24 weeks

Another awkward pregnancy side pose (at least I'm smiling this time)...


Notice the belly button has started to pop a bit! Since my last pregnancy update I have had my first real antenatal appointment (yup, at 22 weeks). I feel good about the program they have here. My midwife was a really nice lady who actually listened to me when I talked to her and she didn't ask me if I had any questions or concerns as she was walking out of the room (sorry, a little bitterness from past pregnancies). My favorite part of the appointment was when she asked me what my birthing plan was and I just stared at her blankly. I had no idea what a birthing plan was. Pretty sad considering this is my 3rd baby. I was thinking, 'you mean I wont be put in a hospital bed as soon as I arrive in the hospital? And I won't have to stay there until I have the baby and you give me permission to leave?' (more bitterness...). I had to ask one of my friends in a midwifery program what exactly was included in a birthing plan. I still don't know what mine is but I am feeling excited about being a little more in charge this time around.

It seems I have symphysis pubis dysfunction, so that has been awesome. Basically it hurts to walk, get dressed, turn over in my sleep, etc. Don't feel too sorry for me. As long as I know my limits and try not to do too much in one day I am fine. I get to take a lot of breaks throughout the day so I don't wear myself out. If I don't take it easy I pay for it the next day. I was sent to physio and had my 2nd appointment today. She has given me some exercises to strengthen the muscles under my belly. I think with those and lots of rest I'll make it through the next 16 weeks just fine.

The other day when I was picking Liam up from school 2 moms who I had talked to a little before shockingly asked me if I was pregnant. That cracked me up! I feel like I am huge and have been for a while but they insisted that I look great for twenty-something weeks and just started showing. I do think the belly growing has slowed down a little bit which is a relief. I was scared of how big I would be if I kept growing like I was.

She has been moving a lot lately. I love feeling her move and watching my belly bumping around.

Layla

Each day when Liam comes home from school I hear things like:

"I made a new girlfriend today. Her name is Layla."

"Today at recess I played dragons with Layla."

"You know what Mom, Layla sits at the same table as me."

"Don't you think Layla is a nice name? We could name the baby Layla."

"Layla gave me a compliment today on my work and I gave her a compliment too. Isn't that nice of Layla?"

"I didn't have any fun at recess today. I didn't play with anyone because Layla didn't want to play Iron Man with me."

"Do you want to see the picture that I drew with Layla today?"

I think he might have his first crush...

My Sweet Boy

I wanted to share something my sweet little Jonas said to me today. I was walking down the stairs and Jonas was sitting in the living room watching me. He started laughing so I said "What are you laughing at?" and he said "Your fat belly!" and kept on laughing. Stinker!

It's a...

GIRL!

I am so excited I am having a hard time believing its true! But we saw it with our own eyes (or maybe it's what we didn't see...). During the ultrasound she was holding her hands above her head, crossing her feet and wiggling her toes. Everything looked great!

When we told Jonas he didn't seem to care. Of course he was staying at his favorite person's house while we went to the appointment and was not happy to see us because it meant he had to leave. Liam was all smiles! So excited to have a sister and not another brother.

Now we just have to pick a name!? Good thing we have a few more months!

20 weeks

I'm halfway there! I have been feeling pretty good lately (except for the tiredness, headaches, leg pain and pelvic pain). I have started to feel the baby move in the last couple weeks but it hasn't been strong enough for Nate or the boys to feel it yet. We have an ultrasound scheduled for Friday and if all goes well, we will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl! I am really excited! The baby's room is already painted in a light green with white stripes (it was like that when we moved in) and I have all of these plans in my head of how to make it cute. Is it too early for nesting?

I have different cravings every hour of the day it seems. Some of the most recent are: big fat burrito (I finally tried one here at the only burrito place we have found and it was not satisfying. Everything about it was wrong. I think I'll give it another try and get something completely different), In-N-Out, turkey/swiss/pesto panini, blueberry pancakes, milkshakes, McDonald's french fries, corn tortillas, Alfredo sauce, pasta in general. Tomorrow I'm sure I could come up with a whole new list!

