Sneak Peak

If you’re on facebook you probably already saw my post about our ultrasound today….and just how much this babe looks like Micah man.  Here you go….you can see for yourself!  The first picture is from today (32 weeks) – the second was from our 4d ultrasound with Micah (about 28 weeks). 

2 very important updates!

(1) The 2011 Nelsen family photobook is officially DONE and ready to be printed!  I posted it (and all the other photobooks I’ve done) over here, so go check it out if you want.  You’ll notice that the photo books have gotten significantly cooler over time – my first one (2007-2008) leaves a little lot be desired.  I discovered AFTER I had that whole book put together than “simple path” is NOT the way to make a photo book….make sure you use “custom path” because you have tons more options….but I’m not ambitious enough to remake that one.  (p.s. Have I mentioned that I love shutterfly….I’m definitely NOT a scrapbooker, never have been, not creative enough….but these are easy!)

(2) I posted a poll on the side of the blog, so hop over and vote!  We’re just over 2 months from my due date and having a big debate on just what this baby should be named!

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

1st day back from vacation + 1st day at a new daycare + 57 email messages in my inbox + 3” of pink message slips with phone calls from clients + a 28 week pregnant mama + not enough sleep = a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Literally I was in tears 4 times before noon.  Sometimes for legitimate reasons like leaving my babies at daycare.  Sometimes for maybe not quite so legitimate reasons like one of my partners telling me about taking his daughter to the airport last week for her semester at sea.  Thankfully that partner has 3 daughters of his own, so he’s not alarmed by tears!    My other partner (who raised 2 boys….no girls) would have been scared half to death by me sobbing in his office.

The good news – by the end of the day it really wasn’t such a terrible day!  I got through all the emails AND the phone messages.  The kids both had a good day (although I don’t think Makenzie napped, so she was a little extra dramatic and teary tonight….wonder where she got that??)  When I asked them both what the best part of the day was, Micah told me “play” and Makenzie said, “you’re not going to believe this mom….they have a gym to play in and we got popcorn and popsicles for snacks.” 

Minivan Mom

Well we did it….we bought a minivan.  And I’m driving it.  I would love to tell you I’m thrilled with it, but that wouldn’t quite be the truth….and no, Tom didn’t make me buy a minivan, this was really probably more my decision than his and I know it was a good decision but that doesn’t mean I’m thrilled about it.  

I LOVED my Hyundai Veracruz, seriously loved.it.  And for 2 kids, it was perfect.  We had the third row seat, so we could fold it down and haul more people or fold it up and have lots of room for strollers, pack n play, luggage, groceries and whatever else we might need to drag with us.  BUT, for 3 kiddos (especially 3 in carseats), it just wasn’t going to work.  We would need to use the 3rd row seat, which posed two problems, (1) it is nearly impossible to crawl into the 3rd row with two carseats in the middle row because you can’t fold the middle seat forward with a carseat in it and (2) with the 3rd row seat in use, we have almost no “trunk” space…we could fit the pack n play and maybe one small suitcase, but certainly not all the stuff we need to travel as a family of 5 (i.e. stroller, pack n play, and seventeen bags). 

In my car hunt, I have literally looked at EVERY type of SUV under the sun trying to avoid a mini-van purchase, but I quickly figured out that our options were basically suburban or minivan (I insisted on having 3rd row seat + the ability to hold lots of luggage).  And that’s where the dilemma started…..

