Pool time, Safari Time, Moby Time

Saturday was kind of a long day. Mom and Dad came over at 9, Jacob was not far behind them, and it took the 4 of us 8+ hours to switch the kid's rooms. Granted, some of that time was spent doing yard work by the men, Dad mowed while Mom and I switched out the closets, Jacob sprayed the yard for weeds and got my soaker hoses set up in between furniture moving/putting together, and Mom took the kids to her house at nap time to rest so we could keep going. It was a lot of work, but it's done. Pictures coming soon!

 

Saturday night was the Foltermann kids' joint birthday. This year they didn't have it at home (like in the past) and totally rented out the aquatic center. It was so fun! The water was a little chilly since it's been raining and hasn't been 100+ consecutively yet, but fun none the less. I got to wear my new bathing suit and Evan LOVED the water.

 

Girlfriend. Was. Fearless.

 

And the glee on her face couldn't have been more radiant. After 2 hours in the chilly waters she was a zombie. I mean blue lips, chattering teeth, red eyes, barely keep her eyelids up, zombie. I'm sure that was great for the recovering pneumonia. She was so pitiful it made everyone laugh. But hey, she slept until 7 on Sunday morning! And Luke was just kinda grumpy the whole time. He was irritated that I wouldn't take him in the deeper water, he didn't like the cold, but he ate like a beast.

 

 the only picture I go of the whole party. Ha!

 

Sunday afternoon we (Mom, Dad and I) took the kids to go get Luke's hair buzzed off, then on a LFO to a place called Safari Park. Mom had bought a Groupon to there a few weeks ago and we had wanted to take them last weekend on Evan's birthday, but since she'd been sick we held off. They had the best time! It was just this indoor playground with mazes and slides and trampolines, but they had a blast. Look at those faces!

 

Evan's first experience with a ball pit

 

There was a "train" ride that went in a little circle, and these mechanical animals to ride around. Luke rode a "jaguar" but Evan was actually afraid of something and refused to get close to the animals.

 

Yesterday I finally got the material to make BG2's moby wrap. I couldn't decide if I should go with this bright turquois knit or a more subtle grey. Then I found the pink flower material and was sold. The best part of it all was both fabrics were half off! And all that will actually make two wraps, so I'll probably make two then sell one for $25 or so. Any takers? I could use a different cotton fabric that isn't pink if it's for a boy. Anyone?

Also, does anyone have a baby I can borrow? I need to try it out. Practice. On your baby. :)

End of teeball and start of summer

Well, tee ball has come to an end. And even though we've frequently had two games a week for the last two months, it hasn't been bad at all. We've had so much fun cheering for our boy. He got so much better throughout the season too! Every time he went to bat, every. time., he would walk past and glance at us out of the corner of his eye with a grin that said "Are you watching? I'm doing it! Here I am so you can cheer for me!" Cracked us up. The last game he even remembered to high five the next batter good luck as he came off home plate from making it around the bases. OH, and he tried his hand at "sliding" into base too. I say "sliding" because the first time was when he approached 3rd base and it really looked more like a "trip and fall into base" than a "slide", but then he tried again on his way into home and he actually did it fairly well. He got willingly dirty!

 

 I hollered at him to look at me so I could get his picture when he played catcher. He hollered at me to stop and go sit back down. Humph. Also, next time he plays catcher someone should probably explain the roll, seeing as he just sat there and didn't know what to do.

Even though it was just a participation trophy, it is his very first trophy ever! He wanted to take it to Cindy's on Tuesday morning to show it off to her, but I was afraid it would get broken, so he settled for a picture of it that he made sure to show Miss Cindy AND Mr. Roger.

 

Team picture at the end-of-season party! Only missing one kid.

