4 month check up

Evelyn had her 4 month checkup yesterday. She is still off the charts at 16 lbs 6 oz and 26.25" tall. She received several shots and we may be giving her the flu shot when she turns 6 months. She rolled over from her front to her back last we so we had that to share and she loves to talk, laugh and get your attention. She plays with toys and puts everything in her mouth. She also pushes up very high when she is laying on her belly.

Joshua has started reading. He is recognizing words, spelling out things he sees and asking lots of questions about words. We are so excited for this next step he is taking and loving his enthusiasm.

Mira is a singing and dancing fool. She likes saying 'ho, ho, ho' and tries to say, 'Merry Christmas', too. It is a bit harder to recognize.

Om me I!

I hear these words a lot. In Mira-ese it means, 'Help me write!' Mira loves to draw and write and she is very precise. Today she can make circles with eyes and a mouth. Jill saw her add hands to another drawing that Jill had started.

Symptoms

How did I know Joshua was sick today? He ate 1/2 of 1/2 a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When we made cookies he took his one and didn't ask for another. The girls were screaming and he sat quietly waiting on the couch. Evelyn, who also has a cold has been sleeping through it. And Mira, also stuffy and sick, is weepy and irritable. But Joshua is taking a nap and saying please and thank you, waiting his turn and is generally agreeable. He must be sick.

Time Flies

I thought the time before Christmas would pass slowly but it is flying along. Everyday we open our elf box, check off a day on our calendar and hang an ornament on our advent calendar. We have been reading Christmas books, doing Christmas crafts, shopping and listening to Christmas music. Mira wants us to cart her around the room kissing all the Santas in the house and last week Aunt Jill played a bear hunt game with Josh. Now he wants to ride piggy back through the house looking for the bear (Jack) while listening to spooky music. Mira is afraid of the spooky music so it makes for an interesting time.

Last Saturday, amidst snow globe like swirls of snow, we ventured out to Macy's to pick our annual Christmas ornaments. It was beautiful and the children had fun choosing their ornaments. Mira picked a little white deer with a Christmas tree perched on its back. Joshua found a robot.

Next we went to Barnes and Noble to find a Christmas book to add to our collection. We chose the Nutcracker but before we found it we found an author signing beautiful books about dragons. We bought two and had them signed to Josh and Mira. We enjoyed a lunch out at Baja Fresh and then headed home.

Sunday, Jason and Josh took in the Nutcracker at our local community college. Joshua did well up through the first half and then got antsy sitting. The girls, Jill and I were meanwhile at Tia Amy's helping her to move between houses.

It has been a busy time but the kids are handling all the excitement well. We've cut out tv for the past week, we'd had tv overload, and are noticing much better behavior. I did let them watch and play games online this morning for a little while but then the whining ensued and it was time to turn it off again.

Jason's final is on Wednesday and we are looking forward to him being around more. He has off until early mid January.

The Christmas Season

My friend, Christine, gave us a great idea this year. Every night we leave an empty box under the Christmas tree. It is a green box decorated with snowflakes. Every morning when we get up there is something in it for us to do. On the first day, we had a paper inside directing us to go to the bouncy place, day 2 was writing letters to Santa and watching a Muppet Christmas Carol, day 3 was making oatmeal cookies. We are having a lot of Christmas fun and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. A little elf tipped me off that we would be going to the Christmas parade downtown and seeing Santa. Good thing we have our letters ready!

The tree is up. We decorated the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Most of the house is decorated. Joshua has been helping me with that this year. We are marking off days on a calendar and doing our advent tree. Lots of anticipation for the 'big day'!

Evelyn is so bright eyed now. She likes to talk to us kicking and flailing her legs and arms wildly. She sits well in the exersaucer and can entertain herself while the other two are playing. It is so helpful to not have to hold her all the time. She is waking up more in the night and I wonder if it is another growth spurt or something else since she was sleeping through the night a week ago.

Mira is MUCH better. She ended up on antibiotics for the enlarged lymph nodes and within 36 hours the fever was gone and about 48 the glads where going down in size. She will see the dr again on Monday but she is much improved. Given how much the dr's office has had us keep in touch about this one, I gather they found it to be quite serious. I am glad all turned out well.

Joshua LOVED the bounce place the other day and is enjoying all the Christmas books, movies and festivities. He is writing his name all by himself now and doing a great job. We are so proud of him! More discussions with his teachers and other people in the community are pushing us to wait until 2011 to start him in kindergarten. So I guess next year we will have another year of preschool. Then, it will be Mira's turn.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today was feast day at preschool. There were nods to the traditional Thanksgiving foods but the hits were chicken nuggets, grapes and crackers. Oh to love kid food. We took mac n cheese but since Joshie is a purest, he would not indulge. The event was lovely. Mira stayed back with Miss Jennifer and Evelyn napped the entire time. Joshua, although he did not sing, DID stand up in front of the parents with the rest of his classmates AND he did tap along with the sticks for another song. He even requested his favorite preschool song, the ghost song, not typically a Thanksgiving song but what the heck! And, he moved to the music. So much progress! He completed the craft, ate a great lunch and was generally happy. Such a good morning.

Mira had lots of fun with Miss Jennifer and the boys and everyone came home tired. Lots of great naps all around. Josh and Mira now have low grade fevers and Mira has an enlarged lymph node and so we'll keep an eye on it. Off to bed for now.

bowling

Joshua went to a birthday party yesterday and bowled for the first time. Somehow he already knew all about it and drew a picture on his drawing board of a lane, pins, ball and ball return. Was this just from the Wii? I don't recall him playing that game. In any case, he was holding the ball correctly by the end of his game and bowled an 84. Guess we'll sign him up for the team!

Evie Joy is sitting her batting at her toys in her rocking chair seat. We put her in the exer-saucer yesterday and she liked that. She is bigger than the other two were when we put them in it and could sit just fine without towels to pad around her.

Mira says everything we say now, 'Hon, Lego and Wiggly Woo' are a few of my recent favorites.

My Name

Joshua can now write his name all by himself. The s sometimes ends up backwards but otherwise he does an excellent job. We had parent conferences on Monday and Miss Joan said that Joshua is doing great. He knows his colors and shapes and is working on his alphabet which he gets right most of the time. Joshua's lego creations get more detailed every day and he can now help me with chores around the house. I love 4!

Evelyn is leaning forward when sitting in her rocker as if to sit up by herself. Won't be long! She laughs and smiles all the time. Now, she likes to just sit in her rocker and watch all that goes on in this crazy house around her.

Mira is adding new words all the time. She continues to be a good napper in the afternoon and goes to be easily at night time. She likes to wake up at 6:15 am but I guess we can deal with that. Especially since Evelyn sleeps through the night. Mira loves to sing songs to herself in Mira-ese. She will even make drums out of toys to add a beat to her music. She has started a bit of a hitting habit which we are not enjoying but I do recall Joshua kicking at this age.

Baptized

The weekend was beautiful. Reagan flew in from Georgia and joined us to celebrate Evelyn's baptism on Sunday. She is also expecting and 15 weeks along. We drove out to the 'burg and E was baptized at my parent's church. It really felt like we had come full circle to have been married there and then to have our last child baptized in the same church. Mom made a bonnet to match the baptism gown she made for Mira. I cried just to see her dressed and so beautiful, like a little china doll. I cried again walking to the font to the music, 'Going to the River to Pray'. It was just such a special moment. We have been so blessed!

Our neighbors, Cyndi, Staci & Stephanie, joined us, making the hour drive, as well as Jill, Amy (and family), Memaw, Grandad, Nanny, Carie, Chris, Reagan & Jessica (Reagan's sister) We had lunch back at my parent's house (tomato soup, quiches, mini sandwich rolls, cheese, crackers, cider & brocolli slaw). It was a lunch meant for a cool fall day but we lucked out with a 70 sunny day. The kids had a great time playing outside after lunch. Mira and Noella each had naps and we just visited and ate. We even stayed for dinner, can't resist Mom's cabbage rolls! Everyone was pooped when we headed home. But unfortunately we hit a huge amount of traffic and the drive took 2 hours. We narrowly missed two very serious accidents but made it in one piece. Thank God!

Attention

I think that the jealousy is kicking in for Mira. Jason and I were cooing over Evelyn this morning and Mira was standing at the table eating her breakfast. She suddenly hollared, 'Hey Mom!' to get my attention and some cooing of her own :-) Then when Jason was giving me a hug and kiss goodbye this morning I heard Mira in the background smooching her hand waiting for her kisses.

Happy Halloween!

Mira was Little Bo Peep, Evelyn was her little sheep and Joshua was a super ghost. He originally wanted to be Darth Vader but after explaining that he would have to wear a mask he opted out and just wanted to wear his costume from last year. Joshua had a party at school on Friday morning. It was this party last year where Jason and I saw Joshua's shyness really come to life. But this year was so different! He did the crafts, participated and really had fun.

Mira does not like scary things at all. Even last year, she was afraid of the Elmo Halloween movie. This year was better but she did get frightened while we were out trick or treating. She liked collecting candy though! When Aunt Jill and Kakuti tried to empty her little basket to make more room she just about had a temper tantrum. Joshua was torn while out whether to keep going and collect more candy or just take what he had and go home and eat it. His tummy won and we went home to enjoy the spoils of the hunt. It was a good thing too since Halloween happened to be a dark and stormy night!

Eveyln slept through it all.

We carved our pumpkin on Saturday morning. Joshua said, 'scarved' which was cute and he was really excited for the sky to turn dark so he could light it.

Other high lights...

Mira is adding about a word a day now with elbow and people being two of her newer additions. She also strings two words together: MY car, actually MY anything is a favorite phrase right now. She is quite opitionated and stubborn and we haven't figured out how to get her to stop climbing on the table yet. We have gotten her to eat more but alternating bites of food with chocolate chips or some other small desirable tasty item.

Evelyn has really lit up recently. She laughs, smiles and coos all the time when she is awake. She naps about twice a day with another cat nap in the evening. Now I am able to sit her in the baby rocker and she will watch while we eat or I cook. Josh is able to entertain her sometimes when she gets fussy and Mira likes to help out too. She brings the binky, rocks the rocker or pats Evelyn's head. She will even get our attention if there is something wrong. Lots of helpers!

