This year Kelsi celebrated her first Christmas. Of course, she is only 2 1/2 weeks old and doesn't know what was going on, but that didn't stop her mom and dad from dressing her in a santa hat! We also didn't want to forget our dogs! We are all doing well, despite the lack of sleep and wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

Kelsi had her first bath! She did not like it very much at all at first, but calmed down once the warm water ran over her head. We are having so much fun with her. Her jaundice has been up and down and the doctor sent us home with some lights to use with her. MUCH better than watching her under the lights in the hospital with those glasses over her eyes...it breaks my heart all over again to remember. Grandma Manderino leaves to go home tomorrow and we are very sad to see her leave. She has been so much help before Kelsi arrived, while we were in the hospital (I don't know what I would have done without here there since John had to work most of the time), and once we were able to take her home. I honestly don't know what I am going to do without her, but I guess I will figure things out. Grandma and Grandpa Calderwood also came down for a visit this week and it was so much fun to see them with their newest granddaughter!

Kelsi Lynn Calderwood was born on Saturday December 8th, 2007 at 8:27pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 11.5 oz. and was 19 inches long. She had a full head of light brown hair and chubby cheeks! We came to the hospital Friday night and I was put on cytotec (spelling?) to help soften me up and when it was time for pitosin at 6am I didn't need it because my contractions kicked in on their own. The doctor broke my water and I started to progress well and got my epidural and I was set. I was doing pretty well until I got to an "8" that is when I started shaking uncontrollably and throwing up nonstop. I also heard a woman in the next room screaming which freaked me out and I got really nervous. I never opened my eyes during the delivery because I was so exhausted. John was great and I tried really hard not to be mean to him and I found myself apologizing to everyone once I said anything remotley rude (the nurse told me to push harder - and I snapped and told her that I in fact WAS pushing hard - she said that she was only trying to be encouraging and then I started apologizing profusely which made everyone laugh. We fell in love with her right away, but were sad when she couldn't stay with us very long because we both developed a fever during the delivery and we both needed antibiotics, so my little one had an IV hooked to her. She had it taken out yesterday night and we planned on going home today and then all of a sudden we were told that she had to stay ANOTHER night because she developed jaundice. With the absoloute NO sleep that I have had in the past 4 days and being all weird with hormones I lost it and have been not able to stop crying because I just want to take her home. However, we know that it could be really serious and are thankful that she will get better and we will be able to take her home soon. Thanks to all those well wishers and those who have called and stopped by.

Well, today did not go as planned. We went in to be induced at 6am and they started the pitosin at about 6:30am. My contractions started right up and got going pretty good every 30 seconds to 1 minute. However, I would not dialate more than 1.5cm. They said that they could not break my water until I was a 2 or a 3. So, at 5pm they sent us home. They said that they gave me the highest dose of pit that they could and most women would be screaming in pain, but I just wouldn't dilate. They were going to give me a pill that was supposed to soften me up, but it meant I would just have to be monitored for another 8 hours or so with the chance of nothing happening, so we decided to go home in the hopes that something would happen overnight. I go back to the doctor on Friday morning and my doctor and I will make another plan . Hopefully it will be that they will admit me on Friday night with the pill to soften me and then induce me again Saturday morning. John and I are pretty dissapointed, but there is not much else we can do at this point but wait. I felt like I was doing the walk of shame when we left the hospital...I am also very sad becuase my mom came into town today and has to leave next Wednesday, so she may not be able to be here very long if the baby doesn't make her entrance until this weekend. At least she will be back in a couple weeks right after Christmas...I will update more as soon as something starts going!

So, the only thing worse than not having my baby yet happened over night. Snow entered the valley. We got between 4-6 inches over night. This is my third winter (not counting the one year I spent in the North Pole, aka Rexburg, ID)with the dreaded white mess and I still don't like it. However, each year I get even more confident in it and this year I will not let it imprison me! As you can see from this picture (that I took from inside my warm house) the roads are kept pretty clean because we live on a super steep hill and it is a bus route, so we are always one of the first streets to get sanded. When I first moved here everyone told me that Clarkston only gets sciffs of snow or that it doesn't snow here. Lies, lies and more lies. Ok, we don't get dumped on and it's not like we live in the new england area or Minnesota, but we definetley get our share of snow. The good news is that according to weather.com, it is supposed to get back up into the 40s and we are going to get rain Mon through Wed of next week, so this stuff should be gone soon! Can I get an AMEN???!!! Even my dogs are bummed. When I got up to get breakfast this morning, Lucky didn't even open his eyes and Chloe didn't even thump her tail or raise her head at me. I know how they feel.

