I inadvertently skipped blogging for the entire 3rd quarter of this year. Much like the last time we got pregnant (PS if you haven’t heard…we’re pregnant!), we decided to start trying and I was “knocked up” or more politely “with child” about 6 weeks later. Then I got tired. REALLY tired. There were lots of naps, some nausea, and a few migraines thrown in just for sport. I was treated for a yeast infection, BV, oral thrush, and got to see a neurologist. I’ve shared two head-colds with the boys, but somehow missed the one stomach bug that Christopher battled. Pregnancy is certainly glamorous! I think now at 16 weeks the grossness is finally letting up. Hopefully nothing but cute pregnant largeness on the horizon. The next time I post I will be revealing a baby gender and packing for a visit to WI!
In the past 3 months we started, and finished, a total bathroom remodel. It took FOREVER. We spent more money than I would have liked. It is a major improvement over the way it was when we first moved in. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, so here you go:
William is turning into quite the little preschooler man. I feel that we’re finally edging out of the moody terrible 3’s. He picked up potty training mid-July and has not looked back…although if anyone has solutions for a 3 1/2 year old with really bad aim, I’d love to hear them! His first 4th of July fireworks experience was literally a blast. He was in no way scared of the noise, but instead mesmerized by the fireworks we had on our street, and all around our neighborhood. We woke him up to watch, and he spun in all directions just trying to take it in. He talked non-stop about fireworks for at least a month! Lately he has been obsessed with Halloween. We specifically went to the “Halloween Store” (Zurchers) and came home with a good $45 worth of decorations. This is saying a lot for a woman who is really in no way interested in most tacky Halloween decorations. Thankfully he decided against the hideous fake spider that started out in our cart. It’s amazing what a really excited 3 1/2 year old can convince you to do. So our house is all decorated and now we wait. We put a calendar on the fridge to help him count down the days, since his concept of time is still pretty fluid. He is also pretty excited about the new baby–but again has no concept of time so the wait is a little difficult for him. He asked me some fun questions the other night. Including “How does the baby eat? Does the food just fall in on its head?” and “How will they get the baby out? What will they use to break open your tummy? That sounds disgusting! I don’t want to see that!” It will be fun in a couple months when he can feel the baby kick. He continues to be a good big brother to Christopher and they are SLOWLY getting better at playing together instead of annoying each other. I think this will only get better as Christopher continues to develop verbal skills. Sleep for William has been pretty good with the exception of occasional bad dreams, and sometimes getting up earlier than I am ready (ok–7am and I can’t complain). Jason gets daddy-of-the-year for a couple of his adventures with William while I was feeling gross, including a daddy-son camp-out in the back yard and a daddy-son hiking trip to see William’s first cave. They had a blast! William also knows how to write his name now and was proud to demonstrate his new skill. He tends to write the “a” backwards, but other than that he’s pretty good. He keeps asking me if he’s 4. Not yet buddy. Not yet.
Christopher continues to be a happy-go-lucky guy. He is still mostly the silent type, but can communicate his wishes quite effectively through gestures, smiles, and grunts. He says lots of single words, but only says them on his own terms–he is NOT the type to repeat something just because you’ve asked. He got his first haircut in July, and just got his second haircut this week. It makes him look like such a grown-up little man. He still out-eats his brother most of the time. It will be interesting to see how he measures up at his 18 month well-child check in a few weeks. He has recently started taking a fancy to sitting on the potty, but has zero concept of what he’s supposed to do there. One of the little girls at daycare is potty training right now, and he also likes to do what big brother is doing, so that helps. We will wait and see if I get an early adopter, or if this is just a phase that quickly passes. He is in a funky stage where he doesn’t nap at daycare, but falls asleep just long enough on the ride home to get angry. When this happens, he usually demands that someone carries him around outside, which will get more difficult as it gets colder and darker earlier and earlier. His sleep is reasonable, but not amazing. He typically goes to bed around 7:30pm, but wants gets a bottle at around 5 or 6am, then sleeps on until 7:30am. I will admit I’ve been an enabler in the bottle department. I just haven’t had the energy for crying it out. He takes his brother’s rough-housing in stride and fights back more than I realized he would be able. He might turn into a scrappy little guy with an exuberant big brother like William. Only time will tell if this is a good thing.
Jason’s work has been keeping him very busy. At times even busier than I’d like. Since the last time I wrote, he has taken two separate week-long trips back east for work. A week alone with the boys is usually something I’d be able to handle, but combine first trimester pregnancy yucks with a messed up house due to an ongoing bathroom remodel and it was definitely more stressful than usual. I know he doesn’t choose to be gone on purpose, so we all smile and carry on. He also sent me flowers twice to make up for it, which was super-sweet. The good news is that his work isn’t planning to have him travel again until the first of the year, and then hopefully not again until after the baby. His trips are supposed to be approximately quarterly, so I guess we’ll wait and see on that second one. This August Fidelity hosted a summer party for employees and we took the opportunity to spend the day at the park with the boys. William worked up the courage to try out a bounce house for the first time, but wasn’t crazy about the mobs of kids he didn’t know. We also watched a really great animal show put on by Scales and Tails. William got to pet a huge python! It was pretty fun to see.
I was in a major funk at work until I finally bit the bullet and cut back on my hours. We have a great new part-time gal who made the transition much smoother. I’m now happily working 30 hours instead of trying to maintain full time status (36-40). I don’t know what I will do about work when baby #3 arrives in the spring. I’d love to work part time, but doing so may necessitate changing my daycare arrangements, which stresses me out. I love my current daycare and trust them fully, and the thought of going someplace else to accommodate part-time care really scares me. On the flip-side, working part-time while paying for full-time daycare probably makes zero sense. I guess I have a good 9 months to figure it out. Meh.
Along with feeling gross I accomplished a very few select things in the last 3 months. I canned some peaches, and tomato juice with more canning to come. I painted our bathroom twice as part of the remodel process. I did the bare minimum to keep the boys clothed and fed, along with using a Groupon to get someone to clean our house. I alternate between being excited about baby #3 and terrified. Mostly I’m excited to end the pregnant stage of my life and put what remains of my body back together. I don’t know when I decided 3 kids would be the optimal number but we’re actually doing it. To answer all of your questions: “Do I want a little girl?” Well yes, a girl would be great. I also know we make damn cute little boys, and having a little boy would save us a boat-load of money. I guess we’ll find out in about 3 weeks. 🙂
I have now officially lived in Utah for 10 years! I joked that only having 3 kids in that time-frame might be a fail in some people’s books. I’m also still Jason’s only wife, which wasn’t what people expected when I moved out here to the dry land of polygamy. It’s been a good 10 years. You never really know where life will take you I guess.
I do know that motherhood is exhausting. I am thankful every night when the babbling turns to silence and bedtime finally sets in. My house has never been dirtier, and we’ve never been further behind on yard work, projects, or laundry. But the boys are both at a really fun stage and we’re gearing up to do it one more time which keeps us busy as heck. Not a terrible way to spend your time. More fun than laundry anyways I suppose. 🙂
Because there is no way to jam an entire summer of photos into the text of this blog, here is a little gallery for you. Enjoy!
Until next time!
Steph~