Waiting...

We're in the waiting place, a holding pattern, unsure of when baby girl will be here but knowing it will be soon.  Trying to cherish the time we have as a family of 4 but excited to become a family of 5.  Enjoying every little kick and movement baby girl makes, yet also anticipating holding her in our arms. Hoping she'll come soon, but also hoping she waits until my mom makes it here.  One of the hardest things for me during this season is just how difficult the simplest tasks have become...getting off the ground (which I do often), bending down to pick things up (a constant activity since there is always clutter to be put away), trying to hold both kids in my lap to read a book...everything requires extra effort.

When I was home with the kids on Friday, I decided I would focus on spending time together, not accomplishing tasks which is a hard line to draw at times.  It was a sweet time with the kids.

 This is Miss E's cheese face...she basically either refuses to look at the camera or gives me this face.  Love it.

 This guy has been obsessed with triangle blocks lately.  He will look for all the triangles in the block box and then line them up in a row.  It had a moment where I thought, who taught him about triangles??  Certainly not me. :) His learning style is so different than E's.  He has been obsessed with reading lately but never on his own...he always wants me to read and he wants to talk about all the different pictures, sometimes getting fixated on one page or image.  If I'm distracted, he'll repeatedly pat my face saying "Mama, mama...dog, dog, dog..."  He really wants to interact where Elliott is content so often doing things independently.  She can be hard to teach, because she doesn't want to be "told" what to do.

 She is also not a toy player, but she LOVES jumping...on her bed, from her bed to the ground, off her ottoman, off her toy boxes, across the room with 1 and 2 feet...the girl loves jumping.  I'm thinking we need to invest in some kind of indoor trampoline for the winter.  

 When I was preparing lunches, the kids got in the sandbox.  Oh joy.  Nothing like sand in their coats and boots.

I'm so thankful for time with these munchkins, even though they wear me out!

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.  

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.

My 3 year old...

She's THREE!

It feels like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms...a tiny, helpless little girl.  She made me a mother and showed me how DEEP a mother's love is.

I stared in awe at her perfect little face...her nose, her eyes, her sweet little mouth.

She was absolutely perfect...more than I could have ever imagined.  God's gift after a miscarriage and waiting for what seemed like an eternity for our dreams to be realized.

Then I turned around...and she turned ONE!

My baby was turning into a little girl.  A sweet girl who still wasn't walking, with a serious demeanor who had sweet smiles that she reserved for very special people.

 And then what seemed like a week later, she turned TWO!

She had transformed into a ball of energy and life, a climbing machine that hated to be confined.  A little girl that decided sleeping was overrated and had more opinions and preferences that I would have ever imagined possible at the age of 2.

She was talking so much and learning the good (and the difficult) about being a big sister.

And now she is THREE!

Our sweet, beautiful daughter...fiercely independent and opinionated, with an infectious, exuberant laugh.  She still has love for climbing, being chased, being tickled, reading books and wrestling with her daddy.  She sings frequently (many times in the early mornings or sometimes in the middle of the night) with a strong preference to any princess songs.  She loves watching shows and movies and is constantly trying to negotiate a deal to get to watch something.  She can be bossy and loves trying to tell her brother how to do things, but with that, she is actually very helpful.  She has a deep love for our family and would prefer us always do stuff together...she also loves well but she doesn't give her affections away carelessly.  

I feel SO very blessed and HONORED to be her mother.  I can't wait to see how she grows and develops in the years to come and pray God will give us wisdom and grace in knowing how to parent our little firecracker.  

3rd Birthday Party!

Finally...pictures from the birthday party...in July.  This has been on my to do list for quite some time.

We had a joint birthday party for the 2nd consecutive year with Miss E's BFF Maryn with a couple of church friends.  It was a beach theme party...at a park...just go with it.  I have to post a couple pictures of the decorations because I feel like they turned out pretty well, but don't kid yourself, all ideas from pinterest...I'm all about stealing ideas as I'm not the most creative person.

 Jello with gummy fish.

 Beach ball fruit pizza (in case you couldn't tell).

 "Sandy" beach cupcakes.

 The kids dinner was in buckets (PB&J, goldfish, grapes, and a juice box).

 The birthday girls!  Can't believe they are three!

 Enthralled by her cool cupcakes.

 Some cupcake eating.  Yummy.

I'd say he liked it.

 Parachute playing.

 Throwing beach balls through hula hoops.

 What's better than playing with beach balls?

My most favorite person to plan parties with!  Can't wait until next year!

18/19 Month Update

My little boy is getting so big so fast!  It feels like he is becoming less of a baby and more of a little boy each and every day.  I read E's 18 month update the other day and I was so thankful I had documented the info because I forget so much.  I blame it on lack of sleep.  So I won't forget (and also so you'll see how cute he is), here is Mason's update.

He is still wearing size 5 diapers and 18-24 month clothes.  Although he is not a small child, he has certainly not flown through clothing sizes like Miss E (she was in 2T-3T at this age...WHAT??).  I'm amazed that he can still wear clothes that he wore at Christmas and probably will be able to this next season as well.  I'm convinced they make boy's clothes bigger than girls although E is definitely big for her age.