40 weeks!!!

No picture this week, because I am tired and in my PJs and I really look exactly the same as my last picture...just huge. If I sound a little grouchy it's because I am today. I had my doctor appointment and the good news is that my little one has finally dropped. My doc said that she is as low as she can get without me having to push. However, I am still at a "1" and pretty thick. We set an induction date for a week from today 12/5. I am hoping that I go into labor before then. I measured 40cm today and everything else seemed fine...she is just getting bigger and bigger. John and I ran tons of errands tonight so that I could walk around. I came home and did the laundry and cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed the bathtub and sinks and I am just trying to be as active as possible in order to try to induce my own labor. Chances are I am going to have a December baby. I am pretty miserable at this moment, but I do have good moments throughout the day, so it isn't too bad. I just keep telling myself that at MOST by this time next week, I will have a precious little baby. Please continue to think good thoughts for me. Next post should have some exciting news and pictures!

Tagged Again!
I was tagged by Tamar...
This tag is about John my husband
What is his name? John Lloyd Calderwood
How long have you been married? 2 years last September
How long did you date? Engaged after 2 and married 4 months after that
How old is he? 33
Who eats more? John. He is like a garbage disposal. Always looking into the fridge or pantry for something to snack on.
Who said I love you first? John tricked me into saying it first. He kept saying "I really really really really like you". Finally I just said, "If you love me, just say it". He said "Do you love me?" So, I admitted it.
Who is taller? John. He is 6'1'' and I am 5' 7''
Who sings better? Me, even though I think John has a very nice voice!
Who is smarter? I will say John because he is so good at science and math and I always thought that you had to be a genius to do well in those areas. However, I am stronger in historical topics and literature. I also have a photgraphic memory.
Whose temper is worse? John's and I think he would be the first to admit it.
Who does the laundry? We both do. John is very helpful!
Who does the dishes? I load and unload the dishwasher and John cleans the dishes that don't go into the dishwasher.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you stand at the bottom of the bed and are looking at the bed then I am on the right side and I HAVE to be on that side. Drives John crazy sometimes. He likes to mix it up.
Who pays the bills? Me
Who mows the lawn? All John. I do not like yard work.
Who cooks dinner? Me, when I decide to make it.
Who drives when you are together? We take turns in the car, but John always drives the truck.
Who is more stubborn? Toss up. One of the things that we have to continiously work on.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Toss up again, see above.
Whose parents do you see the most? John's. They only live a litle over 2 hours away so it is easier and cheaper to see them more often. We will miss them when they leave for Cambodia!Who proposed? John
Who has more friends? I don't know. We both have a lot of the same friends and each have a few old friends that we keep in touch with.
Who has more siblings? John. I only have 3 sisters. He has 3 sisters and a brother.
Who wears the pants in the family? We both do. John makes most of the decisions, but he always consults with me first to get my thoughts and we almost always agree before a firm decision is made.
I tag Amanda, Jocelyn, Tara & Aunt Ginger :)

We brought our camera up to Hayden with us, but we were losers and didn't take any pictures. We had a great time even though it was such a short visit. Thanksgiving dinner was so good and it was so nice to have all of the Calderwood family together. After a day of eating and more eating we all got together and played this battle kareoke game on Jalyn's playstation which was pretty fun and I sat out and watched when they played guitar hero ( I only like playing games that I am good at). Thanksgiving night was horrible for John and I as I don't think that we got ANY sleep. No joke. I had contractions that were pretty bad and only felt better if I was sitting or walking. The second I laid down I thought I was going to die. After 2 hours and almost deciding to drive home the pain subsided. We were both so tired that we stayed home on Black Friday with the kids and everyone else went shopping. Our dogs ran away (we weren't watching them closely) off into the woods. John went looking for them and then when he came back with no luck, I went searching as well. I was a wreck. I pictured them drowning in the lake (they love the lake and I pictured them just diving in and sinking because of the cold). I thought I lost my dogs forever and could not stop sobbing (good thing everyone was shopping). 3 hours later the dogs came home by themselves. Lucky hurt his foot and was bleeding pretty bad. John made a make-shift bandage sock for him. We drove home later that afternoon without incident. John and I were both looking forward to a night of good sleep now that we were home. I woke up at 2am and smelled something awful...I thought it was our humidifier, but checked on the dogs anyway and found that Chloe got sick and pooped all over the tile AND the rug. So, John and I srubbed down the living room and kitchen until about 3am. So much for sleep. The dogs are healthy now and we seem to be getting back to normal. No baby news yet...hopefully soon.

