Introducing...

Ace & Scarlett are thrilled to introduce their little sister...

Coco Rose Mercer

We are happy to be home from the hospital just 24 hours after her birth.

Everyone is adjusting well and enjoying this newest member of our family.

She's Here!

2:38pm

7 lbs. 4 oz., 19.25 inches

Monday August 30th, 2010

No name yet

Her very first photo...

My second med free birth & everyone is happy & healthy.

We made it to the hospital just in the nic-of-time, she was born 1 hour after we arrived!!!

Loving her wrinkly itty-bitty baby parts.

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and messages. We can't wait for you to meet her!

2010|8|29

Mom & Dad stopped in late tonight after attending an anniversary party for some relatives. Took the opportunity to take some quick photos of them...don't they look great!

2010|8|28

Enjoyed a pedicure today from my good friend Ashley. We went with bubble gum pink and my feet feel great. Thank you Ashley for the TREAT!

2010|8|27

Fresh fruits of summer...yum!

2010|8|26

First day of Grade 1 for Ace today. He was up at 7am ready to go...pretty pumped to go back to school!

2010|8|25

My sister & I took the kids to the pool today for one last swim before school starts tomorrow. It was a great sunny afternoon! I have to say it has been such a big help to have my sister and her kids go to pool dates with us this summer. Ace & Scarlett aren't quite old enough to swim by themselves, so I always know their cousins will help keep a watchful eye on them...Kelby for Ace and Kyra for Scarlett. And when I just want a break, my sister usually takes all four kids into the water herself. We have had many a fun time at the pool this summer...together!

Christa took a few maternity photos of me while the kids were drying off. Thanks sis, I love how they turned out!

40 Weeks

Well, I've made it to 40 weeks of this pregnancy. Wanted to record some things I want to remember. Hoping to meet this baby soon!

• I know I'm going to miss the feeling of baby's hiccups
• I can't sleep but have never felt so well-rested, not complaining
• I make at least 20 - 30 trips to the bathroom in a day...no joke!
• can't believe that I will actually have 3 kids
• sleeping is super uncomfortable right now, I switch sides every half hour and my ears hurt from lying on my sides
• trying our best to narrow down the baby girl name list, we know her middle name will be Rose {after Cory's Mother}
• Scarlett sings & reads to the baby
• so thankful for air conditioning...with this hot summer
• starting to get irritated with people asking, 'have you had that baby yet'?
• I feel much better about things when Cory or my sisters are around, they lift my spirits
• only have to make it till Thursday when the doctor is back, then baby can come whenever
• I can't get enough orange juice
• I don't have 'cankles' like I did with my other two pregnancies
• Ace is confused, he thought the baby would be here before school starts, which is Thursday
• booked a massage for Thurs and a pedicure for Saturday, really looking forward to them
• I've lost 7 pounds in the last 10 days, not sure whether to be alarmed or concerned
• lots & lots of {painless} contractions, just no action
• this waiting in limbo is starting to get to me

2010|8|24

We enjoyed a puppet show tonight in our fancy schmancy new puppet theatre. Thought this would be a great project for the kids to work on before school starts this week. Now we just need some curtains and a few more finishing touches and we're set. They had fun making up stories with the hand puppets Linda gave them before we moved from Calgary.

Ace & Scarlett putting the finishing touches {glitter} on the puppet theatre.

Our finished stage.

2010|8|23

Cooked my personal favorite pasta dish for the family tonight...pasta in a rose sauce with fresh mushrooms and shrimp. YUM!

2010|8|22

Today I needed to snap out of my grumpy funk. I have just been under alot of stress lately and needing to get positive again. So this day was all about finding my Happy Place again.

Took some wheat photos...taking photos always relaxes me and makes me smile!

I am finally in the market for a desktop MAC computer...so excited for this amazing machine.

Thinking about building a replica of our first home here in Oxbow, since there is such a demand for housing. Cory used to frame this house in 5 days! I loved that house and it has been great to chat about this possible business endeavour today with Cory to take my mind off of other things.

Arrested Development...need I say more, this show is hilarious. So many great one-liners ...'There's always money in the banana stand!'

Speaking of bananas, this made me laugh. My friend posted pics from a trip she made this weekend to see the World's Largest Banana in Melita, MB.

Shopping for a new camera bag...mine is broken, so yay, I get to shop for a new one. This is my top pic.

Planning a Lego party for Ace's 6th birthday in September.

Our neighbor lent us the Life DVD. We sat down as a family today to begin watching it. The kids loved Oprah's familiar voice as the narrator.

All new Entourage tonight! My favorite show on television right now.

I found my Cuttlebug embossing folders while unpacking a box in the basement...I've been wondering where those went.

This song...just makes me happy.

Aside from all this, my family really worked hard to make me HAPPY today...mission accomplished! They even planned a tickle attack on me, thanks guys for making me laugh again.

2010|8|21

Life can change in the blink of an eye...

Just when I thought the stress had settled,

and that there surly wasn't anything else that could arise before baby #3 arrived,

we were reminded today how fast things can change in an instant.

We headed to the dam (local nearby lake) this afternoon,

to let our dog Piper get some exercise.

She loves the water and with Cory being sick for the past few days,

we wanted to give her some playtime.

As I was taking a few photos,

Ace was capturing bugs,

Scarlett was putting her tootsies in the water

Cory was throwing the ball for our dog.

Cory threw the ball into the water for Piper,

she went after it but missed seeing it in the choppy water.

She swam out farther & farther.