Liam and Jonas are excited about their new sibling. Liam was telling me just this morning how happy he will be to have a sister and how unexcited he will be to have another brother. Jonas doesn't care either way but loves the baby already. Sometimes when I am lying down he will come lay next to me and ask "is your baby sleeping?" I usually tell him yes and then he wants to give it(my belly) a kiss and hug. He tells me all the time, "Mom, your baby is so cute!" He is so sweet about it. I hope it continues after the baby is born.

I'll make sure to update after the ultrasound!

Valentines Surprise

Yesterday (Friday, the 12th) we were meeting up with 2 other families from church to go see an indoor soccer game that one of their sons was playing in. Both Liam and Jonas love and look up to this boy Caleb so much. We also thought it would be a good way to see if it was something we might want to sign our boys up for. The game was great even though they didn't win. Jonas was especially cheering Caleb on (mostly because he wanted Caleb to look at him). After the game we were going back to the Fisher's house to order pizza and hang out. The guys were all acting suspicious but we couldn't get any information out of them. Nate and one of the other guys went to get the pizza while the rest of us stayed there with all of the kids.

20 minutes later 3 pizzas (not the 7 we agreed on) were delivered to the house and the one guy left instructed us to get in the car. (Don't worry, one of the sons is 14 so the little ones were left with him). Of course all of us ladies were giddy about what might be happening. He drove us to a park that is next to a lake nearby and made us close our eyes and hold hands while he walked us to our destination. He sat us down and finally let us open our eyes. We were sitting at a picnic table all set up for dinner with a nice red table cloth and sparkle lights across the center. They had hung red hearts in the tree nearby and served us barbecue pork, fried rice and sparkling apple and grape cider. After dinner the guys cleaned up and we went for a walk around the lake holding hands (not all of us together, just the couples :) ). It was such a sweet surprise and made us all feel so loved! We couldn't get many details from them about how they pulled it off but it seems they had been planning it for weeks. And just earlier this week when we got some ads in the mail with Valentines candy Nate said, "oh man, I haven't gotten you anything yet". Sneaky boy!

I am so grateful for Nate and that he still finds ways to surprise me and show me that he loves me even after 8 years of marriage. I love you Nate!

Kindie Update

Liam and Jonas in their sun hats. I am amazed at the difference between his paintings at the start of this year and the ones he did at the start of preschool last year.

Liam has been doing really well so far and loving going to school. The first day I went and checked on him at 12:30 to make sure he was alright to keep going until the end of school. He said he was a little tired but I talked him into staying. I think if he came home he would have just wanted to watch tv and would have probably been sad he was missing out on whatever they were doing at school. He came home tired, hungry and cranky! I was really worried that school had turned my sweet little boy into a monster but it only lasted a few days. Now that he had mostly adjusted to the routine he is doing better. (He is still really hungry though). The first day he asked me if that was how long school always was. I told him yes, that was the longest he would be at school. I was thinking he might have had a hard time sitting still in class for such a long time but then he told me he wished there wasn't so much recess! He said he got too tired running around so much. I don't think he minds recess anymore. He has made a few friends (but can't remember their names) and it sounds like they are having fun running around together. Last Thursday he even wanted to go out and ride his scooter after being at school all day and walking to the mall by our house.

We learned Tuesday that he is not allowed to have any nut products at school. Supposedly there are "several" students at his school who are highly allergic. This makes lunches a little tricky (and annoying) since the only sandwich he eats is peanut butter and honey. I haven't been able to figure out an alternative yet. He likes ham and cheese but I'm afraid by the time lunch came it wouldn't be very good anymore. For now he gets a few extra snacks to make sure he has enough to eat.

He was excited to go back to school today. He loves getting to do so many projects and activities. Here are some from his first week:

This fish he did on the first day of school. They had to color it, cut out the strips and glue it back together in order.

This cracks me up. I'm not sure why they were drawing on envelopes but I guess they were supposed to draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up. On the left Liam drew himself playing basketball "because its my favorite sport" and on the far right himself playing guitar. I had no idea he was interested in either but apparently he wants to be either a basketball player or a rockstar when he grows up (at least he did last week).