Halloween

Just thought I'd post our Halloween photos. The girls were very excited to dress up - Jordyn as Sleeping Beauty, Lexi as a Butterfly and Lyric as a Ladybug Princess. But the fun was quickly gone when they trick or treated at the first house and the man answered wearing a scary mask! That ruined it for them! They wouldn't go up to any other houses! Oh well, we didn't need the candy anyway! Unfortunately Peyton didn't dress up for her first Halloween. She was just a sleepy newborn inside the warm house!
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What a Difference 14 Years Makes!

1992

2006

Last night my family got together for a bit at my parent's house. Carly surprised us with a visit, so we thought we'd snap a picture of the five of us kids together. We haven't done that for a long time. I found this picture from 1992 and thought it was funny to compare how much has changed since then (ie: our hair!). And now the youngest, Ryan, is the tallest of us all!

Photo Shoot

I had a little photo shoot today while I gave Peyton her first 'spit' bath. (As my mother taught me) I shut the bathroom door and turned on the blowdryer so it was nice and cozy and warm for her...plus the humming sound soothes her. She slept through most of it! Tucker took the girls to the movies and park today to give me some quiet time to rest. Too bad he can't take the next month off and do that everyday!!

(this shows her red hair after her spit bath)

Lexi (aka Snow White) loves her turns too...the difference is her turns last about 3 seconds and she's done!

Jordyn (aka Little Mommy)

This is the postion Jordyn would prefer to stay in 24/7 - holding Peyton! She loves the baby SO much. It is so hard for her when I have to feed her or change her diaper...things she can't quite do. It is very sweet, and occasionally claustrophobic (for me).

We are adjusting to all the normal things still. I'm very tired and very sore, but also happy and content. I can't believe how much more I am savoring this baby than I did when Jordyn and Lexi were babies. She is just so precious and with this being the third, I understand more than ever how fast it will go by. I'm nervous for the overwhelming days ahead when I'm alone with the three of them! Lindy and Mom - you may get a few tearful phone calls! Those hard times are inevitable, but our family feels more complete already and I feel very blessed to have such a piece of heaven in our home.

Baby #3

(This is Tucker taking over for Jamie.) She is here!!! We are 90% sure the name is Peyton Jean Maxfield. However in all reality it COULD change tomorrow. The other name we are considering is Baylee Jean.
Please post a comment on your preference!
Her middle name is a combination of Pamela Jean (Jamie's Mom) & Jeannine (Tucker's Mom)
She was born today at 2:14 pm.
She was 7 lbs.14 oz. & 20 ½ inches.
Also, she has red curly hair! WooHoo! Another Red Head!!
Jamie's labor went really well, she only had to push for about 14 minutes. Jordyn was really happy to see her little sister, and held her the entire time she was visiting. Lexi came in looked at her, said hello, and spent the rest of the time exploring the hospital room.
I was pleased to have Pam & Lindy in the room with me during the delivery. This was Lindy's first visual on the birthing process, and Pam - well we couldn't have done it without her!! She is such a solid force to have in the room. (Thanks mom)
Just a personal note, there is nothing better than the birth of a child. I had tears in my eyes as soon as I saw the top of her head and kept them till she was safely in Jamie's arms. There is nothing as beautiful as seeing our new princess join our family. Jamie I LOVE YOU!!!!

The Beginning of the END!

Drumroll please...

We are having our baby TOMORROW! After much thought, deliberation and discussion with my doctor...its official that tomorrow is the day! Oh my gosh, there are so many thoughts running through my head that if I tried to write them down there wouldn't be enough memory on this server to store them all!

...tomorrow we will have THREE children...tomorrow we will know what color hair this baby has....tomorrow marks the END of my pregnancy...tomorrow will mark the beginning of our "new" family...I could go on and on. It's just so wierd.

I think I've done everything I should do to prepare. Any last suggestions?

I do have to say what a relief and blessing it is to have so much family nearby, especially to take care of the girls while Tucker and I are "preoccupied" tomorrow. We will post news as soon as we can. In the mean time...I will be trying to gather my thoughts, cure my headache and get some rest (is that possible?) to be ready for my big day tomorrow (by the way, we have to be at the hospital by 5:30 AM!).

