I'm forgetting a lot more....

Maybe my 2011 new year's resolution will be to update the blog more often!!

and I'll close with a few of my favorite pics from the past year:

A Very Important Lesson.....

2010-02-28T10:29:00.004-05:00

...on how to properly blow a bubble with bubble gum! Addy and Lincoln really want to be able to blow bubbles with their gum just like daddy, so earlier this week lesson #1 took place. Addy gets very frustrated with the process and Lincoln just laughs a lot. They'll get the hang of it sooner or later!

Play Date!

2010-02-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, Stephen took the big kids sledding with Gabe and his son Clinton. Since it was so cold, I volunteered to stay home and watch Gabe and Holly's little one Raeanna so that Kennedy and Raeanna could play. The girls had a great time and I'm pretty sure that Raeanna is the most easy going baby on the planet. She didn't fuss at all while her daddy was gone. Enjoy a few pictures from their play date...I'm sure there will be many more to come because we really enjoy the time we spend with the Hearne family!

Snow Day

2010-02-11T08:55:00.003-05:00

It has snowed a lot over the past few days and the kids have really enjoyed playing outside in it. I for one cannot stand to get blasted in the face with freezing rain/snow/sleet, but Addison and Lincoln didn't mind at all. Stephen helped the kids make a snow fort in the backyard that ended up looking a lot like an igloo. The kids loved crawling inside and playing, but I think Stephen loved it even more. He's just a giant kid at heart. Stephen tried to keep the fort blocked off from the dogs so that the kids could play with it again the next day, but he was outsmarted! Addison requested a snow fort in the front yard as well so that the dogs couldn't destroy it, so daddy complied :^)

Howdy Partner

2010-01-30T16:26:00.002-05:00

A couple of wild cowboys visited our house last night. Who would of thought a little eyeliner could be so much fun! It gets pretty crazy around our house on Friday nights :^)

Kennedy Update

2010-01-30T16:18:00.002-05:00

This week Kennedy went to the doctor for her 9 month well check. She's actually 10 months old, but since we love Dr. Holly so much, we had to wait a little longer to get in. Kennedy is doing great developmentally and she was healthy as a horse. We weren't surprised to find that she is a tiny little thing since she's still wearing all of her 3-6 month clothes. Miss Kennedy weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 6 oz which is less than the 5th percentile for her age and she was 27.5 inches tall which is 10-25th percentile. She's a great eater, we just think she's gonna be a little one!

In other Kennedy news, she has become quite proficient in repeating "Da-da, da-da, da-da" much to my dismay. We've tried and tried, but mama is just not coming out of her mouth. Lincoln has been practicing with her, so maybe she'll have more luck this week! I hate to admit it, but she has become quite the little daddy's girl too.....this must be stopped!

So many presents to choose from and this is what they choose........

2010-01-10T16:27:00.004-05:00

Cardboard boxes are so much fun! And they're way cheaper.....maybe next year we will remember this fun fact before we spend money on toys....

I'm thinking.......Senior Year Slideshow!!

2010-01-10T16:21:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking this picture will come in handy down the road when students are gathering pictures for the senior year slideshow. Poor Lincoln has two sisters, so that means lots of high heel shoes and princess dresses. He did have the very manly mustache to top off the outfit!

"Mommy....I think Santa was Here!"

2010-01-01T11:37:00.004-05:00

Addison snuck down the stairs on Christmas morning to wake us up. "Mommy.....I think Santa was Here!" She was so excited, so we all had to jump out of bed and head to the living room to see what Santa had done.

Just as we suspected Santa drank all of the milk and most of the cookies. He left lots of gifts behind as well. The biggest hits of the year were the Zhu Zhu pet hamsters and a remote control car. Kennedy was mostly impressed with the boxes and paper from mommy and daddy's gifts.

We had a wonderful Christmas as a family of five! The kids loved every minute of the Christmas celebrations. There was a lot of time spent with family members and cousins that they don't get to see all of the time, and several relatives met Kennedy for the first time ever. We were able to spend Christmas Eve afternoon with Mamaw, Papaw and Uncle Justin. We spent Christmas Eve night at Grandma Nina's house with the Geisler side of the family. Christmas afternoon, we headed to Aunt Kami and Uncle Mark's house for lunch and presents. On Christmas night, we loaded up the van to head north for a visit with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Sheets. On the Tuesday after Christmas we celebrated with Grandma, Grandpa and Charlie. We got to talk to Zach and Chela on the computer, but we wish they were able to join us. We'll look forward to seeing them this summer! It was a whirl-wind of celebrations, so we're going to spend the beginning of the new year relaxing...

