2 years OLD!!!

Two years with our sweet Emily.  Wow.  You probably were thinking I'd FORGET about her two year post, weren't you?  Well, I did remember, but it has taken me a while to post.  Obviously.  Em turned two on May 19, and we had to celebrate in the style of a two year old: cake, balloons, bubbles, presents, ... you get the idea.  Emily is changing by the day, it seems.  A few weeks ago, I was getting somewhat worried about her lack of "clarity" as far as vocabulary goes.  Even in a few weeks, she has developed so much.  I am encouraged, but I already miss the unintelligible jibber jabber. Seriously, she has the cutest little voice, and I hope I always remember how she sounds RIGHT NOW.

How can I sum up Emily?  Well, she is seriously just delightful.  Don't get me wrong, she is far from perfect (aren't we all?).  But, God has gifted her with a bubbly presence that brings so much joy.  She genuinely enjoys life.  I see her smile and hear her giggle when no one is around... playing with toys and clapping her hands over small victories.  She loves to laugh and make others laugh.  She smiles the most winning smile - just because.  She can just about get us to totally lose any train of thought when she interrupts with the most excited commentary on who knows what.  I love this girl.  We are constantly amazed at the level of her humor, as I feel like she could compete with the best of my funny friends :)

Emily loves her big sister to pieces, but every once in a while, she just likes to play alone (much to Elyse's chagrin).  Em loves animals and babies, and Jakob is just a big doll to her!  We have to supervise quite often, as she will kiss and hug him to pieces if she's allowed.  Some of her new favorite phrases are:

"Yes SIR!" - when told to do something :)
"I DID IT!" - when doing anything right
"What dat noise?" - upon hearing anything unusual
"Where Daddy go?"
"I'm huggy" - for "I'm hungry"
"Hey, BUDDDDDYYYY..." - when talking to Jake

Emily is cutting her last eye tooth, and then we look forward to two year molars.  Anytime now!  As of now, potty-training is "penciled" in for this summer at some point, but honestly, I just don't like to think about it. Yet.  Is she ready?  Does it really matter? :)

Em loves to eat, but these days, she's become a bit choosy.  She will snub her nose at some favorites, which makes me wonder if she just wants to be difficult at times... hmm...  This girl has some vices, a few of which are: climbing the ladder into Elyse's top bunk, pouring out her cup of milk, blowing bubbles in her cup of milk, playing in her cup of milk (do you get my drift?), and general disobedience.  This girl is hard to keep up with!  She's even harder to scold with a straight face.

Em loves to sing the birthday song, and it usually goes somewhat like this (sometimes sung in a growl): "Happy dir-day to to..."  She also has most of our bedtime songs memorized, but refuses to perform.  We just have to catch her in the act :)  She LOVES puzzles, and she can do most of her board puzzles in her sleep, but they still manage to entertain her.  Books and babies are favorites, but nothing tops playing with Daddy!  These days, both girls are into stickers, and Emily always has to put a token sticker on her tummy before sticking them on anything else.  Elyse and Em already have an inside joke - "bubble game."  They reenact a video of Emily falling down while chasing bubbles, and the girls remind each other at random times and burst into laughter.  Sisters!!!

Yes, Emily is the child who will seemingly give us a run for our money, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Her spunk makes me want to enjoy life to the fullest, just as she seems to do.  No, I can't even remember what a meal is like without a child covered from head to toe in cottage cheese or some other messy food, but it's worth every second.  My messy little monkey makes me laugh, and I hope I always remember that the mess is never more important than loving my little girl.  Have I mentioned she likes to eat dog food?  Yep.

Happy birthday, Emily Mae.  We love you more than words can say!  We pray you learn at a young age that only God can give you true happiness.  You mean so much to our family!

What's new?

Well, what's new?  ... let's see ... our baby boy ... Elyse's baby (Star, a stuffed giraffe that's all the rage) ... Emily's eye teeth ... this crazy 6 week paternity leave that is spoiling me! ... Where to start.  My three children are changing faster than the speed of light, it seems, and I could probably attribute it to the fact that I am still somewhat in a fog.  I have asked my husband if we will ever feel rested again.  Is it really possible?  Then, deep in the recesses of my mind, I dig out the memory of what it is like when that sweet child sleeps through the night for the first time ... when my baby's naps became seamless and predictable.  I have to cling to the promise of that day, or I think I might just commit coffee abuse for the duration of my life.

