Update after Christmas

This is a snowman in my house. I was trying out my new camera.

Here's a belly shot from last night. It's getting bigger, for sure! I don't think I've ever looked this big at this stage in the pregnancy.

Here I am behind my new camera! I love it, so far.

Maddie on her stack of presents from Santa.

Noah and his presents.

Grace in her new pajamas, surrounded by her presents.


We had a great Christmas. They got great presents. They have really been using their new playsets and art sets. I'm glad they are enjoying everything so much. Madison got a little vacuum and she loves it! It's so funny to watch her go to work, sweeping up the carpet. It actually works, not well, but it collects dust.
Noah got a remote control helicopter he is loving, among other great toys.
Grace got the baby alive she'd been hoping for, and a crayon maker and much more. It was a great Christmas for all!

Nutcracker in San Francisco

We took the kids to see the Nutcracker this month and they loved it. Here is a photo of them with two of the dancers from the Ballet. The kids got all dressed up, Noah wore a suit! They were given the reindeer and a nutcracker ornament as a free gift from the Ballet for being one of the first 500 in the door. They were just thrilled! I'm so glad we went!

We are gearing up for Christmas and I can hardly wait!

Merry Christmas!

It's a BOY!

We had a 3D ultrasound today to determine the baby's gender. We had a little trouble at first. The baby's cord was between the legs and it made it appear to have girl parts at first. We thought it was probably a girl, the gender prediction test had said it was a girl.

Well, don't waste your money, folks. The test was wrong! It's a boy! We are thrilled and Noah is just delighted! We think we will name him Nathan Michael. I have felt that we were going to have a Nathan join our family for some time now. I even said a few prayers to Saint Nathan in hopes of someday having a little Nathan join our family. This baby is a true answer to prayers. Prayers sent out faithfully for 3 years. We are so excited to be so close to his arrival. I feel like May will be here before we know it!

The 3D photos aren't all that great, they are mostly photos only a mother would love. I will post two for you to see. Keep in mind that the baby has no fat on his body yet, so that's why he's not so cute yet. We love him already!

So here are the photos...boy parts and a couple 3D photos.

The baby is yawning in the above photo.

Grace's 7th Birthday

We celebrated Gracie's 7th Birthday on the 12th and again on the 15th. She had a celebration with her family on her real birthday and then a birthday party with her friends on Sunday. She was thrilled to get this big pony she'd been hoping for. We surprised her, and she was so excited! These photos above are from her actual birthday. I can't believe she's 7 already! We love you Grace!

Gender Prediction Pee Test

Hi All! I took an IntelliGender Test this morning to see if the baby is a boy or girl. It's supposed to be fairly accurate, but you really don't know until the ultrasound confirms it. It was fun to do, the kids really were excited! My test showed the result to be a GIRL! So we'll see, my feeling was that it may be a girl, as the heartbeat has been quite fast. It's been in the 160s, 170s, sometimes the high 150s, but that's the lowest it's been. Noah's heartbeat was in the 120s most of the time. I know you can't bet the farm on the heart rate or this pee test, but it's fun to guess.

Noah really hopes its all wrong, he wants a boy so badly. I want it for him, but my gut says it's another girl. Honestly, I don't care at all. I will be happy with a healthy boy or girl. I just can't wait to meet this little one and share him or her with the family.


*** Update, the test didn't work at all. It predicted girl, but we have confirmed via ultrasound over and over again that it's a boy!***

Kate

Baby #4

Here's a ultrasound photo of the baby taken last Tuesday. At almost 10 weeks, we were only one day away from 10 weeks. The baby has it's hands up by it's face. We saw it's heart beating and it looked good. I go back this week on Thursday for another OBGYN appointment.

A Visit from Julia and Josephine

Aunt Julia and baby Josephine came to visit.

We took this right before we headed out to the airport to drop off Julia, so the kids weren't looking really spiffy, but it's still cute.

So pregnant looking...

As you can see, I look pregnant. The funny thing is, it's surely not the baby, as it's super, duper tiny and not even out of the pelvis. I think this growing tummy can be blamed on my slow digestive system, which so kindly causes me pain, discomfort and this lovely, bloated tummy! Oh, well, it's all part of the package, and I'll gladly accept it!

