Deck the halls with lots of hard-to-put-together toys.

I had set a goal to get December's updates done before the end of January. Now I have a new goal: Get January's updates finished before the end of February.

As soon as school got out for winter break, I tried my dangdest to get out of the house a little more than before. The first day of break we managed a trip to the park. However, there were puddles on the slide, and I could not manage to keep wild Astrid (in moments like these, I'm sorely tempted to call her "Blasted Astrid") away from them. So it was a shorter trip to the park than we would have hoped. It was also cold. December overall was quite cold.  I probably averaged two hot baths a day. There is a pattern of me being constantly cold during my first trimester. 

We also made it to the library a couple of times. I finally let Jack sign up for his very own library card. He feels super independent now. Sometimes he'll run in for a specific book while I wait in the car with the littles. I'm always amazed by how readily he accesses "customer service" in situations like these. He's always flagging down a librarian (or Target employee, or restaurant server, etc.) when he feels the need. We joke that he is my friend Katie's son (She is the ultimate utilizer of customer service--so much that I constantly tease her about it). Allan read in the book Outliers that this trait tends to predict future success. Intriguing. I am apparently not destined for success...

On Christmas Eve day we decided to check out the brand new ImagineU Children's Museum in Visalia. It was so pricey to get our entire family in that I just sprung for a year pass then and there (you see how they did that???). I thought it was a great little setup. Jack was pretty bored, Micah and Nathan thought it was heaven, and Astrid saw it as a new, novel place in which to wander around and find trouble. Oh, Blasted Astrid, how we love you so!

The highlight for Nathan and Micah was the room full of windows with paint and paintbrushes. It was hard to pull them out. 
 

 

As I was still feeling the icky sickies, I kept our Christmas Eve feast super simple this year (hence no pics). Citrus marinated tri-tip roast with mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls (Rhodes, per Jack's request). Dessert was my first attempt at Stollen, and it was yummy. Took three days of prep, and hunting down citron, but totally worth it. 

Astrid went down early and we had a wonderful family home evening--sang lots of songs, read the Christmas stories out of the New Testament and Book of Mormon, and then had them open up a special gift. It was an ultrasound picture of their up-and-coming sibling. I can't believe I didn't get a video of that part. 

Then they opened their PJ's and ornaments, and we ushered them off to bed with threats of calling off Christmas if we once caught them sneaking out of their rooms before 6am. 

At this point it was close to 9pm, and Allan and I commenced with the enormous task of pulling everything out and putting everything together. By the time 1am rolled around, I can honestly say that I have never felt so exhausted in my life. Allan mentioned that I looked as tired as I described and ordered me to bed. He then continued staying up until 3:30 putting together this for Astrid: 

 

I picked this kitchen out because of the simplicity of design. Little did I know it would take 6 hours to put together. Poor, poor Santa Claus.

The boys woke up at 6am, as expected. Allan and I groaned and I made a mental note that next year the wake up time will be 8am.

I can never get Astrid to pose, so here are the boys in their PJ's.  

 

 (Complete with bunny ears and monkey ears)

 Astrid looked at the pile of gifts under the tree as a mountain to be scaled. She kept crawling up and sliding down. 

These balls proved to be an even bigger hit than I had hoped. Micah christened them "bouncy boingers" and they have found a permanent home in the front room.
 

No surprise that this is where I found Allan at about two o'clock that afternoon. He found solace in Jack's bedroom.
 

Micah and Nathan like Astrid's kitchen. She throws the toy food around and bangs the pots and pans. 

If the way she treats her baby doll is any indication, we have some work to do in the coming months before baby brother/sister arrives.

November and Early December

I debated whether or not to even document these months. It's really hard for me to remember much other than feeling really sick--and when I look at some of these pictures, I feel queasy all over again. 

Here Allan is with his best girl. I call her, not me, his best girl because, let's be honest, I would never let him him perch me on his knee and take me for a spin around the back driveway.

One of the few times I actually left the house in November was for a family trip to the zoo. Our local (hour away) zoo had opened their much-anticipated African Safari exhibit. I had no idea that it would nearly double the size of the zoo. It's pretty amazing. Who needs San Diego? 

Allan always likes to take the kids to the petting zoo (I don't. Someone always tries to put goat poop in their mouth.). I stayed with the boys while he took his best girl to go pet some creatures great and small. If she tried to put goat poop in her mouth, he was wise enough to keep it a secret. 

 

 

Shortly after we got home, Allan got a text from our Bishop asking if he and Jack wanted to go for a quick flight into the foothills. I prayed over and over as they headed out to the airport. Allan didn't tell Jack what they were doing--and the last thing Jack expected was a flight in Bishop's airplane.

Unfortunately, that is the last time Jack will get to fly in that particular airplane. Bishop sold it to another pilot two weeks ago, and then this happened. 

For Thanksgiving, my parents came. I felt so bad because I was not a very enthusiastic or active hostess. I feel like all I did was lay on the couch (except for the miraculous half day where, thanks to Zofran, I felt well enough to put together Thanksgiving dinner). The boys got out for a nature walk, to the train museum, and got plenty of cuddling time with Nana. 

 

 In early December Nathan, then Astrid, then Micah started with the usual winter respiratory illnesses. Micah's quickly progressed to croup. Poor kid can't cut a break. Here is a pic of the scrip for his five different medications. We also finally picked up a nebulizer. After some extremely pricey trips to CVS, a very nervous night for me, many prayers, and a priesthood blessing, Micah started getting better. It was not a fun week. 

