My Trip Home-Part 5...Just For Fun

Tennis-One of my favorite things to do when I am home is to get in a few games of tennis.  My dad often asked me before I came if I had been practicing and would try and intimidate me by telling me how good he was getting with no one to play at home :)  I had been jogging through the pregnancy so I was pretty sure I would be able to play a little bit, but I knew I definitely wouldn't be as good with my 7 month pregnant belly slowing me down a little bit.  The first thing he mentioned when he saw my belly as I got off the plane was how I wasn't going to be playing tennis and he was a little bummed!  Poor guy!  I did bring my racket though and we got out to play a few times...and I am not the only one in the family that brought their rackets either!  We had a few nights and mornings of some fun games of tennis.  I was able to play and won a few games against everybody, but I definitely wasn't able to move around and play at my best.

 Dad got tired of beating everyone so he had to take a break with Jake...rough life.

One of the tennis playing crews...

Anytime anyone would hit a ball just over the net making me run to the net to save it, I pretty much had to let those ones go.  I am glad I was able to move around and play as much as I could, but I am excited to have my mobility and my body back to myself once this little guy gets here.  Then I will be ready to take my Dad down on the court again :)

Moses Lake Water Park-After the wedding was over and Matt and Chelsea headed out on their Oregon Coast honeymoon we all headed up to Moses Lake and spent the day at the pool and water park.  We were going to go white water rafting, but with all the little kids that wouldn't be able to go and we didn't want to leave anyone behind to watch the kids...and three of us were pregnant too...so we decided to head to the water park instead.  There was fun for everyone there so it was perfect!  There was shallow water and small slides for the little ones, big pools, a lazy river, and a splash pad for the big little ones and pregnant ones, and big water slides, high diving board, regular springboard, and body boarding and surfing for the brave big kids.  And...to top it all off, Christine's family brought stuff to make Sno-Cones!  They were a hit and were a perfect addition to the fun day!  We all had blue mouths and we didn't care one bit.  My dad did some gymnastics and also some swim and dive team so he was able to show off his tricks and would get in trouble for some of the risky ones that people often hurt themselves on, but the lifeguards would tell him no just because they had to and loved watching someone do neat tricks and flips off the board in good form even!  The rest of us have picked up some of his tricks, but he can easily out preform all of us combined :)  It might have been over 40 years since he competed on the diving board, but he's still pretty good...but Dad, no matter how good you are, you will never be allowed to wear a Speedo again.  Those days are long gone and your tricks won't ever be  worth your family seeing you in a Speedo :)

The water slides were fun to race down with the two of them being side-by-side.  My mom went down a couple times and raced my dad, but I don't know if anyone beat my dad.  Maybe Chad?  Easton and Will loved the slides too and even though McKay wasn't tall enough, he was still able to go down until the day was over and loved it!  I didn't even consider going down the big slides, but I was caught off guard when I was taking Katelyn to the top of one of the 4 foot slides and after I sent her down, the lifeguard told me I wasn't allowed to go down.  They didn't want any pregnant/surprise births happening and weren't going to risk me going down that little slide and something happening :)  Made me laugh, but I was okay with it and made the walk of shame back down along with any of the other 2 and 3 year olds that couldn't handle it.

Here's some videos of the boys and Abby surfing...some of them got the hang of it and some need some more work :)




Blessing-Nick and Christine took advantage of having everyone home and had itty bitty Mikilah blessed.  With her family and our family combined there we took up a lot of the church that day.  Mikilah is such a sweet little girl and was passed around constantly.  Katelyn was never very happy when she couldn't be the one to hold, feed, or carry her around.  Katelyn clarified that she will be a very willing helper with this coming baby of ours.  My mom made Mikilah's blessing dress that was beautiful, but I don't have any of the pictures of it.  It was a sweet blessing for a sweet little girl from my brother.  After church we had a yummy BBQ  with our two families and all tried to hide from the hot sun in the shade.  The BBQ ended with some fun singing and guitar playing.  A wonderful Sunday filled with two families and all about a new little baby and her beautiful parents.

