Baby Girl 36 Weeks!

I realize that I haven't been very good about documenting this pregnancy. Sorry Baby Girl! In my defense your brothers are crazy (i.e. active) and leave little time for sitting down and leisurely recording my thoughts. You can blame them as well :) I'm dialated to 2 currently and Grandma Freida gets here on Friday. Thank the Lord for Moms! She is the best Grandma, and will entertain the boys to no end. They'll love it!  I'm hoping you stay in til the 5th. Any earlier makes me nervous, I want you to be healthy and strong! We are deciding on names right now. Dad likes Violet, I love Charlotte. We shall see what you look like and decide. This pregnancy has been so much harder than the previous two. I can't keep up with everything and I feel like I'm always yelling at someone. May patience runs thin most days. It doesn't help that the last month of pregnancy I have to REALLY slow down hoping to make it to 38 weeks. My doctor isn't concerned but I know how much harder is can make everything even only being one month early.

You move/squirm so much right now. Love it. I can't wait to see what you look like! I've lost my appetite the last week or so. Although I've finally introduced avocado back into my world. We weren't good friends for awhile. Broccoli has been something I really enjoy right now too. I have little desire for sweets this time. But I could eat an entire back of salty chips. Yum! I've had no sciatic nerve pain this time and the rest of my body is holding up well. I walk like a 75 year old and my hips and pelvis ache but that's to be expected when you have a bowling ball between your legs!!

The boys have a sibling class tonight. They are going to learn all about newborns. Oliver has us read Berenstein Bears: Baby makes Five almost every night. My visiting teachers asked him what baby sister's name was going to be and he thought a minute then said, "Baby Honey!" Elijah asks questions about if the baby has blood and if she'll have a pee pee. I should show him some pics of a baby in utero. He's so curious, I love it. I think they will both adore you. Elijah always finds the sweetest little toys and outfits (usually screaming PINK) and says we should get them for you. So cute that he's thinking of you. Oliver loves be involved and "helping". I think they'll do just fine. You'll have some awesome brothers to protect you and show you the ropes.

Baby Girl #24 Weeks

Elijah wanted to be in the picture, as you can see :)

I've/she has had a major growth spurt the last couple weeks. My stomach feels huge. I think I'm carrying further out in front with baby girl than the boys. She is growing healthy and strong and has a great heartbeat. Doctors appts are a breeze and my doctor loves that baby girl and I are easy. I haven't had any sciatic nerve pain like I did with the boys, perhaps because she is resting out front instead of on my back.
I've been getting more headaches lately, so I've been drinking water like crazy, cutting out the sugar and eating more protein. That seems to help. I've been so stuffy/congested this whole pregnancy, I'm sure the cold/dry weather doesn't help. I've gone through 4 boxes of tissues in about a week. People keep saying, "Being pregnant during the winter is the best." I've had two other pregnancies during the summer and I'll gladly take summer over winter pregnancy! Winter opens up a whole new can of worms that I don't have the energy or want to deal with (someone is always sick, snot is flowing abundantly around the house, humidifiers changed frequently, I feel like I've had a cold for 2 months, I don't have quite as much energy to do all the fun Holiday stuff I want to do, I'm missing our early morning walks to beat the heat, I like that I don't have to wear any makeup during the summer and can wear my hair up all the time and blame the heat, skirts, flip flops, boys can run around with nothing on and it takes 5 seconds to get them dressed, no fighting about coats/pants/socks. I could go on and on) I think it's safe to say I've been converted to Texas summers :) Am I complaining? I hope not, but I may plan the next one differently.
 Baby Girl is very active! She moves and kicks a lot. I love it. My favorite part of pregnancy. Maternity clothes are out and being actively used! I finally caved and busted them out. I was tired or rubber banding my normal pants together. The maternity ones are still a bit big but much more comfortable. I look forward to my chamomile tea almost every night. I think it helps me sleep. I've been talking about baby girl a lot more lately to the boys and every so often the boys like to "listen" for her on my tummy. So cute. One of the main things I love about being pregnant is the excuse to slow down our day to day pace. Prioritizing is more necessary, we read more, play more, say no to more unnecessary things and keep things more low key instead of running from one thing to the next. It gives me the opportunity to relish my growing babies (who aren't babies anymore!!). Can't wait to meet this sweet little nugget!

