Around the House

As I'm sure you can imagine, our house has been pretty crazy these last few months! Here are just a few glimpses of our blessed family as we have adjusted to life as a family of 6.

Our friends Jenn and Xan came a stayed with us for a week when they moved back to Raleigh. We are soooooo glad to finally have them back!

Caroline holding Julianna. She LOOOOVES to be a little mommy!

A daddy and his daughters

My silly girls!

Outdoor fun!

Sydney in pigtails from the front

Sydney in pigtails from the back

Juls soakin' in the tub

Sydney finger painting

** FYI- it is NOT a good idea to have your 15mth old finger paint **

Homeschool craft time

Gotta love sisters!

We are so blessed!

Soccer

Phew... can I breath a sigh of relief now that soccer season is over?! Not that we didn't have a good time, but neither Josh nor I were able to be at a game at the same time, which means each of use had ALL 4 girls to ourselves. I will admit, I did have help early on in the season when Julianna was just a few weeks old (did I really do that??) Despite some coaching issues, the girls had a great time playing and made some friends in the process (so did I!) It was fun having both of the girls on the same team, and Caroline is already counting down the days until T-Ball season!

Fall Baking

This fall has brought on a string of baking days that have been so much fun and so yummy to enjoy and share! Josh got things started by making some muffins with the girls while I was gone in New York. Next came the pumpkin cravings! I just happened to have a can of pumpkin and made some yummy Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins. Our banana's just "happened" to go bad (a real rarity at this house!) so we had to make some banana bread. This, as seen below, was made in small pans so that we could share it. Then, my good friend Missy and I had Pumpkin Fest 2011. We had a great day making pumpkin cookies and breads together from our made from scratch pumpkin puree.

Banana Bread to share

Helpers or taste testers?

Daddy's finished muffins

Sydney helping a little with the measuring cups ;)

stirring Banana Bread mix

Pumpkin seeds that I hope to plant next year

Our pumpkins freshly baked and ready to be pureed

Clemmons Educational State Forrest Field Trip

This is my attempt at updating everyone of life since Julianna was born. I bit of more than I could chew and I'm going to have to do it in pieces instead of one long post. Hope I can keep up!

Field Trips are one of the greatest perks of homeschooling! We can get up and go do something educational whenever we feel like it! Last week we just happened to have one of those days. The weather has been fabulous here and the leaves are starting to change, so I thought the girls would enjoy walking through our local state forrest. So we got in the car not knowing what all the park had in store, but we were very pleasantly surprised!

We chose the "Talking Tree Trail." Every so often there was a post with a tree and a button. You could press the button and hear information about the tree that was labeled in front of you. Although the info was a little much for the girls, they enjoyed hearing the "tree" talk and press the button. It made the walk fun looking out for more "talking trees."

Of course, who can't resist taking a little break on such a cute seat!

Caroline is my little dare devil! She enjoys climbing trees and testing her gross motor skills!

Such sweet sisters!


I am really, really, really going to try and post more of what's been going on in our house the past three months! Let me just say, we do keep busy!

