Terrific three!

My baby boy turned 3 on Thursday. I truly can't believe he is such a big boy already. Even with a new baby in the house, I still think of him as the baby!

Mark celebrated his birthday at school with donut holes and cookies. His presents so far have been super hero related and he loves them! Does such a good job with sharing with zach too!

In honor of the terrific three year old, here are 3 things about mark Wendell!
*he has the best laugh ever!! I need to get it on video because it is just so sweet and contagious.
*favorite toy/buddy is his teddy bear. It's super cute how he loves him...until bear gets lost in the house!
*he truly loves his brothers. Wants to do everything and dress like big brother and love and check on little brother. So sweet, hope that love always remains!

I love you, mark! You are such a silly sweet tender hearted boy and I hope that never changes. Can't wait to see what God has in store for you! Happy 3, baby!!

One Heart movie

I am not a huge sports fanatic, but I do love a good sports movie. Something tugs at my heart every time. I think that's why I don't mind watching College Game Day...I love the back stories and tales of perseverance!

I heard the story of Gainesville State school awhile back in a sermon in church. Just happened to see a post about it today on Facebook and in reading the comments, read it was becoming a movie! Filming this week in south lake if you live up that way!

Check out the video. Awesome story of 2nd chances and redemption for some young men who never have anyone on their side and of a community who decided to live out God's message of love! I look forward to the movie!

http://vimeo.com/14503709

And in case you need a good football movie now, check out these:
The blind side (great story!)
Facing the giants (watched this again last week)
Remember the titans (I cry every time)
Rudy(one of hubby's fav)
Invincible (great underdog story...and has market mark in it!) :-)

Thoughts on Post Partum

Well, I am almost 6 weeks from delivery and decided "close enough" and headed out to pound the pavement today.  I have less than 2 months to fit back into some clothes for work and exactly 3 months till the half marathon.  I will admit it now, I think I was a WEE bit ambitious on all that.   But I will give it a shot.

A few of my observations from today.  First....the good stuff/
1) I still like to run.  I enjoyed it.  And it felt good....until I felt like I would die!
2) Eminem's 'Til I Collapse' can still make me not want to give up.  Maybe I should just make that my entire playlist!!
3) I will say it again. I didn't die!!

Now onto the bad:
1) I really almost died. LOL.  I kid.  I could run for about 1.5 miles and then had to walk.  And walk some more.  It was a bit of a reality check but it is sill more than I could do when I first started running less than 2 years ago.
2) I need new ear buds.  They kept coming out.  It was SUPER distracting.
3) My playlist is SEVERELY outdated.  Anyone have any good suggestions??
4) I am SORE!!

I gained almost 50lbs with Luke.  But I did love every minute of it.  He was truly a joy to carry.  I lost almost 30 of it so far but now the hard work comes in.  It is depressing to get on the scale and try and fit into clothes, but I know these things take time.  And I also know moving helps a lot.  As does stop stopping by Sonic for ice cream once a week and McDonalds for breakfast once a week.  Oh to be a celebrity and have a personal trainer and cook!!

So here we go again, time to get busy.  I will do my best to get some of this weight off soon!!  Hoping I can keep up the momentum and make some progress!

And here are just a few pics of my sweet boys!!

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I love instagram, do you?  Here are a couple of pics from the last weeks!

Me and my baby boy on his 1 month birthday!




Sweet lil punkin!



Mark was sick this week...I had 2 passed out babies on me at one time!

3weeks!

Yep, we have survived 3 weeks so far as a family of 5! There have been some hairy moments...but all in all, baby Luke has fit in just like he has always been here!

We have been blessed by meals during the week from friends and that has been wonderful. Except for the desserts that almost all have brought with their meals. Making it difficult to be good with cookies always around!

The boys are doing well at their new school. They are attending preschool/MDO where we go to church and seem to be enjoying their new teachers and friends. I've been learning about carpool line! ;-)

Zach has started playing soccer too, our first foray into an activity! We've had 2 practices and 1 game so far. Zach is so focused and is definitely a little athlete! He scored the 1st goal of the game and one more later. Go Z!

Other than that, we took some pics of baby boy that are turning out cute...and dragging Luke around wherever we go. Life of child #3!

Who's Who

Guess there is no denying they are all related.....

Slightly Overdue

Well, I guess it is only appropriate that I am a few days late in posting that little Luke Daniel FINALLY arrived!  He came into this world on Sunday, September 2nd at 10:29pm, weighing 9lbs 4oz and 22inch long! :)  Yes, he is a BIG BOY!

After going to my appointment on Thursday and seeing that my ultrasound and non-stress test all came out normal, and that I was still not dilated AT ALL...my doctor and I decided to continue to wait through the weekend but go ahead and schedule an induction to start on Monday evening.  I left the appointment relieved to know Luke was okay, but frustrated to know I had made no progress and would probably end up with an induction.

