As the days go on

Yes the days are going by, one at a time.... Tons of folks have offered 'tips' wether it's a long walk, put your feet up, pineapple juice, raspberry tea, glass of wine, since this blog is rather PG, i will stop there, or maybe i should say, yada yada yada.. I've done it all.

But what I need to start doing is enjoy the fact that I am not overly uncomfortable. I can walk nick back and forth to kindi, I loved going to MOPs with just my bellie (as well as my pop in at ikea, where they told me the 2 items I went in for were not in stock and the other item was only sold at the other Ikea-45 minutes away, seriously) i didn't have a fussy newborn. So here's to the enjoyment of the next several days.

I vow to take a nap every day-from now until the baby is born! Thanks mom!!

Tonight we enjoyed a stroll along our favorite farm trails, beautiful sunset.





Yup, still pregnant...





This was Tuesday, the weather was amazing and all the outdoor pools are closed, so fountains it is





The boys loved it. My mom asked if we were the only ones that put our kids in bathing suits... Yup, the Germans go natural-no photos!





And yum, the cocktails! Yes, Shane, you can share mom's..... For now.....Oma sue dove into the Hugo!!a summer treat!





Nick, can you get enough of that chocolate ice cream?





Life is good





So here's our little bump in the road. At about 4 am Chris and I woke up, but not to labor pains.... To a sick nick about to ' lose it ' in our room. Chris was instantly awake and in re-direct mode. He spent the next few hours with nick, sleeping, running to the bathroom etc..
Nick was on quarantine.
Is was rather heart wrenching when he called for mom and got Oma sue, but in my opinion, not a bad replacement! He watched a million movies, shows etc.... Oma set him up with dinner upstairs, do you feel the love?





The hardest part was we (Shane and I) were opening a box from Farrah and Tate. Not only great clothes for nick, but fun toys that nick remembers playing with at Tate's, but now, shane was down stairs playing without him!! Oh the horror!

Shane on the other hand thought it was great. He got some one on one time with all of us. No one told him how to play, what to play with etc.. No screeching, no sharing, just pure Shane time! Oma sue loves the German bubbles as does our little train engineer.





Pauli got some attention too. He walked her all over!





And finished the day with some yummy chocolate cake-he has a little grandpa Roy blood running through him!






Nick came down at the end of the solo day saying,' I feel better,can I be your cuddle bug again?' My mom said he was an ideal patient and did as he was told all day. 10 cheerios here, a sip of bubbly juice there.... He kept it all down, so we headed out for a family walk and he was thrilled to be part of it.

Back to kindi tomorrow. We are chalking it up to a hard boiled egg that he shared with his buddy at school....

Just wanted to add this photo here instead of the pumpkin fest one as I love these boys and what a great dad;)





So instead of worrying about september vs october, i stumbled on this..... Shane was born friday and nick on sunday. Wonder what is in store for us next....


Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

Thanks to Oma sue for making this final week so much more enjoyable!! We are too lucky,

Ground Hog day is here...

Yes, I have fallen into the trap once again.  We are due 2 october (Sunday) and every day seems to start and end the same.....

Wake up - minimal planned (everyone says, clear your schedule, the baby could come anyday....) a load of crap if you ask me!  pack it full and cancel if you need to!  Idol time is horrible.

I am realatively motivated throughout the day - yesterday I walked Nick to and from kindi....  no contractions,  i should be thankful that my body feels great.

Late afternoon evening - tired and disappointed that the baby opted NOT to join us...  early to bed to start the day all over again.....

So yes, I promise to email, text, shout from the tallest mountian when this baby opts to join us.  Until than, he is truly enjoying the ride.....  So please don't hesitate to call and fill our days with YOUR excitement, but keep in mind, i will be living through all of YOU for the next few days as unless you hear differently, ours are about the same.....

Lady in waiting, (not sure if this reference is supposed to be used for mom waiting for her boy - but it works...)
Sara

Oma Sue is here!