Baby GIRL Week #20-23

IT'S A GIRL!!! We found out a few weeks ago at week 20. We are so excited! I wasn't sure how I would feel at first, but after the ultrasound I was able to sit in the exam room waiting for a few minutes alone and let it all sink in. I started making a list of names I liked in my phone and I felt so warm and started to cry as I was thinking about this precious baby GIRL coming into our home. I know that she is supposed to be here and I am so excited to share all things girl with her. Also, I love that she'll have 2 older brothers to help/protect/and love her. We are so thrilled! Matt wasn't able to come to the ultrasound because Oliver was still recovering from croup and wouldn't be a stellar idea to take a sick kid to a doctors office full of pregnant ladies. I found out in the morning and made Matt wait til he was home from work, baked a cake with the gender color inside and caught it all on video as he and Elijah were cutting into it. Their reactions are the best! I have the video saved in our files. Blogger stinks at uploading videos.

I've been feeling pretty good the last few weeks. I've definitely had a growth spurt in the last 2 weeks. I've put on about 10 lbs total so far. I feel so much bigger this time. I wonder if I'm carrying out front more this time. I feel like it. Eating is great. I eat cereal almost every morning. Most the time standing while rushing around trying to get out the door. Occasionally I'll make myself an omelet if I have enough time. I should eat more snacks in between meals but I usually forget rushing out the door and at least one of the boys steal my snack while I'm eating it. I've been really into drinking herbal tea at night too. Calms my stomach if I have indigestion.

Sleep is so important to me right now that I can't bring myself to wake up before the boys to have a little alone time. I need a solid 8 hours or I'm not a nice person. In fact, I've resorted to sleeping upstairs the last couple weeks. Matt's snoring wakes me up and then I remember I have to pee, then I have to blow my nose (I've been pretty congested this pregnancy), and Matt wakes up at 6 am for work and he tries so hard to be quiet but I'm the lightest sleeper this pregnancy. Plus our mattress has been hurting my back and hips. I gave it another try the other night and I woke up so achy the next morning. The mattress pads we have upstairs for guests are super solid and my body loves it. Looks like a new mattress may be in order soon :)

Matt felt HER move at week 22. She is pretty active. Mostly at night or after meals. Cutest little flutters and jabs. I try to do yoga a few times a week. Other than that I've gotten out of the workout routine. November was sick month at our house and I haven't willing to sacrifice my sleep or errand time to fit it in. Maybe when it warms up a little we'll go on more walks. We are such wimps, it's like 50 degrees and we complain about how cold it is here. Ha!

Baby #3 COMING APRIL 2014

Baby #3 will make it's debut in April 2014. My due date is April 20th, but with past history I doubt I'll make it til then. We shall see! We are excited/nervous for the new adventure.

Weeks 6-13 were BRUTAL. I don't remember being so nauseous all.the.time with the boys. I've also thrown up many more times than I would have liked. But that just means everything is going the way it's suppose to for me. I'm also much busier so I take less time to eat often/decently which needs to change. Higher protein diet helps me feel better and stay full longer. A bowl of cereal for breakfast isn't cutting it anymore.

