Progress and a date!

I had a check-up today and learned that we finally have progress.  I had to ask the doctor because he wasn't going to just volunteer the information but I am dialated to a 2.  I'm so glad these contractions are finally working.  The other news is that because of the baby's size (he is measuring big, I estimate at least 10lb.) and the fact that the doctor does not like to go a week over the due date due to possible complications he said that if I don't have the baby on my own he will induce labor on Tuesday, Jan. 5th.  I really, really don't want to be induced so if you have a chance please pray for me that I can go into labor on my own soon.  Right after the appointment we went walking at Wal-Mart (it's snowing pretty bad here and that was the closest place we have that was big enough to walk in) to get things going.  While there my Mom picked up some caster oil.  It was so funny because she knew right where it was. Apparently she had checked it out as soon as she got in town.  I know it's an old wives tale but I took the caster oil anyway.  We'll see if it does any good.  I sure hope it does.  I really think it would be fun to have the baby tomorrow or on New Years.  I'll keep you updated.

Baby Poll

I was wondering if anyone wanted to do a baby poll?  If you want to put in your guesses just leave them in the comments and we'll see who is the closest.  Here are the catagories:

Day baby is born.
Time of day baby is born.
Weight and length of baby.
Name of baby.

Good luck.  

Baby progress.

So I went in to the doctor today for a normal visit.  I am nearly 39 weeks so he thought it would be a good idea to do an internal check to see what the progress is.  I couldn't believe it when he told me there was absolutely NO progress at all.  I knew all these contractions weren't doing much but I thought that maybe a little progress had happened since I am suposed to be done in just over a week.  The cervix is still high and in the back so of course there is no efacement or dilation yet!  I guess I should at least be grateful that the baby is head down so there is no talk of a c-section but that was all the progress that was made.  I don't really know how to feel right now.  It is a really good thing that Christmas will keep me busy enough that I won't sit and dwell on it too much or I might go crazy.  I just hope that there will be some progress by next week or I will start to worry that I may have to be induced instead of going in to labor naturally. 

Our last day together.

Today is the last day with just me and Megan during the day.  Tomorrow starts the Christmas break at school so the girls will be home and when they go back next year we will have a baby at home with us too.  I love the special time she and I have together.  She is so much fun.  I am so grateful for the time I have been able to spend with her.  I had a hard time bonding with her in the beginning but our bond couldn't be stronger now.  I do look forward to the baby and the joy he will bring to our family.  I also can't wait to see Megan bond with the baby too.  It's so cute because she doesn't just say baby any more, now she says baby brother.  The older girls have been so wonderful with Megan and are so excited for a brother that I also can't wait to see them with the baby too.  So while it won't be just Megan and I any more I do think the changes about to happen are going to be wonderful.

Gone

So earlier this month I told you that my parents were coming for Christmas and I am so excited that time was going to pass by super slowly.  Boy was I wrong!!!!  This month is almost gone.  I can't believe this is Christmas week.  I almost didn't get my Christmas cards out in time.  We still haven't gotten out the nieghbor cookies yet (I mean to do them every year but have never done it because we always seem to run out of time. This year I really want to actually give out cookies.)  I need to go shopping for Christmas dinner and if I don't hurry then there will be nothing left.  I waited till the last minute for Thanksgiving dinner and missed out on some things because they were all sold out, I don't want the same to happen for Christmas.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  I wish I could say that things will eventually slow down but I think that is a lost cause.  If anyone has a few minutes to spare could you send them my way, I would love some extra time before the end of the year.  Thanks.

Christmas party

We went to our ward Christmas party last Saturday.  I almost didn't go because I was exhausted but I had been looking forward to getting a picture with Santa for a long time (not to mention eating a great dinner that I didn't have to cook or clean up.)  I have missed getting a picture with the girls and Santa for the last two years because I just kept putting it off until it was too late so this year I didn't want to miss a super easy opportunity to have them sit on Santa's lap.  The Christmas program for the dinner was simple and sweet but what really surprised me was the number of people that came.  We had about 250 people there that night.  I don't know if that's how many have shown up to our other ward Christmas parties but it was packed.  They had to set up tables in adjacent rooms because there were no spots left in the cultural hall.  It could also have felt like more people because that is one of the smallest cultural halls I have seen in a new church building.  It is less than half the size of all the other cultural halls.  Anyway, it was a great night and I am so glad we went.  The older girls did each take a turn sitting on Santa's lap to tell him what they wanted.  Then I had them get ready for the picture before we put Megan on his lap.  She didn't want to go at first but she saw that he had a candy cane so she braved the scary man to score some candy.  As long as she didn't look at him she was fine.  In fact I think she was blocking everyone out just to be on the safe side.  She thought it was worth it though because that candy cane was gone as soon as we got home.
 

