Fall Fun

I started this post a couple weeks ago but never finished. I can't believe today is the last day in October. We definitely had a wonderful and exciting month. A couple weeks ago we went to the Bellaire Fall festival. The weather was beautiful and the girls had a good time.

Greg and I went to a Halloween party and had so much fun! I love dressing up and it has been a long time since we have been to a halloween party for adults. We found this costume idea on Pinterest and recreated it. I cut a hole in a black maternity shirt and glued white felt patches on it. I wore a pink shirt underneath and used bottle nipples for the utters. 

We did pumpkin carving at the party too, which was a lot of fun. Check out the Alleman's pumpkin on the far right. It is hard to tell from that small picture, but it was a starbucks cup. Very creative!

This past Thursday Cambry had a Halloween Costume Parade and performance at her school. Cambry dressed up as Anna (of course). It was adorable to see all the kids in their costumes walking laps around the parking lot and all the parents waving and taking pictures. Then all the kids went inside and sang a number of Halloween songs they had learned in their music class. I wore Colton in the baby carrier and he never made a peep the whole time. Sweet boy.

Cambry and her teacher

Hopefully the weather clears up some later today. I will get some pictures of the kids dressed up this evening and post them soon. Happy Halloween!

First Week

Well things have been quite busy around here with 3! With your first child the world slows down and everything seems to be put on hold for a while. Now with the 3rd one nothing slows down. There is still preschool drop off and pick up, therapies to go to, doctor appointments, grocery shopping to do, and birthday parties to attend. But things have been going really well this week and Colton has been a super sweet baby. He has been doing great at night- usually doing about 3 hr stretches between feeds. Last night may have been a stand alone miracle - but he only woke up once! I fed home before I went to bed, then at 3am, then when he woke up sometime after 7.

The girls have been doing well this week too. Cambry has been sweet and tells me all the time how cute he is. Lainey has been pretty good although she has recently learned to throw the classic 2 year old fit at the slightest thing. She is sometimes very interested in Colton but I cannot leave her unattended with him because she tends to give him too much love (attempting to climb in the bouncer with him, not-so-gentle pats on the head, putting toys/objects on him, taking away his blanket, etc).

Newborns are just the cutest. I love to snuggle him and stare at his sweet face. I often look at him and think how in the world did he fit in my tummy?? Such a miracle. Speaking of tummy, Cambry has asked me several times why mine is still big, haha. That takes time my dear.

I forget just how much newborns sleep in the beginning. I keep worrying that he is sleeping too much during the day and it might prevent him from sleeping well at night but that is just what newborns do. It is adorable though.

Colton has had 2 baths so far at home and I think he liked them. He made an angry face during bath but he didn't cry for the most part so he must have enjoyed the warm water.

I can't really tell who he looks like. Most people say the see Cambry in him. Sometimes I do, other times I don't see it much at all. He definitely has her coloring though. She had about that same hair color when she was born and the super light eyebrows. He does have a little bit of a chin dimple, but not as pronounced as Lainey's. 

I love this precious boy!

Welcome Baby Colton

We got to meet our son sooner than we thought! Turns out that my 38 week pregnancy update was my last weekly update. I will write out his birth story soon, but for now

welcome to the world

Colton Brooks Mattern

Born October 21

9 lbs. 0 oz.

22 in.

We love this little one so much. I can't believe he is here. I was not expecting him for a couple more weeks but what a wonderful surprise. We are all doing well and got home from the hospital yesterday. The big sisters have been staying with Nana and Pops in Waco and will come home tomorrow. I can't wait for them to meet him. For now we are enjoying all the snuggles, the newborn sounds, expressions, mannerisms. and smells. I can't stop staring at him and covering him with kisses. Welcome to our family sweet Colton!

38 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #3

Lainey (left), Cambry (right)

How Far Along:  38 Weeks

Baby's Size:  A leek. I forgot to update this last week, but I was 1 cm. / 0% effaced at my 37 week appointment. At my 38 week appointment I was still 1 cm. / 0% effaced. At this point with Lainey I was 2 cm. / 50% effaced and with Cambry I was 1.5 cm. / 50% effaced. I am hoping Colton stays nice and cozy this week since my parents will be in Phoenix because my nephew will be born. I am so excited for another little one in the family!

Maternity Clothes: Just a few things left that fit!

Movement: He is very active. I love to feel him move and can't wait to cuddle that little tiny baby body!

Sleep: Great. Flipping sides is basically like doing a crossfit workout.

Symptoms: Feeling big and immobile. Braxton hicks periodically throughout the day and restless legs at night.

Best Moment this Week / Baby Prep Progress: We had a really fun weekend which included a fall festival and a Halloween party. I will do a separate post about that. This week I got a few fun baby things in the mail. My sister sent me a really cute maternity/nursing gown and a cute onesie. And I actually hadn't bought any clothes for Colton, but I couldn't resist this that I found on Etsy. Cardigan and bow tie?? Oh the cuteness.