Here's the scoop on us:

Jakob

He weighed in at 9lbs, 11oz at his two week appointment, and I always feel a bit of relief to know that my babies are gaining weight.  I'm sad that he only got to wear certain newborn clothes once, but I love his chub more!  He is eating great, and his night sleep is going VERY well.  He hasn't made it longer than 4.5 hours between feedings yet, but he is good at going right back to sleep.  He still has a patch or two a day of just plain old fussiness, but the patches seem to be diminishing a little.  Perhaps it's normal for the "third" baby, but he is pretty consistently taking naps on his own already.  Could be attributed to the fact that Mommy and Daddy are busy tending to toddlers, but I still take advantage of cuddling him for a nap or two here and there when I can.  I know he's going to grow up all too fast, and I want to keep him little forever... in a way :)  Right now, Jake is only able to take 30-40 minutes of being awake at a time.  Crazy, huh?  He sure loves his sleep and his food, and that's okay if it makes him happy!  He is more alert and active when he is awake, which is fun.  The girls adore being around him, and Emily is usually close by saying, "Hey, buddy! Happy dirday, buddy! (for happy birthday) Hey, baby broder!"  Each phrase is said in her best mommy voice, too.  MELTS. MY. HEART.  Elyse loves being around him as well, kissing, hugging, patting, ... whatever.  Both girls just adore him, and it does this mama's heart good to see that!

Sweet sweet sleep!

Just had to capture the saggy cheeks!!!  SO KISSABLE!

Doesn't his expression seem a bit devious?  He did have a blowout on the way to church, so perhaps he was plotting...

I love the squishy face.

Emily

Em is on the verge of cutting her fourth eye tooth, and she is usually seen walking around sucking on her index finger.  I feel badly for her, as we've been through this with the other big teeth.  No fun!  She is still my early bird, and I usually wake up these days to her singing in her bed or saying, "Lee!  LEE!" (for Elyse).  It is quite funny, though, when Elyse is still asleep or just refuses to answer.  Em just keeps getting louder!  Emily is really into singing happy birthday to everything - even bites of her food.  Her version: "happy dirday to to, happy dirday to to..."  It's pretty fun.  Honestly, her vocab isn't awesome, but she seems to be getting more words down, and it's a good thing Jordan and I have gotten "decent" at interpretation, because to the average joe most of what she says is pretty hard to understand.  She is uncannily good at puzzles and dealing with small objects, but she still can't seem to drink out of a cup without spilling it.  Food for thought :)  She has the sense of humor of a MUCH older child, and we are in constant amazement at how fun she is.  She loves to laugh and smile (when she's not in the throw of a tantrum, which happens a bit more often these days), and nothing suits her better than an audience.  I often find her spinning circles in the living around a certain toy that she has set on the floor.. dancing to random music.. cuddling her dolls.. reading.  She is the girl of many hobbies!  My new favorite is her "yes" which is an enthusiastic "YEP - E - DOE!"  Whenever she gets something special, she yells/laughs "Oh BOY!"

Poor Jakob :) 

I've never used the word "gentle" so often.  So thankful that they love him so much.

Elyse

This child is 3 going on 10 it seems.  Her imagination is crazy, and she loves to ask about whether or not monsters are real, etc..  it's pretty fun.  I love hearing her converse.  She loves to talk with Em and explain things to her.  You know, the deep questions in life, like why Emily isn't allowed to sit on the big potty yet, or why she has to wear certain shoes.  She is my little mother hen, and I do love what a helpful spirit she has.  She loves to look in on Em if she's crying or needs help, and she is really sad when Jakob's crying for some reason.  She loves to set the table (we find stuff all over!) and help with cleaning around the house.  She pretends to go to the hospital (hostable) several times a day to have her baby (Star), and she loves when we "go" with her :)  Some of her recent funnies: Elyse said when she gets older, she wants to shave her head and her armpits.  Hmm!  I heard Elyse talking about poo at the table (not our first choice for dinner conversation), so I told her talk about something else.  She responded with, "Well, we always have to do things we don't like, Mommy."  Smarty pants :)  It is so hard not to laugh.  Getting straight answers out of this girl is nearly impossible.  She uses lots of these types of phrases: "Well, maybe, . . . " and finds a great way to either embellish the information or avoid the question all together.  AND, she has awesome facial expressions to go along with her fascinating stories.  She calls us "sweetie" or "honey" all the time, and once in a while I will remind her I'm MOMMY, but most times, it's just plain funny.  I love this stage SO MUCH!!!!

Elyse got to give Jake part of his first bottle the other day!  She loved it :)

US

Well, I am just loving having my husband home right now!  I especially needed him this weekend when I started fighting some bug... fever and sniffles, but he took care of us all like a champ.  He is genuinely enjoying the household pace we keep these days, and I am thankful for the change of pace he can have.  Seriously, this guy is never NOT doing something, so it is nice to see him nap every once in a while, and we've enjoyed watching movies when we can, or just enjoying time together outside of "date night."  Times like this make me appreciate so much how hard he works for us.  Staying at home is such a privilege I have because it's important to him, too.  Though it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination, he works so hard to make it possible.  I'm glad he can have a break from his 8-4:30 job and just focus on serving in our church and enjoying his family for three more weeks.