You see, a couple years ago Tom and I were part of a small group that went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.  (Side note and shameless plug for Dave:  We LOVED it!!  If you get the chance to go through this, take it!!)  One of the things Dave Ramsey really pushes is getting rid debt and then staying out of debt….for Tom and I this meant paying of LOTS of student loans, but we also decided that it meant no car loans.  At the time we were both driving paid for cars (thank you to both of our parents for that, we were both still driving our college cars), and we decided that it was important to us to avoid car debt in the future.  Before you start thinking I’m going to get on my soap box and tell you car loans are the devil and you’re a terrible person if you have one, that’s not my intent at all!!  Please please don’t think that’s my point…..truthfully, I don’t see this as being a right/wrong issue….it’s a matter of what works for you and this is what works for us.   Since we went through FPU, we’ve upgraded both our cars…we bought our Hyundai Veracruz in the summer of 2009, found a great deal on Craigslist and paid cash.  Then last summer, we sold my old Saturn and bought Tom a pickup.  Honestly, I love not having to think about car loans –I do all the bill paying around here, and I love that I don’t ever have to think about that particular bill.  But, when the suburban vs. minivan debate started, it became clear very quickly that a suburban was out of the question if we were going to pay cash….that is unless I was going to drive a 1986 suburban, which wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.   Long story short, we’re driving a minivan.  Correction, I’m driving a minivan.   But on a high note –we “upgraded” to heated leather seats AND a dvd player, and I’m not going to lie, I heated my buns all the way home from the  dealership tonight and I’m really looking forward to letting the kids watch movies on our 12+ hour drive to Austin.   Our babysitter told me a couple months ago, you’ll fall in love with the inside and you just have to get over the outside look of a minivan ….I’m thinking this is going to be very true!  The heated seat….love at first try!  

One other high note –we’ve known all along that we got a steal on our Veracruz when we bought it, but that was reinforced tonight when I got MORE for a trade in than what we paid for it  2 1/2 years (and 45,000 miles) ago.  That makes the pain of getting rid of it a little more bearable!  So, here’s to driving a paid for minivan!  

Thankful.

I’ve decided I spend too many days being stressed out, focused on my way too long “to do list” and not just enjoying life.  The other day I heard the Trace Adkins song on the radio…..

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

All I could think was SO TRUE….this is SO my life right now, and I already wish these days wouldn’t go by so fast.  In an effort to “hang on” to these days, I decided I needed to make myself a list of all the things I really love about these days, so here it is…split out by kiddo:

Makenzie

* I love the little prayer you’ve adopted from your Boz movie and that you “add on to” every day – “Jesus prayer that he made for our family and our friends, taking time to sit/lay (sitting or laying depends on whether its a daytime or bedtime prayer) and pray, thank you God for this great day and thank you for….(insert long list, usually involving mom, dad, Micah, Grace, Kenna, the food on your plate….and sometimes including things as random as Zoe Dog, our house, the things in the Advent calendar, your teddy bear).  I love that you are so good at thinking about the things you are thankful for – I need to learn to be more like you!

* I love your excitement for the Christmas story and our advent calendar, and that randomly during the day you’ll ask questions about Zachariah and Elizabeth, why Zachariah couldn’t talk, or what the angels name was that told Mary she was going to have a baby.

* I love your soft heart and your love for Jesus!  I love that today you reminded me that we should buy groceries to take to the food pantry because Jesus wants us to give food to people who don’t have it (We just read The King’s Christmas List….great book by the way!) 

* I love that you tell me every day “I like you and I love you mom.”  You melt my heart!!  And I love telling you, “I’m glad you’re my girl” and hearing you respond every single time “I know….I’m glad you’re my mom.”

* I love that you’re such a little mommy, looking out for everyone (including mom and dad!)  And I love all the funny things you say, like the other day when we were packing for Lincoln and you were frantically searching for ponytail holders in your bag…when I reminded you that you didn’t even wear ponytails because your hair was short, you told me, “I know, but you need them for your pants.” 

* I love that you love to help, and you do it so willingly!  I love having you help fold laundry (and clean out the lint trap on the dryer….it’s your favorite!)

Micah

* Believe it or not, I love your curiosity, even when it means unloading the toy baskets for the 10th time in a day.  I love that you love to explore and I love it when you take my hand and tell me “play” and then want me to sit down on the floor with you to play.  You are too cute! 

* I love that you love to help me – whether its unloading the dishwasher, cooking, doing laundry or putting on my makeup, you love to be right in the middle of the action!

* I love listening to you chat and I love the way you try to say everything you hear.  You talk ALL.THE.TIME right now and I think every single day you’re saying new words!  Some of my very favorites right now are “ga-mo” (Grandma Moore), “gama/gammy”, jammies, sissy (which used to just be “see” and only in the last week gained the first syllable), kimma (Christmas), and sorry –which you say LOTS of times a day, usually to your sissy.  

