Birth Announcement

i finally finished the birth announcement (one month later) since I finally took some good pics of the baby and his sister. Thanks to Rita at CoffeeShops blog for the tutorial on how to make your own storyboard, this is how I accomplished it.

Little Man- 1 Month Old

Here are the pics I took on the 1st of my kiddos when my little man was exactly one month old.... You can tell his sissy loves him, she is definitely a big help around the help and wants to always change his diaper.

Kiddos on Halloween

Here are my kiddos this Halloween 09'

Athena wore the butterfly costume to school on Friday and a bunny Sat. night, she was so cute she looked like a mini playboy bunny :) My little man was a little dalmatian as you can see.

I'm Back

so sorry that I have been MIA and haven't blogged in over a month.... the new baby keeps me busy. I do get online quite a bit though just not to blog... I have become a facebook addict and find myself farming a lot.... at least until the baby requires my undivided attention :) Here are the first set of pics I took of him at 10 days.

He's Here!

Well the week started out really crappy.... I went to pick my daughter up from school and was stopped at a stop sign and this woman is turning onto the road where I'm stopped and he truck dies losing all brakes and steering. Needless to say she smacked into the front of my car. I wasn't injured but it shook me up for a few hours. That same night and next day I developed an extremely itchy rash that the doctor thought might be related to the accident and caused by nerves. To be on the safe side she wanted me to come in today and do lab to rule out anything bad. When I got to my appt. this morning my BP was high 148/102 and she just decided that it was time to deliver the baby and said they were waiting for me already in Labor and Delivery and I needed to go straight up there. I called my hubby at work and had him meet me there.... wouldn't you know the one time I told my hubby I'd be OK to go by myself and told him to stay for his all day meetings today, it would be time!

The C-section turned out great and I kept my calm the whole time and didn't panic, in fact I was more anxious and excited that we finally get to see my lil boy we've been awaiting so very long for. He ended up being 5lbs. 12oz. and 18 inches. He is the most perfect baby I'd ever seen, along with my daughter. I hate to brag but we make beautiful babies. He sure does have a set of lungs... he came out crying and screaming. His apgar scores were great: 9 and 9. Here are a few pics from today. I will definitely be posting more once we get home and I can take some of than just random snapshots.

My 1st Newborn Shoot

Here are a few of my favs from my very first newborn photo shoot I did yesterday. Keep in mind I'm that I'm less than 3 weeks away from delivering so it was kind of hard being on my knees and getting on the baby's level. I've already got lots of requests from other moms to have their babies pics taken along with their family photos.... I'm so excited!

Pregnancy Update....

So I'm almost 34 weeks along now and definitely counting down the days. My blood pressure has been creeping up slowly and they have been closely monitoring it. I'm supposed to be going to the doctor every 2 weeks but the last few weeks I've been going twice a week. Last week I had to do the 24 hours urine and blood test. They said everything looked OK but I had a doctor appt. today and she wants me to repeat all those tests again this week and come back Friday. They are going to do an ultrasound while I'm there to look at how big the baby is and make sure he's growing properly because of my BP issues. I'm scheduled to have my C-section at 39 weeks which will be Oct. 19th but I don't think my doctor thinks I'll make it that long. Honestly she sounds like she's worried I won't even make it till 37 weeks. That is her goal though to be considered term.... So I have about 3 1/2 more weeks to go. Honestly with Athena she was born at 37 1/2 weeks but she only weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz. It looks like we'll be doing lab work every week until delivery just so if something was wrong we would catch it early and not so late like last time. I will keep everyone up to date on the pregnancy especially if I deliver early. Wish me luck! Good thing is we are ready for him to be here. Both his and my bag are packed. We have his carrier and playyard/bassinette for him to sleep in and plenty of clothes and diapers to get him started since I've already had my shower. I will get to go to the Kids Sale preview party tomorrow so whatever I still don't have I will get the chance to buy cheap then. Here are the things I need that hopefully I will be able to find, bouncy seat, crib, jumparoo and more premie clothes just in case he does come early.

