Cuteness and Silliness Around here

Miss L painted this wooden block for her teacher.  I wrote the I love you and had her trace it. She did her cute little name with it's backward S.  I think she has already stopped writing it backwards. I have a whole post about her insistence in work, and her challenge of my OCD, coming up.  For now I just want to enjoy her cute little backward letters.

 

She still has not spoken a word to her teacher but she has started whispering to her friend.  She's very proud of herself for this.  Her teacher tells me she is nodding and giving thumbs up so we are excited she is making progress.

 

She really wants her teacher to know things about her, so I have her write notes. It will be an exciting day when she finally breaks from her silence.  Until then, I am just so happy she enjoys school. She enjoys it so much she was sad she had a day off last week. 

Generally this kid goes to bed at 7:30 just like the other two do.  However, he plays in his room, in the dark, for a couple of hours.  Every once in awhile he sneaks out to the hallway so he can steal the light from Miss L's room.  This particular night I came around the corner and he closed his eyes tightly so wouldn't see him.  He thinks he's pretty sneaky.  Lil' Stinker. 

I guess reading to those stuffed animals is worth getting in a bit of trouble. 

Two posts ago, I wrote about how I was grateful it was Lil' D who was stung by the wasp because he is the least dramatic.  Case in point: 

Miss L had a teeny tiny cut on her thumb.  She went on and on and on.  A band aide just wasn't cutting it so I finally ace wrapped it.  It stopped the whining, that's all that mattered to me. 

I say to them over and over again.  "You are lucky you are so cute."  It will ring true until the end of time.

I'm Going to Have a Baby!

This is going to be a post with lots of randomness. 

Let's start with some exciting news.

 

I'm going to have a baby!  Shocking, right?!

Fine. You already knew that.  But can you please tell my brain that because I'm having a hard time getting it through.

There will be a WHOLE HUMAN coming into the world.  A whole human who depends almost entirely on me.  I'm so excited. And terrified! Ok, maybe terrified is too strong a word. Anxious?  Nervous? 

 

There are so many fantastic things about a new baby coming.

Their smell.

Their tiny movements.

Their preciousness.

They just came from Heaven!  How fantastic is that?!

 

Another one of my favorite things...my mom comes to stay.  And as if that wasn't awesome enough, my dad is coming for a little while too!  I may have fifty kids if it means my parents will be here more often.

 

The kidlets are excited too.  In fact, every time the doorbell rings, Lil' D asks if Grandma is here.  Luckily he's not a pest about it, but I decided he needed a visual, just like the older kids and I did when we were waiting for him to arrive. 

He hasn't been as excited about the chain as M and L were when we made the last one.  He also still thinks it's Grandma almost every time the dog barks or the doorbell rings.  And the chain has been a torture device for me.  It's so looooooooooooooonnnngggg.  It seems like she will never get here. 

His face...haha. 

Mom is coming for several weeks this time.  Woot! Woot!  I especially love that she is coming a week before he is due (M and L were a week early).  Unless he comes really early she will be here for the birth.  She will spend Halloween with our family and they will love that.

To the top of the chain I added six brown links for when Babe gets here. 

I am happy to report that we have chosen a name finally.  I have a couple in mind just in case it doesn't fit when we see him, but I think we have a name.  That is a huge relief to me.

 

We are NOT sharing it.

 

I am not even sharing our list of possibilities. I just don't want any opinions.

 

 

And one last baby related thing. 

 The pregnancy information.

I think I had a post about early pregnancy a couple of months ago so I will just skip to my journaling of the last month or two.

 

Things have seemed harder this time around.  Last pregnancy, with D, was so much easier.  I was healthier this time when I started so I was expecting this one to be easy.  And it hasn't been horrible, but it has been more difficult.  It could me the weight gain (although I'm still not up to the weight I was when I had D), it could be that I'm older, it could be that I am trying to parent three kids on top of being pregnant.  I have no idea what it is.

 

I felt fantastic for a few weeks. Then I was just exhausted and just didn't feel right and thought my blood sugar might have issues.  It did not.  Then I felt great again for a few weeks.  Then I got a pretty bad cold.  That stunk.  Before the cold was even gone I started getting headaches.  The headaches were horrible.  I was so nervous they were going to last the entire pregnancy.  I think they lasted about two weeks and then suddenly disappeared.  Woot woot!

I am so happy they are gone.

I felt great for a couple of days.  Then I started having other problems.  Nothing serious and I don't want to go into details, but I have been extremely uncomfortable.  I feel like such a whiner.  I am not able to tell people I feel fine when I do not.  It's just not in me.  I so badly don't want to complain but it feels like a lie to say I feel fine. 