I am like a house! I keep forgetting how big my belly is that I hit it on everything. I am 39 weeks along and had another doctor appointment and am still at a "1" and only about 25% effaced. Good grief. The bad news is that I have not been sleeping at all. I feel like I have a mix of insomnia (as you can tell from my picture) and really bad lower back cramps. I am also up to a total of 50 lbs. The GOOD news is that I should have a beautiful daughter in about a week or so. If I haven't had her by my appt next week, my doctor said that she would set an induction date for me. I had my doctor estimate the size of my baby and she told me that she seems to be a solid 8 lbs. I was completley shocked as I thought she would be smaller than that. I know she is not going to be getting any smaller over the next week, so everyone please think good thoughts for me. I was a 6 lb something baby and John was an 8 lb baby, so I blame John. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. We are going up to Hayden Lake to spend Thanksgiving with the whole Calderwood clan. It should be very fun! I am very nervous to be a few hours away from my doctor, but I don't think that this girl is going to "shoot" out of me, so I should be OK to drive back home if need be.

Today John turned the big thirty three and is still the best looking man in the world. He seems to have a had a good birthday today. It all started last night when he decided to treat himself to an early birthday gift. He went to bed before I did and once I came to bed I was having a hard time falling asleep and I just could not get comfortable. Around 2 or 3am after I got up to use the restroom, which is quite the norm nowadays, I realized why I was so uncomfortable. John had decided to steal my pillow and was sleeping soundly. The only thing that stopped me from ripping it out from under him was that it was his birthday. In the morning when I confronted him he could not stop laughing and thought it was hilarious. I bought John a pair of Asics Nimbus 9 running shoes. He was very surprised and loves them. We had our friends the Evans over for dinner and cake and ice cream and they bought John a new tail light for his bike and some arm warmers that are modeled in the pictures. I think he has had a good day.

I have really "popped" out the last couple weeks! I am 37 weeks and have just started to get pretty uncomfortable. My back hurts often, I hate that I have a hard time putting on my shoes and getting out of bed. I had another Dr. appt today and everything is still going well. All of my non-stress tests are showing good results. It is so weird to watch my stomach shake and ripple as she is moving around! I have been checked the last two weeks at each of my appts and I am still only dialated to a "1". However, this time there was SLIGHT progress as my doctor could feel her head and last week she couldn't. So, it means that she is slowly making her way down. My mom wants me to ask to be induced on 12/3 if I haven't had the baby by my due date (11/29)since she is flying out on 12/5, but I am kind of scared of an induction. We'll see...My friend Trisha gave birth to her son last week (2 weeks early) and I think it has really helped John realize how "real" this all is. Putting a visual of a newborn next to my big belly can be a bit of a reality shock. I am SO excited to see what she looks like. I wonder if she will have a full head of crazy dark hair like I did when I was born or will she be a blondie like her dad? I have gained a total of 45 lbs and now weigh as much as John I belive, but I am looking on the bright side that I only have about 3 weeks left and then the weight can start to come off.

We haven't shared any pictures of the pups lately. They are 17 months and still super cute and fun. Lucky's favorite past time is sitting on his pillow and chewing on rawhide bones. Chloe's favorite activity is playing fetch (ALL DAY) and has recently taken up frisbee!

Here are a few pics of our nursery. Once we finally pick a name (we are pretty sure we have one, but I am going to wait just to make sure), I will put some white wooden letters above her crib to spell out her name accented with pink ribbon. Where the play yard currently sits, we will replace it with the rocker recliner from the living room and move the play yard into our bedroom for the first month or two of her life. I am so excited. She is all I can think about these days....

Last Monday, we spent FHE with the Evans family and carved pumpkins. Trisha made a great creamy cheese & broccoli soup and we had donuts for dessert. YUM! John's pumpkin is the original looking jack-o-lantern and mine is the scary ghost next to his. Happy Halloween!

We bought a new chair. I wanted a rocker recliner for the nursery. We decided to get one that we could move to the living room once the baby is older. We really thought we wanted a leather one, but the microfiber ones were just so comfortable that I couldn't resist it. Plus, I think it will be more warm and comfy in the middle of the night!