And now on to summer things. I don't think it's brand new news that I've been craving flavored tea this pregnancy. I have found some caffeine free herbal teas that I can make at home to satisfy my craving, but the ice maker in my freezer doesn't make very good ice so I like to keep a bag on hand. I'd used up all my ice at dinner the other night, the kids weren't really eating anyway, so I loaded them up to run down to the corner gas station for another bag. This gas station just happens to be a 7-11, and a Slurpie sounded very good. Guess who had never had a Slurpie before? Yep, those two babies. And just their luck, there was a special flavor- sugar free Sprite, which would also have no caffeine. I let them each get a little one, and they LOVED it. Such a fun summer thing to do.

Another fun summer thing to do? Eat cherries! I've never Luke have cherries before because of the pits, but I thought he might be able to handle them this year. Wrong. It's like he was afraid of the cherry pit or something. I've tried over and over again to show him how to bite and chew slightly so it just pops out, but dude won't do it. He ends up trying to just dig it out, creating a giant cherry juice mess. But apparently there is something called a cherry pitter?! I'm going to check into this.

Something that is decidedly UNsummer like is the fact that the kids have been sick. Luke's battled a cough for some time now, and I finally had him checked out. He's going to be having oral surgery at the end of the month, which requires full anesthesia and a clean bill of health, so I knew we needed to get this check out. Last Wednesday Cindy took them to the dr for me, and at first I wasn't going to have Evan looked at, she was barely coughing and doing just fine. Cindy called me right after I made the appointment and said she had come down with a fever, so I called back and had her added to the schedule. Turns out they BOTH were having acute asthma flare ups and had ear infections! Holy moly. I felt terrible. They were put on antibiotics and breathing treatments 4x a day. By Friday Evan wasn't getting any better, so I called back. The dr put her on a second antibiotic, because it seems the fever was from whatever was going on in her lungs and not from her ears. Monday she STILL wasn't feeling better, so they had her come back in and get a chest xray. It's pneumonia. This added an oral steroid, to the already large regimen of meds on my counter. I'm pretty much running a pharmacy over here.

When the dr said pneumonia, I asked if this was contagious. Why did I care? Oh, only because on Sunday Evan put her sweet little mouth up to my nose to give me a kiss, and instead hacked up a lung. WITH HER MOUTH STILL OVER MY NOSE. Parenting at it's finest, folks.

Ranch trip, PK Graduation, and plan for next year

 Uuuuugggggggggggg. I have so much to catch up on. So much, that it will start today and bleed into tomorrow. You're welcome for the heads up.

Two weekends ago we went straight from Luke's teeball game on  LFO (Lame Family Outing) to a place called Sharkarosa Ranch. True to the nature of LFO's, the kids LOVED it. This place is a petting zoo with a tram ride where they take you to big fields of exotic animals, which can come right up to the tram. Take this first animal for example: a half zebra half horse.

 And then there was a camel that ALMOST SPIT on us.

Here's how Luke and I felt about it:

There were several other animals that we got to see. There were monkeys that Luke particularly enjoyed watching, and Evan got to pet a skunk.

 That's my girl! I tried to get a little family picture of us, but you can see how that turned out.

I show the good with the bad, folks. Good with the bad. Okay, mostly the bad, as long as I don't look bad. :)

Last week was Luke's preschool graduation. I had planned on going to work late that morning so I could attend, but then all this dental stuff with Luke came up, and I had to go in late to already once that week to take him to the dentist, so I didn't feel like I could do it again. Boo. Thankfully, I've got a good friend and a baby sitter who both knew how bummed I was to miss it and took pictures for me! So, the following are compliments of Shae and Cindy.

Three little friends waiting for their Bubbas to come. Jordyn is 3, Mikah is 2 1/2, and Evan was still 1 at this point. Look at the size of my girl's legs compared to her friends!

 And there are the Bubbas! (Dakota is in green, Jadyn is in black, and then my boy looking around) Luke has started putting up a fuss about wearing "button" shirts, but I told him tough cookies that morning. Then he asked if Dakota would be wearing a button shirt, I said probably (with my fingers crossed), and thankfully Shae didn't make a liar out of me. In Luke's head, polos still constitute as "button" shirts.

