My Little Hero

Mr. Incredible decided to make an appearance for a brief photoshoot with Maxwell. Quite the hero! Ry headed back to work today so my mom is coming over to help me out this week. Glory day! We took Maxwell to the doctor to get his bilirubin drawn again and everything looks good so that's a relief. I feel like we're going to doctor's appointments or lab draws every day so I'm looking forward to a down day at home tomorrow.

How We've Been Doing

Everything at the hospital went really well. The nurses were great to me and to Maxwell and it was a smooth ride. We had some great visitors come see us including both sets of grandparents, Grammie, and Aunt Suzy. Very fun!




We came home on Wednesday afternoon and Ethan came home Thursday evening. We've had to take little Maxwell to the doctor a few times because of his bilirubin levels. They're going up and that's not good. We have to take him back in on Monday to see if his levels are coming down or not. So hopefully he'll be in the clear on Monday. The nights have been kind of long which is what I expected, but the reality of little sleep is showing up and it's not fun. We're all trying to catch naps whenever we can and keep things under control. Maxwell is so cute and such a little peanut! I can't believe how small he feels to me and how big E has gotten in the past few days. It's made me kind of emotional to realize that E isn't my baby anymore and that life is changing, but what a great change to have when you've got such wonderful boys in your life!

Brothers!!!

It's so fun to see our little E interact with his new little brother. Here are some pictures of them together. Before I delivered I had to get him one of those "I'm a Big Brother" t-shirts. I know they're kind of cheesy, but I wanted to wrap it up like a present and have him open it before he came to the hospital to see Maxwell. I know he doesn't look to happy in the picture, but it's just so funny. This picture is the first time he saw little Maxwell right after I had him.

E then came up the next afternoon with my mom. She took E to go pick out a little present for Maxwell and he chose this cute little dog for him and he was so excited to give it to him. E always says, "he's so cute" and that just makes my heart melt.

I just loved having him come see me in the hospital since I missed him so bad. He came and sat with me in my bed and we watched Calliou together and ate candy. What's better than that?

Now we're all home together and trying to get it all figured out. Thankfully E hasn't gotten up in the night when Maxwell cries. That was one of my fears and I'm sure there will be moments when he does wake up, but for now things are good. E wants to help a lot and whenever Maxwell cries, E tells me what I need to do to get him to stop. He'll tell me "my baby needs a diaper change" or "my baby needs a binky." Kind of funny. It will be a lot of fun to see these two interact as Maxwell gets older, I'm sure it will be a fun ride.

And Now There Is 4!

We welcomed our newest family member yesterday afternoon! Maxwell Ryan Elmer was born at 4:42 pm weighing 8 lbs even and was 20 1/4 inches. Everything went really well and relatively easy. I started feeling like something was happening at 3 am and just tried to rest and let things happen. I was up doing stuff by 5:30 since I wasn't comfortable just laying in bed so I got everything prepared to head down to my parents since they only live 15 minutes from the hospital. I was just going to have Ry drop me off at my parents and have him head into work and then I'd call him when I was ready to go to the hospital. Well, we got everything packed up and headed down there around 9 am and we were a few miles away when I just felt like things were progressive enough to call the doctor so they told us to come on in to L&D. So we turned back around and dropped E off at my in-laws and headed into the hospital. When I showed up I was already 4 cm and contracting every 5 minutes so they got me all admitted and IVs going so I could get my epidural. I got my epidural by 11 and then my doctor came and broke my water at 12. So it was just a waiting game until then. Of course, right as my nurse went on break, Maxwell decided he was ready to come. That's usually what happens when you go on break...everything starts happening. My nurse came in and called the doctor and he came righ in and got me set up. So it only took 2 contractions of pushes and he was born. I couldn't believe how quick things happened!



He is so cute and so perfect! I just melted the minute they put him on me! There are a lot of similar features to E, but he definately has his own look. He's healthy and happy and a great eater so far so we're so grateful. E came up to see us while I was recovering and I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the people and gadgets and a new place. He did say "Hello Maxwell" and called him "baby brother" and gave him a big kiss, but after that he was ready to head out the door on a walk. I'm sure this will be a little adjustment for all of us, but we're so excited to have Maxwell here and safe.

