Hudson- 4 days old 

Sleep little one... I love to lay down next to him and just watch him sleep. 

Hudson thinking "What is that?" 

Emma read to Hudson for about a half hour this morning. She loves to entertain him. He only really opens his eyes when he is with Emma. She gives him lots to look at I guess. 

Printing Photos etc.

I know lots of you are printing off the photos which is great. I just wanted to make sure you know that if you click on the picture it comes up bigger and then it should even have a little icon to make it even bigger to it's real size which will give you the best print. It is also a nicer view even if you aren't going to print it:)

Emma, Josiah and Hudson  

Hudson's 1st Doctor's Appointment

Well, he's not too yellow:) The doc said it's just a nice treat that he's so sleepy. He has lost a little weight which is normal, he's only 8 1/2? pounds right now. I should wake him up more often to feed him... But he is all good and healthy which is great news.

Josiah and Hudson- 12 months apart:) 

My two little guys! Josiah finds Hudson pretty interesting. He's doing pretty good being soft and gentle. 

Very sleepy:) 

Sleepy Baby:) Hudson is a very good sleeper. Maybe too good of a sleeper. I have to wake him to feed all the time and he doesn't open his eyes much. It is nice and easy but we will check with the doctor today to see if maybe he is a little too jaundiced or something. He isn't very yellow at all so we'll see.  

Not a very flattering one of Hudson really but David sure looks good:) 

I'm home! Don't look so big here:) 

He's Here! 

Announcing Hudson Ezekiel!!!! Hudson was born at 11:27am Tuesday, January 25th. He weighed a whopping 9lbs 2 1/4 oz. 21 inches long. He was very easy on mommy coming just in time to avoid another induction and he came nice and fast. When I went to the hospital I was already dilated to 5 which is half way there and I hardly was having contractions. I had to hold him in for over 45 minutes as we waited for a doctor to come. He is doing great and sleeping lots. Unlike my other two he came out without doing any damage, so mom is all intact and feeling great. Keep checking for new pics as I'll be taking them non-stop I imagine. He's a big boy they say but is so little to us. What a blessing from God. 

Happy mommy with baby right after the birth. 

Daddy and Hudson worn out from their hard work. 

Happy Big Sister! Emma now has 2 little guys to take care of:) 

Here is his cute little nose! Those lips have been kissed quite a bit in the last 24 hours:) 

Mom with her 3 little treasures:) Lucky woman I am.... 

Labor Day????

As I write this I am in that great time where one wonders if this is indeed the start of the real labor. I have never gone into labor really myself so this is all new to me. David and I watched the Return of the King extended while every 6-7 minutes I experienced pretty bad pain. We went to bed and I woke up with major pain still. Now the frequency is more like every 5-6 minutes and each contraction lasts about 40 seconds.
The funny thing is that this is the one night that Andy and Char are not here as they decided to get a hotel for the night, which they do to relax often... But of course that would put me into labor:) Amanda is upstairs so I may have to wake her soon and get her to come sleep down here. Then she will have 5 kids to take care of but it should just be watching them sleep depending on when I go and when we tell char to come back home.
This may fizzle out but right now I think it may be the real thing. Can't really sleep through the contractions now so I think that is a good sign. If I don't post again by say noon then you'll know I'm in the hospital.... Could I possibly not need to be induced this time??? Let's hope! I'm a little unprepared but only cause we have no name yet. It is funny yet scary that we really have no idea...... Poor little guy will just be baby for a few days I think.
I'll keep you posted. ouch... Erin

Erin is now unplugged!

That is right, this morning I lost my plug! Yay! If you know what the plug is well you know what it is! (I won't describe it to you people who don't know as it isn't very nice to describe:) It means I could go into labor any minute or it could be weeks away:) Yay! So i have a little more rush of energy this morning. There isn't much that I haven't done already but I think I might clean the shower... yuck. Even after having a house cleaning business I still don't know a good way to clean the shower without getting soaked... (now I'm tempted to tell Char's story...)
Should I tell it???????????????? Ok i will...
Well, Charlotte (david's mom) took over some of our cleaning business when we went to school. So one day she just had one house to clean and was going somewhere after that needed her to be rather nicely dressed. Well, she had to clean a shower... SO she decided to strip down and get in and clean it so she didn't get her clothes wet. The problem is that the owner came to the bathroom wanting to show her something and wondered why the door was locked! and charlotte had to explain that she couldn't come out because she wasn't wearing anything!!!!!! How funny Char!!! don't tell her I told you:)
I'll keep you posted as I progress more.
I'm glad the doc stripped my membranes:) seems to be moving things along. No regular contractions yet.

Doctor's Appointment!

Well, today was my last visit with Dr. Steed. Next time I see him we'll be in labor and delivery! I am progressing which was a great surprise as I am dilated to 2, well almost 3 he said. That is when I got the epidural with Josiah! So I am doing something with all this pressure but it still could take a while. He couldn't move my induction day up but Wednesday is going to come very fast I think. Dr. Steed stripped !! (my membranes:) so it is possible that the procedure will speed labor up. We'll see... So if nothing happens before then it looks like the baby's birthday will be January 26th. I'll write when I get some real contractions:)

Upcoming events:

Privyet
The next couple days will be good ones for me as time goes by much faster when there is lots to do...

