November 17th, 2011

Happy birthday to Carter Francis, Grayson Hunter, and Archer Anderson! Unbelievable. I was certainly in denial when I woke up at 2am having contractions. I had been having them on and off for weeks so I didn't think much of it. I was super awake though and could not fall back asleep and after about an hour, I started realizing that they were 7 minutes apart. I took a shower and got dressed and by about 4am I was pretty certain I was in labor. I woke Dave up and told him to take a shower (knowing there was no way Dave would leave the house if he hadn't showered!) My mom came over by about 5am to watch Carter (and I had to apologize to him that we weren't going to the zoo because mommy was going to have a baby!) and we headed over to the hospital. Even in the car I kept thinking, well maybe this is false labor. There is no way I am having my third child on November 17th! They admitted me at 5:30am and I was dilated to 3cm. They said I had to be at least 3cm to be admitted and warned me that the labor process could take awhile. At 9:00am they gave me an epidural and checked me--I was already at 9cm! My doctor was shocked and I was sooooo pleased that it went so fast. For the next few hours I was extremely comfortable and Dave and I just talked and hung out. I was really scared to push as I didn't know what to expect and I was so scared that something would go wrong and I would have to have another C-section. Finally a little after 1pm the nurse said it was time and so I started to push. Two pushes later she panicked and made me stop as she desperately paged both doctors that were on call--neither showed up. Finally a random doctor ran in, introduced herself, sat down, said I could push, I pushed one more time and Archer Anderson Hill made his grand entrance into the world all at once! It was 1:47pm and he weighed 7lb2oz and was 19 inches long. And he is so sweet and snuggly and the perfect addition to complete our family. It was obviously a very emotional day and so full of memories of Grayson. What a lucky mom I am to have one day a year to remember the births of my three baby boys!
The night before, Carter and I went to watch Dave play softball. I can't believe how gigantic I was!

Here is my big 2 year old, reading a book to himself. I am so proud of Carter and how smart he is and how silly and fun loving his personality is. He is such a wonderful toddler and a joy to be around. He loves to play games and chase his daddy around the house. He loves to sing songs (Twinkle Twinkle, London Bridge, You are my Sunshine, as well as Skyscraper by Bad Religion are some of his favs). He loves to play with his Star Wars toys--Chewy and Robot are his buddies. He needs a toy in his hand when he goes to bed at night which can be anything, usually something small and plastic. He carries around a beloved blue circle block that he calls a car-circle (I think a car-circle is a circle with a hole in  the middle--like a tire). He still is obsessed with lights and fans and begs to turn them on every day. He absolutely loves Mickey Mouse. He still loves yogurt and strawberries more than any dessert, although peanut butter M&Ms are a new favorite. I can't believe it has been 2 years already! He certainly has come a long way! One thing that hasn't changed--he is still so stinkin cute and I just want to kiss his little face every day. He is so precious to Dave and me.

We had a star-themed birthday party for Carter at the beginning of the month--good thing we did it early this year!

Pics of Archer's big day to come...I am tired and typed this whole post with one hand as I hold him!

Picnic with my babies

Today, after my doctor's appointment, Carter and I decided to have a picnic with Grayson. I was feeling very emotional all day today. I am now full term with this new baby which is so wonderful and also a little scary as the end is quickly approaching and I am nervous about so many things. I just hope nothing goes wrong and he is delivered happy and healthy and perfect. As Carter and I sat and ate lunch I felt such love for all of my boys and such sadness to know that all Carter and new baby will ever know about their angel brother will be from pictures. Sometimes I wonder what Carter will feel when he learns more about Grayson as he gets older. Carter is the most snuggly and cuddly child ever and part of me wonders if he likes to be so close to us because a part of him misses his twin. I guess I will never really know. When we were leaving today, I said goodbye to Grayson and asked Carter to do the same. He blew Grayson a kiss and happily waved bye-bye and ran off to the car, leaving me teary and emotional. Ugh. These pregnancy hormones are making me feel like I am on an emotional rollercoaster. I am very ready to meet my new little boy and start our lives together and I am definitely at the point now where I am feeling very done with being pregnant!

Pumpkin Patch and Carving

Dave and I took Carter to the Pumpkin Patch at Irvine Park this weekend. It was really fun! Most of the activities were for bigger kids and the line to ride the train was ridiculous (oh and don't even consider buying a pumpkin there--way too expensive!) but thankfully Carter was completely content with all the free stuff--the haunted house, the corn maze, walking around, taking pictures, etc. It felt good to get out as a family and spend time with my boys. I actually was feeling pretty good that day and managed to walk around a lot but then was pretty bummed when we got home and my feet were so swollen I could barely walk. Less than 30 days left till I meet my baby!