 I'm at week #18 now and I'm starving every 3 hours and could eat like a lumberjack. If I don't eat some snack at night I wake up STARVING in the middle of the night. Also, taking many potty breaks as well :) The boys haven't held much interest in the baby yet. I'm not showing much (put on about 5lbs so far) but that will soon change and they'll notice more I'm sure as I slow down more and more. We find out what we are having in 2 weeks. I've had several impressions it's a boy but I'm not 100% sure. I don't care either way, just want him/her to be healthy and strong. So cliche, but that is honestly how I feel. Pregnancy is such a miracle and there are millions of things that could go wrong so I'm always grateful when I have a healthy baby, regardless of gender. Although if it is a girl, I'm not sure what I'll do with myself. My mind frame will have to change a lot to accommodate a more emotional/dramatic little person. I don't speak girl very well. But I'm sure if it's a girl she'll teach me :) I've never been pregnant during the holidays before so this should be fun enjoying all the treats without trying to get any baby weight off. Hooray! My workouts are pretty much non existent with the occasional walks around the neighborhood and yoga dvd's while Elijah is at preschool and Oliver plays around me. I'm just too tired to do any big exercises once everyone is settled/fed/dropped off and I have no desire to wake up early before Matt leaves for work to squeeze an alone workout in. I need my sleep! Chasing 2 very active boys around is workout enough :) I've started feeling the first "flutters" of the baby moving around this week too. It makes it seem more real when they start moving. I love it. I'm into the "nesting" phase already it seems. I've got this huge urge to just purge every non essential thing out of our house. It just creates clutter, more cleaning up and adds nothing to our lives. I've been going room by room and slowly donating more and more "stuff" to goodwill. Feels good to get rid of the excess. Then I can focus on projects that will actually better our home environment and make it feel like "us".

Day in the Life

I'm sitting here, wishing I wrote more of my day to day feelings and activities down. I want to remember this season of my life. It's sooo hard, but sooo fun too! Both boys are napping simultaneously (what a miracle!), my floors are begging to be mopped but I feel like blogging instead. The floors will still be there tomorrow. I get too caught up in getting silly house things done that I often forget to just enjoy the moment. This is a standard day that I'm documenting. Here's to remembering!

6-7am- I wake up, work out, take a quick shower. Throw on some clothes. Sometimes Elijah is already awake and I tell him he has to stay in his room til mommy is done. Or he plays with toys. Or I scrap working out all together and feed Elijah breakfast.
7-8am. Oliver wakes up. Feed boys breakfast, change diapers, get dressed. This usually involves chasing Elijah around the house to get him to out his clothes on.
8-10am. Drop Elijah off at preschool/playdate. Runs a few errands with Oliver or come back home, put Oliver in stroller and head out for a jog. Bring food for Oliver in case we didn't have to eat at home.
10-12pm. Oliver naps. Elijah and I play. Sometimes Elijah goes to a playdate or he has a friend over. Sometimes he watches the iPad to unwind from school or we go on a scooter ride around the neighborhood. Do a few things around the house. Sometimes I'll take a shower and finish getting ready for the day. We often make cookies. Feed Elijah and myself lunch.
12-3pm. Oliver wakes up. Change diaper. Feed bottle and food. Elijah attempts a nap. He'll take one most days of the week. If he skips his nap he is sooo unreasonable or he falls asleep in the car and wakes up screaming bloody murder. I swear he's started having nightmares or he's just so tired that he becomes inconsolable. If he naps I'll play some with Oliver. Get a few things done off the to do list. Elijah wakes up. Change Elijah's diaper.
3-4pm. Oliver takes a short nap. Elijah and I play, readbooks or he helps with things around the house. If Oliver doesn't need a nap we go and do a fun activity with friends, go on a walk or run errands. Feed the boys a snack.
4:30-5:30. Dinner prep. Boys usually play upstairs while I do this. I have to go up and help with something 3-4 times.
5:30-7pm.  Daddy's home! Dinner time! Play after dinner. Sometimes go to Goodwill. Sometimes Daddy has meetings so Mommy takes the boys to Angel park and runs them ragged before bed.
7-8pm. Bedtime. Put on Oliver's jammies, give him bottle and rock him and sing songs. Elijah goes potty, gets potty treat/sticker, brush teeth, get jammies on, watch a show for 10-15 mins. Say prayers, read 2 book and 3 songs. Lights out.
8-8:30pm. Elijah comes out a few times. Put him back in bed.
8:30-9pm. Do dishes, clean kitchen up and toys.
9-10pm. Catch up on to do list items, fold laundry, watch a show.
10-10:30pm. Get ready for bed. Read scriptures. Say prayers. Good night!