 The Law men singing and playing a classic drinking song that made us all laugh!

 Abby and Luke serenaded us all with a few fun songs, too.

 Four Generations that are all 22 years apart if I heard that right...cute!

Spoons and Games-With the ENTIRE clan gathered together we just had to crown a new champion for Spoons!  Brooks and John created a masterpiece that will show off the winners of our tournaments and made it very official and there is no question who the reigning champ is...Ryan :)  I came in third and David claims Katelyn is a distraction for him so he wasn't able to win.  Poor guy.

A night of Encore went well and we were singing and laughing all night long.  We played some Settler's, lots of UNO, Battleship, and I even challenged Grandpa Bob to The Farming Game!  He beat me really bad, again.  He knows how to roll the right numbers at the right time and in all these years, he just has it mastered.  I won't give up though and I will have to keep practicing even though I lost really bad.  I even played Julia who has never played before and she beat me...I don't know why I like that game so much when I keep losing so bad :)

Dairy Queen and Tillamook Ice Cream-Part of being home meant I would get to join in with Dad's addiction to ice cream.  Between Dairy Queen Blizzards and cartons of all sorts of flavors of Tillamook Ice Cream, he is one happy man.  Tracie's kids have spent the last few years in Germany and when Dad mentioned Blizzards they responded with, "What's that?"  He couldn't believe they were so deprived :)  We just had to let them experience American Blizzards and they seemed pretty happy with them!  Who would have guessed?!  Katelyn chowed down on one too and was in heaven.  David approved because I let her have an Oreo one...the only flavor worth the unhealthy-ness in his eyes :)  I didn't surprise Dad with any bean flavored Blizzards like last time!    The Tillamook Ice Cream just can't be replaced.  I have found some fun flavors out here on the east coast, but nothing will be the same as Tillamook and it will always be a favorite memory of mine of the west coast...and it is so good too!  Rich, creamy, flavorful (and lots of yummy flavors), and just right!

Garden-After all the commotion of everyone being home settled down, Mom mentioned she hadn't paid much attention to her garden and was wondering what state it was in.  Katelyn and I, with her baby in hand, headed out to check it out and found a lot!  A lot of weeds and a lot of food!  We worked on some of the weeds and Katelyn enjoyed showing her baby how to play in the sprinkler while I worked.  We gathered up some of the veggies and headed in!  Katelyn thought the tiny tomatoes were so funny and I thought she was funny!

Luke's yard work-Luke had some projects he was in charge of around the house and also at our neighbor's house.  He was getting paid to mow over at the neighbor's which we were all fine with, but when we all found out that my parents were paying him to mow the lawn at home we weren't as okay with that!  We all grew up mowing the lawn and I think I learned when I was 8.  I was excited to learn, but that excitement quickly went away when I realized that it wasn't that easy to push the mower and keep the lines nice and straight and to avoid the sprinklers and that I had to pick up the dog poo before I mowed.  So many things that I had to keep up with and I had a section of the yard I was supposed to do each week!  I specifically remember that I was never paid for that service I provided (though I probably made my dad pay to replace many sprinklers to make up the difference so I guess it evens out)  BUT, we all had a good time teasing them about loosening up on the youngest child because he is just too cute.  They also have a riding mower, which makes it pretty nice except it didn't always work so sometimes Luke managed to get the tough job done with the push mower.  One time was a little messy and he came in looking like this.  I guess my parents have no choice but to pay up!  One day before going out to mow, Luke found this little gem in the garage.  It is a solar powered AM/FM radio on an elastic arm band!  I guess this is what my parents used before iPods and all this fancy new technology came around.  Luke said it still worked even :)

 One time Luke came in and was a little messy as he had grass covering one of his legs.

Cooking-Katelyn always likes to know what I am up to and if it looks interesting she wants to join me.  If it doesn't look so fun, then she wants me to stop and go do something cooler with her.  Cooking and cleaning in the kitchen is one of her favorites that she always joins in on.  We made up some zucchini bread from our garden adventure and hit the jackpot by adding extra nuts!

