Christmas Celebrations Begin (yes a week early)

Due to various schedules, we celebrated Christmas with both sets of grandparents this past weekend. Kiera looked adorable, but of course had no idea what was going on. Gabe fixated on the small things like darts from his brothers stocking and eventually stopped unwrapping his own gifts and let mommy finish for him. Luke, however, was thrilled to open any and all gifts! Watching his excitement was wonderful. We began celebrations Friday evening at the Millers. One of his favorite parts was of course playing with his cousin Macy. He waited ALL day to open the presents. He was ready to begin that morning, but we weren't celebrating until after dinner. We celebrated at my parents the next morning and Luke was awake at 5:00 a.m. This may not be unusual for some children, but my children all sleep until close to 8 (or after) every morning! We had a great time opening more presents and hanging out with family!

It's already December!

I finally figured out how to update from my phone on here so maybe I'll be better about record events now! Here are a few of the most recent happenings:
Gabe is finally getting more teeth. He's skipping top teeth and going straight for molars! His language development over the past month has been phenomenal. He constantly asks us to name objects and is putting 2-3 word phrases together. He's pretty crafty at getting what he wants and recently discovered the stepstool.

Luke's class went caroling at the mall this week. His favorite part was the bus of course. He also discovered the joy of playing UNO. He us making big plans to play Aunt Jenny when she visits.

Kiera is growing by leaps and bounds! She's moving into her 3-6 month clothes. She's a pretty happy, smiley baby who loves to watch people. She is giving mommy the gift of 6-8 hours of sleep most nights now.

Luke's countdown shows 16 days till Christmas!

Luke's Stash

Our four year old, Luke, has been stashing items that he's not allowed to have behind his bed. This makes me sad because I've always been able to trust him to be safe and make good choices, but when you start pulling adult scissors, cut up pictures, and batteries from his room you have to wonder... Since it was nap time, I confiscated the items and sent him to bed and took away tv privileges for a day. I am now sitting here pondering the next course of action. I would take tv for a longer since that is something that will make an impression on him, but he's going to his grandparents tomorrow and I don't want to punish them too. We could make him cancel his visit, but we planned this so that he'll be gone while Matt has his vasectomy (yes, that's right - no more kiddos). Matt seems to be worried that Luke might try to wrestle him and cause unnecessary pain and that would most likely occur. Luckily, nap time is allowing me to gather a little perspective and consider a consequence that will help him learn why it's wrong to take things without asking (and hide them). I'll let you know when I have the answer...

Growing Up Too Fast: Rolling Over

Ha, after writing this post, I found a video on my camera of Kiera rolling over that must have occurred last week! Wow, I'm really losing my mind since I didn't remember this until I found it.

Kiera is just shy of 7 weeks and rolled over for the first time last night! Before having kids, you think: What's the big deal about rolling over? Once you see your baby achieve that first milestone though, you understand why it's so exciting. I know that she rolled because I had her on her tummy and when I looked back she was on her back. Gabe dropped his trains at the same time, however, so everyone was looking at him and none of us actually saw her roll! Seven weeks, while still sounding like such a short time, has gone so quickly. We've already passed Halloween and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Oddly, I still think of time in school terms: first report cards have gone out, second quarter has begun, semester will wrap up quickly, Christmas program is right around the corner. This part of the year has always gone quickly. I wasn't sure whether that would be true without the busy school schedule, but the time is still flying by. I realize by the time the holidays are over Kiera will be working on sitting up. She'll be a true infant rather than a newborn. She's already losing many of her newborn tendencies and becoming more babylike everyday. Sitting up will lead to eating food, scooting, crawling, and before we know it - she'll be toddling around the house and our baby days will be over. I know we still have time before that happens so I will try to slow down time and enjoy each stage as it arrives.

Making Play Dough and Cutting Hair

Luke discovered the joys of making his own homemade play dough! He uses it way more often than the store bough kind because he knows that he created it. Gabe also loves getting into it which has resulted in several pieces mashed into the carpet!

We also discovered that Luke cut his own hair! This sounds vaguely familiar to a story that my mom tells about me when I was his age. We found the evidence (pieces of hair) in the bathroom sink one day. Luke readily admitted to cutting it even though he'd just had a haircut. I guess he wasn't satisfied with the stylist's work.

Making Progress

For the past two days Kiera has fallen into more of a routine. Eating every 2.5-3 hours and stretching out her nighttime sleep up to 5 hours! I'm still holding my breath each night waiting for the night that she sleeps all the way through, but I don't expect that to happen for several more weeks. My body must be adjusting to the nightly wakings because I've actually had energy the past two days. Energy on my end means that the upstairs of our house finally got vacuumed for the first time since we moved in. Okay, so Matt swept part of it too. It is sad that I worked on laundry most of the day and still have 3 loads to go through today. Today's energy, however, was spent in a different venue.

Kiera and Gabe spent the morning with Mamaw and Papaw Miller so that I could help out at Luke's school party. It reminded me how much I enjoy being in a classroom, but I definitely don't miss the stress of all the extra tasks. I believe I will teach again someday, just not sure if that will happen next year or not. Back to the party...the kids (ages 4-5) played pumpkin games, did crafts, decorated cookies, and had yummy snacks! It was a blast and I am so thankful that Luke has such wonderful teachers!