Enjoy all of the pictures and hopefully I'll do a better job in 2010 updating the blog!

A few of Kennedy's firsts

2009-08-09T16:37:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that Kennedy is almost five months old. The time has just flown by. She has definitely started to develop her own personality over the last several weeks. Kennedy has been a very well behaved baby, but she hasn't gotten the hang of sleeping through the night. She is rolling over in all directions, learning to eat baby food and playing in her baby einstein exersaucer. She'll be crawling and walking before we know it!

Kennedy's first attempt at baby food. She's gonna need some more practice!

Kennedy's first time in the exersaucer. There's so much stuff to play with.
Big sister is feeding Kennedy a bottle and singing songs to her. She is a really good little helper!

This was Kennedy's first time taking a bath with the big kids. It didn't last very long because the big kids are just a little bit too rambunctious for her liking.

There are many more firsts to come, so we'll do our best to keep you posted!

Summer Recap

2009-08-09T16:00:00.006-04:00

I have been such a terrible blogger so I will do my best to catch everyone up. Our summer has flown by! The kids have been spending a lot of time playing outside in the little pool and running through the sprinkler. I'm sure that Kennedy will be toddling around with the big kids this time next summer. I'll try to do better with the postings. Please enjoy the pictures!

Kennedy is modeling her new hairbow made by Aunt Chela. She's so crafty!

Addy and Lincoln are having a blast running from the sprinkler.
Lincoln is taking a break from all the playing and eating a snack in the pool.

Addy has been learning to ride her bike this summer. She really wants to be able to ride her bike like her big cousin Gracie.
On Wednesday evenings the big kids get to go golfing with Stephen. They love it! Stephen is hoping that they will love it just as much when the get bigger. He is working on getting them both their own set of clubs.

We went on our annual Hilton Head trip the first week of July and we had a great time. Here are a few favorites from our trip.

Kennedy's First Photo Shoot

2009-04-08T20:03:00.003-04:00

We recently recieved some proofs from Kennedy's first photo shoot. We are very impressed with how they turned out. Once again, Whitney Ulm of Eminence Photography took these pictures. She did an awesome job! Here are just a few of our favorites from her session:

I love the picture of Addy and Lincoln holding their little sister. They look so proud!

Kennedy will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and she is doing very well. We have gotten used to the whole eating thing, now we just have to get this sleeping stuff down. She has been a very good baby, so I can't complain. We will go to the doctor tomorrow to see if she has made it back up to her birth weight. As of last Wednesday she was only 5 lb 7 oz, so hopefully we have made it back to 5 lb 10 oz by tomorrow.

Addy and Lincoln are doing a great job in their roles as big brother and sister. They love to help out. In fact, there have been many fights over who gets to throw the poopy diapers in the trash!

Addison Paige is 4 Today!

2009-04-08T19:54:00.002-04:00

Our little girl turned 4 today! It doesn't seem possible that it has been four years since Addy was born. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday at Gymmnastics World with family and friends. The kids loved running around and playing on the trampolines and the pirate ship. Addy received lots of nice presents that she wanted to play with immediately, but unfortunately we didn't plan ahead with the appropriate batteries (we'll do better next time!) Somehow she was able to convince her mommy and daddy to get her the much wanted Pixos. We are regretting that decision, but she loves them!

Our first days at home

2009-03-22T19:15:00.003-04:00

We have officially made it through our first 24 hours at home and everyone has survived! Addison and Lincoln are smitten with their baby sister and can't seem to get enough time with her. There have been a few arguments over who should get to hold Kennedy next, but they are doing really well.

Before leaving the hospital, we were told that Kennedy's bilirubin levels were high and that she would need to be on photo therapy to bring them down. A home health nurse came to our house to bring us the lights and she will return each day to draw Kennedy's blood until her levels return to normal. Hopefully we won't have to mess with these lights for too much longer because it doesn't allow for much cuddle time. She looks like a little glow worm under the lights!

We are still trying to get the whole eating and sleeping thing figured out, but Kennedy has been a very good baby. She seems so easy going, but I don't want to brag too soon in case I jinx it. I would be happy with 3 solid hours of sleep...wish me luck!

Kennedy's Birth Story

2009-03-19T20:40:00.004-04:00

I am happy to announce that at 5:24 a.m. Kennedy Layne Sheets joined our family! She weighed in at 5 lb 10 oz and was 18.5 inches long. We had quite an exciting journey and it didn't go as planned, but we are all doing well and enjoying our time together.