Puzzles with Papa-Katelyn has a few puzzles here at home, but Grandma Gigi had way more and she loved going through the puzzles she had nearly every day.  Some she would tote around the house with her looking for someone to do them with her and probably lost pieces. She and Papa had a good time doing puzzles and she loves snuggling up to do them too.

Katelyn loved the toy room for all the new toys, but she will always have favorites with the baby dolls.  It looks like this baby wouldn't go down for her nap so Katelyn had to get in her bed and help!

Katelyn liked being in control of the radio too...anything she could get her hands on!

Peaches were just starting to ripen up at the end of my visit at home.  We have always gone out and picked some Elberta peaches and some Gold Medal peaches.  The Gold Medal peaches are the ones I always drool over because they are so big and soft and juicy and perfect in every way.  They weren't quite ready before I left, but the opening day for Elberta peaches was the day before I had to fly out.  I was a little disappointed   We showed up with about 8-10 boxes ready to be filled with yummy peaches.  The Elberta's are close to being as good as the Gold Medals and by far better than any peach I have ever had from a grocery store so I was ready.  The peaches weren't though!  Almost all of them were still green and Luke, Katelyn and I searched and searched and only found two boxes worth of peaches and only a few of them were ready to eat.  They were good, but I didn't get my fill!  About two weeks later my Dad mentioned that they just got back from the orchard and picked like 300 or 400 pounds of juicy gold medal peaches and I was bummed I missed out.  I always want to move back to Washington during peach harvest.  I just need my yearly fill of heavenly peaches!

Piano-Katelyn loved playing the piano.  She liked to flip back and forth from her two favorite songs from nursery, I am a Child of God and Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam.  Those were her special songs she would pound out and go to town singing and playing.  She liked when I would play along too while she would sing but often she just needed help at the places she would get stuck and was ready to finish the song without mom's help so she would interrupt me and then continue on.  She has a mind of her own and likes to run the show sometimes.

One Trimester at a Time

Happy due date!  I am 40 weeks today and ready for this baby to come!  I am doing great for a full term pregnant lady, but also can't wait much longer for this pregnancy to be finished.  Here's a look at how this pregnancy went...

First Trimester-I am so so so lucky and didn't get sick the first trimester.  I know some people are so miserable and I am very grateful that I have never had to experience that part of being pregnant.  I didn't have very many pregnancy symptoms the first trimester except for a bit of sleepiness and my sense of smell definitely kicked it up a few notches.  The bad smells smelled extra bad and would make me feel a little gross, and the good smells smelled extra good.  Tuna fish, kids with stinky diapers, body odor, smelly feet, smokers, and such could be smelled from miles away.  Same with yummy foods, perfumes, David's deodorant  clean fresh bathed Katelyn, and clean spaces smelled extra nice too.  Not a terrible pregnancy symptom, so I will take it.  David would tease me that I was just faking the whole pregnancy thing because I didn't act like the "wonderful" pregnant people he has heard of.  I kept telling him that he just picked a good wife and that I probably deserved some special treatment for being such a "well behaved, non emotional, non-sick" pregnant wife.

Second Trimester-We finally went to the doctor and since it was late enough in the pregnancy, the initial ultrasound told us the official ...as official as it gets...due date AND the gender of our baby!  We were a little shocked and excited to find out it is a boy.  A little bit of relief too because we knew we wanted a boy somewhere in our mix of kids and didn't want all girls or all boys so it is a nice start to our family getting one of each.  I didn't really have any feelings that made me think it was a boy or a girl so I was completely ready to hear it go either way.  I was excited to feel him moving so early this time around.  At 16 weeks I felt the first little flutters and they just kept getting bigger and bigger ever since.  I spent plenty of time staring at my belly waiting to see the movement from the outside.  It is such a neat feeling in the beginning and that is when it really sinks in that there is a little person in there wiggling around.  It was definitely nice to get past the chubby phase and on to the looking pregnant phase.  I was able to keep up with going running a few times a week.  It was the perfect time to be outside running in the spring and early summer.  I was pretty consistent and ran the same route almost every time which I thought was a little over 3 miles.  I started timing my runs just to see what pace I was running at and was surprised that I was running under 8 minute miles while pushing Katelyn up and down the hills around here.  After giving it some more thought, I realized it was too good to be true so I mapped my run again and realized that I was half of a mile off on my distance.  I kind of wished I hadn't looked it up because then I realized I was actually going pretty slow, but I felt good after the runs so it wasn't all bad news....just hurt my pride a little and made me feel bad for the time that a friend of mine was wondering if I wanted a running partner and when I told her I was running about  an 8 minute mile pace she was shocked and didn't want to hold me back!  Whoops!

