McArthur Clan

Kelly's trip to Idaho

2009-09-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

Once again, Kelly has hacked into Katherine's blog to post pictures of some flying trip to some obscure, far-flung spot in the middle of nowhere.

Look for the baby pictures to come back, just as soon as I can figure out what he changed the password to.

On approach to Johnson Creek airstrip, near Yellow Pine, ID.
Field elevation is 4933'.

Any landing you can walk away from...

On approach to Sulphur Creek Ranch, elevation 5835'.

Marc, looking rustic.

Stefan, Phil, Marc and Glen, after a light breakfast consisting of eggs, hashbrowns, toast, ham, sausage, with extra gravy.

Early Sunday morning at Johnson Creek.

California Adventure

2009-08-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Disneyland

2009-08-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

At our favorite place - the Blue Bayou! Since it was Caroline's birthday, Disneyland gave her a special button. Every cast member wished her a Happy Birthday and at every place we ate, she got something special! I think she really liked all the attention, it was fun.

Caroline trying to drive on Autopia. She is a wild and crazy driver, hopefully that will get better before she turns 16!

Caroline's surprise birthday

2009-08-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

This year I decided to surprise Caroline for her 9th birthday. I took her to the American Girl Store in Los Angeles followed by a day at Disneyland. We had an absolutely marvelous time! Here she is at the Cafe, where your doll gets a spot at the table with its very own cup and saucer!

I ordered the birthday cake - it was very pretty.

Here the doll is getting its hair styled. It even had its ears pierced! So exciting when you are at the store, but looking back, a bit weird to pierce a doll's ears, and have its hair styled. But I would never tell Caroline that...

William's 11th Birthday

2009-08-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

William turned 11 this year. For his birthday he wanted Kelly and I to take him to fancy dinner (he wanted to wear his suit), so we took him to the Portland City Grill. We had a great table with a fantastic view. Its 30 floors up!

He got a microscope and has already collected pond water and seen all sorts of swimming things...

The Wisshack's gave him a Confederate Flag - boy, he is all set for Fort Stevens this year!

Kelly's trip to Idaho

2009-07-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

(Kelly has hijacked Katherine's blog to post airplane pictures. We will be back to our regularly scheduled Cute Baby Pictures after this brief interruption.)

I flew out to Idaho to catch up with Katherine and the kids for the 4th. Here are a few pics I took along the way out and back, to share with my flying buddies.

Owyhee Resevoir State Airport
I managed to scare up a jackrabbit just south of Concourse B, over by the shuttle bus terminal.

The world famous Owyhee Hilton
A two bed suite with a lakeside view had just opened up. What luck!

Obligatory Postcard Picture
Another lucky break, a couple of Japanese tourists happened by, and were kind enought to take my picutre.

Looking out across the Eagle Cap Wilderness,
from the west, just south of Reds/Minam

Looking North, along the Minam River Drainage
About 10 miles south of Reds/Minam, starting the descent.

The airstrip at Red's looking North

Red's Airstrip, looking South (upriver)

Lucky for me, I was able to squeeze into a parking spot on the crowded ramp.
Hope I can find the plane again when I get back from the duty free shop.

Main Ranch House at Reds

Now a museum. Caretakers PA-12 Supercruiser is at right.

Cabins along the Minam River
Sadly, not maintained by the Forest Service.

Airstrip Campsite
Note firewood stacked up at left. Very inviting.

Charlie's 1st Birthday!

2009-06-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Charlie got a small climbing structure for his birthday. He loves it!

Not sure about all these presents, but he likes what's inside!
Oh, my baby loves cake! He just stared at all of us while we sang (like we were crazy!), but really enjoyed his cake.

Charlie then...and now

2009-06-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hair?

2009-06-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Charlie's hair is getting lighter. Its blond underneath and even has a slight redish tint to it. Each one of my kids have different hair color. William's is the darkest, a very dark brown. Caroline's is red with blond highlights, Jackson's is a light brown and has blond highlights in the summer. No two are alike!

What a Face!!

2009-06-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Baseball tournament

2009-06-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

William's team, the Greenie Meanies, placed 2nd in their baseball tournament this past weekend. A full day of baseball - 5 games in 24 hours! William got a great trophy (notice Charlie making a b-line towards them!) to mark the end of a great season. William played great and really improved. Not bad for his first year!