The Story

First of all, I have to start off with God is good! It still amazes me how He made us so complex and the miracles He works through our bodies!
For the past couple of weeks I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions every night. Many times quite regular, but I chose to ignore them, not wanting a repeat of two false alarms like I had with Sydney. I knew that they needed to become intense to be the real thing. Last Thursday I started showing signs that labor would be approaching, so I let my mom know to be ready "just in case." I ended up spending the night at her house on Saturday night because Josh was working that night. Everyone thought it would be best if I wasn't home alone. Sunday morning I woke up with an upset stomach and a bloody show. That made me a little nervous because Josh needed some sleep and I had the girls by myself at church. On top of that, we sit in the front pew and the LAST thing that I wanted was to have to get up in front of the whole church with my kids. I would have everyone chasing me down asking questions! Luckily, nothing so dramatic happened at church. I was feeling well, I even stayed behind for the Potluck lunch after church. Not an easy thing for a girl 2 days shy of her due date with 3 kids. I did want Josh to get some sleep and the thought of not getting the house messy with lunch food was very appealing. It was actually a little humorous, someone came up to me mentioning that she didn't even know I was pregnant again!
After church I rested as normal and got up to get ready for Common Bond (our small groups for church). The girls really enjoy playing with their friends and I again couldn't pass up not having to clean up after a meal. My stomach was still getting upset, even though I knew I hadn't eaten anything that would bother it. No contractions though, so I just ignored it.
I got home and put the kids to bed and was ready to relax. Josh and I spent some time together and watched "The Perfect Storm." Must have been the change in barometric pressure from the movie :) cause I started having contractions while we were watching it. They started off about 6 minutes apart and then suddenly changed to 3. I knew the birth center wanted me at 5cm when I came in and I really wanted to make sure it was the real thing, so I hung out for a while, trying to make sure they were real contractions and getting more intense.
Around midnight I finally made the call to the midwife. She already had a woman in labor so she told me to just come on in. We made all our phone calls for child care and headed out. We didn't go racing down the road or anything, I actually enjoyed our hour drive to the birth center. Josh kept me distracted talking about life, we listened to music and just enjoyed each others company.
We arrived at the birth center and learned that I was 3cms. Not where I wanted to be, but she said we could stay and rest and see if the contractions kept going. Once we got there, we learned another mom and called in and was coming. 3 birthing women at once! My nightmare! Luckily, the recruits were called in and another midwife came to share the load. I tried to lay down and rest, but it was not comfortable. My back started hurting more, so I got up to do some pacing and leaning. I strapped on my TENS Unit and started reading the Bible. I'm not that holy, but that was all I had to distract me at the time, so that's what I used, not a bad choice though :) The contractions started getting more intense and were requiring some effort to focus through. I asked the nurse about a bath so she started filling the tub. I got in and sat for about 2 minutes before I realized that the water was really cold and it wasn't helping at all. On for the next thing. We tried the birthing ball next. I got to a point where I needed some confirmation that I was progressing. 5cm. Kinda a blow. I was really hoping to be close to transition. If I had been in a hospital, I would have gotten an epidural, no turning back now! She checked and found out that I had sprung a leak in my amniotic fluid, but that it hadn't broken yet. Progress was progress though!
I stayed in bed for a while with the midwife sitting next to me and Josh in bed next to me. It was very soothing. The midwife knew just what to say to help me focus and I loved having Josh so close. When I thought she was gone I would break down a little, just to realize she was still there and she would encourage me. The pain was getting really intense. I moved to the birthing ball, it was great! I would actually get so relaxed on the ball that contractions would come as a surprise. I started feeling pressure and the urge to push so I asked the midwife to check me again. 7-8cm. WHAT!!! NO WAY! This thing has got to end soon! I'm started to make noises I didn't know I could make. She offered me a deal! She offered to break my water, which I said yes to gladly and then she massaged my cervix to help it dilate quicker, all while allowing me to push as I wanted. PERFECT! The next 15 minutes were INSANE! I can't begin to describe the pain and desperation that I felt, but PRAISE GOD, Julianna Joy was born at 6:57am. It was surreal, I had just delivered a baby naturally! They laid her on me and I was in bliss! Julianna was finally here!
My recovery went well and I was surprised that I was actually ready to leave after 4 hours. We ended up staying about 7 hours just finishing up paperwork and such and glady left to take our newest baby home to meet the rest of the family!

Julianna Joy Bradley

Julianna Joy Bradley

Born July 25, 2011

7lbs 14oz

19 inches

It's Fun to be One

When did my baby grow up? Today is Sydney's first birthday. I just can't believe how quickly time flies! I had so many flashbacks today of Makayla and Caroline's first birthday's; it is just amazing how quickly this journey of parenting can fly by!

Today we celebrated with our family for dinner. We invited my folks, my grandma and my sister's family to join in the festivities. I slaved all day ordering the pizza :)

Makayla was very enthusiastic about helping me set up for the party, so here is a samping of my future hostess-to-be's work. What a lovely fork display :)

I know, this cake is not nearly as elaborate as Makayla's, but hey, I did it myself. Next time I know that I should splurge on the extra frosting and use real cake decorating tips.

