Baby Update, Vegas, and More

Being forever behind on the things I have to do and leaving no time for the things I want to do? I hope this isn't my new normal. Ever since I got pregnant I rarely pick up the camera. If I do, the pictures just sit there until I (rarely) get a second wind once the boys are in bed. Then, I download them. Every so often, I actually edit them and even fewer make it to the blog these days!

Today is just one of those days when I got the second wind and a few minutes of quiet to post a quick update.

On Leap Day (Feb 29) we found out we are going to be the proud parents of Baby BOY #3! We had a full room and a grouchy ultrasound tech, so there weren't any photos of the moment. However, I still want to remember the day. Kevin, my mom, and the boys were all there. We were so excited to find out whether this was Littlest Brother or Little Sister. The grouchy tech didn't even make it fun and just passed over it like it was a kidney! In fact, the boys didn't even hear her, so I had to repeat it. That's when Little Brother exclaimed, "It's like all my wishes have come true!" I didn't even know he was hoping so strongly for a Littler Brother!

Everything checked out well- he's growing well, got all the parts, and has a cute profile and feet!

The next day, Kevin and I headed to Las Vegas for a little getaway. My mom graciously stayed with the boys, spoiled them, tired them out and loved on them for 4 days, while we whooped it up in Vegas (as much as you can when you are 5 months pregnant!) And, just like I explained in the intro to this blog, I didn't take pictures of our trip. Kevin took one on his iPhone of me and an old teaching buddy I was able to reconnect with. So, here's my 5 month belly shot in front of Caesar's Palace!

Vegas was a fun time. We stayed at the Cosmopolitan. Ate at some great places: Hash House A Go Go (mmmm!), Cabo Wabo Cantina, Earl of Sandwich, Taqueira Canonita, and much more! Eating was somewhat of a hobby for us! We saw the Cirque du Soleil "O" show. It was absolutely amazing: every act got better and more amazing. Those people are seriously talented! We even sat just a few rows behind Owen Wilson and his date. My kids were rather impressed since they love the Cars Movies! Had some nice weather to lay out by the pool. I'm glad there were no cameras for that!!! I also gambled for the first time ever. We made $2 at the Roulette table after an hour. Then, Kevin talked me into trying BlackJack. I was terrified. I started with $60 and made $65 in less than 15 minutes. I had amazing luck, getting 20 and 21 on almost every hand. I figured my luck would run out soon and the rude drunk guys blowing smoke at me was enough- so I walked away with my winnings. Kevin says I didn't play BlackJack. He says they paid me to sit at the table. Nonetheless, it was fun!

And for the last update: I'm now a little over 24 weeks pregnant. Tonight the boys came down with pillows in their shirts pretending to have babies in there. It was a good reminder that I have very few belly photos so far, so we got out the camera to document the growth! The baby is kicking a lot. Most nights when I read to the boys he really gets crazy. The boys love to feel him kick and I think it makes it a little more real to them. They like to come up with names for him too. Let's just say I hope they let their future wives name their children some day!

As for me, I am feeling really good at this point. I am working hard to "recollect" all the baby gear I got rid of this summer. I have been hitting up Craigslist, Goodwill, and garage sales like crazy. It's fun to see what kind of bargains I can find. I have also finally succumbed to wearing maternity clothes. I had it in my crazy mind that I could just get away with my own stuff for the whole 9 months! I made it 6 months, but now I am opting for the comfy stuff! (Who was I kidding anyways?!)

Ben Franklin

Big Brother's class just finished a very long unit and project on Famous American's. He was assigned Benjamin Franklin. He had to fill out a research paper, make a poster, write a report, make a timeline in technology, and participate in a Museum Day at the school. Yesterday was the Museum Day. Parents and friends crowded the gym to be a part of their special day. The students had to stand in costume by their poster (like a wax statue) and when someone pushed a button they made, the students would "come to life" and present their report. It was a big project and big learning opportunity and a lot of fun for him.

At home before school. The suit and pants were from Goodwill. The "wig" was an idea from internet-land - we glued cotton balls to an old had. The glasses were borrowed from a neighbor friend.

Standing with his poster. He took the day very seriously and made us push his button to come to life for the photos!

Little Brother was off school and went with us. He always has to ham it up for the camera! Here's a shot of my belly- I'm 23 weeks as of yesterday....

Sunday Suit

Last Sunday was Daddy's birthday and we started our day at church. Big Brother has a project going on at school which includes dressing up like Benjamin Franklin. We've been slowly gathering items for this costume from Goodwill and friends. We were rather surprised when he came out of his room wearing his Sunday Suit, complete with a non-matching shirt and clip on tie. We tried not to chuckle, told him how nice he looked and headed out the door. However, that's when we all realized he has no shoes other than Sketchers and Crocs. So, Sketchers it was! He got so many compliments from his Sunday School teachers. I think he was feeling pretty proud of his outfit that day!

(The first photo includes glasses for his costume. Those were not worn to church. Don't you love how Little Brother has to be a part of everything around here? I love how Big Brother is trying to keep him out of the photo, but still smile for me!)

After church, we got a quick lunch and ate a picnic outside and did a little shopping at the outlet stores. Despite it being Daddy's birthday, only the boys' scored some new pants on that trip. Isn't that the way it is once you become a parent? We headed home and the boys were excited to finally decorate the cake they'd been planning for quite some time ---  a Lego Ninja Birthday cake- just what every 38 year old wants!

Introducing Baby #3

The real reason my blog has been neglected since November is due to this little surprise.....

This was an ultrasound 10 weeks ago. I am now 18 weeks and counting. So, this little one has grown. Let's' be honest, I've grown too. I haven't been courageous enough to get any tummy pics. But, I don't think this belly will be getting much smaller any time soon! As you can see on the picture, my due date is July 19, but who's counting?

Funny story, I was at the gym working out last week (I try to go a few times a week just because I can this time. My pregnancies with the boys were much more complicated.) I was laying flat on one of those skinny little benches, when I realized I wouldn't be able to get up very graciously. So, I dropped my weights, and grunted my way up, while telling my friend, "I had better move to the inclined bench from now on." Some random guy next to me blurts out, "It's called working on your core. It would help you get up easier." To which I replied, "It's called being 5 months pregnant. I have no core left...." He stammered his way through a very lame apology and shut up. It was quite amazing that he would have the gall to say something like that to someone. My friend and I got a good laugh out of that!

We find out the sex in less than 2 weeks. Can't wait. I'm kind of a planner. If you know me at all, you probably knew that. So, considering this was a surprise addition to our family, I can't wait to find out boy or girl. At least it will help me to have some sort of picture of what our newly extended family will look like! 

It's not just my blog that's neglected. It's my house, my friends, my laundry, my everything else! I have just enough energy to buy some groceries, sometimes make meals, and take care of my boys. Outside of that, not much else is happening! First trimester, I was crazy nauseous most of the time and super tired. Luckily, the nausea is intermittent now, but the exhaustion is still there. I've just had to let go of my normal expectations of what I can do and accept what I do get done. 

So, now you know why it's past Valentine's Day and I still haven't uploaded my Christmas photos. 

A "Cousins" Christmas: Part 2

After we spent a few days in our home, we headed up to the mountains for some skiing, snow, and sledding! We stayed at the Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA camp near Granby, CO. We had a cabin with 4 rooms and got cozy all together! Staying at a YMCA camp was awesome with kids. They had a gym where you could rent roller skates, tricycles, and balls to play basketball, pool, foos ball and ping pong. There was an indoor heated pool (though we only got to use it for 20 minutes because of bad timing). And, there was sledding galore!

This was our cabin. Notice Little Brother's facial expression. This is what happens when he doesn't get enough sleep. Precious, isn't it?

The first full day up there, the adults went skiing with the three of the kids. I stayed back with Little Brother and his sweet little cousin. Big Brother has skied a few times and was so excited to have his cousins learn for the first time. I wasn't there, but I heard that there were some good times and some not so good times throughout the day of learning!

Before and during skiing!

On our last day, we did a couple of hours of sledding. The snow was not that great at this point in the season, but it was good enough to send us all flying down the hill! It was a long trek back up each and every time. The littlest ones usually got pulled up, but the oldest 3 were on their own!

The last run of the day, the kids wanted to be tethered together down the hill. They had a blast!

It was a great time, and as you can see from the photo above, we had a lot of fun and a lot of noise and energy leading up to Christmas. The cousins went home the day before Christmas Eve, but we were able to do a small Christmas celebration together. We felt blessed to have their family visit with us for the holidays this year.

A "Cousins" Christmas: Part 1

We were blessed to have Kevin's brother and his family come to visit us the week before Christmas. We had a busy week and a busy house: 5 kids- ages 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7! We kept busy playing in the snow, watching movies, skiing, sledding, shopping, eating a lot, and just hanging out.

The kids headed for the snow as soon as we pulled into the driveway. Poor AZ kids- so deprived of the seasons!

We got a kick out of passing around my Halloween wig! Lady Gaga- step aside!

We also enjoyed visiting Santa. Well, most of us did!!!

Cousins Christmas: Part 2 to come...

Winter Ball

We're full swing into basketball season for Big Brother. He's playing on a new league and a new team, thankfully much closer to home than the team last year. In fact, some of his games are played at his school. I've been shooting video, but as you can tell from this neglected blog, not much is happening with video or even pictures for that matter! So, for now, this is it!

I happened to be taking photos when he made this shot. He loves the sequence of getting the rebound, dribbling, setting up, shooting and scoring. However, I was too busy cheering for him to get the final picture of the ball going in. But, trust me, it went in! I promise to figure out this video thing one day and add some real footage. I'm just not really on top of things right now! I'm sure my family would rather have clean laundry than edited video of bball games!

Did he get dressed by himself?

That was the question all the Moms up at school asked me about Little Brother this morning!

Besides church and a couple extra days each year, our boys pick out their clothes and get dressed on their own every day. Most of the time things go pretty well. They don't always match, but it's doable. Every once in a while, my kids are the talk of the "drop-off Moms" at school. This happened to be one of those days! He was so proud of wearing his cowboy boots and told me, "I look really special today!" 

How can you fight that?

A few Christmas Preps

We did all of our normal Christmas traditions this year, but I didn't always have the camera out! We did, however, make a gingerbread house and celebrate with parties at school.

This year we had to tag team the school parties since they were at the same time in the same building. Little Brother's class party was a little more "family-friendly", so we ended up in there a little more. They had a potluck, story time with the principal and a little singing show, complete with the "12 days of Christmas". They got to wear their pajamas and decorate train cookies since it was a Polar Express party. We don't get to volunteer or spend much time in his class, so it was our first time seeing him in action. We realized quickly that not much stays private for him! He tends to just blurt out whatever is on his mind. I think we're gonna be in trouble down the road!

The big kids have to keep their parties a little more "educational". So, during the days leading up to the party they had $3 to spend on treats with which to decorate a gingerbread house. I got to be part of the store that "sold" the items to the kids. Unbelievably, not one kid in the class spent their entire $3! They planned out their houses and on the party day they got to assemble them.

I'd hate to see what $3 of decorations looked like!

After the parties, we were off to the airport to pick up Kevin's brother and his family. They came to spend the week before Christmas with us. But, that is another post entirely!

Fall Leaves

Yes, I know the leaves are under a few inches of ice and snow now, but since this blog is really to document the life of my kids- you'll have to bear with me as I catch up from late November. Little Brother's birthday weekend ended with some yard work! It was a nice warm fall day, so we headed out to clean up the leaves. The kids have a blast running and jumping into them every year. This year, they decided to do some warm ups before they started. I guess that's what going to PE teaches you in 1st grade. So, after some jumping jacks, push ups and step ups, they were ready for the fun!