We knew going into this pregnancy that we weren't going to find out the gender. Already having a boy and a girl, we were well stocked with needed clothing and accessories. A lot of the people we talked to, especially other moms, said that they couldn't do something like that.... they needed to know what they were having. Not with us. I was perfectly content not knowing. In fact, it saved me money. I couldn't buy the cute little outfit at Target because I didn't know what gender to buy for. That was whole reason why we didn't find out: to save money. Ok, just kidding. We just thought it would be fun. Most of the people we talked to guessed that we were having a boy. Ryan and I both thought it was a boy too. Boy (no pun intended) were we wrong!
I gained 27 lbs. on this pregnancy. That was about half as much as I gained on the first two. It was all belly this time around. Whew! That means less weight to lose afterwards.
Random picture of Benson thrown in here.
Let the St. Patty's day hats be a foreshadowing of things to come.
We got the car all ready and did a little musical chairs. Zoe and Benson got promoted to the back seat, where the cool kids sit, and the new baby would sit in the middle row. The other chair folded down flat into the floor. Thank goodness for stow-n-go seating. That open area has been a sanity saver!
Me and my beautiful Zoe. I think I straightened her hair this day.
It was 7PM and the kids wanted to go out on the deck into the fresh snow. All I cared about was that they had their shoes on. As you can see, Benson prefers things on the chilly side.
This is what we were doing the day before the baby came. We took a drive up to the north shore of Lake Tahoe and played the day away at Kings Beach. It was a great family day.... and our last day as a family of 4.
The early morning of March 17th, my water broke.... slightly. I had the same thing happen with Zoe. It was more than just a trickle, but not a gush either. Contractions started and were pretty close together. I called up my mom and told her to come on up (a 3 hour drive for her) and we notified other family members that we were going to the hospital. The picture above is right before we went to the hospital. We got all checked in to the hospital only to find out that my contractions were going away and I wasn't dilated much. I was 3 days over my due date, so they admitted me. I bounced on a birthing ball for a bit, hoping to get the contractions going again, but nothing happened. They gave me some pitocin, got the contractions going, got the epidural in, and before too long, our little Ruthie Grace joined the world. I told the doctor that I wanted Ryan to tell me what the gender of the baby was when it came out. He one upped me and said, "Hey, why don't we have him deliver the baby?" Ryan donned some gloves, took the necessary position, and with a little coaching from the doc, was there to catch Ruthie. What a special experience.
What a blessing she has been to our family.
Life continues on and so we keep getting out there and playing! I like to take advantage of Ruthie's long naps and play with the other kids. They both adore Ruthie.
Gotta keep clean!
Enjoying the sunshine!
The Sunday Ruthie was blessed in church.
So then we decided to go to Disneyland. Just kidding. It's an annual thing we do. We have a timeshare that we go to at the end of April. We make a weeklong vacation out of it and enjoy southern California for a bit.
Zoe rode Splash Mountain with me. Ryan got her to go on Tower of Terror too! This girl is fearless!
The Ferris Wheel.
Cars Land, in CA Adventure, was so much fun. The Cars ride was a blast!
Ok, who had too much ice cream?
This mama done got her hair did!
It was warmer in San Diego than we expected. Nothing like a little watermelon to cool you off!
Father and son. So cute!
Pancake breakfast on the patio.
Such a cute family!
Ruthie's first time at the beach.
Daddy played in the water with the kids. Mommy documented it.
We now know for next year to plan a day to go to the beach. We were at this one for only an hour or so. More time is definitely needed.
