Baby & Brothers.

 

Did I mention how happy I am to have not one, but TWO boys?!

Owen 4 1/2

-He is still WAY into karate. Anything with karate. Anime, Ninjago, Power Rangers, anything.

-Loves baseball and is actually quite good at it. He's got a pretty good arm and when he's paying attention he hits the ball almost every time.

-His speech has really improved! It's not quite up to his peers but we understand the majority of what he says now. It's amazing! And he learns new words all the time!

-He just performed in his first primary program!  He was so good and well behaved, sang every song and wasn't shy about saying his part. We were so proud!

-Still loves horses. He is so interested in them and will watch youtube videos of them forever.

-Likes to play with army men and swords.

-Is SUCH a good big brother. He sings to the baby when he cries and watches very carefully how we handle him and tries to do the same. He loves to see the baby in the mornings and is always keeping an eye out for him. He notices the minute we put him to sleep in the order room.

-Hates to run errands with me now. He always wants to "stay here, stay in car." It makes the experience a little more trying.

-Has given up naps completely. He will take one only about once every 2 weeks or so.

-Has taken to scolding us and often. Ha! Its a little frustrating but we're trying to teach him to use "nice words," and that we are his parents so we scold him when he acts naughty.

-Loves to play with his best friend Clark. He asks for him almost every day.

He is so much fun! Still a super giggly boy and we just love him!

June 2 1/2

-Loves preschool. It took her about a month to get used to but now she loves it and is doing very well. She is especially good with her writing.

-She is still mainly left handed but every once in a while tries out the right hand.

-Loves to sing. She often sings the ABC's and "Give Said the Little Stream."

-She's got quite the attitude. You can often hear her saying, "Stop it!" or "Don't touch!" We've been working on teaching her to use "soft voice," instead of yelling, ha!

-She loves the baby. She's always asking to hold him and whenever he is near her she will kiss him and say, "S'okay." (It's okay) It's adorable.

-She can count to ten.

-She knows all her ABC's.

-She knows so many words now! She can name at least 20 animals and knows people by name.

-She has gotten very particular with what she wears. Her favorites are: her skirt for Thailand, her dress from Bali, the socks she got in Japan and her pink saltwater sandals.

-She LOVES pink. She always requests the pink cup or pink plate at dinner.

-Is really into princesses. She calls them all Cinderella.

-Still loves Little Mermaid and all ocean creatures but is afraid of going into the water at the beach.

-Her favorite foods are: chipees (chocolate chips), fruit snacks, "ice cream" (frozen go-gurts) and nutella.

-Has gotten SUPER tall. She really sprouted over the summer and somehow grew into some super long legs.

-She destroys EVERYTHING. We can't leave anything in her room during her nap time because she just breaks or tears it apart.

-She finally learned to ride a tricycle! She gets lazy though after a few pedals and goes back to her Flintstones way of riding.

She is seriously so funny. We just love having her around!

Rand 2 Weeks

Our little guy sure is growing!

-He's looking so mature lately and is starting to fatten up. His first appointment was only 5 days after he was born and he had already gained 5 oz!

-He is a very loud sleeper. (Much like his brother Owen) He grunts, squeeks and makes all kinds of funny noises in his sleep. He's even giggled in his sleep.

-He is very wide eyed when he's awake. It's adorable how alert he is.

-He is our very first brown eyed baby!

-He absolutely HATES baths.

-He definitely wears his emotions on his sleeves. If he's not happy, he wastes no time (or volume) letting you know.

-For the most part he is a great sleeper. In his 2 1/2 weeks of life we have only had 3 rough nights.

-He is a serious snuggler. He loves to be held and will wiggle and wiggle until he is right up against you in bed.

-Loves the swing. I really shouldn't but I let him nap in there sometimes and he just snoozes away.

-He has super soft, fuzzy hair. He doesn't have a lot of it but it is so fun to stroke.

-He loves to be sung too and likes the sound of your tongue clicking.

-He has really thrown us for a loop with a few things. He has seemed to have all the things neither of the other kids had. (ie: trush, a tiny heart murmur that cleared up in a day, etc.) I swear we're not first time parents but he sometimes makes us feel that way!

-He is a definite mama's boy already. It is so sweet that he recognizes and knows me.

-He has a sensitive stomach. Every little thing I eat affects him. I ate brussel sprouts last night and he was up half the night because of gas. Looks like I'll be having some very boring meals for awhile.

-He has the most kissable cheeks. I just can't get enough.

We just ADORE our little Rand Man.

Welcoming Randall.

