Giving Thanks!

 I have so many great things in my life that I can't even name them all.  This year especially, I have been overwhelmed with blessings! Living in gratitude changes everything and I feel this holiday is a good reminder for us all to be reflective and realize just what we have.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to raise my own kids the way that I want to.  Being a stay at home mom is not an option for everyone, and even though it isn't easy, I love it and wouldn't trade these years for anything. Because I'm at home we can do things like make miniature gingerbread houses after school... just because!

I am thankful for my boys. All of them. It is such a gift to watch them grow and see them bloom into these amazing personalities. Elijah has a very special love for his newest little brother that just melts my heart every time I see him share a little extra care. He is the first one to run to his side when he cries. He pats his belly and uses his "baby talk" voice to try and calm him down. Every morning and night, both big brothers have to give William a hug and kiss, saying either "good morning" or "good night!" They are so sweet!

Okay... so William's smile alone just makes my day! He is such a joy, and every time I look at him, snuggle him, or kiss his sweet chubby cheeks, I am reminded of God's plan for my life.  We chose "Jude" as William's middle name because it means "Praise" or "Thankfulness" so that we will always be reminded to thank God for our children.  They are his praise and our joy!

I wish I had the time to share all of the things I am thankful for. Most of all I am thankful for God's grace and His promises! Thank Him for his indescribable love! When I look at my sleeping baby, I think I might burst, this must be a small fraction of the way God feels about us, his children!

William Jude is Born

I intended to write William's birth story soon after he arrived, but here it is nearing 3 months later and I have rarely glanced at my blog, neglecting it as my life has become increasingly busy. I doubt I will get around to writing regularly, at least for many more months simply because all of the little "mom" things are just more important at this point. Now let's see if I can get through this long re-telling of William's arrival before he wakes up...

I was prepared for a short labor considering that my other two took between 7 and 5 hours, but William decided to be different, he wanted to surprise me and keep me guessing. Everything started on a Tuesday morning August 21st. (The Thursday before I had been dialated to three centimeters, so I knew something would happen soon). So that Tues. morning my first sign was losing my mucus plug (I took this as  a definite sign because with my other two births contractions really picked up after this happened). I waited about an hour before telling anyone because nothing really felt different. I expected more to be happening. Jenny, my sister, was the first to know.  She told me that I better call my midwife, partly because she knows how I labor, and partly because she was thinking rationally... there may be other pregnant clients who need her so it would be nice for her to know what's going on so she can plan her day.  I called, but there wasn't much to tell. My contractions were very irregular, maybe five an hour at different intervals.  This was not encouraging. All she could say was, "Well it sounds like you are in the very early stage." I didn't want to be in the VERY early stage I wanted that baby OUT!

The hours passed.  The kids watched a nice "My Little Pony" marathon thanks to Netflix, and I cancelled the kids playdate with my close friend, thinking that this baby would be coming. I called Martin and told him this would probably be the day, and he arranged to come home at lunch. I also called my parents to come pick up Owen and Elijah. And then I just felt silly. I had set everything up and now something exciting was suppose to happen, there should have been sizeable change. Nope. Contractions remained irregular. Timing them was a joke, 15 minutes, then 23, then 7, then 10. Not so promising, especially compared to my previous two textbook labors.  So we waited. I bounced on the birthing ball, I wrote down the irritating irregular contractions. I cried a little. We watched 5 or 6 episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress!" (just a good veg-out show about brides choosing these ridiculously over-prized gowns). Finally, I was getting stir-crazy so we thought a little walk down town might help things along.

We put everything in the car, just in case, the bag, packed full of all the little things that I planned and thought about for weeks, and the computer, ya know in case Martin needed to update facebook or something.  Note: there are two things you always need to plan for on outings with pregnant women, 1- easily accessible bathrooms, 2- food! After walking around some shops, and a few bathroom breaks, yep I was getting hungry! Forget having the baby, I needed some cheesy garlic bread! We ended up stopping at Papa Murphy's on the way home.  Did I eat an entire pizza.. well that memory is sort of cloudy now. I felt a little defeated that we were going home at all.  I wanted to go to the Midwife Clinic.  Home felt like giving up (not that that is really a possibility when you are in the process of having a baby, it is going to come sooner or later). We watched a few movies and then it started to get dark. but how was I suppose to go to bed? That seemed absurd. I couldn't relax and getting comfortable was simply impossible- not going to happen. Martin went to bed and fell asleep easily.  At first I kinda hated him for that, just for a little bit. Then I thought, well at least he'll have some strength for when I need him later.

