We're HOME...

We are home and so happy about that. We are all doing well. More details about her birth soon but I went from a 5.5 to a 10 and delivered in 35 minutes. It was fast and a little scary, but we're all fine.

she is finally here!!

Peyton Brooke Watts

3:05 7lbs. 7ozs.

19 inches long

She's coming...

Grandma & Kaitlyn are here... the Christmas Decorations are put away... the house is full of food... the bags are packed (we'll not really)... and tomorrow (@ 8am)... I'm being INDUCED.

Wish me luck, I'm a little nervous!

Christmas...

Although it was the first year EVER that we have missed all of the Family Christmas Parties, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day we still were able to have an enjoyable Christmas. We really had a good time and the boys LOVED every minute of this Christmas Season. Today I have been taking down the Christmas Decorations and Tree and Ammon and Carter have been crying. Really sad, but... I need to get it all put away before the baby comes...

Proof that my husband loves me...

I love you too!

Preschool Polar Express Party

The last day of school before Christmas Ammon's preschool had a Party. The theme was "The Polar Express", it was so cute. They started with his teacher reading the story and then the kids could hear the train coming, so they went to get on. They had to have a ticket and Carter was feeling really left out. Ammon, being the nice big brother that he is, gave Carter his ticket and let him sit with him on "the train". He shared his hot cocoa and let him do everything with him, I loved seeing my boys watch out for each other. What a fun day!!!

What we're up to...

Well lately we have had lots going on with Mike wrapping up his first semester, YIPEE. Ammon in preschool and getting ready for baby. So I will start with...

Mike... Well lets just say we haven't seen a whole lot of him the past 4 1/2 months. He has been soooo incredibly busy with homework and studying. He has done really well though. He has finished 9 out of 10 finals (and has done well on all of them), the last one is tomorrow night!!!!! We can't wait. I am so proud of him, this has been sooooooo hard. Much harder then we could have ever imagined, but we are glad we are to this point all ready. Only spring semester and then a shorter summer semester and then he will start rotations the beginning of September. So far we understand that the year of rotations will be much easier, depending on the rotation, and we will have more family time. So I guess we'll see if that is the case. Awesome job, babe! We love you!

Me... I am trying to be patient with my kids, really I am, but it's getting harder the bigger I get. I feel like I have a 20 pound bowling ball in my stomach that I have to manually turn when I'm in bed at night. Not to mention all of the pain & swelling that is coming along with the pubic symphysis pain... not fun, can't wait to get rid of that. I am getting really nervous to give birth to this baby. You would think by baby #3 you would know what to do and expect but I feel as unprepared as I was with baby #1, not sure why??? Probably the new Dr. & new hospital has a lot to do with it, but we are just hoping that the delivery goes as smoothly as it has in the past. I have had quite a few days lately that I am wondering if "this is the day". I haven't ever gone into labor so all of this is TOTALLY NEW to me. I've been feeling lots of weird pains and pressure that I haven't ever had before, so hopefully that's good news.

Ammon... He loves preschool and is still learning a lot. He loves to go but really misses Carter and I when he's there. It's so cute to see him run to Carter and give him a hug when we pick him up. He is also so cute when I drop him off, he has to give me a kiss and then my belly a kiss (over my shirt) and says "love you Peyton" quietly. He is truly a sweet little boy. He loves to make us happy. He also loves to draw. He can draw better dogs and people then I can, not that that says much, but he's only 4. He is really smart and he knows it. He has such a strong "leader" personality, and I know one day his stubbornness and independent attitude will really be a good thing. Just not so much when you are FOUR. I love you Ammon!

Carter... well let's just say that about 6 weeks ago he shoved a q-tip through his ear drum... and has been quite the grouch since. Since then he isn't suppose to get his ear wet at all, which has been a nightmare. We are still waiting to get him into a E.N.T. Specialist, darn insurance is taking their time. He was on antibiotics and it didn't heal on it's own, so it still hurts and makes him ornery. Other then that he is definitely a little bully. He loves to tease, and drive Ammon NUTS. But they are also best buds. He does have a sweet side, it just doesn't come out as often as it use to. He wants to play pillow fight with Dad and Ammon every night and after he throws the pillow at Dad he runs over to ask "Are you alright, Dad?" It really cracks us up. He loves to; cuddle, wear weird outfits (& sunglasses and hats), make us laugh, drive us crazy with his CONSTANT whining, eat all of his food and then Ammons, go to the park, be with Daddy, etc. He also really wants to go to preschool with Ammon. But since he's not old enough and isn't potty trained, he can't. Not to mention that there is no way we could afford to sent two kids to preschool even though I WOULD LOVE IT. Even though you are a STINKER (I'm sure it's the age), I love you so much!