I do believe that even this busy stage of life has drawn us closer together.  I can see how it could potentially drive a couple apart, but we have both realized how much we need God's grace to get through this intact.  That, in turn, drives us together.  I'm so thankful for a husband that loves being a daddy, and I'm thankful that he loves being a husband, too :)  I laugh when I am reminded of the conversation we had 10 months ago in Minnesota when that silly little PLUS SIGN showed up on my pregnancy test.  Jordan's just as supportive now as he was then.  Yes, I admit, if I had my choice at the time, we'd be welcoming a baby into our family a bit farther down the road, but this was God's path for us, and I am seeing that it's seriously PERFECT.  We are tasting firsthand the goodness of God and the love of his children... Our church family has showered us with meals and gifts when we've needed them the most.  Jakob, I can't wait to tell you someday how we have seen God's grace in your little life already!  We love you, little man!

Nothing like bath time!

Welcome, Jakob Henry!

Jakob's welcome is a little overdue... Two weeks ago he decided to make his grand entrance, but, as you can probably imagine, this little blog gets even less of my attention these days than normal.  I've been asked several times what it's like (for me) to have three children.  Truth is, I'm not sure what normal is at this point.  My husband's company gives him six weeks of paid paternity leave (I know... seriously!), and I can hardly believe I get another month with him around.  SO, I have no idea what it's like to man three children by my lonesome for more than a few hours :)  In the few hours I've had them by myself, I can tell you that my mind is constantly going in three directions instead of two.  I am excited in some bizarre way to have the challenge ahead of me next month, though.  For now, however, I will gladly enjoy the time we have with Daddy.  He is so good with the kids, and it sure lessens the load. 

So, back to our sweet new baby boy... !  Jakob's due date was April 7th, and I had been hoping that I would go into labor early, as I did with the girls.  The closer I got to my due date, however, I started to think I would have him on April 10th, the day my mom flew HOME.  She took a risk in planning her trip for April 2nd - April 10th, but we all felt fairly confident that I'd have him at least by my due date.  I had been quite uncomfortable for weeks and had experienced plenty of false labor, which I knew was common by the third pregnancy.  I think all of the false labor started messing with my mind a bit, and I started to think I would never be able to distinguish the real thing when it hit!  

On Monday night, April 2nd, Jordan went to pick up my mom from the airport.  They were home by 10pm, and after we visited for a while, I felt tired enough to go to sleep.  At midnight, I started experiencing random cramps, but they weren't significant enough to keep me from sleeping, so I managed to get a few hours of sleep under my belt before the big day.  I woke at 5am and definitely started to feel consistent cramping, but it was SO unlike my other two labors, I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep.  By 7am when the girls got up, the cramps were lasting about half of a minute and were consistently coming about 3-4 minutes apart.  I was having a harder time sitting down, but the thought of spending an entire day in the hospital waiting for real labor was quite unappealing!  I was able to give my mom a rundown of the girls' schedule, get showered and packed, and by 9am, NOTHING had changed.  Jordan and I took a short walk up and down the street, and NOTHING changed.  I was getting a little worried by this point because I had talked Jordan into skipping work, and I was already feeling badly that he might end up going in with no baby news!

I finally called the nurse at my OB's office, and she asked me in the course of our conversation how many "contractions" I had.  I informed her three or four since we started talking, and she told me that they were probably not real, as there's no way I could talk through three or four real contractions.  Since my contractions with Emily's pregnancy were so different (they were grab-the-nearest-piece-of-furniture-and-hold-on-for-dear-life contractions), I was a little embarrassed when I heard the nurse tell me that.  She told me to keep them posted if they progressed, but when I then told her it was my third pregnancy, she changed her mind and told me to come into the office so they could check me out... just in case.  Jordan and I said our goodbyes to the girlies and to my mom, and we headed over to the office, which is right next to the hospital.  After waiting over an HOUR in the waiting room to see the doctor (I could totally still sit at this point and there was no change in my "contractions"), the doctor informed me that I should indeed head over to the hospital and get the party started.  

But, I was hungry.  Really hungry.  It was after 11am, and Chick-fil-A sounded like heaven.  Jordan and I grabbed some lunch and dawdled over to the hospital.  As I was digging out my chap stick from the trunk of the car, I somehow managed to slice my finger on Jordan's razor.  Side note: not a pretty scene.  Blood everywhere.  It just happened to be the same finger they needed for a print, so, OOPS!  Thankfully, it was a surface cut, and the nurses tended to me very well :)  I was just laughing that the cut hurt worse than my contractions were hurting at that point!  ANYWAY, I was admitted just after 12pm, so we settled into our room and began the waiting.  I was very sad to find out that my doctor had just gone OFF shift at 12pm, but I was very comfortable having the midwife deliver Jakob.  She came in just before 2pm and I was just getting a little uncomfortable.  My contractions (which still just felt like cramps) were still 3-4 minutes apart, but they were lasting about a minute each.  The midwife suggested we go ahead and break my water, and I was just fine with that!  I was able to get an epidural before they broke my water at 2:40, and it worked without a hitch this time :)  Lovely!