Getting his award for "best story teller". Aw geez. And again with the duck face.

 Getting a medal for something. Sorry son, you don't relate details very well, so I'm not sure why you got it. But what I do know is you were super super proud of it and even wanted me to wear it to work the next day. Ha!

Luke's preschool class! He had such a great year. Went to the principal's office more times than I did in my entire school career, but good none the less. After much deliberation, tears, and advice from many many people, I've decided to place him in a jr kindergarten class next year instead of sending him on to kindergarten. I tried to rationalize kindergarten for a few weeks, convincing myself he'd be okay, that it was better for finances, easier for transportation, etc. But in the end, my momma heart knew that wasn't right. I was putting the easy way for ME in front of what was best for HIM. So shameful. I think everyone agrees with the decision. My parents, Cindy, his teachers. While academically he could absolutely excel in public school next year, his maturity level is not quite there. He is so young. And such a quiet boy. This will be a giant change in path for him, no longer will he be in the same grade as his three good buddies, but again, I have to look at what's best for my boy.

20 Weeks

My big camera broke, the lens won't turn to focus anymore, so I had to resort to a mirror selfie. I posted this picture on Facebook, and a friend commented that she was so glad I didn't take it in the bathroom. I didn't have the heart to tell her the only reason I didn't was because of lighting. Both bathrooms have terrible lighting, so I pulled my full length mirror out of the closet (where there is also terrible lighting) and stuck it on the fireplace next to a window. Ha! Don't you just love Evan's kiss print on my left shin?

 How Far Along: 20 weeks

Size of baby: size of a banana- 10 inches

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm up to 118, so probably at 10-12 lbs now.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And yes.

Gender: Holy guacamole it's a girl! GIRL!! Ya'll. I'd already bought boy fabric and everything. But I am THRILLED with my girl! So excited. The girls will share a room, and since I'd picked colors for Evan's big girl bed (which she got for her birthday) specifically so it would match the nursery décor, everything will match! Plus I can't wait to see my big girl as a big sister- she's got such a take charge personality, I can totally see her getting a little sister in her corner to do all the mischievous things she's got brewing in that head. I'm hoping being only 2 years apart and sharing a room will allow for a bond that will last a life time.  Eek! So excited for my girls!

 

her profile

 

Movement: The movements I do feel are getting more defined, but it's not very frequent. Unfortunately the sonogram nurse told me my placenta was right on the front, which means she's kicking straight into it and muting everything I normally feel. She could also tell from the sonogram that this girl is a mover and a shaker! Glad to know she's jamming around in there and it's not just my imagination as to why I can't feel it. The good news is that Jacob was able to feel one little bump last night when he came over for a few!
   

bottom of her foot

Sleep: Hit and miss. It's not terrible, and I'm thankful because I know it will go down hill soon.

 

What I miss: Meh. Not much.

 

Cravings: Not really any these last couple of weeks

 

Symptoms: none

 

Best Moment this week: Um, finding out she's a she! Of course!

2 Years

My darling, darling girl. You are now officially a 2 year old.  I can not believe it.

But then I hang out with you for 2 minutes and I do believe it.

 

Evan, you are so full of personality that it just spills everywhere. Your language absolutely exploded over the last month, and you are now saying complete sentences, answer questions thoughtfully and correctly, and talk non stop. Sing non stop. Your favorite songs to sing are the ABC's and Wheels on the Bus, and you're favorite phrase to say is "No no Bubba!" You've even been known to say it when he's just sitting in his car seat next to you, not doing anything!  You aren't afraid to stand up for yourself, aren't shy to ask for what you want, and definitely love to explore. Where your brother has always been cautious and reserved, you live on the edge. No fear of water, no fear of heights, just a zealous joy to do whatever you can whenever you can. You love slides, swinging, swimming, running, playing with your brother (even though ya'll fight) and most of all- your babies.

("das cute Momma!")