Just a side note.  The kids came home with candy canes but mom and dad came home with a free 50lb bag of wheat for our food storage.  Christmas wishes really do come true.

It's cold!

Our long, warm days of fall weather are behind us.  The news people kept saying "where's the snow" over and over again and they got it.  Here in Payson we got 15in. of snow in a little over 24 hrs. and the temperatures at night dropped to around -8.  It warms up to about -6 by the time I take Elizabeth to school.  It is super cold.  This is January weather.  If we are already getting January temps what is it going to be like when the really cold weather comes in January?  Here are some pics of the snow in our back yard.  There is a snow drift back there that is pretty deep. 

Contractions

I have been having a lot of contractions lately.  No, not the real ones, these are the practice ones.  They feel very similar though.  Lately they have been getting stronger, not closer together, just stronger.  I wouldn't mind so much if they were actually doing some good but I know from experience that they are exactly what their name says, practice ones.  I will show no signs that contractions have been doing any work until one week before my due date.  Since I still have 3 weeks to go these contractions are only making me uncomfortable, not getting me ready for delivery.  So if you see me staring off into space while controlling my breathing I'm not going into labor, I'm just "practicing" for labor.  I won't complain though.  I am otherwise still rather comfortable and pain free.  It's been a good pregnancy and we have been blessed.

So sweet

Oh to be as content as a child.  Megan was playing with her toys and came to show me some toys she found that she hadn't seen in a while.  She was so happy to see them.  I played along showing my joy as well then handed her back the toys.  She smiled her sweet smile, turned around and left the room with a skip in her step and a song on her lips.  She is just such a happy little girl.  She melts my heart in so many ways but this is one I will remember forever.

I can't wait for Christmas!

I'm so excited!!!  My mom and dad are coming to be with us for Christmas and New Year's this year!  We can't hardly stand the wait until Christmas.  I feel like a little kid again who can't wait for Christmas morning because they know that they are getting exactly what they wanted.  This is the best present I could have received.  And to add to the excitement one of my brothers will be here for Christmas too.  He lives in Reno and doesn't get a chance to visit the family very often but this year he has chosen to visit with us for the  Christmas weekend.  It just keeps getting better.  The more excited you are the slower time goes so these next few weeks will feel like an eternity for me (and the girls who keep counting the days before grandma and grandpa get here) but I don't care because at the end of all the waiting my family will be here.  What a wonderful Christmas this will be.

Happy Thanksgiving

We just wanted to take a minute today and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.  This year has given us so much to be thankful for.  We pray that all is well with everyone.  Thank you so much for all your love and we wish we could visit with each and every one of you.  Have a blessed day.

Random Post

I haven't posted for a while and I feel like something is missing so I thought I would just post something.  I wanted to say thanks again to those who left some activity ideas for us.  They were wonderful.  There hasn't been a whole lot new going on lately.  We did finally get our fence finished.  We had just the posts everywhere for over two weeks and were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get a finished fence.  It is finished now and looks good.  We also installed the sprinkler system in the back with the help of some wonderful friends.  We had a company come in and do the trenching and backfill for the sprinkler system.  It saved a lot of time with digging and burying but they didn't do that great of a job when they backfilled so a lot of the work done on the sprinkler system will have to be re-done, but that is another story.  As for the girls, Elizabeth is getting used to Jr. High.  It is definitely a change from what she was used to especially in the area of teachers.  It was hard getting used to a different teacher (some nice and some not so nice) for every class.  She likes band but likes theater too so she is not sure which one she will sign up for next year.  Rebecca is doing well.  She is starting to get into make-up and nail polish more.  She is also starting to like the color black a lot.  She loves to cook, read (of course) and help everyone she meets.  Dakota has had no trouble getting used to all the changes a big move causes.  She has always been able to make friends easily and loves school.  She also loves to bring me water (I've been super thirsty with this pregnancy), help around the house, and play video games.  Megan continues to learn new words.  She has got everyone in the family wrapped around her fingers with that sweet smile of hers.  She also has the "puppy dog face" down pat.  I think I'm in trouble because it is nearly impossible to resist.  She did find scissors again but this time her hair wasn't the victim, it was the tablecloth.  I had a check-up for the baby on Friday and everything is looking great.  He moves around a lot and it feels so weird, but I love it.  I can't believe that we are less than 6 weeks away now.  CJ is in a different department at work.  He still makes tables but instead of making plastic ones he makes aluminum ones.  With the new department came a different supervisor and the difference has been a welcome change.  He is much happier at work now.  He also just celebrated his 5th anniversary with the company.  Jack and Oliver are doing great.  They continue to make us laugh all the time with the crazy things that cats do.  We did have illness in the house for a while and thankfully it wasn't the flu.  First Megan got really sick with a bad cold.  It wouldn't have been so bad but because she wouldn't take medicine to bring down her fever she suffered a lot.  After she recovered Dakota came down with the same bad cold and two days latter CJ got the same thing.  They have all recovered well (except for a lagging cough that is driving CJ crazy) and no one else got sick.  Other than that life is busy but good in the Thomspon house. 