I had an appointment the morning of October 8th. I was exactly 39 weeks. As much I was trying to cherish the last few weeks of what most likely will be my last pregnancy I was a little irked that I had made it this far without going into labor. I had been seeing Sarah, a midwife, throughout my entire pregnancy and we had become good friends. So good in fact, that she promised to deliver our baby whether she was working that day or not. She had good news for me. I was already 2-3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. When she asked me about my labor plan (which was to labor at home for as long as possible) she chuckled a bit and told me I may want to think about just coming in--this baby was going to come fast. She stripped my membranes and we said our goodbyes.

The rest of the day I felt different but I assumed it was because I was so far along and had just had my membranes stripped. I started to feel some pretty strong pressure in my pelvis. I really didn't think anything of it. That night I lost my plug. I was so excited! Historically I had gone into labor within 24 hours with my other babies. When I told Tim he gave me a weird look. He was getting nervous. I asked him why. He said he couldn't explain it but he was getting really anxious and felt like the baby was going to be here VERY soon. I shrugged it off. Not ten minutes later I got up from bed to go to the bathroom and my water broke. It was strange, I felt very calm. I told Tim and he looked confused. I explained that I wasn't really in any pain. I told him to jump in the shower while I called our friend Heather and Sarah to ask what she thought I should do. We dilly dallied a bit and went to hospital (as advised by Sarah) by 1 am.

The nurses in L & D didn't really take me very seriously. I really wasn't in much pain yet but every once in awhile I'd have to stop and breathe. We decided to walk around bit to waste time. We only made it about 2 laps before I was stopping so much it wasn't worth it. I was on my hands and knees listening to some music on my ipod when Sarah came to check up on me again. It was starting to hurt. She checked me and I was at a 6-7. Okay, I can do this. I suddenly realized that my music choices were probably not super appropriate and apologized to her. She laughed and told me she liked it. Still, I felt like a ghetto mom playing Ice Cube- You Can Do It while in labor. It helped for awhile but soon these contractions were full on painful. I joked with Tim that I wanted to start swearing but I was afraid if I did that God wouldn't want to help me. Ha!

Though my water had broken it was still gushing through every contraction. I had actually lost 3 lbs already since my morning check up just from my waters breaking. I continued to move around but tried to stay near the few mats we had laid out so as not to make a mess. I had noticed that I went from wincing, to heavy breathing, to moaning to full out yelling. Okay, I was in yelling stage, it can't be too much longer, right? I had prepared myself for pain up to this point but this was becoming more. She checked me again. 8 cm. The next 45 minutes seemed like years. They tried to administer demerol, (not a pain medicine but can sometimes help relax you) and nothing. By this point I didn't know what to think. Tim was there, holding my hand, telling me I could do it--it wasn't much longer now, you're doing so good, we're almost there. I was in so much pain I asked to be checked again just to boost my moral. We kept trying to wait for a break between contractions to check but there were none. We just decided to go for it, heck, it was going to hurt anyway. 10 cm, 90% effaced. So dang close but no cigar. Suddenly, on the very next contraction my body just started pushing. By this time all my communication was in screams so I yelled to Sarah, "I think I have to push!" She smiled and said, "You are pushing. That's okay." 

She called a respitory therapist on the phone since she had given me demerol. I heard her on the phone so calmly saying, "Hi we need you for a delivery. Yes, it was administered 30 minutes ago." I about died. It was only 30 minutes ago?! It felt like it had been hours. The next contraction I went full out Braveheart mode. I was screaming through these contractions like a primal Amazonian woman. I realized how loud I was being but I didn't care. The pressure was so intense I didn't know what else to do. I screamed to Sarah, "Get him OUT!" She smiled and calmly said, "No, you're going to push him out." On the next contraction his head was out. One more and he was here! As soon as he was out, that immense relief of pressure and I  fell silent. He was here. He was safe. He came out screaming so the respitory therapist smiled and said, "Okay well, see you guys later!" The nurse kept commenting on how clean he was. Like he had already been bathed, ha! They didn't weigh or measure him for about an hour or so. He turned out to be 7 lb 14 oz and 21 1/4 inches. Had he been full term he would have been just as big as his brother! Thank goodness he came a week early!

When it was all over I kept thinking to myself how lucky I was. I had so many people support and love me through this pregnancy. It was hard (a few choice words may have been said) but it really didn't become too difficult until the last hour. He was born at 4:44 am. Just 4 1/2 hours after my water broke--3 1/2 after arriving at the hospital. I just couldn't believe it. It was the best I could have asked for. I know in my heart that all of our prayers were answered. I know that through my struggles and my faults my Heavenly Father was aware of me and was there with me every step of the way. Tim had given me a blessing in the car before we went into the hospital and he mentioned that I would feel the love of my Father and of those who were praying for me. Boy, did I. I really can't thank you all enough. For your thoughts, prayers, support and love. We are so blessed to have friends and family like you and we are over the moon about our little Rand.

