For Holle...

Here are a few pictures of the newest member of the Schneider clan...

I wish this one wasn't so small. This was taken last night. Isn't it amazing how much she has grown already?!?

No news from my doctors visit on Wednesday. Ultrasound in one week. Can't wait! Then a baby shower on Saturday October 2nd. After that we should be ready at any time :)

One More Year...

As you all know Anthony and I have birthdays coming up. Only two days apart, but unfortunately for me a year as well. He will finally be 30 and I will not. LOL I tell you what, I NEVER in a millin years thought I would be having a child at the age of 31. We won't be doing anything special for our birthdays this year. Maybe packing a few boxes, washing some baby clothes...

We are really getting excited about Sam's arrival. I have been having a lot of contractions however, they are only Braxton Hicks. I did have some pain involved with them last night, but nothing that a nice warm lavendar bath didn't fix. As I was staring at the ceiling trying to fall asleep, I realized that I have 35 days left until my scheduled c-section. I really, really thought that Sam would make an appearance sooner than that, but now I am wondering. I have a doctors apptointment tomorrow but that will just be to answer some questions I have... The upcoming ultrasound on October 2nd will tell us how much he weighs at that point. I initially thought they scheduled the ultrasound for that day because it would put him measuring at 39 weeks. But after talking to the doctor last night, I am pretty sure they are just going to wait it out until I go into labor (if that happens before the 26th).

Meanwhile...Anthony and I discussed the fact that we need to get overnight bags ready for everyone. Mommy, Daddy and Sam's stuff can all be rolled into one. Eli will have to pck up for a few days with Memaw and Grandpa and Jacob will be staying with our next door neighbors unless Sam ends up coming on a weekend and we can send him home with Nana and Grandad.

Four years ago we were in a very similar postion to this one. Eli was a newborn and we had our house on the market in preparation for a move to Cookeville. Little did we know that the long period of time it took for our house to sell would result in us moving to Asheville. Now, we are waiting for Sam, but think we have put our house on the market with a good time buffer so we can ALL move to Maryville TOGETHER. The kids are looking forward to the move as much as Anthony and I are. It will be so good to get back to Tennessee. So, please say a little prayer that our house will sell in adequate time and that we will have a smooth move. With so much going on all at once we could really use everyone's support.

Love you all!

BABIES!!!

Matthew and Sarah welcomed Reagan Mahayla Schneider into the world on Wednesday September 9th at 6:11 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 5.3 oz. and was 19 inches long.

She is absolutely perfect! She has thick, long dark brown hair, beautiful skin and 10 wonderful fingers and toes. I was able to go visit her on Saturday and can't wait to see her again. It makes me want Sam to come as soon as possible!

And here is Sam...

Picture 1 is his button nose, lips and chin.

Picture 2 is a profile shot. See how he has his mouth open!

And picture 3 is a perfect little foot!

We had a growth ultrasound done last Wednesday (9/9). The doctors wanted to know why I was so BIG. At this point I was supposed to be 32 weeks and 3 days. When they checked Sam he was measuring 35 weeks and 5 days. I also had a signifigant amount of fluid, which is not a cause for concern, but between those two factors, I am one large pregnant lady!

Despite the fact that he was measuring almost 36 weeks, they are still not changing my due date. My guess is that I will just go into labor in early October. Then they will see... :)

My best friend Andria threw me a baby shower this past Friday night at Mom and Dad's house. We had a great turnout and I want to thank Andy and her Mom for all that they did. And everyone that came ... thank you, thank you. It means so much to our family that we have you all in our lives. We are truly blessed.

New Due Date...?

This pregnancy is going pretty smoothly. I have had some heartburn, and a very hard time getting comfortable at night, and some swelling of the feet, but overall I am feeling great. It helps that Anthony is so wonderful when it comes to all my "demands". He is always there to rub my legs and feet, strokes my hair to put me to sleep and makes sure I always have whatever food I am desiring at the moment. I don't know what I would do without this man! He did say the other day that he was looking forward to me not being pregnant anymore...he is tired of gaining "sympathy weight". That HAS to make you smile!!!