Joshua is doing well at school now. Our next big dilema is what to do for kindergarten in the fall. We had hoped to start him next year but he misses the cut off (Sept 1) and the testing to get him in is absolutely insane. I don't know that I want to hold him back another year because I think he will be bored. We have a few months to plan and research options but private schools fill quickly so I better get on it! In the meantime, I am working with him in between school days on kindergarten skills just in case we do have him go for the test.

4 yr checkup & 18 mos checkup (a little late!)

Joshua, Mira, Evelyn, Aunt Jill and I ventured out to the dr.'s office again for well baby checkups today. We had the first appointment of the day and we made it to the office on time (a miracle!). Joshua did so well today. We have had lots of problems in the past with him even being weighed and when the dr. would go to look at him he would literally flip out. But today he was weighed (38 lbs) and measured (43.25 inches). He was in the 75% on weight and 95% on height. Tall and skinny! The nurse backed off after attempting to get his blood pressure and sensing the tension rising. Mira weighed in at 22 lb 3 oz and 31.25" tall. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight.

We had the dr. examine Mira first and talk about what is going on with the kids. Mira loves to be examined and didn't want to give up the stethoscope after it was all done. Aunt Jill took her and Evelyn out to wait for Joshua's exam. He did ok with the dr. looking at his body but the exam of his ears, eyes and mouth sent him over the edge. We did his shots (3 of them and a nose spray) and he was done. The poor little guy was very upset but honestly he did so much better than last year. It was just hard to hold him because he is bigger and much stronger than last year. We sent him out and brought Mira back in for her shots. She was a trooper (4 shots!!) and then we were done.

After all that, we took the kids to Baskin Robbins for ice cream to help them forget their shots and to help mommy bring her blood pressure back to human levels. It was only 10 am but we all needed it! Then we played outside, had lunch and took naps. Joshua didn't even argue. I think we wore him out. They all took good naps and I wish I could have had one, too but the plumber came today to checkout our broken toilets. Oh well. Joshua was achy after nap so we just relaxed and watched a movie then played more outside when Daddy came home.

It was a good but tiring day. Tomorrow is a field trip to the orchard with tractor ride and pumpkin picking, apple cider and other fun stuff. Should be a great day especially if we have weather like today! Happy fall!

2 mos. check up

Evelyn had her two month check up today and was off the chart for height and weight at 14.4 lb and 24.5 inches. I'll have to go back and see how she compares to Joshua. She may still be bigger. Everything else looks great and E will see the dr. again in two months. The kids go next week for 4 yr check up and 18 mos check up (a little off) and to get their flu shots.

Today is a nice rainy fall day. We are enjoying top your own waffles for lunch. Josh had pb and j, Mira had strawberries. There are lots of things I love to do on rainy fall days, most of them involve snuggling up under a blanket: reading a book, watching a movie, listening to the rain, sleeping in, cuddling with Jason. Unfortunately, it will still be several years before the kids can sit still long enough for these activities. But, we did have fun playing in the play room this morning and maybe this afternoon we will break out the tent and read books inside for a while after we pick up our veggies.

Tomorrow is a school day and then the clan is descending upon the house at night. We are going to have a great weekend with Stephanie, Noella and Dylan while the adults are up in CT. I can't wait! It will be our first sleep over with the girls and the first time I have gotten them all to myself. Yippee!

Happy 4th Birthday Joshua!

Joshie turned 4 yesterday. He had cupcakes with his classmates on Wednesday at preschool and then yesterday the fire department came. The kids talked to the firemen and got to climb on the truck. Everyone came home with a hat.

Memaw and Grandad took Joshua to the resturaunt of his choice (Subway) and then it was home for naps. We had a family dinner together (chicken nuggets, noodles, fries, whole raw carrots, corn on the cob) and then the Andreens and Carpenters came by for cake and presents. It was a fun filled, Joshua centered day. The kids went to bed late and were very excited.

Saturday we played with all the new toys in the morning and then went to Memaw and Grandad's in the evening to play and see Aunt Amy's Gang and Nanny. Another great day!

Evelyn is really holding her head up now, looking around, batting at things, smiling and talking. I LOVE this age!

Mira, when she is tired, really knows how to throw a tantrum. She falls to the ground, kicks and flails her arms. It is fun to watch :-D Now, we get to enjoy this until she is 4. Joy, joy!

daily life

The days are moving right along. Sometimes they feel 'doable' sometimes they are ridiculous but we make it through either way. Joshua is very excited about his upcoming birthday and has asked for a number of toys and a pinata. I wasn't planning on a big party for him this year since he has had one every year prior. We are just going to get together with the family. That is big enough! Preschool continues to go well and on Monday he danced in class! This is a miracle since he didn't dance even once last year.

Mira has added a few more words to her repertoire. She now says 'more, up, ice, cheese, juice, mine' and probably a few I am forgetting. She is also putting two words together into sentences. She is getting a little tiring with the climbing though. We can't eat a meal without her in the middle of the table through most of it and we haven't found any good way to get her to stop. We removed the chairs from the table for a while but we still need them at meal time. She is very loud about her desires and can be quite pushy when it comes to things she wants.

Evelyn is laying here beside me fussing away. It is her evening habit to sleep for 2 hours in the early evening. Be awake until about midnight and then sleep for a longer stretch before waking up a few times to nurse in the night. Mira gets us all up early so that provides for little sleep for mommy! Evie Joy is cooing and smiling a lot. Her favorite subject seems to be Joshua who is happy to be by her side. He calls her Joy Joy now. He is full of nicknames and antics! I believe she weighs at leat 15 lbs but that is not official. She is WELL into the 3-6 mos. clothes and growing like a weed.

oops

Joshua received and oops-a-gram at school today. Seems as though he is listening there about as well as he listens at home. We are working on it though. After we got home from school today we made a chart, like on the tv show he likes 'Sid the Science Kid' and put a check in one box every time he listened and followed directions and in another box when he didn't listen and follow directions the first time I asked. He ended up ahead tonight and earned a treat for it. He did some great listening, such as when his ball rolled into the street, but there were several 'lessons', too. For instance, he learned that his not listening can also hurt other people. He was walking holding Mira's hand, I asked him to slow down when he started running, he did not and Mira fell and scraped up her knees. He felt pretty bad about that.

There are moments when Joshua is such an awesome big brother and really helps out. He comes up with awesome, creative stories and songs. But he is so strong willed and has so much energy! It is hard to remember those awesome moments when he is being a big booger. He tells me every day that he doesn't like walks but we go for one almost every day and he has a great time. He observes the clouds and bugs and other cool things we see, he runs and jumps and we have time to practice all sorts of skills: listening, reading letters/words, playing 'i spy', etc. As long as we make it out the door, walks are usually pretty fun (and they spend a little bit of that energy)

Evelyn is really changing now and looking more and more like her own little person instead of just a newborn. She has started cooing, smiling, reaching toward her light up mirror and focusing on people. She usually has three long awake periods every day and likes to go to sleep around 9 in the evening if I can keep her awake enough in the daytime.

Mira has entered the 'terribles'. She is torn between her role as big sister and still wanting to be a baby and sometimes she just screams. It is hard emotionally to be in such a place and as much as we can we are trying to help give her skills to calm down. She is getting over yet another cold (this is after a high fever a week ago) and fortunately not too out of sorts because of it. I love how she says, 'I DO!' with so much excitement when you ask a question such as, 'Who wants ice cream?' or anything else. She is adding all sorts of words to her vocabulary but most noticeably is 'UP' which she uses when she wants me to hold her or carry her around. Her potty training is going really well and we have moved away from her saying, 'pee-pee' just to get out of doing something she doesn't want to do. She is catching most poos and pees in the potty. We are working now on how to pull the panties down since the weather is turning cooler and running around naked all day is not as comfortable.

The playroom is mostly finished and the kids are enjoying time down there. On non-school days we usually spend at least an hour or two in that room. They ask to play there. There are enough toys that each time we go down they can play with something new.

Everyone is asleep, except me, so I guess it is my turn to 'turn in'. Good night!

The Morning

The alarm goes off at 7am...and by alarm I mean Josh and Mira come running into the room. This is not a bad thing. They both have slept in. As I roll over, still groggy from the night before of E awake sleepy only 2 hours, I hear M say 'pee-pee' and the sound of one diaper side being removed. I sit bolt upright in bed but can't see without my glasses.

"Josh, did she poop? Is it poopy? Say yes or no!"

"Yes," he answers. I carefully place E in her crib and run to where M, her poopy diaper, and poop (on the floor) are. I get M cleaned up and start cleaning the floor. But in the meantime, Mira has gotten into an open medicine cabinet and pulled out cough syrup to play with. I put Josh on the job of closing and locking the cabinet. He does it.

"I got this from her," Joshua says as he hands me the tylonal that had been sitting on my bedside table but that M had found and was playing with. E is, by this point, screaming her head off in her crib. I put the tylonal away and get back to the poop.

The poop is cleaned up, I go to retrieve E to calm her. M is sitting on the bed with my thyroid medicine bottle... it is empty. I put the older kids back in their room and try to determine if M has eaten any or if they just fell. I find one of the two leftover pills. I go to retrieve the older children and enlist their help. Joshua finds the 2nd pill while I change E's diaper. Mira helps me wipe E and J whines that he didn't get to help wipe.

We start going downstairs and find that the cat has knocked over the flowers on the counter and soaked the pack and play we normally put E in in the kitchen. I find another receptacle for E, get J & M milk and go to the task of cleaning up the pack and play. E starts crying, again, I make breakfast, pick her up, nurse her and all is quiet... for now.

Back to School

Joshua started school on Wednesday (yesterday) and is going 3 days a week this year. He had a breakthrough moment and actually spoke up in class answering one of his teacher's questions. Aside from that he played in a corner while circle time was going on and when I threatened to leave because he was not participating he said, 'I want you to go Mommy.' Guess he is very comfortable at school this year!