Wipey Cases

So I've been feeling pretty crafty lately. I finished my first quilt a few weeks ago and was very proud of it. I thought I would venture out to other things. I made my little one an OSU wipey case and made another wipey case in Sports fabric. For my first attempt I thought they turned out alright. I plan on making another one for a girl and plan on giving them as a shower gift along with onsies that I will personalize. Once I get the onsies done I will post pics of them too. Since I am so close to delivering within the next month my next projects are going to be nursing covers for when I breastfeed and a baby sling to keep the baby close without having to hold him. Since I'm trying to be super frugal and the good nursing pads are so expensive (disposable ones suck) I have already been making some of my own out of old receiving blankets. I found a website that tells how to do it, although the site I went by said to use a CD as a guide and they came out super big. I mean they swallowed my nipples and whole breast. I will downsize the next time I attempt it. Here is the site for the nursing pads.

http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/how-to-sew-your-own-nursing-pads/

I will post the other links once I have completed my projects.

My first finished Quilt!

So I have recently took on a project to make a baby quilt for my little man who will be here in about 2 months. It only took me less than 2 days to do (although I still have to sew the trim around) but here is a pic of what it looks like. I am so happy with the way it turned out and how it pretty much looks like what I had envisioned in my mind. Keep in mind that although I own a sewing machine I'm am still a newby to it. I probably only take it out and turn it on once every couple of years. In fact the last time I used it before this week was to try and make my daughter a quilt before she was born and she's 5 now. Needless to say her quilt never got finished because I ran out of a certain important fabric so I still have it in a bag in case I find any tan demin fabric not being worn so I can finish it one day. We did however buy her some new fabric to make her a new quilt and when I finish all the projects I have in mind I plan to start it (and finish it hopefully too) :)

I have been finding lots of instructions on how to sew your own baby sling and nursing covers which I absolutely want since I will be breastfeeding. It is a necessity that I get a "Hooter Hider" or at least attempt to make my own. I also have a few baby showers coming up and I usually make a tutu for the newborn girls or for girls birthdays to save money plus I love to get personal gifts like that and I'm sure everyone else does too.... (at least I hope they do) but my nephew is having a boy and I'm sure a tutu isn't the right gift for him so I am going to buy some plain onsies and sew a little tie to the front. I have seen them and they are so adorable. I actually found a tutorial which seems pretty easy so we'll see how it turns out. I've also always wanted a trendy decorated wipey case but could never afford it so I thought I would give that ago also since I have tons of fabric left. One for me and one for my nephews little one who will be born a month after my baby Aries.

Kookles Nursing Cover GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Kookles Nursing Cover GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
Visit Grosgrain's blog for this fabulous giveaway if you are expecting or know someone who is.

I always hated putting the dreaded hot blanket over the baby when I was nursing around everyone so this nursing cover excites me since I am expecting in about 2 months.

I sure hope I win!

Baby Shower in the works...

For some reason I didn't want to have the generic premade baby shower invitation that you fill in by hand. I decided to try to make one of my own so I could put a little more info and use the colors I want. Since a lot of the big stuff we've bought for the baby has been an orange oak and my hubby loves OSU so the colors are orange, white and black I decided to go with the orange theme for the invitation and maybe even put his room in those colors.... let me know what you think about my cheezy invitation :)

My Pregnancy and Life Update

I am currently 27 weeks pregnant with a little boy and have a lot on my plate. I have gained 20 lbs. already although it's all in my belly. They convince me there is only one baby in there though (:

this is a self portrait I did a little over a month ago so I was about 22 weeks. Huge huh?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but things have been crazy. I've worked an 8 to 5 job up until about a month ago when I decided it was best for me to stay home with my now 5 year old daughter. Plus my pregnancy was starting to get exhausting especially when I have problems sleeping at night because of congestion and drainage.

anyways, at my 20 week ultrasound they noticed that the baby had only 2 vessels instead of the normal 3 they are supposed to have. there is a slightly higher risk of cord accident of course... it's important for me to do kick counts especially when I feel like he's not moving around like usual, but luckily he does karate in my uterus constantly. there is also a risk that something may be wrong with the baby, such as renal problem or even heart but only about 25% of 2 vessel cord babies have any abnormalities. I'm a little worried but I can't really worry too much. The pediatrician will do a renal ultrasound after the baby is born and also look at the heart.

