Ready for Kora

Kali and I went and got pedicures because when you're going to give birth (and in Kali's case be a big sister again) you must have nice toes. Yesterday I got the house all cleaned, vacuumed, mopped and all of the laundry done. Today I got the kids clothes ready and schedules written up for my Mom and my bags all packed. (I have to point out that Francis packed more than me--ha!)

And, since I am going to be nursing we went out for Mexican food at Manuel's tonight for my last spicy meal for a while. (when I nursed both Kali & Kai both were fussy when I ate pizza or anything spicy)

We just put the kids to bed but not before we took one last pic of me, my big old belly and my two kids.

 Tomorrow I will have 3!

Francis and I are so excited for this new adventure.

We can't wait to meet our little Kora!!

Party of 4

We have 8 days until Kora comes.

EIGHT DAYS!

So today we decided to have our last Becker Party of 4 hoorah!

 We went to the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa.

The kids had a great time and since it was "3 for Free Sunday" we got in for free. That was a nice surprise.

It was pretty exhausting to be walking around that much but it was a lot of fun. Here are my last pregnancy pics with only 8 days to go.

 Then we walked a couple of blocks down the street to the Mesa Contemporary Art Center. It was 111 degrees so not the best day for a walk but luckily it was not far and the Art Center was free too...jackpot! Francis and the kids did some crafts and we looked at some art.

 The exterior of the building was really neat and there were some cool water features.

From there we decided that we were all hungry. Unfortunatly, Mesa is basically a ghost town on Sunday and nothing is open so we drove to downtown Phoenix to find a good place to eat. The circus is in town so the only place we could find to park was by Chase Field. We ate over looking the baseball field at TGI Fridays. It was a really fun and exhausting day...one of our last a family of four. 

Now we're officially ready for little miss Kora :)

Baby Update

I'm hot, sweaty, uncomfortable, and about to bust out of my maternity shorts but still chuggin' along.

I took this picture yesterday. Only 10 days now until my scheduled c-section. Hallelujah!!

Getting the crib set up this weekend and putting the finishing touches on Kora's room. 

37 weeks

Only 15 days to go until little Kora joins our family. We are all SOOO excited! The kids ask me everyday how many days are left. I am enjoying feeling her move (unless she is kicking my ribs which really hurts) and since we're not planning on anymore kids after this I just want to enjoy each day of pregnancy I have left. I really do love being pregnant but the heat makes it really hard. Also, I am someone that is not very patient and I am usually moving really fast but that does not work with pregnancy. I am just trying to take things slow and give my body a break. Thankfully my Mother-in-law's pool gives me a chance to cool off every weekend and get some exercise since I stopped going to the gym at 8 months. It seems like just living day to day life & cleaning up after Fran and the kids is exercise enough. This week we'll be setting up the crib & then I can share a pic of the most fabulous crib bedding you've ever seen thanks to the bumper my Mom made & the gorgeous blankets & sheets from Fran's Mom, Kathi.

Oh and Kali is sling free now! Hooray for fast healing kid bones :)

Less than a month

Only 3 1/2 weeks left until Kora comes!! Unless she decided to come early...which would be great because my back hurts SO bad at night and I can't find a comfortable way to sleep.

But in the meantime I will just enjoy being pregnant and feeling this wild girl wiggle around inside of me. The kids love to feel her move.

Oh and I am LOVING this:

It's what I crave almost everyday for lunch or just a snack. Who knew provolone, avocado, salt and pepper could make a plain slice of bread taste SOOO good! Oh and if you try it then dip in Grey Poupon and side with a dill pickle....this is probably grossing people out, ha!

Baby on a Budget

 Since buying our Mini-Van and having our first ever car payment as a married couple we are on a budget. We also have a few credit cards that need to be paid off which means I could not go crazy buying tons of stuff for baby Kora. Luckily I really like shopping at Hissyfits, Bows N Britches and Kid to Kid. It's like a treasure hunt and I get so excited when I find a great deal.