Your babies. What a good little momma you are all ready. For your birthday you got another stroller (one that's not torn from you trying to ride in it yourself!), a baby bed, a baby high chair, a baby car seat and another baby. See a theme here? You put your baby to night night, wrap her in blankets (which can range from your lovie to a tee shirt. You aren't picky), take her for rides in the stoe-yer, and cover her with kisses.  I just know you are going to be THRILLED to DEATH when there is a real live baby in the house in a few months. Hope you don't mind sharing a room with your new sister!

("Momma's baby. Hey-whoa baby")

One thing about you that has just tickled me to no end is how much you love to do what I do. While you play trucks and trains with the best of them, there's never been a doubt about what a girly girl you are. Luke has not ever at any point copied me, but you want makeup when I'm putting on make up. You hike up your leg and put on lotion in the mornings with me. You cook when I cook and get the little vacuum out when I vacuum. I don't know if it's a phase, because you've been sick, or just because you love me, but you've been such a momma's girl lately. At church it has to be MY lap (which is slowly disappearing). At night it has to be me who rocks you. "Momma hold you" fixes most problems. I'm going to be devastated when this phase passes. I know that one day my hugs and kisses and arms won't be able to soothe all the boo boos, but I relish the position now.

Nana painted Great Grandmother's toes on Mother's day, and a certain little girl said "Me tun! I-yant toes!"

 

Girlfriend, you are still my giant baby. You wear size 3T clothes, have the most beautiful ringlets in your hair, and are finally getting your eye teeth! All 4 at one time. It's about as fun as it sounds. You've been weighing in at 35 lbs, but you might loose a little due to your lack of appetite the last week or so because you've been sick. Even a fever can't keep you down for long, but food has taken a back burner and currently are only eating about 1/4 of what you normally do. You are doing everything that you should, and you do it with a smile on your face and a mischievous gleam in your eye!

I love you love you love you. I'm so glad I get to be your momma. I can't wait to give you a sister. But I'm cherishing our time now with you being my girl. I hope that you're always my girl. Thank you, sweet Evan, for being you.

Birthday party: I'd already decided to have a joint party at the end of the month for both kids, since their friends are all in the same families, and it's a good thing too since Evan was sick this week. She barely made it through presents, dinner and cake! She enjoyed opening all of her presents, but I'm guessing she would have been a little more enthused if she'd felt 100%.

 "A neck-ace and base-yets!" (necklace and bracelets)

"I coy-yer Momma" (color)

 

 She got a new mixer for her birthday! Lucky for me, she's letting me borrow it and keep it in the kitchen since mine literally burned up a few months ago. I kept forgetting and having to borrow Nana's at the last minute!

It's a.....

We are so excited! Since I was convinced it was a boy, I actually have no names. Well, there's one that I like, but we haven't even begun to discuss, so who knows. You'll know when I know! I am thrilled. Evan is already a sassy bossy pants, now she's got a little sister to be in her corner. Poor Luke doesn't even stand a chance. Love my little family!

18 Weeks

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Size of baby: size of a sweet potato- CTR is about 5 1/2 inches (almost the length of my hand!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I don't know, I didn't think to weigh myself when I was at Mom's on Saturday. Actually, it's probably a good thing I didn't. My butt is visibly bigger (as in, a certain partner of mine even commented on it), and who knows what that's done to the scale.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And yes.

 

Gender: I know I have said all along that it's a boy, but I do want to say that I will be just as thrilled with a girl. It's not that I want one more than the other- I don't think I'd be able to choose AT. ALL. I love both of my children exactly the way they are, and each one has such fun and unique aspects. I just FEEL like it's a boy. (whoa. I accidentally typed girl there. O_O What does that mean?!) If I were being totally honest, I think having a girl might be a little easier. She would be so close in age to Evan, that I think they could have a really close relationship. And I just know that this boy is going to be exactly like Jacob, which has me wondering about how the two boys will relate to each other. They are going to be such opposites. Which makes sense because their dads are such opposites. Cody is a tall, lanky laid back person with a complete "come what may" attitude. It's where Luke get's his supreme ability to do his own thing. They very much share the mentality of "That's nice what you are doing, but imma do this over here because that's what I wanna do." Jacob is average height, athletically built, and a Type-A who needs to be in the know and have a handle on situations.  