A Little Progress

Alright, had my final Dr.'s appointment today, wow! I'm 3 cm, 70% effaced, and at a -2 station. I asked him to strip my membranes so we'll see if that will do anything. With Ethan I had my membranes stripped twice and nothing happened so I'm kind of doubtful, but I'll try anything. So basically it's just wait and see until bright and early Wednesday morning when I will be walking...waddling...in for my induction. I can make it...I can make it...I can make it...

The Ultimate Gift...at least for me

My friend and I were talking the other day and realized that this would be the best baby shower gift ever for a "mom-to-be" and that would be...house cleaning! Right now I have 3 ladies here at my house deep cleaning my entire house! My baseboards, windows, floors, bathrooms (it's so hard to scrub a tub 9 months pregnant), kitchen, cupboards, the works are all getting done. Basically my house is getting a thorough rub down and I don't have to do anything! Do you know how nice this is?! As I was looking at the little crumbs underneath E's chair this morning, I just thought how wonderful it was that I didn't have to clean them up today! Wow! Maybe other people wouldn't enjoy this gift as much as I do, but one of the things that I really work on is keeping a clean house and when your pregnant things don't always stay at the same caliber as it usually does. It's just so hard to keep up and things just start to go downhill. I'm used to having a Monday cleaning day and getting my entire house clean at the beginning of the week and then doing a light cleaning on Friday, but since I've been pregnant I've had to break up my cleaning to do little jobs every day so it just doesn't feel like my house is ever totally clean. I hate that feeling! So after today I will have just about my entire nesting list complete and now I'm ready to have this baby. All I have left is get E's birthday stuff and some fall clothes ready, decorate for Halloween, get E a hair cut, and stock up the fridge for when I get back from the hospital. Not bad at all. So happy day for me, my house is getting cleaned and I really wish I had a frozen lemonade to sip right now.

As for the baby update...I'm still pregnant, I'm 38 weeks and I have 8 days until induction day. Glory day! I still haven't swollen up like a blimp yet which is very surprising to me since I had such bad swelling with E. I can totally wear my normal shoes and my wedding ring still fits and I don't have "cankles" so go figure why that's happened. I'm sure I'll get my chance when they pump me full of IV fluids during delivery, that's always the worst! I'm barely sleeping, I hurt, and this baby makes it very uncomfortable to sit, stand, or lay down. Can you say I'm ready?!

Update

Well, I just got a text from the hubster and he's on a plane back home right now so hopefully he'll get home soon. I'm so glad he didn't book his flight for Friday!!! I went to the doctor today and everything looks good. I'm 1-2 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and things are ready to go. I'm on the schedule now for the 24th for my induction so only 13 days or less! So until then I'm working on the nesting list crossing things off left and right.
-freezer meals are done
-my carpets are getting cleaned tomorrow
-I'm also meeting with our new pediatcian tomorrow
-my husband blessed me with a crew of cleaners coming on Tuesday (the best gift of my life!!!!)
-I need to decorate for Halloween
-I need to get some BPA free bottles
-I have to get E's birthday stuff all bought and ready
-get the cars cleaned
-set up baby stuff
The list keeps going and going so I won't bore you, but lots to do, lots to do.

Freezer Meal Info

I've gotten a lot of feedback on the freezer meals and I know many of you want some recipes and tips so I've posted quite a few of them on the Recipe Blog so go check them out. I haven't included all of them so if there is one particular recipe that you'd really like me to post, just let me know. Enjoy!

Not A Good Scenario

My husband is in Houston, Hurricane Ike is coming, and I'm 9 months pregnant...not good. Hopefully he can get out tonight so keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer!

36 Week Appointment

Alright, now I'm down to weekly appointments so there is an end in sight! I'm 50% effaced and not dilated so not much happening in that regard. Everything is right on track and I'm penciled in for an induction on September 24th if nothing happens on my own. So there you it...20 days or less...am I really ready for this?

