The Story of Blake

As soon as I found out I was pregnant with our third baby, I knew it was going to be a boy. We still left it as a surprise, but by the end of the pregnancy, we were all calling the baby a "he". I started gaining weight a lot earlier also, so I was pretty sure this was going to be a big baby boy. And boy, was I right on!!

The other thing about this pregnancy was that I was due on Christmas. It was funny the responses I would get from people- they would either say "Oh, that would be such a miracle," or they would say "that would really stink." I agreed with the latter (I really didn't want my baby to have to have such a big holiday as a birthday!). So, I began to convince myself that this baby was coming early. Jack was right on his due date(but they had moved my due date up after measuring his size via ultrasound) and Lindsey was 5 days early. I was ready at the end of November for our little baby to join us. My Christmas shopping was done, Clint had taken the last few weeks of December off, and we were squeezing in as much holiday cheer as we could.

Well, the days kept passing and there was no early baby. I had plenty of Braxton Hicks and even some painful contractions that would start and then end a few hours later, but no baby. I started trying every trick in the book: I walked at least 30 minutes a day, ate pineapple, spent quality time with Clint, used my breast pump, made lots of Christmas plans, had my membranes stripped, and considered taking the dreaded castor oil. I got to the point the week before Christmas that this baby was never coming out and I would be pregnant forever. Clint was off of work and the baby wasn't even here yet! I also got a nasty sore throat that wouldn't go away, so I was not a happy camper and not sleeping well at all. Poor Clint had to deal with a crying wife a lot!

Christmas came and went (It wasn't fun to still be pregnant, but I was relieved that we dodged the Christmas Eve/Christmas birthday).

the 40 week picture

Monday morning (Dec. 27) contractions woke me up around 4 am. I got out of bed and started walking around my house because I didn't want these ones to stop! They were pretty regular and kind of painful, so I woke Clint up. We showered and packed our bags and called my parents around 6. Lindsey was a super fast labor (3 hours from start to finish) so I didn't want to take any chances. We were at the hospital around 7. Contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and I was at a 4-5, so they admitted me. Well, then things slowed down. We walked the halls for awhile and then I walked in our room for 2 hours while we watched a movie. I was a little frustrated things weren't happening any faster! The next time I checked, I was still at a 5. I kept walking. The doctor came in around 12:30 and I was at a 6. I asked him to break my water and I became a 7. I jumped in the jacuzzi tub (something I've always wanted to try during my births) and it felt great. Once I got out, contractions were faster and harder. I thought about getting an epidural, but since my initial goal was to go natural, I decided to go for it. I labored for a bit, changing positions to get the baby's position to change a bit (the face was facing the wrong way). The doctor came in to check again and suggested I give a few practice pushes. The practice pushes turned into the real pushes and before I knew it, I was getting ready to deliver my baby. I pushed for 20 or 30 minutes and wanted to die. I could tell this baby was big. He finally made his way out with the assistance of the resident and the ob pulling while I pushed. He arrived at 2:51 pm. He had gotten stuck a bit on his way out, so he was one beat up baby! And he weighed 9 lbs 8 oz! He was huge! (Jack was 7 lbs 7 oz and Linds was 6 lbs). He had a full head of hair, rolls, long fingernails, wrinkly skin- he was definitely overcooked. I fear how large he would have gotten if they would have waited another week to induce me! We named him Blake Philip Karren. We have always liked the name Blake and he looked like a Blake, so we didn't waste any time in naming him. Philip was my grandpa's middle name.

His face is purple because it got bruised during delivery. He looked like he got in a fight with the birth canal :)

His hair has a bit of red to it, but looks a lot like Jack's did.

I think the girl in the pink coat might be the reason Blake decided to stay in a little longer.

Ready to go home!

A mini Jack with a little extra chub on his face.

3 kids! How did we ever get to 3 kids?!?

Blake is a champion nurser and was a champion sleeper (up until last night :)). He is pretty chill and we are enjoying getting to know him. We're glad he arrived safely, even if it was on his own time line. :)

Reflections of a 37 week pregnant woman.....

I have been doing a bit of reflecting recently as I struggle with my children and my pregnancy. I have been complaining WAY too much and I'm not happy with myself for doing so. So, I am going to share a bit of my reflecting....as I sit at my computer getting the junk kicked out of my ribs. The kids have gone to bed, so kid #3 gets to play now :)

Lindsey:

Will she be the big sister I want her to be? She is pictured her with my delicious 5 month old niece,Tessa, who is exactly half her size. She can be pretty tender when she rubs and kisses my belly.

My favorite scary quote of the week: " I'm going to stay up all night and I'm going to hit the wall so that it wakes you up. " (she motions hitting on the wall that is between her room and ours). I wonder where she comes up with some of these things. Like I've mentioned before....she's either making me cry or laugh so hard I'm falling down (she has taught me the art of the belly laugh).

Jack:

He is such a helper. He loves school and is thriving in his class. They had half days last week for conferences and he kept asking me when he was going back to full day. I have to admit that I liked having him home :)

I love this picture of him and Tessa. He'll make a great big brother, again. I think he may be a little addicted to treats though.....he came home the other day and told me he got tears in his eyes at lunch because I hadn't put in a special treat. Nice.

Clint:

Oh, how I love this man. And I love him more every day. Even though I can be quite the pill, he still loves me and tells me I'm beautiful and that I'm a great mom (when I have not had a very good mom moment). I lose a lot of patience during my pregnancies, so I appreciate him putting up with me for 9 long months each time I'm expecting. He's a great daddy and a fabulous husband.

I am physically DONE being pregnant, but I will miss this little being inside me. I am excited, anxious, thrilled, scared, etc. about adding another child to our family.
A family of 5 we will soon be!

A dreamy weekend away.....

I desperately wanted a weekend away with my husband before baby #3 joins the party so I made reservations at Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham a few weeks back. Oh, what a great hotel- I totally recommend it! We had a gorgeous room with a fireplace, huge jetted tub, DVD player, etc. Needless to say, we didn't leave the room once we got there except to take a walk around the marina, to eat at a little Italian place a few hundred yards away and to grab a redbox movie for the night. The hotel even offered a complimentary breakfast in the morning! It was a perfect little getaway. We took our time getting home on Monday and did some Christmas shopping. Now, if I could only figure out how to squeeze one more getaway in before the baby comes in 5 weeks......


And speaking of dreamy weekends......I never posted pictures of my girls getaway in San Diego at the beginning of August. 4 of my college roomies and I spent a weekend together eating, laughing and doing plenty of sunbathing. I can't wait to do it again!!

A reason to chuckle.....

Lindsey was difficult today. From the screaming to the unbuckling of her seatbelt mid-freeway, I was just about at the end of my rope when we ran one last errand to the church bookstore. She, of course, had to gather up a few things of her own to "buy." As we approached the check stand, I suggested that we put some things back and that I would buy her a few temple cards. She handed me everything except for one small green pamphlet and said loudly, "I don't have this one." I asked her to show me the title of the book she didn't own yet...."Understanding Male Homosexuality Problems." I laughed out loud and promptly forgave her for giving me grief all day.

Trick or Treat.....

Halloween 2010.....

I'm sad I didn't get any of the 2 standing up, but here's the best shot I got of the both of them. Jack was an army man and Lindsey was a "red devil" (as she described herself).

I was going to have Linds be a witch this year, but I found this adorable (and way too snug!) devil costume at a consignment store that I just had to get. It fit her personality perfectly. :)

And the tortoise and the hare. Can you tell I am missing running?!?

A school carnival, Halloween party with friends, Trunk or Treat and trick or treating made up a fun-filled weekend.

My favorite Lindsey quotes from trick or treating (which she was soooo into this year! I would say she enjoyed herself ever more than her brother)

"Sweet!" after receiving her favorite candy, Smarties ( really, who's favorite candy is Smarties?!?)

"What the heck?" after receiving a Ghiradelli square of chocolate (something she didn't recognize). Nice that she said it when the door was still open.

"Oh Baby!" when she tripped and her candy went flying all over the road. She could care less about her scraped hands....it was all about retrieving her candy.

Gotta love this little devil.