The kids enjoyed playing with their grandparents and I even had the chance to sneak out to Target to return a costume (Gabe was going to be Elmo until we found Luke's old Spiderman outfit and he chose it instead) and do a little shopping. The dollar rack has a 70% off section and since I don't have my own treasure box at school to fill up anymore, I stocked up for Luke's teachers instead. Sorry Matt, I know you thought that expense was gone, but who can pass up 30 cent items! Even better is that along with babysitting came meals that I just have to warm up later for dinner! Now that's how I like to cook :). Well, really I do like to cook, but warming things up is what I have time for right now.

One Long Day

This picture is actually from a few weeks ago, but represents how today went.

So something was bothering our dear little Kiera today which meant she was totally out of her normal routine and wanted to be held constantly! She spent much of the day carried in the wrap just so that I could attempt to do other things. Days like this make it seem impossible to be the kind of mom I want to be. The boys get the short end of the stick as far as time and attention which leads to meltdowns and crying (mostly from Gabe). I'm pretty sure that I will eventually be immune to crying since I hear so much of it right now! To top it off, we are still unpacking and trying to organize our things from the move (not to mention just keep up on general housework). This means that all the boys want to do is play when Matt gets home, but there's so much that needs done, we keep putting them off just a little longer. I keep telling myself that things will be more settled in a couple of months. Kiera will fall into a better routine and start sleeping through the night giving mommy more energy and patience. Eventually, things will be unpacked and as organized as possible with 3 little ones. For now, we focus on survival - I mean that literally since I've put on the grocery run for awhile now and we're running out of food! Kiera seems to calming down now, so here's to hoping for a sleep-filled night after I finally make that grocery run.

First Smile (Caught on Camera Anyway)

Isn't she just adorable! She's had a few other smiles, but this one is the first we caught on camera (totally by accident too).

Zoo Boo

Our little superheros!

Kierra was just along for the ride.

Gabe was double fisting his hot dog to fend off his hangry feeling.

Luke was thrilled to find another Wolverine!

Halloween Cookies

Luke was a huge helper making Halloween cookies! He quickly learned how to roll out the dough and add flour at just the right times to prevent sticking. Of course he made the two that you see covered in chocolate sprinkles!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Monday was a gorgeous day! We were all in good moods and I actually had the energy to work on the house. And then the cold rain came in yesterday and all motivation to be productive went out the window. Everyone was tired and cranky today (except for Kiera who was just cranky and wide-awake). Even with the colder weather settling in, sunshine would do us a world of good!

Living in Chaos

Life with three kiddos has been a little crazy, but we love having our family completed. Kiera's doing great - eating like a champ and putting on the pounds! She sleeps in her own bed and wakes only for her night feedings (usually). If we could just convince her to go to bed at a normal time rather than fight sleep until 11pm. We caved in Friday night and just let her stay up without trying to put her to bed until around 11 and the next day she was much more alert and active. Amazingly, she went to bed around 8pm with no problem the next night! We are really hoping to repeat that again tonight. Once we can recapture our kid-free portion of the evening, I think things will feel calmer. As it stands now, Matt gets home around 6 so by the time we have dinner and play with the boys some, it's time for baths, books, and bed. After getting the boys into bed, we continue to attempt putting Kiera to bed for 3+ hours which means we're lucky if dinner gets cleaned up much less any boxes unpacked or even television shows watched (I know priorities right). By the time she's down for the evening, we collapse into bed exhausted and hopeful that she'll decide to sleep a long stretch that night. We do make some progress on the house on the weekends, but even that is challenging because the boys just want us to play and I try to sneak in extra naps to prepare for the upcoming week of night feedings. I'm trying not to let the unpacked boxes and toys all over the floor drive me crazy because I know that in a few months things will calm down a little and we'll have more sleep once again. Right now Luke is shooting Nerf darts, Gabe is screaming for a cookie, Matt's washing something in the sink, and I'm sitting here typing as Kiera enjoys her meal. One benefit in breastfeeding is that I have an excuse to sit down every few hours :). Now my break is over...

Dressing Up Is Not Her Style

This is what our little girl thinks of getting all dressed up!

Mommy and Daddy's Baby Girl

Night and Day

So Kiera seems to have her days and nights all mixed up. This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have two energetic boys who are awake during the day. Luckily my sister has been staying with us for the past week helping take care of the boys so that I can catch some sleep. There is also the fact that she doesn't want to sleep in her bed - I think she has some reflux that bothers her when she lies flat. I do miss the days of sleep...but she's so cute :).

Two Big Brothers

Luke has done a wonderful job in his role as big brother. He is very protective of Kiera and will direct other people about what they are supposed to do to take care of her. Gabe is still a little unsure of what's happening. He likes naming parts of the baby (eyes, mouth, socks, hat). This usually involves him trying to poke her at the same time so we keep a close eye on him.

Welcome to Our New Home

Thursday, September 15th we finally started moving into our new home! Luke loves the climbing tree out front and Gabe enjoys having all of his toys out again.

Welcome Kiera Grace Miller!

Kiera Grace Miller made her entrance into this world on September 19th at 5:42 a.m. Her labor/delivery was the easiest of all 3 by far. I wanted to be sure we made it in time for the epidural after delivering Gabe without one. I knew that she was likely on her way by midnight, but waited for the contractions to get closer and stronger. I had a few 10 minutes apart then they were suddenly 5 minutes apart. A few contractions later and they were 3 minutes apart! We started calling our friends to watch the boys, but it was 2:00 a.m. by this point and they were asleep. After about 4 attempts and a debate about who else we could call, they returned our calls and headed over.

