Lots of changes at the Malueg house!

Besides the obvious changes that go with having a newborn at home, we (okay, Mark is doing all of the work) are in the process of making some physical changes to our house and property. We had our house on the market for 18 months in hopes that we would move into a bigger house before a second child arrived. It turns out that that just wasn't meant to be. (As a side note, if anyone in the area needs a referral for an AWESOME realtor, please let me know!)

Mark has designed and is in the process of building a 10x12 foot storage barn for the backyard. Our garage is loaded down with lumber and Mark has already built three walls and all 7 rafters for the roof. Pictures to come soon!

Our next project is installing hardwood floors throughout the house, except for the bedrooms. I'm REALLY excited about this! I know it is sad, but now I won't have to worry about spills and stains and obsess about every little speck on the carpet.

Lastly, budget and logistics permitting, we may add a screened porch and new patio area to the existing patio area. This would by far be the most expensive project since we would have to hire a contractor. However, we may run into some issues with the location of our septic tank overlapping with the extended patio and that could prevent us from doing the project all together.

Since we weren't able to sell our house we just want to make our house into what WE want because we'll probably be here for a while...unless we have another baby :)

Please pray for this family!

If you have a chance, I would highly encourage you to read this blog about a sweet little boy born with Trisomy 18. While I do not know this family personally, their story has touched me in many ways. Their little boy was born just 6 days after William and at the same hospital we delivered at. Their story will remind you just how precious EVERY life is and that every child is a miracle. Please keep this family and baby Hogan in your prayers.

http://www.hogandominy.blogspot.com/

The many faces of Hannah

Hannah is such a goof! I love her silly personality!

Can you tell they are related?!?!

Most of you have probably seen these pictures that Mark posted on Facebook, but for those that have not seen it, I thought I would share it here too. There are times when I'm looking at William and it takes me back to three years ago when I was holding Hannah. They look so much alike to me. I love my beautiful babies!

Hannah is THREE!!!

This past weekend we celebrated Hannah's third birthday. I wasn't physically able to give her a huge birthday bash, so we kept it low key with a cookout with our immediate families. I don't think Hannah minded one bit...she had a blast being silly with Aunt Katherine and Uncle Jim and she always has fun with her cousins.

She really enjoyed opening presents this year. Mark and I gave her a dollhouse which she has really enjoyed so far, but I think her favorite is her turtle sandbox. She loves to be outside, so that was the perfect gift...thanks Grammy & Pappy!

Here are a few pictures from previous birthdays. It's just amazing how much she has changed from year to year!

04.04.2007

04.04.2008

04.04.2009

04.04.10

Thanks to our families for celebrating with us and making this a special day for Hannah.

William James Malueg is here!

William James Malueg arrived on Saturday 3/27/10 at 10:32 am. He weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. We are so thrilled that he has joined our family! He was born via c-section and it's a good thing that I had already decided to have a c-section. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck 4 times and the doctor had a hard time delivering him. A natural delivery would have been impossible. He got off to a rough start and was not breathing or moving when he was born. His heart rate was also very low. They gave him an Apgar score of 2. It was extremely scary for me to be laying on the operating table and not hearing my baby cry. After a few minutes, he finally started to cry a bit. He is now 3 days old and is doing wonderfully! He is nursing like a champ and the only time he cries is when we change his diaper or touch him with cold hands. Hannah thinks he is pretty awesome! She can't keep her hands off of him and she seems truly excited about being a big sister. Tomorrow we will go home from the hospital and the real fun will begin :)

Here are some pictures...

Pre-surgery

He's here!

More to come later!

Check out these FABULOUS earrings!!!

My sister just made THESE awesome earrings and added them to her etsy shop! She really needs to stop tempting me to spend more money...I have a baby coming in 9 days. Geez Katherine!

So things may be moving along faster than I thought...

...or maybe not. I've been having contractions for the past 2 days straight (although I know they aren't true labor contractions) and I finally called the doctor this morning since they just aren't going away. She had me come in for monitoring and a non-stress test. I'm 1cm dilated, which isn't that big of a deal, but I'm 70% effaced already. She gave me a prescription to try and stop the contractions, but if I do go into labor they aren't going to do anything to stop it. I'm going back to the doctor for another check on Friday and we'll see if I've progressed any since then. If I'm dilated more, I may end up on bed rest for a few weeks. All of this to say that the baby could come at any time, or he/she may be happy to keep cooking another few weeks. We shall see!