As I read this my life seems really great right now. This is an "ideal" day. I left out the tantrums, messes, and everything that can throw the day for a loop. I love my life. I need to live it better.

Oliver @ Age 1

Can't believe my little baby is 1! Well, on September 15th. I probably shouldn't call him little because he indeed isn't! My arms are aching by the end of the day, but I've got some pretty toned arms to show for it :). I'm trying to jot all this down while both boys are trying to take a nap. I can hear Elijah kicking the wall in his room, we'll see if he gives in or not. Nap update: Both boys asleep! Hallelujah! Anyways, here are a few things about Oliver at age 1:

The Birthday Boy with cake on his face.

Stats:
Weight: 24 lb 6 oz (72%tile)
Height: 30.88" (81%tile)
Head Circumference: 98%tile-Still has that huge noggin! Perhaps he'll be super smart like his daddy when he grows up!

He is following the exact growth pattern as Elijah did. Which is odd to me because he is much more picky and does not eat as much as Elijah did. I'll have two big boys on my hands. My grocery bill is already showing an increase! Yikes! Anytime I go someplace people always say, "That's a big boy!" And in return Oliver gives them a big chubby smile. Unless he's tired. Then he'll just stare, whimper and turn his head away.
 
-Oliver is so sweet. He loves to cuddle. He is passionate. He loves big, plays hard and lets you know very loudly if he does or does not like something. 
-Loves to play chase with Elijah. Giggles and screams all over the house. My favorite is hearing them giggle together.
-Great sleeper. Great napper 1-2 naps a day. 7-7:30.
-Loves his bottle. Has 7 oz in the morning and one before bed. I've finally have gotten him to take a sippy at lunch and dinner, but only particular ones. He gets so mad if you give him something different. We are actually still doing formula. We introduced milk and his body did not like it. He got soooo constipated 2 weeks in a row that he would just sob and sob trying to poop. Finally gave him a suppository. Saddest thing ever. So we are trying other alternatives and will introduce the milk more slowly to see if that helps.
-Seriously, hardly gets sick. He's had probably 2 colds and a couple random fevers. But even if Elijah gets sick, which is more often than I'd like, Oliver doesn't always get it. Awesome. I chalk it up to the breastmilk I slaved over making the first 7 months. Or my neurosis about people germs. Probably the latter :)
-Is a major daddy's boy. LOVES his daddy. He'll just cry and cry when Matt leaves and he loves being held by him.
-Still only 2 teeth.
-Does everything but walk. Pulls up on stuff, crawls, walks along things. Can't stand alone yet, but then again he's never still long enough to find out! Always on the move.
-Loves opening all cabinets and shutting doors.
-Loves walking around with plastic golf balls in his mouth. Hilarious.
-Has started enjoying the slide at the park.
-Is terrified of the elevator. I have no idea why. It's only a big, dimly lit box that makes your stomach drop ;)
-Feisty. Starts throwing food when he's finished. Starts running away when you come over to take something away from him he shouldn't have. Then proceeds to throw a small fit about it. Of course, he forgets about it once you distract him with something else.
-Still in his infant car seat. I'm too cheap to buy another one so I'm waiting for Elijah to grow out of his so we can buy a booster. Then Oliver can take over the carseat. He takes great naps in it at church and if we are out during nap time.
-Is pretty good at eating. He has a hard time with some textures and vegetables. I'm sure he'll get better once I introduce things more often. Likes to eat foods by himself, no spoon feeding. His favorites are cheerios, blueberries, applesauce pouches, pancakes, and grilled cheese.
- Gives the best kisses
-Changing his diaper I would imagine is like wrestling a baby alligator.-Loves getting into my hair stuff.
-Is in that stranger danger phase. He does ok but I've never left him with anyone when I haven't been there. Probably should start doing that.
-Loves playing cars with Elijah. Even though I can often hear Elijah saying in a panic, "No Oliver No!" Then Oliver usually destroys something and screams with delight. So funny. Elijah is definitely learning how to be patient with him.