I was 27 weeks when we took these photos for our announcement.  I really can't believe we were able to keep it a secret for so long!

 For the 4th of July, Katelyn and I joined in on the bike parade.  She loves being pushed around in this car and we added balloons for a festive touch.

With this pregnancy I had some nasty heartburn.  Rumor out there is that the baby will have lots of hair if you have lots of heartburn.  It seemed to be true with Katelyn, so we will see about this little guy.  But I wonder, has anyone had heartburn while pregnant and then had a bald baby?  Just curious   I wonder about pregnancy myths and I don't spend too much time trying to figure out what everything means.  I do wonder though about the cravings thing.  I know some people crave the weird and gross things like dirt, chalk, and pickles in their ice cream.  But for other cravings, I wonder if high maintenance people crave things and "have to have them" and just use being pregnant as an excuse.  I feel like anyone and everyone has cravings all the time.  Weather it is ice cream, french fries, a certain cereal, Taco Bell, fresh fruit, or whatever sounds good at the time.  David and I often want to eat particular things even when we aren't pregnant.  Isn't it just part of being a person?  So, aside from the people that crave things when they are pregnant that aren't usually considered edible, are cravings while pregnant something that is real or is it something that pregnant people have adapted into the "joys of pregnancy" just because we can get away with a lot when we use the reasoning of being pregnant?  Again, just curious.

Above we are at 25 weeks with baby Rudd #2.

Below I am at 25 weeks with Katelyn.  Looks about the same to me, nut there is just a silly girl in the top picture!

One thing that has been driving me crazy this pregnancy has been leg cramps.  They mostly happen in the middle of the night while I am sleeping and I will wake up and try to be conscious enough to get myself to stretch out my legs and realize it isn't part of a weird dream and try and sleep through it.  I usually wake up once a week with sore leg muscles from these middle of the night leg cramps!  Not so fun!  Ouch!

Third Trimester-My heartburn drove me crazy but in the last couple weeks it has eased off...or maybe I am just used to it now.  At about 7 months pregnant it became too tough to keep running.  I still walk here and there, but there haven't been anymore intense runs though the hills and I am fine with that.  Katelyn has started to kind of understand what's going on.  She is still pretty clueless, but since we have been getting all of her little brother's stuff out in this last month and I keep pointing out that it is for her little baby brother she is picking up on that.  She always wants to try his stuff out and when she realizes that it is too small and that she is too big she reassures me that it doesn't fit and it is baby brother's.  His crib, car seat, clothes, and diapers are the main ones she realizes aren't for her.  When I take my vitamin in the morning and she takes her gummy one, she always points out that there is "Tay-nens fi-na-sin in a baby brutter fi-na-sin ah mommy"  (Katelyn's vitamin and a baby brother vitamin for mommy.)  I have pointed him out when he would move around in my belly while holding her and she never really gave it much thought, but the last two weeks she often asks to feel him with her hand and she likes to tickle him through my belly too.  She is starting to figure it out, but once he is here she will be quite the little helper I am sure.  She adores babies and I am going to have to direct her helpfulness so we don't drive each other crazy.
We have been on baby watch very closely this last month because of David's work.  He is finishing an audit in Pennsylvania and he stays in a hotel there during the week and then is home on the weekends.  We have been a little nervous that my water would break or that I would go into labor while he is out of town and so we have planned lots of back up plans.  We have a list of people to call if anything happens so people can watch Katelyn and take me to the hospital if needed.  We have been praying that each week is a low key week and also notified those that were on our list to answer any calls that come in the middle of the night...I usually ignore the very few middle of the night calls and texts that I get because it is usually people on the west coast that don't realize I am three hours ahead.  So we have been ready if anything were to happen, but luckily nothing has happened.

