Introducing.... Olivia Ryan Muth

Well she's finally here! Our newest bundle of joy, Olivia Ryan Muth - she arrived on Feb 24 @10:29am - weighing in at 8lbs 1oz, 19.5 inches long - believe it or not she's our smallest baby yet!
Monday was looking very discouraging for me, I really thought this day would not come. I went to bed feeling completely fine - not a twinge, not a thing! Around 2am I woke up feeling crummy, not contractions just a little achy all over. I laid awake for hours and nothing.. of course I was not about to jinx myself but lucky for me I didn't - I finally fell back asleep and was woke up at 5:30am with broken water. Let the party begin! She's a Fat Tuesday baby you know! Labor went quick, I started having contractions around 6:30am on our way to the hospital and at 10:29am we had a beautiful baby girl in our arms. I know I'm biased but holy moly - she's perfect! Looks like her brothers but a sweet little girl version! The hospital we delivered at plays a sweet baby tune throughout the entire hospital the minute a baby is born.. is that sweet or what?! I told Jason I couldn't remember what it was like to love someone the second you see them, it doesn't take much, as soon as this sweet little package is placed in your arms - you fall instantly, madly, deeply in love! Seeing Jason with a girl melts my heart - he told me "she's absolutely beautiful" he's right - she is!
Jack and Brady are crazy in love. They can't stop talking about her and when they visit the hospital they hold her and talk to her. Oh how I love my family. What a lucky Mommy I am. Olivia and I will go home tomorrow and I am sure I will have more help than I need! They will be falling all over her. So sweet.

Here are a few snapshots of her. I'm sure in the next weeks I'll be posting bunches.. sorry! I can't help it.

Love, The Muth Family

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...

Seriously.. what in the world is wrong with me?!  Why is it so hard for me to just go into labor on or before a due date?  Or at least a day after?  Nope, not me!  I want to drag this out as long as possible!!  The clock slowly moves, each and every day and we still do not have a baby!  I know my family is about ready to kill me {I've been a bit of a witch lately}.  My poor husband and kids!  I just want them to know that I love them and really, really don't mean to be that way!  I can't even help it and I don't even know that I'm doing it!  So bad... I'm not super uncomfortable, I know that sounds even more strange.  I'm just ready to have a baby, start getting my body back and move forward.  That's really all it is.  I was much more uncomfortable before she dropped, but since she's dropped {a week ago} I'm not so bad!  My very sweet MIL, Mama T brought me a care package yesterday - filled with all things to make me go into labor.  Not really helping - I wish I could say "hey that really worked for me"  But nope!  I do have to say the Girl Scout cookies {Samoa's - is there any other kind?} did help.  They made me feel much better!  And I know Castor Oil is supposed to help but I've gone down that road before and it didn't help, if anything it made me feel worse that I drank that horrible stuff and nothing happened!  At least all of the things I've tried so far have been tasty and smelled good.  That helps - right?!  So enough about this miserable due date stuff.. I'm going to move on and get my evening started.  We'll keep you posted and hopefully have some really good news soon!  

Love, Michelle

Today is the day, the day I'm Due!

Well here we are.. another typical Michelle Muth pregnancy.  No baby yet, not even close to a baby.  I really am good at being pregnant {at least my body is... I don't know about my mental state, you could ask my husband}.  Baby is good, nice strong heartbeat, staying active, head down - good right?!  It would be good if we could just get her delivered.  I went the Midwife route this time.. totally love them.  But I found something out today - they are just not as quick to discuss induction as those wonderful OB's in San Diego.  I'm sure in SoCal the dr's are a little more used to planned deliveries, whereas Midwives just like to let nature take it's course.  I totally wanted that this time - you know that "fun" spontaneous, middle of the night - "oh no, my water broke" thing.. at least that's what I thought.  Today I'm really second guessing myself and wishing I had more options than to let it go another week and a half.  Oh man!  Another week and a half.. whew!  Have I mentioned before that my dear, sweet Brady was induced at 39 weeks {my doc was moving, it was a must} and he weighed 8lbs 13oz..  yep, you heard me right he was a week early and weighed almost 9lbs!!  Oh good Lord!  But my midwife assured me that the little princess here is only about 8lbs {that's what they said about Brady}!  I just know she's going to come out this great BIG wrinkly thing.  I will just cry if her take home outfit doesn't even fit her!  And what about ALL those sweet little Pampers Swaddlers - what Mommy doesn't love the smell of those {clean of course}.  I would be heart broken if she couldn't wear those!  I'm over reacting right?!  She's going to come any time.. this weekend we will be at the hospital delivering our sweet little baby girl.  I just know it!  Does that sound convincing?  

The other day the boys Gramma Sugga took Jack to basketball and on the way there she asked if the teachers were bugging him about his sister being born and he replied that they were bugging me not him {so true} and then she said what about your friends are they asking you?  He so sweetly said - Gramma they are not the least bit interested!  Ha!  How funny is that?!  He is totally right!  Half the kids are just now figuring out that I'm pregnant {not sure why, I really do look pregnant}!  By the time I actually have her the other half will figure it out.  Too cute!  

Well I'm going to go do the eliptical jogging machine - let's see if I can't shake this baby out of me!  We'll keep you posted!

Love, Michelle 

Still not here...

I have 4 days left until my ACTUAL due date and nothing is happening.  I'm about as uncomfortable as you can get but still nothing is happening.  Ugh!  I should never set myself up for an "early" delivery.. I know better.  My kids are happiest when inside the womb.  I'm just too darn accommodating!  This weekend Oregon turned 150, so we packed up the boys and headed down to the state capital, I tried walking the stairs {there are a number of them} just in case that would trigger anything.. nope - nothing but sore calves {pathetic, I know}!  So we wait and wait.  Jason says Weds works good for him, I hope it all turns out the way he wants it too!  