Our Sunday

We hung out at my parents' house today most the day, which was a good distraction for me. I felt like I was in labor all day yesterday, so when it all slowed down today I felt crazy! It was nice to spend time with family and Mom made some great chimichangas. Here are some pics from today...

Another prego picture with Lindy and my Mom

The girls hangin' out at Grandma and Grandpa's

My mom's dog Bernice - Lindy bought her this shirt. Too funny, huh?!

HUGE!

I can't believe I'm even posting this picture, because I am so HUGE and not at a picture-friendly point in pregnancy, but at the same time I realize how short-term this special time is. I wanted to capture the girls with my belly before it's gone. So last night we tried to do a photo shoot, which NONE of us were really in the mood for, but time is starting to run out...so we persevered and here is one of the shots we got. I'm sure I will look back at this picture fondly someday!

The Countdown

This is the countdown phase of pregnancy where EVERYTHING feels iffy. I am such a planner, and I can't stand this part of not knowing when the baby will actually come! Will my water break? Will it be a rush to the hospital? Will it be a planned induction? Will it be tomorrow, or in two weeks? Ugh. I have been terribly uncomfortable lately. Lots of back pain and cramping and inconsistent contractions, so I can tell my body is starting to get ready. I hardly sleep, so I'm constantly feeling like my head is in a cloud...and now I have a head cold, so that doesn't help! Anyway, other than that life is great! It's just a big time of change for our family, which always feels exciting and a little scary at the same time. I'll post any exciting news when/if it happens!

Disclaimer: To those of you whom I absolutely adore but can't seem to do a good job at keeping in touch with....please bear with me!! I have been so bad at phone calls and emails!!! It's like I'm living in an alternate world - one with ZERO energy for normal life activities. Just know that I still love you!!

Update

So today I had one of those dr. appts that you DON'T want...the kind where he checks and says "you're exactly the same as last week, no progress"! NOOOO that's not what I wanted you to say! Then what's the point of all the cramping and discomfort I've been having???? So at this point, I am 1 cm dialated and 50-60% effaced. I keep telling myself things can change at any point, huh? I'm definitely getting impatient though.




Tucker and Mike had a lot of fun at the game. It was a long day to San Francisco and back, but they both loved the action and enthusiasm at a live game versus watching a game on T.V. Even though the Chargers kicked butt, Tucker said it was a great birthay present.

Birthday Party

Whew! Today was quite the day! I can't believe I'm not in labor after what I put my body through! I have had the most uncontrollable urge to have the house spotless and in perfect order for this baby's arrival. I don't think I'll be able to move in the morning! But we did have a fun little get-together tonight for Tucker's birthday. Chinese food, chocolate cake and family...what more could you want? My family came over, along with my "second mom" Alexandria (aka "Taco"), who has been my mom's best friend since I was a baby. It was a nice little party, and now Tucker is looking forward to the 49ers game!

Happy Birthday Tucker!

Today is Tucker's 34th birthday! Tucker is one of those "timeless" people. I don't think he'll ever seem a certain age. He has such a fun and energetic personality, so it keeps him young. We met when he was 26, so nearly 8 years ago. Tucker has been such a positive addition to my life! I am thankful every single day for him and the bright spot he is in our family! I think anyone who knows him would agree!

Besides a little birthday celebrating tonight, Tucker's birthday present this year is to go to an NFL game this weekend (49ers vs Chargers in SF). He's going with our brother-in-law Mike and they are SO excited to go to their first NFL game!

We've also hit the year "birthday" of our blog! One of my first posts one year ago was about Tucker's last birthday! How amazing that a year has gone by! I'm so glad we decided to do the blog (Thanks for the inspiration, Tiff). For those of you who have pondered it, it is SOOOOO easy and so worth it. I challenge you to try it!

Jordyn's VIP Day

Jordyn got to be the V.I.P. at preschool today! This meant she brought a snack to share with everyone, she brought something to show-and-tell and she gets to do special things like be line-leader, change the date on the calendar, etc. She was excited and a little shy about the whole thing. We've been talking about what she should bring for show-and-tell and she had been planning to bring a special baby doll that Tucker bought for her over a year ago. But her plans changed last night when Tucker returned from Utah with a special little porcelain turtle that Gam and Pa brought back for the girls from their recent trip to Mexico. Jordyn was very excited to show this pretty purple turtle to her class! Very cute. I don't know why this stuff always makes me get a little teary-eyed! I guess that's being a mom, huh?

