Sunday, October 20, 2013

Oh baby!

36 weeks.

Where has the time gone?  I'm thankful for each and every day that I've had to carry our sweet baby girl, but I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been the easiest pregnancy.  I hate to complain because I am so very thankful for the opportunity to be pregnant, to experience the joy of the baby's movements, to see her grow as my body grows, but this pregnancy has definitely been the hardest for me thus far.  Maybe it's because I'm older, or have two very energetic young children to run after, or my body is just worn out from being pregnant.  Probably a combination of all of these things.
 I've had a lot more Braxton Hicks contractions lately, which are exciting and yet scary to think of the impending pain to come.  I've also had a lot of ligament pain (like way more than my other pregnancies), especially when I walk, so that's exciting (but not really).  It probably doesn't help that Mason still loves to be carried, so I probably carry him way more than I should, and often have to cart him up and down the stairs in our house.  
I've actually had way more energy my 3rd trimester so that has been nice.  I kept waiting to have energy in the second trimester, but it just never came.  Even though I've had more energy lately, I still feel tired...a lot.  Especially days I'm home with the kids all day.  I so love our kids, but I feel like they are both at a difficult age with fighting, whining, exerting independence, etc.  All this requires energy...more energy than I often feel I have.  Not to mention our dreaded stairs.

I'm really looking forward to baby girl being here, but I also have had a really difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact that we will have 3 kids.  3 kids.  I feel like people who have 3 kids look old and I don't feel that old.  Plus, I wonder how it will change the dynamics of our family.  I guess we'll find out soon enough.  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

A long September...


Anybody remember that song?  Takes me back to high school...or maybe college.  Some time when I thought life was really complicated, but in retrospect, was actually very simple and trivial.  Hindsight is 20/20. :)  Anyway, it has been a long September/October for several reasons, mainly we have been sick for what feels like an eternity.  The kids got colds, that led to ear infections that didn't respond to one round of antibiotics, that led to a nasty cough for Kev and I, that was topped off by a delightful GI bug with lots of goodness from both ends.  We were all healthy for about a week, then Mason started running a fever with a runny nose on Saturday.  Then Elliott got sent home from school today with possible pink eye but ended up having an ear infection.  I expected for the kids to get more sick since they started preschool this year, but seriously, this is ridiculous.  I have started to feel desperate to find ways to keep us all healthy.  It's amazing how easy it is to take your health for granted, until you're sick...and these are just colds!!  We're not fighting major illnesses or life threatening battles, just really annoying viruses and bacterias.  So basically all these illnesses have definitely contributed to my lack of blogging.  Along with the fact that I'm 35 weeks pregnant...what??...and have not had my normal energy.

Other than crazy sicknesses getting us down, life has been good, and I wanted to include a few photos.
We had some sweet friends from Oklahoma (although we both no longer live there) stay with us a night with their 3 kids.  They have 3 kids 3 and under and are basically about 6 months ahead of us...it was like a glimpse into what our life could potentially look like in a few short months.  They certainly handle 3 kids with much more grace than I'm sure I will and laughter than I'm sure I will, but it was encouraging to see them take it in stride.  The visit was short but incredibly encouraging for multiple reasons, one being they are about to go overseas with their 3 young children to do ministry among tribes.  I was so challenged by their obedience to God's calling, even though I'm sure there are very daunting and difficult aspects of leaving.  It certainly made me think twice about the things I think are inconvenient or difficult in my life.  Ummm...probably don't compare to living in a tribe in a third world country.  Plus their kids were super sweet and all the kids had fun playing!
I just love Mason's little smirk in this picture.  We were quite the sight to see...5 kids 3 and under.  Yikes. :)
These 2 pictures are kind of old but I had to include them.  My parents came for a visit during Miss E's birthday.  One of her presents from them was a Belle dress...insert major excitement here.  The girl loves her princesses and Belle is one of her favorites.  Time with Momo and Papa is always so incredibly precious and not long enough!

This picture melts my heart because first, it is SO hard to get a picture of Miss E smiling and second, it's virtually a miracle to get a picture of her smiling WITH me.  This picture is like gold.  So thankful for this picture together and most importantly, for my sweet girl!
Again, valuable picture EVEN if Mason is not smiling.  Elliott happened to be in a good mood this day and when I started taking pictures she said, "Mom, do you want me to go by Mason and smile?"  Yes, yes I do.  And why do you want to do it when I don't ask?  One of life's little dilemmas.  The other landmark thing about this picture is Mason's paci...because it is now NO more!!  During our 4 weeks of sickness, we also accidently lost Mason's last paci.  Now we were wanting to wean him off it before the baby (but just dreading it).  Nothing like losing the last one...on a work night...on a school night...right before bedtime.  For the planner in me, this was basically my worst nightmare.  However, he has handled it pretty well.  He never seemed to miss it during the day, but definitely had a rough transition during naps and night time.  He actually has stopped napping quite as long (1 nap for 1.5 hours) and has been waking up screaming most mornings around 5:45 or 6.  Not ideal.  However, no paci.  And he did sleep until 8 yesterday and 7 today (after a 5:15 wakeup when E went to the bathroom).  It's the small victories.