At this point I was having contractions about every 15 minutes which seemed like an improvement compared to the rest of the day.  I was finally able to get some rest after talking to my midwife and her reassurance that the contractions would wake me if they were strong enough and we would know when to come. It seemed so backwards. the whole pregnancy we had been preparing to leave as soon as I knew I was in labor because last time we almost didn't make it in time.  I had labored at home, taking my time, and by the time we got there I only had about an hour before I pushed Owen out! So this didn't make sense.  This baby was suppose to be extra fast, half the time it took to have the other two, but there I was waiting after hours and hours still wondering. I was used to sleeping on the couch for the back support, so I decided to stick with this plan. The contractions continued to wake me up about every 15 minutes, but I did manage to rest in between.

Midnight had passed.  He wasn't going to be born on a Tuesday. In the early hours of the morning, after waking from one of the contractions I noticed it was raining outside.  Thank goodness, I thought, relief from the 90 degree weather! And then there was an awesome storm! I love storms, the lightning, the cracks of thunder, the sound of beautiful drops falling all over the earth, and the smell that makes everything seem clean and new again. It may sound crazy, but I sat in "my chair" listening to it and it was like God telling me, "Today's THE DAY!" 

After getting some more rest, Martin and I got up together, and took our time around the house.  It was strange being home without the boys, who spent the night at Grandma and Papa's.  I started timing the contractions around 9am and they were about 10 minutes apart sometimes less.  I wanted to get a full hour of writing them down before I updated my midwife and we made a plan for the day. Around 11am Martin and I decided to head out and get in some more walking hoping it would help. I felt much more optimistic now, and the morning was beautiful just like I knew it would be after the rain.  We first stopped at Jamba Juice (a pregnancy frequent) And yeah, I got a Large! Then we went to one of our favorite parks, Riverstone, to take a stroll.  It has a great walking path all the way around the perimeter of the man-made pond and the playground. My contractions were definitely getting stronger and a bit closer together about 6 or 7 minutes, but not extremely regular or intense.

I was getting hungry again, so we left the park and headed for another favorite spot, "Bakery by the Lake." It turned out I could only eat a few bites of my sandwich, and of course had to pee again. We took it with us to save for later and continued to walk and look at the same shops we had looked at the night before.  I had known at the park that things were moving along because I had stop walking when I had a contraction to concentrate and breath through it. This continued on as we browsed through stores that with the boys we are usually in and out in a few minutes.  Ironically this was a nice "break." It almost felt like a little date with my husband, only with this annoying pain that kept interrupting us. Looking back I am so thankful that we got to spend all of that extra time together before he was born.  It was so unlike the other two births in this way. We didn't have to speed off right away to go have the baby, we took our time enjoying every moment together.

 One of my favorite stores to look in is called "Le Pappillion" They have such beautiful things in there, things you will find no where else! The Lady working there heard me telling Martin about my contractions and acted very surprised that we were out and about. "Just don't have the baby in my store!" she joked. Then she wanted to talk on and on, and had to keep looking away to breath through the contractions. they were now five minutes apart. a few other lady shoppers asked me about having contractions, and it really made their day I think to see me about to have a baby. It's funny how those exciting things can be amazing moments to share even with strangers.

I called my midwife shortly after this, there was a slight complication... another mom (a first time "home birth" mom) was at a similar point in her labor as I was. Uh oh. "Do you think you have a couple more hours?" my midwife asked me. I told her, "I think so." only because the labor had been so long and unpredictable that... sure... maybe I had a few more hours, but I really didn't know. Maybe 20 minutes later I knew we needed to head toward the birthing center. She had told me to focus on the intensity, not really how far apart the contractions were.  They were getting intense. We stopped to get sparkling cider... which now seems kind of silly, but if felt important. It would be something to celebrate after all. I called my mom and sister while in the car... the big event was going to happen soon!

