hospital fun

I've been in the hospital for 3 nights now. Today I get to go home. I can't wait. There's something so sweet about going home to your own bed. Now, I've enjoyed my stay here as well. I've been waited on hand and foot by the nurses, my meals were prepared and delivered to me, housekeeping cleaned, I had a large bedroom and bathroom (and I loved the shower head from the ceiling), enjoyed free snacks and drinks, and the best part, had lots of visitors! But it's always nice to get back home. Get back to a new normal.

Well, Lincoln is about 3 days old now. I was eagerly waiting for him, full of questions and wonder.

Will he look like Jonathan? - no, he looks nothing like him

Who will he look more like? - me

Will he cry all the time like Jonathan did? - no, over all he's a very quiet baby, and he sleeps lot!

Will nursing be easier this time? - yes, he caught on very well, after he finally did start eating. He was so tired that first day he had no interest in eating

How will Jonathan react? - he loves babies, so the first first times he was interested in looking at him, touching him, trying to give him hugs, etc. It was so cute. I don't think he realizes he will be going home with us. That will be the true test! :)

Those have been the main questions on my mind and I look forward to getting to know Lincoln, and to see how our family will grow together.

So I have a few more hours here. I sit here, waiting for my breakfast from room service. My baby sleeps in the crib next to me, and I enjoy these quiet moments. Nathan is at home with Jonathan. He needed his own bed (Both of them). I sit here and reflect on the past few days, and wait for my new normal to start this afternoon.

I love my boys, all 3 of them!

Baby Boy Steele has arrived!

He's Here!!!

Lincoln William Steele

Wed, May 25, 2011

7 lbs 4 oz

19 inches long

Cute as a button.

Pics to follow soon!

God has truly blessed us!

Thoughts before baby

Tomorrow is the big day.... the day our 2nd child will come into this world!

I am so tired of being pregnant, so I am excited. I feel like I've been pregnant for 2 years!

I can not wait to see him, to see how similar or different he'll look from Jonathan as a baby, and to make sure he really is a boy! I don't know why I have my doubts... but I do!

I can't wait to hold a baby again! Jonathan is growing up so fast!

I'm anxious to see how Jonathan will react to a new baby. He has no idea that his world is about to change.

I'm nervous about having 2 kids, 15 months apart. What challenges will I run into? Will Jonathan adjust okay? Will baby Lincoln wake him up during the night? I don't think I'll do too well if I have 2 crying kids... and I know Nathan wont' enjoy waking up to take care of Jonathan.

I'm nervous about the c-section. I'm excited that I know the date and time, and VERY glad that I don't have to go through labor pains this time. 18 hours of labor prior to the last c-section was NOT fun. However, at that point I was so anxious to be done I didn't have time to THINK about surgery. Now it's all I think about. I pray that everything goes well. I know it's a routine thing, it's just not something I go through everyday. The thought of being cut open is not very appealing, but labor pains aren't either.

I'm nervous about the fact that I can't pick up Jonathan for the 1st 2 weeks. He won't be very happy about that. He won't be able to climb over me when we are sitting on the couch, or playing on the floor.

I'm thankful for my husband, my mom, and my mother-in-law who will be helping me out these first few weeks.

In 24 hours... I will be in surgery, hearing the precious 1st cry of a newborn baby! How sweet a sound that will be!

Here is my latest picture, 38 weeks: I can't wait to be skinny again!!!

Softball

We went to Nathan's softball game last night. Jonathan always enjoys going. He's so cute. He claps when our team is up, and he loves to watch the guys playing. When he gets bored with the game he plays in the dirt. After the game Daddy gave him a ride on his shoulders. Jonathan apparently was really relaxed and enjoying it, because he decided to rest against the batters bag. At one point he had his arm resting on it, he was so cute! :)

Lunch and play date

Today we met up with Marissa, Abi, Eliza, and Ethan for a play date. We went to McDonald's for lunch, played in the play area for a while and then headed to the park for some fresh air since it was so nice out. We had a great day!!! Enjoy the pictures!

he was really enjoying those french fries!!!

At the Park in Grafton:

Jonathan loves to swing!!!

Ethan was having fun!

Eliza pushing Jonathan on the swing..

my ramblings

It's almost nap time for Jonathan. I love that time of day. That means I can finally shower, or take a nap myself. Today I'll shower. He woke me up early, so I'm really tired, but I'm enjoying getting things done, and we have a lunch play date, so if i nap, that will make us late.

Last night I went to cheesecake factory with 8 other mom's from our Moment's for Mom's from church. It was yummy. I had pasta with meat sauce, and then Linda's fudge cake for dessert. SOOO yummy! I don't even want to think about how many calories was in that cake, it was so worth it. Besides, doesn't most of the calories go to baby?