So that's us in a nutshell, we are enjoying Christmas and California. We have made lots of friends lately and that is a huge blessing. I was told to give it 6 months here before I decided if I really hated it or not and I don't know what is so magical about 6 months but it has been true for us as well. It's really not that bad, other then being away from family. We have adjusted well. We are looking forward to "CELEBRATING" the end of this semester on Friday at Disneyland. Hopefully I can keep up all day and then still have energy to stay until it snows on main street. I may need a wheelchair.

According to Carter...

{You can wear a tie with ANYTHING}

You know you love this outfit (and Ammon in the background in his undies). One church shoe, one Thomas slipper, basketball shorts, Pj shirt and A TIE! I sure do and I never want to forget his silly style.

Confessing...

MY DISNEYLAND SIN... I had to go there yesterday because it was my birthday and because I'm an annual passholder I got a $72.00 gift card (This year they give everyone free admission on their b-day, but since I have a pass I get a gift card). So I know I shouldn't go to Disneyland on Sunday, but I had to go on my birthday or else I wouldn't have gotten my GIFT. FYI... we didn't ride any rides, or spend any of the $ on the gift card. We plan to do that on FRIDAY! But... it was a perfect time to bring my camera and take some pictures of Disneyland at Christmas... JUST MAGICAL!

My sweet husband made this BEAUTIFUL cake for me! It really did taste so yummy. He likes to put on the frosting when the cake is hot so it melts into the cake. It's especially yummy with lemon cake and frosting. I love you babe! Thanks for a super fun 26th Birthday... yep I'm getting OLD!

full-term...

Everything's washed, folded, hung-up, and ready... any time now... but NO RUSH, I still want to go to Disneyland and see the SNOW ON MAINSTREET next weekend. So go ahead and keep on cookin! Thanks to all my cute friends & family that have made/gave me such fun stuff... you're all the best!

Wowzers... 21 more days... three weeks...

I can barely believe it, yet I swear I've been pregnant for an ETERNITY.

I can't wait to.......................

lay on my tummy

(even though I know my boobs will be so engorged it will still hurt)

take a deep breath

hold my little baby and snuggle all day

lose the 16 lbs I've gained so far

(plus all the other weight)

quit peeing every 15 minutes

"pop" my back

hold my kids normal when we read books

(instead of on the sides)

enjoy not having contractions all the time

not have "heartburn"

not have to go the Dr's all the time and take my kids

I will miss...........................

feeling her move

seeing her move

(I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them right now, maybe there really isn't anything else I will miss)

@ 36 weeks

{December 4th}

* I am feeling the "nesting" stage.

* She feels like she has had a MAJOR growth spurt the last couple days.

* The full-body moves in my tummy take my breath away.

* I don't have many clothes that fit me anymore. I've always been BIG pregnant in the summer. And I don't want to buy any more maternity clothes.

* I am getting very anxious to see her and make sure she is healthy.

* I keep having weird nursing dreams, but she is a HE.

* I'm pretty sure she is still transverse (laying sideways in my tummy). She really needs to get head down quickly.

* Heartburn isn't as bad as it was a couple weeks ago, I don't know why.

* I just keep looking at all of her stuff and I get sooooooo excited to dress her all up.

* I have pubic symphisis pain (or how ever you spell that)... REALLY BAD. I've never had this before and it's not fun at all!

* Can't wait to see if I have dilated and effaced more. I go on Monday.

Happy, Happy Birthday Dad!

{December 4th} We just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday. You are an awesome Papa! Hope you have a fun weekend getaway with Mom.

pink fuzz...

Sunday I started washing some of my baby girl stuff and what did I find in the dryer... pink fuzz! I was so excited, I've NEVER seen pink fuzz before. {only 29 more days}

I'm ready, Mom!

What a sense of STYLE... he definetly didn't get that from ME.{ Yes, a huge shirt. Way too small of pants. And, CHURCH SHOES.}

Meet Mr. Cool... yep that's what we call him although he is usually wearing a hat and sunglasses all day. This kid is hilarious and we are constantly laughing at him. He absolutely has to get his way or else... major tantrum...