Animals, Dancing, etc.

The girls and I are hanging out this weekend while Tucker made a (very short) trip to Utah for the blessing of Maren and Greg's little baby Brock. It's hard to have him gone at this point in my pregnancy, but it meant a lot to him to go. Plus he doesn't get to see his family much, so I'm glad he could do that (but did I mention it's hard???).

We have officially transitioned our cat and dog from inside pets to outside pets. I just had to make that decision before the baby comes. The animal hair, the digging up our carpet and incessant meowing of the cat and licking of the dog were all becoming a little overwhelming when I pictured having a newborn around. I started having thoughts of getting rid of the animals...but I didn't really want to do that (and the kids would NOT want that) so this was a compromise. They actually seem to get MORE attention from the girls now that they're outside, and after a few days of confusion, they actually seem quite content. They have beds and food and we are no longer in the ridiculous heat season, so it's all working out fine. Tucker even lets Belle come inside to watch TV with him on occasion.

The girls are obsessed with princesses and singing and dancing (have I ever said that before?!) and try to mimic all their princess/Barbie movies. Here's a cute clip of Lexi doing just that (it can literally occupy them for hours!).

You'll need to turn music off at the bottom of the page to hear this

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Little Mermaid

Did y'all get your copies of The Little Mermaid DVD? We grabbed ours on Tuesday and this time I grabbed two. Seems like we wear out our Disney DVDs so much and once they're in the "vault" they're gone - so now we have a back-up! I was all excited, but the girls didn't feel exactly the same way....you see, we have the VHS and watch it all the time! So when we got home and put it on, they were like "mom, this is the same movie!".

Do We Have a Name Yet?

This is the best baby name book!!! "The Baby Name Wizard"

To answer the many questions of whether we have a name yet....the answer is no! I don't know why it's so hard this time! I used to wonder how people could literally go to the hospital to deliver and still not know the baby's name...but I have a feeling that will be US this time!! We have a small pool of names we are toying around with, but nothing definite. We'll be sure to let you know what we decide!

Also, today I had my 36 week appointment. No progress whatsoever yet, but I am measuring 42 weeks size!! Doesn't that sound fun?

Continuing on With the Projects...

Old Hardware

New Hardware

Today one of our projects was to replace the hardware on the baby changer table/dresser. It's a nice piece of furniture - real wood - but the handles have always bugged me. I don't know why I haven't changed them before! So today the girls and I went to Home Depot and picked out new handles. This dresser isn't that old (maybe 7 or 8 years old, we bought it used when Jordyn was baby) but NONE of the handles at Home Depot were the right size except ONE! They were all a standard 3 inches, and what I needed was 2 1/2 inches. So I'm lucky I found some that will do the trick. They are a brushed silver and dome-shaped. Anyway, it looks better and I'm enjoying these little projects to distract me from counting down the minutes!

Nesting

I think the "nesting" syndrome is setting in. I am having the urge to get EVERYTHING organized and ready for the baby. It all began on Friday when I was in Target (walking like a snail) and all the sudden realized the many things I don't have for the baby! I've been in the mindset that I have everything because I'm having another girl...but I realized that I don't have bottles, or desitin or diapers or a baby book, etc. So I bought a few things and have begun organizing closets, drawers, toys, rearranging so things fit better and all that good stuff. My mind wants to do about 100 times what my body CAN do, so it's a good thing I have four weeks to do it all.



My sister brought her baby-swing over and I set it up today. It's fun and sort of surreal to be putting baby stuff up again. I feel like it wasn't too long ago I was taking it all down! I never had a "break" between Jordyn and Lexi since they were so close in age, so it all feels new again this time. I think tomorrow I'm going to get out all the little clothes and go through them. It starts to feel more real seeing all this baby stuff around the house!




I also can't seem to get the house to smell clean enough. I mean, I literally have the urge to clean everything with Mr. Clean a few times per day. I almost get excited when a mess is made that requires using a cleaner (like Lexi's daily pee on the bathroom floor)! Sounds crazy, I know. Or I get excited when I have to throw in a load of laundry because the clean scent of my Tide is very satisfying!!!