She landed an hour early on Thursday morning!!  Nick and I were there to greet her and super happy to have her here!!  She has easliy molded into our normal routine with kindi, soccer etc and we are all enjoying some summer like weather here.

Saturday was soccer for Nick

Shane spends his time on the side lines for now. 

A little bellie shot - I deleted a few photos that I am kicking myself for as Eleanor tossed a soccer ball under her shirt, and honestly, I am quite certain i am still bigger. 

High 5's dudes! 

Tired face after a double header

A little breakfast table chaos 

Sunday we packed up and headed to the pumpkin fest in Ludwigsburg.  A huge family favorite as the food is awesome. 

The theme this year is Dinosaurs!

Grrrrr

 A little al fresco diaper change

I hate hearing Pauli complain, as i swear she leads a tough life! 

Bellie shots

 So today we are officially 1 week away from that date they call the 'due date'! One final week. My mom arrived Thursday and I am enjoying every second of her company and extra hands.

Now we can slow down, enjoy the pregnancy, remember the feelings of the little one as he stretches all over, wondering that life is like when he can fully extend his legs, oh wait, I swear he is doing that already!!

I was fun doing a few quick bellie shots for our final sweet one. Shane and Nick enjoyed getting involved for a bit

 




3 little indians, seriously, what are we thinking?!



My boys passed along a sweet little cold this week. I finally caught it on Wednesday and it wasn't much fun. I could imagine the idea of pushing a kid out while blowing my nose a million times, thankfully it wasn't time yet. But I did get to spend several hours at the Aveda salon with a cut and color! Fun fun

Its funny to post these because if you think this bellow would make you bashful, there is be NO photos of it in 2 weeks - thankfully we will hopefully be photographing someone much cuter - why can that seem like an eternity??

Thanks for a night out with some great ladies. Cooking with Claudia is a great little tradition. My mom got to join us tonight while Chris stayed with the boys. On our way home we (me and baby leadbetter) were having a few contractions, exciting right? Well, they stopped for now and Chris would like me to hold out til a week day... Who is making these decisions?? Oh right, we haven't met him yet.

Til another day, still taking name suggestions!!

Next stop.....

So things are starting to look more and more official and I think its time to put it on paper. 

The next big adventure for the Leadbetter family will be Ashburn Virginia!  We are packing our bags for a stateside move.  I always hesitate to say we are coming home as truth be told, this is our home now, and home is defined by our family, friends etc...  not the location - so we are fortunate for that.

We will be moving and staying with MC Dean so that will SURELY be helpful with the transition.  The best part about the location is we will be about 1 hour from Chris's folks.  Neith of us have lived driving distance from family since the day we graduated HIGH SCHOOL!  Imagine.  The thought of a simple drive to enjoy 4th of July, Christmas etc with family is totally surreal.  Maybe those FF miles will have to be used for trips to Michigan, Texas and California (Nick is rationalizing this move, by the size of plane it will now take to visit Tate)

We will be packing our bags shortly after the holidays which will be perfect regarding our new little addition (which will hopefully join us shortly)  as well as one final Christmas season in Germany.  Germany is TRULY the most beautiful place to enjoy the holidays and i cannot wait to soak it all in.

Of course its bittersweet to leave here as with any more, we have the most spectacular friends and the idea of not being able to pack them too is always difficult.  But with each move we broaden our visitors base and make life long friends so for that I am forever thankful.

Hope you guys are as excited as we are, please write or call with any last minute requests or travel plans!!  We are still taking visitors =)!  Hehehe

love you all,

Sara

Passing by 37 weeks!

This week was awesome. I had tons of energy, the weather was cooler, 60s/70s and what a difference that makes when you a toting around another little dude.

All the baby laundry is done, the bassinet is in our room and everywhere Chris looks he says, we really are having another one. I love how as women carrying this new one, the final weeks drag on, but for the hubbies, they are finally coming to the realization that it's real!!