Evelyn had her days and nights mixed up a bit earlier this week but Memaw and Grandad were here from Tuesday to today and they helped to straighten her out. We've had two good nights so I hope tonight will be a third! She is becoming much more alert when she is awake and can move her head side to side to follow a sound. She can even do it while on her tummy. She really doesn't look newborn any more.

Mira has come down with a fever and is not feeling well at all. She is mostly just drinking milk and clinging to me. This is quite a challenge with two babies to hold. I guess mommies with twins do it but I never wanted twins! I hope her fever breaks tonight or we may need to have her looked at. It is hard to tell if she is hurting anywhere. You can ask her 'Does your mouth hurt?' "Yesh" she'll say. "Do your ears hurt?" "Yesh" she'll say. "Do your toes hurt" "Yesh" she'll say. She'd probably answer "Yesh" if you asked her if her dinglehopper hurt. We knew she was REALLY sick when she turned down ice cream tonight. That is always the truest sign of illness.

2 week check up

Evelyn had a good 2 week checkup today. She weighed 10 lb 10 oz and was 22" long. That is two pounds in two weeks! She is trying to keep up with Joshua and is so far being successful :-) She had a pku test and a general 'looking over' and everything looks good.

Joshua and Mira enjoyed Memaw and Grandad's company these past three days. They were out to help and they did a great job of it! Memaw even took Joshua ice skating today and I think both of them had a great time. The kids got lots of outside play time and went to the park a couple of times, too. Jason and I went to Joshua's back to school night on Tuesday and he will start back at pre-school on Wednesday of next week. He is very excited.

Mira has decided she can get out of bed whenever she wants to on her own now. So, last night at 4am she came into our room, that was a bit of a surprise. The kids were all terrible sleepers last night and it seemed like we had a full moon or something! But, we are hoping for a better night tonight.

Teeth and Bath

Evelyn enjoyed her first bath at home yesterday. She lost her umbilical cord the night before. She was calm through most of it but started getting fussy towards the end. Afterwards, she took a nice long nap :-)

Mira has two new molars on top and two more on the bottom. She has been working on cutting these teeth for a while so I am glad they are finally mostly in and the hard part that has made her uncomfortable for weeks is passed. She again pooped in the potty today so that is going great. We just have her run around naked on the bottom at home. We'll try panties again soon.

Joshua continues to be lovey, dovey with EJ. He has his moments with Mira. Sometimes they get along, other times they take their frustrations out on each other. He is looking forward to a hair cut (soon) and school starting on Sept 2. He'll be going three days a week this year with the same teacher as last year.

Good Thing!

Evelyn's official due date is still 2 days away. I can't imagine if she had stayed in that long. I still believe that her due date was incorrect.

She is doing great. No more choking incidents and she is sleeping well. I have been waking her in the middle of the night to nurse. Maybe tonight I will just see when she wakes on her own. The kids played in their room until 7 am this morning giving Jason and I a little time to 'sleep in' It was nice. I am just not ready to wake at 5:15 most days.

The house has not fallen down around us yet but Jason is still home helping out. One more week and then I am 'on my own.' I think my parents are planning to come out for a week to help then so that will be good. We'll postpone the inevitable one more week :-)

Mira is getting back on track with potty. She took herself to the potty to poop yesterday and today. Huge milestones for her! Good job, baby girl!

Visitors are welcome whenever you would like to come meet Eva.

Sleep

Miss Evelyn is a pretty good sleeper and a very good eater. She was VERY happy that the milk has arrived! Last night was our first attempt at not watching her constantly. She had been about 24 hours without incident and the spit ups that did happen did not choke her. I set an alarm and checked her every hour, I even had to wake her up to eat!! But it went well and Jason and I were both able to sleep about 6 hours at the same time in the same bed. Ah the little things.

Joshua has taken to calling our littlest bundle 'Baby Joy'. It is a cute nickname. She has lots already! He said we can't call her Baby Girl since that is Mira's nickname so we'll have to avoid that one (according to Josh anyway!)

Time to get things going!

How things are going

We are getting settled in at home. Evelyn came home on Wednesday around lunch time. Joshua and Mira were excited to have Mommy and Daddy home and to see their new little sister again. Mira has been responding better than I expected. She has not ignored me and she is starting to be helpful with Eva already. She throws diapers in the trash, gives baby wipes and I even saw her put a blanket from her new baby doll on Eva. Joshua can't get enough of 'his baby sister, she is so cute.' He likes to touch her and give her kisses. He has been asking lots of questions and letting us know her needs. My favorite so far was, 'Mommy I think she needs to be breast fed.'

The past two days have been mostly taking care of the most basic needs: eating, sleeping, dressing, play and exercise. The kids are managing well even with the disruption in routines and visitors. We are trying to keep on top of hugs and snuggles. Eva has been keeping us on our toes. She has been having a bit of a difficult time clearing the fluid and mucus from birth and we have discussed this with her pediatrician and it should resolve itself. Unfortunately, until she does clear this we do not feel comfortable taking our eyes off of her. So, Jason and I are taking turns sleeping and watching Eva. I will breath a sigh of relief (and yawn a bit less) as soon as this part is behind us.

Evelyn's first pediatric visit went well and she is scheduled to go back in two weeks. She is a happy camper now that the milk is in. She sleeps for about two hours at a time, this evening was longer. She has long periods of alertness where she looks around and takes in all the sounds of the house. Her weight is down to 8 lb 10 oz but now that she has more to eat, I am sure that is going to go up quickly.

Mira's weight is up to 22 lbs as of this morning. I think her dr. is pleased with her recent gain so we should not have to followup in any other ways. We have felt that her growth and development is on track but she is just small. She keeps us smiling and jumping up with all her antics.

It's A Girl!

Evelyn Joy arrived on Monday night at 10:43pm. She weighed 9 lbs 2 oz at delivery and was 21.25" long, surprising EVERYONE! My last belly measurement put her at 36 weeks, they estimated she was 38 weeks 5 days based on my 'due date' so she was hiding in there very well! Eva is doing well now but a little mucousy from the quick delivery.

My water broke at 7:15 pm Sunday evening while putting Mira to bed after a big storm. Since Josh & Mira both came quickly after my water broke we rushed off to the hospital. But, since nothing started happening (no contractions) we didn't actually go in the hospital but opted to stay nearby at a hotel, just in case. The hospital is 40 min from our home. Monday morning we saw our OB and he determined since the amniotic fluid levels were low it was time to deliver, he met us at the hospital at noon. At 1ish he applied a cream to help start labor, it worked only it was slow at by 8pm I was still only 3 cm and 75% effaced. At 9:30 he broke my water, AGAIN, and things really picked up. I labored for another hour with contractions that intensified with each subsequent one. By 10:30 I thought I couldn't do it anymore the pain was out of this world but only 3 more contractions and I was able to push. It took about 3 pushes to get her out and then at 10:43pm she was here!

We are so thrilled that she has arrived to complete our family. Joshua and Mira met her yesterday and are doing great so far. Memaw and Grandad and Aunt Jill were at our home watching over them.

The Sickness

Mira has picked up the fever, sore throat and cough that is going around our area and at one point had a fever of 103.5 last night. That was fun. I learned that the cut off for going to the ER for fever at her age is 105. It came down to 101.5 by the time I put her to bed and then was in the 99's again this morning. We are keeping her full of tylonal and watching her symptoms carefully but she is acting a bit better today and her fever is definitely down today.

Unfortunately, Jason and I missed our date night last night. Guess we'll have to reschedule? Not sure when that will happen. We ordered carryout and started a movie with our dinner at 9 last night. Guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.

I hope that the little bit of sick I am feeling goes away quickly so that it won't be a problem if the baby comes soon. Looks like we'll be making it to the next appt on Tuesday. Maybe Dr. Thompson will actually deliver this baby.

OB Appt

So, pretty much nothing has changed since the last appointment. I am not effaced and still only 1 cm and posterior. Looks like it won't be anytime soon. My next appt is Tues. I also lost 2 pounds but I did the same with Joshua so I am not worried.

Next: walks and naps with the kids.

13 days and counting

I actually didn't think I would make it this far. I have an ob appointment this morning and we'll see how things are progressing along there. Tuesday was very uncomfortable with lots of contractions but then since then everything has been VERY quiet. Baby Tres still seems to be a mover and shaker and likes to do gymnastics in the evening. Makes it look like I have Alien in my belly and not a human baby.

Josh, Mira and I are getting lots of time to play and read since I am not really getting out much, the weather has been hot and I've been told not to do the work in the basement that I would like to. The to do lists are mostly done and now I am looking for fun ways for us to occupy ourselves. We've been trying to make it to the pool every day. They both love to swim. In fact, Jason and I were pushing Mira between us the other day and she was kind of going under water a bit on the way and she just kept asking for more. Joshua loves to jump in off the side now and swims either on his own or with the tube floaty.

I think a walk may be out for us this morning since it is rainy but maybe we'll replace it with a walk around the mall near the OB.

Copy Cat

In preparation for Baby Tres' arrival we got out our large exercise ball and it was in the living room this morning when the kids came downstairs. Before I could stop him Joshua jumped on, bounced a couple of times and bounced off into a pokey toy hurting himself. Upon falling off he cried out and cried in pain. He was snuggling with me on the couch when Mira walked up to the ball, started bouncing her hands and body on it and the dramatically fell over with 'Owie, Owie, Ow.' What a drama queen.

Stuff and Nonsense

Joshua, Mira and I ran errands this morning and lo and behold I am sure my blood pressure is normal! They both did great and we are finishing up with lunch now. Then on to stories and naps. They are both probably loving mommy pregnant time right now since they are enjoying ice cream with lunch :-)

Joshua is recovering from a bout of asthma induced coughing. He was really bad last week to the point where I was amazed he had time to eat food between coughs. We started him on the nebulizer, took him to the dr and then treated him twice a day with his albuterol. He is doing a lot better and the coughing is only sporadic at this point. Joshua's behavior has improved with our parenting regroup from a couple of weeks ago now. We spend time playing one on one with him for 15 min intervals throughout the day (we try for 4) and also get him outside to exercise at least 2 30 min at a time. It seems to be working. The play time seems to be like an investment and the outside time is just necessary so that we don't pull our hair out when he starts getting hyper.