We love Oliver so much! He is a constant source of sweetness in our lives. So glad our Heavenly Father has entrusted us with him. Happy Birthday Baby Boy! (On September 15th :)

Elijah- 3 years old

Elijah turned 3 a month ago! He is a such a sweet little boy. Here are few things about him.

Stats:
35 lbs 82%
40" 93%

-Just mastered the big boy bed. Thank goodness! We tried it before and he was not doing well. So we took a break for a while and he slept in his pack n' play. We tried it again after our vacation to Washington and he did much better. I guess he was getting a little cramped in his pack n' play!
-Sleeps 8-whenever I hear him rummaging around up or downstairs :) Around 7am usually.
-Still naps 2-3 hours a day. Thank goodness!
-Favorite color is Red
-Loves playing with toy cars and is getting into pretend play. Sometimes I hear him bossing his trains around upstairs and "making" food in his play kitchen.
-Has decided that Oliver is fun to play with now. He calls his name, "Veer!" And motions for him to chase him or do something. Loves to laugh with him.
-Loves to wrestle and pester his friends. He'll walk by and bump into them or chase after them. Luckily, he has a little friend, London, that doesn't mind it and is the sweetest at tolerating it.
-Has so much energy. Could run or ride his scooter for hours! He got a scooter for his birthday and is getting really good at riding it!
-Does well in small group settings
-He is starting preschool and speech therapy tomorrow! He has a backpack and everything! So cute.
-He's behind in his expressive language, his comprehension is right on track, he just has a little trouble communicating words with multiple syllables and stringing words together in a complete sentence. He'll get there. He's a smart little boy.
-Know's his ABC's and has started identifying letters and numbers.
-Loves puzzles, reading books, playing with play-doh.
-LOVES the swimming pool. Can hold his breath and loves jumping in the water. He's a little dare devil.
-Is about to begin potty training. Wish us luck! I think he'll do fine. I waited til he was older hoping he'd catch on a little faster. We'll see what happens!
-Every night and at nap time we sing the same 3 songs. Choo Choo Song (to the tune of BINGO), I am a Child of God, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
-He loves being praised and when he does something good says, "I did it!"
-Is sweet and sensitive to new situations. He takes awhile to warm up, but gets there eventually. He's tender hearted. Love him.

A few videos

Elijah back when he was in his crib. Around February 2012. He started using it as a trampoline. That should have been the first sign to move him into a big boy bed :)

Oliver having fun in his play toy. About 9 months old

 Elijah doing a fun trick. Almost 3 years old.

Oliver 9 months

I realize Oliver is almost 1 by the time I'm posting this, but better late then never! More photos and videos are in the near future!

Stats:
22lbs- 70%
29"- 70%
Head Circumference-98th% ("Huge noggin'. Like an Orange on a toothpick. It's like Sputnik!")

Oliver is such a great baby! He has such a sweet disposition and loves to be held. He is definitely a momma's boy! We had a little rough patch for a month of so but I think he just had a bunch of ear infections that have seemed to clear up. Here are a few things about Oliver at 9 months

-Great sleeper. Loves to sleep. 7-7. 2-3 naps. Doesn't nap as well as I'd like. I can usually get 1.5 hours out of him instead of the 2-3 that I'd like, but I'll take it.
-Crawls on his tummy EVERYWHERE. Can pull himself up onto things sometimes.
-Has loved eating table foods lately. He's a good eater. Not a huge fan of veggies but he'll usually take a few bites. Isn't keen on the sippycup yet.
-Drinks 4 bottles a day. Loves his bedtime bottle.
-Ticklish on his feet.
-He is very vocal. If he wants to be held he will let you know, very loudly!
-Gets a kick out of watching Elijah run around.
-Still has NO teeth.
-Loves being out and about. Especially walks to the park.
-Doesn't like the pool very much, but he's getting better.
-We love having him as a part of our family, he was meant to be here!