During our appointment on Monday our OBGYN opted to tell us he and my midwife will be on holiday from 19-30 September. Surely takes the excitement out of going early. The idea of meeting a new doctor and midwife in the delivery room is a bit daunting..,.. But we all know, the baby is the one to decide what kind of timeline we are on!! Maybe he wants to meet a new dr, or maybe he wants to celebrate German unification day (October 3rd) in my cozy bellie.


I keep reminding myself to just relax and ENJOY the final weeks. It's o.k. to put your feet up;)


Come on baby boy!! We can't wait to meet you!!

Apparently he is just chilling because if anyone saw that Michigan vs Notre Dame game on Saturday (Sunday morning for us) can only imagine the possibility of labor surely existed;). I loved seeing all the posts and photos from my pals who were fortunate enough to be in the stands during the first game under the lights with a nail biting finish!! I must say, I love Denard's smile!!

Nicks big announcement!

We have spend as much time in the pool as possible this summer. Whether it was at camp Carlson, or the wonderful Germany Friebads. Nick loves the water, but as expected, it quite cautious of going under water. We figured with more exposure he would flip a switch.

This was the final weekend that our local pool would be open and as luck would have it-it was beautiful out! Both days!

Saturday we bribed him with a lollipop to put his head under water. You would have thought we were asking him to walk through a room of snakes... But the lollipop was worth it. So he tried it a few times. Chris even ended up dunking him once with little protest.

Here is a quick video of the entire pool area as well as a bit of Shane walking about (a little cautious as he should be!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzTatOfpBdM

On Sunday the sun was out again. The pool is the best place to go. Life just feels good at a German Friebads... So we spent a few hours there and boy was it worth it!! Look at this fish!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL6FanSUgVQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Legoland!!

So it's a rainy Monday of labor day weekend.... The average folks may say, another day.... But thankfully the Lego land wheels were already turning and our new buddies the Duelley aren't about to let a little rain ruin their adventures, so off we go!! We were SO thankful we did!! As the boys (all 4 of them) loved it, which means good things for the parents right!!

First up, race track to obtain our license. They have multiple, maybe even an international one;)



Still raining, so let's hit the rather enclosed train for a ride


Yup, it's a rain jacket poncho kind of day!!


The Lego land safari was a hoot... Animals everywhere, just made of legos!


This little Lego city, Maduradam, eat your heart out!!





First layer of rain gear removed! It's looking promising;)


Not to get wet on our own accord. They had an awesome assortment of rides. The two little guys got to go solo,


They can hardly contain their excitement, or use the paddles for that matter.


On a bigger boat across the way... Can you pick out the four boys?


A train just for the boys!


I had to take this photo as only in Germany so you have to specify the kids meal comes with a non-alcoholic drink!!


And yes, there its not hard to find a good schnitzel!


O.k. These photos crack me up. The boys loved the planes!! You could make them go up and down, but you really just ride in circles again and and again, so going with them is a bit nauseating. Love these two riding together.


So while I was in the states i grabbed a new wazzu camera in hopes of doing a better job of capturing our European life and the little ones. Well, it really is about the operator right? Here is Chris trying to catch me and Shane... Ok, not quite,


Nope, not here either, but the funny part is can you see Eleanor snapping a photo with her iPhone? While on the plane?


Nice work Eleanor!! Your hired!


But I will give Chris props for this one


Legoland was a huge hit! The clouds parted for the rest of the day and the crowds were minimal!! Nick is still a bit short for the bigger roller coasters (who has almost devastating at one point) but I have a feeling that my little thrill seeker was better off on the smaller stuff for now.



Here's the crew!


Here's the Leadbetters with 4 kids.... Hmm mm.. But really we were trying to get s profile shot, 37 weeks prego! Eleanor helped me find all the good sitting benches there!!


Thanks to the duelleys for a great day!!


Lego land,check!! Hopefully we will see you again! Nick asks every morning just in case.