I got this Exersaucer from Hissyfits (where I also consign Kali and Kai's old clothing so I can get credit) for only $20. Brand new from Target it's $60 so I saved $40!!  After I washed the seat in the washer & cleaned the rest it was as good as new.

 Next up is the changing table from Bows N Britches (13439 N. Cave Creek Rd) my Mom actually bought this for me but it was only $40 and brand new from Target is $80. She covered the changing pad cushion with cute, silky zebra fabric and we bought some cute containers from Marshall's & Ross to put on the shelves.

 Next is my AWESOME rocking chair. Which was Kali and Kai's but back then it was covered in a blue denim fabric. This time my Mom covered it for me in this great blue & white print. I love it because it's modern and does not look "baby roomish". So all that was paid for here was the fabric to cover it...which my Mom bought & did the labor :) Thank you Yaya.

Next I got my Bobby pillow and cover at Kid to Kid. I was initially grossed out at the thought of a used Boppy but I just put them both in the washer on HOT and they are as good as new. A brand new Boppy and cover is $40 at Target and I got mine for only $14. Awesome!

The Rocker/vibrating chair is from Hissyfits & that was only $12....new at Target $38.

And now on to my stroller. With Kali and Kai I had a big Jeep 3 wheel stroller which was awesome at the zoo and going for walks but awful to take in any type of store or crowded enviornment. Oh and it was SO HEAVY and did not fold up small. So this time I knew I wanted something light & that would not take up so much room in the back of a vehicle. I spent months looking and finally found this cute pink/black Peg Perego from Bows N Britches. Online I could only find them for $300 and up so I was happy to find this for only $120!! It folds SO small and is not heavy at all. (Not to mention Noodle LOVES riding around in it) ha!

 When I first went to Girly Girlz Boutique with Kali we saw the cutest baby blankets but they were SO expensive. So I started making my own with minky scraps I got from SASS and some fabric I ordered online. My Mom finished the back for me with satin and a cute ruffle trim. They were around $40-$50 at the boutique so this beauty was a deal and a fun project that my Mom I did for Kora :)

We needed a car seat so I looked at Kid to Kid and found a good car seat that was only a year old for $45....brand new at Target it was $100. This fabulous car seat cover is from Hissyfits for only $20!! I looked at the brand of cover online and saw that it was $70 so I called Hissyfits ASAP and purchased it (Hissyfits posts items on Facebook) I LOVE it! It's by far the cutest car seat I've ever seen. I never thought I would find one used and I fully intended to buy one new (this was the one splurge I was planning on) so it was such an awesome find.

I found a Bumbo chair at Hissyfits for only $11...brand new from Target it's $40 and the tray was a baby shower gift.

I want to wear Kora while she is young (Kai loved being worn in his carrier) so I read a lot about Moby wraps and thought that was the best for me and I found one at Hissyfits for $22....new they are $44.

 And here are a few pics from around her room so far. We have not moved the crib in yet since I love having Kai's old bed in there so I can sneak away and take a rest every now and then which magically becomes a nap when Francis is home.

 Kora cute diaper holder was also in Kali and Kai's rooms when they were babies...it's SO handy.

Kai had it covered in pirate stuff so I took them all off and got these cute wooden flowers, bugs & candy from Hobby Lobby and just hot glued them on. The cute hair clip holder is from Hobby Lobby too.

Another shout out to Hobby Lobby on the cute pinboard (with the black frame) but it came with ugly fabric so my Mom covered it in some awesome pink/blue damask she had.


Next up I saw a cute crib bumper on ETSY for a mere $175 YIKES! To which I said, that would be easy to make so my Mom and I went to SASS to pick out some minky and other fabulous fabric. I cut it out....my Mom is sewing it. I will post pics when it's done.

Less than a month left until Kora comes home to this fabulous room!!

35 weeks

Baby Update

Okay let's start with the bad news & then we'll finish with good.

Remember a few months back when my OBGYN committed suicide?

Well, my new OBGYN needs hip surgery & will be out for at least a month.

I am 34 weeks but measuring at 35. Kora already weighs 5 lbs. 14 oz.