I was able to get a lot accomplish this morning! I had some general housecleaning (a little more than usual since I was out last night, and that left the two boys alone, and that means nothing will get done before bed). I did a small amount of dishes, made the beds, picked up Jonathan's room, and all the toys in the living room. I was also able to get some scrapbooking done. I'm almost caught up on our family album. My goal is to have it done before Lincoln arrives so then in august I'll scrapbook the summer months. I love scrapbooking, it's probably the only real hobby I have and LOVE to do. I feel like other than that, I'm a boring person overall.

I love to document my life through pictures. My scrapbooks keep my past alive for me. Nathan and I really enjoy pulling them out and just looking through them and remembering everything that we do. I've even scrap-booked getting a new washing machine, that's how pathetic I am. I do find that with Jonathan here, I tend to forget to take pictures of everything, I need to work on that. He has 2 albums documenting his 1st 13 months of his life, and I'm going to start his 3rd album soon. I hope to keep up like that for Lincoln, I don't want be one of those mom's that as they have more kids, there is less and less pictures. With digital camera's there is no excuse for me, except laziness or forgetfulness. For example, we got together with our mom's for mother's day outings/dinners, and I didn't get one picture!!! I'm so upset about that! (we might have to go back to coldstone and get a pictures, and pretend it's mother's day. Who's going to remember that 5 years from now...lol) I just know, things in life change so quickly, and I want every moment to be documented. It's just who I am, and what I love to do! As of right now, I have 26 completed scrapbooks! That's not counting the ones I did for my parents (about 6 or 7) and the one I did for kevin and Liz. I LOVE scrapbooking. I wish I got paid to scrapbook. I feel like they aren't always the best, and when comparing them to pages of others, I'm sometimes disappointed in my work, but then I remember, this is something I DID, and I love them. And besides, it's not cheap to make pages like the ones I compare mine to. If I did that, each scrapbook would be close to $400/500! So, I'll keep on making them the way I do, and I love each one of them! I envision myself in a nursing home some day with hundred's of scrapbooks all around me. My memories documented!

well, I've rambled enough for one day. I think it's time to put Jonathan down for a nap! yippy!

I've been spending a lot of time in thought and prayer today. I know that when things get hard, turning to God's word is the only comforting thing for me. GOD's love is powerful. He gives me an inner peace. It's when I start to dwell on thing that I get anxious, sad, and worried. That is not what God intends for my life. He wants me to be filled with hope, love, and patience. Here are a few verses that I found today that has helped me. Psalm's is an amazing book. It's comforting to know that everyone though out time has gone through trials and that GOD is always there to get them through it. I'll always turn to God in time of need. Thank you God for being here for me!

Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He heard me,And delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 94:19
In the multitude of my anxieties within me,Your comforts delight my soul.

Psalm 34:19

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

heartache

Prayer..... is powerful

Leaning on Christ.... is comforting

I am so thankful that God is here, and listens to my heart, my thoughts, my fears. My heart is heavy right now, but I know GOD is always there, and will help us though this time.

I look forward to Lincoln arriving in 10 days! So much to be thankful for at the same time!

2 weeks

2 weeks until my second precious baby arrives!!!!

I don't think I'm gong to make it.....

I've had a cough, and I'm worried it won't be gone in time for my c-section, and that will be horrible during recovery!

I'm not sleeping well.

work is hard, thank God I'm done on Tuesday.

heartburn, backaches, and contractions... not a fun combination.

That is my ranting right now, I don't have anything else going on. I'm just anxious, and want that baby to be here. I'm having a scheduled c-section May 25th at 9 am, but I won't mind if I go into labor early and go into surgery earlier... as long as this cough is gone.

Easter 2011

We had two Easter's this year. We celebrated with my family the weekend before. Jonathan got his 1st Easter basket, including, a book, and Easter bunny stuffed animal, a small bunny that hops when you wind it up, and candy.

On Easter Sunday we went to Nathan's family's house. We had an Easter egg hunt, which was fun. Jonathan wasn't quite sure what to do, but he did put a lot of eggs in his basket!

Face lift!

My kitchen got a face lift this past month! I was so excited. When we moved into the house I didn't do anything with the kitchen. Didn't know what theme I wanted to stick with. But I returned to my old theme, Italian chefs! I LOVE IT!!! A special thanks goes out my mother-in-law Bonnie for helping me with project (or should I say, doing it for me since I was 8 months pregnant when I decided I wanted it done :) ).

Before:

After:

We are still going to try to add a splash of red to the other side of the kitchen. I just have to find something I like to put on the walls, and some red towels for the sink! fun fun fun!