Then last night I made dinner and we had friends over to carve pumpkins. Carter wasn't too excited about the carving process but was very happy to play with his friends and to help Aimee make sweet corn cake.

Baby Shower for Hill Baby #3

Yesterday my fabulous friends threw me (and Baby Hill #3) a baby shower. It was soooo perfect and soooo me! We had it at my house which was fun for me to get to show off my new place. The theme was books and we received so many children's books I feel like I can start my own library! Carter was super excited to see all the new books that he can share with his baby brother. The decorations were all fall themed and we were treated to coffee, cider, and tons of tasty treats! My house looked like something out of a Martha Stewart catalog. It was lovely! I must also add that I spent my last baby shower laying down in a hospital bed so it felt quite nice to be walking (well, waddling) around and greeting people this time!

We played fun games and opened lots of presents. It was so much fun to see everyone and to know how excited everyone is to meet Baby #3. (Yeah... still no name yet. We are torn between two names so I will have to decide once I see this precious baby's face for the first time!)



I know I look cranky but I was just tired!

 

How cute is this?!



Even Willow joined the party!





 The above are three paintings that Harmony painted for the boys' playroom. Aren't they awesome?!
Carter napped for nearly the entire baby shower but when he woke up he was excited to read all the new books and snuggle with all the new blankets.

So once again, thank you to everyone who helped make this day so special for me. I really appreciate it and had such a wonderful time. It also makes me realize that the countdown is on! Baby #3 should arrive within the next 4 weeks! I can't wait to meet him, kiss his sweet face, and tell him how happy I am to be his mommy.

Sundays

I am beginning to love Sundays. Why? Football season. Weird, right? I hate football. However, Carter loves watching football with his Daddy and that gives me the day off. Not that I ever get much done anymore. I can't imagine going 5 more weeks with this pregnancy. I am so uncomfortable and this baby boy is so active all the time that I feel like he is trying to break through my ribcage every night. Ugh. Dave sat next to me on the couch last night and watched my stomach as it literally rippled up and down. Looked like something from a Sci-fi movie. This baby moves more than Carter and Grayson did combined... hope that doesn't mean this boy will be crazy rowdy and hyper all his life!

Carter has learned to say "touchdown" whenever he sees a football game on TV. He also says "nice!" all the time in regards to the football plays. Not sure if he learned that from Dave or my brother but it is pretty funny.



This last video is what I heard when I thought Carter was supposed to be napping. No such luck--his daddy is just way too funny for him to want to take a nap. (How cute does he look snuggling with his zebra? Thanks Auntie Harmony!)

Pump-KIN!

So I am obsessed with all things pumpkin. It's not that I don't always love pumpkin things but since being pregnant with this baby, I CRAVE pumpkin everything. I seriously think about pumpkin all day and what new recipes I can try. I am currently hooked on pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake and baked acorn squash (which is not technically pumpkin but close enough). I am planning on getting up early tomorrow to get some pumpkin bagels and pumpkin cream cheese. I have pumpkin scented candles in my house that I stop to smell a few times a day. The smell is so comforting to me--makes me think of fall and cozy, snuggly family time. I may have to bring a few of these candles or pumpkin-scented things into the delivery room with me to ease me through labor! (Which by the way... happens next month! I can't wait to meet my new little boy!)
My very sweet friend Lori came to visit me and brought me a fancy pumpkin bread pan:



Isn't it the cutest thing ever?! I plan on making my first fancy pumpkin bread this weekend.

So Carter too, is in love with pumpkins. Not so much the actual food items but he wakes up every morning and can't wait to turn on the glowing pumpkins in our kitchen:

And for some reason, when Carter says the word "pumpkin" he says it very excited with an emphasis on the KIN! I have no idea where he learned this (maybe from my overexcited daily outbursts regarding all things pumpkin?) It is so stinkin cute though--check it out:



First Haircut!

Eating chicken and guacamole for dinner!

Today has been a crazy day. Dave and I attempted to get a lot done around the house but it seems like there are never enough hours in the day. We did, however, manage to get one big chore done--cutting Carter's hair! We have been wanting to do this for awhile as his hair was growing into a rat-tail/mullet just down one piece in the back. At first we thought it was pretty cute but lately it has just been getting a little out of control. I am surprised we managed to get to almost 2 years old without ever having to cut it (probably because he was bald for the first 1.5 years of his life!) So here's  a glimpse of Carter's first haircut:

And lastly--I love how smart my child is, but certain things drive me crazy. Carter knows how to start the washer and dryer. You have to turn it on first, then select the setting, then push start. He saw me do it a few times and now he is a pro. There are many times where I find the dryer running with nothing in it. Watch how fast he is: