Tomorrow

Picture taken and edited by Spencer! Impressed? I was! What an awesome husband I have- to take my idea and make it happen! Thanks babe!

Can't believe I'll be checking into the hospital tomorrow morning at 5am. It still seems so surreal. It's almost 9pm and I'm blogging, doing laundry, and brushing my teeth (all at the same time). I haven't finished packing my bag yet (I don't know how women have a bag packed weeks before delivery- just one of the many reasons I love being induced)! The reality of a third child, not to mention a baby boy, hasn't hit me yet. I keep wondering when it's gonna seem real. Probably when they put him into my arms for the first time! I'm excited- super excited, but also a little nervous. We've decided on the name Calvin (as you can see from the pic above)- mostly cause I've wanted a little Cal Jenkins since before Madi was born. But I have to admit, I have second guessed this name which is very unlike me. The Calvin I picture is gonna be a mini Spencer- a little tow head with very fine, light hair. But what if he's born with a full head of dark hair like Elle was? Will he still be Calvin? I guess we'll figure it all out tomorrow. Well, I should probably go finish packing and get off to bed!!

Madi and Elle

So much for the half birthday posts I started for the girls- a couple months ago! Madi turned 4 1/2 back at the end of December and Elle 2 1/2 on January 17th. I normally would have let it go, but I have this feeling there's gonna be a lot of baby posts coming up soon and not a lot of time to write down all the stuff I've been wanting to record about the girls . . . like, how crazy competitive they are with each other lately. Everything is a race and all about who's the fastest, biggest, most obedient, craziest, etc. I'm sure it's partly my fault. Whenever I want to motivate them to hurry up it's: "Who wants to do their hair first?", "Who can get into the car and get buckled up first?" "Who can come get their teeth brushed first?" "Who can be the first one in bed?" I probably ought to tone it down a bit cause it's creating 2 monsters! Prayer time is also another huge argument. Both girls always want to say the prayer! We're usually safe if it's Spencer or I that say it, but if Spencer asks Madi to say the prayer, Elle immediately starts whining, "I never get to say the prayer." There's been many mornings and nights where 2 prayers are said. It really is amazing how much 2 little girls that love each other so much can fight with each other so much! It's almost like they love to fight. But then whenever the girls are apart they both miss each other like crazy. Seriously- the other day we were at Boppi and Grandpa Al's and I took Madi home early, leaving Elle there with Spencer. I guess as soon as Madi left Elle started crying and just wanted to leave. When we drop Madi off at school or at a friend's house, Elle will always tells me how much she misses Madi, how sad she is, and how much she wants to give Madi a big hug and kiss. It's the sweetest, most genuine thing. They really are the best of friends, I just gotta get them to stop all the fighting, arguing, and teasing!

Things about Madi:

Back in May of last year Madi began the start of a 6 month crazy cycle! Many friends heard my daily complaints about my irrational daughter who was always keeping me on my toes. She pushed all the limits, questioned every discipline method I'd try, and no type of sticker chart or incentive was helpful to the situation. I really was beside myself- Spencer and I were both at a loss of what to do. Then November rolled around and we got our "real" Madi back! Ever since then Madi's been the sweetheart we've always known and loved. Of course she has her moments (her random dramatic freak-outs), but for the most part Madi is obedient again!

Taken on Madi's actual half birthday (12.28.11)- we celebrated by spending the afternoon at Silver Strand.

Things I've needed to document:

* Madi sang a solo of "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" in sacrament meeting last Sunday (3/18). She did fabulous! It's amazing how much she loves performing in front of people. She was beyond excited and kept asking me when it was her turn. Then just before Spencer took her up I reminded her one last time to wait for the music intro, and to look at me for when to start. I think she was just too excited, because there was no waiting for the piano this time. Madi stepped up to the podium and immediately began singing . . . "Whenever I hear the song of a bird . . ." Alexis was on the piano and just came in on her own. It was beautiful though- Madi really has a gorgeous voice. I just want to make sure I give her enough opportunities to sing in front of people that she never gets nervous.

*Madi loves school! Last week she had three days off for Parent/Teacher conferences. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled about having both girls home with me all day every day, but it actually worked out fabulously. On the first day off of school I had Madi make a list of all the things she wanted to do. Madi's list consisted of: workbook, Bob books, math, singing, stories, forts, park, picnic, and quiet time! And by 2pm she'd checked off her whole list!

* Madi's totally self motivated and she loves learning new things! Whenever Madi learns something new or interesting, she immediately runs to her art table to make a project about it or just write and draw about it. Her newest recent obsession is space, the planets, and our solar system. Last week she made a book of all the planets and tonight she drew the orbit of the earth around the sun.

* She's a huge helper- but it's mostly on her terms, which drives me crazy.

* Out of both girls, Madi's definitely the peace maker. Elle will freak out and whine about stuff and it will be Madi who ends up letting Elle go first, or gives up her seat, and gets Elle to calm down.

* Madi has the most awesome/vivid dreams at night. Spencer and I are always excited to hear about them in the morning. Just the other day Madi was up at 6:30am, telling me about something that she'd made in her dream. She needed a piece of orange paper STAT before she forgot what it looked like.

* She loves to please. It's fun to peek into primary and see her sitting so reverently with arms folded, singing the songs, or listening to the talks.

* Madi 's got an incredible testimony of the gospel. I'm constantly amazed by her. As we read scriptures she'll ask great questions and make connections to what we're reading to things in her life. She's very eager to choose the right and is great about helping the rest of us making good choices.

* She's become our family photographer. Back in the fall I gave Madi my old camera and it's been awesome watching her take pictures of everything that's special to her. She also has a camera and video on her phone (Spencer's old phone) which I've let her bring along to all my doctor's appointments. It keeps her busy and stops her from getting into arguments with Elle.

* And of course Madi loves dressing up and playing princesses. Madi and Elle also love their matching "wedding dresses" and still enjoy playing "wedding".

Picture taken back in September, but was too cute not to post (remember I've been working on this post since Dec.)

* Madi no long pretends to be pregnant- I think that ended back in January (pic below was taken back in Nov.), but she sure is excited for her new baby brother! Last week Madi and I were talking about when our baby was going to come. Madi tells me, "If we go to the hospital they'll say, when do you want to have the baby? And we'll say TODAY! So . . . LET's GO to the HOSPITAL!!!"

Things about Elle:

* Elle is growing up so fast and I really can't get enough of the cuteness of the 2 year old stage. Spencer and I are always watching Elle and commenting about how adorable she is, how cute her voice is, how hilarious her stories are. Sadly, she just recently entered a crazy, whiny, "give me what I want" stage. It's super annoying and I'm bracing myself for several months of it.

* About a month or two ago (I told you- this post is way over due!) Elle started to get into singing. Then just recently, after all Madi's public performances, Elle's really gotten into it and wants to sing every song that Madi's singing. It's almost like she wants the spotlight too. She'll tell everyone to be quiet and then start singing either, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me", "The Star Spangled Banner", or "I am a Child of God". It's adorable!!

* My favorite time of the day with Elle is from 12-3pm. As soon as we drop Madi off at school, Elle talks nonstop. It's been so much fun having this time together. Sometimes we'll run errands, sometimes we'll go to the park, sometimes we'll hit up the library, and sometimes we'll just come home and play, but no matter what we do- it's always fun spending time with Elle. I know she misses Madi like crazy, but I also know she loves the one-on-one time and attention she gets. I'm just sad that I haven't taken more video of Elle at this cute stage with her little sweet voice (oh how I miss my flip).

* Elle's our member of the polite police. She's super good about using please, thank you, and excuse me. And if you don't remember, she'll usually remind you. In the car the other day:

Mom: "Can I have an apple slice?"

Elle: "Ya." big pause before she continues, "You need to say, can I please have an apple slice."

* She's also big into modesty. She's very quick to point out when something might be immodest and whenever I change her clothes she tells me, "Hurry Mom, I need to be modest!"

* Elle loves the park and riding her bike. Most weeks we make it to the park every single day because of how much she and Madi love to ride their bikes around. And of course I can't argue with having a little time to relax and soak up the sun! :)

* Naps are now a thing of the past. Since turning 2 1/2 she's slowly started giving them up and now it's maybe once a week that she'll take one. The good thing about her not napping is that bedtime is always by 7pm (sometimes earlier). The days she does nap, she'll be up until 8:30pm (and sometimes even try to push it later). It just doesn't give me enough of the quiet kid-free time that I like to have in the evenings.

* She has a few words that she still mixes up, like instead of "yesterday" she'll say "yestertime". And her Miss Lemon is: "Miss Yemon".

* Elle loves the "little toys" like her Strawberry Shortcake, Miss Lemon, "woodsies", ponies, and dollhouse people. I love sneaking in and watching her play.

* She's a total princess and always wants to look beautiful! Her favorite dress is definitely the Cinderella one Spencer bought for Madi for Halloween. Elle pretty much flips out if anyone else wears it.

* Elle's definitely the ham of the family and is always making us laugh! She's such a silly little girl with a huge personality!!

Daddy daughter time

Saint Patrick's Day date out with dad!

Madi and Elle love spending time with their Daddy and I know how much Spencer loves being with his girls. About 2 weeks ago (a day or two after daylight savings) Madi slept in till 8am and so Spencer was already out of the shower and almost ready for work by the time Madi wandered into our bedroom. The girls wake Spencer up pretty much every morning so Madi was a little distraught about Spencer already being up and ready. In a sad little voice she asks, "Are you already done with snuggle time?"

Of course Spencer immediately stopped what he was doing and took time to snuggle with Madi and hear all about her dreams.

I'm so grateful for a husband who's completely involved in the lives of our daughters. They always want to be with him and await with great anticipation their weekly daddy daughter time. Actually the girls are currently both out on a date with Spencer as I type this. They'll do different things every week but it's mostly just the "being with dad" that they love so much! Not only does Spencer take them out on regular dates, but their play time at home is also a favorite- they'll wrestle, build with legos, read stories, tell stories, play hide-and-go-seek, ride on Spencer's back around the house as he's on all fours, etc. etc.

It's been a lot of fun for me to watch Spencer's relationship with the girls and now I'm anxious to see how a father/son relationship is the same or different. Spencer's full of praise and compliments for Madi and Elle- always telling them how beautiful and wonderful they are (definitely something that all girls need). And the girls totally eat it up. I find that after they get dressed, do their hair, or make some type of project, they're most excited to show it to daddy. I love it! And in just 3 short days we get to start figuring out how the dynamics of a little boy is going to change and shape our family!

Who's got the harder job?

This morning while I was busily making Spencer's smoothie, fixing sandwiches, and washing dishes, Madi looks at Spencer and says, "Dad, why does Mommy gotta do all the work and you do all the playin?"

HA! I could have died laughing!

Spencer jumped right on that one, explaining to Madi what he does all day. Throwing in how we wouldn't be able to live in our house if he didn't go to work.

Obviously it wasn't convincing enough cause Madi responded with, "Well, when you're at home Mommy's always working and you're always playing!"

LOVE it!! I've got someone on my side!

Spencer took the jab nicely though, reminding Madi how lucky Mommy is to get to stay home all day and play with her and Elle, expressing how much he misses them while he's at work all day. It's true, I've got a pretty awesome job!

St. Patrick's Day Shower!

What a FUN day it was today!! A perfect day for a shower- literally!! This morning I woke up to gray skies, pouring rain . . . and Madi singing! I hopped on my elliptical while Spencer got up and took off with the girls for shamrock doughnuts at Rolling Pin! While they were gone I got ready for my shower!!

My sweet friends, Alexis and Lauren, wanted to throw me baby shower and this weekend happened to be the best day for everyone! As Alexis said, "It's so much fun having a shower on a holiday." Everything was green and beautiful! Alexis' home is amazing- so warm and inviting! Since it was a rainy day, a fire was appropriate- adding to the serene, cozy environment.

You can't see the sign very well, but it says, "Welcome Baby Jenkins"

They sent it home with me so we can hang it when they baby arrives!

Not the best picture of me (looking very huge and prego next to my tall skinny friend), but Lauren took the group pic posted below and I wanted to make sure she made my baby shower documentation.

Not only did the house look gorgeous, but the food was incredible!! Lauren and Alexis slaved away on the most amazingly delicious brunch- croissant ham & cheese sandwiches (seriously melted in your mouth), amazing salads, a fruit platter and dip, banana bread, pies, a pound cake & berry trifle dessert, and a yummy green punch! I have some really good cooks for friends, and hopefully will be adding all their recipes to my cookbook!

What wonderful friends I have here in Camarillo!! Big thanks to all those who were able to come and for all the fabulous gifts! Our baby now has his "coming home" outfit, favorite blankie (or what I think will be the special one), binkies, bath towels, baby wash, washcloths, the best swaddling blankets, some toys, books, diapers, and lots of clothes (including his very first tie!!). SO fun! Only ten days left till due date!!

38 weeks

2 cm dilated

70% effaced

43 inches around

2 weeks to go!!

After getting checked by my doctor this morning, and mentioning that I've been super uncomfortable the past few days, she asks me (almost as an afterthought), "So you want me to strip your membranes?" My reaction: hold the show - "Oh no, no, no... let's not do that!"

I know I'm close to delivery, but I've got it all planned out in my head how it's gonna happen and I'm not one for things to go unplanned. I still have so much I need to get done and prepared for. The hard thing is, life doesn't slow down when you have other kids keeping you busy. I feel like we go all day long, and then once night time rolls around I'm too tired to dive into any of the projects I've been wanting to finish. I clean up the house and that's about all the energy I can muster. Knowing this baby is only days away from arriving has definitely been a good kick in the butt for me, to get things done. Crossing my fingers for a productive week ahead!

Fat and Happy!

I haven't taken a belly pic in quite awhile (last one I posted was the last one taken), so after our good friend Adam's graduation from the Police Academy this week, I made Lora (his wife, who's 4 weeks behind me-pregnant with her first) join me for a belly pic. Dang my belly's HUGE!!! Luckily this shirt actually covered the whole thing- which seems to be a rarity these days. I swear every single maternity shirt I own barely covers my belly anymore. I'm bigger than I ever remember being and have definitely gained the most weight of any of the 3 pregnancies. I think with both girls I gained a total of 30 pounds. I've already gained 35 with this one and still have 2 1/2 weeks until due date. Yikes! The uncomfortableness set in this week, and I now remember that feeling of wanting the baby out! I'm super excited about the baby shower some of my friends are throwing for me next Saturday. I thought I was fine and had everything I needed, but then started to realize that every bib, blanket, towel, and wash cloth I own is PINK! Shoot- guess I do need a few things. I should probably also pick up some diapers, baby wash, lotion, and butt paste. His room is ready and I'm actually feeling ready now and very excited! Just hoping labor and delivery go as expected- no surprises please!

Schedules

It's no secret that I thrive on schedules. I love knowing what I'm doing everyday, knowing when things are happening, and what upcoming events I have to look forward to. I love having Madi in everyday preschool mostly for the fact that I can keep our days very routine. I struggle on the weekends when we have no plan for the day (especially the many Saturdays that Spencer's had to work). Don't get me wrong, I'm surprising very flexible and fit in lots of last minute events, I just like knowing what I'm doing with my day before I get out of bed (or sometimes it's knowing that I've got stuff to do and places to go that gets me going early:). With a baby coming in just a short 2 1/2 weeks, I've been wondering how his arrival is going to affect and change our daily routine. So, for record keeping sake I wanted to jot down the girls and I's current schedule, knowing that most liking life will be a little different in the coming months.

6:15am I'm awake and head out to the garage to work-out.

7:00am The girls come out to the the garage to let me know they're up.

7:10am Get them to go snuggle with Spencer in bed. Some mornings they're hungry and want breakfast immediately. It's those mornings when I'm off and on the elliptical- getting breakfast, breaking up arguments, getting a morning cartoon turned on, etc. A great morning is when they snuggle with Spencer, Madi informs him of all her dreams (she has the best, vivid dreams every night), and then they all lay in bed and watch a Max and Ruby together. It gives me just enough time to finish my workout.

8:00am Girls finish breakfast, make beds, get dressed, play. I make Spencer's smoothie, toast, and lunch.

8:30am Family prayer, Spencer leaves, I shower and get ready.

The girls play great together in the morning and usually keep themselves entertained with art projects, dress-up, babies, and on warm mornings they'll play outside and ride bikes on our back patio.

This is also when I do laundry (Monday- whites, Tuesday- darks, Wednesday- sheets, Thurs/ Fri- as needed), vacumn, mop floors, and other various cleaning jobs.

10:30am We usually are ready to leave the house by this time.

Monday- always something random (this week was kindergarten registration, next week is a song practice for Madi followed by visiting some of the elderly sisters in Leisure Village)

Tuesday- Doctor appt. and library

Wednesday- Park date at Mission Oaks with friends from our ward

Thursday- Park date at Pitts Ranch with friends from 5th ward

Friday- Also something random- like a morning play date or something. On some days, when the girls are playing fabulously together, we'll just stay home the entire morning.

11:50am Leave to take Madi to school

12-3pm Madi at school/ Elle and I play

Love this time and the one-on-one I get with Miss Elle. She rarely (if ever) takes naps anymore so we'll usually do one outing (Target, Costco, grocery store, play date), picnic in the backyard, stories, and then quiet time for her and short nap for me.

2:50pm Leave to pick up Madi

3:15pm Home. Girls play- always happy to be back together (the 3 hour break is perfect for all of us)!

4:45pm Bath or just ready for bed. Mom makes dinner, girls set the table and await Spencer's arrival.

5:30 - 6pm Spencer home, dinner

6:15pm Teeth brushed, Scriptures and Strength of Youth, family prayer, then stories with Dad

6:45 - 7pm In bed!