We called her back,

she didn't hear us & kept on swimming out deeper & deeper.

Panic started to set in that she wasn't heading back till she found the ball.

She was about 300 meters out and had never been that deep or in the water for that long before.

Cory started to take off his hat & shoes,

his first instinct was to go in after our dog.

(I will admit this is something I would never have understood till owning a dog of our own)

As Cory dove in,

I gathered the kids while starting to hyper ventilate.

The kids were hysterical,

realizing the seriousness of the situation,

thinking they were loosing their dog.

I got the kids to the truck, told them to wait there.

They were so scared but I knew they would be safe there.

Then I heard Cory yell

I've never heard him yell with such panic in his voice!

I ran back to the beach to the situation...

My first thought was that our dog hadn't made it.

But luckily by that time our dog had turned around and swam back.

She was safe on the beach.

Cory had swam half way to Piper

she heard him calling her back and turned around.

But when Cory began to swim back,

his lungs had gave out (due to being sick with the flu and his asthma for the past few days).

He was out pretty far and felt like he wasn't going to make it back to shore.

Luckily there was a family swimming close by

they realized the panic of the situation and went after Cory to rescue him with lifejackets.

They got to him in time, we are all so thankful for their help!

I don't know if I would have been able to go in and rescue him at 39.5 weeks pregnant???

Cory was OK,

he caught his breath.

We all were shaken with what had just happened.

We went home so thankful for the outcome of the situation.

I know things turned out for us, but

all the what-ifs of today really scared me.

It took about an hour for me to breathe normally again...

I hope this is the last scare for us for a while.

2010|8|20

Taking these days before baby to spend some quality time with Ace & Scarlett. Cory still has a horrible flu, so we took every opportunity to get out of our germy house today. This morning we went on a bug hunt and had fun taking photos of many butterflies & bumble bees.

Nana took the kids for the whole afternoon & supper so I could get some book keeping done today {thanks Mom}. It helped to take my mind off of questioning when this baby is going to arrive, every day is like an eternity. Still worried about the fact that she only has until Saturday to show up and then she has to hold off till Thursday of next week (with the doctor being on holidays)...my friend Christy thinks the baby is trying to choose another astrological sign. So today was nice, I was able to relax and focus on other things.

2010|8|19

Cory came down with a nausea flu today...he's feeling horrible and the timing isn't the best, but what do you do? The kiddos & I had supper with my parent's tonight and after I took them to the new playpark in our valley. They loved the new equipment and used the time to burn off some energy in the fresh air. I had a swing and relaxed for a minute while they played. It was so nice to just sit for a moment and breathe with everything that's been going on this week. Hopefully we gave Daddy some peace & quiet for a while and a chance to catch up on rest and recovery.

2010|8|18

Today I had my 39 week OBGYN appt. It was very uneventful and a bit disappointing, not what I was expecting since I've been having contractions for at least a week. Found out that my doctor will be away from Sunday till Wednesday next week. This means there is another doctor who delivers in Estevan, but if you need an epidural and/or emergency c-section, it cannot be done there, they would have to send you to Regina (2 hours away). This stresses me...everyone else around me feels confident things will go well, but I of course worry.

So, I came home and researched natural methods of inducing labor. They say eating pineapple helps, and I've been snacking on it since I read up on it. Here's to hoping the baby arrives before (or after) my doctor is on holidays!

2010|8|17

Little things like this make me smile. The kids covered Piper up with a blanket and left a panda for her to snuggle with during her nap.

2010|8|16

Official reveal of the baby's room...even though a few of the finishing touches aren't quite complete. I have a few blog readers who have been very patiently waiting for me to share, here it is.

We decided to place the crib in the centre of the room...really liking it. Picked up this tulip crib bedding at Target. The matching curtains arrived and were just a smidge too short. Our neighbor across the street, Arlie, re-hemmed them and now they are perfect. Thank you so much for doing that for us Arlie!

Hung these pom poms above the crib.

This is the first change table we've owned.

Baskets & books on the shelves below.

Moses basket for the baby to sleep in when she's tiny. And a basket of stuffies Ace & Scarlett have gathered for baby to play with.

My absolute favorite part of the room...another dresser given to us by Cory's Grandparents. My Dad painted it pink {thanks Dad!} and I antiqued it with the electric sander. Love, love, love how it turned out!

Scarlett's baby clothes are all washed and ready for her new little sister to wear. The striped sleeper on the left is what we brought Scarlett home from the hospital in.

Old wooden chair I picked up at my favorite antique store, Preserved Petals in Minot. And sitting on the chair, a bunny made at Build-A-Bear.

Basket of baby hats, books & pacifiers.

Little rocking chair picked up at the antique store.

Ladder idea on this wall was lifted from my friend Missy's place, thanks for the great idea. Hope to place photos in each empty spot.

In the next few days I hope to get wooden clouds on the walls, just have to cut and paint them. I'd also like to fancy-up the lampshades...we'll see how much time I have. Then once baby is born I plan to make a banner with her name to hang and clothespin cards she gets from loved ones. This is the most prepared we've EVER been for a baby's arrival!!!

2010|8|15

Some projects around here are getting complete! Today I put a few photos up at our entrance from our photoshoot with Nate Elson. It was so exciting to get the package of photo products we ordered from him in the mail last week. I spray painted some frames and distressed them...love the burst of color against our neutral walls. Here's a closer look...

Saved the blue frame for when little Miss Mercer arrives.

And a view from the front door. I can see us updating these shelves with the latest family photos that become our favorites.