Hiking at Silver Creek Falls

2009-06-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

First hike of the season. Not too hot, not too cold and no bugs!

Behind the waterfall. The kids thought that was the neatest thing ever!

Playing in the river!

2009-06-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

We took a hike to Silver Creek Falls last weekend. After the hike we let the kids play
in the river. The water was cold, but Charlie seemed to like it. He didn't really get in the water, just played along the very edge. He also liked digging in the mud.

Charlie meets the sprinkler for the first time...

2009-05-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

The pictures say it all....he loved it!

Zoo

2009-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

The kids were out of school, so we went to the Zoo. It was crazy busy there, full of school kids on field trips. But we had fun anyway. Even got to feed the birds!

Charlie, 10 months

2009-04-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

He still only has 2 teeth, but I think more are coming. Notice the drool....

This picture is funny. He looks like he needs to tell me something very important.

Dressed Up

2009-03-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

This was a sad occasion, at their grandmother's funeral. They are too young to really understand, and were very well behaved during the whole event. The boys loved being in their suits and Caroline in her black dress. They will miss their Grandma...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2009-03-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

I made Irish Stew and beer bread.

More party pictures...

2009-03-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

This isn't the greatest picture, as Jackson is out of focus, but here are all the cousins.
Charlie didn't like the party hat.

Dash turns one!

2009-03-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dash!
We went to Seattle for Dash's birthday last weekend. The little guy turned one! The year has gone by fast. Fun was had by all, especially the eating of the homemade cupcakes!

Charlie loves cake. Loves, loves, loves it.
We had naked babies eating spagetti and cake. Then it was bath time!

Black & White

2009-03-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

Just playing with dates and black & white. I like black & white photos. In other news, Charlie slept for the VERY first time the ENTIRE night last night. He is almost 9 months old for pete's sake! I'm hoping this trend will continue, but am not optimistic.

Charlie 8 months

2009-03-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Charlie is 8 months old now. He is crawling, pulling himself up to his knees, and loves to explore the entire house. I really need to start babyproofing...

Charlie's 1st Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Charlie really liked the balloons. He loved to watch them.

I guess I didn't take any pictures of the other kids. Bad, bad mom!

This is my baby today....

2009-02-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Isn't he just delightful?

William has a speech on Abraham Lincoln. The costume turned out pretty well.
We'll see how the speech goes, its tomorrow.

Pinewood Derby Winners!

2009-01-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

William and Jackson both won 1st place in their dens for having the fastest cars in the Pinewood Derby! Jackson made a 'OSU Beaver' car and William stuck with his racy gold and red car. This was William's second 1st place for his den and Jackson's very first 1st place.

Beach in January

2009-01-30T15:27:00.000-08:00

We had beautiful weather at the beach last weekend. It wasn't rainy, or windy. And there was even blue sky. Charlie really liked watching the waves and all the seagulls. We love going to the beach, even in the winter.

My baby is cute!

2009-01-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Not that I am biased or anything...

First pickle!!!

2009-01-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

As you can see, the first pickle wasn't a hit. Funny, the other kids LOVED pickles at this age. Charlie, not so much!

Aquarium

2009-01-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

We went to the Newport Aquarium last weekend.

Here we are at the original Mo's having lunch. Charlie liked the clam chowder!

Notice the 2 bottom teeth!!

Mute!!

2009-01-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

When Jackson and I were shopping one day we came across a basket full of binky's with funny sayings. Jackson thought the "Mute Button" binky was PERFECT for Charlie, so Jackson bought it for Charlie for Christmas. Charlie liked it as did Jackson!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

We had a nice relaxing Christmas this year. The weather interupted a lot of our holiday plans, so we were at home much of the time.
Charlie enjoyed playing with all the wrapping paper and liked watching the kids play with their new things.

Snow!

2008-12-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

We have had SO much snow this past week. We have been mostly house-bound. This picture was taken on Sunday morning, we have about 3 more inches of snow with 1/2 inch of ice.

Charlie's first experience in snow!

Christmas Spirit...

2008-12-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Charlie is starting to eat food now, peas are his favorite.

The boys.

The boys plus sister.

