A Story about Drew Reddick Hawkins!

Now that things have settled down slightly, I've had a chance to reflect on this week of Thanksgiving.  So much to be thankful for!!!  First shout-out goes to my parents and parents-in-law for helping with Anna and Dallin, which has given me the time to actually write this post!  It doesn't follow the same excitement of "blizzard baby Anna" or "Memorial Day Dallin", but it had it's own excitement!

Let's see, where to start?...

Oh, yes.  Early last week was my OB appointment.  I was hanging on her every word and suggestion, but she really did care about my own perpective.  I was feeling deflated that baby hadn't come yet.  From an ultrasound several weeks earlier, we all knew this was a BIG BOY.  By now, he was well cooked... and I was DONE being pregnant.  Yes, I was technically 40 weeks, but I've never gone 40 weeks before.  We scheduled induction for Friday and I left feeling happy as can be.  A date!  A target!  We spend Thursday night cleaning the house and finishing (yes, finishing!) laundry.  Such a great feeling.

Friday 4:30am:  Load the kids, load the luggage, off to Grandma's house, then off to hospital!  They started me on Cytotec for a few hours to get things ready.  Epidural, followed closely by Pitocen around 9:30am.  Check!  I was feeling nice and relaxed, waiting for baby to make the next move.  The doc came and checked me at 11:30am and confirmed it was time to start setting up!  I was like, "right now?!"
Was I ready for baby #3?
Was I ready for this next chapter?
Was I ready to start over?!
Too late now!  Pushing took a little longer than I anticipated, due to his rather large head was facing up.  Dr. Falk was amazing, really took her time and didn't rush it.  At 12:50 he finally came!!!  Little Drew Reddick Hawkins was 9 lbs. 11oz. and 22 in. long!  My biggest so far!  It felt so nice to actually hold him in my arms.  Bevan was just as proud as can be!  Can we really have 3 kids now?!

That was 5 days ago.  Little Drew has been a wonderful little baby!  He has mastered the art of sleeping and pooping, with nursing not far behind.  Sure, newborns are a hard adjustment... but they are so worth it!  We love our little Drew!

Anna turns 5!

Our beloved Anna turned 5 years old on November 24th!  Yes, we really like late-November birthdays for some reason.  Bevan's was on the 17th, baby Drew's was on the 20th, and now Anna's.  3 birthdays within 7 days!  I tried to keep it special, and have it not overshadowed by... ya know... a new baby.

Since she still can't read a calendar very well, we got away with celebrating a day early, on Bevan's day off.  Beverly and Lloyd came up and brought a chocolate cake and presents!  Total, she got a stuffed, white kitty, a scooter, and loads of art supplies.  She was overjoyed with her own pair of pink sissors!  It's the little things, right?!

We love our Anna for so many reasons.  She's always been an easy kid. She says "excuse me", "please", and "thank you", she's always happy and pleasent, and she loves being an older sister!  I've loved to watch her grow over the years... now if only I can freeze it right now!  She's adorable, innocent, and still likes me!

Extreme Nesting!

So... my "baby by the weekend" plan has fallen through.
What else was on my list?
Well, for starters, windows and blinds, tilling the garden, finding Anna some longer pants, and deep cleaning the kitchen, which included going through each cabinet and tossing everything I haven't used in years.  The utility/ junk drawer looks fabulous!  And all the pens work!

After months of deliberation, I finally got around to re-upholstering the fabric on the rocker glider.  Gotta have somewhere to sit, right?  Don't look too closely, I'm NOT a good sewer and failed with the decorative piping on the edges, so it got left out, which is a shame.

For some strange reason, we decided NOT to banish Anna to the basement and squeeze the kids into one room for now... which involves bunk beds!  I found a set by Lea on KSL and it included 2 mattresses!  Score!  Anna was in heaven but Dallin fell out of the bottom bunk twice the first night.  He has since defaulted back to his crib, which is fine.  He's got some time.  While Bevan and I were putting the bunk beds together, we had to stop and evaluate.  Bunk beds?!  How did this happen?!  Yesterday, we just got married and now we've resorted to (as Nora put it so well) "stacking" our children!

And finally, my beloved Civic has been sold!  Had to happen sooner rather than later.  She didn't like the cold anyway.  It was bittersweet.  Can't complain about my upgrade!  I do have slight mpg withdrawals, and I'm not used to driving something so nice and new(er)!  It has no weird sounds or smells and when I step on the gas pedal, it actually goes!  So long Civic!  Have fun running out the clock in Vernal!

Can I just have a baby now?!  We're ready!!!

Halloweeny!

It was incredibly simplified this year! We borrowed costumes (thanks Kim!), carved 2 ½ jack-o-lanterns, only trick-or-treated for 90 minutes and went to bed early! Loved it! I feel really good when I go walking these days, but 90 minutes was my limit. We let the kids pig out on their candy while we lit our pumpkins and waited for anybody to come to our house. We usually don’t get many, which is why I buy candy that I like… just in case we get stuck with more than planned. I’ve been totally addicted to Peanut Butter Snickers lately! Ever tried them?! They’re amazing! Mix it with an assortment of Yorks and Caramel Apple Pops and I’m good for a whole week, if it lasts that long.  

Home Strrrrrretch!

I can’t believe how much has been happening lately! I feel that life is about to get a little more complicated, busy, and expensive! Why is that? I’m still working twice a week. I totally thought it would’ve tapered off completely by now. Curse this beautiful warm weather! One landscape design contract left and about 3 bids. Clients get a little nervous when they see my huge stomach and ask again when we’ll have “numbers” ready.  Park City progress haults for no baby!  I’m so ready for this season to be over!

Oh well, it’s not like I can just sit at home on my squishy couch and incubate for the next 2 weeks. There’s still so much to get done! I’ve been trying to re-upholster the rocker/glider for about the last 5 months. The garden needs to be tilled under. Our pathetic crop of tomatoes needs to be bottled. The house needs to be deep cleaned, dusted, shampooed, whatever. Kids clothes need to be organized and beds need to be moved around. Phew!

The work never stops, I guess. The baby is the one who has it easy. Well, now he does. He was frank breech for a while, and though I wasn’t extremely scared, I was getting a little nervous. This is how I found my new 3^rd-trimester love! … water aerobics! Doc totally recommended it and baby did end up turning (don’t know if it was a direct result, but I like to think it helped). Twice a week I can go to a pool and feel weightless, limber, and carefree for a whole hour! It’s been the most incredible feeling! Why haven’t I been doing this the whole time?! I might still have 2 more weeks of it… though at this point, I’m not sure…