Stein Kids 2013 with Renee Miller

Aunt Renee does a great job with her camera.  She usually takes her own pictures of her kiddos and was more than willing to take some family shots for us when I asked her.  I was thinking we'd do these after Baby Cinco's arrival, but my sister-in-law said "why not both!?" and I'm never one to turn down pictures!

Now, you've heard the phase "capturing memories" from multiple photographers I'm sure, but let me tell you, when it's your aunt/sister-in-law taking the photos, they really are memories!!!  Everything about this day will probably stick in my head forever. 

It started with Jason working.  I told him we should call off the photos and just try it another time but he told me they were planning to be done and back in town by 2 or 3 p.m. {which would still give us an hour/hour and a half of good light I figured}.  "Everything will be fine", he says.  Ha!  When I texted him at 13:30 he informed me they'd be a "few hours yet".  Hoping for the best, I finished getting the kiddos ready.

Aunt Renee and her family arrived {the kids were thrilled to see their cousins!} and we headed out to start getting some shots of the kids while we waited for Jason to get back to town.  That's when I couldn't find my car keys, grabbed J's instead and locked myself out of the house {again - because for some reason we don't have a house key on that set}.  No jackets for the kids or anything {it was about 60 degrees}, but at least I'd grabbed a diaper bag complete with diapers, wipes, wallet, phone and last but not least, a Dr. Pepper.  :)  Discouraged, but sadly not overly surprised with myself, we started downtown next to fun/colorful building I took Izzy to for her 1 year photos.  Then Renee got started. 

Here she'd asked the girls to kiss Eli.  Izzy wanted nothing to do with that, instead watching the scene, and she's the one who adores her big brother!

 I feel overwhelmed looking at these photos!  Jason and I are so incredibly blessed.  That God entrusts me with the raising of these amazing children just makes me shake my head in wonder!  They are His works of art and yet He trusts me to be the mother they need me to be.  Wow.  I definitely feel like I {as a stay-at-home-mom} have the most important job in the world.  The future is being shaped, every day.

A silly pose for some restless kiddos!  They could see the playground!

Big Creek isn't very full at the moment and the waterfall is a wee bit dry.  I'm pretty sure my kids think this is an alternate path to the playground and have no idea that water is actually suppose to be going over it!

They all got in some good play time with their cousins on the playground, about which they were very happy.  By this time the sun was setting on another beautiful fall day and I was fast admitting to myself that "family" pictures were not going to go as I had hoped.  Jason was still miles out of town, though on his way home at this point.  No lie, I was a little bummed about that, but looking at these great pictures of my kids sure makes me smile!

Not complete without Jason but here I am with the fruits of our love!

A huge thank you to my wonderful sister-in-law and her family for coming up to visit {and being chilly with me while we waited for Jason to come home with a house key}.  Getting to see our children through a fresh lens is refreshing and I appreciate it so much!  Truly an afternoon of capturing memories!



Baby Cinco - 25 Weeks

25 Weeks!!  It may not sound like much {some would say, "oh you're just over half way there"} but I'm counting backwards now instead of forward.  Only 15 weeks to go - at the most - and there will be a new little person in our midst!  Like time always does, it's pasted so quickly.

We haven't had a doctor's appointment for a couple of weeks and we have a couple of weeks to go until the next one.  At our last appointment Baby Cinco's heart rate was down to 145 and I got my wonderful drink and paperwork to do our glucose testing before our next appointment in November.  G also had fun at this last appointment talking Dr. F's leg off.  She asked him half a dozen questions, did all her cute, shy, flirty smiles and tried to steal his stethoscope.  :)  So, since I'm lacking any real "new" information, I'm resorting to some standard info.

How far along:  25 weeks or 15 weeks to go!

Total Weight Gain:  Hm.  I think as of my last appointment I'm up approximately 10lbs.