Here is how it all started:

At 5:00 pm yesterday Stephen and I arrived at the hospital to register. We were taken upstairs to our room where I was hooked up to all the monitors so that they could keep an eye on the baby. Shortly after I was hooked up, they started an IV just in case it was needed later. Dr. Odaffer came in with an ultrasound machine to check on the position of the baby which ended up being head down, so we assumed we were in for a long night and a long day today. (Not so much!) Dr. Odaffer then began the induction with a foley bulb catheter which I will spare you the details of. It wasn't fun, but apparently it was very effective. While the foley bulb was in place, they also started Pitocin so that my body would start contracting. The contractions started coming about 3 minutes apart around 10 o'clock at which time they gave me some Ambien to help me sleep.(again not so much!) The contractions started getting really strong around 3 o'clock, so they gave me some Stadol to try and help me relax, but it didn't really do much. At 4 o'clock I got another dose which also didn't do much.

At 5 o'clock, my water broke, but my foley bulb was still in place which meant that I wasn't dilated anymore than 3 cm. With the next contraction the foley bulb was forced out, so my nurse Christy checked my cervix which was dilated to 5 cm. I politely asked for my epidural, so Christy went out in the hallway to call the anesthesiologist. While Christy was in the hallway, I told Stephen that something didn't feel quite right and I thought the baby would be coming soon. Christy came back into the room and I told her that I felt like I needed to push. She promptly responded with, "You can't push, the doctor isn't here!" She then checked me and realized I was serious. Stephen ran out of the room to get another nurse who called my doctor and the ER doctor.

The ER doctor was downstairs and my doctor lives about 10 minutes away from the hospital. Unfortunately neither of them made it for the arrival of Kennedy Layne. There was no time to break down the bed for delivery, no time for anyone to "catch" Kennedy (don't worry the bed wasn't broken down yet, so she had a nice soft landing), and no time for my epidural! I apologized profusely for having to push anyway, which I now realize was silly because that baby was ready to come out. Stephen came back into the room and within seconds we met our little girl!

Kennedy cried shortly after her safe landing on the bed. She was pink and moving around well. I was totally in shock so I didn't even pay attention to her Apgar scores. The ER doctor was able to cut the cord and tend to Kennedy and my doctor (Dr. Odaffer) made it in time to take care of me.

It all happened so fast and not at all as planned, but we have all enjoyed our first day together. Addison and Lincoln came down to meet their little sister this afternoon. Addison was completely crazy about her new little sister, she just couldn't get enough of her. Lincoln was also excited to hold his little sister, but it didn't last too long. I think it will take some time for Lincoln to adjust to our new family and I also think I am going to have to keep a close eye on Addison who will not be able to keep her hands off of our sweet little baby.

Sorry that this post is so long, but it was such an exciting adventure. We are all doing well and we should be sent home from the hospital on Saturday morning. We appreciate all the well wishes and words of encouragement. We both have such wonderful family and friends to share these exciting events with.

Enjoy the pictures!

Our last day as a family of four

2009-03-17T19:50:00.003-04:00

Since today will be our last day at home as a family of four I thought that I would add another post to the blog. I even took pictures!

The weather was so nice today that we all decided to go outside to play. The kids get really pumped when we can all get outside together. Addison loves to dig in the "garden" and Lincoln usually strolls around the yard with a golf club or umbrella in hand chasing the birds away. I decided that since I will be in the hospital in about 24 hours I could ignore the bed rest orders. (shhh! Don't tell)
Doesn't Lincoln look so sweet and innocent?! I'm sure that daddy won't be impressed with the pink umbrella picture, but I just couldn't resist posting this picture.Lincoln was blocking the sun so Addy could get a really close look at her "beautiful flowers." I would call them weeds, but if she thinks they're beautiful we'll go with it!Addy was somewhat annoyed that I was disturbing her landscaping to take a picture of her.

Stephen and I will be heading to the hospital tomorrow evening at 5 pm. Look for the next post, it should have some baby info. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Baby #3 will be here this week!

2009-03-16T13:36:00.002-04:00

I had my final visit to the doctor's office today which I am not at all sad about. They took me back to the ultrasound room right when I got there so that we could check on baby's position. Believe it or not, the baby was head down today. This active little booger can't make up it's mind where it wants to be! The head is not engaged yet and they consider the baby to be in an "unstable lie" which means it could still turn in the next couple of days.

So, here is the plan: I will got into the hospital on Wednesday at 5 pm and we will check on the position of the baby. If the baby is head down, we will begin the induction process on Wednesday evening and most likely meet our baby sometime on Thursday. If the baby decides to flip again, we will do a c-section on Wednesday evening. We won't know anything for sure until we get admitted on Wednesday.

