ok...I'm a horrible horrible blogger. just horrible. I'm online often, just never blog. I've never been much for writing. going to try and be better about this.

so the kids are just getting big. Michael starts preschool next month. he'll be 4 in two months! he got glasses a month ago.

Tristan climbs everything and is always trying to tackle Michael. he loves to play with cars and trucks and just about anything that moves. his newest favorite is the wagon that someone gifted us. he just likes to sit in it or pull it around.

Gretchen is 8 mths now and just everywhere. she army crawls really quick and can get anywhere she wants. she's started to pull up and is almost cruising the sofa. she has her two bottom teeth and is working on four top teeth. I just wish she'd decide napping was the cool thing to do! she rarely takes a nap and if she does its never longer than an hour.

happy valentine's day!

ok, so its been another month. Gretchen is up to 10 lbs 13 oz!!! my little chunk. she's too cute. still has her days/nights a bit messed up, but we're trying to work on it. She kept me up until 5 am on Saturday morning, that was not fun especially with the boys waking up at 7 am.

right after Gretchen was born we started attending an Episcopalian church. I grew up in a Pentecostal church that put a heavy influence on "raising your hands" "speaking in tongues" "being slain in the Spirit." I was never all too comfortable with that. At times it seemed as if they didn't think you were a true believer if you didn't do one or all of the aforementioned things.

upon getting married, we stopped attending church for the most part. we did not feel welcomed in the church I grew up in (the one mentioned above), because of differences we had with the pastor. so we just stopped. I went to church with the kids here and there, but really had no desire to attend one regularly after being hurt by a pastor who was my friend's father.

when we moved here to KY, all my parents ever asked me was if we found a church. that we needed to find one because that was the only way we'd get settled in the area. we had someone tell us that we should find a church so we could get a baby shower. neither of those are particularly good reasons to go to church in my opinion.

Josh had asked around about churches and researched the respective church's websites. he decided to attend this one. he went twice before Gretchen was born, I didn't go with him because it was Tristan's nap time. the Rector visited me in the hospital and the church gave us some money to help with the added financial burden of having another child. they also provided us with a full Thanksgiving meal as I was released from the hospital the day before Thanksgiving. I have never felt so welcomed and loved by a church before. Especially one I had never personally attended. now that the kids and I are going with Josh each week, I feel even more welcomed. members keep asking what we need and if they can helps us with anything. they are wowed that we bring all three children to church. sometimes Josh and I split church shifts if the weather is too cold so we don't have to bring the kids out in it. I really feel that we've found a church home.

I'd like to research more of the Episcopalian doctrine before we join the church. I also am a bit torn about the infant baptism since the Rector has mentioned she wants to talk to us about that in regards to Gretchen. but all in all, its nice to be in a church where everyone is welcomed with open arms.


I stole this meme from Liz

Love/ Hate Meme
I love to eat: pizza. I could eat it every single day.
I hate to eat: onions. we are an onion free household.
I love to go: to my knitting group on Sundays.
I hate to go: clothes shopping
I love it when: I watch Josh and the boys wrestling on the floor at night.
I hate it when: people assume that I'm on welfare because I have 3 children.
I love to see: the boys singing together
I hate to see: the snow melting
I love to hear: laughter
I hate to hear: Gretchen crying right after I've put her down to sleep

I stink at updating here. Gretchen is a fantastic baby...has her days and nights a bit mixed up, but that's the only thing I could complain about. She's growing like a weed. At her last appointment she was 8lbs 4 oz, up a full pound from birth! she'll have her one month appointment this coming Friday.

I'm a huge blogger slacker.

Gretchen Diane arrived November 19th at 8:40 pm after four and a half hours of labor and only one and a half pushes. couldn't have asked for a better labor at all! in fact we barely made it to the hospital in time, so everything was rush rush after that.

so far everything is going well. Michael adores her and Tristan still isn't quite sure what to think of her, but he seems to like her. she sleeps well and eats ALL the time, but that is to be expected.

so that's all on this front. I have a picture posted on my knitting blog (there should be a link on the right hand side of this one somewhere...). I should hopefully have more pictures this weekend.

things are crazy, but we're safe and sound in KY now. had my first appointment with the new OB yesterday. liked him and his wife (who is a midwife working with him). they did an ultrasound and little girl is lying transverse (sideways) currently. because of that they couldn't get good measurements and what they could get shows her measuring 3 weeks behind. I'll get another ultrasound next week. I'll be induced sometime the week before Thanksgiving because the doctor doesn't like gestational diabetes patients to go past 39 weeks, sooooo I'll be able to be at home for Thanksgiving! yay!!!!!!

one word to sum up how I feel lately. exhausted.

boys are doing well. just driving me nuts while I'm trying to pack. speaking of packing. we pack the truck up in 2 days. yikes. this day next week will be our last day in Pennsylvania for who knows how long. I'm sick of packing. I'm even more sick of not getting any help with the packing. Thank goodness, the kitchen is almost fully packed. I need more boxes.

everything is going well with baby girl. no names yet. latest weight check, I'm up 6 lbs from the beginning. blood pressure has been good, last check was 106/58. however I failed the last 3 hour glucose test. barely of course. so I'm back to sticking myself 4 times a day until baby girl's arrival. It could have been worse had it been diagnosed weeks ago. The good news is that our insurance covers the testing supplies fully. yay! that's one stress off my mind, especially knowing how much they cost without insurance.

well, I need to get off here and start making dinner.