What I miss: Feeling normal and having energy.

What I am Looking Forward to: "Meeting" my nephew (through pictures and facetime) this week. Also I have another ultrasound to check on some things so I am excited to see Colton wiggling around in there again.

Unfortunately I didn't get any crazy comments last week. Maybe this week!

Pumpkin Patch 2015

Like we have done the past 3 years, we went to St. Luke's Methodist to take pictures in their pumpkin patch. There were tons of families there taking pictures and I got lots of stares and comments on my pumpkin shirt. Cambry was very cooperative and gave us lots of sweet smiles. SO different from last year where she refused to smile. Lainey on the other hand was not too cooperative. She would only stay seated for 2 1/2 seconds and then was up and walking. Or if we tried to take a picture of her standing she would just walk away immediately. We got a couple good ones though. Should be even more challenging next year with a third little pumpkin in the mix!

Greg's parents gave Lainey a "baby brother" baby doll for her birthday and she did not put it down all weekend. She has been sleeping with it and loves it so much.

Lainey was not liking the mother daughter picture.

Past years in the pumpkin patch...

We bought pumpkins so the girls could decorate them. Cambry and Lainey enjoyed painting their pumpkins and Cambry loved putting jewels all over hers and some on Lainey's. And we didn't want to leave out baby Colton so we bought him a little pumpkin and Cambry decorated it.

37 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #3

I had to bring out the purple shirt since I wore it for my 37 week pictures with both girls. This makes for a really good comparison. I think I look the same size with each pregnancy. And I can't really tell a difference in how high/low I am carrying. Looks pretty much the same to me even though the say girls are higher

How Far Along:  37 Weeks

Baby's Size:  A bunch of Swiss Chard (huh?) At my ultrasound the day before I turned 37 weeks the baby's weight was estimated at 7 lbs. 3oz. Fun fact: At my 37 week ultrasound with Lainey she was estimated at 7lbs. 2 oz. She was born 7lbs. 10oz. 5 days past due.

Maternity Clothes: Just a few things left that fit!

Movement: He is very active and sometimes painfully so. He was still head down at my ultrasound so that is good news!

Sleep: Great. Flipping sides is basically like doing a crossfit workout.

Symptoms: Tired and uncomfortable. But trying to enjoy and soak up these last weeks of pregnancy. My blood pressure has been REALLY low lately too. I am having more braxton hicks throughout the day. Also I have been waking up with charlie horses - ahh so painful.

Best Moment this Week / Baby Prep Progress: Greg's coworkers threw us a baby shower and my bible study group had a sprinkle for me. We are so thankful for all the baby stuff. Then Greg's parents came in town this weekend and we had a fun time with them. The girls love to see their grandparents. We went to a pumpkin patch and then they watched the girls while Greg and I ran some baby errands. We got a lot of things done. This past week I was starting to feel flustered with lots of to-do list items. None of them were that big, but I wanted to get a bunch of small stuff done and I felt the clock ticking. Now I think we are in pretty good shape. Car seat is installed, my hospital bag is packed, and all the baby stuff is washed and ready. In addition to all the fun stuff we got at the shower, Greg's parents and sister gave us some really cute things. How precious is this gown with a tie and this lovie with Colton's name??

What I miss: Feeling normal and having energy.

What I am Looking Forward to: Having a baby!

 Best Comment from a Stranger:
Walmart employee: How big is your baby gonna be?? 9 lbs??
Me: I hope not!
Walmart employee: It's gonna be a big baby!!

Fall Fun

1. A couple weekends ago we went out to Dewberry Farm. It was about 1000 degrees outside that day but it was still a lot of fun. A group of my friends are planning a day to go out there during the week toward the end of October and I was thinking there was a chance I could join them if I hadn't had the baby yet. But after this trip I realized there was no way I could do Dewberry without Greg. The farm is pretty big and I am so heavy and slow these days so I think it would be way too hard this late in pregnancy. I am definitely glad we went as a family!

2. The first weekend in October I had to bust out the pumpkin outfits for church. I LOVE pumpkin outfits so I need to get as much use out of these as possible. Cambry did not like her big ruffle sleeves so it may be hard to get her to wear this dress often but she looked adorable. Greg was gone on middle school retreat and I was outside taking pics in the front yard. A neighbor was walking her dog and offered to take a picture of the 3 of us. Love my little girls!

3. Baby Colton has been loved on and celebrated! Greg has the sweetest coworkers and they threw us such a nice shower this week. One lady made the cutest diaper cake and they had adorable decorations and favors. We left with a lot of fun gifts. They even gave sister shirts to Cambry and Lainey. Then my bible study had a little sprinkle for me and the girls were so sweet to give us diapers and gift cards and pray over Colton.

Looking forward to more fun this October and can't wait to find out if Colton will be joining us this month!