Contractions 2 minutes apart... when I arrived at the clinic, around 4pm, we soon found out I was at 5 centimeters! I stayed on the birthing ball for about an hour before getting into the big birthing tub. things progressed at a nice gradual pace. I felt relaxed enough to talk easily between contractions for  quite a while and then concentrating through them and breathing. My mom met us there and was able to be there for William's birth, which was so important to me. My midwife called in the back-up to deliver the other woman's baby who was having a home birth. I was so grateful for this because I really didn't want anyone else. She arrived just after I had gotten into the tub. As the contractions became more and more intense I needed something to grasp... Martin's hands became my grippers. I squeezed hard. The first few hard ones he was squeezing my hand back, I had to tell him to knock it off when the contraction was over! He decided to eat that left-over sandwich we had saved from lunch and that was a mistake!  The smell of his breath after wards was upsetting to me, luckily my midwife had gum!

I remember looking at the clock for the first time around 6:30 and commenting that Owen had been born at 6:33, but in February when it's dark outside at that time. In August the sun was still big and bright, but he wasn't born at 6:30. I also remember thinking, all these people standing around me are just waiting for me to do this amazing thing. At 7:10 it was time to push... finally. It was harder than anything I have ever done, and extremely exhausting.  I thought I would never get him out. Both Martin and my midwife knew the right things to say to me. What great encouragers! She told me "You're a strong girl- just one more big push, I know you're a good pusher!" And then, at 7:18pm August 22nd, William Jude White made his first appearance! He was enormous! They put this lump of "baby" of my chest and I was so exhausted from it all I could barely hold him. I had been gripping the sides of the tub to bear down and pushing my toes against the end of the bathtub and now all of my strength was depleted. completely gone. I couldn't even cry.

A few moments later, Martin got to cut the cord! This was important to him, he didn't get to do Owen's because he had been so blue and everything happened so fast that they just did that part for his safety, and I can't remember why he didn't get to do Elijah's.  then It was Grandma's turn to hold him for a few minutes while I tried to push out the placenta.  I know after a 9lb. 13oz. baby, a placenta should be easy, but the exhaustion must have taken over because I just couldn't do it. I kept trying and nothing was happening.  I just wanted to be done with this so could hold my baby and rest, but it took forever.  Finally I had to sit over the toilet to be able to do it. Weird, I know.

Then all of the wonderful parts... I got hold my baby! We found out his weight (as above mentioned), his length- 21 and a half inches, his head circumference- 14.5 inches! My midwife also mentioned that in addition to the big head he had his fist next to his ear when he came through the birth canal. Yay me! (he still sleeps like that occasionally, he did it a lot when he was a newborn). Next we got to eat! Thank goodness, I was starving! They made us some kind of chicken and rice with veggies and a salad and cookies and icecream for dessert. Which by the way I am still trying to figure out where the amazing peanut butter cookies came from. They were huge and soft and... perfect!

When I was done eating it was William's turn to try breastfeeding for the first time. He latched on easily, and did great for the next few days. (don't have the time to go into the not so great days and the horrible mastitis bout).

Everyone was gone by about 9:30 or 10-ish, and Martin, William and I had the clinic to ourseleves for the night. Moving was much harder than I remembered it being after giving birth. It took forever to go the bathroom, and then getting comfortable again was quite an ordeal... situating pillows, the waterproof mat beneath me, etc. Martin was an amazing help with everything as I knew he would be.

In the morning, I took a nice herbal bath.  We tried putting William in with me for the bath, but he decided it was torture and wailed the two minutes we had him in there, so daddy took him back out.  Then it was time for Papa and the big brothers to come and meet new baby William. They brought a balloon and few other things for me. It was a sweet greeting that I will never forget. They both had a sweetness about them, a quiet pureness in seeing him. Owen introduced himself in such an "Owen" way. It was like he was saying remember me? I used to talk to you when you were in mommy's tummy. he said, "It's me big brother Owen." We all had a good time holding and snugling the new member of the family, then it was off to the fair for the big boys and another day of fun with Grandma and Papa. Martin and I stayed a little longer at the clinic. We ordered Jimmy John's for lunch and took it easy. 

I'm so glad I found Dayspring Midwifery, and had the chance to experience birth in the way I really wanted to without anyone telling me or being pushy about how I "should" do things. It's my body and my baby okay, I will do this my way!

The labor certainly took longer with William, and threw me off a little, but that is part of his story. He is his own, special and unique, and definitely our last!