I have had a cough the last two weeks that was very annoying.  Katelyn had it, then I got it, and then David got a little of it, but mine has hung around.  It has been a sneaky little cough that surprises me when I am talking or laughing or trying to go to sleep.  So annoying, but it hasn't put me in to labor.

My belly button pokes out now if there is no pressure on it.  It is stretched as flat as it can go and some days it sticks out more than others.

Sleeping and potty breaks have been fine.  Depending on how the baby is sitting is how often I use the bathroom.  I sleep pretty well.  I usually like sleeping on my side/front combo so it is a little uncomfortable.  The worst part is trying to roll over.  I don't have the muscles or the space.  During the week when David is gone, we both get used to having a bed to ourselves so it is always an adjustment on the weekends.

This little guy is taking up lots of space in my body and I have felt it on my lungs.  I also feel him as he tries to stretch out and I can feel him stretching out and pushing directly on my hip bones.  Sometimes it is the ribs too and I have to stretch out and sit up straight to give him his space.  A few times I have felt it on both the ribs and hips at the same time.  He keeps trying to make more room for himself in there and it seems to be working because he is pretty cozy and not wanting to make any grand exits anytime soon.  It seems like I might be a tad bit bigger as there are some new stretch marks on my belly this time around.  He seems to have used up all the ones Katelyn created and added a couple "fun" new ones right around my belly button.  Sometimes it feels like my skin is so tight and getting so stretched around my belly button that it feels like it could actually rip.  It gets so tender lately and it makes me wonder if he will be bigger than Katelyn!  She was 8 pounds 10 ounces so we will see!  Yikes!

Nesting has been happening little by little.  Sometimes I get in little deep cleaning grooves and my bathrooms have never been so clean.  Other things have been abnormal nesting things, but I call them nesting projects because I know I won't be able to do them when he comes.  I have been sewing up lots of things for me, for him, and for Katelyn too.  I have made most of my maternity clothes.  I made a bunch of maxi skirts and they have been so nice instead of pants, capris, or shorts.  They are simple with a yoga style waistband so they are very comfy and stretchy and non-restricting for my legs!  I don't know if I was ever hotter than anyone else being pregnant.  I got a lot of comments all summer about how I must have been so miserable being pregnant in the summer, but I honestly think that I was just as miserable as everyone else.  It was hot and humid all summer for everyone and whenever I was hot, it seemed like everyone else was hot too.  I think I will wear these skirts again next summer to keep as much air flow going all summer long!

This picture is from this last weekend.  Katelyn and I headed over to my brother's place to watch conference and eat lots of crepes with them.  Katelyn and Liam had a blast and made it tough to listen to much of conference because they were having way too much fun and laughing and screeching and running around all afternoon.  And they are in their pajamas still and I am in my comfiest clothes too...those skirts and shirts have been heavenly I swear!

I also bought a bunch of shirts that were a couple sizes too big and altered them into maternity shirts with some elastic thread for ruching on the sides and then I had to sew the arm and chest on the seam a little to fit my size.  The ruching gave me room in the belly and hides the love handles so well and are super comfy so those shirts have been wonderful as well.

Here is a close up of the sides of the shirts.  very comfy and I have loved having so many different colors of these and I wear them most days of the week...some v neck and some round neck.  I got each shirt for $6 from Target and sewed them up and they have been my favorite!  These types of shirts usually cost about $15-20 when you buy them ready to be worn as maternity shirts so with just 20 minutes of marking, sewing and snipping threads on each shirt, I am very proud of this project!

I sewed my first dress for Katelyn.  I followed an online tutorial and it turned out cute!