I never did write on here the results of the second blood test. It was all fine. The numbers doubled and went from 93 to 204 which was great! We have an ultrasound on October 8th. I'll be praying hard until then!

Happy 4th Birthday Madison

My baby girl is 4 years old! Her birthday was the 18th, but I'm just now getting to the post. We had a family party. She was quite happy with it all. I can't believe she's 4!

I love you Maddie!

This is one of my favorite photos from her quick 4 year old photo shoot.

This is when she had just come down the stairs and saw the decorations, she was so excited!

I love this expression, she was so happy!

Here's her princess cake!

Maddie really took some time to think of her wish.

This is the Barbie Aunt Julia got her for her birthday! She loved it!

She was so shocked to get this Wedding day Barbie.

My New Nephew

I am excited to introduce my new nephew, Jack Anthony!
He was born on August 14th at 4:08pm, he weighed 7 lbs 14.6 oz and was 20 inches long.
I was so honored to be there and witness his entrance into this world!
I didn't think it would be possible, but as luck would have it, she was induced and I was able to plan a trip out! Jack is the first birth I've been able to attend, and it was just as beautiful and amazing as I had imagined it would be! What a true miracle a new baby is! So here are a few pictures. If you want to see more you can check out my website www.kathrynmandelphotography.com and look for him under my featured galleries. I will also post some on my photography blog too.

This is one of my favorite studio shots. I love his little hands.

I had Jack's Nona (paternal grandmother) take a photo of me. Proof that I was there!

Further proof I was there.

I love this photo of my sister and her son. I took this in the hospital!

Bella holding her little brother for the first time!

Daddy and his son.

My mom and her new grandson.

My dad and his new grandson.

Happy 10th Birthday Noah!

July 28th is the day I brought my son into this world. It's the day I became a mother. It's the day that I experienced the worst pain and suffering and yet also experienced the most joy and love I have ever known. It is a day I will never forget and will always treasure. Really is there anything more special than the day you help to bring a new life into this world?

Noah is having a party on Thursday, so we just celebrated with our family today. We took Noah to Sapporo, a Japanese Steak House. He got sung to and given a special dessert, group picture, and a really nice chopsticks set. He loved it!

Mike got him a Nerf machine gun, which he loves!

It was a good day.

I snapped a couple pictures of him blowing out his candles on a small cake just for today.

Monopoly...The DARK Side!

Mike and Noah spent a long evening playing Monopoly. It wasn't just plain old Monopoly it was the Star Wars the Clone Wars edition. The two really had a great time playing it! In the end Mike was the winner! Noah had two bills left and Mike owned everything! Mike asked me to document the carnage! Noah wants to play again, and just keeps asking. He had so, so, much fun! I hope they get to play again soon. It was fun to watch!

Mike showing off his properties and money!

Daddy simulating a rubbing of Noah's nose in the loss!

The Board! Notice Noah's two bills.

Mike's winnings once again!

Noah pretending to beg for money, while sucking on his thumb!

**Silly**

Sulley and Lucy....KUNG FU FIGHTING!

Sulley doesn't really know what to think of Lucy. He's warming to her, but he is still a little stand offish. This was their first "play session". The kids thought it was hilarious! I have to admit it was pretty funny! I can't wait for them to be good friends! I set this video to some music to be even funnier! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Isabella!

Isabella is 2 years old today! She's my niece and I so wish I lived closer so I could really be an Aunt to her! She's a sweetie and she has these plastic animals she calls her "guys". She loves to play with them these days. Well, my sister had her photographed with her "guys" and I just love the photo!! It brings tears to my eyes! Mostly because I look at it and wish I could be there to see her in person! Here are a few pictures taken today, her 2nd birthday!

She is expecting a baby brother soon!
These are scanned images, so pardon the dust spots.

We love you Bella!!

Awesome Park in San Francisco Area

We took the kids up to Coyote Point Museum. It's an odd name, but it's a park and recreational area as well as a nature museum. The kids refer to it as the "Dragon Park", because of the large purple dragons. They had a blast, and we got to enjoy some sun and the company of our friends the O'Briens. We have known them since our earliest days of marriage.

Maddie and Grace with son #2 of the O'Brien family.

Son #1 of the O'Brien family.