We arrived at the hospital and I was 5-6 cm dilated which is the perfect time to get an epidural. They had me hooked up and epidural in place in less than an hour. I believe the anesthesiologist got the dosage just right because I didn't feel pain (just some pressure) and was able to push way more effectively than I could with Luke. The nurse came to check me a little after 5 a.m. and surprise - I was already fully dilated and ready to push. The doctor arrived just a few minutes later to break my water and a few pushes later Kiera Grace emerged.

I had guessed that she would weight 7lb 11oz just like her brother, Gabe (that's also the address we just moved to 711) and surprisingly that's exactly what she weighed! Her birth was so quick that it seems surreal. Kiera was born with dark eyes that changed to totally brown within a couple of days. She also had a full head of black hair. Maybe she'll end up looking like her daddy. We think that she looks different than both boys. She has a small head like Gabe did and her mouth looks a little like Luke's at that age.

Aside from the uncomfortable beds and projectile spit up from Kiera, things went smoothly at the hospital and we were home the next day.

3 Days Until Moving Day

Today is Monday. We move on Thursday! Most of our stuff is packed away in storage including most of the boys' toys. Luckily it is a gorgeous day out today so hopefully we'll spend the afternoon at the park after the boys nap. The boys spent the morning playing legos while I cleaned out the refrigerator. Haven't even made it to the freezer side. Probably shouldn't wait over a year to clean these things out. Then we took a quick trip through Menards to pick up extra smoke detectors and air filters for the new house. We still have the grocery on our agenda, but at least that won't take long since we're only buying enough to survive until Thursday.

Gabe's Vocabulary at 16.5 months

These are words that Gabe has learned and how he pronounces them. He seems to be adding to the list daily.

bottle

mama

dada

bubu

k - Luke

door

window

wawa - watermelon

nana - banana

cookie (favorite word)

cracker

milk

juice

bupbup - up up

bebe - blankie

baby

turtle

duck

shh - shoes

ock - sock

diaper

night night

bye bye

mamaw

papaw

g(r)apes

boo berries - blue berries

gogurt - yogurt

moo

cow

dog (one of his first words)

car

go go

jibberish while pointing up - airplane

Trying to Break Out

This little girl has been causing her fair share of trouble and she's not even born yet! She thinks it's a fun game to press down as hard as she can on my cervix (which is extremely painful). This would be fine if it meant she was coming out today, but the odds are she'll continue doing this to me for the next 2-3 weeks...

Less Than 3 Weeks

In less than 3 weeks, we'll be in our new house and have a new baby girl! There is even a possibility of closing on both houses at the end of this week, but that's iffy since it's only a 4 day week. Just in case though, we've been busily packing the last of the boxes and sending them over to storage while Luke is visiting my parents at the lake. It feels so easy having one child here when you're used to having 2. I guess soon we'll say that having two feels like cake compared to having 3.

I've been seeing newborn babies everywhere we go which is getting me more excited to meet our little girl! We've narrowed the name pool, but we may do what we did with Gabe and make the final decision after meeting her.

Luke started preschool last week and did a wonderful job! He quickly started making friends and they had a birthday celebration on Thursday which is all he's been talking about. Luke is fiercely independent and wanted to go to school by himself on Tuesday, but it was orientation day so mommy had to go with him. He definitely doesn't have separation issues.

Gabe's intellectual growth this past month has been amazing. It always surprises me how quickly their language skills develop. He's gone from a few words and lots of pointing at the beginning of summer to more words than I've been able to keep track of. His newest development is pointing to and naming objects in books or asking what it is if he doesn't know the name. He also finally has two teeth on the bottom that are actually poking through enough to see. It seems as though he's starting to get a few more as well.

Over Being Pregnant

Although mentally I know that it is better for baby to stay in longer and it helps us for her to stay the full 40 weeks while we move, my body says I want her out NOW! I am just tired of being pregnant and the hot days don't help at all. Maybe Gabe screaming all day from teething doesn't help matters...then again once she's here that will just make 2 babies screaming.

Baby Looking Good

The ultrasound showed baby weighing in at 6lb 1oz with plenty of fluid. No dilation or anything yet so looks like she's planning to stay awhile (and possibly be bigger than her brothers)!

Updates

It was way too hot today! It's still roasting in our house and I'm sure that my pregnant state is not helping matters. Gabe (who is normally asleep before 8) is still making noises in his bed. Luke is awake due to his 3.5 hour nap this afternoon.

Our house inspection went pretty well today - a few things for Matt's to-do list, but not too bad. The work on our current house seems to be going well and is almost finished.

Now to focus on the ultrasound tomorrow morning and to find out if I'm imagining things or if my body is really dilating already. Seriously, I don't see this girl staying in until 40 weeks, but we shall see.