Mira is a bit of a terror right now with climbing EVERYWHERE and hanging off of things. It is hard to make even our safe places safe for her. She has added 'snack' to her list of words. It is African sounding: A nasally 'na' followed by her clicking her tongue.

I have only 16 more days left. I would be surprised to make it two more weeks but weirder things have happened. The baby is moving like crazy and has dropped pretty low. A lot of people are guessing boy so I guess we need to think about a boy name again. I got a couple of books from the library. Before Joshua & Mira I had contractions that built up and tapered off in the days before delivery. So, I guess I will look for that sign again. Everything for the baby is pretty much done. The basement playroom is starting to finally take shape and I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the prospect of bringing baby home. Labor, of course, still is not a pleasant thought.

Baby Guessing Game

Back by popular demand! Guess the due date, size and gender of Baby Tres

37 weeks

The countdown is really on now. With 3 weeks or so until my due date it feels like the baby could come anytime. I have an appointment on Friday and then they are weekly from that point forward. The summer weather has kicked in, finally, and the temps have been in the high 80's with 80% or more humidity. I can't complain it has been a mild summer up to this point. I guess it could be worse, too, it could be 90-100 but it is still hot. We have the air on and I keep inside as much as possible. The pool the other day was so warm that the kids were able to stay in an hour without needing to get out and warm up.

Joshua is jumping in from the side of the pool with no assistance into water deeper than his head and swimming to the edge. It is awesome to see him so comfortable in the water. He has really come a long way this summer.

Guess I'll have to continue this post later!

VBS and more

Joshua had a blast this week at Vacation Bible School. He was so excited every night to go and came home happy with stories of the crafts, snacks, games and lessons that he had learned that evening. It ran from Sunday-Thursday. On Thursday, I went with him while Jason watched Mira and the kids sang the songs that they had learned, there was a slide show and then cookies afterwards. Joshua actually got up front and stood with the other children while they sang for 2 of the 7 songs. That is a first! He had a hard time sitting for the other parts but his picture did appear several times in the show, which was fun. He made a great friend whom he called, 'silly guy,' another preschooler, wild and crazy like Joshua.

I am truly looking forward to Joshua at preschool this year. He will be going 3 days a week. He has really come a long way this summer. When swimming he often goes without any flotation device and just paddles around the pool, he jumps in off the side now, doesn't mind getting his face and head under and stays in until we make him get out. He has been more outgoing with new people, too.

On Monday, we had some big behavior problems with Joshua. They seemed to be building up recently and Jason and I had to do a bit of parenting regrouping. That is for another post when I have more time to write.

Mira has added the words, 'yucky', 'hair' which comes out 'ah-yah', 'Staci', 'blankie' and I am sure other words that I am not thinking of now. She is all over the place, climbing and getting into things. She is really enjoying baby storytimes at the library and is doing great sleeping in her big twin bed sharing a room with Joshua.

Baby Tres has 'dropped' as of Tuesday or so this week. We have about 4 weeks left, give or take 2 weeks on either side if they got my due date right. Night time continues to be the busy, busy time of day but things are getting tighter in there and the baby is slowing down a little with activity. I am just happy to not have him stuck up under my ribs anymore. It only lasted a week or so but man did it hurt! Next OB appointment is Friday.

The BIG bed

What a day! We went to a baseball game with friends Katie, Rob, JR and Reagan this afternoon, out to dinner with them and then dropped Joshua off to his first day of Vacation Bible School.

I was thrilled to see his independence tonight. He was so excited about VBS and wanted to go in all by himself. This is an enormous change for him. He has always been so shy. He did hide a bit when we got into his classroom but I asked him to sit on the pew the other children were sitting on and he did. He gave me a kiss and I left. No tears or whining. It was awesome.

While we had two hours of just Mira time and she was in bed, Jason installed the new microwave. I put Mira to bed in the 2nd twin bed in Joshua's room, now Josh and Mira's room. What a gigantic milestone! She was agreeable to it and just kind of looked at me a little confused but drifted off to sleep without a problem. When Joshua did come home he really wanted to sleep with her in THAT bed. I said not tonight. But he was quiet enough that she stayed asleep. I am looking forward to this week to establish a new routine and habits. I am hoping that this might help Josh with his getting out of bed problem. Good job Joshie and Mira. I love my children so much!!

planning

I put a small list up on our gift registry site for Baby Tres. There isn't much that we need but there are a couple of things. You can see it here:

http://www.thethingsiwant.com/nettieann/list/baby%20tres%20upcoming%20arrival/

Joshua had a bad day today. Recently his behavior has been escalating again. He has been spitting, hitting, kicking and just plain not listening. We are trying to apply 'Love and Logic' which we have found to be effective in the past. So today after a particularly bad morning (a good lunch though!) and an awful ride home from running errands we used the tactic from the book and said, 'Uh oh, Joshua, I see you don't want to stop spitting, that's ok. I wouldn't worry about it. Mommy and Daddy will think about this and decide on something fair.' So this has been a fun summer and Joshua has been jumping from activity to activity and missed nothing. We have not wanted to miss out either creating a problem. So today, Joshua missed a big party at our neighbor's house. There was swimming and all the big kids were there. We took turns going over with Mira and Joshua stayed home. His reaction was ugly, he was really sad to miss out. But, once he calmed down I actually had some very nice play time with him. He was so thoughtful and calm. I wonder if he just needs a little more one on one time with mommy and/or daddy. We'll try it and see.

Mira in spite of only having 2 5 min naps today was a star at the party. She swam and danced and socialized 'til bed time. Tomorrow, we are going to a baseball game and then Joshua will have his first evening of Bible School starting at 6. It is going to be a busy day for the kids but I think we will survive. This week will be a good week for us to really practice in the new room with sleeping because Joshua will be at VBS when we are putting Mira to bed each night.

Growing Up

As the arrival of Baby Tres approaches we have been working on the necessary preparations including a little switching around of rooms. We put together a bed and dresser and now Joshua has room for Mira in his room. His bed is actually a bunk bed so whenever the kids are old enough we will bunk his and Mira's beds and whichever gender we end up having two of will room together. I've been preparing the nursery with clothes washing and closet emptying and all that jazz.

Mira is getting to move into Joshua's room a little earlier than expected and we are taking strides each evening to get her used to her soon to be 'new' bed. The first night we just got dressed in that room, then we added stories, next was a little snuggle time, and tonight she actually rested in her bed while Joshua had his story in his bed. We moved her before she fell asleep because she was upset when I got up to leave and let her drift off. She is so tiny in that big twin bed!! I have a couple of 'your new bed' types of books but I think she is still too young for the concept to sink in. The first night (at least!) that she is in there all night I think Jason or I will sleep in the room with her just in case she decides to get up or is startled by her new surroundings. I think it is less of a question of if she is ready than are we?

Anatomy

Joshua has taken a new found interest in anatomy. This anatomy thing goes in spurts. He has always been interested in how things work, now more than ever before. That interest seems to grow as his age progresses. He understands now that there are boys and there are girls and is trying to figure out what exactly the differences are. So on that theme he has been asking lately where my penis is. And when I explain that since I am a girl I don't have one. He then moves on to, 'But how does your pee-pee come out?' I am sure if given the chance he would truly appreciate a visual on just how my pee-pee comes out but since that is not going to happen I am left with explaining in words. Oh joy. If I don't answer fast enough he starts asking questions, which if we were not talking about such a sensitive area, would be interesting and appropriate to post here on the blog. But, let's just leave it at they are thorough questions, well thought out and show a good sense of deductive reasoning.

This leads us to another similar topic, the day that Joshua discovered his testicles. He was so interested and came running with his hand in his pants saying, 'Feel what I have here in my penis!' I asked that he just show me what he was talking about and when I saw it was clear. He was rubbing one of his testicles between his fingers. And of course, this conversation couldn't happen on a weekend or in the evening when Daddy is home to rescue me. It had to happen on a work day at breakfast or lunch (I can't remember). 'What is inside there Mommy?' he asks again. I told him those were his testicles. 'Do you have teticles?' was the next logical question, of course, and the rest of the conversation we will leave out but let's just say I've been doing a lot of explaining recently.

15 mos checkup and beyond

I think I forgot to post Mira's measurements at her 15 mos. check up. She weighed 20 lb 4 oz, was 30" long and head 47 cm. The Dr. wants to see her gain more by the time the new baby comes or she will be doing tests to see why her growth has dropped off. She is thriving in every other way and eats well so I hope she gains and we don't have to go through any tests.

We had a bit of a scare yesterday with baby Tres. For some reason, unknown to me or the Dr.s at the Women's Pavilion I had some spotting yesterday. Everything looked normal, the baby was fine and they didn't register any contractions while I was there. They couldn't even find the source of the spotting. Very weird. So anyway we came home but missed Ellie's birthday party. The kids got to go, our neighbors were kind enough to take them and watch them until we got home. We are so grateful!

The kids and I have been busy with summertime activities. We went to storytime for Mira on Tuesday. She loved it! Her behavior was so different from the friday storytime we usually attend. She stood up next to the librarian and really listened to the stories. She participated in the songs and music and loved the playtime with other little ones her size afterwards. We definitely need to make that a habit for her. We went blueberry and peach picking on Wednesday then made blueberry jam on Thursday. I would also like to make peach jam and freeze some peaches. They were so easy to pick. We actually just drove our van right up to the tree! I didn't even get the kids out for the peaches. Thursday, Joshua had a birthday party for a preschool friend at a bounce place. He had a blast and really stuck by his friend during cake and presents time. It was fun to see him play. Friday, the kids were a bit under the weather so we didn't do storytime but we did run a couple of errands.

Jason has been working on house projects and got the gate installed at the top of the stairs so now we can try putting Mira in a big bed. He also worked in the playroom. He says we will get it done but with scares like Saturday I worry that it is true!