Also Wednesday when I did my glucose screen it came back a little high so I I have to carb load for the next 3 days and go back fasting on Monday and do a glucose tolerance test. You know this is all I need, to have Gestational Diabetes on top of everything else and the higher risk of delevoping Pre-E and HELLP again.

So far my BP is good but we'll still keep a close eye on it.

What's been going on...

So I actually got a little sleep last night. I did however go to bed while still light outside at 8:30. I was trying to prove a theory of mine that I could sleep easier with more light. I fell right asleep but found myself waking up around 10 when it was dark and had a sudden feeling of not being tired. After that of course I went and sat in my nightly recliner. It was hard to go back to sleep but once I turned on TV I didn't have much of a problem even though I didn't watch it at all.... What's the deal. Am I nocturnal or something now? I usually have to watch TV or get online to totally exhaust me so I can go to sleep. It sure doesn't help that I'm congested at night time and feel like I can't breathe.... anyways I am just glad to finally sleep more than 2 hours total during the night.

As some may know yesterday was my last day at the University. I gave my notice several weeks ago because my daughter needed me to stay home with her again. Frankly I was ready to be a stay at home mom again. Plus we will be having our second child in a few months... Athena be 5 in 2 weeks from today. We have yet to plan a birthday party because things have been hectic and we're kind of broke. I think we've decided to buy her a nice set of kids drums though... she is very musical and has been wanting drums for months. She actually has natural time which is crazy. Are we kidding ourselves though buying her the drums she wants and we'll be regretting it later?

The both of us are about to get around and get dressed to go to a yard sale in town from a friend of mine. Baby Boy clothes here I come. Honestly I'm not too good for used clothes. I love it when friends give me outgrown clothes of their kids. I of course pick through the yard sale clothes and for the most part don't get completely stained up clothes. I do know from experience that babies get dirty no matter how hard you try to keep them clean. I have about 2 tubs of girl clothes that I need to go through for myself to sell at the yard sale. Even though they tell me it's a boy I'm still hesitant about getting rid of all girl stuff. I definitely had enough to spare some though. I always had my favorite stuff Athena wore that I will probably keep and let her use for her dolls.

Anyways so for the long update, it's been awhile. I still have more to post later about my insurance meltdown...

It's a.....

So we had our Ultrasound today and we finally found out what we are having. I just want to say EVERYONE thought it was going to be a boy, including the chinese gender calendars except for my little girl. She always said it was a baby girl/baby sister. Well take a look at the pictures for yourself and tell me what you think..

IT'S A BOY! Immediately after she put the thing on my belly the first picture to pop up was of his legs spread. Usually that is the shot that is the hardest to get. He was however stubborn when it came to showing his face. The tech kept trying to look at his umbilical insertion but he was laying face down on his tummy so it made it very difficult and he would not move for anything. I think he's already being lazy and sleeping all the time. I still think my 4 year-old-daughter is still in denial. She won't admit it's a boy and still calls it her baby sister.

We already have a name picked out and it's super unique. I just want to explain the reasoning first. You see my daughter's name is Athena and it is from greek mythology. Well in mythology her brother's name is Ares pronounced like Aries the sign. I thought it was only appropriate to name him that because of the "A" name of course and the connection from the two. So his name will be Aries Orion Claborn. I love it and think it's creative. If it was going to be a girl we finally decided on Sophie but I'll name get to name a girl that because it's a boy and we are done having kids after this.

Is it a Boy or Girl?

So tomorrow is the big day, Ultrasound DAY!... Is it a boy or a girl. Everyone in my family and all of my friends think it is a boy... but my daughter is the ONLY one who thinks it's a girl. I tend to think it will be a girl because of family history but we are rooting for a little mama's boy. If someone refers to it as her little brother or a boy, she quickly corrects them and say no it's my baby sister and her name is going to be Hannah Montana. I just want to say NO it is not, if it's a girl we will probably name her Sophie (no middle name picked out yet). Wish me luck and I will post on here what it is as soon as I get home.

