Cabin fever....

I was really starting to have some cabin fever this past week.  It is a lot easier to take it easy at home when the weather is nice and the kids can spend their days playing outside in the afternoon.  I didn't know how many more activities I could come up with to entertain them inside. 

Every week I watch the weather forecast and get oh so excited to plan a day outside and then the morning arrives with the predicted sunny day and there is nothing but rain.  I finally gave up on making fun plans outside and decided to bring the sunny day activities inside.  I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner...

Jack joined in as well but I promise there was no "jumping off the diving board" for him...

A little peak a boo...

While Jack was taking his nap Emily discovered my IPod.  My original one was stolen while we were in the hospital with Emily so my dad gifted me this one when I was pregnant with Jack.  Emily played Taylor Swift's "Love Story" over and over and over again.  Even though she has given up on nap time it was nice to have about 30 minutes of "quiet time" for mommy...

By Friday (today) the weather finally brightened up a bit so I convinced my mom to go with us to the new water park down the street.  It is pretty impressive but it was just a little too chilly for the kids to venture in so they opted for the park area instead...

I didn't get too many pictures of Emily since she was off to the big kid side with Grandma Emily while I was on Jack duty...

 After an hour or so of playing we washed up and ate a little lunchie.  We definitely got our outdoor fix!

Shot Put...

At the track meet this week Emily tried out the shot put.  While she had done this the year before she was a little confused why the guy kept telling her to "push" the ball.  At home we have been practing things like "shooting", "hitting" and "throwing" the ball but apparently in all of Bryan's preparation for the track meet he forgot to teach her to "push" the ball. 

All Comers Track Meet 2010...

We've been watching a lot of track on TV lately and running some indoor events in preparation of the Annual All Comers Track Meet.  Bryan takes this pretty seriously and wanted to make sure the kids were prepared for our first big day out at the meet.  They both got a new pair of shoes this weekend, practiced racing around the dining room table and even practiced the long jump in the kitchen.  Last year Emily didn't really know what to think of the races and wanted to spend most of her time at the playground.  This year she was totally into it though.

Right after we signed her in and got her new tee shirt on she was off to the 50m hurdles...

The youngest race is technically for 2 year olds but we thought Jack might want to try it out so we gave it a go since he races around everywhere else he goes...

I think he was overwhelmed by all of the people though because he wouldn't let go of Bryan's hand and finally just wanted to be held..

Next we were off to the long jump.  Grandma Emily waited patiently in line with Emily until it was her turn...

Finally she was off for her first attempt...

By the second attempt she gave it a running start and jumped a little further...

The long jump and shot put took a lot longer than we expected and unfortunately by the time we made it back to the 50m dash the three, four and five year olds had already gone.  Thankfully they let Emily run with the six year olds.  She kept right up with them and as crazy as it seems she was taller than a few of them as well...

It was a perfect outing and well needed after a few days couped up in our house...

Thank goodness for sunshine...

We spent all day yesterday playing at North Beach (Deception Pass) with the kids.  We spent the morning debating about whether to go there or try somewhere new and ultimately decided that this is probably our favorite beach to hang out at as a family.  The beach is perfect...rocks for throwing and soft sand for playing in.  It's not too crowded on the North Beach side and the views are absolutely spectacular.

We dumped out the beach toys Jack was right at home...

He kept himself occupied in this same spot almost all day filling buckets of sand and then dumping them on himself...

Emily was more into relaxing and feasting on all of the "beach treats" we had packed...

 

 I think the cherries were the biggest hit.  Emily thought I was crazy when I told her she could spit the seeds right on the ground...

  

Jack was so busy playing that he would only take food that he could eat on the go.  Thank goodness Emily made some delicious graham cracker cookies for us to snack on...

 After a lot of playing in the sand Bryan took the kids down to the water to throw some rocks...

  

 Then it was back for more digging...

 

 We finally packed up around 4pm with the promise of a stop at our favorite restaurant, The Shrimp Shack, for a little bubble gum ice cream but after 5 minutes in the car both of the kids were sound asleep. 

As we headed back into town I started to feel a little off and recognized some signs of labor.  I had only had one really bad contraction during the day so I hadn't been too worried but by the time we got home I knew something wasn't right.  I waited around the house for a good two hours and then finally talked to Bryan and my mom about what I was experiencing.  After some serious convincing from both of them I finally called the doctor on call.  There is nothing I dreaded more than going into the hospital for a false alarm but with this pregnancy nothing has been predictable so I figured I had better listen to the advice.  The doctor told me I needed to come into the hospital for a labor check so off we went.

When we got there they hooked me up to all of the wonderful devices and monitored the babies heart beat and my contractions.  They also provided me with lots of water because I was extremely dehydrated.  My contractions were very consistent but after they checked everything else out they determined I wasn't going into labor quite yet.  They had me continue drinking more water for an hour and then came back and checked everything again.  My contractions were still very consistent so the doctor gave me some medicine to relax the contractions so that labor didn't begin.  Even though I only have 3 1/2 weeks to go until my c-section the doctor really wanted the baby to have some more time to develop his lungs.  I had no argument with this and took his advice to take the medicine and waited another hour or so.  Finally the nurse came back and said that the contractions had spread out a little and asked if we were comfortable going home or if we wanted to stay.  I think I might have jumped out of the bed as I told her we lived close and would LOVE to go home.  They told me to come back in right away if my contractions got more painful and to drink lots of liquids.