We sure love his silly personality & hope he outgrows the tantrums!

So Thankful...

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Ammon had a preschool Thanksgiving Party. He said "I am Thankful for my family and my toys". He is such a sweet boy. I'm so thankful he is part of our family. He adds so much and is such a good helper. He thinks he can do anything and everything for himself and almost burnt our house down after microwaving some popcorn for 10 minutes while I was upstairs packing to leave for Thanksgiving (The microwave still stinks and it's been a week and 2 days ago). He definitely keeps me on my toes!

Thanksgiving was so much fun. We left for St. George Tuesday night after Mikes 7:15 class. It was LATE and I was having contractions every 3 minutes. We almost turned around and went home, I'm so glad we didn't. We all needed the break, especially Mike. It was so nice to see all of our family and spend time with them. (Unfortunately I forgot to take many pictures). My Dad's family came from Las Vegas and the dinner was so yummy. My Mom and I tried some new recipes and they were all a hit, especially the sweet potatoes... even though my Dad was not so excited for something different... everyone couldn't get enough of them. Then Friday we spend the day with Mikes family. We went to Pizza Factory and then to his brothers house. We all had so much fun playing with cousins and catching up. Then on Saturday before we left I went to Sydney's bridal shower. Her and my little brother (Keaton) are getting married on December 18th. I really don't know if we will be able to make it because of this baby and that makes me sad. I want to be there but I don't want to deliver in the van. So I guess time will tell. Then sadly, we had to head home. After many tears on my part, we drove to Primm and stayed the night then got up early to make the rest of the drive before everyone else woke up and made traffic horrible. Really like at a stand still for a couple hundred miles. Yeah, that doesn't sound fun to me. I originally was going to stay until Friday but decided to go home with Mike because of all the contractions I had while I was there and especially driving. So it was a fun break, too bad it couldn't have lasted longer!!!!!

Help me...

Okay, so I am in need of a few new things for this baby. First a video monitor... I know I want one but I have no idea what one to buy. So, does anyone have one and LOVE it. I need to purchase it soon, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be hard to keep the boys away from the new baby and I plan on locking her in my room and then watching her on the video monitor. So please if you have one, let me know what you think. Second, I've never loved any of my nursing bras. Have you? I need to buy a few of these so they can't be that expensive but I want a good one. Third, I want one of those really cute diaper bags that are cloth on the outside. I heard someone say they are really expensive and you can buy them at like Nordstrom or something. But, I really don't want to pay a ton... so do you know of any that are cheaper??? Anyways, hopefully by posting this I will be able to get some feed back so I don't buy crap and hate it. You can even email me if you don't want to leave a comment. {erinbwatts@yahoo.com} Thanks!!! ***Oh and Thanksgiving was awesome, cut short, but more to come later when I have caught up on the house and LAUNDRY.

Thankful for...

1. Family! Mike's Mom and sister (Terri, who is from Mississippi) came and spent a few days with us. They were so much help. This trip couldn't have had better timing, they watched the boys for me while I went to a Doctors appt. The perinataltoloigist (high-risk specialist)... TWICE! So three appointments in three days. Which I don't know what I would have done if they weren't here because I could NOT take anyone with me under the age of 14. So this trip was perfect! Thanks guys!!! On Wednesday we went to Newport Beach and it was a beautiful day. Carter LOVED chasing the seagulls and Ammon loved playing in the ocean. Right when I went to take this picture this guy who was skimming the water just happened to be in the picture. It honestly startled me a bit, but I think it's so funny. He looks like he's going to put his hand on Ammon's head.

{Grandma Watts, Terri and Carter}

2. A HEALTHY BABY! After going to the perinataltologist twice it's safe to say her heart is perfectly healthy. Her heart rate is NORMAL. (I told you the nurse didn't know how to use the monitor). They checked all of her valves and if they were functioning correctly and they were. I'M SO , SO , GRATEFUL. Even though I had a very calm feeling about it all, it was so nice to be reassured. I also found out that she loves her hands by her face, and that on Wednesday, November 11th she weighed 4 lbs 10 ozs. The ultrasound was so awesome. I got to see her cute little face with her hands covering her lips (in 3-D). I think she looks like Carters newborn pictures. I guess we will see pretty soon since today I am 33 weeks.