The doctor said that the baby looked great on the ultrasound. We could even see baby taking some practice breaths which was pretty neat. Keep your fingers crossed for an easy delivery for me.

I will try to update the blog as soon as I can after baby #3 is born! Wish us luck :^)

38 week update

2009-03-10T14:52:00.002-04:00

I thought for sure there was going to be a baby this week, but according to my most recent phone call from the doctor's office it doesn't look like that will happen. At Monday's appointment, the baby was breech again, my blood pressure was high, and it sounded like we were going to meet this baby on Thursday. I did some more labwork and those results came back okay, so now we have to wait until next week. I will see the doctor again on Thursday and then I assume that we will either induce or do a c-section on Wednesday or Thursday of next week depending on the baby's position.

I am going to try to maintain my sanity here at home until this baby comes.

Sorry for the boring pictureless updates, but until this baby comes I won't have anything too exciting to show!

Another Update!

2009-03-06T18:45:00.002-05:00

I have been reprimanded for not posting more often. I really have no excuse since I've been sitting at home doing nothing! I'll try to be better...

I had another appointment yesterday and once again my blood pressure was high (170/110). I was sent over to labor and delivery to be monitored for a little while and have some lab work done. After resting for an hour or so my blood pressure came down and my lab work came back okay, so they decided to send me home to continue with bed rest.

As of right now, Dr. Odaffer is diagnosing me with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) and as long as I don't have any protein showing up in my lab work she wants me to make it to 39 weeks (March 18th). At 39 weeks she plans to induce me unless of course either a.) the baby decides to come on its own or b.)I get some bad test results before then. The baby seems to be growing well and as of yesterday was head down (on monday baby was not cooperating and the head was up by my ribs).

I'm trying to be patient. As of today if everything stays the same I have 12 days to go. If anyone has access to a time machine, I'd love to get my hands on it! Even Lincoln says, "Hurry up and get outta there baby!"

That's all for now...

One full week of bedrest and losing my mind!

2009-02-23T18:07:00.003-05:00

Well it has been one full week of bed rest and I am getting even closer to losing my mind! I have been watching lots of daytime TV, internet surfing and reading some books, but I still think I'm starting to lose it. All this time at home has made me think of all the things that I could be doing, but am not allowed to do. It's pretty sad that I'd rather be doing laundry!!!

On another note, we had a friend from high school come to our house this weekend to take some pregnancy photos. Whitney Ulm is now running her own business called Eminence Photography out of Columbus, Indiana. Today she gave us a sneak peak of some of the pictures that she took. Whitney will be coming back in a few weeks to snap some pictures of the baby. We can't wait! Enjoy the pictures. Here is Whitney's website if you would like some more info: http://www.eminencephoto.com

Quick Update

2009-02-19T16:07:00.002-05:00

I had a check-up today and my blood pressure was much better than the last visit. Bed rest has made a big difference so far. According to the ultrasound, the baby weighed in at a whopping 4 lb 14 oz but Dr. Odaffer did remind me that the accuracy of the ultrasound is about +/- 1 lb. She was pleased with the growth of the baby and with my improved blood pressure. I will continue to go in twice a week and we will do some more lab work at my next visit. I'll keep you posted!

Baby Update (35 weeks and counting)

2009-02-18T15:18:00.005-05:00

As of Monday I am officially on strict bed rest. If you've never been on bed rest, you might think that this sounds great, but it just makes you think of all of the things that you could be doing and aren't allowed to do. My blood pressure was pretty high on Monday so Dr. Odaffer decided that it was best if I lay around and rest so that we can get to 37 weeks.

This morning I had an ultrasound to check on the growth of the baby and it looked as though everything was great, but I won't know any details until my appointment tomorrow. The image below is of the baby's profile, but you might have to take my word for it. I'm not too good at figuring out what is what on these things! Be sure to keep us in your thoughts. It looks like it will be about two weeks and we'll finally get to meet the little one!

Snow Day!!!

2009-01-27T12:55:00.006-05:00

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Mommy wasn't brave enough to travel to work today and daddy's day was cut short, so we are having a cozy day at home. Our morning began with Addison convincing Lincoln to play house with her. Addison was the mommy and Lincoln was one of her babies. She tucked Lincoln into bed with his two sisters. I'm pretty sure at this point, she could convince him to do anything. Hopefully that changes by the time they reach the teenage years!

While Stephen was out this morning, he got the kids some new gloves and some new boots for Lincoln so that they could play in the snow later. They insisted on trying them on and acting crazy.
The kids had a great time playing in the snow. Addison perfected the art of the snow angel with her daddy while Lincoln mostly just watched. He wasn't too excited about the cold, wet snow. We're hoping that tomorrow the snow will be better for making snowmen. Addy wants to make a whole family of snowmen. We'll see about that!