I feel blessed

I did it.... I finally ordered my seamless paper last night. I went with the 107" x 12 yards. I ordered super white, super black, and focus gray. I thought I would go with the basic colors for now and see how it worked and maybe later order a pink and blue and some brighter vibrant colors. I should get it delivered next Monday which is also my wedding anniversary. We have been married for 7 years now and it's still great. We are expecting our 2nd baby this year and in fact will find out what it is Thursday of this week. Monday is really a good day I guess because my husband is starting his new job within his company. Although he won't be getting a raise because the company is on a hiring freeze and also a freeze for any raises until the first of the year, this is a promotion and great opportunity. He will be a part of the core team which he says is like the Navy Seals of his company. They have access to everything and when people hear you're on the core team they are impressed. They told him today that he needed to get a passport because he may have to go out of the country sometime to other parts of the company worldwide... I'm so proud of him and hope that when he can get a raise it will be a big one because some say to request at least $60,000/year which is like almost doubling his salary now. I would love to stay home and do photography all day as my dream career.

18 weeks

Everyone is definitely noticing my belly now. I just joke and says it's just a gut. But really I'm almost half way done. Although I've been feeling the baby since about 13 1/2 weeks on and off, I can't wait to start feeling it regularly and stronger kicking or as I call it baby karate. Also I can't wait till June 11th when I find out what it is and I can quit guessing or calling it he or she. My daughter is so assured its her baby sister. But we'll see.

Pregnancy Pizza

Since I have been pregnant I have had an extreme craving for jalapenos. I want them on my cheese fries when we go out, on my beans and potatoes, and of course on my pizza. My husband made fun of me this evening when we went to order pizza for dinner tonight and I told them I wanted mushrooms, pineapples, and jalapenos. He said that's just gross... but of course the lady at the pizza place just laughed when I ordered and told her I was pregnant. Of course she understood because she's due at the same time as I am.

Does anyone else crave jalapenos? If not what do you crave during your pregnancy?

My mother-in-law keeps telling me it's going to be a boy because I'm craving the spicey things. That's just an old wives tale but I hope it's right because we're wanting a little boy. I want a little boy who's going to be a mama's boy because my sweet little girl is no longer sweet to me, in fact she'd rather be around her grandma all the time than to be with me. She told me yesterday when I went to her awards ceremony for her class "mom I told you not to come" and was in a bad mood all after that. She was perky and dancing with the class and all before she seen that I was in her classroom. What's a mom to do?

Boy or Girl you say?

I have never heard of such a thing until the other day. You can now pee in a cup it will tell you whether you are having a boy or a girl... hmmm wonder how well it really works even though they say it's 90% accurate. Knowing my luck I'd always be part of the 10% who it didn't work right for. Of course you have to be at least 10 weeks pregnant for it to tell.

My mother in law first told me about this when her 18 year old grandson's girlfriend (well on and off and we are not sure who's baby it even is) of 16 years of age said she bought this test called ova 90% accurate or something like that from Walgreens and it told her it was a girl. She is only about 12 weeks pregnant and is ditzy and bleach blonde so I of course was like whatever. I said she probably bought an ovulation test (by the name of it) and it came out positive and that's why she thought it was a girl. By the way I am still not totally convinced she is even pregnant anyway because the last time she said she was she never went to the doctor officially and then she ended up saying she wasn't pregnant and that her body was just confused and that is why it thought it was... She has yet to go to the doctor again this time but she claims to already have an ultrasound... ANYWAYS! So I looked on the Walgreens website and sure enough I found a test like it but with a different name.

I'm sure there are tons of people who are willing to pay the 29.99 just to find out ahead of time when they could just wait another month or two. But then again even the ultrasounds are totally accurate and your little boy you expected could come out as girly as can be (damn that umbilical cord for fooling us into thinking it was a winky)! Or sometimes your little one is just so shy anyway that it doesn't want to flaunt it's parts to the world. I think I'll just wait... June 11th is the scheduled ultrasound day to find out. YIPPEE!