Fall fun

We squeezed in a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch a few Saturdays ago. The weather was gorgeous and sunny and Mt. Rainier looked amazing The kids love the farm because there are so many fun things to do: tractor rides, sling shotting ( I just made that word up) pumpkins, corn kernel pit, tricycles, hay maze, etc. We went with some friends and had a great time.

FHE last night consisted of making caramel apples (drizzled with chocolate, of course)

Jack tried rebelling against wearing a bib, but I know the kind of eaters that live at my house. :)

Check out how my husband eats a caramel apple : he uses a fork and knife. He did get a spot of chocolate on his upper lip though and I made sure to point that out to him :)

We hosted a Murder Mystery dinner for the Elder's Quorum presidency Friday night. Clint was supposed to be "Del" , a 1950's jock. He borrowed a friend's letterman jacket and I had to talk him out of wearing a pair of my jeans with it. (How sad it is when my husband can fit into my clothes and I can't.) I was "Pris", the valedictorian and class president....somehow the pregnancy thing didn't fit in too well with my character, but I made it work.

Thanks for the ride......

Some of you may or may not know this, but I have had a part time (sometimes full-time job) with a company that offers science camps and after-school clubs for the last 7 years. I got the job to work as a camp instructor the summer after Clint and I married. I taught another summer before having Jack. After that, my fabulous manager was so very flexible and let me start working part time (mostly from home). I taught club trainings on Saturdays and ordered supplies and did other admin things from home. It was a perfect way to earn a little extra cash and keep my foot in the working/teaching world. I kept it up even after Lindsey was born. I would take the kids with me to visit camp sites during the summer and taught our big summer camp trainings once a year (sometimes having to pump a few times during the day).

I even had the opportunity to travel!I traveled to California to get trained for a few days. Then, after Lindsey was born, I received an award from the company that bought our smaller company out. They flew me ( and 10 week old Linds) to Arizona for a conference and special ceremony to present awards. I kept her in the Moby the whole time and some people didn't even realize I had a baby with me!Then, a few months later, I flew to Colorado for another training. Since Lindsey was still so little, I brought my sis along to watch her while I trained. Last year, I took a quick trip to Kansas City to train some new employees on our science projects. I had extra time to go to Carthage and Independence and have some much needed alone time!

This week, I found out that the larger parent company does not need the employees of our smaller science company any more. We have all been let go. I haven't been working nearly as much as I used to work, but I still have had a true sense of loss. I have had a wonderful journey with this company learning many new things, meeting wonderful people and feeling like I was making a difference with children other than my own. The loss of income won't kill us, but it was nice for the extra things in life. I don't know if I will ever find another job that was so flexible.
Thanks for the great ride.

Fall Updates

It is officially fall and we've been busy at our house!

Lindsey has been loving preschool and can be quite the social butterfly (when she wants to be!!). She continues to be quite the precocious little thing....speaking her mind whenever she wants to be heard. She is hilarious though and keeps us laughing (which makes up for the times she makes me cry!). In Fred Meyer yesterday, she spotted a boy wearing his pants way below his bum and turned to Clint and I and said, "That boy's pants are falling down!" The boy heard and said "sorry" and pulled them up. We laughed and laughed. She also can't keep her hands off of people- many poor people have had their bums touched while we are walking the aisles of WinCo. She doesn't really understand the personal space thing yet. :)

Jack is really enjoying kindergarten after a bit of a rocky start. He loves PE and playing with his friends at recess. He is playing soccer as a "Tiger". He loves having dad and papa as his coaches. He plays midfielder most of the time, which means lots and lots of running. He is super fast and loves being in all the action. He is quite the athlete and we love having soccer to burn some of his never-ending energy.

Yikes, me! I am getting bigger and bigger at a much faster rate than my other pregnancies, which is a bit depressing, but such is life ( I think I was this size when I delivered Jack). I discovered my first varicose vein (yuck!!), but my energy is high and I can still keep up with the kids most of the time! The countdown has begun (I am 29.5 weeks) and I am beginning to nest a bit. We are all excited to meet our new little one, but a little anxious for this big transition in our lives.


Clint (no picture) has been crazy busy with work and his church calling, but we enjoy spending time with him whenever we can.

We went to the Mariner's game last weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. We had a great time eating, playing on the play structure, taking advantage of all the free fan appreciation activities and being together.