I thought this was such a cute captured moment of Sydney and Gram Gram enjoying some quality time together before the party started. Sydney sat there for at least 5 minutes, almost a record!

Here she is, so excited to open the gift that her sister's picked out for her. I was so proud of Makayla and Caroline. They were playing with the change in their wallets and decided on their own that they wanted to get Sydney a birthday present. I packed them all up and took them to the Dollar Tree and let them pick out whatever they wanted. Narrowing things down to just one was difficult, but in the end they were both pleased with their choice.

Stacking blocks from her cousins. I know, you would think we would have had our own set, now we do!

It's difficult deciding what to play with. The new toys, the wrapping paper or a toy that's already been opened! She enjoyed them all!

YUM! Her first taste of chocolate. She was a little hesistant at first, but she quickly got the hang of it! We were all pleased by her reaction and the mess that she made.

She thought she was so funny sitting in the sink to get rinsed off. I LOVE this picture!

BFF's

It's amazing the memory that my girls have! We have some great friends from college that live within visiting distance that we see a couple times a year. They have two beautiful children, one including a daughter close in age to my oldest 2. Even with as rare as it is that we get to see each other, my girls always remember visiting with them and talk about them regularly. Makayla even wanted to invite their daughter to her birthday party (too bad for the drive!).

Unfortunately for us, our friends have obeyed God's call and are moving to Kansas to help out with a church plant. Since Kansas is not within visiting distance, we wanted to get one more visit in before the move (and before baby #4). Let me tell ya, 5 kids in the house is a handful!! We might not have had room to all sit around the table or fit in the same car, but we had a great time together!

One must do activity was go to the beach. Since we only like 1 1/2 hours from the beach, this was a great day trip! We were having such a blast I only was able to snatch one really good picture. But believe me, we were there all day playing in the water and sand and having a fun time enjoying a beautiful day at the beach.

The men proved to be true dads and took the kiddos (minus Sydney) to Marbles Kids Museum for the day. That is one of our absolute favorite places to go (especially with our family membership!) I think my kids could live there!

And finally, we have a tradition of putting a the girls in the tub together and taking a pic. You can view and old picture in this post! It's neat watching the kids grow up and grow older together!



In other Bradley News:
Sydney's 1st birthday is on Saturday, so be anxiously awaiting a post with pictures of her special day!

I am 36 weeks pregnant! Where did this pregnancy go? I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to... I'm not quite ready to have a baby in the house again, but I'm not sure how much longer I want to be pregnant! The Lord has truly blessed me with a comfortable end of the pregnancy. I am amazed everyday how little my body is bothering me as compared to my other pregnancies. This will definetely help me be patient for this last month or so.

My T-Ball Star

Up to the Plate

Smack the Ball!

Run to First

My Star Player

It's hard to believe that T-Ball season has come to an end. We had a little rough start with some coaching issues, but I ended very pleased with Makayla's experience this summer. She even got upset about her last game, wanting the season to keep going. Next stop - Soccer!

Joyful Chaos Giveaway

My favorite blog to keep up with is the story of a former Amish woman and her stories from growing up. She is having a cute giveaway this week of a daily calendar with Amish pictures. You can enter it by clicking the here.

This Too Shall Pass

God is merciful! One week ago today I passed my kidney stone; the one the Doctor told me that I wouldn't pass! It was so wonderful! Although there was no immediate relief since I still had the stent, I cherished the emotional relief! The stone isn't dead on in the picture, cause I know I measured it at 5mm. I called the new urologist the next day at got an appointment for 12:30, which I was amazed by! He was impressed with the stone and said that since I passed it we could take the stent out. I responded with, "How about in 5 minutes?" He laughed and said we might get an appointment later that day because they needed a special room with special equipment. But do you know what? The room was ready RIGHT AWAY! I would like to say relief was immediate, but they did put a scope up my urethra. Within a couple of days I was feeling as good as new, or at least as good as someone who is 33 weeks pregnant! It has been wonderful! I feel like I am back to being part of the real world again, I was in such a stupor from the Hydrocodone and just my sour mood for 3 weeks! Of course, now is the wake up call - we are having a baby! How did we miss that? It's still not quite a reality yet that our worlds are going to be rocked in about 6 weeks. Are we really going to have baby #4? Are we that nuts? I know she will be a blessing. I've created a mental image of her and am curious to see how she matches up to what I have pictured.