Growing and Growing

I can't believe two months ago today, my sweet baby William was born. He is just as perfect as I knew he would be... the last member of our family that I prayed for long before it was decided he would be ours. Every time I look down at him asleep on me I am thankful for the blessing he is to us and our family.
I have seen Elijah and Owen blossom into these wonderful loving creatures around their new baby brother.  They use sweet soft voices to talk to him, and gentle hands to touch and hold him.  They give him kisses oh his head and pats on the back, and even sing to him to keep him from crying. In the very beginning, the crying really bothered Owen.  And our sweet William hates the car and cries most every time we take a ride somewhere, which means with taking the boys to school everyday they get to hear at least 40minutes of straight crying. Owen sits next to him in the car and he used to keep saying "It's okay William, It's okay, IT'S OKAY!!!!" And then, "mom, William is still crying!" But they love him and now they are used to so many "baby" things. Last week when Owen's teacher asked if his baby brother cries a lot, Owen said, "No, he only cries five times."  They have done so well with all of the adjustments and are both wonderful helpers for me throughout the day.

One of the gifts my eyes have been opened to after having William is to recognize the "precious" in my other two boys who where once this tiny. When I look at him, who resembles them so completely, it reminds me not to be so hard on them. They are still small too and in need of so much nurturing and care. I try to give them as much love everyday as I can. Lots of hugs and kisses, and eye contact.  Special stories and movie nights. Imaginary private detective games, building guns and monsters and super hero cars. And cooking, we can't forget cooking... they love scooting their chairs up to the counter to help mommy with whatever I am making.  Today it was homemade applesauce, apple cobbler, and also mini lasagne. They each had a special job to do getting it all ready! I love them so much, even when they do act like little monsters to each other at times.

Something else I am trying to do better at is not being so rushed all of the time.  We met a nurse just after William was born at one of his appointments that had great insight. She told how much she regretted being too busy to enjoy her kids when they were young and now they are grown and she feels she is getting a second chance with her grandkids. So she tells people to take the extra time and cherish family. Getting to the next place isn't always the most important thing, sometimes it's hearing how a three year old's day was, or taking the time to give an extra cuddle.

He slept like this for two hours!  Awesome- gotta love the "Boppy."

Don't you just want to cuddle these monsters!

This "daddy-made" hat totally coordinates with the grey and blue elephant outfit!

Everyone's favorite spot to snooze!

My most recent amazing trick- smiling and giggling!

I know these insights are not coincidental. I know that God puts certain people and realizations into our lives and hearts to cause us to move into action and change a little. My little ones are growing and growing and I don't want to miss a minute of it.

Come Baby, Come!

This will most likely be my last blog before I have baby William.  I was hoping to be holding him in my arms today, though really I'm not due for a couple more days, this past week has just been miserable.  The heat, the enormous belly preventing me from doing regular things, not to mention the extreme lower back pain, bizarre sleeping schedule, and yes crying at the drop of a hat or because the last pizza box just won't quite fit in the freezer! It all adds up to: Come Baby, Come! And so here I wait, wondering, hoping, and praying. Every little thing I take in to account, which probably isn't helping... the dull contractions that refuse to turn into a progressive pattern, every movement, and jult... maybe this is it. Not yet any ways.  You'd think I'd have this down, it is after all my third pregnancy! So I think back to my other two.

Elijah's Birth Story
I was pregnant with Elijah in the summer also; he was due at the end of September, and decided to drag it out an extra five days.  I don't remember feeling this anxious, people had told me that your first is always late, but I probably was.  The day he was born,  I woke up as usual with my hubby, took a shower, and sent him off to work. I had rented "The Cosby Show" as something to occupy my time while I waited, so I put that in and got comfortable (well as comfortable as a 40+ weeks pregnant woman can get on our "free" seventies-looking love seat).  Then I had to go pee... again, and that's when it happened.  My water broke while I was sitting on the toilet.  How convenient, right? I started timing and writing down the contractions and how long each one lasted.  Right away they were only 5-6 minutes apart, so I called Martin who hadn't even been at work a full hour.  It seemed to take forever for him to get home.  He did make one stop... he went to the store and bought me a huge bag of peanut butter M&Ms and a box of tissues... because of course every woman in labor can't survive without those two things.  Ummm... okay, thank you... now can we please go to the hospital?

