Twas the Night Before Baby...

Well, I'm sitting here at my parents house with the computer on my lap. My 2 sweet kids are asleep. Tanner is laying here next to me. And I can't wrap my head around the fact that bright and early tomorrow morning I will be the mother of 3. I'm having another baby. The one blessing I fasted, prayed, cried, and begged for is now coming at me full speed. 

Jack is moving in my belly like crazy. He's always so active at night before he falls asleep. I'm going to guess that he's a tall guy because I can feel him so low and his legs are constantly being stretched out up into my ribs. He might not be a huge fan of the swaddle with all the stretching he does. I can barely breath because he is so high up in my ribs. As his mother I get this vibe that he's going to be happy-go-lucky, pretty laid back, and super fun loving. I'm sure he'll be kind hearted, smart, and a stud like his brother, Parker. I'm hoping he's born with dark hair but I'm not counting on it. I'm sure he'll be blonde like the rest of my family! 

I'm excited to have the C section performed by Dr. Han. She's incredible and always makes me feel at ease. I'm really not nervous about delivery. In fact, I'm kinda looking forward to the whole hospital experience. Maybe it's the drugs but I feel like it's the happiest place on earth! Better than Disneyland! I'm going to miss Rayleigh and Parker. I'm worried about Rayleigh adjusting to having some competition. I really just want to get my body back to normal so I can get back to doing the things I love with my kids- going to the park, swimming, beach.... I want to feel strong and in control. I know it will take time after surgery to heal but I'm praying for a fast recovery.

Tanner gave me the most beautiful blessing tonight. That man sets my soul on fire. I can't imagine surfing this wave without him. He's so supportive and really wants to be right by my side through this whole process- which is saying a lot knowing he will have to sleep on a chair next to my hospital bed for 3 nights. He's been nothing but happy and relaxed about being the father of 3. He's the best dad and he just keeps getting better. Right now he's watching the little video we made of Rayleigh's first year. Such a softy....

I don't know how ready I am for another baby but I know that this is all I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of. I'm not scared. I have the best family in the entire world and I would not change a thing. Why start now? Life has continually gotten better and better and it's only just begun. I am lucky. I am blessed beyond measure. And I can't wait to hold my newest tiny baby.

I thought it was ironic and super interesting that exactly 3 years ago I reached out via social media to my friends and family members for support and words of encouragement when I was feeling especially blue. I was at one of my lowest points, feeling really depressed about not being able to get pregnant with another baby. If only life came with a magic 8 ball. Or the ability to see into the future. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being days away from my THIRD baby just 3 short years after writing this plea.

This picture was from Tanner's phone and is from when I was in the temple with Cami. He took the kids to our favorite place to eat when we lived in San Diego- Islands.

I've been preparing in so many different areas these past few days for the birth of baby Jack. I've deep cleaned and organized, washed everyone's sheets and towels, and made about 6 freezer meals. I've NOT been into cooking lately so I'm hoping these meals come in handy in the days to come.

But in other ways I feel completely UNprepared. Like when I look out the window and see Rayleigh standing on the patio table.

Ready or not, here he comes! 39 weeks and trying desperately to kick this cold. I'm still coughing and slightly congested. I guess I'll just have to deal with it and hope I don't bust any stitches.

"Do I have something on my face?" 

I had the girls over for one last Activity Day before I am taking some time off. Since it's Spring and we are close to Earth Day I had the idea to have the girls plant flower seeds in little clear cups and make "dirt cups" with pudding, cookies, and gummy worms. We had a little spiritual thought on how faith is like a little seed. It was a nice activity! Rayleigh found some half eaten pudding and was in Heaven trying to lick the contents. She made a HUGE mess but provided me with some pretty tasty kisses!

Sadly, I think Rayleigh picked up some of my germs. Luckily she's all better now but she had a day when she was pretty down. And cuddly.

Parker received an award at school! Since he's such a smarty pants he was presented with the "College Bound" award! My mom was able to come up and cheer him on which made his day! He's just the best. He's been earning points galore and helping me SOOOOO much! He's even started packing his own lunch for school! I'm so proud of him!

Rayleigh loved clapping for all the students.

Nanny giving him props for a job well done. She's the best.

We had big plans for our last Saturday as a family of 4!

Well, I did at least. I got a pedicure with my mom!

Blue toes for my baby boy!

We went out to the Spectrum that evening for dinner at Red Robin and took the kids on a ride on the carousel. It was so fun! I love being out on a warm night enjoying the atmosphere. There was live music and lots of laughter all around.

Rayleigh was unsure about the merry-go-round at first but once it started going she was thrilled! Parker, not so much. I think he's about met the age limit for such rides....

Sunday Tanner and I spoke in church! I know, I know, who asks a 10 month pregnant woman to speak in church. Truth be told, we were asked to speak a couple months ago but our schedules just didn't permit until now. I don't mind speaking in church, though, so it was not too big of a deal. I took the opportunity to introduce our family and maybe we'll get some meals now that people know we are having a baby! I still don't have a visiting teaching assignment. At any rate, I know the Lord will bless us for our efforts. Tanner did a phenomenal job, as usual. My parents came up to hear us speak and help with the kids while we were up on the stand. My Dad hadn't been out to our house yet so it was fun to show him around! Here I am with the kids playing the piano before church. I can never make it 2 measures in before they descend and take over the keys.