Today it snowed about 4 inches. Here is Caroline early in the day
with 2 of our neighbors, Joey and Emily. Mini-snowman
was created.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-09T09:41:00.000-08:00

The kids and I drove to Idaho for Thanksgiving. Here is a
picture of all the kids that were there! 14 in all, and that wasn't
even all of them. The trip was quite fun.

Gabe, Dash, and Charlie. Gabe and Charlie are the same
age (4 days apart) and Dash is 8 months old now.

Charlie...5 months

2008-12-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

Charlie is 5 1/2 months old now. He is rolling ALL over the place. He is a happy baby, loves his siblings!

Caroline got a "Jackson Jaguar" award at school last week for her excellent work habits.
She got the award in front of the entire school. It was a surprise for her.

At Zoolights.... Charlie thought the lights were so cool!

Trick-or-treating

2008-11-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here we have: 1 army man, 1 caterpillar, 1 rockstar, and 1 civil war soldier.

Mr. Veggie Skeleton

Mr. Caterpillar so excited to be outside at night. He ended up falling asleep about
20 minutes into trick-or-treating. Next year, that will not be the case!

Here we have the Wizard of Oz tin man (Henry), Dorothy (Emily)
wicked witch (Kaitlin), Rockstar (Caroline), lion (Joey), army man (William), caterpillar (Charlie)
scarecrow (Jake) and civil war soldier (Jackson),

The Fall bring Crabs!

2008-11-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Our trees are simply beautiful in the fall. The builder planted many, many red sunset maple trees on the parking strips which leads to stunning colors in the fall. The kids love raking up a big pile of leaves and then jumping right into the middle of it. Only to have to rake another pile... and jump again.

The first crabbing trip was a success. 17 crabs were caught.

Charlie is doing great! He is rolling over both directions, and starting to really play with toys. He got a new jumping exersauser thing which he loves.

Charlie 4 months

2008-10-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Halloween!

2008-10-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Bears...

2008-10-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

In this life, I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear.

When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup. Gonna be a bear.

October

2008-10-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Baby Elephant

2008-10-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

School was out last week for 3 days for conferences. We decided to go see the new baby elephant at the Zoo. His name is Sam (short for Samudra). He was still so tiny, we were expecting him to be bigger!
My four little cubs... the smallest looks just like his father. Don't you think so?
Mr. Charlie loves his Whoozit toy. He squeals in delight and tries to eat the Whoozit all the time. Best toy ever.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch today. Charlie had his first hayride, saw his first pigs, baby cows, and great big pumpkins. These were the only pictures that came out, the rest of the pictures were awful. Either someone is closing their eyes or had a funny look on their face. We might try another pumpkin patch later, and if those pictures come out, I will post them.

Jackson earns a Jaguar Award!

2008-10-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

Jackson earned a Jaguar award at school last Friday. The school is awarding kids every month based on good merits. Jackson is one of the first kids to get this award. His award was for 'following directions the first time they are given for the whole month of September'. Way to go Jackson! He didn't know he was getting it, and it was in front of the whole school!

Charlie 3 months

2008-09-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Charlie is 3 months old now. He smiles, laughs, talks to toys, blows bubbles, chews on his hands, bats at toys.
He is a pretty happy baby, except he does not like to be alone. He cries very loudly when he figures out he is by himself. He loves, loves, loves being in the sling. I carry him in the sling in stores and in the house. I make dinner, vacuum, ect. all with him in the sling.

more civil war...

2008-09-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Baby being outside!

Here are the kids with the General. Better stand straight!

Here is the battle we watched. It was quite interesting. In this battle, the Confederates won.

Notice the girls at the top...

Camping & Civil War Re-enactment

2008-09-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here I am camping with a 2 1/2 month old baby. He did great, he loves being outside looking at the trees, despite what the picture shows.

The Civil War Re-enactment at Ft. Stevens was a hoot. The kids absolutely loved, loved, loved it. They each had Civil War outfits and the girls had cute pioneer dresses complete with bloomers.

Charlie, 2 months old

2008-08-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Baby Charlie is 2 months old already. He is smiling and cooing. He is almost laughing. He is a very happy baby. He is starting to sleep a bit longer at night, up to 3-4 hours at a time. He is starting to hold his head up too when on his tummy.

Sunriver

2008-08-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

We went to Sunriver last week. It was fun, despite the rainy weather. The kids rode horses for the first time on a trail ride, and we went swimming in the big pool. And of course, lots and lots of bike riding.

2008-08-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!

Charlie's 1st Flight!

2008-08-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Charlie had his first flight in the tripacer the other day.
We flew to our friend Marc's house in Molalla for a BBQ.
Normally driving to Molalla would take over an hour, but in the
plane, its a nice 20 minute flight.

Happy Baby!

2008-07-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

Charlie is 5 1/2 weeks old now. He is starting to smile. Now, if only he would sleep a bit longer at night...

American Girl Movie

2008-07-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

My fabulous neighbor, Brucinda, made these beautiful outfits
for her daughter Emily, my daughter Caroline, and my niece,
Julia. She also made matching outfits for each of their American Girl dolls.
We took them to see Kit Kittredge: An American Girl movie.
They looked adorable, the dolls and the girls!

Happy 8th Birthday Caroline!

2008-07-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Caroline turned 8 years old on July 25.
She had a great party with lots of friends.

Charlie is 5 weeks old already. He is fattening up
nicely, and starting to smile.

Happy Birthday William!

2008-07-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

July 18 was William's 10th Birthday. He had a cosmic bowling party complete with disco balls and fog. A great time was had by all.

One month old Charlie and 10 year old William.

Good picture William!

2008-07-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

William has been practicing taking photos.

He took this picture sitting on a bench at the zoo.

Zoo

2008-07-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

I took my 4 kids to the zoo today. It was our first outing without Kelly. (besides the grocery store, which doesn't count). Despite it being hot, everyone had a good time. Charlie slept the entire time except for 2 feedings and one diaper change. However, we were all hot and sweaty on the way home so we decided to stop for an Icee. We drove straight to a Plaid Pantry, walked in and the sign on the Icee machine said "Out of Order". What? Isn't this summer? Isn't this America? What's summer without Icee's?

No Icee's for us. We got Gatorade instead. We all still want our Icee's darn it.

Only tiny toes were poking out most of the time.

Charlie enjoyed his first trip to the zoo...

The safari jeep is always a big hit.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Jackson made his famous flag cake yesterday and it was quite good. He loves to bake and decorate cakes.
We had the cousins over for a picnic dinner and let off a bunch of fireworks.
Charlie is 2 weeks old now and it doing great. Not sleeping much, but I keep telling myself, it doesn't last long, it doesn't last long.....

Settling In....

2008-06-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

Charlie is one week old already. We are all settling in nicely. Charlie sleeps and eats like a champ. I've been getting 2-3 hours of sleep at a time during the night which is sooo nice. Kelly returns to work part time this week.

It was 106.6 degrees here on Saturday. We huddled inside in front of fans, cranked up the A/C and played with our new Wii. Cow racing is a hoot! Caroline has taking up Wii boxing and triumphed over both her brothers. Go Caroline!

Katherine is doing well, despite the heat. Recovery will take a couple of weeks, but she's doing fine now that she's home. Look for the Official Birth Announcements by mail soon.

Coming Home, Finally

2008-06-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to bring baby Charlie home today.

After installing him in his fabulously complicated Modular Infant Transportation Pod, he was secured with the aid of 18 straps, latches and buckles. Charlie looked like he was about to be launched into orbit rather than driven to Hillsboro in Mom's mini van. (45mph, right lane, flashers going. Yes, that was us.)

William came along for the ride...

A nice quiet day in the old Jones Farm Neighborhood.

Or so we thought. No sooner do Katherine and William step out of the car, mini-vans roar up from every direction, and screech to a stop in front of the house...

First, our neighbor Beverly stops by for a quick inspection...

Moments later, Caroline and Jackson race across the street with the Wisshack children in hot pursuit, followed by Brucinda. Everybody makes
a mad dash for the door.

Realizing there is no chance of escape, Katherine collapses in a chair with baby Charlie, resigning herself to be the center of attention for everyone in the neighborhood.

Maybe next time, I can distract them with Popsicles or something...

Seriously, we would again like to thank everyone for their help and support with the other kids during our extended hospital stay. And for the many gifts we've received since the babies arrival. We look forward to showing off baby Charlie every chance we get this summer.

Fourth of July is right around the corner, and then it's Birthday Season. Wee haw.

Update from St. Vincents

2008-06-23T16:12:00.001-07:00

Some of you may have heard that Katherine may have to stay in the hospital a few days longer than expected, owing to some issues that cropped up after the C-Section surgery. Long story short, this mornings procedure confirmed that everything is going OK now. We expect Katherine and Baby Charlie to head home Wednesday am.

We would like to off our most heartfelt thanks to Grace, Jane and Joe for all their help with our other children during this time, even if they do end up drinking all my Red Stripe Lager. However, please be advised: Katherine, who has not had a beer in many months with be very, very unhappy.

Remembering Last Summer...

2008-06-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

We were thinking of taking the kids to
Disneyworld's Animal Kingdom Adventure...

but we decided to go to Idaho instead.

Now back you your regularly scheduled Baby News...

Got These on the First Try.... Really...

2008-06-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Video!

2008-06-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ain't Technology Grand?

First Family Visit

2008-06-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

2:30pm The other kids come to visit their new baby brother.

Baby Day!

2008-06-20T15:56:00.001-07:00

June 20th, 2008

Charles Kelly McArthur
8 lbs, 1 oz. 20" long. Born 7:45am

Robust, noisy, lot's of hair.

Day before Baby Day

2008-06-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 19th, 2008:

The phone rings.
"Let the machine get it", Katherine says, wearily.

"Hello", the message begins.
"This is Providence St. Vincent Hospital. We're just calling to remind you that you have an appointment to come in for C-Section tomorrow morning, at 7am. Don't forget." says the cheery voice on the other end of line, sounding like a dental tech reminding her about dropping by to get her teeth cleaned.

"You must be joking", says Katherine. "Right, sure. I almost forgot. I almost forgot that I have a giant baby inside of me, that I have to lean back to walk down stairs, that I haven't seen my feet in two months."

"Thank goodness for that call. I'm sure glad I didn't forget that I have been planning, scheming, and organizing the lives of my entire extended family for weeks, around this date. Nope, sure glad it didn't slip my mind."

"Thanks for the call."

Graduation

2008-06-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Jackson graduates Kindergarten!

38 weeks...

2008-06-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

My cousin and I both pregnant with #4...and they are both boys!

Friday, June 13, I was officially 38 weeks. I would have usually had a baby by now since I am having a c-section. But, the hospitals have made a NATIONAL policy for c-sections to be done at 39 weeks (unless there is an emergency). So I am going to be pregnant for one more week. It's just fine, I have stuff to do yet. The baby's things are done, but I still need to stock up on food, pack my hospital bag, get the house in order.

2008-05-26T13:02:00.001-07:00

2008-05-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

No Baby News today.

In other news, Kelly came home the other day to find Caroline and Jackson standing in the middle of the street, looking skyward, waving. Thinking one of Kelly's BravoThree hangar buddies was flying over the house I look up. No plane.
"What are you doing?", I ask.
"We're waving to William", says Caroline.
I immediately scan the roof line of the houses in the immediate vicinity, expecting to see a William perched on an eave, his Batman cape waving in the breeze. Luckily, no 80 lb Caped Crusaders waiting to swoop down on evil doers.
"Ok, so where is William"
"Oh, he's inside", offers Jackson.
Now I'm really baffled. I step inside to find William at the computer.
"What are you doing?", I ask.
"Looking for Caroline and Jackson", he says, with a tone that hints at an unspoken "Duh!"
I lean in to to examine his computer screen.
"See, I found our house with Google Maps!", he says proudly. "There's our house, there's Jakes house, and there's your van. But for some reason, I can't see Caroline and Jackson!"

Update...

2008-05-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah! No longer on modified bedrest. My doctor said yesterday I could start increasing my activity. I still have contractions, but nothing overly their hourly limit. Baby is doing great. He's getting too big to actually kick anymore. He rolls around and that is quite a show from the outside. The kids love to watch him move. We still don't have a name yet, a few on the short list. Kelly just doesn't like anything I like. The kids and I (and my mom) all like one name so we are trying to talk Daddy into it.

