Wrapping up July

We are at the last week in July...sorta bittersweet. I'm excited for August, for obvious reasons, but sad because August means the end of summer.

Here is what has been going on the last week:
So, July 21st @ 3:14 p.m. Hayden Kylee Bailey entered this world. She weighed 7 lbs and was 20 inches. She is very sweet and tiny and has lots of dark hair. Mommy, Alicia, and daddy, Jason are doing great and I am sure enjoying every minute having her home. Maybe a little exhausted too on top of it.

My brother Jason and new wife Katie had a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception on the 24th at Mulligans in Sartell, MN. The weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony. Couldn't have asked for a better day.


I also had my last ultrasound appointment last Friday. Things are looking good. Baby is definitely growing and getting bigger. I seem to get bigger everyday. Body parts are constantly poking out of me so I know things are getting a little crowded in there. We know that he has hair too, we could see it in the ultrasound picture. I wasn't sure if he would get his sister's hair but it sounds like it may be a possibility. I'm really getting anxious for this little guy to come. I'm more than ready and sometimes feel like it could really happen anytime now. Anymore storms coming and my wish may come true.

Bad Weather = Contractions.

Saturday Ben and I headed to Edina to do some shopping and to dinner. Tayah was with my parents and then later ended up calling me and decided to stay the night so we weren't in any real hurry to be home to get her. We decided to stop at some friends house on our way home from dinner. Remind you, it is still fairly early out and was still very light outside (despite what the picture looks like). We had some bad weather here and there and all over the area all afternoon but it was pretty cleared up at the time, at least where we were. We were just outside of Maple Grove going west on I94 when my mom called and said they were being hit with bad weather and it would be coming our way soon. She suggested getting off the freeway and stopping somewhere. We were driving in blue skies but as we were getting more west, closer to Rogers, the sky was green. There was a huge wall cloud right in front of us with a tail off to the right of the cloud. We pulled off at the Rogers exit and just as we were the sky was getting so dark and the winds and rain picked up. The rain was coming at us sideways. I guess there were 75 mph winds reported in that area. We pulled into a gas station and parked at the gas pump to be protected in case of hail. The gas station attendants were waving people inside to get out of the storm. We ran in and waited it out. As we waited more people were stopping to get out of the storm. We heard as people were coming in that, that little tail we saw at the end of the wall cloud did eventually touch down 2 miles away. I've seen bad storms before but I don't think I had ever been so close or in a vehicle as it was hitting, which was a little scary. It is much better to be in the comfort of your home when storms like that hit. So, we waited probably a half hour or so at the gas station and then took off after the wind died down and storm passed. As we kept driving on I94 the sky got clear and bright. It was crazy to go from night to day in a matter of minutes. About 20 minutes later as we were in the car and Ben joked about me going into labor due to the storms. They say a lot of women go into labor after a storm due to the pressure changes. I said, "Well, I am actually having a contraction right now." It wasn't super painful and I wasn't concerned at all. So, next we stopped at our friends house in Otsego and we were just standing around outside, they were all having a few drinks and I was just focused on these contractions that I thought were nothing and now I am realizing they are starting to feel like something. They were definitely starting to get more intense. Still not super bad but more uncomfortable and much stronger than the little Braxton Hicks ones that I get here and there. They weren't coming on real consistent but they weren't really going away either. Eventually I told Ben that I think I needed to go as I was really starting to get uncomfortable. As we were heading home they started to slow down and were pretty much done with by that time. I'm sorta hoping that helped maybe just a little start some early labor or start dilating me a bit . My brother gets married on Saturday so a baby anytime after that would be fine by me. I'm also 36 weeks this week and now considered "Full Term" so making it to at least that point would be my first priority. I go in on Friday for what I think will be my last ultrasound and a stress test on the baby. We will see what she says as I am officially in the home stretch now.

Update to come on the wedding and baby update soon!!

My best friend Alicia and her husband Jason are scheduled to have their baby girl this Wednesday. Ben and I are planning on going to visit later that day so I will also have pictures and update with that soon. Very exciting and busy week!!

Bunnies

So this morning when I woke up I was outside, letting Tyke out, and I noticed this little mound of grass along the side of our rock wall. This is what I found:
Can you believe there are 5 little bunnies squished in that little hole. I woke Tayah up to show her. She was so excited!! I don't know if it was good or bad to show her cause now she wants to check on them every 10 minutes. We had 1 run off into the woods and have caught 1 more trying to get out. They seem pretty content. The scary thing is Ben just mowed yesterday and must have mowed right over them and didn't even notice them. They are down far enough that they must not have been touched or bothered cause they are still there.

We covered the top of their nest with a board so they are a little more protected and so nobody steps on them. They burrowed themselves a little hole in the ground and covered it with grass and fur.

