And hey!

...get your guesses in now for the new baby's stats :D Liam had 15 guesses in his game...this poor baby only has six so far!

(and can I change my guess to boy? LOL)

And in other news...

...Dan found out today that his pay has just been cut by 30%, effective as of last Monday!

So we're re-evaluating our expenses, cutting out things like the newspaper and the house phone, getting quotes on insurance, etc.

It makes for a really fun pre-baby gift, that's for sure...but on the bright side, he still has a job and we're all healthy. Dan and I have always been "go with the flow" or "it all happens for a reason" folks, so we're trying to approach this in the same way. We are happy that this job brought us to Arizona, and figure that alone has made it worthwhile. Without this position, I would not have my amazing circle of friends; my birth networks; my midwifery apprenticeship; free Montessori education for the kids; no ice scraping.

We have also been lazy with budgeting and saving, so while we won't saving anything now, at least it will force the budget-keeping and true thriftiness to finally get put into play. See, there's a bright side to everything...right?

Sigh.

34 + 4

I actually took this picture to illustrate how I wear my SSC (baby carrier) when preggo...but since I haven't posted a belly shot in a while, figured I'd go ahead and share :)

Pic of the girls

My sis just sent some pictures she took at Christmas time...thought I'd share this one, taken at the Arizona Temple (LDS) Christmas Lights display (which, by the way, is AMAZING):

(click on the pic to see the whole thing)


See, we do have to wear coats in Arizona at times! :)

Smooth as Silk

I just got home from a quick, simple, peaceful water birth. Mama was a primip, 18 years old. Tiny, beautiful baby boy was born 17 minutes after we arrived, in the water and IN THE CAUL! He was 5lb 13 oz, 20 inches...which compared to that last baby (9-13!) was minuscule LOL.

Got a call at 5:30 from the midwife, was picked up maybe 20 minutes after that...we picked up the other student (N), and headed to the birth place (not the mama's home - the home of a very generous, wonderful doula and member of our extended birth team).

It was such a blessing to witness this calm, beautiful birth. Sadly the father of baby is in another country, and was not here to see his son's birth...

Three kids

Thought I'd share a few new pics. No big news in our lives right now...I'm at 32 weeks 2 days, baby is very active. Girls are back in school, taking dance once a week. C takes keyboards once a week as well. My apprenticeship keeps me busy...

HBA3C

That is, home birth after three c-sections!

Wednesday morning I went to the home of a wonderful woman in labor. Thursday morning around 6:45 her daughter was born...9 lb 13 oz! She was the first girl after three boys, the first vaginal birth after three C/S, the first born at home (obviously), and her biggest baby by over a pound and a half! This mama worked so hard for so long, and birthed this big baby like a true birth warrior...I was so amazed and in awe of the work she did and her dedication and commitment to this birth. I may share more later, but want her to have the chance to share her own story before I do so...

Congratulations to the entire family...