This week I am enlisting the help of the girls up the street to try and get more baby stuff done: clothes washed, carseat cleaned and installed, etc. Just 5 more weeks left to go!

Another Week

Saturday the kids and I met Amy's Gang, Aunt Jo & Nanny Grandma for lunch in the 'burg. Joshua enjoyed his favorite: shrimp and so did little Stephanie. It is nice to see him gobble up some foods! Afterwards went to a birthday party for JR, the son of one of my friends from high school. He turned 5 and had a fantastic party at his grandparents with a moon bounce, pool and delicious ice cream cupcakes. Joshua had a blast and when swimming even jumped off the side of the pool unassisted! A first!

Sunday, Dylan arrived for the beginning of his week stay at our house. We went to Lowes to get some much needed house shopping done and then out to McD's for dinner.

Monday started our big adventure week. Dylan, Stephanie, Staci & Alex joined the kids and myself for my OB appt, this was a stepping stone to bigger fun. The Dr. said everything looks good. I am measuring 33 weeks (spot on) and although my blood pressure was high I think that was circumstantial. The dr. also said that if I were to go into labor with the contractions that I have been having, at 34 weeks he wouldn't do anything to stop it. That news shocked Jason a little, I don't think he quite realized how close we were to baby tres' arrival!

After the appointment we drove to Rocks State Park to float around in the creek and have a picnic. All the kids loved it. Joshua hung out with the big kids and even floated on his back in his life jacket. He had to come out when he was shivering too hard to speak! The best thing I heard was, 'Can we come back again this summer!!!' I love it! After home and naps, the teens came back over to make pizza from scratch. That was also a fun adventure. Alex said, 'This is like physics or something.' Yes, Alex, it is like chemistry :-) It was a challenge for them reading the recipe, doubling the ingredients and working together but afterwards we also heard, 'This is the best pizza I've ever had!'

Tuesday, Mira had her 15 mos checkup first thing in the morning. She is finally up to 20 lb, 4 oz. The dr. was pleased with her potty training and all her words but unimpressed with her weight gain. So she will be going back when we take the newborn in. We all went to the library after returning from the dr's to sign the older ones up for the summer reading program. Then again after naps and lunch we went swimming. We had to wait for the storms to pass. But, we packed snacks and picnic dinner and stayed at the pool from 4-7:30. The kids are loving swimming now. They are both happy splashing, paddling, and jumping in.

Wednesday, we had Sam, another kid on the block, join us and we went to Broom's Bloom Dairy for an early lunch. The teens cracked me up. All but Dylan ordered PB&J in spite of LOTS of yummy sandwich and food options. Most of us had ice cream afterward. Next we headed over to a put put golf place for a round of golf and video games after. I thought that Joshua would enjoy putting the ball around but he lost interest quickly. Mira, too. So, I kept score, chased the kids and kept an eye out for the teens while we went through. It was a hot day and I was pooped at the end. We had naps at home and Dylan went to play with his friends while I got dinner ready and got ready for work.

Thursday was Jason's day. He had the day off for the long holiday weekend and took everyone to go ice skating. I stayed back with Mira. Joshua was getting more and more difficult to handle each day that passed. We knew he was excited with all the activities and time with Dylan and the other kids. After naps I had lots of errands to run so unfortunately we didn't have play time in the afternoon but we did get together with the neighbors for dinner. Howard set up games on the projector on the side of the house and Jason stayed out with Dylan playing 'til late. Mira went home early with me and Joshua was next.

Friday, I had to work but was home in time to jump in the car with the gang and go to the movies. We saw 'UP'. Joshua sat well through the show. Mira did great for an hour and 20 min. The movie was an hour and a half and if we had skipped the previews we would have made it but as it was she and I spent about 30-40 min running around the lobby waiting for the show to end. Amy arrived for dinner and we had a meal with them before Dylan took off. It was so nice having him for the week.

Joshua loved waking up each morning and playing with Dylan. They built lots of lego creations over the span of the week. Mira, too, enjoyed having someone to play with. It will be nice to get back to routine but maybe we can steal him away again soon.

For the 4th of July we did a little house work in the morning and then went over to yet another neighbor's house for a party around 3:30 after the kids and JASON were done with their naps. I think Josh was pretty much in the pool from the time that we arrived until he left close to 8pm. He met a new friend, a little boy about 5 yr old, and played all afternoon with him in the water. Some of the time he had a life jacket on and the rest he just paddled around unassisted. It is such a big change for him from last year and every time he gets in the water his swimming improves. I love to watch him. Mira swam, too, she likes to 'jump' in off the side and play on the steps. While we were out eating dinner though she tripped and hit her head on a low wooden step. She really hit hard and had a goose egg for the evening. She scraped both feet and her hand up as well. It was quite a fall. We iced her head while she screamed at the top of her lungs for us to put her down. She and I left at 7:30 to rest/sleep. I wanted to watch her for other signs that her head injury was minor. She was ok and slept through the night without incident. She is eating cheerios next to me while I type.

Now we have 1 day to recover before it is back to work and our regular routine. We'll be blueberry picking this week and I have a dr. appointment at least.

The Week

It was a non-stop week this past week. We started off with strawberry picking bright and early Monday morning. Unfortunately the rain this year has cut the strawberry season short. So, after a little over an hour at the farm with Joshua, Mira, Stephanie, Staci and myself picking we barely had enough berries for one pie. We still had fun though and both Joshua and Mira loved the freedom of running up and down the rows of strawberries. We came home and had fresh berries and ice cream. We swam Monday afternoon and enjoyed a fresh pie after dinner. No jam this year though :-(

Tuesday, Joshua had a play date and picnic with his friends from preschool last year. It was another fun and busy morning. Nice to connect with other moms and kids. We will be trying a play date once a month.

Wednesday was errand day and we ran to BJ's. It is always a challenge to do major shopping with the kids even when they are well behaved. I came home pooped and in a bad mood but we had lunch, a swim and naps and then headed out to the farm to pick up our veggies for the week. For movie night we borrowed Alice in Wonderland from Howard & Cyndi's movie collection. Since Joshua loves any movie he enjoyed this one. Mira ended up ready for bed half way through. These long days are tough!

Thursday was Jason's picnic at work. He was able to take us back to the area where he works which is usually restricted. Joshua was so excited to see everything: the tanks and missiles on the way in, the robots that daddy builds, the deer along the way. We had a delicious picnic with Jason's coworkers in spite of the torrential rains. Mira was her usual flirty self and had the best time waving bye bye, blowing kisses, etc.

Friday, Jill arrived the night before and we all went out together while Jason had an eye appointment and we ran errands for the BBQ on Saturday. We swam Friday afternoon after naps. The water was cold but everyone got in. Mira likes doing 'humpty dumpty' and 'falling' in from the side. I will probably put her under soon. Joshua is also 'jumping' in and is going under with our help and not freaking out. He has come such a long way!

Saturday, was VERY rainy and stormy but we got things together and had a wonderful cookout with friends, Amy and Jill. There were about 16 kids (13 were 4 and under) and about 14 adults. The weather cleared up, poured and then cleared up long enough to cook the burgers outside. We made vanilla ice cream (topping it later), visited, ate and had lots of fun. Joshua freaked out with all the people in the house but then when he warmed up had a great time playing with JR and the other kids. Mira wondered around being her usual social self.

Today is father's day and Joshua took Jason on the Skip Jack Martha Lewis for a boat ride. Both of them had lots of fun. Joshua was excited about everything and pointing out all the sites. Mira and I took a nap then met them later to play at the playground. Later today we will enjoy tacos - daddy's request. It is gorgeous and not rainy! So nice :-)

We had a few friends and family over for a BBQ yesterday. Aunt Jill made her way down to visit.

Swimming

I took the kids swimming yesterday and today. Yesterday Joshua took a few minutes and then he was in paddling around like a fish. What a difference! It is great to see him so comfortable in the water. Mira thought it was too cold yesterday but today, after warming up to the water, she was even more comfortable than Joshua. She did not want to get out and go home even though both of them had chattering teeth and blue limbs...

It is going to be a great summer!

Weekend with Memaw & Grandad

Joshua and Mira spent the weekend with Memaw and Grandad all by themselves while we went away for a little R&R. They did great! I am not sure who was keeping up with who. They went to the library story time, out to eat and play at Chick-Fil-A and play at the playground. They ate lots of yummy food: spaghetti, pancakes, yogurt, strawberries and ice cream. Memaw came with 'super cape' in hand for Joshua on Thursday. He loves it and is taking it everywhere with him.

We returned from our travels with a large reeses peanut/peanut butter cup for Joshua and a little spinning top. He was so excited about both. Both of them were very happy to see us just as we were them when we returned yesterday.

Now it is back to the normal routine with hopefully a little more bounce in our steps!

Ice Skating in May

Joshua AND Jason had their first experience ice skating today along with the girls up the street. Mira and I watched. They had so much fun and got a great work out. Joshua just loved it. The rink provides 'walkers' for unsteady kids to push around and Joshua loved that, too. They skated for about an hour and 15 minutes. I am sure he would have gone all afternoon but the public skate sessions are only 2 hours and we got there a bit into it. Mira ran around and I just tried to keep her nearby.

We have all been a bit sick with stomach bugs and sinus issues lately so most days we are just making it through. Plus, now that preschool is over we have to learn a new routine and schedule. The 4 day weekend of Memorial Day was nice but it made this normal weekend of only 2 days seem REALLY short. That's ok, we have a long weekend away coming up. Jason and I are heading to a B&B for two nights and Memaw and Grandad are watching the kiddos. It is going to be lots of fun for everyone. We can't wait!

Baby Tres is now 28 weeks along. I had my gestational diabetes test this week and rhogam shot. Now the appointments are getting closer together. Things are really moving along now. The baby is active a lot of the time now. He/She seems to be quiet for the moment but will probably be playing soccer in there again soon.

Last Day of Preschool

Joshua had his last day of preschool today. He will go again in the fall with the same teacher and new students. There was a nice picnic lunch and his teacher made little books for each of them. Joshua asked me, 'What are we going to do after preschool?'. Good question! I've come to depend on that 2.5 hour chunk of time so we'll have to find other fun things to fill it in.