Astrid discovered that she can reach the water dispenser on the fridge. This picture doesn't do the damage justice. She thought it was hilarious. I didn't. I have since discovered the lock button. 
 

I don't think a vegetable had come near my mouth in about four weeks by early December. Then I had a sudden craving. I indulged, and it tasted like heaven. I ate THREE big salads that day. Then around 8pm, I threw them all up.
 

Micah (obviously feeling better at this point), has started exhibiting a streak of vanity. He loves to stand in front of the mirror and "style" his hair after his shower. He gets very upset when I suggest that beginning his part to the left of his eyebrow isn't really doing anything for him. This particular Sunday morning he kept looking in the mirror (I had altered his hair by this point). He said to me, "I look really handsome today. People are going to look at me and say 'Aw, man! I wish I had dressed like Micah today.'" 

Uh-oh.
 

The Christmas art projects started rolling in around the middle of the month. This one still has me giggling. We had it hanging on the fridge all month, and I will never throw it away. This is Nathan's signature look: raised eyebrows, clenched teeth, and his lips spread tightly apart.  
 

Our subheading's going to need to change.

"Do we really have five kids? When did that happen?" (future subheading set to appear June/July 2016)

If an immediate family member reading this blog did not receive this news, I blame Allan. (You told all of your siblings, right?)

I remember when Allan's brother, Brett, and his wife were expecting their fifth child, they thought it made more sense to just not tell people outside the family. Just show up to the next work Christmas party with five kids and see if anyone notices--all the better if none of your coworkers do notice. That's kind of been my attitude about this pregnancy. We definitely want this baby--but let's be honest, we have made many pregnancy announcements by this point, and we've run out of ways to say "I'm pregnant!"

My OB's words as he walked in the room for my very first appointment: "Hey, why not have another?" 

We found out right before Halloween, and it started feeling very real a few days after (i.e. I started wanting to die). It's been a very intense 14 weeks. However, the extreme nausea has passed by now, and I feel a bit more energy this week. This is the earliest I've ever felt better.

I like you already, Baby.

We told the boys on Christmas Eve. They opened a box with the ultrasound pic. Jack's reaction was "I knew it!!!" (And he did--I had been flat out lying to him for the past month and a half. He didn't buy my "I still have the stomach flu" line.) Micah was giddy. Nathan lifted up my shirt and asked where the baby was. A few days later he pointed to my chest and shouted "The baby is going to have TWO sippy cups?!?!"

Ah, the miracle of life.

October 2015

 As far as I can recall, the entire month of October was dedicated to celebrating Halloween. And thus began the Trifecta of Overeating.

The kids all had Halloween parties to attend.  I remembered to take pictures at Nathan and Astrid's Halloween-themed playdate. Some people are really serious about how they plan their play dates (I'm not--I'm lucky if I have Goldfish crackers on hand). This particular friend involved a pony in the festivies. A pony named Don Diego. Astrid had no fear (likely because the friend leading the horse had a blonde bob. All my kids feel safer around blonde bobs.).

Nathan had great fear. The blonde bob couldn't do a thing. Then he saw his baby sister ride and pride got the better of him. Look how proud he is. Like General Washington going into battle. On a pony named Don Diego.

 On the 27th of October as I was readying for bed I saw it-- something my pride could not overcome: the annual bloody eye. Someone told me that the older she gets the more often she gets these dagum popped blood vessels. My only consolation was that this was at Halloween--not Christmas like the last two. They last at least a week, and this picture wasn't even taken on the worst day. Some people seriously thought it was something I did for effect. I avoided eye contact until November.

(Note the trustworthy blonde bob)

As usual our Very Favorite Preschool Teacher in The Entire World (incidentally, also my popped blood vessel friend) had a pumpkin patch trip. This is the smaller patch just down the road. It's full of all sorts of dangerous equipment. How they haven't been sued yet is beyond me. Here are Carter and Nathan on the mild merry-go-round (This documents the two minutes of the trip where I could actually draw breath).

A few days later, I took Eli, Nathan, and Astrid to meet Katie, Carter, and Future Husband Decker at the bigger, better pumpkin patch in Visalia.

Then we met more friends at Chipotle. We always have to go to Chipotle. At least we did. Now I'm just waiting to hear how the federal criminal investigation into that untraceable norovirus incident turns out.......Oh, and the widespread E. Coli.

One of the highlights of the month was realizing that Jack and Micah's new school did not have a Halloween Carnival. Allan and I were both ecstatic we didn't have to attend an event where the main goal of the kids is to gorge on candy and collect horrible, cheap prizes that end up scattered all over the house for the next two months, while the main goal of the parents is to keep track of their young, vulnerable children among a crowd of masked strangers. Reason #83 I like this new school. 

We prepped for our ward's Trunk or Treat (my testimony of Trunk or Treat is not strong, by the way) with plans to meet Dad there.

Natey was a rather oversensitive triceratops that evening. 

Micah dressed up as a character from the soon-to-be-released Star Wars movie. A character we had no clue about. The costume was 50% off (because no one at our local Target had a clue about the character either).

Jack was a Storm Trooper. A dead Storm Trooper.

 Astrid was an owl. She never held still for an individual picture.

On Halloween night we drove around town hitting some friends' homes and then headed to my friend Julia's annual homemade doughnut party--where several people asked how I made my eye bloody for Halloween.