I hope that this picture is OK. I thought that not all of my pics needed to be a side profile now since I am so big. Well, I had another Dr. appt today and everything went well. I am measuring 34cm and my baby girl's heart was beating at a steady 136 bpm. I also had another stress test and found out that I will have one at each one of my appts going forward. Everything looks normal, so I am thankful for that. Another bonus of this week's appt is that I didn't gain any weight. Wa-hoo! I have gained a total of 42 lbs which is more than I was hoping to gain, but it'll come off. I am confident.

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED AS WELL!
Here are the rules:
1. Each person list 6 facts/habits about themselves.
2. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules.


1. I hate saliva. OK, let me explain a little further. I don’t like to share silverware, cups, straws or anything that has been in someone else’s mouth. Now, I am not opposed to kissing my husband - I actually enjoy that quite a lot. J My issue is when there is a third party (the spoon, cup, straw, etc) involved. When we go to the movies, I often request two straws if John and I are going to share a soda or icee. John has been trying to wean me off of this for quite a while, and occasionally I will share a straw or I will even feed him a taste of my food from my fork, but inside I still cringe. Baby steps. What am I going to do with this baby who is going to be a 24/7 saliva machine???

2. Like my sister, I secretly wish to star in a Broadway play. She turned me on to Phantom of the Opera when I was about 10 years old and I had the whole thing memorized two years before I even saw the musical for the first time in Junior High. Over the years, I have lost track of the amount of musicals that I have been able to see, but there is a part of me that longs to sing my heart out on stage. I actually feel that I have a decent voice, thanks to wonderful genes from my Mother and the help of some voice teachers through the years, but I don’t think that I am strong enough to lead a show…maybe one of the background singers or a small side part, but I am no Christine from Phantom, Elphaba from Wicked or Lucy from Jekyll and Hyde (even though you wouldn’t know it when I am singing in the car! Tamar…do I hear the call for an open casting call on Broadway??? How fun would that be?

3. I have trouble pronouncing words when I get excited. If I am talking fast I will often say words such as “tall” (hard a sound) for “tell”, “toad” for “told”, “supposably” instead of “supposedly”, “pellow” instead of “pillow” and the list goes on and on. John likes to smile and point them out every time I use one of them inadvertently.
4. I have a knack for estimating the prices of things. It amazes John all the time. Whenever we go out for dinner, he grabs the check and we both guess how much the mean total came to (including tax), I am rarely off by more than $1 and last week I was only off by 6 cents! For those of you that may think this sounds easy, I would dare you to try it. You have to be quick too, I’m talking within less than 30 seconds from the time the bill comes (this does NOT count if you know you are playing ahead of time and keep a mental tab going in your head)J I need to go on Price is Right. Oh and while I am at it, I am also pretty darn good at Wheel of Fortune. I have my off nights, but there have also been many times when I have guessed correctly while there were only a couple letters filled in. Oh, the things I have to brag about!
5. I don't like a lot of food that I think that majority of people like. For example: Cheesecake, mostly every type of pie, cinnamon rolls, pastries, jelly donuts, fish (includes shrimp), cobblers, cream cheese, jams, soft veggies (only like them cold), brownies or cookies with nuts in them (but I love all three individually), the list really goes on, but you get the picture.
6. I love the ocean, but am extremely afraid of it. I love to lay on the sand and hear the waves in the background, feel and smell the ocean breeze, but I am scared to death of what lives in the ocean that could tear me to pieces. I have been snorkeling several times and have observed many beautiful fish, but I can't stay out for too long and I am CONSTANTLY looking around for anything with teeth that may be looking for a snack. When we were snorkeling in Aruba there was a lot of coral and I told John that I was done for the time being and I was heading back to the beach. As I swam in, I took a wrong turn and ended up right over some coral and even though I tried my best to float above it, the coral scratched my leg and to my horror I started to bleed there in the Caribbean ocean. I kicked as fast as I could to get to shore as I know that every shark in a 1000 mile radius could smell my fear and my delicious blood. Luckily, I survived to tell the tale.

OK, I tag Rachel, Tara, Jocelyn, Amanda (everyone else I know has already been tagged..I guess I don't know too many people on blogger!) :)

This is only a small taste of our Halloween decorations this year. There is plenty more bales of straw, pumpkins, corn stalks, skeleton heads, orange lights and glow in the dark skeleton hangings all around the house. It looks better in the dark I guess when it is all lit up. John loves this time of year so last weekend we finally got around to decorating. We still don't know what we will dress up as this year. Two years ago we were a witch and a pirate, last year we were frankenstein and his bride....this year....we just don't know. I feel that there aren't many options when a gal is pregnant.