Here are some pics of the sprinkler system before it was burried.  I must say I'm very proud of the fact that I now know how to install and fix the pipes.  I will learn how to wire them to the control box in the spring.

Star of the Week

Dakota's class still does star of the week posters for their class. She was given this poster and asked to fill it up with information that was all about her. She had a lot of fun designing and then decorating her poster. These are the items it has on it: loves to play video games, ride her scooter and her bike, write plays, play at the park, and eat macaroni and cheese. There is a masked cow at the bottom with a volcano I think. I don't remember what her explanation for that picture was, but that shows just how oddly creative she is. I was proud of her for doing the whole poster all by herself. She even had some hidden pictures on it that she asked people to find, like carrots and Tinker Bells, so that the poster was not only informative but interactive as well. Great job Dakota. You truly are a one of a kind.

Halloween Pics

I should have posted these earlier but life caught up with me and I have been real tired lately. Halloween was a bit different this year. We got a late start to the night so we were a little stressed. Elizabeth decided she didn't want to go out this year. She wanted to stay home and pass out candy. Unfortunately for her only 5 people came to the door the whole night. I didn't get her picture because of a miscommunication. She dressed up as a zombie. She really went all out so I'm sorry we don't have a picture of it.

Rebecca went as a Goth/Vampire. She really was happy that day, she didn't smile in the pictures because she was "in character". Dakota was a Bat Witch. It's one of her favorite costumes. Megan was a little monkey. Monkeys are one of her favorite things so she really loved it. Megan was excited to go to the doors, hear how cute she looked, and then get candy too. She kept running to the next house saying, "more candy". She fell down once but instead of crying she was looking around desperately for all the candy that spilled out of her bucket, she didn't want to loose a piece. We were only out for about an hour and then the girls were ready to go home. It was sad really because there were so few homes participating that night so the majority of the houses were dark. Next year will hopefully be different. We may just stay home and have a party instead of going out.

Time for a trim

It's always a bad sign when your two year old is being very quiet. I went in to my bathroom where she was to see what she was up to. At first all seemed normal. Nothing was out of place. I kept looking at her bangs thinking that they looked a little weird but brushed it off to not having her hair brushed yet. I asked her what she was doing and she happily showed me. She had gotten in to the drawer that had my flavored chap stick in it. Sure enough she had been eating it. I talked to her about eating the chap stick again (then put what was left so high she would never see it again) and was getting ready to leave. Her funny looking bangs were still bugging me so I got out the comb and ran it through her hair. Her bangs were definitely not right. I looked on the floor again and there it was, a little lock of her hair. I then remembered that I have a little pair of trimming scissors in the same drawer (the ones I used on her hair.) I have been thinking lately that her bangs needed a trim. I guess she must have had the same thoughts and didn't want to wait for me to do it. It never crossed my mind that the scissors were within her reach. I asked her if she had cut her hair and she got very excited and showed me the scissors she used. Pointing to her hair she said, "See hair? Ahh, cute". She was so proud of herself how could I be angry. I just kissed her on the head and said they are cute and I love you.


I have to say though that she didn't do that bad of a job considering her age, the fact that she didn't have a mirror, and it was her first attempt at cutting hair. She didn't cut them completely off and they are pretty straight. Hopefully it won't take long for them to grow back out because of that.