Big Transitions

Lincoln climbed out of his bed.

21 months.  That's how old he is.  Brody didn't do this until he was a bit older and when he did it, he fell out and busted his lip so he didn't try again.

Up until now, he's been sleeping in a pack and play in Logan's room.  Their bodies are on much the same schedule (both morning people, Brody is much more of a night owl).  He's done so well.  We lay him down, he sleeps.  This transition is going to kill me!

So, we packed up the crib and put the pack and play, put up the bed and went to pick out some bedding.  We also went ahead and put the boys together.  This way they'll be done and used to it by the time their baby sister gets here since the girls will share a room.

He's thrilled.

Mommy's scared.  My nights might get a lot harder now.  And what about naptime?  Ahhh!

23 Week Bumpdate

So 23 weeks in and I'm still as sick as a dog.  I'm taking an anti-nausea med, and I'm still at the point where if I forget to take it I'm throwing up all day like I've got the stomach flu.  It's awful.  I feel bad for the kiddos on those days because I'm completely useless....though, they love it because we watch WAY more TV than their little brains need.  Thankfully, I've only forgotten it less than a handful of times.  But still.

How many weeks: 26.6

Weight gain?  13 lbs.  

Morning Sickness?  Yes.

Cravings:  Pickles, sour kraut, lemons, anything acidic right now!

Sleeping well?  Sleeping as well as I can with a one year old and being pregnant.

Labor signs?  Nope!

Things I miss:  Being able to go to bed not freaking out about missing a dose of medication!  ha!  Making it through a day without feeling like something is going to make me vomit.

Things I'm looking forward to:  Picking up some more pink, looking into girl names, and we're starting to plan for our upcoming school year, so that's exciting!!

Here I am at 23 weeks with all four kids:

It's a.......

Well.... it took a good while for our ultrasound tech to figure out what this baby was!  We went in and had a very routine ultrasound until she went to check and see what we were looking to add to our family dynamic.  This little baby had the cord stuck in between it's legs and it took forever to get the baby to roll around enough that it wasn't blocking anything.  After about 5 minutes the tech said she thought she was pretty confident about knowing but still spent another 10 minutes rolling the baby back and forth trying to get a good angle.  But.....after 15 minutes she told us to go ahead and start talking baby girl names, because she was 99% sure that that's what was in there!  (She says she never gives a full 100%)

So, to celebrate, we went out and got PINK cake pops!

We are so excited to be welcoming another precious little girl into our family.  It'll be nice to even things out a bit and you know I can't wait to get some big bows on that little one's head.  

As with our tradition, baby girl Kayle does not have a name.  We always have ONE name going into our ultrasound and every time it's been the opposite gender.  That should have given us a hint into what this baby was.  

We were all very excited, well, all but one of us.  It took several attempts to get Brody to give us a smile.  As it turns out, he must have really, really wanted another brother.  Not thrilled at all. 

Thankfully, we all know he will be head over heels for his little sister and will most definitely take on the role of "super hero brother" for her.  He just needs to meet her.  :)

Mornings at the Park

Our kids LOVE the park.  Any park really.  But this summer has been brutal in the heat department-- so bad that several days they've issued heat advisories and closed the POOL so that lifeguards aren't sitting out in it.  It's awful.

But, every once and a while we can get our stuff together and get out of the house before 8:30am and we can beat the heat for about an hour.  The kids love it when we can do this!  We get the park to ourselves, it's not crazy hot yet and they get to play to their hearts' content.

This particular park has gotten very parent friendly and has added several apparatuses to make things so easy.

My favorite is this new swing contraption where you (or your older children) can sit on one side and the baby can sit up in the baby swing.  Pump your legs and you're both swinging!  No more standing around behind the swing to push.  It's amazing.  It's even more amazing that my 6 year old can enjoy it with him while I sit in the shade and watch.  :)  

Happy Father's Day 2015

Happy Father's Day to this dad of almost 4!

Getting a picture with all three kids looking at the camera and looking even mildly amused is tough....I know 4 will be the end of it!

It's ok, the fun and the chaos is worth the pictures that don't turn out "perfect."  Though, I know Mike and I will look through all of these blog posts in 20+ years and agree that these pictures ARE perfect because they're just life.

The older two made a road map shirt for Mike this year.  He puts it on and they run their cars and trains along the trails they marked.  It's a win win!  They get to play with him and he gets a massage.  Everyone is happy.

First vs. Last

Here is Logan's first day of K-1 vs. her last day.  She grew a TON this year.  When we started planning our Disney trip in August of last year we measured both kids and started talking up rides they'd be able to go on.  We know she had to have grown at least 3 inches through the course of the year because by the time we went to Disney she was in an entire different riding bracket!  

Life With Boys

I'm learning a whole new dynamic having two boys in the house.  I grew up with a sister and a brother, so I'm all too familiar with the sister spats and the brother who enjoys teasing....but seeing two boys in action together is a novelty!

Our days are full of super heroes.  

They each seem to have a new favorite daily.  They run around wanting to save the day and fight each other.  

I'm also finding that messes are just a normal, everyday part of life.  And that child #3 does not like to wait for ANYTHING.

But there's so much fun in all of the energy and excitement that those boys bring.  Trips to the park where we scale dangerous mountains (slides)....

Or sword fight with anything and everything.  (Zucchini on this particular Target trip)

Mud is also new territory for me.  They love to create it and splash in it.  Something their older sister wanted nothing to do with.

But, oh, those sweet moments when you know that you're the only woman in their life (for now).  What treasures.  

They're messy and loud and don't think much of injuries and blood, but it's worth every single second of insanity.  I wonder if we'll be adding another boy to our bunch or if we'll even things out with another precious little girl....only a few more weeks!