Long Overdue ...

Whoa! Has it really been since July that I last updated this thing? Yeesh! Time flies when you start getting old. Now that Fall semester is over (my last class was this morning), I can hopefully add more updates. At least, that is, until school starts again in January.

Well, first I guess I should say that other than my wedding day and the days my three children were born, the 311 concert in August was the best day of my life!! It was seriously just SO AWESOME! I didn't realize I'd go so crazy, but as soon as they all walked out on the stage I freaked out and started screaming. Being in the pit for the openers wasn't so bad, but as soon as 311 started, we had to move back a bit because I didn't want my poor pregnant belly getting smashed into constantly ... and I figured the pot smoke wasn't too good for the baby. :) My ears were ringing for a week, and I got stepped on (and my toe is still not better yet!), but I cannot wait to go again!

The biggest news ... our little Charlotte arrived on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. I went into labor early that morning (about 3:45 a.m.), but I didn't think it was real since I'd been having contractions for several weeks and it wasn't any different. But suddenly at about 10:00 a.m. they started coming about 7 minutes apart. By the time I called Mike at noon they were consistently 5 minutes apart. Before Mike got home about 20 minutes later they were down to 3 minutes apart. When we got to the hospital at 1:30, they slowed to 4 minutes apart, but they were more and more intense. When they checked me, I was 2 cm and 80% effaced. An hour later when they checked me again I was 3 cm and 90% effaced, so my doctor admitted me. I had the epidural at about 3:30 p.m. and they gave me some Pitocin just to speed things up a little bit. At about 6:45 p.m. the nurse told me I was almost completely dilated, so they set up the delivery table for my doctor. My doctor came into the room at about 7:15, and everything was ready for me to start pushing at 7:25. With Travis, it took an hour of pushing, so I was ready for things to take a while. With my first push, my doctor said, "Oh, she has lots of dark hair," and I thought, how does she know that already? But, with the next push, Mike had barely grabbed my leg and her head was already out! Then I pushed once more and she was here! Just like that!! I couldn't believe it!

And now, here we are, six weeks later! It has been a wonderful, albeit sleepy, six weeks. Charlotte is a little angel! The boys just LOVE her. Travis will not leave her alone - he is constantly hugging and kissing her and wanting to pick her up. Mikey is always laying down next to her so he can talk to her and show her his toys. When I was pregnant with her, Mike and I were so sure we were done having kids, but now we're not so sure. I don't want to go through the whole infertility and trying to get pregnant deal again, because it's just so hard and such a roller coaster ... but if we were to have a pleasant surprise, we'd love it!

Mikey is such a big boy now. He turned 3 in October (and I still can't believe it), so he got to have some of his friends come over for a birthday party. He loved it!! He is trying really hard with potty training, although it's really slow-going. But, he loves his underwear (pull-ups) and I'm sure he'll be there soon. He's getting so smart. The other afternoon Travis dumped a whole bunch of mac & cheese in his lap, so I put the tray for his booster seat on. I could tell Mikey wanted his tray, too (even though they both sit at the table). He proceeded to place two pieces of macaroni in his own lap and then he said, "Mama, Mikey made a mess. Need a tray, too." (He refers to himself in the third person all the time.) He is also getting very good at arguing (darnit!!). Just about anything I say, he replies to me with a little stinker-ish remark. For instance, I say, "Mikey, you're so cute;" he says, "No, I'm not so cute. I'm tired."

Travis is getting so big, too. He is adding more and more to his vocabulary every day. He said his first sentence yesterday. He said, "Mama, look!" Sure, it's a little bit short, but it's technically a sentence. :)

Mike and I are doing fine. Mike is working his butt off at the Capitol so he's virtually never home it seems (thank goodness they're almost done!!) and I'm trying to keep up with the kids, school, and work. The couple of weeks before Charlotte was born were a little rough - our car window was smashed in (a random act of vandalism while Mike was at work ... there went $150!), I got a really STUPID speeding ticket (I really didn't deserve it because I was passing some guy who wouldn't let me over, and the Officer knew that ... but, oh well ... what's another $150 thrown out the window when you're barely making it and about to have your third child? YEESH!!!), and to top it all off ... I fell and broke my right ankle a week before she was born (I have been walking on it because I couldn't rightly go about carrying a newborn while wearing a huge orthopedic boot, but it still REALLY hurts, so I am finally back to wearing a brace hoping that it will heal properly).

Thanksgiving was just fine (I was just happy to have Mike home for a full day!) and the food was great. And now that I'm out of school and still on maternity leave from work for the rest of December, I'm so excited to be able to catch up on some projects around the house that I haven't had time to do.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I didn't read this over because I need to get back to "real life." Hopefully there aren't too many typos or bits that don't make sense. Here are som pics: