Today was Leah’s 8th birthday! Eight! Wow, time flies! She headed off to school this morning with birthday cupcakes for her class. Then, this evening, she decided on Chili’s for her birthday dinner, where she received a free birthday dessert… the humongous Chocolate Chip Molten Lava Cake. It was HUGE! Served with a mega scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, covered in Magic Shell, complete with 4 spoons! All three of my big kids descended on this dessert like a pack of hungry wolves! You would have never known they’d just eaten dinner. LOL They did all agree it was delicious and each one had chocolate on some part of their face by the time the cake was gone. Yep, even Jacob.

After dinner, Leah called her MawMaw Kathy and asked if she and Anna could spend the night. So we dropped them off just before coming home. It wasn’t a very action packed birthday for Leah, but I think she had a pretty good time. We have her actual birthday party a little later in the month and she’s looking very forward to that!

Ella is eleven days old today and I took a few pictures of her this morning before heading out to run some errands.

She’s so smushy! Just as soft as can be! She is a great eater (I feel like I am running a private, 24 hour all-you-can-eat buffet). She makes a lot of little baby noises, but I’ve noticed she grunts a lot more than any of my other kids did when they were babies. She grunts when she poops, when she eats, when you move her, when she moves, all the time, just grunting! So adorable!

I am loving having a little baby in the house. It’s so wonderful. She is absolutely amazing. The faces she makes, the sounds she makes, the way she moves her little hands and feet… everything she does is simply wonderful. Her older brother and sisters just lover her to death and think she’s the cutest baby ever and they like to hold her and feel her soft skin. I could easily sit and hold her all day long and still not feel like I’ve looked at her long enough. Since she’s number four, I know how fast this tiny new baby stage goes by and I am soaking it up as much as I can. So I don’t care if the laundry is piled high (and it is) and I don’t care if there are dishes in the sink (there are). I am going to enjoy this time with her and try and remember as much of it as I can because she is so, so lovely.

We welcomed Miss Ella Marie to our family on September 25th at 1:06 pm. She weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and was 22″ long. She has a headful of auburn hair and it looks like she’s got blue yes, but its hard to tell which shade of blue just yet. We came home from the hospital today. We love her to bits. She is a real cuddly sweetheart and just so soft all over.

More pictures to come very soon!

My doctor’s appointment today was full of exciting news! It looks like Ella will be arriving tomorrow, which just happens to be my brother’s birthday. I am 5 cm dilated, so she asked me to come into the hospital tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. I am very excited. David was able to work it out with his work schedule and he will still have all his days off, plus 2 more! So that’s awesome! Needless to say, I am one happy mama!

Obviously, it will be a few days before I post again, but when I do, it will be with new pictures of little Ella and a good story, I’m sure!

I will be headed out the door in just a bit to go to my LAST prenatal appointment before my induction planned on the 1st. Obviously, I could still go into labor before then, but I doubt that’s going to happen. I will update after the appointment this morning.

I am still pregnant. Ella has not decided to make her appearance yet. I go back to the doctor this Wednesday when we will schedule an induction. I’m still not opposed to going early if it happens! Nothing much else new other than this waiting game. I’ll keep my blog updated as soon as anything happens.

I went to the doctor today for my 37 week appointment. I am now considered full term should I go into labor on my own, so that’s great. I am 2-3 centimeters dilated and I’m hoping that means Ella will make her appearance sooner rather than later. However, I’m not holding my breath. I was 3 cm dilated with Jacob for a full month before I was induced, so it’s no guarantee labor is imminent.

I am extremely tired. I feel like an 80 year old because my back always hurts these days and I’m really just ready to have this baby! David is hoping I’ll hold off until my induction date of October 1st because he has all his days off lined up, but frankly, I’m miserable and just as ready as can be. If I don’t go into labor before then, I have my next appointment a week from today.

As of right now, according to an ultrasound, Ella weighs about 6 lbs. 11 oz.

My sister-in-law, Erin, hosted a baby brunch for me today. It was very small, just one of my aunts & her daughter, my mom, MIL, my girls, and a good friend of mine, and of course, Erin. We went to a fancy little breakfast/lunch place in our downtown area. It was nice. I didn’t want anything too much because it is my 4th baby. I got some cute stuff; my Exersaucer, lots of clothes, a shopping cart cover, a gift card to Target, cute burp clothes and extras like crib sheets, blankets, bottles, pacifiers, booties, etc. The food was yummy (I had a California omelet with swiss cheese, avocado & mushrooms *drool*) and my sis-in-law brought a delicious chocolate cake from a swanky bakery called Zoe’s. Very chic. LOL My girls had fun and the company was nice. It was girl’s day out and so nice! After that, my mom and I went to Walmart and got my crib mattress for my little one and when I got home, we set up the crib and bedding! I’ll post pics soon! Now I’m totally ready for baby Ella to get here!

Ouch… ouch… ouch. My back is killing me. It’s to the point where I can’t move without it hurting. I’m assuming it’s because of the way the baby is positioned. The dr. told me she is lower and I can only guess that she is resting on a nerve. My tailbone is extremely tender. I have to be careful how I sit. My sciatic nerve is killing me on the right side. The only time I don’t hurt is when I am sitting still or laying down. It hurts when I get up, walk, bend over, lean… anything. It’s basically crippled me to where I just want to sit and do nothing all day. And that is SO impractical.
I try to do laundry, but getting clothes out of the dryer is almost impossible. Unloading the dishwasher is way harder than it ought to be. The one thing I can do is sit and fold clothes, but then I have to put them away, which involves walking. Ouch. Needless to say, I am ready for little miss Ella to make an appearance at her earliest convenience. If she doesn’t come early, these next 3 weeks will be long and painful. Ugh…