Last week I was sitting at Mom and Dad's house watching a little TV. I got up and something felt different. Looking at my belly (Mom agreed) it appeared that I had "dropped" or "lightened". I sure was able to breathe easier! With my other two boys, I don't recall dropping until I was quite a bit closer to delivering. After doing a little searching, I discovered that people tend to drop 3-4 weeks or less before they have their children. In some circumstances it has been 8 weeks prior, but those cases seem to be few and far between.



I called my doctor and they did not seem too concerned. I already had an appointment scheduled for Monday the 10th, so we decided to stick with that. I will have the glucose test done that morning and the doctor will see me (as opposed to the midwife). She is going to measure me (belly) and if I am still measuring ahead of schedule, they will most likely order an ultrasound to measure Sam. Maybe, just maybe, they will change my dute date accordingly.... I still believe I am about 3 weeks farther along than they have said.



Look for updates Monday evening....



For anyone that is interested, I am registered at TARGET. I do not yet know when my baby shower will be, but as soon as my friend lets me know, I will pass the information along.



In other news...they have broken ground for the new Cheddar's in Alcoa. We will be putting our house on the market in a few days. Anthony's projected move date will be the beginning of November. I am praying that all the pieces will fall into place and the whole family will be able to move TOGETHER.

Jake, Eli and Sam

We have decided on a name for the newest member of our family. I wanted something that went with Jacob and Elijah. I like having a shorter version for both and the fact that they are biblical. So...Samuel it is. I think Sam will fit in perfectly. Eli already makes it a point to say goodnight to Sam each night and kiss my belly.

Sam is quite active! I can already SEE him moving. I don't seem to remember it happening this early with Jake and Eli. I am still convinced that I am farther along than they originally thought. I had the 20 week ultrasound and Sam was measuring 22 - 23 weeks. I am anxious for them to set a new due date, but I think it will take quite a bit more convincing.

I have not yet registered, but plan on doing that very soon. I don't think we are going to put much time into a nursery because we will be moving soon. It won't be long after he arrives that we will be packing up for TN. I figure we will have him in our room until the move, then once we find a place in Maryville, we can get him set up in his own room. Oh, how I wish I had not donated/sold all of our baby stuff. I had no idea there was another one in our future. Now we will be starting all over again. Thank heavens for handmade blankets, clothes, etc. That is ALL I saved!

I am going to try and continue working as long as I am able. When Sam arrives I will revert back to being a stay-at-home Mom. Eli will not be entering kindergarten in the Fall, so he will have another year home with Mom. I cannot imagine putting a tiny baby in daycare either. And since Memaw and Grandpa won't be joining us in Maryville (...yet...), I will just plan on working again once ALL my boys are in school. Can you believe Jake will be starting 3rd grade this year?!?!?! Am I really that old?

We have made plans to go to a friends' house for a bbq and fireworks on the 4th. Stay tuned for pictures. Maybe even one with my buddah belly!

Pink or blue...???

We have been waiting for this day since we found out we were expecting #3. Our doctor's office makes you wait until you are 20 weeks before they do THE ultrasound. So, yes - we were counting down the days. When we first looked the baby was curled up tight in the fetal position. It didn't take long before there was a ton of movement! Almost right away he turned and we discovered there will be another boy in our family!
They did all sorts of measurements to rule out abnormalities, deformities, etc. He is an active, healthy and LARGE baby. They are thinking that maybe they misjudged his due date. I am supposed to be 20 weeks, but he measured about 22 weeks. At this time, they are not going to change the due date, but will keep a close eye on him as he grows. They are guessing he will come along around October 23rd as opposed to November 1st (although the c-section is scheduled for October 26th).
All my boys are excited and I am relieved to be able to refer to the baby an "him" instead of "it".
Now, names....

Nana and Papa's 60th Anniversary Dinner

It was so nice seeing everyone.

Especially out-of-towners.

Jake looks slightly scared here...

Don't I have a beautiful Mother!?!

I believe this was during the lemon wars :)

Jacob's Last Soccer Game

Jacob played his final game yesterday.

He is a real go getter...

and a fierce competitor...

"Monkey Boy"

We really need to get them a fort/climbing set for the yard. We are in negotiations for a trampoline. (with a safety net Memaw)

There is something about black and white photos and little boys...

And big boys too!

It took me awhile, but I am finally posting our beach pics. We had a great time, but it would've been better if Anthony had been able to come.

Even hotel hallways are fun when you are on vacation!

Jacob writing messages in the sand. It says, "take us to Hawaii". Apparently, Hilton Head wasn't quite good enough. Though, as soon as we got in the car to head back to NC they were asking when we could come back...

I asked Eli what he would think if it we had a boy ... he prompltly said, "no, I already have a brother to love." They are both looking forward to a sister, but we will not find out until June 17th. The c-section has been scheduled as well. I go in at noon on October 26th (Monday). It is somewhat strange knowing when the baby's birthday will most likely be. It is much easier to plan!
Looking at my last post (late March) it says that we were getting ready to start our landscaping project. Well, now it is finally (almost) done. We really didn't get everything together and ready to plant until last week. A lot of the hold up has been the rain. But, it is finally finished - all we have left is to add a few bags of touch-up mulch.
We also successfully got our small front garden planted. We will be cutting our first heads of broccoli very soon. The seeds for the large bottom garden are on the kitchen counter, but again, rain... We will be planting corn, half-runners, okra, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, squash, canatloupe, pumpkins, watermelon and a few others in the larger one. We already have the broccoli, peas, lettuce, jalpenos, beets, tomatoes, cauliflower and strawberries coming in strong up top. I feel like a little farmer girl!
Most of Jacob's soccer season has been cancelled due to rain. He has only been able to play 4 out of a possible 10 games. This includes 2 make up games they have cancelled. A lot of the practices have been called as well. He really enjoys playing. Hopefully next year they will have a more regular season.
Anthony is calling us for steak quesadillas. Another update and pictures coming soon!

We will be starting on our landscaping Thursday. Anthony and I both have the day off and are really looking forward to a transformation! I will get some before and after pictures up...
Everyone here is doing well. Jacob had his first soccer game on Saturday. It was very entertaining. He played soccer when he was four and this time, things are much different - everyone knew which way to run on the field!!! We still got several laughs - for sure. I think the boys enjoyed "milking" the extent of some injuries. We have another one this Saturday and this time I won't forget our chairs or the camera!
Both boys are really excited about the baby. They both think I am going to have another boy. Mom wants a little girl I believe. She wants me to "enjoy" all that goes along with it. I don't blame her. I am still having a lot of morning sickness - morning, noon and night... I am very tired as well. It seems like I can't get enugh sleep. Hopefully that will end when I hit the 4 month mark.
Right now Jake is finishing up his homework while Eli cleans up his legos. We are going to go outside and water some starter plants in the greenhouse and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!

Naming Fishies

Tonight as Anthony was putting the boys to bed, they declared they wanted the fish to have names. I thought this was great!
The one that swims funny - kind of sideways, is now Flounder. The next, who is all white around the edges, is George Washington. Then we have the largest one - he is Cockyslosh(?). And the smallest one is Rutah. Then we have the one that always sleeps under the rock...aptly named Snore-Guy. So that leaves only one. They decided on Polly! I am so excited because I thought I was the only female in the house.
Priceless...

New Addition

Well, we will soon be "Rushing - Party of 5". Anthony and I found out on our wedding anniversary, that we will be adding to the family in late October.
I am 7 weeks along and very tired. Other than that, I feel great!
We are getting a great start on the garden this week and are looking forward to the (hopefully) last winter weather snap this year.
My Iris and Lily collection is coming along really well, now I just need a little guidance from Dad so I know where to put them all..
I have really slacked off on maintaining this blog. Sorry guys. I will do better!!!