Mira added 'fish' in sign language and also 'tookie' or cookie, and down in spoken words.

Mother's Day

I think I had the best Mother's Day yet! The day started with well... not starting! I didn't have to get out of bed. It was great. Jason let me sleep in and went downstairs to prepare a delicious breakfast in bed for me with Joshua's help. He made french toast out of raisin bread topped with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries on the side he had bacon and grapes. He even made fresh squeezed oj. My day could have stopped there! I ate and enjoyed the breeze rustling the leaves on the tree outside our bedroom window. When I finally, at the urging of Joshua, wondered downstairs I found that Joshua (with Jason's help) had made a fantastic card for me. It was great.

We prepared for the Mother's Day Tea next. Family arrived around 1pm and we enjoyed sandwiches, tea and other treats until 3 or 4. After that we vegged in while the kids watched 'The Secret of Nim'. We had dinner out at a local 'home-cooking' type restaurant. We put the kids to bed and watched an episode of Heros and that was the day. It was great!

Joshua has one more day of preschool left for the year until fall. He is really looking forward to the picnic. I don't know what I am going to do during preschool time! I've really come to depend on those 2 days, 2.5 hours each week to get things done!

I have another OB check up tomorrow. I am 27 weeks along now. The ticker says that the baby is probably 2.5 pounds! Baby Tres is such a mover and shaker. I had a massage on Saturday morning and the massuse, who also was a doula, said she had never seen a baby move so much! I am really getting excited. It isn't much longer now and I am so looking forward to meet this little one. Lots to do to prepare, well not really, just lots of projects that I think we ought to finish before he/she arrives.

Mira has become MUCH more demanding recently. She is testing to see what screaming gets her, um...nothing, and gets VERY upset when I leave the house or her. Even when she is with Daddy. But thankfully this passes within a few minutes.

Good Report

Both my boys are doing great in school! Joshua received a note today that he had 'his best day ever!' we are thrilled. He is really getting into the swing of things and talking about school... only two more classes left for the semester but we will look forward to next fall.

Jason passed both classes with an A in each and passed his first 2 (out of 5) WPE's (Written Practical Exams) We'll have to see what his plan is for the rest of his PhD.

Mira now says, 'diaper', 'apple' (for all food) and emphatically shakes her head 'yes' and 'no' in response to questions. She has been having difficulty with her afternoon naps and I hope she works it out soon! She falls asleep at 9-9:30am every day but that is not enough to make it 'til her 7pm bedtime.

The seeds that Joshua and I planted indoors are outside and thriving now. He is enjoying gardening and exploring the outdoors. Mira can climb up the slide and go down on her own. She is quite the dare devil so you really have to keep an eye out!

We are planning for our annual Mother's Day Tea on Sunday and looking forward to it. Right now the weather says rain but I hope that changes so we can have it outside as usual. Jill graduates with her Master's degree from SUNY Purchase tomorrow. Way to go, Jill!

Travel

We are up in New York now to see Aunt Jill perform. The kids did well in the car. The 3 hour drive is easy, they were contained and they slept for about 1.5 hours of it. It is the eating out and dealing with all the new stuff: hotel, schedule, etc that is a challenge. I think this is it for traveling without daddy! Jason finishes next Tuesday for the semester. He passed his first WPE!!!! This is fantastic news! Gotta go.

Speech

Mira is really catching on with communication and is adding new words every day. She woke up the other day and looked out the window then made the sign for 'bird'. The birds were chirping loudly outside so that made lots of sense! She nods her head for yes and shakes her head for no. She says 'peek a boo'. She is coming along with the potty, too and we can get through most days on two diapers. She uses them at nap time. If she is nakey butt she will take herself to the little potty we keep in the main area of the house. If we are out and about, I will just try her on the potty when we make stops. It is going great and I have ordered some training pants to make the process go a little easier.

Joshua is coming to the end of his first year in preschool. He has been letting me leave without a fuss about every other time. This Thursday is a Mother's Day tea and I can't wait. All he will tell me is that, 'I can't tell you it is a surprise'. He has been more involved and social recently. I think that a new friend is helping. He has latched on to the most social girl in the class. What a match!

Baby Tres is now at 25 weeks! Welcome to the third trimester. Time is flying by. I am just now starting with heart burn. But if that is my only complaint, I am happy. I still feel pretty good and energetic. I sometimes have trouble sleeping but nothing too bad. Jason and I are getting away to a bed and breakfast at the beginning of June with his and hers massages and two nights of uninterrupted sleep! I can't wait. It will be a nice break from this LONG semester of PhD classwork.

Off to bake some bread!

Breaking Through

Joshua and Mira both had great break throughs before we even had lunch today. At preschool, Joshua's teacher is asking more of him each class. She is judging whether he is truly having a problem (and being hesitant) or if he is just being stubborn. So last week Joshua would not wear a smock and therefore could not paint with the other children. This week, the teacher insisted but found a different style of smock for Joshua to wear. He still wouldn't put it on and paint. She just kept re-iterating, 'After you paint, you can go outside to play.' Finally, he sighed as if giving up, put on the smock and PAINTED! Wahoo! Next week she plans to ask him to dance with the other children. This is something he has resisted doing all year. I can't wait to hear the result.

Mira has been working on getting to the potty. So, today while we were out I took the potty with us and offered it to her periodically. She was dry ALL morning. Yesterday we only used two diapers. I am so excited. She doesn't like to go poo on the potty but catching pees is great. I know that she will have a set back when the baby is born. Even Joshua did and he was almost a year older but at least we are heading toward diaper freedom. I just don't need two in diapers at once!! I think I'd have to go back to disposables if that happens.

Strangers have been asking me questions about being pregnant. That is always my big sign that I am 'showing'. Guess it happened a whole lot sooner this time. Seems like I've 'popped' in the last week or so.

23 weeks

Joshie, Mira and I trudged out in the rainy weather today for an OB appointment at 10:15. Everything is looking good size and heart rate-wise for the baby. My weight increased by 6 lb since the last visit and my blood pressure is back down to 110/60 (a normal rate for me). It had been high since January but this last month when Jason also came back from the dr with higher than normal bp I started getting us out the door for short walks with Jack to exercise and de-stress, added more salads and veggies into our diet and started watching our salt intake. Seems to have worked. I'm interested to hear how Jason's has changed.

After the appointment we stopped into Ikea to recycle batteries and lightbulbs and then to Target to pick up a prescription. Now the house is quiet while everyone naps. Joshua is finally resting after 2 grumpy days of no nap and some really nasty behavior. I unplugged the tv this morning and the Easter candy is gone so I hope that helps things!

Happy Easter

Joshua was SO excited about Easter. On Ash Wednesday, we made a paper chain and for each of the 40 days of lent we took a link off and said a prayer. Joshua's prayers developed well over the 40 days and he went from praying for rc rockets and robots (as if praying to Santa!) to saying prayers for people and things he was thankful for. It was wonderful to see the progression. Then as Holy Week passed he became more and more excited about the Easter Bunny coming and having an Easter egg hunt. It was to the point where he was just a little monster! But Easter came and he got everything out of it that he wanted and Monday, even with the sugar high from all the candy, he was a MUCH better behaved boy. He had parent conferences at preschool on Tuesday and the teacher praised his progress from the beginning of the year. She even surprised me by sharing that during circle time he will speak up when it is his turn! I was shocked. When she asks the children to imagine something (like a fish) and then describe it he comes up with and shares detailed descriptions of his imaginary fish. That's my boy!

Mira is 'talking' a lot more. She has a few new words including 'light', 'sheep', 'thank you', 'Bear', 'pee-pee' and I am sure there are others.... BUT, the biggest change is that she has taken to sign language. She makes all the signs (Baby, Signing & Time) to the intro song on the videos that we watch. She also says 'Thank You', 'More', "All Done', "Eat", 'Milk', 'No', 'Please', 'Night Night or Sleep', and 'shoes'. So, we are definitely going to continue with those videos. Joshua has also started using the signs and understanding Mira's language and that has been a big help.

Baby Tres is now 22 weeks along. It is scary to think it will only be a little under 3 weeks and we will be at the point when we found out about the pre-term labor with Mira. He/She seems to be doing great and I have an appointment on Monday. I am looking forward to it. I have been working on watching my salt and getting more exercise (walks with the dog) to help my blood pressure. Jason has been working on the same thing because his was pretty high, too. 1 more month of school and he is done (for this semester)!

Profound statements from Joshua

We were out with Joshua's Godmother, Carie, her sister-in-law and two nephews yesterday when Joshua said, 'They have two babies just like we do.' I thought at first he was referring to himself but he doesn't usually call himself a baby. He went on to clarify, 'Just like Mira and the baby in your belly.' How wonderful that to Joshua Baby Tres is already part of our family and to be counted along with the rest of us.

We had a wonderful morning at Storyville, an interactive children's museum like add on to one of the local libraries. We had lunch at McD's afterwards and then home for non-naps, errands and a nice walk on the promenade downtown. It is a busy week for us with school, field trips, play dates, family visits and three nights of work for me. I hope I don't forget it is Easter and take a moment to celebrate.

Permissions and Photos

As you are probably already aware, we are making changes to the blog and our photo sharing account to make it more secure. We feel this is safer for the kiddos so I hope you will bear with us on these changes. If you are reading this blog post it means that you have an account now on our blog. You have an email address and password that you use to log in to view it.

The same will also be true for our flickr account. You can view the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlowens/ . I am currently making changes so that the photos will only be viewable by friends and family and will not be publicly viewable. I think you will need to create a flickr account (it is free) and ask to be our friend. I'll work with you to work out the kinks.

Thank you for your understanding!