* I love that you can’t say the letter “s” yet – so words like snow sound more like h-no – and it makes me smile everytime I hear you say it.

* I love that you love your new Christmas jammies, and  I even love it that you want to wear them every night (and most days!) 

* I love that you love to try everything your sister is doing and want to be with her ALL the time

* I love your independence – and the fact that at not even 22 months old, you insist on walking everywhere and climbing in and out of your car seat by yourself.  When I get frustrated with the slow speed, I remind myself how thankful I’ll be in April when you can do these things on your own! 

Baby #3

* I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE feeling you kick and wiggle all.the. time…even if it means kicking my bladder at 3 am because I love the assurance that everything is okay in there, that you’re doing well and growing bigger!

* I love that your sister and brother love you so much already—they love to kiss and pat on my belly and talk to you. 

And if you’re still reading – bless your heart!!  You get rewarded with pictures!  

AMAZING…

I love technology….and modern medicine and the fact that because of those two things I get to have a glimpse at what this growing baby looks like at 20 (+/-) weeks before he makes his arrival (or before she makes her arrival).  It’s truly amazing to see this tiny little baby….perfectly formed (we even got to count 5 fingers on one of the hands….he wouldn’t hold the other one still enough to do any counting), wiggling and kicking, yawning, covering his/her eyes and even sucking his/her thumb.

Today was a bitter sweet though because as we were in the hospital relishing at our perfect little growing baby, a friend of mine was in the very same hospital undergoing a DNC because of a molar pregnancy.  This was their 3rd child too, and their first two are very close in age to Makenzie and Micah.  Join me in praying for their family tonight! 

We took both kids to the ultrasound – Micah was bored quickly and threw a huge fit, so Tom had to take him out in the hall.  Makenzie was pretty intrigued at first but when she figured out that we weren’t going to know if we were having a boy or a girl she lost her interest….she’s convinced we’re having a girl (and truth be told, I think might be a bit disappointed if I call from the hospital to say she has brother instead!)  Micah man says it’s a boy….probably more to disagree with his sister than anything….that’s just Micah!  And if we’re all voting….Tom says girl, I say boy – and in April we’ll all find out! 

Baby is measuring nearly a week big according to the ultrasound – but somehow weighs only 12 little tiny ounces.  A little depressing given that I’ve gained a whole lot more than 12 ounces in the last 20 weeks.  The entire 16 oz  container of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream I’ve eaten over the last 3 days probably isn’t going to help that either.

I ALMOST forgot I was pregnant….

I’ve decided that EVERYTHING changes when you’re on round 3 of being pregnant…and I don't want to just take this pregnancy for granted because this baby isn't any less of a miracle than the first two, but life is busy....and that business just changes things!  For instance, with both the other kids I’ve taken regular belly pictures starting at 12 weeks, this time we finally took the first picture today (16 weeks).  With Makenzie I read about every book their was to read on being pregnant….with Micah I reread a couple of my favorites and this time, I haven’t even thought about reading a book – I think I’m doing good if I read my weekly email to see what baby is up to this week.  And today, I literally nearly forgot I was pregnant.  I honestly don’t know how – particularly given that I’ve been running around all day with my jeans unbuttoned because they’re just too tight AND just this morning I was giving this baby a serious lecture about how its time to be done making his/her mama sick now that we’re 16 weeks along (isn’t morning sickness supposed to end with the first trimester)?!?
But tonight, I was doing a little online shopping (wishing may be a better word) and I found the cutest sweater that I was seriously thinking about ordering…..and then I remembered that I’m pregnant, and already outgrowing most of my “normal” clothes….and that I’ll be pregnant until April 22nd (give or take a few days) which means sweater season will be over and gone before I could even fit into a sweater if I bought one.  So, I’m headed to the basement to do a little shopping….in my tub of maternity clothes from the last two pregnancies.  And I’m blaming my forgetfulness on this baby…my brain seems to be missing and I’m just hoping it comes back soon!