Esme's here!

This post is long overdue. Esme is here and almost 3 months old already. It's hard to believe how time flies and how quickly babies grow.

Every day is something new with Esme.

Last week she discovered her hands and would end up going cross-eyed over and over as she rediscovered these amazing treasures that just happened to pass into her range of vision.

She first rolled over when she was 4 weeks old but has recently been mastering the art and has become an ambi-turner (meaning she can turn in both directions when starting from tummy time) where before she could only turn to the right.

Esme is a smiler. After a good sleep and a good feed, she'll spend 45 minutes talking, cooing, smiling and laughing at anyone willing to play with her. Any more than an hour though and we have a sleepy, grumpy baby on our hands.

She loves people and being held. It's starting to become a problem because she sleeps best when she is being held and cuddled. Soon she'll have to transition from the bassinet into her big crib and learn to nap without comforting arms supporting her.

Bumbo seats and exersaucers are just around the corner for this little girl, whose constant motion is helping her to gain head control. She pretty much supports her head on her own and loves to hold it up and look around at everything and anything.

We love our precious Esme Michelle and there is nothing quite as rewarding as having her smile and laugh directly at us. (It's even endearing when doing a 2:30am diaper change, makes it hard to resent the sleep disturbance.)

D-Day reached, no end in sight

Today's the day our baby is supposed to make its entrance. So far there are no real signs of an imminent arrival. I'm forty weeks pregnant (10 whole months) and feeling every minute of it.

This baby is welcome at any time and hopefully sooner than later :)

Baby Belly

We had a little bit of a scare over the last few weeks.

At 32 weeks along, my belly was right on target. At 34 weeks, my belly wasn't measuring as big as they would like it to be for how far along I was. The doctor said we'd wait two weeks and I should put my feet up more and we'd see how things went.

After two more weeks my belly still hadn't gotten as big as they would like, so the doctor ordered an ultrasound to make sure everything was good with the baby, the placenta and amniotic fluid level. We had that ultrasound this past Wednesday and got the results yesterday. Seems that the baby is perfect and everything is right on track, it's just going to be a very tiny baby. Right now it's weighing in at 5.5lbs and I have just over two weeks left until my due date. And that's just fine with us.  :)

Belly at 37 weeks.

Ready to meet our little one.

Comparisons

We went for a Sneak-A-Peek ultrasound last week and got to see our baby moving around in 3D. It was amazing and hard to believe all the details you can see while it is still on the inside. We've been comparing the pictures they sent us home with to the newborn pictures of myself and Alain, trying to see who the baby looks more like.

What do you think?

Kristin as a newborn (above).

Alain as a newborn (above).

The little cutie, not yet born.

Thoughts on becoming a mother

I read this on another blog and thought it was a nice way to look at all we've been through in the last two years.


"There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss, and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.
I will be better not because of genetics, or money, or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.
I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed.
I have endured and planned over and over again.
Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.
I will notice everything about my child.
I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.
I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold, and feed him.

I will not wake to track another temperature, take another pill, prepare another injection or shed another tear.
I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends and family will never see.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain. I have been tried by fire and hell many may never face, yet given time, I stood tall.
I have prevailed. I have succeeded. I have won.
So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.
I listen. And even though I can't make it better, I can make it less lonely.

I have learned the power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth, and when life is beyond hard, I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.
I have learned to appreciate life.
Yes, I will be a wonderful mother.

-Anonymous"

Peter and the Wolf - A childhood trauma

I remember the story of Peter and the Wolf well. It's quite an amazing combination of a children's story with orchestra music to create the mood around the characters in the story. I'm sure everyone knows Peter and the Wolf.

Apparently when I was very little, someone gave us a record of Peter and the Wolf for me to enjoy. Instead of enjoying it, I was terrified by the music. So terrified, in fact, that my parents had to put the record away up in the cupboard. Even that wasn't good enough for me. The cupboard was at the end of the hallway and my back was to it when i was sitting at the table. According to my parents, I would look over my shoulder at the cupboard and say "Bad oof get me" (translation: 'Bad Wolf get me'). In the end, I was not satisfied that I was safe from the big bad wolf until they showed me that they were carrying the record out of the house with the garbage to be collected.

In memory of that, and because it's just a good story, here is Peter and the Wolf:

Almost half way there!

This is my belly at 19 weeks and 3 days. A few more days and we'll be halfway to meeting our cutie. :)

18 Weeks 4 days

Our baby's first photograph.

Expecting

We are expecting our very own baby Oenema, due in February 2010. And we are ecstatic!

Sweet nephew

Gray's adorable and getting cuter by the day. Now he likes to talk to people and give big smiles. He's a good addition to the family :)

Garden grows

The sunshine and the rain are doing wonders for our garden. The plants are growing like weeds (thankfully they aren’t weeds and we actually don’t have very many weeds this year) and we are finally seeing real live vegetables on them. We have tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers (hot and sweet), zucchini and cucumbers coming in. Our onions are getting large and beautiful. We have basil, oregano, mint, cilantro, chives, green onions ready to use. Rhubarb, raspberries and cherries coming in. Still no sign of strawberries on our plants, hopefully soon. (They are ever-bearing, not June ones otherwise I might be worried that we won’t get any this year.) I love the garden and am excited for the first harvest of our veggies.






Nigel staring down the camera.










Our onions












Tomatillo plants














Pretty zucchini flower :)

Getting there - almost ready to plant veggies

Progress

Beginning of this year

This year we were looking for more structure for our garden. We want to do less weeding and have the backyard (Mom and Dad’s yard that would be) looking more presentable for company and for enjoying summer evenings. The result is raised beds. 

These pictures are just the start. We’ve done more work, painted and put sod around them, but don’t have any pictures on our computer. They are once again locked up in Mom’s camera, but this time in her NEW camera. 

(Note: I still haven't figured out how to get these pictures uploaded in the order I want to see them. I'm a blogger newbie)

Gray Elias Siebring

Our nephew :) Congratulations Erin and Kif on an adorable baby!

Last Year

We found some pictures of our garden and produce from last year on Mom’s old camera. I can’t wait until we are able to start actual planting this year. I am loving spring, but I love summer more.