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Instagram/ iPhone Dump

Easter Sunday 2012

Caught Red Handed

Matt's Zombie Slippers :)

Learning all about Trains

First Boat Ride- Hated it, screamed the whole time.

Fell asleep with a diaper box in his crib...whaaat?

Elijah and girlfriend London :)

The new Sand/Water Table. Dad built this out of PVC piping.

Elijah's first boat ride. Loved it.

Easter Sunday April 2012

The Rat Trap. Rat got stuck inside AC outside. Gross.

Future Mariners Fan

Learning how to crawl 8.5 months.

This one got the flexibility gene. So non-Anderton :)

Sneaking Nutella to put on his graham cracker.

Father's Day Walk

Requested Father's Day Dinner.

Requested a sink bath. A little big, but we obliged.

Matt's 31st Birthday Cake. Peanut Butter Chocolate.

Not a fan of birthday hat

Requested a birthday dinner of SpongeBob Macaroni and Cheese.

First Nights in Big Boy Bed

Killing Time at Walmart. He picked the bike and Helmet. Didn't say a word.

I'm guessing he saw me doing this A LOT the first 7 months of Oliver's life :)

Videos Of Elijah and Oliver

 

I think this video is so cute of Elijah. He just discovered how to blow bubbles my himself.

 

Oliver 5.5 months. Sorry for the blurry video, must have been a fingerprint on my camera lens.

Oliver 6 months

Boy time is flying!! Can't believe my baby is almost 6 months old!!

Stats: 18lbs (57%tile)
          26.75 inches (59%tile)
          Head 17.13" (40%tile)

St. Patrick's Day 2012. Oliver 6 months, Elijah 2.75 years.

5 months

 "How much is that Doggy in the Window?" 5 months

 Enjoying his Oatmeal! 5.5 months

5.5 months-Holding own bottle, bomb.

4 months

In his Sunday best- 4.5 months

-Oliver is the sweetest, happiest baby. He only cries when he's hungry or tired. That's it. Oh and if Elijah runs up to him really fast and screams in his face, scaring him :). Oliver is very mellow and easy going. He will happily fall asleep in his carseat with a little bit of swinging or movement wherever we are. And he'll even fall asleep in my arms! Which I LOVE. Such a snuggler. He's much more mellow than I remember Elijah being or maybe I've just mellowed out. Probably both.
-He's starting to be very vocal about when he wants to be held and not left alone. Sometimes he'll just scream when I put him down and walk away. He's stares at me like, "Where are you going?! Come pick me up!" He loves to be held. I may have another mama's boy on my hands. Which I don't mind for one second. I love my babies!
-Is only getting one bottle of breastmilk now. I am done pumping. And I can proudly say I pumped for what felt like FOREVER and my baby got mostly breastmilk for the first 6 months + of his life. I'm so glad I stuck it out. And if anyone gives me a hard time about it, I could just punch them in the face :) (You wouldn't believe how vocal some people are about breastfeeding in our ward. Unbelievable.)
-Sleeps like a champ. 7-7. Two 2-3 hour naps a day. With a little cat nap in the evenings. Loves to be swaddled up really tight.
-Rolls around really well. He seems much more active with his body than Elijah was. He'll inch worm around a little on his tummy and slowly go around in a circle while on his tummy.
-Can almost sit up by himself. He just doesn't sit still very long. He likes kicking his legs too much.
-Loves jumping in his exercauser.
-Eats 5 times a day. Tried oatmeal and loved it. He's catching on to this 'eating from a spoon' thing.
-Is starting to put everything in his mouth and chewing on it.
-Is mastering the art of taking his binky in and out.
-He and Elijah have started interacting more. Elijah makes funny noises or plays peek-a-boo and Oliver laughs it up. They are so cute together.
-When I put him down to sleep he loves when I stroke his face and rock him back in forth. Then I put his softy blanket next to his face and he starts to drift off to sleep. So precious. I treasure these days because I know too soon that he won't want to snuggle like that with me.