Best parents in the whole universe.

To be clear: this girl loves to snuggle.

Yesterday I had the scare of my life. Rayleigh puts everything in her mouth which is pretty sick but I can't seem to get her to stop. We were outside playing and she shoved a snail shell, rock, leaf, and stick in her mouth in about 0.5 seconds. I was able to get her to spit everything out but the stick got lodged in her throat. She was screaming and gagging and blood was in her mouth. I couldn't see it and I didn't want to sweep in case I shoved it in further. She had a hard time getting it out but finally (as I was about to dial 911) she coughed it out and was immediately soothed. I held her close and wondered how in the world I was going to keep her safe and watched over with ANOTHER baby to look after. I got her a Popsicle, her very first one, and let her drip and drool all over me. I'd take that sticky mess over a sad, hurt girl any day.

Today I had my pre op appointment at 10am. Cami watched Rayleigh for me since my mom had to work. It took all of 15 minutes which was nice. Tanner left work early so he could pick up Parker from school. We each ran a different set of errands. I had to return a dress and get the baby's "going home" outfit. We had a delicious steak dinner outside in the backyard to celebrate our "last supper" as a family of 4. Now that's a good looking piece of meat! And that steak looks delish!

My mom is the best at making meals feel so special. She has a fabulous touch when it comes to table setting and ambiance. And she makes the BEST strawberry short cake!

Even Rayleigh loves eating al fresco!

And a big thanks to my dad for capturing the last family photos of this crazy little foursome.

Our lives are about to change forever, again! 

Tomorrow, tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow! You're only a day away, little Jack. 

And we can't wait to welcoming you into our family!!! 

We love you!


An excerpt from my talk:

Hello brothers and sisters. For those of you who don't know us, we are the Petersons. There's Tanner (the dad) My name is Chandra, then we have our son Parker who is 7 and Rayleigh our daughter who is now officially 18 months. And another son, Jack, who will be born via c section bright and early Wednesday morning! We were asked to speak a few weeks ago and our schedules just didn't work until now- secretly I was hoping I could possibly go into labor and avoid speaking today. Nope! Honestly, I'm honored to address you all today and hope you feel the spirit in my message. 

To start, wanted to give you a little background on our family since we are new to the ward. We moved in about 5 months ago. I grew up in laguna hills which is about 45 minutes from here and am the youngest of 5 kids. 3 of my 4 siblings live in Orange County with their families as well as my parents so I am thrilled to be living so close to them. They truly are my best friends. Tanner is from blackfoot IDAHO. He is the oldest of 4 kids who all reside in Utah and Idaho. We met at BYU IDAHO about 3 weeks after he returned home from his mission in 2003. He actually served in the Carlsbad California mission and served his last area in my home ward. I was at BYU I at the time but he got to know my parents pretty well. Let's just say our marriage was arranged. My mom sent me elder petersons phone number and said I should give him a call and welcome him home. This was almost exactly 12 years ago. Well, the obedient daughter I am, I called and invited him over to my Rexburg apartment and it was pretty much love at first sight! We got engaged in laguna beach after a few months of dating and were married in the San Diego temple on April 2nd 2004- 11 years ago! 

We started off married life in Las Vegas. Tanner worked with some mission buddies parking cars on the strip while I went to school at UNLV to become an ultrasound tech. We lived there for about 3 years and then moved back to laguna hills when our first son, Parker, was born on July 27th 2007. We lived with my parents and I was able to stay home with Parker while tanner worked and went to school. After 2 and a half years tanner applied to BYU and we chose to attend the Provo campus. I worked as an ultrasound tech for a heart and lung surgery practice doing vascular scans while Tanner continued to work and go to school. Living in orem was amazing. We loved living there and tanner thrived at BYU. Parker also started school since I was working everyday and he too thrived! Everything was as perfect as could be. Except that we could not get pregnant with a desperately wanted second baby. We tried everything including several infertility treatments. We endured 3 miscarriages, severe financial strain, and exquisite heartbreak as we endured this test and trial of our faith. Provo Utah is not the ideal place to live when struggling with infertility/ everywhere you look there are pregnant bellies and babies galore. But endure we did. After Tanner graduated from BYU with a major in health science and a minor in chemistry he applied to PA school and we moved to Pennsylvania. It was a tough move being on the completely opposite side of the country far away from friends and family but the lord blessed us. As he always does. When Tanner was on his winter break from graduate school we returned to Utah to visit family and sneak in another infertility treatment. Our hopes were low considering all we'd been through but we sure weren't going to give up. And guess what? It worked! Shortly after we found out we were really truly expecting a perfect little girl we made the decision to move back to the west coast and tanner pursued a slightly different career path in hospital administration. Rayleigh was born on October 3rd 2013 in Laguna hills and a month later we moved to SACRAMENTO where tanner began his administrator training. At the end of last summer, to our shock and amazement we found out we were expecting again! We knew we wanted to be back down south closer to family as we entered this next crazy stage of life with 3 kids (the last 2 being only 18 month apart- far different from our 6 year gap we have with the first 2) so tanner accepted a position working in Monrovia and with the help of a fantastic realtor found our home here in Eastvale! We have lived here in the ward for about 5 months and are excited to get to know all of you and serve the lord to the best of our abilities!