We had a nice Valentine's Day, nothing too fancy as I'm not really in the mood for any fancy dinners out.  At this stage in the game it's a good day if I'm wearing jeans and an actual shirt {everything is so darn uncomfortable}.  I did get a really sweet necklace from my sweetheart.  It's got all 3 babies initials on it {here's a pic of one} - so sweet.  It's kinda of funny because our kids initials if placed in different order spell J.O.B.  and if you know our current situation and how crazy my poor husbands job is.. it's pretty funny!

The boys had a good day too, they each got a new Playmobile set.. those are the best... hours of independent play.  I LOVE IT!!  I also got a homemade dessert.. can you believe it?!  My husband went online and searched for a recipe, found one for chocolate mousse with orange extract {my favorite combo} and made it from scratch.  Even the whipped cream!  It was YUMMY!  I ate every last bite {no comments necessary, I'm NINE months pregnant}!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I'm off to do laundry and some dishes.. ahhh.. it's good to be back after the weekend!  

Love, Michelle

Brady, Brady, Brady....

This sweet little face just about sums him up.  He is the most rotten and lovable little guy ever!  Yesterday we went to the mall to get some new shoes  as soon as we hit the mall Jack is in love.. literally he says to me "I love this mall" {we were at Washington Square, that's big time for us Salem people!} that boy would shop until he dropped {a boy after my own heart!} We walked in, went to the shoe dept. and within minutes Jack has several that he would like to try on for purchase, not Brady nope.. he is content just to grab a balloon and hang.  So after several minutes of talking Jack out of stark white shoes {not in the winter/spring in Oregon.. they would never last} he picks out his and we are working on Brady.  We find a couple of different cute "Benny's" {Converse Chuck Taylors} and get some to try on.  Jack tries his on and is immediately in love and doesn't want to take them off - it didn't matter that the salesman grabbed a size too big... he wasn't giving them up.  Now it's Brady's turn, he tries them on and says "these feel funny, I don't like them" okay, we take them off and try on some others, same story.  So we purchase Jack's {still big but not as big as the first} and of course he wears them out of the store - who wouldn't?!  And now we're off to another store, we get to that store and find nothing interesting, onto the next.  Now we're in the Vans store {which Brady has the exact pair at home, just ratty looking} try on the shoes and he says.. "nope, these feel funny too, I just don't want shoes"  WHAT?!  What did he just say?!  Jack is mortified - who would ever pass up a new pair of anything?  And all I can think is "his Dad will be so proud"  I just cannot believe that we are at the mall with the offer to buy a brand new pair of shoes and he says "no" Jack would have taken a couple more pairs AND some clothes, Brady not really.  He could care less!  He really is his father's child.  Don't get me wrong, Jason dresses nice and always looks good, but if you don't NEED a new pair of shoes {if there aren't holes, or they still fit} why on earth would you get some?  Jack would take a trip to the mall with his Mommy any day of the week and always come home with something to wear, no doubt about it!  

So this morning Brady is home from school with a slight fever, nothing big just not feeling too hot.  I decide after we drop Jack off to run in the grocery store and get a few things we need really fast.  As I'm there I notice there is a meat sale. We head over to the butcher counter and I'm buying some ground beef, minding our own business when the butcher says "good morning" I reply and all of a sudden Brady says "Mom, if my Dad were here he would be way bigger than that guy"  Oh CRAP!  The man wasn't a "little person" just on the short side of things.  I reply "Yep you're Daddy is tall"  and then he says "Even you are bigger than that man"  Oh CRAP!  Now at 8am in the morning the butcher counter isn't exactly slammed with people, he totally could hear my rotten little four year old. I'm not very tall, so you know this guy was short.  I was trying not to laugh, I just couldn't believe that he said that - so loud and clear.  I try to explain to Brady that that wasn't very nice and we quickly move out of the meat dept.  

Just last night Jason said do you think his teachers think he's cute but rotten and don't like him?  Or do you think they just don't like him?  Or do you think they think he's rotten and cute and like him?  My thought is - they think he's cute, rotten and like him, but also worry about what his future is!  He really, truly is a turkey.  And he knows it!  But he's stinking cute!  

No news to report on the arrival of the princess.. I'm sure it's still weeks away.  UGH!  I just want to meet her and be done with my belly.  In the past my kids have been slow to move out, I'm sure she's no different.  We'll keep you posted! 

Love, The Muths

We've come a long way baby!

As we await the arrival of our newest addition and go through the day to day changes in our lives I am {of course} looking back at what life used to be like.  Today Jack lost another tooth.. I am just not ready for that.  He is my baby, and changing so much each and every day!  You can actually have a conversation with him, I mean a real, true conversation.  And he may just give you a fact or two that you didn't already know.  He's a smarty party and takes every bit of information in {so keep that in mind when speaking in front of him - he doesn't miss a beat}!  As I was downloading his new pics I came across some old ones.. Totally nesting!  

I just cannot believe how fast things are changing for us.  Brady was such a chunky little baby and is now changing into this sassy, big boy.  I would never have imagined that!  I need to print out these pics to remind myself of how cute they really are - especially when they are fighting and making me crazy.  Back to my nesting {dishes actually.. yuck}.  

Love, Michelle 

Jack 2 years.. So cute! 

Brady at 2 - his first day of Preschool in SD... 

Look at those little tan feet and chubby fingers.  

Who wouldn't love them?!