Freezer Meal Mania Complete!

So over the past week I have completed the rest of the meals that I wanted to get done:
2 lasagnas
2 Mexican casseroles
3 meals of turkey chili
2 meals of shell-less tacos
3 bags of mini quiche
2 portions of Cafe Rio rice
2 bags of chocolate chip muffins
I still have to do the Cafe Rio pork, but I'm waiting for the meat to go on sale and it just has to sit in the crock pot so I'm not in a hurry to get it finished. My freezer is packed to the max and I don't think I'll be cooking for quite awhile.

Off to the Press!

I just finished off my 2nd edition of And Baby Makes 3 on Blurb! I can't wait to get it!

Freezer Meal Mania!

If your bored of my baby preparations, then please don't read. My mind is preoccupied with preparation so thus my blog is too. Sorry.

I thought that I would take 4 days of full out meal making to complete my freezer meal needs, but after I spent Saturday making Chicken and Dumplings, Homemade Chicken nuggets, and brisket...I was spent. I decided that I would only do one entree per day in order to lessen the time in the kitchen. It works out pretty well since most of this stuff makes a ton anyway so we eat some for dinner and then the rest is frozen.
So here's what I have completed:
3 meals of chicken and dumplings
2 meals of Homemade chicken nuggets
3 meals of Chicken Enchiladas
2 meals of Oriental Beef Strips
3 meals of Calzones
8 apple turnovers
Pesto for pasta

Here's what I have left to make:
Shell-less taco mix
Mexican Casserole (Ry's favorite, gag)
Lasagna
Mini quiches
Cafe Rio Pork
Turkey Chili

Tomorrow I'm doing all the hamburger meals to get them all out of the way and that way I just have to cook up all the hamburger at once. I think I'm also going to pick up a couple of rotesserie chickens and shred up the meat and freeze it for quick soups or other chicken meals. I am soooo happy I have an extra freezer, it's quite a step up from apartment living like last time! It's slowly filling up, but it's getting there. If you have any additional freezer meal ideas and recipes send them my way!!! I'd love to try out some new ones! It's also been fun for E since he always loves to help out in the kitchen and be in the middle of the action. Last night he helped me make calzones and was all about the rolling pin and eating pepperoni.

A Little Bit of E

I've been wanting to write a post about what my little E man has been up to lately. I need to write it so it goes into the blog book before I send it in to be published. Plus, I just want to write about him before his little brother gets here.

E is quite the active kid and is always in the middle of doing something. He's very persistent and can be stubborn at times, but for the most part he's really sweet. It's very funny to step back and just watch him because he's just so entertaining. I call him my "little parrot" since he repeats everything anyone says and there are so many times that he'll come to me and I'll just say to myself, "he must have heard that from me." He can pretty much rehearse our exact bedtime routine and put you to bed just like I do and tell you exactly what I say.

He still loves to play all sorts of sports, especially golf. Ry takes him out golfing to a local golf course whenever he gets the chance and they always have a lot of fun. He also goes with Ry to morning basketball to watch his dad play and pick up some moves.

We spend a lot of time together doing all sorts of things. He loves to cook with me, play tickle/kiss, go to the library, do puzzles, dance, swim, read books, play toys/games, and sometimes he just likes for me to hold him (for like 1 minute, but I'll take it).

His favorite person at church is our bishop. I don't know what the deal is with him, but he'll run at the bishop and jump into his arms like he would with his dad or his grandpas. Every time we head to church, he asks if he'll get to see bishop. Then he'll wave at the bishop or give him thumbs up during sacrament meeting. The bishop gets a kick out of it...I hope.

I've noticed that E has been really sensitive to sounds lately. He's always asking, "what's that noise?" or he covers his ears when he hears something he doesn't like. I swear he could hear the smallest noise and he always notices it. I have no idea what that means, but it's kind of interesting.

As for right now, I'm considered his "best friend." He tells me that daily and I love hearing that! I will cherish that until the day he wants me to drop him off 3 blocks from the junior high and I'll realize that he's a little embarrassed of his "best friend."