Maternity clothes:  Heck no!  Honestly, I could be.  I can't button or zip my normal jeans but there is this fabulous invention by Ingrid & Isabel called the Bella Band.  I bought two when they were on sale and they are amazing.  They go over your pants, hold them up, hide the fact your pants are not buttoned or zipped and just look like a layering piece.  I'm also pretty much living in tee shirts and sweatshirts.  Not bad for a normal day but church tops are getting a little harder.  I brought home all of my maternity clothes that were stored away and actually tried on one for church this last Sunday, but I couldn't do it.  I felt silly for some reason and promptly put on the stretchy shirt I bought for Jeremy and Ashley's wedding.  Maybe if I could talk my husband into letting me go shopping??  :)

Sleep: What's that?  Frankly, nights of good sleep went out the window about 8 years ago and have not seen it fit to return.  LOL  Let's say, not fabulous.  I still have three children that wake up in the middle of the night {and never at the same time}, two that crawl into bed with us requesting drinks and their favorite stuffed animals they've conveniently left in their rooms, and the other that wants to crawl in but there's not enough room so I usually go lay down with him in his bed for a while.  Then you have the normal pregnancy stuff like trips to the bathroom.  No, sleep is a thing of the past.  At least G and Iz occasionally nap and that allows for me to crash for 30 minutes to an hour some days.

Best Moments:  I moved Eli's furniture around to make room for the crib to go back up.  {Not sure how exciting it was.  I was a tired mama!}  Since Eli's the only occupant in his room we decided the baby would room with him either permanently or temporarily, depending on the gender.

Movement:  Strong and pretty regular.  I can't set a clock by Baby Cinco but he/she is usually very active first thing in the morning and early evening.  I feel movement off and on throughout the day as well but during those active times I can watch my belly move and the kids can see/feel it and get excited.  Some of Baby Cinco's pushing is starting to get a tad uncomfortable and that makes me cringe a little when I think of the 15 weeks ahead of us!

Food Cravings:  Oh, sweet tooth!  Jason has been teasing me about my weight and telling me to lay off the sweets but heavens it's hard!  I mean, really, Halloween is a week away and there is candy everywhere!

Gender:  We'll know when he/she gets here!

Labor Signs:  Ha!  As if I would know!  {I'm sure I'd figure it out eventually.}  I have had some pretty intense Braxton hicks contractions here and there but they are so few and far between they are hardly relevant.  Usually, it's when I've been doing "too much" like moving furniture.  Baby Cinco and I will be scheduled for a C-section at some point in the future.

Ultrasound

I have so much to post from our busy-but-fabulous weekend but I couldn't wait another moment to post these!

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound for Baby Cinco.  Our tech got great pictures of our little guy/gal!  Here's a shot of Cinco's face. 

Cinco is measuring a little bigger than average.  Instead of 20 weeks and 1 day, Cinco is measuring in at 20 weeks and 5 days.  He or she is also weighing in at 14 ounces {a little bigger than the 10 ounce average}.  Nothing so outrageous that our due date will be changing but my chunky babies always make me smile!
Here's a profile shot.  The tech made the comment that Cinco is really curled up in there.  :)  Apparently the fuzzy spot in front of it's nose is a foot!  Talk about a limber little thing!

The typical spinal shot they give you.  The kids love this one.  They think it looks like a dinosaur!

I thought this was a unique angle.  I'm pretty sure we've never had one of these.  I told the kids that it's like someone taking a picture of their back/head while they were doing a somersault.  They pretended to get it.  ;)

So all in all, everything is looking good so far!  The best we can tell, we have a healthy baby boy or girl coming sometime at the end of January/beginning of February.  Praise the Lord!

Baby Cinco - 19 Weeks

Baby Cinco @ 19 weeks.  I can't believe this pregnancy is half over already {since our babies are usually a week early with c-sections}!  Of course, the best is yet to come.  Cinco is moving during the day but I know as he/she gets bigger I'll just feel it that much more and that's my favorite part - at least until they're born!  This has been such an amazingly easy pregnancy up to this point for us...what are the chances that Cinco will be a just as easy going baby??  Could we be that lucky?  Only time will tell!