I only had one "hiccup" in my labor when my blood pressure dropped significantly, but it was nothing that some extra fluids couldn't fix.  I started to feel ready to push at 4:15, so my nurses found the midwife, and Jordan and I started to really get excited!  I started pushing at 4:30, and I had hoped that one or two pushes would work as it did with my girls... It didn't take me long to realize that this baby was a bit bigger!  After 4 or 5 pushes, we finally got to meet Jakob at 4:42pm.  He weighed in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces, and he measured 21 3/4 inches long.  I was so happy to hold him!!!  I will never forget that moment when he was plopped onto my stomach, and I finally got to see the little person that had been sharing my body for so many months.  Even now, I look down at Jakob as he's sleeping on my chest, and I cannot even imagine that this person was grown inside of me.  Crazy!

I found out afterwards that the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around Jakob's neck.  My midwife handled the delivery so amazingly, and I was glad I didn't know at the time.  God was so gracious to give us an great hospital experience, and though it's probably not nice of me to compare, I think this was the overall best delivery experience I had.  God was even more gracious to give us another healthy, beautiful baby.  We have more than we could ever ask for.  

Elyse and Emily love their brother.  I am somewhat surprised that Jakob doesn't seem to phase them at all.  They love to watch him, hug him, kiss him, etc... but they don't really do anything differently :)  Life goes on...  I am actually getting more sleep than I was at the end of my pregnancy, which is nifty!  Jakob is doing well sleeping at night (when he's not eating!), and I am so thankful for Jordan's help during the day so I can usually nap in the afternoons.  Jakob is pretty easy-going for now.  He definitely hates messy diapers and being hungry.  I'm curious to find out later this week how much he weighs, but I can tell he's putting on some weight.  I loved that he had some chub on him when he was born, and it is still so fun to kiss his squishy cheeks :) 

Jakob, we are so blessed to have you as part of our family.  God gave you to us so graciously, and we want to see you grow up to be a man who loves God with all of your heart.  We love you to pieces, but we'll never be able to love you as much as your Heavenly Father.  We pray that you will realize at a young age how much he did for you.  For now, please stay little and sweet!  ... And never lose that newborn smell.  Welcome to our family, baby Jake!

Recent Funnies

* Elyse watched Daddy shave the other day... apparently she doesn't get to do this often, because her comment was, "Hey, Mommy!  Daddy has ice cream on his face!"

* Emily is cracking me up with her voice and her lingo.  Anytime you ask her something she is enthusiastic about, she answers, "Yeeeeeeahhhh!"

* When my parents were visiting, my dad had Elyse in his lap, and she was entertaining him with some nonsense... He asked her what she thought of his hair (which is cut super short and getting quite thin - sorry, Dad!), and she responded that it's kind of like a 'doggy's' hair :)

* The girls had SO MUCH FUN with my parents.  We enjoyed the live-in entertainment, too :)  I'm glad Grandma gets to return in a month to do some more entertaining!

* Emily and Elyse love to run from the kitchen to the living room, and I LOVE hearing Emily count.  She'll softly say, "nine, nine, nine... GO!"

* Elyse calls Em 'little sweetie' these days.  Pretty cute.  She also pulls that phrase out when she's trying to manipulate Em to something against her will.  Not so cute.

* Elyse's term for describing how cold she is: shivery.  How apropos!

* The other day, Jordan gave Elyse a sip of his soda, and she said that it was so 'tizzy.'

* I love asking the girls over breakfast what they dreamed about the night before.  Elyse now dreams about treats (so she says) and Emily dreams about the moon, the stars, and the sky.  Good to know!

* Elyse's newest spontaneous prayer:  "Thank you for the Lord who blesses us and for cartoons... that Emily gave us.  Amen."

* Jordan watched a Franklin the Turtle movie with Elyse a few days ago, and he pieced together one of Elyse's unsolved mysteries.  She had been saying that her tummy hurt every night after going to bed.  We just chalked it up to a wild imagination trying to avoid bedtime, but apparently in the movie, Bear has a sleepover with Franklin and complains that he has a tummy-ache.  *click!*  Oh, they are little sponges!  Once we asked her if that's why she said it, she smirked and said, YES...