 

Let's just say I feel....okay. 

 

There is nothing like the last month of pregnancy to make me ready to get this show on the road! Five weeks until he's due to enter this world! Ah!!!

 

 

For Now He's Still the Baby

Lil' D is spoiled.  We know it.  We can't get over how enjoyable this stage has been with him.

 

Lil' D sneaks into bed with us often.  If I really crack down on it, he'll stop for awhile, but he always gets back to it at some point.  It's so pleasant to wake up to that little face, at least on the days he wakes up happy.  Like this one:

He'll take turns snuggling with each of us.  Then he starts to want us all to hide under the covers.  Then he starts jumping over the top of us and going crazy.  At that point we usually just roll our lazy bums out of bed. 

I think there was a story behind this picture but I can't remember what it was.  Maybe it's just that he looked cute.  He loves his bubble baths!

The other morning I was bathing and he came in and turned my water off, "That's enough water, mom," and he walked out.  I protested, "But it's not up to my belly button yet!"  "He poked his head back around the corner, "You have plenty." 

He came back later to give me toys.  It has to be done right, I guess.

I don't think I wrote about this.  On his actual birthday he was stung by a wasp.  It was sad.  Poor guy.  However, we were just so glad it was him because he is our least dramatic child and was quickly over it.

Daddy went on a rampage and found the wasp and the hive it was building in our slide.  He's a goner now. 

We had a ward talent show a couple of weeks ago. I tried to get Mr. D to do his cute little dance.  I tried to get Miss L to show off her talent of responding to no one no matter what they do.  I tried to get Mr. M to do some gymnastics. 

Mr. D told me, "The stage is for girls."

What?  I have no idea where that idea came from.  Crazy kid.

He did, however, show us one talent while we were there: 

This has very little relation to this post, but, our ward had grown huge amounts in a short period of time.  Cabe and I counted at least 50 people who have moved in since August.  50!  And we know we didn't catch them all.  I was the only pregnant person (well one other was pregnant, but was keeping it secret) for months and now there are five of us due within weeks of each other.  Our new lil' guy will have lots of friends.

Usually a ward activity will just have a few of us there.  This activity was huge! It was fantastic.  Love my church family.  We really have a great ward.

School Days

Many of you ask me how Miss L is doing in school.  She seems to be doing pretty well.  She still hasn't spoken a word.  Not one word.  Somehow she has managed to form some friendships and even a little crush.  Last week she wanted me to help her write a letter to a boy and wanted me to help her write, "I love you."  I opted to have her draw him a picture instead.  She drew a bunch of hearts.  Haha. She may be shy but she is not lacking in self-confidence.

 

She came home last Friday with a huge grin and couldn't wait for me to open her book sack.  Inside I found this award.  She was extremely proud although she had no idea what it said. 

And is it just me or does this boy (Mr. M.) have amazing handwriting? With the exception of my brother Jason, all the guys in my life have horrible handwriting.  I love Mr. M's. 

I'm not sure if these are stretches M is learning in school or at gymnastics, but he was very excited to teach his baby brother. 

I love just watching them be kids.  I wish so badly they could grow up how I grew up.  I loved living in the country, the unrushed days, playing outside, running free, having friends nearby to get into trouble with. Any moment I can see them having some semblance of this, I take note. 

Happy Birthday Damon!

Dear Damon,

You are such a joy to Dad and me.  You are silly and goofy and say the funniest things.  Since your brother and sister started to school, I have found you to be very talkative.  You chat about what you see out the window, about your toys, and pretty much anything that happens to you.  You repeat back to me almost everything I say.

 

You love to cuddle and often want to snuggle up with mom and dad at night.  Sometimes we let you.  You're hard to resist.  Recently I started laying down with you every day for a nap.  It's a habit I haven't minded creating, I love to snuggle with you.  I may regret it in the future, but I don't think so.

 

Your brother and sister adore you as well.  Mr. M gets frustrated when you break his toys or want to watch something he thinks is "dumb" on Netflix.  He also gets extremely upset when you don't want his undying attention.  He loves to tackle you, hug you, pick you up, and just be near you.  Sometimes you've had it and get mad at him.  Overall though, you two love each other and spend hours playing together. 

 

Miss L has been your second mom.  She likes to help you with anything and everything, even when you don't want it.  She also likes to blame things on you to stay out of trouble. She thinks you're funny and loves to make you giggle.  You are willing to watch her girlie shows which makes her very happy.  She misses you when she is at school and wants to stay home with you.