When we finally got to our room in the hospital and the nurse checked me, I was dilated to 3cm.  She convinced me to get some kind of drug through an IV that would "take the edge off."  Oh no, it did nothing like that.  It only made me feel "weird" like I had a headache and kind of a dizzying feeling.  I also had an antibiotic  because I was Strep B positive.  The worst part was taking that IV around with me everywhere... to the bathroom, and then trying to get in the bath, which didn't work at all.  The nurse had asked me right away about getting prepped for an epidural, I agreed.  Although he didn't get there until I was at 7 centimeters! Getting that epidural was the hardest part because it seemed impossible to sit still during a contraction.  Martin stood in front of me holding both of my hands, while I tried breathing and holding still. He must have seen the needle or something because the next thing I knew, he was on the floor, three nurses had to help him up, put him in a chair and give him oxygen! Men, just aren't made for this stuff I guess!

After the epidural, everything was calm. I barely noticed the contractions.  Martin watched them on the monitor, "oh that was a big one." Not long after it was time to push.  Elijah was born at 1:30pm... just under seven hours after I put "The Cosby Show" on pause.

Owen's Birth Story
When I got pregnant the second time, a friend of mine told me about her experience with a midwife here in town.  My first thought was that it was nice for her, but she sounded a little crazy.  What, go through that pain without any help? She said she'd do it again just for the endorphins afterwards and the feeling of power and accomplishment.  Say-what? I had never heard anyone say that about childbirth.  As it turned out, we weren't covered on insurance for a baby at the time and couldn't get help any other way, and a midwife was a third of the cost of the hospital.  I got used to the idea very quickly. It wasn't that I was opposed to natural childbirth before, I just didn't think that I could do it. This place changed everything. It's a clinic that provides not only care , but classes and many other services.  Martin and I took a 6-week class together that really equipped us for what was to come.  I learned that I really was made to do this, and that knowledge gave me confidence that made all the difference.

This pregnancy was slightly different of course because I had a two-year old to look after, we were also living in someone else's home. The morning I started having contractions, I kept telling myself they were just more braxton hicks.  I knew the "real" ones would be much worse.  So I went about my day with toddler Elijah, having contractions here and there.  Then they did start to get worse. By nap time, I had to really focus to get through that storybook for him. Around 1pm, I called my doula (my professional labor aid/coach) just to see what she thought. "It's time to call Martin," she said. I also called my parents to come and pick up Elijah. I still wanted to stay at home as long as possible, so I continued to labor there for at least another hour before we went to the clinic.

When we finally did leave, my contractions we so bad that being in the car was almost unbearable, like being caged. Luckily the drive wasn't long. When we got there the lights were low, gentle music was playing, and my midwife and doula were both there ready to support me.  I spent some time on an exercise ball, bouncing and breathing while Martin and the doula took turns putting pressure on my back, massaging me, getting me water, etc.  My contractions were too close together for me to be checked and soon I was ready to get in the tub.  We had a planned water-birth because it is the best for both baby and mom.  It's the easiest transition, and I can't tell you how much that warm water helps with the pain.  As soon as I sunk into that over-sized tub, I felt relief, not absence of pain, but definite relief.  A few moments later, my midwife told me I could push through the contractions if I wanted to, that this might make me fell better.  It did.  Then it came time for the real pushing.  This was definitely the hardest part, but it only took three good pushes and I was done. Martin got to "catch" little baby Owen, who wasn't very little at all ( 9lbs. and 4oz.) It was amazing and I did feel quite a bit differently compared to how I felt after Elijah's birth.  I was much more alert, and aware or everything. I also healed much faster and easier. We had a nice dinner there while baby was being weighed and measured, and stayed overnight, after only about 5 hours of labor.

What will William's story be? We are planning to have him at the clinic, I'd have him at home, but my tub just isn't big enough! I chose a different room this time, they have three "birthing suites" this time I'm going to try to make it upstairs to the one they call "the green room" I like that it has the bathroom in the room and it feels very warm and cozy. I tell people having a baby there is like staying at a bed and breakfast after a birth with the hands of those you trust most like a sister, or a best friend, or a favorite aunt.  I hope I have news to share of his birth soon, but it may be a while before I get to posting again!

Out and About With my Boys!

I may have just out-done myself today. We left right after breakfast on a mission to find ducks to feed a bag of bread to.  The backstory is... Grandma got the boys these sandwich cutters that make their sandwiches into stars or hearts, well after they do this brilliantly fun creation there is leftover crusts and pieces.  I couldn't let them throw those away, so all week we've been saving the extras for just such an occasion as an early morning duck feed.

