3 more months

Hey - I know I just posted a long and detailed message about my firstborn, but I wanted to take a second to jot down some current realities of little miss, before I forget...and I forget a lot lately! :)

God continually reminds me of the miracle of life.  I am embarrassed at how easy I forget how miraculous pregnancy is, and even how quickly I forget how unsettling the first 19 weeks of this pregnancy was.  Just the other day I was telling someone that so far this pregnancy has been uneventful...um, hello...did I forget that I bled for 9 of the first 19 weeks, and was scared out of my mind?!?!  I guess its a blessing that the last 8 weeks have been great and have almost wiped away my memory of the unpleasantness of the previous weeks.  I just dont want to stop being thankful, and recognize the true gift that life is.

So, yes, the last two months have been very calm, and although I feel like I've popped out quite a ways the past couple weeks, I'm still not hugely miserable, so its easy to be pretty happy go lucky about life.. I'm not sick, not bleeding, and not uncomfortable...yay! I have a working scale for the first time this whole pregnancy, and am thinking about taking the batteries out.  I stepped on it and realized I haven't really gained much weight since my apt two weeks ago, and got scared the baby wasn't growing...I proceeded to eat a whole pizza for supper (it was small!)  I get a little extreme when I see numbers, so good'bye scale!

It is getting less fun to pick up Benjamin and hold him for long periods of time.  And although we walk a lot, going up hills makes me feel like the most out of shape person on the planet.  I don't like that much.

She continues to wiggle like CRAZY, and I think she gets the hiccups a lot.  Either that or she is VERY rhythmic!

Well, thats about it.  I can't wait for cooler weather so I can stop DYING from the heat.  I HATE it.  I can't stand my maternity pants because they poof out by the zipper, looking awful, and have SO MUCH fabric.  I can't stand it...Overall I have LOVED being pregnant in the summer, except my failure to buy maternity capris, and overheating problem...also, I obviously dont fit well in normal clothes, but am not good at wearing pregnancy clothes - my bump isn't shaped right, and my stomach is too long.  Dresses work best, but with a long torso and bump, they get pretty short, pretty fast.  alright, thats enough complaining.  Overall, I'm so thankful for the ease of the last few months, and my current pregnant state...I really have a lot to be thankful for.

Keep praying for Lil Miss Littler.  I again have been reminded of God's hand in life and death, and pray that He would keep this little one safe and healthy in this growing process!

Benjamin is 16 months

Benjamin is ridiculous lately.  He loves laughing and continuously invents ways to be funny, just so he can laugh!  He randomly picks people to make him giggle, and a recent favorite was with my nephew Jonah.  Benjamin got up from a nap at my sisters, and my mom and I, plus the two boys sat out in the garage having a garage sale.  Benjamin just followed Jonah around cracking up when Jonah did ANYTHING.  Both the boys were on cloud nine, laughing and being laughed at.

Possibly  even better than that is his new love for "jumping."  Joel was jumping at him the other day, and Benjamin decided he wanted to jump back.  His jump involves bending at the knee as far as he can, grunting and getting NO AIR.  But this also makes him crack up, every time.  I love it!

His stories have gotten longer and much more expressive.  They are VERY detailed for not involving any real words.  They always involve pointing and often include some crazy eyebrows.  If and when my attention fades and I stop answering/responding to his comments, he gets louder and usually squeals/screams.

I didn't think it was possible for him to love books any more, but it seems I stand corrected.  Now that he can crawl up on the couch by himself, it isn't uncommon to come into the living room and find him sitting like a big boy on the couch with a book on his lap.  Seriously.  This morning we had staff mtg at our house, and he just read books to himself alone in his room from 8:40- 9:30ish...then I heard him trying to open the door, so I brought in his computer, and blocks, but most of the time I peeked in to check on him, he was sitting in the corner flipping pages.  :)  (Around 10, he was all done being alone, so I left the mtg to take him on a walk, but I was very impressed nonetheless.)  His favorites are:

• Eloise Wilken Stories - a little golden book collection - he can sit through one of the nine beloved classics while I read, but he also loves to just flip through the book and point to pictures while babbling.  I'm still not sure if he's reading to me, or asking what the pictures is, but I usually identify the object.
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Hop on Pop
• One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
• Usborne "That's not my..." Series
• Monster at the End of the Book (we don't own this one yet, but he loves it from the library)
• Sandra Boynton books.  Red Hat Blue Hat, Lets Dance Little Pookie, ect)
• And anything with animals that he can identify...