In other Bradley family news:

Makayla has her last t-ball game this week, so I guess I'd REALLY need to take some pictures then, huh? It's been a fun season and I've really enjoyed her coach. Now the countdown begins for soccer, at least both Makayla and Caroline will be playing together. Makayla has also been making a point that Caroline stop calling her Kayla and to call her Mak (which is my preference for a nickname. We also bumped Makayla up to a "big girl" carseat. It's a high-back booster. She is just never gonna weigh enough for just a booster, but at least she gets to use a real carseat and can get herself buckled and unbuckled, which will be essential when Julianna gets here!

Caroline will get her booster soon. We wanted to test out Makayla's before getting two. Although, Caroline is able to buckle and unbuckle herself in her carseat. She keeps getting comments about her haircut, I guess I will have to take a better picture of it to show it off. It just really fits her face so well.

Sydney is reaching the point where she is not a baby anymore! We are weening her off of the bottle! Woohoo! She loves milk and does great with her sippy cup. Of course now, if she can't feed herself she almost rather not eat. So we are having to be creative with the foods we are serving her. Who knew mac n' cheese was a finger food! Tonite we worked together using a spoon with some fruit sauce. I had totally forgotten about this messy eating stage and am not to excited about it, but this too shall pass :) Her signal for "all done" is to throw everything on the floor, but we are working on some better options. She is also taking off with her pulling up. She's starting to "cruise" a little bit and can speed crawl with the best of them. I'm not sure that I'm ready for a walker though....

Julianna is doing great! She's running out of room, so although she is less active, she still packs the punches. Tuesday I will be 34 weeks! We are getting to the point where we actually have to think about birthing this baby (I say "we", Josh is still learning his part of the "we") Our birth plan is due at 36 weeks, but I still have some questions about the whole process. You would think by baby number 4 I would have this down....

Josh and I are doing great. He continues to be the best husband in the world. Work is still a little stressful, but we enjoy his time off together.

My Princesses and an Update

It's been a while since I posted pictures of the girls, so I thought I would post the latest pics of the girls. Makayla and Caroline thought it would be fun to put a crown on Sydney. It was too cute so we snapped some pictures. You can also kind of see Caroline's new haircut. She has a cute little bob that fits her well. Makayla wants her hair to grow down to her toes so we skipped her haircut. Sydney is not yet one and doesn't have any hair to cut yet, although she sports the best looking mullet I've ever seen!

I wouldn't say that not much has happened since I've last posted since technically I haven't been doing much except being in pain. This kidney stent is not much fun at all! To say the least I am uncomfortable and in pain ALL the time. It makes it very difficult to be a mommy, so I have been checking out my options. I went back to the urologist to discuss some options and didn't get the response I was hoping for. So I decided to go to a different Dr. for a second opinion. Although I pretty much got the same answer (you're stuck with the stent for the rest of the pregnancy) he was such a nice and informative Dr. I went away feeling satisfied. There is a procedure that I can choose to have done at 36 weeks when they switch my stent. I will pray about it and see how these next few weeks go and then make a decision. I was glad that he was at least willing to give me the option to have the procedure that I want. Let me tell ya, bed side manner really makes a difference, especially when you're a hormonal pregnant patient. So I chose the second Dr. to recieve all my money to switch the stent, he just made me feel better.

On top of all my exciting health problems, Joe, the dog, has been going through a terrible struggle with allergies. Poor thing! Well, really poor us after we pay for all the meds he needs! And then we continue to build our pediatricians vacation fund. Sydney has her second yeast infection in like a month. I didn't realize that when you use cloth diapers you have to kill the yeast in the diapers as well as treat the baby. It makes sense, I just didn't know! So we've got that added to our plates now as well.

Can you say stressed??? I am working REALLY hard at remaining peaceful, but it is very difficult. Josh has been a superhero these past three weeks, I am so thankful to have him as a husband. We're looking forward to Julianna getting here so things can calm down a little bit ;) Oh my!