This is where they are at in perspective to where our house is.

They are pretty squished in that hole and Ben thinks they have been there for a while because he noticed the ground dug up there for a few weeks now but never noticed the bunnies inside. I think they are getting to the point where they are getting too big for their nest and will be moving to find a bigger one soon. Until then they have to put up with Tayah. Despite the picutre she is pretty gentle with them and really isn't constantly picking them up. What can I say..she is an animal lover at heart.

Mommy and Me

It was a beautiful weekend! We took Tayah to the park and did a quick Mommy and Me photo shoot. The light was so bright so Ben would like to try it again another time. Just thought I would share a few of them in case we don't get around to doing some more before the baby comes.

34 weeks!!

Here I am at 34 weeks and 1 day!! I'm doing good. I would say this is the first week where comfort is getting to be hard to come by, but I can't complain too much. My feet and body are tired by the end of the day. Sitting can be uncomfortable because it compacts everything in my mid section and squishes it together and digs into my ribs. Standing too long puts pressure on my feet. I can lay down comfortably for a while and then I need to change positions. Stairs are still killing me...gravity doesn't work well with me anymore and just wants to work against me when I am trying to walk upstairs. I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. We have Jason and Katie's wedding (dress..please fit, please fit, please fit), My best friend Alicia will be having her baby girl, and then it will be my turn to meet this baby boy. I have my next appointment at 36 weeks where I will have another ultrasound, they are going to do a stress test on the baby, and my doctor will check to see if hopefully I am starting some early labor.




Just thought I would share my morning breakfast smoothie recipe. I got this recipe from a mommy friend and I've been making it the last few mornings for breakfast. I can't get Ben or Tayah to try it but I promise you just have to look past the color and it tastes good. It is good for you too!!

Green Monster Smoothie

1TB Ground Flaxseed
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
1 Banana
1 Cup of milk
Handful of ice

*Blend

Although I have reached my point of discomfort, NOT everyone in our house has. Thank goodness for that.

Tayah's First Twins Game

Happy 4th of July everyone!! We are getting ready for the big Kleinschmidt 4th of July bash but I thought I would quick post some pictures from the game yesterday.

We took Tayah to her first Twins game yesterday. I have to say, I love our new outdoor field but yesterday it was hard to enjoy an outdoor game being 8 months pregnant and with a 3 year old. I know I wasn't the only one miserable because I know I saw more than one paramedic roll by with someone on a stretcher...probably from heat exhaustion. It must have been at least 95 degrees outside (our car said 92 and that was in a parking garage at 5:30 after the sun went down some.) So, I'm not quite sure what the high got to but it was HOT!! The humidity was UNBEARABLE!! My hands and feet instantly swelled up like a balloon and I had to remove my wedding ring before it was going to have to be cut off of me. I haven't had much issues with swelling but I did for sure yesterday. Tayah was miserable as well and when we first got to the game our seats were right in the sun. So, we tried to wait it out a while until the sun went behind us and we could sit in the shade. Luckily it didn't take too long for that to happen. We made it to the 7th inning stretch and then left. I was happy that we made it that long cause with the way things started out I wasn't sure if we would make it as far as the first pitch.

So...the last game that Ben and I went to was a night game, it was much cooler (not 95), and we didn't have Tayah with. I would recommend an early season game or a night game if you haven't made it to a game yet.

We made the best of things and here are a few pictures from the day.

This is before the game started: Hot and Crabby!

The sun went down a little bit and made things a little more enjoyable...still hot.

Playing with a water bottle kept us cool.

They did the kiss cam and the couple just in front of us got engaged. Tayah made it on the big jumbo screen. We watched them kiss and hug the rest of the game. Very sweet!

The Campers

Tayah has been asking to go camping for the last couple weeks and Ben had this wonderful idea of camping in our backyard. What better place than being just a few feet from a fully stocked kitchen, clean bathrooms, and a shower. I like it! So, Ben promised Tayah that they could put the tent up and sleep in there a couple times this week since it was going to be a long holiday weekend. Tayah was so excited and helped set it up last night after supper. She could hardly wait to go to bed last night. She wanted mom and the baby to sleep in the tent with her and daddy but I told her the baby wouldn't like to sleep in the tent and would be more comfortable in mommy's bed.

Electronics while camping...that's not camping.

The happy campers.I took this pictures this morning through the sliding glass door.

Ben said the night went pretty good. Tayah tried staying up as late as she could until she finally crashed. Ben said she did good but woke up a couple times during the night. Once she woke up cause she said she had a stuffy nose but went right back to sleep. The second time he said she woke up, stood up and walked across the tent to get another blanket, wrapped herself up and went back to sleep. It was a warm night but there was a nice breeze and I am sure it was nice for sleeping.