Uneventful?!?!?!?!

DID I JINX MYSELF?

Well lets just say Friday I ended up in the hospital. Contractions 2-5 minutes apart. Dilated between a 1 and a 2. And I had a fever of 101. Couldn't figure out why. None of my labs explained where the infection was, except that my white blood count was high. They gave me an antibiotic through an IV, along with fluids because I was dehydrated. And also a shot of (Breathing) to stop the contractions. One nurse detected an irregular heartbeat with my baby, so now I have to go to a specialist. {I really think she didn't know how to use the machine and was getting my heartbeat along with the babies (that had already happened earlier), because I had already been monitored for 5 hours and no one else heard anything unusual. But, it's better to be safe then sorry.}

My ward found out because I wasn't at Super Saturday and they have been beyond AWESOME. They have brought in meals and offered to take the boys & do laundry or whatever. I am feeling lots better now, my fever is gone. Because of contractions and shivering my muscles ached, and that is getting better too. I'm so grateful for our ward and my husband who really helped out and did the laundry, cleaned the house (including the bathrooms), watched the kids. I now just have to take it easy, which isn't easy, I can't sit still!!!

{@ 31 weeks}

Last Friday I turned 31 weeks pregnant. I really can't believe I'm that far along, but yet it feels like I've been pregnant forever. Everything is going well, pretty uneventful- which I'm thankful for. Although, I didn't pass the 1-hour glucose test so I had to do the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. I did it last Friday when my parents were here and they watched the boys for me, what a huge blessing that was. It was really actually relaxing to just sit there and read the Ensign for 3 hours. I almost read every article in the May Ensign which was all the conference talks. I loved it. I didn't love the fact that I was fighting throwing up that sugary-orange drink. It really was so nasty, way worse then the normal 1-hour drink...yuck!

Here are a few things from my Dr's appt last Friday, the day I turned 31 weeks...

* He really wants me to get the H1N1 vaccine and my boys.

* I am measuring bigger then normal, 33 weeks.

* I have gained a little under 5 lbs since I started going to Dr. Gonzalez at 20 weeks.

* I have gained 9 lbs TOTAL, I don't know how that has happened. I eat all the time.

* My babies heart beat was about 140 (it ranged from 135-144) .

*****I am so excited to have this baby... but I'm also really scared...but I can't wait to see her and make sure everything is fine... what an exciting time*****

UPDATE... I passed the 3-hour Gestational Diabetes Test. The 2nd hour draw I passed by one #, but hey- I passed right???The first and third draws I passed just fine.

Is that Papa or a BEAR???

{Carter playing with Papa's CPAP, which is suppose to help with snoring}

So my parents came to visit us this past weekend which was SOOOOOO fun. But on Saturday night Carter would NOT go to sleep, so my mom offered to lay by him on his bed. They were laying there for quite a while when I heard the door slam 4 times. So I got out of bed to see what was going on. Carter was still awake. My dad had been snoring really loud in the room next to the boys' and Carter asked my mom, "Is that Papa or a BEAR???" He jumped up to listen by the door and would slam it because he was probably scared. This kid is so funny. I'm pretty sure he will keep us laughing forever. I sure love this kiddo even though he is being quite the independent little stinker lately.
Thanks Papa and Grandma for babysitting and playing with us! We miss you tons. Please come back...

Happy Halloween!!!

Preschool Halloween Party

Carter would NOT wear his costume. He had to wear his hat. With all of the temper tantrums lately, I pick my battles.

Ammon wasn't into doing the songs he learned in front of all the parents. Although, I know he knew them because he had been singing them at home.

Halloween Sugar Cookie Time

I think this is probably their FAVORITE thing EVER. Not mine...

Carving Pumpkins with Elder Rupp and Elder Barnard...
We had a lot of fun with the missionaries. They come over at least once a month. It's really fun to get to know them. Their boundaries are our ward (only), so we get plenty of opportunities to sign up to feed them, which we look forward to.

Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Super fun night. Hot dogs, nachos & candy- what more could a kid want??? (Or my husband, it's okay I don't think he ever looks at this)

Sadly, this year we didn't actually go trick-or-treating on Halloween because no one really does that here. But we had lots of fun with the missionaries and our ward the week before. So we didn't feel too bad. My parents came to visit us for the weekend so we were having too much fun with Grandma and Papa to worry about it.