Singing fun

The blog has been greatly lacking in the picture department lately so here's a little video of Alena singing and "reading" one of her favorite books. She used to love this little book that contains four different nursery rhymes. It must have gotten shoved to the bottom of the book basket and I hadn't seen it in a long time. However, she found it the other day and now wants to read it all the time. The video is very grainy our little point and shoot camera doesn't do very fancy videos but you can at least hear her. At the end she wants to see herself so she keeps getting closer and closer.

and here are a few pictures of a very dirty Alena after playing outside one evening this week. Mom washed her dress at least four times and it never came completely clean.

A Top Ten

For those of you keeping up with the latest baby news in the Soundara house, I went to the doctor today and guess what...another week of bed rest! It's not exactly the news I wanted to hear but I certainly understand that it's what's best for the baby. That and the fact that my doctor is out of town all next week didn't give us much of a choice. I've actually maintained fairly well since being on bed rest and the Procardia and I've not dilated any from my original hospital visit. My doctor is still concerned about the baby arriving very quickly once my water breaks, however so he wants to make sure I'm in the hospital when that occurs. He is planning to induce me the following week (the first week of August) which happens to also be the week of my sister, Chrisa's birthday and also our anniversary. In an effort to remain positive and not focus on the facts of a long week looming ahead here is a top ten list for the best things about being on bed rest.

10. Since I have to sit with my feet propped up for most of the day, they aren't swollen at all. I'm sure they would be huge by this point if I was up walking around.

9. I haven't had to cook in 3 weeks. Good thing that we have lots of fantastic friends and family who've been so awesome in helping out and Nae can cook too.

8. If I ever feel guilty about not reading to the kids everyday then I can remember back to July when I read at least 200 books to them every single day.

7. The most strenuous thing I have to do everyday is take a shower and get dressed.

6. I get to be the "director" as Gabriel calls it. Meaning I sit on the couch and direct the kids by telling them what to pick up until the room is clean.

5. When people call to check on us, I don't have to feel guilty about talking on the phone because after all I have nothing else to do.

4. I can work all of our wooden puzzles (as well as those a friend let us borrow) with my eyes closed because Alena brings them to me all day and wants to work the same one at least 10 times before moving on to another one.

3. I can read all of the blogs I follow every day without taking any slack from Nae because again I have nothing else to do.

2. I've been able to do lots of little tasks that I never would have taken the time to do other wise like roll all the money in our change jar and clip lots of coupons that had piled up.

1. I get to sit all day and anticipate the arrival of this little one all the while feeling every kick and movement that I probably wouldn't feel if I was up and busy all day.

From seed to flower

This is a picture of Gabe's first sunflower that bloomed just this week (and the picture he took himself because you know I'm on bed rest and can't walk out into the backyard to do it). Back in the spring we were going to Target one day and he asked if he could bring along four quarters to spend. I replied sure knowing they usually have a good dollar section and I couldn't believe it when he chose to spend his money on a little pack of seeds. He and Nae planted the seeds in a pot and they came up quickly but then began to turn yellow I assumed because there were too many in the pot. Nae transplanted them out by the fence and I really thought there was no way they would survive. Alas, I was wrong and Gabe was rewarded with his first flower and several more are getting ready to open. He told me tonight, "When I get three or four more flowers then I 'm going to cut them and put them by your bed so you can see them." Wasn't that sweet. I told him that by the time there are three or four more flowers I will hopefully be up walking around and I can come out and see the flowers myself.

Update on the baby - I went to the doctor yesterday and although I was hoping I'd be allowed up it was not to be. He wanted one more week of bed rest so that's what we're going to attempt. I know it's really best for the baby and that is the most important thing after all. Thanks to lots of help and kindness from friends and family this past week at home has gone better than expected. The kids have done well and I think even gotten used to Mommy sitting all the time. In fact, after my appointment yesterday Mya asked me, "Mommy, can you walk now." It's amazing what they just accept and adjust too. So, we're praying for one more week of patience for all of us and following that a healthy baby. We are so thankful and greatful that God has already allowed this little one to stay put for almost another two weeks since the initial contractions started.

HOME!!!

Well, after a full week in the hospital, the doctor finally had some mercy on me and let me come home today. He actually switched my medicine from the magnesium iv drip to an oral medication so hopefully it'll be enough to keep the contractions at bay for a while longer, yet. I am, of course, on strict bed rest, but that didn't seem to matter to to the kiddos who were extremely excited for me to be home. I'm sure as time goes on, the novelty of this will wear off and they'll be begging Mommy to get up but for now everyone was very happy to pile on our bed and enjoy an evening together.

Terrible picture, but you get the idea and surely I don't really look as tired as I do in this picture. I mean I just spent the last week doing nothing but laying around in a hospital bed. Hate to see what I'll look like after baby arrives...

From the Hospital...part 2

So, I was really hoping that by now I'd be out of here, but it's just not to be. The contractions had pretty much stopped until today when they started back up again and I had to once again have a shot to get things under control. There was going to be no going home, anyway, as the doctor is still concerned about the length of my cervix. I'm beginning to think I'll be here until the day we go home with a new baby, and I know at that point it will all be worth it. Please continue to pray that I will be content here in the hospital and rest allowing baby to grow. Pray also for Nae as he holds things together between hospital, home and work and for the kiddos who don't really understand why Mommy can't come home. This is certainly going to be a summer to remember. I will say, however, that I've had 3 ultrasounds this week and have still not found out whether baby is a boy or girl. We're sticking to our "surprise"...

From the Hospital...part 1

So, I know a post without pictures isn't really much of a post but many of you have probably already heard that baby and I are in the hospital so I wanted to give a little update. I came in to the hospital early Sunday morning with off and on contractions and was immediately admitted and put on a magnesium drip. Thankfully, the mag has seemed to do the trick and the contractions have stopped so now I just lay in this hospital bed and allow time to pass and baby to grow. The doctor will re-evaluate on Friday and perhaps then talk about letting me go home on bed rest. I will be 34 weeks on Friday so we need to hang on just a little longer. I am so thankful that despite this inconvenience, the baby remains healthy, I have been able to tolerate the magnesium with little side affects, and family has jumped in to help with our other children. We certainly couldn't do this on our own. Please continue to pray with us for a healthy baby and I'll try to keep this updated as things change.

Happy Birthday!

This is a special post for our good friend Anna Claire who is celebrating her second birthday today. We hope you have a great day and can't wait to celebrate with you later this evening.