Friday Morning

One of the few mornings that I decide to set an alarm, the boys decide to be awake off and on from 3:30-5:00 a.m. I think for Gabe it was the teething. Not sure why Luke was awake, just glad they both went back to sleep. So I dragged myself out of bed at 7 this morning (earlier than I've been getting up) and headed out to a few garage sales. Didn't find too much though. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow morning. Then we headed over to church and Gabe seemed to do okay getting dropped off in the toddler area. Luke had a blast because his group played outdoors on the playground. Afterward, we headed for the mall for lunch and a quick trip to Target. Gabe was asleep halfway home and luckily stayed asleep when I transferred him to his crib. Luke worked for awhile in his new numbers and letters book that I bought for him and is now laying quietly in bed. Compared to some of the previous days, the kids are doing wonderfully. Then I realized that I think Luke skipped his morning inhaler, which may very well confirm my theory that his inhalers make him act crazy!

Ultrasound #4 Coming Up

I'm 35 weeks today and the doctor says I'm only measuring at 31 weeks which means we have another ultrasound scheduled next week. Gabe also measured a couple of weeks behind, but I can't recall if he measured quite this small. He was normal sized once they did the ultrasound so hopefully baby girl is too.

We Have a House

Our offer was accepted and our buyers agreed to moving our closing date back so if everything else falls into place, we should be able to close on both houses the same day! Exactly 6 days before baby girl is due to arrive (assuming she hangs in there that long). I'm predicting that she will make her arrival on the day of the closings just to complicate things a little bit.

In other news, we moved Gabe into Luke's room to give them a trial run at sharing a room. Last night was the first night and aside from them talking in jibberish to one another for 45 minutes, it wasn't too bad. Nap time today, on the other hand, was a different story. Gabe was screaming hysterically - I think due to teething. After Tylenol and a bottle (yes I caved and gave a bottle), I finally had to sternly tell them both to lay down and they did. Heard a few more short cries, but it's been pretty quiet since then. Now it's time to get Gabe's old room completely cleaned out for the move. That'll make one room down and 8 more to go.

The Waiting Game...

So all the official papers are turned in for our house offer and to finalize things with our buyers. Now we wait... Waiting is almost as hard as making all the decisions along the way (though not as stressful). For the time being, we pack and pack and pack some more.

The Teeth Have Arrived (really this time)

I can finally see 2 little white teeth starting to push through on the bottom. Of course this means Gabe can get a little fussier than normal. He's also hitting a developmental spurt. He began picking up words like crazy and seems to understand everything we say to him. This new found ability is keeping him awake at night as he'd much rather practice talking/playing than sleep. Since I can only get a good night's sleep every 3 nights anyway, it shouldn't phase me too much if he's up a lot at night.

Luke got a new bike today and was sooo excited to show off his riding skills! He had a couple of bikes, but neither of them were quite the right size for him at the moment. He tells me he has the fastest bike now and wants to take the training wheels off! I'm not sure we're ready for that...

The House Search Continues; Gabe Finally Calls Me Mama

We looked at 5 more houses on Sunday and really liked 2 of them. My favorite, of course, is the most expensive one and the one we probably shouldn't realistically put an offer on because our goal is to save money while I'm not working. There is another house we really liked though that is a more reasonable financial choice as well. We should put an offer on it when Matt gets back Wednesday after we look at it one more time and check out just a couple more houses to be sure. This means that maybe things will start to fall into place and I can stop freaking out about not having somewhere to live after our house closes. The good thing about having to do these repairs is that we will have to push our closing date back a couple of weeks to get everything done which actually helps us have less of a gap between the two closing dates. If things work out, we'll close on one house early in the week and the new house later in the week - that is the week before baby girl arrives. And yes, she is still unnamed because I can't make a decision on that either! We may have one name that has risen to the top, but we're not sure we like the meaning when you look it up - should that be a reason not to use it? I mean really, who puts much stock into what names mean?

In other news, Gabe spontaneously called me "mama" after months of referring to me as "dada!" He's always been able to differentiate when asked who mama or dada is, but has insisted on using the term dada for both of us until today. He also tried and pretty accurately said "Gabe." So now his list of words includes: baba (bottle), bebe (blanket), baby (someone's belly since there is a baby in mommy's tummy), k (Luke), up, buberry (blueberry), b with wild hand gestures (bread), ssss (shoe), diapa (diaper), ball (in a deep growly voice), and dog (also in a deep growly voice). We're not sure why those two words are spoken in the growly voice, but they were also 2 of the first words he mastered. The rest of his communication relies on a handful of signs that he's learned (more, please, thank you, all done) and a lot of nodding, shaking, and pointing. He's also pretty good at pointing to body parts when asked (nose, ear, mouth, eye, finger, hair, toe).

Luke continues to amaze me with his development. He is so well mannered and able to understand concepts well beyond his years. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments where you can tell he's four and he breaks down (usually if he's really tired). But for the most part, he does what he's asked without arguing, though it's almost guaranteed that he'll ask why. He is very interested in reading and making books right now. He also likes to sit down and write lists (made up of random letters) and complete mazes. His ability to complete mazes in under 10 seconds amazes me - I'm not sure I could finish them that quickly! Luke pays attention to the details in everything we do, especially in books. TV shows or movies with a villain have never bothered him, but I read him a Junie B. Jones book about monsters under the bed the other night and it took more than an hour to convince him to sleep in his own bed and there there are NO monsters under it. DO NOT joke with him about monsters being real or I will send him to sleep with you for the night! I had to read the entire chapter book so that he could see everything was fine in the end and Junie B. wasn't scared anymore.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that we can actually afford the estimate for repairing the house and completing the sale! The fact that the damage doesn't extend behind the brick was definitely an answer to prayer because it would have added a lot to the cost. Unfortunately, we also found out that the house we were seriously considering putting an offer on sold this week! We still have a few that we can consider, but of course each has its own set of flaws. We're going to look at a few more tomorrow and hopefully find one that we really like. The other bad news is that Luke is sick. It seems to be sinus/allergy related, but we can't really tell for sure. He does know how to time getting sick on the weekends so that the doctor's office charges after-hours fees. His breathing always becomes labored when he's sick or congested so we started up the inhalers tonight. I'm sitting across the room from him though and can still hear him breathing - I'm really hoping that doesn't mean we'll be in for another trip to the ER for treatments.