Jason and I also had a great talk last night {that happens a lot after Catholic Moms meetings!}.  I suggested we hold off on Eli's carpet {that I was very set on replacing before moving him back into his room since it has splashes of paint on it} and wait until Spring break to replace it.  Jason has just taken on another obligation that he will start next week and with everything else he has to do before Christmas {the girls' bed has to be finished and there are Christmas gifts to be made}, I just figured the carpet should wait.  Call it nesting or whatever you want but I want these kids settled in before Baby Cinco gets here!  I'm pretty done with kids sleeping in my living room!  They've done great with it but it really puts a crimp in our evenings - no TV, no lights on in the living room, can't really put things away, etc.
So, me being a nerd, what do I do?  I moved Eli's furniture back into his room this morning and got the living room back in order, while watching the girls and Wyatt.  It probably wasn't the smartest thing I've done.  :)  I could tell by lunch time I had overdone it {I have never had that feeling!} but by then it was too late!  I was exhausted, my back was sore, and there wasn't time to just sit.  Even Jason was a little annoyed with me when he got home and was able to see what all I had done and I don't think that has ever happened!  So, oops.  I'll try to quit while I'm ahead in the future!
Eli was excited to sleep in his room tonight.  It's not "done" but I will post pictures of it sometime in the near future {progress is progress!}.  He's very pumped about the paint job his daddy did and the Spiderman stick-ups he got for his birthday back in March.  His bedspread really pops and I can only imagine how cool it will be once the Spiderman curtains are up!
Happy Wednesday everyone!

Baby Cinco - 16 Weeks

There is nothing new to report for the week.  I'm just trying to keep up on the bump documenting for Baby Cinco's scrapbook.  ;)  I still think Cinco is looking a little more like lunch than a baby, but we're getting there.
How far along: 16 weeks
Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I've never been one to keep track {or really care}.  I think I did with G's {?} pregnancy but I have a tendency not to worry about this - pregnant or not.
Maternity clothes:  Not yet - but I have discovered the Bella Band, which I'm loving.  It does away with my need for a belt as the bump has started pushing my jeans down a bit.
Sleep:  Is never great but that has more to do with Izzy and G coming into bed at night.  I do have to run to the WC occasionally but, again, as often as I'm up in the night anyway it doesn't really bother me.
Best moment this week:  Going to our niece/goddaughter's 1st birthday party.  She's such a doll!
Movement:  Actually, I think so.  :)  It happened twice while I was sitting down for a time, but I haven't felt it again.  I'm excited to feel it more frequently.  That's my favorite part.
Food cravings/aversions:  Not much.  Usually {as in, with the last 4} the smell of cooking hamburger bothers me but it hasn't been bad this time.
What I miss:  The occasional alcoholic beverage.  :) 
What I'm looking forward to:  More movement from Cinco and getting to see him/her again at the 20 week ultrasound.

First Purchase for Baby Cinco

I don't usually by a lot of new stuff for the "new" baby of the family - just because we have so much stuff already it seems a waste not to use it.  I bought some cute little Chiefs onsies though this week and I'm definitely going to be getting Baby Cinco some FHSU outfits as well!  {If Baby Cinco is a girl we'll just put a pretty bow or tutu with it!}  We're 16 weeks tomorrow.

Baby Cinco - 13 Weeks

13 weeks!  We have survived the first trimester with relative ease.  For the first time ever I have not suffered from morning sickness - not once.  The only complaints I have had have been some tiredness {which, frankly, could be just as easily contributed to our other four blessings as the fifth} and for the first time ever, my headaches have not gone away {I guess every baby must be different and Cinco is just being cooperative}.

I haven't gained any weight {yet} this go around and actually weighed less than normal at our first dr. apt.  I'm still enjoying my everyday clothes though there is getting to be a bit of a bump.

A couple other things in no particular order:  I'm looking forward to using cloth diapers from the get-go with Baby Cinco. 
We have another apt. this week {hopefully they'll find the heartbeat without any trouble this time!}.
No, we are not going to find out the gender of the baby {you know how we work by now}.  ;)
Sis and Eli keep looking at my stomach like something out of "Alien" is going to pop out of it at any second.
I'm not craving anything but I'm having trouble deciding what sounds good.
Sleep has pretty much been shot.  The dreams just keep coming.  Lots of bad ones {normal for me} but I had one really great one when I dreamed of my Grandpa Heinrich.
Cheers to the first trimester being behind us and our chance of miscarriage being dropped to near nil!