We went about the rest of our weekend with no plans for baby to arrive and prepared to start the week off in the hospital Monday night.  But Luke finally decided a little differently.  I woke up to some early labor symptoms and decided that going to church probably wasn't the smartest of ideas.  I was hoping things would progress quickly so I had my parents over to the house by about 10am.  Well, things didn't speed up...but they did stay consistent and regular.  By about 4pm, the contractions were getting strong and I started to get a little anxious that things would start going way too fast again like with Mark.  We decided we would go ahead and go to the hospital while they were still about 10minutes apart and see if they would admit us.  My parents took the boys to their house and I shed a couple of tears actually as they drove away knowing that was the last time I would see them as just my 2 sons!!

We arrived at the hospital a little after 5pm and were sent to triage to check things out.  Luckily, I was 4cm dilated and contracting regularly, so they let me stay!! I proceeded to tell any nurse that would listen about my last birth experience and that I really wanted to make sure I got an epidural this time.  Thankfully, they listened so as soon as I was checked in, they set me up for the epidural.  It came in just the right time as I was able to labor painlessly for the next 2 hours.  And I think it allowed me to relax and I progressed quickly!  An hour after the epidural, I was already at 7cm.  My contractions were getting very strong and close and my nurse said she thought as soon as my water broke, I would be delivering VERY quickly so she called the doctor on call.  She got there about 10pm, did a check which broke my water, decided I was ready to practice push which turned into the real deal and Luke was here 30 minutes later! :)  It was a great delivery and I felt really good and of course Luke is beautiful...and healthy... and BIG!  That was definitely a surprise!

We came home yesterday afternoon and everyone seems to be adjusting well.  The boys are fascinated with him and want to hold and "pet" and feed him all the time.  It is super sweet!

So without further adieu....here is Luke!!

2,4,6??

I calculated my due date as 8/23, doc had 8/25...so at this point I'm anywhere from 2-4 days overdue. My first ultrasound estimated due date as 8/28...so maybe tomorrow will be the day? Or, who knows, we may end up with a September/labor day baby after all!!

All in all... I'm not MISERABLE, but I won't lie, I'm anxious and a little on edge which isn't always fun for everyone else around me ;-)

My maternity leave started today as work pretty much kicked me out. No one wanted to deliver a baby in the office. I have a doc appt on Thursday so we will see how things look that day and schedule an induction for the beginning of the week if Luke hasn't arrived on his own by then!

#2 issues for #2

we got the peeing in the potty down in like 2 days....but the #2, it does not seem to be happening.  Any tips on getting the littles one to go on the pot? 

Mark will be going to MDO this year and since he is potty trained with #1, I would like to send him in underwear since that's what he wears at home...but I am SURE that his teachers would not appreciate the accidents.  Easier to clean up a pull up than undies!

Suggestions?

New shoes

Went in for our yearly trip to Stride Rite today for new sneakers. They may be pricier then some, but they last! It's buy one,get one 1/2 off right now so we actually got 2 pair for boys since z in soccer too.

They originally picked out some "lovely" all white light up storm trooper ones but I talked them out of those. Got some less obnoxious light up light saber shoes instead ;-) and then just a regular pair of sneaks. I really thought Mark would choose super hero shoes...but he wanted what big brother picked. Oh these two!!

Zach's foot grew a whole size and a half. He's wearing a 13.5! Mark's just grew a half size to 10.5. But it looks like one of his foot is almost a half size bigger then the other too :)

Need some new clothes and we will be ready for school!

No news

Yesterday's appointment was rather uneventful.  In fact, my doctor joked that it seems I had LESS progress than last week ;-)  Thankfully I am feeling pretty good all in all, so I am feeling okay waiting right now.  She said even if I had wanted to be induced at 39 weeks (which you are able to), she would not let me because my body isn't favorable for it and would probably not respond (ie-end up with c-section). 

I pulled up the old blog from Mark's arrival time...and apparently a week out, nothing was going on with him either...so there is hope!

Latest case scenario, he will be here by labor day! :)

Home Stretch

We haveless than 2 weeks to go until my due date and I must admit I feel a bit of anxiety and anxiousness arising!  With 2 other little guys at home to take care of, there is not a lot of time to really focus on the 3rd one's impending arrival.  It hit me about a week or so ago that I better get things ready!

Thanks to the showers last week, I am stocked up on diapers and wipes and some special goodies for Luke.  I did a last minute Target run yesterday for some neccessities like bottles and binkes.  If nothing else, we should at least be able to survive the first week at home :-)

I think some anxiety rests in wondering what will happen with the actual labor.  You may remember, Mark made his arrival in under an hour at the hospital with no drugs.  Definitely was not planned that way, but looking back, it was kind of nice.  It was hard and intense and scary, but it was over FAST!  And then I felt great.  But the thought of being that screaming maniac for that 45 minutes again kinda freaks me out.  And I get nervous thinking about what if something happened really quickly in the middle of the night.  Could someone get to our house fast enough for us to even make it to hospital? 

And my babies...although it is still wild and crazy with my 2 little men around, we are not outnumbered right now...Matt and I can still divide and conquor!  HA!  How will adding the 3rd little guy into the mix effect all of us?  These are all things we of course discussed before we even got pregnant, but at that point, its all just theory. Now we have to put it into practice and make it work. 