The first park we went to that would have had ducks wanted me to pay $3.50 just to park! Um, no thank you this is suppose to be a free activity! So we went elsewhere to find free ducks to feed.  There is just something exciting about watching the boys throw bread at the ducks and geese.  I guess it's their reactions, their excitement, and thrill of it all. Owen is braver than I'd like him to be sometimes. the last time we did this he got bitten, this time he nearly did again because he just gets so close and so excited! Bonus... we also saw a little ground squirrel.  It was so cute and peeped it's little face up at us for a minute before going back into hiding.

When our bread bag was empty we headed for the playground! It was just early enough to be rather warm, but with a nice breeze- ahh what perfect timing! Owen made a new friend, as he usually does.  They were pretending to be different versions of Superman... no surprise.  Elijah used all of his energy up right away and wanted leave early and "get a smoothie." Hah... smoothies are suppose to be a luxury, do they not know this? Maybe the huge pregnant woman has gotten too many in past weeks and led them astray!

We left the park and I tried to be patient with our new car set up.  Owen is now in the middle and must get in first from Elijah's side.  the plan is for Elijah to help buckle him, and then Elijah to buckle himself, leaving me with only the baby car seat to put in on the other side. It's been a week now with this arrangement, and each day gets a little better, but they still have a hard time being "nice" to each other when they are squished right up side by side.  I must also add... the car has never been cleaner! Martin put in new carpeting last weekend before he installed the baby car seat, and it looks brand new all over!  I wish you could see it, for I know it won't last long!

I decided to be the really cool mom today and take them out at Carl's Jr.  okay I really just wanted one of their yummy turkey burgers... but with that and a playland everyone would be happy! And we were! Of course the oreo shake was a fantastic bonus! they played and played, climbing the structures to the rocket ships and slides.  I just sat and listened and smiled, enjoying these last "easy" days before I have newborn to tote around as well.

On the way home I pondered our options... knowing they would automatically want to watch "Spiderman and his Amazing Friends" their new favorite show... when we got there.  So we went to the library! they each chose five books while I looked through a magazine... that alone was amazing!  They still don't understand the difference between buying and borrowing, because Elijah kept asking if we could buy every book.  I guess it kind of looks the same... taking things up to a counter and leaving with them. However I never drop anything off through a slot at Target to "return" it.

Just before turning onto our street, we saw a few kids with a drink stand and a big hot pink sign. I reached in my purse... only a few dimes.  We pulled over and I cleaned out the dash board finding just enough for both boys to get something at this little stand.  We parked across the street and walked over.  I let Elijah handle the coins.  They were so thrilled about this! Owen chose a popsicle and Elijah bought an ice cream sandwich. Both were nearly melting, so they had to eat quickly.  Owen, our poky eater, wasn't quite quick enough and lost part of his on the ground, which produced instant tears... and red drips all over his white shirt. But I didn't have any more change left, or I may have gotten him another one. Luckily he is a short lived cry-er. We wiped off the sticky hands before getting back in the car and driving around the block to our house.

The next hour was spent reading all the library books and drinking ice water on the couch.  Lovely.. lovely day.  Of course as soon as Martin got home and "claimed" them, I fell asleep right where I was on the couch! It felt good to get and do some things with them though, and I know it was better than lying around the house all day! They really are wonderful little boys and I can't believe God blessed me enough to take care of them plus one!

If I was really fantastically on top of things, I'd post pictures... but yeah... not quite there.

Oh to be a kid again!

This morning we made pancakes for breakfast, and as I was putting on my butter, I had this flashback of 3 or 4-yr-old me playing with the plastic pancakes and butter with my big sister.  Our play-food box was one of my favorite things.  I loved putting the pink scoops of ice cream in the little bowls and setting things up like we were really going to eat them. I can't believe we didn't lose that little square of pretend plastic butter!  My kids would have it buried for sure in the absolute wrong place in no time, but I guess the way I played and the way they play is very very different.  I was careful, and precise about my toys. I never wanted anything to get messed up or broken.  This is why I am so surprised at the way they play- so rough and haphazardly! Things are constantly getting broken and put in the absolute wrong place, but that is who they are.  No matter how much we talk about treating our things nicely, it just isn't in them to be exactly like me... they have so much of their daddy in them too!
When I was reminiscing about the plastic butter this morning, I thought for a moment how nice it would be to go back to that simple life. I miss being four, don't you? The simplicity, being taken care of all of the time, no agenda, no to-do lists, just living in your own imagination with your best friends who are stuffed with fluff! Now, I get to be on the other side. The mom who watches the childhoods unfold.  I love watching them do the unexpected, those things that you just couldn't make up if you tried.  They come up with their own ideas of who they want to be and how they want to play.  Though I still have major influence, they are independent, creative, and %100 boys!

