Tulips and Baby

We took our annual trip to see the tulips in Woodburn. This winter season delayed a lot of the flowers, so it wasn’t the most spectacular we’ve seen. But golly, it was still breathtaking! This is the last year we will be visiting this gorgeous place…..

It’s like the Lord took his watercolors and painted rows and rows of color. I’m always in awe!

This year I opted out of the stress of doing family pictures. I just had my heart set on a nice maternity photo. It was difficult because the wind was out of control (along with my kids). It’s really hard to pose for a photo that I can’t just take myself. I like to be in control of the camera. But I think Shawn did a great job.
p.s. I had no idea where to put my hands, so please disregard those.

The baby is 32wks now. He/She is growing well and I am feeling great. I’ve felt a slight boost in energy and can finally do things I used to do pre-pregnancy (like get dressed and style my hair).

As the end of this pregnancy gets near, the Doctor is taking more precautions. I’ll be stopping the baby aspirin soon. She was  alarmed when I told her that I bleed for several days when I nick myself with the razor, or get any small cut (it’s sort of scary). I will go in once a week to have the baby monitored on a machine for the next 4 weeks. Then go in twice a week for monitoring until delivery day. This is just to check the health of the baby and placenta. Hopefully this careful watch of the baby can avoid anything similar to the scare of Jefferson’s birth. The placental abruption that occurred with him could be related to the blood clot disorder the Dr.’s have linked to the miscarriages. It all ties together, and can leave me panicked if I think about it too much. Especially when the Dr. says, “we will keep a close watch on the baby twice a week, but that doesn’t guarantee that something wont happen on a day in between.” Way to keep it real… and freak me out.

Really, I feel confident that everything will be perfect. It could be the fact that my adorable children pray for this baby (unprompted) in every morning, dinner, and bedtime prayer.

The baby’s movements are still really faint. The Dr. believes it’s because my placenta is anterior… providing a little padding between the baby’s kicks, and my stomach. It’s just sort of weird. Especially at 32 weeks to think, “was that the baby moving?” When normally they would be jabbing kicks. I’ll consider this as a blessing!

8 weeks to go

Jefferson took this picture of Shawn and I. He did great, don’t you think? I’ll tell him you think so….. it will boost his self-esteem.
I don’t look too pregnant in this photo. Shawn is getting closer to this little one the bigger I get. I think it gets more real for him when he can see and feel a little one boppin’ around. This is a fun time!
Seriously… the hand awkwardness is killing me….

Shawn and I tried doing one more pose, but it didn’t work out. Grant thought it was hilarious to sneak behind us and give us bunny ears. I love this picture… it captures his naughty smile perfectly. Shawn and I are not amused.

We spent the rest of our visit just walking around the flowers and playing on the play equipment.

Reagan was dying to get a picture with Shawn in this. 

My uncooperative little tulips….

Goodbye Woodburn tulip festival. Next year we’ll probably be posing like this in front of a tobacco field in North Carolina.
oh, nothing can compare to Oregon.
Yes, I’m already getting emotional. We only have 9 weeks left here.
I may never recover from this move.