Friends at the Park

Luke was so excited to meet 2 little boys at the park today who were right about his age. They spent the morning making grasshopper homes, collecting bugs, climbing trees, and playing all kinds of interesting games. Gabe, on the other hand, could care less what the other kids were doing. He just wanted to walk around and do his own thing which kept mommy pretty busy tracking him. It was nice to enjoy a day outdoors where the heat wasn't overpowering. Of course, we tried to go out in the afternoon, but the heat drove us right back inside!

A Little Calmer Now

So I'm a little calmer now that Matt talked to the bank and found out we qualify for a different type of loan that will allow us to buy even if we end up spending most of our money on the repairs to our current house. So I started packing boxes in hopes that we actually end up moving. We still don't have estimates for the repairs though which makes it difficult to make and real decisions about what to do. We should have those by tomorrow and then we just have to hammer out details with the buyers. The good news is that this could push the closing date back a couple of weeks and give us a little more time to make our final decision on the next house, get the offer in, and set up that closing date. I'm really hoping that we can still get all of this accomplished before baby girl makes her appearance. We're at 6w6d until she's due!

One Thing After Another

So we came back from our week long lake vacation to find out that our house has a water leakage problem around the front door that has rotted part of the wall and even some of the floor. This is not good news because we were barely going to have the money we needed to close and put a down payment on the next house the way it was - now we have to magically come up with several thousand more if we want to sell. We're still waiting to get some estimates, but it doesn't look good and of course homeowner's insurance doesn't cover it unless we find that somehow it was caused by storm related damage. This just complicates an already stressful situation. All I want to know is where we will be living when baby girl decides to make her arrival. I really felt like I was supposed to stay home with the kids this year, but now I'm starting to second guess that decision.

Sold

Well, we made the decision to sell our house. Now we pray that we find our next home quickly because we close on our house at the end of August. We're heading to the lake for a week of vacation next week which limits the amount of time we have to pack/look at homes. All of the moving and such will occur right before the baby comes so it'll be a stressful couple of months. Hopefully, when it's all said and done, we will be settled in a new home to accommodate our growing family. The heat, however, is not making it easy for me to stay motivated to get anything accomplished. The temperatures today were over 100 and that's without the heat index! I guess it's about time to at least pack for vacation even if I don't start packing boxes yet.

To Sell or Not to Sell

So the same people who started off with a really low offer on our house have finally given a reasonable offer. The trouble is that I hate making decisions and we have to decide by tomorrow whether or not to accept (it's supposedly as high as they'll go). Combine that with the fact that I spent the entire day looking for the lost library movie and the insane heat of today and you get one cranky pregnant mommy! I don't think I'm so much stressed about taking the offer as I am about what it means. We have to box up, move, and find a new home in the next month! In that same time frame Luke will start preschool and baby girl (still can't decide on a name) will be getting closer and closer to her debut appearance!

Naps Are Back In

Things went very smoothly and Luke and I had great "quiet time" reading and working on crafts, but then the meltdown happened when his balloon popped. I'm voting naps back into the schedule tomorrow!

Giving Up Naps?

I am letting Luke do a trial nap-free day, but with quiet reading, craft, play time while Gabe is sleeping. This could definitely backfire by this evening, but it did give us some great one-on-one time.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I can't decide on anything it seems like! I did finally decide on a new car seat for Gabe, but now I'm trying to figure out which crib to buy. It all depends on whether the boys end up sharing a room or not. If they do, then all I NEED to buy is a black crib for Gabe (though I'd love to buy a new set for the girl, I must resist). However, if we happen to sell our house (and buy a 4 bedroom), then we will need an entire set so I would NEED to buy a new set for the girl. Then of course I have to decide what color to paint her room. I want all of this done soon, but I keep putting it off. Oh, and then there are the many braxton hicks contractions that seem to have started up sooner than they did with the boys. Then again, maybe my memory is a little fuzzy - I know with both boys I had weeks of uneventful contractions before true labor began. But it has motivated me to get in gear and actually have things prepared for our little girl, who by the way, does NOT have a name yet! Guess that might be the first decision we need to make. Off to look at baby names...

Baby Girl Countdown: 10w5d

The reality that our third child will be arriving soon is beginning to dawn on us! We are finally realizing that we need to order Gabe's new carseat, the baby's crib, load up on diapers, and actually choose a name for her. I think we've been putting off a lot of it as we wait to see if we sell our house. At some point though, we have to actually move the boys into the same room and begin transforming the nursery into a girl room! Baby girl has been growing a lot this past week (or maybe I just enjoyed a few too many birthday treats)! I actually passed my glucose test for the first time! Though the doctors did say I only passed by 5 points...still it means I don't have to suffer through the 3 hour test. Well I guess I'm off to search online for the best deals on cribs...