* The other day, we went on our first shopping venture with DOLLS.  DOLLS AND BLANKETS FOR THE DOLLS.  I could hardly believe myself as we loaded up two girls with two dolls.  Special.  Emily is obsessed with hers.  She can be seen walking through the house singing to her baby, feeding her baby, kissing and rocking her baby... it's pretty fun.  I have a feeling I'm going to have some serious talks with her about picking up Jakob by herself when he comes along :)

Okay, and Emily's little marshmallow arms have me aching for summer clothes and chunky arms and legs!  Yay for baby chub :)

A little update

Well, probably not "little."  It's been ages since I've blogged, and I just recently started to remember that I have a blog that I will thank myself later for using!  SO much has been going on, and yet, so little.  Any moms with me there? :)  Big happenings, little happenings... they all kind of form the mushy play-doh mess Elyse makes.  I can't quite distinguish what happened first, but it somehow always involves messiness.  Oh, and fun, of course.  *cough*

I am 35 weeks pregnant, and I'm feeling the torpedo effect.  This little guy is making his mama WEARY.  I truly feel that is the only description for what I'm feeling these days.  Dictionary.com (my great friend) defines "weary" as this:

physically or mentally exhausted by hard work, exertion, strain,etc.; fatigued; tired: weary eyes; a weary brain.

Yep, that says it all! :)  Okay, in all fairness, Jakob, it is probably your big sisters that are causing mommy's weariness.  I can't fault you completely!  I love the weary brain part.  That is right where I'm at.  I am so incredible spoiled that I have two kids WALKING, though... what a blessing!  I am not quite sure how I carried Elyse around for months while being pregnant with Em...?  Jakob, I am SO excited to meet you, but I'm also thankful I have another month or so.  I need to de-girl-ify your bed!

Speaking of baby coming, we have officially transferred the girls to bunk beds.  Can I just say, it's awesome.  They LOVE them, and after about a week in their new beds, the big news is that it was a completely successful transition!  I apparently have TWO children that are too naive to know they can completely run amuck if they desire while we are sleeping...  We haven't had any escape attempts or spills (yet), and they just love sleeping in the beds.  The first night involved giggling for about an hour before they finally passed out!

Speaking of bedtime, the number one daddy in the world gets to be home nightly now!  He got a different position at work and is now able to work all day shifts.  I admit, I had some mixed emotions, but the schedule is very nice overall.  The girls do love his grand entrance every evening, and I really appreciate the help with bedtime.  I also find that I am much more productive during the days when he is not around to distract me with his long eyelashes :)  

I had mentally tried to keep March "free" for baby-prep, but so much for that.  Looks like another busy month is on the docket, which means Jakob will be here in no time.  Little guy, we can't wait to meet you!  I am worried that a crib might not contain you the way you have been kicking the daylights out of me, but I'm sure we'll find a way to get you to be still every once in a while!  You are already a vital part of our family, and we can't wait to kiss your sweet cheeks!  Goodbye, February... hello, March!

I need to write this stuff down, so I guess that's what blogging's for, right?  Hold on to your seats: this could get so intensely exciting, you might not sleep tonight.

*  I made hamburgers the other day, and I took for granted that I don't make them much...  Elyse calls them "burnagers."  Not because I burned them, either :)  Emily is obsessed with coloring, and she will point to the bin of crayons and coloring books and yell "cock-a-pee!"

*  Elyse has started to spontaneously pray.  I love hearing what comes out of her mouth!  She usually starts with, "Thank you for the Lord who blesses us," and somewhere along the way, she thanks God for cartoons.  Of course.

*  Both of the girls are REALLY into baby dolls and pretending that their stuffed animals are babies.  I think the dollar store baby bottles sealed the deal.  The girls will dig out their receiving blankets, wrap up their "babies," and feed and rock their babies throughout the day.  I'll find babies "sleeping" under our pillows, in the towels, under their beds, ...  It's pretty fun to think that they'll be getting their baby brother soon!  Even Em loves to sing to her doll as she puts it to sleep, and if that blanket is not JUST RIGHT, we're in trouble.

*  I have a couple of videos of the girls that I've been watching over and over again.  Video one is here, and video two is here.  I swear, I could watch them over and over!

*  Elyse's has a habit of "cussing" when she's upset or exasperated at something.  I wish I could remember all of her bad words, but some of my favorites are:

SICK HORSE!


Poopie, doopie, loopie!


Old MacDonald!


Oh, heck! (No, I'm sure she wouldn't have picked up that from her parents...*cough*)

*  Emily had a check-up today, and she weighed in at 25lbs, 3oz.  She's almost 20 months, and she's definitely packing on the pounds :)  So much for my little peanut!  She knew from the minute we walked down to the office that bad memories were associated with that office, and she whimpered most of the visit :(  Poor baby!

*  Elyse loves to teach Emily words.  Sometimes it's fun.  Most of the time it's not.  She taught her "MINE" during nap time the other day (Yes, I know this because I listened in disbelief outside the door), and as soon as Em started to yell it, Elyse yelled for me to come and correct Emily.  She likes to get her to say "cupcake" and "gumdrop" and "poopie."  *sigh*  Will she ever be a little lady?

*  Jordan wore a suit the other day to a funeral, and Elyse said, "Daddy, that's a really pretty dress you're wearing."  Yea, that about says how often he wears a suit.