The scheduled date for baby's arrival is June 20. When I start thinking about the whole c-section thing again, I get nervous. But I know once I am actually there, things move very quickly and there is no time to think about how yucky the whole thing actually is. And then HE will be out and take my mind off everything. I wonder what he looks like. Caroline had a full head of red hair so you never know how they will look when they come out. I am starting to get excited about actually seeing him. 6 weeks to go!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. The kids are very excited.

2008-05-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

No Baby!!

2008-04-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was admitted to the hospital for preterm labor. I had been spotting mildly on Friday, but woke up Saturday morning with pretty bad cramping. I called the dr. and she said come on in to check things out. About an hour after I got there, I started having painful contractions that were 3 1/2 minutes apart for about 4 hours. They decided to admit me and see what was going on. They did an ultrasound to check the baby and placenta, which were both doing fine. The baby measured about 3 1/2 pounds. Since the contractions were getting worse, they gave me IV magnesium to stop them. That was pretty awful. It causes you to feel like you have the worst flu ever. And the nausea is intense. I was on an IV magnesium drip for 48 hours. The contractions eventually disappeared, so it was successful! They also gave me 2 rounds of steroid shots for the baby to increase his lung maturity just in case. I was released on Tuesday to come home on strict bedrest. My mom stayed the entire week as I could do nothing but sit. On Friday I saw my OB and everything looks pretty stable at the moment. He has me on modified bedrest which means I can get up and walk around, but that is about it. No housework, laundry, grocery shopping ect, for 3 weeks. Our goal is to get this baby to 34 weeks. They say babies born after 34 weeks don't have as many problems with breathing or maintaining blood sugars or body temperatures.

The kids have been great little helpers during this time. Its nice to see them help with what they can.

I've never gone through anything like this before during my last 3 pregnancies. I've had c-sections that were scheduled (for various reasons) so I have never had any sort of labor experience. I always just walked in and had a baby!!

Hopefully this little guy will decide to stay in until 39 weeks now. And be uneventful until then!!

An Answer!

2008-04-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

I got a call today from my OB's nurse. I thought maybe I had failed my glucose test I took last week, but gladly I did not! She said I am low on iron. However, I have been taking iron supplements since around week 12. So, I have to double up on them. Kelly says I just need to eat more steak...

Hopefully getting my iron levels up will help with the fatigue I've been feeling lately.

Fatigue setting in...

2008-04-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant at my 'advanced maternal age' is quite different than my previous pregnancies. Right now I feel tired most all of the time. I'm not sleepy tired, just physically tired by 4pm most days. I am exercising some, walking to school and such, but it doesn't seem to increase my energy any.

The baby is getting big - obviously. I had yet ANOTHER lady say to me yesterday "Wow, you look so big for having 2 months left." What am I supposed to say to that? Its my FOURTH child woman! Some people are so rude...and need to keep their mouths shut.

Show 'n' tell....

2008-04-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my brother and I. I even took him to show 'n' tell at school! What a cool thing to share! My daughter will be about the same age as me in this picture when her new brother arrives, I wonder if she will take him to show 'n' tell??

Baby Timeline

2008-04-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Names...

2008-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Anyone got any good boy names?
Has to fit with our other names: William, Caroline and Jackson
Not to common, and you know that its a BOY name and you know how to spell it.

Don't send 'Douglas'. No Douglas McArthur.

Last assembly....

2008-04-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

Kelly put together yet another changing table this weekend. Last time he will be doing that. Too bad we used the last one for a fish cleaning station.

I guess we really are having a baby!

2008-04-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

We set the crib up in our room last week. The boys don't really want to share a room at the moment, so we'll put the baby in our room for awhile. I hope he isn't a noisy sleeper!

Oh, so true!

2008-04-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

2008-04-02T14:03:00.001-07:00

This cartoon is not funny. -Katherine

Webkinz...

2008-04-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

All the neighborhood kids with their Webkinz. They play with these critters constantly. They take them for rides in the wagon, walks, and fling them in the air. The Webkinz all have their 'best friends' which seems to change every few minutes. I'm sure this newest phase won't last long, but it sure is cute!

Baby Dash

2008-04-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we saw our newest family member - Dashell Clay VanDyk. He is about 2 weeks old now and is as cute as a button. The kids really enjoyed seeing the new baby. They all fought over holding him, and watching diaper changes! The visit made me really think that I need to start preparing for our new baby - while I still feel good and can bend over somewhat!