With Monday fast approaching, I find myself reflecting on the past 8-9 months. I cannot believe how fast time has gone and it seems like yesterday when Jana and I were heading to Williamsburg and I found out about #2 on the way. It was months ago but I feel like it was yesterday. I am extremely blessed with the people I have around me. My family and friends have been completely amazing and have been there for me through so much. I can't thank them enough. I even had a few friends that I got to share this time with since they were expecting before and after me. We have had some good chats! There have been quite a few people that have had babies around us so after each one was born, it was just one step closer to ours. One thing I am completely grateful for and God was really watching out for us was my car accident. Anything could have happened that day. God was protecting us and kept us all safe, including the baby. We have been blessed throughout this whole experience and I am so thankful and grateful for everything we have been blessed with. 

A few things I will miss:

Movement: This baby was 100% more active then Jake ever was. It might of been his position but I could feel him from 15 weeks and Michael could since about 17-18 weeks. I will miss Jake's face light up when he could see his brother move and roll around. Sometimes he would even yell at him because he thought the baby was hurting me. I can't help but laugh about that. I will miss it terribly but can't wait till I am holding him in my arms.

Food: I should really say eating whatever I want. I will not tell a lie. I engorged myself this pregnancy. Not really with bad things but I was starving all the time. Total plus side is I have gained a total of 1.5lbs. That is it! Being pregnant in the Summer and Fall completely helped. It wasn't till about November that I started not wanting to do as much because the weather wasn't as great. Downfall currently is that all I really want is fruit and it is way out of season. Bummer.

Jake: He has been so excited about his brother. He talks about it and points out toys and clothing and is always like "That is (enter name here)" or asks "Is my baby here yet?!" I have a feeling it will change once his brother is here. Jake dislikes noise. It will be interesting with a new baby crying how Jake reacts to it. I am sure he will love his brother and be a great help. It's just been fun watching him want to help out with everything. He helped put the bassinet together, the pack-n-play, helped Michael get the car seat ready, and loves to put his clothes away. He will learn something and then say "I will show (insert name here) how to do this when he gets older!" It's adorable.

Sleep: I love sleep. It's been great going to bed at 8:30 and getting to sleep about 9-10 hours a night. I love that Michael is so helpful with Jake so I could get to bed some nights at 7:30. Jake was an awesome baby and slept in 4 hour increments from birth so I was only getting up once a night. Every child is different so I have this fear this baby will be an every hour baby. We will see. It's funny because once you start waking up with the baby, you want to. You don't have that "ugh go back to bed" feeling. It's weird. Maybe I am the only one like that. I will miss being able to sleep for 10 hours straight though!! Michael is home for 2 weeks, maybe even 3 so I look forward to nap time daily!

There are other little things I will miss and I can honestly say I really enjoyed this pregnancy! Not having pre-eclampsia was a huge blessing and made it much more enjoyable. We also have a ton of new stories in the book for the wacky things that have happened to me during the past few months! Glad I could make so many people laugh! =)

Things I won't miss:

The back and shoulder pain.

The light bladder control issue when I sneeze, laugh, cough, hiccup, and do other little things.

Feeling like I need a crane to turn me over in the middle of the night when moving from on side to the other.

The pelvic pain. This is something I will never miss. TMI for some but I want my vajayjay back thank you!

Constantly having to use the restroom.

The flatulence. We have enough stories in the book on this subject for the past 9 months.

The word "Preggo". I hate that word, always have and always will. Use the proper term or do not say it.

Going to the to doctor a ridiculous amount of times in a 9 month period. 

Being so exhausted all the time. There is a difference from being "pregnant" tired and "staying awake with baby" tired. Pregnancy tired messes with your whole body. Your body just aches for no reason.

I am sure there are other things but I can't think of them right now.

It is hard to believe that in 3 days we will be a family of 4! It scares me a little but we will make it through. I am so thankful for everything going on in our lives right now and I cannot wait to see what else lies ahead.

FYI on the lovey doveyness ahead:
I do want to take a moment to thank Michael for everything he has done for me. He is the greatest husband a girl could ever dream of. He is always willing to help out and not complain about it. There were days where he knew I was just exhausted and would make dinner or just help out. He is so supportive and shows endless love to me and Jake. He is such a fantastic father and I am sure he will just be better with two. I love him so much and more and more everyday. He makes life exciting and  new and I can't thank God enough for blessing me with him and for guiding us together. I love him more then words can express and he is my other half.

Final doctor appointment!

After many scheduled and rescheduled appointments over the past few days, I finally had my final doctors appointment. My doctor is currently suffering through the flu and has thrown a giant wrench in at the clinic. It was packed when I got there. We are usually in and out in 15-20 minutes flat. I had to wait 25 just in the waiting room and the nurses and receptionists were running around like crazy. I saw one of the other ladies which was fine. She went over a few odds and ends with me. I got to listen to the heart beat, which I love, and then she did my measuring. Of course, I had to go out with a bang. She was trying to feel the position of the baby and she pushed down on my stomach and forced out a lovely week old smelling broccoli fart. We busted out laughing immediately. I was so thankful she was just as immature as me. We were laughing so hard, I did it again and we started laughing all over again. She had to sit down and we both had tears streaming down our faces. A nurse came in asking what was going on and we couldn't even talk. It took us about 5 minutes to calm down. She is currently pregnant with her 3rd and said that she is a walking Gas Bomb. Some days I wish I could just record my life. That was my funny for today.

Last night was not a good night. I should say this morning since I woke up at 2am. I had horrible stomach pains. Michael of course immediately thought it was labor and couldn't fall back asleep. The pain in my stomach never went away so I knew it couldn't be contractions. I spent the next 5 hours throwing up from both ends. I literally got hold of a bad burrito. I took a shower around 4 that lasted an hour and it was amazing. I sent Michael to work and after he left I had the worst part of it. I then slept from 7-11 and woke up feeling 315% better. I am afraid to eat anything so I have been working through a box of crackers. Haha. I am hoping to get another nap in this afternoon. I do not want to repeat this morning. That was horrible!

1 week

How can 38 weeks pass by so quickly, yet seem to take forever at the same time? Hopefully (we better) have a new little Janzen by this time next week! I think it is about to hit me. I am way emotional about it. I don't know if it's stress, just being scared (surgery wise), or the fact we are adding another little one into the house. If I think about it too much, I will cry. That is one thing I will not miss about being pregnant! I see a Hallmark commercial or a Folgers commercial and I have tears streaking down my face. It's not right. I have my final doctor appointment tomorrow. It's our pre-op appointment so it's about an hour long and we go over everything for next Monday. I hope I don't break down in the doctors office. I am sure I have gained like 30lbs in one week. I am not even kidding. The kid has dropped so I have an appetite now. Took 38 weeks but now I'm starving all the time. Thanksgiving didn't help either. I loathe the holidays for it's awesome foods and sweets. 

We are trying to get Jake ready. He knows he has a brother coming and is very excited about it. We are just trying to explain that it's happening next week. It's all hypothetical until that little one is here and crying that he will realize it! He keeps saying how he wants to help with baths, diapers and feeding. We will see how he feels after his brother arrives. We are trying to plan something fun to do as a family this weekend for Jake. I might want to get on that!

The name. We have had quite a few people ask about the name. Sorry, but it's under lock and key. Ok, so a few family members and good friends know but that is it. A little about the name though. We love the nickname or short name we are going to call him. It is the only reason he has a full name. I would just keep it the 3 letters but Michael wants the 6 full letters. I will say it's a common name currently. We got a little different with the spelling and he is our child so I don't really care if anyone else has the name. It works! Jake of course loves it. He's been calling him by his name since we figured out. Hence why family members know. I had to run it by my BFF's when I first fell on it so they of course know. This time next week, we hope to have it out there!

I still have to pack. That is the worst task ever for the hospital. You never know what you will all need. We also have to pack up Jake for a few day stay at my parents house. I will wait till the last possible moment for both. I had to order a few new pairs of pants and tanks and I pray they will be here on time. I am keeping my fingers crossed they get here by Saturday. Otherwise, I might be in trouble. Oh well, I'll make it work! I feel like I have a ton to do but I really don't. Other then packing up myself, Jake and Michael, I don't have much going on. I have a scarf I have to finish, or at least try to finish by Wednesday but maybe if I don't get it done I can finish it and bring it to the hospital for when she comes to visit. I worked on it for 2 hours today. It is taking forever. I went with a much thinner yarn due to they are odd colors that are hard to find. Luckily I am off work right?

So here is to the next 7 days. May they take a while, yet go quickly! =)

Thanksgiving 2010

It was a very different Thanksgiving for us. Just being home for the whole weekend was....amazing. Being able to be together as a family and just relax, it was priceless! 

Thursday we got up pretty early, still sleeping in compared to a normal day. I started cooking and baking pretty quickly. I didn't have much to do but I wanted to get it done and ready. We had lunch at my sisters house at noon and it was of course, amazing. Thanksgiving dinner has to be the most amazing meal of the year. We need to do it more often then once! After dinner the boys all went to Bass Pro Shop and spent a few hours running off steam. Michael called his family down in Arkansas and for the first time in...well, forever, they were trapped. Turns out rain and ice hit them hard and Grandma couldn't even get to their house for Thanksgiving. When Michael talked to her she had made a hamburger on her Foreman for lunch. Poor Gigi. We spent the afternoon going through adds and nibbling on left overs and pies. It was a very relaxing afternoon with family. I enjoyed every second of it!

Friday, well, that is what I call a waste of a day. We did nothing. Literally nothing. AND IT WAS AWESOME!!! I am not lying on this. We stayed in sweats all day, cleaned up a bit, and just spent the day as a family. It was heavenly! A very much needed day of nothing. I would like this to be every Friday. 

Saturday we actually had to look "alive". We ran a few errands and did our normal Saturday routine. For the afternoon Connor and Charlotte came over. Jake had a blast. Other then the baby powder fight, it was a good time. Even though Charlotte is almost 1, it was nice having a baby around. After Chris came and got the kiddos we cleaned up and Jake had a fantastic time in the bath! The rest of the evening consisted of dinner, playing with Jake and after he retired to bed, Michael and I watched a sappy Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel. Don't repeat this, but Michael loves the Hallmark Channel at Christmas time. He loves the movies. It makes me laugh. Mainly they all have happy endings and make you feel all warm inside. So we canoodled up by the tree and watched a movie. It was perfection!

Today was a normal day. Trying to get back into our normal routine. It feels weird actually being Sunday. Mainly because the last 4 days have felt like Sunday. Michael and Jake both took long naps and are now running around like kids! Football has been watched, cookies have been baked, and now the final week is upon us. This is the last week of us being a family of 3. That is extremely scary and exciting to think about! We are just taking it one day at a time.

Here are some recent photos that have been snapped around here.

Found Jake with the stockings!

The boys at Thanksgiving

Caleb

The boys!

My little boy

Kinnick though Jake's fish was really food, then he slept on it

Zoey and Michael

 This kid and his static electricity. His hair looks like this 90% of the day!

Michael and Charlotte, so adorable!

I love her!

I have been a gigantic fan of this lady for a few weeks now. It started November 1st and every commercial has been absolutely fantastic! Her workouts and game plans....they are just fantastic. This card one takes the cake! I saw this commercial on Black Friday and about peed my pants! I couldn't stop laughing! Mainly because I could see myself and a few of my friends doing this! I will miss her after Christmas and I hope she returns next year!

Holiday Flicks

With late night feedings and a lovely incision that is limiting my mobility, I have found myself watching movies like a mad person. I am excited because I am getting my fix in of holiday movies. I have quite a few that I love and have to watch around the Christmas season. Usually I have to keep watching them into January but due to maternity leave, I have watched almost all!

Movies I have to watch at Christmas time:

While You Were Sleeping

Elf

A Christmas Story

Love Actually

Funny Farm 

Home Alone and Home Alone 2

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

The Polar Express

Babes in Toyland (ft Keanu Reeves and Drew Barrymore. Keep laughing, it's okay.)

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Die Hard and Die Hard 2 (What? They take place on Christmas Eve!)

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Ft Jim Carrey)

It was bound to happen....

It's that time of the year again! When you get on KCCI.com and there are weather alerts. You click on that one link that says "Road Conditions" and get into a little funk. Get ready Iowans! It's just the beginning!