*  Emily just can't resist unzipping her pi's.  I will go in to check on her at night, and she will often have them entirely unzipped.

*  Emily has been going without her morning nap this week, which has been... um... interesting.  I think we'll still be pulling it out every so often, but for the most part, it's made for some smoother afternoons.  My little girl is getting so big!  I'm amazed when I see her all stretched out in her crib that she's a toddler now.  I know when she holds Jakob, it's really going to hit me!

*  Yea, I know it's exciting stuff.  I love these two, in all of their craziness.  I am feeling a bit more tired with this third trimester thing going on, but it is so fun knowing that we get to meet a new family member in a matter of weeks.  Can't wait to have a newborn around!

When the cat's away...

... those cute little mice will play.  I had a doctor's appointment one morning this week, and I got to enjoy some delicious fruit punch as I sat through my fun glucose test *gag.*  The girls, on the other hand, hung out with the coolest daddy in the world.  For real.  

He not only embarked on a cupcake-making task with a three year old, but he also tinted the batter different colors.  Can we say "BRAVE?"

Yep, he is pretty cool.  As you can see, the girls agree.  And, lest you think that I was not okay with this endeavor, it was ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT when my doctor told me my numbers were fine.  You had better believe I ate two when I returned home.  

Yep, these cuties have one awesome daddy!

Three Beautiful Years

I am in disbelief as I write this post.  My big girl is three years old today.  I'm getting all *sniff* sentimental as I reminisce about the day Elyse Noelle was born.  Alas, I'll stop getting gushy.  If you want to read about the day she was born, you can find the story here.  Elyse has been asked several times what she wants for her birthday, and each time she answers "pink" (or red on some days) cake and ice cream.  When asked about presents, she nods politely and repeats her request for cake and ice cream.  What can I say?  She's excited!  I'm even more excited to shower her with some gifts when she's so unassuming :)



Elyse is in a VERY fun stage.  It really does keep getting better!  She is BEYOND amusing with her wild imagination, and we spend much of the day hearing her stories, songs, dreams, etc...  She loves to tell us things that she likes (and things she doesn't!), and she gets incredibly excited when her little dreams come true.  Lately, she's happiest when she's playing with her favorite toys: a backpack that carries her own photo album, a tube of lip balm in her pocket, or a small book of nursery rhymes.  I'm constantly in awe of how easily amused she can be when she wants to be!  With this fun drama comes DRAMA.  I am a bit curious as to how dealing with two little girls will be as they become big girls.  Elyse spends much of her day bossing around her little sister, and even when she acts excited to see Emily take a nap, she doesn't waste much time asking when she can go wake her up.

* Elyse still takes an afternoon nap, but it's almost always 1.5 hours or less.  When she does sleep more, she definitely has a hard time with her 7pm bedtime!

* She has been doing better at the table.. eating a bit more of her non-favorites, and she amazes me with how much she can eat of foods she loves.  She loves to eat fruit, yogurt, crackers, and ice cream.  Shocker.

* As girly as she is, she loves to rough-house.  She's fairly tough, too, when she wants to be!  She is constantly asking to wrestle, have a horsey ride, or jump on the bed.  She would love it if Emily would just cooperate and be a punching bag, but that is NOT the case.

* Some of my favorite times with Elyse are hanging out with her as I cook or bake.  She loves to pull a chair up to the counter and jabber.  The other day, she occupied herself with a teaspoon and a measuring cup full of water for almost an hour.  Seriously.  Why do we buy her toys?  She tells me all about what she's doing (usually making Hippet - her stuffed animal - some soup) and things she'd like to be doing.

* She is really into library books, photo albums, and cartoons.  She loves to think that she can watch cartoons all day, too :)  I must say, when she gets something in her mind, there is NO removing it.  It's very hard to distract her.

* Elyse's newest habit is tattling.  I admit, sometimes I get wrapped up in the humor of hearing the dramatic details of who did what, but this is going to be a hard habit to break!

* She's at that age where if I don't do my best to keep her occupied, she will definitely be bored.  I've noticed how much more she needs outdoor time, busy work, and even some good ol' chores.  I'm starting to understand why my parents always had something for us to do when we brought up the "boredom" complaint!  It's a fun way to look at the day, though, and I'm learning to enjoy it.  Elyse loves stickers, crayons, and markers, so art time is an easy fit :)

 I love this girl.  Jordan and I thank God all the time for bringing her into our lives.  Our love for her is such a reminder to us of how much our Heavenly Father loves his children.  God's little blessing to us three years ago has been blessing us every since.

Elyse Noelle, you are our beautiful little Christmas Eve present.  Even though we will have to spend years and years of your life reminding you that we remember Christmas Eve is your birthday, we cherish the memories of the day you joined us.  You bring us joy every day, and we pray that you will realize at a young age how much you are loved by God.  Happy birthday, big girl!  We love you!