 

You love to play the Kindle and you love TV.  As hard as I try to keep you occupied with other things, you are constantly asking for them.  You'd play Kindle or watch TV all day if I'd let you. 

 

You love to pinch the excess skin and flab on mom's arm.  You REALLY love this.  I have to stand there many times during the day while you pinch my arm.  When I buckle you in your car seat, you get very upset if I walk away without letting you pinch me.  I wonder if I will miss this someday when you stop, I'm not sure.

 

When Dad plays the Kindle or his DS, you like to lay directly on his back and look over his shoulder.  You also like to climb on top of him and jump off onto the bed, which about gives Daddy a heart attack.

 

The phrases you say the most are,

"Can I play the game?"

"Can I watch a show?"

"Where's my brudder and my sister?"

"Dat"s (that's) Bibs (Libs).

"Mom!  I didn't go pee or poo in my pants!"  (Usually yelled out in the middle of gymnastics or some other busy place.

"Can I go to Zoo Camp now?"  You are dying to go to Zoo Camp, but you can't go until you are 6, so this will be a long three years.

"I won't cry at nastics (gymnastics)!

"I need a drink!"  (Said about fifty times after bedtime.)

"I want da green plate!"

"Are you talkin' to Whitni?"

"Can we go to Whitni's house?"

"Can I play with Thaddeus?"

"I pooped in the potty, now I can play with Thaddeus." (This was the reward one time and you won't let it go.)

"I wub you."

 

You and I still have our loving argument over who loves the other one more.  I love this little conversation and hope you never grow out of it.  Sometimes you surprise me and say you don't love me, which you think is hilarious.

 

Through ups and downs of life and being a parent, your smile brings me so much joy.  I watch you at gymnastics and I am just so happy.  Your demeanor and almost constant smile are a light in my life and I know it's the same for daddy.  You are a special boy and I love you much much!

 

Love,

Mommy

We were lucky enough to earn a free party at The Little Gym.  I've never had this big of a party for a three-year-old, but we let the older kids invite friends too, so it worked out.

It was happy chaos at the party.  The ladies running the show did a fantastic job.  We had 16 kids total (including ours) so it was busy for sure.

The teachers knew Lil' Guys likes and dislikes so they were able to cater the party to him. 

This is a typical moment with Mr. M and D.  Like I said in D's letter, sometimes he likes it, sometimes he doesn't, but no one can say big brother doesn't adore his little brother. 

Lil' Guy loved getting to go first in everything.  Rare occasion when you are the youngest of three. 

The kiddos loved pretending to be dinosaurs and roaring like crazy. 

I often call Mr. D, My Little Monkey.   He is a monkey!  He clings to you when you hold him.  Sometimes he'll jump off a piece of furniture and grab onto you for a nice surprise.  He climbs on anything that he possibly can. 

The air at was a huge hit.  Big surprise there. 

I was sick this last week and wasn't up to making his cake.  I was so happy to find this one and it was much less money than I was expecting so I was happy!  I think it was adorable. 

The Gym decorated, provided activities, and utensils, etc.  It was the easiest party ever.  I adore all the people who work at The Little Gym and consider them great friends.  It was fun to celebrate with them. If I could have had it my way, I would have had all the teachers there.

I like this series of pics.  He starts in a chair. 

Moves to standing. 

And finally ends up commanding the table. 

Mr. D kept trying to hand people his gifts.  Not sure if he was giving them away or wanted them hold them. Lately he's been into sharing everything, so who knows. 

Thanks to our friends who came and made his day special.  Thanks to The Little Gym for providing a memorable night. 

 

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy!

 

 

Hodges Gardens

We went with our good buddies to Hodges Gardens State Park on Labor Day. 

I woke up that morning and could feel a cold coming on.

And it was HOT!

Ugg...it was fun, but short-lived.  We ended up not doing a ton after a pretty long drive out there.  I felt bad, but we'll do it again in better weather and better health.  It was a pretty place.  I love waterfalls.  Even more I love watching cute kids play near waterfalls. :)

 

I thought Mr. M looked cute standing there reading his map. 

Of course Miss L wanted a pic in the flower garden.  Wish she'd smile! 

The dads are both geologists.  We always love having other geology peeps. 

Holy cow!  It's an out-crop!  Those are rare around here.  Those have to be climbed when you rarely see one. 

 She just looked so little out there among the pines.  This reminded me more of Flagstaff than LA.

 This is petrified wood.  Look how huge that is!

Thanks S family for coming with us.  We'll do it again soon....not too soon though cuz it's still too darn hot...but soon!