Happiness is......

reading to my children. I have always loved reading and I grew up with a book under my arm at all times. I think my favorite time in my reading life was when I would nurse Jack and read- we'd sit in our big old rocker for hours on end- him eating and me reading. It didn't work out so nicely when I nursed Lindsey :) Now, I try to squeeze in a book here and there, but usually I'm so tired before bed that I can't even read a chapter. Plus, my husband always feels deprived when I'm in the middle of a good book ( he likes to read too, but he's definitely missing the passion that I have).

Jack has always loved reading- he will be running around like a crazy man and then I will pull out a book. He immediately comes over and plops down and we are lost in the book together. Lindsey is learning to love reading as she gets older, but she doesn't usually have the attention span of her brother for books.

I picked out a little chapter book (Junie B Jones) at the library the other day thinking we could read a chapter a night. It's all about a little girl starting kindergarten. Much to my surprise, Jack wanted to read the whole thing in one night. Luckily, we had the time! Then, I pulled out a Magic Tree House chapter book (I've been collecting books for a while now) and we read that whole book last night. The biggest shocker was (you may want to sit down for this), Lindsey sat down next to Jack and I and listened to me read for 45 minutes (and there were only like 5 pictures in the book). I was so proud as a mother at that moment- both my kids snuggled up on the bed with me listening to me read and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The only one not content was baby, but he/she is never still :)

Doin' the Puyallup

Clint took a half day last Friday and we headed to the Puyallup Fair for the afternoon. We ate scones, Elephant Ears & BBQ, saw lots of animals, went to a little circus, watched the draft horse show, and rode rides.

Lindsey loved, loved, loved riding the pony!

And she of course loved the fake pony too.

The happy threesome after a fun day at the fair.

Where's Jack? After a rough week at school, Jack didn't earn enough stickers to come with us. It was a hard parenting call, but we had a point to make. Luckily, this week is going a little smoother :)

The preschooler

4 friends and I started a co-op preschool twice a week in our homes and I was lucky enough to have the first week at our house!! We talked about the letter A and had an apple theme.
Lindsey was thrilled and couldn't stop talking about going to "school", even though she was not traveling very far :). She loved having 4 of her best buds over twice in one week- all at the same time!!
Since Jack has started school, we have had much time to bond. She loves the one on one time, but actually spends most of the day playing independently. I love it! She has become one dreamy child (as long as it is just the 2 of us!). Her brother, on the other hand, has had a difficult transition to full day kindergarten and the whole family is feeling it. We're hoping and praying that things improve soon.

Mexico

Wow- this is big for me. 2 posts in one night. But, I am way behind on my blogging and I had to share some pics from Mexico. Warning: there are many belly shots and a SEVERE lack of clothing. At 22 weeks, I was definitely feeling whale-ish ( I just made that word up, but that is how I felt).

We spent 7 days in Cancun with my parents and brother sans children. It was dreamy, heavenly, and addictive. We spent the week:

Eating (I was laughing when I was looking at all the pictures of us at restaurants because I had a funny face at every one. I was definitely nervous about what I was eating, but luckily avoided getting sick. The only thing that caused sickness to family members was our rotisserie chicken from Costco. Go figure. The2nd picture was taken at a restaurant literally on the beach (Playa del Carmen)- our feet are in the sand)

Snorkeling. This was by far my favorite activity. I could have snorkeled all day!

Getting massages. Well, just Clint. I didn't trust those giving the massages to try it on a pregnant lady- I didn't want to deliver a preemie in a Mexican hospital!

Visiting Chichen Itza Ruins. They were very cool, but I was very hot. 9o degrees with 100 percent humidity does not make for a very happy pregnant woman. I sported a sweet gel pack thing around my neck to help me stay cool and to look even cooler, but I was still roasting.

Kayaking across a lagoon supposedly filled with alligators. Yikes!

Plenty of pool and beach time. The ocean water was warm and wavy, and the pools were warm and serene.

Visiting Tulum Ruins. It wasn't quite as hot on this day, so it was a little more enjoyable, and the views were gorgeous.

We returned home tanned, rested and ready to plan our next trip to Mexico.