25 on the 24th...

I will be TWENTY-FIVE weeks along this Saturday!  Craziness.  I have YET to take a pregnancy picture, but I guess I should.  I have a feeling my son will never care about seeing one, but perhaps his future wife would?  I am feeling very well, minus a few crazy rashes that keep appearing.  Little guy, you are going to be fun.  Jakob loves to kick his mommy.  My girls moved a lot in the womb, but most of it was "churning" in there.  I'd feel little limbs drag across my stomach, but I now feel the genuine kicks of a baby.  It's just as fun, and it keeps me up at night- in a good way, for now :)  My doctor says he feels like a big baby already, so we'll see!  I'll blame a little of it on holiday fare, but I do predict a bigger baby this time.

Yes, this pregnancy is flying by, but I am really enjoying the ride.  I have much to do in the way of organization and planning, but that will keep me busy during the normally "slow" months of winter.  I am very thankful for this little baby, and I'm thankful for the two big babies I have to enjoy pregnancy with.  I admit, this whole crawling around on the floor these days is getting a bit cumbersome :)  How quickly can I teach them to care for themselves?  Hmm...

Craziness.

Oh, dear.  I have so much to write, and no sooner do I sit down to type, it flies out of my mind.  I'm going to try to remember some funnies that we've had around here, but I'm sure I'm going to forget most of them...

* Elyse has been cracking me up with her new phrase, "that's really great."  She'll be telling me just about anything and will tack that phrase right onto the end.  She loves to give compliments now, too, with that phrase on the end.  She said, "Mommy, I love celery.  That is really great."

* My neighbor keeps giving the girls Oreo cookies.  I'm trying not to be mean, but seriously, too many Oreos!  My girls now leave the house like this:  Emily says "COOKIE!!!" and Elyse says, "Can we go see Miss I?  Can she give me a cookie?"  Of course, our normal playtime outside is after the girls' afternoon nap (aka right before dinner), and trying to get turkey and stuffing in a mouth after two cookies is practically impossible.  Okay, I'm done venting about generosity :)  We love her, seriously.  She give me Oreos, too.  That rant reminds me of what Elyse said the other day after getting her cookies... she says, "Thanks, Miss I- that was really really really great."

* Emily ate half of an earthworm the other day.  No amount of mouth rinsing could make me accept kisses from her that day.  I'm not sure if I can justify how it happened, but it did, and that's what matters.  She will find a way to put things in her mouth...

* Elyse fell off the bathroom counter last week, and that's how she got her possibly broken nose.  I felt awful about the whole thing. I put her on the counter so often to comb her hair, let her play with my makeup, etc . . .  I have thought so many times that I should NOT let her up there even though I'm right there, and sure enough, she did a nose dive last Saturday.  Her top lip was very swollen, and her nose about doubled in size.  After lots of blood and fruit snacks (Hey, whatever would calm her down!), I decided her poor nose looked suspiciously too large.  I took her to an after-hours clinic and waited for a couple of hours to see a doc... just to hear that she'd be a rare toddler to sit still enough for an effective facial x-ray.  Sure enough, she flipped out.  Daddy even came to hold her, and it was an epic FAIL.  Thankfully, her nose didn't show any signs of being crooked or deviated, so they told us a possibly broken nose is better than an obviously broken nose :)  She's had a nasty bruise near the bridge of her nose, but she says her "boo-boo is all better now, but it really hurts."  ?  This picture makes me so sad!  She looked so pathetic :(

* Emily is trying to run.  She's a riot.  She is showing lots of temper lately, and I seem to remember a certain sister of hers doing that around this age!  She keeps us laughing with her hilarious antics.  She CANNOT close her eyes for anything... it's so funny to watch her try.  We all end up laughing our heads off.  Her little eyes squint shut for about 2 seconds.  She tries to make funny faces and she'll always be the one to start the giggling during reading time before bed.

* Elyse loves to tell stories.  Most of them are in song form, and they typically end up being about Emily (of course).  Today's song was about how much Emily cries (?) and how she jumps out of her bed.  I wish I could get them all on video!

* Elyse's new obsession is with being tucked in.  She will ask for her neck to be tucked in, and if the blanket doesn't feel JUST RIGHT, we're summoned back into the room.  Needless to say, we put up with that about ONCE. :)  It's so hard not to laugh, though.

* Some of my new favorite times of the day are when Jordan and I sit on the couch after breakfast and drink our coffee.  The girls sit on the love seat together with their books, and they jabber and "read" to each other for a nice long time :)  Jordan and I love to watch them interact with each other... when they're not at each other's throats.  They are so much fun, I must say.  I remind myself of that a lot when we're having... ahem... "moments."  Like tonight.  They were playing SO WELL together, and I just couldn't resist starting a little Christmas baking.  I should have known that expecting my two sweeties to occupy themselves well the hour before bedtime was a big mistake.  Thirty minutes later: screaming, tattling, large messes, injuries, etc...  So, I put their pj's on, read to them, and enjoyed their last half hour of wake time while my baking waited.  Patiently.