Movement: Still just faint flutters with they occasional bump. Not anything regular or definite. Come on. Any day now.
  

Sleep: Sleeping okay, getting up to pee or blow my nose is unfortunately becoming too regular.

 

What I miss: Meh. Not much.

 

Cravings: Flavored tea, pizza (well, really any Italian will satisfy), and hummus. Which is probably the oddest one of all the pregnancy cravings I've ever had, since it's not something I've ever eaten before.

 

Symptoms: Just the growing behind. And belly. Oh, and the belly itches. I put thick vitamin E lotion on it morning and night, but I still find myself absent mindedly scratching. Which is different than when I absent mindedly rub it. I do that a lot too.

 

Best Moment this week: The funniest was probably the morning that Jacob patted my belly (after not having physically seen me for a few days) and commenting about how big I'd gotten. Then proceeding to ask me if my belly was really going to get bigger every single day. Lord have mercy. Someone should send a list to new dads about things to never say. In the way of non baby funnies, I don't think I need to worry about my girl Evan. Ever. She and Luke were playing out in the yard, he was running around like a mad man and collided into her. She got the angriest look on her face and shouted at him "NO NO BUBBA. NO!" It's safe to say I think she'll be able to take up for herself.

 

Ordered this giant canvas for way on sale, and I finally have something more than Luke's 18 month picture on this wall. I LOVE how it turned out. And I also dare anyone to find cuter babies than what you see.

Lately

 Things have not been going well lately. I took Luke to the dentist for the first time last week, and it was bad. Now don't get me wrong- he did great. So brave, so cooperative, no fussing at all. I took him in because I could tell he had a cavity in one of his molars. Turns out, he has MUTLIPLE cavities in all but 4 of his teeth.  Ya'll. I cried. I've worked so hard at making sure my kids eat healthy, and I can count on one hand the number of times we've skipped brushing our teeth. The worst part was how much it's going to cost to fix it and the kids don't have dental insurance. I applied for financial assistance for him, but because he has regular (private) health insurance, he didn't qualify.

Then last night I had my a/c serviced. I knew he was going to tell me that it needed replacing, but what I didn't expect was that my furnace was absolutely unsafe to use. A crack in the heat exchange is causing unheard of high amounts of carbon monoxide to accumulate in the flu. So, before next fall it must be replaced. And my system is 31 years old, so pretty much I have to replace the entire thing (a/c and heater). That's going to cost only slightly more than Luke's dental work.

And now, before this turns into an even bigger pity party than the one I've been throwing for myself, lets just focus on the kids. Because, what else is there to do?

For Christmas I told Mom to get Luke a stomp rocket. After much back and forth about what it actually was, she finally found what I was talking about and did indeed place it under her tree for him. This past week it was finally warm enough (and he finally found it in the back of his closet) to take it outside and give it a go.

More like 50 million goes. It was a GIANT hit, enjoyed by all.

Last Tuesday was Luke's end of the year PTA program. I made sure the dress Sister up in a fun little outfit, and I have to say this dress is one of my new favorite things hanging in her closet. The bow detail on the back kills me!

 

He did great in the program- and by great I mean he did more than just stand there and look around.

 

Over the weekend, Luke's other grandparents took him out of town, so it was just me and my girl. The baby in my belly told me he wanted hummus (something I've never bought before), so Evan and I took a trip for some groceries and came home with roast garlic hummus. Believe it or not, she loved it just as much as I did.

And of course I had to get a picture with my babies on Mother's day this past Sunday. We had a lovely day of church, home for lunch, then dinner with Mom, Dad, and Grandmother. Despite how she looks in the picture, Evan was actually in a really good mood. She was her usual mischievous self, eating her half of the hamburger she and Luke shared, fries, ketchup by the handfuls (I wish I was joking), rice and veggies off my plate, then a popsicle for dessert. She flirted with the men that walked by, and only escaped the restaurant once (again, I wish I was joking).