She barely let me put it on her and wasn't in the mood for pictures...so this is the best we have.  The dress is light purple with tiny white polka dots all over and it is not to her ankles, it hist her just below the knees.

I sewed up some burp rags, baby blankets, a changing pad, and a car seat cover for the new little boy.  They were mostly simple projects that used up a lot of my fabric I was saving for something so it was quick and cheap and they all turned out cute.

The burp rags were made from an orange towel  that I cut up and then I cut flannel in bright colors to go on the other side.  Nothing fancy, but I like the bright colors and they were simple to make with extra fabric laying around.  The four blanket are on the bottom right of the chair and are just solid colored flannel blankets in brights again.

The car seat cover.  This isn't a necessity as a blanket will do the trick, but these are nice as they won't fly too far in the wind with the straps on the handle.  It will be nice when I want him to sleep or if I don't want nosy people in my babies face as well as keep the wind, rain, sun or snow off of him.

Here's the changing pad.  It has plastic vinyl on this side with pouches that hold diapers and wipes and it all folds in and rolls up to be stored in my diaper bag.

 All rolled up!

I also have made a few big things.  We had an entertainment center that was given to us and we didn't need it and it was taking up space we needed for the crib so I posted it in a couple places trying to sell it and even give it away for free to anyone that wanted it, but I didn't get any takers, so I kept it.  I took it all apart and used the boards to make a headboard and I am almost finished with a little desk too. I get pretty bored sometimes when David is gone all week and sometimes he thinks I am crazy, but realizes it is better that I keep busy so I don't really lose it :)  I have some more to do on both projects, but I will show them off when they are finished.

 Some of my friends here in the ward decided to take me out for a girls night and treated me to Olive Garden!  I couldn't say no!  They provided a baby sitter for Katelyn, my meal, and they all brought great gifts that I am excited for!  Cute outfits, a ton of wipes!!!, money and gift cards that went towards my much needed double jogging stroller that is in the mail!!!, yummy soaps and lotions, soft and cozy blankets, and chocolate.  They spoiled me rotten that night and it was much needed and so fun to chat all night long!  A few of the ladies slipped away before I thought to get a camera out, but it was so nice for all of them to come!  We all went out for desserts one night for my birthday a few months ago and then did this as well and I feel so loved and blessed by so many friends in this ward.  I know I could call any of these ladies at 3 in the morning if I went into labor and they would jump out of bed and haul me off to the hospital and take care of Katelyn with no questions asked!  I love them all and they are all so sweet to be so concerned and checking in on me nearly everyday.  Just what I need being so far away from family!

 Here is a little comparison from last time to this time.  I weigh one pound less right now than I did in the picture below.  I am glad I kept good control over my weight.  I started off this pregnancy about 10 pounds heavier than I started with Katelyn and to end at the same weight means that I only gained 30 pounds this pregnancy compared to 40 with Katelyn.  I will still have work to do when I can get back to exercising, but I am glad I did so well.  In the first picture, I took this today and I am at 40 weeks exactly.

Here I am at 40 weeks and 4 days when I was pregnant with Katelyn.  My face looks like it is a little round and that might be weight gain last time or possibly bloating from water weight that shed off soon after birth...who knows.  Otherwise I think I might be poking out further with this boy but they are pretty similar. 

This pregnancy has been pretty good!  We are excited to have this little guy here and see if he is as dark as Katelyn or if he gets more of my lightness.  I'm doing well and because of my experiences with the first pregnancy I have been so relaxed this time around.  Even though I am due today, I am not bummed out like I was last time.  I expected it this time around and I feel so peaceful this time around. I probably would have been caught off guard and panicked if he came early!   I am ready to have this baby, but I also remember the lack of sleep that comes with having a newborn so I am not feeling too rushed to have him.  I am enjoying my peaceful sleeping nights now that Katelyn sleeps well and as long as I am not coughing I am feeling great!  I am scheduling to be induced this weekend so if nothing happens on its own, then the hospital will work its magic soon!  No pressure little guy!