* Wow.  I'm always amazed at what a ride mommyhood is.  Seriously!  How can two little people give you so much joy and work at the same time?!?!  :)   I love them so much!!!

Thanksgiving

I have a very full heart today.  It might burst.  Seriously.  I'm overwhelmed today with gratitude for all that my God has done for me.  I will never cease to be amazed at what a difference he has made & continues to make in my life.  How do you express gratitude for hope & meaning in life?  

I have a wonderful husband, two sweet & precious daughters, and a precious little boy on the way.  God's goodness is overwhelming.  

Love him!

 (Yes, this is Elyse sporting her latest injury... a more-than-likely fractured nose & a grand bruise!  More on that later...)

Precious baby Jakob... we can't wait to meet you little man!

I hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful as you reflect on the 

goodness of God!

Where to Start?

Oh, there is much to share.  I am so behind, I can't even think of where to start!  We just returned from a nice, long trip up to Canada.  We spent time with Jordan's parents & even managed to sneak in a three-day getaway up to Quebec City for a church planter's retreat!  We were very graciously invited to this retreat, and it was such a blessing to us.  QC is a beautiful city and we spent time with some wonderful, godly people.  Our girls DEFINITELY did not suffer while we were absent, as Gramm and Pops spoiled them rotten.  For a little humor, you can read about their time with my in-laws here.  You'll laugh.  That is, if you have EVER been around children, you will laugh.  Jordan's parents live in a beautiful city (Ottawa, ON), and we had fun exploring the awesome sights.

(yea, we stayed in the most awesome hotel ever.)

Now that life has returned to normal, we are back to a fairly scheduled routine peppered with random happenings.  One such happening is that Emily is finally getting herself into a standing position (exciting, I know!).  You may ask, how can she be walking and not be able to do that?  Good question.  I don't know.  But she's doing it now, and she's just so pleased with herself.  Em also loves to pick lint out of her toes.  This girl...   *sigh*  She leaves a small trail of crumbs behind her wherever she goes, but she's happy as a clam most days.  Because of that, I'm happy to clean up :)  I love watching her walk (or waddle) around with her hands on her tummy and a little grin on her face.  She loves to ask to see the baby, and I still can't make out 80% of what she's trying to tell me!  Em's very attached to her daddy these days, and she will weep if she doesn't get her hands on him whenever he's home.  It's pretty cute.

Elyse has such an imagination!  She loves to chat on her little phone and make statements like, "Well, I was just calling to say 'hi'. . . How are you doing?" and "Well, Emmie was up on the table, and she fell off and got a baaaaddddd booboo, and she took a nap, and. . ."  It's quite funny, and, NO, Emily did not fall off the table.  My mom got the girls a treasury of Eloise Wilkin's Little Golden Books, and she LOVES a picture in the book that has a baby sleeping at the foot of the parents' bed.  She also just happens to be very sad about bedtime lately (perhaps because we shared a room in Canada?), and I feel there must be a correlation.  I hope this fear of bedtime disappears quickly!  I love when she reads to Em and talks to her just like she hears me talk to Em... "How's my sweet baby?  I love you so much..."

Elyse loves to do "ring around the rosie" with Emily now, and it usually ends in some major falling down.  Quite funny.  As well as they've been playing at times, they've also been fighting quite well.  Emily has totally figured out how to push ALL of Elyse's buttons, and it's all I can do to keep from laughing.  It's those little shoves she gives Elyse right during prayer time, or the way she steals her snack when Elyse walks away from it for one second... It's hilarious.  Don't misunderstand, Elyse finds a way to play the game, too, but her "pestering" is a little less provoking.  Our side-by-side stroller can be a huge source of contention these days, and it's probably for the best that a new little person will be taking Elyse's place this spring :)  "Mommy, Emmie's touching me!!!" is getting old already.

Elyse and Em are very excited about the baby.  I'm almost 19 weeks along, and you can definitely tell I've got a cantaloupe-sized uterus in me.  No doubt about it!  The girls love to kiss my stomach and even blow raspberries on their poor baby sibling.  I'm sure he/she will come out crying in self-defense.  I wouldn't blame the baby one bit.  I'm craving spicy foods and coffee, but my favorite snack is yogurt, berries & granola.  Buffalo chicken grilled cheese might be the best thing I've put in my mouth ever, and this poor baby will probably hate spicy foods someday.  Oh, I definitely have cravings for anything sugary or fruity, too.  HELLO, I am pregnant!  Yes, we plan to find out the baby's gender.  I can't wait!  He/she is moving a lot, and I think that's my favorite part of pregnancy.

That's the scoop here.  Can anyone tell me where this fall is going???