He is such a special little guy. Our other two children looked almost identical at birth but Rand really doesn't look like either of them. He has his Dad's long, finger toes and his Mom's gap between his toes. He has soft black hair that we adore. Not quite the thick mop our other two had but hair none the less. He has the sweetest little wrinkly ears and the cutest little frown. 

We named him

Randall Cruz Wood

Randall is Tim's Father's middle name.

Cruz is my Mother's Father's first name.

We call him Rand. Not Randy, just Rand.

And it fits him.

His brother and sister adore him. They are constantly fighting over who gets to hold him, saying, "I want baby!" "I hold you--pleeease!" They are so delighted to help and get so excited to give him a binky or rub his head to tell him, "It's okay bebe."

So, so much love.

We are a happy family.

Mommy Guilt.

The mommy guilt is hitting me hard lately. 

I'm slow and tired and achy. I just haven't felt like a real mom or wife lately. I know that I over think things a lot but my family's happiness is what I worry about most. I will gladly run around like a chicken with it's head cut off just to hold everything together so that my family is happy. Every night Tim and I have a conversation about the kids. What they ate that day, what they got to do for fun, naughty things they did and how we can correct them, funny things they said or did. At the end of the conversation I always tell him, "I just hope they know they are loved. That's the most important thing to me, for them to know that we love them."

These last few weeks I haven't been able to play with them, run with them or hold them like I used to. They ask me to play airplane and it breaks my heart when I have to tell them I can't. So much has fallen onto my husbands shoulders and I feel guilty about that too. I'm so excited to have this new addition come to our family, I've wanted this baby for a long time, but boy is it hard! As a mom I'm so used to running all the errands, cleaning the house, wrestling the kids, singing to them at night and everything else that comes with it. I admit sometimes I go overboard with projects and crafts to keep them happy but if it makes them smile it's worth it to me. Not being able to do that right now is just heart breaking to me.

Two days ago Owen had to get a physical for school. During the visit the P.A. lectured me pretty hard on not letting my kids have too much "screen time." I didn't say anything but it broke my heart. Playing Starfall (a kids education site), PBS Kids, or watching cartoons with them is one of the only things I can do right now where they can sit in my lap and I can last more than an hour. I shouldn't have let it get to me but I did.

This morning I made them a fort and it wore me out. It was basically my only contribution to their morning since the chocolate chip pancakes I tried to make were a flop and we ended up eating cereal. By 10 am I was exhausted and had to ask Jenzyne to take them to the pool so I could rest. I felt so guilty. I rested for an hour, just in time for them to return home and make them some lunch. The guilt was eating away at me during nap/quiet time and I went to the living room to check on Owen who wanted to do quiet time in the fort. He had fallen asleep. It's such a small thing but it meant so much to me that he was having fun there and that he felt safe, safe enough to fall asleep there. It was one of the only things I could do for them today and watching him sleep just warmed my heart.

I'm sure the Mommy guilt will continue for awhile. I tend to overt think things and I'm sure this is one of them. But my goal is still the same regardless, as long as they know they are loved and I will be happy.

Let the Sun Rain Down on Me.

I mustered up what little energy I had to take the kids to Tank Beach. We hadn't been there in awhile and the beach is the best and easiest way to tire them out for their nap. It was such a beautiful day and the kids were so enthralled with the water, climbing rocks, throwing shells and chasing crabs that it was hard not to appreciate just how beautiful life is. We each have challenges, our own ups and down but life simply is beautiful. 

 

June's booty photo bombing like a pro, ha!

So in love with his reaction to the water!

I love this photo of Owen. He's such a happy kid, always has been from birth. It serves as a personal reminder to me that the most simple thing, like letting the sunshine hit your face, is happiness. 

So grateful for this beautiful place we live in and my sweet family of littles.

Library Day.

 

We probably aren't the most welcome of guests at the library but I'm thrilled that my kids are loving books and stories so much!

August: The jist of it.

 

 

 

Cool Mom had a brief comeback for a few weeks and then the baby kicked my trash for it. He pretty much owns me at this point. But with Owen back in school and June in a friend's preschool co-op there's a chance she may return before the baby is born!

A Glimpse.

A glimpse into life this month.

Nail polish painting.

"Car Washing"

This tub is worth it's weight in gold!

cupcake making.

banana bread making.

A Very Merry UnBirthday.

One of the activities I hosted for this summer's playgroup was a "Very Merry UnBirthday," Party.  

We decorated "hats."
*crowns were cheaper, so sue me.

One of the moms made an adorable pinata and it was a HUGE hit!

A glitter bomb exploded in my house somehow.

Scrambling for candy.

A very happy recipient.

Every child bought an inexpensive gift to give to a friend.

We sang, "Happy Birthday," (because I didn't actually know the Merry UnBirthday Song) and everyone got their own cupcake with their own candle to blow out.

 

I think they had fun.