I'll close with a cute picture of Lincoln and his daddy. They both look sweet and innocent in this picture, but don't let them fool you!

Big News to Report!

2009-01-21T19:58:00.005-05:00

Addison received a progress report from her K-3 (Preschool) class and we are very proud of her. Mrs. Dempler said, "Addison is showing a lot of improvement. I really enjoy having her in my class." Addison received an E+ (Excellent Plus) in shape recognition, an E in color recognition, sitting in her seat, keeping hands to her self, listening to teacher, and being quiet during class. She also received an S (Satisfactory) in letter recognition and number recognition. Addison has done a great job at school and she is really enjoying it. Mommy and Daddy think this is worthy of a trip to Chucky Cheese's!

Lincoln isn't big enough for school yet, but he is learning more and more each day. If he was allowed, he would go to class with "sissy", but he's just not old enough yet! Lincoln's vocabulary has recently exploded and he is talking more and more everyday, so we are very proud of him too. He also got a really cute haircut from Uncle Mark so we wanted to show it off in the picture.

The Year in Review

2009-01-18T10:44:00.009-05:00

We have been very busy over the last year, but since I'm just learning this whole blogging thing I will just post a few highlights from the year. Enjoy!
In May we were able to move into Madison into a wonderful (new-to-us) house! We had fun doing lots of updates to the house such as refinishing the wood floors, tiling the kitchen and master bath, and thanks to Aunt Pam the house was freshly painted and totally re-carpeted. We love living in town! Thanks Aunt Pam :^)
This fall, Addy started 3 year old preschool at The Dupont Baptist Church. She is learning all of her letters, numbers and letter sounds. She is amazing us every day with all that she is learning. Mrs. Dempler is doing a wonderful job with her. I can't believe she's getting so big already!

One of Lincoln's favorite things to do is hide from Mommy and Daddy. One of his favorite spots is in our pantry. There have been many times where Lincoln has gone missing, but now we know where to look first! In this picture he thought he was hiding really well, but as you can see the kitchen counter did not provide good cover...
Do you recognize this little girl? Addy got these funny glasses from her preschool teacher Mrs. Dempler. She thought they were great. She kept telling us that she was Beastley from the Care Bears because he wears this disguise in one of her movies.
Lincoln picked out his own costume this year for Halloween. He was much more excited about looking at it than wearing it. The monkey hat did not last very long!
Addy also picked her own costume this year. She was pretty pumped about being flower and I think she was the cutest little flower I've ever seen. Addy was also very impressed with all of the candy that she received while Trick-or-Treating!This fall Grandpa Sheets started his own business. Can you tell who the business was named after? Addison and Lincoln are very proud to be a part of Grandpa's business venture. They think Daddy's work van is pretty cool too!

We had many Christmas celebrations to attend this year and we all had a great time. This was the first year that both of the kids really got into the process. Lincoln had a great reaction to all of his presents and he really wanted to give each present the attention that it deserved. In the picture above, Lincoln is very excited about his new farm animals!
This year Addison was amazed with all of the presents. She loved all of her gifts, but she really loved tearing into all of the wrapping. She moved very quickly through her presents and then played with everything at the end. In this picture, Addy just opened a Dora phone from Uncle Zach and Aunt Chela.
Addy woke up on Christmas morning and came down the stairs to find lots of stuff in front of the Christmas tree. She promptly came into our room to wake us up. "Mommy what is all that stuff out there? I think Santa might have come because the brownie is gone!"Lincoln also really enjoyed Addy's dollhouse that Santa brought much to Stephen's dismay!
At mamaw's house Addy opened up lots of presents. In this picture Addy is opening up a Barbie Car with 2 Barbie's. She won't let these Barbie's play in her dollhouse because they have bathing suits on. They are only allowed at the beach according to Miss Addy!
The weekend after Christmas, we packed up and headed north to Middlebury Indiana to visit with Stephen's extended family. In this picture Lincoln is fighting with Great-Grandpa Oscar for his cane. Lincoln thought this was hilarious!

That's all for the updates right now. Over the next several weeks there should be lots of information to share. Baby Sheets #3 is due in about 9 weeks, so we will keep you posted. Take Care!

My First Blogging Attempt

2009-01-17T21:51:00.001-05:00

As most of you should now by now, Stephen and I are expecting our third child in March, so I am going to give the blogging thing a try. This will be an easy way for me to keep family and friends updated on the chaos that goes on in our house and a great way to share some pictures of the family.