Owen just woke up from a nice long nap for a change! He is very sweaty and glossy eyed.   He came out of the room, looked at me without saying anything, looked around the room, left and came back holding "my" pink plastic ring. He smiled and put it on my pinky, still without saying anything, and then went into the bathroom.  It's one of those hard plastic rings left over from a birthday party treat bag.  Owen seems to think that I should wear it all the time.  It kind of melts my heart at how sweet he is.  It was so funny how he thought of that first before anything when he just got up, but like I said, it's those silly little unexpected moments that just make my day.

I wonder what our third boy will be like, William, who we are now counting down the days for his arrival. Soon I'll have a whole pack of boys! I'm sure he'll look up to his big brothers and like some of the things that they like... superheroes, dinosaurs, and things that go.  But it will be fun to see what their differences are as well.

This is just a random Superman pic of Owen playing with his Superman figurine.

Superheroes definitely reign supreme at our house.  Owen makes an amazing Incredible Hulk.  This morning there was a spider that I asked him to get. He transformed completely into character... curling his arms to show his muscles and saying, "Hulk Smash!" in a monster-hulk sort of way.  I just cracked up! Between that and him bringing me the pink ring, he is the perfect balance of a true superhero.  I know I'll always be taken care of with my boys around.  Even if I'm not four anymore and I make the pancakes out of real batter, life is pretty great.  I still get to live in my imagination here and there, and I absolutely love watching them discovery the joy of living in theirs!

Baby William's Room!

William's baby room is finally finished!  It's just crying out for the only thing missing... him!  I can't wait until he completes the room! I never got to do this for my other two boys, so it is really special being able to decorate and really make a place for him.
As you can see, the colors are dark brown and blue mostly.  Martin made that high shelf for all of his books and little keepsakes.  I made the mobile hanging above the crib, which has birds, a cloud, a sunshine, and a hot air balloon with his initial.

The rocker was my surprise gift when I came home from the hospital with our first baby, Elijah nearly six years ago! It's still in great condition!  The crib was Owen's, but he is now sleeping on the bottom bunk of the big boy bunk bed! The navy blue blanket on the rocker was knitted by Linda Bruner, and I just love it! It is so soft and cuddly!

It's all pretty simple, but I love it.  It makes me feel so happy and calm when I am in this room.  Even just seeing the door open a little from the living room, makes me smile.  The shelf next to the crib is mostly for blankets and things that he won't be able to mess up in case he ends up grabbing them later on. The blue basket has rolled up swaddle blankets in it, that I just can't wait to use.  they are the perfect size and made out of a really soft, breathable fabric.

You may not be able to see the air plane on the wall next to the window, but it is really cute.  It's made out of wire and dyed blue and greenish nylon.  I thought it mad ea sweet accent.

The curtains are also hard to see in the pic (sorry), they are sort of the inspiration for the entire room.  My mom made them out of this fabric that I love.  They have the same color of blue as the walls, but in a damask sort of pattern. Brown ribbon loops hold them onto the curtain rod.

This is the framed scrapbook page that I made of his name that you see on the wall above the crib. The brown decorative pieces will be spots to fill in his date of birth, weight, length, and time of birth. And of course I left a spot for a picture!

It's hard to make out the middle name in this picture, but in case you didn't know we have chosen: William Jude for our little guy. (Jude -meaning- Praise- which we thought was perfect)!

I made the jar book ends by painting the metal and adding the painted accent on the glass fronts. the other one is brown. then I filled them both with glass accent beads. I also loved the brown "W" next to it!

This is the changing table (Elijah had been using it for a dresser until a couple weeks ago). I thought it a good idea to place it near the window... ha ha. That blue thing is a hamper, my mom got it for me when Jenny, my sister realized I didn't have one and was planning on throwing his clothes in with the mounds of other laundry I already do. 
And of course, there is his cute little bouncy chair, which I plan on taking all over the house depending on where I need him to be!



That's pretty much the grand tour of the nursery! Hope you all enjoyed it!

His cuddly friends waiting for him! My favorite is the little blue elephant (he's from a collection called "the blue nose friends)!  So cute!