our week through iPhone - week 94

another week as a family of four!

we didn't really get out as much this week... i feel like i kinda went backwards in my recovery this week & just needed to spend more time taking it easy.  so there were lots of snuggles around the house, naps & short walks to the neighborhood park.  it still made for a pretty good week.

except i had to say goodbye to my parents this week... boo!  i am so grateful to my mom & dad for helping us transition into this new normal with elliot.  they put up with my moody/hormonal self & cheered me on as i was having a few post-labor low points.  they did laundry & dishes, made food & played with parker.  thank you doesn't express my gratitude enough!!  love you guys, so much.

and then sam's parents got here!  not sure how i didn't get any pictures of them, don't worry, i'll find a way to get them in here next week.  i'm seriously not sure how i would have survived these first two weeks without our amazing parents.

also?  i wrote out elliot's birth story!  it may or may not have turned out to be a short novel but there was really nothing i could leave out.  there are lots of pictures & i enjoy reading it, so maybe you will too.  it'll be posted on monday.

this is what our week looked like through iPics.

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***photos edited via instagram.  do you instagram?  find me @amy_agoodlife & let's picture bond!***
that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=161153" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

our weeks through iPhone - weeks 92 & 93

betcha wondered if this would ever make it on the blog again, huh?  the answer is heck to the yes.  i like taking regular iPhotos of our daily mundane activities too much to stop now.  we've come this far & done it too long to give up now.  but here's the thing... i'm probably gonna have a lot less time to put these posts together so we're taking out {most} the words.  you get to make your own assumptions as to what's going on in these photos, mmk?  

this is a major photo dump of what our last two weeks looked like.  it's a quick glimpse of the last days before elliot, labor & time spent in the hospital, bringing elliot home & our days since.  it's been a blur!  a crazy fun chaotic blur.  

it looks like we've gotten out & done a lot since being home & i have to give my mom, dad & everyone else who has gone out of their way to help us make this big adjustment some serious credit.  we've had lots of help & i'm so grateful!  i have yet to be alone all day with both boys but that day is coming soon enough... let's not talk about it.  

here's everything through iPics.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

***photos edited via instagram.  do you instagram?  find me @amy_agoodlife & let's picture bond!***
that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=160121" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

elliot oliver.

elliot oliver nielson

8.17.12 - 5:33 am
8 pounds, 6 ounces.  20.5 inches

he's here you guys!  and guess what?  i wasn't induced.  i went into labor thursday night & after eight hours of labor {the last two of which had a gloriously working epidural} little elliot joined our family.  i'll write all the birth story details sometime hopefully soon.  all my time has been spent holding this sleepy little guy, nursing every two hours & changing a never ending rotation of elliot & parker diapers.

i have so much to write about {how parker is adjusting!  how i'm adjusting!  nursing!  loving two kiddos!  getting a baby to not wake up every hour on the hour all night long!} but every minute i write here {while the rest of my family is in bed & elliot sleeps on my lap} is a minute i should be sleeping... because who knows what i'm in store for tonight.

for now i will say we are absolutely head over heels in love with the newest member of our family & things are going really well.  a week has already passed in a blur & i know the months will start whizzing by too.  i'm trying to enjoy each moment of this little guy as a newborn & hold him every possibly second & soak it all in.  i'm finding myself more confident as a mother this time around & taking each moment as it comes.

and so far, it's been absolutely amazing.  we are so, so happy.  love this little guy.

induction? induction!

well guys, i'm still here & i'm still pregnant.

today marks 40w+6d and most definitely the last full day of my pregnancy.  we've decided to go the induction route & i'm scheduled for 7:30am friday morning as long as there's a bed for me.  sam & i both feel really good about this decision & like it's the right decision, so here we go.

i know there are a lot of people out there with different views on induction & i hope this doesn't become a place to voice negative opinions... we all do things for our own reasons & for what we think is in our family's best interest.  i feel like i've reached the limit on this pregnancy & am anxious to get this baby boy out of there for both mine & his sake.  my doctor feels like 41 weeks is the most optimal time to perform an induction & we run way less risks now than we would at 39 or even 40 weeks.

i am so excited that there is light at the end of the tunnel!  i will get to meet my baby boy number two this weekend & that is pretty amazing.  my mom flies in today & will be here to take care of parker & to meet baby boy at the hospital.  i'm so excited for that!  i'm also so excited to have her here to distract me from the day... today is gonna be a long one!  and how the heck do i sleep tonight knowing that i'm getting up in the morning & having a baby??  kinda crazy.

