Thursday, April 29, 2010

Still Hanging in There...

New baby, where are you???


No baby yet. That seems to be how all my conversations are starting these days. So, if you were wondering, my blog silence has NOT been due to our new addition. I have to admit that I was surprised to pass my due date, since both my boys delivered early (Clark 3 days, Bruce 10 days). I guess girls just need a little longer to get ready. :) Mostly I'm trying to stay busy and not plan too far in advance, just in case. Luckily, I have some great friends and family who have been helping me keep my mind off things. Including H & M, who drove all the way to see me! :) The good news is that we've narrowed down our baby name list and seem to be closer to a decision.

Fabric that is part of my baby bedding that I'm making with my mom. (M. - didn't get to show you when you were here.)

Backpacks for the boys from M. Yay! She makes all sorts of cool stuff. You can check it out here: www.etsy.com/shop/mermadegoods. She just started her etsy site, so I'm sure we'll be seeing more stuff up there soon... :)
Baby monitor from H. Yay!
Here are some recent pics from my mom & dad's camera that they were nice enough to let us borrow.

A picture from Easter of all the cousins (minus baby N. & our Colorado cousins) at my parent's house for the Easter Egg Hunt. (From left to right: Bruce, Cousin T., Uncle D. (in back), Clark, Cousin C. holding baby C.)

Decorations from my baby shower.


A fun game we played at the shower. It involved blowing up a balloon and popping it (giving birth). It was a relay and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Obviously, we're posing with the balloons here except for me and S. who is also pregnant.

My little rascal, Bruce. This picture was actually to document his red face, but he made such a cute smile that I couldn't resist. His skin doesn't seem to agree with salad dressing... Here are some Bruce things that he's been saying/doing lately.
  • Will eat almost anything you feed him if you make it talk to him first. In a high voice: "Bruce, will you please take a bite of your peas?" Well, okay then...
  • "I need to poop in the potty." = You're too late. I've already pooped.
  • At Easter he was eyeing the palmetto in my parent's backyard after the egg hunt and said, "There's something frightening in Mr. McGregor's garden." With a very serious look on his face. (Grandma has been reading him Peter Rabbit stories.)
  • LOVES Veggie Tales, but is scared of the "cheese curls" in one of the movies. Actually has bad dreams about them.
  • Bruce was playing cars yesterday. He had woken up from his nap first, so I went into the other room to do something. A while later I heard him saying, "Quit peeking at me!" I thought Clark had gotten up and told Clark not to bother his brother. Again, Bruce was hollering loudly. I went to check on them and see what the problem was, but Clark was still asleep and Bruce was playing alone with his cars. Just practicing getting his brother in trouble I guess. Typical little brother... :)

Clark, the train engineer. He has found a new obsession in creating the most complicated train tracks his 3-year-old mind (and our limited track supply) can come up with. If I make it another day without having the baby, we will be able to spend the day at Aunt A.'s house and play with all her boys' awesome trains and tracks with C. and T. Here are some other things that Clark has been saying/doing.

  • When he wants to do something loud in the apartment, "Probably the neighbors aren't home Mommy."
  • Whenever Bruce is taking too long to come play with him, he will call from the other room, "I need my brother!"
  • He is getting very independent and will put on his own seatbelt, help carry bags up to our apartment, and is very proud that he is tall enough to pee standing up.
  • One morning when he saw his messy hair in the mirror, "My hair looks like yours, Mommy!" Yeah, yeah, I know...
  • Torments Bruce with "the claw." Where did that come from? He's a big teaser.


He's not impressed, Clark. :)



Well, I guess that's all for now. I think that the boys are trying to tell me my blogging time is up. :)

Monday, April 5, 2010

The End is Near!

There are about 3 weeks left until my due date (April 27th). I try to distract myself as much as possible (which means I think about how close I am to the end of this pregnancy a lot). So... uncomfortable... I know, I know, I shouldn't be surprised. It was like this the last 2 times, but they tell you that you will forget. And you do. The weather is also getting warmer. We crossed the 80 degree mark, possibly not to return for the next 8 months or so. Ugh. (Gripe, complain, moan.... Moving on.)

We've been doing as much fun stuff as I can think of during the day. Partly out of guilt that the boys will be sharing the spotlight soon and it won't be just the 3 of us hanging out together. I know it will take some time to start juggling those extra responsibilities in my routine, but I've never had 3 kids before so its hard to know exactly how things will change until they do. At least the boys can walk themselves up to our 3rd floor apartment by themselves. When they want to. I'm excited to see this little one who has made sleeping through the night nearly impossible.

Easter was a lot of fun this year. Uplifting Conference talks, good food, fun with family. We really had a good weekend. Probably too good, because the boys were beat by the end of the day for Saturday and Sunday. (Easter candy + extra excitement = lousy naps and cranky boys)

Clark opening his easter basket. I tried to be minimal in the amount of Easter candy I gave them, but somehow (after the second grandparent's house) it didn't seem to matter what my original intentions were. They knew there was candy and they were determined to find and eat it! Apparently I'm more lax than I thought I was. Well, me and the leftover candy seem to be getting along just fine.

Shake it, Bruce! (Please excuse the varying quality of our pictures. They come from different sources.)
Ooooooh! Bubbles!

Our family tradition includes hiding the Easter baskets, so these pictures are after the hunt. They boys thought it was a lot of fun. Bruce needed some help understanding what exactly he was looking for, but caught on after a while. We also hid some plastic eggs.

And here are some random pictures of our recent adventures:
Playing at the zoo: Clark, Bruce, & Cousin A. hanging on the elephant trunk statue.

Clark digging (for dinosaur bones) and Cousin A. wandering.

Bruce playing in the sand at the zoo. We seem to do this everywhere we go.

Clark brushing the goats. (Very stinky!)

Bruce brushing... himself. I know, so gross!
Clark and Bruce harrassing that same goat.

Playing at the park with Uncle D.

This is our favorite activity lately. Uncle D. played very patiently with the boys. He looks a little bored here, but he never complained. (What a good sport!)

I'm sure you noticed all the nice playground equipment in the background. The closest we got to it was filling a bucket with mulch to bring back to the sandbox/bare-spot-in-the-grass. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Well, considering my once-a-month blogging pattern, this may be my last post before the baby is born. Maybe not. Blog readers consider yourselves warned. Both of you. :)