Oh how I love them. I am so very glad, so very blessed, so very thankful that these three (you can see that baby belly trying to join in the picture!) call me Momma.

16 Weeks

How Far Along: 16 weeks

Size of baby: size of a avocado- CTR is about 4 1/2 inches

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Went to the dr yesterday, I'm up to 114 even. That's 3 lbs last month. Yikes!

Maternity Clothes: Yes for pants, mostly no for shirts. I am fitting into some shirts I've bought without them looking too baggy.

 

Gender: Still fully convinced it's a boy. I've made a list of boy names and got nursing pillow in grey today (for free! Shae has been passing on some awesome promo codes.) so I'll be able to applique his name on it like I did Evan's.

Movement: Just a couple of bumps here and there, nothing regular or even big. When the dr was listen to his heartbeat yesterday, we could hear him moving around a lot. Sounds like an active little dude!
 

Sleep: Counting my blessings that I've been sleeping just fine, in whatever position I want. It does help that I'm totally spoiled, having been single so long now, with having the whole bed to myself. No restrictions on how much room I take up!

 

What I miss: Really wanted sushi the other day.

Cravings: Flavored tea, and I haven't been able to turn down pizza.

 

Symptoms: Everything has seem to abated, sometimes I even forget I'm pregnant. Then I look down and realize I can't suck that in.

 

Best Moment this week: Getting to plan for the sonogram! The dr told me I could make my typical 4 week appointment with the sonogram, but I asked if I had to wait that long. She would only come down to making it in 3 weeks, but I'll take it! It's scheduled for May 30th!

Photo dump

So, I'll get my 16 week baby update posted soonish. Probably tomorrow. First I have to take the picture. Then I have to, you know, write it. In the meantime, enjoy a billion (okay, 9) phone pictures from over the last couple of weeks. (and that video I posted on facebook of Evan "singing" her ABC's? I can't stop watching it, and EVERY. TIME. she gets to the "lmnop" jumble I giggle. Every. Time.)

Two Friday's ago, on our way to small group, I noticed in the review mirror both children were miraculously wearing their sunglasses. Hey. She did it herself.

Look! Proof he has other things besides oxfords and polos! It's the hockey jersey Jacob gave to him, and he chose to wear it all by himself.

Saturday morning: Luke "playing" the guitar.

Okay, so I may have staged it a little. He was "playing" it, but more piano-style kneeling beside the couch.

 Papa spent a couple of days working with Luke on how to peddle his bicycle, and he's FINALLY got it! This is the bike he got last year for his birthday, and he may have already out grown it, but he was so. very. proud. of himself that he insisted on showing me how fast he could go. We walked around the block after dinner, and he did so good I nearly cried from the pride. For reals. Love him!

 This no dairy thing has been sad on some occasions  it's meant no cheese and no ice cream. (Luke has told me many times that when he grows up he's going to eat cheese on his pizza. I tell him every time that when he grows up, it will be his job to make his choices and that can be one of them.) I found some dairy free ice cream made with almond milk, and the kids were THRILLED. I wish I was kidding when I said by the end of her bowl, Evan was literally covered in chocolate. Face. Torso. Arms. Furniture. But she loved it.

Um, probably my new favorite picture. As if I couldn't love her more, I look at this and my heart just dies. 

 Made a little something for my girl. I thought I'd better get a picture like this since it's more than likely she won't be still enough for a picture of her actually WEARING it.

This past Saturday Evan came into my bedroom at the lovely hour of 6:15. Not cool. And she was grumpy. Totally not cool. Amazingly, she crawled up in bed with me, worked herself under the covers, snuggled up behind me, and fell back asleep. Look! She's asleep! And touching me! For an extra hour! This is literally a first.