a small part of me is grateful this is what it's coming to.  i was so anxious & nervous for this delivery that i'm glad to be in a place now where i am practically begging for labor.  i've heard a lot of great induction stories from friends & family where it was calm, peaceful & the epidural worked like a charm.  YES.  keep those coming.

and a huge thank you to everyone who has called, texted, commented, facebook-ed or instagrammed me with encouragement, sympathy & support... it means the world to have so many people who care!

another great part of all of this waiting business is that i've gotten to spend some really amazing last few days hanging out with this little face.  p-ray has been such a blessing to our family & i just can't believe our days with him as our one & only are over.  i'm so excited for him to take on the role of big brother but it's gonna be so weird to have to share my time with another little guy.  i hope he understands.

well, if i don't post again between now & baby day, wish me luck!  feel free to leave your awesome induction stories in the comments & if you had a bad experience, let's talk about that next week, ok?

i'll be posting updates on my blog facebook page & instagram feed so if you're curious about how wrinkly & funny looking {and cute, obviously} baby number two is, follow along there.

and i'm out!  and so is baby number two... soon.

other things.

yeah, baby boy two is still an inside baby.

hey mamas of late babies, how come no one tells you that when you watch your due date come & go you feel so many other things besides impatient??  oh the amount of adjectives & emotions i could list... but i'm not going to.

instead i will merely be photo dumping a whole bunch of shots from the last week of things that have been occupying my time.  since we've had lots of time to kill i've been finding myself taking my camera out a lot more & trying to capture these last few days alone with my number one.

there's been mischief & shenanigans just hanging around the house...

a mariner's game, where parker wanted nothing to do with my begging him to look at me & smile... seriously?  ear plugging?

time spent at the lake running through the water & mud flinging:

feeding animals at our favorite cider mill & farm:

house guests who bring over super cute puppies:

more time at the lake with above-referenced houseguests playing in the water & drawing in the sand:

and one pregnancy related shot, me at 40w2d...

here's to another week of filling every minute waiting for boy two!

our week by iPhone - week 91

another week of pregnancy, another week of no baby pictures.  and i'm not gonna lie... this week kinda drug by a little.  i'm pretty tired & parker has been less than enthusiastic about getting out of the house so there's been a lot of downtime.  and a lot of time spent waiting & getting ready for a little houseguest to make his appearance who never showed up.

but hey!  let's look on the brightside... parker & i had a lot of quality one on one time hanging out around the house & enjoying the sunny days.  we went for long walks & played in the lake at the park in our neighborhood.  if baby's not here this weekend, i resolve to get out of the house a little more next week... or so i say now.

here's what our week looked like in iPhotos.

monday.  hung out around the house & went for a walk to the park... we swung on swings & put our feet in the lake.  then we hit up costco so sam & i could get our whooping cough booster, fun!  at least parker thought so.

tuesday.  we actually got out & did some shopping & had lunch with our friends but since i forgot to take pictures it looks like we just did a whole lot of sitting around the house.  which we also did.  and then sam & parker nested a little while i sat on the couch & thought about a labor that never came... ha!

wednesday.  p-ray & i didn't leave the house all day... i asked parker if he wanted to do about a million different things & his response was, "no... stay home." every time.  so i didn't argue.  but when sam got home i needed to GET OUT.  we went to one of my favorite little burger dives & i satisfied a very serious chocolate oreo milkshake craving.

thursday.  after being indoors all day on wednesday, parker & i jumped out of bed thursday morning & went to stroller strides on a gorgeous sunny day.  i did squats, planks & even jogged a little & it did nothing to put me into labor but it DID make me pretty dang sore.  so that's awesome.

after a doctor appointment we took parker to get his haircut where he did mostly good... thanks to a lightning mcqueen chair, cars on the iPhone & a sucker in the mouth.

friday.  another day of sticking around home, walking to the park & playing in the lake.  one of these days i'll remember to put parker in swim stuff before we head down there... but then again pantless-lake-play is totally underrated, right?  when we got home parker wanted to look at all the pictures i took of him at the lake... it's one of his favorite things.

then he had sam draw him all sorts of pictures while he watched from about one inch away.  and i looked at my ginormous belly that is now officially overdue.  boo!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

***photos edited via instagram.  do you instagram?  find me @amy_agoodlife & let's picture bond!***
that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=158336" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here: