Amazing, just a week and a half ago we had a picnic at the park for my nephew’s birthday and it was gorgeous. This week there is snow on the hills surrounding our area. The weather sure has changed back to winter. Today was nice though; sixty-three degrees and sunny. My dad came over and we spent over an hour outside in the back yard playing. It felt so good to be out in the sunshine. The flowers are blooming everywhere, our daffodils are open and our freesias have buds which are close to opening. Didn’t someone tell them it’s only February 22? Oh well.

Four weeks to go till the baby comes, officially. Considering that Molly was so early, as long as we make it to March I’m happy. I’ve thought about this third addition a lot this last week. I don’t think I’m ready, or will be before he comes. (No, we don’t know if it’s a boy for sure, but yes, I think it is.) But it’s too late for a do over so I guess whether I feel ready or not is irrelevant. We’ve gotten to this point so quickly. In just over two and a half years we went from just Joe and me to Joe, myself, and three kids. I barely feel like I’ve been able to adjust to the two girls and soon there will be a new little one. I look at Molly and think “you are so little still, how is it possible that you won’t be the youngest in just a couple of weeks?” I know that we’ve made the right decisions to get to this point, I am just feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Unless a miracle happens in the next few weeks with potty training, we will have three in diapers, even if it’s only at night for Cassidy. Last night she did wake up and make noise in time for me to get her to the bathroom before she pooped, that’s a start, right?? Small blessings.

If you have any boy names that you like, make a comment with them. We find hearing other people’s ideas helps bring more names to the table and that really does help us. I guess you can mention girl names too, but I am 95% sure we don’t need to worry about those.

On Sunday, I took Molly with me to pick up Cassidy from nursery. We were in there a few minutes and Molly was having fun seeing all the other kids. There is one little boy, a brother of another little one in nursery, who is only a month older than Molly. Well Molly went up to him and gave him a big hug, completely out of the blue. It was really cute, especially because that is what Cassidy used to do a lot when she was just a little older than Molly is now. The little boy wasn’t too thrilled but he didn’t get upset, just wriggled to be freed. So adorable.

Loony bin????

We are trying to still potty train miss Cassidy. We wish she would just catch on but is still having accidents and testing our resolve. This third baby is looking like it may be a little overwhelming and send us to the edge of checking into a loony bin.

Keep you all posted, only five weeks away.

Molly is trying to feed herself now...which is good and bad. Not sure if the mess that is made is worth it at this time. She is coordinated but at thirteen months she has limited dexterity. I am pleased she is trying nonetheless.

No great updates, just progress in all areas.

First of all, Happy Valentine’s Day!! Can you believe February is half over already??
Cassidy is getting better at not saying “no” all the time. She does have her own opinions on just about everything but she can be persuaded to go along with us if we really want to change her mind. She’ll be 2 ½ this week, amazing. I have to remind myself that often when she acts her age. Her verbal skills make me think she’s older. What a delight she is. She loves to try and get Molly to talk; she’ll say “say mama” “say dada” to Molly a lot. Cassidy is right now singing in her crib. We put her down for her nap almost 30 minutes ago but she’s still going strong. We don’t always recognize what she’s saying, but sometimes it’s really obvious, like when she sings “happy birthday”. Potty training is going okay. After talking to our local potty training expert, I think we missed our “magic window of opportunity” with Cassidy. Oh well. It will happen eventually, Joe and I just need patience with her and the mess that naturally comes with potty training. Cassidy loves nursery and talks about it all week. We’ve really enjoyed this last week, the weather has been so nice and we’ve been able to go out and play a lot.
Molly is getting bigger and much more mobile. She’s really interested in getting down and exploring everywhere. That is great, except during church when it can be quite a challenge to get her to sit through a class. Oh well, she’s such a dear that there is always someone offering to walk with her. I’ve heard that our girls have a great reputation at church, that anyone should jump at the opportunity to babysit them. It’s such a relief to know that people are willing to help, especially with the new baby coming soon. We’ve learn a valuable lesson already with Molly, that is not to compare your kids, even as young as Molly and Cassidy they are different. Whereas Cassidy talked early and developed a HUGE vocabulary early, she walked on the later side; and Molly is the opposite, early walker and talking later. She says “ball” and that’s all. She doesn’t appear to have any interest in talking. She won’t mimmick any sound except growling, which is really cute. She just looks at you and then is off and running. It’s quite clear she hears perfectly well and she will follow directions as well as a 13 month old will, she just isn’t into talking.
The next challenge I am dreading is putting those two in the same room to sleep. Joe and I both are of the mind that sharing a room is good for kids and so even though it needs to happen eventually but I am not sure I’m ready to do it. When we move out during construction I am pretty sure we’ll be in a two room townhouse or apartment and so it will be necessary for them to sleep in the same room then. They sleep so well in their own rooms that I hate to disrupt that. If anyone has experience with this please share with me your thoughts.
Joe is doing well, though he seems to be getting all the colds that are going around. He’s trying to get over something right now. He was able to get a few days of snow boarding in this winter which he enjoyed. Work is going well. He just got a new phone, a smart phone so he’s enjoying leaning all its capabilities.
The house project is going well. Our plans are just being checked over by the city and then we can pull permits. We should be starting construction in April or May, just depends on the weather and the contractor. I am so excited.
Lastly, I am doing pretty well. My body is tired and I am ready to not be pregnant anymore. Only a few weeks to go before chaos starts but that’s okay; it’s always hardest before it gets easier. This baby is quite active which is fun. Sometimes I get really painful cramps that feel like a runner’s side cramp, when those happen I think “thank goodness for epidurals”. Sometimes I think, oh I could do this without one again, then the cramps start and I think, “thank goodness I don’t have to”. But as with everything, this too shall pass, YEAH!!!

Oh yeah, and thank you whoever it was. We appreciate your generousity. We will be doing a better job of updating our blog, on a weekly basis, at least.

New Year - New Challenges

- potty training
- learning to hear "NO" to everything
- Getting ready for the next BABY

December is only a half-dozen weeks away from being a mommy x3

Our house is in the crosshairs of demo and remodeling

The 19th already??

I can't believe it's been three months, sorry. A lot is going on and without Internet at home, it's been nigh to impossible to update the blog. I'm lucky if I can check my email every other week, I really have had to make a HUGE effort to get my online banking stuff done. I wish that there was an Internet plan that would allow for a weekly or daily connection allotment and that's all you'd pay for. Maybe 3 hours a week or 30 minutes a day. That would be IDEAL!! Then I could stay on top of a few things and still get to know what is happening out in the world. Sometimes I feel so isolated but that isn't a biggie.
Can you believe in five days Christmas will be here? Nor can I. Friday is Molly's first birthday. Crazy. Right now I am up in the mountains, snowed in, and remembering what it was like to think that I was going to deliver at my in-laws' cabin Christmas Eve with no one but some clueless, scared firefighters. Oh how I am grateful for competent doctors and nurses who know what's going on and how to make it not hurt so much. Back to Molly. She's walking now. She'll take about 10 steps max on her own and will go from thing to thing quite easily. She usually keeps her arms above her head or out in front of her a la Frankenstein. She is so cute. She is so patient with Cassidy who would love her to death if we didn't referee. Cassidy loves to try and pick her up, often by wrapping her arms around Molly's neck and pulling up. I've gotta keep an eye on those two when playing together. They love each other though. It is so obvious and so wonderful. They both become so excited when they wake up in the morning and see the other for the first time. Cassidy asks to go see Molly constantly while Molly is napping. What a joy for me. It makes all the difficulties of having them so close in age seem worth it. I'll post a video when I can get online with a better connection.
Cassidy is such a dear, she loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone. She has a crush, a 28 month old toddler crush, on the 9-year-old son of our friends here at the cabin with us. It is so funny. She always asks where he is and wants to see him and she'll follow him around endlessly. He is pretty good about it. When she sees him she'll say "go get Jaxon?" but then she gets to shy to go up to him. So adorable. She is picking up all our tendencies. I have to tell her to stay where she is sometimes when I need to go get something, and today she told me to stay where I was while she went to get something. It was hilarious, she was so serious, just like I have to be with her. It is amazing to watch them develop and learn and become little people with capabilities and opinions and everything.
Joe and I are nearing, we hope, the end of the review process to have our addition design approved by the city. We submitted our plans in November and have gone through one review and now are trying to obtain a variance for an issue that wasn't even noticed by the city planning department right away. There is a public hearing tomorrow at 11:30 about the variance but seeing as we are snowed in in the Sierras, we won't be able to make it. We are crossing our fingers that we aren't needed for anything and that we will be granted the variance. It looks good but we won't know until tomorrow, at least. If that goes through than we will be eligible to start the permit process in January!!!!!!!! We won't begin construction until the rains stop in the spring but at least we will be okayed by the city to go ahead. A HUGE step.
I turned 30 this last week. Not such a big deal. I guess now that I'm 30 I don't have to feel too young to be going gray. I hate the gray hair but I like my hair color and so I don't want to dye it. Maybe if enough women owned their grays then society wouldn't care so much about them. Go gray-hair-owner-uppers!!!! Having two kids and a third on the way sounds age appropriate. Gong through MAJOR home renovation sounds like something a 30 year old would do.
Can I mention how weird it still is to me to feel a baby move inside my belly?? I've done this three times now and the whole conception and development and birthing thing is just weird. Really, there is a living thing inside me? Kicking me and squirming and sucking the energy and nutrients from me? It's like a parasite. It's a parasite for 9 months and then a leach for however long you nurse. You love them but sometimes it just seems odd. Three more months, maybe. The doc thinks less. I don't know if I'll be able to make it that long. The third one is a lot more uncomfortable than the first or second and the second got pretty painful there towards the end. What a blessing though to be able to be pregnant and for the pregnancies to be as tame as they are. I know that I am lucky.
Funny story to close. Last week I went to In-n-out at about 11 pm, don't ask. There are two windows, the first had a sign in it, Foward to next window, or something like that. I looked at it and thought, huhhh, aren't there TWO r's in forward?? I didn't say anything, but I wondered and still do wonder how many people see that and think, couldn't they afford to spell check??