Baby Girl Countdown: 10w5dha

The reality that our third child will be arriving soon is beginning to dawn on us! We are finally realizing that we need to order Gabe's new carseat, the baby's crib, load up on diapers, and actually choose a name for her. I think we've been putting off a lot of it as we wait to see if we sell our house. At some point though, we have to actually move the boys into the same room and begin transforming the nursery into a girl room! Baby girl

Gabe's New Friend Kailee

Playing fetch kept them both entertained!

Gabe was practicing his sharing with Kailee. He also didn't mind eating slobber covered leftovers!

Fourth of July

Gabe got into the patriotic spirit waving his flag and throwing/eating sand. Luke and Macy welcomed the holiday with their first tubing expedition and fireworks!

Camping with Luke

We decided that it would be best to camp with only Luke and give him some special attention and he ate it up! He loves adventures and keeps up amazingly well on the hiking trails (he was well ahead of us all on the very steep stairs). He had a blast hiking, catching lightning bugs, cooking at the campfire and telling scary stories.

Aunt Jenny took him for a pony ride and this pony was just the right size for him! My mom is also convinced that it is the same pony we rode on when we were little...does look a little old.

Two peas in a pod.

Updates and Catching Up

The last 2 months have been so busy that I haven't had time to update the blog! We finally got our house on the market after 2 months of preparing, painting, and making small repairs. So now our fingers are crossed that we actually get an offer. In the midst of all this, I wrapped up the school year and packed away my teaching materials for the next year since I will be staying home with the kiddos. We've also been searching for our next home. There are a few potentials at the moment, but we'll have to wait and a see what's available when we actually sell.

Gabe still has no teeth, though it seems like his bottom tooth has been working its way through for the past two months. I've even considered giving his pacifier back to see if that helps him - he likes to chew on things right now. I thought we were past the "put everything in our mouth" phase, but it's recently made a comeback. He's walking steadier each day and loves to explore new places. He has a blast when we go to the WonderLab because he has a whole kids area to climb and explore!

Luke seems so grown up now! He'll turn 4 in about a month. He has such a big heart and loves his little brother so much. He's been getting more and more excited about his sister arriving too. Now that I've been home with the boys, Luke has been a big helper. He helps watch out for Gabe eating things off the floor, which happens every 10 seconds and walks the diapers outside to the diaper pail (an attempt to have a fresh smelling house for showings). He's spending the night right now camping with his Aunt Jenny. He was so excited to go hiking and look for snakes!

There have been some random things I meant to blog, but didn't so I'm putting them on here too. On our first lake trip of the year, Luke was up every day by 7 ready to go fishing! He would have lived outside all day if we'd let him. His cousin Macy was also there to play, which made it even better for him! He loves having a playmate his own age. Unfortunately, they decided to play hide and seek upstairs and Macy took a tumble down the stairs. She was crying and then her daddy was carrying her and she was silent so Luke very causally asked if she was dead! He has been working hard to figure out this whole life/death and heaven thing recently. He's also trying to figure out why some people don't have kids. It finally occurred to me that he believes all married couples should have children. He asked my sister several months ago if all of her children were dead. We couldn't really follow his train of thought on that one until one day he asked me if all of John and Kristen's kids were dead too. I then realized that he things Sarah and Dusty are married and he assumes that all married couples have children. The only logical reason he could think of for not having them is that they died. I think we've at least cleared it up to the understanding that God just hasn't put babies in their tummies yet!

Gabe's First Steps

Too Much Sugar

We're usually pretty good about limiting Luke to reasonable amounts of sweets, but today was a special day with family visiting and he ended up intaking way more than normal. Here is what I learned.

Reasons NOT to let your 3 year old have too much sugar:

Bedtime is coming

You may get to see the "hynie dance" in a restaurant

Bedtime is coming

Sugar just heightens the volume level

Bedtime is coming

Slap happy

Did I mention that bedtime is coming?

Luke has also been full of funny sayings lately. Here is the only one that I can remember at the moment.

"Can I have real beer mama?" His cousins were having root beer, but he didn't quite hear that right.

Luke Learns to Read

So Luke has been working on a lot of pre-reading skills over the past year, but the teacher in me decided to start taking it up to the next level today. I brought home my kindergarten level books and taught him to read one tonight. He was sooo excited to go read it to daddy all by himself! Of course, he's still really just memorizing the words, but he is really working on pointing to the words and making sure they match what he is saying. He already wants to learn another one and this makes me happy :).

Can you put sugar on your finger and let me lick it off?

"Can you put sugar on your finger and let me lick it off?" This is what Luke asked our friend Mindy at a cookout this weekend! He also asked another friend if she knew how dogs and cats kissed. He then proceeded to show her that they kiss by wiggling their tongues at each other. We have no idea where he got any of these ideas, but we were cracking up the entire night!

It's a Girl!

We had our ultrasound today and although baby wouldn't fully cooperate so that they could measure her spine and kidneys, she gave us a view of what was really important! An added bonus, I get to have another ultrasound next month for those final measurements. Luke was so excited about getting a sister. He held the ultrasound pictures as we drove around town and then carried them in to show our friends. Now the fun begins - buying pretty pink things!