So we are now happy at home watching for more signs and trying to take it easy.  In a week and a half I will feel a little more at ease if the signs return knowing that it is just that much safer for this little guy to make his appearance to the world. 

I only have two days left of work but I am not going to go in since the bulk of the work I have left is to pack up my office.  The rest of it I can finish up at home.  We have no plans at all today so it will be nice to lounge around and watch the kids play outside in the sun in the convenience of our own backyard where we are only 3 minutes from the hospital!

Ponies...

Last night my mom and I took Emily and Jack to Open House at the pony farm where Emily will be going to pony camp this summer.  It might have been one of my favorite adventures we have embarked on yet.  Unfortunately I had a super busy day on Friday and by the time I got home we had to run out of the house and I didn't realize that my camera battery was dead.  So needless to say we have NO pictures of the acutal evening but it was too much fun not write anything about it.

We arrived at the farm at 4pm and met up with some friends of mine who have a daughter Emily's age.  They are going to go to pony camp together this summer so it was fun for the girls to experience this together as well.  As soon as we got there Emily was jumping up and down with excitement.  She was all dressed up in her "Jessie" shirt, chaps and new pink pony boots that we got at Cenex last weekend.  She has been all about cowgirls and ponies lately...something I have very little experience with so I we have been taking some toy shopping trips to Cenex and building up her supply of animals since she really wants to be a veternarian.

These are the chaps I made Emily along with her Jessie doll...

As the ponies came around the corner the kids were fitted with helmets and then mounted on the ponies.  Emily jumped right on with some help from Grandma Emily while Jack gazed on with amazement.  I saddled him up and he grabbed onto the knob of the saddle and away we went.  The girl leading the pony kept talking to him and finally I told her that he was only 20 months so he didn't say too much.  She was shocked since she thought he was three!  Apparently he is the youngest rider they have ever had. We continued on the trail around the lake and Jake kept shouting out, "WOW! What's that?" while Emily was gleefully saying, "This is so wonderful Grandma."  It was so precious.

About two thirds around the lake they dismounted (not a pretty sight for Jack) and we went to some outdoor tents for some hotdogs, chips and drinks.  Jack took off running trying to chase his pony several times so we decided to move on to the next event, roasting marshmellows.  Emily enjoyed burning her marshmellow up while Jack loved the stick or sword as he might have put it.  The fire made me a little nervous with Jack so we headed back to the trail and went to the pony grooming and petting station.  Emily loved this part and could have stayed here all day but Jack was trying to get the saddle to get on the pony the whole time so Grandma Emily took him for a little adventure in the covered wagon to keep him occupied.

After this last event we said good-bye to the ponies and many tears followed.  It was a hard transition to leave but we had an incredible time.  My hope is to get back just for pony rides at least once before the baby comes.  I had no idea that Jack would love it just as much and now I am feeling a little guilty that only Emily gets to go this summer (Jack is too young). 

When we got home they ran around outside for a while and then came inside to settle down, drink vanilla milks, eat popcorn and watch a movie in mommy and daddy's bed.  What a perfect day!

More off the check list...

With just under four weeks to go I should be getting anxious to finish all of the projects I had hoped to get done but really I am just thankful that if this little guy arrives early I have everything I need. 

The boys room and Emily's room are basically finsihed with the exception of Jack and Emily's quilt but all I need to do is quilt and bind them.  Here are a few things I have finished in the last few weeks....

Baby Jones' quilt...

Jack has tested it out a few times just to make sure it is comfy...

Eventually this is where it will be...

I am not usually the thrify type only because I crave organization and cannot usually stand to go into unorganized stores but I did venture out to Goodwill and snagged up this beauty.  It was in great condition and just needed a good sanding and paint job...

I stocked up on some more bibs and burb cloths.  If this little guy is anything like Jack then I will be going through 10 a day...

I also made a few swaddles...

I made the kids some shirts to wear to the hospital when baby is born...

Another taggie blanket, not that we needed one, but I just love this fabric and couldn't imagine letting any of it go to waste...

A large floor blanket full of many colors for baby Jones to roll around on...

(This is the backside of the floor blanket)

I had been dying to make a gathered hem and pockets.  This was my first attempt but I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.  It started as a dress made from a quick sketch I had made but it quickly evolved into a skirt. 

My checklist is looking a little better now but of course I have a few more projects to add to it...

Baby Quilt (guitars)

Jack's Quilt (guitars)

Emily's Quilt

Nursing Cover

Floor Quilt (trucks)

Bean Bags for Lautenbach boys

Burb cloths

Bibs

Swaddles

Sundresses for Emily (I have only made one lately and would like to make some different kinds)

Skirt for Emily

Shirts for Emily, Jack and Baby

New Projects:  car seat cover, Jessie outfit for Emily for Pony Camp, shopping cart cover (this can wait awhile), extra supply of blankets for gifts, cuddly couch quilt for Emily (per her request)