Tonight we have a birthday party for our niece Journey who also turns one this month. I'll try to get a pic of Ethan, Josiah and Journey all together. It is very cute to see them all toddling around together.
We also have our weekly Bible study group tonight but this week it is at the home of Jason and Shanna Shepherd.

Tomorrow (Wed), besides being my due date! is the day our second Russian course starts with the University of Calgary. Only this time it won't be at the university because there is only 4 of us taking the class and to be held at the U of C there needs to be at least 8. It is only costing us a little bit more and we practically get one on one tutoring. And we get to sit on couches in nice houses instead of ouchy university classrooms. We are very thankful that our teacher was willing to find a way to teach us, she's great... Actually it is even cheaper for us because the class decided that I don't have to pay as I may not be able to attend all the classes because of the newborn and they didn't want David and I to have to pay so much. Nice...

Thursday is my doctor's appointment where hopefully I can convince him to induce me on Monday instead of next Wednesday as my dad and his mom are going to be in town on the wed for a couple of hours and I want them to see the baby!!! Dad will be back here from Friday till Mon?Tues? because he is going in the Scrabble Tournament! Hope he wins.... So he'll see the baby for sure but I'd really like Meme to meet little ? The doc may allow it. Besides andy is off on Mondays so it's a great day for the kids to be watched here.

So that is what happens in the near future. Good to have things to do. I think I'm gonna go out for a walk, it is 7 C today!!! Finally some decent weather... don't tell me what it is in Moscow please...:)

No Baby Yet!

Privyet
Well, technically I'm not due till Wednesday (the 19th) so I shouldn't be so impatient... but I have been kinda bored lately and wanting him to come now... The house is spotless, the kids are sleeping, the weather is nice for the next couple of days, i've got some new nursing tops, a new car seat and on and on. My bag is packed but I ain't in pain. It is comforting to know that at the very very latest I will have my new baby in 10 days but that may seem like forever:) I am not very uncomfortable at least. And we still need a name. I think I know the meaning of every name there is. I am excited about being able to really workout again, if I find the time. Maybe 3 little ones will be enough of a workout:) Anyway, I'll update before I head to the hospital. Unless it comes too fast!

This was Josiah after his party, he loves to climb up into this chair and sit like a grown up, well he sits for a few seconds, then he stands up and bounces around:) He is getting to look like Emma more and more everyday, the long blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Maybe the next one will have really dark hair:) 

Josiah spinning some wool... I like this picture, too bad he isn't wearing something a little more old fashioned. Or at least wearing pants:) 

Emma doing some of her ballet moves... She is really into it lately, wanting to show everyone all the time. 

Baby Update

Well I went to the doctor again today and no real progress. There is an end in sight though as he (Dr. Steed) will induce me on the 26th if nothing happens before then. I'm hoping something will happen before then so he doesn't get to big. But time does go fast and before we know it we will have our little boy:) I didn't gain any weight since the last appointment, I'm sure the baby did though... Still not sure on a name but I think we'll come up with something when he arrives. I don't go to the doctor again till the 20th which is after I'm due. The doctor said he'll see me at the hospital but I'm pretty sure I'll be back for another appointment seeing as both Emma and Josiah needed to be induced. My tummy must be a nice place to hang out in:) I'll keep you posted.

Our departure date for heading over to Russia has unfortunately been pushed back a month now to the end of May. There is a required contingency course that we both must take which is offered next week in Sanford, Florida (which obviously is not possible for me to attend:) and the next time it is offered is May 16-19th. So it looks like that is the only option right now but we will keep you posted. Who knows who is in the picture, well I only know one of them... 

Update on Expected One:

Privyet
I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and everything is going great. He's not coming out yet but he is in the right position etc. He is getting bigger though, 80-85th percentile. Hope he comes out before he get's to big to get out! Since I've been to the doctor last (2.5 weeks ago) my belly has shrunk 2 inches but it's good to hear he is still growing. i have another appointment on Monday so we'll see what they think then...

Look at me now! Josiah turned the big 1 yesterday! He entertained the rely's by walking across the room. He also had his 1 year check up at the doctor. It seems he does infact have some of David in him after all as he is a little taller and a little thinner than average:) He giggled lots at the doctor so she said he must be healthy! He is such a fun little brother for Emma, she is so glad to be getting another one soon.... 

Well....won't get much bigger now. Only 12 days left now. Still not sure on a name yet but maybe when we see the little guy it will pop into our heads. I think they let you call them baby last name for 8 days? Josiah has moved into Emma's closet now, not as bad as it sounds, it is a big closet:) She says she will take care of him now and I'll take care of the new baby. I think she'll need a little help with him... I feel great, a bit of pressure down there but nothing to head off to the hospital for. I have a doctors appointment later this week so we'll see what they think. I'll keep you all posted:)