There's a Giant Tree in Our Yard!

So we woke up yesterday to find a giant tree from our yard had fallen during the storm and landed on our neighbor's fence. It was one of the worst storms that we have heard in awhile so I guess it isn't that surprising, but still... Now we have to figure out what to do with it. We had some estimates done and it's going to be expensive to have someone come in and take care of it so Matt is looking at getting a few guys from work to come with chainsaws and cut it up. It's supposed to rain for the next 3 days or more so I'm not sure when we'll get this thing out of here. To top it off, Matt can't get the car to start at work and it's been stuck there for the past 2 days. He thinks he can fix the part tomorrow, so hopefully that won't be overly expensive. Add on normal stress from working and keeping up with the boys and my nerves about about shot. I just keep reminding myself - just 6.5 more weeks of school!

Gabe's First Birthday

This year has flown by and Gabe celebrated his first birthday today! It started off a little rocky since he was unsure of having all this people in his house when he first awoke from a nap. He warmed up to the idea when he opened a container of balls from his aunt Sarah. Gabe couldn't wait to dive into his cake and was already licking cool whip off his hands before the candle was blown out! We spent the remainder of the party playing outside which kept both of the boys happy. Luke had Austin to play with and Gabe enjoyed his swing for a majority of the time. His favorite game was throw the tennis ball to various people and wait for it to come back to him.

Boys are Buddies, Girls are Princesses

"Boys are buddies, girls are princesses." These are the words that Luke used in his conversation on the way home this week. He really wants a baby sister because he believes that girls are extra special and should be treated like princesses - daddy has taught him well :). In other news, we have decided to put our house on the market and try to move into something with four bedrooms that will also save us a little money as I stay home next year. It has been a little crazy getting started on the process, but we have cleared out some of the extra furniture and Matt patched holes tonight. Next up is painting - a lot more painting than we had originally intended. Gabe uses words like ball, up, hi, mama, dada, baba, and bubu on a regular basis. We also hear him say things that sound like he's trying to repeat our entire sentence. He's getting closer to standing on his own, but still prefers just to crawl to his destination. He did learn to walk holding onto his walking and was so proud of himself.

Growing Belly = Exhaustion

So that little baby belly has made its appearance earlier with this pregnancy. I haven't told the kids in class yet, but I'm pretty sure that some of them have figured it out just because my belly is right at their level. I started feeling small movements for this pregnancy at 12 weeks and feel slightly stronger movements now at 14 weeks, but nothing consistent yet. Luke told me today that there are 2 babies in there - one boy and one girl. He's apparently joined the evergrowing twins crusade. This week has been hard coming off of spring break where we all got plenty of sleep. I'm somehow still awake at 9:00, but I was ready to fall asleep as soon as I got home from work. We looked at 2 houses today though the idea of moving seems surreal at the moment, it is a definite possibility. Well, I guess 9:00 is good enough - time for sleep now.

Moving and Shaking

So I felt our new little bundle doing summersaults at about 5am today! Granted I did want to be sleeping, but it was exciting to feel non-the-less. Oddly, I felt the baby higher than I would expect for 13 weeks - I know our ultrasound only showed one baby, but I keep trying to convince Matt that there are two in there! To feed my silliness, a coworker has dreams of me having twins or even triplets!

Gabe finally decided that crawling with his knees is a more efficient means of transportation. He's also pulling up on everything and so close to walking - I'd guess a matter of weeks. It's hard to believe that he turns 1 next month!

Luke is loving the spring weather! He would have lived outside today if I'd let him. Even Gabe enjoys his time outside.

Spring Break

Spring break has finally arrived! We have no big plans, just hanging out and cleaning up the house. Matt's sister, Beth, called yesterday to announce that their baby boy had arrived. Jackson Scott was born 7 lb 8oz and everyone is doing well.

In other news, Gabe has actually started to crawl using his knees part of the time. He's also more interested in pulling upright and walking while holding onto our hands.

Luke's focus has shifted to outdoor activities. He just can't wait until it's summer outside!

New baby seems to be growing just fine and the nausea has been gone for a few weeks. I'm hoping to recover some energy over break. Other people are having dreams of twins for me...not sure about that idea. The first ultrasound only showed 1 baby though.

Children's Museum

The boys and I made the trip up to the Children's Museum to meet up with Aunt Jenny and Grandma. Matt was sick at home so I was traveling alone with the two boys. This would have been fine, but Gabe decided that he does NOT like being in his carseat and fussed/screamed all the way there and all the way home! He was perfectly happy while at the museum though. In fact, he enjoyed the Planetarium show as much as the older kids. Gabe was facinated with everything around him and Luke wanted to spend all of his time on the carousel and train display.

Week 10

So the nausea finally seems to be subsiding and in its place is an appetite that will make up for any previously lost weight! Although, our 3 year old definitely out ate me at lunch today - talk about a growth spurt. I'm still fairly exhausted by the end of the week, but that could be because I teach 23 1st graders each day and have my own two at home. Next week will be a little more challenging since Matt is on travel. Luckily, Matt's parents are taking Luke for a few nights to help out. I also go back to the doctor for the long family history and dreaded exam on Tuesday. Hopefully, they will make the visit a little more enjoyable by at least letting me hear the heartbeat again.