He is not a picky eater, but definitely has opinions on food.  He loves fruit (especially clementines, grapes, cantaloupe, bananas and strawberries), avocados, cheddar bunnies, most meats, sometimes green beans and peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  He does not like any sort of beans (which is unfortunate because E loves black bean burritos and this has also been a pregnancy craving of mine) and really could give or take bread products (SO different than E).  He also could give or take milk and drinks very little, but the boy does love him some orange juice.  He actually calls all beverage juice even though he only gets one cup of juice a day.  

 As I mentioned in his previous post, he loves playing with trains, trucks and cars and his favorite word is "truck" which he says repeatedly when he sees one.  He gets SO excited to see trucks, airplanes and trains when we're outside.  His sister has decided she also likes playing with cars, trucks, and trains (although she never really liked to before), which has created many conflicts.  Serious sibling love.  He is finally gotten old enough where he can fight back (which many times she completely deserves), but sometimes I think he hits because he thinks that he's playing.  Kind of reminds me of a little puppy with sharp new teeth.  He doesn't necessarily seem mad he just is trying to play.  Still not okay but we're working on it.

 I so LOVE the belly-out stance in this pic.

He loves playing with his sister...ready, set, go (run) game, pushing cars/trucks around the dining room, turning in circles, jumping on her bed.  He also loves playing outside but ALWAYS gets SO dirty.  He also loves the park and is really working on his climbing skills.  He lately has loved opening all the drawers in the kitchen (and would open the cabinets too if they weren't child-proofed).

 Beautiful blue-eyes.

He still loves his paci which we plan to get rid of before baby #2.  I struggle with getting rid of it (just like with E) partly because it's so nice to have something to "plug" his mouth when he's whining/crying.  Is that terrible to say?  I remember feeling the same way with E.

He is in an "into everything" stage and is always looking for something else to get into.  I think I forgot how exhausting this stage can be...especially when we're at other peoples' houses or out and about.

He is so much more of a talker than E was at this age (although now she talks a LOT).  He tries to repeat almost any word I tell him and says lots of words but not many phrases yet.  Some of my favorite words are thank you, banana, night night and truck.  He also has been telling me when he goes poop and he loves sitting on E's little potty (with his clothes on).  Makes me wonder if he'll be ready to potty train sooner than she was?  Part of me doesn't know if I'm mentally prepared for more potty training, since it feels like we've just gotten E to a good place where I'm not constantly cleaning up accidents.

He is such a sweet little boy and he loves his momma.  I feel so privileged to be the "favorite" for now. I'll take it for however long it lasts.

We're so thankful for our sweet little boy!

Thoughts about another girl...

I grew up in a family with 3 girls, so I think in the back of mind, having girls seemed like the "normal" thing to do.  When I was pregnant with E, I REALLY wanted a girl (but of course would have been happy with a boy too).  I loved being the oldest and a girl, and I really couldn't imagine having a boy.  Obviously, she was a girl, and even though I don't feel like I'm the best girl's mom (I'm not great about putting bows in hair, playing with dolls, etc), I have absolutely loved having a girl.  Miss E is not the most girly girl...she NEVER has played with dolls, HATES getting her hair fixed, chooses all her own outfits (and not always with good taste in my opinion), and would prefer to climb and jump off things as opposed to play with any toys.  She is a ball of energy, full of life and fun.  She LOVES being tickled, chased, wrestled with, anything that's physical.

So when I found out I was pregnant with number 2, I was thinking it would most likely be a girl.  I felt pretty much exactly the same, craved the same things.  Since I felt so similar, me (and my mom) were convinced it was a girl.  But then of course we were wrong.  God knew we needed a little boy.  I would have never imagined how much I enjoy beings a boy's mom.  I have loved the fact that he LOVES trucks, airplanes, cars, trains...basically anything with motor.  He really knows how to melt his mommy's heart...he's snuggly, loves to smile, and always prefers me.  His personality is also much more similar to mine than E's, and so that has made it easier for me to understand him.  I love Miss E's independence but she's got a mean streak that wears me out.  He does things that are not always nice, but somehow looks really cute when he does them, if that's possible.

Now on to number 3.  I didn't really care either way.  I could see positives to both a girl and a boy, but early on, Kev predicted boy.  He has ALWAYS been right (at least the last two times), so I thought I should just trust him.  We picked out two names we really liked...we were set for a boy.  Until they told us it was going to be a GIRL. :) It took several days for us to wrap our minds around that one.  It made me glad we found out at 20 weeks and not when she was born.  The more I think about it, I get more and more excited to have a little girl.  I think Miss E will love having a sister and I think it's kind of fun that Mason's in the middle.  I'm excited (and a little scared) to see how this will change our family dynamics, increase the craziness.  2 was a hard transition (partly because E was SO young), so I'm interested to see if 3 will be similar (I've gotten such varying opinions on this one).  All I know, is she is going to be here in 3 months.  3 MONTHS.  Wow.  We've got a lot to do before then.