Another big Becker baby :)

At my appointment I met my new OBGYN that will (hopefully/maybe) be delivering my baby.

At this point I don't even care who does it just as long as they know what they are doing.

Now, onto some good news.

My good friends Alicia & Andrea had baby "sprinkle" for me.

They called it a "sprinkle" because I kind of felt weird about having a baby shower for a third baby.

I was surprised how many of my friends came. It was really wonderful. And, since I had such a great time I realized after that I forgot my camera and I only have these few pics that my Mom took & one my friend Lynsey took. Kali got to come and she was soooo excited!

Her hard cast got to come off and she only wears her sling now. She has 3 more weeks with the sling and she should be good to go. She also found out that she can still dance in her dance recital and go to dance camp at the end of the month....best news ever for her!!

Here is another sneek peek into Kora's room full of the fun gifts I got at the shower. Kali has to sleep in here for now since she can't get into the bunk bed. So in 3 weeks we'll be moving the bed out and Kora's crib in. Then I will take tons of pics :)

33 Weeks

Baby #3 = Mini Van

 Since we are going to be a family of 5 this summer we decided it was time to sell our little Pathfinder and step it up to full on Mini Van family! The Pathfinder was a good car to us & we had it ever since I was pregnant with Kali. We brought both of our kiddos home in it so it was a little sad to see it go. Kali & Kai both cried their eyes out. Kali cried so hard, in fact, that she had to miss dance class because she could not stop bawling. But once we got home the kids were both very happy with the new van. Francis and I were exhausted after 2 days and 6 hours of test drives, negotiations, paperwork and TONS of waiting at the dealership.  But after all that I finally have my first ever BRAND new car. It's really exciting for me & now we have lots of room for our baby girl too.

 Speaking of our little gal, she is growing bigger all the time and here is my belly today! I am 30 weeks now and she is the size of a head of cabbage. Oh and I did not really like the above pic so I tried to take one tonight & here it is:

this is the perfect picture to show what things are like here before bedtime. C-R-A-Z-Y! But so fun & these two are pretty darn funny. This baby has been kicking a lot so no doubt she will fit right in around here :)

Peek

 Here is a peek into Kora's room.

 When Kali was a baby her room was ocean themed, Kai's a jungle theme. Kora's is just stuff that I think it cute & girly. Kali & Kai LOVE playing in this room and buckling their Woody, Jesse, Clifford etc... into Kora's car seat and baby rocker. Every doctor's appointment I go to Kai asks...."are you going to get Kora out??" and Kali keeps asking how soon July will come. They are both so excited to meet their little sister.

Baby Update

Today I had and ultrasound and my glucose test. (which means I got to drink an orange sugary drink which is the sugary equivalent to 5 orange sodas) Luckily the woman in the lab that took my blood was SO fast and it only hurt for a second. Kudos to her! The US was really nice & I got to see tons of images of our little girl and the US tech gave me lots of new pics to bring home to show Mr. Becker and the kids. They were excited to their sis! She even looks straight ahead in one pic so we could see her sweet face. My doctor said everything looked perfect! I was so happy since I had a hard time in the beginning and if you know what I went through with Kai then you know how relieved I was to hear that. ( at 5 months pregnant they scared the crap out of me and told me Kai was not going to be "normal" then a few months later they said oh never mind, he'll be fine but those two months were scary) So long story short, the appointment went really well and I am very happy with my new OBGYN and the entire staff there is SOOO nice. I feel like I am in the right place & in good hands.

*oh I almost forgot they said she weighs 2lbs 7oz, which is 65% so she is a healthy girl :)

27 weeks

Happy News!

I just got a call that my c-section is scheduled!

Looking like Spring!

Look at my bright, happy little girl! Doesn't she just look like spring to you?? And, speaking of that our yard is full of spring. Even the neighbors bushes are blooming into our yard, love it!

It was so nice outside yesterday, the boys set up the tent so we brought blankets & pillows out and stayed there until dinnertime.

The other day at Walgreens a woman told me that my belly looks like an Easter egg (I had a bright colored shirt on)

So here's to spring!