It’s been a few weeks since blogging, and I feel like my life is slipping by in the meantime. My kids are getting bigger, stronger, and smarter by the day. While I am just getting bigger… but more about that later…
The new school year is off to a great start. The kids have great teachers, not a lot of homework (thankyou!), and we are enjoying being close enough to either walk or ride bikes to school. Jake is in third grade, Danny is in first, and Lindsay is content to tag along with mom all day long. Both boys are missing several teeth, which I love. I hope they keep their gaps and whistles for a long time. It’s so dang cute. Check out all these awesome close ups Brent took. He really captured their genuine smiles and expressions – which are priceless! Some of these are definitely going up on the wall…
Jake is our prolific reader (like Brent, he plows through entire series in a week or two). He loves to draw, write stories, make all sorts of contraptions, do science experiments, and build anything with instructions. He is my creative genius and an excellent student. Jake is coming up on his 8th birthday and is excited to be baptized and start up with Cub Scouts.
Danny just turned 6 and is only one inch shorter than Jake (and 5 pounds heavier). He is easily the size of a third grader. He loves school and everything about it. His enthusiasm for life is infectious and he is sweet, kind, and obedient. Danny always does what I ask and wants to do what’s right. He is not afraid to try new things (especially sports) and is growing in confidence everyday.
Lindsay girl is 2.5 and recently mastered potty training. She is happy to be wearing princess “wears” (underwear) and we are happy to not be buying diapers – for the next 2 months or so anyways. LJ has an opinion about everything and is exercising a lot of independence these days. We’ve had a lot more tantrums around here lately and she’s become familiar with the concept of “Time Out.” As my stomach grows she also seems to get more and more clingy. She makes me carry her everywhere (not easy) and always wants to be on my lap. It’s obvious she can sense a change coming.
Lindsay is talking more and looking more grown up. Her hair is long, semi-curly, and frizzy (my fault) and she won’t let me flat iron or blow dry it. Most days I feel like I’m wrestling with her hair to get it to do something semi-cute. She has the most gorgeous blue eyes though, and can seriously melt any heart with a wave of her hand or a bat of her eyelashes. She is GIRL to the max – the more pink, purple, or bedazzled something is the more she is obsessed with it. And she is still one of the most cheerful, friendly children on the planet. Daddy is as smitten as ever with her. I worry she can do no wrong in his eyes. But really, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂
The kids are all getting along a little better these days, which I am thankful for. They still have their occasional slug fests but I can tell they love each other underneath it all. And that makes me feel like I might be doing an ok job.
I am 27 weeks pregnant and starting to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel. This pregnancy has not been easy for me. My first two were a piece of cake, this one, not so much. I think it’s a combination of having three other kids to take care of, being older, and my body just being worn down by it all. I have lovely varicose veins all up and down my legs that are beyond hideous – but even worse, excruciatingly painful. They’ve gotten worse with each pregnancy and this time they are out of control. It for sure has kept me humble, on the couch way more than I like to be, and generally not in the happiest of moods.
This is the first pregnancy where I’ve really felt sorry for my husband. I’m exhausted all the time, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, in pain, and an emotional wreck most days of the week. I feel like I am either complaining, crying, or cranky all the time. Or sweating profusely. And doing it while wearing ugly sweats and Grandma style compression hose. Not to mention rarely cute hair or done make-up. Poor guy. He probably wants to just tip toe into the house when he gets home and go hide upstairs under the covers. I don’t blame him.
AND – I can’t stop eating. I am seriously hungry all the time. I feel like this is my hungriest baby and that he is going to give Danny a run for his money. Hopefully that is the reason (and not just that I am a fat cow) that the scale has been so mean to me this time around. VERY mean. Vicious. I hate you scale. And I hate that I will continue to hate you for a year after the baby is born.
Now, have I officially scared every woman away from ever wanting to be pregnant again? Ha. Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer. I realize there are plenty of women out there who have it much worse. I’m glad I’m not them. I am excited for the baby. And I am thankful for an awesome, uber-patient husband who just wants to make me happy. The other night in one of my rants, I said, “Now even if I decide I ever want to be pregnant again – you won’t want me to because you’ll be so scared after this time around… You’ll dread it.”
Later that night he answered back, “You can be pregnant as many times as you want. And you can be as cranky as you want. I’ll always love making babies with you… and not just the making part.” 😉
Here are some pics of me growing Nef baby #4. And for the record, I swear my belly looks way bigger in person. I think in my brain it is twice the size…
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