1 yr checkup for Mira

Mira FINALLY had her 1 yr check up yesterday. She is 28" long and 19lb 6oz in weight. Both measurements are the 25th percentile for her age. The dr. would like to see her gain in percentile for weight or at least not drop. She has been steadily dropping percentiles over the year. So, we are the high fat family. Joshua, Mira and I have been told we can add fat and calories to our diets :-) How fun! She also got three shots and impressed the dr by imitating the dr's actions with the stethoscope. Dr. Paxson said,'I haven't seen a 1 year old do THAT!' :-) Smart kiddo! She also had her final thumb check yesterday and everything is healing well.

Baby Tres is 20 weeks now, halfway! He/She is kicking up a storm. Quite the wiggle worm in there.

At church on Sunday, the children had a seder dinner. Joshua participated and actually tried some of the various foods. I was shocked. He also ate 'Green eggs and ham' at preschool yesterday.

While Mira and I ran all over the place, Memaw and Grandad kept Joshua out of trouble and raked leaves in our yard. What a HUGE help. We all had a fun lunch at McDonalds and the kids were very well behaved. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Lastly, Happy Birthday Papa!

Blueberry Pancakes

It's Sunday morning, foggy and early. We are up making and enjoying blueberry pancakes. Mira has plowed through two so far. I think Joshua has had the same amount.

Last night at dinner Joshua and I got into a conversation about the effects of drinking too much pear juice. He went on to say, 'Mommy, there are two kinds of poop.' Oh? Was my response. 'There is squishy poop,' he said. To which I replied, 'And what is the other kind?' 'Stick poop,' he said. Jason pointed out what a fine job he did with categorizing and describing. :-) Little budding scientist, LOL

Mira said, 'diaper' this morning. Maybe that is it for the bathroom talk right now :-)

Both the kids are enjoying getting outside more. Mira loves to go down the slide and Joshua likes to go down holding her. They both enjoy swinging. So, as much as we can we go outside to play. Can't wait until it is 60 consistently!

Joshua is counting down the days until Easter. He made a paper chain for lent and we have been talking about prayer with each link that he takes off. I think I will save his 'Prayers" that we have written down. It has been fun to see them progress.

We had a sonogram for Baby Tres on Friday. Baby seems to be growing just right. We watched him open and close his mouth like he was yawning and wiggle around. Each time we tried to get an image of his/her face baby pulled away or turned his head. Little stinker.

Signing

Mira had her first significant temper tantrum. She really likes phones of all kinds and got into a pretty big huff when I needed our house phone to call for pizza on Friday afternoon. She went into a screaming fit and was REALLY mad. It was the second time I needed a phone that she had on Friday and neither time was pretty.

We picked up a video of babies doing sign language for Mira to watch. I've noticed that she likes to follow along with Joshua's videos and will mimic or do what the characters are asking so I figured it was worth a shot. She did 'please' yesterday and that was on the video only she signed it on my body instead of hers. It was very sweet.

The weather was warmish today. Almost 60 and sunny. We spent a lot of time playing outside to take advantage of it. This evening we compiled a potluck bbq dinner with our neighbors. Jack was in his glory since he also got a playdate with their dog Rori. Joshua enjoyed having Staci and Stephanie (and the dogs) to chase and play with. I know he has sad some great things recently and I just can't remember them right now.

Tomorrow is a checkup with the ob. I am 18.5 weeks now and things seem to be moving along rather well. Today we had Omar, Arnoldo and Tio Jose over helping us work on finishing the basement playroom. It is almost ready to paint! Oh and I got to play 'plumber' when I went to clean the traps in Jason's and my sinks and ended up having to replace the pipes under my sink. So much for saving myself some time!

Checkup

Mira had an appointment yesterday to remove the surgical dressing and check her incision. Everything looked to be healing well. The dr suggested that she could just have a bandaid on her thumb from this point forward. I honestly just stared at him. A bandaid on the thumb of a 1 year old....any other suggestions? So he ended up wrapping it again. This time smaller and I can take it off and re-dress. The wound just needs to be kept clean. She sits and sucks on her hand, even with the dressing on it. I can just imagine how many bandaids she would have eaten by this point.

It was an almost warm day that ended up sunny after the morning. We made our way down to a local garden shop and picked out pansies to plant. Joshua chose burgundy ones and purple ones. Tomorrow we are going to start a few seeds indoors. He is enjoying watching the ones he planted from Nanny grow so I thought we could do a few more. Every days he does in and waters the seedlings. He is very good about remembering.

1 week out

It has been 1 week since Mira's surgery and she is doing great. She has managing to keep this third bandage on just fine and we are mostly able to keep it clean. She uses her hand a lot and has not complained at all about any discomfort. We will go tomorrow and have the bandage and stitches removed. Joshua is going, too so we will see his opinion of the whole thing. I think he is curious as long as whatever is happening is not happening to him.

Mira finally got her 2nd top front tooth in today. So that completes 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top. I think she can take a break now :-) 6 teeth in about a month is enough for Mommy!

Baby Tres is a little gymnast and is already moving around a lot. I am almost to 18 weeks and am getting kicked regularly. I even felt one from the outside the other night. I have an OB appointment on Monday and a thyroid appointment Friday of next week so I went for my blood draw today. I hope my numbers are better this time. I am pretty sure my weight is up. I've been checking it and by my scale I have gained 5 pounds. So that is good news. Now that the weather is starting to warm up I've been getting out with the kids, Jason, Jack (whomever will join me!) to walk when I can. I can't believe how out of shape I am! I guess a winter of sitting around trying not to be sick all day will do that to you. Other than that, YES I am taking it easy! I nap with the kids pretty much every day and do only the stuff necessary for taking care of them or the house. I wonder now if I didn't have contractions throughout my pregnancy with Joshua and just not realize it. I have already been feeling some this time around.

The basement playroom we have been working on is coming along well. We are almost done with the drywall and spackling and ready to move on to the painting stage. I can't wait! We are really trying to thin things out in the process and that has been a great motivator, too.

Operation

The past two days have been a whirlwind but I think that the tornado is calming down. My parents came out Sunday evening to be able to watch Joshua first thing in the morning on Monday. Jason, Mira and I were up and out by 5am in order to be at the hospital at 6am on Monday. We navigated our way to the pediatric pre-op room and waited for our turn to be seen by first the nurse, then the surgeon and lastly the anesthesiologist. It was comforting being in a place where the people do these kinds of procedures every day and there is a steady routine to how things work. On the other hand it was also very comforting that the dr's and nurses did not treat us like having surgery was an every day occurrence. I felt especially comfortable after the anesthesiologist came in, sat down on the floor where Mira and I were playing, examined her there and explained what was going to happen. He truly got down on our level.

The surgery itself went quickly. Jason took Mira in and I am very glad. I could not have seen my baby girl like that. We waited about an hour and then got the call that the surgery had started. They were with her for about 40 minutes and then she was wheeled by the waiting room screaming, alert and awake. We were able to meet her in recovery about 5 min later and sit with her while they monitored her and discharged her. We were only there another hour. She was intermittently groggy, fussy and thirsty until we left. When we walked out of the hospital she immediately perked up and calmed down. She slept on the drive home and when we got home she ate a little bit before we laid her down for a nap. And by eat a little bit I mean a bowl of applesauce and a bowl of yogurt. She was hungry!

She slept for about 2.5 - 3 hours and then woke up when I went in to check on her. My mom noticed that her fingers had slipped pretty far down into the cast. I called the dr and within about 10 min she had the cast completely off. So, we headed back to the hospital (a 45 min drive on a good day) and went to the ER to have a full cast applied. That lasted until 11:30 am today when that one fell off, too and we had to head back AGAIN. This time they padded her hand well and then basically taped her hand and up her arm. They put it in a makeshift sling and we are hoping this one will last until next Tuesday when the dressings can come off.

Her thumb looks good though. The incision is clean and the stitches are intact. She is in great spirits and hasn't had an pain medications since 4pm yesterday. I had a sigh of relief when the surgery was over yesterday and we were heading home. I guess that was premature. I will sigh again after next Tuesday and I can stop worrying that I am going to have to race down to the hospital on a daily basis. She has a bit of a name for herself among the staff at the dr's office as a Hudini. Although I can honestly say she didn't make the casts come off they literally just fell off. I hope this one sticks!

One more tooth

Mira's bottom right tooth came in that we have been waiting for. She now has one more that is on the brink and then she will have gone from two teeth to 8 in about a month.

We are set for surgery tomorrow at 7:30 am. Now it is time to actually think about getting down there and stuff. I've been putting it off but I have to think a little so I know what time to set the alarm for.

Busy Week & Preparations

So the week started out at 8 degrees with 7.5 inches of snow and now today it is going to be 68 and sunshine. Doesn't seem possible! I hope that we are able to get out and enjoy the lovely weather. I hear there is some rain on the forecast for tomorrow but as long as it is warm, I don't care!

On Tuesday, Mira had her pre-op appointment for her surgery this Monday. That went fine. It was mostly paperwork. She did get weighed and measured though and she is STILL too tiny to turn her carseat around. She only weighs 18 lb 12 oz (needs to weigh 20 lb) and is 28 inches tall.

On Wednesday we mostly stayed in. Tuesday and Thursday tend to be our big running around days since we are already out for Joshua's preschool.

On Thursday, Mira had her first big blood test and did great. She just watched the whole time while the technicians and I sang to her. She didn't flinch when the needle went in and she didn't cry or fuss one bit. It was amazing. I had to wait until later in the day to have her x-ray done when Jason was home.

On Friday we had story time at the library and then Joshua's dr. appointment. We were able to get outside and play since the temperature was in the 50's. Jack took advantage and ran away. So we had to get him back. Thankfully Staci and Alex (our neighbors) were able to chase him down.

I have been giving Mira a chance to go potty on the training potty and she is doing great. Earlier in the week I was sitting her on it and asking her to go potty. Then within a day or two of that I could tell she was actually trying to go when I asked. So I took a risk and yesterday morning I let her run around without any pants on. She took herself to the potty by herself all morning and didn't have one accident. She went poopy on the potty later that day and today we are trying again. I am so proud of her! I think we will keep this up for a week and then I am going to see if I can get her to start telling me. It is so much fun!