Rock Stars

This one is from almost a year ago, just after Gabe was born.

Gabe the Hockey Player

Gabe the hockey player!

Babble into Words

Gabe has been saying things like mama and dada for awhile, but he's beginning to move onto other words. He makes valiant attempts to say banana (nanana) because he wants one for dinner every night! He also says "up!" We figure the word ball will be next because he is awfully attached to a particular basketball at home.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

The nasuea of this pregnancy seems to be lessening up and my appetite is definitely coming back! Unfortuantely, there are still bouts of nausea intermixed :/. Luckily, I have discovered Preggie Pops which are these magical suckers that really do make the nausea go away! I just ordered a bunch more online.

Luke has decided that the baby will be here soon - try explaining the concept of 7 more months to a 3 year old. I think he began to understand when I related it to being after his birthday. Then I discovered that he thinks his birthday (July 26) is soon! Gabe, on the other hand, has no idea what's coming :). He has been getting much smarter though. He tries so hard to communicate his messages and has developed definite preferences for things like finger food over pureed food.

My Valentine's Present

Yes, that is baby #3! We heard a strong heartbeat and got to see our little peanut for the first time today. The due date is September 21st! For those who work with me, I don't plan on telling the students for a little while.

3, 2. 1, Blast Off!

Luke has a newfound interest in astronauts and outer space at the moment. Here he is in his space suit and space rocket!

Pictures

Here are a few recent pictures of the boys:

Dominoes

Dominoes are the funniest thing to Gabe right now! We're not really sure why, but he just cracks up everytime one drops on the floor. Here's a cute video of the boys playing!

Luke's Mission

I loved being home with the boys today, but they sure do come up with some interesting things. I am pretty sure that Luke is out to destroy our house. Maybe he thinks that we will get a new one if he does enough damage. Last week he overflowed a toliet in the upstairs bathroom, but failed to tell anyone so it leaked all through the kitchen ceiling! I am still battling the smell of the small portion of carpet that got wet - I think the vinegar did the trick yesterday. Then I discovered his name written on each closet door in a lovely purple marker. Today I walked in while he was supposed to be napping and discovered him putting goldfish down the heating vent! Now in what universe does that seem like a good idea? On my way to check on the vent (which he tried to quickly replace so that I wouldn't see), I stepped on a sopping wet towel. So of course I asked why there was a wet towel in his room - and I don't mean damp like he just dried after a bath - completely soaked! He told me it fell in the tub. So I asked how it got into his room to which he had no response. I said, "Well it didn't just walk in by itself." You can see the wheels turning as he replies, "I think it did." He doesn't appear to do any of this on purpose - he's just curious about what will happen... I'm afraid of what hypothesis he will test out next though.

On an unrelated note, Gabe is recoving well from his first ear infection. Matt had baby and doctor duty yesterday so I took the day off today to make sure he was fullly recovered. Now it's back to our normal routine tomorrow...that is until it snows again :). I've come to embrace the snow days even though I know we will be going to school into June because of them - it's not like we can do anything to change the weather though right?

Cooped Up

So the boys and I have been cooped up in the house for the past few days due to snow days. You can tell its getting to Luke so we got out for a bit today. He's pretty good at home about dancing and finding other physical outlets for his energy that aren't destructive to our home, but that can only last him so long. Luke and I had a fun trip to the Wonderlab today where he saw a robot that was taller than him! It was really funny to watch as he tentatively returned the ball that the robot would spit out at kids. He also made it to the top of the grapevine climbing thingy! He's never gone past the 2nd or 3rd level of it before, but today he watched a couple of older boys manuever it and just followed their lead. You can tell that he's been cooped up inside for awhile with all of these snow days because he was bouncing from spot to spot in the museum. He is of course asking to go back to the BIG museum, otherwise known as The Children's Museum. I think we'll try to hold him off until Gabe is walking (and until I have new teacher passes to use). O and we found Luke's name written on each of his closet doors with a purple marker. Very nicely written, just in the wrong place!

Gabe has decided that army crawling is the way to go and has become a master at this technique! I am pretty sure that he sees no need to change his ways and will just go from his army crawl to walking when he's ready. The GOOD news is that he is still sleeping well (most nights anyway)!

Gabe

Gabe has been growing so much in these past few months! He weighs over 20 pounds, but I'm not sure exactly how much because I never seem to find the time to actually weigh him. Starting yesterday, he began gulping 2 full extra bottles in the day which means he must be growing. Of course this morning, one of those bottles was at 4am, not exactly fun for mommy. It wasn't too bad since we've been stuck at home for the past 2 days (snow). Gabe has been showing signs of crawling for over a month now, but hasn't actually taken off. Instead he finds every creative way of moving possible. His newest preference is an army crawl where he uses his arms to pull himself along. He's quite fast at getting where he wants to go despite his methods of getting there. Gabe's language has also began to explode! He started off saying dada at about 4 months old. Mama took another 2 months or so. He added baba (bottle) and mum mum (a baby snack) a couple of weeks ago. Today he began imitating my speech fairly closely (although not using the real words). When we sing the ABC song, he starts humming the first part and sounds pretty good. Even though we watched Luke do all of these things, it is still amazing to see it happening with Gabe. He just loves to catch onto something new. His sense of humor is definitely emerging - Luke is able to get the biggest laughs just by acting goofy!