He has gone through a crazy growth spurt and I can't wait for his 18 month sats.  I think he's going to be inches taller than 12 months.  Oh, and his feet grew...in length and chunkiness.  We bought shoes 2 months ago, and they are now in storage...At the time of purchase I thought they would last through the winter...haha

Benjamin has gotten a little naughtier lately. He isn't doing well with the "no standing on the couch" rule, and is struggling with the command to "come here Benjamin".  Over all, he is pretty obedient, and definitely knows the consequence that is coming should he decide to disobey, but his curiosity gets the best of him, and sometimes he decides its worth the risk.  He's also gotten very independent and can't stand being held or holding my hand while we walk through the church foyer, or most any where else that looks fun to explore.  Pretty soon I'm going to have to get serious and not give in to just letting him run wild.  But thats one area I haven't been a stickler on.  

   

 I know I'm so fortunate to have such a content little guy.  The other day we visited a church and were asked out to lunch afterward.  Benjamin has been going down for naps at 12:30 or 1:00, and in the two minutes from the church to the restaurant he was OUT!  Well, we woke him up to go inside, and he made it an hour and a half, only getting whiny the last 10 minutes.  I'm really trying to appreciate this character trait before it changes or before his little sister comes and rocks our world.  Until then, we hope the next 3 months continue to be GREAT...

FYI - as much as I went on and on about our disrupted sleep schedule it seems the sole issue was letting him stay up too late.  We now have the routine of reading some books at 7:45, going to his room, singing a song and he goes down FANTASTIC.  Once in a while he whimpers or cries for a minute, but never longer, and sleep ensues!  Although those 12 nights were pretty miserable, I think they served the purpose of making me thankful for schedule and ease...I am NOT a good guesser!

Well here's some recent pictures of Mr Benjamin.  Enjoy!

telling me stories!

reading to himself

taking a break from dancing to daddy's guitar playing, to give him a smootch!

Well, happy September to all!

my "lovely" lady bump

about 6 months

I finally took a picture.  I didn't want to, but when talking to my friend last night I was sharing that I had TONS of pictures of my pregnancy with Benjamin (who probably won't ever be interested in looking at them) and that I didn't have any pictures so far of my pregnancy with Little Miss.  After verbalizing it, I realized that it was up to me alone to do something about it.

I also had convinced myself that I wasn't very big yet...then I took the photos, and there is no denying the truth...the turkey has popped! she's just not done cooking yet!. (I'm 26 weeks)  

I'm feeling pretty great.  SUPER tired today, but great overall. Miss Littler wiggles constantly and my sister tells me this is a sign of whats to come.  oh boy!  I'm sleeping better than before and starting to have a lot less self control eating well. (As I'm sure you were able to tell by the photo :)  Benjamin and I took a couple weeks off from walking which had been a bad deal, but it was SOOOO HOT.  I am not handling heat well, so being outside by choice when its 90+ degrees isn't happening.  Hurry up fall!

Also in prep for my life with a little girl, I decided to take on a 2nd and 3rd grade UPWARDS football cheerleading team.  O.k., so that wasn't completely the reason, but it is so much fun, and I'm excited to get to love on these little girls, and share Jesus with them for a couple months.  Hopefully this makes September and October go super fast!  Hopefully there will be more pictures of their adorable selves to come!

Well, thats about it!  Gotta go put Mr Benjamin down for a much need nap!

 and this is me 26 weeks with Benjamin and 26 weeks with this ms littler.  I was 10 lbs bigger with Benjamin, but I must have been storing all the weight in my arms and face cause my bump isn't much smaller this time! :)

friends, books...everyone - you were all right!

Just for the record - Benjamin has gone down PERFECT the last three nights.  Who knew putting a 1 year old down before he was exhausted equaled bedtime success!  (...I mean who? besides most people who have had kids, and almost everything i have every read...:)...)  I was just so deceived when he was so energetic and crazy at night.  

Well I decided to give the old bed time a whirl, and two of the last three nights he's been down before 8, and the other night, he was exhausted from the fair-all of which, went beautifully.  I hate to count my chickens before they hatch, but it seems the sleep mystery has been solved! 

 Early to bed, early to rise makes a Benjamin and Momma happy healthy and wise!