I guess what it boils down to is I worry about my own shortcomings as a wife and mother.  Will I be able to step up to the challenge and make this all work?  I am going to need a lot of Grace and Patience...with myself and given out to my family to make it all work!  But I know God has great things in store for this little man, and I rest in that knowledge. 
          Jeremiah 29:11
           11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to   harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

It is an exciting and nervous time around our household, but more than anything I just can't wait to meet this little guy and bring him in to our family!  Stay tuned!! :-)

Lucky Girl

This is a week of spoiling for me...I have 3 baby showers this week.  Feeling very blessed and spoiled for sure.  With a 3rd baby...and a 3rd boy at that, I was happy to just have the little guy.  But my co-workers, friends, and church friends decided differently.

Today at work, my co-workers had cupcakes to celebrate and contributed to a nice gift card for me.  It was enough to probably cover diapers for a month!

Saturday my bff Sue planned a whole GNO for me....dinner out, seeing Steel Magnolias at the theatre  and who knows what after that!

And Sunday...the Sunday school girls have planned a lunch diaper shower for me after church. 

Me and little Luke Daniel are feeling very loved and extremely grateful for all the fabulous women in our lives! Thank you friends!! :)

Random acts of kindness

Today we were the recipient of some good old grace and kindness! After a giant grocery shopping trip, mark decided to have a major meltdown at the checkout for reasons still unknown to me.

As I was attempting to wrangle and hold mark, watch zach, and push a VERY loaded cart... A random woman shopper stepped in and got my cart and asked where my car was. She told me she was a grandma to 13 kiddos...And she was happy to help.

I was doing my best to remain calm amidst the looks in the store and trying to just check out and GET out that her kindness almost brought me to tears.

She parked my cart and wished me a good day. So nice to have little moments like that... I was touched and made the trip end on a very happy note. I will be sure to repay that favor to another mom one day! Thank you grocery store lady!

Mediterranean crockpot chicken

Made a little creation tonight for dinner and it was a success! I love all the Mediterranean ingredients and just threw all in that I had on hand!
Chicken breasts
Italian stewed tomatoes
Sundried tomatoes
Kalamata olives
Garlic
Artichoke hearts
Mushrooms
Onion
Mix all the ingredients up, then placed the chicken on top and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Cooked on high for 4 hours. When it was ready to serve, I topped with some feta! Yummy!! Matt loved it and said next time it would be great on some pasta. Will have to try that next time! :) love it when a creation works out!

Potty Training Time

It is probably PAST time...but with the due date of yet to be named #3 looming very soon....I am determined to get Markey potty trained and out of diapers before the baby comes in a month.  Fingers crossed!!

We have been talking a lot about it and he seems to comprehend, so starting tomorrow, we will be homebound for 3 days and giving it a go!

I went to target today at lunch and stocked up on M&Ms and Skittles for little rewards, stickers, new super hero undies, and a few small toys to give as bribes, i mean, ENCOURAGEMENT! ;-)

Wish us luck!  We are using the 3 day potty training method that we used with Zachary.  It was stressful at the time (from what I remember) but he actually did pretty well so we are going to give it a go with Mark too! :)

Hopefully I still have my sanity by Monday...

Babymoon

The last time Matt and I went on a real vacation on our own...was when I was about 16 weeks pregnant with Zachary.  you do the math...that was almost 5 years ago!! Holy moly!

Matt's dad was being installed as the President of the National Society of Professional Engineers in San Diego and we were invited to come along and celebrate.  We debated awhile back when we decided to go about bringing the boys with us...but as my mom pointed out, it may be awhile before we get to go anywhere alone again soon!  So off we went, just me and my Mattie.  It.was.devine! :)

We used some of the points we have stored up from forever and got first class seats to fly.  It was both of our first times to fly First Class and my, was it nice. How will we ever sit in the back of the plane again? Ha!

We had a couple of obligations to attend, but all and all, we were on our own.  We did the San Diego zoo, got spa treatments, and just a lot of driving up and down the coast.   It is BEAUTIFUL!!

We had a really great time together and were thankful for the opportunity to go.  And I highly recommend San Diego if you have a chance.  You won't be disappointed!!

Here are couple of pics from trip!

4th of July fun

We had a great 4th of July this year!  Celebrated in the morning at my parents' house.  We spent the night and decorated the boys' bike and wagon.  It was nice because we were able to spend it with dad who was finally out of the hospital! Yippee!  The parade hasn't changed much since I participated in it 30 years ago....and that's what makes it so much fun.  Just the neighborhood kids...decked out bikes, trikes, scooters, and cars and lots of old fashioned fun!  Zach did so good riding his bike the whole way and Mark got lots of laughs for his chill pose in the wagon! :)  They had fun and games at the park to follow and of course swimming.  We throughly wore the boys out!  Later that afternoon we went to a friend's house from church for dinner and more playing and fireworks.  It was a great 4th and we were so lucky to spend it with both friends and family! :)