We want to thank all of you who voted for our baby name. Kate and Andrea were our top two choices as well. That is until we started leaning towards another name. I have leaked it to a couple of you, but I think we are going to keep it under our hats in case we decide to change it again. Stay tuned...

It has been a very long time. I really thought that I would be better at updating this, but I guess I was wrong. I am 33 weeks along and for the most part feel pretty good. I no longer limp around and I am going to try to go off my meds in a couple days because I think it is about the time that I really shouldn't be throwing up anymore. I have had a couple Dr appts since my last entry and everything is still going well. The baby's heart rate was 156bpm and I am measuring 31cm. I was a little concerned because I measured that big 2 weeks ago, but my Dr. said it was normal and that it depends on the position of the baby. I had a non-stress test today which mainly consists of me getting to be strapped to two different monitors (one that measures the heart rate of the baby and the other that measures my contractions). I was a little nervous because it took 3 nurses and my doctor to get it working correctly. The baby kept moving around and while they could hear the pulsing of the heart, they couldn't find the actual heart and the baby didn't make it any easier as she thought that we were playing a game of tag with her and every time we touched her she moved away. I go back again next week for another non-stress test and every week thereafter until my due date. Getting close. I had a new fun pregnancy symptom that popped up this week. I don't remember the acronym for it, but basically the lower ventricle of my heart is beating faster than my upper and the top tries really hard to catch up which makes me feel like I just ran a marathon, when I am really just sitting down in my office. My doctor said that I shouldn't worry unless it happens more than twice an hour, so I am keeping an eye on it. John and I put up her crib earlier this week and I think I have pretty much everything I need. I can't wait to meet her. I guess I saved the embarrassing news for last. I have gained a total of 38 lbs so far and do not like that I am rapidly catching up to John's weight. Over the last week I haven't been able to eat as much though because the baby is getting bigger and pushing up on my stomach, so while I feel hungry, I get full pretty quick. I think that is about all for now. I will try to make another post next week so these entries aren't so long. Catch ya next time...

John took some pics of the fog that rolled in this morning. It ended up being a beautiful day but it was kind of cool looking down our hill to see the town covered in fog.

29 weeks and ready to be done! Alas, there are 11 more weeks to go. My doctor appt went well today. Baby girl still has a healthy heart rate (160 bpm) and I am measuring at 30 cm which my doctor says is great. My beverage of choice for the glucose test this morning was fruit punch and wasn't as bad as I was told. Easy as punch. The only downside to my appt was again getting on that blasted scale. I had a huge gain this last month. I am up to a total of 30 lbs....gulp. I tried going off my nausea meds last weekend....needless to say, I am back on them. My biggest pain in the rear is literally a pain in the rear. For the last 2 weeks my siactic nerve has been acting up big time and I can't walk normally anymore. I limp around and wake up John every night from trying to turn over in bed. I really try to be quiet, but it hurts really bad. Hopefully, the baby will just decide to move and I can be pain free. My doctor appts are now every 2 weeks so we are nearing the end. Until next time...

John and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary yesterday. Here is a little close up shot of the happy couple. We have had so many expenses with our little one getting ready to make her debut that we kept a low profile this year by staying in. We celebrated the previous weekend by going to our favorite restaurant in town and setting up our stroller and play yard. :) Ahhh...that's right...keeping things fresh and exciting! We are so excited to expand our family and for the many years ahead.

I had the fabulous idea (thanks to Potterybarnkids.com) to make a pretty pink ribbon across my brown wall in the nursery. Trisha came over along with her daughter Ali and helped paint the room. As you can tell from our drafts, we did not have much success. So, we painted it all brown for now. Stay tuned for updated pictures. I am determined to make it cute...

This is a picture of my friend and hairstylist Wendie, me and one of my favorite people and maker of all three, yes three of my shower cakes, Lacey Port.

This is a picture with the pregnant ladies. We are all due between October 27th and Novemeber 30th. From Left to Right, Nicole, Trisha, me and Amanda.

Here are a couple more pics of me opening up a few gifts!

Kristin Folsom threw me a baby shower this week. I felt so blessed and loved to see how many of my friends came to show their love and support. This is a picture of me and Kristin.

This is the invite to my baby shower. The colors match perfectly with the color scheme of our little girl's nursery! (For some reason, I can't figure out how to edit that blank spot out of the picture...I am technology challenged it seems. I scanned this into my computer, but you get the idea!)