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.

Run! (a tee ball update)

 

Luke is really progressing in his tee ball games. The games are a hybrid of coach pitch and tee ball. The coach throws three pitches and if they don't get a hit then they get three tries off a tee. The last two games he's gotten at least one good hit in the air! I couldn't be more proud of him. Joby says that when he hits the ball, he gets a surprised look on his face before trotting off to first. And trotting is exactly what he does. I hoop and holler to get him to run faster, and occasionally he does, by for the most part it's a little trot without moving his arms much.

 

Every game they play different positions in the outfield. This past Monday was Luke's turn to be the "pitcher". He looked so cute out there on the mound, and while he's got a ways to go, he did stop a few grounders headed his way (and froze a little, turning around trying to decide who to throw it to).

But I have to say, the highlight of the game came in the very middle. Luke was standing there on the pitcher's mound, in between batters, and for what ever reason he stuck his hand up into his mask (the pitcher wears a helmet with a football-player's like mask on the front). I don't know if it was an itch, or the attention span of a 4 year old, but not only did he stick his hand up through it, he wiggled his arm in up to almost his elbow.  And then. AND THEN. Ya'll. He was stuck. He could NOT get his arm back down. We (me, Mom, Ashley, Patrick, Shae, Stephanie, and Chris) (the last couple are a part of our small group and came to see the boys) were laughing so hard in the bleachers that we were crying. No one on the field saw what was going on and no one was coming to his rescue, so the boy finally shook his glove off and got the helmet off with his free hand to release his arm. OMG. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

So, we always have a good time at the games. Between cheering the boys on and visiting with kind friends who take time to come watch our children, it's always time well spent.

 

He tends to stand there on home plate when he's made all the bases. I'm assuming its him being proud!

 

Don't be fooled by the face or the coats. The day they had team pictures it was faaaa-reeezing, but normally it's pretty comfortable. This girl has a blast running around and climbing on the stands!

 

 

Training up children

Last night in bible class, Scott was teaching about Abram and how he started a ripple effect- God led him to Canaan, but Abram took it upon himself to move his family to Egypt after that instead of staying, all without asking God what he should do. In Egypt he was given great wealth, which led to the destruction of his nephew's family. He was given a maidservant, Hagar, and we all know where that led. (Ishmael? Father of the Muslims?) All these seemingly good and "right" choices were made by Abram alone. Not once did he involve God in the decision making.

Obvious take away from this is.......always involve God in your decision making. Even if it seems like an easy no brainer that we can figure out on our own. That got me to thinking. Of course Satan whispers the lie of independence to us. Of course our selfish and prideful hearts want to do things on our own. BUT. As parents, have we failed our kids by not modeling this so that it becomes second nature when they have grown up?

We model everything for our kids. To death. We use please and thank you so when prompted, children won't look at us funny when asked to be polite. We say prayers out loud to instruct them of the proper and respectful way to come before our Lord. We buckle our own seat belts so that little voices won't pipe up from the back seat "Why do I have to if you aren't?" Same for eating our vegetables and following through with responsibilities we don't particularly enjoy.

So at what point do we, as parents, need to accept the responsibility for when the next generation goes a little awry when it comes to how they make choices for their life? I've realized that I'm going to have to be a chain-breaker. I am going to have to start making a conscious decision every day to model for my children what it means to include God in their life choices. I want for it to be in their nature to ask God for guidance in what they should or shouldn't be doing. And this means, just as I lost all private bathroom trip privileges when I bore children, I've also lost some of my rights to private prayer requests. (I said some. Not all. They are still children, you know.)

Luke's going to be making a choice in a few months on whether he wants to continue to play tee ball or switch back to soccer. I can't forget to pray about that with him.

He'll be starting kindergarten in the fall, which means choosing new friends. I can't forget to pray about that with him.

Will my children get it right all of time? Please. I hope no one is naive enough to think that eventually they will. But hopefully they will gain insight and learn to hear what the voice of their Father really sounds like so that when the REALLY BIG DECISIONS come (like... Should I get baptized now? Should I marry this person? What career should I have?) they will be able to decipher between the quiet whisper of the One who knows all and the subtle wooing of their own selfish desires. And maybe, just maybe, they won't be thirty and looking back, wondering where it all went wrong.

14 Weeks

How Far Along: 14 weeks

Size of baby: size of a lemon- CTR is about 3 inches

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Haven't weighed myself since the dr's appointment, probably up to 113 or so now.

Maternity Clothes: Yes for pants, no for shirts. If I'd gotten XS on the shirts, then I could start wearing them, but I've bought all size S so far and they are a tad big. Hopefully they'll start fitting soon though, I didn't realize how much a stretched out my shirts last time by wearing my regular clothes as long as I did, and I don't want to do that again!

Gender: Still fully convinced it's a boy. Had to suppress the urge to buy a blue diaper bag this week.

Movement: Not as much as I was hoping for by this time. Soon please?

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: Not having to think about caffeine intake.

Cravings: Still the flavored tea. Nothing much more specific than just snacking. I could snack all the time, dangerous when I'm not hungry all the time.

 

Symptoms: Still the tender boobs.

 

Best Moment this week: Evan patted her belly once and said baby! It was the sweetest thing. She knows I've got one in there! And Luke has asked what we are going to name the baby. I asked for his suggestions and he came up with Doctor. And Spinley Head. And Thomas. As in Thomas the Train. Evan has named her two babies "Baby" and "Girl", so I didn't bother asking her.