I just think my little E is the cutest little kid! Supposedly the Young Women in the ward think so too. I guess there is some list of the cutest kids in the ward and E is one of them. I know I'm biased because I'm his mother, but look at those eyes and that little face!

Crazy List Lady

I'm down to only 4 weeks so that means it's crunch time for pre-baby preparations. If you know me really well, you know I'm an insane list maker and I kind of go overboard with preparing for certain events...so why would having a baby be any different? It's kind of funny because I wasn't like this too much with E at all. I wanted to get things set up and get the carpets cleaned, but that was the extent of my nesting for him. This entire pregnancy I have had a continuous Microsoft word document that I add/delete things daily. So now that I only have 4 weeks left, each week has a certain amount of tasks that have to be done that week. It's kind of ridiculous, but it makes me feel better and makes me feel prepared. Here's the plan
4 Weeks to go:
-makes some freezer meals
-finish my blog book
-pack hospital/E's to go bags
3 Weeks to go:
-more freezer meals
-renew my nursing license
-work on deep cleaning the house
-shop for E's birthday gifts
2 Weeks to go:
-get carpets cleaned
-pick up needed baby items
-keep deep cleaning going
1 Week to go:
-major major deep clean
-stock pantry and fridge
-set up any needed baby stuff

So this is what I'll be doing for the next 4 weeks. It's going to be crazy busy, but maybe it will make me go into labor early. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it.

A Little Love From My Boys

Last week my hubby came home with a little surprise for me and when I say surprise, I mean way surprised! He handed a little box to E to give to me. When I opened it up, I was totally thrilled! I told Ry a long time ago how much I love Lisa Leonard's jewelry and that I would love a necklace with the boys' names on it. Well, low and behold, he totally got me the necklace that I had my eye on!

This is one gift that means a lot to me and I will treasure forever! Oh, and by the way, we finally decided on a name...Maxwell Ryan. So there you are folks, the child has a name and there is no turning back now it's already printed on the necklace. Thank you Lisa for doing such a fabulous job!

Too Much Olympics!

Ethan has picked up a few things from watching the Olympics with us every night. He now tries to do his "nastics" and flip over his bar on his bed or he does the pommel horse on the ottaman. Yesterday he was swimming at my parent's and he started pushing off the wall backwards like the backstroke swimmers. He wanted my mom to count down and then he'd push off and then try to swim, the floaties got in the way but he didn't seem to mind. I don't think his body type will allow him to be the next Michael Phelps, but he certainly loves to swim and that's all that matters.

Post Influx

You might notice an increase in postings over the next few days and they'll probably be really random, but it's that time of year again. Blog publishing! I'm trying to get my blog book all put together and sent off around Labor Day so I've got to get all my posts up so I can include them in my book. I publish using Blurb in case you're ever interested in publishing a hard copy of your blog. I highly recommend them! Now on to some posts.

34 Week Appointment

I just got back from my appointment and ultrasound. The doctor did all the measurements of the head, abdomen, legs, and amniotic fluid. It looks like he's already 5 1/2 pounds which is large for 34 weeks, but consistent with me having a previous 9 pound baby. With the rate the baby is going, my doctor has no problem inducing me about a week early. He's looking around the 26th of September, give or take a day. It just all depends on how ready my body is to having a baby. I don't want to sit around at 3 cm and feel super uncomfortable if I don't have to. But I also don't want to induce too early when things aren't quite ready to go and end up with a c-section. So we'll see how it goes and we'll know more as things get closer. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll go on my own around 38 weeks...we can only hope! Anyway...the ultrasound was really fun to see! It's so amazing to see how big he's gotten in the past 20 weeks! He also has hair! That's right, the doctor pointed out his locks floating in the amniotic breeze! I never thought you could see that on ultrasound! The doctor says the baby looks great and is right on target so only 1 month to go! We're almost there!

Metalsgirl Winner!

I entered a contest a few weeks back for a really cool necklace. All I had to do is pick a color scheme that I really liked. Well, my color choice was the one selected as the winner and here is the necklace!

Go check out her
blog and her website! What a fun piece of jewelry, I totally love it!