Snowy Day

By the end of the snowfall today we had about 7" or so. It was enough for Joshua to spend a good deal of time outside sledding, building a snowman and throwing snowballs with the neighbor kids. The weather was NOT WARM. Ok, you might be saying, 'When is a snowy day warm?' however there are snow days when you could survive with heavy clothes and gloves and not loose a limb because of the cold. Today it was in the 20's/low 30's and very, very windy. I was surprised at how long Joshua stayed out because he usually doesn't like the cold but he was entertained and when he did come in he snuggled up in a blanket to get warm.

We had soup and muffins for dinner. It just seemed right!

Snow Day!

We went to bed last night with the snow falling and estimations of 5-8" by morning. It was only 2" or so when we woke up but the snow is still falling so we may yet get a few more inches. It is certainly enough for Joshua to go sledding. Mira isn't thrilled about the snow but she does like to ride in the sled. I guess March is coming in like a Lion! I love these late winter snows. But really only when they bring mountains of snow and shut everything down. Jason was off to school this morning and said that NO ONE was on the road but he also said that school didn't get any snow and was therefore not closed. So he is driving slowly. He has midterm review today for a test on Wednesday and homework due.

We are without a water heater for the moment. I hope that the snow doesn't get in the way of getting another one in place. We could have had one installed on Saturday but I found an energy efficient one that qualified for rebates and it was not available until this Thursday. So we are washing our dishes as though we are camping and turning on the water heater just to take a quick shower. It has a slow leak out the bottom. I hope it doesn't bust!

The teeth are coming!

Mira got another tooth in yesterday, top middle left, and has three more that are just below the surface. She is dealing with this all rather well but has moments of fussiness.

Joshie has been needing our attention more and more but school (for Jason) and house (for both of us) have been draining our time. The hot water heater went up this weekend and took some time of research and phone calls to get straightened out. There are, of course, always a dozen pots in the fire and Joshua does not understand why at any given moment we can't go outside to ride his trike or play legos. So, things have been escalating more and more but we are managing.

Mira has her pre-op appointment this Tuesday and then surgery next Monday for her thumb. We had a taste of warm weather on Friday and are back to snow and cold today. Spring is March 20 and I am counting the days!

Baby Tres is 15 weeks old. She has relieved me of my nausea and I can stay up a bit longer without crashing so all that is good. I have been tossing and turning in the early hours of the day but it may just be all the other stuff going on and not the pregnancy. But between that and Josh and Mira taking poor naps, I am tired. Baby's little body is almost fully formed and now she will spend time growing and fully developing all her parts. Seems like time is flying!

new teeth and new skills

Mia is now crawling down the step from our kitchen into our living room. She has been able to crawl up this step for a while now but usually just stood at the top and hollared when she wanted down. As of Friday, I think, she started making her way down the step. Guess it is time to show her how to go down the flight of stairs.

Mira is also cutting teeth left and right, top and bottom. She has a new front bottom tooth on the right and her two top middle front teeth are coming in as well.

Happy 1st Birthday, Mira!

Sunday we celebrated Mira's 1st birthday with a teddy bear themed party. Aunt Jill came down and Grandma Owens flew out. It was a really fun time and we enjoyed having our guests!! Joshua and Mira were very sad to see Grandma go today but thankfully she AND Papa will be out after Baby Tres comes along.

Mira just loved her party. She was very social, toddling around entertaining her guests. She loved when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her and smiled and clapped along. She opened presents with lots of help from Joshua and was just plain cute for the day (well she is every day!)

She was scheduled for her 1 year appt today but due to a flat tire we could only take 1 child 1 place and since Joshua missed school twice last week his needs trumped hers. The appointment has been rescheduled to MARCH 31!!! Very frustrating but there was just no other option today. Her hand surgery is scheduled for March 9 and she will be in on March 3 for a pre-op appointment.

So I don't have any updates on her height and weight and all that jazz but I imagine that she weighs about 20 pounds now. She is just moving from 9mos to 12 in clothing. She has grown a little but I am just tired of the 9 mos clothes!!

It seems that everyone is finally over that nasty flu bug. Until Sunday Joshua was still having residual issues but it seems that they have finally worked themselves out. Jason is going crazy with school and work and has midterms tomorrow and homework due. He is working hard to complete it all!

I had a checkup on Monday for Baby Tres. We heard the heartbeat, a wonderful 150 bpm. There was some concern since I have managed to loose 3 pounds but both my dr and endocrinologist are working together to try and figure out the cause and hopefully get me back to gaining weight soon. :-) Trust me, I AM trying!!

Have Hair Problems? Call Joshua!

Joshua was patting Mira's head a dinner tonight and said, 'If I pet her head like this, it will make her hair get BIG.' If that's all it took, we could market his magic hands to the hair club for men!

We had been very busy AND THEN the whole house came down with a stomach bug. Mira started it out and I didn't realize it. Then Sunday morning at 7:30 I started and thought it was morning sickness that thought vanished quickly as I was on and off sick every 30-60 min until 3 and again at 6. Jason started in next and then Joshua. When I called the dr she said, 'Don't eat anything, it will just come back out.' We were a mess. None of us are up to speed yet and we are trying to get enough food in with just a bland diet but everyone has at least returned to a functioning level. At 4 on Sunday I called out the door to my neighbors who were visiting outside and passed Mira off to them with a few diapers until her bedtime at 7. She was just wondering around the house and no one was really able to care for her. Unfortunately, she managed to infect two other people in two different households. Typhoid Mira.

So, in trying to explain this illness to Joshua I said there was a bug or a virus in our blood that was making us sick. Later that day he asked if I still had 'Spiders in my blood pressure' it is interesting what his brain translates to!

We are still working on getting the house and everything ready for our guests and Mira's first birthday party on Sunday. It would have been impossible if my parents had not come out Monday and stayed until this evening. They took care of us and cleaned the house. Amazing. Things may not be exactly as I had envisioned them but the house is clean and the important stuff is getting done and that is going to have to be enough, this time.

11 weeks down

I haven't journalled much of this pregnancy. I guess the idea is the less I count the days the faster they will go and the sooner I will be out of this yucky stage. The days have been long. I am exhausted all the time and generally nauseated. But I have not thrown up. I just have to eat constantly whether I feel like it or not and that keeps the major sick feelings at bay. I hope that by next week it will start to fade.

I am definitely gaining weight (whether water, bloating or otherwise!) my belly is getting chubby less where the baby is growing than I think where the food is going. Mira's pediatrician suggested weighing myself on an accurate scale once a week to be sure that I continue to gain consistently since there are 3 of us relying on my body right now! So rather than invest in an expensive scale I think I will just see if my primary care physician will let me us his once a week.

I tried a new endocrinologist this past week. My thyroid numbers are high right now but she changed my medication to bring them down. She seems like a good fit so far and I like that she doesn't need me to come in to the office just to review bloodwork, the office is in town (not 30 min away) and she seemed to hear what I was saying & asking. So hopefully this will go well.

So, we are in the third month and almost to the end of the first trimester. I am looking forward to the fun parts of pregnancy: growing belly, feeling great and duh the BABY in the end. I have to remind myself that there really isn't anything we need to be doing right now. We don't need clothes or a room or any baby things this time around so it is just 'business as usual' for a while. Oh and by the way I am pretty sure I have felt a 'flutter' or two :-)

Sleep Happens

Last night Mira slept from 7:30pm-5:00 am without waking up! I of course was up all night worried that she wasn't waking up but I really could get used to this! I hope it is a trend. I've been waiting for her to start sleeping through the night.

Joshua seems to be doing well with 'Love and Logic' and so are we. I think he likes having choices and realizes that things happen because of his actions. It has been a learning experience for all of us but I believe we are on to something here. Certainly, I am in a better mood at the end of the day and that makes everyone happier!!

Updates

The kids have been sick with cough, cold and pink eye issues for the past week or so. I tried to avoid it but I am not doing such a great job. I hope it passes soon! The nights are long when Mira cannot breath through her nose and wakes up very frustrated and hurting.

We have been working with Joshua using a book called, "Love and Logic". You can see more on the website, loveandlogic.com (I think). Anyway, it is a whole new route for us. Nothing else was working for us to communicate with Joshua and this seemsto be working so far. It is not magic but the difference has been that at the end of the day I am not at my wits end as I have been in the past. He is learning that Mommy and Daddy mean business and that the ball is in his court to make good decisions so it is a win/win situation.

We are watching Mira to see her nursing habits. I plan to start weaning her around her first birthday and she has shown no signs that she wants to wean so this is going to be interested. She likes to nurse through the night the most. She nurses 1-3 times during the day but since she has been sick AND teething she has wanted to nurse more. It is hard. So once everyone is well I think we can start cutting back at least one nursing at night and then go from there.

Other news - looks like I will be putting another 'ticker' up on our page soon. We are expecting Baby Tres. The Dr's due date which is pretty fuzzy at best is August 19. Baby Tres was our New Year's surprise and we are anxiously looking forward to all the change and excitement he or she will bring.

In a matter of minutes

Joshua stuck something up his nose and shocked himself. Do I get a nap now?

We were working on discipline and had him in a quiet time in his room. We were actually standing right outside the door and I had removed all the toys from his room but there was a googly eye sitting on his dresser and at some point in the quiet time he must of stuck it up his nose. When he was done in quiet time he came out saying, 'Can you get the eye out?' It didn't take much questioning to figure it out. Luckily, he had a snotty nose and was able to blow it out in a tissue.

Then, we went downstairs and he requested a 'donut' (a bagel) So we were busy toasting that. Jason had one, too and Mira needed a snack. Things were busy. Joshua asked about getting the bagel out with a knife and we said, no you do not use a knife to remove anything from the toaster. Then he asked if you use your fingers or your hands and we said, your fingers and then I turned my back and heard a metal thing drop and Joshua holler and cry. I found the little cheese spreader knife with a ceramic handle sitting on the ground next to chair placed in front of the toaster. The handle probably keep him from getting more hurt than he did. I think only one finger touched the metal of the knife and that is the finger he hurt. Although he did have an ache further up his arm a few minutes later.

And it is now that I am thankful that we live on a street with two paramedics.